Spiders and Stuff

Best Mom Ever!  So Isaac has had some trouble sleeping downstairs, so all the boys decided to sleep down there tonight.  As we were putting them to bed I noticed a spider in the corner.  Not a little spider, a BIG spider.  I quietly showed Jason and he took care of it.  I think it might have been a Hobo spider however.  I AM GETTING THE BUG MAN HERE TOMORROW!  However, I can't go get the boys and have them sleep upstairs for the night or I will NEVER get them back down there.  NEVER.  So I am going to ask for special protection for my boys in my prayers tonight and hopefully the bug man will get here ASAP and spray my house.  I hate spiders!!! 

69 days till the St. George Marathon.  Ha Ha Ha Ha  I haven't even started training......I am going to rock it!!! 

Summer Fun

So it has been a while since I posted.   Here is an update of our summer so far.

Noah spent the week at the U of U basketball camp with a friend.  Since I had to drive to SLC every day, Louie and Isaac and I spent our days in SLC hanging out.

Monday:  We went to This Is The Place Park:  the boys absolutely loved it.  They panned for gold, saw the Indian dancers, rode the big train and the little town, ate mini donuts, and had so much fun.
Tuesday:  We went and saw Ice Age at the Gateway and played in the fountains afterwards.
Wednesday: We went to some tramp place that I bought a groupon for.  The boys had fun.
Thursday:  We actually stayed home this day and our friends Smith and Eliza spent the day here.

And then we were done!  I must say I am exhausted. 

The following week we just hung around home and on Friday it was the Handcart Days Parade. 
Thanks to Jen we actually had a place to sit.  It was crazy crowded this year.  Noah was part of the 2000 Stripling Warriors that were the last entry in the parade.  It was so cool to see the 2200 young men of Bountiful march in the parade and say all together "We Did Not Doubt!"  I am glad Noah got to participate and I hope he will remember the experience for a long time.
After the parade we went to the park and watched the fireworks.  It was an amazing show this year, and thanks to my friend Kae we always sit on the backside of the park and it when you lay down and look up it is like they are going to fall right on top of you.   Very cool.
Saturday they did a free swim a the rec center so I took Isaac, Luke, and the neighbors Smith and Eliza.  My thought was that the kiddies would play together and I could just sit and watch.  Stupid thought....I spent the next 2 hours with 4 kids hanging on me, wanting me to dunk them, watch them, hold them, etc.  So  much for relaxing.

This last week we didn't do much, I have to redirect and start getting ready for school.  The boys start in 3 weeks.  We shopped, much to their despair, and on Friday we went to Hollywood Connections for the day. 
Saturday Jason and I went out on a date and saw Batman, and went to dinner with friends.

That's it for now!

Family Reunion

So we had a fun week this week.  We went to see the fireworks on Tuesday night and got up on the 4th and made our way to Bear Lake.  Jason's family had their family reunion up there.  Here are some of our highlights:

Jason/Natalie/Greg/Cheryl:  Thursday morning made the loop around the lake on our bikes.  50 miles wahoo!  It was a great start to the weekend.
All of Us:  Rented a large surrey and raced the other family members around Bear Lake.  (When you drive by one of those it looks so easy...however it is not.... especially when you have 2 people 11 and under pedaling with you, oh and you did a 50 mile loop around the lake that morning.)
All of Us:  You can't go to Bear Lake without getting a shake in town.  We went Thursday night.  
All of Us:  We went to see "The Hanging of El Bandito" at the Pickleville Playhouse.  The boys loved it and I must admit I was entertained and laughed most of the night.
All of Us:  We spent Friday at the lake.  I water skied for the first time in like 10 years and I feel like I got run over by a truck today.  Noah tried a couple of times and almost got up, next time I think he will get it.   Louie has never been in a boat before so he threw a hour long tantrum when he couldn't be the first rider and declared it was totally awesome after he actually got his ride. 
Jason/Natalie:  We told the kids we were running an errand into town and with the other adults in the house went and got another shake.  The kids weren't very happy when we got home but hey, after 3 days sharing a house with 15 kids we deserved a little break and a treat. 

We got home today and I am glad to be home.  My kids are so tired they cry when you look at them the wrong way so we are all going to bed early tonight! 

It was a good family reunion.  I love the Miller family and it was fun to hang out for the weekend!

Scout Camp

I went to Cub Country with Isaac yesterday.  He had a ton of fun but we were soooo dirty when we got home.  It was windy and the dirt is really fine and it was just blowing everywhere.  It was raining ash on us also from the fire down at Eagle Mountain.  He is back there today but I didn't have to go, whew.  I have so much stuff to do today, I need to clean my house and almost everything we own is sitting on my bedroom floor waiting to be folded.  I haven't even looked at my checking account in weeks and my junk drawer is overflowing.  I made roman shades for Isaac and Noah's rooms but hated them after we hung them up.  So now I need to figure out something new for both of their rooms.  I probably won't get it all done today but hopefully I can make a dent in my to do list. 

My Own Room

We moved the boys around a little while ago so Noah could have his own room.  Isaac decided it wasn't very fair that he didn't have his own room too so we told him he could have the room downstairs if he wanted it.  He tried it out for a couple of nights and discovered the basement isn't so scary and so I have spent the last little while getting his room ready for him.  When we moved in we remodeled the entire upstairs but left the downstairs as it was.  It has been almost 7 years since we moved here and we haven't touched the basement.  The room downstairs had bright green carpet, with a few white paint splatters here and there.  I painted his room, and we got our new carpet this morning.  Isaac moved downstairs today and is sleeping there right now.  It is amazing what a little paint and carpet can do to a room.  Now all my boys have their own room, it is kind of sad in some ways, I always shared a room and there is a lot of bonding that is missed when you don't get your late night talking in.  However, having said that, bedtime is a lot easier this way and it is nice for them all to have their own space.

The room in the basement was mostly used for storage and so I had to haul all the stuff out of his room and it was sitting in the family room.  I have spent the last week dejunking my house!  I took a car load to the DI today and was so glad to see it go!  I got rid of a ton of stuff, plus I cleaned out my boys school stuff and got rid of tons more.  I am feeling better about things.  It is amazing how much stuff you keep and don't need.  

I am watching Diners, Drive Ins and Dives right now and the food all looks so good...(random thought)

It is amazing how much energy I have had lately!  Since I haven't been training, or doing anything really I  I am tackling all these projects that have been waiting around for me for ages.  It feels good to be doing them and I am so amazed really at how much it took out of me to train for that marathon.  I will have to start training again soon, but it is nice to know that I am not as lazy as I thought I was. 

So I got me a road bike today finally!!  I tried hiking, running and walking and this weekend I paid for all of it.  My foot just throbbed all weekend.  However, the pain paid off because I now have a cute blue bike in my garage.  It does have clip shoes, so it is a bit dicey right now, I tried it out tonight and fell twice, still connected to the bike.  Hopefully I will get the hang of the clips without killing myself or breaking something in the process.  I am just really glad there is some form of exercise I can still do!!!

Noah started his second basketball camp this week.  It is down at his school.  The first week of summer he went to one run by the high school basketball players.  This new camp is way different.  He came home today and informed me he wasn't able to sit down one time.  It will be good for him.  Hopefully he will learn a lot and get to know the coach at his school.

Ok, well I obviously need to blog a bit more often so I don't have such long posts.  I ran over my computer charging cord with the vacuum and it didn't work for a while, Jason jimmy rigged it with some electrical tape and it is working again.  So I am going to be better!

First Week of Summer

So last week was the first week of summer.  Noah had a basketball camp all week, but we were able to do our jobs and also pick out of the reward jar.  It is funny how my house can get so clean, and then be so dirty all in the same day.  Louie will not let one day go by without picking from the reward jar.   Last week they had 2 craft days, we had a family Nerf gun fight, we went to Provo and hiked the Y and on Friday I filled 250 water balloons for a water balloon fight.  It was a good first week of summer.  I look forward to the adventures we are going to have the rest of the summer!

Summer Adventures

We went to Provo on Wednesday to help my mom celebrate her birthday.  We took her to lunch and then we were off to hike the Y.   

After our hike we went to Nana's house and just hung out for the rest of the day.  It was a good day.

Happy Birthday Mom!

All of us at the start of the hike.

Noah & Isaac

Luke & Nana

How much further??

We made it!  Noah, Isaac, Luke & Nana!

My boys!

10 Years!

Today is my anniversary.  We have been married 10 years today!!  The day didn't start out right, Jason left for work and I was crying.  It is the last day of school, I am exhausted, hurting, overwhelmed, and sadly so is Jason.  Bad morning.  However having said that, I am ALWAYS grateful for Jason even when we have bad days.
I was a single mom when I met Jason and have always felt like he was Heavenly Fathers way of giving me a second chance at love and happiness.  He accepted everything about me, and loved Noah from the beginning.  He is a great husband and father.  Sometimes when I watch those sappy love movies I think, "Jason totally loves me like that,"  and it makes me smile.  He is calm when I am crazy, he totally supports me when I need a moment, he is my biggest supporter when I choose to take on big things, he is a great dad, he does the dishes, and puts kids to bed, and he generally accepts that clean laundry in our house if found on the chair in our room and not in his drawers or closet.  I am a lucky girl! 
Happy Anniversary Jason!  I love you!  Here's to 30 + more years!

Graduation

Louie graduated from preschool on Friday.  All the kids in the class decided they needed to wear best dress to their graduation. Louie looked so cute in his Sunday best.  He cried when he saw us in the crowd and I had to go up and hold his hand through their whole performance.  He learned a ton this year and we are so proud of him!  I can't believe I have sent my last child to preschool.  Next year will be a fun filled year of exciting things.  Louie is going to kindergarten, Isaac is in 3rd grade and Noah will be going to middle school.  I feel like I am morphing into a new phase of my life, and I am not quite sure I am ready for it.  I am glad summer is almost here, we can have a moment before all these changes occur!  It is going to be the best summer ever!

Happy Birthday Jason!

Today is Jason's birthday.  He is 28 today!  Well, according to Louie he is 28 lol.  We continue to let him believe, why not??  It keeps us young.   I am 22, if you were wondering. 

Happy Birthday Jason!!!  We love you tons and hope you have a fabulous day!!

Daily Confession # 4

Cereal works great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Summer is almost here!

I am trying to come up with some good ideas to keep my kiddies busy this summer.  I was talking to Jen yesterday and she told me about her thoughts.  She had the idea to get popsicle sticks and take one jar for jobs and one for rewards, she thought about doing another jar for ideas when they are bored.  They have to draw out their jobs for the day and when they are done they get to pick a reward.  So I have some ideas and spent some time online yesterday looking for ideas.  I am hoping to get it all organized soon so I am ready for this summer.  I always want a plan and have never had one and I feel like I have wasted many many summers just lounging and doing nothing.  This year is going to be different!  I would love ideas if you have any!

Saturday Fun

So I spent the morning in Ogden at the race, while I was gone my mom came up to get the boys.  There was an Astronomy thing going on at BYU and she wanted to take them to it.  They were gone all day, finally getting home around 5ish.  Louie has had this cough and cold for a couple of days but when I saw him walk in I did a double take, he was really pale and didn't look good at all.  We got the house cleaned up and I got them showered and at 8:30 when the other two boys were in bed I decided I better just take him in to the Instacare.  He sounded like he was having a hard time breathing.  As a mom it is hard sometimes to know what to do.  I have taken them to the doctor and it has just been a virus, or allergies before and so I always question myself.  High deductible plans seem to make you question everything twice.  But I just felt like I needed to take him.  Thank heavens I did!  He was having an allergy induced asthma attack.  I am SO glad I didn't wait until today.  We were a there until 10, he ended up having to get some steroid medicine and 2 nebulizer treatments and he still sounded wheezy.  Luckily he was getting enough oxygen, he was just having to work really hard for it.   He is doing much better today, we are doing nebulizer treatments today, and probably tomorrow and hopefully he will be all better!

Ogden Marathon

So my running buddy Jen rocked her first marathon.  She did it in 4:25.  My neighbor ran for me.  He hadn't been training but has run a few races so he ran it for me.  I really wanted someone to be able to run the race.  He came in about 11:00 am and then I walked up the road a ways thinking I had some time to wait for Jen.  She texted about 5 min later that she was 2 miles out.  I waited for her and almost cried when I saw her coming.  It was a bittersweet moment, I was so proud of her and at the same moment so so sad I wasn't running with her.  I did join her for the next 4 blocks and then left her to come through the finish line. 

I have some mixed emotions about the whole thing but at this point I am glad she had this race, just for her.  I am glad she was able to run her race, at her pace, her way.  In the future when we actually get to do OUR first marathon together, our time will be sadly slower, I am a safe pacer, and slower is better than faster lol.  Hopefully she won't leave me and find a new, faster running partner. 

Congrats Jen!  I couldn't be more proud of you!!  You are an inspiration to me in every way!!  You are a great friend and I couldn't have a better running partner!

Noah's Haircut

So Noah came home from his dad's house a couple weeks ago and his dad had trimmed his hair.  He had just trimmed around the edges.  The problem...Noah has TONS of hair and so you can't trim, it has to be thinned and all that crap.  So then Noah decided to trim his own bangs last Tues.  Well it looked bad, really bad so after school I took him to Sports Clips.  In order to fix the hair it had to be cut....short....Noah likes his hair long so I knew it was going to be a bad day.  As he was getting his haircut in the chair he was trying not to cry and mouthing that he hated me.  After we were all done he got in the car and let loose.  He yelled and told us all he hated us and on and on.  Luke and Isaac were both crying and at some point in his ramblings he told me to shut up.  Well I lost it.  He got a big old loud lecture from his mom.  He had to apologize to his brothers and I promised him he would pay for the way he was acting.  Yes, one of my finer moments.  So we got home and he went on and on about his hair, how he hated it and how I had ruined his life.  Oh, did I mention that was the day I went to the doctor and found out about my foot so I was already feeling pretty good about my day.  After about two hours of him ranting and raving about his hair he calmed down.  Then he said to me.....

I think I like my haircut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have freaking got to be kidding me.  I just had to breathe deep.  And take a few more deep breaths and then laugh.  What else could I do?

New favorite quote

"There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
-Nelson Mandela

Blogging

I told myself that I would try to post something every couple of days.  I was hoping this to be sort of a journal.  The problem is that I don't really have anything exciting to post.  I swam on Monday, it felt good to be able to do something.  Yesterday I finished my book for the book club and I read another book called "The Lean".  I figured while I can't run and train I might as well try to lose the 10 pounds that I have wanted to lose for years.  The book works you up, you just have to do 1 thing a day.  I am on day 5 and although I have not lost any weight lol, I feel like it is something I can do.  No counting calories or anything like that.  Today I need to do laundry, it kind of creeps up on me and kicks my butt.  EVERY WEEK!   Jason couldn't find socks yesterday and I couldn't find Noah a shirt today.  I hate it when that happens.  So laundry it is.  I should do some type of exercise but I did my hair yesterday for the temple and I don't want to have to wash it today.  I am totally lame.  I need to plant my garden too, I bought stuff at Lowe's on Monday and I am totally excited to get it started.  Oh, and what is it about these little people we love so much, why can't they pee in the toilet and not get toothpaste all over everywhere, man, lately I have had to wipe my bathrooms down daily.
I got on pinterest Sunday and found some hairstyle ideas, and I can totally do them.  Usually I have issues with hair stuff.  Which totally reminds me... I need to blog about Noah and his haircut.  Story to come....
Well, enough of my ramblings, I need to get going, I have 1 hour left by myself till Luke gets home and another hour after that until my boys get home from school and it gets crazy!! 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the fabulous women I know and love.   I am so grateful to have all of you in my life!!

Life's little hitches....

I went to the Doctor on Wed.   My foot has been hurting me our last 2 - 3 runs.  I got up that morning thinking I was stupid to even go in, my foot didn't even hurt.  After pushing and prodding and x-rays and and ultrasound the Doctor told me I have a stress fracture in my foot.  He called it a high risk stress fracture and told me I need to take it easy for THE NEXT 3 MONTHS!!!   So I am supposed to run in like 9 days right??   Nope.


I realize that in the whole scheme of life, this is just a small bump, but it seems to be throwing me for quite a loop.  I feel like crying, I am frustrated with this body of mine that seems to continue to fail me in small ways.  I have been running, and running and running getting ready for this race since January.  I finished my long run and was ready!  Aghhhhh!


So here I am now, finding a new way for the next 3 months.  I saw Jen this morning off to do her run as I pulled into my drive and wanted to bawl my eyes out.  I listen to K-Love now and then and I was listening to it this morning and on came this song called Good Morning just as I passed Jen and pulled into my garage.


It's a good morning!
Wake up to a brand new day
This morning,
I'm stepping, stepping on my way
Good morning,
You give me strength,
you give me just what I need
And I can feel the hope that's rising up in me.
It's a good morning

 Now I'm smiling, and I'm kissing all my worries goodbye
Got the feeling, if I spread my wings I might even fly
You are my truth, my way
Give me the strength to say
Get up, get up, get up
Cause it's a good morning, hey


As I was driving home from taking my kids to school I looked around and felt so blessed to live where I live, to drive up the hill to my house and see the green trees and the sun peaking around the mountain.  I am alive, I can walk and talk and all my body parts work so I can accomplish the things I NEED to.  I have healthy kids, a wonderful husband, supportive family, the greatest friends in the world and a Heavenly Father who loves me despite all my flaws.


It is a good morning!

Daily Confession # 3

Sometimes I take my kids to school and come home and go back to bed.

Daily Confession # 2

Sometimes I wear my exercise clothes all day but I don't actually exercise.

Daily Confession # 1

Sometimes when I am really tired, I just add the dirty dishes to the clean ones and run the dishwasher again.

Quote of the Week

"Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering."
St. Augustine

A Day in the life....

So I spent the day doing yard work.  I got my garden all cleared thanks to Jason.  He did all the hard work, I just raked out all the old stuff and weeds and leveled it out.  So I need garden tips!!!  I plant a garden every year, but I don't seem to be successful at having things grow for me.  My mom said you should plant certain plants by other plants so that is one tip.  But I need more!....please I need some gardening help!!

A whole new high....

Ok, so I am not wife of the year ever.  Usually I don't even come close.  But Saturday, I reached a whole new low.
So Friday I ran right, it was exhilarating and excruciating all at the same time.  There was a point, around 19 miles that it hurt worse to stop then it did to just keep running so we kept running.  We did 22 miles.  Wahoo!
So that pretty much took up my whole Friday, and then the rest of the day I was hurting, I slept terrible, not really at all.  So Saturday rolls around, I am surprisingly not sore?? But exhausted and the day begins all too early for me.  Louie had a soccer game at 8:30, and there the began the nastiness.  I won't go into details but there was a lot of yelling and slamming doors (just from me, mind you).  We made it to Louie's game late, of course.  When we got home I talked Jason into going on a bike ride and of course proceeded to yell at him again??  Then I remembered he was going on a ride and something could happen while he was gone and the last thing I would have of us would be me yelling at him.  So I went out and apologized for like the 4th time that morning.  Yeesh.  He went and I went to clean the church (our Saturday of course).  I had forgotten to call the other families so it was just the boys and me.  Sigh.... The boys were SO GOOD!  I think they were a little afraid of me frankly and just did what I said and didn't complain.  Three hours later..... I went home feeling pretty good and decided to take the boys to In N Out, I thought they deserved it and was I was craving a big burger and a Dr. Pepper.  Jas got home about that time and we all went together.  We got home and I had to get some of the house clean, I did a couple of loads of laundry, cleaned the bathrooms and then decided I better work on the thank you's I was supposed to do for the Roadshow.  Yes, the Roadshow....  I had procrastinated them all week so at 5:00 I started them.  I finished half of them and Jas took the boys and went down to get us seats.  I finished them rest of them in the hallway of the church, thanks to my friend Sally who helped me out.  I looked like total hell (sorry, no other word for it really).  I hadn't showered, cleaned the church, cleaned my house, didn't comb my hair all day, or brush my teeth..... After the Roadshow, I helped put up chairs and clean up.  I got home, mopped my floor, did more laundry, vacuumed, changed the sheets and then finally showered and went to bed.
I forgot to take my allergy meds on Saturday so Sunday morning I woke up with goopy eyes.  Yes, goopy eyes.  Went to church, again looking terrible, with no make up (I did brush my hair and teeth however), late of course.  Made it through church, came home and slept until 4:30 when I dragged my behind out of bed to go to my friends house for dinner.  Thank you Anna!  You saved the day!  Shockingly I was able to go right to sleep Sunday night even after my 4 hour nap. 
Woke up today, go the boys off, got Louie off and came home and slept again until 11:30.  My eyes are getting better, not so goopy and I am actually feeling human again!
So after reading this you realize, as I do, that a my life could run a bit smoother if I was just a bit more organized.  So now that I am rested, my huge runs are over, I am going to try to get organized so last weekend will NEVER happen again at our house!

20 Miler

So today is my 20 mile run, I think I might throw up.  I don't know what it is about these long runs but I get really nervous before I do them??  Thank heavens it isn't pouring rain like last night.  We should have pretty good weather for our run!

Spring is here!

I love spring!  I love the warm (not hot) days, the beautiful flowers, the earth changing from dead to alive!  However, this year spring seems to be kicking the Millers butts.  I spent like 10 hours weeding, and raking, and bagging all the crap in my yard, oh yeah, not my whole yard but just my FRONT YARD!  Seriously, I haven't even started on the backyard and I want to cry at the thought.  We are still suffering from that wicked wind storm we had in December.  I found all sorts of crap in my yard, mail, garbage, roof shingles, pine needles, tree branches, my rain gutter...I have achy hands and dirt in my fingernails but I am now finished with the front yard.  One half more to go, 10 + more hours, yipee!
My other favorite part of spring is the allergies.  Ok, so I am lying, we are suffering in a bad way this year.  My poor boys have stuffy noses and swollen, itchy eyes.  Luke has been getting up in the middle of the night to blow his nose because it is so stuffy.  I took them to the doc yesterday thinking they had an eye infection, but no, just allergies.  Love paying for things like that huh! 
I am tired, sore and dirty.  Spring is here kicking our butts, but bringing us life and beauty.  Would I trade it for winter?

Not a chance!

Bedtime

Tonite I am grateful for bedtime. I need my boys to go to bed so I can breathe. My little Louie bless his little heart, talks so so so so so so much. He goes into these long, long explanations about Lego sets he wants or things he saw on TV, or Lego Star Wars for the WII, or if it isn't that he is asking me if the water is off, or if he touches his nose does he have to wash his hands, or if he touches the band of his underwear does he have to wash his hands, or if he touches his lips does he have to wash his hands or can he just wash his hands he is sure they are dirty, please, please.....so many swear words come to mind I am thrilled that they don't escape my lips sometimes. I saw a book at the library called "Just Checking". So now every time he asks me an OCD question I think in my mind "just checking" and smile. Then I have Isaac, he is having this sassy phase, I don't even know what to thing about that. Then there is Noah, he was home sick today, he is really sick today, ya know, but can he please go outside and play basketball??????????

It is bedtime, Hallelujah!!

Where has the time gone?

I was looking through my old pictures trying to find pictures for my blog for Jenny. I ended up looking through A LOT of pictures. There were all these pictures of my boys when they were little, and they are not little anymore. It makes me sad they are growing up so fast! Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good things that come when they get older, no diapers, potty training is done, they can get their own food when things get crazy, they can help out around the house, heck, Noah can babysit now and then. But sometimes I miss those days when they were little, the cute things they said, the ready hugs and kisses, the laughter, the innocence, having no outside schedule... and I get sad. But then I remember how fun they are now too, and I am grateful for those moments we have with our little people, to teach, to learn, to help them grow, and to grow ourselves, and hopefully.....

I will remember to try a bit harder to live in the moment!

Where in the world......

So I thought a recap of the past 2 years was in order. I broke my foot as you know, had 3 sinus surgeries, surgery for my carpal tunnel in both hands and took up running. Ok, so running might be kind of misleading, I think I am more of a jogger. My running buddy Jen and I joke that we are wogging (jogging slow enough to really be a walk). We did the Handcart Days Half marathon in July of 2011 and thought we might need another challenge to keep us motivated for the winter months so we signed up for the Canyonlands Half Marathon in March and the Ogden Marathon in May. So we sort of started training in January, sort of....Then all of a sudden it was March! So we packed our tents up and headed to Moab. We ran the race with a headwind the entire way and survived. We had not been really super smart up to this point, we weren't following our training schedule very well and so I don't know how prepared we really were but what do you do.



After the race Jason took the boys hiking (I sat in the car and read a book). They hiked up to Delicate Arch. The boys had a blast.



Once we got home I had a momentary panic attack, bought new running shoes, stocked up on the nutrition we had been lacking before this point and the next weekend we set out on our 15 mile run. I got home and cried, I don't know what I was thinking but it set in that this was going to be a painful 8 weeks.
So I am now 5 weeks away from my first marathon. Every time we do our long run I think that I am crazy for doing this to myself. We didn't tell anyone for the longest time, I think saying it out loud made it real. Me posting this here makes it very real.

I have learned a lot in the past 2 years, about a lot of things: being a better mom, being a better wife, following through, putting myself out there, letting others help now and then, being ok with the linen closet when my hubby is trying to help with the laundry, being ok with my house not being perfect, choosing to rest and say no now and then.

Running hasn't taught me most of those, but it has taught me that I can do hard things! I can run through a side ache, I can run into a head wind and not have to stop to walk, I can run up the hills and survive, I can keep going when my legs ache and my lungs are burning, I can CHOOSE to keep going! The mind is a crazy thing huh, not all my runs are good but when I am there, focused and ready I can do anything!

So there you have it!

Hello Again!

It has been a while since I posted, lol, like 2 years. I have no excuses, just life. I thought I would start posting again, there might come a time when I forget about all the little things that go on every day.

Good Bye my friend Jenny

My friend Jenny came to see me today to say good bye. She is moving away and after she left I felt so sad for a long while. She isn't moving that far away and I will see her, but it is not the same as being able to see someone whenever you want.

Jenny and I met about 6 years ago, she was in my ward but I didn't know her that well, mostly just knew of her. We ended up being pregnant together, Jenny with her first, me with my last. She was my exercise buddy, we walked and swam together 3 times a week and there began our friendship. We delivered 10 days apart, both of us having boys.



Since then, she has had 2 more kiddies and we have stayed friends. I am so grateful we are friends! She totally helped me through that pregnancy, and since then she has always been there to listen and laugh with. She doesn't know this but she motivated me to do more than the 5K's I was doing when she ran her half marathon.

I will miss you girl! Have fun in WY!! I love you tons!!



(Just a side note, I have had a couple other friends move away and sadly I never thought of doing this for them, you gals know who you are and I love you too!)