PR

A few weekends ago I ran the Snow Canyon Half Marathon in St. George on Nov. 7th. This was my third half, and although I was not nearly as prepared for this one as I have been for the past two (I did not have the benefit of training with Saffron for this one), I was, for some reason unknown to myself, determined to make this one my new personal best.

It started out all too comfortable (I hope you can sense my sarcasm here, cause I'm layin' it on pretty thick) as the first handful of miles were complete DOWNHILL coming out of the canyon! So, by just before halfway through the race when the steep decline ended and my quads were about to snap in half, they decided to oh-so-nicely throw in some uphill/downhill combos for the rest of the race. I am not talking a couple of hills, people, I mean a hill around every bend until mile 13.1! So about mile 6 I realize that in order to make it in under 2 hours (my arbitrary goal that I had not trained for and have no idea when it materialized) I needed to make up time on each mile for the rest of the race. Without drawing out this already-very-detailed/unintriguing story any longer, suffice it to say I was just praying during that last mile that I would cross that finish line before injury occurred, as it wasn't a matter of "if" at that point. I could feel my calves tearing down, and in the coming days my calves definitely paid for that last mile. (Ryan lovingly "quacked" at me every time I entered the room the next 2 days, as I literally could not walk normal no matter how hard I tried, but could only waddle around.)

All complaining aside, I have to say that no matter how you feel when you are running down that last 200 meter stretch and you see that finish line up ahead and all the people cheering on the sidelines, you can't help but feel the adrenaline rushing through your body. At this point I always get pretty emotional as well. As I fight back the tears of pain, exhaustion, exhilaration, and delirium, I am thinking to myself, "And this is why I run!" Which is, in fact, quite ironic considering for the last two miles the only thing that has kept me going is the phrase I repeat over and over again in my mind..."You never, ever have to run one step again for the rest of your life if you just finish this race!"

At the end of the day, I had had a great weekend in St. George with my family and friends (Joy and Kerstin ran this race as well and both did amazing!), I had accomplished a great task I set out for myself, and although I did NOT finish in under 2 hours, I set a personal record by more than 10 minutes (also known as PRs in my track days) of

2:02:27!!

Salt Lake City Half Marathon 2010 you just better watch out, cause this girl is coming in at 1:59:59! Anyone care to join me?

Merry Halloween!

Approximate cost of materials for 3 coordinating costumes: $80

Approximate # of hours spent sewing costumes: 35

Lbs. of candy collected while delightfully skipping around the neighborhood in said costumes: 4

Look on neighbors' and friends' faces at the sight of Ryan dressed as a giant elf: PRICELESS

Happy Halloween!

The entire, merry family

The cutest gingerbread man I have ever laid eyes on

Will was an expert at passing out candy to the visiting trick-or-treaters. He has always been good at sharing. The only things he won't give up are suckers. They are his favorite!

We went to visit Aunt Ang, Aunt Jess, and Aunt Allison at work for the second year in a row. They have lots of tables with candy set up for trick-or-treaters and are always so fun to go visit!

Will hunting and gathering the lost nerds that he so charismatically dumped all over the floor. Can't just vacuum them up, apparently!

Witches and Pumpkins

We went to Gardner Village to visit the witches a few weeks ago, but Will's favorite part by far was the petting zoo! He got to walk right up to the goats, sheep, pigs, and ponies. He just got the hugest grin on his face when they let us in the gate and went running from animal to animal saying "hi" and petting them very gingerly before quickly moving on to the next. You can see in some of the pics how he would bend down to get at their eye level to say hello or make an animal sound to them. It was one of those moments, ya know? One that makes a mother think, "oh yeah, this is why it is so great to be a mom!"

Top left-Will getting on the pig's level to say hello; Top right-This is his snorting face; Bottom left-Baaa!; Bottom right-Checking out his favorite: the ducks

Left-He was so excited that the tiny little goats were just his size; Right-Pointing at his goat friend

My little artist painted his very own pumpkin all by himself, and shockingly it wasn't too messy!

Top Left-the boys doing the dirty work; Top Right-The results; Bottom Left-the girls and Graham; Bottom Right-I'm focusing people, don't bug me!

Little buddies...Happy Halloween!

(more pics of us in our costumes coming soon...)

Can We Build It? Yes We Can!

Progress on our basement has been great! We hired a contractor (Basement Creations) that we absolutely love, and things have gone really well. The quality of the work is very high and they have just flown through things in record time. After dealing with so many contractors in the past few years on other things that never do what they promise you, this contractor is like a breath of fresh air! It is hassle-free and just makes my life so much easier. Now, if they could erase the dust from every square inch of my house I would be in heaven! These pics are from awhile back and it is much farther along now, but I will post more pics when I take them.

Ry was hammering in a box and his sidekick, Bob the Builder, had to be just like dad.

Lovely sump pump in the corner, and Ryan is slave driving Will to hammer the next box.

A big hot mess, but you get the idea.

I have to admit I was a little ecstatic about my fireplace!

Zoo, Grave, and Our New Pool!

We were able to visit Hogle Zoo for Will's very first time with all of Ryan's family a few Saturdays ago. I claim that it was my first time as well, but my mom says I have been there and was just too little to remember. This summer there were lots of new babies born at the zoo, including the baby elephant (pictured) and baby giraffe!

We decided to get started on finishing our basement a few weeks ago, but since lots of neighbors have had flooding issues we decided to get an estimate of what waterproofing we would need to do before finishing to be safe. We really thought we were ok, but when they drilled the concrete out around our footings this is what they found (picture on right). Basically, we are sitting on our very own underground pool, about 9 inches away from our basement floor! Fun, right? We never even knew our homebuilder was so generous to include a pool in our home and not even charge us for it.

The picture on the left shows Ry digging up our yard to bury the pipe for the french drain/sump pump system we had to put in to clear out the river under the basement. Now we have a lovely little pipe drilled into our curb that drains all the water from under our house into the street.

Since we haven't been to Vegas in over a year now, I decided that a trip was long overdue. We were able to go a few weekends ago and visit one of my very best friends, Liz, and her family, my grandparents, and my father's grave. We stayed with Liz and Jes, and they are always so sweet and hospitable when we come. We were also able to go to lunch with Jenny, Emily, Rebecca, and Alexis. Unfortunately I only got pictures at the cemetery and not of anything else the whole weekend! Will loved watching the ducks in the pond at the cemetery so much that he almost jumped right in to catch them. He loves ducks, which is fun because I have loved ducks ever since my dad used to call me "Baby Duck".

Long Overdue...

...for a new post so here we go!

Summer Fun

Top Left-Will enjoying his brand new "Cars" table and chairs that he, of course, absolutely loves since it is just his size. I brought it home and he had to have dinner on it that night, so daddy joined him.

Top Right-Will & the neighborhood boys enjoying the giraffe pool that Uncle Joey gave to us.

Bottom Left-Our ward got tickets to the Orem Owlz game for our ward summer activity.

Bottom Middle-I was able to watch my friend Chrissy's kids all day one day so we all went to the Thanksgiving Point Children's Discovery Gardens along with Jacquelynn and her little girl, Anna. We splashed in the water around Noah's Ark and explored for hours. It was a little tiring, but a really fun way to spend a day with friends!

Bottom Right-Will's first time on a pony ride! We have a pass to Thanksgiving Point and really have been enjoying all the fun activities they have. This is at Farm Country and Will held on so tight that I didn't even need to hold him. I kept saying, "Hold on tight!", so he had a death grip on the saddle. It was adorable!

The Many Adventures of Mr. Will

Left-one day I sat Will in his high chair with some grapes to keep him occupied while I finished doing my hair. After quite a few minutes of no whining, which is rare these days, I thought I better go make sure he was ok. When I walked in the room this is what I found. No wonder he was such a little angel. Apparently he was occupied in a game of grape toss.

Right-We are finishing our basement and have contractors in and out all the time now, so we pulled out the kennel cause I have to have Rusty in it quite a bit during the day since he can't be in the backyard with the gate open. Will's new favorite thing is to entice Rusty into the kennel with him, then shut the door and just crack up! Rusty isn't too fond of this game of squished wrestling in a cage, but Ry did manage to grab a quick snapshot before we freed the poor pup. It was quite hilarious!

Sweet Smiles

My little Will thinks it is the funniest thing when I fake dropping something and it hits the floor. I know I can always get him to giggle for a picture by doing this, and I just love hearing his cute little belly laugh! I know it won't be very long before he grows up and thinks mom isn't funny anymore, so I really cherish these moments in my day when I just look and his smiling face and think how lucky I am to be a mother.

Labor Day Camping

We got invited by some friends in our ward to go camping up Cottonwood Canyon for Labor Day. There were 4 families with 13 kids in all! It was so much fun to be able to have Will around a bunch of other kids all weekend and just be able to hang out and play in the dirt. On Sunday we were able to go home to be at my nephew, Austin, and Ry's niece, Addison's, blessings. Ry was actually able to bless Addison. They were both great experiences and it was so fun to see both of our families in one day. Then we headed back up the canyon for another night by the campfire. It was a busy but relaxing weekend!

Sleepover

So I am really bad at forgetting my camera and/or remembering my camera then forgetting to take pictures, then in one weekend I take as many pictures as I have the entire year. A couple weekends ago we went with some of our closest friends and their 2 boys up to Midway to spend the night at Zermatt and just have fun staying up all night catching up, eating junk food, and watching me kick Rob's butt in some good card playing (as usual). While the boys (all 5 of them) fell asleep before we could get any good card action in, we did manage to have fun at dinner and the pool before they hit the sack. And of course, Stacie and I did manage to stay up until at least 2 am talking while Ry and Rob snoozed right next to us, even though Stacie was right back up again a couple hours later to feed her little Graham (she's a champ!)

All the boys at dinner. Will and Austin were loving the salt shaker. Austin would pour it in Will's outstretched hand, then they would both just crack up, as seen in bottom right pic.

Messing around at Zermatt. We had adjoining rooms with Rob and Stacie so it was nice to put the boys to sleep in one room then step into the other to hang out.

At the pool. The semi-disturbing picture in the right middle is proof of Rob having fun with a water camera. Pretty cool shot though if you ask me, albeit somewhat scary.

The next morning we woke up and took the boys to feed the goats and ride the merry-go-round. Then we hit park city to go shopping at the outlets, of course, and Ryan and Will found an apparently awesome Kermit ride for Will while I finished up the shopping.

After shopping Rob and Stacie went home to get some sleep, and we decided to take Will to ride the Alpine Slide. I was a little nervous about riding the chair lift up since he never sits still for a second, but we survived and had tons of fun! Of course Ry insisted that Will ride with him down the slide, and they totally beat me, but I blame it on the extra weight and not that I am a total chicken!

After the Alpine Slide we let Will ride in the airplanes at the little kiddie carnival that they have next to the chair lifts.

I had more fun this weekend than I have in a very long time. It was so great to be able to spend some much needed time with great friends. We love you guys so much and are so glad to have such awesome friends in our lives!

Five Years!

I can't even believe I am saying this, but Ry and I have now been married for 5 years! We are getting so old. This is the first year it seems like we haven't gone on a trip for our anniversary, but we decided to stick around home and save some money and just go out for a nice dinner. We went to Tuscany for dinner and then to a movie, which it seems like we never do anymore with little Will around, so that was quite the treat! Ryan's sister Jessica was kind enough to come watch Will while we partied until midnight.

I think my favorite part of the day was when Will came walking up the driveway to me holding the roses below that Ryan had handed to him. Those flowers, I have to say, were the most beautiful flowers Ryan has ever given me to date! They were so thick and full and just kept blossoming more and more for a few weeks! Plus they were my absolute favorite color, so I'd say he did a pretty great job.

The Loves of My Life & a Life-Changing Experience

So I have found another love in my life...quilting! This is my very first ever quilt I actually just finished the binding on, but I don't have the quilt right now to take a picture of so this is the best the blog is going to see of it. I signed up for a beginning piecing class and this is what I made. It is just a random pieced quilt, and there are a few things I would change about my fabric placement, etc, but I love it any way. I am taking another class right now that has you do a few blocks each month for an entire year and the finished product is a surprise. I have always loved to sew, but quilting is where it's at!!

So one day I set Will in his booster chair to eat some oatmeal for breakfast and went in the office to send a few emails, and this is what I came back to find...oatmeal everywhere and totally mesmerized by cartoons.

Apparently he thinks standing on the counter is approved in our house. I guess by the fact that I was standing there taking a picture of him doing it instead of telling him to get down he's right.

Ah the little trouble maker. I think this one needs no explanation. Let's just say we love the Magic Eraser around our house (I don't mean on his face though!)

Ry's 29th birthday! Our friend Sarah was super cute and when she found out we didn't have any decorations for his birthday party we were having, she brought over some leis and balloons. Ry and I also always do the traditional breakfast in bed for each other. I can't wait until next year and the big 3-0! I'm already getting psyched up to make fun of him all year for that one!

The other week we went with one of my best friends Jacquelynn (and Anna) to the Gateway for the kids to play in the fountains.

Our ward was lucky enough to be able to take our youth to Martin's Cove for pioneer trek a few weeks ago. I remember wanting to go as a youth, but I can't remember why I missed ours. Since Ry is in the YM, we were able to go as a Ma & Pa. I was so excited to get to go! Especially since I was only able to be a leader in YW for about 6 months before being pulled out, and I miss those girls! This was truly a life-changing experience for me. I don't think words can express any of the feelings I felt within those short, three days. Suffice it to say that we were able to walk on hallowed ground and traverse the paths of those who lived through a miraculous experience, as well as many others who didn't. We have an absolutely amazing bishopric who were all there, as well as some fantastic leaders. I can't even describe how fun all these adults are. Then there were the youth. I don't know if I have ever come across a more remarkable group of youth in my life. They never complained. They never gave up. When it got tough, they pushed harder. They bore witness of Christ and the truthfulness of the Gospel. They are inspirational to me. We have such a close bond with those in this ward. I will always remember this trip and those who died for me to know of the truthfulness of this Gospel and have it in my life today. I walked in honor of Sarah Ann Franks, a pioneer who was in the Martin Handcart Company with no other family besides her fiance, George, who died in the cove and was hung in a tree in her shawl when they had to leave the cove. As we walked out of the cove, tears filled my eyes as I thought of Sarah. I kept saying to Ryan that I don't know how she ever left that place. I just kept looking behind me at all the beautiful trees, wondering which was George's tree. I will always have a special place in my heart for Sarah. I know the Lord walked with her the day she left that cove. I know that because of her sacrifice, I can know the truth today. In a way, I owe so much to her. Thank you Sarah Ann Franks. This moment is in memory of you.

Lake Powell & Timp Cave

I am so close to catching up to real time in my pictures I can taste it!

Ry has this incredible extended family that have invited us to Lake Powell the last 2 years on their awesome houseboat. We went the last week in June, and my wonderful mother and stepfather were kind enough to watch Will for us so we could have a baby-free week of wakeboarding, boating, and just soaking up the sun!

It was Kathy's birthday while we were there, so we decorated the houseboat and threw her a little party, complete with fireworks and all (Thanks to Glen!)

One of the last days we all hopped on jet skis and rode as a group up through this little canyon. The group picture here shows everyone who went on that jet ski ride together.

For the 4th of July Ry and I took Will and hiked up to Timp Cave. It was so fun having him home from work on a Friday to do stuff with us! The hike up was gorgeous, even though we were truckin' up there as fast as we could cause I thought our tour time on the tickets said 11:40, but it really said 12:40 so we had to wait an hour before going in when we got there! We booked it up there in like 30 minutes, which is super fast, especially when Ry had a toddler on his back! I think it takes most people around an hour...haha...joke's on us!

I had no idea how cool Timp Cave is! I especially liked the chocolate/caramel falls in the bottom right corner, as well as the heart-shaped stalagmite in the picture next to it. The heart was the largest stalagmite in the cave. I can't remember if she said it weighed 100's or 1000's of pounds, but it was HUGE!