thanksgiving vs. giving thanks

a quick snap from my run this morning. 

I ran and ran and ran and tried to sort through these thoughts.



Yesterday morning I went to Costco (along with 14,000 other people) to pick up some groceries for our upcoming Thanksgiving feast.



As I was bumped into, cut off, and shoved across the aisles, I felt everything but thankful feelings. People wore frowns and muttered under their breath.

comfort + joy

ahhh winter. 

It made a grand entrance this weekend 

as it drifted from the sky in big fluffy pieces. 

It fell and it fell and it fell allllllll day long.

It piled up high and left cheeks rosy.

The snow entertained them for hours. 

Angels and forts and a tiny little snowman.



I always forget how much I enjoy winter. 

I have the hardest time letting summer go each year--I am so nervous

day date

always on the trail....
we celebrated 11 years on our Washington trip (HERE)





pssssstttt.....

......I have a secret.

Want to know what will make your marriage 

healthier

stronger

and waaaaaaay more fun....


Shared hobbies. 

It sounds so simple, right?



I am constantly surprised at how many couples I meet that don't share many of the same interests. 

Long long ago when Robby and I

life with lyme, part 1

"I beat lyme & so can you!"

2010. An inspiring note graffitied on the wall outside my Dr.'s office in San Francisco. 



I was flipping through old pictures and came 

across this one......it made me cry.

It was taken 3 years ago when I was still in the thick of it and taking exactly 1,027 pills a day. 

Give or take a few.



I remember thinking someday those words would come true for me.

tiny humans

Today I am thankful for my kids. 

Seems like such an obvious thing to be thankful for, right?

It's just so true.

I love these tiny humans. 

When they are born, they are adorable chubby little blobs. 

They don't do much--just lay around and eat and look extra sweet. 

They grow and laugh and babble. 

They toddle around. 

And it all goes by so quickly, let me tell you.

They grow and

weekend things

oh the weekend.....gone again. and it's dark now. so. so dark. 

It always takes me a while (like 4 months) to get used to this whole Daylight Savings thing. I am a solar powered person, and like my sunshine to last well into the evening. But other than that, this weekend was overflowing with good weekendy things......all things to be thankful for.

all photos from my phone


 

Friday evening I

yay for......

It's November.....so happy! 

Let the real holidays begin!

YAY FOR:

-photos of us. even when they are hurried and blurry and we are walking down the darkening street chasing our trick-or-treaters. like our costumes? we dressed up as cold parents....so clever.



Yay for:

-eating nachos at 10pm in my tiny kitchen with friends.

-no school today! we have been laaaaaazzzzzzzy and it's been great

reason to celebrate

montana. just because.




All day yesterday I thought about Kassidi. I was sitting at my table eating breakfast--my house was quiet, chilled but sunny. I thought about her as I ran through the leaves that are slowly transitioning to red and gold. I had to write these thoughts down.



Kassidi and I went to rival highshools--we played against each other in basketball and spent long summer days

all mine

What a good and happy thankful month we've had.

I have to end it with being completely cliche' and saying how thankful I am for my little family. 

We have so much fun together, and this silly little picture makes me so happy inside. 

I wanted a quick snap of us together in Montana--proof that we are actually a family, and capable of taking a photo together. 

The wind was blowing exactly 1007

big big sky

Montana. 

Many of you may have heard it called "Big Sky Country". 

Maybe you have wondered why......

I am about to show you.



Let me just tell you first how thankful I am 

for this wonderful state. 

When I was little, I lived in a small mountain valley in the west. 

We were close to mountains for picnics and camping and playing in creeks.

We spent summers at rivers, lakes, and the

pie. and other things.

I swore I took a picture of these lovely pies with my real camera.....but when I got home and went through my pictures.....I hadn't. I was stuffed full and delirous with mashed potatoes and cranberries....so I guess I forgot to do it. So here is a phone shot--apple, buttermilk, pumpkin, and chocolate pecan. 

None of them made by me, all of them tasted by me.



Did you have a fabulous

thank thanky thankfulness

a quick phone snap from my drive through the desert last week



So happy and thankful for this pretty place we live, and for all the pretty people I share my life with. I am so lucky.

Happiest Thanksgiving to you and yours!!

trail love

To say that trail running has completely changed my life

would be a tad bit dramatic......and 100% true. 



Before I hit the trail a year and a half ago, I feel like my running routine was one long boring sleepwalk. 

The same thing over and over. 

Streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, neighborhoods. Maybe if I was lucky, a sprinkler to run through or a curb to jump up. 

yippee.

And then I woke

guilty pleasures.......

We all have them. 

Things we really, thoroughly, 100% enjoy......and maybe shouldn't.....or at least maybe we shouldn't tell people about them....



Today I am thankful for guilty pleasures. 

Simple little things that just make life better.

 

-spoonful (after spoonful) of peanut butter with chocolate chips. Usually sometime around 4:00 is when this needs to happen.

-Taylor Swift. I know I

the story of us: part two

the uintas in August



I am just so thankful for this man. 

Boy. ManBoy. (When you meet someone at 21 they will always be your boy.) 

He really is everything to me, 

and wins the #1 You-Name-It award. Husband. Dad. Friend. BBQer. 

All of it. We have so much fun together--parenting, playing, laughing, and adventuring. We have been through so much in these past 10 years, and I am so happy to

soupy

It's really funny how much I am loving this weather. I am 100% a summertime girl, but these first few wintry storms of the year I just love. (don't worry, I'll be complaining come February). 

The snow, the icicles, the woodsmokey air. Snowballs, snuggling, and of course......soup.



Yes, I am thankful for soup.

We have soup a few nights a week this time of year. It's easy and there is always

november thanks

How was your weekend? I spent mine running through the night in the Vegas Ragnar. It was freeeeeezing.... but so much fun, and some really awesome running.....I'll update you more on that when Ryan's video is done. So thankful for good friends, late night giggling, running under a starry sky, gummy bears at 2am, and now that I'm home, a warm bed and a real toilet:)



We got snow!!! We are so

run run run

I used to hate running. Loathe it. It was the absolute worst part of my day--just the few laps around the gym to warm up before basketball practice was torture. 



I went to college and ran a 5k with my roommates. I thought I was going to die. 



And then......something changed. 



I ran a bit after we got married--up and down the streets of Rexburg, Idaho. It was ok....but I still didn't

happy happiness

a few from la jolla over the weekend.....totally unrelated to this post.



Election Day.

So much to take in!

I am so thankful to live in this country, and so happy that I get to vote......

...but I am so tired of all the name calling and finger pointing and just plain nastiness to each other 

(coming from all sides, mind you)

How is this benefit to anyone? What are we teaching our children

my two

best of friends (....most of the time....)



I have deleted this post about 37 times 

(give or take a few).



I have tried to post about other things today......and each time I've failed.

These words just keep coming back to me, and I can't seem to shake them.

It's annoying.

You see, I hadn't planned talking much about this--not because I "can't bare too", or because it's "too personal"...