October Was a Big Deal

Job #1 in October- run the St. George Marathon.

After such a bleak performance at Ogden the previous spring, I had high hopes for the St. George Marathon last fall.  I made some tweaks in my training and felt like I could run a good race, but there are many, MANY variables on marathon day.  A good outcome is never guaranteed.  I decided to run the race "unplugged." No phone, no music, no watch.  I had a good bus ride up with Amber, which kept me in a relaxed state of mind.  I heard the gun go off, and started to move towards the start line, but then I decided to empty my bladder one more time before I crossed the start line (before my chip time started).  Because of my delay, and because I had no watch, I didn't know my exact time during the race.  I stuck close to the 3:45 pacer, which was my Boston Qualifying Time, but I broke off at mile 22 or 23 for another potty stop and for a quick rub of icy hot on my legs and lost the pacer.  I just wanted to feel like I had run my hardest.  When I crossed the finish line, the clock read right around 3:48, so I figured I had just missed qualifying, but I felt okay because I knew I had done my best.  When I finally met up with Bruce and the girls, Kate mentioned that they had been tracking me on Bruce's phone.  I said, "Can you pull up my chip time, then?" And he did.  And it was 3:44:01.  And I QUALIFIED FOR BOSTON.  

I screamed like I had won the lottery on Christmas Day.  

Best race of my life, and honestly, one of the top ten best days of my life.

Daisy survives.

LaBoeuf is a jealous chap.

The girls went with their cousin Kaisa to the opening of the new emergency room at American Fork Hospital and came home ready for surgery.

We visited Dave's office in Pocatello.

Liza provided us with ninja costumes.

On the way home, we visited Dave's new workplace.

Also, Dave informs me that if I ever need a boyfriend, there are several willing candidates at the shop.

Boeufy made good use of the samurai sword Liza sent home with us.

Kiki wrote this during church- there's no question how she feels about her Beefy Beeferson.

Another day, another visit to the Dino Museum.  This visit was notable because Kiki said this about the scene below:

"I used to wonder why they didn't save that guy, but now I just think, 'One less mouth to feed.'"

Camouflage.

And, one of the biggest deals of all- at the end of October, we brought home our second Doberman, a red female named Lily.  

She is a real sweetie.  She is smarter than LaBoeuf, faster than LaBoeuf, and prettier than LaBoeuf, but she's just so darn cute that he (and we) love her anyway.  She was a rescue- she started as a guard dog, but the original owner didn't like that she never barked and was too nice.  We bought her from something of a foster home, and the girls chipped in their own money and helped buy her.  She has been a little anxious- she has to be crated when we leave because otherwise she eats shoes, or sticks of butter, or feather pillows.  She was a little standoffish at first, but after the first few months passed, she decided that she did love us, and now gives kisses and cuddles.  She loves to run with LaBoeuf and I- she makes noises like Chewbacca as soon as she sees her leash.  All around, it was a busy month!