Waiting for Jane

We have had crazy weather this summer.  One week it will be 90-100 degrees and then the next it will be in the 50-60s.  Germany doesn't have air conditioner, so it is pretty miserable being pregnant and hot.  We have spent the afternoons napping in the basement or sitting in front of a fan trying not to touch one another.  Kate doesn't really seem to notice.  

 Bryan tried to win a spot to do the 10 mile run in Washington D.C., but was beaten to the six opened spots.  The male who crossed the line first did so in 52 minutes.  And I think the number six was 58 minutes.  Crazy fast.  Bryan broke his personal best and crossed the line at 1 hour and 11 minutes.  He is usually around 1 hour and 20 minutes.  He did awesome!

We have been spending a lot of time at the pool. It is right around the corner from our house and has 4 different pools- diving pool, lap pool, wave pool, and kid pool.   We got a pool pass and it has been well worth it with the heat waves.  Kate is learning to not be so picky with the water temperature since the pool never really warms up, unless you are in the baby pool!

Nurnberg Color Run 5K

This was my first and probably only color run.  I think everyone should do one, but it definitely isn't exercise.  I was also like 8 months pregnant, but still, you don't have to run.  All you want is to get covered in color.  

 We went with our friends the Larsen's, the McCarson's, and the Hollist's.  Kate really enjoyed the throwing of the powder and hanging out with the big kids.  She has such a social and loving personality.  We love her to pieces.

Don't judge.  I look awful, but this is the only picture of Bryan and I at the race.  We have started to slack in the picture taking department.

Happy 2014

January has been super, crazy busy! Here's what we've been up to.

This might be a little sad, but Bryan and I finally went out on a date.  It was a double date, but yeah, we did it.  I guess we've been busy with work and building a house and having a baby. We went to brunch with our neighbors at a little gem of a restaurant in Leesville.

We were mad at the US Mail because they made us put our mailbox on the street instead of on our house like everyone else in the neighborhood.  When Bryan cut down one of the trees, we decided to make a "custom" mailbox. We finally fixed it. 

I was admitted to a hospital in Houston and so glad to see Bryan and Kate the next morning.  It was scary being all alone, without family. Just glad everything went well.   

 Kate has become our little climber.  I've caught her on ladders, buckets, and the arm of the rocking chair.

 We traveled down to Baton Rouge with our neighbors for the Louisiana 1/2 Marathon. Only Bryan could participate, as I was recovering from surgery.  We went to the zoo, which was Kate's first time seeing all the animals.  The weather was perfect!

 Bryan crossed the finish line in 1 hour 43 minutes??,... his goal was under 1 hour 45 minutes, so he did great!

 State Capital. This is where the Louisiana Marathon started and finished.

 Our first snow in Louisiana. Crazy!!

 Since I haven't been to work for the past 2 weeks, I was able to complete a much needed project.  I used Annie Sloan chalk paint and wax and a special brush- it turned out super cute!

...bring May flowers.

May has been a pretty busy month and it's not even over yet! We met up with Grandma and Grandpa Ahlborn and Adam in Hot Springs, Arkansas to compete in a Warrior Dash (one of those get muddy 5Ks) on Mother's Day weekend. It was my first and I had a blast.  It is definitely more tiring than just running! Mother's Day was very special. Again, my first. Bryan was very good to me. Diamond earrings! I think they will be a special heirloom to pass on to Kate when she is older. I love them.

We toured the quaint town of Hot Springs and tested the "magical" hot spring water.

Kate had her first swim lessons this month.  The water was pretty cold that day, but there were no complaints out of her mouth!

 Kate slept through the night! Look how happy she is- if only she would continue... 

Kate is 3 months old. She has discovered her tongue and hands. She will bat at toys dangling over head. She is really quite the talker, especially after eating and before she goes down for a nap.  She got to spend a whole weekend with just Daddy and did great! Bryan said "being a mother isn't hard at all"- as he hands over Kate to mommy and crashes on the bed. It really made him appreciate all that I do and all that mothers do. Now my neighbors want to try it :)

Waco and Dallas

I had been training for a half marathon since the beginning of the year, but my training was not as devoted as it should have been with my trips to Alabama and Korea. The longest distance I ran was 8 miles which was 4 or 5 weeks before the race. So I was a little nervous to match my goal of under 2 hours. Bryan decided to meet me down in Waco for the weekend to run with me. I was able to cross the finish line in 2 hours 3 minutes. I was very proud of myself considering the circumstances. By far, this was the best race I have ever been to. It was called the Baylor Bearathon and we had student "cheerleaders" every mile dressed up in themed costumes. It was also WAY crowded. I have never been in a race where I felt I was running with so many people the entire way! If we still live in Texas, this is a must next year.

Bryan and I in the finish area. There were funny runners throughout: someone running in overalls, another in Timberland boots, a group of bunnies, and an elderly man that had zero flexibility in his hips.

Afterwards, we traveled up to Dallas to meet up with some of Bryan's optometry friends, Ruby and Ruba, that are doing their internship in that area. We ate at Ruby's family restaurant, saw the Hunger Games (which by the way was awesome), and went to the Fort Worth Stock Yards.

The Stock Yards have cute little shops with all sorts of Texas pride. I bought some Texas cookie cutters and can't wait to make some sugar cookies over General Conference weekend.

It was fun to hang out with Bryan. We have a little less than 2 weeks until we will be together forever! Sappy, I know.

Austin 2011 Olympic Triathlon

We competed in our first olympic traithlon on 5 September 2011, in Austin Texas. It involves a 1500 meter swim on Lady Bird Lake, a 40K or 25 mile bike ride around the state capital building and parks, and a 10K or 6 mile run through the parks. It was very intimidating seeing all these triathletes with muscles and fast looking bikes, while Bryan's running around in his Army gym shorts and I'm in a little girl swimsuit. But looks can be deceiving:)
Here's Bryan coming out of the lake. All his pictures were awesome. He is super photogenic when it comes to races. He was the second group to start the race, while I was the last (1 hour later!).See the capital building in the background? The audience was fun to see too. We had people dressed up as tacos, watermelons, summer Santa Clause, and penguins. Keep Austin Weird.Now this is my favorite! Bryan has his mouth open either trying to catch his breath or cheering because he is about to cross the finish line. Love it!

Me and my little girl swimsuit. Glad I had a matching swim cap. The water was super warm, so it wasn't a wetsuit legal race. I kicked Bryan's trash by 3 minutes on the swim, but he kicked my trash in the other 2 events.


I was so glad to be done. I was sick all the week before the race and was working night shift and had a mountain bike. I know, I know. Excuses. Excuses. The run about killed me though. Bryan was kind enough to run with me for 4 miles. My goal time was between 3 and 3:30 hours. I got 3:25 baby! My next goal will be under 3:15. Bryan did amazing as usual, 2:40. Thats probably why he had his mouth open gasping for air at the finish line:) Anyways, it was really fun. We will definately be doing more of those.

BLORA 2011 Sprint Triathlon

Unfortunately the triathlon was changed to a duathlon 2 days before the event due to the low water level at Lake Belton [24 September]. We did have 75+ days of 100 degree weather without rain all summer long! The duathlon was run 1.5 miles-bike 12 miles-run 1.5 miles. My goal this time was to make it through the run without stopping and with the run split, it was perfect. Bryan is always prepared for sporting events and made it easy to leave in the morning. This is the only picture I have of him alone pumping up the bike tires. He is also the first to finish and always collects on goodies and freebies.

Here is me at the close to finish line, that is why I am so happy. Usually I am not so happy, but don't my legs look nice?
This was Katie Whipple's first triathlon-turned duathlon- and she did awesome! I've got her signed up for a 1/2 marathon now, she just doesn't know it. "Good job working out girls!"

Here is the crew in the transition area after the race! The weather was nice, a little cold in the morning, but heated up quickly once the sun came up. The race wasn't as organized as we'd like, but hey, it was free and we all did great. Good job everybody.

Xterra Trail Run

We don't have any pictures of our trail run race, so here's a picture I pulled from the Internet. The company was charging like $15 a picture, which is outrageous. I signed us up for a 21K (1/2 marathon) trail run in Waco TX not really knowing what I was getting into. I figured it would be fun because I wouldn't be running on the streets which I find pretty boring at times. I was excited about running near the waterline and through the woods. Little did I think about lots and lots of hills and a Jacob's ladder to the max! This was one tough race man! Bryan actually did very well. He ran it in 1:45- first in his age group and 8th overall. I think I sucked- big time! I actually thought about quitting half way through it, but am glad I completed the race. I would have regretted it later on. I ran it in 2:40- fourth in my age group and I don't know overall what I was. I guess trail running adds about 30 minutes, so they say. I really wanted to beat my last 1/2 marathon time, and that was a bummer, so I guess I have to sign myself up for another race. The trail run was fun and different and I highly recommend it- just be prepared for a tough race. I am actually going to do another one in Austin TX (18K), but I am going to prepare myself a little differently this time around.

Celebration

Since my birthday fell on a weekday instead of a weekend and Bryan is a full time student, we celebrated my 25th birthday early. Well, I actually "celebrate" the whole month because it's my birthday month, but we officially celebrated this weekend!

We woke up early Saturday morning and competed in the Great Place Amazing Race sprint triathalon at Belton Lake. Most military bases have free events for the soldiers and their families because the location of most military facilities is not all that great. Can't pass up a free triathalon. We both did really well in the swim (300m), got passed by all the road bikes (12 miles) during our mountain biking event, and felt our tight legs during the run (5k). We definately prefer these to the marathons!

Bryan and I before the race. Behind is the lake we swam in.

I wanted a picture of my tatoo.

During the biking event, you needed to make sure not to run into cows/bulls/longhorns. I took this picture on the car ride home. These things are awesome!

Thats me crossing the finish line. Yes Bryan beat me, but he also had a 3 minute head start. The boys all started first which I found unfair because I wanted to smoke Bryan:) After the race. Can't you tell, Bryan has a white face and I have a red face. We are not quite sure about our official scores- but Bryan's was somewhere around 1:15 and mine was 1:24. I ranked 3rd in my age group!

After the race, we ran home and cleaned up for my promotion ceremony! Yeah! More Money! My boss let me get promoted on Saturday so Bryan could be there and "pin" me which was very nice, since she had to come in to work over the weekend. I made a sweet dish of taco salad and Texas sheet cake for everyone working that day on my unit.

2nd LT Ahlborn

1st LT Ahlborn

Yes. We do have to kiss to celebrate the special event. I am actually just happy about the extra money more than anything else. One step closer to getting out, right?

Then Bryan and I took a much needed nap. Then Bryan surprised me with some professional pictures taken in the heart of Texas. I am soo excited about how these will turn out. I am wearing my cowboy boots and he is wearing his cowboy hat and we are on a ranch with real cows and horses and barns. I can't wait!

Then we opened birthday presents. Bryan did an excellent job this year. I got my first hand gun, some books to add to my book collection, a camera, and a University of Houston Optometry t-shirt. Thanks babe!

I Love You Bryan!

P.S. Thanks everybody else for your phone calls, gifts, cards, and dinner!

Race Photos

Rebekah running
Then she decided to pose for the camara Looking out to sea

At the end of the race, really tired

Then she may have lost her lunch or something? Bryan at beginning, those sexy legs to the right are Ryans

Running fast

More Running, slower Nice arms

I have a big head, and my leg is probably cramping up

I am tired

Finally the end, after 4 hours, rain, wind, sand, sea shells, a dead dolphin, some logs, oil wells, lots of running, walking, water, gatorade, and power gel that did nothing

I'm going to go take a nap now.