9.29.2012

Tamarindo, Costa Rica Wedding/Honeymoon/Running

Where to start?
First and foremost, I married the man of my dreams
In a beautiful place with
sand and surf
monkeys and crocs
beer and nachos
sun and rain
oh...
and a marathon mixed in for Doug and a half marathon for me.
 
We stayed at the Tamarindo Diria Beach and Golf Resort
Which was pretty amazing
There were three pools
Our room was overlooking the ocean
Beautiful grounds
Fun shopping
Open air restaurants and bars
Great surfing just steps away
 
The sun rises around 5:30 am. I loved getting up to head outside on our veranda to watch the surfers in the morning. So peaceful.
They would then come again before sunset.
 
Doug snapped some amazing sunset photos. The colors were so vibrant.

 
This is what we went to bed to every night...
 
And this is what we woke up to...
 
We went on an estuary tour that was pretty awesome. It was just the two of us and our captain.
How he spotted some of the things we saw, like this iguana, I have no idea. He was pretty amazing.
Mind you, this is not a zoo, this is wild, Costa Rican country.

 
I'm not sure Doug or I initially spotted one croc on our own. The captain was able to spot them all.
We saw 5 or 6 crocs...
 
And 2 sets of monkeys. Each with their own little family.
Look at this little fella. How stinking cute.
 
And then the howler monkeys. I loved their sound.
See the baby? Our guide said he was about 3 weeks old.
What was fun about our run is that I was able to hear the moneys as we were running. Made for a great experience.

 
Our captain and boat
 
Doug enjoying a micro brew from Volcano Brewing
 
Sitting at Witch's Rock Surf Shop, eating at Joe's, anticipating 'Nachos As Big As Your Ass!'
 They were delish.
 
The life...
 
Packet pickup
 
A preview...
 
Doug at the pool with the swim up bar
 
Taking it easy
 
We booked our trip through Marathon Tours. We've booked several trips through them and have always had a great experience.
However, this time was something special.
Jacqui was our tour manager. I can not say enough great things about how amazing this woman is.
First off, in passing, I mentioned I needed to switch races to the half. The next thing I know, there is a note under our door stating she had that taken care of. She then found out about our wedding and asked if we wanted an upgraded room. Really? Yes. We declined, as our room was amazing enough. I'm not sure if it could have gotten any better anyway!
I could not get enough of her stories.
She is too humble, in my opinion, and you had to ask and probe before she would 'fess' up.
I had mentioned I saw she did the Leadville 100, which lead into questions regarding additional ultras she had completed.
She has done this race in Alaska..a 350 MILE...yes three hundred and fifty mile race. With a SLED that weighed about 60 pounds!
Holy moly, if I had done something like that, I would have it tattooed on my forehead!
After our victory party with the group, we headed back up to our room to find this...
from Jacqui.
I can only hope that one day we'll be able to complete another tour with her!
 
One of my favorite pictures.
Yes, I stole the idea from Pinterest, but who cares?
 Certainly not me!

 
The beach was amazing...
 
It is rainy season in Costa Rica.
It rained a couple of afternoons
but it was so relaxing to sit under the covered areas, whether it be the restaurant, bar or our veranda and just watch it pour.
We even got caught in the rain while having our wedding photos taken.
More to come on that later.
It was so.much.fun!


9.09.2012

For the Love of September

 
September is my favorite month of the whole year.
This year it's *over the moon* special.
***I AM MARRYING THE MAN OF MY DREAMS!***
While this is the absolute, most amazing reason why I love September, there are other things about September that have me smiling from ear to ear as well. So much so, it's starting to hurt. But who cares!


Running in long sleeves and shorts
Pumpkin patches
Pumpkin lattes
Pumpkin doughnuts
Snugging under the covers while the windows are open
Sunrise over Shawnee Mission Park while on my morning run
Football
Baseball
Smell of pine trees while running
Fall colors embracing the trees
Woodchuck Private Reserve Pumpkin Cider
The Pumpkin Run
Knowing the BFF will be older than me (if even only for a few months)
Our wedding
Our honeymoon
Big, bulky sweatshirts
A new Garmin
Harvesting honey

The list could go on and on and on...
But you get the idea...
Love
Pumpkins
Running
My senses are in overload and I still can't get enough.
I'm so in love.

XOXO

8.20.2012

Weekend trip to Omaha...Glow Run. Zoo. Storm Chasers game.

Doug suggested a quick weekend get away to Omaha. We have never been on a trip that didn't involve a run. Kid you not. So, what could be more fun than running The Glow Run 5K? Not much! This is our second Glow Run. We ran our first one in Kansas City. If one is coming your way, check it out.

Face paintings, balloon artists, lots of dancing, glowing and goofing around. 

Doug pondering his race day strategy.


After the run on Friday night, we rose bright and early Saturday morning and headed to the Omaha Zoo.
A fabulous zoo.
Doug took some great photos...


LOVED these guys. I wanted to stay and watch them all day. They would make you laugh out loud.

Yoga time...triangle pose

Doug liked these little fellas...They would run across the grass pounding their chests and run up to the glass and beat on it. Very entertaining.


Love the polar bear

Watching the sea lions splish splash around. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend. The weather was perfect.

Baby sea lion pushing his luck. He was born in November.

A rhino cooling himself in the mud

Why...hello there...

Mama and baby. Too cute.

There were too many cool things to pick just one favorite, but this was certainly at the top of the list.



How amazing...

After four hours at the zoo, (and we certainly could have stayed much longer), we headed to watch the Storm Chasers at Werner Park. They are the AAA affiliate for the Kansas City Royals. A great view...third row behind home plate. A great park. And a Storm Chasers win!

4.15.2012

What a Weekend!

Can you say Fantastic Weekend!?
It started out Friday with a Royals Home Opener.
The friends, food and drink, sunshine, perfect weather and great seats trumped a loss.


Then Saturday was filled with grabbing three sets of bees for their hives. One set for our house and we brought two sets down to Doug's mom and dad's.
Doug's parents place is one of my favorite places on Earth. The great company, the quiet of the country, their pond, the animals, fresh air. It just does not get any better. I am so lucky to have two great in-laws (to be). There are truly none better!
Doug's parents have 17 baby sheep right now. They are adorable.


I got to feed the baby! She is thirteen days old. Too cute...




And here are some photos of one set of bees. This is at our house...
Thousands of bees before they are introduced into their hive
Doug placing the queen into the hive
Bee free... A little bit of bee humor.
Buzzing around before they settle in.
As for Sunday. A day of rest and the smell of fresh baked bread!
All of this makes for one amazing weekend. Come Monday morning, I'm sure to still have a smile on my face.