Christmas Time & Dopey Challenge Training Week 25 (Final One!)

Now that our Christmases are all complete, life can somewhat return to normal around here. I really really really enjoyed this Christmas season and the way the weekend fell. I didn't feel rushed or pressured to make too many dishes/desserts at one time and all was calm...and bright. :)

On Saturday morning, we had my parents over for a delicious brunch of homemade cinnamon rolls and breakfast foods. We had so much fun and loved kicking back and relaxing with them on Christmas Eve Eve.

We attended a candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve and enjoyed lunch with my parents and a few friends after!

Jason had to work on Christmas day and none of our famlies were doing anything significant that day, so Brayden and I spent a majority of our time at my parent's house, eating gumbo and watching Christmas movies. How have I never seen White Christmas?! I loved it!

That evening, Jason and I opened our gifts with Brayden and had a blast! It was fun to see how he tore each little piece of paper off of each gift and threw them into the trash bag. That kid keeps us laughing for sure.

I sure do love my little family!

On the day after Christmas, we had our Christmas gathering with Jason's family at Jason's sister's house. 

She completely transformed her garage into our eating space and it was perfect! Everything looked beautiful and the food was yummy too!

Brayden's great-grandmother read the Christmas story from Luke, then it was time to open gifts!

Jason's family is huge and it was fun celebrating with them!

On the day after the day after Christmas, we celebrated with my family!

After an amazing and yummy dinner made by my parents, we opened gifts and enjoyed spending time together!

This shirt is perfect, what can I say?! :)

Brayden LOVES his Cozy Jeep! Best gift ever!

It sure is strange going from Jason's huge family to our small one, but I absolutely love it just the same!

We definitely know how to have a good time! :)

On Wednesday afternoon, my brother, sister-in-law, and I saw The Greatest Showman. Y'all. This movie is AMAZING and I want to go watch it again like right now. Jason had to work and wasn't able to see it with us, so that's my excuse to see it again!

Since it's the final Friday of my Dopey Training cycle, I couldn't let today pass by without a last and final Dopey Challenge Training Fitness Friday!

 
Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA

Week 23:
Saturday - I ran on Friday instead since I knew Saturday would be crazy - 3 miles for Friday
Sunday - 6 mile run
Monday - Squats/Lunges/PT with cross training
Tuesday - The weather turned NASTY so Tuesday became a rest day instead!
Wednesday - Squats/Lunges/PT with cross training
Thursday - 3 mile run
Friday - Rest Day

On Friday, I wasn't so sure about this "winter" thing...

It definitely wasn't anywhere near me and my chances of a cold Christmas were looking slim.

After returning home from our Christmas Eve service, I decided to head out for my weekly long run. Six miles was all I could muster and I was completely ok with that!

The sky and sunset gave off a beautiful view during my run!

This week I've also done a LOT of leg work as I'm trying to be completely prepared for Disney and Dopey Challenge. I don't want my knee or hamstring to act crazy any time during the week we are there! Hopefully all works out ok and in my favor!

It's been a fun but challenging training cycle and I honestly can't believe we are already at this point! How has this snuck up on me so fast?! Back in June when I began training, it felt so far away and now it's actually here...crazy! Just five days until we leave and I haven't packed a single thing. Sounds like my weekend will consist of a long run and Disney packing!

Thanks for following along in my Dopey Training journey! I'm excited for January 8th and the final culmination of it all!

Have a great one and Happy New Year! How was your Christmas weekend? Did you watch any new (to you) movies during your time off?

Vlogidays Weekend Edition #6

I hope you all had a great Christmas! Ours was amazing and is still continuing as we speak! We have our final family Christmas gathering tonight which has certainly made this Christmas time a fun one as it's prolonged it past Christmas day!

Today, I'm sharing with you a video recap of our weekend where we had brunch with my family, attended a candlelight Christmas Eve service at church, and opened gifts with our little family. Brayden's 2nd Christmas did not disappoint and sure was a fun one to experience together!

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas! Thank you for being a blog follower - I've enjoyed sharing our life journey with you!

Christmas Traditions

How on earth is it only four days until Christmas?! FOUR?? This season has literally flown by so fast! If you missed it, I've been sharing a glimpse of our holiday weekends over on my youtube channel so go check that out if you're interested! :)

Jason and I have been married for 11 Christmases now and each year, we've held on to several traditions with both mine and Jason's side of the family that are near and dear to my heart.

For starters, Jason and I always decorate our tree the weekend before Thanksgiving. I know it's early, but I love to hold on to the holiday season as long as I can!

One of the best things to do during the Christmas season is watch Hallmark/Christmas movies on the TV and sit in a darkened room with the soft glow of light from the tree. LOVE it!

On Christmas Eve, I usually have my family over for Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls. This year, our tradition is expanding to a full blown "brunch" and will take place on the 23rd! Can't wait!

Another favorite tradition is a family group picture - we always take a serious and a funny one and they crack me up every year! We have a tradition Thanksgiving type Christmas meal at my dad's house for Christmas and I look forward to it every year! He is a good cook, y'all! We also open gifts and play board games and it's just a crazy fun good time!

My family is above and Jason's family is below...

We sure know how to have a good time! Hah!

Jason's family tradition is usually held on Christmas Eve (although it will be on the 26th this year) and includes a dinner of fajitas. After dinner, Jason's grandmother reads the Christmas story from Luke and we open gifts. It's such a loving and warm time of being with family!

The night before Christmas is also a fun movie time for us! We always try to fit in a viewing of Christmas Vacation and before heading to bed, I HAVE to watch NSYNC's Holidays in Concert as well as a favorite from childhood - A Disney Channel Christmas! Yes, both are on VHS and I definitely need to convert them to DVD here soon...

Since having Brayden, our Christmas traditions have only begun to grow. I love watching the wonderment in his eyes over the lights and sounds of Christmas, especially as a toddler now! My sister in law took this picture last year and it has since become one of my Christmas favorites!

We are so excited for all this Christmas has to bring as well as future Christmases to come! There's nothing quite like seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child!

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

It's FRIDAY!

Link up with Running on Happy & Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup!

Holiday Weekend #5

Now that the holidays are officially over, I feel as if I can breathe once again. Through the hustle and bustle of it all, I didn't have much time for editing videos although I am glad for the time I was able to spend with family!

Even though I'm a week behind, I do have all the footage and plan to share our Christmas weekend video today and our New Years Weekend video next week.

We had SO much fun celebrating Brayden's very first Christmas with him! (Honestly, it made me even more excited for next year!)

I hope you and your family also had a great Christmas!

Thanks for watching! Have a great day!!

Christmas Has Come & Gone

It’s the day after Christmas, one of my least favorite days of the year.

Our Christmas holidays were spent with both sides of our families.

Jason’s family tradition is to eat Fajitas on Christmas Eve. I look forward to these every year!

Jason’s grandmother reads the Christmas story from the book of Luke prior to handing out presents.

We love taking family group photos. Its fun to see how everyone’s changed throughout the years.

On Christmas Day, we all enjoyed a batch of homemade Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls for brunch.

They were delicious!

Mid-day, Jason and I opened our gifts to each other…and the doggies opened theirs, too. Madalynn and Pixie remembered gifts being put under the tree and they were ready! It was hilarious watching Madalynn with this bone…she didn’t know what to do with it at first!

We had traditional Christmas Day food at my parent’s house and it was SO good (and yes, my eyes were way bigger than my stomach)!

Our group picture!

After having our fill of food, we played a rousing game of Mall Madness. It had been YEARS since this game was played and we had a lot of fun with it!

My brother won! He’s an excellent shopper.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Only 364 days to go!

How did you spend your Christmas? What did Santa bring you?

Long Run & Christmas Eve

Happy Christmas Eve!

It’s hard to believe these past few weeks have come and gone and Christmas is already here!

This past Saturday, my friends and I celebrated the season with a long run. Well, we weren’t actually celebrating anything, we were just out for our usual Saturday long run for our upcoming Marathons. It didn’t even feel like Christmas…or December…or even Winter for that matter. The air was hot, humidity was high, and the forecast called for rain. In fact, I’m only wearing a long sleeve shirt because I changed after my run.

My distance on Saturday was 17 miles – in training for Rock n Roll NOLA. At the last minute (aka three weeks ago), I decided to bump my registration up from the half to the full marathon. My base mileage has been ok all season, my only concern – I hadn’t run a long run (beyond 13 miles) since February of this year. Yikes! After speaking with my coach, she advised me to run 16 ish miles on Saturday, then 21 miles two Saturday’s from now. 

Both of my friends ran 21 miles because they are training for Houston. It was Erin’s first ever 21 mile run and we are so proud of her!! I love how our schedules intertwine, even though we are training for different races.

I was kind of scared how my knee would hold up during this long run, but I wore my knee brace with extra Atomic Balm and I was all set! Thankfully, I wasn’t sore that afternoon or the next day, either. Saturday’s run definitely gave me more confidence for this Marathon. While it may not be my fastest, I do feel better about finishing.

Ignore the time on my watch, I don’t ever stop it on water breaks while out with my running group because I always forget to restart it.

After my run, I enjoyed a little Panera for breakfast with a Non-Fat Peppermint Mocha. Yum!

Tonight, we are going to Jason’s family’s house to spend the evening with them. I love being with his family, especially at Christmas – the love and warmth in the air is palpable.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve! What are your plans? How are you spending Christmas Eve?