Happy Birthday, Mom!

Over the last few years I have written a lot about my dad, which I feel is understandable. It is time to talk about the amazing love of his life, my mother.

She is a perfect match for my dad because she, too, is so selfless and generous. She is always willing to give her time, money or whatever is necessary to anyone in need. She always writes thank you notes, sends letters, and is just the most thoughtful person I know.

She taught her daughters (and son!) how to love others. She is nonjudgmental and treats everyone she meets with kindness. She works for the local post office and knows everyone in our town. They all love her!!

She is the most beautiful, fun loving grandma I know. When she comes to visit, no one can believe she is my mom. ( I definitely look more like my dad!) She is so young and active and loves to play with my kids. They ask all the time when they can go to Grandma Nise's house. I love watching her with my kids, especially my little Emily. She is so kind and loves to send them surprises in the mail.

She has been my lifeline when I have had my babies. I was so disappointed when I had my first C-section and she came and really helped out. With #2 and #3 kid, I really enjoyed my hospital stay, knowing she was taking good care of the house and the other kiddos.

She was always such a great example to me of how to be a loving wife. She always spoke kindly to my dad, and when things were hard at the end, you never heard a word of complaint from her. She treated him so tenderly, it was one of the greatest blessings of my life to witness that love and care. Their marriage is so pure and beautiful and I am so grateful I was born into their family. She was married at 16, had my sister at 19, and it amazes me the maturity she must have had for how young she was! I don't think I truly appreciated this until I was married with children!

I was not an easy teenager and she showed me unconditional love, even when I didn't make the best choices. She always showed confidence in my ability to do the right thing and let me figure things out. She was extremely patient with me (and still is!) Having four teenage daughters so close together could not have been easy! I think she raised us very well!

So, mom, I wish I could be there with you today. I hope you know how much I love and adore and appreciate you and all you do. Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Wow, where to start? I think about my dad every day, but it seems lately I have been thinking about him even more. I was able to go to the temple with Jeff on Thursday night and that is where I feel the closest to him. I also thought about him a lot during my triathlon. I know he is the first one I would have called when I finished. I also know he would have told me he was proud. I sure miss my cheerleader!
I am trying to simplify my life so I can just enjoy it as he did. Today would have been his 57th birthday. It is still hard to believe he is gone. We had his favorite dinner (spaghetti- see what I said about simple!) and we talked about some of our favorite memories of him. I hope I am always able to keep his memory alive with my children. My goal is to pass on the amazing legacy he left with me and my sisters and my brother. He was an incredible man of strength, integrity, compassion, and of course humor! The main thing I want my kids to know about my dad is how kind he was. He never had a bad thing to say about anyone. I am doing all I can to follow that example. I miss you and I love you, Dad. Thanks for everything!

Our first triathlon

The "our" is me and Dallin! I asked Dallin a couple of weeks ago if he would like to take part in the kids' triathlon and he has been looking forward to it ever since. He tells everyone that he runs into that he is doing a triathlon. I will admit watching him was the highlight of the day! He did the race with 2 of the boys of the moms that I trained with! The 3 boys stuck together which was very cool! Emily was really cute and wanted to be a part of it also.

I have been training for 8 weeks for this race. I have done many running races, so I was surprised by how nervous I was getting. It just all seemed so unknown and complicated to me. First of all, I had to lose my fear of the bike. :-) (Oh yeah, I also had to buy a bike!) Then I had to start swimming laps. I also had to figure out what to wear that would go from the water to the bike to the run! So many details! The best part was that I had 4 good friends going through the process with me. We met up for many of the training days so I think we kept each other motivated. We even were able to practice swimming in a lake this past week.

So, to add to my craziness, the night before when I was supposed to be getting good rest, I was doing this with my cute family:
We had such a great time at Oaks Park, but we got home about 10:15. I know Jeff was not looking forward to getting up early with the kids. Thanks for being a good sport babe!

*Warning- long race report! You can skip to the bottom for the results!*

I woke up at 5am ready to go because I wasn't really sleeping anyway! I met up with my friends at 5:45 and we were on our way!

It was fun setting up my gear in the transition area. I tried to talk to the women next to me, I figured we would run into each other during the race, but I did not feel the love! From that point on, the race felt kind of lonely to me.

We started in the water and the first buoy looked so far away! When the gun went off, I thought, what am I doing? When I finally hit the first buoy I felt a little bit better. As I ran out of the water I saw my cute family and that motivated me to run faster to get my bike. :-)

I had no idea how long it had taken me, but later found out it was 20 minutes. I tried to get my socks and shoes on as fast as I could, grabbed my helmet and bike and took off. The bike route was along the Columbia River and beautiful! But again, it was somewhat lonely. Just me and my bike. I said good job to the bikers that flew past me. They are so fast! I enjoyed the bike ride and was able to go faster than on my normal bike rides, which I was happy about.

Now I was ready for my favorite part- the run! I took my helmet off and ran out of the transition area. It was only later that I realized I forgot to throw on my cute skirt. So, I ran in just the spandex. Oh well! I thought I was going the wrong way, but another runner reassured me I wasn't. I enjoyed the running route around the lake, but my legs were trashed! I kept wanting to pick up the speed, but my legs wouldn't budge any faster! I passed a few of the people who had passed me on the bike, so that was fun! I actually thought it was motivating to see the age numbers on the other runners' legs.

*Overall results: 20 minute swim(1/2 mile), 3 1/2 minute transition, 43 minute bike ride (12 miles), 1:51 transition, 25:48 run (5k). So, my total was 1:34! My goal was to finish in about 1:45, so I was very happy with my finish! I was 90th overall (out of 330), I was 20th in my age group (out of 64). My favorite stat was that I was in 148th place after the bike, and ended in 90th place after the run! I placed 34th out of 330 in the run!
It was a great experience, but I am not convinced yet to switch to the triathlon. I am still a true Marathon Mommy at heart. My next plan is to train with Jeff for a 10k in September. I am looking forward to just running again, with maybe a swim or bike thrown in every once in a while. The triathlon was a little too lonely for me, but I am glad I did it.

The hardest part of the race was seeing my amazing friend, running partner, and triathlete training partner, Molly, after the race. She was in tears and looked so frustrated. She had gotten a flat tire during the bike ride and was not able to finish her race. I was so disappointed for her because I definitely know what it feels like to not finish a race. It was of course not her fault, but it was difficult to put all that training in and not see the results. She was the one who kept encouraging me when I was getting nervous for this race. I really hope she will try another one and I will come cheer her on!! Love ya, Molly! You can make it through anything with good friends! This pic has me, Stephanie, Marnie and Molly. (We are missing Mindy in this pic because she had already left for Utah with her family!) Thanks ladies! I had an awesome time training with you. What's next?!

Memory Post

I am so excited about this. (So don't let me down- no pressure!)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.


This will be fun!

IV Real...

...my name is Kelly, and I have an almost 4 year old daughter who still isn't potty trained. Now that that's out of the way. I am a blogger who only blogs occasionally, mostly so my mom and mother in law can see pics of their grandkids and so I have some sort of journal! I have found when I only blog every few weeks, the only things that make it on the blog are the "cool" stuff. I decided I need to make sure I am also writing about my struggles. So, there you go.

Other than a few meltdowns (mostly by me, not the kids!), the last few weeks have been very enjoyable. This is the first summer where I have really stayed home most days. I have been very focused on getting my house in some sort of order and having the trampoline has helped entertain the little ones.

We only have one vacation planned this summer and we just got back! It was me and the 3 kiddos headed on a plane to CA. I was very anxious to see my family, and especially for my mom to see Bryce, since she hadn't seen him since he was 7 months old! He is at a very cute stage- the "toddling" stage. He walks about 10 steps and then resorts to crawling. Here is a recap of our week in the sun!

Pool- My aunt Marlynn's and her cute family. She has my dream backyard, and she is one of my favorite moms and a great example to me of the kind of mom I want to be.

Beach- First, I was able to see my awesome sis promoted to sergent! I am so proud of her! This was a very cool moment to be a part of. Then, we headed to the beach which is a mile from her house. The beach is my favorite place. It was also my dad's favorite place and reminds me of him, which I love. The kids played in the water, and Bryce really perfected his walking on the sand! My cool little brother taught the kids how to look for sand crabs. What a fun day.

Park- We love playing at the park next to my mom's work. We met up with a friend of mine and her kids, and Emily even met a new friend!

Fountains- Unfortunately we don't have pics from this day. I was able to meet up with 2 of my very best friends and their kids. The kids played in the fountains for hours while we chatted. It was wonderful catching up and being with friends who have known you forever. (And love you anyway!)

Lake- My mom was kind enough to take me and the kids to a lake near our home in the mountains. Dallin was able to go on his first real waterslide and Emily just played and played in the water. Bryce even took a little nap so I could go for a swim with a friend who is also training for a triathlon. Dallin had a blast hanging out with her boys. My brother's cute girlfriend ran into us and helped keep Emily happy. It was a very enjoyable day.

Beach- We went back to my sister's to hang out with the cousins. In the morning, I was able to go for a perfect 5 mile run along the beach. When I came back, the kids (and adults!) were still asleep, so I was able to take a shower. What an ideal way to start the day!

Legoland-I decided to brave taking 3 kids to Legoland! My friend Cherl was nice enough to join up with us for a few hours with her adorable children. After that we were on our own! The kids had a fabulous time. Dallin was just barely tall enough to not only ride by himself but also to take Emily with him as the "responsible" rider! My only complaint was that Bryce was not able to go on many rides, but he was a trooper and found ways to entertain himself! The splash park was a lot of fun and the Lego miniatures were incredible. Dallin was truly a daredevil on the roller coasters and Emily was thrilled to find princesses even at Legoland. This was a highlight of my motherhood memories, as there is nothing more precious to me than my children giggling out of sheer joy.

Visiting- I enjoyed the time I was able to spend with my mom, sister and brother and friends just talking and enjoying their company. I especially enjoyed the impromptu visit to my Grandma. I am embarrassed to say I hadn't really stopped to think about how much she must be hurting to have lost her son. It was wonderful talking with her about my dad and sharing some of those memories. It reminded me that I would really like to be closer to her in heart. I am going to really work on reaching out to her. (I love this pic of Emily- truly her!)


I had a wonderful time with my mom. I sure wish I could see her more often. I love you, Mom. Thanks for being such a great grandma. The trip went way too fast. Except for the plane ride home. I apologize to anyone who was on the plane with me. Yep, I had "that baby." You know, the one who screams nonstop.

We definitely missed Jeff while we were gone! He was able to take Dallin to a Red Sox game and they had a fabulous time. Jeff is so supportive of my visiting my family. If you need a reminder of just how supportive he is, check out my amazing birthday weekend. Love ya babe!
PS If you don't get the title of this blog, then you are not a true "So you think you can dance" fanatic like I am... (Crazy about Will getting voted off, isn't it?!)