Merry Christmas

In all our rush, we almost missed Santa Claus. We didn't have time to visit him in Va so we went on Christmas Eve in Fl, and almost missed him then, too. I would have felt horrible if Landon missed him. Landon told him all that he wanted and... Santa delivered! Landon received his own personal computer.

I'm sure many of you have seen the movie " A Christmas Story" Well, we had our very own this Christmas. Landon's Grandpa thought it would be great if Landon had a Red Ryder ( I had nothing to do with this!). You know, the BB gun that Ralphie thought Santa should bring him! It's the real deal, the boys played with it later in the afternoon. This gift may have to stay in FL for some time. The age suggestion was 10+, I think we have time to grow into it!

Landon was quite a natural holding it.

Later, we played with Miller (Brian & Debbie's dog).

We played with Kinley, Chance, & Uncle Sean.

Then, it was off to bed. Landon had make sure to give "love" to Chance before they headed off to sleep.

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you all did too!

Truth be told...

...the marathon was a bust.



All the training was done, all that was left to do was run the marathon. Believe me, the thought of running 26.2 miles by myself was intimidating, but I was excited to do it! The longest run completed, while training, was 20. 6 more miles, I can do that!



Friday we packed up and headed south for Jacksonville. We got in later than usual, Landon had some sort of bug and threw up 4 times on the way down and we hit the usual traffic in Georgia.



Saturday, Landon spent recuperating and I went out for a short run to stretch the legs out from the drive. Mom made a wonderful spaghetti dinner in preparation for the big day. Soon after eating, my stomach started bothering me. Andrew thought, "maybe its nerves." I agreed, but the ache got worse and I new it wasn't nerves! I had some sort of stomach bug. The kind where your body feels fine but your stomach just aches and aches. I decided to head to bed, in hope that the ache would go away, but of course it didn't. I spent most of the night in the bathroom, either huddled over the toilet or sitting on it (without giving too much detail), all the while getting little sleep.



Sunday came, and the my stomach wasn't any better. To add to it, there was no food in my body and all the hydrating I had done was probably done in vain. I had no desire to eat, though I did eat half a banana and drank some fluids. I wasn't sure if I should head out for the run, and against my husband's advice, I did. How could I not try. So, I did and I actually felt alright. My stomach had settled a bit and I kept going. Andrew and my youngest brother, Danny, saw me off. I even got a little motivation from them around mile three. My pace was great, and I was still feeling ok. Around mile seven, my mom was there cheering me on. At mile eight, Danny & Andrew were there again. By now, I could feel my body tiring, but I needed to keep going. Mom was around mile 9 and now the fatigue was really starting to set in. I made it to mile 10/11 and decided it was time to call it quits. I was trying not to, but I slowed to a crawl and felt horrible.



So, once again, my efforts in completing 26.2, were lost. I have no great pictures of the run or the great finish across the line, just the beginning before the race began.

Am I disappointed? yes. I was so close this time, much closer than last time. All that was left to do was the actual run.

I do want to thank all of you for your support, encouragement and well wishes in my quest to run a marathon. Maybe there is another in the near future...any takers??? Third times a charm...right???!!!!

Kolachy

This time of year is one of my favorites! I love all the traditions my family has, and making Christmas cookies is one of them! Christmas is not complete (for me) without a few things...our stockings (my entire mom's side of the family have the same ones!), cookies, and of course family! Cookie making is a big deal on both sides of my family and I am so happy that I get to bring that tradition to my family now!

Last year, while I was on maternity leave, I headed to MN to visit my dad's side of the family. I was able to participate in their big cookie making festivities! When we travel to Ohio, we also spend time making/decorating Christmas cookies. Since we are going to Jacksonville, I needed to make some cookies to bring. The one cookie that has to be present at Christmas is the Kolachy (co-la-chee). It is a Kelley family tradition, and I thought I would share it with all of you. It's a yummy cream cheese dough with apricot filling! If you have time to make another cookie, or want to change things up this year, give this one a try!

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1 c butter (softened)
2 c flour
Solo Apricot filling
pinch of salt

Directions:
1. mix flour & salt separate
2. mix cream cheese & butter
3. add flour mixture to cream cheese & butter
4. cover & chill for 2-3 hrs
5. Roll out dough and cut into squares (it helps to only roll dough a little at a time, leaving the rest the refrigerator)

6. Place a bit of Apricot filling in the middle of the square. It's up to you how much you want on each square. The less you use, the less messy, and the cookies stay closed. I, personally, like lots of filling!
7. Wrap opposite corners together (like a blanket).
8. Bake at 350 for 8-10 min (or golden).
9. Enjoy!

I promise you, you will not be disappointed! They are delicious. We like to enjoy them for breakfast too!

Some other cookies made by my family:

1. gingerbread men (dad's cookie)

2. m&m cookies

3. Scotch Shortbread

4. pretzel rods

5. raspberry pecan filled almond cookies

6. Spritz

7. Cut-outs

There are so many more, I wish I had time to make them all.

Christmas Pictures

Today was Christmas picture day! Since we are leaving Friday for Florida, we have to get everything done earlier than normal...and I'm going crazy! So much to do in so little time. I still have cookies to bake, presents to buy and wrap, cards to address, a house to clean, pack, returns, and get a few runs in before the big day! At least taking the picture is off my list. Here are a few from today.

We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

Last of Thanksgiving

I never finished posting about our weekend with Sean, KC, and the twins. I finally uploaded the last of the pictures, so I thought I would share them with all of you.

We had planned on going to the Baltimore Aquarium on Sunday, but we ended up not going. Mainly due to the fact that you can't bring strollers. They supply you with carriers for children and we thought that would be a hassle. We couldn't do anything outside due to the weather, so we relaxed at the house.

Landon found Kinley's piggy slippers and had to wear them. I think he wore them almost all day. Kinley wasn't feeling very well and napped all afternoon, so I didn't get any pictures of her. Landon and Chance played all afternoon.

Before bed, they had one last playtime! Before heading off to bed they both gave lots of love to KC!

We had a great time! Thanks for visiting!

Could it be?...

While all of us where down in DC over the weekend, a rare occurrence happened. I guess it isn't too rare since this has happened once more while I was sight seeing in DC. We were walking from the Washington Monument and Sean asked if we should go to the White House. I said it would probably be easier to hit the 4 other Memorials, since they are all very close to each other then make our way to the White House. We were taking pictures at the WWII Memorial, when all of a sudden, we noticed a Presidential helicopter circling. Then another, and another. It was really cool to see them that close. We weren't sure if one of them had President Bush or if it was a training session. Later, while watching the Gator game, we found out that one of those helicopters actually had President Bush. There was a news clip running of President Bush on the White House lawn with the helicopter in the background! How cool is that! I guess we should have walked to the White House first!