Sunday, October 23, 2011

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin carving is a family tradition around the Miller household. Scott feels as though I made up the tradition, and he has to do all of the work. :) He enjoys it though! This year was fun, because Bailey was interacting with us during the process and "helping."


Here is Bailey with her pumpkin patiently waiting to get started!

Bailey & Daddy ready to start carving. (Look at that smile!)
At first, Bailey really wasn't too interested and wasn't impressed with the "ickiness" inside of the pumpkin. We could never get her to actually put her hand inside of the pumpkin, but she enjoyed playing with the pumpkin top. She eventually played with the "ickiness" that was inside the pumpkin after it was taken out by Scott and put into a large bowl. Of course, she was holding a spoon with a very long handle.


Playing with the pumpkin top! Her favorite!
 All in all, it was another successful year of pumpkin carving. It is fun to see how Bailey acts with different traditions from year to year. Maybe next year she'll actually put her hands in the pumpkin. We'll see!

The final product!




Monday, October 17, 2011

Smashing Barriers at the Columbus Half Marathon

Sunday was the big day! After 12+ weeks of training, my sister and I ran the Nationwide Columbus 1/2 Marathon. My sister reminded me of the long road of training that we had after the race yesterday. She talked me into running the 1/2 marathon when we were at the beach this summer on our family vacation. That was the beginning of July!!!! It is yet another reminder of how fast time goes by!!!

We got up at 5:30 on Sunday morning for the race. Unfortunately, there was a traffic jam at our exit and we never made it to our corrals. Even though we were rushing to get to the start line, we still had time for a pre-race picture:



We took off with the overwhelmingly large crowd towards the back of the pack. It wasn't until mile 5 that I felt like I had space to move. I spent a lot of time on sidewalks in the first five miles of the race. Not fun! I am just thankful that I didn't fall off of any curbs!! At mile 5 I also started to feel strange and unfamiliar pains throughout my body. I am not sure whether to contribute it to just normal running pains or old age... :) I also noticed the hill for the first time between mile 11 and mile 12. It didn't seem to be that awful the first two times I ran this race. Maybe they just had it put in??? Needless to say, this was a mental race for me. I had a goal that I wanted to achieve and I wasn't going to let large crowds or pains get in my way!

My goal going into the race was to run it in under 1 hour and 50 minutes. The last time I ran a half marathon I ran it in approximately 1 hour and 52 minutes, (I say approximately because my time chip didn't work. Talk about aggravating!!!) so I wanted to beat my previous barrier. Well, I SMASHED the barrier, and I am stoked about it. I ran it in 1 hour 45 minutes and 2 seconds. (Of course, I am thinking if I wouldn't have slowed down at so many water stations I could've knocked off those two seconds! Never satisfied am I???) My sister also smashed her barrier as well by five minutes. Her goal was to run it in under 2 hours and she ran it in 1 hour 54 minutes and 41 seconds. So proud of her!!!

Here we are all smiles after the race!!!



Can I just say that I love running!?! Even though it was physically (and mentally) a tough race, I look forward to my next race. Someday I will take on a full marathon, but I have some other things to do first. :) I also don't feel like I can talk about running without thanking the man who gave me my running genes, my dad!!! Thanks, dad! We really wish you could've been with us yesterday!!! Maybe next time???

Thursday, October 13, 2011

"Be amazed, and be changed, by a perfect God"

"There's no such thing as perfect people
There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are, broken and scarred
Lift up your heart, and be amazed, and be changed, by a perfect God"
-Natalie Grant

This song played on my iPhone today during my final training run for the 1/2 marathon on Sunday, and I felt like Natalie was singing to me personally. If you are a fellow control freak/perfection seeking human being like myself, this song will speak to your heart. I do not have to be perfect, because GOD IS PERFECT!!! I am being challenged by this right now and pray that you will challenge yourself as well if you struggle with giving God control.

"... come as you are, broken and scarred. Lift up your heart, and be amazed, and be changed, by a perfect God"

How refreshing!



I couldn't find an official music video, so here is a YouTube video to enjoy
if you don't have a copy of the song!

Monday, October 3, 2011

"We're in Swiss Cheese Heaven at the Swiss Festival"

Well, another Swiss Festival is behind us. The Kiddie Parade was a rainy success! Bailey did great in the midst of cold temperatures, wind and rain fall during the entire parade on Friday. Our float didn't win any awards (not that we were surprised), but it turned out great. Our float theme was "We're in Swiss Cheese Heaven at the Swiss Festival." I give Tash's creativity and artistic ability all of the credit! It was fun, but I highly doubt this will be a standing tradition... until we forget what it was like five years from now. :) Sometimes we tend to only remember the parade and not the days leading up to the parade... you know what I mean?

Here is a picture of the girls on the float before the parade:


Bailey, Sydney and Skylar were troopers through the rain as we held umbrellas up the entire parade route. Bailey even fell off of her chair twice and had to switch places with Sydney, but she remained calm for the most part during the seating situation. She did much better than her mother did in her first parade. I was about four years older than Bailey when I was in my first parade and I cried the entire time because it was raining. Needless to say, my family doesn't have much luck with weather during parades! Bailey's happiness may have partially remained intact because I let her "double fist" her first suckers ever down the hill. A mother will do anything in moments like this!

All in all, it was a great weekend with friends and family. We ate a lot of strombolli and apple fritters, Bailey got to ride on her first rides (which she didn't enjoy), Scott once again was the pig in the big parade on Saturday and we had a great time hanging out with friends!!!

Enjoy more pictures from the parade!!!