Great River Relay 2010

If there is anyone out there looking for proof that I am crazy, well here it is.

That's right, John and I decided to join some friends on a little adventure known as

****RAGNAR****

For those not privy to what Ragnar is all about here is the gist: Run, drive, sleep?, repeat x3. Basically, it's a 193 mile relay with 11 of your closest friends, or at least friends that you are willing to sit in a van with after they have just run 5 miles in 90 degree weather. It smells just as wonderful as it sounds. Everyone takes 3 legs that total anywhere from 13 to 22 miles. It's crazy, and fun all at the same time. I think the fun kicks in when you become delirious from sleep deprivation and everything seems hilarious. My legs were 6.8, 3.7 and 4.5 miles totaling 15 miles. John had a tougher route: 5.2, 5.4 and 6 mile legs totaling 16.6 miles.

I didn't take many pictures because a few hours in I thought I lost my camera, so I pretty much got before and after shots. (found my camera 3/4 of the way through, it turns out I have only lost my brain)

As we were driving to begin this 24 hours of madness, Carey and Natalie spotted the best cheese curd place they had ever been to. We stopped in and it did not disappoint. Eating a ton of fried food hours before a race may have not been the smartest thing we've ever done, but it was worth it. I'd do it again just to taste those curds....mmmmmm.

I would fill you in on all of the sweaty details, but it might bore you. Let's just say that it was HOT, HUMID, AND HARD, and I'm glad it's over!! Here's John and I after running forever and a day on about 2 hours of sleep. We look about as good as we smell.

All in all it was a great trip and kept me motivated to stay in shape throughout the summer. It's still to early to tell if we'll make this an annual event. I'm hoping it will be a little like child birth was for me and I'll eventually forget about the pain and just remember the end result. Time will tell.

A Hot Mess

I know I mentioned this in my catch up post, but I thought my trip to DC deserved a full post of it's own. I was ecstatic when I heard my good friend was moving to DC this summer. (It's kind of selfish really, I have wanted an excuse to go to DC for quite some time and now I had one) She made the move in early June, and I booked a trip as soon as I had a free weekend. These pictures are just thrown up and not in any kind of order, but here are a few things we did during my hot sweaty weekend in DC:

Walked the Mall and then some. We walked/ jogged the entire mall of monuments, over a bridge through the National Cemetery, over to Georgetown, back over another bridge and onto the train back to Crystal City totaling over 13 miles! Standing in front of Abe reminds me to be completely honest, so here it goes: that day was fun, but a sweaty sweat mess. Next time I'll do this it will have to be in October.

Another day was spent at the Holocaust Museum. Upon finishing there, we decided to hit the Air and Space museum to see something more uplifting to take our minds off the weight of what we just experienced.

Emily is in a running club, so one morning we jogged 4 miles. Afterwards we decided to walk around the shops in Georgetown and had lots of fun getting nasty looks from people passing by as we were both a hot sweaty mess.

Yum! We stopped into DC cupcakes and had ourselves a cupcake or 3. The secret cupcake of the day was Salty Carmel, the perfect combination in my book. Loved it!

I know I already mentioned the Air and Space Museum, but here's another tid-bit. This is where the lady who took my picture proceeded to give me a mini lesson on how to best work my camera. Kinda funny.

Here's another pic of our hot sweaty mess of a walk/run through the Mall.

Me trying to get artistic with my camera. If only I had the camera lady there to show me how to get the flash to go on.

Thanks Em for having me. It was so nice, sweat and all, to see you and get a break from the kiddos!

Parrish Family Vacation 2010

Call me crazy, but this year I just didn't want to drive out west and spend forever and a day in a car with a 1 year old. Not my cup o tea. In lieu of a epic adventure out west, we decided on taking a trip up north to Lutsen, MN, which is on the North Shore of Lake Superior, and and about 1/10 of the driving distance!

Driving up was a breeze. We stopped in Duluth and lucked out as they were having a "big ship" festival. There were enormous ships lining the harbor and both Jackson and Max thought they looked like pirate ships. They confirmed their suspicions when they saw a goth girl walk by and concluded she was a pirate.

Day two was spent split up. John and Jackson took a kayak trip and Max, Sadie and I drove up to Grand Marais. Yet again we lucked out. The town was holding their annual dragon boat races. We watched a few races, stuffed our faces, and played a round of mini golf.

From there it's kind of a blur. One afternoon, we played a round of disc golf where we managed to loose two discs on the first throw of the first tee.

We went on a few breathtaking hikes. Sadie inevitably fell asleep every time.

This could be my favorite picture of the whole trip. If you scroll through this blog you'll see how hard it is for me to get a genuine smile out of Maxers. Well, here it is folks!

We celebrated my 31st birthday in style by spending the day on the Alpine Slide, and driving into town for some fresh caught fish. Yum! John also surprised me with the perfect gift, a Garmin Watch! I felt so spoiled!

Jackson proved yet again that he lacks a safety chip in his brain as he refused to apply the break the entire way down. He was proud to beat John, and catch air a few times!

Many a hour was spent lounging by the lake, skipping rocks, and roasting marsh mellows.

We had great weather. The few times it rained, we happened to be in our car or it was after bed time.

Our trip home we visited Split Rock light house. Jack loved it, Max, not so much. He was over hiking and didn't like the fact that we had to climb a couple hundred stairs for a photo op.

We also stopped by Gooseberry Falls to see what all the fuss was about. From the looks of it, Sadie liked the scenic view. I myself thought it was beautiful, but way to crowded.

We had a ton of fun. After all of this family fun and togetherness, I am so ready for school to start.

What does this mean?

Double Rainbow. Full Double Rainbow. Ohhhh Double Rainbow. What does this mean? As we were coming home from Costco the other night, we were surprised to find this lighting up the sky. Ok, so the picture isn't the best, so you'll just have to trust me that it was a beautiful sight.

Yep, a it's a double rainbow. If you haven't had a chance, go to you tube and watch double rainbow. If you can't have a little laugh at it, you can no longer be my friend.

During our trip last week, we were traveling back to Lutsen from Grand Marais and came upon this beauty:

We've now seen two full double rainbows in about a week! (double double rainbows if you will) The boys are going to think this is commonplace! I shot a little video while in the car and I think it's classic. Max's comment at the end is the best.....