School's Out for Summer!

We are (at least I am!) enjoying having no where that we "have" to be. This will be a long update, but hopefully you will enjoy the pictures!

First off, our trip to the beach was fantastic!

Good friends, beautiful weather, and a great marathon. What more can you ask for? I ran the race with SuziePetunia and our other good friend Smith, and my really good friends Melissa and Aaron came down to cheer me on.

I still have not qualified for Boston, but I am within 8 minutes!! My plans right now are to relax, train for a triathlon, and then maybe next year try for Boston again. A more detailed race report is on Marathon Mommies.

We built sand castles on the beach, watched baby seals, walked on the rocks and just enjoyed nature and being outside.





























































First on the list after finishing school- a family race! We ran in the Nike 5k for Kids, which gives the money back to the PE program of your school. I had planned to run the 5k, with Dallin, Jeff and Emily running the 1 mile kids race. Well, at the last minute Jeff was given the chance totake part in the "Blackberry Challenge" a kind of 1 day amazing race. So, we had a friend of ours come help with the kids while I ran in my 5k. Then I ran in the 1 mile with the kids, pushing Bryce! We had such a good time. It was so much fun to run with the kids. My race went really well also. Amazingly enough, my time was fast enough to get 3rd place in my age division. The best part was the look on Dallin's face when they called my name. I went up to get my plaque and Dallin yelled, "Yea Mommy!" When I asked Dallin his favorite part of the day, he said it was when I got my award. So sweet! And so you know, Jeff had a fun time in his race also.















Dallin graduated from Kindergarten! He had a great year, and I am so glad that he enjoys learning so much. His teacher was phenomenal, I just hope she is still there in 3 years when Emily is in Kindergarten. The bad news is my camera ran out of batteries, so the only picture I have is from the end of year party.






















Our first big adventure of the summer was a camping trip. It was raining and cold the weekend before, so we were a little nervous. It turned out to be beautiful weather. It was a little cold at night, and the water in the lake was freezing, but we had a great time!! What beats s'mores, waterskiing, bike riding, and just hanging out- no TV, internet, etc. I love watching the kids just be kids. Also a nice surprise was how happy Bryce was. It was a very enjoyable Father's Day Weekend with great friends! We also celebrated Suziepetunia's birthday! She was such a good sport. Camping has not been on the top of her list, but she was willing to give it a try. I think (hope) she had a great time. It was fun to spend her birthday with her and her cute family.


















































Finally, we are caught up to this weekend! Friday was spent at the park and then strawberry picking. Dallin was a man on a mission, picking only the biggest, reddest strawberries. Emily had a great time filling her bucket, and Bryce just enjoyed the fruits of their labor! I spent Saturday morning making jam, and we were given a freezer, so I finally have somewhere to store berries!Oregon is the best place for picking berries!

































Friday night, we ventured out to the drive-in. I was a little nervous, but I thought it was worth a try. We met up with 3 families, who actually live on our street, and we set out chairs and just hung out until 10pm when the movie started! (That's what we get for going on the longest day of the year!) We saw Kung Fu Panda, which everyone loved, and then the kids (and me!) fell asleep during Indiana Jones! We got home at 2am, but we had a great time. Bryce even slept through both movies!

































Yesterday, after making jam, we just cleaned up around the house, and then Suziepetunia and her family came over. It was an impromptu get together, that started with a little idea that we take turns going on a run. So, Taylor and Sarah went first and then Jeff and I went for a beautiful run through the country back roads. It was hillier than both of us are used to, and it was hot (which I am not used to!) but it was a great way to spend time together. When we got back Jeff grilled awesome burgers, and Taylor made this scrumptious strawberry shortcake! We also played a little guitar hero!





























Well, wow, I am tired and I am sure you are tired from reading this. I am ready to go back to relaxing. We are looking forward to a quiet, fun summer.

Enjoy the Moments

I want to capture some moments of my life. Emily is quite the talker. (I have no clue where she gets that from!) Her conversations and thought process crack me up! I want to try to write more down! Today in the car:

Emily- I want to tell Mrs. Sharp something. Where is she?
Me- We will see her at the play. What do you want to tell her?
Emily- Something.
Me- Something about what?
Emily-Something about Jesus.
Me- What about Jesus?
Emily- That he loves her.
It was so sweet!



Dallin's school put on the play Peter Pan and it was very cute.

Bryce is finally feeling better and it is so nice to see him smiling and giggling!

Dallin will read to Emily now and I love it!

That's all. Nothing huge, and that's how I like it!

We are heading to the beach this weekend and I can't wait!

The most important things in life aren't things...

Pull up a chair, grab some popcorn, this is going to be a long update! These last 2 weeks have been part wonderful and part extremely difficult. We have been making memories, and enjoying wonderful weather and then having moments we want to forget and having crummy weather! So, first for the good times:

Going along with the good weather, we took our boat out for a spin! We didn't get out on the boat much last summer and I hope this summer to use it more. We love to bring other families, so for all you locals who read my blog, let me know when you want to come play on our boat! It is usually a last minute invite, and we might ask you to hold a baby or a flag, but I guarantee a good time! All my kids have loved boating, even as a baby, and Bryce didn't cry, but he also didn't seem too sure about it yet! The water was freezing, but I had a great ski run!

We have been playing and visiting with friends and neighbors. We have been able to splash in the pool, play with chickens, and just enjoying great conversation. I love that in the summer everyone comes out of the woodwork! I love park days!



We have a new addition to our backyard, and I look forward to many hours of watching my kids out the window playing on this!

Jeff has been working hard in the yard replacing our front yard. The kids have had fun helping them. We planted a vegetable garden and look forward to eating from it, if I can get anything to grow!


We enjoyed a Saturday at the river watching boat races. It was supposed to be a rainy day and turned out beautiful!


We have been able to talk with family on Skype. It has been so fun for us and the kids to talk with cousins and grandparents! Thank goodness for technology.

Bryce turned 1!! I would say that this year has gone by quickly, but honestly it hasn't! Many things have happened this year that will not be soon forgotten, and I am so grateful to have Bryce in my home and family. I am going to do a post just about him, but for now just know we love this little munchkin! His birthday was in the middle of the week that I want to forget. So, here goes!

On Tuesday, Bryce woke up with a fever and Emily told me she didn't feel well. At about 10am, after spending the first few hours of the morning with one of both of them in my arms, they both fell asleep. I checked on Emily and she was a little warm. I went into the other room to send out an email canceling Bryce's birthday for the next day and to try to find someone to work for me that night. I heard Emily coughing in the other room and it just didn't sound right. I went over and saw a sight no parent should see. She was convulsing and foaming at the mouth. I dialed 9-1-1 immediately and then ran next door to my neighbor's because I knew I couldn't be alone. The ambulance arrived about 7 minutes later at which time she had finally stopped shaking. She still wasn't responding to me, but was breathing and her vital signs were good. We went to the ER and Jeff was able to meet me there. She finally recognized me and was of course miserable as they poked and prodded her. They ran many tests to find out exactly what was happening. They have determined it is a febrile seizure(fever induced) but we are having an MRI done just to be sure. She was doing much better by the next day, but then on Thursday she woke up throwing up. Not a fun day again. I am just so grateful she is doing well. Bryce is still somewhat sick, but I feel more out of the woods. We have amazing friends and neighbors who helped out with the kids and meals while we were in the ER. We have been so blessed!

I love being a mom so much, even during the hard times. I feel even closer to Emily and I hope I can be more patient with her. I was a little more upset about the tulips than I realized. My little brother asked, "What's the big deal?" And, he is right! These beautiful tulips were delivered to my door by a wonderful girl, Charity, who I have met through Marathon Mommies. It brightened my whole day and reminded me the most important things are our relationships. With our spouses, parents, children, family, and friends. I hope my kids will always know how important they are to me.

I will laugh about this later...

....the last of my Tulips. Emily was nice enough to pick this one whole and put it in the vase. (It really is that long. :-))












As for the other ones...














...they are gone! As I was working hard trying to get the house clean and organized (and doing Monday laundry), Emily was picking flowers. I looked out the window while I was doing dishes and my usual view of the tulips (my favorite thing this time of year) was gone! This is what I was left with.


I went to find Emily and this is what I found.














I was very upset and tried to handle myself calmly, but I will admit it was not pretty. I definitely became Mean Mommy. I really do not like when Mean Mommy rears her ugly head. The rest of the day did not go much better, I am sad to say. Emily refused to eat dinner and peed on our newly reupholstered dining room chair. (Lucky for her, not too much pee!)

She ended up going to bed early and eventually I did go in and talk to her about her day- just me- no Mean Mommy. I am just at a loss of what to do with her sometimes. She can be the sweetest little girl in the world, but if she doesn't want to do something- there seems to be nothing I can do to change her mind.

Today, I am remembering all the things I love about her. Most importantly, how grateful I am for her. We had a scare a few months ago where she went into shock for about 20 minutes and couldn't speak. I have never been so scared in all my life. The thought of never hearing her cute little voice just broke my heart. I do love her so much, and I love having conversations with her. I hope tomorrow goes better, and I hope I can have the patience I need to show her the love she needs.

Never, ever give up...

That is the lesson I learned this weekend. Not exactly the lesson I was going for. I was hoping to learn the, "If you work really hard, you will reach your goals" lesson. Things don't always turn out as planned, even with all the good luck wishes from my sweet kiddos and friends. In case you couldn't tell I am talking about the Salt Lake Marathon. I was not able to qualify for Boston, but I was able to prove to myself that I can stick with something even when I want to quit. I also was able to cross the finish line with one of my best friends and beat my best marathon time by 3 minutes.

In spite of this little disappointment, we had a fantastic weekend with family and friends. What a special time to share with Jeff's parents as they are preparing to leave on a mission. It was wonderful to be with the whole family. My sister Shelly was kind enough to spend the day with me and then watch my kids so that Jeff and I could go to the temple with all of his brothers and sisters and their spouses and his parents. It was a very special experience. Thanks, Shelly.

Before the marathon, we had a pre-race party with the awesome women from our blog. How fun to finally meet many of them and hear their stories. So inspiring! One of my favorite teachers from high school flew into town to run the first few miles of the marathon with me. It was very cool! One of my great friends met me a few places along the course and that meant so much to me, especially when things were going tough. At the finish line, Shelly surprised me with bringing along one of my best friends from high school , Amy. (Shelly I need to get some of the pics from you!!)





I would like to update more, but it is TV turnoff week, and that means the computer. So, here are a few pics for now and I will see you in a week!!


What a beautiful, wonderful family I was lucky enough to marry into. I love all of them! We will miss you Grandma Di and Grandpa Mel!

Can I live at the mall?

Those of you who know me well know that this is not a question I would normally ask. I am not a big shopper and I only go a couple of times a year. But...
to see how happy Bryce is in their play area I would go every day!

He is such a sweet boy, but he has been my toughest baby so far. He is never far from me and cries when I set him down. There are few moments where he actually just "plays." The good news is that I have had lots and lots of cuddle time with him and I have just tried to enjoy it, knowing it won't last forever.

But today, I was in heaven. I had only planned on dropping in on this play area for a few minutes after a birthday party. I ended up staying an hour and a half, and Bryce was smiling and giggling the entire time. He crawled through the tunnels and played with his brother and sister. He never climbed on my leg once. It was pure joy.

(And isn't his first haircut so cute?)
Man, I love this kid!
"...recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments." M. Russell Ballard, this past conference April 2008

Righteous Traditions

As we have been listening to Conference, one of the talks that stood out to me was the one about righteous traditions. This is something I think about a lot, and now I am ready to act on it! I do feel we have some great traditions, but I feel that it is time for more. I love seeing and hearing about the traditions that other families have. I really feel traditions are the way to bind families together. So, I would love to hear some of your favorites and I will adopt the ones that will work for us! Here are some pictures from one of my favorite Easter traditions. When Dallin was 1 year old, we had an Easter brunch with 2 other families who each had one child. We had wonderful food, easter egg hunt, and good conversation. 5 years later the tradition is still going strong. All of us look forward to this part of Easter. I also love Easter because it is less commercial than Christmas. I feel we are really able to focus on the resurrection as the meaning of Easter. My kids love the Easter Egg hunt for the eggs with the scripture story in them.

This was not the picture I envisioned of the kiddos, but is it ever?! :-)

Here is the whole group now. My how we have grown!

Here is one of the pictures from the first brunch we had! So cute!

So, I have decided that I want my blog to take the place of my family scrapbook. So, I will be adding in dates and pictures from earlier this year, just because it is my blog and I want to! This also means that I am going to try to blog each Sunday. Hold me to this!

I'm Defying Gravity...

Yep, I am still on a "Wicked" kick. I know I still need to post my Easter pictures, but I just had to record my experience today. I had the most AMAZING run this morning. It has been 10 months since I started running after having Bryce, and this was the first run that felt "easy." Those of you who aren't runners, I promise there is a point you reach where running actually feels good! I started off with two good friends and then let them go ahead and do a faster run and it was just me and my music. The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight (rare for Oregon!) and it was a deep, beautiful blue. I could see Mt. Hood in the distance for much of the run and felt the peace that comes from knowing I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and created this beautiful place for His children.

Running has been the perfect escape for me and time to be by myself. I have needed this more than ever in these past 3 months. I thought running would fall by the wayside as I have struggled with my emotions, but it has been my release and my comfort. I hadn't planned on trying to qualify for Boston just yet, but everything has been coming together and I have decided to go for it. I have been working harder than I have ever worked before and I am so happy with the results. 3 days a week of speedwork has been tough, and I don't always want to be doing it, but I love how I feel when I am finished!

I am not a "natural" runner, in fact in high school I was the slowest one on the cross country team. But since I have had children I have found my passion is setting goals and accomplishing them. Running is a great place to do this because you are only competing with yourself. I have had an awesome network of running friends who have encouraged me and supported me, both in my running and in my life. (Sometimes those 2 things are one and the same!) I have a very supportive husband who has let me focus on this aspect of my life. I have loved proving to myself that I can stick with something so completely. No more giving up because I am not the best at it. This has translated to so many other areas of my life. So, here I am. In 2 1/2 weeks, I will get to possibly make a dream come true. Does this scare me? Of course. But, I am so excited about the prospect! As I hit mile 4 of my run today, this song came on. How can these words not inspire you?! (It helps that I just saw the amazing performance of this song and it was my favorite part of the play!)



Something has changed within me.
Something is not the same.
I'm through with playing by the rules of someone elses game.
Too late for second-guessing.
Too late to go back to sleep!
It's time to trust my instints.
Close my eyes, and leap!
It's time to try defying gravity.
I think I'll try defying gravity, and you can't pull me down!

'm through with accepting limits,
'Cuz someone says they're so!
Some things I cannot change,
but 'till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
loosing love, I guess I've lost!
Well, if thats love, it comes at much to high a cost!
I'd sooner buy defying gravity
Kiss me goodby!
I'm defying gravity, and you can't pull me down!


So, on April 19th, please be thinking of me. The hardest part for me will be not being able to call my father, the first person I always called after a race, and my biggest cheerleader. However, there is no question in my mind that he will be there cheering me on. I hope to make him proud!