Witt Family Happenings: November 2013

I am Santa Barbara's #1 fan. It is my favorite place to be. The weather is perfect, I grew up there and my parents still live there, and it's where Kurt and I met. It's definitely a magical place. So you could only imagine my excitement when this past weekend came, because Kurt and I had the chance to go to Santa Barbara. It was a very short trip, but well worth it. The purpose of our little vacation was to go for the Santa Barbara International Marathon, sponsored by The Select Family of Staffing Companies. My ridiculously athletic husband, along with Ryan, Amy, and his dad (who are all incredibly athletic as well) ran in the relay division of the marathon. For any of you who don't know what that even means, let me enlighten you. A marathon is 26.2 miles, and this relay was split into 4 legs. I don't know the exact length of each leg, but it was split (approximately) into a 9 mile, 5 mile, 4 mile, and 8 mile leg (in that order. I can barely even run 2 miles (seriously, that isn't a joke), so I'm already impressed with my sister-in-law, Amy, for running the 3rd leg. Kurt ran the first, my father-in-law Glen ran the 2nd, and Ryan ran the 4th leg. It was an incredible race to watch. Let me give you my [very summarized] play-by-play.

We started off at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta. Kurt started the race, and ended his leg very well. He handed off to Glen, who ran all the way to Foothill Elementary School (right next to my house) and then passed off to my sister-in-law, Amy. My father-in-law ran so well! Amy was flying during her entire leg, and ended her leg on the bike path at Puente, where she passed off to my brother-in-law, Ryan. Ryan completed the hilliest leg of the race, and crossed the finish line at Santa Barbara City College at 2:47:54 [That's 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 54 seconds people!] For those of you who do not run, or do not know what a good time is for a marathon, or even if you do know all of those things, let me tell you...that is a GREAT time. So great that The Pickers (that was their team name) got the fastest relay time and finished in 1st place!!!

What did I do, you may ask? I was the Team Mom pretty much. I drove the mini van, had gatorade and snacks in the car (courtesy of my mom), took a bunch of pictures and cheered for my favorite team. I was their #1 fan, no doubt. But I do give my mom some credit; she was the one ringing the cow bell :)

Since November is a month centered around being thankful, here is a list of things I am more thankful and grateful for since our weekend in Santa Barbara.

- A healthy body (and a healthy husband)

- The athletic abilities that my husband, his family, and I have been blessed with.

- Cars that get us to our destinations safely.

- My family and all they have done for Kurt and me.

- Kurt's family and all they have done for us.

- The fact that my husband and I meet all of our needs and many of our wants.

- Church leaders and teachers who taught me when I lived in Santa Barbara.

- The fact that my husband has a full-time job.

- Gatorade

- Running shoes

- Sunglasses (especially the one's Jenny gave everyone on the relay team)

- Cameras, so I can document important events in our lives

- Food

- Friends, especially those in Santa Barbara who still send their love to us

- Trader Joe's

- Movies, especially Remember the Titans

- Mini vans (including my mom's Pontiac Montana)

- Driving safely, especially when driving through the night

- Heaters

- Homemade meals

There are many more things that I could list, and it would be impossible to list them all. I am so grateful for the chance that I had this weekend to spend time with family and friends and celebrate with them for their success. I am so blessed to have a family that loves me, and a husband who loves me everyday and provides for our needs. I have an incredible husband, family, and friends. We look forward to the next opportunity we have to go back to Santa Barbara and create more memories together.

Here are some pictures from the past weekend! Go Pickers!