Seeing the lights at Temple square is always a family tradition.
This year we took the train downtown.
No snow yet for this year, but it was raining.
We were really wet.
Floating candles.
Month: November 2018
Thankful 13
Happy Thanksgiving!
I ran the Thankful 13 1/2 marathon this morning.
What does a 4 year old do while waiting?
Finished 2:20. 5 minutes faster than Las Vegas last week. I’m pleased with this time, because I wasn’t in a rush, but kept my pace throughout the full race! No walking. I also finished with 2:20 while running a couple miles up hills! A few hills in the beginning and then 2 hills at the end! I ran my pace up EVERY hill. I took it easy at the end, because I didn’t want Vegas to happen all over again. Running with my Gatorade bottle helped with that issue.
I’m planning on running this marathon again next year. Note: MUST bring my Gatorade bottle again. This race had poor aid stations. I wouldn’t have made it if I relied on hydration stops.
Dinner, well more like a late lunch. 2:00pm dinner. No need for pictures of our dinner. We all ate the same thing 🙂
We played games after. Eli picked this one. Rampage. He loves the dinosaurs.
Went to Paul’s parents house for dessert. But first it is gingerbread house decorating time.
My job was to hold the end of the bag closed so the icing didn’t come out.
Eli did a fantastic job!
We had a wonderful time with family.
What you get when you leave a three year old alone for a second.
Eli stepped? I guess he stepped… Not sure how he got in those!
Those black tubes are what fast food cups slide into. So when you take a cup out, a spring in the bottom pushes up the cups. I don’t know how else to describe them, but those are the black tubes.
We really don’t know how he got into them. How did he get one leg in and then the other? How did he get in and stay standing?? When Paul turned around Eli was already in them.
Train Museum
We finally made it to the train museum.
Switch board.
What did the passengers do back in the day without watches? When did they know when the trains came? Good question. The passengers only knew the train was going to be there either in the morning, noon, or evening. So they would just come to the platform around these times and wait.
Time zones didn’t matter either. Because it took days to travel from state to state.
Learning how to skip 🙂
After the trains, we went to one of my favorite restaurants.
They are known for their homemade pita’s. I always get a sandwich on pita bread. Everything here is excellent. Including dessert!
Need a close up!
On the way home we passed Devil’s slide.
What is Devil’s slide? “Devil’s Slide is an unusual geological formation. The slide consists of two parallel limestone strata that have been tilted to lie vertical, protruding 40 feet out of the mountainside. Intervening layers have eroded more quickly, forming a channel some 25 fee wide running hundreds of feet down the mountain.”
Another fun day!
Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 marathon
Went to Las Vegas with mom and Ferelyn to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 marathon. We had so much fun! I’m definitely doing this race again next year.
We arrived in Vegas Friday afternoon. We picked up our bibs, and walked around the expo center.
Found my name. 40,000 people signed up for this race.
Checked into the hotel. Not too impressed with it. I knew the Luxor was an old hotel, but I thought they would have updated it. Nope. I didn’t even take pictures I was so unimpressed. I was very disappointed and I felt like we were staying in the motel 8. For $658.00 I want a $658.00 nice hotel. We also had to pay for parking $15 a night.
We stayed at the Luxor, because the starting line was supposed to be close to the hotel. Well, they ended up changing the starting and finishing line. Starting line was a little north of the MGM Grand hotel and the finishing line was in front of the Bellagio hotel. What did this mean? We had to walk a few miles to the starting line, run 13.1 miles, and then walk back several miles to the hotel.
I think next year I want to stay somewhere closer like the Bellagio, or the Paris. Maybe even the Trump hotel again because it’s smoke and gambling free with FREE valet parking!
Wanting to leave the room, we went to the Excalibur hotel for dinner. We saw the Tournament of Kings. Jousting. Too much fun. We sat on the third row in the middle of Russia. Perfect seats. The jousting and action was right in front of us.
Dinner was fun. You eat with your hands. No spoon for the soup.
I had the vegetarian.
I’m so glad I’m vegetarian. 🙂
Fun show while we ate.
We went through the casino on our way to our room. They changed up how to gamble. You don’t put coins in and pull the lever any more.
Ferelyn stopped some guy and he taught us how to gamble. I should have recorded this, but he asked us how much we had to drink that night. 
The next day. On our way to run the 5k.
5 k finished 30 minutes. I’m a slow runner. I enjoy my pace.
Back at the hotel. We set up mom and Paul on a link so they could watch us online. They could see us move as we hit certain mile markers. 
Back at the gambling.
Trying to figure it out at another machine.
The next day was the 1/2 marathon. It’s hard to see, but there is a lot of people down there at the starting line. 
In the corrals waiting.
We ran past the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.
finished the 1/2 marathon. 2:23. Again, slow, but I like my pace 🙂
ok, so one picture inside the Luxor.
We had so much fun. I signed up for the race next year!
Oh, and Ferelyn gambled $3.00 and made a winning of $.64.
Happy Fall Y’all
When you pick up leaves, it’s officially fall!
I love to see that smile.
I am so grateful Eli came to our family! I’m so blessed to hold the coveted, exhausting, glorious position of being a mother.
