Jump Back- April

We had such a busy month of April that I think my next few posts will be "jump back" posts. 

 My FAMILY came to visit in April.  

We had big plans for their trip here and one idea was to get some 3 generation photos with Mom, Me, Megan, and baby Evangeline.

 Meg got some updated photos of the Shurtz family

 and I took some of the Meg, Brandon, and Evie 

(Unfortunately this photo needs color correcting and I don't want to take the time to do it right now.) 

Oh how this little girl made my heart smile.  She was such a joy to have at our house for a whole week!  She's so smiley and always sticking' that tongue of hers out.

We sewed A LOT!  I borrowed a friend's sewing machine so we could have more than one sewer at a time.  We made baby carrier slings for baby shower gifts, baby blankets (Chevron style), curtains, and Megan got started on a handmade purse! 

 Evie helping out her Mamma.

 Our projects all over the floor! 

 On Easter Sunday we had a big dinner and then went to 1,000 Hills State Park to enjoy the sunshine. 

 One afternoon, Brandon and Joe went golfing and the girls got pedicures. 

 My Mom has a green thumb so while she was here I wanted her to help me choose some flowers that would not die on me this year.  

 We also went to Rutledge one day... to buy fabric of course and see the culture of NE MO. 

 Here's the finished product Chevron print baby blankets. 

The day they left, I came home and Joe was on call that night.  So, there I was alone and thinking, "Boy, this really stinks!"  It was so fun to have my family here for an entire week.  They filled our home with happiness and I can't wait to see them again in July when we go on our Anderson family get away!!  

My Marathon Story

Back in January, a friend of mine had the great idea of organizing a group of gals to train for the half or full marathon in Olathe, Kansas- to be held April 21st!  There was lots of interest and training schedules were soon shared  around.  Over four months, we trained together.  There were six girls that wanted to do the full marathon (including myself) and we ran together nearly every Saturday for the longer runs.  Living in a town that is three miles long, this was somewhat of a challenge, but we had fun exploring.  

Sometimes we would pass the half-marathon group out on their Saturday morning run and we would all hoot and holler to cheer each other on! 

Sometimes we were covered in as much running gear as we could wear, head-to-toe, to keep warm in the hours before the sun came up.  Other times, we could wear our good old shorts and tee's. There were lots of good times learning how to tame dogs that were not tied up and set out water without it freezing over night, finding bathrooms, and lots of fun gal chat time! 

Well, 21 girls from our town committed to race day and of course, we had to get matching shirts! 

I {heart} Running!  The heart has all of our names printed in it. 

We all carpooled and shared hotels in Olathe.  Some swam at the hotel with their kids the night before.  As for Joe, Whitney, Casey, and I, we hit the Old Chicago restaurant to carb load Friday night! Mmmmm. 

AND THEN CAME THE MORNING OF THE RACE.... The moment we'd all been working for.

National Anthem to get things started. By the way, all these pictures are complimentary of our photographer, Joe Shurtz! 

So, we were off.  It was such a blast to pick out Kirksville gals along the way and cheer for each other!  Here's my friend Megan Nasman and I running about 7 miles of the stretch together.  

My Goal: To finish between 3:45 and 4:00.  So here I am at mile 14 sticking right to the 3:45 pacer.  I was feeling good... and then, mile 15 hit and I felt like that was my first hurdle.  Pain in the shoulders. 

By mile 16, the 3:45 pacer had gotten out of my sight.  I was feeling a little discouraged, but I knew I had a lot of leeway for the 4:00 goal.  Surprisingly, none of my Kirksville buddies were around to run with after about mile 10 and I thought I would run the rest of the race by myself until my wonderful Joe spontaneously jumped in to run 5 miles with me.  It was perfect timing. 

The second 13 miles of the race was an "out and back" where you run one way on a trail, make a U turn, and run back on the same trail in the opposite direction.  Well, running away from the finish line wasn't helping me very much.  I kept thinking, "where is that U turn?!" So Joe was there to get me to my U turn and give me some pep talking! 

When Joe left, he said, "Six more miles to the finish line.  I'll see you there!"  "Another hour," I thought. Oh boy.  From mile 20 to 23, I kept feeling as if things in my lower extremities were breaking.  My left shin (anterior tibialis muscle) had some sort of episode, a posterior something on my right knee, the joints in my right foot, and my lower back was getting so stiff. I was in a lot more pain than I ever was for the 3 marathons I had run in 2005, 2006, and 2007.  

I walked through the water/gatorade stations, but soon realized that walking was no relief from the pain.  I told myself I just had to keep running to finish, no matter how slow.  So, I think I ran the last 2 miles about one pace above speed walking.

  

Just like everything else in life that's difficult, it was one step at a time to the end  

And I was sure happy to see it!  

My official time: 4:02:50. Average pace 9:17 minute/mile. I took 14th in my age/gender division.

Done!

Joe was right there to greet me and give me a hug.  I was so glad that he could come.

Sweet victory.

So here's 5 of the 6 gals that I trained for the marathon with (the 6th was still to come across the finish line). Me, Casey, Whitney, Megan, and Aimee.  Awesome, tough girls! Casey and Whitney are medical students, which speaks hugely as to their dedication to doing this and Megan and Aimee are Mothers of three and four children!  

(No wise cracks about me looking like a giant in this picture, okay!) 

Here's our 6th marathoner coming in... Stephanie! 

The husbands that came were all so supportive.  It was a fun site to see the proud look in their eyes at the finish line. 

Megan & Josh

And bless Joe's heart- He stretched and rubbed out a good number of us.  Sweat, salt, odor and all. 

Back at the hotel, he made ice baths for all of us and then drove us home... making sure we stopped in Kansas City to get some famous BBQ at Jack Stack's and a little Cold Stone of course!  

Joe, the Athletic Trainer

This past weekend, Joe and I played in a basketball tournament.  Unfortunately, one of my teammates and friends went down on a twisted knee during the latter part of our game on Saturday.  Immediately, Joe (who was there watching) was on the scene to access the injury. 

I am so grateful to have a husband who has been trained to help others in need when acute injuries occur. He has been good to keep up his athletic training certification since he first received it in 2008 and has always been an active ATC (Certified Athletic Trainer).  Although, it's never a desired event to see someone get hurt, I have enjoyed the opportunities I've had in playing the role of Joe's side kick to help others when things like this happen.  

  

So, it works out well.  Joe uses all of his medical knowledge to perform all the necessary tests and make decisions about what the athlete needs to do and I'm there for emotional support to talk the athlete through what Joe is doing and let them know they'll be okay. 

Since last fall, Joe has worked for the hospital in our town, going out to cover high school sporting events.  I go with him more often than not to keep him company (It's nice his job affords us time together along with entertainment.) Prior to that, Joe was the head athletic trainer for the BYU rugby team.  Whether it be holding someone's dislocated hip in place, driving an injured player to the urgent care center, or helping someone off the field, this job has presented dozens of opportunities to help others, which is something we both love to do.

On a different note, spring has sprung.  The weather has been beautiful in our part of the world and we've been enjoying walks outside, taking in the beauty of the blooms.

 (All pictures complimentary of Kelly Rogers)

2012 Weekend Highlights

As of late, Joe has been doing rotation after rotation, week after week.  He's currently at the end of an internal medicine rotation that he has really enjoyed. We're working on setting up his rotations for his fourth and final year of medical school now.  He's going to be quite the traveler this summer and fall as he does out rotations to "audition" himself for residency spots. As for me, it's the 8-5 job every day and the occasional weekday church meeting or club activity and marathon training, which is only 5 weeks away now!

In between the 5 days of work (sometimes 6) and commitments during the week is where the fun gets to happen around here. We make sure we have some fun and spend time together when the weekend hits.  Even if Joe has to work on a Saturday covering a local sports event, I try to go with him so we can have some time together.

So, here's some of the more amusing events from our 2012 weekends thus far...

The student advocate associate (SAA) club that I belong to through the medical school put on a murder mystery formal dinner in February.  The theme was "Killer High School Reunion."  It was very clever, held at the arts center on the square, and catered by one of the best restaurants in town! 

Here's a shot of the mystery murderer sitting right next to Joe! 

If only we had known, we may have selected seats that were safer!

 Guests took turns reading out clues about the murder series. 

 My buddie Maegan and I at the dinner.  

Every year the University has a weekend tournament for charity.  You pay $5 to play each sport.  This year Joe and I both played volleyball and Joe played basketball as well.  

The school photographer was there and one again, got some awesome action photos! I just had to post a number of these because of really how funny they are...

Look how scary Joe looks!  

 There aren't any refs at these games.  Therefore, the fouling can get a little intense.  I was amazed just how many fouls the photographer caught!
Reaching in!

 Um- is that straight up defense?  I think NOT.

 Stop at nothing.

 What's going on here?  Joe saying, "You can't go beyond this point! Just stop now?"

 And some arm wrestling... :)

 Here's some shots from the volleyball tournament.  Our team had a slight advantage in that we had three guys all at least 6'3" and me (being their only girl) at 6'0".  The tournament host announced us as, "The tall team."

 Just like heading a soccer ball.  I don't think I could keep my eyes open if I tried.

 Kevin Sagers on our team played volleyball at BYU.  I'm pretty sure I would be terrified to be on the other side of the net from him.  He hits SO hard!

 Set.

 Again, what's Joe thinking right here?  I wonder?

 Showing off my lack of volleyball finesse.
I'm pretty sure the ball is supposed to hit on my forearms, not my elbows!

 Lots of high fives.

 Needless to say, the "tall team" took home the gold.  Everyone on the team got gift certificates to local establishments.  We always walk away with way more than we gave at these kind of tournaments.
They're so much fun and the prizes are usually awesome!

Here's a Saturday that I captured photographically in it's entirety... 

First, I went with my friend Sara to a town called Rutledge to visit a store that was recommended to me by a friend for fabric.  It was fantastic!  The town was only forty minutes away and had the biggest stock of fabric.  Here's an entire wall lined with various cotton fabric patterns.  This is now my closest, biggest selection to choose from and I will return again!

 Everything was so well priced too!  We had a ton of fun picking out some things for future sewing projects.

 All in one building, this store offered fabric, bulk food items, kitchen accessories, children's toys, and a sandwich shop. 

 This is a common sight where I live.... large bagged items for sale. 

  This store is ran by Mennonites and they make up their own bags of items to sell.  Everything from flax seed to jello to pasta and buck wheat... they have it. 

 Sara actually had the guts to take a picture of the Mennonite ladies helping us check out.  I hope that wasn't against their standards/religion?  I know the Amish don't allow their pictures to be taken.  

The girl putting my stuff into bags seemed pretty okay with it! 

 Sara and I got a good kick out of this sign, "Dog and Gun Exchange Next Left!" 

 We enjoyed some gummies on the way home from the Mennonite store.  

They were delicious little butterflies! 

 ...and we stopped to take pictures of this beautiful old abandoned church. 

 Here we are back at my house with our bulk provolone cheese split in half... one half for each of us.  

 After Sara and I got back from Rutlege, my friend KC came over and I helped her sew some rice bags for gifts. 

 In the evening, I went to hang out with the coolest family... this is Porter. 

 and this is Porter's Mom, Jenn... way cool girl.
Porter was very interested in taking pictures with my camera.  Here is some of his work.... 

 Helping Andrew get into his pajamas.

Joe and Jenn's husband Mike took the youth in our ward to mini youth conference in Illinois this day so we decided to spend some of the day together.  I enjoyed helping her get her kids ready for bed and reading scriptures and praying with them.  Like I said, awesome family! 

Here's a story in and of itself (see picture below of my turkey)...  

I decided I was going to get out of my comfort zone and crock pot a turkey for a nice bag of ready-made scrumptious turkey meat.  Well, I have always had somewhat of a difficult time handling meat... particularly meat that still looks like the original form of the animal.  When i got home from Jenn's house that night, the turkey had been in the crock pot for over 24 hours and it needed to be pulled out and put in the fridge.  With Joe not expected to be home for another 3 hours, I decided I would try to be a big girl and tackle this bird by myself.  My Dad has always been the one to cut the turkey on Thanksgiving and having no interest previously, I had never watched him intently enough to know how to go about extracting the meat. 

So, I called up Dad, "Dad, how is this done?"  With some instruction, I got started and it wasn't long before I was screaming.  The meat was so soft from being in the crock pot all day that it just fell off the bones and then right there in front of me was a vertebrae!!  

I couldn't do it.  Really and truly, picture me screeching in my kitchen, "I can't do this.  Oh my gosh, oh my sick..."  I called Joe in a panic.  He got a good chuckle, but I was seriously in a pickle.  Good meat was going to go to waste if I didn't properly store it soon and I could NOT bring myself to dig into the contents of that crock pot. 

 So, what did I do?  

I called a friend (my home teacher's wife) and she graciously offered to come over and dissect the bird for me.   I sat at the kitchen table while she picked out the meat and threw what wasn't good for eating in a trash sac WITH HER BARE HANDS!! 

I was amazed at her bravery. 

When she got to the middle of the bird, she found the package for gravy and the giblets and laughed at me for not taking it out of the bird before cooking it!!  It was frozen solid when I put it in there, no way I was getting that stuff out.  We threw it immediately in the trash.

After all that work, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to stomach eating the turkey meat I once thought would be delicious, but FORTUNATELY, it was still delicious and we enjoyed it all week! 

Last Saturday was a quiet one.  Joe studied (and watched sports) and I turned these blocks....

 into these.  

It now says "SHURTZ".  I think I like it, not sure though. 

 Which brings us up to date with St. Patrick's day this past weekend.  Our town has a little parade and 5k race through down town each year for St. Patrick's day.  This was the first year that I could actually go to the events because it was on a Saturday (aka not during my 8-5 working hours).  Here's our red-headed friend Brandon dressed up like a leprechaun to start off the parade.  

 I love the atmosphere at the finish line of a race.  Here's the finish of the 5k at the Dukum Inn bar. 

 This is basically the center of town.  That's the government building in the middle of "The Square." 

 Old cars were a hit in the parade. 

 My friend KC and I.  

We've been the best of running buddies these past few months.  That's another thing that all my Saturday's have contained since mid-January... RUNNING!  We're marathon bound April 21st. We ran 19 miles this morning and then headed straight to the parade. 

I think the parade lasted about 5 minutes.  If you're late, you miss it!  

Here's a group of friends all wearing green for the event! 

Joe's not pictured because he was home sleeping, recovering from working at the hospital all day and all night- 26 hours straight.... for free, no less.  

One day all things will be made right 

and rather than us paying them, they'll pay us for that kind of torture!  When I got home from the parade and Joe woke up, he had no idea that it was St. Patrick's day or that there was a parade or anything that day!