Moving and a Half Marathon - which I don't recommend scheduling within a week or so of each other if you can help it.

While on vacation, we got an offer on our house. The same couple had actually put an offer on our house the week before, but we couldn't see eye-to-eye during the negotiations so we both walked away. After househunting a second weekend, I guess they decided they liked our house enough to give us a better offer. We negotiated a little bit more and got a contract! About two weeks on the market - really great!

So we got back from LA early Sunday morning. The movers came Thursday. Everything in between was a blur. Huge thanks go out to our friends and ward members who watched our kids while we got stuff done. They were major lifesavers. We decided to use an ABF truck and pay movers to come and load everything up. Since we didn't have somewhere to stay once we got to Richmond, we could pay to store the stuff in the ABF thing (it's like a POD but bigger) until we found a home. We also rented a Penske for the essential stuff that we needed before finding a home. So we got all loaded up and Dan was awesome and vacuumed/cleaned the house to make it look great in case our sale didn't go through. He started driving the Penske late Thursday night. I think he slept on the side of the road for a total of about 3 hours or something and got to my parents' house late Friday night. I spent Thursday through most of Saturday with Kirk and Gretchen and then flew to Charlottesville Saturday afternoon. Friday Gretchen, Dionne, and I all got together one last time for a playdate. It was great. Dionne has been such a great friend to me. She was also such a huge help to us during the move. I miss her! Sam really misses Harrison and Carter, too. Harrison was so thoughtful and gave Carter and Sam a picture of the three of them in a decorated frame. On Sam's frame, Harrison drew our family, a soldier, and a race car.

And for a walk down memory lane, this is what Sam and I looked like when we moved into our Houston home:

We sure got spoiled by the inexpensive and large homes in Houston. We are having a tough time here finding something we both like. And we are living in a one bedroom apartment with a loft while we house hunt. The small space is a good motivation for finding something SOON! But I digress.

We stayed with my parents for a week while I tried to find a short term rental. Dan was making the 1 hour, 45 minute commute each day. That Friday I had a plane ticket to fly to Kansas City and run the Go Girl half marathon with Candice and my Aunt Colleen. I got in around dinnertime and Candice, Craig, and the girls picked me up and took me to Uncle Dana and Aunt Colleen's. We visited with everyone (David and Meegan came over, too) and then tried to go to bed at a reasonable time.

We woke up early Saturday morning and got to the race with enough time to stand in line for 15 minutes to use the port-a-potty. I was terrified that I'd have to use the bathroom somewhere on the course and there wouldn't be a toilet. This was the first long run I'd done where I didn't have to stop and use the bathroom!! YAY! TMI? Sorry.

Before the race:

So we stood there forever waiting for the race to start. It started 30 minutes late. Candice and I hung together for the first 8 miles or so and then she wasn't feeling well and decided to walk. I ran pretty much the whole thing. I walked while I drank so I wouldn't spill, and then I walked at one point around mile 11 when I saw Candice behind me and tried to wait to see if she wanted to run together, but she still wasn't feeling great so I ran (more like a slow jog at this point) to the end. I am so glad Candice signed up for this race and encouraged me to do the same! I never thought I'd be able to run that far. I am so proud of my aunt, too! She hadn't been running, either, and started training just 10 weeks before the race.

We did it!

 Cheers.

 Uncle Dana was such a great cheerleader. He strategically maneuvered his way around the course to cheer us at three different spots along the way. And he held all my junk for me.

Craig and the girls, as well as David and Meegan, cheered us on, too.

After the race I took a much needed shower, we hit up Oklahoma Joe's, watched Preakness for some strange reason, hung out, (have you seen a cuter baby? Other than mine, of course?)

and played a game that was fun but I can't remember the name of. Then I flew back to Virginia early Sunday.