The Sawtooth Relay

Way back when, well 2006 or so I sort of fell in love with running. That year I ran my first marathon. In preparation for that marathon I trained for and participated in The Sawtooth Relay which is a race that starts in Stanley, Idaho and finishes in Ketchum, just outside of Sun Valley. This year I was lucky enough to run in the relay again, and with a great team. I ran one of the same legs and a new leg. My favorite leg of the race is The Galena Summit leg. This leg is very challenging with a total elevation gain of 1,331 and 5.35 miles. The trade off for all the running up hill is an amazing view. I also ran leg 11 which was fast and fun.

Theron & Christina headed up Thursday afternoon and found us a great camping spot just below Pettit Lake. We spent Friday afternoon relaxing and catching up with our good friend Phil & his girlfriend Karen who work in Stanley during the summer months.

Phil & Karen

Whenever Mike, Phil, & Theron get together it always equals TROUBLE. Here they are hamming it up for the camera. DORKS!

Cora & Breckin spent the afternoon, fighting over, I mean playing with Breckin's 4-wheeler. They had a great time taking turns pushing each other and riding on the 4-wheeler together.

Our team, Team Kalimotxo, was made up of The Hudsons, Theron & Christina; Jess, Pam, Bridget & Derek, & myself. Christina's sister, Ericka was our lovely volunteer.
Because my 1st leg was half way through the race I had the luxury of sleeping in until whenever Cora woke up. Not so for my teammate Theron who began the race at 0445. Below are a bunch of photos from the day before the race and the race itself.

That's me starting up the beginning of the hill

Here I am coming across Galena Summit

D, Mike & Cora just past the relay transition point at Galena Summit

Christina & Cora along the race course

By the time we finished Cora was done with having anything to do with anything but sleeping so rather than taking photos at the finish line I was trying to feed her something and get her back into the truck so she would sleep on the drive back to our campsite in Stanley. On Sunday morning all of our team/friends had to drive back to Boise. But before they all left Cora & Breckin had lunch together. Then the two of them had to play a game of Bocce ball. I think Breckin won, because this is Cora all sorts of pissed off.

Mike and I were lucky enough to have the next couple of days off so we decided to stick around and visit Red Fish Lake. Red Fish Lake is one of my most favorite places in Idaho. We were there on a lovely Sunday afternoon and they had live music just outside the lodge. Cora had a great time exploring the beach, so much fun that she decided to go swimming. It just so happened that I didn't pack any extra clothes for Cora that day so I had to go and buy her the only infant sized piece of clothing in the general store. At least she got a cute pair of PJ's out of the deal. It was a great weekend for the relay. The weather was beautiful and the company was great too. I hope to run the race again next year.

We Are in TROUBLE

It's official, we are in so much trouble. Cora has been taking a few steps here and there, but now she is full blown walking. To make matters worse she inherited all of the stubbornness that Mike and I both have making her one INDEPENDENT little girl. I guess I can't be too upset about that since I am the worst when it comes to letting people help me with anything. She is having a great time walking around the house, and especially loves to cruise around the backyard picking up sticks, rocks, and blade of grass. The dogs are a little more uneasy now, thank goodness Beck just gets out of the way and Cassius really doesn't care what she does to him.

We went camping a couple of weekends ago for the first time this season. We met up with a couple of other families from the fire department and had a great time. I enjoyed going for a nice run with my boy Cassius. Mike further wore him out by taking him on a mountain bike ride. Beck was happy to swim in the reservoir with our friends' dog Ruegger (SP?).

This photo is of Jemma, Rocco, & Cora. Jemma & Rocco are the daughter & son of our good friends Cody & Kelli. The three of them are so cute together. Cora really loved hugging on Jemma and stealing her sippy cup. You can see that Cora is mowing on an apple, she was pushing out her two top teeth and that apple kept her happy for almost an entire hour. Her shirt was destroyed even after two washings; one with spray & wash the other with bleach. Oh well, a onzie is a small price to pay for an hour of peace :)

Don't even think of taking my apple away!

Oh yeah, and this is priceless. I heard Cora singing in the back of the truck to herself and when I turned around she was doing this.......

Awesome!! My one year old daughter learned to pick her nose. Is this baby book worthy? They don't have a slot for 1st time nose picked in there, maybe I will add my own slot.

Ok, that is it for now. Hopefully we will have some more fun videos, photos, and stories to come.

Cora's 1st Birthday Party

I can't believe 12 months ago I was here......

And today this happened.Cora turned 1 on the 6th and we celebrated by having a very informal get together for her at Gueber Park. We are so blessed to have such great people in our lives. I want to thank all of those who came out to celebrate with us. Here are a bunch of photos from the party. An especially HUGE THANK YOU to my dear friend Jodane who took most of these amazing photos, which allowed me to be in the moment throughout the whole party instead of worrying about capturing the moment. Jodane, I truly appreciate you not only for your talent in photography but because you an amazing friend that I know I can always count on to be there. Enjoy!

This photo is of Cora with the wonderful woman we named her after, Sneh. I will be forever grateful to Pradip & Sneh for how they looked after me and encouraged me to pursue my passion to become an RN.

Of course there was the 1st Birthday Cake. Cora really didn't know what to do with it. She sort of picked at the cake.

I gave her a spoon to see if she would dig into it a little bit more. She is really into using utensils right now, so the spoon did the trick.

Hey Mom, did you know there is SUGAR in this cake??????

Nom, Nom, Nom.....I love CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She was pretty pleased with herself when she was all done. She put a small dent in the cake and I didn't even have to take the hose to her to clean her up. It was a win win.

I love this photo of Breckin who is exactly 7 months older than Cora. He was the first person to visit Cora in the hospital. They are so funny together. Isn't Breckin's expression great?

Cora is happy & she knows it so she is clapping her hands

A very proud daddy and his little girl

Deb & I enjoying the sun & watching the kids play

Christian

These three guys= TROUBLE

Todd & Peter

Deb & Steph

Marissa

Mike & Kendall enjoying the playground

Miss Oliva & her mom Susie

Cora's Auntie Anna wasn't able to make it to the party, and poor Cora was sad. She was sad until the Fed Ex man showed up at the house and delivered this.........

Cora enjoying her new kitchen, thank you Auntie

I always wanted one of these cars when I was a kid. I remember going into different stores and pushing this type of car around and BEGGING my parents for one. I never got one and I always swore that if I ever had children I would buy them one of these whether they liked it or not. So guess what Cora got for her 1st birthday?

She loves it too. She climbs in and out of it for minutes on end. She loves being pushed around inside or outside and honking the horn. Poor Cassius doesn't know what to think of it though.

Cora's 1st Haircut & Attempts at Walking

On Thursday I took Cora over to Theron & Christina's house for her 1st Haircut. Haircut is kind of a stretch. Christina just made a few snips here and there trimming up some of the more uneven edges. Cora did really well, she thought chewing on the comb was the coolest thing ever. Here are the photos.

While we were waiting for Cora's turn, Theron snagged her and made her walk. Cora loves Theron and will do just about anything for him. This video shows here taking about 5 steps in a row on her own. We know she can walk, but she still prefers to crawl.

The Holley Family Goes International-Grand Cayman 2011

We just got back from a great trip to Grand Cayman Island where we visited my sister Anna; her husband, Alex; & their boys Ethan & Aidan. This was not only a trip to see my sister, but also to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary and Cora's 1st Easter, plus the little Explora got her first stamp in her passport. So here are the details.
We arrived on Grand Cayman on the 19th around noon. Anna, Ethan & Aidan were waiting for us in the little hut above the airport. When our plan landed we were on the right side of the plane and we could see them waving to us from the hut above the airport. Anna was able to snap this photo of us walking from the plane into the airport where we would go through immigration and customs.We settled in at The McCallister Cottage and had lunch, then headed out to Camana Bay, an outdoor shopping center about 20 minutes from the house. They had several fountains that kept the kids entertained. Cora thought the squirting water was pretty cool.
Later that evening we had dinner at The Sunset House, a great little hotel that caters to divers. They had an amazing restaurant located right on the water that served the most amazing Indian food and the Caybrew Beer wasn't bad either. My sister snapped this shot of Cora and I.

Ethan and Aidan had school the next day and Anna had to work so Mike, Cora, & I explored the island on our own. Thanks to Mike for driving the entire time we were there. I don't know that I would have been as good at driving on the opposite side of the road.
We headed east from Anna and Alex's house toward The Botanical Gardens. We spent some time wandering the grounds and checking for Blue Iguanas, which are only found on Grand Cayman. There were a ton of amazing plants and trees.

After walking the through the entire grounds we stopped at the entry to let Cora play on the Blue Iguana sculpture. She had a blast climbing all over the sculpture.

After the gardens it was time for a nap, not only for Cora but for me, the traveling had finally caught up with me. Anna went to pick up the boys at school, who I guess were VERY sad that we didn't come along to pick them up. After a nice rest it was time to head to the beach. Anna took us to Governor's Beach on the famous 7 Mile Beach. The water and sand were amazing. It was a perfect time to hang on the beach for a couple of hours.

Mike & Cora at 7 Mile Beach

Cora enjoyed swimming and playing in the water with her Cousins.

Aidan, Ethan, Anna, & Cora

D & Cora

Thursday morning Mike caught a ride into town with Alex so he could go scuba diving. He chose to take two dives at Eden's Rock. Anna, Cora, & I headed downtown later in the afternoon to pick up Mike after his dives. We were able to get a couple of shots of Mike coming out of the water in all of his gear. He must of had fun, because he came out of the water smiling. Cora wasn't too sure what to think of her daddy with all of his gear on, but she didn't shy away too much.

Auntie Anna's wild hair.....I love this photo.

This photo sort of shows how monstrous the cruise ships are that pull into port there. I still can't believe how big those things are!

Anna, Mike, Cora & I grabbed some yummy Mediterranean food after Mike's dive and then picked up Ethan & Aidan at school. It was cool to be able to see where they go to school on the island and they were stoked to see us when we picked them up, it might have had something to do with the fact that they were out of school for the next week. We did a quick pit stop at home and grabbed our beach stuff. Anna took us to Smith's Cove this time, and Alex was able to meet up with us after work. I really liked this beach. It had a great little cove for the kids to swim and play in and some cool rocks for them to jump from. Cora was exhausted and zonked out allowing for me to get in some reading time.

This is Cora REFUSING to put her feet in the sand. No matter what we did she wanted no part in that grainy stuff. It never failed, if I tried to set her down in the sand, up came her feet. It was like trying to put a cat in a bucket of water.

Here is Cora pointing out the wild chickens to Mike, she was pretty freaking excited about them.

This video is of Cora checking out the wild chickens at the beach. She was SO interested in them. You can hear her in the video saying, "wow". Pretty cute!

This is a random shot of Anna and I having fun with Cora and a Star Wars toy that belonged to the boys. Cora was laughing the entire time the helmet was on her head.Anna needed to get some work done so Alex, Aidan, Cora, Mike, and I drove around the island and visited Hell. Yes, I said Hell. It is a cool area that has lava like formations and I guess the decided it looked like Hell. Anyway, at least I can say I have been there.

The 23rd we spent the morning at Camana Bay for their Easter Egg Hunt. Cora was pretty excited about her pink egg basket that her Auntie had purchased for her. Mike was pretty excited about getting all the candy out of Cora's eggs.
Anna suggested we put Cora in her Easter Basket for a photo, and I am so glad we did, because look how cute it turned out, I just wish I would have taken off that dumb wrist band they wanted the kids to wear.

In between egg hunts we went and took family photos. I LOVE this one of Cora and the boys because it totally shows their personalities. Cora is wild, Ethan is trying to be serious, and Aidan is a silly kid.

We tried to get a good one of The Holley Pack, but this is about the best one we got. Well we tried, right.
We ate lunch at Cafe del Sol. They had delicious wraps. Cora just enjoyed playing with an empty Easter Egg.

Later that evening Anna & Alex watched Cora for us so Mike and I could go to a movie to celebrate our 6th anniversary. I can't even remember the last time we went out to a movie. We have only been out once since Cora was born. We saw Water for Elephants. The movie was pretty close to the book and was enjoyable.

The next morning was Easter. Since I did some covert Easter Bunny Shopping for Anna she was nice enough to pick up a couple of things for Cora. Cora was pretty pleased with her little Winnie the Pooh and Elmo toys, but the dang plastic eggs were the biggest hit.

Anna and I escaped for a little bit to kayak around the canals located around her house. We launched the kayaks from her backyard. It was cool to get a different perspective of the island. We saw some cool ducks, dogs, and boats. We could hear peacocks but never caught a glimpse of them.

After Cora's morning nap we all piled into the cars and headed to Rum Point. Rum Point is a public beach that is pretty amazing. You can walk forever and the water only gets as deep as your waist, so it is perfect for the kids.
Alex and Mike rode the boat out to Sting Ray City where "wild" sting rays hang out and wait for the tourists to come and feed them. Either way, Mike said it was pretty cool getting to pick them up. Here he is picking up a female, which I guess are the larger of the species.

The kids had a great time playing all afternoon. Cora loved playing in the ocean and hanging out with her cousins, they are so great with her.

This is my favorite photo of the whole trip, thanks to Anna for capturing the moment.

Did I mention Cora is in love wither her Uncle Alex?

Nap time again. I was trying to finish The Hunger Games while I was there. Argh, I was about 50 pages off before I had to leave the book with my sister. Now I have to wait for my turn in line at the library.

This photo is from our last day at the beach. I can't remember where Alex took us, but it was still just as nice. Notice who is playing in the sand now.....once she got comfortable I couldn't keep her out of it. She was crawling all over the place and of course had to put some in her mouth.

Grand Cayman is a British Colony so the Royal Wedding was everywhere there. They had these great cut outs to stand in downtown and Anna & I couldn't resist making our husbands pose with us. I don't know, I thought it was pretty funny. Too bad I had to bribe Mike with an ice cream cone to stand here with me.

Well that was Cora The Explora's 1st International Adventure. We hope to have many more with her. Maybe we will even go back and see The McCallister Family again soon.