8 States left!

Its been a busy week. I am really glad I have done this states project, but I can also say that I am really glad that it is coming to an end. We are moving in the next 3-6 weeks and I really just want this "burden" off my shoulders and out of my mind. Plus I want to eat Chinese food again. No state has Chinese food! This week I decided to just go crazy. I was not going to deviate from the course and I was going to knock out some of these last states. Some nights I even did two because the meals were smaller.

Colorado: Denver omelets

I am aware that we redid Colorado, but I wanted to do it right and the first time was not right

 

 Kansas: BBQ Ribs with Nebraska Corn

In planning the states I kept throwing corn with Kansas instead of Nebraska and since we haven't had Nebraska yet, we decided to just eat corn twice. Never a bad decision in the summer time.

 

 Vermont: Ben and Jerrys

Funny story on the Ben and Jerry's. A normal sized container, which is already tiny, was like 5 bucks and I just couldn't justify that for ice cream and so I found these baby like two spoonful containers for a dollar. I probably got ripped off in the long run, but a dollar just felt easier to swallow than five.

 Georgia: Fried Chicken and Peaches

Maine: Lobster

It suggested lobster rolls which I have been told are divine, however we NEVER buy lobster and since it is so pricey, we didn't want to "waste" it on any other dish other than just straight lobster. We wanted to eat just the lobster for lobster sake

 New Hampshire: Corn beef and potatoes

News flash! Corn beef not purchase in March is CRAZY EXPENSIVE!!! This is the one state that I kinda cut the corners because of the cost and got corn beef in a package instead of a big roast. It was disgusting. Luckily we have had corn beef so we didn't feel too cheated on a meal

 Florida: Cubano Sandwhich and Key lime pie 

Sandwhich consisted of pickle, cheese, and ham- so-so

Key lime pie- DELICIOUS and I normally dislike key lime pie

 Kentucky: Hot Brown

Open faced sandwich with turkey, tomatoes, Parmesan, bacon, and this cheesy sauce

Divine! One of the states that I will be making again for sure. Ethan couldn't get enough

South Dakota: Chislic 

Meat on a stick

Delaware:  Roasted Chicken

It was delicious although it looks like.... well this

 Mississippi: Mississippi Mud Pie

This was one of the states that didn't suggest a food for a meal but dessert. We didn't complain

 Indiana: Sugar Cream Pie

Another of the dessert states. Its a pie made with cream, sugar, butter, and milk. I was very hesitant to try this but it was so delicious. It taste just like an apple pie but without the apples.

Our Newest Thing

Kelsey LOVES to be outside. When it is  100 degrees, I don't. We have an enclosed patio and so one day I decided to let her go play on the patio. Initially it was so she could eat a popsicle but before I could give her the popsicle she had already started exploring and now this is her new favorite thing!
For the past 4 afternoons, Kelsey will go to the back door and start screaming until I open it. When I walk towards the door she says yes over and over and beelines for outside as soon as she can. I would feel bad because its hot out there, but she seriously loves it. She will crawl around for like 30 plus. Every now and then she will come to the door to make sure that I am still there and as long as she can see me or as long as I acknowledge her, she is good. Only down side to this new game is that she gets FILTHY!!! I'm talking black everything! I mean, I'm all for going outside with no shoes on, but this is the next level. It always requires a good wash down to let her back in. Totally worth it though.
We were thinking about going to the zoo this weekend, but honestly this might be more fun for us!

I didn't want her dress to get dirty because we were on our way to a party,hence the no clothes 

 Does life get better?

Farmington Half Marathon

What a crazy hard weekend! On Saturday July 13th, Ethan and I woke up at 5 to run the Farmington Half Marathon. Surprisingly, this is a late wake up for these races, but still very dark and early when we got up. The Manning's were gracious and allowed us to sleep at their house while they were at the Barry Manilow concert, and Hannah agreed to watch Kelsey in the morning while we were at the race.
We got to the start with perfect weather. the whole race was about 75 and overcast. It started raining slightly when we had finished, but we didn't get any rain during the race. This course was actually very difficult. There were so many hills up and down, but the most brutal ones were probably the hill right at the beginning and the 1/2mile hill at mile 10 followed by rolling hills to the finish line. It was very difficult but we did it! Other than the hills the course was absolutely beautiful. Most of the race was spent in the farms of Farmington and it was just picturesque.
I guess I am good at finding a 13 mile pace because I ran the exact time I ran the last half marathon that I did! I was originally a little frustrated at this because for 1) I love to PR and 2) I was only 3 minutes off of being 3rd over all, but I got over that pretty quick because I pushed it really hard. I found a good pack to run with for miles 4-9 but they were mostly men so smoked me at mile 9, but they got me through the hardest part and for that I am grateful. I also tried to be happy with my time because last race was all down hill and this one was rolling the entire course with mostly up so it all evens out in the end. Anyway, it was a great day and a great reminder to me that I will never ever EVER run a marathon! There is no way that I could have done that twice. Go all those Marathon runners. I have a lot of respect for you!
Ethan and I had different goals going into the race, but we are both very happy with our accomplishments.
I am most proud of:
1. Getting 2nd in my age group and 6th overall
2. Running at least the same pace as last time and not slower
3. Not getting passed

Ethan is most proud of:
1. Finishing a half marathon
2. Not walking even though his knee swelled  up at mile 9
3. Finishing a half marathon


I am so proud of Ethan. Running is not his thing, but he did it and finished with a giant smile on his face. He was one of the few runners who actually looked pleased with his accomplishments and not like he wanted to die. He didn't have a lot of time to train (and had TERRIBLE shoes) and so I'd say he did pretty awesome.I felt so much pride watching him run through the home stretch. It is really neat to watch some one you love finish something so incredibly hard and a half marathon is incredibly hard!

Cami : 1:40:37
Ethan: 2:07

We got a free breakfast after the race. Maybe the best part of the whole thing

Learning to Walk

Kelsey can walk with a walker just fine, but when it comes to walking on her own she has never really showed any interest. I'm not worried because I know eventually she will walk and plus I don't know if I am ready for that crazy yet. I am just getting the up and down stairs crazy under my belt. Plus she crawls like Mowgli and I'm not ready for that to go away yet.
Lately Kelsey has been getting very brave. She will stand against furniture find her balance and  if she gets our attention or if we call her name, she will try to walk to us with a GIANT smile on her face. She LOVES to walk, she just cant yet. Her best so far is 8 steps and she is always so proud of herself. I especially love when she starts walking towards one of us, she will make this panting noise and then burst out laughing when she falls. Its really cute.
Last night Ethan and I sat at both ends of the kitchen and Kelsey spent 20 mins walking from one to the other. We have to help her find her balance and sometimes she would get too excited to walk and not have her balance and immediately fall. For the most part though she did a great job and loved every minute of it. It was one of those moments that I was so proud to be Kelsey's mom. It was just so much fun to watch her try so hard, to be pleased with her efforts and successes, and have so much fun during the process.

Although blurry, these pictures best depict the fun that she had!

 

 

Oregon and Iowa

 Oregon and Iowa. Nothing too crazy but completing these two takes me to 31! Only 19 to go!!!

 Maid Rites: aka sloppy joes but WAY better. These are so much better because you don't use ketchup in the sloppy joe recipe. All it is is a little bit of mustard, onion seasoning, and warchester sauce. I hate sloppy sloppy joes and so these were perfect for me. Oh and of course the corn.

 

Mac and Cheese with Tillamook cheddar. 

 

Marion berry pie was a suggestion and so we had to accept that challenge too: thank you Marie Calendars Razzelberry pie

3 Lakes Hike

After the 4th, we all decided that is would be fun to go on a hike up in Brighton. Because of a thunderstorm the night before the weather was very comfortable. It was sad not to have Ethan with us, but we all had a great time. Scott had a backpack that I borrowed and so I was able to get Kelsey up the mountain.
The hike started at a lake/marsh land which was beautiful. The first part was super easy and flat and ended at a body of water that you could maybe call a lake. The second part was much more challenging but ended at a BEAUTIFUL Washington like lake! Totally worth it. I don't know the break down, but we ended up doing a 4.5 mile hike with 2 babies under 18 months, 3 kids under the age of 5, two grandparents, and a many between the ages of 20 and 40. Overall it was a super impressive showing by all.
Once we got to the top of the mountain, we all had a picnic lunch and then headed back down. We ended the whole adventure at Happy Hour  and then we all went home to take naps. Everyone was so so tired, but no one complained. It was so much fun to do a family activity not involving food (although the group dinner and fireworks at Snelsons after was also very fun!)

 So the backpack was not the most ideal but it worked. Kelsey fell asleep on the way down while Jed was carrying her and she looking even more ridiculous because while asleep she was totally floppy.

 First lake

 Second lake

 Switch backs up to the third lake

 Looking down at the second lake half way up to the third lake

 Third lake

 Lunch time. Kelsey swiped my plum and so I only had a sandwich little stinker

I was very proud of myself because I carried Kelsey all the way up in a backpack made for infants. Luckily Andrea took our food up and Jed carried Kelsey all the way down so I was able to get a little bit of a break. I will say though, the next morning my shoulders were barkin!