Stupid Candy Cane!

Last weekend we had our church Christmas Party. Santa made his appearance like usual and as you can see Tryg was not a fan. He was fine admiring the red suit and white beard from afar but up close and personal was a different story.

Dylan just seemed a little too big for his lap but had no problem letting him know what he wanted for Christmas..."The biggest LEGO set ever" I think were his exact words. Then it was Luke's turn. He's at a great age for Christmas this year and seems to get who 'Santa' is and understands that Santa is the guy that brings presents. But....apparently there was one thing he didn't quite understand. After proudly telling Santa that he wanted a BIG RED RACE CAR for Christmas he excitedly climbed off of his lap as Santa reached into his big red bag and pulled out a candy cane and handed it to him. Luke looked a little perplexed and began curiously looking through the big red bag on his own...then sadly looked up and said to us "Where is my big red race car?" We felt so bad......guess we didn't explain that when you ask Santa for what you want he doesn't actually bring it until Christmas :( .

Poor guy....he was expecting a BIG RED RACE CAR and all he got was this STUPID CANDY CANE!

Turkey, Bowling, and BYU

Of course, I'm always behind getting these things up on time but here is my official Turkey day post. This year my sister Susanne and her family came down from Vegas to spend Thanksgiving at our house. I offered to cook and Susi was happy to oblige me :). I actually like cooking a fancy meal and the entertaining thing so I love it when people actually let me do it. There's just something about taking a bunch of nothing (i.e. ingredients, etc..) and turning them into something (i.e. a yummy meal) that I just really enjoy. Susi has 6 kids and with our 3 it was a bit of a mad house so we decided to let them run wild at the park while the turkey cooked...Almost done.. Happy family....now that they have food on their plates. No matter where we go for Thanksgiving I'm usually the pie baker and I guess that applies when dinner is at my house as well :). I got a lot of experience baking pies when I was the in college and employed as the "baker" at Frontier Pies Restaurant in Provo. I learned a lot of little tricks that I'm able to put to use now. Even though everyone told me to just buy the pies....I couldn't do it! They have to be home made or I feel like a phony :). So...on the menu this Thanksgiving...apple, pumpkin, key lime, and cherry (for Mark as you can see...)

Letting the food settle...

The next day's for cast called for rain and there was no way we were going to stay inside all day with the kiddos so we ventured out to the local bowling alley for some good times. Nothing like 2 and 3 year olds with giant heavy bowling balls to throw around. A little chaotic but we had fun.

We headed home later that afternoon for the BYU - UTAH football game. Tami and her family came down from Temecula as well so the head count now: 6 adults and 12 kids....way outnumbered! We set some movies up for the boys in our room to hopefully distract them enough to keep them out of the game room. I wasn't really planning on them setting up camp in my bed but hey there were entertained.. For those of you that are BYU fans out there you know it was a real nail biter the second half and oh how I wish we had a camera rolling when BYU made that final touchdown in overtime to win the game. Mark and Brent began jumping up and down while simultaneously hugging one another...would have made a great picture! Meanwhile, Susi was showing her enthusiasm by flailing her arms in excitement as she double beheaded my willow tree figurine that was on the shelf. Nothing that a little super glue can't fix. Lots of bonding, fun memories and just a bit of chaos. Great weekend!

FIRE FIRE!!

So last week, the day before Thanksgiving, my morning started out like any other morning. Dylan was out of school so I had all three kids at home. They were still mulling around in their jamies and I had just finished making scrambled eggs for breakfast. I went to get Tryg out of his high chair and since my kitchen was a mess I looked around for a place to put his tray and strategically placed it on the stove but away from the burner that I had just turned off.

I went about my normal business for the morning and it was probably about 30 minutes later, I was sitting at my desk when Dylan starts shouting FIRE FIRE!! I quickly got up and went to the kitchen and there were a lot of very large flames (probably a few feet high) coming from the now melted high chair tray. I quickly picked the tray up and put it in the sink and turned the water on. That didn't seem to help so now I had a fire on my stove and one in my sink. I thought for a second..."I can fill up a mixing bowl with water and try to dump it on the flames" but I was seriously worried that the flames would catch on the cupboards or any of the junk that was laying around near by before I could do that.

I remembered that there was a fire extinguisher in our pantry that came with the house so who knows how old it was. I had no idea what I was doing but managed to point and shoot and thank goodness it worked. Flames were gone, fire alarms were now going off and lots of smelly smoke filled the house as well as an awful mess in my kitchen. I had to shuffle all the kids out to the deck while I opened every window in the house to get the smoke out. Of course, now that I "blog" I thought....better get a picture. So here you go (sorry, I didn't think about taking a picture of the flames)...

My heart was definitely racing and my voice was shaking as I called Mark to tell him what happened. Turns out he had made eggs before work and left the burner on that I placed the tray on :). He felt really bad and came home to help me clean up. That stuff really makes a mess! We spent most of that day cleaning up trying to get ready for Thanksgiving the next day. Good thing I didn't go out to run errands like I was planning. That would have been bad. Luckily nothing was damaged except for the high chair. Here's what's left of the tray. I guess I'm going to need a new one.

Of course looking back at it after the fact....I thought DARN, I should have just called the fire department. By the time they got there half my kitchen would have been destroyed and then I could have gotten a new one! Of course Mark reminded me that we would have had a hefty deductible and our insurance costs would have gone through the roof. Oh well....everyone is safe and our home is in one piece which I'm grateful for just in time for Thanksgiving!

The BEST of NY

So I'm finally posting the rest of the NY trip. Besides running the marathon we got to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. My parents were kind enough to play house with our kids while we were gone. THANKS mom and dad!!! I had never been to New York City so I wanted to see all the standard NY stuff....

Our view from the plane coming into NY. I just thought this picture was kind of cool and would make a good advertisement for SW airlines.

Our first stop when after we checked into our hotel was Time Square. It was pretty neat to be able to see all the stuff you see in the movies and then realize it's always much smaller and less 'grand' than you see on TV. It felt a lot like being on the strip in Vegas. We found a great little authentic Italian restaurant for dinner called Bella Napoli where we were the only people in the place and everyone spoke Italian. It definitely had a 'mob' feel to it :). The food was great!

Mark felt very loved since they posted his name on some giant electronic screen.....just for him :) We took a walk to Rockefeller Center and stumbled across the Fox News Channel Studios and had to get this picture for Mom and Dad (total Fox News junkies) . I tried to find where Shepherd Smith, Glen Beck or Neil Cavuto might be exiting the building but no luck :) Watched the ice skaters at the infamous Skating Rink in Rockefeller and saw some interesting characters. It is way smaller than it looks on TV. We definitely got our fill of the subways and my thought after a few days of that..."I love my gas guzzling SUV that I can get in anytime I want all by myself!" We also had a few cab rides. The first one from the airport was your typical scary and not so customer service oriented foreign cab driver. A couple days into our trip we actually got off at the wrong subway stop but figured we weren't very far from our hotel and decided to walk. Needless to say it wasn't a very nice neighborhood and I was sure we were going to get an authentic NY mugging so we hailed a cab and this driver was totally nice and when we got to our hotel he said "It's on me". How nice is that? On our frequent subway ride on the #7 train we passed by this area where everything was covered in graffiti but in a very 'artsy' way. It was actually kind of pretty. The day after the Marathon we did some more sight seeing. We headed over to the sight where the World Trade Centers once stood. They had everything kind of covered up and this was about all we could see of the construction that is going on. It was very sobering to walk down the street where so many people literally ran for their life that day. We also took a Harbor Cruise where we got lots of great pictures and I actually learned a lot about the city thanks to our authentic NY tour guide. Below are some of the best....

The NY skyline...

Ellis Island I love this one..

and this one...The Brooklyn Bridge. more NY skyline..

Some other stuff we did:

• Had a NY hot dog and Gyro from a street vendor
• Finished my race in Central Park so I'll check that one off the list too.
• Managed to find the only hole in the wall Mexican restaurant in all of Time Square
• Ate some NY pizza
• Heard enough fire truck and police sirens to last me a lifetime
• Rode the Staten Island Ferry (just me)
• saw Grand Central Station
• figured out what all the codes, colors, shapes, and numbers mean on the subway system.

Stuff we didn't do:

• Go to the top of Empire State Building. I really wanted to do this but when I found out it costs $20 a person I passed.
• get mugged (yeah!)
• ride bikes though Central Park (ran out of time)
• buy a fancy purse from a street vendor..there were plenty of them but I'm just not a 'purse' person.
• see a broadway production

I was glad I got to experience NY city but after 5 days there I was very happy and grateful to come back to my quiet home and big car in San Diego!

Happy 5 year anniversary to us!

Three little cowboys

So this is my official Halloween post a few days late. Since we were in New York for Halloween this year we obviously didn't get very many pictures. Grandma and Grandpa Cox took the little ones TRICK or TREATING and Dylan spent the weekend in Vegas with his Dad. I did manage to dig these photos out for a little comparison purposes. I love this homemade costume! I found the vest years ago at a thrift store, the chaps I made out of an old jacket (Yes...I can sew when motivated :)), and the hat was given to Dylan as a gift when he was little.

Can you guess which one is which?

New York City Marathon

Well....I did it! All the months of training finally culminating into 3 1/2 hours of joy, pain, nerves, misery, tears, and happiness all rolled into one. Sunday was the world famous New York City Marathon and I was lucky enough to be a part of it (me and 43,000 other finishers). I wanted to write down the experience before I forget all the little things. I'll post our whole NY experience later but for now here's the marathon stuff....The day before the race we headed out to the expo to pick up my bib number and other goodies...and of course spend way too much money. I did get to meet Grete Weitz (she is a world class past 9 time NYC marathon winner) so that was very cool. Here I am the night before getting everything ready. Mark will attest to the fact that I am a bit of a stress case the day before a race. I was freaking out about how I was going to get to the Staten Island Ferry that I was scheduled to depart on at 5:30am. We had to take the subway and I wanted to make sure we knew exactly what train we were taking and that there was a plan 'B' if the train broke down, crashed, or whatever. He was kind enough to put up with my craziness. I was also checking the weather every hour hoping and praying the rain that kept lingering around November 1st would magically disappear. So....once my 4 separate alarm clocks went off at 4am (ughhh...which by the way is 1am California time) it was time to hit the subway. I usually have nightmares that my alarm clock doesn't go off and I'm late to the start, or I realize that I don't have my shoes when the gun goes off, stuff like that! It was pretty tough to fall asleep. I think I got about 4 hours the night before. Of course Mark came with me since there was no way I was navigating those subways by myself at that time. It was fun seeing all the nearly passed out, still drunk party goers stumbling off the trains from their all night Halloween parties. We made it to the Ferry and this is where I kissed my husband goodbye and ventured out on my own towards the start line on Staten Island. It was very surreal when the boat passed by the Statue of Liberty in the still mostly dark sky and reality started to set in as I thought "I'm about to run the NY marathon....how cool is that!" After a boat ride followed by a crowded bus ride, I finally made it to the "start village" where the only thing to do now is wait for about 2 hours until it's your turn to start. Luckily we only got a few drops of rain but the ground was very wet, so here I am keeping my bum warm on a couple garbage bags. I made several trips to the port-a-potties, painted my nails to match my shirt (had to keep myself busy), stretched every muscle, and did a lot of people watching (There were some interesting ones - like the foreign old guy that felt it was okay to just srip down to his speedo and change his shorts for all to see). At last it was time to make our way to the Verrazzanos-Narrows Bridge to line up for the start. As you can imagine trying to get 43,000 people across a start line can be quite a process. They actually have 3 start lines with 3 different 'wave' times each 20 minutes apart. Within each start 'wave' you're assigned a corral kind of like cattle according to your projected finish time. Luckily I was in the first wave so I got to start with the first group. The start was definitely the best part. After we are 'herded' like cattle to the start line, you can hear the national anthem as several helicopters with cameras buzz above your head (I waved....maybe you saw me:)). A cannon goes off to signal the start and through these huge loud speakers you hear the song..."New York, New York" as you begin your 26.2 mile trek across the bridge into Brooklyn. It was awesome! And oh yes....let's not forget all the lovely men relieving themselves off the bridge within the first mile... probably saw more than I needed to. Hope there weren't any passing boats beneath. It's all part of the experience I guess. So everything was going great, I was feeling pretty good running well under my goal time of 3:30. At mile 4 it was still pretty congested making it hard to really settle into your pace. About mile 5 I made my way to the side to grab a cup of water and after a couple sips while running (which is an art form in and of itself..), I totally ate it!!! The ground was really wet where they were giving out water and my left foot just slipped out from under me and BAM I was on the ground with my legs in a semi split. I quickly got up and kept going, did a mental check of all my joints and everything was fine. Thank goodness I didn't twist anything....just looked like a dork I'm sure! And after all that....all I had to show for it was this little scratch. Pathetic! A little dripping blood to show off my 'battle wounds' would have been nice! Meanwhile...my support team (i.e.Mark) was busy racing around New York via subway trying to get a picture or two. This course really was lined with spectators from start to finish. It was crazy! Some of the interesting signs I saw people holding, especially in Brooklyn and the Bronx were..."STOP YOUR CRYING", "NO ONE MADE YOU DO THIS", "YOUR ONLY *$@!*! OPTION IS TO FINISH" and "RUN B*@!*" I know they meant it in an inspiring kind of way. Only in New York! :) . Here I am at about mile 9... At this point I'm still feeling really good, not yet questioning why the heck I'm doing this. People often ask me what I think about for 26.2 miles and for me yes, I'm soaking up the experience, etc.. but I'm also thinking alot about numbers....calculating what kind of pace I'm on, if I continue that pace what I will finish in, if I slow down a little what will that do to my time, etc.. I really try to run 1 mile at a time and focus on each mile's time and whether that puts me ahead, behind or right on target for my goal. At this point I was about 6 minutes ahead of my goal time. The course takes you over 5 bridges and through the 5 boroughs of New York: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Manhattan. We then run a few miles through Central Park to the uphill finish. I'd say it was about mile 17 or 18 that I started to hurt. Things began to slow down a bit. The hills did not go unnoticed as they did in the first half and each mile marker seemed to take forever to come into view. About mile 21 and 22 I started not to care so much about my time anymore and just wanted to finish. My legs ached and just did not want to turn over anymore. The negative thoughts creep in like "why the heck am I doing this, what was I thinking, this sucks, I'm sooo not doing this again!!" But....you keep on going, counting down each mile. I really tried to enjoy the last couple miles as much as possible, not worrying so much about my time but trying to take in the scene and the roaring crowd. Here I am about mile 25... The last half mile there are signs every hundred yards counting down letting you know you have 400 yards left, then 300, 200, etc.. All I could think was "C'mon already!!!!!" And then there it was....the coveted finish line!!!! I even mustered up a "cox kick" in the last 200 yards. As I stopped my watch and my legs the reality sets in as I thought to myself "I just finished the New York Marathon!! WooHoo!!" Then I thought "I think I'm going to stick with half marathons from now on." My time: 3:36:03 (about 8:15 minutes per mile). Not my best, not my worst. I figured I'd be between 3:25 and 3:40. 3:29 would have sounded a lot better...but I'll take it :). That course was brutal! I ended up finishing in the top 15% of men and women,top 4% of all women (which includes all those Kenyans:)), and top 7% of my age division. Not too shabby for the worlds largest marathon with the world's best:) Below are some pictures of other inspirational runners around mile 25. The picture on the left is a blind runner being led by a guide, gotta love tigger (don't ask my why but I'm sure he has his reasons), the runner pushing the handicap girl, the obvious proud British runner, and how about the old guy in the center! Here's the thing though...this picture was taken before I got there so did he run faster than me??? What the heck? Maybe they started the old people earlier??? I hope so!!! So after the finish we are once again 'herded' like cattle down this very long kind of corridor where we got our medal, water, etc.. This was honestly the most painful part of the race for me. Walking seemed to make every muscle in my legs want to cramp up. When we were in the start village you could give your bag that contained your personal stuff (i.e camera, jacket, etc..) to a UPS truck that corresponded with your bib number. Once you finished you were to pick up your bag in your corresponding UPS truck. So as I'm walking in pain the first UPS truck appears and it says 65,000-65,999. The trucks were all lined up length to length and they started with the highest number and worked their way down. Well my number was 11,631 so I had to walk the length of well....a lot of trucks!! I wanted to cry!! My legs had never hurt that bad in my life! I finally made it to my truck and out of the park where I had planned to meet Mark. I found the first corner I could, called him and said "You're going to have to come to me because I need to sit!!"

He found me!! I just have to give him some props because he has been so supportive from taking time off of work to watch the kids while I got my long training runs in, putting up with my craziness and stressed out personality in the days before the race, and running all over New York for his own little marathon trying to capture the adventure on camera!

People wonder why in the world a sane person would pay $180 to run 26.2 miles and put their bodies through such torture on purpose. Well for me there are a lot of reasons: I have to have a long term goal that I'm constantly working towards. I feel lost without one. I'm competitive and this is how I curb that craving. It makes me feel healthy and all cleaned out on the inside. It makes me feel like I can do something that is not so 'ordinary'. But probably the most important reason is that it is 'my thing'. It represents my independence and signifies something that is all mine. When I am out there I am Joanne....not a mom, not a wife, but just me! It's part of who I am and that is sacred to me. I'm so glad I have a husband that 'gets that' and a healthy body that allows me to do it. I feel very blessed!

Will I run another marathon? Probably! I relate it to child birth. Right after, we say things like "we're never doing that again!" and then....we forget the pain, we remember the joy and we go back for more.