The Smith's Visit and Red Rock Half

Last Saturday was the half marathon. It ended up being so much fun! First of all, our dearest friend Mr. Smith and his newish wife flew down from Reno to join us for the race. Meeting Rachel and spending time with them was so great. Rachel was the life of the party and is quite the catch for Peter. It's so nice when friends marry people that you can be friends with too. It was great to see happy newly-ish weds and I think they are a perfect match.

Peter and Rachel were kind enough to let me tag along with them for the race. Rachel talked the whole way and didn't seem out of breath once the entire time - even through the tortuous hills the first five miles. It actually made the time go by really quickly! It was probably the most fun I've had during a race, and they didn't make me feel badly for possibly slowing them down a little at the end. They had a little more gas in the tank and could have pushed for a real whiz-bang finish, but I was spent and they stayed with me at our normal pace. 2:16 finish, which is really good for me and for the terrain, but probably extremely slow for most normal people.

Ryan recovered from his sprained ankle and only missed about two weeks of training. He took fourth overall and first in his age group. Not too shabby! We like to imagine what he could have done if he hadn't hurt his ankle.

It was a really difficult race because of the hills, but overall still the most fun I've had in a long time. We hope the Smiths come visit us again! No judging the post-race photo of me.

Had to add this photo of Willa. She got an apron and was excited to help me make her PB&J sandwich for lunch. She's also wearing a princess crown. She also has a princess nightgown that she wants to wear every single night. She told me that Princess Jasmine wears a crown and a blueberry on her head. I took a closer look and sure enough, there is a blue gemstone on Jasmine's crown - must be a blueberry!