November Runs

 Women's Runs:

Yay! November had a bonus Monday!

The first Monday was a run around the greenbelt and Snake River Landing.

Greenbelt

The second Monday was at the track having a training session with Mike. I'm happy to report that I didn't get as sore as I thought I would. I haven't done that kind of stuff in a long time.

Training session with Mike.

Bleacher workouts are always hard!

The third Monday was a unique one. We invited the boys! Anyone who wanted to participate could come to this one. Amanda set up her Land Cruiser as the hub to collect food donations for a local food bank. people could drop off food and then do some laps around Freeman Park. Since Covid flared back up, we spread out the times, and then just ran on our own or in smaller groups. 

Donating food, and then going for a run!

Next was the annual turkey trot! It was freezing! Amanda, Stacy, and I dawned our hats, and went running around downtown. This was two days after my 50 miler, so we went slow and easy.

Amanda-Stacy-Tricia

Our bonus Monday was a nice run along the canal. My back started giving me grief the week after my race, so I had mostly been walking. This was my first attempt to run again, and it did pretty good. I just went slow and easy.

Jennifer-Stacy-Larissa-Georgina-Amanda-Tricia

IFTR Group Runs:

Dan has been gone and his group runs aren't starting back up until December. A few of us have just met in the mornings at Freeman Park to run the greenbelt. We forget to take pictures, but Jenn remembered when she was there, so I have that one.

Jenn-Tricia-Mike

Big Elk Creek:

I love it when Steph ditches work to hit the trails! We spent a day on Big Elk Creek, and it was perfect. Great weather, and plenty of mud; You can't go wrong with that.

State line!

Wolf Flats:

I've been trying to hit a lot of dirt roads lately. They make for great, consistent running. I did most of the ones close to home, so Steph and I decided to do a longer one on Wolf Flats along the river. So pretty!

Covid Runs:

While Mark was finishing up his quarantine after having COVID, we had to do some isolated runs. We hit places like Trail of Bones, and Trail Hollow so we wouldn't run into any people. 

Our Trail Hollow run got a little snowy and windy!

Palisades Creek:

I say it every year, but I love the Palisades trail in the winter. It's my favorite! We had a beautiful run. We followed HUGE cougar tracks the whole way! It was a bit unnerving, because it had snowed in the early morning hours, and the tracks were fresh in the snow. We're guessing our little kitty friend was there just a couple hours before us. I was grateful to be in a group. On the way back down the trail, Josh was in the lead, and came face to face with a big mountain goat! They scared each other equally! 😂 I've never seen a mountain goat on that side of the river, let alone on the actual trail on Palisades.

It's so pretty when it's snowy, but still not cold enough to be frozen yet.

These things were as big as my hand!

Winter Wonderland!

Mat-Jenn-Steph-Josh-Tricia-Mark

My favorite spot going up the trail.

Lower Lake

We went about a mile past the lower lake before we headed back.

My favorite spot on the way down the trail.

Our running wasn't as intense in November, because we were tapering down for the Dead Horse Ultra, and then recovering afterwards. We still got some good ones in though. Now it's time to gear up for the winter fun!

Thanksgiving Weekend

 Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great weekend in Boise. Bailey had to work, so instead of not having us all together, we decided to head over there to celebrate. We know holidays will be different these days now that our kids are grown, getting married, and starting their own lives. But when there is an opportunity for all of us to be together, we're gonna take it!

We got up early on Thanksgiving morning, and did our own little turkey trot on the Boise Greenbelt. I've been having back problems since my 50 miler, so it was more of a turkey wobble. 😂 We spent the day cooking yummy food, and playing lots of games. Bailey was super excited to host her first Thanksgiving dinner, and she did a great job. It's not a task for the faint of heart, and she handled it like a champ. Sawyer was in charge of the pie, and Mark made the yams, but her and Mason did everything else. I was impressed!

Turkey Trot!

Lots of games!

Twinners!

Amanda & Sawyer

I love all of these people with my whole heart! This is my crew.

Mason & Bailey

This is what you do when you have 6 people for Thanksgiving dinner, in a tiny newlywed apartment. It brought back memories of when Mark and I did this in American Fork.

Carving their first turkey.

Yum!

We gave the kids their 2020 Christmas ornaments while we were there. Bailey and Mason bought a tree, but they don't have any ornaments on it, so we figured this could get them started.

First Christmas married!

So cute!

I wanted to get Sawyer a COVID ornament, and this is the one Mark and Bailey voted on. So funny! In reality, Sawyer has loved 2020, mostly because of that cute girl sitting next to him! 😍

Bailey had to work on Friday, so Mark and I took a walk along the river in the morning. Sawyer and Amanda met up for awhile with her parents, and Mark and I did some shopping. That night we all went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner.

Our Friday walk.

Saturday we took another walk in the Boise foothills. This time Mason and Bailey could come along. It was a bit chilly. The football game was canceled, so we ended up spending a couple hours at the zoo instead. Good times.

I love all the Boise foothill trails.

Im so glad the Boise Zoo could open back up. There were lots of precautions taken, but we were happy to comply. We had to schedule a time and purchase tickets online. Only a few families could be in the zoo at a time. You had to go a certain way, could not back track, and had a two hour limit. Mask and social distancing required. All the photo op places, and playground type equipment were blocked off. Again, it shows that life can still go on in a safe way.

 

This picture is my favorite. We were all dressed for a game that was canceled. We look like rivals, and our clothes certainly make you assume that, but I actually graduated from BYU, so I love both schools.

This guy was ginormous!

Since all the good photo places were roped off, we just did the best we could.

This guy got his tail in his mouth and spun around in circles with in for quite awhile.

And this one snoozed through the whole thing!

The little sleeping wild dog was the cutest!

Mason & Bailey

Amanda & Sawyer

Well isn't he cute! 😂

Zebras

The penguin exhibit was closed, so we tried to make our own.

Lions!

Tricia & Mark

The lion posed for all of our pictures.

The giraffes had to be inside since it was so cold.

The squirrels were entertaining us just as much as the zoo animals. 

Yay!

That's a wrap! We drove home and had to get back to normal life.