Check out our new hardware! Read below for the whole story. . .

Tashi

Tashi girl playing in the garden. . . Just smelling, er, tasting the flowers:)

Batu

Batu girl in full relaxation mode after a heafty dinner or lettuce and pellets:)

A little catching up. . .

Okay, so we've been slackers lately. . .at least with our blog.  Right after our last post, we went back to our home town for a wedding. Two of our high school friends, Audra and Todd, were getting married.  

When people find out that we met in junior high and dated for 10 years before we got married, they either tell us we must be crazy, or say that our situation is unique. Well, we're not as unusual as you may think. We actually have other high school friends (3 other couples) who met in high school and have subsequently gotten married or are still together. Audra & Todd also met in high school, so their wedding was a very exciting next step for them.  Audra thought of every detail and the event was a fun, elegant affair. It was really fun because it was a high school reunion of sorts. Now only Kate and Phil aren't married, hint, hint Phil:)

{Sharla}

It seems like weddings act as reunions before the official 5, 10, and 15 year reunion are actually scheduled. Friends fly in from all over the country (sometimes world) to take part in (suppose to be) once in a lifetime event. It's truly great... especially when there are crab cakes. HA! {Chris}

So, people are probably sick of this topic by now, but lets talk Olympics!!! For some reason I was really pumped up to watch them this year. Maybe it's the fact I've become a marathoner since the Athens Games. Or maybe it's the fact that the architecture is truly out of this world. Or maybe it's both and more. The track and field events were amazing to watch. The unfortunate part about watching track and field on TV is that it's like watching the Indy 500 on TV.  You don't know how fast the runners are actually going unless you're there. Looking at split times, I was able to appreciate how fast a 47 second 400 meters is, but it's hard to feel that through the TV. {Chris}

Yeah, since Chris and I have been training for a half marathon, we do weekly track workouts. Even if we sprint our very fastest, we don't get close to completing a lap in less than 50 seconds. Those Olympians were smokin'! And let's not forget about the women marathoners. . .I challenge any guy out there to keep up with those amazing women. Way to go girls:)

I don't know how late other people stayed up to watch The Games, but according to my co-workers, it seems like everyone lost sleep over the past two weeks. How about you? {Chris}

Yeah, it was hard getting to bed at a decent time, but it was totally worth it. HAHA. {Sharla}

In the last two/three weeks, our half marathon training has become more consistent. We've finally fallen into a groove and figured out what nights we run versus working out. I know this is a result of preparing a plan for Sharla. Runtroniks strikes again!!!  {Chris}

Chris has now become my "coach." He wrote up a training plan, and he keeps me motivated when I'm tired from work and I don't want to go running. The weird thing about running though, is that you almost always feel better afterwards. Thanks coach! Plus, the training is starting to pay off. {Sharla}

We've been doing hill repeat training sessions and have averaged 25 miles over the past two weeks. The reward? On Saturday Sharla and I and a couple of friends, ran the iWalk 2008 5k Race. We signed up spontaneously the morning of the event looking to have a good time, but Sharla and I both ended up winning. Sharla took first place female with a time of 23:50, and I took first place overall with a time of 17.41. It was so exciting, and we even got trophies! {Chris}

08.08.08 A beautiful summer wedding

A quick pose after the ceremony. . .Is it really possible that we had our very own wedding over a year ago?

Sharla with her beautiful mom Chriselda - it's so nice to be home and see the parents:)
Some of Sharla's oldest friends from the Fort, Kate and Libby, were also bridesmaids.

The bride and groom (Audra & Todd) cutting the beautiful cake.  Yes, each tier was a different flavor, and don't worry Audra, we did taste almost all of them. 

SF Trip

Sharla and I at Crissy Field in San Francisco. Wondering about the fog... it was a typical summer day in The City. I guess it's standard to drink hot chocolate on 4th of July. Strange, but cool.

The deYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park. It was designed by the "black cape" firm herzog and de meuron. Sweet cantilever man!!!

The crookedest street in the world. Notice the amount of craziness going on all at once.

Bunny Time

This past week has flown by like Abdi Abdirahman, aka the Black Cactus, running the 10k. If you don't know him, look him up. He has a great chance at winning gold in the Olympics. Check out his shirt at http://www.flotrack.org/resources/gear. {Chris}

If you can't tell Chris has been gearing and brushing up on his track facts for the Olympics which start this Friday. We've had a recordable DVD player for about 3 years, and we just got it up and running this weekend in preparation for recording the Olympics. . .In Chris' words "I'm going to record all of the track events so that I can watch them over, and over, and over again." Okay, he's now confirmed that he's truly addicted to the sport! We're going to miss the first few days of events, since we'll be back in the Fort for Todd and Audra's wedding which happens to be on 8.8.08. We are so excited to see our friends and family, and to eat some Young's and Rio. {Sharla}

Yes, yes... my lunch hours at work have been spent cruising around on running websites. And yes... I did buy a Black Cactus shirt. Oops, but I had too.

Chris is notorious for making purchases right before a holiday or his birthday. . .He has a birthday on Tuesday, and I've been scheming about gift ideas, and there he goes and buys stuff for himself! Ha Ha. I did surprise him on Friday though. {Sharla}

Yeah. Sharla threw a surprise b-day party on Friday which turned out great. We had Sharla's co-residents over to our place and hung out on our patio all night. It was great. Check out the pic below for the cappuccino cake Sharla got for me. IT WAS SWEET!!! and made at a local super-star bakery, The Prolific Oven. {Chris}

The cake was beautiful and soooo delicious, and the pizza rolls we made were a hit. Making pizza dough at sea level was a surprise - my dough rose so much that it was spilling out of the bowl! Anyway, we made three batches (about three dozen rolls) and there were only 5 rolls left! {Sharla}


Today, Sunday, we decided to check out the local Nike Run Club. They meet on Sundays and go for a group run... and it's FREE. The group was small today because of a big local race, only about 10 people, but we met some really nice locals. As the group thinned out, we found ourselves out front with another couple. J and M are training for a half marathon and it turns out J and I run at about the same pace:) A few miles in, Chris and I split off to finish our long run. We did well and I'm glad we went out early because the temperature was getting warmer by the time we finished. When we got back to the store, there was fruit, Luna bars and water waiting. Plus, the club does fun monthly raffles and gives out free t-shirts once you hit 100 logged miles. 8 down, 92 more to go - AWESOME!!! {Sharla}

When we got home, we were folding some laundry when we caught the girls (Tashi and Batu) grooming each other. It was sooo adorable that we had to take a video. It got a little long, but they do a little trick towards the end. Check it out!!! {Chris}