13.1 miles down!

I did it! It definitely wasn't easy, but very rewarding as I crossed the balloon covered finish line :-)

blury finish shot

I ran the Spanish Fork, UT half marathon. The weather wasn't the best. When we got to the race site, it was raining pretty good and it was super cold! I had to change what shirt I was wearing and I'm glad that I did! I had goosebumps for the whole race. It warmed up, but I was still freezing and then the intermittent rain didn't help.

The first half of the course had more hills than I expected. I knew there was at least one hill, but there were about 5. They weren't horrible and hills are expected, but it wasn't fun for 7 miles! Anyways, the course was very pretty. There were mountains to one side and then we were running through a lot of farm land. It was beautiful.

back shot... Hey, I wasn't taking the pictures...

Jon was there cheering me on :-) I heart when he's there. It makes the last 1-2 miles of a race better. He met me at the finish and we quickly ran over to get some watermelon and water.

Afterwards, there was a raffle..and... I won something!! Hehe...


I would really like to do another half. I think I might do one in November in St. George, UT (Snow Canyon Half). As for a marathon... it's definitely in my future, but I'm not ready for it at the moment and I'm not afraid to admit it. It'll take a lot more training. If I stay on top of things, I will probably do the Salt Lake City marathon in April 2010 and if that goes okay/doesn't happen I am looking at a marathon in Houston in January 2011. Bring it on :-)

The week of firsts

1. Jon started school on Monday, August 31st. It was his last first day of school. He even get's to park in graduate parking now! I'd have a picture of the parking pass (that was my original plan for this post) however, BYU isn't giving out stickers anymore. It's all done by license plates now.


2. I'm running my first half marathon on Saturday, September 5th... TOMORROW!! How scared am I? You have no idea! It'll be okay though. I know that I'm ready, I just hate the anticipation of it before it starts. Bring it on!

3. We accepted our first real job :-) So, it is for sure- we are moving to Houston in the next year. We are so grateful and blessed to have this opportunity. After praying about it and after attending the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication, we know this is what we need to be doing and Houston is where we need to be. Jon and I have been attending Deloitte functions on campus this week and Jon has been having a great time selling what he does and trying to recruit other MISM/ISYS majors from BYU to apply to Deloitte. The best part is getting free stuff whenever we go to these things. What can I say? We've been branded :-)

PS: We're famous :-)

Check out these cute photo's that we got taken by a photographer: Captivated Candids

Runners, I'm almost back in the game!!

Today I ran the Race4Recovery 10k. It was a race that raises awareness for mental illness. I did their 5k last year and had a lot of fun. The last two weeks I have had a pretty awesome sinus infection and was afraid it was going to really slow me down in the race.


The race started at Timpanogos Park in Provo Canyon at around 9am. The first 3.1 miles of the race my sinus problems really did a number on me and I was afraid that I was going really slow. Once I turned around I got my 2nd wind and I started to feel really good. I passed up a few people and ran the entire 2nd half fast. As soon as I turned back into Timpanogos Park, I could see the finish. Once I got a little further up I saw the clock and I was very excited.

I finished strong and my final time was 59:11. Not too shabby! Since my first 10k on July 4th I have shaved almost 6 minutes off my time.

After the race, there were massage therapists on site giving free massages to the runners. I've never had a professional massage before... even though they're always at the races... but my right hip and hamstring needed a little help. The lady did an amazing job! I enjoyed it a lot!


The best part of the race was having Jon at the end. He was waving at me when I was coming up to the finish. :-) It really made my heart happy. Thanks, Jon for being there, it meant a lot! He says he enjoyed cheering me on and the time he was able to spend outside reading while waiting for me to finish. Sorry... we didn't get any pictures together at the race :-(

Jon's Summer 2009

I am finally back in Utah with Crystal again and let me just say it's wonderful. Before I left for 10 weeks without Crystal, the longest we had been away from each other since we got married was one night while I was on a few office visits. So these 10 weeks were very different from the last 2 and a half years for us.

That said this summer was great! I was working in Houston for Deloitte (one of the big 4 accounting firms). I worked specifically in Tax Management Advisory Services as a consultant on enterprise implementations - technology, right up my alley!

To save us from having 2 rents while I was gone I was able to live at home with my family (Thank you, family!). Not being able to visit very frequently it was a wonderful opportunity to spend time with them again. It was even better the 2 times Crystal was able to visit.

It was all worth it as this morning I received the paper copy of my offer to start working there in Houston full-time next year. We have until September 1st to respond. We still need to discuss, pray, go to the temple, etc before any final career decisions are made but it seems like we will be in Houston starting next year.

Boy is it great to be home!



Crystal Edit: Sneak peek of our pictures that we got done last week. The photographer sent me a few today by e-mail and I thought I would include one w/ this post :-)

More numbers...

- # of miles I ran today: 10.09




- Time it took me: 1 hour and 50 mins

- # of new blisters: 5 ... they're nasty and they hurt! I'm sure you wanted to know that...

- Weight this morning: a lady never tells... but for #s sake: I can say that I'm in the 120's!! Hallelujah!

-# of bowls I just washed: unknown :-) Jon will understand this.. sorry... it's an inside joke

- # of hours until Jon gets home.... 10!!!!!!!

How excited am I?? SORDIK EXCITED!! Thanks to BYU carpet crew for teaching me how to express my self haha...

In loving memory of Carolyn Howe Sansoucie

August is usually the month where my family celebrates the life of my mom. We've done a lot of things in remembrance of her. We have done the "Relay For Life" under the name of: "Carolyn's Kids", we've had family reunions in her memory, I have run numerous races in support of Fighting Breast Cancer with her name pinned to my back. My mother was an incredible woman. Her testimony of the gospel was unshakable. No matter what life threw at her, she would still find hope and healing through our Heavenly Father and through the atonement.

My mom has had a significant impact on my life. She was selfless and very talented. She could sew almost anything and made baby quilts for those in need. She loved music and loved to play the piano and organ and was just beginning to learn the violin before she passed away. If I could aspire to be even a fraction of the woman she was- I would be very grateful.

Her motto was "Always have a dream!" and it is hanging up in our house. Because of her, I have never once thought that I couldn't do something or dream something big! She will forever by my hero.

Her favorite holiday was Christmas and 13 years ago today we celebrated our last Christmas together (yes, it was in August). My parents knew that December was too far away to celebrate together. I will always treasure that night- we laughed, we cried and we were together as a family for the last few hours of this amazing woman's life.