We "Rocked It"

What a crazy, fun weekend this has been! Myself, along with 4 other amazing ladies, ran the PF Chang's Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon. A few months ago, I convinced these women to training for a 1/2 marathon while I trained for the full. My foot injury didn't allow me to complete my training, but these girls forged on....I resumed some running with them a few weeks ago and decided to join them in the 1/2 marathon. My sister-in-law, Cori, had matching tank tops and visors made for us that sported our "marathon mamas" logo (I don't remember which one of us came up with the marathon mamas "team" name, but it stuck...kind of cute, kind of funny, kind of dorky, but what do we care?!). Anyway, this weekend has been a whirlwind of running events, from the Expo Friday night, to the "carb loading" party Saturday night, to the race and after party yesterday.

I really didn't think I wanted to do this race, but am so glad I did! It was a lot fun, and seeing these girls finish race despite their worries and doubts was just awesome! I broke my personal best time....official finishing time, 1:50:39! The greatest part about that, is that I also managed to surpass my friends, Chris and Brad's, best 1/2 marathon time! A few years ago...during "the wait"..I started running. Our friends, Chris and Brad, took on the role of my personal trainers to help me prepare for my first 1/2 marathon. They ran with me, and ran with me, and ran with me. I held them back, made them slow...but they stood by me and filled me with all kinds of advice and pats on the back. The three of us ran my first half together...they were such great sports. After that, running became more individual for me. I ran the Fiesta Bowl 1/2 marathon by myself last year and came withing 50 SECONDS of beating Chris and Brad's personal best time for a half marathon. 50 SECONDS!!! They have enjoyed dangling that over my head for over a year now....that is until yesterday! Brad's daughter was running yesterday, so both Chris and Brad were down at the race to cheer her on...I ran past them at mile 11..as I did, I glanced down at my watch, realized that I was in contention to smoke their personal best time, and decided to give them a lovely "thumbs down" signal to let them know that they were "going down"! Brad happened to catch the moment on camera, and to me, it's one of the greatest pictures EVER!!! AAAAAHHHH, THE GLORY!!!!

My entire family (minus my Mom..sorry Mom) were standing at mile 12 (they surprised me...I had no idea they were going to be there) to give me that last bit of motivation...Kailahni was so funny with her "Go Mama" cheers. It was great to see them all. I finished the race, then walked back along course until I saw my girlfriend Melissa running toward me. To fulfill a promise I had made to her at the start, I hopped back on the course and ran along side her...we passed mile 13 together and then crossed the finish line side by side. I looked a little silly with my bottle of water in my hand and my finishers medal bouncing in my face, but a promise is a promise!

It was a beautiful day full of lasting memories! I'm so proud of my "marathon mamas"!

We've missed everybody!!!!!

It's me! It's me!!! I really can't believe how badly I've neglected my blog. It's so pathetic. Life has been busy...obviously, but it's no excuse, really! I started working for Doug's flooring company a few months ago, and I haven't been able to see straight since. I promise to be better moving forward. I haven't taken many pictures lately, and therefore haven't had the motivation to post!

Since my last post, Jacob turned 14 (GULP), Kailahni turned 2 (and all that that entails), Doug turned 41 (ha, ha...old fart), Benjamin started 6th grade (middle school here we come), and I...well I started training for my first full marathon, injured my foot, had to stop training (didn't handle that real well), recently started running again and am planning on doing a half marathon in a few weeks. Full marathon on the back burner for now.

This post is short, I know, but it's the best I can do for now. I shot this video on my phone the other day while I was icing my foot on the couch (about the only time I find myself sitting down these days). Anyway, Kailahni is half naked and her hair is a fright, I'm getting over a cold and sound just ridiculous...it's not pretty, but it's life! I know you all love us enough to see past all that!

I'll post more soon...I promise! Big hugs to all!

What a summer!!!!!!!

Well...the boys are back in school (sniff, sniff)...summer vacation is officially over. Our family trip to Washington turned out to be so amazing and relaxing it's hard to describe. We were so happy to finally get to introduce Kailahni to her Grandma (Doug's mom), Aunt, Uncles and cousin. We went on hikes, played at tide pools, walked on the beach, and ended our trip with a 4 day sailboat trip through the San Juan Islands. It was awesome. We got to experience all kinds of nature...we saw humpback whales, dolphins, seals, deer (Jacob fed one from his hand...swear to god) and even ORCAS!!!!! We sailed through a pod of over 30 orcas that were breaching and splashing all over the place....one even came directly under our boat. I have a video clip of the amazing orcas, but it doesn't do the moment justice....it was a once in a lifetime experience! The tail end of our trip coincided with our trip to China last year. One morning, I was sitting on the front deck of our boat drinking my coffee (go ahead and be jealous), and I realized that "one year ago today" Doug and I were climbing the Great Wall. Being together as a family in such a beautiful as the San Juan Islands was an awesome way to celebrate our one year anniversary. There was so much uncertainty in our lives a year ago...we've had a very BIG year! It felt so good to be all together, to feel so settled in our life, and to get to enjoy all the beauty of the San Juan's as a family. I can't post all my pictures because I took way too many, but here's a few...














If you watch the video clip, you're going to want to view it on full screen and you should probably hit your mute button because my screaming is a bit over the top. The orcas were much closer to our boat than it appears in this video. Unfortunately, by the time I got my camera rolling most of the pod had already passed us, but I managed to get some of it recorded. Be patient...the most exciting part is toward the end of the video.

One year ago today....

One year ago today, Kailahni Xiugang Elizabeth Schneider enter our world, our hearts, our lives...forever. It was a moment, and a day, that I will never forget and will always treasure. Time does not permit me to create a post that does my heart and mind justice regarding this day, and the child that we have had the indescribable privilege of parenting. So, for now, this video clip will serve as a reminder of what our first moments together looked like.

3 moms, 8 kids and loads of fun...Part 2!

I'm still enjoying looking back at all the pictures we took on our zany trip to California. We really did have and great time. I think my sisters and I may have started a fun new tradition...I think...we may need at least one Daddy or Grandpa with us next time we attempt to do this...maybe. In some ways I think the challenge of juggling it all ourselves was part of what made it fun...at least it made it funny, at times.

We leave on Saturday for Washington to visit Doug's family and introduce them to our beautiful baby girl. It's a trip that I am looking SO forward to. I'll post again when we return!

3 moms, 8 kids and loads of fun!

We returned home on Sunday evening from our trip to Santa Maria/San Luis Obispo/Pismo Beach. Norah, Sarah and I were brave mamas...heading out on our own with all o kiddos. It was a such a fun week, but one of those trips where you could almost use a vacation from your vacation....or maybe a spa weekend...hhhmmm.

We did everything from wine tasting, to hanging at the beach, to walking through parks, feeding ducks, going on pony rides....lots and lots of fun! I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. I'm going to divide the pics into two (maybe even three) different posts. ENJOY!