I have been looking forward to this weekend for a LONG, LONG time! Why, you might ask?
Two reasons.
-Reason #1: Family
-Reason #2: Half Marathon!
Over the holidays, my cousin (who lives in Virginia) let me know that she and her husband have been thinking of coming out to Arizona to visit. Have I ever mentioned on here how much I LOVE visitors?
It is HARD being away from all of my family, so when we do get visitors (which isn't very often.... AZ is far from NY!), it is SOO exciting! And it always means SO much to me.
So, Celine, Rich, Timmy (3rd grade) and Lauren (7th grade) all came out to Arizona to spend some of their Spring Break with me!
You know that cousin, aunt... whoever, that growing up you always really admired? Celine was mine. I will never forget how much I always LOVED seeing her when I was in elementary, middle and high school (well, and now of course, but that just goes without saying!). She always lived far away, California or Virginia, so I would only see her a couple of times a year, which Megan and I always looked forward to. She always made my sister and I feel so special, and she would hang out with us, play games with us, etc. etc. -- we just LOVED it!!!
They got into Tucson late Friday night, and Saturday morning, I met up with them -- and we headed to our first destination: the Desert Museum.
As soon as we got out of the car, what did I notice? Celine and I were wearing the same backpack!
We were twins for the day! What are the odds?!
We explored the caves of the Desert Museum :)
Lauren is officially a Tucsonian :) If you will recall from earlier photos, both Amanda (neighbor/friend) and Megan (sister) took a similar photo. :) I also have one from my first visit in 2007.
That is one strange looking turtle....... :)
After the Desert Museum, we headed over to Saguaro National Park (just up the road) for some more pictures... and another pretty cool look of the mountains!
The girls.... :)
Phew! After all that walking/running around - we were all ready for the pool! :) Timmy and Lauren jumped right in, and quickly headed to the water slide!
It wasn't the warmest day, so it didn't take long until they were ready for the hot tub. We all walked them over, and I noticed something pretty fast: There was a "hot" tub, and a "cold" tub, both labeled with big signs. Timmy ran right into the "cold" tub (without looking... I'm guessing he saw that there was no one in it, can't blame him for choosing that one!)... and was in for a shocker! He jumped out and said: "They should put a sign by that tub!!! It isn't hot! It is COLD!" We all had to laugh, as Lauren pointed at the sign. Even Timmy laughed :)
After some time in the hot tub, I dared them to jump in the cold tub. They were BRAVE:
It wasn't the warmest day, so it didn't take long until they were ready for the hot tub. We all walked them over, and I noticed something pretty fast: There was a "hot" tub, and a "cold" tub, both labeled with big signs. Timmy ran right into the "cold" tub (without looking... I'm guessing he saw that there was no one in it, can't blame him for choosing that one!)... and was in for a shocker! He jumped out and said: "They should put a sign by that tub!!! It isn't hot! It is COLD!" We all had to laugh, as Lauren pointed at the sign. Even Timmy laughed :)
After some time in the hot tub, I dared them to jump in the cold tub. They were BRAVE:
:).
SUCH a fun day. After a little more hanging around at the pool, I headed home --- it was time for me to get some rest. I had a HALF MARATHON to run the next day (Sunday!).
I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning (around 5am), and headed to Oro Vally for the "Arizona Distance Classic" half marathon. The course is BEAUTIFUL, but VERY hilly.
And also COLD for the first hour or so:
So my last half marathon time was 1 hour and 39 minutes. I had two goals for this one. First goal - to have my time be under 2 hours and 30 minutes. My "hard" goal (the one I wasn't sure I could accomplish) was to be as close to 2:20 as possible.
Turns out, my goal was more then obtainable. I ended with a time of 2 hours 12 minutes. I crossed the finish line, and looked at my Nike+ -- and acutally started BALLING I was so happy. I just felt so incredibly proud of my accomplishment - and my time was MORE then I had imagined I could even do!!!
Me with a couple of girls from my running group :)
FINISHED with my medal! :)
After I drove home (and took a quick shower...), I headed out to the U of A campus, where I met my cousins for lunch and a tour.
Lauren and Timmy really seemed to enjoy the turtle pond on campus where we hung out for awhile.
Lauren had a shirt from her middle school for me, so I was twins with her on Sunday! :)
....HAD to take them by the Womens Plaza of Honor. We thought this photo was fitting! :)
I showed them the residence hall that I ran last year, and gave them a quick tour. After a little more walking around campus, my cousins headed back to their pool, and I headed to, well, bed :) It was a long day.... :)
On their last day here (today), we met up at La Encantada for dinner and ice cream. It was so nice to just walk around (enjoy the smells... :) ) and talk with them. Lauren is getting so "old," and Timmy is just so funny to be around. I wish I had his energy!
THANK YOU guys for coming! It meant the world to me!!!
I LOVED having you here, and hope you had a great time!!!
