Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Last week my new friend Julia from Vegas Mother Runner nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger award!! Wowzers! Thank you so much, Julia, for choosing me from so many blogs out there! I really appreciate it and well, it made me feel so special ;)

Here are the rules that go along with this award:

Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
List the rules and display the award. Done!
Share seven facts about yourself.
Nominate 15 other amazing blogs and comment on their posts to let them know they have been nominated.
Optional: display the award logo on your blog and follow the blogger who nominated you.

So, here are 7 facts about me that you may not know:

1. I am a wedding photographer. I absolutely love what I do and wouldn't have it any other way. I get to work from home, unless I'm shooting. Plus, I get to document one of the happiest days in people's lives. It's the best. Here's my website if you want to see more pretty wedding photos: http://theemerics.com/

a little sample of one of my favorite weddings this year!

2. My daughter's middle name is Amelie, based on my favorite French movie!

3. I love all things French, really! Paris is my favorite city and I can't wait to go back!!!

4. Jason and I have been married for almost 18 years (anniversary is Aug 28). Yup, everyone is always very surprised when I say this! We got married young, but we've made it work and I couldn't image my life without him.

5. My favorite flower is the Sunflower! I just looks so bright and happy! Sunflowers always cheer me up :)

6. I don't know how to ride a bike. When I was 17 I tried to ride a bike and I hadn't been on a bike since I was 8 years old. Yup, I fell and never got on a bike again until a few months ago when I decided I should try to learn it again. It was a very wobbly ride on my son's bike around our street and I haven't been on since.

7. I've never owned a PC. Every computer I've owned has been Apple and of course, our phones & tablets are also Apple!

There ya have it! Seven facts about me. Who knew I was so interesting (Just kidding!) Now on to the 15 blogs I am nominating! Go check them out, they rock!

Summer Bucket List | Hiking at Bryce Canyon National Park

Summer is in full swing here in Vegas (read: hot as an oven!) so going out to Bryce Canyon, UT this past weekend and enjoying cooler temps was such a nice break from the 100+ temps. Since we were already going to Bryce Canyon for our half marathon, we decided to make a family trip out of it and add it to our Summer Bucket List!

Our obligatory/traditional photo in front of the national park sign!

After the 5 hour drive on Friday (we took the scenic route) we totally needed to stretch our legs and let the kids run around. We found a list of suggested trails and decided on Mossy Cave, it was an easy & short 0.8 trail that led to a small waterfall and offered pretty scenery. It was just the right amount of exploring we needed before dinner and calling it a night since Jason and I had an early start the next day!

After Saturday's Bryce Canyon Half Marathon and a hearty breakfast, we made our way to hike among the hoodoos on Navajo Loop. It was a fun 2 mile trail that led you down into the canyon and then back up. Some of the drop offs were kinda scary, especially with my daredevil Parkour loving 13 year old nephew and Diego ready to keep up with him! But, we all survived and were starving afterwards. My sister and Jared took off to come back to Vegas after our late lunch and we went back to the room to relax a bit. Running a half marathon, then hiking for 2 miles really made us tired and I think I was in bed snoring by 9pm. It would have been sooner but we had to get dinner and some groceries for the picnic we were planning the next day.

On Sunday, I was still a little sore from the race, but I felt so much better. After breakfast, we made our way back to the park so the kids could listen to a ranger talk, which was part of their Jr. Ranger program. We've been doing these National Park Jr. Ranger booklets for years now, but this was the first year Elysse was actually excited about completing her booklet and getting the badge. It was pretty cute :) Her souvenir from the trip was a army green Jr. Ranger vest!

After our picnic lunch and a little walk around some lookout points, we pretty much called it a day and started our trip to Vegas! Like I said, this was a much needed break from the Vegas heat and just the daily grind. Going on road trips and vacations with my family is really one of my favorite things to do and I'm so grateful for all the memories we get to make together. I can't wait for the next one!

What's one of your favorite things to do with your family? Do you have a favorite National Park? What's on your summer bucket list?

Bryce Canyon Half Marathon Recap | Race 10 of 14 for 2014

So, you all know how much I love my sister, right? It's apparent. She rocks. She's my bff, my biggest supports, she puts up with my craziness. I could go on and on, but for today's blog post we're going to talk about how she became my super hero/lifesaver! Here's the story:

Jason and I, along with the kiddos, headed out to Bryce Canyon, UT early Friday morning. My sister & nephew would be coming later that afternoon. We took our time driving out there and stopped in St. George to have Chick-fil-a (YUMMM!!) We saw Dick's Sporting Goods had a tent sale, so we walked around the tent full of running shoes for a bit but didn't buy anything. So, off we went. We made it to Bryce Canyon around 2pm. When we pulled over to one of the lookout points and were ready to walk a short trail, I go to the back of the car to grab our shoes. You see, I packed the kids hiking shoes and my shoes in a separate bag and we just wore our flip flops for the trip. It's way easier to travel with kids in flip flops than in shoes that need to be laced up. Well, alas, there was no bag. I asked Jason if he put the bag in front with the kids, but I knew the answer....the man forgot to pack our shoe bag. How was I going to run a half marathon in flip flops?!? I may have started to panic, but then I quickly thought to call my sister and see if they were near St. George. It was about 2 hrs away and the closest town with a sporting goods store. We had to drive a bit to get signal, but when I called and spoke to my nephew and he told me they were about to drive into St. George, I knew I'd be ok. Big sister to the rescue. Long story short, she found me some Saucony ProGrid Ride 5 sneakers on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods store and grabbed some shoes for the kids at the Old Navy next door. I was pretty nervous the rest of the day, but glad that I would at least have sneakers to run in for the half marathon. When she arrived, I was so anxious to try on the shoes and even more relieved to see that they fit and were comfortable.

I had a rough time sleeping that night. I was still anxious about running in new shoes in a brand I'd never used before. What a way to break in your shoes, huh?!? 4am came way to quickly. I felt like I was in a fog getting ready and drank some bad in-room coffee maker coffee to help wake me up. I went through the motions, but just couldn't get excited. I was more nervous and scared than anything. My super hero sister came to to our room to keep sleeping with our kiddos & we walked out of the room to catch the bus driving us up to the start line at 5am. I really lucked out when booking our hotel room because the pick up was right across the street from where we were staying and the half marathon ran right in front of the hotel too!

Thanks to Jason for taking these pics of the starting line and during the first part of his run! I still can't manage to get myself to take pics during a race!

It was still pitch black as the bus drove us to the start line and I couldn't help but think how crazy we all were sitting in this cold bus way too early in the morning, to go run downhill for 13.1 miles! We managed to stay warm(ish) by standing next to one of the 4 or so bonfires that were set up at the start line. A few runners made small talk with us, I ate my Larabar, had my Island Boost, and just waited to start feeling better. Well, I can tell you that that didn't happen until after mile 2. At this point, Jason was running way ahead of me, I had told him it was ok and he took off! After the first flat 2 miles, I found my groove and the road started to go downhill. The scenery was beautiful and was really enjoy the downhill speed. I was able to see Jason up ahead of me running with the 2:20 pacer but I didn't try to catch up. I was already running way faster than normal and I didn't want to push myself too much so early in the race. By mile 8 he started to slow down, so I ran a little sprint and caught up to him. We were running through the town so we slowed down to see my sister and the kiddos! They were out there with their cow bells making noise and cheering us on in their PJs! It was awesome to see them and it got me pumped up for the next 5 miles. At this point, the downhill incline wasn't as steep and I knew I was slowing down, but I was keeping a nice pace and feeling really good too. Jason was also slowing down and I could tell that he was starting to struggle around mile 10 or so. By mile 12, I was ready for it to be over! I wanted to run faster, but Jason couldn't go any faster than what he was already going so I stayed running by him. I knew I was going to PR at this point and I remembered how crucial it was for me to have my cousin with me for my first half marathon and I wanted to do the same for the hubs...even if he did forget to pack my sneakers in the car!!! When we spotted the finish line, we did a mini-sprint to the finish line together and it felt great! Our official time was 2:25:27:06! Jason finished his first half marathon, I PRed by 9 minutes and couldn't be happier! The finish line had the regular post-race snacks of bagel pieces, orange slices, bananas, water, and chocolate milk. We stayed around the finish line area, walked around, stretched, enjoyed some free ice cream, and waited for my sister to pick us up.

All and all, the race was very well organized, we had no issues at all with packet pickup or at any point during the race. There were plenty of water stations along the road and port-a-potties at about every mile (Woohoo to not having to use them, though!) The scenery was lovely and the downhill course was just fantastic! And, although I wouldn't recommend trying a new running shoe on race day, the Sauconys worked out just fine!

Be sure to come back tomorrow to read and see pictures from the rest of our trip and our family time hiking through the Bryce Canyon hoodoos!