Berlin Marathon

We are a little slow getting posted on the wonderful trip that we had last month. I think I will just have to do it in pieces. So, tonight, BERLIN!

Here is the map of the marathon course that we RAN....

We got there the Friday before the Marathon and got to do some sightseeing. To the left is the KDW- a huge department store, the equivalent of London's Herrods. The banner they had up was a little to showy- so Erik is changing the rating of this pic to "G".

This Cathedral was bombed out during WWII, and it was left as a memorial. I guess there was more of it left, but not all of it was stable to be left. It is kind of cool. The new Church they built next door is a 1960's modern thing that is very weird looking.

Alot of the stores along Kurfurstendamm, (big shopping district) had running displays. One even had this count down to the Marathon!

Saturday morning, the runners- Erik, Dad, Scott and me, plus the boys, headed to the Marathon Messe to pick up our numbers and eat pasta! They had the expo at the old Tempelhof airport. (see The Bourne Supremacy to see that airport!) Nathan liked the airplanes they had there. This picture to the left is a runner's version of the Brandenburg Gate.

Nathan and Opa by the airplane. I was surprised how many people were taking pictures of it. I thought it was only cool for a 4 year old! We enjoyed our pasta out in the sun. Daniel slept in his stroller for most of the time.

After we finished there, Opa and Erik took the boys back to the apartment, and Scott and I took off to Checkpoint Charlie. We went to the museum there and got to see a chunk of the old wall.




The plaque below shows how Berlin is marking where the wall used to be. It was kind of cool the next day because we ran over the old wall 3-4 times.

The street crossing lights below are the East Berlin version. Now, the last time I was in Berlin (2001 to do the 1/2 marathon with my dad), I didn't see these lights anywhere. I think they are sporadically installing these for the tourists. They are pretty cute though!

Now, about the Marathon! The night before, we went to an Italian restaurant. It was very good, but I swear I got food poisoning! I felt so sick later that night and for the first hour or so of the race. Maybe it was just nerves, but if felt like more than that. We got to the start area of the marathon around 8 am, and had a hour to drop off our bags, go to the port-a-potty(me- ALL the men just use the bushes!), and get to our start zone. We got there around the start time. We saw the balloons get released when it started, but we didn't cross the start line for 20 minutes! There were a lot of runners- approx. 40,000! It was a very cool atmosphere. Lots of people cheering and music. We were movin' pretty good til km 5 (about 3 miles in). Dad stepped off a curb, twisting his ankle. He was amazing though- he walked for awhile and then kept going. He found out a few days later he had broken his leg. He finished his 10th Berlin marathon though.


These are pics that mom took at the 1/2 point when she and the boys and Anneliese met us. They had spent the morning at Legoland, and then taken the train to meet us. We had to wait almost 10 minutes, but it was worth it to see our cute boys!

I was really struggling at this point- I didn't think that I could do another 21 km, but my 'positive affirmations' from one of my nursing classes came in helpful! Once we got to 30 km, I figured I would make it. So I felt good between 30-35km. Then it got kind of hard again. But, it was so exciting once we got to the straight away before the finish and could see the Brandenburg Gate, it felt pretty good. We all crossed the finish together, with a time of 6:06. (6 hours, 6 minutes)

It was so nice to walk and sit and eat at the end. The weather had been perfect all day long, warm around 70. We showered in the tents they had set up- that felt so good! Then we just lay on the grass and relaxed. It is a pretty good feeling to have done a marathon. It was so great to be with Scott and my dad and my bro. I don't know when I will do another one, but it really is something worth doing.

Pirates say "arrgh"

Happy Birthday Nathan!

We had a pirate BBQ party on Monday for Nathan's 4th b-day. He was in heaven after opening presents- he got knight armor from his cousins that he LOVES. He also got a trunk of capes and a fireman coat+hat. He has been changing outfits quite frequently the last few days. So he is happy. He got a big boy bike that he does really well on. Daniel is happy to have the trike now without having Nathan get upset when he gets on! So life is fun.

new nickname

Yesterday we came up with a nickname for Daniel. It is kind of long, but very descriptive of what he is up to lately as a busy 13-month old-
"Sticky, clicky, climbin' Ricky"

Daniel of course likes to feed himself- hence he is sticky. He is always making some noise with his mouth, either a clicking sound, or a car sound. And, last but not least, he is climbing everything! And his middle name is Richard. So we are constantly pulling chairs away from the tables, pulling him down from the couch and toilets, everywhere! We are considering some gates big enough to block him out from the kitchen. I just don't know what Nathan would think of gates, he's not big enough to get over I don't think. Nathan has officially entered the inquisitive stage. He wants to know "why" and "how" about everything. Today we were drawing pictures of brains for him. And talking about why we have to keep going to the bathroom over and over. Sometimes it is so overwhelming trying to answer all his questions. We did check out the non-fiction kids section of the library last week, so that is good. I just want to find of a book of answers to all the random questions he asks, any suggestions?? I guess I better study up.

So we are busy....

Quote from Nathan:
"When you take stickers off your shirt, they roll up like taquitos."

We are heading in to the final weeks of our marathon prep, its in 1 month! We are planning on a long run this weekend, 20 miles, and then tapering off. I am excited for it, a little nervous though. 26 miles is a LONG run. At least we are not going for any time records. 5+ hours sounds good to me!

Daniel's First Haircut

I can't seem to figure out how to move pictures around in this post, so they are a little out of order! The first few are post hair cut. He held still really well and got a pretty good cut, I think!

He wiggled a bit while I was cutting in front, so it got a little crooked, but its kind of cute.

Here he is before church wearing his new shoes! He walks really well in them.


Now these next ones are his 1-year old pics we had done before his hair cut. He did such a good job smiling and holding still for the camera.

Scott thinks this one really looks like one of his baby pictures!

This one showcases his mischievious look...he is getting quite good at it lately. We are having trouble keeping him off any tables or chairs around the house! Its kind of scary to walk in the kitchen and see him standing there!

August rain

Today has been a cool, cloudy day. It is even raining outside right now. Nathan and Daniel and I went outside to play and it was so pleasant! I do love summer, but cool days certainly are appreciated! Daniel is walking everywhere, including in the mushy plums in the grass. I need to find shoes for him now. I think it would be a good idea to acclimatize him to footwear before we go to Greece/Germany.

Here is Nathan at his swimming lessons. He loves going, and he is doing well. He has even jumped off the diving board a couple of times!

Here is the "daddy express." It is pretty slow moving though with 2 wiggly boys in tow.

We just celebrated Scott's birthday on Sunday, I think he had a good day. 29 years young now! Nathan was very excited to pick out dad's present- he got him BBQ chips and some candy! It was fun watching him when Scott opened the present, he was just beaming. We made him a football cake too- in honor of the upcoming football season.

Nathan is starting preschool this fall, and he is excited about going. I asked him what he wants to learn there and he said he wants to learn how to be a knight and a soldier. Hopefully he won't be too disappointed learning his ABC's! He is excited that 2 of his cousins will be there too, Landon and Tyson.

Scott helped Nathan make a knight's helmet, a sword and a shield.

Daniel had his 1 year check-up, here are his stats:
weight: 25lb 12 oz. (70th percentile)
height: 31.7 inches (90th percentile)
head circumference: 19 inches (95th percentile)
So, I guess he will be a tall, smart boy! He has discovered toilets- he likes to walk in the bathroom and wait for us to find him, and then starts to lift the toilet lid and splash in the water! Although, he is learning that it is a "no-no." Yesterday, when I walked in the bathroom, he shook his head and said, "na-na." It was pretty cute. He had his 1-year pictures this week, so we are planning on cutting his mullet hair. Our baby will be all grown up. I put away burp clothes and receiving blankets, and outgrown clothes this week too. But he is certainly a fun little boy to have around!

We are starting to really plan our trip to see Scott's parents in Greece next month. We will get to see Athens the day after we fly in, and then we will take a train to Thessaloniki in northern Greece to stay with his parents for almost a week. I am a little nervous about all the traveling with 2 little kids, but I do think they will do well. Nathan has proven to be a good little traveler, and Daniel did very well on his first trip overseas in June. After our time in Greece, we are flying to Berlin and meeting my parents and Erik and Anne to run the marathon with Erik and Dad. I hope we will be okay. We did great as far as training goes in the spring and June, but with all the fun family trips in June and July, we have been struggling to get ready for the marathon. I am just hoping to make it- it may get kind of ugly in the end though... I am sure that Scott will do well. He has done a great job running. He meets with a guy in the ward and they do early morning Saturday runs with a group of guys. And they go much faster than I do, so its a good challenge for Scott. It will make for a fun trip though. I am especially excited for Greece part. I have never been there, so it will be fun to go somewhere new.

Home Again, home again

Family pic in St. Tropez. It was windy that evening, but the boys were so happy.

Stella, Liza and Anne.

Marketing in St. Tropez. Daniel was a great sport.

Oma and Opa with Daniel at the beach.

Congrats to Erik on his graduation. (Isn't he cute??)We are so glad that we could be there to celebrate with you!!

Yes, we are here! I can't believe how long it has been since we posted. I have been slow getting back into to the swing of things back here in real life. We had a great trip, but it is nice to be home too. Especially when the family from Germany follows us home and we get to play with them some more!

I am hoping that Scott will write a trip report soon that we can post and then add pictures to it. This weekend, I think.

Daniel took his first steps last Sunday, July 5th !! He walked a few steps to daddy, and he is getting braver all the time. A few more weeks and he will be walking all over the place.

We also celebrated Daniel's FIRST birthday on July 11th. He is growing so quickly. We'll have to give ya the stats next week after his checkup. We had a fun day on Saturday having a party for him. We made a puppy cake and let him eat it- he picked off all the candy and had some frosting. He didn't start throwing it til Uncle Curt laid him on top of the cake and then squished his hands in it. Then he really went to town! See video below:

We did webcam with Grandma & Grandpa Johnson in Greece saturday morning. Both the boys had fun playing with Daniel's ball-popper and crawling around. Nathan has a hard time understanding the whole birthday-present-for-the-birthday-boy concept. He thinks that he has full rights to the new toys. But Daniel is not so keen with Nathan taking over his toys. He really whines when Nathan gets on his train and rides it away. So, time to work on sharing!

Nathan is having fun in the sun- we got a little pool for the backyard, and he has had fun taking toys out to play in it. He also likes putting the slide in to it! And yes, he does wear his swim trunks!! Daniel is more of the in and out type. He likes to crawl over by the plum tree and scavenge for fallen plums. (never mind that they aren't ripe yet!)

We are enjoying the summer, we went camping last weekend up in Heber. Saturday we went to Jordanelle and rented a waverunner for the day, along with a tube. It was a blast, although Scott and I were so sore the next day! We could hardly get out of bed, and were taking turns picking up toys, etc from the floor.

I have been able to work a few shifts this month, it has been so nice that I can just do a few every month. Thank goodness for Scott's great job and his hard work at providing for us! The days after I work are hard, but I think Nathan likes that he can watch TV a lot of the day!

I finally figured out how to do a slide show! Its not very long; we didnt take many pictures this month I guess. Not that we couldn't take many, many more of our adorable boys!!! I am loving being home with them, the days fly by so quickly between playing with cars and legos, and trying to get a load of laundry in or the dishes done without the boys noticing that I am not right next to them. Daniel is getting better at entertaining himself playing with toys with Nathan. Nathan is starting to play with Daniel some, but it usually ends up that Nathan is laying on top of him. Daniel isn't too fond of that!!
We are getting very excited for our trip to Germany/France next week! Yeah for having a seat for both boys on the plane, it will be nice to have the room. I hope that they sleep on the long flight, and that the layover in Detroit isn't too stressful. We have been thru there before, and it is a nice airport. New and clean. And it had several kids play areas. Here is to hoping for smooth traveling...