Running running running

...makes me happy. So funny, too considering I pretty much hated running long distances for most of my life. Sorry, Dad, you tried so hard, I know! But honestly it was just so blasted boring. At least with soccer you get to chase a ball, but with cross country you just run. That got really old really fast when I was in high school. Not to mention X-country season coincided with softball season. Two 2-a-days= 4 practices per day in August in Georgia. Can you say "shoot me now?" Naturally, softball won out and running was reserved for suicides during softball practice and track practice in the spring. Running might have been enjoyable had I at least had a ball to chase. But I grew up in Cochran and there was no soccer. (In case you are laughing, I am not kidding. Not in school, not rec league, no where).
But now, Dad you can start smirking, I love running. One of the items on my life's to-do list was to run a half marathon. I disliked running so much that it seemed like one of those things I would do when I hit a mid-life crisis or something. Thankfully I didn't have to wait that long. Steve and I ran a half marathon together in March- thank you very much Brad Bowser. (Steve running is another post in itself!)
It was a trail race which was really fun. My friend Julia and my dad also ran. Well...bless his heart, dear ole Dad tried to run, but was too sick. He shouldn't have even run at all, but Davis' are such competitors that he didn't want me to show him out :) Unbeknownst to us before the race, David Cates and Krista Mullins also ran. Yea for running friends!
Well, we both survived our first 13.1. If you are an adrenaline junkie, run a race. It gives you such a great high! And it just might give you a chance to mark of one of those items on your life's to-do list or a great new hobby.
Can't wait for the Silver Comet on October 25th. There are at least 10 people just from our ward who are running! I'll have to take some pics of all those men in short shorts! Haha!!

Down, Set, Hut!

Haha! I started this post-correction-I wrote the title for this post in August and never wrote the post. K. So here it is...Football is a rather consuming passion for both Steve and I. Not only does he love to watch it, but Steve new favorite hobby is officiating it. You know, the ones on the field with black and white striped shirts (vertical ones), white knickers, striped socks (like party socks with the horizontal stripes), a hat...you get the idea. He even has a whistle and the yellow flag. He is loving it! Steve and Aaron are two peas in a pod. Funny that the guy who shouts "Zebra zebra short and stout..." is now one! ...and couldn't be happier!
Now about watching it...Tennessee was the first game that didn't involve intense sweating and it was sooo nice! But I can say that sweating is a small price to pay for cheering on the Dawgs! Going to Arizona will definitely be the highlight of the season. Wow. It doesn't get much better than going for weekend of football, going back to the Visitor's Center, seeing a family we taught on my mission, and being with great friends!
And I am very excited that 2 of our little nieces got to experience their first Georgia game. Go Dawgs!!

Lost and some found

What do you do when you lose a watch, a wedding band, luggage, and a wallet in less than a month? Cry? Pray? Be grumpy for a while? Well, two out of three's not bad. No need for tears. Especially when your friend spots your lost luggage (yeah Joanne!), you remember where you left your watch, and finding out that swim trunks have pockets. Unfortunately, no friend, find, or memory will return a wallet that disappeared. Oh well. If the person took it for cash, they won't get far since $3 can't even buy you a gallon of gas.

Castle cakes & Tiki torches

Nothing says fun like Steve and birthday. Put the two together and you get lots of family, friends, fun, and flowers (in the form of leis anyway). Because all Weidlers love a good surprise and because they all suspect a good suprise, keeping Steve's super-secret birthday bash a secret was pretty tough- especially when there are Davis and Weidler folks involved. And until a little Honda with three Davis' and some tiki torches pulled up next to us at a stop light, I thought we were gonna pull it off. Gotta love the Davis' for always being a little late. (Just kidding, Mom, Dad, and Em- we really needed those tiki torches).
Fortunately, the Weidler's suprise arrival couldn't have been more timely. Wahoo for little miracles! Sorry "Ma Weidler" that the castle cake was a substitute for the "real" deal, but it was oh so yummy anyway (yea Susan!).

Happy Birthday to you and you and you and you...

For those who know both sides of our family, you know that June is the official birthday month of the year. We blow out the candles with 7 of our family members within the 30 day span. In the Davis family, there are 6 immediate family members. 4 have birthdays, 2 are paid tribute on Father's Day and 1 (moi) celebrate receiving a "consolation prize." You see, my mother, the sister of a man who celebrates his birthday on Christmas Eve, knows the significance of throwing a birthday party for her daughter who's b-day is 5 days before Christmas, always serving a real birthday cake as opposed to some icky fruit cake or other desert that someone delivered because it's the holidays, and wrapping my gift in birthday rather than Christmas paper. She is also a woman with a huge heart who believes that her daughter should receive a gift in June along with the others. I have always wondered whether it was because everyone else was getting something she didn't want me to feel left out or if it was because she felt sorry that my bank account was being drained. Surely it's the former as she always emphasises that she doesn't need anything, Dad only needs socks and a Kit-Kat, and that my siblings, well, they don't need much either so I shouldn't be spending much money. Irregardless (sorry Steve if this isn't a real word- neither is "funnily") of why I receive the gift, my annual June "consolation prize" as I call it, is a welcomed gift.

Swwwwwing!

That's exactly what Steve did yesterday in his greatest-game-of-all-time. And he did it a frequently and with a ton of power. He went 3-for-4 with an in-the-park homerun, a ground-rule double (in layman's terms he smacked the ball so far it bounced over the fence and resultantly he could only go to second base), and a regular double- no offense Steve because we all know that making it to second base is not regular (wink)! The team wanted to know why he had been holding his big guns out on us 'til the end of the season. With his tremendous gains this year, the sky's the limit for season 3! If only we had videoed Steve's first trip back to home... If you missed, it was one for the ages. You will have to ask Steve to tell you. It's bigger than a fish story repeated a few times.

Interning and Outturning

Yesterday was the first day of my mini-internship. I loved it. ARMC really seems like a great place to work. All of the staff that I have encountered are wonderful- especially the hot guy in the business services department! My supervisor is fantastic and even allowed me to participate in the first session. Helping people improve their communication and by extension improving their lives is extremely rewarding. Can't wait to go back!

Summer is the time when we head for the great outdoors, right? Well, easier said than done when a)your bed is oh so comfy and your running buddy has to take the week off, b)you can't legally enjoy your fabulous "new" bike because you gave away your helmet, and c)it's 100+ the first week of June!! Seriously, isn't it technically still Spring? Anyone who knows me knows warmer is always better than cooler except when it means the onset of football season. But summer reared its hot head earlier than I had anticipated this year. Well, enough is enough. There are herbs and a pomegranate tree to be planted, calories to burn, and trails to be blazed. Hello summer!