Big Weekend

The Youker Family had a big 2 days this past weekend.  It started on Saturday morning with an early morning race for me.  And this was a big one...the half marathon that I've been training for since December.  I was very nervous going into the race.  All last week I felt sluggish and lethargic.  I was worried about making it to the finish line without passing out or fainting.  But I was pleasantly surprised when I started running, all of my old energy came back.  The first 6 miles were really not that difficult.  Then as I started mile 7, I thought I should hold back and keep some energy in the tank for the finish.  Last year I hit a huge wall at mile 11, and I was a little worried about that happening again.  But I was really surprised when mile 11 came around and I still felt pretty good.  Now don't get me wrong, I was tired and the finish line couldn't come fast enough.  But as I came into the stadium (the finish) and saw that my time was under 2 hours, I was ecstatic.  I didn't expect that at all.  Almost 20 minutes faster than last year.  So setting a personal record was also a really good feeling.  I can't wait to do it again next year!

Then on Sunday it was a big day for Sam!  He turned 5 years old yesterday.  He was so excited to be turning 5, almost more excited about being older than the presents or cake he got.  When asked if he felt older, he said yes.  We went over to Jeff's parents house in the morning for a brunch to celebrate the birthday and Mother's Day.  It was a wonderful meal.  Then Sam opened a few presents.  In the afternoon, we went to the park and played a game of kickball.  Then we did a short hike to see some tadpoles.  Sam's choice for dinner was McMenamins, so we went there for dinner.  While there, we had a cake that I had brought.  I felt bad that I forgot to bring candles, and the restaurant didn't have any, but Sam didn't seem to mind and after we had sung to him, he pretended to blow out his candles. 

I want to also mention that I felt the love from my boys for Mother's Day too.  Jeff took the boys out first thing in the morning, still in their PJ's, to the grocery to pick out some flowers for me.  They came home and give me their beautiful arrangements along with cards that they had made.  It was a great Mother's Day and an all around great weekend!