26?

26. Yep, I'm now on to my second 25 years. Weird. But hey, at least birthdays give me an extra excuse to really party it up! The night before my birthday we had dinner with friends Mike, Kayla, Micha and Evie, who bought us dinner and a birthday cake! They're so fun and thoughtful.

On the morning of my birthday, I went on a nice solo surf session. Then Shane surprised me at work bearing gifts! He is so nice and so cute; I was happy to get to show him off to everyone at work:) That night we went out to dinner with Alex, Morgan, and Iver - so fun.

The next day we went snowboarding!! Sarah, Bryant, Kyle, Shane, and I piled in a van and headed up to Big Bear, about an hour and half away. It was a dream. Finally it pays off to be from Idaho! I loved every second of the day. Shane did amazingly well, having only been a handful of times. Sarah and Bryant are new to the snow and are both catching on great (I won't mention Sarah lost control and came FLYING down the mountain at one point...and somehow came away alive. hilarious.) And Kyle is at the same level as me, so it was really fun to ride with him.

P.S. Be sure to notice my really hip 1989 red ski jumpsuit that I snagged from a Goodwill bin.

I love California. I love my friends. I love my husband! 2 days of awesomeness. Here's to life as a 26 year old!

Thankful for Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for Thanksgiving, to give me an extra reminder of the abundant blessings a very loving Heavenly Father has given me.

I'm thankful for my girls, Sarah and Sandy, who I'm positive were meant to be my sisters, just a little later in life. I'm thankful we coincidentally all wore matching denim shirts to our surprisingly fun Thanksgiving-eve bowling night.

I'm thankful Sarah was woman enough to do the Long Beach Turkey Trot, and that she, Sandy and I laughed through the entire thing. I'm thankful Shane and his friends ran it too, and that Shane rocked it.

I'm thankful to have both my older brothers and their families close by. I'm thankful for the generous and totally awesome Roberston family, and that they had us over this year. I'm thankful for my 2 sister-in-laws who I admire so much and love to be around. I'm thankful for my cutest niece and nephews, who I didn't know I could love so much. I'm thankful for surfing, and for the most epic post-Thanksgiving family surf session ever.

The list could go on forever:)

Catalina Dreamin'

We bought some ferry tickets on groupon to Catalina Island (a small island 20 miles off our coast) a few months ago and decided we better make it happen!

We bought the "romance package!" Beachfront hotel, sparkling cider and chocolate, dinner, movie...

We did all that, PLUS:

- took an awesome zip line tour with an ocean view (something neither of us have done; turned out way fun and not too scary).

- explored the entire town on mountain bikes.

- did a sweet hike in the mountains with an amazing view at the top.

Talk about a getaway! Super fun.

Here are some photos and footage...

Musings of a first time marathoner

Can you find us??

I don't know what I'm going to write here because I can't figure out how to even come close to describing the marathon experience. It was the for SURE the hardest thing I've ever done. And it was BY CHOICE!! What was I thinking?! Anyway, I'll tell you a few things about it, but I won't do it justice.

Alex, Morgan, and Iver were awesome enough to come up to join our support team. We drove up with them, met up with Brian and fam, drove to Santa Barbara, picked up our racing bibs, went out to eat and then Bri and I were dropped off at a hotel. The awesome ladies I run with were able to fit us into one of their rooms so we could attempt a good nights sleep with no kids. Attempt FAILED. We were so jittery and anxious; 4:30am couldn't come fast enough. The women in the group have run a million marathons (this was one ladie's 44th!) and they know that it's best to get an early start and not be rushed.

Finally, it was 7:15, and after MANY trips to the port-a-potty, Shane, Kiristi, Alex, Navy, and Audio made it just in time to cheer for us as we crossed the starting line!

My nerves got to me. I didn't feel great even for the first few miles. So, right then and there I had to get focused and realize it wasn't going to be smooth sailing. I got in the zone and didn't mess around. Brian, on the other hand, was completely stoked and joking around the whole time I was with him. It was great to have him run with me, to keep my spirits up. He was so nice and patient and helpful to me. I like to think it was good for him to run with me so I could keep him from going too fast and burning out too soon J.

Our support team was amazing. I seriously can't say enough about how much I needed them. They were there at several spots along the course, cheering loudly and smiling and excited. It was such a boost to see Kirsti's smiling face, Shane's funny signs and excited smile, the kids' cute "Go Dad Go" shirts, Morgan calmly holding Iver, and Alex eager to see what we needed.

A few mid race notes: I didn’t listen to music-it just kind of made me irritated; I almost puked when I took my first gel (luckily, there was a guy on the side of the road who let me steal his bottle of water, which saved me in that moment); the course was pretty (didn’t really notice), and a little hilly (really DID notice); everyone was really nice to me: family, friends, and spectators.

When we hit mile 17, Brian started to pick up his pace, and Alex ran with me. I could barely talk at that point and I desperately needed to get my mind off the insanity of what I was doing. I asked Alex to tell me stories and that's exactly what he did until mile 21. It was exactly what I needed and he was awesome, even though he had an injured foot, bad knees, and an aching back. What a trooper. Shane took his place at mile 21 and started in on the stories. He got me through the dreaded half-mile steep hill at mile 24. Yeah, how CRUEL is that?! But it didn't really matter. Hill or no hill I was in pain and just had to will my body to keep moving forward.

It was exactly what you call an "out of body experience." It was like my body was diconnected from my brain. It was totally crazy. Shane really got me through those last miles. Really. He kept the one-sided conversation going with a cheery disposition. Then he took off before we got to the home stretch so he could sprint and catch me coming across the finish line. When they told me I only had .2 miles left, I thought, "POINT 2 MILES?!? I don't know if I can make it!!" And I was serious. Somehow, I had a little kick right before the finish line...don't how that happened. But holy cow was I relieved to cross that line (4:01). RELIEVED. And dead.

I was so happy it was over and so happy to see everyone while standing still. Brian had come in 4 minutes before me and all the other ladies were waiting to hug me. My support team was there taking pictures and smiling big for me. I had finished my first marathon and it felt GOOD. It made me happy to think about my parents, being proud of their kids for carrying on the marathon legacy. It's a rite of passage for an Osborne to run a marathon:)

Will I run another you ask? If you had asked me during or right after the answer would be HECK NO. But now that it’s been 5 days, the answer is for sure. I even think I’m nuts for saying that.

HUGE THANK YOU to:

My family support group. You guys were amazing and you made the experience so much better and more fulfilling for me.

My running women! You ladies are seriously inspiring and got me ready for that race no problem. You were so encouraging, warm, and friendly. You took me right in, no questions asked. I’m lucky to know each one of you!

Brian! My bro. My broham. My broski. Thanks for talking me into doing this crazy thing. I had a blast talking the talk with you, doing those long training runs, and running the race with you. You’re a stud muffin. Literally.

E.W.M. (Events Worth Mentioning)

It was a wonderful family affair as my brother Alex blessed his baby Iver last weekend. Both Alex and Morgan are Spanish speakers and have joined their local Spanish ward. It was a cool experience to feel the spirit there and to see how much Al and Morgan are loved by the ward members. After the blessing, we spent all day hanging at Morgan's parents' house eating awesome food and playing ping pong. We feel lucky every day to part of such an amazing family.

My dad came to the states on business and was able to stop in for a day to meet his newest grandson! He stayed with Iver, while me, Alex, and Morgan had a fun little surf sesh. It was a magnificent evening, as you can see.

And lastly...a little guilty pleasure...I dragged Shane to see Chris Brown! It was funny. We stuck out in that crowd, let me tell ya. But it was really fun dancing to all the hit songs and watching Chris perform. He was legit. Thanks to Shane for taking one for the team:)

Legends and Creepers

Weekend report:

Friday night we were able to watch 4 tennis legends play in person! I surprised Shane with tickets to show him how proud I am of him! (It has been 2 years this month since he opened the doors of his Real Property Management office! He's come so far and he's pretty amazing if you ask me. Totally proven himself). We watched Agassi beat McEnroe, and Sampras beat Courier. Then we got to witness one of the biggest rivalries in the history of tennis - Sampras vs. Agassi. We moved down to the floor seats and watched Sampras win in a tie break! Way awesome to see them play in person.

Saturday night we braved the local haunted house!

We went with our fun friends Kayla and Mike Delano, who snapped these shots of us in line. These creepy guys were outside and spooked me pretty dang good a few times. (I was sitting on a chair in line because my legs were shot after running 18 miles that morning! My longest run ever - it went well, surprisingly. Meanwhile Shane had an awesome 3 hour surf session with my bro Alex.)The haunted house was fun, but not nearly as scary as some we've been to in Idaho and Utah. But it was a fun night, nonetheless.

Running in my sleep

So, I'm running a marathon next month. Yep. My first marathon ever. My brother Brian signed up and talked me into it. I think he's having a suburban-dad-life-crisis.

There's a studly woman in my ward who invited me to run with her hard core ladies running group. She's been inviting me for years. Here's why it's taken me this long to join them: they run at 5am! But I need major motivation to train for this marathon...so I am now a 5am runner. I didn't even know 5am existed before now.

I get up at 4:45, I'm home at 6:30...and back to sleep at 7:oo! It's hilarious, I know. But since Shane and I are kid-less, Shane's his own boss, and I don't leave for work until 9:30...we haven't gotten that "early to bed, early to rise" thing down quite yet. We're enjoying it while we still can!

So, I'm literally running in my sleep. My workout is done before I even wake up for the day! Pretty awesome actually. I'm having a really fun time running with this group of strong women, and I'm getting pumped for the big race!

Thanks Brian, for having a suburban-dad-life-crisis.