Life is Beautiful

Christmas Pictures 2011

2012-02-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

I never got around to posting the pictures from Christmas, so here they are finally. Nothing much, just a couple. We were having too much fun to remember to take all the pictures. I have to say that this Christmas was the best one I can ever remember having. It was just a day filled with fun & love. We loved the Church program, and had a great time just hanging out together.

Here is Sophie as Mary, we did a little Nativity on Christmas Eve

James and Harrison playing beyblades. I think they got 5 each, so they spent almost the entire day battling.

Believe it or not, but that gun was the most expensive gift we got any of our kids. The only reason Harrison got it is because it was the only thing he had on his list. He didn't care about getting anything else, just that gun. Sophie likes it just as much as he does though.

Opening her dress up clothes and princess doll. She loves that dress.

And here she is with Harrison's gun. She plays with it more than he does I think,

James got Sophie the Zhu Zhu pet. We told her NOT to put in near her hair. Couple hours later...hair in wheels. Yeah, I had to cut it out. It was stuck.

And we started a tradition of letting the kids sleep down by the tree on Christmas night. They loved it. Watched a movie together and slept in the glow of the Christmas tree lights.

This happened a couple days after Christmas but I thought I would post it on here anyway. Harrison and Sophie love to play Make-Up. Meaning, they get markers out and draw all over their faces and eyes.

This is quite possibly the cutest picture I have ever seen.

Good pals.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the eyelashes. I don't know how Harrison got her to hold so still to draw those things, but I love that he did that. Funny funny kids.

January Randomness

2012-01-23T18:42:00.001-08:00

Back to my usual posts!

Okay, so what the heck has even happened. The kids had a 3 day week at school, which made the week go super fast. Also, both of the boys had field trips that week. For those of you that have never been here. We live in Orlando, but we live in a little charming little community in the middle of it.

Our Neighborhood

We have a little grocery store, bank, gas station, YMCA, little shops, a bakery, cafe's, restaurants...all within a short walking distance. So on Tuesday we walked from the school to the "downtown" area to walk around the town. We went to the grocery store, publix, and the kids got a tour. It was great fun. They showed the kids how they grind meat, they decorated a cake for them and then gave it to them. They made them chicken, it was awesome. Harrison had a lot of fun and liked being the leader with his mom.

Then the next day we had James' field trip. We went to the bank, the bakery, the coffee shop, then played kickball at the park with all the kids. It was such a fun day with James. He and I were running the kickball game and it was fun to cheer on his class and get to know all his friends. He has a friend, jonathon, who is the biggest tease I have ever met. He is hilarious. We all laughed and laughed with him. I'm glad James has such a fun friend. Oh funny random conversation I had with my kids.

Me: Harrison who did you play with today?
Harrison: um no one wanted to play with me today.
James: Harrison you can play by yourself you know. That's what I do when my friends are gone. I just go out to the field, find a spot of dirt and pretend to play beyblades.

My kids are amazing.

Anyways, back to that amazing week.We spent Friday at the beach and it was fabulous. We met friends there, the kids played, we chatted, and just had a wonderful time together. Then Saturday I went for a 10 mile run with a friend and thought I was going to die! My legs we just dead. Nothing left in them, I struggled the entire way. Bleh. Since then I have run a couple of 8 milers and it hasn't gotten any better. So I just stopped running, and have been biking. That is all though. The marathon is in a few days...I'm probably going to die, but whatevs.... I have to be done in under 4 hrs though so I can still make it to church. That'll get me to the finish line. :)

Speaking of church, I got a new calling this week as well. I knew I was getting a new calling, but I didn't know what it was. That's what happens when your husband is the executive secretary . It drove me crazy that he knew what they were calling me to and I had no idea. Anyways. I am right back where I was a year ago. First counselor in the relief society, which in this ward, is over the activities. I was so excited! Very happy about it. Can't wait to serve the women in this ward and get them together.

James and Harrison both got their report cards last week and I was so impressed. James made the honor roll and Harrison has improved since the last grading period. Still struggles in the reading area, but he is rocking the math. He is so smart with numbers. It amazes me. But he can't read to save his life. Oh well, he'll catch on, I know he will. To celebrate we went with our good friends, the Hillis' for some frozen yogurt and then off to chic fil-a for some chicken nuggets and play time at the play place. We all had a great time.

At some point we made it over to Hollywood studios, I am thinking we did that on Saturday. But we had so much fun together. James and I went on the Rockin' Roller Coaster and I LOVE that coaster. It is by far the funnest one Disney has. James and I always have fun together there. THen we made it on over to the Magic Kingdom where I finally got Harrison to go on Splash Mountain! He is terrified of most of the coasters and will not go on them. But with a little bribery (chocolate) he went, and he loved it! as soon as we were done he wanted to go again. I was so excited. Ben and I want to get a babysitter for Sophie and just take the boys sometime so we can all go on the big rides together. I think that would be great fun.

Another thing we have been doing this month is...date nights with the kids. I have already mentioned it but it has been fabulous. Sometimes I just want the kids in bed but they look forward to it so much and they love doing any little thing with us. I love it. This week I made sugar cookie dough, we rolled it out, painted it with food coloring and cooked them up. They loved that. Harrison even made one for his true love, Carly.

Oh man, that Harrison is in serious love with this girl. He writes her notes constantly. I feel a little bad for her and her parents because he gets a little crazy about it. THe other day we were walking home from school and he brought home a note she had written. He then told me he wrote her lots of notes. James then piped in "Harrison are THOSE the notes you wrote her?" And across the street was Carly and her dad walking home from school with a huge stack of notes in hand. Seriously, it was a ton. harrison said "yep, those are my notes!" he was so proud. Cute lovey little boy. When he loves, he loves big.

Hmm, what else..oh yes...can I say how much I love having good friends. I have a friend here, Amy Hillis who makes me laugh every time I am with her. She is so much fun and I just love being around her, you can't help but be in a good mood when you are with her. We work out together twice a week but I wasn't able to make it this week. So I told her to just come on over and hang out after she was done at the gym. So she did. And we just sat and laughed and chatted while I made banana bread. We had such a fun time and I was just reminded how grateful I am for good friends who make our lives complete and fun.

Okay, I think that is all for now. I started writing this post like 3 weeks ago and just never finished it. So here it is finally. I will try and post again next week to report on my pathetic race this weekend. Oh man I am DOOMED!!!!

Loves!

Healthy Recipes

2012-01-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

So I have had a few requests for different healthy recipes and such. So I am just posting it on the blog rather than emailing each individual. Awesome blog post I know. ;)

First off, these are my favorite sources of PROTEIN

Jenni-O Extra Lean Ground Turkey (comes in a 20 oz package)
Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt. I really like the Chobani brand, but the Dannon isn't bad either.
Chicken Breast. Just a plain old Chicken breast. (put it in a salad or something)
Canned Tuna (does it get any simpler?)
Canned Chicken
Premier Protein Shakes Vanilla or Chocolate (you get these at Costco I think it is $18 for 24 of them. They are great to just stack up in the fridge and grab right after a workout or if you have no time for bfast)
Salmon
Tilapia or any white fish
Pork Roast
Fat free Feta Cheese (so yummy on crackers or on salads)
Deli Turkey
Fat Free Cottage Cheese (add some fruit in there, berries, even frozen ones are good)
Beans (black, kidney etc)
Nuts (Cocoa roast almonds are the bomb, they even come in little 100 cal packs)
Pumpkin seeds
Quinoa (also a grain!)
Smuckers Natural creamy Peanut Butter
Turkey Bacon
Turkey Sausage
Lean thick red juicy Steak. Yep, gotta have me some red meat sometimes!
Jenni-O Extra lean Turkey Burgers (Costco also sells a huge pack of turkey burgers, Kirkland brand, very tasty too)
Pre Marinated Chicken breasts (I have found these at both Walmart and Target. THey usually Lemon pepper, tomato basil, or just seasoned. They are great to just cook up and have a side of rice and lots of veggies. quick meal)

Favorite GRAINS

*one thing to remember with grains. always check the label. There is typically a whole grain image on there that will tell you how many grams of whole grains are in there. Also check the nutrition information. Low sugar, like 1 gram. high protein, and most definitely high fiber. If it has all those, it's a winner.

Thomas Multi-Grain Light High Fiber English muffins.
Whole Wheat bread. Check the label, make sure you are getting some protein as well as fiber in there, if not get another bread.
Wild Rice
Brown Rice
Whole Wheat Bagel (again check the label, low or no sugar, decent protein and fiber)
Quinoa
Whole Wheat, High fiber Tortillas. I cannot remember the brand name for these. But they sell them at Costco & they are about 100 calories each. Awesome.
Whole Wheat or Multi Grain Pita Pockets
Kashi Original cereal. Has great protein as well as fiber
Whole Grain cream of wheat. Not just regular cream of wheat, whole grain. check the label.
Oatmeal, always a winner.
9 grain cereal. My favorite carb load 24 hrs before a marathon.

VEGETABLES & FRUITS

Please know that HALF your meal, each and every one, should be from this category. Green and colorful are usually best. It doesn't need to be complicated. I often get the steam in the bag broccoli, or green beans. Frozen peas are great. Yellow squash and zucchini steam really fast. Baby carrots are great, no chopping, just cook them up. Brussel sprouts, asparagus, avocados. They sell bags of already chopped up cauliflower and broccoli which makes for great snacks. The mini red yellow and orange peppers are delicious and sweet and are great to munch on. Make salads, not with iceburg. any other lettuce, is great. Spinach is my fav.
Fruits: Blueberries, Raspberries, strawberries, bananas, apples, oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, grapes, mangos, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe etc. All yum. Add fruit to your salads too, so good.

SPINACH SHAKE

Few handfuls of ice
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (35 cal a cup)
1-2 tablespoons natural peanut butter (smuckers is my favorite, only 1 g sugar, look for brands with low sugar)
1/2 - 1 banana1 scoop protein powder. (my favorite is Jillian micheals vanilla whey powder but any flavor brand will do)
A bunch of raw spinach leaves. I put in a couple cups at least.Blend it all up and enjoy!
Note: when I make the smoothie I only put in one tablespoon of peanut butter, but I put in the entire banana. Ben puts in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, but only half the banana. Do what you like best.

SOFT TACOS

20 oz Jenni-o extra lean ground turkey
2 Green peppersOnion
1 can Black or kidney beans
Taco seasoning
Chobani plain no fat yogurt (a great sour cream substitute)
Salsa
Lettuce, tomatoes
High fiber, low calorie tortillas (you can usually find some that are under 100 cal. ea.)

Brown meat with onions, add peppers. Cook for a few more minutes. Add taco seasoning, beans and some water. Let simmer for a few minutes. (whatever the taco seasoning packets says)Fill tortillas with meat, top with yogurt, salsa and veggies.

*you can also use this recipe with a pork roast. Just put the pork roast in the slow cooker in the morning, put the taco seasoning in there with a very little water and let it cook the day away.

SPINACH BERRY CHICKEN SALAD

2 Cooked chicken breasts (even boiled is fine)
Strawberries
Blueberries
any sort of nut (optional)
Spinach
Romaine Lettuce
Light Poppyseed dressing (Panera sells a great one, only 15 cal a serving)

Chop everything on up and toss together. you can also add Bleu or Feta cheese if you want. Heck, throw some apples in there too. It's a salad, do whatever you want.

WILD RICE

I know, a recipe for wild rice. Just a tip really, not a recipe. Instead of boiling the rice in butter and water. skip or half the butter and boil it in chicken broth. It will come out with a great flavor and won't need anything else to make it edible. Also know that wild rice take a good 50 min to cook. Just warning you.

EGG WHITE OMELETS

Eggs whites (how ever many you want)
Peppers
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Turkey Bacon

Whip up the egg whites, spray the griddle. pour the whites on. Use your spatula to scoop the egg whites into a nice shape. once slightly cooked through all your goods on one side. Let it cook for a minute, then fold the other side over everything. Let it continue to cook for a couple minutes then enjoy! You can either cook the bacon beforehand and add to your omellete, or you can cook it on up after and enjoy by itself. Just a little more protein. Also know that the egg whites are a little harder to keep together (I often have scrambled eggs by the end, still tastes great) But if you add one whole egg to your whites they will hold together much better. Just sayin.

TURKEY BURGERS

Turkey Burgers (either Jenni-o extra lean, or Kirkland brand from Costco)
season with some chili powder or whatever sounds good to you. Seasoned salt etc.
Avocados, or wholly guacamole
lettuce, tomato
light ranch (Bolthouse has new yogurt ranch sold in the produce section, it is great. 45 cal a serving)
Whole wheat Hamburger buns

Toast buns, spread on the ranch. Top burger with guacamole, lettuce and tomato..YUM!

SWEET POTATO FRENCH FRIES

(go along great with turkey burgers)

Wash sweet potatoes. (about 2) You can either peel them or not, whatever you want.
Slice up to french fry size. Put in bowl, cover with about 1-2 TB Olive oil. As little as you can get away with. Stir around until evenly coated.
Then shake on some seasoning. I put... A lot of chili poweder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne for some kick.
Stir around until everything is once again, evenly coated.
Line large cookie sheet with foil.
Spread fries on sheet so they are in a single layer, they won't cook well if they are ont top of each other.
Cook at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes stirring once. Keep on eye on them and adjust time to how crispy you like your fries. So stinkin good and good for you.

*my sister made these and did not like the sogginess of the french fries. I am not chef and don't know how to fix the problem, lower temp, longer cooking perhaps? Not sure. The flavoring of these things are fantastic, but they don't always come out super crispy (they aren't fried.....)

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE YOGURT

Sounds bad for you huh?
1/3 C. Chobani Fat Free Plain Greek yogurt
1/2 TB Peanut butter
Something chocolate. I have used: plain cocoa powder (needed to add a little bit of a banana to sweeten it) hot cocoa powder, chocolate protein powder.
Stir it all up until smooth and enjoy and know that it isn't horrible for you.

Rock Star- Kick Trash- Best Post Long Run- CHILI EVER

Let me share a quick story with you. My bros and sis were training for a marathon together. We wanted to run a 19 miler together, and the only time we could go was at night. We all went together and didn't get home until close to midnight. It was a fabulous run and we all had a great time. My bro and I were so tired, he just crashed on my couch and I died in my bed. I was soooo tired. But I could NOT sleep. I sat there, and all I could think about was how stinking hungry I was. I was starving. But mostly I was thinking about the Chili I had made the night before. The leftovers were in the fridge and it was all I could think about. Finally, at 4 am I couldn't take it any longer. I snuck downstairs, past my bro, and opened the fridge. As soon as I opened it my brother called out "Holy crap Em, I'm STARVING. are you getting something to eat?" I heated up the pot of chili. We were pigs. WE didn't even serve it out into individual bowls. We just sat over a pot of chili, raving about it, best thing we had ever tasted, until every last drop, bean, and piece of meat was gone. Then we both happily returned to our beds and slept peacefully.

So now, the before each long run or race I make a big pot of chili. Let it sit. And enjoy bowl after bowl once my race/run is done. It is the bomb. Here it is

1 Onion, Chopped
3 cloves garlic-diced
several stalks celery chopped, like 5-6.
2 green peppers chopped
2 jalepeno peppers chopped
3 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup water
2-3 cans Fire roasted Diced tomatoes
2 cans Tomato sauce (more is you want more sauce)
3 cans kidney beans
1 can chili beans
1/4 C. Ketchup (I don't even know why I put this in here, I just do, it probably doesn't even do anything)
Soy Sauce (eh, I just pour some in, prob like 1/2 -1 TB)
1/4 C Brown Sugar
Chili Powder (lots)
Cumin
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Salt Pepper

Browned Extra Lean Ground Turkey

Saute onion and garlice for a minute. Add celery and peppers, water & bouillon. once things are nice a softened. add all the canned goods. Then start adding all that great flavor. I really have no idea how much of each season I put in. I put in A LOT of chili powder. Then some of everything else. Stir it up, taste it and add more if I need to. Don't forget the salt, it adds all the flavor. This chili is best made the night before, put in the fridge over night and reheated and enjoyed the next day. I don't even know how healthy this is, I just crave it like crazy when I have really pushed my body.

VEGGIE STIR FRY

2-3 cloves Garlic
Ginger
1-2 bags Broccoli Slaw
1-2 lbs Shrimp, cubed steak, or chicken. Whatever meat you are feeling like eating
broccoli, sugar snap peas, carrots, peas or any other veggies that sounds good to you, I think fresh pineapple would be awesome in this too.
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil

Saute garlic for a min, add ginger. cook another min. Then add all the veggies, continue to saute. If your meat will cook quickly add it after the veggies, if it will take a while. Add it with the veg. Add a little soy sauce (about 2 TB or to taste) and then a very little sesame oil (like a few drops really). Stir it all on up and enjoy.You don't even need to have rice with it, just eat it on up.

QUINOA TABBOULEH

2 Cups Water
1 Cup Quinoa
1 pinch of Salt
1-2 TB Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 C. Lemon Juice
2 Cooked Chicken Breast, diced
1 pt grape tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, diced
2 bunches green onions, diced
2 carrots grated
1 C. fresh parsley chopped

Bring water to boil. add Quinoa and pinch of salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. While cooking. In a large bowl combine: chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, parsley & carrots. Add quinoa when cooked. In a smaller bowl combine: olive oil, salt, lemon juice. Pour over quinoa/veg mix and stir until combined. Cover and cool in fridge for 1-2 hrs.

BAKED CHICKEN

3-4 Chicken breasts (or however many people you are serving)
1 cup chicken broth
Seasoned Salt or Mrs Dash

Line pan with foil
pour broth over chicken
sprinkle with seasoned salt

cover pan with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 min. After 30 min bring temp down to 320 and cook for another 15 min. (this is from the www.fit2fat2fit.com website) I am thinking when I have made this I haven't cooked it as long as this recipe says, but just check your chicken to see when it is done.

TILAPIA

It is the bomb to cook and high protein low cal, low fat. I just throw it in a frying pan (i spray the pan first with non stick awesomeness) keep it at med high. let those fish sizzle for a bit, season them with either lemon pepper, seasoned salt or just salt. Then I flip them over, let them brown up on the other side. Then I add a little water, maybe some lemon juice if I am in the mood, cover it, turn down the temp and let them finish cooking without drying out. They cook up quick, less than ten minutes and I don't even thaw them out. I top with salsa sometimes, or grilled pineapple. Serve with some wild rice and a few awesome veggies and we are good.

Okay so there are a lot of ideas to get you going. Don't forget about Turkey sandwiches, Egg white and turkey bacon english muffins, banana and peanut butter sandwiches, chicken or tuna salad (light mayo, apples, celery, tuna or chicken) All of it pretty good for you and not terribly boring.

Half & Full Marathon Training Schedule for Beginners

2012-01-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

As you know, I am obsessed with running. I love it. Mostly, I love to race. I love to race long distance. I love a Half Marathon because I can push my pace and it is still a long race. I love a full marathon because, well, it really tests you and your strength. Most people think that I have always run, that it is easy for me. That I just go out and run without any problems. Not true. No runner does that, really. We all work hard, or else we wouldn't improve. But it has never been easy for me. Let me introduce myself to you, 10 yrs ago.

*if you wish to skip my story, no worries, it is long. go ahead and skip on down to the training schedules, I'll never know. ;)

20 yrs old. 180 lbs. Completely out of shape. Couldn't run a mile, or even one lap around the track. I had asthma most my life, and blamed that on my out of shapeness. My lungs would buuuuurn when I ran and man, it hurt to run. So I didn't do it. But, I watched people that ran. And I was jealous. I loved it. I loved watching people run. I think I was obsessed with running even then, before I could do it. I remember watching someone from the track team run, and was just amazed at their speed and ability to move like that. I wanted it. I wanted it bad. But not bad enough, yet.

I knew I needed to get into shape. So I started counting calories. Like an insane person, if it went in my mouth I counted it. I walked 2-3 miles every day. I got on the stair stepper for a good 30 minutes as well. within 4 months I had lost 35 lbs. Then I got pregnant with my first baby, gained an awesome 25 lbs there and lost that within 2 weeks of his birth. I continued to get my weight down until I was at a happy 120 lbs. I still only walked, never really ran, maybe for 30 seconds or so but not really. I had another little boy a couple yrs later and felt great the entire pregnancy as I continued to walk 2-3 miles every day.

Well, this is where my running story begins. Harrison was about 1 yr old. And I had a dream. I was running. I was running fast. There was a crowd cheering and screaming at me to finish the race. I felt like I was flying and finished. I was so so happy. It was the most amazing feeling. I woke up, and knew I wanted to run, I wanted it so bad. I went to the store that day, and there on clearance was a pair of running shoes. my adidas. I still love those things. I considered it a sign and bought them.

I came home, got in some comfy clothes and went out for my first run. It wasn't amazing. I wasn't fast, I didn't feel like I was flying, and no one was cheering me on. My lungs burned and my legs hurt. I made it down the street, and walked for a bit. Then after my breathing got under control I started to run again, only for a minute or two. Then I'd walk. I did this for a while. I don't remember how long it took me to run one full mile, but I remember when I did that. I ran around the neighborhood and realized I had run one full mile without stopping. I almost cried I was so happy. I called my brother and about shouted it out to him. Soon, one mile became two. Then three. Then I got a running partner, Tiana, and together we got up to 6 miles.

This is when the long distance thing started to really roll around in my head. If I could run 3 and then 6. Surely I could eventually run 13.1 and then 26.2. So I did a crazy thing, skipped the half marathon distance and signed up for a full marathon, May of 2008. I'll never forget that first time training. I never missed a run. I always was amazed at the distances my body could go. Each time I did one more mile I knew I could do even more next time. Then the day came, the day of my Marathon. And I did it. The entire 26.2 miles. I came in at 4:30:00 about a 10 min mile. The race was almost exactly 1 yr from the time I ran my very first mile.

And now here I am, about to turn 30. 128 lbs. 3 kids. I workout 5 times a week, including running, biking & weights. I have now completed over 20 half marathons, & 5 full marathons (running #6 in 3 weeks) My current PR's (personal records) are 1:41:00 for the Half & 3:46:00 for the Full. I have placed in one half marathon in my division and have had amazing experiences throughout my training and races. I have met wonderful people, and I am always grateful for this gift I've been given to be able to run. It has blessed me in a million different ways.

Why am I telling you this? Because I truly believe anyone out there can also do this. If the overweight asthmatic girl that couldn't run around the track even one time, run a full marathon holding an 8:30 min mile, then anyone can do it. Anyone. I promise, you can do it. You put your mind to it, you can do it. I have been asked by several different people in the last few months for training tips or favorite programs or where to get started, so this is what I am doing. I am putting my favorite training programs on this blog to get you going. To get you started. To show you that you can do it. I don't care what your pace is, ever, just get the miles in. So here are some training programs. You can always email me or call if you have any questions. Also know, that I love running with people. And I do not care what your pace is, how many times we walk, how much you sweat ( I sweat more I promise), I would love to run with you. So call me, let's get running.

Couch to 5k program.

Here is the thing, everyone is different. Starting at different levels. So just to be safe we are going to start from the beginning. Here is a great beginners running program.
Couch to 5k
That will take you to the outlined program. It is only 3 workouts a week, very doable. By the end of it, you should be able to run a full 3 miles without stopping. Which is where I want you to be when we start the Half Marathon training.

You should know though. I HIGHLY recommend cross training and weights. But if that is too much for you right now, or too overwhelming, don't worry about it. We'll get there eventually. Small steps.

Cross Training:

This means biking, swimming, yoga, whatever you want. That IS NOT running. Something that isn't pounding your joints, but still working your muscles. So, you can take the couch to 5k program. 3 workouts a week. Do those workouts Mon, Wed, Sat. Then cross train (biking, swimming, yoga) Tues & Thurs for 30 min. If you have access to a gym, this is very easy. Hop on the elliptical, stationary bike, or go to an aerobics class of some sort. If you do not go to a gym, get a bike, a cheap one even. I have a cheap little bike and I use it to pick kids up from school, go to the grocery store, I use it just as much as my car. I also go to a spin/cycling class twice a week. So get a bike if you need to and go for 30 min bike ride. It actually will make you a much stronger runner and will help your muscles recover from your running.

Weights:

I don't have a specific group of weights I do all the time. I started slow and have worked on up. I started with some 5 lb weights and did very basic lifts. But what I do now, and is my favorite, I go to a class at the gym. It is a total body class (most gyms offer something very similar) where you use weights, but you are doing things to strengthen your entire body. I love it. So, this is my recommendation. If you have a gym, find a similar class and go to it. Or, get a video of one and do it at home. That's how I started, I went to Target, got some DVD of a total body workout, some 5 lb weights and did that twice a week. It was good for me at the time. Some very popular ones are the insanity workouts, which I have never done but people love them. I really like going to the gym though and doing it with a lot of people because it pushes you more. You can't quit when 30 other people are watching you. ;) And don't be intimidated, everyone had to start somewhere sometime, we have all been beginners. And still are at many things. I also do A LOT of pushups. I started with 3 sets of 5 and now do about 6 sets of 15-20. Do what works for you.

Half & Full Marathon Training:

Ah, the whole reason for this eternal blog. First off, go pick a half or full marathon you want to complete(one that if far enough away that you will have time to train). Register. Then plan out your training accordingly. Okay here are a few training programs. I like them all for different reasons. Look through them, see which one looks the most doable for you and then print it out. Put the dates on each run you will be doing and cross them off as you go. That is what I always do.

Hal Higdon Half Marathon.

Hal Higdon Full Marathon

Hal Higdon's Half Marathon training plan is what I followed for my first marathon. When I ran it, he didn't have any cross training. In this one, he does. I like this one because it is very simple, very doable. I know it has your long run on Sunday, and a lot of you don't run on Sunday (me too!) So just switch things around. If you'll notice, Monday is a stretch and strengthen day. Make that your new Sunday. Stretch out on Sunday and take the day off. Then start the running on Monday. So basically shift everything one day sooner.

In the Full Marathon training program he only has one day of cross training, If I were you, I would probably switch out one of the other short running days for another cross training day, but it is all up to you and what you want to do. Questions? If so, let me know.

Furman FIRST

This one is actually a FULL marathon training schedule. As you can see you start out with pretty high miles. But you will also notice that there are only 3 runs a week. Very simple to do. The thing I like about this is that each run is a very specific workout. Lots and lots of speed work and plenty of room for 2 days of cross training. I run Mon Wed Sat and then Bike & Weight Train Tues & Thurs. This works well for me to keep my joints happy and keep injury free, while still working on my cardio.

Okay there are million other training programs out there. Both of the Hal Higdon programs are even available as apps for your phone, so you can keep track of your workouts that way. These are the ones I have tried, so I know them. But there are others out there as well that might be a better fit for you. Look around, pick one, and stick to it. Don't get discouraged if you get sick one week or strain something at some point. Rest, get better, and then ease back into running. You will be marvelous.

Also know that there is TONS of information out there on running. I LOVE getting and reading the Runners World Magazine. They have great tips on everything, from stretching, to running, to nutrition and sample meals. It is awesome. Take advantage of that information.

One more thing...STRETCH. Make sure you stretch after each run. And after the really long runs...take a good ice bath. It'll work wonders.

I am going to post more information as I think of it, like nutrition, as that is HUGE in training. I am working on lots of great meals I use and tips and things I have learned over the years. But for now, here are the basic training schedules to get you started. Good Luck!

New Years Resolution

2012-01-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

Everyone and their dog is posting this years resolutions and what they want to change or do better or differently and whatever. And many are saying they usually quit within a few months or days etc. So I was curious about my previous years resolutions. I looked up 2010 to see what resolutions I had. Not much in the way of resolutions, but I was pretty cocky about my running ability. I said something how I would for sure qualify for boston, we all know how well THAT turned out, and that I would get under 1:40 on a half marathon. That still has not happened. Then I said "this is my year, I know it." Let me tell you how 2010 went, It didn't. It sucked. a lot. in fact, it was probably the worst year of my entire life.
It seems I got a tiny, just a tiny, bit wiser in 2011. My goal was to do less. Not more. Less. Stress less, clean less, work out less etc. And guess how well 2011 went? IT WAS THE BEST YEAR EVER!!! However, there were some things that I started doing last year that I have kept up pretty well and I think I will share those.
One of my first Sundays in FL, one of the sisters, Amy Hillis who has now become one of my greatest friends, talked about how she had started reading the scriptures for 30 min every day and what a difference it made and how you can always find time. whether it be listening to it while you drive somewhere or whatever. It is so available Ipods, ipads, online, you really can't make an excuse. So, I decided to give that one a try. And I did. And I still do it. I listen to it mostly. Better than nothing. I have it on my phone and so when I am cleaning up after breakfast or cycling at the gym or folding laundry. I turn it on and listen. I have gone through the Book of Mormon a few times now and am starting the D&C this week. I love it! I am surprised at the different things I catch as I listen to it or how things will suddenly pop out that I had never noticed before. It has been great.
Other thing. This year I have decided to live life. Throw caution to the wind and Just Do It! Move to FL? Sure! Go to Europe? Of Course! Try new foods? Absolutely! Try some new crazy workout? Love to! Go on a crazy coaster that makes me go into a panic just looking at it? bring it on. Throw myself into the Ocean? Why not? Seriously, that has kind of been my attitude this year. I have been given a great life. We all have. And I have decided to just take it by both hands on hold on. If life presents you with something, take it! And if there is something you want, you really want, then what the world is stopping you? When there is a will, there is a way. So just go for it. Life is a gift, enjoy it!
So what is in store for 2012...well so far I have an awesome cold/sinus infection and a marathon in a few days so that should turn out to be awesome. ;) hahaha, no really, it is Disney so it will be fun no matter what. I'm excited. But for reals, I have no clue what lies ahead for us this year. If there is one thing I would like to try and be better at is spending one on one time with my kiddos. Which I have already put a plan in place for. Date night with each kid each week. A friend of mine did that last year and blogged about every date with pics even. He is also the Bishop of his ward and works full time. And he has 5 kids. If he can do it, I certainly can. So, Tuesday night is James. Wednesday night is Harrison, Thursday night is Sophie. And it isn't a huge ordeal. Just staying up a little later and playing some games or whatever we feel like doing. Last night James and Ben and I played some football. It was fun. I am excited to do something with Harrison tonight.
So, I guess that is all. Spend more time with the kiddos and continue to move forward and do my best each day and life a happy and full life. Yep. We'll see what 2012 brings us this year. Who knows? Maybe we'll move out of the country. ;)

A Year in Pictures Part 2

2011-12-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

Here are the remainder of the pictures for the year 2011. It's been a fabulous year, the best actually.

We were making a haunted gingerbread house, which Ben turned into a frosting fight was quite possibly the funnest thing we did for Halloween.

Wow, my kids look bored. Those are their pumpkins this year though.

Ah, here is a smile.

Harrison as Splat Cat in his school parade.

Kids with Grandpa Morrise at Disney World. They loved having gma and gpa there with us.

Showed Gma and Gpa around our neighborhood and Sophie fell in the lake. funny girl.

Fishing with Grandpa. Harrison didn't really fish, he just ate the bait. Hotdogs...

Went out to dinner with Susan and Marshall. So glad they could come see us.

James and Harrison home from their Thanksgiving feasts and plays. Such a fun day.

Sophie at the science museum.

Our Christmas tree. The kids did all the decorating.

Snow!

Yes, it snows in FL...if you make the snow.... The kids loved it.

Harrison took a taste of it and spat it right out, I think it was more dirt than snow.

Baking gingerbread men.

Decorating and eating them!

Disney World at Christmas time.

Harrison & Sophie & I went on the race track ride together and once again we laughed the whole way. Harrison was hilarious.

Gingerbread house time

Spent the day the beach. December 23rd. Now that is awesome.

Yep. we love it here in FL.

A Year in Pictures

2011-12-12T07:06:00.001-08:00

For this week I am giving you our year in pictures. Okay, not the full year, but almost. It ends at mid October sometime. I didn't have all the Halloween pics downloaded. But some is better that none. Enjoy!

Kids in their Christmas clothes given to them by their Grandma Morrise last year.

Valentines Breakfast

Our daughter, Gretal.

In our new home in Orlando. Sophie's B-day. She turned 2 the day after we got there.

St. Patricks day. A completely Green dinner, Harrison's new favorite Holiday.

Orlando Temple

Lots of summer fun and time outdoors.

Disney World on James' B-day

James' B-day

Harrison's B-day

Ragnar Relay with Jay & James

Europe!

Fun with cousins.

Swim Lessons Begin

Soccer Season Begins

Waiting for Dad to get home in the heat

Rays Baseball Game

Dad's 30th B-day

Harrison's SChool field trip

Disney World Halloween Party

OUC Half Marathon, Elves & Sophie Gets Dressed

2011-12-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

All righty then, what the heck even happened last week...hmm let's think back....

First off, there was my race on Saturday, which was AWESOME. Seriously, I kind of rocked it just a bit. I came in at 1 hr 41 min which is just below a 7:45 min mile average. I felt great the entire way and was able to really focus on my pace. So fabulous. Some sisters in my ward were running it as well so it was great fun to see them there and hang out with them pre and post race. I love running races with people I know, makes it a million times more fun.

After I got home from the race, we got the usual boring Saturday stuff done and then went to our little communities annual Christmas celebration. It started with a parade. we expected the kids to get a few pieces of candy, we did not plan on them getting a TON of candy. Every group that went by gave each kid a handful of candy. We have more than we did at Halloween. That's trouble right there. We had such a fun time though, Sophie got a little bead necklace from someone and she loved that. The boys were given little footballs and pedometers. james has been wearing his pedometer ever since and is amazed at all the steps he takes. They had a carnival and all that jazz going on. We left early, super tired from the early morning, but still had a great time. Later that night we went outside to watch firework show. The boys had been in bed so yes they were outside in their underwear, but it was magnificent! It was less than 1/2 mile away from us, so we had a great view and the kids loved it.

Okay, time to rewind a little bit. December started this week. In our home that means the elves come to visit every day until christmas. I think they were more excited about those elves coming than they are Christmas, but it's all part of it. Every day since thanksgiving "mom, is it December yet? how many more nights until the elves come? Are they coming tonight? When mom, when?" And finally, they came. They bring a treat or snack for each kid and the kids LOVE seeing what it is. Even if it is a tiny pack of fruit snacks or a little granola bar, they are happy. It is fun. Sophie calls her stocking a sock. "mom where is my sock? Is there candy in my sock? Can I go see my sock?" She has been up before the crazk of dawn checking her "sock". Funny baby.

Speaking of socks...Sophie has been getting all dressed up lately. In my big warm old lady fuzzy socks. She loves those things. She puts them on, and they go to her knees. She has been doing this for well over a year now and it is still so stinkin cute. She has finally figured out how to put her own underwear on. It took some bribing to make her do it herself, but yes she can. Which means that now she is always putting on whatever. The other night we told her, "okay lets go get in your jammies" she just looked at us, lifted up her dress to show us that she had her PJ shorts on underneath that dress. tricky little thing. We laughed at that one.

I am happy to say that Harrison has been a sweet funny little boy again. He is not at all perfect, and still has a potty mouth up the wazoo, but he is being more sweet that stinker, so it makes my heart happy. Last week I asked him "Harrison, how much do you love your mama?" he thought for a second and said "too much." I couldn't help but just give him a big hug right then. I am having one tiny problem with him though. I don't like all his little potty jokes and try to guide him with his sense of humor. But dang, sometimes he is really funny. I know I should correct him but it is really hard when I am laughing my head off. He so dang funny. I think he will make a great comedian one day. Or just be the fun guy that makes everyone laugh. we are still working on the word "the" it is still '' TA-HEH-AH" every. dang. time. sigh. one day we'll get it. one day. Other than that he is really improving in school and it makes my heart happy to see it. Good job buddy.

James is still james. reliable, sweet, smart and my bud. He is currently OBSESSED with beyblades. If you don't know what this is, count yourself very very blessed. seriously. Anyways, he and Harrison sing the song to the cartoon. They play the game EVERY chance they get. Man, it is a little insane. I can't wait for this romance to end. The cartoon is sooooo painful. Ugh. Anyways, he has been assigned at school to write a report on a different State. Of course he picked UT. The report has a lot of requirements for a 2nd grader. He has to go to the library. Check out 2 different books about UT and use them as sources for his report as well as citing them in the report. He aslo has to make a box and fill it with things that represent UT. We have been working on this daily, do a couple things on it each day and he is doing a great job.

Okay back to Sunday...as we were driving home from church we went past the park where the carnival had been held the day before and there in the middle of the park was a big pile of snow. It was Christmas magic to my kids. We pulled over and they ran to that snow. They loved it. made snowballs, ran and slid in it, Harrison started to eat it and then spat it right out... I guess they make snow at the carnival and this was the leftovers. It was such a great surprise and we loved it.

Sunday night we were so excited to have people come visit us. We had Ben's Aunt and cousins come for a bit and then a few neighbors for Hot Cocoa and fudge. I made the fudge myself and it was FABULOUS. White chocolate peppermint fudge. So good. We had so much fun with our friends though. I love living here, so many wonderful people. Everyone has been so kind and good to us. They all treat us like family and they are fast becoming family to us. Everyday I am grateful for their kindness and love towards us.

Okay well, dinner is just about done so I had better go get that table set and feed my kids. Have a great week and a very Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving, Black Friday & No School!

2011-12-01T11:07:00.001-08:00

AACK! I am almost a week late on this post. Oh well, better late than never. Let's get rolling.

Last week was fabulous! The best part was, no school!!! Yay! I love it when the kids are out, we go do what we want when we want to, we sleep in, we don't have homework and we don't think about anything school related at all. Pure awesomeness. So, on our free days we slept in, ate a lot of cold cereal (possibly for bfast, lunch & dinner) Played games, went to the park a few times with friends, rode bikes, watched movies, and just had a lot of fun. one of the days we ventured out to the Orlando Science center. It was awesome. They have several baby gators and got to help feed them. I thought we would only be there for a couple hours, but we ended up spending the entire day there. All the kids had fun, but we all liked the "hurricane" tunnel the best. It was a little tube thing you got into and shut the door and it simulated winds that were like a category 1 hurricane. It was actually a little crazy how hard the wind was blowing. I can't imagine what a category 2 or 3 or 4 would be like. sheesh.

On Wednesday evening we decided to head out to Disney World. It was super busy and every ride was about a 2 hr wait. So we skipped the popular rides and did all the little things. It was still fun. But the best part was that they had all their Christmas lights out and music playing. They even had "snow" falling. It really felt like christmas. We loved it! We had the funnest time just walking around looking at the lights and soaking it all in. Then we splurged a little and all got to pick out a goodie from the confectionary. I got white chocolate & peppermint fudge and it was the bomb. It was so fun to just sit and share our treats with each other while looking at the lights and listening to music. Such a fun fun night.

THanksgiving came fast! We had been invited by good friends to have a breakfast with them that morning. So I made some pies (That is all I cooked this year, 2 pies...awesome!) and we joined them. It was fabulous. She had made a bread pudding with pumpkin bread and then a cream sauce poured over the top. Oh my word I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I ate the. It took all my will power to not just scoop up an entire plateful of that stuff and gobble it all up. Best thing I ate on thanksgiving by far. Thank you Larean! The kids then had fun playing together while Ben went to play in the ward Turkey bowl. He had a great time with the guys and I actually think his team won.

We then spent the day being lazy as could be. Watching TV. Playing games, eating more apple pie, I took a nap....it was great. Then around 4 we decided to maybe get some dinner. So we headed over to Boston Market (a homestyle cooking restaurant) got our turkey dinner that included all the typical stuff and ran into some neighbors there. So we sat with them and had a thanksgiving feast with some friends. It was delicious, sweet potatoes were awesome, and I didn't cook a speck of it. My type of Thanksgiving.

After we were all filled I took Ben over to Target where he got in line for the Black friday madness. He was probably the 10th person in line, so we were pretty close to the front. I took the kids over to a friends for a dessert party and the kids had so much fun playing with all their friends and I had a great time visiting with the adults. It was such a great thanksgiving. Got to be with so many people I love here, didn't have to stress about cooking anything, just good food and lots of friends and fun. Perfect day.

I got a babysitter for the night and joined Ben at Target. It wasn't cold at all, and the time went by really fast. There were 2 women next to us that made us laugh our heads off. The one reminded me of Meryl Streep in Julia & Julia. She was so funny and had a bit of an accent so it made things even funner. I love meeting new people and enjoying their fun personalities. It was soon midnight, the line wrapped completely around the store and they let us in. It was very controlled and orderly. They had barriers so people had to go in single file, and they only let in 100 people at a time. And then waited several minutes. It was great. I got all my things in just a few minutes and was about to get out of there when Ben decided to get an Xbox 360. I am not going to lie, I wanted it too. I want that dang kinnect so we can have that dance game. I think it would be so much fun. The kids and I have dance parties all the time. So yeah, I didn't mind the purchase. BUT Target decided that everyone who was buying an electronic item (ipods, game consoles, cameras etc) had to check out at the electronics counter and there was only one checkout. COMPLETELY ridiculous. We waited almost 2 hrs to get checked out from there. lame. lame. lame. Once we were out of there though, we thought had better get one more fatty thing in our bellies before thanksgiving was completely over. So we had milkshakes and cheeseburgers at 2:30 am. Check out THAT healthy living. ;)

The next day, was of course, painful. Tired. hungry. But sick from all the crap food we ate. Trying to resist eating more treats. Ugh. not pretty. So I went for a great run and then I felt much better. We spent the rest of the day listening to Christmas music, getting the tree and all other christmas decorations up. It was great fun. The kids loved it. They loved helping me with the lights outside (it is GREAT to put lights up and NOT freeze to death). Harrison got some lights and put them up in his room. To his dismay, they were "crappy lights that don't really work" and so took the down. I got him a new string of lights and we filled their room with some Christmas magic.

I love Christmas and I really truly cannot wait for Christmas to come. I got ALL my shopping done that weekend and can't wait to give the kids their gifts. We got the boys some cool trikes (for older kids, you do tricks on them and stuff) Sophie is getting a set of Barbies. If you ask her want she wants for Christmas she'll say "a Bawbie doll. Santa bring me a bawbie doll". She loves those things. I also got her a little princess doll with a matching dress for her, she'll love that. And got both the boys nerf guns & beyblades. Then of course there are the jammies and coloring supplies that they always get. I can't wait for Christmas and it will be here before I know it!

Okay my time is up, I've got to go get the boys from school, but one more thing! I am so so grateful to have so many great friends here. They are like my little family and I love them all so much. They always include us and we have so much fun with them. We were invited to so many things and just had the best week ever. Thank you all! Love you!

Thanksgiving Feasts, Camping, Canoeing & Running!

2011-11-20T17:54:00.000-08:00

This has actually been a really great week. My kids don't have school this upcoming week & so they had all their Thanksgiving festivities this week. And we had so much fun.

It started out with James bringing home a copy of his school play he was in. He was the pilgrim father and had several lines. We have been going over them and he had no trouble memorizing it all. Every time we practiced though, I had the hardest time not laughing (this is why, among 100 other reasons, I am not an actress) when he'd say "my dear" to the "pilgrim mother". It was just so dang cute and he was so cute about it. I could help but just smile bigger and bigger until it turned into a laugh.

The day of his play came, we had the Thanksgiving Feast at his school. He did not pick the typical feast and went for the PBJ instead. This is why I am not cooking any big fancy dinner. No one would eat it. It was fun to sit with his class and his friends and see him be so silly with all of them. He has so many friends and I was happy to see that. Then we were off to his class to watch the play. He had a cute little costume to wear and I about busted tears when I saw him. He did a fabulous job. Wasn't nervous one bit and remembered every line perfectly. Then he showed me some stuff he's been working on in class, and I was just so proud of him and all that he does. Love you James.

Harrison's class had a Thanksgiving feast as well. It was in their classroom though, so we met in there. He was so so so stinking cute. They were all dressed as indians and the room was decorated so cute. He was so excited to have Sophie and I come to eat lunch with him. We had a great time together. I think the only thing he ate was his pie, but what did you expect? After all the feasts and plays were over. I checked the kids out of school early and we came home and played the afternoon away. It was a great day.

This week was also our Ward Campout, which was headed up by myself, my awesome friend Amy and our activity days girls. It was fabulous! I don't know if you know, but the church owns a TON of property here in FL. It is a a huge ranch. And on there somewhere they have a camp for members to use. It has tent sites, several cabins (with electricity and air conditioning, as well as beds) a big pavilion with a great kitchen and a projector and screen to watch movies. Anyways, there is tons to do there and it really is a great place. We had the greatest time. James and Harrison just explored everywhere and played non stop with all their friends. They ran around and played on tree swings, climbed trees, played baseball, roasted marshmallows, watched cars 2, and just had a great time. James did stab his hand within 5 minutes of being there, but fortunately I always carry a large first aid kit and cleaned him up and wrapped it up good. It didn't bother him too much. Harrison took his shoes off as soon as we got there and went barefoot the entire time. We all called him the hobbit.

Ben and I chatted with the other adults, made s'mores, sat around the fire for forever, and got to just enjoy being together. The next days we got breakfast made for everyone, cleaning done and then went canoeing together. It was great! The kids kept asking if we were going to tip over, we assured them we knew what we were doing. And by the time we were done they all liked going out on the little boat.

Then it was time to leave, so we got packed up and dove on home. On our way we stopped by several lakes to look for alligators. Yes, we LIKE to see them. We spotted 3! One really big one, that creeped us out because it was there and then suddenly you couldn't see it anymore. and then two little ones. There were also turtles and all sorts of cool wildlife we watched, it was a great ride home.

Once we were home, we unpacked cleaned up, cleaned the house. Ben went for an awesome 8 mile run way to go Ben! Then I got all my gear and headed out for a 20 mile run. Yep, 20 miles. And seriously, I rocked it. I have never had such a great run. I felt great the whole way. My legs were cramping up around mile 5, but I took some sodium pills and they didn't get any worse so I could push through that pain for the rest. My average pace was a 8:39 mi/mile which is pretty good. I seriously doubt I'll have a run that great again. The weather was perfect, I wasn't hot at all, I had no trouble breathing, and dang, I ran 20 miles! woo hoo! My legs hated me when I got home and I couldn't walk so great at first, but after an ice bath and all that goodness I felt much much better.

While I was out on my run, Ben took the kids to a Carnival our little community was having. They only went on a couple rides as they were $$ but they boys loved it. They went through a monkey maze and haven't stopped talking about it. At the end Ben let them all get treats and I think they had a great date with their Dad. Love you Ben, you are the best.

This week has been great, I've spent a lot of time just playing with Sophie each day and we have so much fun. She is such a funny girl and always has a trick up her sleeve. She is a tease and makes me laugh every day. Today she was rolling her eyes at Ben and I and it was hilarious. She is sweet though too. Like tonight, Harrison was sent to bed early for being a punk and so he was upstairs crying in his bed. I heard Sophie climb out of her bed and go to his room. She went to him and said "it's okay Harrison. There's no monsters. It's not scary. It's okay". I thought it was so sweet of her to go comfort him.

Anyways, I think that is all for this week. Up next time: Orlando Science center, Thanksgiving turkey bowl, black friday insanity and much more!

Why it's just a boring ol' orange.

2011-11-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

Blogging world. I am terrible at keeping things up to date. And I feel, a little, bad about that. Mostly because I am afraid of forgetting all the awesome and not so awesome things in my life. So, this is how it is going to roll from now on. It is going to pretty much just be a weekly boring update, perhaps some little highlights of a funny thing a kid said, but basically just a weekly update. We'll see how long I last at this even.

First off, we need to do a tiny bit of catching up. highlights!

-Ben's parents coming to visit. Awesome! Came for 3 days. Went to DW together, had fabulous time. James loved going with Grandpa on all the big rides and Harrison and Susan seemed to be well matched as neither of them like roller coasters. However, they were both amazingly brave and went on Big Thunder together. From what I understand they both had their heads down the entire time, but both had fun. G&G also met the boys for lunch at their school. And then we walked around the neighborhood and Sophie fell in a lake. Don't worry, she lived. She was covered in moss and mud, but she lived. The last day here we all went fishing, Harrison was not a fan and was eating the bait (hot dogs) James enjoyed it though and keeps asking to go again. And then to finish things off Ben & I went out with G&G to Giordanos for some amazing chicago pizza and then went to Downtown disney for the evening. We had a fabulous time and were so sad to see them go. So glad they will be coming next spring when James gets baptized.

moving on.....

-Harrison is having a hard time learning how to read, we are working on this. I think the main problem is his speech. There are a lot of sounds he just can't make. So I am working on getting him some speech therapy. Anyways, so we spend a lot of time on homework and words and sounds and all that awesomeness. His teacher gave me a set of words Harrison is supposed to know. There are about 12 of them, of the 12, there is only one he knows.

But.

That is the word. He knows it 100%. The first time I showed it to him he said "Bu. Uh. TT....Bu....uuuu....t........bbbuuuut..BUT?!!!" And he literally fell off his chair laughing. I am not going to lie, I laughed pretty hard myself. His laugh is contagious. Now of course he thinks he is reading butt, & that is just fine with me, because dang it, at least he knows one word. If only all words were crude in some way, he would be reading the dictionary by now.

-James Is doing awesomely at school. He hates subtraction and we are working on it, but other than that he is rocking it. He almost always gets 100% on his spelling, he looooooves science and just can't get enough of it. He reads all the time, thank you captain underpants & calvin & Hobbes, he does his homework every day without me begging him to. He brings me his homework when he done and has me check everything. He constantly helps out at home with cleaning and other chores. He is my totally awesome dependable kid right now and I really don't know what I would do without him. Love you James!!

-Sophie is the wildest thing on the planet. Seriously. How did I get such a wild little girl? Not sure about that. Anyways, she seems to be running, jumping, dancing, & prancing, wrestling, or trying to beat you up all day long. It's like she's had two boys to play with her whole life........

Really though, she is so much fun, and still melts my freakin heart. She and I went on the race trac ride together at DW and it was the funnest thing ever. I let her steer and so of course we were constantly crashing, but she was laughing so so hard and it was pretty much the cutest thing ever.

This last week she had a night where she woke up all night crying. THe first time she woke up screaming her head off so I went right on in and asked her what was going on. She just screamed "My TOE!!! IT IS GONE!!! MY TOE IS GONE!!!!" I was half asleep but I just started laughing. It was so cute and so funny. I showed her that she indeed had all 10 toes and that she didn't lose anything. Tucked her back in and went back to sleep. A little while later more crying. Ben went in this time to find her crawling under her bed looking for candy. She cried and cried about how she couldn't find her candy. Wow. It was a fun night.

-Both the boys just finished up soccer season and had a great time. They were most excited about the medals they got at the end. It was fun to see them play every Saturday and go to their practices during the week, but I'm not going to lie. It is nice to have my Saturday mornings back. Until Baseball starts. Their best plays were.... When James headed the ball. That was awesome. When Harrison saved 3 goals, he was the goalie.

-I am currently getting ready for the Disney World Marathon and Melbourne Marathon in Jan. I am really excited and eager to see how I handle 2 full marathons just a few weeks apart. I am not shooting for any great time on either. I have heard that the Disney is NOT a place to get a PR because there are so many people that you really can't go the speed you want. That should be interesting. I have finally found some running partners and it is so great to run with someone again. I forget what a difference it makes.

-Ben has been suuuuuper busy at work. Like, we never see him, busy. BUT, that has currently ended. who knows though how long that will last. I give it a week. He and I have started a new diet this last week. With all his hours working, sitting at a desk, well he wasn't getting thinner. We'll just leave it at that. So we are following the www.fit2fat2fit.com guy and his meals. Since I am training and exercising so much I have tweaked the diet a bit with more whole grain carbs and all that. And I am happy to say we are seeing results! I really didn't think I was going to see much change because I already eat fairly healthy, but I have lost on inch off my waist and a couple pounds. Ben has lost a lot more that that and he already looks thinner to me. We are having fun with it though, so that is good.

-Halloween! I never posted anything about Halloween. How sad. just FYI. Halloween here rocks. Everyone celebrates it. Your neighborhood is one big party and there are kids EVERYWHERE trick or treating. It is the bomb and I can't wait for next year. I was a little sad to not be having our big Halloween party this year, but we spent that $$ on the Mickey Mouse Halloween party instead. It was a blast. You could basically walk on any ride there. We got so much candy we were all sick by the end. THe Haunted mansion was amazing & we all just had a great time.

Okay I am sure there is more to write about but I am tired and really done looking at the computer screen. So for this week, I am done. Tune in Next week for our weekly update. ;)

Oh and if you can tell me where I got the title of this post from,(without googling it) I'll give you $100. ;)

Summer Pictures!

2011-08-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

Went through some of the pics on my phone and thought I would put them on the blog. Enjoy!

At Epcot! Okay here is the sad truth, it is our least favorite park at Disney World. And if I were being completely honest, we mostly go to Magical Kingdom...it is just so magical we can't stay away.

Went to get my hair cut with my sister, Becca. We had a good time chatting while we each got our hair done. I mostly just added some layers to mine. Don't tell my stylist but it is up in a ponytail most days....it gets too darn hot on my back. Maybe I'll let it down come fall.

Biked 30 miles up the canyon one day. Stole a friends (Emily Dougall) bike, it's amazing and I am now saving $$$ to go buy one for myself. LOVED it.

Harrison jumping into grandma's pool. See all those floaties and the life jacket? Guess what he doesn't need anymore? YAY HARRISON!

How can you NOT laugh when you see this picture? I know it is horribly out of focus but seriously, look at that kid rocking out to his music. It was the cutest thing. He and Harrison set up a "party" in their room one night. So, we had a party! Danced the night away, soo much fun.

Digging for sea shells.

At the pool. Look at that cute thing. When I am laying out on the chairs she totally copies me and "lays out" in the sun on her chair. Funny baby.

Grandma's pool again and all the cousins. James & Harrison had so much fun with their cousins, I am really glad they got to spend time with them this summer.

Harrison on his new bike. See how it is in a dip? He is put it right there and then pedal as fast as he could, only the bike wouldn't move because the wheels weren't touching the ground. He has since learned to ride without training wheels, so he can't do this trick anymore. :(

Good old Cocoa beach. This is the beach closest to us. I like it. it takes about 35 min to get there and it is nice enough. James wrote some sweet note in the sand there. I think the heart is for me. Sweet boy.

Harrison and Sophie playing in the sand.

Sophie being super cute and a complete muddy mess, but happy as can be.

At the splash pad, all worn out from running around for hours on end.

See? running around at the Splash pad. I don't think a summer day goes by without us getting our swim suits on, I LOVE IT.

The Perfect Summer

2011-08-05T11:56:00.001-07:00

Ah. Summer. When we moved here to FL we were warned by everyone about the miserably horribly hot summers. I was afraid my sweet summer days were over, but I am happy to say that this summer has been one of the best summers I have ever ever had. Let me paint the picture for you.

I sleep in until about 8:30, that's when I here my little songbird singing and playing with her teddy bears. I slowly get out of bed, no rush at all. Take my sweet time. Find my boys either in their bed or up playing with their legos. Sophie is so excited to see me and yells "MOMMY!" as soon as she sees my face. We all head downstairs for breakfast, big bowls of cereal for Dad, & James, little bowls for Harrison & Sophie. We have a family prayer & Ben heads out the door for work. All the kids give him big hugs. Then it's swim suit time. Everyone gets their swimsuits on and grabs a towel and we are off to spend a solid 3 hrs at the pool for lessons.

Lessons are wonderful, I work with Sophie, teach her how to get floating after falling in the pool. then how to flip on over and swim to the edge of the pool and climb on out. She is doing wonderfully. She can even stay afloat with James and his wild friends jumping in & out of the pool around her. Harrison continues to get braver each time we go. I am SO proud of him. James continues to be an olympic swimmer and has definite talent. I will post more on their swim lessons when they have finished. We have 2 more weeks.

The time at the pool flies by, the kids play, we all swim, we have a snack, get a drink, play more, each kids takes their turn with their teacher and I am happy to say the kids have behaved really well while at their lessons. Once we are all worn out, hungry and ready for naps we head on home for lunch. Here we have either pancakes & bacon, giant bowls of cereal, or cold crisp watermelon & sandwiches. hmmm. no matter what it is, it is always delicious.

Then the kids change, make beds, clean their room and play play play. I get the kitchen cleaned up and do a few chores around the house. After a couple hours it is quiet time. Sophie goes down for a nap, the boys read or play something quietly and I lay down on the couch and do whatever I want. Blog. Read. Nap. Daydream. Bless-ed quiet time. Once again I soon here my little songbird letting me know she is awake. I get her up, she is of course excited to see me (I'll never get tired of that) and the kids play together while I get dinner made. Ben gets home, plays with the kids for a bit, we eat dinner, clean it up and head out the door to the YMCA.

The kids love this place, as do I. They love the daycare there and always have a good time. Sometimes they do Yoga or Kid fitness, sometimes they go for walks around the lake or have dance parties, but they seem to always have a good time there and I never worry about leaving them there. Ben & I will find a fitness class to go to together. Spin, Circuit training, Total Body, Yoga. It doesn't matter, we just have fun working out together & we love the classes. It is almost like a little mini date each night and I love it.

After sweating for a good 1 1/2 hrs, we pick the kids up and head on home. We'll then sit on the porch while drinking some protein shake and watch the kids ride their bikes around until it is too dark. The evening is perfectly cool and we never want to go inside, but it is late & the kids need bed. Once they are in bed and things are picked up & put away. Ben & I will sit & watch some TV show on Netflix while enjoying a bowl (or 2) of ice cream. Then we realize we need to be adults and go to bed at a decent hour and head off to bed. We always think we will go right to sleep, but we usually end up talking and laughing until 1 am or later, & sleep takes over.

Now imagine all that, PLUS a weekly trip to the beach where you bury your toes in the hot hot sand, and then cool off in the cool water, letting the waves crash around you. Taking the body board out and riding the waves in. And then coming back to hot sand and warming up with the sun while you watch your kids build sand castles and play in the water.

OR you spend a magical evening at Disney World. not caring what rides you really go on because you can always come back, just enjoying being there together as a family and having a good time no matter what. And after a full evening of fun, watching the fireworks as you cross the river on a ferry. Now, that's magical.

OR going on a family walk & bike ride around the lake, sitting on a bench watching the fish jump. Or going to the park and watching a movie while enjoying popcorn & treats. Or doing any of the many things we have spent our summer doing. And this is only the FL part of our summer. Don't forget that we spent the first half of our summer in UT enjoying the mountains, family, & BBQs. Going to Europe with family. Running Marathons & relays. Watching fireworks light up the sky and hearing your kids excitement about each one.

Yes, that has been my summer. How more perfect could a summer be?

Sophie Singing

2011-08-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

I have always called Sophie my little bird, and lately I have been calling her my little song bird. This is because she sings all the time. I wake up every morning to her singing in her bed, and hear her agin while we drive in the car, and again when she sings herself to sleep. She usually just sings 3 songs, but she is now learning I am a Child of God and it is so sweet.

So today, when we go back from swim lessons, (that's why I am still in my suit...sorry) I was doing her hair and she was just singing. It was the sweetest thing and I thought I had better sit down with her right then and record her. So here she is, ignore my swim suit, unmade bed & other messes, just pay attention to my little songbird Sophie.

Ice Cream Sundays

2011-07-31T12:00:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know how to spell Ice Cream Sundaes. I do. Just listen for a moment and you'll get it.

Our boys have never enjoyed Sunday. They just don't. I mean let's think about it, kids you can't wear those awful old shorts and shirts you love so much, you have to wear a button up shirt that drives you a little crazy, and do that top button for a nice little tie. No flip flops, your nice sunday shoes, please keep your hair nice and DO NOT spill on that shirt before church pleeeease!

Then...Sit and be reverent for 3 hours. Yes, 3. I know, it is longer than a movie, and no you may not bring your transformers or bouncy ball. You may bring paper and crayons, but only to color on after the sacrament. Then it is off to primary, sit for another 2 hrs, and then come home. Can we play video games? No. Can we go swimming? No. Can we go play at a friends? No. We usually answered that last one with, Well we are going to grandmas tonight so you will be able to play with your cousins later on. And grandma will make cookies and we will have a fun night together.

Well, now that we live in FL, we don't get to go to Grandma's house on Sunday and eat cookies. I think that was the one thing they looked forward to on Sunday. So now, we go on walks, we play games together, we even make cookies, but they were still never very excited when they asked what day it was and I told them "sunday". They get this grouchy look on their face and say "I hate sundays, they are the worst, we can't do ANYTHING." I would try and point out all the things we CAN do on Sunday and that is actually is a fun day, but they were never convinced.

So then one Sunday we came home, hot & hungry and dug in the freezer for some much needed ice cream. We all sat around the table eating it and had a lot of fun talking about everything and which flavor was our favorite and it hit me. Ice Cream Sundays. We make it a tradition to eat ice cream after church each week. You can have it any way you want, cone, bowl, chocolate syrup, caramel. And Saturday night we all go to the store together to pick out which flavors we want to try.

We have only been doing this a month, but I have to say so far it is a success! Our kids actually get excited for Sunday now. They all call it Ice Cream Sunday, but I am just glad they aren't moping around all through church anymore. They get so excited for the different flavors or how many scoops they are going to have...it is great.

So there you have it, & if you ever want to join us for Ice Cream Sundays, we would love to have you.

Sophie-isms

2011-07-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

My Sophie. Sheesh. That girl is wildfire. Last night Ben and I were just sitting up talking & laughing all about that little thing. Things I don't want to forget, so I thought I'd better write them down somewhere.

Sophie will let her mind be known, no matter who you are or what you are doing. If she doesn't like you or what you are doing, you will most definitely hear it from her. While we were in UT her cousin, Elijah (who is a couple years older than her) was bothering her and wasn't leaving her alone and she finally turned around & in her angry growly voice said "NO WYHJAH! NEVER EVER EVER!!!!" and then she stormed off.

Whenever she gets mad, she gets really mad. And she will grit those teeth and shake her head and clench those fists and man you had better run for it. It is more funny than anything actually.

Sophie is so excessively stubborn you wouldn't believe it. Here are a couple stories.

She was playing with my necklaces and I told her she had to be careful with them because I did not want them broken. Well she of course started swinging them around and whacking them against things so I told her to give them back. She refused. I told her again to bring them back, she wouldn't. I told her if she didn't right then she would have a good time in time out. She just looked at me, walked over to the stairway and dropped the necklace over the edge. I told you, seriously stubborn. Yeah, she got some good time out that time.

And just the other day she wanted something and Ben told her no, so she threw a fit and in our house that just makes it all 100 times worse, you will end up with time out and a chore of some sort. She wouldn't listen to anything Ben said and was just being a plain butthead. And I don't remember exactly what he told her to do, but in her amazing anger she walked right over to Ben looked at him and peed all over. and no it wasn't an accident. She knew what she was doing. I'm in so much trouble when this thing turns 13.

Sophie & her "pink gwasses". She'd been asking for these for forever so I made her a deal. I told her that if she could take a nap without peeing the bed, then I would get her those pink glasses. guess what, she woke up dry and we got those glasses. She wore them everywhere, including bed. Funny girl.

How sweet is this? That brown blankie. What would ever happen if we lost that thing. She takes it everywhere with her. She won't sleep without it. She loves to hold it and find the corner and brush it on her cheek. She has been doing that since she was a tiny baby.

Adventure. She is not afraid of new things. She loves the beach. She loves the waves crashing over her. She loves to be thrown around in the air by her dad and get scared to death.

Um, she is also a nut. an absolute nut. She likes to be super silly with her brothers. We get really irritated by crude words and harrison was our biggest offender. he loved to be crude. So we got after him whenever he made potty jokes. Well, I guess Sophie thought that was all really funny, because whenever people are laughing or being silly she will burst out "poopy diaper!" And laugh and laugh. So now, that phrase is a joke in our house.

She loves loves loves Disney World. She loves it more than anyone of us. As soon as she sees the sign with Mickey mouse she get so excited and says "ders da mickey mouse!!! & daa pretty mickey mouse" (yes that would be minnie). But she gets there and she dances around and jumps with excitement at every little thing. She loves tea cups that "go round and round and faster and faster" but most of all she loves the carousel. The "pretty pink horsies".

Sophie also loves to sing. I love her singing more than anything. I wake up in the morning to hear her in her room just singing singing singing. she loves it when we all sing together too. right now her favorite songs are popcorn popping, ABC's, twinkle twinkle little star, & brown bear, brown bear.

Wasatch Back Ragnar 2011

2011-07-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

Did my first Ragnar Relay this year. It was superly fun and here are the pictures I promised.

Me, Jay, & James. Yes, Jay is always half naked in every race picture you will ever see of him. We actually did take an "opposite" picture like this one. Jay with his shirt on and us without, but James forbade me to ever post it. boooo.

On the ride up to Logan. Terrible pic, but they are a cute couple. That little hat down there is their 5 mos old Graham. He came along for Ragnar & Europe. Lucky baby.

Here is everyone one our team from van #1. We had all just finished our first legs. Ready for 2 more?

And here's Jay and I. Yeah, we're tight. We were actually laughing so much because we couldn't even see if we were in the pic or not and we got several shots of the tops of our hair or eyebrows before we got this one. Typical Jay & I craziness.

And then there are these two movies. The one is of Chris & Em's Dad, Ed, running along. HE ran the entire thing which I was totally impressed with.

And then next movie is of Jay running his first leg, it was FREEZING cold and they actually misdirected him and he ended up running an extra 2 miles. Good thing he is tough.

Marathon, 192 mile Relay, London & Paris, all within 3 weeks. Yeah.

2011-07-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

Warning: This is an extremely long post with no pictures. I will post pics later. Do not feel obligated to read this entire thing or even part of it. I just wrote it all down for my own good.

June 9th.

Get up after 3 hrs of sleep, gets kids ready and out the door to the airport. Rush to get in line & after waiting for a while realize you are in the wrong line, and actually you aren't even flying on that airline. poop. Grab kids and baggage and RUN to the other end of the airport, get checked in only to wait in another beautifully long line for the security check. And no, you can't go through the family/handicapped line, that is for double strollers only. Let me say this right now, I have been through security lines all over the country and in other countries & Orlando's is by far the WORST. Seriously, no help, no ushering the single mom with her 3 kids to the front of the line, just wait 1.5 hrs to get through this huge line and then you had better hurry it up to get all those kids things in the right bins and get them all through that security thing, one. at. a. time. sheesh. Finally get through security. James asks if we can get breakfast, I look at my watch. Our plane LEAVES in 10 mins. kids. grab your bags & run! I didn't even put Sophie's shoes back on. We ran onto the plane and the plane pulled out. Close call. 5hrs later we land in Phoenix, and one more 1.5 hr flight we were all safely landed in UT. We then met with family and friends throughout the day, it was so great to see them all. Then that night I met with all my old friends from Spring Creek Ranch for a Carb load. I had so much fun with all of them. They are like an extension of my family to me, my other sisters. Love you girls.

June 10th.

tried to get 8 hrs of sleep. not really working out. Carb load, drink water. Pick up my packet. Let kids play with their cousins and friends they had all missed so much. Pack James & Harrison up for Fathers & Sons. They were going with their Grandpa Morrise & had a fabulous time. They are still talking about the bonfire. Apparently it had 12 pallets piled up. Thank you Marshall for doing that with them, I am sure they will never forget it.

June 11th.

Day of the Utah Valley Marathon. 2 amazing hrs of sleep, up @ 2:45 am to get ready and off to the busses for the race. Went with my brother Jeremy & sister Amy. I was freezing, didn't realize how much I had gotten used to warm FL. We were all really nervous about the race. I didn't know how the dry air, elevation and rolling hills would affect me. Amy had had a bladder infection that week and still wasn't feeling well. Jeremy's wife had just had a baby and he had been with the baby the past two nights in a row. Yeah, we were in all really good shape for the run. we all started together, pretty slow. I wanted to see how my lungs were doing before I picked up the pace at all. At about mile 5 or 6 I realized my lungs were fine and so I picked up the pace a bit and held about an 8:30 the rest of the way. It was a great race. I just had 100% fun with it. Enjoyed chatting with Amy & Jeremy as we ran along and other runners. THen was excited to see Jay @ mile 18 to finish with me. I have never run the second half of a marathon with anyone before & I loved it! He kept me going and those last few miles weren't as painful as they typically are. I came through the finish line at 3 hrs 52 min. And I was perfectly happy with it. My family was there to cheer me on and it was great to see them all. After May and Jeremy came in we took pics and then went out to lunch to Mimi's Cafe' & then off to Jay's soccer game against UVU. Super fun day, so glad to have those memories.

June 12-16th:

Recover. as fast as I can. Ragnar starts 5 days after the Marathon. Lots of protein, lots of cycling, lots of ice, and a little running just to test the waters. I also spent time with old friends and family. My kids got to play with their Friends, Jaxson & Jakson and I got to catch up with everyone i had missed so much. It was great. James & Em came into town and then it was off to to do Ragnar. My kids stayed with Morrise's, I know I left them a lot during this trip.

June 17th & 18th:

Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay. For those of you that don't know what the heck I am talking about. It is a 192 mile relay. You have 12 people on your team, split into 2 groups. Van #1 & Van #2. Van #1 has runners 1-6 & Van #2 has runners 7-12. I was in Van#1 with my tow brothers James & Jay. Along with my sister in law Emily, her Dad Ed, and her brother Chris. Our start time was 5:00 am which meant we had to be on the road at 3 am. Another night of no sleep BEFORE the race even began. awesomeness. Once again, I was freezing. We were in Logan and we were running through mountains. I'm not going into details of the race. But I'll say this, it was awesome, it was fun, it was exhausting, it wasn't that hard to do, and I will definitely do it again. I ran a total of 18 miles, I tried to sleep in a HS gym with 300 other people, & almost smothered the man snoring next to me. took my first communal shower, and I no longer feel bad about what my body looks like. throughout the entire race only one guy passed me and I passed 91 other people. Awesomeness. It was a waaaay fun experience and am excited to run it again next year.

June 20th-30th:

Get up early and get to the airport on time cause I'm going to London, England! I once again leave my kids with Gma & left with My brothers Jay & James. And sister in law Emily. After flying hours and hours we get to the London Heathrow Airport, the next morning. So we slept for about 1.5 hrs and went to go see some sights. It was amazing. I love London. I don't love how $$$$ it is, but I love it there. I love the men in their suits, soooooo handsome. I love their accents and I love the respect they show "Her Majesty the Queen". I don't love how cold it is there. I love their hot chocolate and I love Waitrose. That was a little grocery store near our hotel and we went their in morning for bfast. And here is the truth, their breads were better than the ones in Paris. okay Things I want to remember about London....

-Mind The Gap

-Steak & Ale Pie

-Corner Taverns & Pubs

-"I am simplifying it for you, because you have a simple mind!" (old man talking to his wife...hilarious)

-Little boy begging his dad to tell him a story "but daddy, tell me the stoory..." "oh yes, well that is a fantastic story, see...."

-Men there wear gorgeous suits. Ben, you should dress like that. A lot. ;)

-Women there, don't do their make up, ever. except mascara.

-They like bright colors. socks & scarves included, men included.

-Toffee pudding. YUM.

-Hot Chocolate. Lots.

-People there run weird. Prance really, and they always have a backpack one. What is that all about?

-you always need an umbrellar

-Being royalty is the bomb and now I wish I was a princess. or that Ben had been born a prince and fallen in love with me and we could be royalty. Yep.

-Westminster Abbey is so so so so so cool. I didn't even know what it was until I went through it. I was amazed by all the people buried there and all the history there.

-The worlds largest diamond is huge. huge. and is on the end of a gold rod for some king. crazy.

-people live in the tower of London. Weird.

-Love all the corner taverns, pubs, and places like that.

-Buy your train tickets to France well in advance or you will be paying full price to sit in the luggage car. This was my own fault. So just go order food and sit in the dining car. That's what Jay & I did.

& That brings us to France. We were there until the 30th of June.

As soon as we got off the train in france and went to get our tickets for the subway a bunch of Gypsy girls started asking us for money, they wouldn't take no for an answer. You finally just had to be straight up rude and practically yell in their face and they would yell back. I'm not going to lie, I was afraid for my life in that subway. I noticed everyone wore black and everyone hugged their purse close to their chest. I followed their example. We were soon to our apt and discovered it had not been cleaned and did not have sheets or towels and we had no phone to contact to owner. bummer. So here are the French adventures & highlights:

-Emily R & I wandering the streets of France looking for a phone or someone that could contact the owner for us to let them know that we need the apt serviced. WE finally found a kind french lady that let us use her iphone (mine didn't work out there) and we were able to get the situation taken care. THank you kind french lady!

-French women are very kind and will generally help you. French men, not so much.

-The language was not a problem, most places had english menus or the waiter could translate. We never had a real problem with the communication.

-"Tok tok tok" What a french lady said to us as she motioned for us to walk.

-Chocolate, oh French, be proud of your delicious chocolate.

-The lady at the chocolate store, telling us about each type and how it was made and what it is used for. Loved her.

-Bike tour. #1 thing for Europe trip. Touring paris on a bike. does it get any better? I don't think so. The thing I loved about that most was that they didn't just take you to the super touristy sites, you saw all the little things that you would never have known about. like how all the elementary schools have this little black sign on them in remembrance of all the jewish children that were taken away & killed during WWII. very very sad. Or, on a lighter note, how "the invader" had come to paris and put 80's video game characters on buildings to make a map. It was super cool and if you ever go to paris, that is a must.

-The louvre is awesome. my favorite thing was a sculptor called "the gladiator" It was amazing to me. The artist had every vein and muscle exactly right. they didn't miss a thing in it. I could had studied that thing forever. It was super cool. Also really like the broken angel on the ship, can't remember what it was called.

-Food at the Louvre...duck was simply amazing and probably the best thing I ate while in Paris.

-"Merci" "Pardon" "Bon Jour"

-Little shops all over. Very pricey, but beautiful work. People there are very proud of what they sell and they should be. It is all amazing. I'm not talking touristy stuff, I'm talking where the natives shop.

-Mono Prix. Local grocery store where I bought lots and lots of food.

-Flower shops everywhere, my dream. Bring home flowers from the local flower stand.

-desserts desserts desserts. good thing I ran a marathon before I came. I needed to run a marathon EVERY DAY to keep up with the calories I ate there. oh boy. But man it was goooood. Best one...lemon cream tart. and then maybe the tri-chocolate mousse.

-Jan & I ran to Eiffel tower, along the river and around the Louvre. Glad to get some exercise in there.

-Everyone, and their dog, smokes. Everyone. even the kids.

-tiny apt. had to share a bed, a couch bed, and my brother. he was mortified, I laughed.

-no hot water. cooooold showers. But it was hot there so that was okay.

-Hiking up the eiffel tower on the stairs. I'm not going to lie, I was a little afraid.

-Going shopping with Jay to shops, getting treats, creme brulee sandwiches, scarves, shoes and other things for people. Soooo much fun.

-Their roast beef is the best. USA, you don't know what roast beef is.

-Cheese. USA you don't know what cheese is. I hate cheese here, but I couldn't stop eating it there.

-Buying a brick of soft cheese only to realize later that it wasn't a brick of cheese, but a slice of cheesecake. It was a good surprise.

-Pizza with eggplant & mushrooms all rolled up is yummy.

-Versailles. you are cool. insanely cool. meaning, that king was insane. the little village nearby is much more my style. I would live there if I could. The little gardens and cottages were charming and seemed straight out of a fairytale.

-I hate hate hate my suitcase. I will never haul it around again.

And then after a 12 hr flight, 8 hour layover and another 4 hr flight. We were back in UT. Exhausted. Dead. Beat. But we had had an amazingly awesome time so it was worth it. Can't wait to go explore another part of the world next year. And I know I know. I need to post pics, I will. I have some on my phone, my bro has more and when I get to it I will post it all. Right now I have 2 yr old that is screaming at me about Hello Kitty Bandaids. Take care friends.

I Need a Maid.

2011-05-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in RS we talked about parenting and especially mothering. As I listened to all the sisters, I was very impressed with what great mom's they were/are and decided that it was time for me to step it up a bit. Mother's day is next week and what better way to celebrate it than by being the best dang mom on the planet.

So, I decided to set my alarm early, an hour earlier than the kids typically get up so that I could have some time in the morning to myself to get ready, breakfast on the table, lunches made, beds made, a load of laundry started...so I did. I couldn't sleep because I never can. And by the time the alarm went off I REALLY did not want to get up. But I also REALLY wanted to be a totally kick trash mom. So I got up. Dressed. Bed Made. Breakfast on the table, kids dressed, lunches made, laundry going all by 8 am and we were off to school. Then it was straight to the gym where I got my butt kicked by some trainer and I couldn't use my arms for forever they were so dead. Then it was home and I was so tired I just wanted to take a nap, but I didn't. Once again, being a great mom.

So, I went outside with the kiddos, rode bikes and all that goodness until it was lunch time and then nap time for kiddos. I REALLY wanted to sleep now, but I didn't. I cleaned like a crazy woman because I wanted to get the cleaning done while the kids were sleeping so I could spend time with them when they were awake instead of telling them to leave me alone while I cleaned. I got the house pretty dang clean and I was really proud of myself. I even vacuumed the stairs and washed the sliding door window. Floors were all clean and the ktichen was sparkling. Pat on the back to me. Then I quickly showered, got ready, took the kids to store to get the things needed for the treat Harrison wanted to make with me (yeah I really was awesome today) picked James up from school, went straight to the pool (I packed all the swim stuff before I left, I think I deserve a gold star now) the kids swam and swam and got all that energy out. It was great. James is getting really good at the swimming thing, and Harrison continues to be a little more brave each time we go. Go Harrison!

Then it was back home, kids rinsed off and dressed and chore time for a bit. I helped each of the kids with their assigned chores until we were all finished and then I set them loose while I made dinner.

If it were up to me, and I am thinking it is, I would eat out every single night of the week. I love to cook meals, but I HATE cooking meals while trying to take care of whiny hungry kids at the same time. BAH! I burned part of dinner, and Ben hated the chicken. Sheesh. So much for my Gold Star now. But Harrison and I had made the delicious muddy buddies together for FHE so all was not lost. We had FHE, which James and I had discussed earlier and he helped with the lesson and everyone took part and it went fabulously.

I then realized that I was supposed to get James new shoes that day and had completely forgotten. So I gave Ben the job of putting the other kiddos to bed while James and I went shopping. Took James shopping, got shoes, came back as quickly as I could, sat and helped James with the rest of his homework (he does best at night when the others are in bed, trust me, we have tried everything else).

As I sat there I looked around the house. crushed muddy buddies around the kitchen and family room. spilled dinner on the floor (I swear I had cleaned it all up, but apparently not) toys all over. coloring pages from harrison from one end of the house to another. Dirty dishes in the sink. Crayon papers torn up and littering the floor. clothes hanging around, books out everywhere. Piles of unfolded laundry in the corner. Ugh. My house was a stinking mess. It's bedtime, I am completely exhausted and I have to start all over again with all those dang stinking chores! I worked my butt off all day long and no one noticed or cared or even liked it! I wondered why the world I push myself so hard to be a good mom when all I get is complaints about everything. I remember the days I worked at the hospital and they loved me. I worked hard and I was dang good at what I did and everyone told me so. Loved it. Here, I work my butt off, give it everything I've got and not only does NO ONE notice or care about it, everything I do gets undone within a matter of minutes and I have to start all over. This deal sucks folks. a lot.

So, all you mom's out there that have grown children. When the hell am I going to get my payoff? When am I ever going to see that all this work and frustration and devotion was worth it? Hmm? Because i am starting to think I NEVER will. They just grow up, & resent you for your terrible parenting.

I know you are reading this thinking that I hate being a mom and all that jazz but I really don't. I just need a maid. I like spending time with my kids and I like being a mom. I just really HATE being the maid. hate it. hate it. hate it. We talked in RS about getting joy from work. yeah, I get no joy out of it my friends. I get joy out of running, and working hard there, but not from scrubbing toilets.

I mean, today was a really good day. got a lot done and had a good time with the kids. All good things, and gold star mom worthy. But facing that messy house at the end of the day....sometimes it is more than I can handle. I just want to get in a hot tub and soak a while, but instead, I've got to go get muddy buddies out of the carpet. (who in the WORLD puts white carpet down ever???? I think I am buying a giant rug tomorrow).

Since We've Been Here

2011-04-02T17:08:00.001-07:00

So, since we've been here we have been busy and lots has been going on. Here it all is:

The Not So Awesome Things....

-The day before we arrived our movers called to lets us know they wouldn't be arriving for at least another week. awesome. no stuff. no beds. nothing to cook with. nothing except our suitcases. awesome.

-We had to get the kids immunizations on FL forms from the Orange County health dept. This meant going to the WORST part of town, seriously, I was a little afraid of getting shot and was really glad I was just driving my Honda and not Ben's nice car. It also meant standing in line in a hallway for 2 hrs one day with all 3 kids, and then another 3 hrs then next day. The crazy part was, was that they would seriously give you a mean look if you kids stepped out of the line. I mean really?

-I found a note James wrote "friends I have lost Cohen, Lexi, Jaxson, Austin, Mrs. Wood. I miss my friends" And I found him in his closet with the door shut crying. Then we sat in the closet and cried together.

-A week after we got here our power was shut off. Did not come back on for 2 days. I had just bought food, and it all spoiled. :(

-Our first trip to the pool Sophie fell right into the 5 ft part of the pool. I was right by her, jumped in and pulled her out. It took her a minute to get her breath back, but she was fine. She even tried to jump back in a little later. I bought 3 life jackets the next day. My kids are also starting swim lessons. That is a must.

-A $400 bowl someone gave to us for our wedding was not packed well and arrived broken. Sad.

-Going to RS for the first time and not knowing anyone there. Realizing that no one there knew me either, and didn't know anything about me. I came home and cried and cried and cried. *this isn't because people were unkind or anything, the sisters here have been very kind, I just missed going to RS and knowing everyone there and getting to see good friends there.

-Toll Roads.

-Ben's commute. 45-60 min each way. :(

The Very Awesome Things That Make The Move Worth It......

-THE BEACH!!!!! We go as much as we can, we aren't far from the beach. When we were there last Saturday i was walking along and I truly felt like it was home.

-The constant sunshine

-The short torrentially awesome rain & thunderstorms. I love them.

-My Mayberry Neighborhood. Seriously, we live in Orlando, but our neighborhood is like this small little town. There is the old fashioned "downtown" just a couple blocks away from my home with little shops and diners, and the local YMCA. It also has great parks with splash pads, basketball courts, baseball fields, playgrounds and it is all literally a 2 min drive there, or a 10 minute walk. awesome!

-YMCA membership. Love that place. The wall to the Daycare is all glass so you can always see your kids. They do classes and stuff with the kids and take really good care of them. The people are super friendly and I actually enjoy going to the gym.

-The fact that I can breathe now while I run. In UT my lungs always gave out before my legs did. Here, I find myself telling my legs to catch up constantly.

-My kids playing outside every single day. We have a very small fenced in area to our townhome, but big enough for the slide and a little table for the kids. Sophie plays back there almost all day.

-Our constant "family time". Our family is really really bonding through all this. The kids are fast becoming best friends. After a day together at the beach James said "mom, Harrison is really cool. I think he can be my new best friend." I love it. The three play together more than ever and I think they will be the best of friends one day. It reminds me of my siblings.

-Going to the beach all the time is the best. My kids play for hours on end there, I have no worries about them because the waves are pretty calm and they won't go in very deep. Even when the waves are decent we throw on the life jackets, they grab their tubies and ride the waves in. Sometimes they get seriously tossed around but they love it! It's the best.

-The fact that I have shopping so close to me. Love it. There are so many shopping centers in Orlando. seriously, like places that have every store you could possibly imagine all within a couple blocks of each other. Unfortunately that DOES make me spend more $$$ than I should.

-No socks ever again. Flip flops or other sandals is all we need. FABULOUS!

-we are all getting tan, but first Ben & I got seriously sunburned. That wasn't so awesome I guess.

-Produce. Here is amazing. Fresh picked strawberries that are huge and dark red all the way through.....mmmmm soooooo good. You can just go pick them at the farm if you want. Seriously, I haven't bought much junk food since we came. I just buy tons of produce (because it all tastes so dang good) and that is what we snack on all the time.

-THEME PARKS. yep. I can't wait to get to all of these. We are buying our annual Disney passes this week and surprising James on his B-day. It'll be awesome. He just thinks we are going to McDonalds. I can't wait for it.

-James' school. It is pretty awesome. I wish they got more recess & play time. But his class is small, he has made several friends and his teacher is very attentive to him & communicates really well with me all the time. I am forever grateful for my friend in my ward here Lorraine who works at the school and helped me get him registered and helped him feel welcome. Thank you lorraine!

-How everyone is all about families here and has the same morals we have regardless of religion. I see billboards everywhere promoting good parenting and anti-abortion and just really pro-family. They have tons of family activities in our neighborhood, like the movie in the park we went to a couple weeks ago & I love it.

-How active and healthy people are here, you always see families and people running biking walking and just exercising together.

-Friendliness. Um people here are SUPER friendly. It is inspiring to me. Makes me want to be a kinder person & teach my kids some serious manners.

Okay I could keep going, I really do love it here. sure, I miss my friends in UT and my kids miss their friends. But, I remember feeling that same way when we moved into our old home. So I know the friends and relationships will form, it just takes time. Our ward has been very friendly to us (inviting us to things) and we are excited to get to know everyone better.

44 Hours of Driving

2011-03-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

All right, well I promised a blog update so here it is. Unfortunately I have not taken any pics of our house or anything like that, so all FL pics will be in the next post. This is our trip across the U.S. in pictures. It took 6 days (we stopped in AZ for a few days to visit family) 44 hours of driving, soooo much junk food that I am still working it off and counting calories like a crazy person, and about 10 stops total counting over nighters. But we made it. Here are the pics I took with my phone as we drove along.

First, we had to pack up the house. That isn't nearly everything but some.

Then we were off! Within a couple hours of leaving Provo Sophie fell sound asleep. She didn't really sleep the rest of the trip. booo.

Our last pics of UT ( I think, I don't think we had hit AZ yet but maybe) While in UT we reached nearly 8,000 ft elev. & several feet of snow.

Then came down to this. Ugh. How ugly. Sorry AZ. You aren't so pretty.

Some bridge and muddy water. It looked cool. probably because it was the only water we had seen in hours.

Then we came across the cactuses which were very cool. My kids went crazy about those things. They thought it was so cool how old those things are. We got up close to one and we all decided it would not be awesome to run into one of those things. By the way, is there anything in AZ that doesn't have prickly something on it?

YAY! I am with my best friends. My brother's James & Jay. Obviously they had been in sunny AZ, and I had been in cold wintery UT. I think I could be a vampire I am so pale in that pic. Wehad so much fun visiting them. I was SO glad we went to Tucson to see them before we headed out. James & Em, you guys are seriously the funnest people to visit, thanks for all the great food and entertainment, we love you!!!

Harrison & James were pretty excited to have some toys to play with after being cooped up in a car for 12 hrs. Harrison is a knight here. He and James love their cousin Wes & Henry and had the greatest time playing with them.

Um, yeah, we are weird. But you know that already.

After a few days in AZ we were back in the car for the lang haul. Harrison decided a green tongue was much cooler than a real one.

James went for blue. They've just got airheads in their mouths, it entertained them for about 10 minutes.

This is what we stared at for that whole day. Nothing. absolutely nothing.

except these trees every now and then. wow, I am boring even myself.

As we drove through El Paso I was looking out my window and thought "holy crap what a crappy city!" THen I realized I was looking right into Mexico. Then I was very very sad for those people. How would it be to have the USA just a few feet from you and you couldn't get in?

I have to say, the second half of TX was beautiful. I loved the green hills and farms spread out everywhere. I couldn't get enough of all the green simply gorgeous. I am total sucker for beautiful green country.

We spent our first night in Ft. Stockton, then stayed the next night with my Aunt just outside Houston, TX. She was so great! Thank you Aunt Glenine for letting my boys destroy your house and run around! Thanks for the great dinner and bfast, it was so much fun to see you and your home. Thank You!

Oh, & here is Houston and we drove through it.

We Left my Aunt's home very early, before then sun was up. And here is the sun as it came up that morning.

We started to head into the swamps of the south. So cool and mysterious.

Then all the great rivers.

And Sophie had her way with a marker, a couple times actually.

I actually have no idea what city this is. I was driving at the time and all I was thinking was "faster faster faster, just get there!!!"

But there was this cool Navy ship just outside the city. So I told Ben to take a pic.

Okay I was driving at this point too, so I told Ben to take another pic for me. This is Northeren Fl and is gorgeous. It was by far the prettiest country we had seen. Green green green with fields and blossoms great trees everywhere you looked. I seriously loved it.

We were just about to Tallahassee, that was where we were supposed to stop, but I wanted to just get there and be done with it all. So we kept going.

another 4 hrs and we were in ORLANDO! We drove 16 hrs that day, it was awful, but we made it!!! It was too dark for pics, but the next day we drove to our new home and knew we had found the right place because we found this street not too far from our house.

"Sophie"

Yep, this is the place!

Yeah Right, Like We Would Move to Florida....

2011-03-01T15:08:00.000-08:00

That's what I said when Ben called to tell me a company in Orlando, Fl had contacted him & was interested in interviewing him. It was MGM Studios in Disney World that originally called. I'm not going to lie, it sounded a little bit excited and it definitely had my interest. But, it was in FL. We weren't going to pack up and move across the country just for a different job. Ben had a good job already. But here I am. Sitting at my computer. The last thing left to pack. Every little thing in my house is boxed up, labeled & taped shut. Pictures have been taken down from every wall. Paint patched. Suitcases packed. Goodbyes said.

I guess it all started & ended with the new house. We had found our dream home last fall. And when I say dream home, I mean dream home. It was perfect. It was exactly what we had both wanted and had been looking for. We immediately signed the papers, paid the first deposit to secure the lot for us and put our house up for sale.

2 months went by. with not one showing. we kept dropping the price, still no shows. With the possibility of not selling our house we started to look for other ways to buy the house. We looked into other loans and got approved for both homes, but our new home was $10k off the approved price. We didn't know what to do. Whether to just lose a ton of money on our current home, get a cheaper home somewhere else that we could get approved for, or just stay where we were. We were really confused and didn't know what to do.

Fast Sunday in Feb came and we both fasted and prayed to know where we should go. What we should do. Where our family was meant to be. I honestly prayed that the answer would be so obvious we couldn't mistake it.

Two days later, our dream home fell through, the builders refused to budge on the price. 5 minutes later Ben got the call from Orlando. A job at MGM studios. That sounds like fun, go ahead and interview, but just for the free trip to Orlando. We're not moving that far away.

Oh wait, another job in Orlando? it pays more, and is permanent? (the MGM one turned out to be a short term thing) Eh, go ahead and interview there as well. It doesn't hurt, and once again you might as well get a free trip to Orlando, but we aren't really moving there.

First interview. Went really well. Ben says it seems like a good company. Second interview comes around. Very very long. Hours. By the end, they were extremely impressed with Ben. They were going to fly him out for another interview.

I think I will forever remember that night. I had secretly planned a date for Ben. We went to SLC and ate at the Roof Restaurant. I have this image forever stuck in my head. As I looked out over SLC I remember just knowing that our time in UT was done. That whatever we were supposed to gain here and learn, had been done. That it was truly time for us to move on. So I told Ben. He was thinking the exact same thing. It was at that point we both knew we were leaving UT.

Ben hadn't gotten an actual offer yet. But let me tell you this. He has been offered every job he has ever interviewed for. I knew he would get the job. And I knew we would be moving to FL sometime very soon.

This all happened within one week. It was so fast.

That weekend was very emotional for me. I hadn't really told anyone we were actually moving to FL. I knew it was right and I knew it was the answer we had been looking for. That same week our old Bishop, Bishop Edwards, passed away. The funeral was Sat, Ben was leaving Mon and I knew he would come back with a job offer. As I worked with the people/sisters in my ward to prepare for the funeral and was surrounded by so many people I love so much, I couldn't help but just cry. The tears just wouldn't stop. How could i leave? How could I leave my family, my friends, my neighborhood & everything I had known and loved so much for the past 30 yrs? We knew NO ONE in Orlando. Not one person. I couldn't do it. But I knew it was what I supposed to do. I knew that it was right for our family. But still, could I actually leave?

The next day, Sunday, there were talks given about the Lord's hand guiding their family at times and how it was hard but how it had blessed their family so much. Then in RS the lesson was on Sacrifice. Women spoke of how when you sacrifice something, at the time it seems unbearable, but if you could look back and see the big picture and the blessings that come from that sacrifice you would do it in a heartbeat. And how at times they have had to sacrifice things and really wondered if they could do it, but then did it, and in the end wondered why they ever questioned in the beginning.

I am so grateful for the strong testimonies I heard from people that day. They all gave me my answer and they all gave me strength. As I left RS I KNEW we were meant to go to FL. I KNEW that it would be okay. I KNEW that the Lord was truly guiding our family and taking care of us. The sadness went away, and I was 100% confident in our decision to move to FL.

Ben went to FL, loved it. Loved the company. Loved the area. Felt confident. He was given an offer and we took it. We needed to be moved out in 2 weeks to make it to FL in time for him to start his new job.

I am not going to go into all the details of everything we have done and gotten together in the past 10 days. But we have found another town home in a great neighborhood in East Orlando. WE are just renting for the first 6 months and then hopefully buy before the next school year. The schools the kids will be attending are great. (Only 12 kids per teacher). We have listed our home for rent and have been getting regular calls on it, I am sure it will rent before next week. We have hired our neighbors to manage the rental while we are gone. I have had sooo many nights out with friends and family to say our good byes, and have enjoyed every one of them.

And now, the house is packed. THe movers are coming to put everything on the truck and drive it all out to Orlando. The company is paying for all relocation costs, so no worries there. We are spending our last nights at Grandma's while we get the house cleaned and ready to rent out before we leave. Harrison already had his last day of school, James' is Friday.

At this point I am just excited. I am excited for this new adventure our family taking. I am excited to live in a new place and see new things and meet new people. I can't wait to attend our ward and meet the other members there. I can't wait for James and Harrison's first day of school and hear about their new school. I can't wait to get to our new home and get all moved in.

I'm not dumb, I know there will be hiccups along the way. I know it is going to be hard. I know there are bugs and I know that I hate bugs. That is why there is such thing as pest control dear friends. I know it is going to take time to make friends and make a new life out there. But I also know that this is where our family is meant to be, whether for 2 yrs, 10 yrs, or forever.

So dear UT, your winters are terrible, I hate the cold. The snow is wet and makes a terrible mess. But it is so beautiful on that first snowfall. And there is nothing like seeing the bright red leaves in the autumn, hearing the roars of an evening thunderstorm, seeing all the beautiful tulips & blossoms in the spring, and enjoying the hot summer days barefoot in the soft grass.

I'll definitely miss you. But it is time to say good bye, I'm off to spend some serious time on a warm sandy beach. Doesn't that sound nice?

Harrison & Basketball

2011-02-01T14:29:00.001-08:00

I completely forgot to write about Harrison playing basketball throughout Jan. It is what we call "itty bitty" ball, and it is for 3 & 4 yr olds. Harrison Loves it though. And not to be a braggy parent, he is pretty good at it. I mean look at this kids making the shot.

Typically he actually tossed it in, but I have to say, he made it in most of the time. He was so cute, after his first day he came home and asked ben how to dribble. "Dad, how do you bounce the ball? I don't know how to use my arm, is it like this?" and he moved his arm up and down. o cute. He got really good at dribbling and making the shots in the games. That's my Harrison!

Playing a Game

And getting ready for another game

The two boys on the left are friends of Harrison. It was fun to have a few of us together.

Team pictures. Yeah that's right, I won't pay the $20 for them. Just go take a snapshot. ;)

And here they are playing with the beach ball, which I think was the kids favorite activity.

Giving Back

2011-01-28T14:01:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I am really glad January is just about over. Not because it is has been a horrible month or anything, I just really need spring and summer to come. I am tired of being cold , of opening my window to gray skies, and I am oh so very tired of sick kids.

I don't think my kids have ever been as sick as they have this winter. It started in October, we got colds that all eventually turned into sinus infections and/or ear infections. Then we got the flu, the real flu, not stomach, then more ear infections and sinus problems and coughs that never seemed to end. Poor Sophie has not been well in 3 months! That is a long time for a baby to be sick. She has been on 3 different rounds of antibiotics, and over Christmas we started a much stronger medication to try and get her better. She seemed to improve for about 5 days, and then caught RSV. It was just this last week that I finally got my happy healthy little girl back, and James came home that day with a temp of 103. Where's the love?

I am happy to say though, that once again (please knock on some serious wood!) we are all feeling good, and back to our "normal" routine.

Look at my cute family. This was taken just after Christmas.

So now here we are at the end of January. Everyone is working on their new years resolutions. When Ben and I started talking about things we wanted to change or do differently this year, he told me that I needed to "stress less". Work out less, clean house less, not freak out so much about things going a little wrong. (I think he just knows he can't compete with my awesomeness so I need to come down to his level). :) No, he actually was right. I have been cleaning less, spending more time with kiddos and him and not stressing out about all those little things. And guess what? I am happier. Much. Isn't it nice to have someone point you in the right direction?

But, besides doing less, I really did want to make some goals for this year. I thought about several different things and they just seemed to bring more stress in my life. That's no good. Then I was wasting time on facebook one afternoon (someone please tell me I am not the only one that does that). And I came across something one of my very good friends did the week of her 31st birthday. She did 31 acts of service during that week and had posted each and every thing she did. It truly inspired me. I generally try to help people out when I can, taking meals, watching kids all that goodness. But she did many random little things that made people's day. Taking flowers to someone for no reason, giving people gifts cards in stores, writing thanks yous and leaving a small gift etc. It was amazing all the little things she did that brought SO much joy to many people.

I thought about last year, (it was rough, that is all I am going to say) and all the people that helped us out when we needed it. And I realized something, that this year was going to be about giving back. We have been so blessed in every way, so now, it is our turn to help out. I thought about my friends list of things she did and I copied her. I decided I was going to start right then and there. I was just about to go grocery shopping (with all 3 kiddos, awesome). So we picked up a box of heart shaped doughnuts, paid for them. And waited by the front doors until a little family came walking through. We gave them the doughnuts, wished them a Happy Valentine's and went, happily, on our way.

My kids loved it, and I loved it. I realized that this is what I need to do this year, it truly makes me happy, no matter what other stresses are going on. And it is fun! This is what I need this year, this is what I am changing. Small acts of service, everyday. I have started sewing a couple different quilts and am making some really cute onsies to give to Primary Children's. I also have a list of people I am sending thank you cards to that I really should have thanked a long time ago. I am excited for this year. I am excited to Give Back.

Admit it, she is the most beautiful thing you have EVER seen.

Now, about these adorable pictures of Sophie. While all the kids were home this week, and I was really tired of just cleaning house all day. Sophie and I played dress up. She LOVES to wear mascara and eye shadow. She asks for those every day. She calls mascara "tickle". I love it.

I love that she is sucking on the pearls, she used to always grab them off my neck when she was a baby and plop them right in her mouth. Still does.

I really wish you could see her beautiful smile here, she was being so funny.

I told you I was absolutely blessed, look at that gorgeous girl? How in the world did I ever get her?

Christmas Pictures

2011-01-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from last month's fun. I have more but they are on Ben's phone, so probably won't be posting those. We had a great month and did TONS of fun things. Christmas was fabulous. We didn't overly spoil our kids, they each got 3 presents, one big 2 small, and they had a great time anyway. The cap guns were the winners though. Why didn't I know that a simple $5 gun would bring so much entertainment? And Why did I buy anything else? ;)

James and Harrison with their chocolate suckers we made.

They did a really great job with the chocolate molds. James was so careful with the different colors, I honestly don't think I could have done any better.

Christmas morning. James checking out his candy.

Harrison sitting on the "wooshie pooshie" (that's what he calls whoopie cushions)

He thought it was hilarious.

Sophie and her cute new jammies. She didn't care too much about her presents once she saw the candy. In fact, she didn't even open her presents until late afternoon when the boys finally made her go open them.

Harrison and his Train from Santa. It actually is a pretty great little train, and has gotten Ben hooked ! He is now buying and looking at train things at every hobby shop and has some serious train table plans for the basement in our new home.

James and his HUGE lego set. He put it together pretty much by himself that day. I was impressed.

Sophie and I at Temple Square. I love this picture.

Here we all are at Temple Square, the lights weren't as amazing as past years, but we had some hot cocoa and donuts so it was still a fun evening together.

Thanksgiving and Then Some

2010-12-16T21:32:00.001-08:00

Wow. I haven't blogged in long time. I think I say that at the beginning of every blog though. Oh well. Probably because I feel like I have been running around crazy for the past month and a half. So since there is so much to catch up on I am just going to give a list of the highlights, and when I find my camera I will post pics to go with it all.

NOVEMBER

-my little brother Jay had a 2 week break from Med School and came to visit. It was SO great to see him. When I saw him at the airport I was screaming with crazy excitement. Yeah I am one of those people. We had tons of fun eating whatever (He's a starving student, I had to fatten him up) Running crazy runs & working out together, Playing games and kicking his butt in Monopoly deal, seriously I am pro at the game so watch out if you ever play me. We just had an awesome time together & I was really sad to realize that he would probably never live by us again and it would always just be these visits when we get together. boo. He's been my best friend forever, and been there for me through the hardest times of my life. I love that kiddo. And I am excited to see him in just a few more days for his Christmas visit. (it is short though, only a couple days) sigh.

-Thanksgiving. Was really fun. I made the yummiest rolls ever, my apple pie wasn't the best ever, but still pretty good. We went over to Gma Robertson's this year (we take turns each year) And we helped get everything set up, cooked and ready to serve. I felt like the hostess just a bit, and then I realized that I really want to host Thanksgiving. So I informed everyone that next year I would be hosting the Dinner in my new house.

-New House. yes our new house. We are once again building. We stumbled upon some really cute homes while going for drive (we had all been sick for weeks and needed to get out). So we called on them, walked through the model home and Ben and I just knew that this was our new home. before we knew it, we had picked out the house, the lot, the upgrades, signed papers and put the first chunk of money down. Wow. It is amazing though I will tell you that. If you want to go check it out here is the builders website new house plans And if you click on Tour the Model those are pictures of the model which is the same as the home we are building and will look basically the same. Isn't it fantastic? We are building in Pleasant Grove, just southeast of the American Fork Temple on a half acre lot. I love this house. It really is my dream house and I can't believe we are getting it. I love that it is big enough that we can just stay there forever and raise our family and grow old together there. So, our home right now is for sale (yeah good luck right?) We'll drop the price until it sells, and so I am sure it will eventually. Our home won't be done until end of April first of May so we've got a few months.

-Black Friday. Was awesome. We spent the night at Target. Yeah we did. Crazy huh? We didn't even have anything we NEEDED to get. Just wanted to do it for fun. We ended up with a big TV and all of our Christmas shopping completely done in one big shopping spree. Ben literally had to fight to get the TV. Okay not fight, but people were pushing him over and taking TV after TV away from him, so he decided to just go for it. He muscled his way in grabbed one and didn't let go. It was hilarious. I will never forget that mound of people fighting for those things. Even though it was FREEZING cold all night and I thought my toes would fall off, we are already planning on spending the night again next year. Oh the joys of the Holidays.

DECEMBER

-Family Activities. At the start of the month we sat down with the calendar and planned out the entire month of all the different things we wanted to do. Before we knew it, every day was filled and we have been busy with fun-ness ever since. This is what we have done so far.... Got a Christmas tree and decorated the house, made gingerbread houses, paper snowflakes, christmas chains, went light looking around several neighborhoods, Temple Square, Thanksgiving point lights, made peppermint ice cream sandwiches, helped the kids make spritz cookies, saw santa, made friend presents, had a nativity play, went to James' school choir concert, got tags off an Angel tree, hmmmm, I think that is all for now. We still have to take around all our friend and neighbor gifts, go sledding & ice skating, we have watched most of our favorite Christmas movies, but still need to see A Christmas Story, oh and we have stuff to make Chocolates for all the kids cousins. Whew! busy month!

-RS Christmas dinner. It's done. Done, & Done. Thank heavens. No it really wasn't that bad, just glad I don't have to stress about it anymore. We have over 200 sisters in our RS and didn't have very much of a budget left for this dinner. But with lots of volunteers and good people to bring this and that, the food was absolutely amazing, the program was excellent and I cried several times when I saw all the people that were helping me out to make it all come together. THank you everyone who helped, you are seriously so wonderful, THANK YOU!!!

-Kids. Things they have said or done that makes me laugh.

Sophie saying "missmiss whites" every time she sees any Christmas lights.

Harrison opening James' presents. (yeah he knew they were James' that's why he opened them).

Harrison sharing his Elf treat every morning with James. So sweet!

Finding a love note from James to his sweetheart Lexi. He has liked this girl since we moved in over 4 yrs ago. It said "Lexe, I luv you. Do you play Baseball? I play baseball. We can go to BYU. (picture of them holding hands and BYU written above it with hearts everywhere) last page "I will give you a present for Christmas" picture of him giving her a present with more hearts. (how is that not the cutest thing ever?)

James passed off all his requirements in Gymnastics to move to the next level! I was so proud of him. He really does have a natural ability and talent at it. I am excited to see him continue to improve.

Harrison is in Gymnastics as well. and he LOVES it. He is a goof the entire time and just loves to be running around with other kids, but that is all he needs to be doing. Just enjoying it.

Sophie going to Harrison and saying "sorry Dee dee sorry" (yeah that is her nickname for him) after she hit him. The she hugged him. How is she growing up so fast?

Had a super fun day with the kids yesterday. Picked James up early from school so we could go visit Santa before Gymnastics, Saw Santa, James asked him how the reighndeer fly, then we played at the big tree for a while, went to gymnastics, made them their favorite dinner Spaghetti and Meatballs, watched a movie together, ate popcorn and oreos and then had a sleepover together. Ben is out of town this week, so it was nice not to be alone in my room. We had such a fun time together, and man I was tired at the end of the day. Love those kids though.

All right, I think I am done. That is all I can think of for now. We are excited for this weekend as ALL OF MY FAMILY is coming for Christmas. We haven't been all together in over 7 years. it is going to be insane, but SUPER fun! We are so excited. So chances are that I will not blog again until after everything. So, until then... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

What I've Been Missing

2010-11-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

This Last weekend Ben and I ran the Provo Halloween Half Marathon. This race started up at Aspen Grove and ended at the Riverwoods Mall. Neither Ben or I had been running very much this month, I had been recovering from St. George & had been cross training throughout the month. Ben hurt his knee at the start of the month, and so had taken some time off as well. We were in good shape to run 13.1 miles. HA!

We stayed at my parents so they could watch the kids, I put together a little costume for myself, a tutu & wings, and at 6:30 am we were on the bus to the race. Only our bus missed the turnoff to the canyon. He decided to go up and over the American fork side of the Alpine Loop, and tried dropping us off at the Timpanooke Campground, then admitted he had no idea where we were going. We got him in the right direction, and some of those tight turns were a little interesting in a huge yellow bus. We made it though, had time to see people's costumes and hang out. It was a lot of fun to see everyone so excited to run a race. It was so different from any Half Marathon I have ever done. It didn't seem one bit competitive, just like a fun run.

The course was extremely downhill and I thought I could easily PR on this one. I really wanted a time in the 1:30's. So I got in line with the 1:35 pacer and just decided to stay with him as long as I could. Ben however, got in line with the 2:15 pacer. Part of me really wanted to just run with him, there was this serious internal struggle of getting a PR, or having fun & running with Ben. I decided to PR. Race started, and we took off. Seriously. THe first 5.5 miles drop drop drop in elevation. It seems we lost about 1500 ft in those first miles, and I was flying. 6:50 min miles the whole way down, I knew it was too fast but I could stop my legs from just carrying my down that mountain faster than I wanted to go. I kept looking at my watch and being shocked that I was running so stinkin fast! I would for sure PR in the race, but..... I was alone. And I wasn't having fun at all. My legs were hurting, of course, my lungs were started to burn just a bit, there was no one to chat with, to race with, to enjoy the course with. I was bored. really really bored.

I knew I could push myself for another 5 miles and get the time I wanted, or pretty close to it anyway, but I didn't care. The only thing I could think about was Ben. And that for once we were both running the same race, and weren't running together. So just before mile 8, I turned around and started running back up the trail. Can you imagine the looks I was getting? Oh yeah. I didn't care though. I turned off my watch and went to find Ben. When I saw that tall handsome husband of mine I couldn't help but smile to see him, he smiled back. He was happy I had come to find him.

He was in great condition and really wanted to get a time under 2 hrs. He had done a half marathon the month before and had gotten a time of 2 hrs 3 min. So he really wanted to break the 2 hr time. He was holding a great pace, even 9 min miles and we had so much fun talking and enjoying the race together. Those last 5 miles flew past me. I didn't even feel like I was running, just enjoying time with my sweetheart. We weren't sure what our time was, I had turned off my watch and wasn't sure how off it was from the clock time. So I really tried to pace him well and hold just under a 9 min mile. The last mile we picked it up and really picked it up when we saw the finish. It was a race to the end and I just prayed that the clock would say something under 2 hours. We rounded the corner and I saw the clock just as we crossed the finish.

1:53:25

We did it!!!

I was so excited when I saw that clock. I hugged Ben as hard as I could and just about started crying I was bursting with Joy for him. I have never been so happy about a time in all my life. Seriously, I was just bursting with pride and bragged to everyone about it. We had so much fun as we hung out at the finish eating about 1000 orange slices, drinking water bottle after water bottle and just being happy to have run a great race, together.

My mom took these pics in her basement real quick before we showered and changed. Don't you love our medals? It's the best one I have gotten so far.

It was then that I realized that I had been missing something all summer long. That for the first time all year, I had run a race, and 100% enjoyed it. I hadn't cared one bit about my time, but I had had fun! And I enjoyed just running, because I love running. I love running with people. And it doesn't matter how fast I run those miles, if you push your body to its max at every race, trust me, you get burned out really fast. Every run I did this summer I pushed myself as hard as I could. Yeah I got faster, but how much fun did I have? The funnest runs I did were not my fastest ones. They were the ones that I ran with friends and family.

At the start of the season I ran a half marathon and got a PR time of 1:42, this one was 11 min slower. I never look back at that first one with fond memories. It was miserable. and I had zero fun, and I wasn't even proud of the time because it wasn't exactly the time I wanted. Sheesh. However, this last race, was by far the funnest race I have ever run. If all races were like that, I would run one every stinkin weekend. So from now on, I don't care what my time is. I don't. I am just running for fun these days. I'll run with a friend and just have a good time.

I knew I loved running, and this race just reminded me of why I love it so much. It is not the time I get anymore, but it's the people I run with, and the race itself. It's seeing the sea of people ahead of me, filling the road and moving forward. It's the joy of seeing so many other people enjoying the sport I love so much. It's enjoying the country and areas I am running through. It's cheering others on, and helping them to finish the race. It's feeling my feet land on the pavement and carrying me forward. It's knowing that my body is strong and can run for miles on end. I am once again excited about all the races planned for next year, but for completely different reasons. Instead of planned finish times, I am planning on what friends to help train and and run the races with. The greatest joy I have felt in all my running to my great surprise, was not my PR, but seeing Ben get his PR time of 1:53. Great Job Ben. So so proud of you and can't wait to run race after race with you.

Oh, we got some pictures from the photographers that were there. If you would like to see them they are posted HERE Just type in Morrise and you will get Ben's and my pictures. It is fun to see us running together.

Halloween Party 2010

2010-10-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh.

That is how I feel right now. Halloween Party...DONE! It was nothing compared to years previous, but it was still enough work and stress that I am glad to have it all done. Don't get me wrong, I love throwing parties and I will forever be throwing Halloween parties, it's still a lot of work though. At least it is work I enjoy. I have been gone every evening this week, so my decorating was extremely limited. I put some things up for about 20 min after my shower this morning. I know, I am slacking in my old age. ;) Here is a picture of the kitchen.

I usually have ribbons, pumpkins, & bats hanging as well, but I couldn't find the ribbon. Half the bats were ruined, and I only had enough for the entryway and halls. For some reason I forgot to take picture of those areas. I also had leaves and lights and pumpkins on the stairways and throughout the entire house. It looked really great in the dark. I spent most of my time today cleaning, running, taking care of kids and making delicious goodies for the kids to enjoy. Like these.

Mummies. We served blood with those too. The kids were actually pretty convinced that I dug up a bunch of dead bodies last night to serve at our party. We also served eyeballs (olives & ranch) skeleton fingers (carrot sticks) Halloween shaped sandwiches (ghosts,, pumpkins, witches) Spiders (oreos with licorice rope legs) & of course your usual junk food, cheetos & root beer.

For dessert we ate worms. And most of the girls wouldn't touch them. They really thought I had gotten the "dirt" from the backyard garden. Probably because as we served each item we told them "what" it was. Dirt, blood, eyeballs etc. The Boys loved it.

Then of course we played games.

We did a mummy wrap, made masks, read scary stories, went on a Treasure hunt, watched a Halloween cartoon, and then played Hide & Seek until parents came.

I think the kids had fun.

And this is a random picture of Ben in his Halloween costume. Yes, he is Elmo. no I didn't make it, My neighbor, Audrey, made it. Amazing huh? Ben is wearing that thing to work tomorrow for the costume contest, I hope he wins.

And here I am. I told the kids I was a witch, and that I could cast a spell on them. then we read some stories and went on our treasure hunt. I think it was pretty good little party.

Other Halloween Activities

The Pumpkin Patch in Vineyard. We went there a few weeks ago, I never posted the pictures, so here they are. Sophie just loved that little black tunnel.

And here is James & Harrison with their cousins Henry (in the yellow grabbing James' leg) and Wesley (in the red and black jacket) We love those boys and were so excited to have them over. Sophie wasn't so crazy about sitting on a giant pumpkin and was screaming the entire time she was up there.

My three kids. James, Sophie, Harrison. Aren't they the sweetest little things you ever saw? Sure do love those kids.

Isn't this the most dang cutest picture you ever saw? Yes. It is.

Yeah, I'm in love.

Jack-O-Lanterns

2010-10-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Tonight, for FHE, we carved our pumpkins. We bought them a couple weeks ago when we visited the pumpkin patch in Vineyard. Grandma Robertson always takes all the grandkids there, goes through the pumpkinland, and then they all pick out a pumpkin. They had a great time with their cousins, Henry & Wesley who were visiting from AZ. The boys just run through that corn maze as fast as they can. Their favorite part though, are the big bounce houses at the end, and of course the pumpkin slide. Sophie loved those too. After it all, they each picked out a pumpkin and brought them home to the porch. And tonight, we turned them into jack o lanterns.

I think they turned out great!

Can you guess which one I carved?

The boys picked out a picture to carve, and Ben carved it for them. They helped get the guck and seeds out, then Ben took over with the knives. The boys didn't mind though, we enjoyed watching some fun Halloween cartoons during the evening as well.

Here they are with their pumpkins.

And I got Sophie back out of bed for a quick picture. Harrison is obviously more interested in the cartoon.

We have been having a pretty fun Halloween season. Last Monday we went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving point. We had never taken the kids there before and were excited to go. WE had a great time jumping on "huge pillows", playing on slides, getting treats, going through haunted houses, playing in corn, yes corn, freezing and finally coming home for some hot cocoa.

I have been spending my free time making Fall treats. I don't know WHY I do this to myself as I am currently trying to lose 10 lbs, but oh well. I always have a small portion, and give the rest away. My favorite treat I have made this year has to be the pumpkin whoopie pies found on my new favorite website www.ourbestbites.com go check it out, YUM! I have made those a few times now. Tomorrow I will be making some delicious sugar cookies with frosting and I am for sure getting up early to go workout, so that I can definitely eat one of those cookies. Yeah, I know I am retarded.

Tomorrow we are also taking the kids to a place in Lindon that has some free Halloween activities, spook allys, rides and such. I am really excited about that. I love all these fun Halloween activities and this week is packed! We have..... Lindon activities tomorrow night, Family kid party/dinner Thursday night, school parties & ward party Friday, Halloween half marathon, robertson halloween party & morrise halloween party on Saturday (not to mention Trick or Treating!) and then on Sunday I think we will play some fun games, make some "scary treats" and spend the day together. Wow, it is a busy week. I probably won't be posting again until after all that. Hope you have a Happy Halloween!!!

Arches & Goblin Valley Fall Trip

2010-10-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

The past couple weeks have been..insane? yeah that's the word. I ran the marathon, it completely wiped me out for several days. I was completely exhausted. It was kind of a blur actually. Well, then this last week was so so so busy. Good things though, not bad. My brother and his wife came to visit with their 2 boys and we loved seeing them. We don't get to see them very often, as they have been living in Georgia the last 7 years. However, they just moved to AZ and so now we get to see them more. YAY! We had fun eating tons of good good food, working out together, we went to the pumpkin patch, made a big fall breakfast (complete with the yummiest pumpkin pancakes ever). And just hung out as much as possible. Our kids loved playing with their cousins and it was just a joy to see them again. Thanks James and Em for coming, we love you guys!

I also had an RS activity I was in charge of last tuesday, we had a service project and made the cutest things for Primary Children's Hospital. I will have to take a picture and post it. Seriously, so cute. After the activity I realized we were leaving for Arches for several days and I had better start packing!!! So like a mad woman I packed, cleaned and shopped and got us all ready to go.

I was pretty excited to go to Arches since I have never been there. (isn't that sad?) And I was not one bit disappointed. That place is absolutely amazing. I couldn't get over its beauty and majesty. Seriously, it was awesome. We hiked all over, our kids were really good sports about going on about 3 hikes a day and we just had a great time. The nights were freezing, and I felt really bad for little Sophie when she woke up just shivering. But we lived through it.

Okay Favorite things about our trip:

-running down the trail from the Delicate Arch with James. He kept up with me and it was awesome to just fly down that mountain with him. Loved it.

-seeing Sophie try to climb all the little "goblins" in goblin valley. She was so determined to get to the top she even got pretty stuck one time and cried out "STUCK STUCK STUCK". So cute.

-Showers at the campground. Thank heavens.

-Seeing the Double arch for the first time.

-getting milkshakes in Moab after a long hot day hiking, and drinking them in the tent while watching a movie together on the ipad.

-Playing in the Sand dune, running and jumping down it with the kids. We all loved that.

-Shishkabobs. Those were definitely a favorite.

-Seeing Ben and James climb all over everything at Goblins Valley.

-The fact that our kids were willing to go on hike after hike with us. They were really good sports and we all had a good time.

Here are the not so Favorite things:

-freezing cold nights. brrrr. I will forever get a hotel when we go to Moab/Arches

-Kids popping our air mattress. Sleeping on rocks really makes your joints hurt.

-Getting up over and over with kids at night. boooo.

-Sophie dumping a water bottle all over our sleeping bags and blankets.

James at Goblin Valley. He said, "this place is more fun than disneyland!" WHAT?

James and Harrison finding cool places to climb to.

Sophie, playing in the dirt. It is one of her favorite things.

Harrison climbing around at the Double Arch. I was really impressed with his climbing skills. He climbed just as much as James did.

James and ben hiked up to where Indiana Jones is filmed. James thought that was really cool.

Hiking Park Avenue. I loved that hike. It was a walk really, and so so beautiful.

Here we are at Arches! THis was our first stop when we got there, the Double Arch.

Delicate Arch. James and Harrison really wanted to go climb on the actual arch. yeah, no freaking way kiddos.

And me with the kids at Delicate. That was a fun hike, and the kids did great hiking it.

Goblin Valley. We thought this looked like a diving board so We told James to go up there and pretend to dive off. I have to say, that place is crazy cool.

Anyways, another camping trip done. We are planning our next one, can't decide where to go exactly. James wants to go to Yellowstone, I would like to go to Yosemite, and then there is still Bryce Canyon, Zion's..plenty to choose from. We'll see where we go next, but it will have to wait until next summer.

St. George Marathon 2010

2010-10-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

St. George Marathon 2010 Finish Time 3:49:10

All Right folks, so Yes I ran the 2010 St. George Marathon last Sat (Oct 2) with the goal to qualify for Boston. That means I need to finish the marathon under 3 hrs & 40 min. That's holding about an 8 min mile for 26.2 miles. Yeah. I have been training ALL summer, doing several 20 milers, speed intervals, biking, weight lifting, I felt a little like my life was dedicated to training this summer. So you can imagine my excitement for the race, and my disappointment when I did not reach my goal. My finish time was 3:49:10. Here is the story.

I have only so many mental barriers in a marathon. Meaning, there is only so much I can handle before all walls come down and I crash burn and die in the race. I didn't crash at my last marathon, it went really well. And with all the training I did for this race, I assumed it would go as well. I had heard so much about the marathon being downhill and a great race to get a PR that I just KNEW I would reach my goal of Boston.

Barriers started coming down well before the race started. 2 weeks before I was to run the race my shins decided to hate me, a lot. I didn't want to get new shoes to run a marathon in, but when it is a choice between some blisters and shin splints, I will take blisters. And yes, I got blisters. Who doesn't though in a marathon? The next thing was my hat, I always train in what I am going to wear on race day, that way I know exactly how and where it is going to rub me and I will be prepared for it. I trained in a hat this summer and loved it. Kept my face shaded and the sweat out of my eyes. Race morning...hat was gone. Couldn't find it anywhere. Never did. Oh well, I'll live without a hat. Move on.

Got to the start of the race. Looked amazing!!! Flags everywhere, so many people, you almost felt like an olympian, I loved it. I brought tons of warm clothes to keep warm for the 3 hrs before the race start, only, I didn't need them. It was warm. Uh Oh. Warm at 4 am in the mountains? Really? I had lots of fun chatting with everyone before the race, ran into one of my old HS teachers, hung out with my brother, Jeremy. Then it was time to start.

I got in line with the 3:40 pacer. THe marathon had pacers for us. They were part of the Clif Bar Pace team and were pro at it. Each of them had a set of balloons with the finish time they would be getting so we could easily follow them. I found the one with the 3:40 balloons and stuck to him like glue. Then the race started.

It was still dark outside when we started, so it REALLY surprised me when I started sweating at mile 1. Yeah, mile 1 out of 26.2. This was not a good sign of things to come. As I look around I saw others sweating as well and was glad it wasn't just me. Another barrier falling. The first part of the race was really easy, I was ahead of the pacer by just a min, my breathing was pretty easy, and everyone was just excited to be running. We were having a good time chatting, and running together. Unfortunately my shins were screaming, I knew though that they would stop once I had run a few miles, so just ignored it. I was right. Around mile 6, they shut up.

As we approached Vejo (mile 7) I saw the massive hill I was warned about. I knew there were a set of hills around mile 7 to mile 11, so I was prepared for it and was ready to kick its butt. Which I did. Ran up it very well, and recovered quickly. I was not prepared for the number hills we would be running for the next 13 miles. It felt like all we did was run up hill after hill. Obviously we went down too, I just didn't know it was all rolling hills. My breathing was getting extremely ragged, and my quads really hated me.

When I got to mile 13 it started a downhill stretch...thank you!!! I got just ahead of the pacer again and felt the best I had in the entire race. I was holing a great pace and thought that if this how the rest of the course was, I could easily pull a 3:35 out of this race. I was excited to see so many people cheering us on, and I felt like I was actually going to make it. But, the racing Gods weren't so kind.

The sun was beating down on me at that point. And then, my pacer dropped out of the race. WHAT??? What hope does that give me? Sheesh. Another runner took his place and his balloons and we continued on. The next several miles broke me, slowly. Again there were hills. As we would approach each unexpected hill I would think, "okay make it up this hill, give it one more shot, come on don't give up". As we would run up those hills our pacer would say, "this is the last hill, it's all downhill from here." So yeah I would push myself up that "last hill" only to find another hill waiting to break me. Now, I am sure that if I were to look back at those hills now I would laugh and think "you call this a hill?" But when you are running them, anything that even slightly slants up, is a hill, and it hurts. I felt like I was breathing through a straw, and my quads were screaming so loud at me.

But I wouldn't give up, I wasn't going to give in. We hit another hill at mile 19 and I asked our pacer if this was the last. "yep, then it is all downhill". Thank heavens, nope. wrong again. another @#$%*#@ hill. I was still holding a fabulous pace, right on target, but I couldn't slow down, or I wouldn't make it. I start up that hill determined to make it up, and then, it broke me. completely.

My legs went out from under me, started twitching, I started seeing stars and then nothing. I knew I was going down and caught myself. I don't really remember at all what happened. I do remember as I was hanging onto my sanity I saw a girl just in front of me completely collapse, and then a man passed out on the side. A cop came over to the girl and was helping her. I knew that was about to be me, that it was my turn next to be carried away. While all my body was screaming at me to just stay there and let them take me away, my mind was stronger and told me no, no, no. don't let them take you. This is not what you came here for. My heart was broken as I watched my balloon man (the pacer) pass me by and I knew that was Boston slipping through my fingers. I was broken. so broken.

How could I do this? How did I let this happen? I would be disappointing everyone that was cheering me on, that was waiting for my phone call to tell them I would be in Boston next spring. Ben, he would be waiting for me in the stands, wondering what happened. THe tears started and I wanted to give up. My head was spinning, my legs were spazzing out, I was about to puke my guts out, and why was I still breathing through a straw? There was no way I could go on. But I did. It was no longer about making it to Boston, but about finishing. About not giving up, no matter what. I got up, walked for a few seconds, and then running. Slowly, but I was running. All of that happened in about 3 min. It felt like forever.

I honestly do not remember the next 3 miles. I know I was listening to music. I don't remmber it. I don't remember my watch beeping at me each mile, I don't remember aid stations. I don't remember anything, just, don't give up. I DO remember mile 22.5 all I wanted to do was die. As every Marathoner knows, those last few miles are extremely brutal. And all anyone wants to do is go die on the side of the road. But you keep going. And I kept going. The great thing about St. George is that the last several miles you have tons of people cheering you on. I loved all the support from the community. It made all the difference those last few miles. Finally finally finally there was finish line. Everyone is cheering, and shouting, ringing bells, you feel like you'll never make it, but then, somehow you cross that finish line. My final time 3:49:10.

And then you die. Ha. I finished and even though I knew I should be drinking all the water I could get my hands on, I went to the Coca Cola trailer and got an ice cold Dr. Pepper. It was heaven on earth I tell you. So I had another.

After laying on the grass for an hour I tried to stand up, passed out again (Ben caught me this time) And then after another 10 min figured out how to walk again.

One of my friends, Emily Dougall, took this pic of me. Her sister was running and it was fun to see her there. I am actually waving at people as I am running through, I know I look a little ridiculous, but I honestly wasn't concerned with my looks at that point. Ben videoed me coming through and I will post that when I get it downloaded.

We stayed the weekend and had tons of fun visiting with other runners. I guess St. George hit record highs that day and EVERYONE missed their goal time by 15 or more minutes. When I finished the race the temps were in the low 90's. Lots and lots of people passed out, and ambulances were going non stop. Knowing all that, made me feel a whole lot better.

So, there you have it. Another marathon done. I was fine with my time the day of race and even the day after. But then, after the adrenaline had worn off, and the excitement gone. My heart broke for a day. I got my cry out, but then moved on. I did the best I could, and I now know what I need to work on for other races. I have already signed up for 4 races next year and cannot wait to start training again and get back in the game. I love Marathons, they are always an adventure. They push you beyond your limits and you always push back. Love it.

Here is the video of my finish.

First Day of School

2010-09-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm a little slow when it comes to posting things. But here are the pics from the kid's first day of school. James was really excited to finally get to eat lunch at school. However, when he returned home, and I asked him how 1st grade was he said,"It was SO LONG!! I was like, Is this ever going to end?" I laughed at that. He hasn't complained about the length of school since and everyday his two favorite things about school are lunch and P.E. In fact, today was Pizza day at school and James was so excited that he was up an hour and a half early ready to get to school. So funny, like we didn't have pizza just 2 days ago. But I guess it is exciting when it is at school with all your friends.

Now Harrison, he loves school. It is his dream. He is always sad the days he doesn't get to go to school. He comes home singing all the songs he learned and telling me everything he did that day. yep he loves it. But what is there to not love about singing, story time, play time and snack time? Heck, sign me up!

And Sophie. She and I are having a good time at home together. We go for bike rides, she copies me while I lift weights, stretch out and do crunches. she helps me with the dishes, follows me around with her vacuum while I vacuum. We have dance parties together and I absolutely love spending the mornings with her. She does miss her brothers though. Sometimes she wanders the house calling for "dames' and "dee dee" (that is Harrison).

See, this is what we do while the boys are gone, goof off a lot. And a little cleaning.

We also snack. Who doesn't love a good bowl of cheerios? (see that beautiful gray-blue wall behind her, that is what our kitchen looks like now.)

And here are my boys, ready for school. I sure hope their teachers are ready for them.

Isn't this the cutest picture you ever saw? Love those two boys. They are my buds. And honestly, I miss them while they are at school. I find myself watching the clock, excited to hear about their day.

My 2 Angels

2010-09-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

As you know, I have been training for the St. George Marathon for the past few months, and have been running 20 miles almost every Sat. I always do my 20 milers up provo canyon as it is such a great run; always much cooler than the rest of the valley, good uphill climb, water and bathrooms along the entire way, and always a lot of people on the trail. I love this run. I have run it a hundred times and I am never bored with it.

So a couple weeks ago I was going away with some friends for the weekend and needed to get my 20 miler in before I left friday. There was no way to get it in before getting the kids off to school, so Thursday night was really the only option. I was extremely nervous all day Thursday. I get nervous before my long runs, but this was a little different. Somewhere inside me, I was scared, and I didn't know why. I kept thinking that I needed to call my brother and drag him along with me on the run, but I didn't think he would be too happy about coming home from work, and running 20 miles. So yes, I went alone.

I wanted to go early enough that I would finish before it got too dark. By the time ben got home, and I got to the start of the trail it was almost 6:30. It was also 100 degrees. Despite the heat, I ran very well. I felt strong the entire climb up the canyon, but there was still something bothering me, and I could not figure out why or what it was. I even found myself thinking about what I would do if I were ever attacked and how I would get out of that situation.

Because of the heat, there was virtually no one else on that trail, I passed one runner at the very start, and then a couple more at the very top. As I turned around at mile 10 and saw that the sun was indeed setting I knew I wasn't making it down the mountain in the light. Unfortunately the only thing there was to do was to run as fast as I could out of the mountain. So I ran.

I quickly made it down to bridal veil falls, which was almost deserted except for a group for guys. The only way to describe them is they were creeps. 100% creeps. There was one in particular that made my skin crawl. I am generally a very friendly runner and wave and say hi to everyone I see and pass. As I ran past them I waved and the one looked at me in a way that struck me with complete fear. I don't even know how to describe it, ecept that I knew he had bad intentions, I picked up my pace.

I was about to stop at a water station when suddenly those 4 creeps skate boarded right past me and stood in front of the water. Once again, glaring at me, and striking me with fear, I skipped the water. And was glad o be rid of them.

A few moments passed and they rode right past me again, then stopped, watched, scared me to death, I passed, and they followed. It was getting very dark at this point and I didn't see another soul on that trail as I ran. Yeah, I was terrified. This continued on the entire way down the mountain. Them following me passing me up, so close sometimes I could feel their clothes brush past me, and then stopping in front on the water and watching me pass. I was dying of thirst yes, but mostly I wanted to get out of that mountain. And as I neared each water stop, and as I saw them there in front of the water a very clear voice in my head told me to absolutely not stop, but to continue running. So I did.

I don't remember how many times they passed me, stopped and watched me run by, but it was several. I was about 1.5 miles away from the mouth of the canyon when once again I was closely passed by 2 skaters, who then when right in front of me and I realized the other 2 stayed just behind me. At this point I was gripped with fear as I realized I wasn't going to make it out of that canyon. I knew I would never see my babies or my husband ever again, and that it was only going to be a matter of moments before I was attacked. It was completely dark at this point and no one would ever see me. As I waited for impact I prayed. I prayed my heart out. Nearly screaming in my head for help. For guardian angels to come down and save my life. The guys were even closer and it felt like they were closing in, when I rounded the corner and there were my angels. A couple was walking down the path. I immediately stopped and walked right with them. The four guys turned around and took off. I was safe!

The man asked me if I was running, I said yes, 20 miles, but I still had 2 miles to go. His very next question was if I needed a ride to my car. I, of course, took that ride. They were very friendly and sweet. I don't remember his name, but hers was Joy. They asked me all about my running and said they would look up my results at my next race to see if I made it to Boston. They got me to my car, made sure I got in safely, and then left.

I once again prayed and prayed but they were prayers of gratitude. I think of all the times in my life when I have been directly in harms way, but have been delivered, unharmed and able to continue on. I am eternally grateful for the power of prayer and for that couple that saved my life that night. Wherever you are Joy, Thank you.

CAMPING

2010-08-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

As a last minute thing, we decided to go camping this last weekend. And I am happy to say that it was one of the best comping trips ever. Here is a rundown of our weekend.

JAMES

-was my big helper, helped me unload the car, and set up the canopy, and everything else.

-Loved staying up with mom and dad all night playing Old Maid, and sitting around the fire.

-hiked several miles with mom up Timp and was a little mountain goat going up that mountain.

-fell off the side of the mountain, but fortunately was only completely covered in dirt, and not hurt.

-found a "secret place" near our campsite where he and his siblings would play every day.

-exclaimed " But I've always been filthy" when I told him it was time to go home a take bath.

-ate the biggest Smore EVER

-painted lots of cool pictures

-brought mom flowers

-loves loves loves camping.

Harrison

-did not want to hike.

-liked to play in the tent and jump on all the blankets and mattresses. (who doesn't?)

-ate lots of marshmallows

-dranks lots of hot chocolate

-ate lots of chocolate

-liked to go to bed early so he could play with a flashlight in the tent.

-was 100% filthy

-decided as we were leaving that he wanted to hike to the waterfall, so we went, and he made it!

-made a great hat

-painted some leaves

Sophie

-missed her bed, but decided the porta crib was better than nothing

-ate a lot of dirt

-went on a hike with James and Mom and pigged out on fruit snacks

-tried to help mom carry the chairs and carried one on her shoulders to the car

-loved running down the hill and then back up

-sort of likes marshmallows

-lived off hot chocolate, fruit snacks, and chips

-tried to eat her hat she made

-Loves the outdoors

-was really happy to sleep in her bed when we got home

Mom

-Got up super early friday to get us up to the campsite in time, and luckily got the last one available

-made hats with the kids

-took james and packed Sophie up Timp. not all the way to the top but we got several miles in

-forgets that she is in really good shape, and hiking up the mountain with Sophie and pack on my back was really easy. YES!

-hates having to get up and pee in the middle of the night. Dang kids ruining my inards.

-is jealous how easy it is for guys to pee in the bushes

-had fun taking the kids on walks around the campground

-loved playing with the kids

-loved playing games with James

-Loved Loved Loved hiking with James. He was awesome.

-Loved that Harrison made it to the waterfall

-Ate way too much food

-skipped running this weekend (you should be so proud of me)

-had a 100% great time with kids and hubby

Dad

-came up friday afternoon (had to work)

-was very welcomed by all his little kids, they really wanted Dad up there.

-set up the tent super fast

-made lots of great fires

-hiked up to 3rd falls on Timp

-boiled eggs in the fire

-ate the biggest and best smore he's ever had.

-took the kids on an adventure

-packed up the entire camp in record time

-enjoyed reading the book "the Girl with Dragon Tattoo"

-doesn't like Moths

-actually slept really well

-had a great time

-loved camping with the kids

We all had the best time, and are excited for our Arches trip in October. Pictures will follow soon!

Pictures summer 2010

2010-07-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

James, His cousin Henry, & Harrison in Georgia

Sophie on Easter. So pretty. She ate probably 100 suckers.

James on his 6th B-day. We set up a tent at home and had a big sleepover together with a massive Nerf Gun fight. It was a lot of fun.

My sweet Boys. Love those two.

Harrison on his 4th B-day. He wanted a green basketball cake. He put the little b-ball players and hoop on the cake himself. He loved it.

James Playing T-Ball. He LOVED it. He even played with a broken arm and still could hit it way out int he field. It was so fun to cheer him on and see him get so focussed on the game.

Ben and I at the Three Broomsticks. We ate there....twice!

Drinking my first butterbeer. 100% delicious! But you must get it frozen with cream. mmmm. I want some right now.

And this is just cute. Love that Girl.

OKay so you should be proud of me. 2 posts at the same time. Here are the pictures, stories are below. Enjoy!

Where Have I Gone???

2010-07-22T23:27:00.001-07:00

Friends, Family and other weirdos reading my blog.

It seems I have disappeared off the face of the earth lately and haven't blogged in....forever? Well, here is a short blog just to let you know what the world I have been up to in the past forever.

First off, VACATION! I took the kids to Georgia for good while to visit my bro and his family. It was 100% fun and I absolutely fell in love with Georgia. yeah, I would move there. We spent time at the beach, going on military ships (we spent a weekend in SC) Pigging out like crazy, running (of course) more pigging out, watching movies and being idiots. I did come home after a 16 hour trip with a temp of 102, strep throat and bronchitis. That wasn't so awesome. THe rest of the trip though, was perfect. Thanks James and Em for a very much needed vacation and a great time. You are the best!

Oh, more vacation.... Ben and I went to Florida for a week with NO KIDS!!! It was so great, and so fun to be just a couple again. no whining (okay maybe some from Ben, but it was minimal ;) we went to Harry Potter world, Disney World, Cocoa Beach and just hung out together. Seriously, it really was perfect. Plus, we got to fly first class. :)

Training, yep that is my life right now. Trying to get my butt to Boston. I run 20 miles every Sat from now until mid september. This might kill me, but I am slowly getting faster (that sounds messed up). No really though, I ran 18 miles last Sat holding under a 9 min mile And the last 10 miles I held under an 8 min mile. awesome. I am running the St. George Marathon in October and I had better get a time under 3:40:00. If not though, Boston will always be there and I will have another chance to qualify. We'll see how St. George goes.

3 kids. I have 3 kids. 3! yikes! Sophie is growing so fast and talking and running around and is a 100% wild child. She has so much fire in her I can hardly keep up with the little thing. But dang, she is cute. I love how she says "mom, mom, MOM!!!" and then "uh oh" So funny. She LOVES the outdoors and would play outside all day without eating or sleeping. I love that thing. She likes to bark like a dog and meow like a kitty. She talks about kitties all the time and loves going to grandmas and holding the kittens. Ben must really love that girl because now he wants to get a kitten for her. (he is allergic). Sheesh. She doesn't have us wrapped around her finger!

Harrison. Is actually a really smart kid. okay that sounds mean, it is just that he is so quiet it surprises you when he blurts something out. Like today while I was driving he said "mom, now you turn left" and yep, I needed to turn left. I laughed. He is learning his letters and is getting really good at them. He is still my sweet one. He gives me hugs and loves to just sit and read books with you and his blanket. He says the funniest things sometimes. Like "James, why did you break your arm off?" or "Satan's house is very far away" or "Take Sophie to the baby doctor and get her a new nose" (she fell and had a bloody nose). He is our tease.

James. Broke his arm July 4th weekend. Well there goes all the swimming for the summer. He was actually really brave about the whole thing and it hasn't really been a problem. I don't let him swim But I will wrap it up good and let him play in the sprinklers or splash pads at various parks. he is also reading 100 books this summer to earn a day at Lagoon. Harrison has to learn his letters, and James has to read. He is doing really well and we should be making a trip to Lagoon mid August. I am so excited, I know James will just love the roller coasters. He is my other wild child and continues to be a complete daredevil broken arm and all. However, he is also my little man. I was cleaning out the garage the other day and he was in the front flower garden. He weeded it without me asking him to and then he staked up a falling rose tree for me, tied the knot and everything. I was so proud.

Okay so there is an update on our lives. yeah. real exciting. Sorry there aren't pictures, I will post those later. in like another 6 months. Ha!

Cleaning

2010-03-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

Right now, I am upstairs, in my room, sitting at the computer. I was about the fold the laundry, but as I listened to the boys downstairs I wanted to write a bit about them and how the play together so when I am old and gray I can read this and laugh.

It all started out with buying the fabric. too cute. perfect for curtains in the boy's room. Oh and wouldn't it be so cute to paint the wall a nice pale dusty blue? Yep. So over the past few days I have painted their room, made curtains, pillows, painted a kids table and chairs, frames, and letters for the wall. Busy few days. Today I finally got the bedding I wanted for their beds and was very excited to put the whole room together. However, being the boys that they are their room was a complete mess. I wasn't about to clean myself for the 100th time, so I told them they HAD to clean it or else. An hour went by, no cleaning. 2 hours, no cleaning. Finally as they played in the blankets rolling down the stairs and jumping off the couch downstairs, I began to clean their room.

They came in and out getting teddy bears pillows, and who knows what else to play with in the couches. I kept reminding them that were supposed to be helping me clean and would they please pick up those toys. THey ignored me. As you can guess, trouble was coming. I finished putting their room together, bedsets and all and called them up. Then I told them that I was very disappointed with their choice to not clean or help me and that they were definitely going to be punished by sitting in their beds for the remainder of the afternoon. They got in their beds, I gave them each a book to look at and went on with some chores. They began to once again goof off in their beds and I really didn't want them to wake Sophie up from her nap so I went to their room and told them that if they would rather clean the entire kitchen and do the dishes, then they wouldn't have to sit all afternoon in their beds.

They thought that was a good idea. They did the dishes quickly enough and were very good about rinsing all the dirty dishes out and loaded up the dishwasher nicely. Then it was on to sweeping and mopping the floors. Thy were excited about that. they shook out all the rugs and I gave them each a broom to sweep with. Then I went back upstairs to get come laundry done.

As I listened to them work together I couldn't help but just laugh. I heard them "racing across the kitchen floor", calling out "ready, set go!" "foul! that was a foul!" "time out time out" "okay let's get to work." then smack smack smack with the brooms (I'm pretty sure they were sword fighting) Harrison laughing "that was funny!" Both of them singing, "we are the cleaning boys! cleaning boys cleaning boys!"

Then they told me they were all done sweeping and it was time to mop. Now the real fun has begun. I'm not sure what is going on down there, but there is endless laughter, James saying "this is slippery!" And Harrison saying "hey, you got my head! now i have to get more underwears!" Why he needs more underwears because James got his head is beyond me. I'm sure they are making more mess at his point than cleaning, but it is all tile, so I am not too worried about it. I just love hearing them laugh together, "work" together and just being brothers. Harrison just pranced down the stairs in a fresh pair of underwears, and as I watched him walk back into the kitchen he slipped and landed right on his bum. I think I am going to give them each a towel now to dry that floor up for us. :)

Kids. How can you not love them?

Happy Birthday Sophie!

2010-03-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

So, I know I already blogged that Sophie turned one, but here are the pictures from the day so you can see just how darn cute that little thing is. These pictures are completely out of order, but that is okay, at least they are here.

I think this picture is just too darn cute to ignore. She just had her pigtails pulled out and her hair is all sorts of crazy cute.

I'm sorry she isn't smiling in this picture, but I have to say, she really LOVED that pie. She had the pie plate in her face licking it out. as you can see, it is licked clean.

I just like the close up of her cute chubs.

Fruit snacks! Yeah we give exciting gifts.

Harrison, James, Sophie, and their cousin Aubrey here for the celebration. The kids all loved their mini pies. We had pies for everyone. And all the kids got little mini cherry pies.

Enjoying her pie, and using a spoon for the first time actually.

Oh yeah, see here she is, licking it out. YUM!

James and I helped her blow out her candle, James was so worried she was going to touch the flame he held her hands back. Funny boy. But then we gave her the pie and she wasn't sure what to do with it. Then I gave her a taste and it was all over.

Opening more presents. She got.... fruit snacks, books, a big pink ball, and a little riding toy.

She had a little crown that she hated to wear, but wore it the entire time she ate pie. I think she was enjoying the cherries too much to care what was on her head.

Just a cute picture.

Here she is all dressed up the morning of her B-day. That toy was her main gift from us and she seems to really like it. She presses the buttons on it and laughs and claps her hands. It is cute.

I love this picture. I wish it weren't so bright, because I love her happy little face. Oh, that is one of the dresses I made. just FYI.

This actually is not her birthday, but was a cute picture, so I wanted to post it.

One day Sophie and Harrison decided to cook with me. So here they are with their bowls and spoon and sophie thought it was the greatest thing. They had a great time.

One Year Old

2010-03-21T20:42:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday was a very bittersweet day for me. On the one hand it was my daughter's first birthday. On the other hand, my sweet baby girl Sophie turned one year old. A year? An entire year has passed? How is that EVEN possible. She is just my baby. My cute chunky monkey baby. that just giggles and adores you and sleeps half the day. But no, the day had to come. She turned one. sigh. I would start to cry every time I would stop and think about her birth. The moment I first saw her. I can see it right now. So beautiful. The moment I first held her and just laughed and cried with joy as I held my little baby girl and thanked my Father in Heaven for a beautiful healthy little baby once again.

She was a mere 6 lbs 10 oz. had gorgeous thick dark hair and eyes that were open and alert, taking everything in from the moment she was brought into this world. And now here it is, a year later. She still has incredibly thick dark hair (which I absolutely LOVE) She is curious about everything. She jabbers all day long. She will copy just about everything you say to her. She loves to growl at you. She loves to be chased and runs as fast as she can until she is laughing so hard she plops down on the ground and rolls over laughing. She loves to wrestle. She was definitely meant to come to a family with two big brothers.

Her brothers absolutely adore her. James from the very first moment he met her. Harrison, well it took a little warming up but he did, and they get along quite nicely. We used to call Harrison the little policeman because anything Sophie did wrong he would immediately tell her no, and then come tattle to us. He still does this to an extent, but mostly has discovered that Sophie is just as mischievous as he is, so they get along fine.

Sophie loves to try and dress herself. She empties drawers and baskets and carries the clothes around the house trying to put them on her head. For some reason her favorite item of clothing is the boys underwear. I always catch her carrying that around and I really don't know what her obsession is with it. Stinker. She also likes to carry things around in her mouth, like bottles, sippy cups, little toys, kind of like a dog would. That always makes us laugh. She wanders the house yelling "MA! MA! MA! MA! MA!" I'm not gonna lie, I LOVE that she likes her mama so much. She can also say, "Hello, Uh Oh, what's this? James, Dadda, and Ball"

Sophie likes to do things...perfectly. Really, she wouldn't consistently crawl until she could do it just right. No army crawling for her, just straight up crawling. Same thing with walking. She took her first steps a couple months before she would actually walk. We would catch her walking here and there but as soon as she saw you she would plop right down. Then one day she had perfected it and so began walking everywhere and hasn't crawled since.

Sophie loves loves loves her bed, brown blanket, bumpers, and bunny. If she doesn't have those things she will cry until she gets them. And then she will go right to sleep. She won't sleep without that blanket. She got them messy one night and so I put all her bedding in the wash, put new sheets on, and gave her a different blanket. That absolutely would not do. She cried until the bedding was washed, put back in her bed, and then she slept soundly. Butthead.

Sophie has fire. She looks really sweet and innocent, but she has fire. I am glad of it though. I like that she won't let people push her around. I like that she will let herself be known and heard. She does all that now. You take a toy away from her, she will quite literally yell at you. not cry, yell. okay it is more of a squawk, but you'll hear about it. I do let her know what is and isn't appropriate in the getting angry dept, and I know her terrible two's will most likely be hell. But I know that one day she will be a great woman. Smart. Confident. and Gorgeous.

Sophie is smart. REALLY smart. I can't believe how smart she is. I feel like she is constantly learning things, and wanting to learn things. She is always taking everything in. She learns thing so quickly from her brothers and she figures out how to do thing so quickly it constantly amazes me. When Ben blessed her, he said that she would excel academically. I have no doubt about that. She will.

The other thing about Sophie, she loves to laugh. She loves to be silly with her brothers. She loves other babies and kids. She is very social. She always gets so excited when she sees another baby/toddler. I love it.

What more can I say? I love my baby Sophie. I love holding her cute naked chunky little body while in the shower. I love how much she likes going for a run in the stroller with me. She loves it. She is just a pure joy in our house. We are all in love with her and love having her in our family. We love to play with her and have her laugh her head off and chase us around. We love her chunky little legs and her stick straight hair. We love how she jumps back into her blankets laughing when you go to get her out of bed in the morning.

So Sophie, we love you. and Happy Birthday!

Conversation with Harrison

2010-03-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

Me: "Oh, Harrison, you got pudding all over your pants"

Harrison looks down at his pants, looks back up at me and replies, "Oh, it's just poo."

Yeah I am still laughing at THAT one. Oh, just poo, well then THAT is okay...

Just FYI, I was right, it was pudding.

Talking

2010-03-08T19:40:00.000-08:00

Last night I made a big batch of chocolate chip cookies and we sat and pigged out on them as we watched the oscars. I ate mostly cookie dough as I prefer that to the actual cookie, but I really was pretty good about not over eating on the treats. However, the boys pigged way out on both cookie dough and cookies, and then this morning snuck down to the kitchen and ate at least 10 more cookies! Little terds.

So then this morning while we were getting breakfast I said to Ben "man my stomach just feels rotten" To which James responded "yeah, because of all the cookies you ate!!!" we laughed really hard about that. And then later I was saying how I could not fall asleep all night (it always takes me about 2 hours to go to sleep) Sass James piped up again saying "Yeah, because all you could think about were cookies". Wow. I laughed so hard. Stinker boy.

Sophie, on the other hand has just recently been saying her first words. She calls me "mama" on a regular basis. And says "dadda" here and there. But today she said a very distinct "hello" And she continued to say it as she "talked" on the phone. So cute! That little girl is growing up way too fast it scares me. She is now walking everywhere she goes. She took her first steps a little over a month ago. She learned how to walk very quickly but just wouldn't do it. And then this last friday, she just decided to walk, so she did. And now that is all she does. Funny baby.

This morning while I was getting Sophie ready she was jabbering like she was telling me a great story, and every now and then she would throw in a little fake laugh. It was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen, and would have recorded it but knew that if I took the time to go get the camera, she would stop and I would have missed out on it myself. While we were watching the oscars lat night she would pretend to laugh whenever we did, and then clapped with the audience. I love kids. I love seeing them discover the world around them. I love seeing their chunky little thighs hanging out of their dress (this is only cute on babies). I love the way they cram food in their mouth. I love mad they get over such simple things, it makes me laugh. I love how they are born as their own person, and their personality is right with them from day one. I love the way they love. Their instant forgiveness, friendship, and desire to be good. I love it.

Another story of the day...

Today we were driving down the freeway in the carpool lane when I heard a sudden rush of air. Thinking that harrison had opened his window I went to close it and press the lock so he couldn't. I realized that no matter how many times I pressed that button to close the window, the air was still rushing in. James then asked why the inside lights were on. Sure enough I looked at the dashboard and there was that little light showing me that Harrisons door was open! I was terrified! There was no room to pull over, and you have to understand harrison, he just leans on the door and falls out as soon as you open the door. I told james to not bump Harrison and I just kept telling Harrison to not touch his door while I got the car pulled over.

I finally got through the traffic and to a place where I could pull the car over and shut his door and put the child lock back on. Not sure when THAT was switched off, but it surely was. I was so grateful though that he didn't fall out the car as we were flying down the road and that he was good and just sat still. He is such a clumsy kid I was even afraid to have him move over because he would probably just fall! I am always amazed at the many times we have been protected. When things have been just fine and we have been able to continue on. when really, something terrible could have happened. I know there are constant angels guarding us and watching over us, and I am always eternally grateful for that. James was so sweet though, after we got back going he said "mom I held onto Harrison's hand so that he would be safe". Such a sweet good big brother. He will always take care of his little brother and sister. He was born a leader.

Valentine's Day

2010-02-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

Valentine's day was fantastically fun! Ben had a 4 day weekend, and so after I was done at James' school Friday morning we took Harrison and Sophie and went to Kneaders for the most delicious (and probably fattening) french toast ever! Harrison and Soph liked it too. Then we got stuff for the kids and picked up James from school. We then were off to Gmas for a little Valentine party with all the cousins. The kids had a super fun time decorating bags and cookies and exchanging valentine's. When James got home from school he was so excited to show us his big box of candy he had gotten. We had spent the day before covering and decorating a box for his Valentine's and I had told him it was going to be filled with stuff at school. And it surely was. He then dumped it all out and gladly shared with Harrison and Sophie.

Anyways, Saturday was a super great day. We once again didn't have a babysitter so we just did things as a family (yeah we are in some real need of a date, it has been weeks!) We took the kids to Boondocks for the day and seriously had the funnest time. They played in the Kiddie Cove for forever ( I think they could live there and be perfectly happy) Then played some lazer tag with Ben. Then we just played arcade games for forever. James amazed us all at his driving talent there. He was REALLY good. It made me a little nervous for when he actually does get behind the wheel of a car. Harrison, of course, just wanted to play the Basketball games, and he was in heaven. But after it all, we gathered up our tickets and the boys picked out some prizes.

Then we went on home where we built a fire in the backyard and roasted Marshmallows, & hot dogs. We had a fantastically fun day. Oh and we watched the Olympics with all that. Then of course we got the kids to bed and I got the house cleaned up and put out some Valentine's we had made for the kids. The next day they loved their little bags of treats (James actually helped me pick out some suckers for Harrison...so sweet!)

After church we were going to make a big breakfast, but we were all way too tired and just plain lazy. Plus there was a nice dinner already cooking for us, so we just snacked and watched the Olympics, played some memory with the kids, ate candy, and just took it easy. An excellent day. Plus, Ben wrote me the sweetest card (it made me cry!) and got me new running shoes. YES! And we got each other the exact same candies. So funny. So, yes, we had a very great Valentine's day.

Delicious Potato Soup

2010-02-05T10:08:00.001-08:00

So a couple weeks ago I bought a Ham on sale for about $7. I love ham. Seriously, I love to just sit and tear off a slice here and there and just eat it. Yum. We were having Ben's parents over for dinner one night and so I cooked up the Ham and ate it. We had Sandwiches. Very tasty. But after dinner we had tons of ham left so I cut it all up and put it in different containers and such to save for other meals later one. Wow. I got about 8 different meals with that stuff. It was great! So I think $7 for 8 meals isn't bad. I guess i had to buy stuff still for the rest of the meal, but it still seemed good to me.

Anyways, by far the best meal we had with the Ham was surprisingly the Potato soup I randomly decided to make. I have never made it before so I just googled it, found a high rated recipe and cooked some up hoping it would turn out well (especially since I was taking half to a family for dinner!) I am so happy to say that it was SO delicious! Ben and I couldn't stop eating it! The boys even loved it, and our neighbor liked it too. So it is definitely a winner recipe and will probably be one our regulars from now own. As you know, when I find something I really like I love to share it and let people know about it, so I am posting the recipe so if you ever have leftover ham and some potatoes...here is a very tasty meal! Enjoy

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup!

Ingredients

3 1/2 Cups Peeled and Diced Potatoes

1/3 cup diced celery

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

3/4 cup diced cooked ham

3 1/4 cups water

2 Tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon pepper

5 Tablespoons butter

5 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 Cups milk

Directions:

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham, and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the Chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whick in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until think, about 1 min. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick. 4-5 minutes.

3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately, and Enjoy!

What I did Different:

I used red potatoes, and did not peel them. I didn't have granules, so I just used bouillon cubes instead. I don't even know how many I put it, just until it tasted right. And when I mixd the milk into the butter/flour mix. It didn't get all that thick so I finally just threw it in the soup and called it good.

Okay that is all, and I hope you try this out!

Some Pictures!

2010-01-26T21:59:00.000-08:00

All right, here are some pictures from last year that I never got posted, so here they are finally!

We went up the canyon the day before James started school to celebrate his last day of freedom. It was so much fun! We had a picnic, the kids played in the water, then on the way home we got some Corn on the Cob from a farmer (james REALLY wanted to) it was delicious.

December, we went to see the lights at Temple square. I was absolutely in love with the place and actually surprisingly touched by its beauty, even though I have seen many many times. I was once again reminded of the Sacred birth of our Savior. James however, was very grumpy the entire time...that was not so much fun. Oh well, what can you do?

First time I ever got Sophie's hair into pigtails. So super cute!

And some random pictures of Sophie and I. I love to sit and Take pictures of her. She is just os beautiful. I don't want to miss any of it.

I am sorry her face is cropped off in this one because it is so darn cute!

Wow, we are hot! Seriously, we look good. but we should. We were on our way to Ben's 10 yr reunion. We had the greatest time catching up with all our old HS friends. I love that we both went to Provo High, so that we both know the same people at our reunions.

um, yes I DO have the beautiful daughter in the whole wide world. Not going to deny that.

Oh, here is another of pigtail day. I love putting her hair up...she doesn't like it so much, but too bad. Look at those beautiful eyes. And of course She and James, best buds.

A not so happy Sophie all dressed up in her Halloween Costume. She really didn't mind it but she got mad when we took the picture. funny girl.

And here we all are dressed in our Halloween costumes. I thought we all looked pretty good this year. Ben had a hockey mask and knife as well, but wasn't wearing them in this pic.

A Good Day

2010-01-25T21:23:00.000-08:00

Today was nice. No stress, kids were good, besides the fact that they still are NOT asleep....

So yeah, I was up with Sophie last night, she had the runs all night, poor baby. But ben got James ready for school so I could get a little more sleep and that was so nice! Then I got on up, had breakfast with Harrison and Sophie, did my morning chores. Played with the kids for a bit, then I did a really quick, but very good workout. Then it was time for lunch.

James' cousin is off-track right now and so we went over to her house once James got home from school. He knew that we couldn't go until his homework was done, so he came home, homework in hand excited to tell me that it was already done because he had done it on the bus. Which, he had. Smart kid.

Anyways, we had fun, the kids played really well together there, Sophie wasn't too happy probably because her bum hurt. :( But really, it was just a nice relaxing afternoon. Then I took the boys to Target got some stuff for a "picnic" and went on over to the Oquirrh Temple (my sister lives out there) and enjoyed a picnic in the car. Sophie enjoyed the goldfish crackers especially. The boys and I talked all about the Temple and I was happy to see how much they actually knew. I love spending time like this with my kids. Just talking to them, seeing what they think about things. James told me after we die, the Dinosaurs will come back with the Volcanoes and rule the earth again. Yeah, he is into dinosaurs these days, a lot. Harrison talked about the open house and remembered going to it.

Oh and then I asked Harrison who Jesus Loved. He started telling me all the names of everyone he knew and then I asked him who else loved him he said "mom, dad, James, Sophie" and then I asked him who he loved. He said, "I love Rachel, she is nice to me. I love Ruth, she is nice. And I love Aubrey, she is nice to me. But Jonathon is naughty to me" Those are all his other cousins he plays with, and even Jonathon is a year younger than Harrison he can certainly take harrison down. It is pretty funny.

We also made a stop at Hobby Lobby where I bought some material for some baby gifts to friends and then there was this material for a little dress that was so cute I got the stuff for it and I can't wait to sew it for little Sophie. So darling. When I finish it I will post of picture of her in it.

You know what, I really do love being a mom. There is nothing else I would rather be right now. I know kids can be the biggest pain in the butt there ever was, trust me, I know. But really, I am glad that I know that, and not some babysitter somewhere. I love seeing my kids grow and develop and learn, and I love seeing them try to be good. James has the biggest heart there ever was and I just love his desire to learn and to be good. He truly wants to be good. I love that. I love my three little ones. They are my life. And I've gotta say, I've got a pretty good life.

Funny Baby

2010-01-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

Sophie has decided that she does not really like to sleep all night. That getting up at 3, 4, and 5 am is much more fun...especially when you do it all at once. Little Butt. Anyways, so I have bene up with her a lot lately. And I know, you are supposed to just let them cry, I know this. This is kid #3. But, she will scream and scream and scream....all night long. Hours long. It sucks. Or I can just go throw a bottle her way or give her a pacifier and she will go right back to sleep. I never know what to do. Anyways, so I haven't been giving her the bottle lately, because I really don't like to encourage that. So last night I got up with her and gave her her pacifier which she threw right out of her bed, when I gave it her again, she threw it again. Letting me know that that just wasn't going to cut it. Too bad for her I'm the boss, and well, If I don't want her to have a bottle, she won't get it.

So, she finally gave in took the pacifier and went back to sleep. Then another night she woke up, I picked her up and told her that she needed to stay in her bed, and go to sleep, and stop crying. She looked at me and pointed to her door. I said no, and pointed to her bed. She pointed to her door again. I pointed to her bed again. then I gave her a little love, tucked her in, told her that it was sleeping time and that she wasn't to wake up again until the sun was shining. She was good that time and obeyed. It is funny, no matter how many times I get up with that little thing, or how many times she starts to cry I can never be cross with her. i see her cute little face, her chubby cheeks with little tears streaming down and I can never get over how much I love the little thing and how happy she makes me. So I cave, I cave and I hold her and I rock her and then I tuck her back in bed. Sigh. One day, I am going to have to be tough with that one.

Oh, and she can climb right up the stairs now..al the way up. We figured this out when we heard her fall down the stairs the other evening. fortunately she caught herself part way down and was just a little scared. Not scared enough to not do that again though, I have followed her up the stairs a few times now. Time to keep the gate shut! How is she already this big?

Family Date

2010-01-10T12:43:00.001-08:00

Every Saturday we have a babysitter, so that we can go out on a date together. Well this Saturday didn't work out for her, and I was really excited to go out with Ben, so I told him we were still going to go out, just take the kids with us. So that is what we did. We were planning on going to Mimi's, and we took the kids with us. We had so much fun with them. They were really good the entire time and we really did just enjoy having them there with us. Harrison was being a little gross when he took his straw and sucked up the leftover ketchup from his plate, and then put his straw back in his cup and finished his drink. But as gross as that was, it made us all laugh so much it was good entertainment.

then we went over to Barnes and Noble and looked at books for a while. The kids LOVE the kid section of that store and pointed to just about every books saying that that was the book they wanted. And Ben showed me the new Nook there, that thing is pretty cool, but I don't know if it is $250 cool. Then of course I found my way over to the running books and got stuck in a book about some training tips. I just can't help myself. But we really did have a fun time, no stress at all, just fun together. I love it when family things, turn out to be fun family things. Cause they don't always turn out to be super fun.

Training

2010-01-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

So, anyone that knows me, knows I am beyond obsessed with running. And yes it is an obsession of mine. I'm crazy about it. And I have always dreamed about running really fast, and placing in a race or qualifying for the Boston marathon. Last year I had a baby though, and so of course with the pregnancy I was not working on speed at all, just getting a few miles in here or there, very slow ones at that. And then came my beautiful little girl and I was back up and running, but once again I was up nights with a newborn and trying to catch up on getting in shape and all that.

So now, this year, is my year. It is. I am going to do those things. I am going to place in a race and I am going to Qualify for Boston or die trying. one of the two. I went to go sign up for my most favorite race, the Ogden Marathon. This is, in my opinion, the best Marathon out there. Seriously, the organization is great, the course is a very gentle downhill the entire way. You run through some of the most beautiful country ever. THe post race food and such is amazing. You get an awesome medal even if you are just doing the half. It isn't very expensive, and I have run it before so I KNOW the course perfectly.

So yeah I really bummed when I saw that the race was full. WHAT! full! Crap! That was supposed to be MY race, where I get some screaming awesome fast time! THat was the race I was specifically training for! And it was on my B-day, what more could I want? And now, grrr!!! However, you COULD run it, IF you paid the VIP fees...of $200. Um, yes I absolutely did pay those fees. And I only spent a day thinking about it.

Okay so now that I have paid way too much for it, I HAVE to run it well, and very well. My goal time is 1:35:00. So that is 13.1 miles, holding about a 7:30 min mile. I am so positive that I can do this, and I am so excited to run it. I am eager to train, to get faster, to power up the one hill, and then fly on down the rest of the canyon. I have been reading and finding as much information as I can on speed work and training tips. I started training this last week. I didn't do a ton of miles, but I worked my legs and cardio good. I did hills one day. And it was a great workout for my legs, They felt like jelly by the end.

Saturday I did a "test run" My friend and I went for our usual Sat run. We only did 10 miles so nothing very huge. But I wanted to hold an 8 min mile, and then pick up the pace for the last 3 miles to a 7 min mile. I was so surprised at how easy it was to hold those paces, and how well I was able to run, even though it was only 16 degrees outside. I kept a decent pace throughout, and then the last 4 miles I held about a 7 min mile. It felt so good just to fly through those last miles and push myself just a hair more to keep it up. After that run I was so confident that I can get the time that I want from this race and possibly even better. I am excited to continue training and improving. And I can't wait for race day to kick some serious trash. This is my year, I'm going to do it.

Kid Update

2009-12-20T17:01:00.001-08:00

So yeah, I haven't blogged in forever and then some. But seriously, who has time to sit and blog when they are chasing around 3 kids, trying to keep a house clean (trying...NOT succeeding), taking kids to school, get some exercise in there somewhere, oh wait and dinner sometime. I seriously do NOT know how people get everything done all the time. Anyways, currently Sophie is sound asleep in her bed (she is all sorts of croupy today...sad) James and Harrison are banished to their room until it is clean or bedtime happens, either way I have a moment to myself and I think I need to update my blog a little bit.

James is in school, Kindergarten, and is actually doing pretty well. He finally just passed off all of his letters (upper case and lower) and all their sounds. He has gotten most of them for a while now but G as giving him trouble, so I am glad he finally got that one nailed down. I was really proud of him though. So he is reading now, and I love watching and listening to him try and sound things out and as we drive places trying to read what is on the billboards. It is so fun. It is also fun to see him hop on and off the bus stop every day. He seems so grown up. He continues to be obsesed with Sophie. Those two sure do love each other. He gets her out of bed, plays with her, tries to teach her to walk, scares her all the time but then she just laughs her head off at him. She thinks he is the funniest thing ever. James even feeds her her bottles when we are in the car. It is nice. It is nice to have James be so dependable. He will help keep on eye on Harrison at the store or outside or wherever we are, it is very nice. He is a good kid. He says the cutest prayers too. He always prays that we will have good feelings, and that we will have the gospel and that we will be happy. He says the most thoughtful and sweet things.

He was int he primary program a couple months ago and said his part perfectly. He had memorized it and I was so proud of him for doing such a great job. This last friday he had a christmas program at school and he sang the songs loud and clear. I love seeing him grow and develop. He is also in gymnastics and is doing so great. He is one of the youngest in his class and is often the strongest one there. He can get the farthest up the rope and almost always wins the "hanging" contest. A few weeks ago he was on the rings and did a back flip on the them and then he landed it!!! I was so proud of him!It is so fun to see him learn new things and excel. I love it.

Harrison is still, if not even more than ever, the tease in our family. He is always teasing and never stops. I don't think he is ever serious about anything, or ever takes us seriously. On the one hand, he sure does make us laugh a lot, but on the other...he never obeys!!!! He just laughs and thinks he can get away with whatever. He doesn't mind sitting in time out, if you spake his bum he just says "that didn't even hurt" what a terd. But he is very sweet too. When he is playing with all his friends outside and wants a snack he will always get one for everyone. He is very good about thinking about his friends. Once when he and James were playing outside, James fell and got hurt and little Harrison ran on home and got me. He was so worried about James, it was so sweet. He is the policeman to Sophie though. James just gives Sophie whatever she wants, Harrison definitely will tell her what she can and cannot do. It makes me laugh.

And of course Harrison is still obsessed with all sports. He loves to watch games on TV with Ben. In fact, james got two basketball tickets at school and brought them home and gave them to Harrison and Ben. I thought that was so sweet of him. Harrison is also turning into quite the artist. okay, he just draws the same thing over and over, can you guess? bowling pins, basketballs, baseballs, footballs, and basketball hoops. Oh and an "H". I love seeing his little drawings...unless they are covering the wall. Oh and yes he is still a squirrel and hides his food. I was cleaning his room and got down the lego box, opened it to find about 10 oranges peeled and half eaten in there. What a stinker.

And then there is Sophie. She is so grown up I can hardly believe it. Her hair is getting so long, I don't even realize how much hair she has until I see other babies her age and notice that she has 10 times as much hair as the other kids. I can do ponytails and pigtails, but if I put a bow in there, she will pull it out in about two seconds. And yes I am still absolutely head over heels in love with my little baby girl. She is just so beautiful. I get lost in those eyes of hers. They are just big and beautiful. And there is her little personality. She is a fireball and I am sure once she can talk she will give me all sorts of grief, but right now it is funny. Let's just say, she can hold her own and that is for sure. For instance, the other night we were driving home and somehow she ended up with the bumblebee transformer, James took it and she was not happy about that. She got so mad at him, no crying involved, just nonsense baby yelling. It was hilarious. james thought it was funny too and let her have the toy back. But that is how she is. She seems all sweet and innocent and like you could walk all over her, but no, if you cross a line she will definitely let you know.

She started crawling at about 6 months, maybe just after that, but she is very good at it, and now stands and climbs things as well. Now she is working on walking along the furniture. I can't believe she is already big enough for that. It is so cute to go get her in the morning and she is just standing in her crib waiting for you to come get her. she seems too little to do that. She still is my little baby. She won't let me rock her anymore, so sometimes after she has fallen asleep i go steal her and rock her for a while and just stare in amazement. I love babies. Can you tell? She has stolen all our hearts, we sure do love that little thing. She makes us laugh all the time, and we love to see her crawling around the house and climbing up my leg while I am making dinner. She is very content to just sit in one spot and just play. I like that. She is also a mama's girl. Well, okay, when I have been gone all day she will come right to me and just want me to hold her. When Ben gets home from work each day her eyes light up and she gets really happy to see him, and play for a moment, but then she wants mom back. I love that. I love holding my sweetheart baby girl.

Ben and I are pretty much the same as ever, I continue to run, not as many miles but I am trying to switch things up a bit with swimming biking, stair stepping, weights and all that jazz. But I haven't has near the time I usually do lately with the Hoidays and I just got called to the Relief Society Presidency. I absolutely love it. I love working with the sisters in the ward and getting to know everyone and just loving them. It is so wonderful, just very very busy. I feel like I am gone a lot, but am glad that I have Ben to hold the fort down while I am gone and to help me make things for the sisters. He is a great support to me. We have fun together. I am happy to say that we now have a permanent babysitter for SAT nights and I Love that. I love going out with him each week, it is so nice. We went bowling last night and got stocking stuffers for the kids. It was fun, and I almost beat him in bowling. HA! Anyways, that is our life right now. We are happy, our house is typically messy, I am usually behind on this that and everything else, but we are happy and yeah, we still like each other for some reason I can't quite figure out. ;) well now it is dark and time to go for a drive and look at lights. Merry Christmas all!

Top of Utah Marathon 2009

2009-09-21T20:24:00.001-07:00

Yay! We did it! Last Sat, Sept 19th my two brothers, Jay and Jeremy, and my sister, Amy, and I all ran the Top of Utah Marathon in Logan. It was SO much fun! I know you are thinking "what the world? how can running 26.2 miles be fun?" Trust me, it is. Now the last few miles are never very fun and you typically want to pass out and die at that point. BUT the fact hat you don't and you just keep running along is what makes the whole marathon thing amazing!

I won't give all the gory details and all that, but I was REALLY proud of my time 4 hours 4 min. especially since the last 8 miles were generally uphill and, wow, I so was not expecting that. I ran with my sister, Amy, for the first 10 miles or so and then we split. I met Ben at mile 15 got a good luck kiss and went on my way. I held a great pace the first 18 miles, under a 9 min at least then often under an 8 min mile. However, mile 18 came along and that is where the uphill climbs started and it was all I could do to keep about a 9 min mile. I was expecting to crash burn and die at mile 23, but I didn't and I was glad of that.

But one mile later....24...I was ready to be done. I felt like I was breathing through a straw and my entire body was telling me to stop running already. So that last 2.2 miles was a battle between my mind and body "keep going, don't you dare stop now, keep going, i don't care how much it hurts don't you stop running!!!" and then my body..."What in the world are you doing to me???? Why are you still running? You can't even breathe right anymore, your legs are completely broken can't you feel all that pain??? Look there is a curb over there, just pull over and die already okay?!!" Seriously, even when I got to mile marker 26 I wanted to just cry because I truly did not want to run another second, let alone .2 miles. So I was REALLY proud of myself for NOT stopping and running on through the finish line with a great finish time. I was so happy to see my sweet husband, Ben at the finish cheering me on and see all the rest of my family. It was so great to have that support there and it meant so much to see them all there cheering me on. Thank you family!!!! So here, are some pictures of the event. Enjoy.

Oh, and yes I will continue to do marathons, probably my entire life. I love running. And my next goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. hopefully next year, but if not, another year. I will get there.

My brother, Jay, and I. He came in at 3:45 awesome huh?

And of course, Sophie and I. Isn't she beautiful? Even just in her Jammies.

Yeah, you know this is a cute picture

Here we all are! Jeremy, Jay, Amy and I. I was SO proud of all of us for running it. Amy did awesome, it was her first and she came in at 4:15 AWESOME!!! Thanks Amy for talking me into doing this marathon, I loved it!

Here I am coming through the finish

Giving everyone a little cheer as I went though

Two thumbs up baby

Okay check this out. A picture of Ben and I and neither of us are making faces!!! That never happens. I think I will frame this one. Oh and just FYI, BEn is amazing. He 100% supports me in all my running, babysits kids, takes care of the house while my legs are recovering, comes to all my races and cheers me on. He is amazing and I am so lucky to have him. LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU BEN!!!

okay so yeah, after I finished and we were just chillin it, I died. I just wanted to lay down so that is what I did and I have to say that it felt amazing and I was 100% absolutely comfortable. I didn't want to get up. I probably could have stayed right there the rest of the day and been just fine with that.

My sister, Amy and I. Aren't we cute? Thank you Amy for all the fun running together. We did several of our training runs together and it was so much fun! I am so glad we ran this one together. Can't wait for another marathon, and yes there will be more. As I once read somewhere, 26.2 miles of the pain that you love. Yep. that pretty much describes a marathon.

First Day of Kindergarten

2009-09-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

I can't even believe that my little boy James is already in Kindergarten!!! He started school on the 27th of August and he loves it. He was so cute about it. We set out his clothes the night before, he picked out what he was going to wear. I got up early and made a big breakfast for him. Sausage, Eggs and Pancakes, his favorite! Well I guess I should say that HE got me up early. He got up around 7 am all dressed and ready to go with his backpack and everything. His bus doesn't come until 8:50, so we had plenty of time to kill. So we enjoyed a good big breakfast and reading time before he had to go.

It was so cute, just as I was taking the pictures of James, Harrison came along and wanted to go with James so badly. When I explained that only James was going and that Harrison could go when he was bigger he said "I AM bigger!" I said, "I know, but when you are 5 you can go" Harrison's response. "I AM 5! I am bigger, I am 5!". He was really sad to see James go. So sweet.

So then I took him to the bus stop and I was holding it together really well. James was really quiet so I knew he was nervous. Then the bus came, I gave James a big old kiss and hug and told him to have fun. He was the last one on the bus and it pulled away before he even sat down and I thought "wait! Let him sit down" And that's when I lost it. The tears came rolling down and I turned toward my house and walked home as quickly as I could. As soon as I got to my house I bawled and bawled. I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop thinking about my little baby James, and how he was all grown up, riding the bus and going to school. I thought of the day we drove him home from the hospital when he was born, and I couldn't believe that he was already 5 yrs old. I worried and cried that whole day. I worried that he wouldn't find his class or get on the right bus or get off on the wrong stop. I missed my little buddy that whole day. (I still do while he is at school). Anyways, then it was 12:00, time to go pick him up. I was so anxious and he came off the bus happy as could be. He had had a great day and loved it. Everyday is like that. He gets off the bus, runs straight to be and gives me a giant bear hug and tells me about his day.

I THINK he is doing well in school, he enjoys it and I haven't gotten any calls from his teacher so that's a good sign right? I have been reading with him every day and I LOVE how much improvement I am seeing. He recognizes several words now and is trying to sound things out and I really so love sitting there and reading with him and teaching him. We have a lot of fun. He checked out a star wars book from the library last week and we read it and read it and read it, and probably will read it another 10 times before he has to return it thursday. Anyways, so yes he likes school. We survived that first day, and yes I am truly a stay at home mom now because I have to be home to get him to and from the bus stop everyday, yes I am one of those moms that HAS to take her kid every time, everyday. So here are the pictures of James. Oh, he did his own hair. So cute.

It was really bright out, so we went inside to take a couple more, I have some really cute ones with Harrison, but he is in his underwear and I didn't really want to post that. ;)

If this isn't the cutest thing...

2009-09-08T17:13:00.000-07:00

A Great Weekend

2009-09-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

I just have to say that this weekend was one of the best I have had. Seriously. We relaxed, we played, we kept the house pretty clean. We ate a lot of really good food. We worked out. We played games with the kids. It was prefect. So I need to at least blog about it so I can remember it when I am all old and gray.

So Friday started out with me getting James off to school, and a quick walk around the neighborhood, and then off to Allred's for some peaches. Did you know you can get a half bushel of peaches there for $6? Yeah I didn't know either. They are the seconds, which means they aren't quite ripe or are lopsided, but seriously I haven't had a gross one yet out of the 2 boxes I got, so no complaints. Anyways, I had to wait a while to get them but it was well worth it, and I ended up getting some apples too which were delicious if I do say so myself. Then it was back home and lunch and then time to start some peach Jam. James and harrison really wanted to help as well. So while I fed Sophie. They sat at the sink and washed all the peaches. They did a really good job and didn't even bruise them. impressive eh? The rest of the afternoon we made Jam and by the time Dad got home we were too tired to make dinner so it was off to Carl's Jr.

Okay so I love their Teriyaki burger and I usually just get the regular sized one, but Ben ordered the six dollar version for me. Here is my confession. I ate the whole thing, a large order of French fries and a large drink......and I wasn't even full. I guess that is what happens when you are in the middle of Training for a marathon, nursing and working all day. Yeah. Speaking of training I was scheduled to run 12 miles on friday as well. So around 8 pm I got my running shoes on and headed to the gym. Yep, I did the run at the gym. How boring is that? Very. In fact I only got 9 miles on the treadmill before I wanted to die of boredom, and then I went on the elliptical for 20 mins and then I ran on the track until the place closed. So I figure I got close to a 12 mile workout in. But I was really proud of myself for going and getting that workout in, even though I was stinkin tired. It felt good, and I actually enjoyed it.

Saturday morning I slept in, and it was marvelous! Then I got up and dressed and got in a baking mood and found a good looking recipe for peach crsip online and decided to make it. So I did. And the results were not at all disappointing. It was divine. Then we all spent one hour cleaning up and I can't believe how clean the house got after just one hour of cleaning. It was great. So then it was time to relax. We read for a while. I am once again reading Twilight. Yeah I know, I am a little obsessed. but I love it. I also read with James for quite some time. I have to say. He and I have been reading together every day for about 30 min and he is getting so good! I love seeing him improve every day and learn new words and be able to sound out things. He can read one of our books entirely by himself! hurray! It is a Dick and Jane book, and I am ordering more because that one is the best for him to learn with. easy words and lots of repetition. Anyways, we have had so much fun reading together.

After all that we packed up the car, went to costco, got lots of good foods to eat later on, and then got hot Dogs and went for picnic at the park. We were there until later that evening. We had so much fun. We played football and played on the playground and swings and just had a great time. Then it was time to go home and off to bed for the kids and we read once again and watched some shows.

I am just going to say right now that this Sunday was the most relaxing nice sunday we have ever ever ever had. Seriously. It was great. We had a Baby blessing to go to at 9 am so we went to that and it was just great. Then afterwards there was a luncheon and it was just fun to visit with family while the kids played outside. Then we came home, the kids took naps, we took nap, we all slept until almost 4:30! It was so nice! Then we cooked these chicken teriyaki meatballs we got at costco and sweet potato french fries and man! I forgot how much I love sweet potato french fries. I think I could have eaten the whole batch. They were tasty. Then I made another batch of Peach crisp and had some people over for a good game of Scrabble. We played a couple rounds with the kids and they thought it was just great. Then once they were in bed we played by ourselves and had fun. It was a great day.

Then today we worked out again this morning. It felt good. I love a good workout. And I like that I can finally see some muscles in my arms. I know, I am vain. anyways, then we played with the kids for a while and just goofed off. Then we had another hour of cleanup and then reading/relaxing time. I love that. Then we packed a lunch/dinner and went up the canyon to go hiking and have a picnic with my brother and his family. It was great fun. The kids were so excited to see their cousins. And they all had fun hiking. We loved it. Now they are all bathed and in bed and I am eating some white chocolate with coconut. yum. Yep, it was a great weekend.

I don't know how people do it.

2009-08-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

I don't know how people do it. I just finished reading a blog about a family whose 7 month old baby boy has cancer. They found out in June, and have been going through Chemo and living at primary children's and then this last week was given the news that the cancer had spread and that their baby only had weeks left to live. As I read the post, the tears would not stop. My heart broke for them. For their family. For their other kids. For their little baby that has already had to go through sooooo much. I wanted to call them, to find them, to hug the mom and cry with her and tell her how sorry I am, I still can't stop crying.

I don't understand why people have to go through things like this. I don't understand why such little innocent babies have to go through so much pain. I don't understand why we have to lose those we love. I don't understand why some people have to carry such heavy burdens. I DO know though, that our Father in Heaven loves us, and that we can be comforted. I know that we are here to help each other get through these hard times. I do know that that little family will be reunited once again. What a joyous reunion that will be. Families can be together forever. I KNOW that. I am so grateful to have been married in the temple and that I am sealed to my husband and to my 3 kids.

Their blog made me think of my kids and my family. I thought of what a slacker mom I am most the time. I thought of how much I take for granted. How precious our sweet little children are. I went upstairs kissed my 3 babies goodnight and rocked Sophie and wept again. To the Nelson family. You are in my prayers. You are in my thoughts. my heart is broken for you. I can't imagine what you are going through right now or in the days to come. You are an inspiration to me. To be a better mom. To give my kids the best life I can possibly give them and to make sure that they too gain a testimony of this Gospel. My heart goes out to you.

Our Summer

2009-08-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

oops, these pictures are supposed to be at the bottom, oh well, here they are. Here is Harrison with his pinewood derby. Another tradition of my family. His car took 2nd place and he couldn't have cared less. James however didn't win a single race and cried and cried. Poor kid. Harrison's car was painted like a basketball. shocker.

Look at how big my little baby girl is getting! She is a chunky monkey for sure and she is growing up too too too too fast! I keep telling her to stop, but she is stubborn and continues to get bigger. sigh. This is one of my favorite dresses of hers and she has outgrown it, so I had to take a picture one of the last times she wore it. she looks so good in brown.

Okay here is the real start of my blog, I know I am retarded and should figure this out so it is laid out all nice and in order, but I got 2 hours of sleep last night, ran 14 miles this morning went shopping all day, took care of an extremeley grumpy baby, cleaned the entire house and I am beat. So here it is.

I seriously cannot believe that this summer is coming to a close. It literally flew right by me. I hadn't even noticed that it was really ending until I noticed the slight chill in the air the other morning when I left for my morning run. And I thought "What? What is this nip in the air?" Then I realized that August is almost over, James starts school next Thursday. Yes I now have a kindergartner. We went to back to school night the other night and I asked him if he was nervous, he said he was. I told him I was nervous too. Then I had to keep myself from crying the rest of the time. HE is very excited to go though. He wears his backpack everyday. He has his clothes all picked out and is ready to go. sigh. my little boy.

But Back to our summer. we have been 100% busy this entire summer. Reasons: 3 kids...so busy I can't even begin to tell you. family reunions, races, I am training for marathon #2, which is in 4 weeks! Kids in soccer and gymnastics. Family BBQ's..so many BBQ's. hikes, smores and then even more smores. Seven peaks several times. Playing at the park and getting snow cones. going to the Orem Owlz baseball games, Liberty Land, Bridal Veil falls...... the list goes on and on. Like I said, busy. So here are some pictures of our fun times.

Here we are picking up Ben's brother, Alex up from the Airport. He just finished serving a 2 year mission to Taiwan. We are glad to have him back home, and glad that he had such a great time.

We had family races yet again this year. The kids made bandanas just before the races. And they all got water bottles and medals at the end. The sure were cute.

James at Liberty Land. We spent a day there once and it was pretty fun. James LOVED thos planes and the roller coaster. He would jus make that plane bounce up and down and thought it was the funniest thing ever. He laughed and laughed.

James and Sophie on the 4th of July. Aren't they so cute?

Our neighborhood had a parade on the morning of the 4th. So we decorated our bikes and joined in the fun, and it really was a lot of fun. James and I had fun getting the bikes all put together

James and I ran race on provo the morning of the 4th as well. We ran the freedom runs. I ran the 10k and he ran the 1 miler. he ran the whole way without stopping. I was so proud of him. He is and always will be just my best little buddy.

3 kids..busy busy. But I love it.

2009-06-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it has been FOREVER since I last blogged...but...I DO have 3 kids these days and I wear I am busy 24/7. It is good busy, but very busy. I feel like I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off at times. But I do have to say that life is very happy right now. I have 3 beautiful healthy kids, a baby that I cannot stop looking at and am absolutely obsessed with. A 3 yr old that is finally talking for real and while he has tantrums, his sweet side is definitely coming back, and will let me snuggle him. And a 5 yr old that has been my huge helper and is as always my best buddy. And of course Ben and I are as crazy about each other as we always have been, actually probably more. So here is a glimpse of our life the past few months as we have been adjusting to a family of 5. Enjoy!

I learned that while Sophie is a princess...she doesn't really like wearing tutus at the moment. Maybe if she had some stockings on, then it wouldn't bother her. But like it or not, she is one stickin cute little ballerina. I call this picture "my grumpy ballerina".

I love big flowers on baby's heads. And so of course Sophie has many many of them. It is just too much fun. I feel like I am a little girl again, playing with my doll and dressing her up in every little outfit, complete with the bracelets, bows, flowers, dresses, shoes......It never ends and I LOVE IT!!

My three kids..not the greatest picture, but still cute! I can't believe I have 3 kids, crazy.

Um, I don't know why this picture is sideways, just turn your head :) But once again, James loves loves loves his baby sister. THey have some crazy bond and I love that. The funny things is, is that she is 100% like him! I feel like I have James as a baby all over again. except that I get to put bows on her head!

Once again, James loves Sophie. Every morning he gets up and asks me when he can go get Sophie and every night he checks on her. It is sweet.

This is the day that James got his Kindergarten shots, Sophie had an appointment as well. So James picked out two stickers, Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles, and put one on Sophie and one on him. By the way, James was very brave while he got his shots. He cried for half a second and then was fine.

Harrison got a bow tie on easter and he is so cute in it!

Ben and I celebrated our 10 yr anniversary of Prom. yep, May 2nd 1999 we went to Prom together. And here we are married 10 yrs later. We went to Los Hermanos, that is where Ben took me for our Prom. Man we got a lot of looks I tell you what. Some people asked why we were all dressed up and when we told them what we were doing they thought it was really sweet. I love that I have known Ben for so long and that we have so many memories together!

Harrison's b-day. We went to Wheeler farm and then came home for a Wall-E b-day party. It was a lot of fun and he loved his cake. It had Eve and Wall-E on it and as soon as he blew out the candles he gave James Eve and he took Wall-E. I thought it was o sweet that he was so willing to share with his brother.

James Graduated from Preschool!!

Here James is at his Graduation

James' cousin Mariah had a princess b-day party. James just showed off his awesome muscles.

JAmes and Sophie...You know they are sweet.

Once again, big flower and 100% absolutely adorable! She brings so much joy into our home and we all just love her to death. I can't believe how much I love that thing. Even Harrison has decided that he loves Sophie. He only calls her "soph" which I think is cute and always wants to touch her hair.

Oh yeah, once more thing. James can ride a bike without training wheels. It was hilarious. I was cooking dinner and he came running in telling me that he could do it. I went outside, and James hopped on a neighbors bike and went down the road. As soon as Ben got home James insisted that he take the training wheels off and he has been riding a two wheeler ever since!

So Stinkin' Cute!

2009-05-05T15:52:00.001-07:00

Okay seriously, how cute is my little girl? 100% stinkin' Cute. yep. And yes, she looks just like her dad and brother.

Harrison's Eater Egg hunt

2009-05-04T21:57:00.001-07:00

Now I realize that Easter was quite some time ago, but there is a story that I must never forget so I must write it in here before I forget one day.

So, Easter morning came and James was so so excited to find all the eggs and he went downstairs and then came back up telling us that there were no eggs. I of course assumed he was not looking in the right places and assured him that there were eggs and we would go help him find some. So we all went downstairs to see what the easter bunny had brought us and I was telling James that there were for sure eggs to find when I started to look around the house and noticed that James was correct. There were no eggs to find. I looked at Ben and said "what the world? where are all the eggs?" He and I started looking in all the places that the eggs had been hidden and every single egg was gone. We were completely mysitified, and then I looked at Harrison, who didn't looked quite so shocked. I asked him if he knew what had happened to the eggs. He pointed to his easter basket...sure enough all the eggs were in there. Apparently, Harrison got up in the middle of the night and found all the eggs himself. Yep, that is Harrison for ya. I am thinking come Christmas time we had better lock his door.