The Duke and Covered Bridges

On the way back to Kansas City, Christina and I decided to venture off the normal route to see the covered bridges of Madison County in Winterset. This only took us an extra 30 minutes, so it was totally worth it! We were both super excited to find out that not only were there covered bridges to see, but Winterset is also the birthplace of John Wayne! We couldn't pass up an opportunity to stop and see that! 

Unfortunately the site was closed because it was Easter Sunday, but that didn't stop us from snapping some pictures! 

We stopped to see Cedar Bridge, which was just two miles off of Highway 92.

 Of course I made Christina pose for a few pictures!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day!

Amazing Family Friends

Most people are blessed to have extended families that surround them with love. My family also has an extended family of friends who have been part of the Ryu family for longer than I have been alive. Friends who have seen my parents through dating, marriage, the birth of their children, family vacations and a major move. Even more importantly, they have been there for me, Jennifer, and Juliette through the deaths of both of our parents - always providing support and open arms. We are truly blessed to have the Lavelle family in our lives!

They were kind enough to invite me up to for Easter weekend and I was thrilled to head up to Iowa City! I haven't been back there since November 2011. We had such a wonderful time and it was wonderful to see not only Uncle Bill and Aunt Loretta, but also Megan and Colleen!

These ladies are amazing! 

     
My friend, Christina, and I departed Missouri on Friday morning and headed up to Iowa City. After a lot of catching up and a wonderful dinner, we drove to Coralville to visit some other family friends who have also been wonderful to us all these years. It was great to see Aunt Karen and Uncle Jim!  

Saturday morning, Colleen convinced me to run 9 miles with her! It was a gorgeous day and Christina and Aunt Loretta also went for a walk. After a nice lunch and a much needed nap, Megan, Christina and I headed to the cemetery to visit my parents. Upon Jen's request, I brought Johnnie Walker Black for dad and Tequila for mom! It was the only way to properly honor them ;-) Had a wonderful visit with them and was grateful for the company of amazing friends.

After we returned, we had yet another amazing dinner! This time we were joined by Megan's two lovely daughters, Amira and Shea! Uncle Bill grilled tenderloin wrapped in bacon...almost enough to make me want to stop being a vegetarian! Aunt Loretta sure knows how to make cooking look easy! Every meal she made was delicious! 

What a beautiful smile!!!

Colleen got Shea to give her a massage after her long run and bike ride!  

This girls has boundless energy! 

During the trip, I was introduced to the great game Banana-Grams!!!  So much fun! After dinner, we all sat down to play a few rounds!

On Sunday morning, Colleen woke me up bright and early for a lovely 5-mile run. It was beautiful out and I was thrilled to see that the Easter Bunny (aka Christina) had visited while I was out!  

All dressed up for church!

After our run, we cleaned up and headed to church. Afterwards, we returned to have a delicious brunch and spend our last few hours together. 

I'm pretty sure Amira is beating her dad here! 

The Lavelle women hard at work!

Colleen, super tired after slaving away in the kitchen all morning...

Ajax, looking quite dashing on Easter morning!

And last but DEFINITELY not least, my dad's best friend. My dad's brother. Uncle Bill. Quite possibly the most generous and loving man that I know. It was so wonderful to see you all!

Signs of Spring

After a long, and very cold, winter in Kansas, I am thrilled to see signs of spring all around! On Saturday we went on a walk down Broadway (the same street from my fall pictures) and snapped some pictures of the beautiful flowers that have started blooming. Even better, on Friday, I actually got to bike outside! First outdoor ride of the year and it was great. 

Happy Birthday Jen!

Since we cannot be together for our birthday, I wanted to let you know how lucky I am that I have the best twin sister ever! I am so grateful for your friendship each and every day! You are an amazing sister, wife, mother, and friend! I cannot wait to see you (and the rest of the girls) for girls' weekend!    

Yes, I love you, even if you used to be a window-licker!

The classy Jen!

The super-fun Jen!

And my favorite - Mommy Jen!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! (don't worry, next year we will be an odd number of years old)

Getting Back into It

Although the Marine Corps decided to delay the requirement for females to do pull-ups for another year, I am still working to be able to get 8 for this year's PFT. Backtrack for a second - I could do 10 pull-ups (dead hangs) when I finished my last deployment in August 2012....then I came home and got LAZY!  I broke my foot in January 2013, which would have been a perfect time to get them back - hey, I couldn't run - but nope, I used that as a reason (aka excuse) to do NOTHING. Then came school in July 2013. I arrived in Kansas with great intentions to incorporate workouts into my daily schedule. However, with school requirements and working on my thesis, I kept finding reasons to do nothing. So, now we have arrived in March 2014 and I'm all ready to get back on track!

Through talking to lots of people, I've realized that there are at least a hundred different ways to train for pull-ups. They all contradict one another, so you have to find one that works for you. So, after talking to someone who has been lifting weights and doing strength training for 25 years, I've committed to doing pull-up training only ONCE per week - does that sound crazy?

As of last Monday, I can do 2 strict dead hang pull-ups. On Monday, I will head back into the gym and see where I'm at this week. Here's the plan -

1) Start with as many strict dead hangs as I can do (goal is to always do one more than last week)
2) Do weight-assisted pull-ups until total muscle failure
3) This week I'm incorporating bent-over rows

Fingers-crossed I'll be at 8 by the PFT in May!