I'll get pictures posted when i get them, but yesterday was my cousin Carrie's wedding. It was very beautiful and centered on God. It was incredible and holy because it was their first kiss, and it made me think a lot about my wedding (in the future...) and how that day will be so incredibly glorious and holy because it will be OUR first kiss as well. Just thinking about the glory and purity in that...WOW

Anyway, so today Monz and Lauren and I ran the Missoula Half Marathon at 6AM. I'm so proud of them and I love running with them! It was awesome! And even though my foot was killing me from mile 8 on, it's such a rush to run that far and to FINISH! Woohoo!! And I was gonna put a picture up, but my computer isn't really letting me do that right now, so I'll do it later =) I promise

"I have been blessed

And I feel like I've found my way

I thank God for all I've been given

At the end of every day

I have been blessed

With so much more than I deserve

To be here with the ones that love me

To love them so much it hurts

I have been blessed"

So I wanted to post those lyrics by Martina McBride because they are so true. I have been blessed by God so much!! I need to thank Him more, cause a lot of times I find myself just asking for more, instead of telling Him how He amazes me and thanking Him for my blessings.

Then I was thinking, "Oh it's 4th of July I should do something patriotic" But I didn't want to be just like "everyone else" and get all patriotic for the day. Then another thought ran through my head..."Lauren you should be thankful for your country...it's one of the ways you've been blessed! Don't take it for granted! Today is the perfect time to reflect on your blessings."

So I want to say,

"If tomorrow all the things were gone, I’d worked for all my life

And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife
I’d thank my lucky stars,to be livin here today

‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,and they can’t take that away

And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free

And I wont forget the men who died, who gave that right to me

And I'll glady stand up, next to you and defend her still today

There ain't no doubt, I love this land...

God bless the USA"

Yes, the US is not perfect. But it is a HUGE blessing to live here.

So Monz and I ran 12 miles today!! Woohoo!!

Ok and here's a story from my life:
I went down to see Jason in Florence today and I drove the suburban. He had to go to work (at the Subway down there) so I went with him and hung out there for a while. When I finally left I went out to the suburban. And see, sometime this car has trouble turning over when you start it so you have to try a bunch of times until it engages. Well I turned the key, heard the noise, and the AC and radio came on, so I thought nothing of it. I put the car into reverse, step on the gas, and nothing happens. Hmm... I knew sometimes it gets stuck and it says reverse when it’s still park. So I try a couple more times...nothing. I hop out of the car and go back inside. I tell Jason "Hey I can't get my car into reverse." He was like "are you serious?" and I said "ya." So he comes out to help me. We're walking out the door and he looks at the car and says, "well Lauren did you start it?" I immediately feel like an ultra-blonde sissy girl and grin sheepishly. My Mr. Incredible just hops in the car, turns the key until the engine engages, puts it in reverse, and backs out. As he went inside, I leaned out the window and said, "thanks for starting me car for me!" We both laughed =) I definitely felt like a 4.0 valedictorian! Lol =)

Today I got to spend the day with Monz =) and I loved it because I love her =) And tomorrow morning at 6:30am we're running 12 miles! Cause in two sundays is the half-marathon!! First she bought me an iced latte and then we went to beautiful Hannahs swim meet =) and it was HOT but fun! =) Then we stopped by Bob Wards to say hi to Heidi and then to REI to buy some gel for energy =) GU is the BEST!! (Right Monz? =) Ha ha)

And I'm housesitting out by Lauren Morey, so yesterday it was super fun cause we were just like "Oh lets meet at the corner and go running" so we just stepped out of our houses, met the neighbor's dogs, and ran around the neighborhood! I wish we lived that close all the time!

So...this is my new bike!!! It's a Marin Kentfield FS and it's actually dark gray...it's really sweet!! Thanks so much mom and dad!! And get this...today my dad rode his bike with me while I ran 10 miles along the river and Higgins Ave downtown. It was the first time I've run that far and it was awesome!! I ran it averaging 8:10 minute miles!! I was NOT expecting to run it that fast! And I only took one 30 second water break, otherwise I didn't stop at all!! So that was exciting! But the real exciting part comes when after the run, we stopped at Play It Again Sports to look at the bikes, and that's when I got mine. My dad and I are walking the bike out to the parking lot, and I made the comment about how now when I'm house sitting out there this week I can just ride my bike to work. And he was like "Oh great, you can just ride it home today!!" So AFTER RUNNING 10 MILES, I rode my bike about 5!! But it was fun!! Maybe a triathlon is in my future?!

"If you see the beauty of the rain, you'll always find a rainbow"

This is precious Cora Barnes =) I held her for like 2 hours while she slept and her parents went out on their first "date" since she was born =) She was absolutely perfect!!