The trouble with Facebook.

My story starts a few months ago when Andrew and I decided that we needed to run and went on to decide that if we were going to run we needed a definite goal to work towards or no real running would happen. So, we set out to do the Indian Summer Half Marathon here in TC. Well, we got off to a great start, kept to our schedule, and then...August hit! For me, the month of August compares to getting sucked in face first by a black hole. Come about the second week in September I look at Andrew and wonder..."who is this guy and why is he so nice to me?" Oh yeah oh yeah, I do have a life outside of the fair and this guy is my fiance - cool! Needless to say, our running schedule got a bit derailed thanks to ME, I take full and complete blame for lack of forward motion during August and now into September.

This is where Facebook comes in. It's really easy to show someone website links but simply posting them to their Facebook page. So, I posted a link for the Seattle Half Marathon on Andrew's wall. The problem with that is that it them becomes public information. This is not a good thing! Andrew and I toyed with the idea of running the race and had pretty much settled on being lazy for a big longer and running a race in January instead, and then, Naomi logged on. Naomi being the runner of all runners sees mention of this on Andrew's wall and as it looks on Facebook (let's remember that most of what you see on Fb is lies, all lies!!!) Andrew and I are hoping to run the Seattle Half Marathon and she thinks this is a fabulous idea! Crap. So then she tells us that she had been planning on running it and blah blah blah blah. Can you guess what I did today? Yes that's right, figured out how in the heck I could be ready to run a half marathon in just 10, TEN, short weeks! Andrew doesn't know it yet but here is our training plan for this week, wish us luck!:

Monday, September 21: 40 minute run, easy/moderate

Tuesday, September 22: 40 minute cross train, moderate

Wednesday, September 23: Rest

Thursday, September 24: 40 minute run, moderate

Friday, September 25: 30 minute cross train, moderate

Saturday, September 26: 3 miles, conversational pace

Sunday, September 27: Rest

*Training plan adapted from the book "Marathoning for Mortals" by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield.

Starting from the top left and moving right, a recap of my summer:

1. Dominic did Mutton Bustin again at the fair, always lots of fun!

2. The fair's second annual fun run, lots of stress but totally worth it! So exciting to see a dream come to life.

3. I got a brand new baby niece, Kira! I'm love her pieces already.

4. Annual camping trip with the Campbell's at Priest Lake. I'm getting better and better at camping.

5. Went to Mt. Rainier for the 4th of July with the girls. So pretty!

6. Amanda and I headed to Seattle to see Kenny Chesney at an amazing concert. I think we were both hoarse the next day from screaming.

7. Dad, Andrew and I took a helicopter ride over the Snake River down at Uncle Gene's. I think that a short ride was long enough for me.

8. Mom and I went to California to see Steph and Ellen. This is a picture of us at Disneyland, it was a great day!

9. Danielle had never been to Canada after living in the NW for almost 6 years - it was time, so again, we went camping. Holy cow, I did a lot of camping this summer. Strange.

10. Mom and I at Dana's graduation party. I love this picture of us. She is such a beautiful woman.

11. Andrew asked if I would marry him. I said yes. :)

12. Because I'm a dork, Dom is on here twice. He's cute, huh?

Summer Started

Summer seems like it has flown by. I wanted to put up a few pictures to highlight some of the events that took place this summer. It was a great summer filled with many blessings, too many apparently to fit into one post. So, here's a look at how my summer started....

My cousin Dana graduated, and became a Coug...

Andrew's cousin Kevin graduated as well and with in a weak moment made a bad choice, he is now a Dawg (bummer).

Mom and I headed to California to spend time with some of our best friends, The Keens. Steph and I of course soaked up our time together.

And oh yeah...on May 21st I got a new ring. :)

Fair Stories...This is mine, what's yours?

Dominic ready to ride his sheep!

Having a fairgrounds packs with animals implies one thing : Flies! Abby, was gracious enough to kill some of those in the office, even if they were sitting on my arm at the time.

I made it! We made it!

We did it, the fair has come and the fair gone. Sitting here on my bed now it feels as if we all stood through a hurricane and are left with the aftermath. The grounds are still covered with remnants but we are left with what is a virtual ghost town, a shadow of what was a bustling festival at this time last week. The office is crammed with leftovers, lost and found, supplies, banners, paperwork and four women tired and busy with wrap up. There are so many things that I love about the fair, among them are:
....the people that come to the fair. They are excited to be there having looked forward to it all year. People that come to the fair are not middle of the road, they are so glad that it's finally fair time again.
....the animals. It took me awhile to finally catch on to the fact that the huge sale that they were doing on Friday ended with all of the animals being sold, not being sold as a pet to another loving home, but that many of them would be bacon before next week. How had I missed this reality? Denial is a powerful defense.
....the mutton bustin. Dominic rode again this year. There is really nothing funnier to me than strapping a small child on to an angry sheep and seeing how things work out. What is up with that? Who came up with this game? Thankfully Dom is a good sport and finds it fun.
....but most of all the thing that I love the most about the fair is the people that I get to work with. There are so many things that are thrown at us during the week that I cannot imagine not having support from the people that I work with. These girls are some of my best friends. To go through a fair together is to understand the good and the bad of each person you're surrounded by. We know each others strengths and weaknesses. We know what makes each other smile and what makes each other bitchy. Thank you girls for making me laugh throughout the week! So many memories were made in the past week.
When I think of the memories that I made in the last week, I like to think about the memories that others made because we put on our fair. What does it mean to have a week of community coming together to share what they are proud of, what they are passionate about, what drives them. We have artists, cowboys, farmers, cooks, bakers, vitners, all coming together to show to others what they are most proud of, to share with others what it is that drives them. I saw a 99 year old gentleman run in a three mile run, running as part of his community. I watched as one of my employees showed her reserved grand champion hog as the two of them won fitting and showing. I saw a young boy donate his sheep to TETWP and raise $12,000 for women in OUR community with breast cancer. I also got to remember the place that started mine and Andrew's story. Every year it's fun to think about the week that I met Andrew and the week that I was given the man I would marry. I wonder how many other stories come from the week of the fair, how many stories begin, end or are made more full because of our humble fair.