family — Kristie & Tom McConnon

Pocatello Marathon

September 3, 2011 By Kristie Lee 4 Comments

Angela and I decided that we would run the Pocatello Marathon this year. We have been wanting to run a race together for a long time, but it just never seemed to work out. I was really excited to be able to do the same race. Then Angela’s sister-in-law Amanda decided to run it with us as well, and it just got better! This post is kind of long and detailed, but I want to have it documented for me to look back on.

Angela flew into SLC on Thursday night. We got to spend most of Friday hanging out, and talking about strategies for the next day. Tom was able to leave work a little early and we took off for Pocatello around 2pm. Angela and I tried to get a little extra sleep on the way up, knowing that we probably wouldn’t sleep very much that night. After arriving in Pocatello we met up with Amanda Stevens, her son Gideon, and Angela’s mother-in-law Lori. Then we all headed over to the expo to grab out gear. We got a bag and a pretty cool long sleeved shirt, which I thought was a good deal for the $60 entrance fee.

After the expo we decided to head to dinner. We basically just stopped at the first place we saw…Texas Roadhouse. I was really nervous because I never eat out the night before I run a race, but after looking at the menu I was able to pick something that seemed pretty safe. I had chicken, a plain sweet potato, and fresh steamed veggies. We had a great time eating, and laughing.

Us 3 runners waiting at Texas Roadhouse

After dinner we dropped Lori, Gideon, Tom & Lilah off at my cousins house and us 3 girls headed to our hotel. We decided that a hotel would be a good option since we needed to go to bed real early, wake up really early, and be close to the shuttle. I loved having our little girls night before the race…I’ve never done anything like that, and I really enjoyed it. Sleeping was pretty much horrible for all 3 of us. I literally only slept for 3 1/2 hours…my nerves really keep me awake. Angela and Amanda didn’t get much more than that either.

We were all pretty much wide awake by 4:30am. I was grateful that I didn’t need to try and sleep anymore and was very ready to just get this race started. We got up, threw our clothes on, talked and laughed a little more and were out the door by 5am. The bus ride was about 15 minutes long. It dropped us off at the starting line, which didn’t look like much of anything. We spent all our time in a barn full of animals… lol (literally, there was a barn full of animals on the property next to the starting line) and standing in line for the port-a-potties. After our 2nd time through the line we threw our duffle bags with our warm clothing in the truck and jumped in the pack of people ready to start the race.

Here we are hanging out in the barn, trying to stay warm…lol

I was very happy when the race finally started and felt great right from the start. It was still dark when we started, but I could tell that we were pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. I would have to say that this may have been my favorite course I’ve even run on. We watched the sun rise over the mountains and it was beautiful. There was nothing but trees, mountains, and a few random cabins. It was very peaceful running down the quiet windy road. The first half of the race dropped about 1400 ft in elevation, which was very significant. I had to hold myself back from going out too fast. I really wanted to be able to enjoy this race and not kill my legs right at the beginning.

I made quite a few friends a long the way and was reminded at how much I enjoy racing and spending time with people who love doing what I love doing. About mile 7 there was a little loop that made it possible to see all the front runners go by and I was able to figure that I was either the 9th or 10th girl overall at that point. I decided at that point that I was going to focus on my time and that I would be be really excited if I came in, in the top 10. I had decided that I was shooting to run the race under 3 hours & 20 minutes.

Mom Tanner, Tom, Lilah, me, Cole, & Angela after the race.

For this race I decided that I only wanted to eat my own homemade power bars instead of Gu’s. I had trained with them and felt great. They were made out of dates, walnuts, oats, unsweetened coconut, cinnamon, and sea salt. At mile 7 I started eating my first bar and finished it around 10. At the half way point (13.1 miles) I was feeling really good and really having a hard time holding myself back. I had been trying to keep my pace between a 7:20 and a 7:30 for the first half, but ended up averaging a 7:15 pace. I decided to let myself speed up a little bit. My legs were feeling fine and my lungs were feeling great. I pulled out my 2nd bar around mile 14 and accidentally dropped the whole thing. I was pretty sad about it, but wasn’t about to turn around to get it. I only had 3 bars, so I had to rethink my strategy for my last bar. I decided to eat the first half and save the 2nd half for later. I drank small amounts of power aid at each aid station.

Lori Stevens, Gideon, Angeal, and Amanda after the race.

The 2nd half of the course dropped about a 150 ft total but actually had quite a few rolling hills. There were a few that were quite tough, but I was still feeling great and this is where I started to pass people. There was one hill at about mile 20.5 that was really tough. I could see 2 girls ahead of me and decided to go after them. I passed one in the middle of the hill and the 2nd closer to the top. I knew by that point that I should be in about 7th or 6th place.

At that point we were starting to get closer to town and there were a few people around cheering us on. I was actually missing the quiet country roads, but definitely appreciated the encouragement. I picked off another girl pretty soon after the hill and set my sights on 2 more ahead of me. I ate the second half of my last date bar around mile 22. By mile 23 I was keeping my pace under a 7 min mile and picking off people pretty quickly. I could tell that a lot of people were hitting the wall and just trying to get to the finish line.

I really picked up my pace for the last 1.5 miles and was able to pass 2 more girls. As I came down the home stretch I got to see my parents, my brother Cole, Tom & Lilah, and Lori & Gideon. It was really fun to have them all there to cheer us on and support us. I could see one last girl ahead of me and watched her cross the finish line. I heard the announcer say that she was the 2nd girl overall. I had stopped calculating my position by that point and was surprised that I would take 3rd place! I came in 10 seconds after the 2nd place girl. I felt great after the race and even jogged back down the course to find my family. I finished the race in 3:08:34 which was a new PR by about 22 minutes.

Family celebrating after the race. Thanks again for coming guys!!

Amanda and Angela both were able to run PR marathons as well! We hung out at the finish line and ate a bunch of food, took part in the awards ceremony, and just celebrated our accomplishments. All in all it was a fantastic day!

The 3 of us hanging out before the award ceremony.

Filed Under: exercise/sport, family, out of town

The Spoon Game

August 28, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

Tom found this idea on youtube and had been wanting to try it out for a while. We decided to play it with my brother Houston when everyone came over for Sunday dinner. I think it turned out pretty well… lol The only complaint people had was that I didn’t hit hard enough… oops… I thought I was hitting too hard. My favorite part about the whole thing is Lilah trying to laugh along with all of us. She loves to be a part of things.

Filed Under: family, humorous

Cape May 2011

August 19, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

I love our McConnon family tradition to visit Cape May each year! I can’t believe that this is my 4th year going. It was sad not to have Coleman there this year, but I am proud of him for serving a mission and blessing the lives of the people in Arizona.

Tom has been visiting Cape May since he was little, and Tom’s Dad actually visited all his life as well. So it is quite a family tradition. This year I was more excited than normal because I knew that Lilah would actually be able to enjoy the beach. I was excited to see the look on her face when she experienced so many firsts. She did not disappoint! Just a warning…this might be the most pictures I’ve even put in one post….non-family beware!

The thing that I was most worried about were the flights…Lilah doesn’t do very well when she’s confined or sleep deprived. What 14 month old does, I guess? The flight to PA interrupted 2 nap times and her regular bedtime. Lilah is the kind of baby that wants to be set in her crib—by herself—when she is tired. She puts herself to sleep, and always has. Flying is one of the times when I wish she would let me rock her to sleep. Of course I tried—but that just made her more angry. I really shouldn’t complain about the flight out to PA because Lilah really did well (the flight home was a different story).

This is Lilah waiting for a flight and I thought she looked so cute with her monkey back-pack (sorry it’s blurry).

We flew in late on a Friday night, and were very excited to hit the beach first thing in the morning on Saturday. Here are a few shots of Lilah’s first experiences with the water. Her face says it all…we love these pictures that Nana took with her new camera!

She would hang out and play with shells and rocks while she waited for the waves to come. She didn’t mind getting wet at all…even when she first got in, which must have felt a bit chilly!

We spent a LOT of time at the beach. We rode boogie boards, played in the waves, read books, dug holes, made sand castles, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Here’s Lilah and I on our way to the beach. It takes us about 1 min to walk to there from Uncle Jim’s house.

Andrew and Nana Rita

The boys dug a hole deep enough for Andrew to kneel down and get buried in. It made me claustrophobic just to watch…lol.

This is what we would do for hours…sit and look for different rocks and shells…and wait for the waves to get us.

I thought the waves were perfect this year. Pretty calm, but still fun. Tom and Andrew would have probably enjoyed bigger waves, but they still had a blast.

Here’s a video of Lilah having a ride on the boogie board with her dad.

We visit the same small branch on Sunday every year, and it’s been fun to start recognizing people. It only takes us about 20 minutes to get there and I’m always grateful for the reminder that the church is the same no matter where you are in the world. We almost feel like regulars. Here we are after church.

After the beaches close, we usually head out on our bikes to experience the town. Cape May has a very magical feel to it, and even though it’s not huge, there always seems to be something fun to do. Some of our favorites are visiting the boardwalk/arcade, Morrows Nut House, sampling fudge from the Fudge Kitchen, walking around the outdoor Washington St. mall, Mango Tango smoothies, dinner at the Dry Dock, biking around with no place to be, looking at the beautiful homes, and just enjoying our own little piece of paradise.

Lilah with Grumpy walking around downtown.

Lilah on a ride at the arcade. She looks so serious, but she was actually really enjoying herself.

Our little family on Washington St.

Lilah and Wicky at the Dry Dock. We have a very similar picture of this from last year. Lilah has changed so much!

At the Blue Wave Burrito… a new place we found this year (and one I’m sure we’ll return) to. They had great music playing the entire time we were there.

Here’s a video of Lilah dancing:

Although we had a lot of fun out on the town, we also had some great times back at Uncle Jim’s place. One night in particular we decided to try and get some funny pictures…my stomach hurt from laughing after about an hour of this.

We had a fantastic time again this year and hope we get to go back again next year. The only thing that would have made it better is if we’d been able to catch up with Aunt Cathy…our Cape May trip just isn’t the same without her!

And last of all, many thanks to Uncle Jim, for letting us stay in your beautiful vacation home.

Filed Under: family, humorous, lilah, out of town, outdoors

Mommy & Daughter Idaho Trip

August 6, 2011 By Kristie Lee 1 Comment

Tom went on a camping trip with the young men, this week. I had been dreading the trip until we decided that I should go up to Idaho and spend the time with my family! I was originally just thinking of driving, but I’ve done that by myself and it is not too fun with all the screaming. But then my mom found $49 flights each way, which ended up being cheaper than driving anyway! Ya, for cheap flights!

Tom actually took our camera with him, so I thought I would just take pictures with my phone. Well… I should have known better. I totally forget to take pictures. I did take a few videos though and I’m grateful that I at least got that. Lilah decided to grow up on this trip. She started by learning to climb up the toy slide and slide down all by herself! I was so surprised that she could figure out how to do it! She’s quite determined. She probably went down the slide 50 times a day. After she learned how to climb up the slide she realized that she could climb up onto all sorts of things! She loved climbing into the high chair, onto the kitchen chairs, and across the kitchen chairs set around the table. She had a blast!

Here’s a video of her going down the slide…

Some of the highlights were: watching Lilah run through the water fountains, going toy shopping with Grandma, playing Yahtzee and Clue, taking walks around the loop, playing at the park, making delicious food, late night talks, Lilah’s big hugs for Grandma, Grandpa & Uncle Cole, and much more. Cole has been working super hard this summer at his job, harvesting some corn fields. He ended up falling asleep on the couch one afternoon, and I found Lilah setting a stuffed animal on his chest to share with him. She loves her uncle Cole!

Here’s a video of Lilah dancing to the bop it game…

Thanks again for having us Mom and Dad! We had a blast and Lilah still seems pretty sad about being back in our quite house.

Filed Under: family, lilah, movies, out of town

Camping

July 29, 2011 By Kristie Lee 1 Comment

After dinner tonight we sat around and talked about what we wanted to do. I couldn’t really think of anything too exciting that would still get us back in time to put Lilah to bed. But then Tom suggested that we go camping! I was so excited! We haven’t been camping all together since we had Lilah and have been wanting to introduce her to one of our favorite past times for quite a while! So we grabbed our stuff and jumped in the car.

Here we are getting ready to hike in, to find a camp site. The weather was perfect.

Lilah was really excited about everything while we were hiking. She just wanted to get down and run around.

Once we found a spot and let Lilah down, she was in heaven. She loved throwing things into the river with me. Sadly, she didn’t get to enjoy it for too long before she started getting tired and cranky.

We kept her up a little later so that she could experience more of what we love about camping. One of my favorite parts is just sitting around a camp fire talking. It reminds me of growing up camping with my family at my Great Grandparents Ranch. I have such fond memories of those times… Sometimes I feel a little sick missing them.

This is our trusty little tent. It’s super easy to set up, and packs well, but it is a little cramped with 3 of us now. We put Lilah down by herself first and didn’t know what to expect. She actually did fantastic, and fell asleep within 5 minutes. She looked so cute all sprawled out in tent by herself. Tom and I stayed up for a couple more hours talking, laughing, and enjoying each other.

When we finally went to bed Lilah was totally out and didn’t wake up until we picked her up to readjust her in-between us. This was the first real time she has slept next to anyone and it was a little rough at times. Sometimes she’d wake up and seem a little scared that there was something right next to her. But when I finally just gave her, her own space and let her go back to sleep she was out like a light. Sometimes I wish she was more cuddley, but other times it is nice to know that she will easily fall asleep on her own. I didn’t sleep as well, sadly, because I kept waking up to make sure she looked comfortable and didn’t seem cold.

In the morning Lilah woke up earlier than normal, because of the sun, I think. I heard her wake up but pretended that I was still asleep, hoping that she would lay back down and sleep for a little longer. But as soon as she realized that mommy and daddy were right there with her, sleeping time was over… lol She was so excited to be able to play with us right away! We hung around for a little while before packing everything up and heading home. I have another 20 miler training run to do today… and I have a feeling it’s going to feel tougher than normal… But it was totally worth it, and went quite smoothly. I’m sure we’ll go again soon.

Filed Under: family, lilah, out of town

Orem Owlz

July 11, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

We are loving our grassy-hill seats at the Orem Owlz games. This was a fun, family night activity for all.

Filed Under: entertainment, family, fun things, lilah

Tanner Reunion Day 4

July 5, 2011 By Kristie Lee 3 Comments

Today was a pretty low key day. Tom had to go back to work, and the rest of us spent some time relaxing and getting things packed up. Angela also did a photo-shoot with Lilah! Thanks again Ang! I love the pictures and can’t wait to get some printed for our house!

Lilah is such a sweet heart and such a mommies girl! I love this face that she makes when she is so happy but a little shy about it… She was laughing at her sweet cousins, who were trying to get her to smile for the camera.

This is her expression when she really likes or wants something. I often see it with soft things, or animals, but in this case it was a pretty necklace. She is such a girly girl already. She loves walking around with bracelets and necklaces on. Thanks again mom for the purse and bracelets… she loves them!

Lilah is such a happy girl (when she has had her nap). Her smile and laugh can always brighten my mood.

I love everything about this little girl… Looking at this picture just makes me want to wake her up from her nap right now and kiss those cute little cheeks and lips. I am so so grateful for you Lilah.

Houston and Becca had to take off around noon, and I’m grateful that they will be moving back to Provo soon for school in the fall. We miss having them around! Angela and Jeff and the kids were planning on leaving today as well, but decided to stick around one more night and just leave early in the morning. We were so happy they did! We stayed up talking and laughing for a long time. The next morning was sad… I hated saying goodbye to everyone else. Our house seems so quite and empty now. I am very much a people person and miss having people here more than I even realized I would. But we made lots of great memories and I am grateful for the time we had. I love you all and can’t wait to do this again.

Filed Under: family, lilah, pictures

Tanner Reunion Day 3

July 4, 2011 By Kristie Lee 1 Comment

Happy 4th of July! Today began early and we stayed busy with fun activities! I decided to run the Freedom Run 10k this year. The course ran right along the parade route which brought lots of screaming spectators. I loved the crowd. The course had some tough hills, but I ended up placing 2nd in my age division and finished with a 41:45. It was really fun to have family there to support me! Thanks guys!

After the race we headed straight down to the parade where Angela and Jeff were saving us a spot. The kids had a great time watching everything go by. Lilah especially loved all the huge blown up characters… lol

After the parade we headed home for a quick break before leaving for Seven Peaks. We thought we’d have to brave some pretty big crowds at the water park on the 4th of July, but it ended up looking like a pretty average day! We were grateful for shorter lines which made it possible to ride lots and lots of water slides! Grandma and Grandpa win the prize for being the most fun! They ran around with the kids until the park closed! It was super hot all day which made me a little nervous, but I used my new Alba sunblock on Lilah and she didn’t get burned at all… Yah!

Some people in our neighborhood have been throwing a pretty great 4th of July bash for the last 4 years, so we decided to join in. Last year we stopped in but got there late and didn’t know very many people yet. We had a great time this year! They had music playing and fireworks exploding all evening long.

It actually started raining during the fireworks and they had to hurry and do the finale earlier than expected. I was surprised, as I was last year, with how many big fireworks they lit off! It was quite a good show. Thanks again to our friendly neighbors for letting our whole family participate in the festivities!

After the show we actually headed home and lite off a few of our own fireworks. Thanks Jeff!

We ended the night laughing our heads off playing a game because a) we really are that funny; or b) we were all exhausted… I’m gonna have to go with A. I am so grateful to be able to celebrate our Nations birthday with some of my favorite people in the world!! All I have left to say is MMmmmm…. Betsey…

Filed Under: exercise/sport, family, food, holidays

Tanner Reunion Day 2

July 3, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

Sunday was a nice relaxing day. We have 9am church and I was surprised to pretty much get everyone there on time. I loved having family there with me in my ward! It was great to introduce them to my friends. Soon after we got home Houston and Becca arrived!! Yah! They drove in from Arizona.

We spent some of the afternoon watching old family videos, Mom and Dad gave us awesome gifts from their Navoo trip, and we took some family pictures.

Taking family pictures is usually quite an ordeal, but this time seemed to run more smoothly than normal. It didn’t take very long and the kids were pretty cooperative. It’s about time that Tom and I and Lilah had our own little family picture, so I was very grateful that Angela was willing to take these for us! We love her pictures!

Delicious food was something we never had too little of this week, and there was plenty of sharing.

Filed Under: family, food, fun things, pictures

Tanner Reunion Day 1

July 2, 2011 By Kristie Lee Leave a Comment

After the Tanner Family 5oth celebration our immediate Tanner family headed back to Provo for our reunion! Friday night was spent getting settled and talking.

Saturday morning we got everyone out of the house by 8:50am to hike the Y! We thought it was pretty awesome with all those kids! We were grateful that we started early and missed some of the intense heat.

Lilah did really well in the mobe wrap which surprised me… As long as she was moving she was happy.

Angela, Emily and Cole

All of us at the top of the Y.

Hanging out at the top. I love that Jacob has dirt all over his face in this one…. lol

After we hiked down tot he base Angela and I ran back to our house, which was probably a bad idea cause it was super hot by that point! But it was really fun to get to run together. We don’t get the chance very often and love to when we can.

This year Tom’s company Qualtrics was a sponsor for Stadium of Fire and we received 4 tickets! Mom and Dad decided that they would take the kids to watch the firework show up by the temple while Tom and I took Angela and Jeff to the show! We got a babysitter for Emily and Lilah which worked out great for everyone. The 2 babies were asleep before the fireworks even started. Us four went to a company party before and mingled with everyone before heading over to the stadium.

The boys happily holding our purses while Ang and I went to the bathroom.

We had no idea that we’d be so spoiled! Our seats were amazing, and we had free food and water. Tom and I were even just happy to be out on a date!

The show was awesome, and I have to say that I heart Brad Paisley! It was my first time seeing a country artist with Tom and will probably be my last… lol He is not a fan.

Luckily because of some careful, parking-planning, we were able to make it home pretty quick. We actually beat Grandma and Grandpa home, but when they got there this is what we found in the back seat! We all had quite a long day I guess… lol