California to Connecticut

Feliz Natal

2011-12-25T21:42:00.001-07:00

Skateboards * Little Miss Muffins * Ninjagos * Covertable Mittens * Webkinz * Nook Tablets * 1 lb. Peanut Butter Cups

And the pièce de résistance? Video Soon. Along with some serious catch-up.

Merry Christmas!

Eight is Great

2011-11-01T19:27:00.018-06:00

This post may be two weeks past due, but she's so cute it's worth the wait!

Chemistry set: Awesome! Nailpolish: not so much. (Not really, just the funny story the pictures tell)

There's no picture, but record must be made of her excitement over her color-changing alarm clock and how cool she thought it was Grandma B. remembered she wanted it during our trip to Target in August.

Oooh, but wait. She had a party. Her first friend party, ever! She was very excited and since we only had two RSVP's, we may have tried to make up for the potentially small gathering by doing things we never do. Namely, a piñata. (Last year's was courtesy of her aunt.)

And as you may be able to tell, more than just the two RSVP's showed up.

All Hallow's Eve

2011-10-31T19:25:00.002-06:00

This year, the kids thankfully kept their requests largely free of requiring my sewing my skills. Al historically has not fully appreciated my attempts to provide her with an awesome homemade costume.

For instance, last year's Athena had awful, too tight sleeves.

And the 2009 Hermione robe didn't close up the front and the Gryffindor badge was a paper printout pinned to the aforementioned non-closing robe.

A couple years before that, was the beginning of it all with my poorly constructed Ice Queen costume. And I will concede that one, being as we had just moved to CT, Natalie was still tiny, Jay was still recovering, and I for the first time could not rely on my mother making the kids costumes and thus had to buy a sewing machine and wing it for the unsuccessful Ice Queen costume.

So when she initially decided on Vampiress with the absolutely required long, flowy sleeves, I may have broken out in hives. And lucky her, I did what I never do: I bought it. At DI. For $15. But look at those sleeves!

This year, we also have the Wicked Witch of the West, Hiccup (How to Train Your Dragon), and Dorothy (one of the previously mentioned Grandma-made costumes).

And as of two days ago, talk of next years costumes has begun.

Soccer Soccer Soccer Soccer Soccer Soccer Soccer

2011-10-02T19:22:00.001-06:00

Monday: practice--Lee
Tuesday: game--Spence
                game--Lee
Wednesday: practice--Allie
Thursday: practice--Spence
                   game--Allie
Friday: FREE
Saturday, every other: game--all of the above

That was our September--not counting multiple dentist appts., cub scouts, activitity days, birthday parties, ect., ect., ect.

So what was the fruit of our labors this year?

Allie had a young team this year, they only won game and she didn't score this year which in her way of thinking means she's not a good soccer player. And for reference, her team scored about 7 goals all season, 4 of which occurred during the single game Allie missed, which was also the only game they won.

We try to help her perspective and remind her since she spends half of every game as goalie, her chances of scoring are half of all the other girls, but she doesn't seem to get it. Maybe one day.

Regardless, she had a fun season and I'll tell you, she put up a fight against some pretty big girls this years and came out on top. In fact we gave her credit for one goal because she successfully fought three girls in row to keep the ball, passed it, then a score off her pass. She may take after her mom and find midfield is where she belongs.

No videos this year. We have them, they just aren't cooperating.

Spencer had one heck of a team. I think every game but one was a shutout by like 6-0. They had several players that I think could take on Allie's team. While they did an awesome job, Spence was one of the smallest, youngest, and inexperienced. But he still had a lot of fun and a couple of almost goals!

If you recall, Leah spent a lot of the two last year picking the grass, doing handstands, and falling down.

This year she came into her own. Like, in a big way. Like her coach nicknamed her "goal-scoring machine." Like two to three goals a game. Like she scored all her teams goals this year save two, I think.

Although, she still can't stay on her feet to save her--which I think is why she is so adept at the slide tackle. Yes, Leah can execute an awesome slide tackle which I think she taught herself as self preservation method since she is always falling down. If she's going to fall she might as well make it useful.

Supposedly you're not supposed to slide tackle (supposedly because Spence's team did it all the time, so I'm calling this as a no for girls/yes for boys discrepancy) and she had a goal not counted because it was scored with a slide tackle. But I am not going to discourage her use of it simply because I never got the hang of it and it will come in handy in the future.

Leah in ACTION!

Now on to October and wrestling!

BYU Triple Crown

2011-09-30T11:28:00.014-06:00

Last week, BYU Track and Field sponsored their annual one mile elementary race, a competition between schools with the schools earning points in a complicated system of finishing place and time of the runners schools which I don't really understand.

Lee came home with he flyer declaring she wanted to help Westridge win the trophy this year. And since Spence is the energizer bunny, we encouraged him to run as well. Al wasn't interested.

So over the course of a few Saturdays, I took Lee and Spence out to train and the Saturday before we timed them on the Provo High track: Spence clocked in the fastest at 9:16, Al at 9:50-ish (we told her she had to do a fifth lap if Spence beat her--I know, we're such encouraging parents, huh), Nat finished in 14:15, and Lee petered out after 3/4 of a mile.

So going into this, we knew Spence would do good, and Lee would do okay. And after the fact, let me just say I think my kids are awesome!

A little pre-race warm-up

They started every five minutes by grade and gender
and here comes our 1st grade boy!
(somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of a mile)

And now our 3rd grade girl!

Spencer came in at 8:41--eleventh place overall in his division (78 runners) and second of the boys from his school which in that complicated scoring system earned his school points!

He missed a spot on the stand by one and we won't go into the two boys who cut across the field, made the top ten, and didn't actually run a whole mile. But my boy has a competitive streak in him--he wouldn't let anyone pass him by kicking into gear when he heard somebody behind him.

And Lee came in with an awesome 10:07--21st overall (52 runners) and fifth for the 3rd grade girls in her school!

If you're as interested as we were, here are the results with the individual school results at the bottom as well.

And now it's time to take a break and wait for the final results.

And in the end, their school won several divisions, including First Grade boys--Yay!!!

And all those individual division wins culminated in the overall win for Westridge Elementary!

*This is not all the runners from our school, just those that stuck around. The only reason we stuck around was because after the snafu regarding Spence's race, the director said Spence would get a ribbon (awarded to the top ten), only to have the director change his mind after all was said and done. At least we were there for this in the end!

One of These Is Not Like the Other

2011-09-27T22:51:00.007-06:00

Another soccer season has ended (more on that later) and with that comes city provided medals for participants. One for each of three children: Al, Lee, and Spence.

But all is not as it seems.

Luckily, Lee is just weird enough to take it all in stride.

2011-08-25T09:30:00.002-06:00

The last several weeks, I've traded my Saturday morning runs for a bike ride with Jay. But these bike rides aren't just for exercise, they are dual in purpose. You see, we plan our ride around yard sales and last week we came across a tripod for $5.

Of course, the kids thought it was pretty cool.

2011-2012

2011-08-22T21:28:00.000-06:00

Going Postal

2011-08-12T10:00:00.011-06:00

In our new home I have this awesome little postal-type-cubby-thing. Problem is I've been afraid I wouldn't be able to keep it tidy looking, you know just randomly tossing mail or things into slots, day after day, until they are full of random stuff and everything else.

And whaddya know:

And this is after a dejunking. So, ultimately I decided to do something. And after fruitless attempts at finding baskets narrow enough to fit in those slots (not even the Container Store could help me) I moved on to Plan B.

The only question was three or four, and I went with three:

This I can manage.

2011-08-10T09:02:00.001-06:00

A stray followed us home from church a couple of weeks ago:

Not surprisingly, the kids thought it was the coolest thing and set up camp on the front porch and watched Joey all afternoon. That's right, not only did they name him, but he stayed all day. He was gone in the morning, and the kids promptly went into mourning and I promptly sprayed down my walkway of the souvenirs he so kindly left behind.

Speaking of Sunday surprises, Sunday morning Nat asked me to blow dry her hair and since she has no hair therefore I knew it would take all of 20 seconds, I agreed. THE BEST 20 SECONDS I HAVE EVER SPENT!!!! She went from looking like a four year old with two year old hair, to looking like this:

For comparison's sake, this is how she usually looks:

Big difference, no?

Six is Super

2011-08-08T21:02:00.000-06:00

Spence had an awesome birthday beginning with something summer birthdays don't ever get to do: taking treats to school! Since he and Lee are currently attending a two week, two hour/day summer school refresher class, he got to take a treat to school. And, since the classes are so small, I totally splurged and let him take Krispy Kremes, rather than the grocery store donuts! Aren't I so totally awesome?

And that was just the beginning! We whiled our afternoon away at Veterans Park and since we forgot the sunscreen, have some really pretty sunburns to show for it.

And the grand finale? IHOP--at the birthday boy's request of course since the advertising machine works so well. Although this time we won't complain too much since the advertising machine was pushing kids eat free.

And he capped the day off with cake and a screening of Rio.

I'm just waiting for them all to crash.

Balancing Act

2011-07-25T22:52:00.000-06:00

Solution

2011-07-24T11:25:00.000-06:00

I have no idea what my problem with blogger is, but I have found an annoying, round about solution via my picasa album. Therefore, you get: VACATION PICTURES!

Gold Bug State Park

The Jelly Belly Factory

The Zoo

I was all set to do a big, gigantic vacation post, but...

2011-07-21T22:59:00.001-06:00

once again, blogger stayed true to my two pictures per three weeks problem and only let me upload two pics before quitting on me--Spence and his teeth being the other allowed picture.

So even though we spent a fun (despite the heat wave/no air conditioning/ three sick kids/lost wallet) 10 days in California which included panning for gems at Gold Bug Park, a baby blessing, the Fourth of July, Nat's fourth birthday celebration, the zoo, Mr. Popper's Penguins, the Jelly Belly Factory, camping in Grandpa and Grandma's backyard, Circus Circus Reno, and a Wendover, NV hotel pool, the only evidence I can provide is Nat and her new cousin.

At least it's a cute end note.

Student of the year

2011-07-19T19:55:00.004-06:00

The Tooth Fairy's Comin' Tonight

2011-07-16T22:15:00.003-06:00

Two things about this picture (besides the obvious): 1) it turns out all those bumps to the head and falls on his face recently impacted more than his forehead as you may notice the big, black, dead tooth in the middle of his mouth--that's gonna look awesome come school picture time and 2) doesn't he look just a little bit like Ralphie? I will say he sure did have fun playing with the BB gun and Grandpa's house last week and thankfully he did not shoot his eye out.

And as far as losing his first tooth, you'd think it was Christmas for how excited he is. Here's hoping the Tooth Fairy doesn't have a memory lapse.

Follow Up

2011-06-28T08:00:00.001-06:00

My lilacs

Spence's Head

The mystery plant identified by my aunt as English Broom--it has since been removed

And finally, poor, poor Polly and friends. Luckily, Nat has a birthday coming up.

From Our Backyard

2011-06-26T19:43:00.000-06:00

Gee Mom, I Wanna Go to Camp Big Springs

2011-06-23T22:18:00.000-06:00

We're hoping for a growth spurt in the future.

Monday morning Al left for Camp Big Springs--five days and four nights of fifth grade fun and tomorrow she returns. Assuming the camera comes home in working condition, I'm sure she'll have plenty of pictures to share.

And it looks like Blogger may actually let me upload them.

2011-05-21T22:59:00.000-06:00

So I've been attempting to actually be a regular blogger again, but Blogger is refusing to upload my pictures.So instead of pictures, it's just words.

I mean do you really need to see pictures of Spence's forehead cracked open after falling out of bed and hitting his head on his nightstand and the humongous scrape he added right next to it three days later when he fell and used his head to break his fall? I didn't think so.

You also probably don't need to see the pictures of the mystery plants I'm hoping for help identifying, particularly the pine needle looking shrub thing with yellow flowers. Can anybody help me out?

And you can use your imagination to picture just how beautiful are my lilacs.

I'm going to hold out hope that I can brag in pictures about the awesome Land of Nod cubbies we got for 75% off to help control the coats, backpacks, shoes, and winter gear, but for now, the above link will have to do. Really--we got two bin bases and two locker hutches total for less than the original price of a single piece thanks to Downeast Home. I just want to sit in our laundry/pantry/sewing/craft room--or from this day forward, the Super Duper Room--and stare at it I love it so much!

The good news, you can be glad you don't have to witness the unfortunate massacre carried out on several Polly Pockets--limbs and heads were everywhere.

Conflict

2011-05-17T09:38:00.001-06:00

FEMA remaps the flood zone which now includes our Wheatland home therefore requiring flood insurance.

FEMA sells the insurance.

FEMA now tells us we are not in a flood zone.

FEMA will not refund our money.

Are we the only ones who see a problem with the distribution of authority here?

Now for the long version.

Back in the fall, FEMA remapped the flood zone designating much of Wheatland as a flood zone. We always knew Wheatland had the potential to flood, but we also knew our house was at the top of possibly the only hill in Wheatland. If our house flooded, then the whole town was already under water.

So it wasn't a surprise when Wheatland was eventually designated a flood zone, although we were surprised our home was in the same category as all the lower homes. Whatever. We would now need flood insurance and everybody said to get it now, before it became absolute, when the cost would skyrocket.

So like a good neighbor, we called our friendly State Farm agent who handles our home owners insurance. It was at this point in the process we learned they don't provide the insurance, FEMA does. They just work as an intermediary.

Great. So the agency who decides who is in a flood plain is the same agency who controls the insurance. Wonderful.

Our grumbling didn't change the fact that we had to have it, so we forked over the entire premium as required (no monthly plan) in the neighborhood of $300. We figured it was still better than the $1000 it could be come spring when it goes into effect.

Time goes on, and we don't think much about it until one day last week, we get two pieces of mail on the same day. The first is from FEMA asking us to acknowledge we received our policy and understand certain aspects of it. The second was from the bank holding our mortgage telling us we were no longer in a flood plain (surprise, surprise) and no longer needed flood insurance.

Awesome. A call to our insurance agent to cancel the policy and a pro-rated refund we figured.

Not so fast. Our agent would cancel the policy once we provided the letter stating it was no longer needed, but not to count on a refund, because it is the gov't after all.

So, to sum it up once again: the agency that decides who has to have it, is the same agency who collects the premium, is the same agency who changes their mind, and is the same agency who won't give us back our money after they change their mind.

Now if they do give us our money back, we'll be happy, but that doesn't change the non-existent balance of power FEMA seems to have.

Did our other Wheatland friends affected by the remapping encounter this as well?

The House

2011-05-08T22:29:00.002-06:00

The Home Tour on Vimeo.

Stress Reflief

2011-04-06T11:24:00.004-06:00

Again, I've been ignoring my blog because I've had enough stress in other parts of my life without needing to add blog guilt to the list. But things are finally calming down--at least until the last half of April when a whole new dimension of stress settles in.

And I don't handle stress well. After Jay's accident it was food. Last spring, some stress caused me not to eat at all. This time it's hives. Oh yeah, in all it's itchy, waking me up in the middle of the night glory. I'd almost prefer to gray early like the rest of my family. Almost.

The cause of all this stress, you ask? Well, "let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start..."

And it all starts in November. In the course of one week, forces converged together which led to 1) house hunting in Utah and 2) selling our home in CT.

So this sets into motion the first (and main) source of stress--namely timing it so the short sale we are buying closes in time and we are not homeless at the end of April. We're cutting it kind of close and we're still not out of the woods. Short sales are a pain. We're getting a fantastic house, but man the banks are slooooow.

So, aside from all the "has bank agreed to the sale price" or "have we got the approval letter yet" nonsense the banks stalled on for like two months--seriously, the 1st mortgage wouldn't write their letter until the 2nd had written theirs and vice versa (how about you write them at the same time and we can all move forward)--things are finally moving forward. We still don't have a firm close date, but hey we still have time. We're not homeless for another 24 days after all.

Then there's the CT house. Compared to UT, it's been relatively painless despite being 2,000 miles away. The closing date has been moved twice now, but it is now 12:52 CT time on April 6. The last we heard, closing was scheduled for April 6 at 12:30. So since I haven't heard otherwise, the papers are being signed right now. This right here, while the easier of the two processes, is probably the bigger relief of the two considering the financial hit we took each month.

And I just realized I contradicted myself as to which home was the source of more stress, so lets call it a draw and acknowledge they were both sending me into panic mode daily.

FYI, if you need something notarized in Utah, banks can't charge you for notarization--a pleasant surprise.

Now that the buying/selling stress is wrapping up, now we get to move on to packing/painting/cleaning/moving stress.

And in the middle of all this, I've been dealing with a toothache for year for which I've been popping ibuprofen or Tylenol daily round the clock the last month, an incompetent dentist, and finally the discovery I needed a root canal after visiting a new dentist. At first the dentist seemed competent, but his first strike was numbing the wrong side of my mouth once--which by itself isn't a huge red flag (at least I didn't have the wrong leg operated on like my brother)--followed by his inability to diagnose my toothache and finally both Jay and Leah each having a cavity fall out. We decided it was time to cut ties.

And because of all this, I've decided no half marathon for me this spring. I just don't have the mental energy to devote to all of this and training on top of it. There's a couple in the fall, so maybe when things settle down...

48 Hours

2011-03-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

In preparation for a move at the end of April, I have been working our tax refund to help tween up what will be Al's very own room in all of it's blue, purple, green and orange glory.

She is sooo excited.

One sore spot in this process has been an affordable nightstand. Who really wants to pay $150 for a nightstand? Not me, for sure. So instead, I turned KSL (that which reigneth supreme over Craigslist is these parts) and for $15 found this:

Now, initially this was going to be for Spence, but the more I looked at it sitting in our garage waiting for moving day, the more I was convinced it would be much better suited for Al--if only it was white.

That, unfortunately, would require me to attempt to paint furniture and no thank you. I did not want to take on that challenge as I have already been having an internal (and sometimes not so internal--poor Jay) debate whether to paint the other half of Spence's bunk white for Al or fork over $50 for another (hopeful) KSL find to save me the trouble.

But, after some trusty internet research, I found this simple enough sounding tutorial that I thought, "What the heck. I'm gonna do it."

So, 48 hours, one sanding, one coat of primer, five coats of paint, two coats of protective gloss, and four trips to Home Depot later this is what we have:

Look, it's not so bad that I won't post pictures, although the picture itself isn't great. Actually I'm quite happy with it--with the exception of those two pulls. Those are the old ones I just lazily spray painted for the interim which will eventually be replaced once I can find two that not only I (and Al) like, but also happen to fit as they aren't exactly a common size.

I think that may take time, but in the meantime, $15 well spent.

2011-02-13T11:30:00.001-07:00

About a month ago, Jay decided to give in to his geek within and buy an Android phone, the Droid X to be specific--not an iPhone, an Android. The two factions tend to be loyally divided and we are firmly in camp Android and Jay will happily give you the reasons why.

And for the past four weeks, everybody but Jay has happily been playing with his new toy, including Spence and his completely capable little fingers mastering Angry Birds.

Although the little bit of time Jay has managed to spend with his phone has made him quite starry-eyed.

But , the Droid is competing hard for his affections against the other new discovery in his life, Psych.

I'm not sure there's going to be a clear winner in this contest.

The Spelling Bee

2011-01-26T16:14:00.001-07:00

Oh, my sweet girl and her determination.

Back in December, Al qualified to move on to our district spelling bee and received a study list.

From that moment on, it was a constant companion. She had that thing marked up, carried a dictionary around, was quizzed most nights, and watched you tube videos of the national spelling bee to know what things she could ask and do (like spelling on your hand).

Today was the day. She woke up at 6 am for some last minute studying, convinced she could win it.

Round one--knowingly. She knocked it out of the ballpark.

Round two--versatile. A word she hadn't concentrated on as much in favor of some of the more difficult ones and she was undone by a misplaced letter i instead of an a. So disappointing for her when every other word in the competition, save three or four, she knew backwards and forwards--no exaggeration!

She was so brave on stage, but once the round was over and she had to return to her seat, the tears started and they never really stopped.

And you know what? She really could have won it. Ninety-five percent of the words she knew. Grotesqueness? Check. Seismologist? Easy peasy. Lackadaisical? Not a problem. I had to look that up.

The kick in the shin? The first and second place winners were the other two girls from Allie's class.

So, after I took her back to school, I did a little shopping to help cheer her up. A cute little scarf, a replacement pair of earrings for the favorites she lost, and some silly bands. It cheered me up as well, because Mom is really bummed, too.

But, there's always next year!

*The picture was taken in the moment after she finished spelling, but before the announcer told her it was incorrect. I think nerves may have played a role as well.

Christmas

2011-01-03T16:07:00.002-07:00

So Christmas has come and gone once again and I'm woefully lacking in pictures. Sorry about that.

Anyways, we're at a stage where it's lots of fun because all the kids are still young enough/old enough to get really excited about it, even if only half of them still believe in Santa. The bell has stopped ringing for Lee now as well, and unlike Al's discovery process, Lee was quite matter of fact regarding the whole thing. She knows about the Tooth Fairy, too.

We kicked it off one day when Al came home from school with free passes to the Gateway Discovery museum in Salt Lake, so we made a day out of it.

First up was the museum (which was mediocre, except for the real helicopter--it's pretty hard to beat that) followed by real Belgian waffles from this place, Bruges, across the street from Pioneer Park. And this is the part where I say, "YUM"! We sampled quite a bit, including their machine gun sandwich (I wasn't a huge fan, but Jay sure was) and two different waffles: one cinnamon with speculaas paste and one vanilla stuffed with chocolate. As we were eating, somebody came in and ordered one with chocolate and fresh cream. So since the kids ate most of the dessert waffles while Jay and I were eating our machine gun, naturally I ordered a chocolate with cream to go! Heaven on earth.

I do believe Jay and I will return sans children one day.

Next was over to Temple Square to enjoy the lights.

The following week, we went on a little cruise down the Provo River to see some Christmas lights, courtesy of my aunt.

Lee's face? I'm not sure what's going on, she came home from party that afternoon like that. Christmas zombie, I guess...

We followed up the cruise with a look at the still burning tabernacle.

Random picture: This home is about 2 miles away from us. This picture was taken from my back porch. This home belongs to the former wife of the co-founder of WordPerfect. It's a big house.

Eventually Christmas morning dawned bright and early, and here is the only evidence I have:

Santa brought Al Harumika, Lee Zhu Zhu pet stuff, Spence a remote control car, and Nat a tea set (she really cleaned up in the tea set department this year).

Santa brought me a bike this year--I haven't owned a bike since the blue 10 speed I got when I was like 12! I'm quite excited to try it out, since it is now 9 days post-Christmas and I have yet to ride it thanks to Santa's others gifts this year: snow and strep throat.

Jay was kind enough to share the strep throat with me.

So, while Jay was suffering on Christmas (my suffering didn't start until the day after) and thus put the kabosh on our family outing to see Tangled, Al and I snuck off to see Harry Potter instead!

I hope you had a merry Christmas and if you stuck around to read all that, you get a pretend medal!

2010-12-17T14:02:00.019-07:00

The Provo Tabernacle caught fire this morning.

It's not looking good.

It looks beyond saving.

It's hard imagining downtown without it.

Very sad.

Story from ksl.com here.

'Tis the Season...

2010-12-07T16:23:00.001-07:00

...to decorate my Christmas tree, open my ornament box and find never before used Christmas ornaments broken.

At least I found this forgotten gem to lift my spirits.

Isn't he (yes, I've assigned my pink reindeer a male identity) cute? So cute that as soon as I unwrapped him I was sorry I only bought one. So off I went to Pier 1 in hopes of finding another 11 months later.

And I did--for full price rather than January price, but he was worth it.

Also 'tis the season for a white Christmas!!!

Of course, all this snow is now gone, gone, gone.

But we'll pretend we're having a down home, white Christmas, courtesy of my mom and her awesome quilting skills.

Day of Thanks

2010-11-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

This year, we are all thankful for parades and six people smooshed on a queen bed.

A Decade

2010-11-05T13:59:00.002-06:00

Allie is now 10 years old (as of Tuesday) and, as Jay kindly mentioned, we now have less time remaining with her than we have already had with her.

That remark put me in a bad mood and I've decided I'm not ready for her to grow up. So what do I do? I let her go and fulfill a girlhood right of passage.

Notice anything different?

Jay has been even less inclined to let her grow up, going so far as to entice her with $50 to spend at Toys R Us rather than going to the mall to get those ears pierced.

As you can tell, Allie was not swayed.

Even though that was the highlight of her day, it also included dinner at the birthday girl's establishment of choice--Chuck-A-Rama--followed by spending of birthday money on, what else? Earrings--a total of 23 pairs when all was said and done.

Oh, and a lot of silly bandz.

All Hallow's Eve

2010-10-31T22:08:00.001-06:00

Because we live in Utah, when things like Halloween fall on a Sunday, they are celebrated on Saturday which works out great for the kids since they don't have to experience the dreaded Sunday Halloween I did growing up!

Unfortunately, the rain kind of dampened the neighborhood carnival, but quite fortuitously, it abated right around 7pm--prime trick or treating time--so the day was saved and Karate Kid, Little Red Riding Hood, Athena, and our Mad Scientist got their fill of chocolate and sugar.

And Al even got to go with just her and her friend. Unless you count the cell phone they each had, the flashlight, the curfew and neighborhood boundaries which sure didn't seem to quell their enthusiasm.

Costume Conundrum

2010-10-25T10:04:00.000-06:00

The kids have been in costume mode for weeks now and Lee has not wavered from her desire to be mad scientist.

Except now, she is toying with the idea of hillbilly, because, after all, the hardest part of the costume she comes by naturally:

St. George Washington and A Birthday

2010-10-22T22:26:00.004-06:00

That was how the kids kept referring to our fall break trip down south. Jay's sister kindly opened up her home to us, giving us the run of her basement which included:

lots of fun dress up...

...and some really big Nerf guns...

...a ping pong table, the biggest bean bags you've ever seen, and a wii.

We also took an afternoon to visit Snow Canyon...

...and celebrated a 7th birthday!!!

As Leah wrote in a story a few days later, it was a great "vucashin" to "Ain Kira's hose" with "peg pog"!

Today is October 6th

2010-10-06T21:21:00.000-06:00

That is new snow as seen from my backyard at dinnertime.

Last snow of the season? May 24th.

First snow of the season? October 6th.

I really don't know what to say after that.

Total Domination

2010-10-01T20:49:00.014-06:00

I have neglected to mention how soccer has dominated our lives the past six weeks. The three oldest all participated this year and every night of the school week was thusly occupied with soccer related activities.

But the end is finally here and I finally remembered to bring the camera.

Spence #2--having fun with a little attitude and a lot of pushing (which really is chronic with 5 year olds).

LEE

Going Down: You can see her arms between the legs of the girl in the red shorts. She typically fell down about 10 times per games. I don't think she is particularly coordinated.

My #1

She didn't score this year, but had several almost goals.

She took this ball, drove it down the field...AND SCORED!!! Her second goal of the season and I got it all on video! Or so I thought. Come to find out, when I thought I was pushing the record button, I was actually pushing the stop button.

That wouldn't be my only video mishap of the week. Leah, after a goal being scored on her unfortunately, became hopelessly tangled in the net requiring her coach's help back to freedom. And I DID get the whole thing on video, I just happened to have the camera pointed at the ground the whole time.

But you can hear Jay and I laughing about it below.

And one non-mishap video of Al as goalie during the same game as above.

Picture Day

2010-09-30T20:43:00.000-06:00

Remember the combs they had at picture day growing up? Or was that just my school? Anyways, missing--but still cute!

Lee

Spence

This is the payment envelope discovered when looking in his backpack one week after picture day and finding it tucked in his school folder.

This discovery came despite assurances to my inquisitions: "Did you get your picture taken today?" Yes. "Did you give them the envelope with the money in it?" Yes.

Hurray for make-up day where I will personally supervise.

Shout From the Rooftops

2010-09-10T08:35:00.006-06:00

I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again:

I LOVE LANDS END OVERSTOCKS!!!

Spencer's new winter coat arrived yesterday and it's fabulous,inexpensive yet quality, and orange. He'll be easy to find in a crowd.

I kind of wish the girls needed coats this winter so I could take advantage of it and get them each this coat as well.

But that doesn't matter, because they always have fantastic deals. So next year when they do need coats, I'll know where to find them.

Oh, and I never pay for shipping. They have lots of ways to get free shipping--emails, catalogs, and some Sears stores (free returns, too).

*I don't have nearly the readership to necessitate this, but new blogging rules require me to state I received no compensation for this post. But in the future I'm totally open to it, you know, Lands End. If you want to send me free stuff, I won't turn it down.

And There He Goes

2010-09-08T09:25:00.000-06:00

Spence started kindergarten yesterday. I was nervous. He was excited. But, Spence is a bit of a timid boy at times and yesterday was was one of those times.

Before we left, he was sooooo excited and you can see it in his sun-squinty smile.

Then once we got there (this is his friend on our street), still excited, but you can tell his smile is a bit more subdued.

And then I came home, Jay left for work, Nat was still asleep, and I had no idea what to do.

So I exercised. Then I vacuumed. Next, I straightened up the kids beds (do they ever notice their sheets are considerably neater at night compared to when they made their beds in the morning?). Then I worked on Spence's Lego helicopter a little bit.

Eventually I showered, fed Nat lunch, took her to preschool and went on a lunch date with my husband--Cafe Zupas--yum!

I think I'll get used to it.

A Rare Sighting

2010-09-07T12:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we packed up the kids, bought a rotisserie chicken and a box of zingers from the store and headed up the canyon to Big Springs Park above for a Labor Day picnic.

After we enjoyed our lunch Jay and the kids became involved in a game of tag. And it was during this game of tag, that it happened. We saw Bigfoot!

I want it known, that Jay made this comparison himself and endorsed my placement of it on this blog.

Three Out of Four

2010-09-05T21:14:00.003-06:00

Can't you tell he's ready for kindergarten?

I took Spence for his kindergarten assessment last week and while he was being assessed (during which at one point his teacher turned to me and asked, "Does he know his letters at all?") I was filling out a district survey regarding all-day kindergarten and whether we would be interested.

I checked yes.

Thursday evening we got a phone call. Spence had been selected to participate in the newly formed all day program.

I might have high-fived Jay.

The class will be considerably smaller, which for me was the main thing.

I also realized my schedule became much simpler. I no longer had to keep track of three start times--the girls start time, Spence's start time, and Spence's Friday start time. Friday is always early out which also means afternoon kindergarten starts earlier on Friday's to account for the early out and the two dismissal times as previously mentioned.

Did you get that? Because, unfortunately more than one time last year I didn't and would be running errands and totally forget the girls got out early and came home to find them sitting on the front lawn waiting for me.

But I'm not a completely horrible mother, I was only like ten minutes late and it was always in decent weather.

But after the fact, I started to realize I'm going to have three of my children gone all day. I thought I was ready for this but I don't think I am. I've been feeling quite nostalgic the past few days. What are Nat and I going to do all day? She's going to be so bored!

Then I realized I will be able to take that leisurely visit to IKEA I've been wanting to do for a couple months now without worrying about making it home in time for school.

A double-edged sword.

We'll find our balance and all the while, I'm sure Spence will master his letters. And then some.

2010-09-02T22:32:00.000-06:00

<--- Al 2003

Lee 2006 --->

Nat 2010

The last first day of preschool. It really is bittersweet.

And yes, I managed to keep the same pair of white pants clean and stain free through three children. Thank you very much.

Repeat

2010-09-01T08:24:00.001-06:00

Another wind storm paid us a visit and once again took down a part of our tree. I just realized it now looks a piece of broccoli.

Oh, and Jay happened to be walking right under the tree as it came down. He' okay.

Notice the safety net on our trampoline is down? We learned the hard way it has the potential to act as a sail on said windy days when we had to rein it in as it blew across the street--ten feet shy of landing on the neighbors car.

The trampoline three doors down? Not so lucky.

45

2010-08-31T15:24:00.000-06:00

That's how long my parents have been married. In years. As of today.

Happy Anniversary!

So It Begins...Again. Mostly.

2010-08-24T10:05:00.001-06:00

The first day of school--fifth and second grade. And kindegarten, but as you can, see Spence is not the picture.

I'm kinda peeved about kindergarten right now, for several reasons.

First, while the girls start school today, kindegarten doesn't start until September 7th. Nat starts preschool before Spence starts kindergarten. Spence has been having a hard time accepting this.

Second, I've grown to like all day kindergarten which they do not have. Both the girls did really well with all day and Spence would have as well.

Third, and most troubling, 27 kids in his class. When the class lists were first posted, the stats were morning 26, afternoon 21. After checking if afternoon preschool had room for Nat, I moved Spence to the smaller, afternoon kindergarten. Now, fast forward to this morning's meet and greet: morning now has 28 and afternoon 27children. Where did all these kids come from? And gee whiz--I'm troubled enough that Al's 5th grade class has that many kids, but KINDERGARTEN?

Between the huge classes, late start and half days, I'm kinda thinking, "What's the point?"

Other than that, the girls were excited and, as much fun as summer is, I welcome the routine school brings.

So Over the Rainbow

2010-08-16T14:48:00.002-06:00

Previously, to gear up for the new school year, I've let my girls choose a new outfit and a lunchbox/backpack.

After recognizing the bajillion backpacks cluttering up their closet, this year I declared one or the other--not both.

Al quickly decided she wanted an outfit, and could she please get a pair of skinny jeans, too? She also begged to go to Justice and so I went over my generous $15 budget to get her this most coveted shirt in Malibu Blue.

Thankfully, Old Navy is having a $10 denim sale and got her skinny jeans as well.

And now, she is all tweened out, talking on the phone with Taylor Swift singing in the background.

Lee's choice was clear to her as well. Since her old backpack was going to Nat for preschool, her decision centered on using one of Al's old backpacks and getting new clothes or old clothes and a new backpack. Backpack it was.

Now, in the past, we've gone to The Children's Place for our backpacks--not always the cutest, but they're extremely sturdy and inexpensive. But, oh my gosh, this year they are sooooooo ugly.

So we broadened our horizons. Old Navy's were cute, but flimsy. Gap's weren't cute enough to justify the price. And I don't do character backpacks. So what were we left with?

Luckily I remembered a store I'm new to, Crazy 8--Gymboree's less expensive sister. And lo and behold, exactly what I was looking for!

Pefect for my cute second grader! While it was exactly what I was looking for, unfortunately, it wasn't exactly what Lee was looking for.

She much rather preferred one of The Children's Place variety:

With the matching lunchbox.

Jay said it looked like a rainbow threw up.

Spence turns 5

2010-08-08T22:18:00.009-06:00

A new bike...

...some watermelon...

...and a birthday cake.

Happy Birthday, my boy!!!

The Elkomuda Triangle

2010-08-06T11:06:00.004-06:00

On our way home Sunday, we had just pulled onto the freeway after an awesome lunch of Taco Bell and McDonalds in Elko , Nat asks us, "What's that smell?"

I, all knowingly, tell her it's the smell of brakes from the big trucks when Jay corrects me and says all calm like, "No, that's electrical and it's coming from this car."

So, I need to make sure I heard him correctly, and I ask "From our car?"

And again he replies without any visible worry, "Yes."

This is when I finally remind that is not a good thing and this is also the moment when I look at our radio and see smoke pouring out of the cd player.

We're forming a pattern of car problems in good ol' Elko, NV--Nevada that has no Honda dealerships between Reno and SLC.

Now it's time to pull over. Luckily the removal of a fuse was all that was needed to get us home safely. Quietly, but safely.

So, thankfully, we were on our way fairly quickly and once home, Jay took the opportunity to remove the radio and find out what happeded.

The culprit? Copper. In the form of pennies.

One dollar and twenty-two cents.

The perpetrator?

The end result?

The resolution? Ebay.

One week here...

2010-08-01T22:18:00.001-06:00

...one week there...

...and now we are home.

More coming soon to a blog near you--I'm too tired right now.

Support Your Local (HBL) Library

2010-07-16T20:13:00.002-06:00

Learn more behind the scenes here.

Not Acceptable

2010-07-11T20:35:00.002-06:00

Spence gave a talk in Primary today. It was a nice, simple talk fit for an almost 5-year-old to give with a little help from Mom. But in true almost 5-year-old fashion, he seized his opportunity to be in front of a microphone and used it to his full advantage.

After the first couple statements and before I fed him the next, I quietly reminded him he didn't need to shout. Then gave him the next part of his talk.

This is what happened next:

Spence: "You don't need to shout. Jesus taught us by example to obey Heavenly Father's commandments."
Me trying not to laugh as the Primary president moves to turn down the volume on the microphone.
Spence (noticing the lower volume): "This is not acceptable! It's not working."

He did finish talk in good spirits, though and I really hope that's as funny to you as it was to those of us present in the flesh!

Season Closer

2010-07-09T06:15:00.000-06:00

They had a good season, but sadly, are no longer undefeated. They fought hard and were oh-so-close, but 3rd place it was.

And while they may not have gone all the way, The Racers went farther than any Provo team before. And judging by the looks of the other teams, the other towns put a lot of stock in their softball, so all things considered, I think we did ourselves proud!

The medals they received weren't your run of the mill generic medals, either. Rather, they were fancy, real winner's medals!

The Great Outdoors

2010-07-08T09:40:00.001-06:00

We're trying to make our kids tough, so a hiking we will go. First it was up Rock Canyon, where after 20 minutes, we told the kids if they were pioneers, they'd be dead.

"Can we rest now?"
"I want to climb rocks!"
"I need some water."
"It's too hot!"

After a good talking to, and telling Al the reasons we do not bring 3 big, hardback books in our backpacks, they fared much better.

And they did get to climb the rocks.

A few weeks later, we finally ventured up the "Y" as a family. I'd forgotten how steep that trail was in places, but they all made it, Spence the most energetically and Nat the most comfortably--carried almost the whole way. Lucky her.

Undefeated

2010-07-07T19:22:00.002-06:00

Al's undefeated softball team has made it to the state semi-finals for our region--central to southern Utah! Two games were played today, and one triple attributed to our offspring.

Of course the triple came about from overthrows at both first and second base, but she did have to outrun the ball to make it to third! But no need to dwell on details.

She may also have found a calling as catcher. She gets that from her Grandad.

More tomorrow!

It's nice to be on a winning team for once. Her soccer teams the past few years have been less than stellar--still fun, but it's nice to not always lose!

You've Had A Birthday, Shout Hooray!

2010-07-06T22:28:00.001-06:00

Nat turned 3 today and it was a day filled with errands, softball games, a nap, cake, presents and Build-A-Bear (or in Nat's case, build-a-monkey)!

Colonial Days

2010-07-03T20:21:00.001-06:00

We had 3 young visitors on Friday, so we took them to Colonial Days here in Provo and wound up in the Deseret News--butchered names and all.

Of course, on a day I did not do her hair.

That's Lee's back in pink making a corn husk doll.

You can read the article and see all the pictures here.

Pomp and Circumstance

2010-06-19T09:36:00.000-06:00

Spence graduated from preschool three weeks ago!

We've pretty much covered our bases with preschool: small and reasonable home-based, school district free, private Lutheran preschool, and back to home-based.

Between the three oldest, we've had six preschool teachers, all fantastic, and most recently, Mrs. Stephanie:

I loved her. Spence loved her. And I'm pretty sure Nat's going to love her as well!

Free Entertainment

2010-06-18T14:06:00.002-06:00

Some fierce winds knocked down a big branch off a tree in our backyard on Wednesday and the kids can't get enough of it--they're out there playing on it. all day.

I love seeing them play together and it sure beats hours of SpongeBob Squarepants.

Although after a little while, Al abandoned the others for the great indoors:

Still way better than SpongeBob.

Overachiever

2010-06-09T15:33:00.003-06:00

Al had an amazing teacher this year. For an end of the year gift, the mother of one of the fourth grade teachers made these amazing custom 3 inch binders for two entire classes.

They are full of school work and photos from various field trips and school events.

They include all sorts of gems, including this beginning of the year "getting to know you" piece:

Which upon further inspection revealed this:

She's a little bit cheeky, don't you think?

No Offense

2010-06-08T12:16:00.010-06:00

I'm slowly whittling down my friends list--currently at 61 friends, down from 168. Don't take it personally. Really, it's not you. It's me.

Actually it's Facebook's lame privacy controls that concerns me.

So, what got you unfriended? My general guidelines were:

You weren't active on Facebook
You were a second generation friend--a friend of my sister or brother
Our real life acquaintance was less than a year
We were more acquaintances than friends

Who's left?

24 family
9 I grew up with
7 Beale friends
6 CT friends
4 Provo friends
3 friends from my 18-23 single years
3 high school best friends
2 high school friends
1 wife of Jay's best friend growing up
1 Elder from my MTC district who is now related to my sister by marriage
1 former Young Women's Laurel leader

I can't guarantee some of you won't disappear in the coming months, but just remember--It's not you. It's me.

Family, you're safe.

And in case you were wondering, Jay permanently deleted his Facebook account.

As a matter of fact, it is May 24th. Why do you ask?

2010-05-24T15:12:00.001-06:00

That there folks is fresh snow. On May 24th.

Confidential to spring: Please come back--we miss you

Bonus Point: Can you find the Y?

Conflict

2010-05-17T15:43:00.006-06:00

Two years and way more than the recommended 500 miles later, I was able to get new running shoes for Mother's Day.

So, off to a local running store I went, excited at the prospect at having good shoes again--because closer inspection of my current shoes found holes and severely cracked soles.

I know, way past due.

I have done this enough times to know that with the amount of running I do, the aesthetics of the shoe ~~should be~~ are at the bottom of the list. I learned this years ago when Jay rolled his eyes at me for not liking the blue and yellow design of my Saucony's.

So, I do my best to put what they look like out of my mind and focus on how they feel instead.

But, I have to confess I so did not want these shoes to be the shoes.

Hot pink? Black? Really?

Alas, they were the ones--blinding soles and all. So, after I got them home, I was not happy to see they came in a slightly more sedate turquoise.

And after week or so, I will admit it doesn't bother me so much anymore. What can I say? Having good shoes again, despite what they look like, is just too nice.

A Good Thing

2010-05-11T09:40:00.005-06:00

*The body of this post was written pre-keyboard meltdown--it was just waiting for a picture I cannot locate (but you can see it here).

And now, five minutes and twelve spell corrections later, a real post:

The other night, Jay's mom called bubbling with excitement over something and asked both Jay and I to get on the phone--she had great news for us. She begins by telling us how Jay's dad had been digging a new watermelon patch and hit something hard in the ground.

Jay and I are totally thinking he found a chest of gold or something.

It wasn't a chest of gold or anything valuable to most people. But it most definitely has value to us.

It was Jay's wedding ring. The ring that has been missing for 11 years. Missing since about two months after we got married.

Good as new!

Happy dance. Happy dance.

2010-05-10T21:58:00.001-06:00

I've got a bunch of posts waiting in the wings, but my keyboard is broke, so I have to resort to the point & click method via the on-screen keyboard.

It's quite tedious.

This post has taken me 10 minutes to write.

The fun, exciting, and long-winded posts will have to wait

Tchau.

Play By Play

2010-05-01T21:45:00.008-06:00

Mile .5 Rain starts
Mile 1 9:26--pace too fast for 13 miles--need to slow down
Hail starts
Mile 2 9:59
Missed mile marker 3 and 4--time from mile 2 to mile 5 is 30:56 for an average of 10:19
Mile 3 10:19
Mile 4 10:19
Rain/Hail stops
Mile 5 10:19
Mile 6 10:13
Mile 7 10:24--includes 10 second stop at halfway to say hi to the family
Rain begins again
Mile 8 9:57
This is where I begin to go downhill, distracted by how numb my hands are
Mile 9 11:10
Mile 10 11:13
Rain turns to snow
Mile 11 11:13
Mile 12 11:23--I took my time at the last water station
Mile 13 10:00--finish strong!
Mile 13:1 1:24--this seems high for .1 miles--especially since I know I didn't slow down, so I think the 13 mile mark was short

Grand Total: 2hours, 17 minutes, 17 seconds, a 10: 28 average--hoping for a 10 minute average, but expected a 10:30 average, so I guess it's all good!

What I Liked

$30 is a pretty reasonable entry fee

Being able to run 13 miles

Most of the course

What I Didn't Like

Uh, the weather--I had icicles on my face

I did not like the river trail portion of the run miles 8-11.75-- I don't use music, so I use my surrounding to keep me going and visually I need to see where I am, street blocks, landmarks etc. I don't get that on the trail, just trees and a winding path. Pretty, but it was hard for me mentally because I had no idea where I was at any point in a mile. I trained on the trail, but at the beginning of my runs--it was hard for the latter portion when the mental part really needs to kick in.

They did not close off roads, so when we had to cross a couple of busy roads, the police directing traffic actually made us stop and wait--momentum is kind of a big thing. And the cars trying to turn onto roads and squeezing through throngs of runners isn't really a good idea. If they can close down roads in places like Boston or New York City or heck, even Salt Lake and Sacramento why can't they do it Provo?

End of race raffle--except they didn't wait until the end of the race and you had to be present to win. How can you be present to win if you're still running?

The itching as the numbness wore off--I have scratches all over my belly and legs from scratching said itches before the numbness was completely gone.

Overall: I would do it again, just alter my training to become more familiar with the river trail.

Yeah, a boring post, I know, but I already used my daily quotient of energy.

Boys will...do whatever their sister tells them to do

2010-04-30T10:21:00.003-06:00

I was outside for a few minutes, and upon my return indoors I discover my son with scissors in hand claiming, "Lee told me to cut my hair."

We're hearing that a lot around here nowadays: "so and so told me to do it!"

Thinking I had caught him pre-damage, I took the scissors away and went about my afternoon.

Fast forward three hours, Jay comes home and asks, "Who cut Spence's hair?"

I guess I should be glad I didn't come inside and find this:

Knock on wood.

Spring

2010-04-29T12:20:00.000-06:00

Date: Thursday, April 29, 2010
Time: 12:03 pm
Location: My backyard

And I've been worried it would be too warm on Saturday.

So, what are you doing this weekend?

2010-04-26T10:55:00.045-06:00

Email I received this morning to remind me I paid $30 in order to run 13 miles:

As you begin making your race week preparations, here are a couple of updates for the race:

1. Pre-Race Packet Pickup – Pre-Race Packet Pickup will take place on Friday, April 29 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. at the Pizza Pie Café in Provo. After you pick up your bib and race bag, please stick around and enjoy all you can eat pasta for $5 (runners only) Been meaning to try this place...

2. Race Course – Due to construction on the University Avenue viaduct, you will all have to miss out on running over it this year! The course will be clearly marked, but please check the course maps online and at the race compound on race day. I was actually looking forward to a good hill, which I haven't had the opportunity to run since I longer have to climb one just get home.

3. Massages – Solase Massage Therapy – Massage Therapists will be at the finish line again to provide massages to finishers – what more can you ask for after a race? Oh, an oxygen bar you say? OK, we’ll have one of those too! I'm generally not too keen on strangers rubbing my body, but I may just take advantage of this one. But an oxygen bar? that might be a little to new age for me.

4. Breakfast – Magleby’s Fresh – Magleby’s Fresh will be at the finish line to feed you. Don’t worry; we’ll still have some fruit. After you have some water and relax for a bit, prepare to rejuvenate with some Magleby’s Fresh French Toast with all of the fixings. While the breakfast is FREE for you, your family and friends can also purchase breakfast for a minimal charge. I'd rather be given a free dinner so I won't have to cook dinner that night, but I'll take what I can get!

5. Nordic Track - As usual, we will have a prize drawing and Nordic Track has donated a treadmill to be given to a lucky runner. The crew from Nordic Track will also be on hand selling some running gear, so be sure to say hi to them. I'm not one for treadmills, but if somebody wants to give me a free one, who am I to say no?

6. Reminderband – Thanks to Reminderband, all runners will receive a Zions Bank Provo City Half Marathon Reminderband wristband – just a little something to help you remember your achievement! I hope it's really big so random strangers will know how awesome I am!

7. Seven Peaks – As usual, Seven Peaks will be out with its Bounce Houses. I know my kids will appreciate this.

And so begins a week of calming my nerves.

2010-04-25T23:23:00.002-06:00

What is it about Sundays and naps? Seriously? I get up at the same time as every other day. I do the same things as I do most other days: feed my family, dress my family, clean up after my family.

But 1 pm on Sunday afternoon rolls around, and my kids are doing this:

While I'm doing this: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Maybe it has something to do with running a bajillion miles the day before.

Easter

2010-04-21T09:05:00.001-06:00

Easter \ˈē-stər\ noun : 1) to ingest huge amounts of chocolate 2) to ingest huge amounts of sugar 3) to ingest huge amounts of chocolate and sugar generally before 10 am.

So Nat comes up to Jay Easter morning, chocolate already covering her face, holding her chocolate bunny, and quite seriously asked "More chocolate"?

As a primary leader, I'm grateful Easter fell on Conference Sunday.

Fourth Grade Drama Production

2010-04-19T10:49:00.001-06:00

The 4th graders had a huge play a few weeks ago all about Utah. Utilizing all the 4th graders, it centered around a group of 9 students time traveling to different points in Utah's history.

Al was one of the nine, Student #3-and she played the heck out of that part!

13.1 Take Two

2010-04-17T10:25:00.003-06:00

I'm doing an "official" half marathon in two weeks, the Provo City Half Marathon. I haven't talked much about it because I was kinda worried I wouldn't be able to do it.

Last year when I started training, I had a really good base--I did 5 miles regularly and 6 or 7 miles every two weeks or so. This year, not so much.

I've spent so much time getting used to the altitude that by the time I started training, I hadn't done more than 4.5 miles since we moved to Utah and the last time I'd gone that far was back in October. I didn't think I had my endurance worked up.

So, 10 miles has been my (first) goal--I figured if I could do ten, I would make it the whole way and last Saturday was my 10 miler. Today was 11 miles, 12 next Saturday, and finally the full 13.1 on May 1st.

The picture? I just thought my toes looked pretty--but if you look close, you can see one of the side effects of all my running.

Olympic Proportions

2010-04-16T09:36:00.002-06:00

Forget Harry Potter, Al's new found literary love is Perseus Jackson.

It all started with the movie back in February. Al really wanted to see it, so we told her if she finished the book, we'd take her to the movie. So she used the last of her Christmas Barnes and Noble gift card to buy the first book, The Lighting Thief.

Worried it would no longer be in the theater by the time she was done, she finished the book in a week.

That was quickly followed by book two, The Sea of Monters, which in turn was followed by Titan's Curse, and waiting in the wings to begin today is #4 The Battle of the Labyrinth. I'm sure the final book will be secured without haste as well.

There's something about these books. It took her months to finish each of the first two Harry Potter books. Partly because she knew the stories so well, but I think mostly because she would be reading three or four books at the same time--any one book never got undivided attention.

But not these books--they drew her right in and everything else be darned.

After Percy Jackson? I don't know, but she's been asking for my copy of Pride and Prejudice.

I like having a reader.

P.S. I like them, too. They're not Harry Potter, but they're fun enough!

Today...

2010-04-15T10:22:00.001-06:00

...I will register this guy for kindergarten.

Can you believe it?

Hello?

2010-04-13T12:33:00.011-06:00

It looks like I've become one of those bloggers that goes weeks in between posts, does a huge catch up post, promises to be better then lets weeks go between posts, rinse and repeat.

Sorry about that but I think I've pinpointed the problem: school. And since yesterday was my last class, I think things around here will be a little more active. Otherwise, I'll have to come up with a new excuse.

How is school you ask? For all intents and purposes, it's over. Technically (according to the syllabus anyways) I had a paper due yesterday and a final exam next Tuesday, but I guess my teacher is easily persuaded.

You see, we did a Passover Seder in class two weeks ago and there's a part of the Seder where the Afikomen is bartered for something for the participants. Well, the person who ended up bartering for us, bartered away our final paper.

And then, the teacher enjoyed the quality of our class discussions so much, he threw the final exam into the bargain as well. So, yay!

Aside from school, there's been plenty occupying our time. But we're going to do this in baby steps, so I can spread out the posting for a few days and then it won't feel so dead around here.

So, keep coming back--I promise they will be something new to see.

Leah or Picasso?

Salt Lake City 2002

2010-03-22T20:41:00.004-06:00

Al has her fourth grade county presentation next week, and her assigned county is Summit. So we decided to drive the 45 minutes through the Provo Canyon and get up close and personal with Summit County.

Summit County is probably best known as the home of Park City. And truthfully, that's as up close and personal as we got, but we made the most of it.

Okay, we didn't really make the most of it, child attention spans don't really allow for that.

But we did visit the Olympic Park, location of the skiing, bobsled and luge events of the 2002 Olympics.

That's the bobsled/luge track behind them--what looks like a wall is the track--it was covered up.
We followed the track for a while trying to figure out where was the finish, but gave up as we realized it was one big loop. We did get a good hike out of it though and as I stood on some of the observation platforms, realized I don't think I'd ever want to be that close to something going 80 mph.

Ode to a Cookie

2010-03-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

*A re-post from last year, because way too much brain power went into this to only get one year's use out of it.

Samoas, Tagalongs, Do-si-dos and Thin Mints
Simple words to make me drop hard earned dollars and cents.

Nothing can deter the anticipated sugar shock
No, nothing. Not even at four dollars a box.

Three boxes for six people, enough for all to have some
Yet still, "I didn't get a peanut butter!" cries one.

Two boxes gone, only one left to go
I think maybe I'll hide it and no one will know.

Now the melancholy of another year's wait has begun
Unless Nikki will tell me where to find more boxed fun.

And Al who saved her money and bought her very own two boxes, hid them and won't tell anybody where they are.

Ketchup

2010-03-10T13:13:00.019-07:00

I've so been wanting to do that since Colby used it a long time ago.

I figured after three weeks it was time to stop ignoring my blog. And that's basically what I've been doing--ignoring it.

Where to begin?

Sick. We've all been sick. Jay. Me. Al. Spence. Nat. Lee got lucky. Nat had it the worst--104 + temp for three days, and extremely clingy. All she did was lay on the couch and whine if one of us wasn't at her side the whole time.

Oh yeah, the sickness came after the replies of "surprisingly healthy" to the recent inquiries into our families health this winter.

Uh, what else?

Back in January my neighbor called asking if I was going to train for a marathon soon. Yeah, no. I have no real desire to run that many miles. But I would start training for a half in a couple months. She asked if I wanted to run with her on Saturdays for long runs. I've heard great things about having somebody to run with, so I agreed.

Famous last words.

I have discovered I hate running with a partner. Um, I hope she doesn't read my blog...

It's not this particular partner. She's one of the nicest, most kind-hearted people I've met (she offered to bring us dinner the day I had a big paper due).

I just like running alone. I like being alone with my thoughts. I don't even run with music--it throws off my pace.

Speaking of, our pace is way too fast for more than 5 miles.

Last week was the first official week of training and I missed the Saturday 5 miler. Jay said my partner went away dejected after he told her I was still asleep in bed, sick.

Instead, once I woke up, I tried to do some indoor cross training, biking and swimming--despite the fact that I probably shouldn't. But I was in training. I had to so something that day! Alas, the wellness center (Jay's company--they subsidize memberships for employees and spouses) closed at 11 am, not 2 pm like thought.

So like my running partner earlier that morning, I went home dejected.

I suppose it probably really was for the best--especially since two weeks since falling ill, I'm still not well. Maybe 75%. Definitely not 100%. And gee whiz, just like attached (thanks spell check), I cannot remember how to spell definitely (again, spell check).

First week of training? 4 for 6.

But probably THE MOST EXCITING thing to happen the last few weeks? I finally ~~bothered to do an easy internet search~~ figured out how to clean the TV and laptop screen. Yay! No more smeary, strawberry fingerprints or pencil marks!

Yes, to me, it is that EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!! Wait, more !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'s!

Should I ramble some more?

Oh wait, I do have some kid-funny pictures to share!

Role playing Blue Hat, Green Hat

As close as my son will ever get to the lame "fauxhawk" trend until he is of age and my opinion has been legally terminated.

Comfort schmomfort (take that spell check!) When you're tired, you're tired.

Finally, Play-do. My nemesis. It went from this:

12 separate colors.

To this:

6 colors smooshed together

To this:

That would be 11 colors smooshed together.

Maybe the schizophrenia will subside by the next time I post. Right now I need to answer the call of the KFC coleslaw in my fridge.

A Child's Prayer

2010-02-17T10:20:00.002-07:00

"Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank Thee for my blessings.
Thank Thee for my family.
Thank Thee for my home.
Thank Thee for my home.
Thank thee for peanuts.
Pea.
Nuts.
I like peanuts.
Why did the peanut cross the road?
In the name of Jesus Christ Amen."

*Nat last night, all on her own--verbatim, no typos.

Reason #356...

2010-02-16T13:02:00.003-07:00

...why I don't like Play-do:

St. Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T18:53:00.003-07:00

We're not big on Valentine's day around here, but now the kids know of it's existence, we are no longer off the hook.

How would you like to have seen this on the breakfast table in the morning when you were a kid?

As for Jay and me, our celebration is minimal. Dinner out and that's about it. Although, this is what I woke up to this morning:

We're getting as much mileage out of these pictures as possible.

Slow Death

2010-02-09T10:10:00.006-07:00

Jay began growing a beard after Christmas and once the prickly stage was over, I rather liked it. Jay on the other hand grew tired of it after six, short weeks and yesterday saw it's demise.

And a quick, painless ending it was not. Oh no. Jay dragged that thing out in a slow and painfully amusing death.

He plays the greasy salesman too well, I think.

Until next winter.

Groundhog's Day Hangover

2010-02-07T16:00:00.003-07:00

Al's pajamas.

Lee's sunglasses.

The previous night's Groundhog's Day's leftovers.

A good morning.

Oh, the Dress?

2010-02-02T10:14:00.001-07:00

Yeah, the dress was a no go. Between my hips, man shoulders, and just generally not being stick thin--it wasn't doing me any favors.

Oh, and the zipper broke the second time I tried it on.

Hip, hip, hooray! (pun totally intended)

I think somebody is going to score big at DI one day soon.

No, I'm not dead...

2010-01-31T20:05:00.007-07:00

...just busy. I have been preoccupied with school, Primary, and other things taking up all the space in my brain that I have just completely forgot about my ~~adoring fans and anxious public~~ family wanting ~~all the details of the minutia of my life~~ updates on the grandkids.

So what have we been up to? Just about the only thing we do on Sunday's around here: dinner followed by one of six Harry Potter movies--tonight's selection being Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Except Jay. He's playing Civilization.

And me. I'm pulling all our tax stuff together to send off to my dad.

Which reminds me--Happy Birthday Dad! Hope it was a great one!

Winner?

2010-01-19T12:38:00.006-07:00

Way back in December, I won this Shabby Apple dress from a blog giveaway at Seriously,So Blessed. It should be here this week.

It's a little short for my taste, and not to mention, I'm not sure I want that much attention being drawn to my chest.

But, I'm crossing my fingers.

Otherwise, there's always Ebay.

Marriage Math

2010-01-16T05:00:00.004-07:00

11 Years

Photo by Nathan Smith Photography

*******

Bonus Photo:

Jay lost that ring within two months of being married--he didn't realize it was missing until a coworker pointed out he wasn't wearing his ring.

He was quite embarrassed to admit he lost it.

The one he's wearing now was kindly lent to him by his father. It was his father's (Jay's grandfather's) ring.

Maybe we'll finally replace it at 15 years?

Making a Mother Proud

2010-01-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

I just don't know what to say after that.

I guess, "I'm glad those fingers didn't find their way you-know-where"?

Hansel & Gretel

2010-01-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I've been meaning to blog about, but I never get around to it. I think it might have something to do with being constantly embarrassed by the poor quality of my photos, but it will have to do for now.

And this is one of those "I totally should have done this sooner" posts. My eldest has taken to the stage and she recently (before Christmas) played the co-lead in the after school* drama production of "Hansel and Gretel."

That's right. She had a lead part.

No, she wasn't Gretel.

She was Hansel-- the boy Hansel.

And, boy, did she have a lot of fun!

* The after school program is GREAT! For $5 a month, Al does drama on Mon./Thurs., Science on Tues. and cooking on Wed. For an additional $5/month, Lee does drama on Mon, computers on Tues., games on Wed., and art & crafts on Thurs.

The best $10 I've ever spent!

Fight! Fight! Fight!...

2010-01-06T16:24:00.001-07:00

...with a tube of mascara.

Gaming

2010-01-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't been keen on the idea of bringing a gaming system into our house. Until the Wii--I began to weaken towards the idea and actually agreed to it last Christmas, but we ultimately decided to hold off.

And boy am I glad we did.

Because if I'm bringing a gaming system into this house, it's most definitely going to be this one: Project Natal!

I am so on board with this.

The Christmas Post

2009-12-31T10:06:00.002-07:00

Picture heavy post to follow:

Nat brushing up on her CA State Capital Building history.
In case you missed my Facebook announcement, Nat potty trained herself a few weeks ago. I don't know about you, but that works for me.

Lee was lucky enough to have her first sleepover with cousin W.--matching jammies and all!

A Christmas Eve visit to the California State Railroad Museum.

Spence was having the time of his life.

Old Sacramento

Christmas morning with cousin B.

The Helicopter

The Camera. And the Zhu Zhu
Pet. No, that's Grandpa--Lee's got the Zhu Zhu.

Play-do
(and if you could hear me, a big sigh would accompany that statement)

My griddle--I have no idea how I lived this long without one. No more staggering pancakes or grilled cheese.

Hats from the cousins

Littlest Pet Shop
And green gloves drying on the floor vent

The Nerf Gun...

...and the accompanying Nerf darts

Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-d on the way home after a stop for breakfast at Circus Circus Reno

And that's just the tip of the iceberg--but like a true iceberg, that's all you're going to see! I'm outta steam (and the other pics are on Al's camera with a dead battery).

And for fun, Spence at the Railroad museum. To set up the video clip, we had been in the foyer of the museum where there were several toy train sets on display and Spence was loving it. So I wanted to get his reaction when we turned the corner and saw the real trains. Hopefully you can hear the awe in his voice!

*******

And for purely informational purposes: If you drive a Honda, consider yourself forewarned there are NO HONDA DEALERSHIPS BETWEEN RENO AND SALT LAKE CITY. We learned the hard way.

Be Prepared

2009-12-30T13:47:00.006-07:00

Pay tuition? Check.

Get student ID? Check.

Buy textbooks? Check.

Single subject logo notebook? Check.

Look What I Get To Do Tomorrow...

2009-12-28T23:18:00.004-07:00

We spent Christmas is California this year--we decided it was time to introduce Nat to her motherland.

We arrived home safe and sound this evening.

Except now I've got general end of trip clean-up AND post Christmas clean-up to do. At the same time.

More details to come, but only after I've dug out from the bottom of it all.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Seasonal Stuff

2009-12-13T16:15:00.002-07:00

Al has been participating in choir this year and their Christmas Concert was this past Tuesday.

I know it's blurry, but this is to show what a shrimp my daughter is!

This is Lee's hair.

Saturday, we found a place to visit Santa. I refuse to do this at a mall. In CT, we found this place and I was hoping to find something similar here. And I did. At the Little Art Cottage in Alpine, they had a no wait (very important) Santa visit, ornaments, donuts, and a ventriloquist elf.

Al is doing this just for show. After countless questions and many "Is Santa real" internet queries, we broke the news to her a couple weeks ago.

Even still, she asked Santa for an American Girl doll--again. The doll we told her would not come for Christmas, but rather she could earn half and we would pitch in the rest for her.

Not to sound like a total parent grinch, but she's asked for one for the past three years. We keep a modest Christmas budget and that one doll would wipe it out for her. A doll I honestly think she wouldn't really play with. So, if she earns the money, we'll help her buy Felicity.

Now she's nickle and diming me to do dishes, set the table, vacuum, ect.

And finally, cute Nat, who did eventually warm up to the big guy.

Notice there's no picture of Spence visiting with Santa? He wouldn't even answer Santa's questions from across the room.

This Santa had a fantastic Ho Ho Ho!

That's how I like my visit to Santa.

Sticky Fingers

2009-12-13T12:30:00.003-07:00

These are the rolls I made for dinner:

It's 12:30 in the afternoon.

2009-12-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

I think you're missing something, kid!

Temple Square Addendum

2009-12-05T10:18:00.002-07:00

My mother reminded me I have been to Temple Square a third time, when we spent Thanksgiving in Provo while I was still in high school and my brother was at the Y. I remember that Thanksgiving, but I can't really recall going to Temple Square--probably because it sounds like we actually didn't see much.

She also made me realize, I got the day wrong. We (that's current day we) did not go the day after Thanksgiving--the day they turn the lights on for the season. I wasn't that crazy (even without recalling the obviously repressed memory). We went the next day, Saturday, when I figured things would be calmer.

I figured wrong.

Lights, Lights, and More Lights

2009-12-04T18:30:00.002-07:00

We went to Temple Square to look at the Christmas Lights the day after Thanksgiving.

My only other experience with the lights on Temple Square was an even 10 years earlier when Jay and I were at BYU celebrating our first married Christmas. It was a really fun evening, strolling around, taking in all the sights of the season.

I still have that jacket.
Jay still has that shirt.
I don't wear that coat anymore.
Jay still wears that shirt.

At one point in our stroll, we noticed a line and not having any idea what it was for, took a place at the back of the line which didn't move, but kept getting longer. Eventually we learned the line was stand-by for the Mormon Tabernacle's Christmas concert. And after standing in that line for awhile, we were singled out by a couple with two extra tickets, who kindly bestowed those tickets on us. I don't remeber who the guest vocalist was that year, but I do remember Megan Follows was the guest reader--I was thrilled!

I also remember making our way across the street to Crossroads Mall (which no longer exists) for food and visiting with friends we ran into from our old Sacramento singles ward.

All in all, it was a fun and obviously memorable evening.

So I had high hopes for our return trip, this time with our children.

Things didn't go according to plan.

The place was PACKED! The kids were crazy! Three separate bathroom stops!

But we managed to at least document the evening.

Nat insisted on posing for this.

*******
On a side note: We weren't terribly impressed with the lights this year. There were lots of lights as always, but the color scheme was odd, a lot of orange.

Naptime

2009-12-04T14:26:00.001-07:00

I guess when you're tired, anywhere will do.