Happy Holidays from the (Kent) Heiners

Hello Everyone! I decided to save a few trees by doing our annual family letter online rather than printing them out and mailing them in our Christmas cards. So, here's what our family looks like:

Pictured left to right: Emily, 9; Cara; Ella, 19mos; Rachel, 3; Kent; Christopher, 7.

We've had a good year this year! In February, Kent and I took Emily and Christopher to Disneyland (see blog about that trip below). In March, I was the judges coordinator for the WIAA State Dance/Drill Championship. It was a good weekend for dance/drill teams in WA. In April, Ella turned 1 year old.

Over the summer, two of my brothers got married. Jason in July and Sean in August.

In September, Emily and Christopher started school at a new school because of some boundary re-alignments. They also started taking Tae Kwon Do from our local YMCA.

Emily is in 4th grade right now and is an excellent reader. She has already earned enough reading points to qualify for the spring readers field trip. Emily's favorite book series is the Harry Potter series (taking after her mom) she's almost read all 7 books twice. Both Emily and I are looking forward to the 6th Harry Potter movie coming out in July next year.

Christopher started 2nd grade this year. He's adjusting well to his new school. Social skills are still really difficult for him, but we think we're finally getting somewhere. He has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome which is a high functioning form of Autsim. Those are big scary words. Life is definitely a challenge for him and us, but he's very talented. He recently is infactuated with the piano. He has a very good ear and enjoy's playing songs by ear. Some of his favorites to play right now are "Called to Serve" (from the LDS Hymn book), "Silent Night", "Frosty the Snoman" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". His music teacher at school has taught the students how to begin to read music and Christopher is really picking up on it quickly. He started out just playing the melody of the songs, but is now working on picking out harmony notes with both hands. I think this is a talent we will continue to explore!!!

Rachel is 3 and full of attitude. She's fun and has a beautiful smile. She started a co-op type pre-school this year and is really enjoying herself. She likes to dance, color and play on the computer. This coming January she'll graduate from nursery at church and move into primary. I don't know how she'll like that because she LOVES nursery!

Ella will be 20 months old at the end of the month. She is so cute! She started nursery at church and now I'm free during the last two hours of church! Ella has quite the vocabulary and is talking in full sentences. We've lately been keeping track of the "cute thing Ella did today" because it happens almost on a daily basis. One example: I called upstairs to Ella and asked her to come downstairs so we could pick up Rachel. Ella said, "Okay, Mommy. I coming." She did this several times as she came down the stairs. Another example: Ella brought a dress up dress to me to have me help her put it on. After the dress was put on she said while pointing to herself, "I cute."

Kent has enjoyed working at AT&T Mobility. He recently started a new position with the company that gives him access to more databases, which gives him more job security. He enjoys working with his new team and likes his new boss. He also has resurrected his interest in playing the guitar. He's also discovered Facebook (both Kent and I are on there), and is enjoying finding long lost friends.

As for me, I've become a running fiend. I finished my first full (all 26.2 miles) marathon in Seattle on November 30th. It was one of the toughest things I've ever done...and guess what...I'm going to do it again. I will probably do another full marathon in June. I'm looking for a couple of half marathons to do as well. You can read more on some of the races I've done this year on the blogs below. I'm still the president of the dance/drill judges association I belong to. I really like judging, it's fun.

Life is pretty busy for us all, but overall life is good. We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. Stay safe and healthy!!!

Much love!

I'm not good at keeping up with the blog thing...

So, I've been pretty deliquent in keeping up and realized that I haven't blogged about the 1/2 marathon I ran on Labor Day last month.

Here's a pic or two.

The first picture is at the end of the run and the second picture is about half-way through. The last three miles were the toughest, but I got it done in 2 hours and 17 minutes.

I'm still in training for the Seattle Marathon (full) for Sunday, Nov. 30. The long runs are tough, but I still feel confident that I'll be able to be successful in completing the marathon.

I love running...I'm addicted to endorphins. It's amazing how exercise can really help your mood.

Hmmm...I think that's about it...perhaps the next time I'll try to get some updated photos of the kids here for those of you who'd like to see them.

Til next time...

Ragnar Relay - Northwest Passage 2008

Run. Drive. Sleep? Repeat.

Get 12 crazy runners. Pile them into two vans. Load up some pillows, sleeping bags, Gu, water and food. And run for almost 30 hours. Sounds like fun??? We thought so!

On July 25-26, I participated in the Ragnar Relay. I was runner number 1 and my three legs of the relay totalled 17.8 miles. My first let was a flat 10k (6.2 miles) and began at 10am. Beautiful weather...not too hot...not too cold. My second leg started around 8pm (the reflector vest pic is me before the run). That one had a pretty good size hill to begin with and then went flat. It was my shortest run at 3.8 miles.

My third leg began at 5:40am (with only three hours of broken sleep crashing in a chair with an ottoman against it). This was a "brutal" (as my teammate Tara would say) one. Lots of tough hills. The last mile began at sea level and then rose to 241 feet above sea level. Did I mention it was 7.8 miles???

Our team finished the 184 miles from Blaine to Langley, WA in just under 29 hours. We had teammates running all night long!!! I tell ya...this seems like a totally sane thing to do until you see a bunch of crazy runners with head lamps and reflector vests running in the middle of the night. :)

I will definitely do this again next year. Anyone game????

Runnin Runnin - in

Hey all...

Just an update on how crazy of a runner I am. So, I ran a 10k (6.2 miles) last week and got it done in 1 hour and 2 minutes. YEAH!!!!

I've been running about 30 miles or so per week and it feels really good. The longest I've run so far is 9 miles. I'm looking for a 1/2 marathon to do before I run the full one in November. I will probably do that in September.

Honestly, the real reason I chose to run a marathon is so I'd have something to help me lose weight. I've lost 38 pounds since November. (Weight Watchers has helped as well.) Running has become a great way for me to relieve stress and I love the feeling of accomplishing so difficult.

Other things not related to running.....I'm doing some painting in our home. I finally convinced Kent to get a couch, so we bought a sectional and it will be delivered within the next week or so. I'm very exited to own a significant piece of furniture that was not handed down or bought at a garage sale. :)

It's actually been nice having Emily and Christopher home from school this week. They've been really helpful. It's nice having older kids that are reasonably responsible. Rachel is potty training...I hate that job, but it's going smoother this time around. Ella's new word is "mine". She learned that from Rachel.

That's about it for now.

Two Brothers...In Love

Hello...

I have two brothers getting married this summer. Jason is engaged to Laura Pugmire and will be getting married on July 19th and Sean is engaged to Danelle Primavera and will be getting married on August 16th!

I'm so excited for both of them and I know they'll be very happy.

FYI...I love Jane Austen!!!

Take the Quiz here!

For all of you who love reading Jane Austen...this is a fun quiz.

The Year So Far...

So, in January I turned 32 and threw myself a birthday party. It was fun. Kent, my husband, also surprised me with tickets to see David Lanz (a pianist that I've enjoyed for years). He happened to be playing at the Arlington HS performing arts center (totally obscure) and we had 3rd row tickets. It turns out that David Lanz's dad lives in Arlington, WA, so that's why he was performing there.

In Februrary, Kent and I left Rachel and Ella with my mom for a week and took our two oldest, Emily and Christopher, to Disneyland. We had a wonderful time. The first day there, for about an hour I was holding back the tears. Disneyland holds a very special place in my heart (since I was born in Hollywood and went there lots as a kid). To bring my kids to my most favorite place in the world was such a wonderful experience. A few of my favorite moments: Talking with Snow White and she asks me "Does anyone ever tell you that you look like me?" I told her that people have been saying that my whole life and that's why she's my favorite princess. Here's a picture

It's a good thing that I don't have an evil step-mother...don't ya think? Another favorite moment was when Christopher and Emily were getting their picture taken with Goofy. Christopher being his anxiety disorder and a little autistic self would have reacted totally differently a few years eariler to this picture (below), but this time he just stood there and thought it was so funny!!!

okay...sorry it's sideways...

We also went to the Disney Princess celebration dinner in California Adventure. It's was so great! Here's a picture of Emily's face when she saw Belle enter the room. :)

So Fun!!!

Christopher loves thrill rides (he went on Space Mountain 5 times) and he loves to dance like his mom. Emily was a trooper and went on all the rides even if she didn't like them.

In March, I was very busy with dance/drill judging stuff (actually I've been busy with that stuff since April last year). I'm the president of the Washington State Spirit Judges Association and I was the Judges Coordinator for the state championship. I was awarded the WA State Coaches Assocation "Judge of the Year" award, which was nice, but I definitely don't do what I do to get awards.

An update on my marathon training...I was sidelined by a knee injury due to overuse in December and January. Had to do several sessions of physical therapy. I'm back on track and I have decided to run in the Seattle Marathon instead of the St. George Marathon now. The Seattle Marathon is on Sunday, November 30th. I'm able to run 5 miles in 55 minutes...and it's actually easy to do. I've also had to increase my speed on my "rest" days when I run 3 miles because my heart rate wasn't getting up to where I need it to be so I can continue to lose weight. So, I'm running 3 miles in 30 minutes. Whoo Hoo!!! Since November I've lost 28 pounds. Feels good.

Cara is....

So, I'm a runner, an Aunt, a sister, a mom, a daughter, a dancer, a reader...the list goes on.

I've decided to run the St. George Marathon this year. It's on October 4th. This is something that's on my "To Do Before I Die" list. Let's just hope it's not the item that kills me. :)

My sister had a baby on Dec 21st. It's hard to believe my youngest sibling is now a mom. Welcome to the world little Lily!!!

I have three brothers and I hope that they know how proud I am to be able to say that I'm their older sister. All three of these guys are great catches. They are incredibly talented and I love them dearly.

My kids are not driving me as nuts as last time. Things are going quite well. Life...is good.