Random Happenings

Just some random things that have been going on at the Hanks house recently:

We decided that before General Conference, we were going to mount our TV on the wall. Just as Kevin was putting in some of the last screws, the drill started to smoke...and then the wall started to hiss. We were all out of the house in about 10 seconds and Kevin was bolting at full speed toward the clubhouse to find the maintenance guys. We thought we drilled through a gas line or something. Turns out it was just the air conditioning lines. We missed the first talk of Conference and had to watch the rest with our TV sitting on our dinner table, but we got things figured out after that. :)

Brooklyn did pretty good with Conference this year. I think she sat and listened to 2 whole talks before all other distractions sunk in. Kevin also made it through 2 whole talks this year. I was very proud of all my kiddos!


Kevin has been having a lot of fun doing laser tag games for birthday parties lately. Brooklyn also has fun when games come up because she gets to help daddy charge and load all the batteries.


Kevin recently discovered that poop can squish up the back of a diaper and onto a baby's back. How did he learn this great lesson? He changed Lily the other day and after he had wiped up all he could see, he turned to grab a new diaper. When he turned back, Lily had squirmed into a different position leaving a trail of poop on my carpet, her clothes, her legs, her hands etc. Kevin freaked a little and yelled, "where the heck did that all come from?" Just then Lily rolled onto her tummy and took off in the other direction, revealing poo smears all the way up her back from crack to neck...lovely! (We decided to post the clean diaper picture instead of the before picture.)


After a dreadful weekend of fighting off a wicked stomach flu, we all decided to reward our survival with a trip to Waterfall Glen. There wasn't really any water, but we all still enjoyed being in nature and seeing the fall leaves.

And for your viewing pleasure:

Lily has officially graduated from army crawling to bear crawling. She doesn't like to be on her knees for some reason so this is how she does it!

Brooklyn still thinks she is a princess and thus, has really gotten into wearing makeup. The other day she stole some of mine (luckily I never wear it) and painted her face red. You just gotta love that girl!

Adventures in New Hampshire

On September 20th at 1am I flew back to Chicago from Utah. On September 21st Jennie flew out to Chicago from Utah, and on September 22nd we packed the girls up in the car and started the long drive to New Hampshire for our next adventure.


We saw a lot of interesting things on the 17 hour drive. This man gave us a thumbs up for taking a picture of his back window.

We stopped many times to get our wiggles out, change diapers, eat food, and take potty breaks. Surprisingly enough, I think I needed the potty breaks more than Brooklyn did!


The first night we slept in Palmyra, New York. The next morning we took a little time to walk through the Sacred Grove before we started to drive again. It was really funny because Brooklyn kept yelling things to Heavenly Father, like how she loves him and how she was happy that he was dropping leaves for her. I'm sure her yelling took the Spirit away from some of the other people there, but it gave me happy warm fuzzies!

Later that afternoon we arrived in Nashua where we would be staying with my awesome big sister Becca! Woohoo!


It didn't take long before we were all outside enjoying the great weather and getting chalked up in Becca's driveway.

Later that night Jennie and I helped Becca make cake pops! I just like this picture because Becca looks so incredibly vertically impaired when she stands next to Jennie! :)

The cake pops were SOOOO tasty and were a great distraction while we were waiting for Taber to come home from the lobster bake he was throwing for his employees.

He even brought some lobster home for us. I couldn't eat it though. Something about eating a giant bug and having to barbarically tear its insides out just got to me. I think I might enjoy it though if someone else did all the dirty work.

The next day Becca took us to an apple orchard while her girls were in preschool. Brooklyn and Lily really enjoyed themselves and the apples were amazing!

Even the adults got great enjoyment out of the trip. We not only got to laugh at Brooklyn when she ripped a whole branch off with her apple, or at Lily trying to gum an apple to death, but we also got to eat YUMMO apple cider donuts and apples straight off the tree. Mmmmmm!

The next day, Taber, Jennie, and I all ran the Applefest Half Marathon. When we were done, Taber and Becca treated us to Outback steakhouse. It was so wonderful to stuff our faces after a run like that. This picture is of the girls in the backseat of the car, waiting to go into the restaurant.

On Sunday we got the girls all dolled up and enjoyed a peaceful sabbath together.

On Monday, Becca was kind enough to watch all the girls PLUS some extra kids while Jennie and I toured Boston.

We saw a lot of fun things, my favorite being Bunker hill, and got to walk out some of our race soreness at the same time.

The next day we packed up the girls and started the drive back to Chicago. We spent a night in Kirtland, Ohio before getting home to Kevin (who had been missing us for a whole month!) and these beautiful flowers he got to let us know he didn't really want to be a bachelor any more!

Thank you Becca and Taber for being such great hosts and Jennie for being the best Taxi driver alive! And thank you Kevin for letting us go play for so long without you. I love you all!

Hot, Humid, and Hilly! The Applefest Half Marathon 2010

Last Saturday (2 weeks after I ran the Red Rock) I finally got the chance to run my 1st half marathon. I drove out to New Hampshire with my friend Jennie so we could run the race with my brother-in-law,Taber.

My sister Becca made sure we were well taken care of the night before the race. She invited over some friends of hers who were also running the race and together we loaded our stomachs with spaghetti, french bread, salad, and Gatorade!

The race didn't start until 10am, so when we woke up in the morning we didn't have to rush. However, the late start and some strange weather patterns left us running 13.1 miles in 86 degree temperatures with 65% humidity. Basically it felt like running in 95 degree weather! Also, the race directors made a last minute announcement that we couldn't run with our I pods so I started to feel pretty stressed before we took off.

When it came time to run, Jennie and I (mostly me) decided to start at the VERY back of the line so that no matter how slow I ran, nobody would ever pass me! It also helped boost my confidence a little to FINALLY have the opportunity to pass someone else while running.


Once we started running I realized that I needed to do something to distract myself from my running pains since I didn't have music anymore. So...I started to talk to people. ALL the people! Anyone who would listen and even some who wouldn't. I was cracking jokes, begging for rides on people's horses and bikes, and pretending that I was racing against the walking spectators since they were the only people I was passing at first. I got some good laughs out of other runners and even a few cops and it seemed to keep me fueled at first. But then the heat started to affect me.

At about mile 5 I started to feel my energy draining so I told myself I would try out the Chocolate GU Becca gave me as soon as I hit mile 6. When I finally got there, I drained the GU along with some water and Gatorade. To my glorious surprise, the GU tasted like a warm Brownie oozing down my throat on Christmas morning! Could anything be more wonderful? NO! I stopped running at this point and began prancing. I wanted to sing and dance and I couldn't stop shouting praises to the chocolate GU that had so blessed my life!

By now I could see the midpoint clock and realized I was right on target to finish in my goal time of 2 and a half hours. I felt good...and I kept feeling good until mile 9. Then something weird happened. I was quite aware that it was blazing hot outside, but for the life of me I couldn't stop shivering. I kept having waves of cold chills and clamminess. How bizarre. Well, I wasn't gonna let some out-of-place cold chills stop me so I kept pushing myself until I saw the infamous and dreaded hill on mile 10. It was steep as you can see below:

By now Jennie had convinced me that I was probably suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration so I decided that no matter what, I would run that awful hill, and then I would try walking a little to see if I could beat my chills. I pounded my way up the hill and even managed to pass a few people. By the time I got to the top I NEEDED to walk...


So I did. I walked about 3/4's of a mile before I couldn't handle my wussiness anymore and then I started to run again. That lasted until mile 12 and my last hill. Then I walked another 3/4's of a mile before I felt like I could run again without evaporating. I only had a little distance left so I gave it my all. I passed about 10 people and then saw the finish line. Another lady who had been bunny hopping me the whole race suddenly burst in front of me. She was about 5 foot 10 and had much longer legs than me, and thus, ran faster than me. I knew she was fast because no matter how much longer I ran than her, or how many times she stopped to walk, I just couldn't stay in front of her. When I saw her slide past me I knew that no matter what, I had to beat her and her ridiculously long legs.

So I did. (She's the one in the pink tank top.) And because of it, I get to have a cool sprint-to-the-finish picture to remember it by! I didn't hit my goal of 2 and a half hours, but I did hit my goal to finish despite the horrible weather. I came in at 2:55:28 and though it may sound slow, I'm actually quite proud of myself. That was a HARD race! And I completed it without taking a ride in an ambulance. That's victory if you ask me! Plus, I passed over 30 people before I finished! :) Woohoo!

As a reward for finishing, Taber, Jennie and I got apple-fest medals to wear whilst eating YUMMO apple crisp! And you know what, I think it was actually worth running that race for the apple crisp. It was good stuff!

When all was said and done, we went home, showered, grabbed our kids, and headed to Outback Steakhouse to replenish our missing calories. Thank you Taber and Becca for treating us! It was an awesome meal to end an awesome day!

Oh! And as a random side note, I was just thinking how awesome it will be to run my next half marathon because now I'm pretty much GUARANTEED to beat my previous time! YIPEE!

The Red Rock Relay 2010: Snow to Sun Run

Well, as many of you know, I set a goal this year to run a 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon in preparation to run a Full Marathon in 2011. I started walking right after Lily was born and 6 weeks later I started to run. My first race was the Terror Trail Run. It was a 4 mile trail race in May. It was followed by the Fitness for America 10K in July. Then, as I was looking for a Half Marathon, I got an email from my brother Munro suggesting I participate in a relay he was signing up for. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity to improve my running while visiting family in Utah at the same time!


After months of training, I flew out to Utah to run the 186 mile race with Munro, my best friend Jennie, and a bunch of Munro's cousins and members from my dad's ward. We met at Cory Ludvigson's house on Thursday and drove South to the start of the race.


After arriving at packet pickup, we swapped vans for a 12 passenger, loaded up on food, painted the van, got a few hours of sleep and then headed to the race start where our first runner would ride a ski lift to the top of a mountain and then run back down!

Cory took the first leg, running a little over 3 miles down dirt trails and shale. When she got back to the base of the ski lift she turned the running over to Munro who began running the steepest 4+ miles our van would see. Munro ran it like a champ and then passed the bracelet to Rafa, who was a little confused about what to do next! He figured it out eventually though and soon finished his 7 mile downhill and passed off to Jaron for the next 7 mile leg. Unfortunately, Jaron had been throwing up all night and had a fever. He pushed himself an AMAZING 4 miles before his body couldn't go anymore. He was out for the count after that but we didn't want to quit, so Munro quickly put his running shoes back on and finished Jaron's leg before passing off to Jennie. Jennie then had a mix of ups and downs for I think somewhere around 5 miles before she passed the bracelet to me for my longest and most uphill leg!


My first leg was almost 6 miles, all uphill. Luckily for me, it was freezing cold outside which really kept me going. I had a lot of support from the van too. They stopped every mile or so and gave me water, Gatorade, Chap-stick, and loud cheers!


After conquering what I thought would be my hardest leg, I felt GREAT! I ran hard and never stopped to walk, and I got to hand off the bracelet to the other van which meant I had all 12 runners cheering me through the shoot! When all was said and done, we packed up our things, dropped Jaron off at a hotel where he could rest and recover, and then headed to the next exchange point to wait for the other van to finish their legs.

We tried to sleep but I don't think anyone got anything more than 15 minutes or so and soon the other van arrived. They were earlier than we thought so we kind of had to rush to get our van going again, but me made it and then began our midnight legs!

Our night legs were much harder than we thought they would be. First, we were all wasted from being awake for so long, and second, we were all anticipating having to run an extra leg...one that was named the Dirty Devil and was all uphill. We were trying to decide who would run it when we saw this...


All the cars in the distance suddenly began to move upward! STRAIGHT UP! We were all a little freaked out by the steepness of the run and finally decided that the only way we could do it is if Rafa continued to run as long as he could after his leg and into Jaron's. Then the rest of us would take 1 mile at a time until it was done. Luckily, Rafa made it 2 more miles after his leg so each of us only had to take 1 mile!


I was the last runner of the night, which meant I started around 2 am. When I took the bracelet from Jennie and started to run, the rest of the runners were fast asleep in the van. I just kept hoping they would remember to bring me water along the route. At first I was scared. I was the only runner as far as I could see and I was literally in the middle of nowhere! Just as I started to believe that a coyote was about to take me out by the knees and end my life, I looked up...I have never in my life seen the stars in such abundance and beauty. I ran the rest of the way looking upward and finished with my fastest time EVER and dare say it was my favorite run EVER!

When I passed off to the other van, Munro hopped into the driver's seat and we started to drive the hour and a half trek to the next exchange point. Everyone else was asleep in the back, which is exactly what I intended to be doing until I saw Munro's face. The man had to be sleep walking and I knew if I slept, so would he, and then so would the rest of us...FOREVER! So, I started to talk...and he answered...and I talked...and somehow me made it, parked, and fell asleep without any recollection of a single word that was said. We also managed to get an hour and a half of sleep before the other van came in...and that was our total for the whole 30 hour race!


Cory started us out on our last legs with a 3 mile run that managed to finish off her sprained ankle and carpel tunnel with a twisted knee! She was amazing at pushing through the pain and finished strong before passing off to Munro again. Munro ran his leg quickly and felt so good afterward that he decided to go for a new goal and run a total of 26.2 miles by the end of the relay. None of us minded because it meant we wouldn't have to run Jaron's last leg! Rafa went next and was also feeling awesome so after Munro jumped out to finish his last mile with him, he continued on into Jaron's leg with Munro for the next mile! Then Munro finished off Jaron's leg and continued to run the first mile of Jennie's leg to round out his mileage. Jennie continued on after we picked up Munro and managed to run 5 miles with a GIANT blister on the bottom of her foot before passing off to me one last time.


I was tired and shaky at this point but took comfort in the fact that this would be my shortest and flattest leg. I ran out of the shoot and took my first corner before I looked up and saw a fork in the road. One side continued flatly to the left, the other went up a NASTILY steep hill that I couldn't see the top of. I started turning left when I saw the van at the top of the hill and my father in law at the bottom waving me toward them. DOH!!!



I wanted to cry, but instead, told myself that I can do hard things and no matter what, I was going to run that hill! AND I DID RUN IT! As well as the rest of my leg at a relatively quick pace before handing off to the other van. I was greeted with monster cookies and high fives before we packed up to shower and meet the other van at the finish line!


As we waited, we got to enjoy the beautiful 96 degree weather in St. George. A HUGE contrast to the 38 degree weather we started in! We also were able to collect our finishers shirts and batons and say our good byes, since I would be going back to Chicago soon. Then we ran through the finish line together and celebrated our 30 hour team effort to conquer 186 miles of Utah's most beautiful terrain.


The Red Rock Relay was both difficult and rewarding for me and I can't wait to do it again... hopefully with Kevin in tow. But until then, I have a marathon to train for!

Adventures in Utah Part 2: Playin' in PG

After 5 fantastic days in Kaysville and 3 days racing, I headed down to Pleasant Grove to hang out with the Uda gang.


On my first day there I visited Sarah, Tau, Noa, and Micah in Springville. The blanket was for baby Micah but Noa thought he should give it a try first. After a short visit, Sarah and I packed ourselves up to Provo where we participated in a VERY HARD 1.5 hour Tahitian class! My legs were sore!

The next day I woke up early, played with Gizmo and the girls, and then went on a run around Apple Grove. It was a beautiful and relaxing morning.


That same day we went back to Provo to visit Rachel in her new house. We made the most wonderful Pink Sugar cookies, ate lunch at Bajio's, and spent the afternoon at a nearby park.


Here is Brooklyn, Mason Noa, Grandma Uda, Malia, Sarah, and Micah, making the downhill trek to the park. It was easy getting there but the journey back up to the house was much more difficult!


Mason held Brooklyn's hand the whole way to the park and back. He was so sweet to watch over her and it really made my job easier as well.


On Friday, Liz, Mom and I took the girls over to see Scarlet and Jake's house. After checking it out we ate at the Malt Shoppe in Provo and then took a tour through Tony and Liz's recording studio.


My friend Shannon even managed to drop by while we were at Scarlet's house. She brought her cute daughter with her and we had an enjoyable visit.


Here is Lily and Clara.They are about 3 weeks apart in age, and just like their moms, one is a little speck of sunshine and the other is a loud and large bundle of fun!

Later that night we went back to Rachel's house to meet for a girls night out + Dad. Here is mom and dad getting ready for the fun!

We were all so excited to eat at the Olive Garden that things got a little CRAZY...

But don't worry, as soon as we got to the restaurant our brains went back to normal...whatever that means.

On Saturday (the day before I flew back home) I was lucky enough to go to the Aquarium in Sandy with ALL of my Utah nieces and nephews. The kids had so much fun playing together and were able to see a rain forest exhibit with parrots and cockroaches as well as pet a stingray and starfish. When we were done we ate at good old McDonald's and then went home to watch movies, pack bags and get ready for Sunday.

We had a wonderful trip to Utah and are SO grateful for ALL of our family and friends who made an effort to come see us. We love and miss you all and can't wait to see you again next year!