Goodbye, Star Valley

These last few weeks I have been doing a lot of walking through my neighborhood and the trails that surround it. It has been pretty nostalgic and I find myself looking back over the past two years of running through these roads.

I never wanted to be a runner, I don't have the body to be a runner, I am not the fastest runner, but about 2 1/2 years ago I set out to run three times a week and little did I know it would start one of the biggest passions of my life. A passion I wasn't asking for but a passion and I definitely needed at the time.  Motherhood was a hard transition for me, I am not the type of person that can be needed 24/7 by somebody else, I need my own time and I need my own goals. I had never not worked and all of a sudden, I found myself at home with a miniature human being who relied on me solely to thrive. I knew that being home with him was best for my family, but I needed to find something to throw myself into. I didn't start running to lose weight or to become a healthier person, I started running to become a better mother.

I know all the mile markers in this neighborhood. When I pass tthe 35 MPH sign know that I've gone 1 mile from my house, when I enter the trail I know that I have a short mile and a half until the end of it. On Mother's Day of last year, I ran one of my fastest 10K races with my best friend by my side, through this neighborhood! I set goals and I crushed those same goals, all in this neighborhood. When I was caught in a downpour, I went to visit the fire station for shelter and for a Ziploc bag to keep my phone dry. When I was out of water on a day that turned out to be a bit hotter than I expected, I stopped by Lisa and Jay's house so they could fill up my water bottle. This past New Year's eve, I went on a run with my sisters and we laughed and joked the whole way. Something that I never thought would happen! Imagine that, it is possible to run and talk at the same time! There were a lot of early morning and late night runs in the dark training for my Ragnar midnight run. And trust me a lot of jumps along the way. It all happened in this neighborhood, where Ryan and I bought our first house, welcomed our first baby, and found out that we would be moving to Japan.

Lots of stroller miles logged on these roads!

Mother's Day 10k with Briana!

While discovering my passion for running, I also finally realize that running is about so much more than the actual exercise. It's about meeting people that you have something in common with. It's about finding mom's that need someone to talk to you just like you do. And most importantly it's about showing yourself that you can do so much more than you ever thought possible. Who would have thought that I would be the type of person who looks for a running group to join in my new country, before my house was even packed? It is wild and I can not wait to get back into it. 

Goodbyes can be sad. Especially when you have no idea if you will ever visit this area again. But, I can't wait to set new goals and crush them. I can't wait to meet new running friends, and call my friends back here and share the goals of overcome. I am so excited to look out at the ocean as I can run, what a difference from having to watch my step for snakes and cacti! There have been some tears on my walks, yes, but there have also been so many smiles and so many laughs thinking about everything that I did throughout the streets and the trails of Star Valley! 

Thank you, Arizona for the memories! 

Wow! It's been a long time....

Wow! It has been SOOO long since I have done a blog post and I am so sorry. I had the best of intentions to keep up the blogging, do lots of "second baby" prep work and just be overall really active on social media this summer. Alas, that did not happen.

A few things play into this, the first being that we listed our house back in July. At the time, we were thinking it was a good time to sell and to "get ready" for orders that may or may not come this year. Getting a house ready to sell is a lot of work, doing that work pregnant and with a 3 year old running around is near impossible. Since our house is still relatively new, it was some cosmetic and cleaning up work that we had to do. I am happy to report that after a month and a half on the market, we are under contract and awaiting our closing date, keep your fingers crossed!

Second was the fact that being pregnant while raising a toddler is HARD. I worked full time while I was pregnant with Luke, but this pregnancy has been some of the most tiring and draining days I have ever had. Ok, so Luke has slept really well for the past 2.5 years (like, really well) so I am not use to going on little sleep, but the naps that I have been taking during this pregnancy are epic. So good that there are many days where Luke wakes me up and let's me know that it is time for "Fireman Sam." I have gained more weight than I wanted to, but am still really active and getting in some good workouts at least 3 times a week so that is a plus. All in all, I am healthy, baby girl is healthy and Luke is still beyond excited about the addition so there is not much more I could want. 

The military is funny because things can happen rather quickly. Sometimes you have an idea that something is coming and sometimes you have no idea. We have been trying to move for about two years now, not because we don't love Tucson, but because one of the benefits of living this military lifestyle is that you get the chance to live in places you would never have even thought about living. You can raise your kids in another country, you can live in a state that was never even on your radar (hello, Arizona) and you get to do it all while having some job security. Some may not agree but for us, those experiences is a huge reason we decided to make this a full career for Ryan.

So, when he received the email that we were headed to Kadena AFB we were thrilled! That's right in one month we will be headed to Japan to live for 4 years. Crazy, right?! We took a few days to process the information before telling anyone. We knew our family would have mixed emotions and honestly, we had mixed emotions. They wanted us there in November which was a few weeks before my due date, we hadn't sold our house, our dog would be no where near her finishing her quarantine period by the time we would arrive and most importantly this was a HUGE move. I also took a LONG time to announce to the blogging world our big move. This was for a lot of reasons.  Things can always change in the military and mainly I was so busy and focused on getting everyone and everything ready for this move that it left very little time to do much of anything else. 

On average you get 6-8 months to prepare for a move this big, we got a 2.5 month notice. There are medical things to do beforehand, there are passports to get, there is lots of money and lots of vet appointments involved to get your dog ready for the island and then throw in the fact that I am pregnant and we had to keep the house ready for showings. It was a wild month of July and August but I am happy to report that the house is under contract and the we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. In fact the movers are here right now packing up all, OK half of our stuff, for the big move.

This blog has been so important to me for the past year and half. I kept it going through a 4 month deployment, which is a huge feat in itself, and I have been so happy to see how the recipes and the stories have helped people. I will continue to blog. Yes, you may see more traveling and military lifestyle posts, but I hope you stick around to see our life and adventures in Okinawa. The next few months will be sporadic posts, since I won't have my computer, we will be in the process of traveling to Japan and well, don't forget about baby #2 that will come a short month and half after we arrive on island. I have SO much I want to share with all of you about this process, and I have a few posts in the works, but for now I am excited to showcase the freezer meals that I have been preparing for the time we will be in the house with no household goods before we leave AZ. Every day next week, I will showcase a recipe on my Instagram account. So make sure to follow along if you are planning a move or need some "Back to School" inspiration!

Also make sure to follow along on this crazy journey, using #NYEfamilymovestoJAPAN!

さようなら

Sayōnara

Freezer-Friendly Pizza Penne

Admittedly, it has been awhile! And for that I am SO sorry. But, look to the blog next week for a little 'life lately" and you will see why I have had to take a small break from blogging! I am bringing back my Pizza Penne, because it is crazy simple for those Back to School nights. The best part is that this recipe is written for TWO dinners, enjoy one the night of and freeze one for those hectic Fall nights! 

This recipe makes 2 full dinners, so make one for tonight and save one to freeze. I did not add in any veggies into this recipe, but feel free to add away. We served ours with a nice summer salad, so our veggies were taken care of for the day!

Pizza Penne Cassserole

Ingredients:

1 package of Whole Wheat Penne pasta (about 15 oz)

3 cups of my homemade spaghetti sauce (or one can of sauce)

3 cups of mozzarella cheese

1 package of pepperoni, sliced into small pieces

1 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 cup of panko bread crumbs 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°

Cook pasta to al dente, about 8-9 minutes. When cooked drain water and rinse with cool water to cool down the noodles. 

Mix in all the sauce, 2 cups of the mozzarella, pepperoni, and ½ of the Parmesan cheese. 

Dump pasta into two well greased 8x8 pans. Top with the remaining cheeses and panko bread crumbs. Making sure to divide the contents evenly between the two dishes. 

Set one aside to cool down so you can freeze.
The other casserole will cook for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.
 The last minute turn on broiler to low and place directly under heat, this will brown the bread crumbs. 

Reheating Directions:

If completely frozen, keep covered and cook for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes, using the last minute to brown the bread crumbs under your broiler. 

This will keep in your freezer for 3-4 months. 

Happy freezing,