May 5k’s

Last weekend I ran my last 5k until after the baby.  I actually haven’t run any races so far this year.  Between sickness and schedules, nothing seemed to work out.  But we managed to put a couple into May before the summer heat sets in!

Running With the Grizzlies 5k

The boy’s Elm. school hosts this race as a final event for the PTA, and we loved doing it last year as a family, so we signed up again this year.  I was so proud of my boys finishing the entire thing!!  We figured that when the boys wanted to run they could stay up with their dad, and if they needed to slow down they could hang back with Mom and her jog/walk/waddle with Garrick in the stroller. 

There were no tears from Haden…which was a shock!!  Connor struggled with side stitches, but after the first bout, figured out how to deal with them, and did much better when he could determine his own pace. 

Gotta love the crappy camera!!  Oh well.  27 weeks pregnant and still running.  Here is the low-down on our scores.

	Time	Division Place	Overall Place
Dan	33.00	7th	30th
Alicia	41:18	12th	58th
Connor	38:10	3rd	41st
Haden	41:19	5th	51st

Yeah, I totally got smoked by my 8 year old.  My defense:  I was pushing a stroller, and keeping the 6 year old going, and the hills in PG still suck…oh, and there is that whole pregnancy thing. 

Running With Angels 5k

Last weekend Dan and I ran this race with my family.  Sarah’s, my new s-i-l, mother hosts this race through SelectHealth.  It is to support women’s services at IHC and give support to families who have lost babies prematurely, or due to other problems.  All I can say is AMAZING!!  It was a very enjoyable race.  It was a lot bigger than I expected (about 1000 racers), there were really touching moments when they released a flock of doves in memory of those who are gone, and we got to run all the way through the Thanksgiving Point Gardens (which is a blast in and of itself).  A definite do-again!!

This was the first race Heather has ever done, and I think I might get her to do it again!!  It was good to have a running buddy.  Dan was rocking his new running skull cap, which my family thought was hilarious. 

Ian and Sarah (the newlyweds), Heather and I getting ready to go.  I’ve decided that I don’t like these pictures.  I don’t look pregnant, just fat.  Oh well, 29 weeks pregnant and 40lbs will do that to you. 

I was hoping to do better on this race than the last one.  I was shooting for anything faster than 40 minutes.  I hoped that with not having to push a stroller I could pick it up a little bit. 

	Time	Overall Place
Dan	27:34	47th
Alicia	36:59	335th

Yep Alicia totally rocked it!!  Never thought I would be excited about a 12 minute mile, but I sure was.  I love telling people that I finished in under 37 minutes!  I still grin about it now…just due to the pure ridiculousness of it I’m sure.  Let me tell you, I sure paid the price for the rest of the day.  I was in so much pain, that I have told Dan to never let me run a race that late in a pregnancy again.  (the 1 mile fun run for the Freedom Festival doesn’t count).  Dan just smiles at me and says “since when have I ever  been able to tell you that you can’t do something?”  I sure love that guy! 

Anyway, it was a great race, and I look forward to next year!!

Garrick Turned 3!

Finally getting to my pictures.  Yeah the number is somewhere in the thousand range.  We’ll see how long this motivation lasts.  Anyway, Garrick turned 3 at the beginning of May.  It kind of got meshed in with all of the wedding festivities, but he knew it was all about him!!

Thanks to grandma for the bubble machine.  My deck has never been cleaner!

Some little things about Garrick: 

1.  He loves to talk….and we never know what he is going to say.  He pays too much attention sometimes! 
2.  He can literally pick his nose with his tongue.  Yep, it’s disgusting.
3.  His fingers are double-jointed.  We figured that one out in church just a couple of weeks ago.  Totally wigged mom out.
4.  He can totally take on his brother’s to get his way!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our 3rd “Big” Boy!!

Requested Recipes

Okay, I know this is random.  Especially since I haven’t posted anything since….February? It seems like all my friends decided to get pregnant this year, so I have been making a lot of extra dinners to help out.  Here are a couple of recipes that my friends wanted.  I figured this was the most central location for them.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Crock Pot Chicken and Noodles

4 boneless chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 – 1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 soup can milk
1 Tbsp parsley
8 cups noodles, cooked

Combine chicken, soup, onion, celery, carrots, milk, and parsley in a greased crock pot cook on high for 4-5 hours (until the chicken is done).  Stir occasionally to help with burning on the edges.  Shred/cut up chicken in the sauce and serve over hot cooked noodles or brown rice.  I cook the noodles a little al dente and mix them right in the crock pot at the end.  They soften with the sauce. 

* I cut this recipe in 1/2 for my family of 4 and usually only use 1 chicken breast and we still have plenty of leftovers. 

“Pizza” Breaksticks

2 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
4 1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp salt
5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cube margarine
Salad Supreme seasoning

Mix and knead ingredients.  Grease a large cookie sheet and roll the dough into the pan with a rolling pin.  Melt the margarine and pour over the dough in the pan to coat the top. Cut the dough with a pizza cutter into apprx.  13 short cuts by 1 long cut in the pan.  (however big you want the breadsticks)  Sprinkle the top with the Salad Supreme seasoning.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 1/2 hour.  Remove the plastic wrap and then bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes.  (My oven is closer to 10 minutes)

* I cut this recipe in 1/2 for my family and use one of the smaller sized cookie sheets. If it is cut in 1/2 you can use a bread maker on the dough cycle for the mixing and kneading, just don’t let it rise in the machine. 
*  I have also seen suggestions that instead of Salad Supreme using Italian spices, garlic powder, onion powder, parmesan cheese, etc… but I have never done that.