My first half marathon...

yep, I said first.  Because I will do this again.  Running has become addicting to me in a weird and twisted sort of way.  My friends had this crazy idea to run a half marathon and I needed a new challenge.... 

 Here we are...in action!

 Our kids lined up to give us a "high five" as we ran by...

There we go...this must have been a fast camera to catch us :)

My friend Lindsay (who is so smart and creative and always thinking a step ahead of me), brought posterboard and markers so the girls could make signs to hold up as we ran by.  Kudos to our husbands who dragged around 9 kids (between the 3 of them) for 2 hours...they were there at mile 4, 8, 12 and the finish line and it was so encouraging to see them.  Just when I thought I needed to stop, there they were to cheer us on to another few miles :)  We are thankful that Bentonville is such a great city...one of our friends learned this day that you can actually leave the keys running in your van for about an hour and it will still be there when you get back...we are just thankful you finally found your keys Bobby!

Hanging out in the park after the race....there were so many vendors with freebies (including ice cream for the kids) along with bounce houses.  It was Emma's birthday and initially she was not happy to be here because she had to forgo a party with her friends.  While we were hanging out after the race she looked at me and said, "Thanks Mom, this is the BEST birthday EVER!!"  It made me cry.  Partially because I was so glad to be done running, but mainly because I could tell she was having a blast!

And the best part...my girls think I won the whole race because I got "such a big medal".  I will be laughing at that for a very long time.  Thanks Beth and Lindsay for challenging me to do this with you and for all the encouragement while training...I'm so thankful for friends like you.