Matt is My Hero

In September, Matt ran his third half marathon and ran his personal best. He ran the Park to Park half marathon in Cedar Falls, IA. This race was his first half marathon two years ago, and this year he owned the course with a time of 1 hour 52 mins. Way to go, Matt!


Before the race. He is pumped.



Around mile 3 or 4....




Almost done.

And the strong finish!

First Anniversary

Today is our first wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe we've been married for a year already! Here are a couple favorite photos from our special day - August 9, 2008:

Another Bix 7 in the Books

This past weekend, we traveled to Davenport, IA to run the Bix 7 - one of the country's largest road races covering 7 miles and some pretty severe hills (www.bix7.com). Finishing is definitely an accomplishment you can be proud of.

Jen logged her fourth finish, and Matt ran the race for the third time and finished with his fastest time yet. We had a good time, had a chance to visit with good friends, and are proud of our finishes.

Check out our photos:

www.marathonfoto.com

Select Bix 7 2009 from the drop down menu. Enter our last name and bib numbers. Matt's bib number was 3716 and Jen's number was 3715.

Matt Meets the Ironman

For those of you who don't know Matt very well, he's a bit of a baseball card and memorabilia collector. And for as long as I have known Matt, he has wanted to get Cal Ripken Jr's autograph in person. On Saturday, July 18, 2009 he got his chance!

Matt got Cal to sign and inscribe his jersey, shake his hand, and pose for a photo op! Good day for Matt!

It will only be a matter of time before Matt has his Ripken jersey framed and hanging in the basement next to Brett Favre... What paint color doesn't clash with Packer Green and Oriole Orange?

The Cats are Settling In Too!

Our moms have been asking about their grand-kitties and how they're adjusting to the new surroundings.

As you might have guessed, Tucker is right at home. It didn't take him any time at all to find his way to all of the places he shouldn't be.


Still on top of the cabinets. Why are the bad boys always so stinkin' cute?

Otis was pretty terrified for about the first two days. He wouldn't come out of the basement and even there he spent a lot of time hiding. I think now it's safe to say he's adjusted and doing well in his new home too. He never used to do this....

Tucker had quite the exciting event this weekend. He thought hanging out by the sliding glass door was really fun until he got stuck between the door and the screen! He will do just about anything to try to get outside.

Moving In

We've been living in Cedar Falls for about two weeks and I've been very slow to respond to the requests for photos. Somehow we've stayed very busy but our place still doesn't look or feel "settled" yet. We keep going to stores like Lowes, Home Depot, Farm N' Fleet, Walmart, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, the list goes on. We keep bringing things new things into the house but never seem to get everything put away, because each new project seems to bring a new mess along with it. :-)

Here's a little documentation of some of our progress so far:


Jen on move in day. The contents of all ten of those boxes are supposed to fit in our kitchen?!



Matt's contribution to the unpacking :-)

The seven ton pile of dirt Matt spread around the house to bring up the grading.
Very manly work.

Matt is testing out the newly assembled patio furniture. Next project is the grill!

Other accomplishments include shopping for and purchasing our first lawn mower, assembling shelves for the basement, fixing our washed out flower beds, enhancing Matt's tool collection, and giving him plenty of opportunities to use them.

Jen is also trying to get to know the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area. We've gotten the bikes out and gone exploring on the bike paths near our house a couple of times and even squeezed in a 10 mile training run for the half marathon we'll be running in Green Bay in two weeks (watch for a future post on this)!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Top ten reasons the White Sox game vs. the Jays at US Cellular Field on April 25 was AWESOME:

10. Ball park food.... obviously
9. Fun way to spend Matt's birthday together
8. No rain delays/cancellation even though at times it seemed imminent
7. Good excuse to wear our matching Jerseys.... for some reason, Matt doesn't think it's cool to dress alike any other time
6. Matt's favorite pitcher, Mark Buehrle, started the game
5. Upgraded seats behind home plate - and to keep us dry!
4. Jermaine Dye hits a two-run homer
3. Alexei Ramirez hits a grand slam
2. Matt caught a fly ball (hit by Sox player Josh Field - on his birthday!).
1. White Sox Win! 10-2

Future Homeowners!

Two weeks from today, Matt and I will be homeowners! Here are a couple pictures of our first home in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

More to follow in the coming weeks.

First Time Blogger

Today I started thinking about all of the things that have been keeping Matt and I busy the last year or so... International travel, planning our wedding, getting married, honeymoon in Hawii, moving in together, Matt ran his first marathon, new jobs for both of us, various trips to visit each of our families, fun events with friends, cute stories about our cats Tucker and Otis... The list goes on. And now we're in the process of purchasing our first home and moving from Davenport, IA to Cedar Falls, IA.

I thought a blog might be a fun way to help keep family and friends updated on what's new with the Clairs. I've never blogged before, but I hope I can post with reasonable frequency so check back regularly. If you have any comments or suggestions, please share!

The pictures below are from some recent happenings and give you a sense of what I intend to post in the future.


Maddox family at the 2009 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament

Mud Run in Davenport, IA - Matt, Carlton, Jacque, Jen, Mark

Matt at the top of Haleakala volcano in Hawaii

At a Luao on our honeymoon in Maui

Matt at a White Sox game in 2008

Obligatory wedding photo.... I never get tired of these.

Rose Bowl - New Years Day 2009