CHECK IT! Carolyn ran a 1/2 marathon!

TEAM BBBS AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING!!!

Hey everybody! Guess what?? I DID IT! I ran the local, American Discovery Trail Half Marathon on Monday and survived [remember, I was just a 3-miler 2 months ago, I never ran more than that -- and running had been a pretty non-existent exercise since I had Kate ... but I did some training, and hey, I did it!]. I ran it in 2hours and 11min.

I "ran for kids' sake", and our team raised well over $2500 for Big Brothers Big Sisters. I was slower going than I wanted to be, but somehow I did run the whole darn thing. I averaged 9-10 minute miles and had 2 quick pit stops (man I cannot stand that 'energy goo / goop' whatever they call it; I nearly yacked). I was 20th (out of 47) in my age group. Anyhoo, not bad for only training for 4-5 weeks, huh?

Gene and Kate cheered me on at the 3-mile mark (which was also near the 11 mile mark), since we went up & back down the same trail). And the great thing was that my sister, her husband, and their new baby also came out for the long weekend and were also there to cheer me on! My sis even ran the last couple miles with me (and whoo-ee those are the hardest!).

I got a purdy medal at the finish line (everybody who finished got one). You could always look me up on the 30-34 year old females (if fyou don't believe me -- hee hee) at: http://pprrun.org/results/2009_results/2009_adtm_half_marathon.htm

Thanks to EVERYONE for your support, your prayers, your happy thoughts and your donations. YOU are awesome, and I truly truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart...

Carolyn

Carolyn & her nephew

Carolyn & her sis, Mandy

You can also go to the "fotojack" webpage to see an 'action' shot of me -- if you like:
http://www.fotojack.com/photo/?race=1195&sid=b6361c170e29d01438f16177435ec222&pg=1&val=mccallister&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

A weekend visit from Carolyn's parents!

We had a great visit with Grami and Papa! We ventured out to the zoo (imagine that!), visited the Will Rogers Shrine (located above the zoo, higher up the mountain), went to a nature program on Monarch butterflies --where we went searching for Monarch caterpillars, and had lots of fun -- just playing and chilling on the homefront!

Oh - and Gene and Carolyn even got to go out on a date to celebrate their 6 year anniversary!

Kate's 2nd Camping Trip

We ventured up to Rocky Mountain National Park, near Estes Park, to take Kate on her 2nd camping trip. We went with some friends of ours - Marne, Rory, and Leo. Leo's 1 year older than Kate, and they played well together! We had really nice chill-out time on our first day (we spent two nights and 3 days out there) and went on a couple great hikes and saw TONS of elk. Kate liked saying that word "elk" cuz she's really into words with the 'k' / 'c' sound lately. She just learned to say her name too!

Here's a great video of Kate and a GIANT slice of watermelon....mmmmmm.


There's a great video below of elk "bugling" - really interesting to hear if you haven't heard them before. You won't believe that elk make that noise, sounds like a creaky door. I didn't believe it the first time I heard it either! Oh and don't mind the "Blair Witch"-type videotaping -- haha!

Visitors from Chicago: Aunt Nancy & Uncle Glen!

Carolyn's Uncle Glen and Aunt Nancy came to visit us for the first time since we've moved here. Had a GREAT time! Did all the good Colorado Springs stuff -- toured the Air Force Academy (dreary day with WEIRD clouds & tornado warnings), went around Garden of the Gods (GORGEOUS day) and up to top of Pike's Peak via the Cog Railway (also GORGEOUS), went on a double date downtown at a tapas restaurant AND went to a Rockies game up in Denver, and YES THIS WAS ALL IN A PERIOD OF 4 DAYS! :) Enjoy the slideshow!

Other Highlights - Playing Outside this Summer

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo -- Trip 3!

On today's trip to the zoo, we were joined by our friends Marne and Leo. Aside from Kate getting her first BIG "owie" (right on the noggin -- sp??), we had a great time. It was another beautiful Colorado day. The kids enjoyed feeding giraffes, comparing their hand size to lion paws, watching tigers sneak up on each other and play in the water (a rare sighting!), and watching the crazy river otters going in an out and in and out of the water. Good times...

OOOO - TIGERS!LOOKING FOR RIVER OTTERS

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH A WALLABY!

KATE & LEO

1st owie on the head :(

Kate's 1st Camping Trip - 11mile Canyon

We went with some friends from Kate's playgroup to 11-mile Canyon this weekend -- just a "one-nighter" camping trip. It was our first time to the area, and we had a great time. Weather was great, and Kate did AWESOME -- slept better that night camping than she does sleeping at home! We went on a hike to an amazing lookout spot. Kate crashed out on the way up, and ate yogurt pretzels on the way down -- oh what a mess!

Here are some pics to show how purdy it is out there: