Its JULY!!!

Officially my favorite month of the year!

July holds so many special days: my birthday, Joel's birthday, and our anniversary. But it all gets kicked off with the 4th of July! I'm not sure why this holiday brings out so much joy for me. It could be: 1) Being a military kid and wife has made me very patriotic, 2) fireworks are the best thing ever, or 3) I always felt like the whole country was throwing me a party. No my birthday isn't July 4th, but who cares, you may celebrate my birthday all month if you chose to do so...hehe.

So how did we kick off July this year? We had friends from my childhood come and spend 3 days with us, including the 4th of July (and it may have also included a race).

Meet the Heck family from Columbus Ohio! Kendra and Andy have been married for almost 14 years, and have 2 amazing children Abby and Sam. Kendra is the cousin of Hillery Gaiser (my best friend since we were 7 years old). My friendship with Hillery resulted in her family becoming like my family. Kendra and I have celebrated many birthdays, holidays, vacations, and marriages together. It has been a few years since we have seen this wonderful family. It was awesome to reconnect. They are on a mission to see as much of the west side of the country (and middle) as they can and included us in their cross country adventure. We did our best to show them why we have fallen in love with Colorado.

First we tool them hiking. We chose the Devil's Head trail which is almost a 3 mile hike round trip with plenty of rocks for the kids to scramble over and under. There is a fire look out at the top of 148 stairs, counted by Jesse, with a 360 degree view. It was breathtaking.

 There was a ranger working in the lookout, and our kids bombarded him with questions. He was so kind and patient with them, telling us all about the forest fires he has seen over the years.

 Kendra and Mary at the top

 Abby and Anna, now BFFs and planning all kinds of trips between Colorado and Ohio.

One of the many rock climbing adventures along the hike.

And remember when I said there was a race involved? Well, there always seems to be! I am now working part time at a local running store called the Runners Roost. My boss wanted the staff to run the Independence 5K together, and then we had a float in the Highlands Ranch parade! It was a super fun way to start off our 4th of July holiday. Joel and I decided to make this one a Thorson family 5K and we got everyone involved. Asher had a goal to PR, Anna is on a mission to run to stay in shape for dance, Jesse wanted to complete his 1st 5K, and Josie just didn't want to be left out! Kendra and Sam wanted to run in the 5K too!

 Jesse (in the grey shirt) looks miserable here at the start because he was SO UNBELIEVABLY nervous! He had tears in his eyes and wouldn't even talk on the car ride to the start line.

But he did amazing! Here is at the finish. It took him 40:28 (and it was a VERY hilly course). He had a death grip on my hand here, and refused to let go-not even to run across the finish line. He ran the whole 5K clutching Joel or the stroller. I ran the 5K with Asher with the plan to pace him for his desired goal (under 27 minutes) and he pushed it to 26:42 (an 8:37 minute per mile average). Then I headed back out on the course to find the rest of the family. Anna came in at 38 minutes, and Jesse not far behind, and Josie barked "faster" from the stroller. I am so proud of kids and tickled pink that I got to share my passion with them on this special day. A big shout out to Kendra and Sam too! It was Sam's 1st 5K as well, and he did it at 5,00 feet elevation!! They rocked it all in smiles. Then all the kids made out like bandits at the parade with bags filled with candy.

Then it was straight on to our next stop: the top of Pikes Peak!

 We took the 1.5 hour cog railway trip instead of the 13 mile hike. We saw deer, marmots, waterfalls, and as far as the eye could see-to Kansas! 

 Jesse, Asher, and Sam at the top of Pikes Peak

 The Thorson crew. 

 Then we did more hiking and playing at the Garden of the Gods. This picture is like where's Waldo but I promise every Thorson is in there!

 Can you see us now?

 The kids had so much fun together.

After this we spent the evening eating, playing with sparklers, watching fireworks, making s'mores, and camping in the backyard. Kendra and Andy had to practically drag Sam to the car the next day to leave (and Jesse tried to get in their car!). Thank you Heck family for making our holiday so memorable and out of this world special! 

I hope every one of you had an equally memorable 4th of July!!

God Bless the USA

"Best Vacation Ever"

So in the kid's terms, our trip to Aspen was the "best vacation ever"! We have had pretty amazing vacation in the pasts, and I know that kids have a hard time comparing those kinds of things-but it still felt good that despite my racing addiction we managed to have a pretty nice family weekend. Finishing up Ragnar Trail Relay in Snowmass Village left me feeling pretty run down. I mean I was running on 1 hour of sleep by the time we reunited at the finish line.

I was so thankful to have them at the finish. They all pitched in to help pack up our campsite. A shower felt like heaven after 21 hours of running and camping in the rain. Then we joined friends for dinner and let the kids play in the pool. I really wasn't up for much else other than that.  I literally reached a point where I was falling asleep on the side of the hot tub (and it was only 7pm). But a hotel pool is one of the best gifts you can give children! However after 12 hours of sleep I was ready to join in on the family vacation and we made Sunday the best day that we could.

It started with a Gondola ride in Aspen which brings you to a summit of 11,200 feet and a panoramic view of the Elk Mountains.

Joel did a great job at showing his panoramic photography!

We were able to share this journey with some great friends, The Jarrett's. Mike ran the relay with my as one of the 8 snowballs while his beautiful wife (and dear friend of mine) Jessamy corralled kids with Joel. Asher got very upset anytime someone assumed they were a family (which happened quite a lot since they were touring the town together with 6 kids). The kids became best buddies by the end of the weekend.

From there, we drove a few miles away to do some hiking at the Maroon Bells.

The Maroon Bells are two fourteeners separated by about 1/4 of a mile, and this spot is said to to be the most photographed spot in Colorado.

We had a lovely time hiking and exploring.

We then took the long way home which took us through Independence Pass (only open in the summer).

It was like driving through another world and again, we had a great time exploring. 

Thus the "best vacation ever" was one super fun day of exploring. Colorado just has so much to offer in this area and we are loving every second of it!

8 Snowballs

School is over and summer is officially in full swing at the Thorson household. What better way to celebrate than whisk the family away for a weekend adventure?! Okay okay so they might not have had a choice on being whisked away. I, of course, was running another race and basically begged Joel to join in on the fun. It was Ragnar Trail Relay in Snowmass, CO weekend! For any of you who have no idea about Ragnar-well, you are missing out on some serious fun. I am extremely competitive. It is hard for me to run a race just for fun, however, Ragnar relay races allow for us competitive people to let lose. I was hooked once I ran the Appalachians Trail Relay last year, and couldn't wait to join a trail team in Colorado: 8 friends, 3 trails, 1 billion stairs., unforgettable stories. Somehow I found myself in captain role and pulled a team of 8 strangers together (some of us not meeting until race day!). We had Alicia and Ty from Longmount, Rachelle and Brandy from Lincoln, NE, Alison from Denver, Jen from Colorado Springs, and Mike and I from Castle Rock.

It all begins with setting up your campsite, which we were there doing at 8am. Yes, you CAMP! The campsite opens at 8am and teams from all over become neighbors. Teams have staggered start times so there were team starting as early as 11am, while our team was slotted at a 4:30pm start. A later start time meant more time to hang out and get to know each other...that plus 21 hours of running gave us plenty of time.

I lead the team off at 4:30pm. Each person does 3 legs, running each of the 3 trails, varying in difficultly, once-resulting in each team member running a total of 15 miles (a team total of 120 miles). The trails started at 8,200 feet but with gorgeous views. Unfortunately the rain (which started the same time as our team) put a bit of a damper on the views but we kept going! Our Nebraska girls, the flatlanders, blew my mind at how fast they were at elevation. 

The rain didn't stop. In our down time we attempted to stay warm and catch a few Zzzzs. The rain  put a dampness in the air but not on our moods. Well, of course there were a few low points...like only getting one hour of sleep and the nasty fall I took during my night leg, but it is all worth it!

And the rain brings rainbows! This was the view from the top of the 7 mile loop and some lucky runners were blessed with a rainbow. (Picture not mine-this was my night leg)

The night runs seem to be feared amongst most runners, but seem to hold the most magic. Running through the tiki torches and the quietness under the stars-it was my favorite run of the whole thing (even though it took me awhile to figure out that the mountain lion stalking me in the brush was just my bib rustling).

I loved seeing all the headlamps dancing across the mountain.

Ragnar does an amazing job of having a campfire going all night and morning..a place to stay warm while waiting for your runners to come through transition...

...a place to socialize, and a place to have smore's...YUM.

And 21 hours and 14 minutes later, we crossed the finish line as a team, with 120 miles behind us and placing 4th in the Sub-master's category!!!

"8 Snowballs with a Chance in....Snowmass" became Ragnarians!

Once strangers, now friends already talking about next time.

And now I am sure you are wondering how my family got involved in this adventure. They came and went from the campsite, cheering runners on and eating with us, playing in their heated hotel pool during the rain. After the campsite was torn down and this adventure was over...I got to spend a day and a half with my family exploring Aspen and hiking. It is a whole other realm of pictures to share with you so I am going to save that for me next post. But my kids say it was the best vacation ever!

Catch up time...

I am still riding on cloud 9 after  my Boston Qualifier dream come true. However I have suffered some post race "blues".  For the past 6 months, I have been training with extreme focus, following a schedule, marking off runs, dreaming about the outcome. Then the day comes and goes and the world keeps going around. I have felt a little lost...like "how many miles do I run today". So I have been taking it easy, reevaluating my next goals, enjoying rest days, and eating cake...lots and lots of cake. You see in my intense focus I have forgotten to update you all on my kids and we have had 2 birthdays! Keeping up with their schedules and my training has been nothing less then intense, but now I can take a breath of fresh air and let you in on the mother side of my life for a moment. We have 1 week of school left. While I am a little nervous about this because, let's be frank, when will I run?! I can not wait to be done with packing lunches, homework, carpools, etc. We are ready for playgrounds and pools! The kids are also counting down...we will take one kid at a time.

Asher

 Asher is a kid taking after his Mommy! Every time I sign up for a race, he says "is there one I can do?". So in April, I did a 10K and Asher did a 5K. It was on Easter weekend so the race was also an East egg hunt (with prices included if you found certain golden eggs along the course). This kid ran the entire 5K in bunny ears, leaving the course to pick up an egg, shake it, put it back, grab another, and repeat...and did it in 27 minutes placing 2nd in his age group! Plus his egg won us 4 tickets to the Denver Zoo! Competitive Mary can't help but think "what could he do if he was really trying?!" but she bites her tongue. He will come into his own competitive spirit in his own time. It has been such a joy for me to share these runs with him and see him smiling the entire time.

A week before turning 11, he competed in a local triathlon: 100m swim, 8K bike, 2K run in 39:40. He asked to compete with the 11-12 year olds because he wanted to do the harder course. And again he loved every single second.

 On May 20th, Asher turned 11. The one thing he wanted for his birthday was to go indoor skydiving. He is truly into adventures.  He now says he wants to be an indoor skydiving instructor when he grows up.

It was wonderful getting to meet some of his close friends and see them interact. This seems to be such a weird age...they want to interact with adults so badly but still just aren't there yet. Asher is such a sensitive, caring, and polite kid who seems to touch almost everyone he meets. What a pleasure to raise such a fine boy!

Anna

Anna's life has been all about dancing over the past 5 months. Competition season started in January and we now have 6 competitions under our belt! This has seriously been outside of my comfort zone but this girl thrives on that stage and is already dreaming about her dances for next year. The best part about it for me has been the special one on one time it has given as we spend hours at these workshops and conventions, and weekends away together. She has gotten to dance with world famous choreographers (like Twitch, Sonya Tayeh, and Stacey Tookey), won scholarships, and made amazing friends who lift her up.

Jesse

We have all enjoyed becoming skiers this past winter but this boy flies down the slopes. We are trying to teach him control but there is just no fear there. And yes he is the one kid that has fallen off the ski lift. Isn't that every parent's fear?! Yup it happened but if you know Jesse you understand. He seems to be the one we are constantly losing due to his independence.

Jesse's sport of choice at the moment is baseball. We can't say he is the best at but he is in the process of finding himself, and he enjoys it. There are still moments of drawing in the dirt or staring up at the sky. This may be his sport. It may not. But for now this is where we are and it has made for really enjoyable family afternoons at the games.

 Jesse turned 7 on April 28th. He wanted to go bowling on his birthday with some buddies from school. What a riot! We do not go bowling enough-it was so much fun.

Again it is always special to see our children interact with their friends. They are all making friends in our new neighborhood now that the weather is nicer...and it seems everyone has found a match or two. Jesse is mr. popular and gets along with everyone. The kid still has a smile to melt the hardest of hearts. His favorite gift from his birthday was this Under Armour sweatshirt he is wearing...what is the obsession with Under Armour? And I swear his teacher must think he has no clothes because he wears this every. single. day.

Josie

Ah, what can I say about this girl...my sidekick. It must be hard being the youngest of 4. All she wants is to go everywhere the olders go but most often she is stuck with me (or Daddy). The world is too small for her personality. We spend most mornings at the dog park where she is socializing with every person (and I am off doing laps with the dogs). She has recently started writing and spelling her name.

She is following in big sister's footsteps at the moment. She loves dancing and her Anna spend many hours making up routines. Tomorrow in fact is both the girls recitals and Josie is overjoyed to be on the stage like Anna. Dance has also provided Josie's (and my) best friends. While she spends an hour in class with her friends, I get to chill with mine and then we often do lunch together afterwards (and plan mommy weekends away!).

So I believe that now catches you up on the past few months of our lives! Now I just need to stay on top of the updates!!! I will leave you with a few family moments...

 Easter

Crazy Hair Day

 Hiking

Memorial Day Bolder Boulder 10K