i like bikes

rich had a three week break, so we went to utah.  we had so much fun doing everything! ahah!  paul is a huge mountain biker, and he recently "tricked" kathy into becoming a professional biker too.  naturally, they wanted their children to become converts too, so they planned a trip to moab with us and the morrills.  their efforts were successful!  rich and i are undeniably converted! it was such a blast! riding on slick rock is a trip! rich and i definitely will be getting some awesome bikes when we are billionaires.  camping in moab was awesome as well.  just thinking about it now makes me want to go back again.  we were also able to spend some time with the warnicks in wales, and that was a great getaway as usual.  i am so blessed to have such great in-laws.  we feel super refreshed after this utah trip.  thanks family! we love you!

our tent site in moab

the professionals and my hubby

kevrach showed up a day late, and we let them stay...

families are forever :)

i love those two li'l superheros.  a lot!

kevin is a giant!

climbing out onto this ledge of death was freaky!

macho men

i love arches!

this is me below the scary ledge of death

we took the training wheels off of rich's bike for this pic...

kevin's are off just for the pic too

yes.  yes i do need a ride.  ;)

how cool is my mom-in-law? i wanna be like her when i am 30!

it was like a playground!

the ONLY thing that could make this pic better would be having kathy in it.

HAPPY!

paul lost his mind at this point and biked off that cliff.  i told you he was craZy.

rich followed after paul and went craZy too.

kevin had to get psycho too! ....boys...

after biking, we hiked up to see delicate arch.  i have seen a lot of pics of this arch, and i must say that pictures do not even begin to capture how beautiful and magnificent it is.  heavenly father is amazing.  i am so grateful for earth! :) i am also grateful for these two people. 

you know you love it ;)

after moab, we went on a road trip to wales and created more crazy memories!  these two kids are awesome.  makaylism:  at a gas station stop, makayla and i went and got snacks.  i told her to get whatever she wanted.  she picked out naked juice, hazelnut coffee cream and a cliff bar.  she is a healthy nut! most kids get candy! my kids will probably be awesome like her too...hopefully!

 

gotta love papa!

cheese balls! :)

a visit to gramma and grampa's house is always a treasure! :)

this girl is so stinkin' adorable!

MUAH!

ahhhhh! rich and his pretty and perfect little princesses!

Rock n' Roll Marathon...Nashville Style

"janelle loved running her second marathon"...said no one.  ever! let me explain.  i did a relatively intense training program and this marathon according to the books was "easier" than the teton dam marathon.  naturally, i expected to do better, right?  wrong!  i did worse and hated it a lot.  i think a few reasons why it went so bad was because in chicago, it was cold (50 degrees fahrenheit), relatively dry and there was no elevation change.  i also only ate granola bars before and carried fruit on my runs.  in nashville, it was hot (90 degrees), humid and hilly (yuck).  i also had two of those five hour energy drinks right before and had a lot of energy gel gu packs during my run (don't ask me why i did this).  consequently, my stomach started cramping really bad around mile 8.  needless to say, i was literally pissed and angry when i crossed the finish line! ahah it makes me laugh now, but for real i was so mad.  however even if things did not go the way i wanted, i am proud that i actually finished!  there were multiple moments (mile 12, 13, 14, 15, 16...) when i wanted stop running and join the crowd...but i am too stupid to ever stop running, so i have finished two marathons!  ahah! sorry for all the negativity.  i don't want to totally be hating on the rock n' roll marathon because the marathon itself was awesome and i will definitely run one again!  the city was beautiful, the people were party rockin' and i totally loved the bands that were playing at every mile.  i also gained some very valuable running knowledge.  i now know that i will never run a marathon that is more difficult than i can train for, and i will also never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever drink a five hour energy bottle ever again.  lessons learned! 

despite the miserable marathon part, the actual trip was a freakin' blast! i went down with tiffany, nicole, ali and jamie.  those girls are too wild!  seriously, i love them.  i am so thankful to tiffany for inviting me to run with her.  this trip was so great, and i will never forget it.  tiff is my hero.  nashville is my hero too.  i am in love with nashville! i totally want to go back again and again! i also got to see my lover, brandiann (from creighton)!  i now know why she lives in nashville.  i am definitely taking rich there when we are billionaires.  i miss it already!  enjoy the pics!

me surrounded by beautiful hot mamas!

pillow talk!

all glammed up for breakfast!

deliciousness at the pancake pantry.   so yummy! go there!

testing out some lipstick.  hot.

gettin' our gear.  i love tiffany!

the t-babe and me again.  after seeing how hilly nashville was, t and i were so nervous.  after running it, i think we should have been more nervous!

right before our race!  side note:  we parked about a mile away from the start line, so we ended up walking/running a mile before the marathon! brilliant, right? ahah! oh and this is actually us waiting in line for the restrooms.  we ended up starting the race with the half marathon 16 min mile people because the lines were so freakin' long! that was another mistake, ahah!
i still am addicted to running.  always will be.      

that finish line can't come soon enough!  thanks for the action shot, ali.  ali=best photographer ever!

we finished!!! tiffany is adorable and i love the signs that jamie and ali made for us.

i love our medals!

i slept over at brandiann's, and she made me breakfast! she is still my hero. 

Go Kissy!

i am so proud of my little sis, kristy. she has been kicking trash in track, and she was a rockstar in cross country last year. what a babe. when i lived at home, she used to beg to go running with me, and i would let her come with me...on her tricycle! :) i loved having her bike along with me. she has gotten a lot faster since then! here is a pic of her from the albert lea tribune that almost makes me cry. GO SIS-TAH! you will always be the best to me, and i love ya! xoxo

marathon #2

i am running another marathon on april 28th! i can't believe i am saying that because after the last one, i thought "ok. cool. i ran a marathon. check. i will never run one again because that was freakin' hard." however...i am running another one, and i am super excited! there are five main reasons why i am running another marathon and these reasons (in no particular order) are:

#1. i am addicted to running. fact.
#2. it is a great excuse to have a girl's weekend. tiffany and nicole are running it as well, and ali and jamie are coming to be our fan club/groupies. ;)
#3. brandiann warren (my lover from creighton's ANC class) lives in nashville, so i can see her pretty face too!
#4. i love being active and seeing new places, so running 26.2 miles in nashville=a great combination!
#5. i am addicted to running. :)

nashville, tennessee


my new shoes...aren't they sweet lookin'? they are the most comfortable shoes i have ever run in. i have crappy flat feet, so i really appreciate these. thank you brooks. i know it is silly...but having these shoes makes me feel like cinderella runner chic, and i get all excited about training in these beauties.

Mr. Romney

after working with medicare/medicaid at the loretto hospital, seeing chicago's past two governors go to jail and watching the national debt grow, i know that the united states' government needs a "change we can believe in" and i know that this change is not obama. rich and i both think mitt romney would be a great change. he is an amazing and accomplished person who has so much to offer. rich has followed romney since he ran for president in 2008, and he has followed him even more this year. i have followed rich's lead and become a romney fan as well. in fact, we went to a rally for mitt in michigan...hence the pictures below. notice that we are on stage with romney? random, i know. rich had been talking with some campaign guy, and this guy put us on stage in front of the cameras. YIKES! i was definitely not expecting to be on national news, and i don't think rich was either. it made me realize (again) that i do not love bright lights on me! :) thank goodness romney doesn't mind. despite the crazy paparazzi, we got to talk with mitt for a little bit which was awesome. we also got pics and video with romney for free. score! :) romney would be such a great president. we really hope that he gets elected. go mr. romney!

mitt and rich. i found this pic on the wall street journal website!




this was a cute moment. mitt's wife was introducing him, and after a short story, she apologized for taking up too much time. to this remark, romney said, "i could listen to you all day". it was pretty dang cute.

Febuary 14th=Flowers, Chocolate and a Toothbrush!

valentines day is such a great holiday because it is all about lovin'. ;)
rich showed me some love and got me a gorgeous bouquet of spring flowers (see above picture) and some amazing dark chocolates for valentines day. he also gave me an electric toothbrush! how awesome is that? what a great dentist husband. rich is a great gift giver. however funny it may seem, i actually needed some toothbrush help. true story: i have worn out my enamel on some of my teeth because.....i brush too hard!? FAIL. BIG FAIL. i can't win, but thankfully i have rich to take care of me. xoxo. i love RMW.

Hanna's Shower

hanna atkinson, my awesome friend/wife of a dental student, was prego, so i threw her a shower. with the help of erin and kristin, it turned out super cute and fun. those two girls are amazing! they are so creative and organized. i wanna be them. oh and hanna was actually having contractions during the shower! she ended up having the baby the next day! what a party girl! :) next time i will not plan a shower so close to delivery.


the two creative genius' girls




go hot mama!