26.2

Today was the big day! After almost 6 months of training Jarod ran in his first marathon.
I originally planned to see Jarod start the race because I've never seen him start one. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see him start. It took us so long to get down to the AA Center, that he had to get out of the car and walk there. By the time I got parked, I couldn't find him. My parents and Allie came to pick me up so we could drive to our first spot to see him. My brother Scott and his family were set up to see him go by at the 7 mile marker. Some how, they did not see him (we think they were set up where the 1/2 marathon and the full marathon split). I had signed up to get text messages throughout the race of where he was so I didn't think it was a big deal that they didn't see him b/c I would get a message soon and then we would know where he was.

While we were waiting at mile 13 (1/2 way point) and I was starting to get very nervous. I had not received one text message so we had no idea where he was. Finally, we saw him and Allie was so excited. He came over and gave us both a kiss. After he saw us he saw Scott and his family (after missing him they drove where we were but saw him at the 14th mile). Then we headed back to the car and drove to mile 16. My brother Chad and his wife Jami were waiting there. That spot was perfect and again he was able to come say hi.
Then we drove back to the AAC so we could get a spot by the finish line. Scott and our friends EA and Ashley were set up at mile 22. By the time they saw him he had fallen behind in the pack that he was running in. I was starting to worry because his goal time was 3hrs. 30min. I just knew something had happened to him.

Finally, just after 4 hrs. we saw him come by us to finish the race. Words can't describe the emotions I was feeling at the time. I was just so proud of him and I wanted to run out there with him. He came over and told us hi and then finished the race. All 26.2 miles of it!

After I found him and gave him lots of hugs I found out a few things: one, he forgot to wear his timing chip which is why I never received text messages and two, at around mile 18 he started having leg and groin cramps. This explains why he fell a little behind the pack he was running with when I saw him. So for the last 8 miles he had to run off and on with cramps. He had never experienced running cramps until today. My heart broke for him b/c you could tell he was so frustrated with himself. I had to keep reminding him that he couldn't control what happened and all that mattered to any of us was that he just accomplished such a huge goal. After the race we all headed to Papasito's for some much deserved Mexican food!

Jarod,
Allie and I are so proud of you. You are such a good example to us both. Thank you for being such a loving husband and father. I'm truly amazed at the goal you set for yourself. I know that you didn't do as well as you wanted but you need to be proud of yourself. You will always be #1 in our book! We love you!

Waiting for daddy

Of course Allie wouldn't look in the picture or hold her sign.

Mile 13

Waving goodbye to his girls

Cheering section for mile 16

Mile 16

Almost there!

He can see the finish line!

To our family and friends:

Thank you for all of the support and love you have showed Jarod. It means so much to both of us. You were great cheerleaders for him today!

Stomach Bug

Allie came down (or should I say up?) with a stomach bug early this morning. It hit her and two others Carmen's pretty fast! I was eating breakfast this morning and I could hear her coughing. Needless to say, it caused some early drama this morning. For some reason I was in such a panic! Usually I am able to make plans at home and send them to my team mates, but they weren't going to be at school either. Allie was so patient with her overwhelmed mommy! I had to give her a bath b/c it was everywhere, then I had to finish getting ready and get to work so I could type lesson plans. Usually they don't take me very long but I had a hard time working on them with a 2 1/2 year old needing my undivided attention the entire time. Finally, my school nurse watched her while I finished my plans and as a parting gift Allie got sick on her. I of course felt awful.

Allie has such great timing with all of this as usual. The last time she was sick, I did not get to go to Memphis for a wedding. Right now, everything is so crazy b/c I am trying to get everything ready for Jarod's race on Sunday. He doesn't come in from town until tomorrow night and we are having dinner with my parents and his dad at my house. Originally I planned to make a lasagna, now I will be buying a frozen one! Plus, my good friend Miranda's baby shower is tomorrow and now it looks like I won't be able to be there (Miranda, if you are reading this, I'm so sorry!). Hopefully this will all pass within 24 hrs. Oh, did I mention I've also caught some form of this stomach bug? My heart just breaks for her when she is sick. She just lays around and she has slept so much today. Poor thing!

I hope with rest we will all be better soon. Thank goodness Jarod isn't here because the last thing he needed was to get sick before his big race on Sunday! I'm glad I could take one for the team.

I Was Tagged

I was tagged by my good friend Becky to post my 4th picture in my 4th album. Allie is one in this picture. I can't believe how much she has changed and grown. She has so much hair now!

I tag:

Miranda

Kristen

Meredith

Sarah

Thanksgiving Pics...Finally!

Sorry, I'm just now posting about Thanksgiving. We have been very busy around our house. Thanksgiving this year was great. We started it off at the Turkey Trot in Dallas. My mom and I walked the 3 mile and Jarod ran the 8 mile. My dad watched Allie and she saw animals at the petting zoo and jumped in a bounce house. There were so many people at the Trot. It was very hard to walk the 3 mile because there were so many people and their dogs were everywhere. Jarod finished the 8 mile before we could finish the 3! There was just so many people.

This year we stayed at my brother Scott's house. They just had a house built (it's very nice) and there is plenty of room for us all to stay. So we stayed a few nights there and then all went back to our own house on Saturday night. We had so many things to be thankful for and really enjoyed hanging out and eating lots of yummy food. The guys went golfing on Friday and the girls went to Canton on Saturday. I think I'm the only one who really bought anything. I was on a search for things for Allie's room.

During our week off, we decided to have potty boot camp at our house. No more pull-ups! After Allie regressed this summer I never put her back in panties and we decided that our next opportunity would be Thanksgiving break. She is doing really well and is finally starting to tell us when she needs to go. One problem we have encountered is she holds in her poop. This has caused some tummy issues, but today she finally went in the potty. Hopefully that will continue and we won't have to try anything else to get her to poop. We are really trying to push more fruit so she doesn't have to hold it. I'm so excited that potty training is going so well (even though I feel like we've been doing this forever).

This week is crazy for us as well. Jarod left for D.C. today and comes back Saturday night (the night before his marathon). I have lots of jobs myself this week and hopefully I will get everything done in time for the marathon. All of my family is going to cheer him on and I've made a sign for him. Afterwards we are going to eat to celebrate. Please keep him in your prayers that he does not get injured during the run. I will post about it next week!

Sugar Cookies

Yesterday, Allie and I decorated sugar cookies for the first time. Since she has an allergy to eggs she has never had a sugar cookie before. My friend Anna inspired me to start experimenting with different recipes. My mom had bought me egg replacer from Whole Foods a while ago. I used it once to make brownies (and didn't follow the directions very well) and they came out okay. So, I decided to try again because I really want to be able to make things that Allie can eat. She is finally at an age that she notices people eating things that she can't have. I always try to take something she can have (rice krispies and oreos), but let's face it I needed to branch out!

I really don't like the egg replacer that I used and my mom has a different one for me to try. The dough was a little on the dry side. I'm not sure if that is because of the recipe itself or b/c of the egg replacer I used. After it was made I had to add a little milk to get the dough to stick together more. Then it was too sticky so I had to add in some flour. It was all a guessing game and I think they turned out pretty well. Next time I'm going to try a different "er" and a different recipe.

Allie loved decorating the cookies and got a little carried away with the sprinkles on the first one. For some reason she kept calling the sprinkles, "spray". Have no idea why! She loved eating the sprinkles and I had to keep reminding her to put them on the cookie. I'm so glad I've found something for her to enjoy and hopefully we will make more for Christmas! My friend Anna gave me a recipe for chocolate chip cookies and I plan to try those next. Her poor little guy is allergic to eggs, milk and peanuts!


*Yes, I know that my daughter is wearing a Halloween shirt
Allie putting the icing on her first cookie

Allie pouring on the sprinkles. I was too busy taking a picture to realize how much she had put on her cookie.

Mmm Mmm Good

A cold front came in on Thursday and I decided it was a good day to make soup. Usually I make taco soup, but that takes a while because I put it in the crock pot and since it was already 5 I didn't have time to do that. I decided to make a stop on the way home from work and pick up items for broccoli cheese soup. I know it's not the healthiest of choices, but it is one of my favorites and it takes no more than 30 min. to make.

Broccoli Cheese Soup
1 chopped onion ( I don't use an onion; I throw in some minced onion)
2 T. oil
6 c. water (sometimes I use 5)
8 chicken bullion cubes
8 c. 2% milk
12 oz. extra fine egg noodles (medium size)
2 (10 oz.) boxes frozen chopped broccoli
1 tsp. garlic salt
2 lbs. Velveeta cheese, cubed

I get everything ready before I start cooking b/c it cooks fast (cube Velveeta and brake up frozen broccoli).
Cook chopped onion in oil for 4 min. (I don't do this). Add water and bring to a boil. Add bullion cubes and boil until dissolved. Add egg noodles and cook 4 min. Add broccoli and garlic salt and cook 4 min. Add Velveeta and milk. Stir constantly until cheese melts. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Cold: Take 2

Good grief! Allie has yet another cold. She just got sick a week and a half ago and already she has another one. This time she has a really bad cough and has run a fever. Last time she had a high fever and sore throat. Of course she was taken to the doctor both times. The first time I thought she had strep throat and this time I thought she had croup. I hate that money was "wasted" both times, but I know I would feel awful if I just assumed she had a cold and actually was sick. Hopefully she will be well during the Thanksgiving break. I know there is a lot of stuff going around right now (I have one kid out with chicken pox. Yikes!) and I know this won't be the last cold she will have this year. I'm just ready for my sweet girl to feel better for more than a few days at a time.

Sorry this post is so boring. Nothing else going on in our house. I will have more to post after the holiday! I am really looking forward to a week off.

1/2 Marathon

Last Sunday, Jarod competed in a 1/2 marathon race out at White Rock Lake. He ran so hard and did better than his goal time. His goal was to finish in 1 hr. 40min. and he finished in 1hr. 38 min. Actually I think his official time was 1hr. 37 min. and 58 sec. or something like that. He beat his time from last December by 20 minutes! I could not believe how fast he ran. I am so proud of him. His hard work and dedication paid off. This race was to help prepare him for his marathon in December.
He had a small cheering section for this race: Allie, my parents and me. I really liked this race b/c the cheering section wasn't as crowded as previous races. The race in December will be packed! The atmosphere was so laid back this time. I love that Starbucks is at every race and hands out free coffee and this time they handed out oatmeal. Yummy! Allie did really well considering we left the house at 6:45 am. She loved being outside and after Jarod finished we took her to play on the park for a little while.
For his marathon I'm hoping to be out there for the entire race. He would like for us to see him throughout his run to help give encouragement and Goo (this gross gel stuff he swallows for energy). We will have to a big plan laid out. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this year. Last year it was freezing and rainy. I would also like to make a sign but have no idea what I should put on it. Any suggestions are welcome!
Racing Schedule: Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day (now a Varner tradition). I will be walking the 3 mile with some of my family members (I hope!) and he will be running the 8 mile.
White Rock Marathon on December 14th.

Daddy's biggest fan!

This is the only picture that none of us had our eyes closed.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone!
Thought I would share a few pictures from the Fall Festival at my church and my parent's church. Both of them were so different but lots of fun. I think Allie really enjoys trick-or-treating the best! We are looking forward to taking her tonight to the Rec Center in Lewisville. It has a walking path set up with businesses passing out candy. Should be lots of fun!

On Sunday Jarod has a 1/2 marathon and his marathon is in December. I can't believe it's almost here. I am so proud of him for working so hard and being so dedicated. He is setting a good example for me and for Allie. Hopefully I will get some good pictures of him on Sunday and will try to post them next week.
Hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!

Greer catching a wave!

All my girls together! Annie thought her costume tasted yummy!

Allie loves her M&M's!

Pumpkin Patch

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted anything. I will have another post (hopefully today) of pictures from Fall Festival. It has been a very busy month for us. A few weeks ago we went to the pumpkin patch in Flower Mound. We go every year and just love it. Usually my parents are able to join us but they weren't able to this year. We had a great time and Allie enjoyed rolling the pumpkins around, posing for her picture, eating kettle corn, going on a tractor ride and riding in the train.

Family Vacation: San Diego

We went to San Diego a little over a week ago. We had so much fun and I think we are finally back in our "normal" routine. The time difference had us all a little off for a while but I think everyone is feeling back to normal. Every year Jarod has a transit conference that he attends. One year it was in San Fransisco and this year it was in San Diego. We decided to make it into a vacation and invited my parents to join us. We really had so much fun! I am so glad we all were able to go together. While we were there, we celebrated my dad's 60th birthday. I think it was a b-day to remember.
Allie was such a trooper! I seriously can't believe how well behaved she was. I'm not saying that she didn't have her typical 2 year old moments (b/c believe me she did), but she just went with the flow, like she usually does. She loved seeing the ocean, the beach, all of the animals at the zoo and she loved riding the bus and train. She did really well on the both flights. Having a lot of stickers, crayons and our video ipod with Little Einsteins downloaded on to it helped a lot!
We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Balboa Park called Balboa Inn. If you like traditional hotels, you wouldn't have liked ours. I loved where we stayed. It had lots of character and plenty of room for all of us to fit. Our room was a two bedroom suite and off of our room was a terrace where we could enjoy our breakfast and coffee they brought us every morning.
On the first day we took a ferry to Coronado Island. While we were there we ate and went to the beach. On the 2nd day we went to the zoo for most of the day and then we had a late dinner. On the 3rd day (my dad's b-day) we went to La Jolla, saw the ocean and had an amazing lunch. That night we went and saw some sights in Balboa Park. Balboa Park is huge and absolutely beautiful. On the 4th day we went back to the zoo and that night we went to Seaport Village. We tried to do as much as we could. We even managed to get in naps for Allie which gave us all a little rest too!
Sorry for all of the pictures. I had a hard time choosing!



She was so excited to ride in the plane.
On the ferry to Coronado Island
First picture in the zoo

Allie looking for the polar bears.



This is at La Jolla by the ocean. Allie refused to look at the camera for most pictures we took.

Happy birthday to my dad!
The wave that came in behind them was huge!
Balboa Park

Dad blowing out his candle (match) on his slice of cake.

More zoo pics
I think this was the best picture I got of Allie the entire trip. She loves her new stuffed panda bear.
Allie riding the carousel at Seaport Village