Thanksgiving 2008

I have so much to be greatful for.....this time of year always seems to be a great reminder of the good things in my life. It is so easy to focus on negative aspects of anything but it feels more wrong to do it during the holidays. We ate our Thanksgiving dinner at Nathan and Alisa's house. I took the time to watch everyone after we ate....playing games....watching a movie....playing the guitar. The fire was burning in the fireplace, it was so warm and comfortable. I couldnt help but say to myself how lucky I am to be surrounded by people that love me. Lucky that we have the means to buy and prepare the good food that we ate....and enjoyed immensely. How fortunate that we all have jobs, homes, clothing......and most of all LOVE. It was an awesome reflection that choked me up a bit. We were also fortunate enough to have Alec here with us this Thanksgiving. The kids especially enjoyed his visit. The boys really look up to him and want to be around him constantly. Addison was a bit infatuated with him too and called him "Allie" the entire time. She loves him and doesnt even know why yet. He is growing up so fast.....I know how hard it is for Denver to be away from him so much.

Friday we went and got our Christmas tree. It is so beautiful! It is the most perfect tree I think I have ever seen. It almost looks fake it is so perfect.....I love it! I spent most of the day today decorating it and putting up our outdoor christmas lights. It is so much work but this is the first year I actually got it all up before December......Im on a roll. I only have the window lights to put up now but I had to stop so I could prepare my talk for church tomorrow.

We also took some pictures for our Christmas cards since Alec was here with us. They turned out pretty good.....Im not posting them on the slideshow though until after I send the cards out....sorry :) I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday. For those family and friends who follow my blog, I am grateful to have you all in my life, whatever your role may be.

Sounds of the Season.....

I normally like to wait until after Thanksgiving to do anything related to Christmas. I have a hard time celebrating a holiday before another holiday has even taken place. However, Im feeling "Christmas-y" this morning for some reason and so I decided to post my christmas music playlist a little early. I think I may even dig out the Christmas decor today..... Happy Holidays!

Ode to Edward....and Adam.

What a fun morning we had today! Having read all of the Twilight series books, I was eagerly anticipating the movie. Especially after hearing that Harry Potter had been pushed back......jerks. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I got this really cool invite to an exclusive showing of the movie courtesy of my friendly Allstate Insurance agent...Adam Ware. They had reserved an entire theater (a few as it turned out) for their loyal customers.... and even provided popcorn and drinks and a raffle. How cool is that! So, big thanks to Jeff and Nicola for spending nearly 5 hours with our brood today so we could enjoy this event. It was AWESOME. On that note, I have to say that Adam Ware is seriously the greatest. Not only is he a family friend (Nates friend from high school), but he is a great insurance agent. And, not just because he treated us to this fantastic event........He is great because he treats us like friends and not just customers. I can always count on Adam to call me when I need to be reminded to pay my insurance.....yes I need reminders sometimes, don't make fun. When I wrecked my van, he was unbelievable in helping me get it repaired and lighting fires where they needed to be lit to get it done in a more timely manner. It took so long to get the darn door fixed he even offered to personally help me with our rental car costs....which I wouldn't let him do..... Anyway, he is just a really stand up guy and has a cute family to boot (his daughters name is Addison too)! If you live in the area and need insurance, I recommend him HIGHLY. You can find his website HERE. Thanks again Adam, and Betty and everyone else at Allstate.

So, the movie. I give it 2 thumbs up. I was a little worried, ya know....book to movie is usually high expectations shattered. However, I feel like they kept right along with the book and were able to project the ....eh hm...."tension" felt between Edward and Bella. I thought that might end up being a little tricky. But it definitely worked. Also, I don't find Rob Pattinson all that attractive in regular life so I didn't think the Edward "draw" would be there for me....I thought I would just keep seeing Cedric Diggory. Nope. He did a great job and sucked me right in along with the rest of the estrogen packed crowd. The crowning glory, however, was going to be my husbands - never read any of the books - opinion of the movie. He not only loved it, but actually admitted it to me out loud! I am left wondering now, how in the world are they going to get all the movies made without Edward and the rest of the lovely vampires looking older. Considering that the vamps never age.....hmmmmmm. I hope they make them quick and back to back. I'm excited to see the next one.

Goodbye 2008......

I realize that it isnt the New Year quite yet but dont you always feel like once we hit the middle of November it's just downhill from there and suddenly it's January 1st. Well, thats how I feel. Im sitting here planning the budget for the next few weeks and realizing that it is basically 2009 already. Where does time go~ We are getting ready for Ian's baptism, which is on December 6th. He is very excited and anxious. He wasnt happy that he had to wait a whole month! Addison is busy growing up. She is talking all the time now although Im not always sure what she is saying. And Evan is growing his 2 front teeth back in and starting to look much older. Time marches on.

Christmas will be a little bit hard this year. Denver will most likely be gone, unless he waits to leave Christmas Day. He will be spending his 2 week break from work in Kentucky with his dad. I wish we could all go with him. I would really love for the kids especially to see their "Dadi" one more time.... He is so sick and it just kinda hangs on you like a dark cloud to think about what he must be going through. We feel very helpless out here but know that there wouldnt be much else we could do if we were there either. Anyway, Im happy that at least Denver will get to go and see his dad. Thanksgiving will be spent with Nathan and Alisa. Jeff and Nicola are going to Vegas to spend it with my parents. Alec is also flying in to spend turkey day with us....the kids are very excited about this. I have much to be thankful for this year as I do every year....but this year feels different for a number of reasons. I finally feel like I know who I am and what I want out of this life. I have set goals which I am accomplishing one by one. Im starting to really enjoy myself and even though I have spent more years than necessary figuring stuff out, it feel so good to be in the place that I am. Its not perfect.....but I know where Im headed and its awesome.

Ive decided to go back to school next Fall.....maybe even the summer if I can work it out in time. Im going to get an English degree along with licensure to be a secondary education teacher. I've decided that if Im going to have to work full time after the kids are all in school, then why not get a job with the same hours as theirs.....summers off, no daycare. I have big dreams to complete a minor along with it too, if I can handle it. Either in Spanish or Editing. But, that is down the road a little. Im just excited at the prospect of getting to finish school and have a career, albeit not a very good paying one :) ......... Funny, when I was younger I always said I could never teach. Then I had kids and realized that Yes, I probably can. Interesting what a little maturity and experience does to your opinions.

Ok, Im signing off now.....hope you all enjoy this blustery day (the wind is crazy here right now)

I May Have Lost My Mind....

So this running thing is kind of taking over my sanity I think. I just signed up to run in a relay race in June. Sounds reasonable at first glance right? I mean that gives me nearly 8 months to keep running and get into better shape. The only thing about this particular relay is that it is 180 miles long and I have to run 3 different legs over a 24 hour period. Each leg is anywhere from 3 to 6 miles and it starts in Logan, Utah and ends in Park City, Utah. Its called the Wasatch Back and you can read about it here.

This is how I ended up here to begin with. It started with my friend Alisha unintentionally putting a bug in my head that I needed to start running in races. Then I started paying attention to that bug. I read about this relay race after running my first 5k a couple of weeks ago.....there was a flyer in my race bag. It sounded interesting and then I found a blog "Marathon Mommies" and someone had posted something there about needing 2 more runners for their team for this same race. I started thinking "wow, if I knew these girls, I would maybe sign up......". Then, the very next morning, I went visiting teaching and when I mentioned that I had sort of taken up running, my partner said "hey my sister just found out she is pregnant and needs someone to take her place in this relay race coming up in June"...... well of course is just happened to be this Wasatch Back relay that I was throwing around in my head! I just sort of felt like it was fate.

So I called her sister up and signed up to take her spot on their team. Then I got online and read more about it....... and now I'm scared. I'm going to have to start running my butt off to get ready for this. Its awesome and scary and crazy...... but awesome! I'm excited and I'm sick at the same time. I'm putting it out there so that I cant back out and you all have to hold me accountable! Basically, it lasts for 24 hours. Our team consists of 12 women and we each run 3 legs each that are 3-6 miles long. So, we will be running through the night, in the mountains (yikes) with little to no sleep and not much food.....like I said, I believe I may have lost my sanity. Here is an excerpt from an article written by one of the runners. You can click on it to read the whole article.

"The Wasatch Back Relay is simultaneously approachable and insane. The
camaraderie was palpable, the scenery breathtaking, and the hijinks hilarious.
Anybody with two vans, 11 friends and at least a mild dose of insanity can
tackle it. Above all, the race is incredibly fun, and both veteran racers and
total amateurs are sure to get a huge kick out of it."

Wish me luck.....

*****by the way, these are not pictures of me or anyone I know. I "borrowed" them from the article that I quoted above.... They are racers from last years relay*****

Friends....

So it's been a year of reconnecting with old friends for me. Saturday I met up with Jessi again....I posted about my lunch with her and Shannon a month or two ago. Shannon had other plans this weekend and wasnt able to come but it was nice to visit with Jess again.

Last night I met with Karolyn and Martha (karolyn left, Martha right). Ive been friends with these girls since about 1991. I worked with them at NuSkin in Provo. We used to go fishing all the time and me and Karolyn went mountain biking quite often. In fact I believe I was with Karolyn biking down the face of Squaw Peak when my toe clip broke and I went head first over my bike.....no helmet either....yikes. Martha and me and Linda took a trip to Vegas once which was a good time....oh, the stories. We took a fly fishing class together and had lots of fun. So, anyway, I actually saw Karolyn shortly after Addie was born. She came to visit me out in Saratoga Springs one night and nearly got lost......I was a bit out of it though so it was good to have a "normal" visit with her. We met at Z-Tejas for dinner and I really enjoyed it! We plan on making it a regular thing and Im excited to hang with these girls again soon. It is so hard to believe that it has been 15 years since I have seen Martha.....time passes by so quickly. Hopefully we wont lose touch again....Thanks girls for a great night. I hope to see you again soon....

Happy Birthday Daddy.....

This is my dad. It's his birthday today and I wanted to wish him a happy one and tell him how much I love and respect him. He is getting ready to move to Reno, Nevada without my mom for a few months....she will join him after they sell their house. He is going to start a new job with his bank up there and Im excited for him to be having new opportunities and challenges (especially at his age -wink wink). I hope that it will provide a little stress relief too.....he could use that.

My dad is a really funny guy. For those that know him outside of my family, he is a real jokester. Then again, I think people within our family think the same thing. My dad was famous for playing jokes on us kids like "here, have a bite of my ice cream" and then it turned out to be sour cream. Or "have a drink of my sprite" and it turned out to be alka-seltzer. How about the time he promised to give me a whole dollar if I ate a jalapeno pepper.....sooooo not worth that dollar...... and I learned that milk is the only thing that cools off a burning tongue. He also liked to sneak into the bathroom while we showered and dump a huge glass of ice water over the top of the shower curtain.....that made for some pretty loud screams. I could go on and on. He still tries to get away with telling stories....but after 30 years of it......we are onto you now Dad!

Life has never been dull with you and I am grateful for the lessons you have taught me and the love that you still give to me. I love you very much Dad. Happy Birthday.

Morning Jibber Jabber.....

We woke up a little late to get Ian to the bus this morning so I ended up having to drive him and Evan both to school. On the way to Ian's school, we came across an accident. Our streets around our neighborhood are pretty little tree-lined streets where most people observe the speed limit so I am not sure what in the world caused the horrific scene we witnessed this morning. There is a little park that I have posted pictures of the kids playing at before. Somehow this car looked as if it had backed up over the curb and through the park fence.....there was a pickup truck facing it nose to nose as if it had pushed the car backwards over the curb and through the fence. The car was wedged so tightly between the fence posts that the firemen had to literally saw off the top of the car to get the person out. They were sawing as we passed. When we came back the other way after dropping Ian off, they had gotten the person out and had packed them onto the stretcher.....they appeared to be alive which was a relief. It serves as a reminder that some of the worst accidents happen right around the corner from home.

Meanwhile, Addison managed to undo her carseat belt....a new trick she is trying to master...and had climbed out of her seat onto the floor of my van. The only reason I had realized this was because she announced that she needed to pee and then proceeded to pee right where she stood. I heard the trickling and looked back to witness it. Nice. Suddenly I am missing diapers.....Ok, I take that back, no more diapers! Any ideas on how to keep her contained in her carseat now that she has figured out how to unlock it?

I had the thought yesterday that I am really entering a new stage in my life. For the past 8 years I have basically focused all of my energy on my kids and family. And I have been totally fine with that. I would do anything for my family....sacrifice anything. However, I have been feeling like maybe its time to allow myself a little time for me....not a lot of course because my main priority is still here at home but you know here and there.....lunch with a friend, bunco once a month, voice lessons. I still have to fight the urge to justify it....just like I am doing now. It is difficult for me not to feel tremendous guilt when I leave the kids with dad or with a babysitter. Even though I dont do it that often, it is hard for me. But, it feels so nice to get away even for an hour. Is that horrible? I just decided that I am already 37 and I dont want to be 57 and thinking, why didnt I do that? So, slowly I am entering this stage and kinda enjoying it..... I am meeting friends for lunch this weekend.....next week I have a bunco game and a voice lesson..... In Jan/Feb Im going on a 3 day girls trip to Taos, New Mexico for some skiing..... Its nice to have me time and I think it will make me a better mom too! One of these days when I get in better running shape, and I will, Im going to start making little running trips to different races. I plan on bringing the family to those though! Im hoping my kids will catch the bug to run and be healthy with me..... Anyway, I am just jibbering this morning but wanted to "write" down my thoughts.

For those wondering, my father-in-law Don is not doing very well. Some are saying they hope he makes it to Christmas, others are more positive. It is difficult to really know how he is doing from here of course. He fell a week or so ago and really hasnt gotten out of bed since. He wont eat. We think he should stop taking the chemo for a little while to try and get his strength back but others are to afraid to allow that......I hate to hear how he is suffering. I hate that my kids probably wont get to see him again. I hate that we cant help somehow. I hope he knows how much we love him...... We are going to send Denver there for a couple of weeks over Christmas so he can spend time with his dad. They did get a new medication yesterday that is supposed to help him eat. I hope it works. He can use all the prayers he can get......

Here's the Proof.....

I Did It!......

Today I ran my very first race. It was a 5k and I was very nervous about it. Technically I wasnt as prepared physically as I would have liked to have been but Im still happy that I went through with it. What a great feeling to #1 have it over with and #2 to have DONE IT in the first place! Denver came with the kids and Nate, Alisa and Soren also met me at the finish line. How cool is that? It was great seeing them at the end. Nathan snapped some pictures of me and when I get them I will post them....if they turn out....who knows what my face looked like at the end. I know how I felt and I sure hope it didnt show in the picture! Ha!

Ive been running 2 miles everyday but Sunday on the treadmill. I knew that it would be more difficult running on the ground but it was even harder than I imagined. Not to mention it was 32 degrees outside which made my lungs feel like I was inhaling needles. The first mile was pretty rough.....after that, it was a little easier. I did have to stop and walk up the hills twice but it was for only 60 seconds or so.....then I ran again. My shins are really feeling it right now.

So, there you go! I cant wait until I can run a 5k easily....that will be so great to be that in shape. Out of 435 contestants, I placed 320.....sounds horrible but I consider the fact that over 100 people finished AFTER I did a total success! And out of my age group, 34-39, I placed somewhere right in the middle......awesome.

A New Baby....

I told you the day would get better....I just got word that some friends of mine, who have been trying to adopt for a while now, have officially become parents to a beautiful little girl. Congratulations you guys....she is one lucky little girl.

Ever Have One of Those Days......

You know the kind that start off a little rough around the edges? Well I am having one, however, after this post I am going to turn it around! Power of positive thinking. Somehow I managed to completely reset my alarm clock this morning instead of hitting the snooze button and since I worked until 1:00 a.m., my body simply did not wake up on the first ring. Therefore, at 8:30 I shot out of bed disoriented and panicky knowing that I was late for something..... oh yeah, the kids have to get to school (already late) ..... and Im supposed to pick my Grandma up at 8:30 to take her to her meeting (right now) .... and then Im supposed to go to the gym to run before I get Soren (too late now)....wheres my glasses, wheres my shoes, ahhhhhhhh!

That is how I started my day. You know what though.....its a great day. It really is, and it is going to get better each minute. To help the day out, Im going to list the things that I am grateful for today:

I AM GRATEFUL THAT........

-I am not throwing up
-I lost 2 pounds this
week
-my kids arent sick
-I have a voice lesson tonight (yay, cant wait)
-Im running my first 5k on Saturday (or least running half of it :) )
-My house is semi-clean
-The election is over
-We have 4 seasons and it snowed
(although if it melted by Sat, I would be even happier)
-I am close to my family
-I am Blessed

See, Im feeling better already.....hope you all have an awesome day!

I Looked Out My Window......

and what did I see? Not popcorn popping on the apricot tree thats for sure.....!

This sight is better appreciated from the inside of a warm home especially now that I am not "under the weather" anymore..... Big apologies to our house guests that took the bug home with them. It wasnt intentional :)

Its Definitely the Flu....

I said in the previous post that I had thought Addison throwing up was due to candy overload as opposed to a flu.....I was wrong. Denver threw up all last night, I have been throwing up today, Evan threw up on Thursday, Addie on Sunday......the only one left is Ian and he has been on the toilet all day with other "issues"...... Good times. I pray that it is only a 24 hour bug.......

I did, however sick I was, manage to crawl across the street to VOTE today. Hope you all did too.....there is still time for some of you. One vote does make a difference.

Our Weekend....continued.

Continuing on about our weekend, Friday day I got to spend most of it with my mom. We went shopping for Ian's birthday gifts and to find a shirt for me to wear to my choir performance....we had a good time and I really enjoyed spending that time alone with her. I worked Friday night until 2:30 a.m. and then tried to get some sleep before the big day. Unfortunately, due to an excrutiating toothache, I only got about 3 hours of sleep.(fast forward to today and I had to get a root canal...) So, Saturday was my big choir performance. I was very excited and nervous but mostly excited. We had to be there at 3:00 in order to rehearse since we had never once rehearsed in the actual Tabernacle. Our first performance was at 5:30. Right away there was a huge problem because the lift that brings the piano up from the underneath the tabernacle was broken and so we had no piano. Merilee asked someone to offer a prayer and ask that it be fixed.....well it got to the point where it didnt look like it was going to get fixed so they brought out an electric keyboard. When they started playing that for us to sing with, I thought Merilee along with the rest of us were going to pass out. It was awful and I just wanted to cry. Guess what though? 5 minutes before we were going to end the rehearsal and get ready for the performance, the lift starts moving! We got our piano....thankfully. However we really didnt get to rehearse and I felt like our first show suffered a bit from that and that fact that everyone was a little flustered still. Denver and the boys came to the first show and my mom, grandma, aunt Debbie, Nate Alisa & Jeff came to the 7:30 show which was near perfect. We did great the 2nd show..... Can I just add what an amazing experience it was singing the Tabernacle? WOW. Whoever designed that building was a genius. The acoustics are so incredible you just cannot describe it. It is something you have to hear for yourself but I was just overwhelmed by it. To be able to sing in that historic building up against the massive pipes of that organ....it was AwesomE! I cannot wait to sign up to sing again next year. Here is a few pictures of the night...

So, the next day we had our get together for Ian's birthday. Ian had decided he wanted Broccoli Cheese soup for his birthday dinner and so, we had soup! 3 different kinds of soup. Brocoli cheese potato, Chicken Tortilla, and chili (recipes can be found HERE). Alisa brought an amazing green salad as well as her yummy artichoke dip with pita chips. Jeff and Nicola provided the bread and drinks...and I made cheesecake for Ian's cake, also per Ian's request. My Grandma and Aunt Debbie came over too and the meal was wonderful. Ian opened his gifts and was very excited about all of them. Thanks to everyone for making that day special for him. The weather even cooperated and gave us clouds and rain making it the perfect day for soup! I took my parents to the airport later that evening and then went grocery shopping for the week. While we were in Walmart and I had my back turned, Addison barfed all over the place. Twice. It was awful. I had to undress her and find something new for her to wear. I bought her some cute new jammies and socks. Luckily it was just an upset stomache. No flu....most of the throw up was chocolate so I have a feeling she got into the candy a little too much!

Today should have been a relaxing day for me but instead I had to go to the dentist for a root canal....good times. After that, I took Denver some lunch and then realized I had an appointment with my thryoid doctor a half hour later....so I ran out there and then driving home realized I needed to take Ian in for his allergy shot. Needless to say I havent been home much today and I am still exhausted. So, Im going to end this ridiculously long post and try to take a nap before I go to work tonight!

What a Weekend.....

We have had an extremely full and wonderful weekend. I have a lot to post......Halloween, my choir performance, Ian's birthday party as well as a couple of promised recipes on my food blog. However, I am so exhausted that I am only going to post one tonight and then I will finish up tomorrow. I'll start with what came first......Halloween. Although I worked that night, I was able to get the kids ready and go over to Nathans house to show them off and get a treat there. My parents were in town for the weekend and staying at Nates house too so they got to see the kids as well. While we were there, we trick or treated at their neighbors house who were giving out gargantuan boxes of candy....SCORE! The kids were pretty excited about that. After that, I had to leave for work. It turns out that the treat bags I bought for the kids this year filled up completely after only one street! They could not fit anymore candy in it and so trick or treating was short and sweet ....guess I didnt miss much! Our neighborhood also has a lot of houses that give out of full sized candy bars and such. Awesome. Here are a few pictures taken on Halloween..... Hope you all had a Spooktacular time