Marathon Dreams

Well I am not sure who convinced who but now Joel and I (yes BOTH Joel and I) are together training to run the Honolulu marathon on December 15. We are managing our own running during the week and then running together on the weekends. This past Sunday was our first run together. I pushed Jesse in the single jogging stoller and Joel pushed Asher and Anna in the double. Boy were we a site to see. We ran for 1 hour and the kids loved it. I still can't believe how well it went, so now we have a game plan. Is it really possible? Only time will tell. Our goal is just to complete it together; to support each other and not worry about how fast. OK, but I would really love to do it in 4 hours! So happy running to the Thorson family! Yes, we are nuts.

I will leave you with some photos. It has been a good week with some great family time. We went bowling and would you believe that Anna beat all of us! Even with the bumbers up, I did worse than her. We are heading into a 4 day weekend (woo hoo!!) with plans to attend a birthday party, go to the beach, and the kids have their one on one dates as well. I love holiday weekends.


"Don't go back to work Daddy!"

The bowling pros

Mommy and Jesse

Can't get enough of those dimples!!

Anna in the Spotlight

Now it is Anna's turn for the spotlight. We feel like Anna has been 2 forever!! She has progressed so much in 1 year and catches onto things so much quicker than Asher did at her age. She LOVES preschool. When I ask Asher "what did you do in school today?", he always says "I don't know". But Anna talks about her day so quickly that I can't understand a word she is saying, and she just chats the whole car ride home. She is obsessed with babies now that Jesse has come into our lives. To her, they are a real part of our family that needs fed, napped, taken on trips, changed, etc. Her babies are named Asher, Anna, and Jesse so she will say that we have 2 Annas and 2 Ashers in our family. She is a perfect little Mommy as you can see from this video. In the second video, she is trying to keep up with the bigger kids in our neighborhood in a friendly race. She is always running after the bigger kids, but here she abandoned her scooter which was too slow and took to running instead. I just love this video of her running with her helmet on. Joel thinks she is going to be our athlete...what do you think?

Go Daddy Go!!

Joel completed a 1/2 marathon today...13.1 miles!! You may be asking yourself why because for those who know Joel know that he hates running. For some odd reason, about a month ago he decided he wanted to run the Honolulu marathon in December. BUT he wanted to do it with no training, just his 3 miles twice a week that he does for Air Force physical training. I kind of laughed at him, but he was sure it was possible. So he decided to try a 1/2 marathon to kind of test the waters. The kids and I went to cheer him on. He actually did run one 7 mile run in preparation but that is it. And he finished his race in 2 hours and 7 minutes!!! He was a little dissappointed because he had some trouble on the last half, he said he was miserable, and has since decided that a marathon is not possible with his two 3 mile runs a week. The jury is still out on whether he plans to train a little and still attempt the marathon because he just keeps mumbling about how much he hates running. What an accomplishment!!! We are so proud of him! Secretly, I am happy that he didn't beat my 1/2 marathon time since I trained my batoosy off (yes, we are a very competitive couple). Also one of the sights to see along the way (besides the beach scene) was Barack Obama. Yes, I am telling the truth! He has been in Hawaii on "vacation" for the last week but was on the Air Force base this morning, and the 1/2 marathon route went right by his entourage gearing up to catch his plane. Anyways, WAY TO GO JOEL!!!


The kids gave everyone who ran by high fives, but were super excited when they finally saw Daddy heading our way. This is him at the 10 mile point...still smiling! The buses to right of the picture of part of Barack's entourage. He was right at that corner when Joel ran by.

Daddy at the finish line. I am not sure how he had the energy to pick Anna up and run across with her, but she loved it. Asher is running behind cheering for him to get his gold medal. Can you tell we have been watchin a lot of Olympics?

Preschool Days

Anna and Asher started preschool last week. They go 2 days a week for about 3 hours each day. For Asher, this is old news, but Anna was super excited to finally be able to stay at school like Asher. Last year she would cry forever when we dropped him off-she just didn't understand why she couldn't go too. She comes home chatting away about her day. She talks so well but when she gets excited we can't understand a word she says, and that is how it goes when she is talking about her day at school. I just nod and smile.

For me, those precious 6 hours a week are the most peaceful. Give me 1 kid and I can do ANYTHING! Jesse and I have designated those mornings to a run together. It feels so good to be running again. Just fitting this into our weeks has made me a different person. I have also managed to have quiet times with the Lord again. As short as they may be, they too make me a different person, filling my heart with peace and the energy to get through the day. The kids bought me an inductive study bible for Mother's Day and I have just now begun diving into it, starting with Colossians (I love this approach to studying scripture). In genereal, I believe we have finally adjusted to the chaos of 3, found a groove and assemblence of some structure, and life is GOOD!


Anna and Asher on their first day of preschool.

See how much Jesse enjoys our runs?!

The sound of laughter

When I Grow Up

I often ask the kids what they want to be when they grow up. Asher alternates between Superman, Spiderman, and a mailman (he loves the mail truck)-hey, at least he knows he will be a "man". The other day he even said "When I grow up, I will be big enough to drive this big red car and I will try not to crash it". He is so thoughtful. Anna often needs help with this question but a few days ago she proudly boasted "A Mermaid". I chuckled but she was dead serious. She is kind of obsessed with mermaids right now but it is neat to see them develop their passions. Tomorrow preschool starts. Anna will have her 1st day of school...sniff sniff (OK I can't be too sad since it will be just Jesse and me for 6 hours every week...woo hoo!). Just last night I was looking over baby pictures of Asher and Anna and it really got me emotional. Where does the time go? Before I know it, I will have a Superman and a Mermaid.


This is Asher and Anna playing a drawing game we do where I draw something and they have to repeat it. Asher has gotten really good at this game. He was so proud of his shark, jellyfish, and boat.

Anna had to have me draw a mermaid in this picture even though she was just sitting on an apple tree. I told you-she is obsessed!

Yes, this looks unsafe but kids will be kids!! They were playing Superman and Flying Mermaid...yes, seriously, Flying Mermaid.

Even though Jesse sure talks alot now, he is yet to disclose what he wants to be when he grows up.