Moab 2009

Today I sit in the aftermath of another blizzard- technically a severe winter storm this time. One week ago was pretty much the same story. (At this rate school will go through July!) However, three days before that, we were in the sunny summerland of Moab, UT.

My sisters (except for the two having babies next month) and I decided back in December to run the Canyonlands Half Marathon. We all finished with respectable times, and even got to enjoy Arches National Park a bit.

Good job everybody!

Andrew displaying his ability to sleep ANYWHERE- the excitement of the race was just too much!

Erin, and my grandparents also came to watch the race, thanks everyone for a great weekend!

We got home just as last week's blizzard was getting warmed up Monday evening. We were lucky we heard about the weather coming through Wyoming and decided to start our trip Sunday evening, that night we stayed in Rawlins. We wanted to drive through the night, but were too tired. The next day the weather had caught up with us, so what normally would be a 7 hour trip took us nearly 11 hours. Fortunately we altered our route, not knowing until we got home that it was the ONLY way we could have gotten home because the other possible routes were already closed. We have been seriously blessed on our roadtrips through winter weather!

Just in the last 24 hours.....

...Jake finally has his first tooth (actually it came through while we were in Utah, but I took this picture in the last 24 hours)! He's got at least 3 more very close to breaking through. Even though he's been teething on and off for months now, its still hard to believe how big he's getting! He's not a little baby anymore, in fact, Scott has started calling him VLB (Very Large Baby).

...Inspired by Eden's friends' hair and instructed by their mother, I've been getting a little more creative with Eden's hair (when we have some extra time in the morning). Thanks Tera! (check out her very cool hair blog here)

...I made apron's for the kids at the sewing/knitting group last night. Actually I only finished one for Eden in the three hours that I was there, but I finished this one for Andrew while Eden was at school this morning. Thanks Juli for providing the pattern and showing me how it all goes together! Now they can keep breakfast and toothpaste off their clothes in the morning, which means they can get dressed first thing. I'm hoping this helps our morning rush/chaos a little. :)

I've skipped over our whirlwind trip to Utah because I'm hoping to gather more pics from my sisters before I post, so stay tuned!

Badlands Excursion

Earlier this month, Eden had a No School Friday, so Scott took leave. The weather was supposed to be nice until Saturday, so we decided to head to the Badlands. But that morning was foggy and there were snow sprinkles! Since Scott already had the day off, we decided to go anyway, hoping it would stay nice long enough to enjoy the outdoors a little bit.

We stopped first at the visitors' center, which the kids enjoyed while we all ate our lunch. And we all learned a little about the Badlands. Then we decided to try a short 'hike' through the fossil beds. Everyone was happy for the first 5 minutes.

But then the wind picked up and the fog started rolling in. Jakey was getting cold, and Andrew slipped in the mud, so after about 15 minutes we decided to end our adventures in the Badlands and head to Wall Drug.

We walked around all the different departments and had donuts and hot cocoa. Scott made a new friend, and showed the kids how to hunt- that's probably as close as any of them will ever get.

All in all it was a fun family day. We'll have to try the Badlands again sometime.

March Madness- not the basketball kind!

What have we been up to? Well, March turned out to be a very busy month for us, and there will (hopefully) be a couple more posts coming soon to cover all of the month's events.

Andrew gave himself a haircut a few weeks ago. He took quite a few chunks, and cut close to the scalp, so that even though we gave him a buzz, you can still see how uneven it is if you look close.

Andrew also has been participating in a "TurboTots" gymnastics class. He had his first awards ceremony, also a few weeks ago. He really loves going to his gymanstics class, and has even decided that it is much more fun if you take your socks off. (It took him a while to be willing to part with his socks before class.) As a side note, I used a spa gift card Scott had given me for Christmas. I got a haircut (sorry don't have any pics right now), and a pedicure. But, I didn't know that the nail polish I picked couldn't be dried under the lamp, so I went to the award ceremony with the lovely disposable flipflops on- oops!

For my birthday, the kids were very concerned that Daddy hadn't taken them shopping. So I told them to go find some flowers (not a chance at this time of year!) or some other stuff from outside. A while later they came back in all excited and got out some of our gift-wrapping stuff (yes, we reuse bags, ribbons, etc.). And later that night, I received a lovely sparkly rock and a old, but shiny, rubber bouncy ball that had probably been outside at least all winter long. Eden also made her very own card with no help from me or Scott.

We also had our New Beginnings Program this month (a little late, I know). Our theme was "Each snowflake is unique, just like you!" (the program was originally going to be in February). I made these snowflake ornaments and we also made some really cool 3-D snowlfakes out of paper for decorations (I used an online tutorial), but of course I forgot to take a picture of those.

I do have some fun stuff to blog about, but wanted to put this up for anyone who may be interested before I forget or lose the link.

http://www.bhsu.edu/AboutBHSU/NewsEvents/tabid/3454/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1599/Date-set-for-24th-annual-Kevin-Whirlwind-Horse-Memorial-RunWalk.aspx

There will be a 5K (3 miles) and a 10K (6 miles) in Spearfish on Saturday, April 18th. Registration starts at 10am and the races start at 11am. Anyone want to carpool or train with me? I'd be happy to help out with training schedules/advice for those of you new to running!

25 Things

1. I got this tag on Facebook over a month ago. It has taken me that long to come up with 25 things, and I cheated (as you can see). I know most people know a lot of this, but I don't think anyone knows all of these things.

2. I'm tired of seeing this nearly every night of the week. I'm almost looking forward to Scott's deployment so I don't have to see it anymore. Trish used the term "anti-lifestyle", this is ours:

3. When he gets home he'll be done with his masters program, so I'll get to see this a lot more often.

4. I enjoy getting up early, as long as my kiddos are not also up early. This happens about as frequently as blue moons.

5. I have a few irrational fears. One is that my belly button will burst open when I'm hugely pregnant.

6. Another one is a fear of car washes, the ones that move the car through the tunnel on tracks. I loved them as a kid, but the first time I tried to use one as an adult, I ended up with a flat tire. I haven't been back since then.

7. I know how to change a flat tire, but I wasn't strong enough to loosen nuts on the hubcap, so Scott had to come rescue me.

8. I use cloth diapers most of the time.

9. I really love running. Enough that I went to the local running store and bought some things for running outdoors in the winter. I've actually done 9.5 miles with this stuff. I still have to use the treadmill at the gym quite a bit, since my boys wouldn't appreciate going for runs outside in winter like I do. I got two pairs of merino wool socks (very comfy!) and the traction devices (center), my mom made the earwarmer when I was in highschool or college.

10. I got 10 stitches in my forehead and a ambulance ride (not my idea) after a confrontation with a gate during an early morning jog along Pearl Harbor. One of the EMTs explained to me that jogging is not supposed to be a contact sport- really? I had no idea. ;p

11. I really wish I was a better liar so I could tell people it happened while surfing the North Shore or something else more impressive than the truth.

12. I do know how to surf, I even had my own board when we lived in Hawaii. I think everyone should try it.

13. It takes me a LONG time to be comfortable with new people in social settings. I'd rather give a 20-minute talk to group of strangers, than be expected to "mingle," "socialize," and "make conversation" with the same group of people.

14. I am slowly overcoming a related fear of talking on the telephone. I'd rather use email.

15. I'm not a very good bargain-shopper, I wish I were.

16. I also wish I knew how to dress myself 'cuter'/how to shop for clothes, and how to make my house prettier.

17. I am pretty good at online-shopping. What's not to love about cheap/free shipping and saving yourself a trip to the store with 2 or 3 kids in tow? And who doesn't love getting packages!

18. I've been in a shark cage, surrounded by sharks. It was very cool.

19. I was on the drill team in high school.

20. I play the piano OK, I play the guitar a little.

21. I was better at both when I was younger.

22. I was a TA for Genetics at BYU.

23. Before that I was custodian at the Wilkinson Center at BYU. I mostly set-up and took-down for events and cleaned the bathrooms.

24. I'd rather clean a public restroom than my own bathrooms. I think its something about the anonymity of public "blech" vs. knowing exactly who the "blech" belongs to.

25. I know Jesus lives and that He loves everyone, including me.