Defending Freedom Run

I think my coping mechanism for having Ben deployed is getting myself into some large projects. The latest was a run I put on in honor of Ben. Ben told me in December that he would be running a 1/2 marathon on February 25th. I was kind of a bit envious because I had never run a 1/2 before. So, I decided to put on a run myself on the same day. I kind of have a weird habit of naming everything, so I decided to name it "Defending Freedom walk/run/bike". It was to be the 1st annual and definitely not the last! I ran into my Friend Lee Elmer, who we met at Stake Choir over a year ago. He runs the DI here and I frequent that place. Lee and I are definitely on a first name basis! I asked him if he would help me with different routes for this events. He kind of took off with it and made it really nice. It was so kind of him to do this for me.

Training was going really well for both Ben and I until about 2 weeks before the race. I got a weird bug and was sick with bronchitis for about 1 and 1/2 weeks. The race was getting close at this point and I hadn't even been able to run. I decided to go on a run a few days before and it was a little painful. This made me quite nervous!

On Friday, one day before the race, I woke up and got the idea to run the 1/2 that night. I wanted to enjoy the event and take lots of pictures and visit with everyone, and most of all, I thought it would be cool to actually run at the same time as Ben was running it. I told my good friend, Nan Horlacher my plan and she offered to ride her bike along side of me. So at about 9:30pm Vegas time and 10:00am Afghanistan time, Ben and I started to run. I ran about 8 miles in the dark by myself. I did have a head lamp on and ran in safe areas! It was so peaceful and it was so much fun imagining Ben running too. The only thing better would have been to have him running beside me like we have done so much in the past. I long for those runs again. I felt great and was so happy about my choice to run it that night. Because of some riots going on around Bagram AFB in Afghanistan the week before, Ben wasn't able to run the loop he was planning on running. He and about 10 others ran.

The race here was pretty official. It was maked off with traffic cones, flags were flown, tags were worn and we even had fresh fruit, water and chocolate milk for all of the runners. We had about 150-175 who participated in the 1/2 marathon, 5k, 10k and 25 mile bike ride. I was so pleased with the turnout. The kids LOVED it and ran the 5k easily (well, except for Kate- she rollerbladed it)! From my family, my parents, Tarah and Brooke came, and from Ben's family, Scott and Lori, Derrick, and Emily, Nate and Kim and their family came. Ben's parents and Matt and Misty walked in Beaver that day. It was so great to have family here for support.

Ben had a great experience running as well. He had medal for all who participated there and has ordered T shirts for them as well.

About a month before the race, I just happened upon a lady who was doing so screen printing in her garage. I stopped by and told her what I was thinking as far as the design of the shirts and she was able to make them. I always like a good t-shirt to wear! They turned out great!

All in all, it was a huge sucess! Ben just told me that he is now training for a full marathon in April. I think I will let him do that one himself- Been there, done that!!!

Christmas without Ben

Christmas time was not the same without Ben. We did have a good time and the kids did say that this was the best Christmas ever, except for Ben being gone. December was extremely busy as usual. For some reason I like to make gifts for most people. I told myself that this year it would be much easier to just buy them-but of course, I couldn't. I also helped a few of my friends make gifts for their in-laws. It was a bit crazy! We pulled taffy with the Mickelsons. They liked it so much, we did it twice. I guess I have had so much of it, that it's not really a big deal to me anymore. It is fun however, and it is a tradition that will will definately keep forever!

It was a little difficult getting super excited for Christmas. I tried to, for the kids sake. Holidays are just so much better when Ben is around. He is the life of the party and everyone missed him this year. The kids wanted to spend Christmas in Utah, so I borrowed the Mickelsons trailer and loaded it up with gifts. The kids gifts were large this year, so it was a must to have the extra space.

I decided to do the twelve days of Christmas for Ben this year. I probably sent 6 or 7 packages. Some of the gifts that I sent were, "The Christmas Story" movie (one of Ben's favorites and one of my least favorites). I sent popcorn and a large bag of M&M's to go with it. I sent him a small nativity, Homemade Chex mix (my Grandma Karlynn's specialty), taffy that we pulled, hot cocoa with different add-ins and a cocomotion. The cocomotion has been a hit. Ben said all of the guys were teasing him about it, until they tried some hot chocolate made in it. Apparently, they make it up quite often and they call it the "cocoa mo"! The best gift I sent him this year was a pair of running shoes. A few years ago, I bought Ben some nike running shoes. They were a royal blue color with a rather bight yellow nike swoop. They were great running shoes and Ben had them for a couple of years. He not only ran with them, but wore them as an everyday casual shoe. He definately got his use out of them. We had looked for another pair just like them a few times, but they are now considered an old model. We couldn't find them anywhere. A few days before he left, we looked for some running shoes and he couldn't find the right pair, so he didn't get any. About a month after he left, the kids and I were in Sports Authority getting some basketball shoes for the twins. I turned around and there on the clearance isle right in front of me at eye level were a pair of running shoes-THE running shoes. I picked them up and they were his exact size. It was as though the shoes were glowing. It was crazy! The kids all yelled, "those are Dad's shoes"! I scanned the entire isle and they were the only pair! We were so excited to buy them for him. That day, I was talking to Ben and asked him if there was anything he needed for Chirstmas. He said, "I could use a new pair of running shoes"! I laughed inside! He was surprised and excited to open them on Christmas morning. We also got him a ping pong table and a vibrating football game that he had as a kid. They are both still in the box waiting for him to get home!

The kids were able to face chat a little with him on Chistmas Morning. The lines were pretty busy, so we didn't have the best connection. Hopefully, this will be the last Christmas we will spend apart!