Miller Time in D.C.

Bryson and I just got back from our very fun visit with the Millers in D.C. We had a blast! The first few days were mostly occupied with resting and preparing for the marathon, but after that, we packed in all sorts of fun activities from sightseeing to kid friendly play days. Bryson was actually there for a business trip, so I had a lot of time to hang out with Crystal and the kids. Davis pretty much tortured Elle all week, so she spent most of the time wandering around saying, "oh no, babies" anytime he came near. Max seemed a little happier to have him around, and even tried to show him a few wrestling moves. In addition to all of the fun activities, I got to meet some of Crystal's cute friends and get a feel for her life out in Virginia. We were sad to leave, but hopefully we'll be out there again. Here are some picture highlights from the trip. Sorry this is a crazy long post!

This is the only group shot from the whole trip, the day before we left, after Max's baseball game


My good friend Jyl and her mom Janice came up for a quick visit the first week I was there. It was so good to see them!


We walked around the National Cathedral one night after dinner... it is beautiful.


We spent a day at Mt. Vernon, which was really fun. I learned so much about George Washington... I never knew he had so many talents. He seemed to do everything, and basically ran his own city at Mt. Vernon... in addition to running the country!


After Mt. Vernon, we spent the evening walking around all of the monuments. They are beautiful at night.




Crystal and I took Davis and Elle to this huge pumpkin patch with tons of great activities for the kids. Davis went crazy for the animals and had a great time all day.







Later that night, Max showed his culinary skills with his awesome sugar cookies


The next day we went to an apple orchard surrounded by gorgeous hills, where you can pick your own apples. So we went apple picking, then came home to make homemade apple pie and apple crisp. Yummy!








Once Bryson was done with his business conference, we were able to do a bit more sightseeing, so we went to the smithsonian to check out a few museums and walked around the national mall and monuments.


This one is in front of the Bendix trophy, which was neat to see because Bryson's grandpa placed 2nd in the Bendix race and has a slightly smaller, silver version of this at home.





We made a stop at the WWII memorial






And a quick stop by the White House


Museum of Natural History






Max and I are showing off our coolest Transformer moves in our matching t-shirts (he and Crystal share t-shirts when they have cool things like Transformers on them).


Crystal and I got to play dress up one evening because a photographer friend of hers wants to start doing weddings and needed a few "brides" to advertise on her website. So we got beautified and went around town taking fabulous pictures. When those pictures are done, maybe we'll have to post a few. This one is just from my camera when we were getting ready.


Watching Max play baseball was the cutest thing ever! He did great and was very excited to have his aunt and uncle there to watch.



Before we left, Crystal made us these great aprons!


Crystal got Davis to warm up to her by bribing him with oreos. What a nice aunt!

Marathon Madness!!!

Before the race:




We did it!!! Up until a few months ago, I had never even entertained the thought of doing a marathon. I would have thought it impossible for me, and I didn't even think I liked running. Well, all of that has changed, and I can now say that I am officially a marathoner! Crystal and I completed the Baltimore Marathon on saturday! It was both exhilerating and exhausing. I'm so glad that Crystal talked me into doing this, and it was amazing getting to run it with her (or at least the half that I could keep up with her).

Little did we know when we signed up for this marathon that it was one of the 5 biggest races in the country, with over 17,000 people participating in the various races that day (marathon, half marathon, 5k, etc)... and that it was actually a really challenging course, complete with long, steep hills at the beginning and unfortunately at the end. There were a few moments on those hills between miles 16-22 that I wanted to cry when I saw the next hill coming, but other than that, it actually wasn't as bad or hard as I expected. It just goes to show you that preparation really does pay off. When I started training, I was pretty tired after my first 2 mile run, and here we are 26.2 miles later, going strong!

I have to thank my sister for being one of those people in my life that encourages me to push myself and do things that seem impossible. I am pretty sure that I have the best sisters in the world. I also need to thank Bryson for being such a good sport about me ditching him and Davis for all of those long saturday runs. I am lucky to have a pretty amazing family. I love you guys!

So, these are not our most glamorous shots, but they are definitely blog worthy. Please notice the headbands. "I run so I can eat" It is our motto and our way of life. :-)

After the big finish!:

Looking for a good photographer?

We had some family pictures taken back in july, and I have been meaning to post some since we got them back. I really liked how they turned out, so I thought I'd give our photographer a little endorsement. In addition to taking great pictures, she is very nice and really easy to work with. So, if any of you Utah bloggers need a good photographer, I recommend Heather George. You can check out her website, www.heathergeorgephotography.com