Iowa Barnstormers vs. Peoria Pirates

After the 5K race on Saturday we stopped at Kristin & Ryan’s (Kyle’s cousin) apartment (Thanks again guys!!) to freshen up and then met up with Mom and Dad B to go suit shopping for the guys. Which was very successful!! They are both going to look SHARP for Mel’s (Kyle’s sister) wedding!!

We grabbed some supper at one of our favorite restaurants…Cheddars!! And of course had a Cookie Monster to celebrate our accomplishment at the race! :)

Then we headed back to downtown Des Moines for a home Barnstormer game. We bought season tickets this year. We are on the 15 yard line, 5 rows up!! This was the 4th home game of the season and there are 4 remaining.

Barnstormers won 77-40!! It was a fun game and Mom & Dad B were able to join us for the 2nd half because there were open seats next to us!! They usually sit up a lot higher in the corner of the arena. 

Barnstormer Billy in “Barn Force One”!!

Kyle’s cousin Tim Dodge plays wide receiver for the Barnstormers. It makes it so much more fun when you know someone playing.

Here’s Tim setting the ref’s straight!! lol 

Waiting for the kickoff 

Mom B and I enjoying the 2nd half of the game together!   

An action shot!

Dam to Dam 5K Race!

Saturday Kyle and I ran the 5K Dam to Dam race in Des Moines. This was a first for both of us. I have been working out and running since November, but Kyle just started about 3-4 weeks ago. We’ve been pushing each other along ever since!! Some nights when one of us doesn’t feel like running, the other always gets that one going!! I <3 the buddy system, especially when my “buddy” is my hubby!!

Just getting into downtown Des Moines…T –1 hour till race time!!

Since this was a first for both of us we really didn’t know what to expect. I was thinking I would have a big rush of adrenalin and feel better than I usually do running, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was tough. Kyle kept me going the whole way. I think I held him back a little too, but he won’t admit that….what a nice guy!

Just before the gun went off for the start of the race!!

Waiting for the gun to go off…feeling good!!

There were over 2500 people running the 5K race. It was CRAZY!! We didn’t even cross the start line until after about a minute after the gun went off. The first part of the race was really PACKED and we were dodging people the whole way. And we got a good pace going right away.

And we’re off!! Can you spot us…walking to the start line?!?!?

If you are familiar with the downtown Des Moines area and are curious…here is a map of the route. The pink line is the 5K route. Here is the description of the route from damtodam.com:

The 3.1 mile course is flat and fast winding through the east side of the downtown area. Shortly after the first mile, the course turns right onto East River Drive. The 5 kilometer course turns around just before the bike path near University Avenue and heads back south, then goes west on Locust Street to the finish. 

Check out this picture from the start of the race!! (dmregister.com)

My Dad even came down to watch and support us! We were so glad and appreciative that we had him there! And I think he was proud of us!! Thanks again Dad for coming…it really meant a lot to have you there!!

My boss has been a runner for quite some time now and has run the Dam to Dam 5K quite a few years in a row. She is kinda the reason we did it…so thanks to Angie!! Angie finished with her personal best, less than 25 minutes! Great job Ang!!! :)

This is Angie & I before the start of the race!

Our chip time was 29:15 so we are estimating that we ran the actual 3.1 miles in 28:15 (or less) because we didn’t get to cross the start line until about a minute after the gun went off. We were hoping for a time in the 27 minute range, but overall happy with how we did.

Dad didn’t get to see us cross the finish line. For one there were thousands of people…and two he had to leave the area for about a minute because there was someone puking, just like me, my Dad has a weak stomach!

We met up with Angie, her husband, and Dad after the race for some of the complimentary eats they have! Popsicles, water, Gatorade, apples, oranges, bananas, sandwiches, and so on and so on!!! Nice to get some eats to re-fuel after our first race!!

Feeling good after finishing the race!!

It was such a great experience and can’t wait to do some more races in the future with my favorite workout buddy…my hubby!!   

Happy 25th Birthday Kyle!

Tuesday the 26th Kyle turned 25!! It’s hard to believe we’ll both be in our mid-twenties this year!! We’re getting OLD!! :)

Kyle had meetings in Des Moines in the morning and I surprised him when he got home and took the afternoon off work!

Kyle wanted a quiet evening “in” just the two of us! And I loved that idea! We rented the movie “Taken” and got Kyle’s favorite, Caseys canadian bacon pizza…and splurge since we’ve been trying to eat healthy!

 

Of course we had to have a birthday cake!! The first picture Kyle laughed about something and blew out some of the candles…what a “bummed” face!! But he still needed to blow out the rest!

Another favorite of Kyle’s is chocolate covered strawberries. So when I got home from work I dipped up a bunch!!! Mmmm, they were so good!! :)

 We have both been training to run the Dam to Dam 5K on Saturday May 30th and so we knew we didn’t want to eat this WHOLE cake!! So throughout the rest of the week we had friends, neighbors, and family help us eat it…thanks everyone!! :) Even though our cake is gone you can still stop over!! ;)

Baby Shower for Noah

Wednesday I hosted a baby shower for my friend, Leanne’s, newest little one, Noah! It was at my house, but that is where I stopped working!! :) Everyone brought a dish to share and it worked out great!! Mindi made chicken salad pie, Sara L brought fresh fruit, Kari made a salad, and Allison brought desert! Perfect!!
Prepping before the guests of honor arrived! In the picture on the left is Mindi and Kari. And on the right is Allison and Ginger.
And this is Noah!! He is just SO sweet!! And SUPER cute!! All this baby stuff lately is really giving me the “itch”!!   

	Everyone took their turn holding Noah!! Just didn’t get a picture with Sara or Ginger.

       

Me and Leanne!! 

GIFT TIME!!!

Ginger sniffing Noah’s new soap!! 

Allison’s AMAZING, yummy desert!!

The whole crew!! It was a fun night and so good to catch up with these girls!! And Noah is just precious!

Monday Afternoon Fun

I took Monday off work because Wendi was only going to be here a short time and wanted to get some quality sister time in! We didn’t do anything too exciting. I made lunch for us and Mindi came for that. And then we just hung around the house in the afternoon.

Sara and her daughter Emma came down for a while. So it was fun for Wendi to get to meet Emma. I can’t believe how much she has grown!! Emma was super smiley and even laughed like Sara hadn’t heard before. She is just the cutest!

 

Sara even brought the stroller so we took a walk. It was a perfect day for it too!! Sara, Emma, and Vahn live in Wesley, about an hour away. Just not close enough!!

All ready to go on a walk!