irvine lake mud run.

things are getting back to normal. it's weird to think that life just goes on for the family members and friends after a death. in my grandma's case, it was somewhat expected, and it was a good time for her to go. in other deaths, such as my sister's dear friend Brynn, it's different. with something as unexpected and earth-shattering as that, it is difficult to find a balance in missing them, but still trying to be happy, and not feeling guilty for doing fun things. brynn was always so kind to me at school, and other times when amanda and her friends would let me hang out with them. jon and i were in DC when we found out about her accident. i wanted to write about her, but i just wasn't sure what to say. i'm still not sure. i felt guilty in the following days for having a good time on my vacation with jon when she was gone and her friends and family were so broken hearted. my heart still hurts for them, but i hope that they have found some peace since her passing. 

i know that my gran is smiling down and still telling me and my sisters to not cry because it makes her cry. some days are more difficult than others, but i find comfort in that fact that she now knows exactly where i live, what our house looks like, and what i do on an every day basis. and now she doesn't have a difficult time remembering anything. 

(she suffered from Alzheimer's) 

yesterday, jon, wes, alex, and i ran the irvine lake mud run! my cousin, lindsay, lives here in la jolla with her BF, wes. we love having them so close and always enjoy our time spent with them! lindsay and wes are both unbelievably smart. when they aren't being smart talking about doctor/scientist and accounting things, we relate to them pretty well! they love SNL and gourmet soda's just as much as we do. actually, we are planning on brewing our own soda sometime this year...i'll keep you posted. 

alex flew in on tuesday and we've been having tons of fun with him! he is turning into such a cute high school babe. 

 here we are right before the race! lindsay was supposed to run it with us, but she hurt her knee. way sad! instead, she was our photographer. 

(jon bought me that tank top in maine on his way home from afghanistan. isn't that sweet? he gave it to me right when he got off the bus. i don't know why it says what it says.....)

 the race included tons of mud pits, several wall obstacles, a huge water slide that dropped you off into chest deep mud, tire/cargo net obstacles and more mud pits! it was about 3.5 miles. i wish i would have had girlfriends to run with, i felt bad keeping the boys from running their fastest, but it was still really fun! alex had some pretty funny falls, one of which lindsay caught on camera. i hit my knee on a rock in the very first mud pit. i panicked briefly, but it didn't bother me again during the run.

this was the last stretch of the race. 

 all in all, it was a blast! we all agreed that we'd definitely do it again.