Marathoning and beyond

  You can say whatever you want about those crazy people that run further in a morning than most people drive in a week--don't worry, I can take it.  I love to run.  I enjoy getting outside, with just me, my running shoes, and the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears as I pound out the miles.  Wait...scratch that.  I have not crossed over to that scary, weirdo place where zealot athletes go to stroke their own egos.

  No, I like to run because it is easy, you can do it anywhere with just a pair of shoes, and it is cheap (hence, just a pair of shoes).  Now, occasionally, I will add an excited dog who obsessively hunts squirrels, a regularly malfunctioning old iPod that has horrifically inappropriate running tunes ('If I die young', really?), and most recently, your favorite little sidekick, sweet Luke, complete with his toys, Wubba, and decked out running buggy thanks to Great-grandpa.  All this adds up to a little less simple and a bit more effort to get out of the house, but it is still worth it in the end, even when we only make it 3 miles on a 10-mile day or take a short-cut home for a major diaper malfunction.

  I ran the Steamboat Marathon this past weekend.  It was beautiful, warm, and long.  26.2 miles long to be exact, but who is counting.  I had the support of my awesome husband, kid, parents, in-laws, and niece and nephew.  This crazy idea sprouted a few years back when my friend Maria signed me up for my first marathon--some would use the word 'friend' lightly here, but I really think she had my best interests in mind.

 A few years and a few races later, I found myself running alone on Sunday for the first time due to numerous extenuating circumstances.  Let me tell you, marathoning is meant to be done in a herd, group, pack, gaggle, entourage--whatever you want to call it, anything but solo.  Suffice to say, I made it, with the greatest prize ever waiting for me at the finish line.

Road Trippin' Judki

Drew is back after 6 long, hot months in Djibouti (yea, look it up).  To welcome him home, we made a crazy Judki roadtrip including a stop in Steamboat for some roofing (yes, that is not a typo), a stop in Ft. Collins for some visiting the newest Judki puppy addition, Sadie, a stop in Denver for a reunion of the urban family and some landlord duties (by far the least favorite part of the trip--the landlord duties, not the awesome food with awesome friends--that part was, well, AWESOME!), a caravan with two twins, two wives, two cousins, and two furbabies to Crested Butte for biking, hiking, and Cody/Luke romping, and then a HUGE, spectacular party complete with friends, family, and margaritas to celebrate Drew's return stateside!


Some highlights...

Welcome home Drew--we are so glad you are back!!!

Spring Antics

Oh, how I love the snow, skiing, sweaters, and hot soup.  Winter has lots of things to be thankful for.  But, Spring, oh Spring....let me count the ways!
-Where else is manure is a thing of beauty?

-When else does Tre take a break from fetch to smell the posies?

When else can all of THIS make a patch of dirt turn into something like THIS?

Spring Spring, oh glorious Spring!

Spock ear continued...

Oh, the things we get away with as parents.  Everyday is a bit of an experiment, trial and error, learning how to raise this little human.  Sometimes it is a bulls-eye, other times it is a near-miss.  And then there are those instances where you are so far off the parenting mark, you wonder how you got put in charge at all....


Dragging around Luke in his VERY slippery snowsuit.

Diapers-the sun bleaches the poop stains (if that is not totally cool, I don't know what is)

Milk Bag--behold the newest style of waterproof cell phone holders for kayaking, skiing, LARPing--you name it!

Patagucci-only size 2T (it was on sale...)

Milk coma- a state of pre-sleep, complete relaxation attained immediately following a trip to the milk bar

Baby napkin-not sure if this is protecting Dad, Luke, or neither

Have milk bar, will travel-hiking up Angel's landing in Zion National Park-hey, a kid has gotta eat!

Got Milk? Dad teaches Luke all the important things like how to sneak a drink straight out of the carton, no glass needed.

First food-raw, uncooked brownie mix.  That's right, no rice cereal or bananas for this Judki--full speed ahead, desserts only please.  Thanks Dad!