I have been a slacker of a blogger lately, so I am about to write one big post with lots of pictures. I always put in too many photos because I can't decide which ones to use and Selah is just so dang cute, I just can't resist. Enjoy!


What the daily grind includes these days:

Selah's many faces...
(we were trying to get pictures of her 2 new bottom teeth)

Skinning laps at Sunlight with my girl on my back.

Happy girl dressed for the weather.

Mike and Selah skinning and skiing together in the sunny afternoon.

Family hikes (before the snow fell).

Selah conked out in the sling.

Here's what we've been up to the last month and a half...

We went to Iowa and Missouri for Thanksgiving and spent several days with Mike's family. Not just a few people, but 34 people IN ONE HOUSE. And we had our own room to boot! His aunt and uncle have a 6 bedroom, 4 bath house with ample floor space. It was a blast! Selah didn't sleep much, but we relaxed and just enjoyed all the company. One day, the hosts took the entire group of us to Silver Dollar City, their annual tradition. There were rides, deliciously fattening food, old time crafts, it was a fun time. Grandma loved hanging out with Selah!

Lots of lights and throngs of people.

Mike and Marge are waving in the top of the picture. We took turns riding roller coasters and watching Selah.

We got home from Missouri on Sunday night and flew out Friday the same week for the Las Vegas Marathon. It was our second annual and we officially declared the Vegas marathon a Schneiter family tradition. Thankfully, Marge joined us to help with Selah so we could both run. At least she used Selah as an excuse...she had her own great time in the casinos and was out until 2:00am one night! Mike's aunt and uncle from San Diego also came to Vegas to cheer us on and join the fun. Karen and Christopher stayed in the same hotel and spoiled us rotten with meals and more babysitting.

Mike's goal for the race was to break 3:00 and my goal was to be a Boston Qualifier, or 3:40. I'll do a quick race recap for those who care. I was a bit nervous to reach my goal, as 8:25 pace is normally pretty brisk for me and I wasn't sure I could maintain it for 26.2 miles. The race had a wave start and I was supposed to be in the 5th wave. When the first wave went, I was peeing. I finished and rushed to the mob of runners, hopped the fence, and just started with the next wave. I didn't know which wave I was in, so I didn't know my actual starting time (I forgot my watch). So I started running and eventually broke out of the slower mass into a group that felt more my pace. I ran up behind a woman from Boulder and asked her if she wanted to run together. She obliged and we ended up running until the half marathon and marathon courses split, the 10 mile point. We were very excited to be running about 7:45 pace (thanks to her watch!) while having a casual conversation. While I still didn't know exactly where I was overall, I figured I was about 3 minutes behind the pace clocks along the course, meaning I thought I'd started about 3 minutes after the first wave. I was feeling really incredible and when we split, I felt like I could speed up. There were clocks every mile and I was holding pretty steady at 7:45-7:55 pace until mile 18 or so. I then saw my pace slow and did one 8:20 mile (which I later learned was uphill). When I hit the final turnaround at mile 19, I started speeding up again and continued to feel good and break 8:00 pace. I crossed the finish line and the official clock said 3:35. I didn't know what I had really run until Mike's uncle Tom texted Marge--he had been receiving live updates online and knew that my actual time was 3:30:11. I was so excited! I just could not believe I had run 8:01 pace for an entire marathon! Mike was also very happy to tell me that he had run 2:57:46, or 6:47 pace. We won't be running Boston this year but hopefully in 2011.



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Proud marathon finishers.

Margie and I on the Strip.

The next adventure after Vegas was a much needed Christmas and New Year's break. One of the biggest advantages of working in the school system is having the holiday breaks! We all went to Jackson to spend the time with my parents and brother. Dad had a knee replacement a few days after we arrived, so most of his time was spent reclining. However, the time was still wonderful and Selah's smiling face cheered us all up. Mike and I felt like non-parents for a few days--we went to the climbing gym, went skiing together, slept in, etc. Selah also started sleeping through the night while we were there. What a relief! With Reese's encouragement, I put her in a room where I could not hear her for 4 nights in a row. I moved her back to the nearby bedroom on the 5th night and she has slept through since. Before she was getting up at 11pm and again between 2 and 4, sometimes both 2 and 4. Now she sleeps from 7pm to 6 or 7am. I really feel like a new person after sleeping so much over the past weeks. I was starting to fall apart.

My sweet girl loves bath time.

Mike and I were able to backcountry ski together three days in a row. Here I am in the snow cave on top of Mount Glory, above Teton Pass.


Wes joined us as well on Glory. It's so great to have all my family in the same town! Makes holiday travel much easier. Now if we could just get Marge to move to Jackson...



About 12 inches of fresh two days in a row. :)

Dad's couch time was relieved by Selah crawling all over him.

She has discovered pulling things off shelves, namely CD's and books. If you put them away, she comes back and looks around like, "hey, I just spent a lot of energy putting those on the floor!"

My mom blessed us by getting up with Selah in the morning and allowing us to sleep in.

This captures her so well.

Dad, Selah, and our friend Carrie. Carrie is pregnant and due April 16th.

Now we're back at work, enjoying the process of the day to day.