2017 was sure an interesting year. In reflecting back on the year it has become clear that it was an AMAZING year for my little family, we had so many firsts, so much fun and lots wonderful things to celebrate. But beyond that it was also a really stressful year, the world climate and politics were draining and juggling a new job, motherhood and pregnancy is tricky at times. I think this time of reflection has shown me that in 2018 I would like to rise above the daily stressors and focus on all the great things that are happening.

 2017 was a big year of running for me, I decided to take a break from triathlon to focus on trail running for the year.

I really enjoyed running on as many local trails as I could find.

I also started a new job in January that was a better fit for where I wanted to do with my time. I was able to find a teaching job at a local college where with a mix of in-person and online teaching I only have to be on campus twice a week. It can be stressful trying to fit a full time teaching load into evenings, weekends and nap-times but it’s worth it to spend more time with my little man. This time goes by so quickly and I would hate to miss so much of it.

Cannon also started swim lessons in January. He loves being in the water and seems to really take to swimming. Jury is still out if we have a future Olympian on our hands but we are committed to teaching him to swim while he is young.

We celebrated Cannon’s first Valentines Day, holidays are so much more fun with this little guy around.

Many, many mornings were spent getting up before the sun to get miles in before Cory went to work for ultra training. I had my eyes set on the Leadville Silver Rush 50 Mile in July.

Cannon really enjoyed meeting the Easter Bunny and getting his first Easter basket. I can’t wait until he is old enough to hunt for eggs.

In April we made our way to Fruita (a tiny town on the boarder of Colorado and Utah, very similar to Moab) so I could run my first marathon post baby. It was an AMAZING course, so beautiful and it was nice to get out on the trails early in the year. We had so much fun on our mini get-away.

A few weeks later I got to toe the line again at the Colorado Marathon. It was kinda crazy to run two marathons just three weeks apart as part of my ultra training but I love this race so much ( it was my first marathon back in 2011). This was my third time running it and loved it again.

Once spring hit the front range we started getting out on hikes as much as possible, lucky for us Cannon is a fan.

In June I completed the North Fork 50k and was stoked to kick off the summer with an ultra finish. This was probably my favorite trail race ever, it was amazing. The best part was getting to carry Cannon over the finish line and celebrate the day with him.

One of my favorite days of the year was Cannon’s first birthday. We were able to celebrate with lots of family and friends. I loved celebrating Cannon and he loved his smash cake.

The fourth of July was really fun, having a BBQ and fireworks at our house until I caught my toe on our door while carrying Cannon. I was so grateful that I didn’t fall or drop Cannon but I did manage to break my little toe.

This little toe isn’t the worst thing to break (by far) but apparently it is needed to run 50 miles on trails. Leadville was off the table for the year. I was really bummed but found the silver lining in moving other life accomplishments timelines up.

Baby number 2!!!

With a bun in the oven I scaled my milage way back and focused on keeping this tiny baby safe and happy.

In August we celebrated Cory’s birthday with a trip to Vail. Cory came in third overall in the Beaver Creek Half Marathon thanks to Cannon’s killer cheering skills! I also ran the Breck Crest 10k ( I have ran this race for the last 3 years in a row and I hope to keep the streak alive).

In September we finally got to see our little gummy bear baby and find out that it was growing right on track. Pregnancy and especially the first trimester is a nervous time for me, so much I can’t know or control. The only thing to do is wait and hope.

In October we finally made it past the crucial 12 week milestone, it was nice to finally let the secret out and announce that we were expecting.

We celebrated Halloween by dressing up as Max and Wild Things. I wasn’t sure how I felt about doing full on family costumes so this hat only for the parents option was a great easy choice.

And of course Cannon made the cutest King of the Wild Things.

In November we celebrated Thanksgiving with family and ran our second Turkey Trot with Cannon. He had so much fun, I think next year he will be ready to run the kids race.

We spent the month of December celebrating Christmas and having the best time. Cannon was one spoiled little boy!

After Christmas we finally announced that we are expecting a girl (we have known since October at 11 weeks) we are over the moon excited. Now it’s time to decorate the nursery and fill it with all the sweet little girl things.