Longer Runs

Hallelujah! Seattle has finally gotten the memo that it's still July, and therefore still allowed to be summer. It's been warm, sunny, and almost hot this week - and I've loved every minute! It really reminds me of how short this beautiful time is, and how quickly it'll return to gross, cold, dark Seattle.

Jimi Hendrix rocking out in the sun this weekend

Strictly Seattle, the dance camp I was attending, wrapped up last weekend and it went really well. I loved dancing every night, but I won't miss rolling on my shoulder every night, multiple times a night, or abusing my face with heavy eye makeup.

our performance piece. yep.

I looked like a zombie. Neat!

The end of Strictly Seattle also meant I had enough energy to go back to yoga! I've gone the last two nights and it's been glorious. I forgot how much I love that hot room, and how limber I feel afterwards.

On Monday, I ran 4 miles with Chelsey down a new path - down a huge hill, around a lake a few times, and then back up the hill. Then I ran 4 miles on my own, the usual way.

the 11 minute mile was getting back up that hill!

The first half was glorious - I felt really fast with minimal effort, at least except for when we got to that hill. Even the second half was great- I listened to my running playlist for the first time in a while, and that seemed to really help keep my pace in the low 9s. There were some spectacular views that morning!

This morning, Wednesday, we ventured out for another run - 3.5 miles with Chelsey, and 3.5 on my own. We went the usual way - around the same loop twice (for me, at least) - but it was so hard. I felt so sluggish and my legs felt like sandbags.

Ugh! My pace definitely reflected how tired and unmotivated I felt. It was even worse when I was alone - bleh. Sometimes you just have to get through those "junk" miles!

We move into our house TOMORROW and I couldn't be more excited! So that means tomorrow is my last early morning run with Chelsey. I'm honestly a little sad about it! It's been so nice to get the run out of the way (and sometimes I even get to go back to sleep when it's finished, so how bad is it really?!) and having Chelsey as a motivator has really helped me get out of bed at 5am.

I figure I'll find a new trail near our house, but I won't be going out at 5am on my own for safety reasons. Maybe I'll aim for 7am?? Who knows. Anywho, I'm ready to finally move into our HOUSE that we OWN - eee!

My Wedding Day: The Formal Pictures

All photography copyrighted by Kelly Garsee Photography. 

Catching up? Check out My Wedding Day: Pre-Ceremony, and My Wedding Day: The Ceremony.

After the ceremony, we took some "official" pictures. :P

our Reverend

each of our parents

all the siblings!

both families together

us and my cousins, on my mom's side

circa 1994....

a little reenactment :)

us and JW's side of the family

us and my side of the family

us and the groomsmen

us and the bridesmaids

altogether now!

an attempt at a jumping picture!! haha!

me and the groomsmen :)

JW and the bridesmaids, and this hilarious string of pictures...

fantastic!!

a "serious" picture

a "silly" picture!

dd

more silliness!

being grossed out :D - look at Rachel! haha!!

yuck :P

a few solo shots :)

some dramatic walking out to our car

our 1936 Bentley waiting for us!

such a cool car! (photo taken by our friend, Micah)

ready for the reception!

Keep Reading: My Wedding Day: The Reception, Part 1

Rain in July???

Has Seattle not gotten the memo that it's July? Is it still confused and thinking it's June-uary? This past week it's been absolutely miserable - rainy, grey, and cold. What is going on??

This week is tech week for the dance camp that I'm in - I can't believe the performances are this weekend! I'm kind of ready for it to end, though - I have an intense bruise on my spine and my shoulder, and I feel like I haven't had a good night's sleep in forever. I'm kind of considering getting a massage after all of this is over - but then I remember I have to move into our new house, as well. When will it end??

So, this week's runs were not my favorite. The first 7 miler on Monday was fine - Winter hadn't hit yet. I ran the first half with my friend Chelsey, and the second half alone.

The beginning of the clouds

The second 7 miler was on Wednesday, and the first half with Chelsey was nice, dry, and pleasant! The second half was spent entirely in the rain... completely miserable.

completely SOAKED - ugh!!

I ran another 3 miles today (Thursday) with Chelsey, and we thought we were going to get rained on - but fortunately we didn't. We started out a little too fast, but that's not always a bad thing! We almost got negative splits - so close! By 1 second!

these clouds just won't go away!

With tech week, running, and the thought of moving, it's all very exciting stuff, but just a bit too much all at once! I know it'll die down soon.. one day at a time, right??

Some good news is that I also booked my flight to meet my mom in Colorado for a road trip in September - can't wait for that little mini vacation!