Goal Accomplished: Running a Half Marathon

It finally came: the day I had been training for, planning for, and anxiously anticipating. The Top of Utah half marathon. I'll be honest, since I moved back to Utah, my training had suffered a bit and I was feeling nervous about the big run. A week before the race, Jen and I ran 9.45 miles of the course, and I felt really good about that run, so it helped me a lot mentally to prepare for the 13.1 mile run. The night before, I was surprisingly calm...until we went to pick up our packets and I noticed all the other runners. I can't help it, I have a problem with comparing myself to other people that run. So I had some thoughts creep in that weren't so great for me mentally. We then drove the 4 miles of the course that we hadn't ran the weekend before, and that again calmed me down a bit. We then went to eat. Pasta of course! We went to Le Nonne, an Italian restaurant in Logan that I've wanted to eat at for years but never had the opportunity to do so. It took FOREVER to get seated, and again, thoughts were creeping in that weren't the best but I kept trying to fight them off. Le Nonne hit the spot, and we went back home to bed, and I felt ready. I woke up, feeling ready and wanting to just do it. The first 7 miles of the race were great for me. It was perfect weather, perfect scenery and I had some great tunes to keep me going. Miles 7-10 were a little rough but I was doing good, ahead of the goal time I wanted. But then mile 11 came, and my spirit just broke. My body was tired, I was ready to be done. I hadn't trained past 9 miles of running so I hadn't built up enough endurance. But right when I was starting to have my breakdown, I spotted Jenna, an angel in disguise. She will never know what seeing her did for me, and how much it meant to me. She ran with me, talked me out of my negative thoughts, and coached me through to mile 12. I could see the finish line. It was so close, yet so far. She left me at mile 12 so I could run the last mile alone. It was a tough mile for me, but I couldn't help but feel so proud of myself. I was accomplishing something I never thought possible! A few hundred feet from the finish, I spotted my mom. Like Jenna, I had no idea my parents would be there. That got me through to the end where my brother Mick, my nieces Abbie, Libby and Aspen, my close friend Meggan, my dad, and Jen (she finished a few minutes before me) were waiting and cheering me on. I did it! I just completed a half marathon. It was one of the greatest highs I have ever experienced. It was a good run for me overall. I was proud of myself! I even finished 5 minutes before my goal time!

I thought a lot during my run, especially about people in my life, and what I'm grateful for. I'm so grateful I have a body that allows me to do physical things that are so motivating and so good for me, not only physically but emotionally and mentally. I'm so grateful for people who support me, and encourage me to do things that may seem impossible. I'm grateful for answered prayers! Thanks Meggan for being there, and for taking these pictures and letting me steal them for the blog!

My niece Libby, waiting for Jen and I to run to the finish.

My niece Aspen waiting patiently!

Abbie wondering when we would be done!

Me running to the finish..

Immediately after finishing. Can you guess what I'm thinking?!

I was needing some serious meds. Notice the frizzy hair?! Totally earned it!

Jen and I posing after the run.

Posing at the finish line, well after most people had left

Stretching out

Box Elder County Fair and Rodeo

Since moving to Tremonton at the age of 6, I have been able to attend the big event: The Box Elder County Fair and Rodeo. It's the biggest thing that comes to Tremonton every year. And it's the best fair I've ever attended, hands down. Last year I wasn't able to go because I had just moved to Colorado and it was so hard for me! I was very tempted to drive home that weekend, just so I could go. Needless to say, I was looking forward to attending it this year. It didn't fail me! The best part of the fair is the food. Can't ever get enough of the hamburgers, corn dogs, nachos, funnel cakes. Very fattening, but very good! The fair came at a great time this year too. I spent all of August in my classroom and was really needing a break before school started. And of course, it's always fun to spend time with close friends!

Meggan and I at the rodeo

Nik, Shay, me and Laci. We missed you Gail!

My Classroom

Pictures of my first grade classroom!


The front of the classroom

Ignore the stuff on the table, that was in my planning phase. This is the small group/word wall/ teacher desk corner.

The listening/word work/writing work station area

View from the front door of the portable

My favorite area of the whole room, the library/whole group meeting area. This is where we meet for Morning Message, read alouds, math calendar, etc.

Come visit me at school sometime! The kids sure are cute!

For Kristy

So my good friend Kristy is amazing. She is the mother of two precious twin boys, and wife to Brady, which in and of itself is a huge job. (JK Brady, you know I love you). But again, Kristy is amazing. She bakes everything and anything, is an amazing creator of designs and cute trinkets, and is an awesome seamstress. She has started a line called The Vintage Clothespin, you need to check out her stuff. Right now she's doing a contest to give away something free, and if I were to win, I would pick either the headband (HUGE fan of headbands that I am) or the wallet. On the right of my blog you will see the button for The Vintage Clothespin. Click on it and check out her stuff! Kristy, I love you and think you are so wonderful. I miss you and your family and hope to come see you soon!!

My Grand Adventures Thus Far, Being Back in Utah

Believe it or not, there are fun things you can do outside of Colorado (I know, right?) My first weekend back, my close friend Meggan and I headed down to Southern Utah for a weekend of hiking in Zion National Park. We went with her extended family on the Orderville Canyon hike. It was 12 miles of pure joy for me, literally! It was my most favorite hike that I've been on yet in my life. So much fun! I was a fan of the obstacles-repelling, jumping off small cliffs/waterfalls, climbing all over the males to get down some steep parts. Man, it was fun! I hurt my knee somehow so the last 3 miles of hiking through the Narrows-water and rocks, was pretty hard for me. Because of that, my knee has been giving me grief while running..but side note, I ran 9.45 miles yesterday, and took lots of ibuprofen and my knee made it through! Meggan and I ended up staying one more day in our hotel room, we both were so sore and tired. I'm a big fan of lazy days in hotel rooms! Good times in Southern Utah, my friends!

My family and I went to Yellowstone last weekend for the Annual Perkins' get together. I didn't take any pictures really because everyone else in my family was! So I will steal some from them and post them for next time. My camera was mainly used by my niece Aspen, which included the video of my nephew Kanyon that is included in this post. I have the best nieces and nephews ever! They made that trip so much fun for me! I was able to drive back with the girls, so below are some pictures on the drive home.

I've mainly just been getting my classroom setup (pictures to come of that) and running as much as I can! My half marathon is this Saturday, and then school starts a week from tomorrow so this week will also be super crazy. Mix that in with the Tremonton Fair and Rodeo though, and it makes it a great week!

I have a goal to get a new camera hopefully by Christmas, and I PROMISE I will take more pictures of exciting things once that precious camera is in my hands. So be excited for more great posts to come!

My Colorado Job

My last day of work, I took some pictures of my office, and my building on the University of Colorado Denver Medical Campus in Aurora, CO. I worked in the department of OB/GYN as an assistant to the doctors. I didn't work on the clinical side, I worked on the academic side, helping with whatever they needed: transcribing, booking travel arrangements, putting together Power Points, entering data, etc. One of my main responsibilities was to help one of the doctors with a course she ran called the Life Cycle course. I updated the calendar, put together all the handouts and slides that the lecturers would give, edited the tests and a lot of other fun stuff. I truly enjoyed my job, the doctors I worked for, and the people I worked with. I couldn't have asked for a better work experience while I was in Colorado and truly feel that I was meant to work there. It was fun to try a different job for a year, but it helped me to realize how much I missed teaching and the desire I had to go back to it. I am going to miss working on such a beautiful campus (which also happens to be the place I was born), I will miss my coworkers, and I will miss certain aspects of the job. I gained a lot from working there and I am very grateful for the experiences, training, and learning that I received!

It's kind of a blurry picture, but this was the cubicle area I worked in :) I loved having my own little space. Next to me was Bethany, the medical student coordinator, and across from me was Melissa, the head Administrative Assistant in the generalist section of OB/GYN (We also had a Maternal/Fetal section, Gynecologic Oncology section, and a Reproductive/Infertility section. I worked in the generalist section as well).

This is the building I worked in. The campus is all pretty new, except for Building 500 (the old Fitsimon's Army Medical Hospital that I was born in). They knocked down a lot of the old army buildings to put in a lot of new ones. The University of Colorado Hospital is across the street from my building. 3 tall Research buildings surrounded my building-it's a HUGE, beautiful campus! I enjoyed going on walks around campus.

There is a lot of art around the campus, and these 3 doors were in a field by my building. They remind me of Alice in Wonderland! Definitely my favorite art to see on campus. The building across the street from the doors is the outpatient building, or where the clinics are. I was a frequent visitor to that building as well, delivering things to the doctors. :)

This is a picture of Building 500, the hospital I was born in. It is central on the campus and has been turned into offices. I loved going into this building!

My Last Week in Colorado

So I'm still catching up on my Colorado blogs...My last week in Colorado consisted of saying goodbye to my job and fellow coworkers, packing up all my stuff, trying to figure out how I was going to get it all to Utah, cleaning, and having some last minute fun! My good friend, Curtis (AKA Bob), whom I have known for 5 years since we worked at a summer camp together, flew out Saturday morning, spent the day having fun with my roommates and I, and then drove back with me on Sunday. We went to Look Out Mountain where you can see all of the Denver area (beautiful!) and is also home to Buffalo Bill's grave. We then went downtown to the 16th Street Mall, ate at Paramount Cafe (yummage!) and walked around for a bit. Then we headed to the Rockies game. It was humid in Colorado that day, so my hair wasn't too happy with me. So I decided to get myself a hat to cover it all up. There was a sports store by Coors Field that was going out of business so everything was 50 percent off. I came out of the store with a new Cubs hat AND a Derrek Lee Cubs jersey. I know! The game was pretty fun. We had seats up high, but Coors Field is fun to be in, no matter where you're sitting. I think Bob enjoyed his first Major League Baseball game. After, we had some friends over to play games. I made some really good friends in Colorado, it was hard saying goodbye to all of them. A week before, my roommates and I planned a huge dinner and invited over 20 people to come, as a going away party for myself. Someone came up with the idea to go around the circle and tell their favorite Tawna story/memory. I was touched by what people remembered about me, and the experiences I had shared with them. What a great way to end my whole adventure!

The roommates (minus Hil) at Look Out Mountain

This was left for me outside my door. Made my day!

I'm a HUGE fan of Red Robin fries and the campfire sauce. My good friend John works at Red Robin so we went to lunch their the Friday before I left and he brought me this large container of Campfire Sauce. Perfecto!

Bob and I at the Rockies game (We were there early, hence the empty seats. It filled up pretty quick!)

You can't go to a baseball game and not eat a hot dog!

I love to prove to people that I can carry them on my back, regardless of height. John is my victim this time!

John, Ellen, Jessica and I close to the field. It was meet the Rockies player day at the park so lots of people were on the field.

Showing off my new attire. Jessica just likes to pose with me for some reason.

Bob and I at the Buffalo Bill Museum by Look Out Mountain

I'm sure missing those Colorado clouds! It rained off and on that night, but it was so beautiful to watch the Sunset while at the baseball game.