13.1- YEA BABY!!!

Well, we did it!  13.1 miles-DONE!

My time, 2hrs 46 min.

Brandon's time, 1hrs. 49 min.

Just some pre-race photos I wanted to share...MUCH more to come!  I was a nervous wreck, I think we all were.  The adrenaline was insane and my heart was beating out of my chest!  Crazy.  I am not going to lie, I'm in some pain and I'm covered in Theragesic.  My shoulder hurts the worst, so I must have been really tense from all of the nerves!  It's 8:15, on our seven year anniversary and Brandon and I are both in bed!  Ha!  Guess you know that means we're POOPED!  Brandon, Christine and I all accomplished something we never thought possible!  We pushed ourselves, and although I struggled on a lot of the course, I DID IT. That's what matters.  I crossed that finish line with tears streaming down my face...what a feeling!

SO nervous...

because today is the Aramco Houston Half Marathon!

  My first half marathon.  My husband's first half marathon.  It's also our 7 year anniversary! 

 I am awake and it's 2:50a.m and I am TOTALLY running on nerves!  I'm anxious, excited, terrified, proud, and so many other emotions wrapped into one!

The Olympic Trials took place yesterday and being there as those elite athletes crossed the finish line was AMAZING.

 I've trained hard, probably could have trained A LOT harder.  My boys trained along with me and pushed me along the way!  After all, they are our motivation.  We will show them that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.  They can do anything they put their minds to.  Look where Mommy and Daddy started...overweight, unhealthy and back then, probably could not run a mile if you paid them.  And now 13.1?  CRAZY.

This is what the boys looked like after our last run two days ago!  Woohoo...they were POOPED!

So, all that's left to do is prepare, drink my cup of coffee, calm myself down...and get dressed in my race day outfit!  Yikes.  Is this day really here?  Woohoo.  

As I cross that finish line, so many emotions will be going through me.  Happiness and determination is what will bring me there.  

I will push myself for all of those times in my life where I had little or no self-confidence, those times where I felt alone or afraid, those times where I felt helpless before I lost the weight and gained my life back, I will push for all of those people needing to find encouragement to start THEIR journey, I will push for my boys, I will push for my husband, but most importantly for myself-to know that I've set a goal and REACHED that goal!  Bring It On!

Here we come, baby!

BUSY doing nothing!

Well of course we have things that we "should" be doing while Daddy's at work!  Like packing, cleaning, learning, reading, cooking, doing laundry, but for now we'd rather...

 PLAY and BE SILLY!!

Yep, we can keep ourselves entertained for hours with silly things like this!  Taking pictures of ourselves, dancing in the living room, playing chase, and telling make believe stories!  

After all, we must all cherish these moments the MOST :-)

some INDOOR camping FUN

With only a few more days until our move and our half marathon, we've been finding ways around the house to stay busy!  Of course we've been packing A LOT.  We've lived here for over four years, so you can imagine how much stuff we've managed to accumulate!  Too much! But after this move, we don't plan on moving for a LONG, LONG time...it's our "home": the one where we will raise the boys, have family over, host Thanksgiving, Christmas and much more! Plus, we'll be getting our dog back!  Ha, she's lived with my mother for four years, while we lived here and we're ready to have her back!  She'll have a huge yard, and lots of space indoors to roam around!  She's a yellow lab and her name is Dixie, so we'll have many memories to make with her too!  The boys are MOST excited about her coming home!

So in keeping busy, my husband taught Jake how to ride his bike WITHOUT training wheels! I was screaming and whistling in the road, once he got the hang of it!  Can you tell I'm one, proud Momma?!  Ha!

and we've been playing in THIS...

We've had an indoor camping trip before, but it was really fun this time because our house is pretty much EMPTY!  Nothing to get in the way of this big 'ol tent!  The boys actually fell asleep in here, but it did take them until after 10pm, but it was still fun!  We had the Coleman lantern, we told stories, read books and played Angry Birds on Jake's iTouch!  So fun!  I guess in the future, we'll actually have to camp OUTSIDE, but for now, our indoor camping trips will have to do!  

Your Houston News: featuring my husband and I

Picture: My husband and I "fake" running for the photographer! Check out our little man in his sunglasses! HILARIOUS :-)
I was asked a few weeks ago if we'd be interested in a feature about our running journey, leading up to the half marathon. I was very excited to share our story, and I wanted to share the link with all of you!


League City couple hope to inspire others to be more active - Your Houston News: News:: Some couples play bridge. Others enjoy gardening together. But
for exercise-enthusiast Marissa McClellen, running is the tie that
binds in her…

Are ya ready for some football?!

Well, we are definitely excited today!  Our very own, Houston Texans have their VERY first playoff game!  Let's hope that they pull off a WIN!  Houston fans are certainly excited.  Our neighborhood is pumped up too, flying their Houston Texans flags, grilling, boiling crawfish and having watch parties!  We are hanging out at the house, but we are having family over and the boys have been playing outside since early this morning!  

GO HOUSTON TEXANS!!!  

and with more exciting, football news!  

My husband and I graduated college from SHSU-Sam Houston State University and they are in the National Championship!  Playing RIGHT NOW and leading the game so far, so 

GO BEARKATS!!!

What are your weekend plans?  Hopefully there's lots of family fun planned for you and your family too!

Have a great weekend!  Only SEVEN days until our first half marathon AND our seven year anniversary! Needless to say, we are getting VERY excited!  

2011 in iPhone pics!

2011 was definitely a great year with lots of changes...instead of the traditional recap, I thought I'd try to only use iPhone pics, since I seemed to forget my "real" camera for many of these special moments!

Justin gave up the Binky!

Justin's first movie...Cars 2.

4th of July 2011

several Jellystone trips!

Jake was a ring bearer in cousin, Britney's wedding!

Justin fell into the fire pit at Artesian Lakes, ER photo from his poor burns :(

I stood in my dear friend, Ashlyn's wedding!

There's the beautiful Mrs. Baker!

Daddy and Jake raced TOGETHER!  Jake's first 1K and Daddy's 5K, amazing finish!

Fall 2011

Halloween 2011

Justin's first black eye, from playing too rough with big brother :(

The boys first Houston Texans football game!  So fun!

Mommy and Daddy have been training for their first half marathon!

LOTS of visits with cousins!

our last Christmas in this house, we are moving VERY soon!

Mommy fit back into her old jeans!  WOOHOO!!!

our cousin, Bailey was born!

Jake's first Bumper Car experience and he LOVED it!

Jake spent a lot of 2011 working on those muscles!!!  Pretty awesome, right?!  ha!

...and finally Justin's first visit to Chuck E Cheese and although he doesn't like the mouse, he sure LOVES the arcade!  Ha!

Looking back through phone pics can be really funny and bring back more memories than you think!  I wish I was able to figure out how to upload the videos on my phone, those will have you laughing for hours!

Here's hoping I remember my "real" camera more often in 2012, but I still love phone pics, I just can't help it!