November 2019

You know that thing called peer pressure? Well, I guess you never really out grow it cause a bunch of my friends signed up for a half marathon this past summer so I thought "I should as well." It seemed like a good idea at the time but during the training and hours of running I had many, many thoughts of regret. The race was down in Tucson and I have never ran a half marathon before so Kyle helped me with a training program and together a bunch of us girl friends drove down for the weekend.

The last time I was this nervous was probably my first performance as an apprentice with Oregon Ballet Theatre. When I started running in the race I physically felt strong but mentally I was freaking out. By the time I crossed the finish line my body was done and my mind was the only thing keeping me going. It was interesting how it flipped on me. But I stand here to tell you the tale of how I actually ran 13.1 miles and didn't die! I know this is nothing compared to the marathons Kyle runs, but for me this was a HUGE accomplishment. I am very proud of myself, Jenny, the ballerina who hates running actually ran a half marathon.

I signed Connor up to play basketball through his school's little after school program and he is loving it. Is he very good? No, not really. He is far too timid and shy, but he sure has a big old smile across his face the whole time he is playing.

Abby and Connor had their sports day celebration through their Gakuen Japanese school. I do love this activity cause it reminds me of the sports day they did back in Japan when they attended Daiichi Yochien. It has been a fun tradition that the kids get to participate in to preserve what little Japanese culture we can from our time we lived over seas.

Other than that our November has been pretty relaxed. I actually always enjoy November, a month based around a holiday of thankful hearts. I feel like it's the calm in between Halloween and Christmas. A time to reflect on all our many blessings, one of those being my cute little Chubby boy, Brayden. He had a birthday this month and turned 3. I cannot believe how big he is getting and I feel like he is finally out growing the "terrible twos" and blossoming into a sweet little boy. He sure loves his little sister, cars, trucks, dinosaurs, and any kind of sports ball. Yup, he is all boy and we love that about him.