Success.

The time I have spent today sitting and working on this blog has been much needed. Look for new posts soon, and for today, enjoy the wise words of the late Maya Angelou.

Love, Kyla

Roadtrip(s) & Running.

Due to lots small trips and big events last week + weekend, today does not even feel like a Monday, I'm not sure my brain has wrapped itself around the fact that this will be a 'normal' week schedule wise...here is what we have been up to:

1. Whirlwind trip to St. Louis to support our good friends Kevin + Jordan as they received their placement for Kevin's vicarage this upcoming year

Love being able to support our friends!

• We left early Monday morning to make the drive down and saw as many people as possible Monday night-Tuesday afternoon. So many more friends I would have loved to connect with, so I guess we will just 'have' to make another trip sometime... :)
• Thankful for our friends Robert + Joanne who hosted us for our mini-visit!
• Tuesday afternoon was the service - Kevin + Jordan will be living in Georgia for the next year - yay!
• After the service we went to dinner to celebrate and then had the bonus of meeting up with Adam's dad for drinks afterwards
• I should add that Adam and I enjoyed the spring weather 'down south' too :)
• Wednesday morning it was back to being up really early to drive home in time for work Wednesday night #youthdirectorlife

Family photo.

Traditional shot to add the the collection.

Family reunion!

2. Thursday & Friday were kind of weird days since we had been out of town for the beginning of the week, we were out of routine in general AND we were leaving again Friday afternoon so we were playing catch up and trying to work ahead on things all at once.

• Our race this past weekend was in a (cute) town called Kenosha which is about 3 hours away from where we live. Our friend Kevin used to live in Wisconsin pre-college and his Mom said we would be welcome to stay with her Friday night to be closer to our race destination Saturday morning. 
• Since she lives 1 hour away from Kenosha that sounded like a much better plan than our original one which was to just get up in time to drive to the race on Saturday (which would have been awful haha)

3. Pre-Race adventures.

• We did not go to the expo for this race, we picked up our packets & race bibs at a pre-race event the weekend before
• We had an uneventful drive down to Mrs. T's house Friday night however that was followed by a VERY eventful dinner together
• We went out to Olive Garden for some pasta goodness which seems like a normal enough night until our waitress had an angry outburst that pretty much cleared out the restaurant. Not 100% sure what happened but as we were eating all of the sudden there was someone screaming and swearing at the top of their lungs...our waitress had gotten soup spilled on her in the kitchen or something and threw a fit. It was sad and funny at all the same time...we quickly finished our meals and left!
• Despite getting up at 4am Saturday morning we still managed to be cutting it a little close on time as we headed for the race
• By the time we parked, walked to the race area, found the bathrooms, and got to the start line...they were already singing the National Anthem!
• We had just enough time for a few pre-race pictures, a good luck kiss, and then it was time to run

4. Race life.

The start line for the race, right along the water!

• The course for this race was BEAUTIFUL. 9 of the 13 miles were along the lake which was much prettier than the farm fields we usually have for scenery :)
• I had read online that it was somewhat hilly and could be quite windy but thankfully while we were running the wind was not truly a factor and the hills were more minimal than what we were expecting
• The only part of the course that we were not big fans of was that there were 2 parts where we ran down a road, reached a certain point, and then had to turn around and run back the other direction...that got a little old
• The positive to these turn around/overlap parts was that Adam and I got to see each other during the race which was encouraging for both of us!
• We both ran strong races! 
• I was less than a minute off of a PR for my race time. The first half marathon I ever ran (October 2012) I finished in 2:17:34. I finished this race in 2:18:51...so close! I have said/written before that I really enjoy the half marathon distance, and I still agree with myself on that, ha! 
• Despite running the Chicago Marathon last fall, this was technically Adam's first half :) He was aiming for a 2:05 finish and came across the finish line at 2:07:36!! 
• We were both really proud of each other and excited that our training served us well in our racing efforts this weekend. 
• The 3 hour drive home was a little much but getting home meant being able to shower + nap so the drive was non-negotiable. 

Pictures on the left are PRE-race and the pictures on the right are POST-race

So in light of spending most of last week not at home - that means working to get back into the swing of things today. 

Read: Laundry. :) 

He is Risen!

I shared in my last post that Easter time is an extra busy time for people who work in ministry - after a full weekend of church services, running, a lot of delicious food and time spent with friends - by the time Sunday afternoon hit Adam and I were EXHAUSTED. We fell asleep on the couch Sunday afternoon and both woke up disoriented we had slept so soundly. It was awesome :) 

For our first Easter as Mr. and Mrs. we enjoyed:

• Shopping for new outfits for Easter
• Having a Easter breakfast for dinner Saturday night (We got up around 4:15am on Sunday, which seemed a little early for trying to squeeze in a sit-down meal)
• Surprising Adam with a scavenger hunt to get his Easter basket
• Easter treats in the mail from our parents
• Spending Sunday afternoon with a family from church
• Skyping/facetiming both of our families
• Having sunny weather over the weekend {not warm yet, but sunny is a step in the right direction}

I should also add that I love seeing Adam at work. He does such a good job with helping to lead worship as part of job, and I know he put extra time and preparation into everything for Easter, so I am a proud wife to see his hard work and service in action :) 

Adam and I are running the Wisconsin Half Marathon in 2 weeks - so these last few months have involved lots of running for us, mostly in bad weather. Having sun out for runs over this weekend was really a treat. We are learning the area more and have a much better grasp of good roads and routes to run than we did when we first starting running around here last summer. I will add that we have yet to find routes that are flat. Whatever your perception of Wisconsin might be, do not picture it as a flat state. It just is not. Our other added learning is that wind is almost unavoidable. Most of the roads have big farm fields on either side and not much else, so even the slightest of breezes can become quite the resistance workout since there are not enough buildings around to shield the lone runner from any wind. 

Fun fact, after getting back from our run on Saturday, my Nike running account {we both use Nike products/apps to track our runs} told me that in my history of Nike running I have run the length of the country of Sweden. :)

Monday, was the warmest day we have had in a long time (60!) so we took full advantage of it. We went on a 10 mile bike ride and Adam got the grill out to cook dinner. Our bike ride got a little interesting when we experienced a downpour of rain in the middle of it, but I guess that is better than snow! 

An Edible Easter Basket (thanks Mom & Dad!), my cute husband grilling, and the top right picture is after our 9 mile run on Saturday.

Starting the week on a Tuesday/after a big weekend always is a little odd. We had a fun time yesterday leading an event for the middle school youth at Zion (where Adam works). It's hard to believe today is already the midway point of the week.

Hope all of you are having a good post-Easter week! Below are some free downloads of my favorite printables I found and used for Easter decorations in our home this year. Enjoy!

{Free Downloads}

He Is Risen {Easter Egg}  via Clumsy Crafter

He Is Risen {Chalkboard} via Printable Decor

He Is Risen {Sunshine} via Heidi Stock

Happy Easter via Visual Eye Candy