Welcome Home!

The girls made us a welcome home sign at greet us - how sweet!

Random Pics From Hawaii

palm and coconut trees

tree roots

posing in front of the big coffee cup - ucc was the sponsor of the marathon - this was the stage where they gave out the rewards afterwards.

the backside to a rebuilt hut that resembles some old temple

Relaxing

Our hotel had some awesome hammocks right out by the ocean that we thoroughly enjoyed lounging in each day that we were there.

Final Evening

When you don't fly out till 9pm there is a lot of down-time from when you have to check-out and when you actually have to be at the airport. Thankfully our hotel had a bellhop service where we could leave our bags and we did a little shopping and had supper together at the Bubba Gump Shrimp place. We had one last beautiful sunset before we had to catch the plane back home.

Luau!

posing together before the luau Mark learned to make a fish from from grass.

taking the roasted pig out of the ground

representing the old queens and kings of the islands

on stage - the music, stories, dancing, etc. entertainment

On Sunday night we went to the Island Breeze Luau which was very interesting historically - we actually really enjoyed it. We also sat at a table with a family from Nebraska and another family from South Dakota - what a conicidence!

I don't know how well you can see it - but I took this picture of my arm - it was covered in salt! It was the strangest this - there was salt all over our bodies when we were done running - weird! Apparently this is normal for really long runs like this - no wonder we were both craving a cheeseburger and fries when we got done - ha!

These were the only pics from the marathon. I didn't have the camera till after the race. The top one is of myself and a guy named Larry. I met him in the last 6 miles and he helped me finish out the race strong - by this time the heat and humidity were really setting in and I was hurting so bad. He had a GPS watch that told him how much further to the next water station and gave me lots of encouragement which was great. Afterwards there was a massage school that gave out massages to runners - AWESOME!!!! So we waiting in line for that and we were two of the very last ones and so they gave us the last of their coconuts that they were drinking which was pretty cool since neither of us had ever had one quite like this before where you drank it straight out of the shell, so it was very fresh. I had no idea there was so much liquid in one of those! As for the results of the actual marathon - there were about 270 runners and we came in 126th and 204th overall. Our times were 4h50min. and 6h16min. (we had both hoped to do a little better then this, but from the people we talked to and reviews we've read we may not have been realistic for our first one and it being there - the course was VERY Hot, Humid and Hilly!) We were so excited to have done it. I cried when I crossed the finish line since this has been my dream to do for a long time, and it meant so much that Mark would help me fulfill it and do it with me as well! And a big thank you to everyone for your support and encouragment. There are pictures of us actually running on the marathons website: www.konamarathon.com - click on 2009 photos and at the top if you type in our numbers you can see us running - I was 138 and Mark was 146.

Glass-Bottom Boat

We took a dinner cruise on a boat that had a glass bottom that you can see mantarays swimming underneath and all kinds of other fish and stuff - it was pretty cool. The food was delicious, and they also do it at sunset, have live music and a hula dancer as well.

Omaha Zoo 09

This is the only picture I have from our annual zoo trip. Mark and I flew out shortly after this was taken, so the girls spent the day at the zoo with Mary, Amanda, Rebecca, Hannah, Nana and
Papa.

Off We Go!

Tomorrow we leave for our big trip! So don't be alarmed when there are no updates for awhile. The girls will be in IA with Mary and crew while Mark and I enjoy Kona, Hawaii!!!! We are very excited, a bit nervous for the marathon, and not quite packed yet, but we're getting there. Say extra prayers for us Sunday (afternoon to you, morning to us) as we run 26.2 miles - whew! Thank you to everyone that's helped to support us through prayers and pledges!

Here's Another One

So I thought it would be fun to go to the softball games tonight. Mark was gone/busy with work for the day/evening so I thought it would be a fun outting for the girls and myself. I should point out that Rachel is somewhat potty trained. By somewhat I do not mean the version of the parent being potty trained in asking their child every 10 minutes if they have to go and ushering them into the bathroom 40 times a day.....no I mean that she is 99% potty trained unless she has something on her bum. She will go ON HER OWN every time consistently throughout the entire day unless she has underwear, pull-up, diaper, pants, etc. ANYTHING on her little body from the waist on down.

So what do we do - well beings as it's summer i have just taken to putting her in sun dresses everyday and letting her do her thing - works great right? Well, today she went to Rachel's childcare for the afternoon to play with her friends cause she was missing them so much and Rachel commented on her pottying abilities when she is playing outside. We got distracted in the conversation and didn't come back to it. I witnessed what she meant at the softball game. I did ask her a couple of times if she had to go since I knew she wouldn't know where the potty was there. About 45 minutes into the game she climbs down the bleachers and stands in front of all the them and in front of the whole field I might add - hikes up her little sundress, leans back with her hips forward and just peed on the grass right there in front of everyone! Oh dear, guess my plan backfired - back to potty training 101....for both of us!

A Stop in Canistota

Our trip home was delayed with car issues so we ended up in Sioux Falls for about 4 hours waiting for our car to get fixed. After we got back on the road we stopped in at Darren and Susan's house in Canistota. Their new son Luke Roger is getting baptized this weekend, so the whole family was home. Susan's parents are Mark's godparents and their families have always been close. Darren's parents are members at Emmanuel in Gettysburg - so we are blessed to know both sides of the family! It was a great treat to get to spend the evening with them before finishing our journey home.
All the kiddos eating supper together.

Holding baby Luke for the first time - so precious!

Gabie and Ethan LOVE playing together! It's fun watching them.

Friday/Saturday

On Friday we drove back as far as Kinglsey as the town was celebrating it's 125th celebration. There was an amusement park on the main street Friday evening. Saturday morning Mark and I ran the 5K ~ it went great! Over 100 runners, and we both were in the top half. It was great to get an extra race in before the big marathon next weekend! It was nice to see some old high school classmates and catch up a bit before heading toward home, although we ended up delayed in Sioux falls for about 4 hours due to more car troubles!

Thursday

Thursday the girls went to an indoor play park - when they were telling us about it Rachel kept saying "I slide mommy." They had a wonderful time playing through all the obstacles and activities. Then for supper we went out with my class from grad school - there were two other classes there as well. It was a very fun day!