Our local run club (Moms Run This Town/MRTT) hosted a Fall run for the ladies in our group. It was a 5K out of a local park. Here’s some photos from that fun morning…
MRTT Fall Virtual 2017
Nov 2nd, 2017 by leigharev2
F.L.U.T. Aid Station
Nov 2nd, 2017 by leigharev2
As a runner, it’s important to not only receive, but to also give back to the running community. I love volunteering at the aid stations for ultra marathons. These are trail races that range from 50-100 miles in distance. I volunteered for this year’s Folsom Lake Ultra Trail race (F.L.U.T.) I did two shifts (12 hours) at the last station (I think we were at mile 69). It was hot. It was tough. Not everyone made the cutoff. Kudos to all who tried. This race actually runs around all of Lake Folsom!
Day shift (plus one of our runners)
Night shift
Hot Chili Cool Cars Coalition for Placer Youth Booth
Nov 2nd, 2017 by leigharev2
The boys and I volunteer for a local parent drug education organization called the Coalition for Placer Youth. We hoped at the booth for the Hot Chili Cool Cars event in Rocklin. They closed down one of the main streets. Part of the street has a chili competition, and another part showcases vintage cars.
The boys and I made a “car wash”, that hung from the booth. Kids walked through it at the boys misted them with water bottles through holes. They also handed out brain shaped stress balls and had people sign up for a raffle for a full size gummy brain!
Nevada City Romantic Getaway
Nov 2nd, 2017 by leigharev2
While the boys flew to Seattle for a weekend with their Auntie Shell (their first time flying solo!), David and I went up the hill a bit and spent the weekend in Nevada City!
We stayed in a terrific property called the Two Room Inn. It is located right on the main street of town and across from the Broad Street Bistro, the place where we picked up our coffee and breakfast every morning. This is where I first tasted a soy lavender latte. Yum!
Our place had multiple outdoor seating areas; this is the view from the front porch. There was also an upstairs balcony off the master bedroom, and a backyard patio.
Dinner our first night was at Sopa Thai. They have a lovely back patio, with a water feature and lights. It made for a nice escape from the outside world.
David had to work through the weekend, but he was able to set himself up in the living room, with the doors and windows open. It created a lovely cross draft of warm/cool Autumn air. I spent the day walking throughout the town’s boutiques and shops.
For dinner our second night, we walked about a mile and a half to California Organics Market and Cafe. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed our dinner, then walked back to our place.
Another place we ate at is called Heartwood. I think if I were to have a restaurant, I’d want to do something like this. Simple, easy to prep food and beverage in a casual, comfortable environment.
On our last day, the town had a parade down their main (Broad) street. We watched it from the master bedroom balcony. It a terrific way to end our time away. The parade honored the constitution day of this historic gold rush town.
The boys were able to watch the Seahawks game at friend’s house before flying home early the next morning…
Run Now, Wine Later Virtual 5K
Sep 17th, 2017 by leigharev2
My friend Christi set up a fun 5K near my neighborhood. I helped plan the route that began and ended at the Cante Ao Vinho winery… due to the heat, we made it a very early run, then went home and returned later for wine tasting and appetizers. The park like shots are located near the winery, but not on it.
Santa Rosa Half Marathon
Sep 17th, 2017 by leigharev2
Incredible girl’s weekend! My sister-friend, Michelle, flew down to join in on the fun and cheer us on.
First stop: Lunch at the Oxbow Market, one of my favorite places! We all picked up lunch at the yummy C Casa.
Next stop: Packet pick up at DeLoach Vineyards. We had to park at in a field about a quarter mile away and get shuttled in. It was crazy hot and waiting for the shuttles was tough. The Expo at DeLoach was delightful; an excellent variety of vendors and other races. We got our awesome jackets, bibs, and bottle of wine and shuttled back to our car.
We checked into our hotel room at the Fountaingrove Inn. This is a photo of an old round barn located above the property…
We had a big group dinner with about 20 other MRTT runners at the Windsor Golf Club. Good food and they did an excellent job managing a large group.
Runner tradition is to lay out all of your gear the night before. Here are Shannon and my outfits…
Me and my sole sis, Shannon! She is the friend you need when you need laughter and fun in your life!
Our MRTT tribe!!
IT.WAS.HOT! One of the hottest races I have ever ran. Totally atypical weather for Santa Rosa. Marathoners were dropping like flies. It was brutal. I was pleasantly surprised to see my time was holding strong and I was looking forward to finishing under three hours, which is always my goal. But, we ended up stopping to help a marathon runner who needed medical attention. We were with her for about fifteen minutes before we were able to leave her at an aid station. Trying to get back into the groove was very difficult and I could not keep my heart rate low; so I ended up walking a good deal for the last two miles.
This lovely woman is a part of our group. Mindy is a Boston Marathon runner, running the Santa Rosa marathon. She was just ahead of me, about to finish her marathon as I was coming in to finish my half. I saw her and decided to sprint to catch up to her. As I caught up with her, I said, “you know I’m pacing you, right?”, and she replied something to the effect of, “let’s finish this B—-!”, and she took off sprinting! There was NO WAY I could keep up with her. She was half a block ahead of me, stopped, turned around, and waited for me! I yelled for her to keep running, but she stayed with me until a small sprint at the finish line. I would have walked so much more for that last mile if she had not been there to push me.
Heading in to the finish line….
We went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool. Had dinner at the hotel, and a friend of Shannon’s (also a Shannon), joined us. She works for one of the local wineries (Robert Foley Vineyards) and brought a bottle (2012 Pinot Blanc) to share. It was divine. It’s common practice in that area to bring your own wine and pay a corkage fee.
The next morning, we had breakfast at a local mom and pop diner, the Piner Cafe. Then it was on to the Charles Schulz Museum. It was a delight and someplace I look forward to bringing the boys. For now, they just have to appreciate the Snoopy grilled cheese maker I brought back for them! 🙂
We hit up a thrift store in Vacaville, then home. We packed a lot in a few days!!
Mt. Hermon 2017
Aug 25th, 2017 by leigharev2
We were unable to have David with us due to work, but the boys and I still had an excellent time at Family Camp. A week in the woods, focusing on spending time with God and each other. The Best!
The creeks were running well throughout the grounds. This time last year we were still in drought and I don’t thing this little waterfall even existed.
I brought a new art project with me…
Marveling at all the woodpecker holes in the tree…
New fire pits and furniture by the coffeehouse. This is where I sat to listen to the morning and evening session speakers. It was a treat to be outside.
We went on a 9.5 mile hike from Mt. Hermon to the Santa Cruz boardwalk. We had to hike fast to beat the train as some of the trail was on the track. We made it to the halfway point in time and were given the option to catch the train to take it in the rest of the way or to complete the hike. Alex and I finished the hike. Ryan caught the train. It was a beautiful trek.
Spent the afternoon in in Santa Cruz. Walked to Pizza My Heart, the boys favorite pizza place. Happy camper!!
Saw the movie “The Dark Tower”. Alex went into it thinking it was going to be bad and tried to talk us out of seeing it. He had read reviews online. But, it really was the only movie that worked well within our schedule and we ended up going.
We all thought it was a very good movie and were glad we saw it. We ended up having a good discussion about not believing everything you read online and that an opinion is just that. Especially if you don’t personally know the person, how much weight do you give their opinion.
Some Boardwalk fun… this is Laffing Sally. She laughs and sways around and was part of (I think) a San Francisco amusement area many years ago. Alex was a little disturbed by her 🙂
This is an indoor putt putt gold course. We sat and watched from the upper level. Every once in a while a cannon would shoot and send a circle of smoke out. This particular circle floated around for a long time and came close enough to us for Ryan to break it.
Jawbreaker tongues…
A stop at Quickly for Boba tea…
Train ride back to Mt. Hermon…
While Alex was playing a field game, Ryan and I discovered a hidden gem under some stairs with free ice cream!
The boys with their camp counselor Landon…
I was thrilled to get to run three mornings with my (jr.) high school friend Deana. We’ve known each other since 7th grade. She lives in Santa Cruz and we ran along the waterfront three mornings!
I also skipped the couples dinner at Mt. Hermon and went to my friends Lori and David’s house. They also lives in Santa Cruz. I met Lori through my friend Toni. Toni lives near me. Lori is Toni’s sister. Toni’s daughter, Sara, is living with her aunt Lori while going to college in santa Cruz. Got that?
Archery!
Night Zumba with Glow sticks!
This mama loves her boys!
They make a video that highlights the week. I was able to capture a screenshot of the boys on the video!
Goodbye For Now
Aug 24th, 2017 by leigharev2
Alex’s best friend left for six months to study abroad in China. We met up for an ice cream treat one last time before saying goodbye. Through the benefit of modern technology, they have been able to regularly communicate.
Besties Jesh and Alex
Other besties Ryan and Seth
Pieces of My Heart
Aug 24th, 2017 by leigharev2
A precious visit from our two goddaughters. The car photo was taken a couple minutes after they left our house.
California State Fair Girl’s Day Out
Aug 9th, 2017 by leigharev2
My friend Jackie and I spend a very full day (without Kids!) at the California State Fair. We had a great time visiting all the exhibits, eating Fair food, and shopping the expo.
This is a neat quilt exhibit. They had a huge table full of fabric squares of all different patterns. They had fair guests make a decorative square using nine of the smaller squares. Mine is the one below. Then, they sew the pieces together and add them to a quilt. Everyone signs the quilt. The signatures went onto the back of the quilt. Then, the quilt was given to a person staying long term in a hospital.
We had fun trying out all the different massage chairs at the expos AND we even got our teeth whitened!
