Finishing up a Month of Thanks

Well we finished up our trip in California and before I knew it we were home and I hadn't posted anything. So here's a whole list of things I've been thankful for recently. My parents, my mom's wonderful food, sunny weather in California when it is cold home, safe traveling, all of my many "machines" (Moises has been amazed by everything from cruise control to the popcorn popper and my bread mixer. He says we have a machine for everything!), my church, my siblings, forgiveness, and friendship.

Month of Thanks: Day 19

Today is Jason's birthday and we spent the morning in Zion National Park. It brought back so many great memories of fun times we spent there together in college. Today I'm thankful for all the terrific memories and that I made the decision to marry him. Here we are 15+ years later! I still love this place!

Month of Thanks: Day 18

Today I'm thankful for the way these kids adore their baby brother. It is so cute. It's easy to tell who is always the center of attention at our house!

Month of Thanks: Day 17

I've missed a couple days but I'm too tired to catch up right now so you only get one. Today I'm thankful for the beauty in nature. I can't help but feel happy when I spend a day like today in such a gorgeous place Heavenly Father created.

Summer-like Halloween

My memories of Halloween as a kid were of trying to put my costume over layers of clothes and freezing while we were out trick or treating.  Not this year!  We couldn't have asked for nicer weather.  All the records were shattered with temperatures in the mid 70s for the high.  Kaitlyn wore her cute little cheerleader outfit without having to put anything over it or under it and it was even warm enough to push Skyler around in the stroller while the kids did their trick or treating.  I'm sure we'll never have a Halloween that nice again but we sure enjoyed it!

Month of Thanks: Day 14

The other day I ran into a friend at the store who saw me with the baby and said,"I'm glad it's you and not me." While I understood what she meant I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her. Yes, having a baby is hard but I am loving every minute of it. I have given up a lot of time for myself that I had gotten used to having but nothing is as special as holding a newborn baby that has just come from heaven. I realize now that this time is passing way too quickly and soon Skyler won't be a baby anymore. I don't want to look back and regret that I wished this time away. So many days the dishes are left in the sink or the laundry doesn't get folded but I love every second I get to hold this little boy. Soon enough the house will be clean again and I'll have time to do what I want. Today I'm grateful for the moment I'm in right now.

Month of Thanks: Days 12 and 13

I knew the chance of me not missing a day was pretty slim so you get two today. I'm thankful for a warm house. As much as I love to play in the snow I can't imagine not having somewhere warm to come to afterwards.

I'm thankful for technology. My kids really can't even imagine what life was like for us growing up without the Internet. There is so much information available now literally right at our fingertips. I love how convenient it is!

Month of Thanks: Day 11

I am thankful for music. Today was our primary program at church and listening to the children sing was wonderful! We also started Christmas music in ward choir. Nothing brings the true spirit of Christmas better than music.

Month of Thanks: Day 10

I'm thankful for the changing seasons. Each one brings its own beauty and fun. I'm hoping the two good snow storms we've had are a sign of a good snow season ahead! After missing most of last ski season I can't wait to get out on the slopes!

Fall Break in Moab

We decided since we didn't get a summer vacation we would take a short trip to Moab for fall break this year.  We finally got there on a perfect weekend when the sun was shining!  We had a great time hiking and mountain biking.

Jared and Andrew mountain biking with Arches National Park in the background.

Newspaper Rock

Canyonlands National Park

Kaitlyn can't wait to ride her bike with the big kids.

Andrew on the slickrock trail

Corona Arch

We ran into our friends, the Listers, and hiked to Corona Arch with them.

Month of Thanks: Day 9

I am thankful for my dishwasher.  I know that sounds silly but I lived without one for the first six years we were married and I think it is the thing that saves me the most time.  I hadn't thought about it for quite a while but our friend, Moises, from Brazil is amazed by it.  The first night he helped me with the dishes he cleared the table and then asked me what to do with the dirty dishes.  I asked if he had ever seen a dishwasher before and he said, "only in the movies."  He was thought the dishwasher and the garbage disposable were remarkable! He said his daughter would love a dishwasher!

Month of Thanks: Day 8

Today I am thankful for simple acts of kindness. Just in the last few days my neighbor left the last close parking spot for me at the school because she knew I had the baby. The bus driver let our Brazilian friend on the bus his first time in the US even though he didn't have the right change. I received an unexpected thank you card with kind words when I was discouraged. And there are many people who see me with my hands full carrying a carseat and help me with doors. Small things really do make a difference.

Month of Thanks: Day 7

You don't run a race to get to the finish any more than you sing to get to the end of a song. Today I'm thankful for the joy in the journey.

Month of Thanks: Day 6

It's Election Day and I'm thankful for my country. I'm thankful for the right to vote and all the blessings too numerous to count because I live in the United States. God bless America!

Month of Thanks: Day 5

I am thankful for good health.  There is nothing like getting sick that helps you appreciate having good health!  After 9 months not feeling well when I was pregnant I love waking up and feeling good in the morning!  I see so many people who have to deal with health challenges, some that last a lifetime, and I realize that I am very blessed with good health.  I'm so fortunate to be able to run and be active and do fun things with my family.

Month of Thanks: Day 4

I'm thankful for modern transportation. When I think of my ancestors who walked over 1000 miles to Salt Lake I wonder what they would think if they could see how we travel today. Yesterday we welcomed our good friend Moises from Brazil to our home. We are excited to have him spend the month with us while he practices his English!

Month of Thanks: Day 3

Today I am thankful for wonderful friends and all the great times together. Today we had our somewhat annual donut party. It brings back a lot of great memories with old friends. I love having my house full of great friends!

Skyler: 4 Months

I keep telling Skyler not to get any bigger and I guess he decided to listen!  Even though he seems a lot bigger when I took him for his four month check up he was 10 lbs. 11 oz.  He had grown to 24 inches in length but the doctor wasn't happy that he hadn't gained more weight than that so I guess I can't tell him not to grow anymore!  Other than that he is just the healthiest, happiest, and sweetest baby!  I couldn't ask for a better baby!  He's getting so interactive now and loves to play with his siblings.  Kaitlyn can get him laughing so hard when she's in one of her crazy moods.  It's the cutest thing in the world!  At four months Skyler sleeps through the night (most of the time), smiles at everyone, hates tummy time, doesn't like being in the car for long drives, and loves to be held.  Really the only thing hard about him is that I don't get a lot done because he likes to be held during the day.  To be honest I don't mind too much!  I'd rather hold him than get my work done anyway!

Skyler with his new cousin Saphirre.  It will be so fun to have them so close together.

Here's our little Hawkeye fan.

And we can't forget the Ute's either!

Month of Thanks: Day 2

I'm thankful for clean running water. This is one of those things that is so easy to take for granted. You turn on the tap and its there. But think how hard life would be without it! From showering to cooking and cleaning, it makes everything so much easier. And the fact that you can drink it without getting sick is something a lot of people in the world don't have. In a natural disaster it wouldn't take long to miss it. So today I'll be grateful every time I turn the tap on.

The Perfect Race

Running a marathon is hard.  If you've never run 26.2 miles get in your car and drive that far just see how far it really is!  Just completing a marathon takes a lot of training and work but to run one fast is an even bigger challenge.  It takes months of training: weekly long runs up to 22 miles or so, intervals on the track (fast for a short distance), tempo runs (not quite as fast for longer distances.)  You really have to be dedicated and not miss any training runs if you want to do your best.  Add on top of that eating and sleeping right so that you can be at your peak on race day.  But even when you have done everything you can to have the perfect race, sometimes it just doesn't work out.  Sometimes it's the weather.  Sometimes you get sick or injured.  And sometimes for reasons no one knows you just don't feel great and it's not your day to run fast.  If that happens on a 5K it's no big deal.  You find another race in a couple weeks and try again.  Marathons don't work that way.  If you want to run a marathon fast you can only run 2 or 3 a year.  It takes months of training and by the time you have recovered from your race you have to start training all over again.  All that training and you only get one shot.  So of course, every marathoner wants the perfect race on race day.

A year and a half ago Jason started training with the coach I'd been training with the last few years.  He was excited to try to break his personal record in the marathon.  He trained hard for the St. George marathon last year and although he ran well he finished in 2:52, two minutes slower than his best time.  He was disappointed but it had been a stressful week for him and it just wasn't the best timing for a marathon.  So he tried again at the Ogden Marathon this year.  The weather was perfect.  We went to watch him on the first half of the course in Huntsville and he looked really good but he hit the dreaded wall by about mile 18 and finished in 2:54.  Impressive to everyone but not what he wanted.

He wanted to try again and register for St. George.  I'll be honest.  I told him I didn't want him to.  We were having a baby and I didn't want him spending so much time and energy with running.  I wanted his help with the kids and I knew there wasn't going to be as much time for training and that we wouldn't be getting a whole lot of sleep.  He really wanted to run it so I said OK as long as it was just for fun, and not a very high priority.  His training was about what I expected.  We went through the sleep deprived stage in the summer when it was hard to get a good workout in.  He got some decent training in but not what he had done for the last two marathons.  That's why I was surprised when he started running PRs in the 10Ks and half marathons he did during the summer.  I started to think maybe less is better for him.  Maybe he was over training or putting too much pressure on himself the last year.  But I still thought the marathon would be the big challenge.  He was obviously in good shape but could he last for a whole marathon on the training he had been doing?  So we headed to St. George again for marathon weekend.

Here's a picture of the start line but it didn't look like this when he got there because it was still dark.

This is what you really see at the start.  Thousands of people trying to stay warm by the fires while it is pitch black because it's way too early to be called morning!  So while the kids and I were still sleeping in the hotel Jason had already taken a bus 26 miles away to Central and was waiting in the dark for the start.  Conditions were perfect!  Nice temperature and even a slight tail wind!

I signed up to get text message updates along the way.  They started coming about when we were heading to breakfast.  His first 10K was in 39:11.  That was a little fast but the first 10K is downhill so I figured he would be OK.

The next alert was at the halfway point.  He was at 1:24:03.  He had slowed down a little but that was expected since he'd just gone through the uphill part of the course.  He was right on track to run the perfect race if he could just take advantage of the downhill in the second half and not run out of steam before the finish!

By the third update at 30K I knew he was either running the best race of his life or he was about to die really hard!  He was at 1:56:59 and had gained back all the time he had lost in the hills and some.  I also realized we needed to leave the hotel and get over to the race course right then or we might miss seeing him!  We drove to a spot with about a mile and a half to go.  When we saw him come around the corner I knew he had it!  He looked fantastic!  The kids held their signs out for him and rang their cow bells.  We then jumped in the car and tried to get to the finish before him.  He was running fast though and by the time I got all the kids and the stroller out of the car and ran over to the finish area we just missed him. (So I had to buy pictures to remember his awesome finish!)

He finished in 2:43:21! It was his best time by 7 minutes!  His average pace was 6:14 per mile!  (If anyone is wondering why the clock is 2 seconds off, most big races have chips you wear so your time doesn't start until you cross the start line.)  Finally after all the frustrating races everything was perfect!  It was so great to see a smile like this on his face after a marathon!

Month of Thanks: Day 1

I love Thanksgiving! Maybe that's because I grew up with two grandmothers who cooked amazing Thanksgiving dinners. Or maybe it's the fond memories of Thanksgiving with my cousins. Maybe it's because my birthday falls on or near Thanksgiving. Or maybe it's because I have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower and was at the first Thanksgiving. Whatever the reason, I'm a firm believer that being happy has more to do with your attitude and what you have. So in honor of Thanksgiving I am going to post something I am thankful for every day.

This is pretty obvious. I'm thankful for my husband and children. These are the people who make all the piles of laundry and endless of dishes worth it. These are the smiles that melt my heart.

Jared's 10th birthday

Jared's 10th birthday was this month.  He was so excited for his birthday!  I took Krispy Creme donuts to his class for birthday treats.  After I watched Jared pass out all the donuts he told me I had been there long enough and I could leave.  I guess when you are 10 it's not so cool to have your mom around anymore!  Yes, it makes me miss the days when he was little but he is also such a fun kid now that he's bigger!

Birthday Cheesecake!

Nothing more fun than new Lego's!

It had been a few years since Jared had a friend party so we spent the week planning a Harry Potter party.  Jason had to go out of town unexpectedly so that meant I got to handle 10 extra boys in the house on my own!  I spent all day making fun treats for the party.  When Jared came home he was so excited about the treats he said, "Mom, this is going to be the best Harry Potter birthday party ever!"  Well, I'm sure it wasn't but that just melted my heart.

His excitement faded a little when it started pouring rain.  He had a game of quidditch planned for outside and he did not want it rained out.  It was cold and soggy but it did let up enough they went outside and played anyway!  Hopefully I didn't upset too many parents sending their kids home cold and wet!  The kids were sorted into houses when they got here and earned house points for the games they played.  They ate dinner at the Three Broomsticks and bought their treats and party favors from Hogsmeade.  Potions was a big hit.  What better for a bunch of boys then dumping a bunch of ingredients together and watching it bubble and change color!

Here's a look at Jared at 10.

What he likes: Lego's, candy, ice cream, cheesecake, pasta, football, football and football, watching TV, Harry Potter, and playing with his baby brother.
What he doesn't like: getting up in the morning, practicing the piano, doing his chores, homework, and swimming lessons.  The best thing I did this year before school started is buy Jared a really loud and annoying alarm clock!  It works like a charm!  The other day he said the funniest thing to me. "Is Skyler waking up at night as annoying as my alarm clock going off?"  "Yup!"  It was like a light bulb went off in his head and he understood!  Then he said, "Only it's worse because you can't just turn it off!"
Things I love about Jared:  his smile, his sun-bleached hair and tan skin in the summer, his giggle, his personality is much more like me than the other kids (both good and bad traits I must say),  he is an awesome big brother (Skyler loves all his siblings but he can't help smile when Jared is around.  Jared is really good at giving him love but also being gentle!), he's smart and imaginative.

Family Pictures 2012

We needed a family picture done since we didn't have one with Skyler yet.  Fall has been so busy I had a really hard time finding a day that would work with our photographer.  We finally settled on Tuesday evening for this week.  Last week the leaves were beautiful in the valley and the weather was gorgeous!  Unfortunately that doesn't last too long in October.  Tuesday turned off cold and stormy and we got rained out.  And the weather only got worse as the week went on.  Thursday we woke up to four inches of snow and it continued to fall through the day!  The snow was melting quickly on Friday but it also took down most of the pretty colors with it.  As I drove around town all that was left on the trees were brown and dry.  So much for fall pictures I thought.  Our photographer managed to find a few trees that were still pretty and I was amazed how good they turned out!  The only problem is that it was cold!  Poor Skyler froze! He did pretty good but wasn't quite the smiley, happy guy he always is at home!

Andrew (13)

Jared (10)

Kaitlyn (6)

Skyler (4 months)

Why do family pictures always end up with the kids wrestling?

...and throwing leaves?

I think this says it all...I've had it..I'm cold...Let's go home!!!