We Run for Fun.. and Food

And Charity.

At the beginning of September, Susan and I decided we needed to dig up our running shoes and go back to our glory days of collegiate running. We decided some simple motivation would be the Panerathon. Think a mix of Panera and running in reverse order and a 10k instead of a marathon (got that?!). The entry fee was being donated in its entirety to the Denver food bank which I must confess made it more desirable but the Panera might have been a bigger draw.

No problem we thought as we registered and made our plans for going from almost no running to running 6.2 miles. Then, I got the worst sore throat ever. Then, I got a halo affect going around my eye followed by intense dizziness. Then, frustrated with all the things keeping me from running, I ignored my aching foot until it hurt to even walk on it. So pretty much, then at 24 my body decided to fall apart. No problem my every-aching-muscle-in-my-body.

But you will be glad to know that we conquered. Sunday morning, we were off. I must say we finished with a time we were happy with as well. Below are the "lovely" pictures that proved that we did it.

Free Sunday (and Monday) breakfast!

We can still stand!!!

"Matchy-matchy"
Al ran a 5k... Eric the good Christian was in church :)

Goodbye Alabama... Hello Colorado

It's official.

Horses, Landforms, and All Things Sports

This past week has been Denver sports mania. To all our Dallas friends, don't worry. We still heart the Cowboys, love the Mavs, and don't care too much about the Rangers. But I think we could also learn to love the teams that Denver calls their own. This past Sunday, our friend Andy generously took some of us to the Broncos home opener. For you football enthusiasts, you know that it was quite the game. Two highlights were the fact that the Broncos were high-scoring and that Susan and I soon learned that you're supposed to "hug" after each touchdown. Both of these things were beneficial, as our seats were the last two seats in the very top corner, and we spent all of the afternoon game in the shade. However, we were also very close to the fireworks that announced each time the Broncos scored. Between the blast of heat from the fireworks and the hugging, we stayed quite warm. The boys were also at the game... just in a different area.

On Friday, we had the opportunity to go to a Rockies game thanks to my dear co-T and her husband. It was good times as well. Not as many exciting stories from this one... after all it is baseball :) It should be noted that Eric stayed true to form and did not participate in the wave.

It was fun times all around... Go D teams!

I Guess I'm Not a Toys'r'Us Kid

Lately, I have begun to notice the frequency with which Eric and I have been having "grown-up" conversations. I guess this move prompted thinking about the future and college is definitely starting to feel like something of the past. Expect more notes on these conversations in the future, after all we're only getting older :)

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Today is my dear friend Sarah's 25th birthday!

Last night we took a group picture of us celebrating...


It reminded me of Sarah's 22nd birthday senior year of college. Some faces have changed, but some have not.

I am so thankful for good friends!

A Summary Entitled: "What We Did Over Labor Day; My New Co-teacher; and What We Have Been Up To Since the First Day of School!"

With that title, this post has some big shoes to fill, but I will try to catch you up on all that has been going on with us! Eric has officially started all 3 of his jobs (I'll let him tell you more about that later); we're involved in our church; and school is in full swing! All of these things have made for some very busy (and very enjoyable) couple of weeks!

One of the interesting things about my new teaching job is that I co-teach with another certified teacher. Yep, two teachers in the room with 30 students. Now, I'm sure you are wondering, "How does that work???" I wondered too when I took the job. After all, teachers tend to have type-A personalities and tend to like to direct things... which is probably part of the reason they signed themselves up for a low-paying career in the first place! The best analogy I can come up with to describe co-teaching is this: Having a co-teacher is like being married. Seriously. You have to make a million-and-one decisions together when you enter into the co-teaching relationship; you have to compromise and work through differences; and you even have to decide where to put things on the walls. I had this epiphany when my co-teacher was putting a poster on the wall and she asked if it was good or should be moved slightly over... a page straight out of the "when-Eric-hangs-our-picture-frames" book! Because getting along is so crucial, I am very thankful to say that my co-teacher, Amy, is awesome!

Not only are Amy and I in the same place in life (she is my age and recently got married), but our philosophies on all things education pretty much line-up (which is huge!). I feel so blessed to be working with her. In fact, over Labor Day weekend, she, her husband, Eric, and I went camping up in the Colorado mountains. We were originally supposed to go to the Grand Tetons along with our good friend Sarah, but when she got sick, we decided to go closer to home. It was a relaxing weekend- void of all things scary (i.e. mountain lions/bears) but not void of a few mishaps (see shoe picture).

The four of us in the mountains.

The mishap: Amy's shoe, on Amy's foot, managed to fall into the river. Her husband rigged up a shoe drying stick, which worked so well it melted the sole of the shoe!

Co-teachers!