boston trip {round 2}

In April we were lucky enough to go back to Boston for another Boston Marathon! {You can read about last years trip here}  Our friend Tim had qualified last year to run again, so off we went with Tim & Melody for round two!

We flew in on Thursday evening and got to our hotel pretty late.  On Friday morning we drove to Hopkinton, Massachusetts {where the starting line is located} and drove the course into the city.  I love the drive because you go through some really awesome suburbs.  The houses are fun to look at! ;)

group pic @ the starting line in Hopkinton, MA

After the beautiful drive into the city, we went to a convention center to pick up Tim's packet & bib number.  After that we walked around downtown Boston a bit, and paid a visit to the finish line.  There are always lots of encouraging signs around the city at this time, but I think there were even more this year than what I remembered last year. Lots of them referencing the events that occurred at the finish line just over a year ago. I love all the clever signs that the shops along the last stretch of the race put in their windows...

clockwise from top left: the finish line // a New Balance store {I think?!} that was apparently 858.5 feet from the finish // a memorial of shoes and flowers @ a bombing location last year // large sign filled with signatures in a convention center // Starbucks' encouragement to runners passing by

Tim also got a hand made scarf for being a runner this year.  People all across the country made blue and yellow scarves for runners and they were passing them out downtown.  The man who put it on him said "Run with courage!" as he placed it around Tim's neck.  Melody also wrote her personal cheer for Tim on the large sign in the convention center...

That night we also took advantage of being in the city to go to a Red Sox game! It was fun... but also very cold.  Like 30's cold... brrrrr.

The cold weather really got to some of us....

#crazyeyes

The next day we made the trip to the Cape Cod area.  Oh my goodness... so beautiful! The houses... Mel & I were drooling.  I've always loved the east coast house styles more than the midwest style... and this trip just confirmed that even more.  Someday, if I ever get to build my own house, it will look like it got transplanted from Cape Cod.  Anyway, we had some really good food and took a quick little stroll on a beach!  Don't be fooled by the beach scene though, it was chilly!

snapped this one with my phone

Probably my favorite picture from the trip

Yeah I know, I had them face the sun in that top pic... bad photographer... :(

Monday was race day! We dropped Tim off at the starting line and Caleb, Melody, and I made our way to Framingham, MA at mile marker 6 and waited for a couple hours...
While waiting we see the wheelchair racers and racers with other disabilities go by, then we see the elite runners {aka wicked fast} go by as well.

Waiting patiently & taking up time with a photo opp // wheelchair racer // Shalane Flannigan - American runner who set a record that day! // entertaining signs along the course // Caleb & Mel updating social media and friends

We also saw the Hoyt's running in their last Boston Marathon...

Despite some kids trying to block my shot, I did get a couple of good pictures at mile 6...

Tim did the heart symbol in memory of his friend, Chad, who passed away last year while out on a run - also his bib number has "4 Chad" written out on it

Next we went to mile 17 in Newton, MA to wait for Tim to pass by.  Caleb got a really good video of Tim -- they {Caleb & Mel - I can't yell & take pictures at the same time!} were screaming to get his attention because we had to stand up on railings because there was no room anywhere else!

Then we made our way downtown via the subway station that was right next to us at mile 17, and got out to see Tim pass by at about mile 25.  He did not see us, as I'm sure his mind was elsewhere.  He was also hiding behind some people so I never really got a clear shot.  He might have been running beside his future self??? What do you think...?

Finished in 3 hours and 1 minute! An amazing 6:55 mile pace!

It was an amazing trip! And yes, Melody & I are really good at the Bahsten accents... :)

{holiday time}

While I did not get around to taking pictures of any Christmas decor this season, or doing any type of blogging about the house,... I did manage to take some pictures while hanging out with both sides of our families for the holidays! 

On my brother's birthday {December 23rd} we almost always go the the plaza for dinner... I got a picture of all us siblings together, which I think turned out great! And according to Leanne she resembles "a linebacker," but she's actually just a cute pregnant lady in a winter coat! :)

The Prince clan...

Birthday boy & Lainey...

Mom & Hank...

And with Caleb's side of the family, there were some great photo opps during a playtime in the snow on Christmas Day!

So that's what I've been up to lately! Happy Holidays!

a week at table rock

This year we were able to take a week long lake trip with my side of the family to Table Rock lake.  It was so much fun!  The place that we stayed at was unbelievable!  We had a large cabin with enough rooms for each small family to have their own room.  The cabin also had it's own hot tub, two large decks {one of which was screened-in}, cable TV {hey, that's an amenity for us!}, an amazing shared pool, and plenty of taxidermy on display {to give it that really lodge-y feel}!  Not everyone was able to stay the entire length of the trip, but luckily we were able to.  So here are a lot of my pictures from the trip...

Pic of the cabins - Antler chandelier in the living room - The name of our cabin was "Lazy Bear Lodge"

Lots of ways to relax!

One of my favorite desserts ever... s'mores!

Mmmmmmm s'mores!

We got in LOTS of pool time at the amazing pool!

That last picture... well you judge for yourself... :)

The amazing pool slide! As you can see there are all types of ways to go down the slide...

Caleb & I were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset out on the water...

 

Dogwood Canyon Nature Park is a must-go in our opinion if you are down around Table Rock.  They have great activities to do there; and while you do have to pay for the different activities, we loved it so much we went there twice! It is so serene and well taken cared for, you feel like you might be in Hawaii with all the waterfalls and crystal clear water around.

 

Feeding the fish!

We did some biking while we where there, which was really fun.  Lainey enjoyed her carriage ride as well, while Leanne burned 10x more calories than the rest of us!

How about these two guys in a hot tub?!? :) No words for these two...

 On our way home from the lake, we made a stop at Persimmon Berry Farm which was just down the road from our cabins. Any former Kanakuk workers out there??? They know of the infamous "thunder muffins" that are as good as gold when you are a counselor at Kanakuk.  It was fun to stop there on the way out of town and eat some memories! :)

What a great way to spend a week!  Can't get enough of Table Rock!

summa time

It's been a while since I have been able to blog due to all the summer happenings going on the Champ household!  While I'm not able to start my new job until August {boo!}, I'm still working at the hospital and keeping busy!
We were able to go visit Caleb's brother and his family last weekend in Oklahoma.  It was so great to get to see them and it was extra special because we finally met our newest neice Kalli.  She's is four months old and all sorts of precious... :)

Little toes...

I was also thrilled to be able to spend some time with my sister-in-law Kristi, {I lovingly referred to her as my female soulmate} just to be able to share life with her! We talk joys and struggles and it's just an overall good experience for my soul! :)

We are starting another adventure this next week with a lake vacation with my side of the family! I'm super excited and hoping it involves s'mores, swimming, tanning, singing, laughing, late-night dock hang-outs, and of course, some time in Branson.  I'm sure it will be just as amazing and entertaining as last years lake trip {minus my husband's nasty facial hair - I prohibited that this year}!

boston trip

As you may have previously read in this post, we took a trip to Boston last week for the Boston Marathon and a mini-vacay.  We went with our friends, Tim & Melody, and Tim was running in the marathon.  The rest of us were comfortably watching from the sidelines! :)

As everyone knows, there were tragic events that took place a week ago at the finish line of the marathon.  Luckily, we had all left the downtown area an hour before the bombs went off and we were not staying at a hotel downtown.  I'm not really go into any story about the events because I was not directly involved and found out like many of you all, witnessing the tragedy on television in our hotel room. Of course my heart aches for those directly affected and the city of Boston... it truly is an amazing town.

But, onto the fun memories...

We arrived in Boston late Friday night {April 12th}. The first couple days of the trip included some touristy things. We got to do some fun sight seeing in the downtown area.  We went to the famous spots like Old North Church & Paul Revere's house.  It's so neat that Boston has so many historical sights right in their downtown area.  It was Paul Revere's house, then right next door was a Starbucks! :) You don't have to drive outside of the city to see all the history the town holds.

We took a trolley tour to see the city and we were able to jump on and off at any of the stops we wanted to actually spend time at.  I highly recommend the trolley tour for a way to see the city in a shorter amount of time without tons of walking.

Taken with my phone during the Old Time Trolley Tour

Getting ready for the race... Tim needed to go pick up his number and packet for the race, as well as get some of his official Boston Marathon gear! Since we stayed at a hotel near the starting line, on our way into the city so he could get all of his necessary items, we drove the marathon course. That was also a great experience because we were able to see several outlying towns of Boston.  Some of which were so incredibly beautiful! I love east coast architectural style, so I was gawking at many of the gorgeous homes, churches, & adorable store fronts of these towns.

Then... race day!!!

And yes, there are Dunkin' Donuts literally EVERYWHERE!  It didn't bother me by any means, I probably ate there 3 or 4 times on the trip!

The marathon was such a cool experience to me.  I used to be a runner {not to be confused with a marathon-er} so a little bit of me feels the racer's pain and excitement {although, likely not to the same extent as they experience}. For whatever reason, seeing people do well or working so hard can get me emotional, more in running than in any other sport.  If you get me near a high school state track meet I'll be a weeping mess! Melody & I both agreed, next time we should bring our tissues!

What was so awesome for Caleb, Melody, & myself is that we got to see Tim three times throughout the race.  That may not sound like a big deal, but for a marathon that basically runs in a straight line, plus one that is such a huge event where there are literally a million spectators, we were pretty proud of ourselves for our rock-star strategy.  We saw Tim at mile 6, 16, & 25!

Tim finished with a time of 2:58:43 - about a 6:49 mile pace.  My body aches just thinking about it!
We all agree we had a great time on the trip! Can't wait to watch the Boston Marathon again someday!

*All pictures taken by me unless otherwise noted