marine corps marathon 2008

here we are before the race started. these are my faithful training partners, kris in the pinky/red, kim in the light blue. kris is the craziest of us all, having signed up for 3 more marathons BEFORE completing this one--her first. kim is the veteran as this race was her 2nd full marathon. she's the person who got me into this, which i reminded her of several times.

here i am, just before the race starts. i'm beginning to get anxious. 26.2 miles is a long way!!

here we are after the race with our medals. we did it--we completed a FULL marathon!!

halloween 2008

spiderman (DO NOT refer to her as spidergirl or spiderwoman. you will be corrected) and indiana jones. please note the beard.

typical 6 year old boy? i hope so.

sweet, yes but contrived. photo happened under threat of death.

indiana jones in action.

fall sports

brady's first flag football game

hunter ryan's first soccer game

just because she's cute

late summer/early fall

brady riding without training wheels

brady coming up the hill w/o training wheels

it takes concentration to ride w/o training wheels

just because he's cute

i think i can, i think i can, i think i can??

so today i ran 18 miles. eighteen miles. 1 mile, 18 times.

i just keep saying it to myself in amazement. me. susan. 18 miles. today. in a row. mikey has done his 18 mile training run since he's at hjoboba this weekend. he did his run last weekend and rocked it. mike is an awesome runner and i'm glad he really enjoys it. i don't get how he can go out solo, sometimes without music and run. i'm a social runner--got to have a friend if i'm doing more than 3 miles. it's not a competition for me...just for fun. sometimes more fun than others.

no real reason for this post other than to ask for your prayers that mike and i continue to run injury free and happily. lots of time today wasn't so happy (thank goodness for my running partner kim) but i did it. and i need to give a huge THANK YOU to st. stephanie our favoritest babysitter for coming over at 5 a.m. so i could run and friends anna, keith, karina, and jeffy for taking brady and hunter this afternoon so i could "relax" in an ice bath and then nap. thanks to michele and kris for also being running partners who keep me going. and thanks to all of you who patiently listen to me work running and mileage into EVERY conversation i have and who encourage and pray for me and my running.

it takes a village to raise a child but also to get a former adament non-exerciser to run a marathon.

love,
sj

happy anniversary or why i love my husband

mike and brady

mike and hunter

on thursday, august 7th, mike and i celebrated our 9th anniversary.

9 years. of marriage. almost 11 years together.

we met just after labor day 1997, both of us fresh off of major breakups (his: he did the dumping, me: i got dumped). neither of us looking to date anyone, really. after about a month we headed to a football game in tallahassee with some friends and roomates. the weekend was so much fun and to kick it off, mikey decided to lay a kiss on me in a crowded bar. i, of course, reacted appropriately and tried to pretend (for the rest of the weekend) that it had not happened. but, it had and we decided to give dating a try (i was living with his college roomates so if it had not worked out things would have gotten weird).

lo and behold, dating worked and we moved in together the following labor day, were engaged a month later (on our 1 year dating anniversary), and married the following august. i tried to put these reasons in order but they're not really. i just like lists.

so, here's my top 10 (of a gazillion) reasons why i love mike:

10. he's cute and keeps getting cuter with age. even his ever-populating gray hairs are cute

9. he's wicked smart. scary smart. hard to believe with a nickname like "cheese" but he really is!

8. he is trying hard to be the man God intends him to be. i, of course, think he's perfect. except for his gas.

7. he's funny. and he laughs a lot. loudly. sometimes this is not funny but i love him anyway.

6. mike honestly tries to see an issue from all sides, examines all facts, and make a concerted effort to learn about something before he makes a decision about it. this goes for his fantasy football team all the way to political beliefs. i wish all people would do this.

5. he gives 100% no matter what. if you ask him for something or for nothing, he'll give you his best.

4. he puts up with me. no small task.

3. he likes me. he really does consider me his best friend and knows i feel the same. i get unconditional support no matter what but he's not afraid to call me out if i need it. he respects me.

2. he loves, loves, loves his children. i mean, he not only loves them but he likes them. there is nothing he'd rather do than hang out with brady and hunter and makes sure they know that. mike will never be able to look back on his life and theirs and say "i wish i had spent more time with my family".

1. he loves me. as much as i know that God loves me, i know that mikey loves me wholly, unconditionally, and forever. i hope he knows i feel the same.

happy anniversary mikey. i love you, i'm proud of you, and i'm so glad you kissed me!

guess who is 4?!

newest cousin--baby keira

here is baby keira! she is our newest cousin via colleen and kevin.

hunter and jeffy

you've heard of jeff before, right? he is hunter's most favorite person in the whole wide world, outside of brady, mommy, and daddy.

jeff is the perfect friend for hunter. he's cute. he has good manners. we like his mom and dad. he likes the same things hunter likes. he takes orders well. he says funny words that make hunter laugh. he's not at all concerned that almost everything hrj has in our home is named jeffy.

here is what hunter wants to say about jeffy:
hhfitj,nklhjltj6khk6jkkkhhhkfh gheikhutihjh

that about sums it up, doesn't it?

hunter spring 2008

another RARE photo: hunter with dolls

this is more like it: hunter ryan with a football

an appropriate Easter photo

morning hair

brady soccer 2008

brady in action

brady contemplating his strategy

RARE photo: brady on the sidelines

this soccer season brady played in a soccer academy type program. the practice focused on skills and the games were 3 v 3 with a coach on the field. he really liked it and learned a great deal. to say that brady was the enire offense for his team would be an understatement--i think out of all of the goals scored by his team only one other person scored one and that was a fluke. everyone would cheer for him and brady would run by and acknowledge the crowd with a wave and a smile. sometimes we overheard him tell his teammates "don't worry. i'm going to score now". mike and i sat on the sidelines wondering if people thought we were "those" parents-the kind who drill their kid into performing spectacularly or something bc we are not. brady's just good. we did have to remind him to check on people after he knocked them down (using a slide tackle appropriately i might add).

6 is the new 14

here is brady on his 6th birthday. he was most excited bc his birthday fell on a school day so his name would be announced on WSES (the school "tv" station/morning announcements broadcast).



funny brady story: as i was taking brady to a friend's house over spring break he asked me if i would drop him off down the street so he could walk the rest of the way to austin's by himself. mind you he was not even 6 at this point.



brady asked for a doughnut birthday cake again this year.

another funny brady story: as we were all driving one day, doing errands and whatnot, brady rattles off a phone number and asks mike or i to call it. mike inquired as to
who(m) (?) he might be calling. brady said it was for an apartment. he said he thought he was ready for his own place.













brady lost his first tooth on the morning of his birthday party--april 5, 2008. he was anxiously awaiting this day as he was the 2nd to last in his class (of 23 he'd remind you!) to lose a tooth.

yet another funny brady story: we discussed going to a school event in which dinner would be served. brady suggested that "you and daddy and hunter can sit at one table and i'll sit at another table. with my friends, you know.








this kid, he is a riot.

hunter ryan the TOUGH little lion

here are the pictures of hunter after our first trip to the ER for stitches.

did she fall out of a tree, you ask? no way.

did she try to flip off the rings again? nope

did she have a fight with a friend? no, no, no

hunter cut a corner too close and smacked her head against a metal handrail edge. OUCH.

she was so brave and tolerant of the ER visit. never cried in there or while they were doing the stitches (2). as i type this, she's bouncing on top of a basketball on the couch.

what?? i should keep her still and quiet?! yeah, YOU come try that. : )

KNOXVILLE 1/2 MARATHON

not the most flattering picture of myself but i HAD just run 13.1 miles in 2:48:08--a PR (personal record for you non-runner folk). i bettered my time by over 12 minutes!! yay me! i felt great about my time and my run. country music 1/2 marathon in april 28th and then on to CHICAGO. yep, i'm going for the full 26.2 miles in october. [insert deep breaths here!]