My wonderful aunt Cathy in Philadelphia purchased a Saturn Vue back in ’05, and recently decided that she no longer needed it. She loves the vehicle however, and wanted it to go to a good home–so she decided to ship it out to me and Kristie and sell it to us for next to nothing. Especially considering the mileage on the odometer:

1,423 miles. That’s it.

This car is brand new! It’s an awesome, compact SUV with good MPG’s, a 5-Star crash rating and tons of cargo space. Now Kristie and Lilah will have a safe, reliable car to get around in. And the timing couldn’t have been better with the move…it will make transporting odds and ends from the apartment to the house so much easier.

I could go on and on about Cathy and her kindness, but then you’d all try to adopt her as your own. And I’m not sharing.

We submitted a bid to the bank on a foreclosed home and it was accepted! Top 5 things we like about it:

1. Sits in a quiet cul-de-sac in a nice, newer neighborhood
2. Proximity to parks and Provo River Trail (jogging/biking)
3. $8,000 tax credit; low interest rates
4. Room for a garden
5. Paying into equity & no more rent!

Pending a ‘clean bill of health’ from the inspector, we might find ourselves in our first home come May. Scary and exciting.

It’s official, Kristie and I are going to be the parents of a baby girl come June! We had the week 20 ultrasound today and she looks healthy, active and squished and adorable. I think she’s gonna be a daddy’s girl if I have anything to say about it.

We’re so excited. Thanks all for the love and support — we’re probably going to need a lot more of it!

Many thanks to those who helped us with the move. Next time maybe we’ll choose one trip in a U-Haul over thirty in a Ford Escort.

While waiting along the Boston Marathon course, a Boston Globe reporter approached me and asked a few questions about the sign I was toting. He explained that he was doing a story about the big three events that commemorate Boston’s annual Patriots Day holiday–the marathon, the Red Sox and the revolutionaries. We had a fun exchange, and I didn’t hear anything more about it until yesterday. My dad is sending the newspaper clipping, but I found the article on Boston.com as well…here’s a couple excerpts:

**For the record, I love my wife very, very much, and the statements in this article were made in jest. I wouldn’t trade Kristie for anything, not even season tickets at Fenway.

(and then on page two of the newspaper my name suddenly goes from “McConnon” to “McCorrin.” But the editors weren’t the only ones that screwed up…I told the guy Kristie was 22, instead of 23. Whoops)

Kristie ran 26.2 miles and got her name and bib number in the Globe. I ran zero feet and got an interview. Where’s the justice in that?

Woohoo!

So I got a chance to upload a couple of pictures while waiting for commencement to begin, but I wanted to fill in a few more details (and add a few more pictures) to elaborate on the day. Kristie’s mom and dad arrived Friday morning in Provo, and I was able to get off work at 1:30 so we could make it to graduation by 2:00. Up in the stands we were joined by Nathan and Kendra, so we had a pretty loud cheering section when Kristie’s name was called to receive her diploma (she graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Fitness and Wellness from BYU). After the ceremony, we connected with a few friends and took some pictures out behind the fieldhouse.

Thanks to everyone that sent cards, letters, emails, texts, well-wishes, etc…we’re so grateful for your love and support!

After the ceremony, the 6 of us headed up to Park City for dinner at Bangkok Thai on Main (what has become our ‘special occasion’ restaurant of choice). The food was fantastic, as was the company.

Right after dinner we headed up to Daniel and Sarah Turnbull’s wedding reception at the beautiful Monaco Hotel in SLC. They’re all-around awesome people–congrats guys!

Back in October, Kristie and I ran the St. George marathon…she killed it, and it almost killed me. But, with her awesome time, she qualified to to run the Boston Marathon; the world’s oldest annual (and perhaps most prestigious) 26.2 mile course. What made this even cooler is that Boston is conveniently located 40 minutes southeast of my our place in Acton, MA…so we got to visit and spend time with my family leading up to the race.

We arrived Thursday afternoon and got a chance to go out to eat with my brother Coleman and my parents. Andrew had to be in NC competing at an equestrian event and couldn’t make it…we missed him like crazy. Friday we got a chance to swing by Walden pond and soak up some history and sun. In the afternoon we dropped Coleman and his buddy Matt off at South Station in Boston so they could embark on their spring break trip to Miami Beach, FL.  Besides a close call with the car overheating, everything was cool and they made it out ok. My aunt DD came by and surprised us with an Edible Arrangements gift for Kristie (fruit, a thoughtful and safe pre-marathon food). It tasted as great as it looked:

On Saturday, mom came with us to the pre-race expo in downtown Boston. There Kristie received her bib, timing chip and free shwag. While we were there, we picked up an official Boston Marathon jacket that Mom and Dad gave Kristie as a graduation present. She loves it…it looks awesome on her:

After church on Sunday, DD took us out in her new Yaris to check out the beginning of the course in Hopkinton to make sure that we’d be able to get Kristie to the starting line on time and beat the crazy traffic. Then, at 6:30 am on Monday we got up and got everything together for the race. We had the pleasure of travelling with Littleton’s bishop, Frank Gentile, who was running his second Boston Marathon–this time for charity. Here’s a shot of Kristie leaving the house:

At about 8:30 I dropped the pair off in Hopkinton so they could get to the starting line around 10:00 am. Then I drove back to Acton and we all departed for the finish line to wait for Kristie and the other runners to come by.

We got off around Kenmore square and walked a couple miles away from the finish line till the crowd thinned out a bit. From there we had a great view of the course and the runners that came pouring by in droves.

The air in Boston on Patriots day (a holiday for MA!) is electric. College kids, locals, and out-of-state visitors can’t help but get caught up in the exiting atmosphere surrounding the day’s big events. For a comical perspecitve on the race, check out Bill Simmons’ Idiots Guide to the Boston article (thanks for sending that over Ang!)

At around mile 24 of the course we watched the leading men, women and wheelchair athletes come roaring by. Kara Goucher was leading the pack for the women at that point and we all had high hopes that she’d take it (she didn’t, but still had a great showing at third). When Kristie came by we went nuts, ringing our cowbells, yelling and waving our signs. I think we actually startled her a little.

As soon as she passed us, we fought huge throngs of people to meet up with her at the finish line. She said the hills (Heartbreak and its nasty cousins), the crowded course, and strong headwinds were real challenges…but she did awesome, coming in at another Boston-qualifying time of 3:34. I’m amazed that she did so well after having lost so much training time to her nagging foot injury. It was so cool to be there to cheer her on…the race is so huge, and contains so many of the world’s best distance runners. If the qualifying time were a little more forgiving for my division, perhaps even I would consider it. It would be something incredible just to be a part of.

So congrats babe, you’re an inspiration to us all. Thanks to everyone that supported Kristie with calls, texts, emails and more…it meant the world to her!