Marienthal 5K

We welcomed St. Patrick's Day Weekend with a 3.1 mile run hosted by the Marienthal Meadowlarks 4-H Club. There were 60 participants ranging in ages from 10 - 60. A little bit of training before hand would have helped but either way we all made it across the finish line. Matt got second in his age group running a time of 31:38 and I got 3rd in my age group with a time of 41:28. We've got plenty of room to improve! We did not keep up with Paul Hartley, my coworker, running a time of 23:45 getting 3rd overall!! Todd Long, Matt's dad, also participated placing in his age group too! All in all, we all did well! I can at least say, running in a 5K is officially off of my Live It List!

Jenny, Matt, and Paul with our metals.

Our official times.

The 3 Long runners!

♥FAMILY♥

Christmas was a little delayed at the Long Residence, waiting for Matt's sister and family to arrive from Africa and his brother to fly in from San Fransisco.  Finally, on January 20 we were all in one place. It was a fast, but still an enjoyable Christmas spending it with Family. We even topped with off with a homemade cream pie.....mmm....mmmmmm.

Building Project Part 2

Where did I leave off???? Oh yeah, the construction of our new shop was about complete in September. All that was left to do was the shop office, bathrooms, and apartments. Below is a quick glance of our progress.

Shop with East door open

Apartment living space above office

With the help of Matt's Uncle Steve we got the 3 rooms framed.

Building office and shop bathrooms

Insulating bathrooms

Metal was added to the exterior walls of the bathrooms

Shop bathroom pretty well complete

Matt's Dad and Uncle Larry painting the living quarters

Matt's Aunt Bonnie painting the stairway

Cleanup Crew - Matt's Mom

 We would not be as far as we are today without the help of Matt's parents and Larry and Bonnie who drove down from Nebraska. Painting was a HUGE task, using about 60 gallons of primer and paint. I am thrilled to say the painting is finally done. Now for the fun part, putting on the final touches....stay tuned.

On the Road Again...

My Grandpa Simon used to say that some people were just born with wheels under their asses, and after the last few months I would believe him.  Just quickly counting I believe we have been on the road 7 of the past 12 weekends, and have plans to travel next weekend also.  I am definitely looking forward to staying home whenever that time comes...

Our latest trip was scheduled around watching the K-State Wildcats play the Oregon Ducks in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl.  Here are just a few pictures we took during our 8 day trip across Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah...

Jenny and I at the Painted Desert

Jenny cruising down Route 66

Petrified Tree / Living Tree

Matt at Crystal Forest

Arizona DOT New Years Warning...

First glimpse of the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

Getting ready to throw a snowball into the biggest hole in the USA.

Sporting the Wildcat at the Grand Canyon.

Flagstaff for New Years Eve.

Preparing for tailgating at the Fiesta Bowl.

Fiesta Bowl 2013

National Anthem before the big game.

Go State!

Jenny Sporting the Wildcat at the 4 Corners Monument.