Monday, May 1, 2017

Disneyland getaway: Day 1

Months before, we'd spotted a Southwest Airlines special and booked a family trip to Disneyland for MLK weekend in January. It ended up being a nice, unintentional break from the snow storms at home. I tried to document all the fun :)

Ready to go!
First ride: California Screamin'
Dad's turn:

Toy Story Midway Mania:
Mickey's Fun Wheel:
Potty with a cactus:
Jumpin' Jellyfish (baby boomer!)
Golden Zephyr:
The Bakery Tour:
Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop:
Mickey Mouse!

Radiator Springs Racers:


Heimlich's Chew Chew Train:
Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies:
Flik's Flyers:
These spinny kids' rides make me sick!
Soarin' Around the World (LOVED the new ride!)
Churros!
Red Car Trolley:
Closed :( I sure hope the new ride is good.
Ariel's Undersea Adventure:
:)

Happy May!!

:)

Saturday, April 29, 2017

No. 22

After finishing off the last-ever Davidson culinary mystery, I grabbed this James Patterson off my shelf:
No. 22, 1st to Die, was a great read: quick, captivating, twisty. But then I got to the end. I won't spoil it, but I will say that yesterday held a lot of tears, with my sister saying goodbye to her beloved Max, and a co-worker also losing a fur baby. I curled up with a fire, a blanket, and my book, hoping for some relief from recent stress. That didn't happen. Ugh.

Friday, April 28, 2017

No. 21

No. 21 was David Badlacci's The Target on audio book:
I have one more, then I've read every Baldacci mystery out there. Any recommendations for a new author to binge?

:)

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

18 snowy miles

During our record-breaking winter, I was training for marathon No. 5. Icy conditions forced me to do a 14 miler and a 16 miler on the treadmill. But for my 18 miler, I took advantage of a no-school day and ventured outside!

The snow was still fairly fresh, so that meant good traction. I only fell once - on a sidewalk that had been shoveled and cleared for safety. Ha!

I had to carefully watch my foot placement. Some places were easier to pass than others, but that added to the challenge :)

Beef Bend was especially tricky because the road had been cleared and I had to run in the deep, crunchy plow pile. My ankles were tired by the end of that section!

Beef Bend and 131st:
Purple pants :)
I didn't fly down 131st as fast as normal: 
Highway 99 bridge over the Tualatin River: 






Sledders were using this hill at Hazelbrook Middle School: 


The other really tricky part was Leveton Drive in Tualatin. It's an industrial/office area that hadn't been used since the snow fell. So the sidewalks were extra treacherous. When no cars were coming, I ran in the road. It was easier than high stepping through the sidewalk muck.

Back home, icicles covered the bushes by the front porch: 



18 miles DONE in the snow and ice!
:)

Monday, April 24, 2017

More snow... because I love snow

I know a lot of people hated Portland's snow this year. I loved it - every minute of it!

From Jan. 11, 2017:












 We went running in the evening. SOOOOO beautiful :)






:)