Favorites

I've abandoned the idea of posting my "Friday" favorites because realistically it just won't happen every week. But I still want to post a few of my favorites whenever I just can't contain myself about something.

One of my absolute favorite things is something I use every single day - my Clarisonic! One of my friends told me about it last year (thank you Shauna!) and I got one for my birthday last January. The inventor of the Sonicare toothbrush used the same technology to create a sonic face brush that you use to clean your face. It is awesome! My face feels so clean when I use it. Look at these pictures from their website:

The website says you get 6x more makeup removal using the Clarisonic (vs. manual cleansing). It sure feels like it! It also helps exfoliate your skin so products can absorb better. Check out more at their website. If you have been thinking about getting one and it's in the budget - do it!!!

A Pint-Sized Perspective

I wish I was better at recording some of the cute, crazy things that come out of my kids mouths. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

#1: Ella, a month before we had Chase

Ella: "Mom, I know how you can get your tummy flat again in 2 weeks after you have the baby!"

Me: Silent...wondering where this is coming from since I never talk about weight or size around her, even while pregnant. Curious. "Oh, really?"

Ella: "Yah! I saw this thing on TV and you sit on it and move your bottom side-to-side and in 2 weeks you can have a flat stomach."

I came to find out later she was talking about the "Ab Circle Pro" off an infomercial. I'm tempted to check it out.



#2 - Ella, driving in the car this summer

Ella: "Mom, do we have any jeans that we can sell?"

Me: "Uhhh...why?"

Ella: "Because we could take them to Plato's Closet."

Me: What???? "Plato's Closet, why?"

Ella: "Because I really want to go there."

Me: What???? "Why?"

Ella: "Because they "have the hottest styles of jeans!"" (verbatim from the radio ad)


#3 - Finn, right after we had Chase

One morning as I was nursing Chase, Finn came over very curious to what I was doing. I told him I was feeding Chase milk.

Finn: "Oh, Chase is drinking milk from mommy's belly button"

So You Think You Can Dance Shocker

So last night as I was feeding Chase, I pulled up my DVR to watch So You Think You Can Dance. They are still in the auditioning part of the show and last night's episode they were in Salt Lake. Yeah! I love seeing footage of the mountains and the city there.

Shortly into the show this red-headed "burlesque" dancer shows up to audition. Oh yah, I remember the preview about her from last week's episode - she's basically going to strip for the judges, including a little chair dance. Seems pretty desperate to me.

Before her audition there's a short little highlight of her. She's saying she dances in a local burlesque show in Salt Lake City and is trying to bring a little Vegas to SLC and that she might show the judges " a little somethin-somethin' they haven't seen before." As she's talking I'm thinking there's something about her but I don't know what... then her audition starts and I see her name.

Oooooohhhhh my! She used to be one of my beehives in Young Women (our church youth program) about 8 years ago. Huh, I've thought about her from time to time over the past few years. I'll occasionally drive by her old house and wonder what ever happened to her since her family moved 7 or so years ago. Burlesque never crossed my mind. I do remember her mom driving her all the way to some performing arts school in downtown Denver. Guess it paid off for her :) although it's probably not how her parents envisioned her to develop her talents.

I won't spoil the outcome of her audition for all you bloggers that haven't watched it yet. You'll have to check it out for yourself - although you may just want to skip it, especially if your kids or hubby are around. I will say that Nigel enjoyed the audition which did not come as a surprise to Mary Murphy or Mia Michaels or me.

Cake Balls

Last spring we had a Stake Primary Leadership Meeting for church and our message was tied into gumballs and balloons, so we wanted a "round" dessert to stick with the theme. So I found this recipe for cake balls (and cake pops) from Bakerella and we went cake ball crazy!

They are so easy to make and the options for creativity are limitless! I've had a few people ask, so here is the recipe:

Cake Balls

1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate candy melts (you can find these in the "candy" aisle at Michaels, JoAnns or Hobby Lobby)

You can use basically any flavor of cake mix and then a complementary frosting. Eg. chocolate cake and chocolate frosting, red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting, lemon cake and white frosting, etc.... And then for the candy melts there are tons of different colors, so go crazy with them!

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can frosting. (1 can may be too much, so start with 1/2 to 2/3 first. You don't want it too "gooey". Also, I found it easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)

4. Freeze until firm.

5. Melt candy melts in microwave per directions on package. (I also only melt a few pieces of the chocolate at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.)

6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra. I found it easier to slide them off of the spoon with a knife) If you want to make cake pops. Make sure to put them on the stick before rolling them in chocolate and also ensure you get chocolate down near where the stick meets the cake ball. This will help keep the cake pop from sliding off the stick.

7. If desired, sprinkle with sprinkles before chocolate cools. You can also drizzle a different color of candy melt over the top.

An "aerial" shot of the cakeballs. So colorful!

We made 8 different kinds of cakeballs and used a different color of coordinating candy melt for each one. We had a few "menus" posted so people would know what they were getting. I think the favorites were chocolate, of course, and then the lemon and third maybe red velvet.

Check out Bakerella's website for all of her amazing, creative ideas for cake balls and pops. Any of you overachieving, ambitious moms out there (I know a lot of you!!!) might love the Halloween Cake Pops for your kids Halloweens parties!

More Chase

Chase is 8 weeks today. I cannot believe it! Even though I can't remember life before him and I do feel like the last eight weeks have been a fog, it is going way too fast. He's been such a sweet little addition to our family and his arrival has made our family seem closer. My favorite are the times in the evening or on the weekend when we all end up on the couch or our bed and we just all ooh and aah over Chase. Such a big impact by such a little person!

3 days old and not too happy about his first bath

1 week old

3 weeks old

5 weeks old

Chase is Here!

It's been nine - NINE - months since my last post. Wow - nearly a year! So much has happened. Most notably, the arrival of our new family member. I just realized I never even mentioned on my blog that we were expecting. I just can't get it together when I'm pregnant, so I'm not surprised that I did nothing with my blog - or even look at anyone else's - my entire pregnancy. I am sorry that I have neglected everyone's blogs. I look forward to catching up!

So, yes, we had an adorable little baby boy, Chase, on August 11th. I went into my labor on my own in the middle of the night and he was born at 8:44 in the morning after a really quick easy delivery. The best part is that I was able to avoid having a c-section which just happened to be for later that day. I'm still doing the happy dance about that!!! (Video of said happy dance to be posted at a later date...)

So, here's a few photos of our sweet little guy in the hospital. I love the little scowl on him in the picture above. He was born with that cute little scowl and it's his signature expression - that or raised eyebrows and wide eyed.

I look a little dazed and confused - could have been the "all-nighter" in labor

Ella & Finn meeting their little brother for the first time

First family photo with little Chase

Friday Favorites

Happy New Year! Well, there goes another month without a post. This is in part to a broken computer, the holidays, illness, company, etc. I know, I have every excuse in the book, don't I! Well, here are my favorites this week.

1. Beautiful January weather - Yesterday we had a high of 66 degrees here! I went for an afternoon run outside and ended up having to take my jacket off and run in just my tank top. It was so warm and beautiful. Love that about Colorado weather - you never know what you're going to get.

2. Apple Time Capsule - So, as I mentioned earlier, we had a bunch of computer problems in December. One day, out the blue, our computer just shut down and wouldn't boot up again. After 3 trips into the apple store and 10 days later, we finally got it fixed! It ended up that our hard drive just crashed and we lost EVERYTHING on our computer. Luckily, we had a backup, so we didn't end up losing any data. A few months ago we had a computer scare, thinking we had lost info, so we bought the Apple Time Capsule. It is a wireless external hard drive (that also doubles as a cable modem) that we have set to backup everyday. It has a huge hard drive, it's small, it's sleek and I love that it does double duty. Clearly, it is worth its weight in gold. I would highly, highly, recommend this to any Mac owners!!!

Short post today, I'm working on sorting through the gazillions of pictures I took over the holidays so I can get those posted soon!

Friday Favorites

My Friday favorites are a few days late, but here they are anyway. In light of the holidays and all the tempting treats that abound, and my sweet daughter's very astute observations, my favorites this week are things that I love that help combat all those calories!

1. The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger - I saw this cookbook at Costco earlier in the year and was interested by it, so I checked it out of the library, tried a few recipes then went back to Costco and bought it. I had never heard of her but Ellie Krieger hosts a show, "Healthy Appetite", on the Food Network. Her recipes are old favorites, redone in a more healthy way. She uses good, fresh ingredients and her recipes are fairly simple and fast. Also, the nutritional info is calculated out for each recipe. We have not tried a recipe yet that my family did not enjoy. Some of the favorites at my house have been the Steak Tacos with Cucumber-Avocado Salsa and the Turkey Meatloaf (I know you're thinking - meat loaf, gross - but it was really good and I do not like meatloaf!).

2. My ipod shuffle - A few months back Finn broke my nano. So, not having a new nano in my budget, I decided to get the cheapest ipod I could and ponied up $50 for a shuffle. I just simply cannot survive with some good workout tunes. Can I just say I could kiss the little rugrat for destroying my nano! I LOVE my shuffle. I love that it has a little clip so I can clip it anywhere I want, pants, jacket, shirt, front, back or side. It is so tiny and convenient I completely forget I have it. And since I really only listen to it when I workout I don't miss the display one little bit. I have it loaded up with about 100 good workout songs and occasionally if I hit I song I am not feeling, I just skip it. Love, love, love it!

3. My playlist - I have already mentioned it, but I love and need music when I work out. I think it helps for two reasons. Number one: It gets me out of my head. I try and drown out myself trying to tell me that it's hard, or it hurts, or I'm tired. I feel like if I can drown out those thoughts that it allows my mind to wander or focus on something more positive. Second - a good external beat keeps me moving and helps me keep my pace. Studies have been done that prove that an external beat can help you work up to 20 percent harder.

So, here are a few of my favorite songs that get me/keep me moving right now: Just keep in mind that these aren't songs I would listen to in my car or because I like the song (trust me, I have one and only one song by Avril Lavigne) they are songs that just have the right tempo or bass or beat that keep me moving:

Hands Open - Snow Patrol
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
The Way I Are - Timbaland
Around the World/Harder Better Faster Stronger - Daft Punk
Seven Army Nation - The White Stripes
Beautiful - Goldfrapp
Pain - Jimmy Eat World
SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
Just Dance - Lady Gaga and Colby O'Donis
Cha Cha Slide - Mr. C
Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna

I also love anything by the Clash and the Ramones. So, I would love to hear what your favorites are - I'm always looking for something new!

Kids Say the Cutest Things....

...and sometimes it would be great if they couldn't talk, at all!

For example, the other day I was sitting on the ground in my room doing my hair and make-up in front of the mirror. I had on jeans and a snug-fitting layering shirt that I was going to wear under a sweater. I hadn't put my sweater on yet b/c I get too hot drying my hair with 3 layers on.

So, anyway Ella was sitting beside talking to me about some of her cousins that are going to have a new baby in their family. Then she says "I think we're going to have a baby soon!"

Me: "Really, why do you say that?"
Ella: "Because your tummy is getting big and I think there is a baby in there."

OK, for the record - nope - no baby in there. Apparently just too many mashed potatoes, gravy and rolls. Honestly, the funny thing is that I was just saying to Jeramy the day before that I was feeling extra "squishy" and felt like I needed to reign things in a bit. He, being the sweet and smart husband he is, denied any existence of any "more of me" and was able to, temporarily, allay my fears. So, for Ella to make that comment the next day just fueled my anxiety about the situation.

Really, the whole thing is pretty funny. I can't blame her for her calling it like she sees it. Plus, she really, really wants a baby sister so who can blame her for seeing my mid-section overhang as a sign of hope?

Time to hit the gym......

Friday Favorites

Here are some of the winners this week:

1. Nike Running Pants - So, on Wednesday this week I realized I did not own one pair of long workout pants - only capris. I figured I would do myself a favor and buy some 30 degree weather appropriate pants for my Thanksgiving run. To be honest this concerned me a little because I have been looking for "pants" forever. They are either too long, too tapered making my legs look like ice cream cones, too tight, etc. I just haven't been able to find the right ones. Well, Wednesday I finally found them!!! They are the Nike Lightweight Open Hem Women's Running Pants. They are fantastic!!! They are really lightweight feeling but lined in a soft, thin fleece and super warm. They are so comfortable and for those of us non-leggy gals, they aren't 6 inches too long. I also love that they have a little pocket (waterproofed) in the back. Love, love, love them. With that said, of course they are kind of spendy - but right now through December 1st, nike.com is 30% off $125 order. So, find a friend who needs a pair, or order two or make sure Santa gets them for you. Love them!

2. Flameless wax candles - I bought some of these at Costco a while back. They are battery-powered wax candles that have no flame but a small bulb that even flickers like a real flame. I thought with little kids they would be a good option and I thought they would be good to have on hand in our "emergency" items in the event of power outage, etc. I figured they would last longer than a wax candle (assuming we have the right batteries :))

So, yesterday for Thanksgiving I pulled these out and used them on our table, and around my house. Love them! No wax drips on my carpet or table cloth, no worries about my house burning down or someone's hair catching fire while kids were bouncing off the walls amidst all the candles, and they still look great and brand new after using them for hours and hours. Love this purchase and plan to get more in the future.

3. Nick Vujicic - Yesterday my father-in-law sent us an e-mail about this incredibly inspirational man. Born without arms or legs this 25-year-old Australian has done more in his life than most could ever dream. He surfs, he golfs, he can type, eat - he can do anything. All of those accomplishements are truly impressive. However, the thing that I found the most inspiring was his attitude and his joy for life. He does not see obstacles as problems, but as opportunities to grow and reach out to others. He has such passion for life and genuine love for others. Instead of feeling discouraged by his circumstances, he chooses to uplift and motivate other. How many of you feel you could rise to his level under those circumstances? I really don't know that I could...

I watched a few videos on YouTube and the more I watched and learned, the more amazed and inspired I was. Especially in light of Thanksgiving, it really helped to put things in perspective for me and served as a reminder of how many things I have to be thankful for - things that I usually take for granted or overlook.

Once in while I come across someone's story that really sticks with me and has a profound impact on me (ie Dick Hoyt - google him if you don't know his story, just make sure to have some Kleenex handy...) and I really believe that Nick will be on that list. Hopefully I will become a better person in some small way from his extraordinary life and example.

Check him out on YouTube or lifewithoutlimbs.org or attitudeisaltitude.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable and delicious Thanksgiving! We had a really nice day.

My day started off with a chilly (30 degrees at warmest), early morning (7:30) run. A few people I know organized a Thanksgiving 5k/10k run on some of the nearby trails. There were about 12-15 people that showed up for a super low-key - (ie, free!) - run. The run was either up a hill or down a hill - not much flat ground for the entire 10kms, so it ended up being a really good workout. A little pre-meal calorie burn - but sadly, only a fraction of the calories I would end up consuming, but, hey, it was something!

A few of us after finishing our run.

Typically, I am such a slave to my ipod when I workout - I need my music!!! - but for whatever reason I didn't even turn it on. I ended up running a good portion of the "race" by myself and just really enjoyed the peacefulness and serenity of my surroundings. We were running on some of the "backcountry" trails of Highlands Ranch and there was often not a single person, vehicle, or animal (luckily!) in sight. I really enjoyed being alone with my thoughts and having some time to reflect on the many, many things I have been blessed with. What an enjoyable morning being out in the cool, crisp air enjoying beautiful Colorado, having time to ponder the things that matter most to me. I couldn't think of a more wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving morning - OK, a hot breakfast in bed followed by a massage would win, hands down.

Later in the day my sister Kim and her family came over for dinner. We had a nice meal and visit, the kids all were completely crazy wild and it was a little chaotic at times but I was happy to see my kids having so much fun with their cousins. Due to previously mentioned chaos, sadly, I didn't even get a picture of everyone :(

Overall, it was a wonderful day and involved so many of my favorite things - friends, family, the beautiful outdoors, a good workout, a great meal and a diet coke. Truly, my cup runneth over!

Friday Favorites

Some of my favorites from the week:

1. Twilight! I'm surprised that blogger didn't crash today since I can only imagine how many "Twilight" posts have been added in the last 24 hours.

I just got back from the movie. I have to say that am the most selfless wife ever and passed up the chance to see it last night with my friends, so I could see it with Jeramy. He read all the books and really wanted to see the movie with me. So I waited all day, avoided calls from anyone who had seen it last night because I didn't want to know a thing about it - I love to go to a movie with no preconceived notions. So, if you are like me and have not yet seen the movie - don't read the next paragraph.

I must admit I have been a bit nervous to see the movie. I didn't know how they were going to translate the book - mainly Edward and Bella's relationship - into a movie. But I have to say, the movie really exceeded my expectations. The number one thing I was hoping for was believeable chemistry between Edward and Bella. I thought Kristin Stewart and Robert Pattinson had GREAT chemistry!!! Overall, I thought the casting was great. It took most of the movie for me to decide how I felt about R-Patt as Edward but by the end I was convinced. I thought Kristen Stewart was great. She played Bella a little more "flat" - not necessarily in a bad way - and serious than I had imagined Bella from the books. Regardless, that girl is a fantastic actress!

So, the bottom line is that I really enjoyed it and I am so happy that I waited and went with Jeramy (who also really liked it!)

2. Protein drink mix-ins - I saw these at Costco and bought them. I have carb-loving kiddos and sometimes I have a hard time getting them to eat enough protein. I had heard of these and decided to try them. Each packet is mixed into 16.9 oz H20 and has 25 calories, 5 grams protein, 5 grams of fiber and no sugar. The pack I got has 3 flavors - pink lemonade, mandarin orange and cherry pomegranate. I don't really let my kids have sugary drinks much, so they think they are living the sweet life and are drinking Kool-Aid daily and I know they are getting some protein and fiber that I don't have to beg, threaten or bribe them to ingest. Besides Diet Coke, I really only like water (and, of course, hot chocolate with a big dollop of whipped cream!) but I thought they were pretty good!

3. Vicks VapoRub - Finn has had a really bad cough and has not been sleeping well at all - which means Jeramy, nor I have been sleeping well. I was mentioning this to a friend and she suggested that before bedtime I should rub a thick layer of Vicks on his feet then put socks on. I have heard this before but thought it sounded a little hokey. Let me tell you, IT WORKS EVERY TIME! I have no idea why - I tried to google it and can't find a good logical or medical explanation. If anyone knows why it works, let me know. All I know is that $5 is a small price to pay for a good night's sleep for everyone!

My Mom Laughs A Lot

Today at church we had our Primary program. Ella was one of the kids to give a talk. She was the youngest and the only one unable to read, so I thought I would have her try and memorize it. She memorized the whole thing and did amazing! 276 words, 7 small paragraphs! I was so proud of her - she worked so incredibly hard on it.

So when we got home from church I thought I would have her make an iMovie (one of her favorite things to do) of her giving her talk, so we would have it recorded. Of course she spent forever goofing around, hamming it up, introducing herself and in the process she introduced me and said "i laugh a lot!" I LOVED that! That is probably the nicest compliment she could ever pay me. Definitely in my top 5 compliments ever received. I took the exerpt of the clip because it makes me smile (and her "movie" ended up being 10, very dramatic, minutes long)

Friday Favorites

This week I was thinking about some of my favorite things from the week and thought I would add a weekly post to my blog - "Friday Faves." I thought this would be a fun way to document some of my favorite things - anything from household products, movies, books, good bargains, to just favorite activities from the week. Feel free to share yours in the comments. I'm always looking to add to my "i love...." list!

OK, these are a few of my favorite things from this week:

1. Home Run Inn Pizza - A few weeks back we made a rare Saturday trip to the grocery store around lunch time. They were giving out "examples", as Ella calls them, so we tried this pizza. Yummy! By far the best frozen pizza I've had and even rivals some restaurants. Good to keep on hand for emergency meals, or when it's up to Jeramy to get dinner for the kids, which is redundant to add since that is what basically constitutes an emergency meal :) Me and the kids tried the cheese and Jeramy went for the meat lovers. I would still rather eat at Big Bills but these are nice to have on hand. Cheap, easy, obviously no nutritional value, whatsoever but yummy!


2. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl - We watched this last weekend for our "Friday Family Fun" night. Adorable! So sweet and has a fantastic cast. It takes place in the 30's so, in spite of our country's current economic situation it may hit a little too close to home for the overly anxious, but our whole family loved it. And just because it is from American Girl, it's not "girly" at all - even the boys would enjoy it.


3. Scotchguard - So earlier this year I ripped off the very practical black vinyl that I had covered my dining room chairs with a few years ago and covered them with this fabric:

Crazy thing to do with little kids, I know! But I got the fabric cheap and bought enough to cover all my chairs 3 times over, figuring that would get me through a few years. When I was done I scotchguarded them thinking it couldn't hurt. That stuff is amazing!!! The first time I saw spilt, and dried, chocolate milk on my chairs it took me a second to start breathing again. Based on trying to get that out of my kids clothes, I felt my chairs were a lost cause and was about ready to bust out some of my extra fabric and get to work. However, with merely a damp cloth it wiped right off with no trace of anything. This week we've (when I say we've, I mean Finn) had blackberry and ketchup mishaps neither which has been a problem at all. That little can was the best $5 I've ever spent!

4. My new training partner - Saturday afternoon I decided to go for a run and was looking forward to putting on my ipod and having a little time to myself. I got caught sneaking out the door by Ella, who then begged to come with me. After her persuasive argument, she wore me down and I agreed to let her come, albeit not too cheerfully. Funny how that ended up being one of the most fun, memorable hours of my week. She rode her little bike and talked nonstop and even though we went slower than I wanted and had to stop a few times, I think I had a smile on my face the whole time. What a little trooper - we went 5 miles and conquered a few pretty big hills. My favorite, of the many, many, comments:

Ella: "Mom, aren't you so glad I came because then you wouldn't have anyone to talk to and that wouldn't have been fun at all. It's so much more fun to workout with someone. If I hadn't come you would have had to try and make a friend on the trail so you would have had someone to talk to. It's so great that we're working out, training together......"

Halloween

We had a really fun Halloween this year. I think the star of the night was the weather. I do not ever remember a Halloween with such beautiful weather. It just made the whole day so fun and pleasant. The kids didn't even have to wear a jacket over their costumes. It was so nice!!!

Ella was a "Kimono Princess", although she told
everyone that she was a "Komodo Princess"
(like the dragon) and Finn was a Ninja.

We went to some friends house for the evening and had a great time enjoying some good food, great company and the kids had fun trick-or-treating together.

Gearing up for candy!

Ella and Sierra making some
dramatic poses for the camera. On
our way out the door, Ella decided she
needed a fan and so quickly fashioned
one out of pink paper. It's all about the
accessories!

As much fun as the kids had, it paled in comparison to the fun the dads (the big kids :) had! They had a ball terrorizing and scaring the pants off all the trick-or-treaters! It was so funny. Our friend Justin absolutely loves to scare the teenagers on Halloween. So he pulled out all these masks and costumes and Justin, Jeramy, Sverre and Niles sat on the porch for hours, scaring the trick-or-treaters. They were pretty frightening! They put the candy bucket on the porch in between them all, dumped straw all over themselves and pretended they were dummies. They would sit really still and kids would come up and see them and couldn't tell if they were real or not. They tried to behave for the little kids, but they still made a few cry and, understandably, had a few irrate parents - one mom's comment "NOT funny!" another jumped in front of her kid and started yelling "ENOUGH, that's enough!" But they didn't hold back at all for the teenagers. They were grabbing ankles, growling, sitting perfectly still then just slightly moving a hand here or there, jumping out. Without question, the dads had the most fun of the evening!

The "big kids" in all their glory. Top L to R:
Sverre, Justin, Niles and 2nd row L is Jeramy.
They were SCARY!

Musings of a Slacker

So once again, it's been weeks since my last post. Just face it -I have -I am a bad blogger! I'm sure I have tons of excuses for slacking on my blog but we'll just skip all that.

So here's what we've been up to over the past 3 weeks:

• Ironman Challenge - I finished! I took me 11 days and I loved doing it. I love having a purpose to my workouts. I don't hope to see a stationary bike again for a while. I was only able to do one outside ride, so the other 89 miles were done at the gym. BORING!!! But the one outside ride was my favorite workout for the challenge. My friends Marilee, Jenni, and I did a 25-mile ride one Saturday morning and it was fantastic. I LOVE fall, it's my favorite season, so be outside in that crisp morning air and bike in beautiful Colorado with great company, well it just doesn't get any better than that!

Jenni, Marilee and me overlooking Chatfield at the top of our bike ride.

• New Challenge - I was pretty sad when my Ironman Challenge was over. It just really helped motivate me and bring purpose to my workouts. So, I decided I needed a new challenge - just nothing involving the bike because I still can't bear to get on a stationary bike. My trainer, Kim, suggested doing something with stairs so here's the new challenge. Two weeks to run 26.2 miles, swim 3 (212 pool lengths) and step 26.2 miles on the Stairmaster Stepmill. For those of you not familiar with the stairmill, it's basically a modern torture device. It is tough! And my rule is NO HANDS! Monday I did a little over 5 miles in just under an hour. It didn't seem so bad. By Wednesday, my legs were just so tired that it was really miserable. I keep getting slower so it's going to be rough!
• Europe - Jeramy is gone again. Don't worry, no more big, whiny posts with me spilling my sob-story all over my blog. He's been gone nearly 2 weeks and gets home TODAY!!! He's been in the Netherlands and London. First he was in The Hague speaking at a conference, then on to Amsterdam then London. I've missed him like crazy but this trip, for whatever reason, we were able to manage without any major meltdowns - me or Ella :) A large part of it is I just tried to stay really busy.

• Church calling - A few months back I got called to be the Stake Primary Secretary. So last night we had our first Stake Primary Leadership Meeting. I've been really busy the past 3-4 weeks making 170 invitations, doing a newsletter, tracking people down and taking their picture for the newsletter, Stake rosters, etc. Anyway, our meeting went great and now I'm done that for another 6 months. Yeah!

• Curtains - I'm in the process of making new curtains for my house. I previously had a chocolate brown twill but I decided they were just too dark and gloomy and they made me kind of sad. It took me forever to figure out what to replace them with but I finally decided to use a fabric I already had. So, then after deciding what fabric to use I had to figure out how to make them. I decided I wanted rings, because in front of my sliding glass door, I needed to be able to slide the curtains out of the way easily. However, I did not want to use ring clips. Even though I have them on a few windows in my house, I just decided I wanted to try something new and I didn't want to be able to see the clips from the front. So after messing around with them, researching online, going to every fabric and craft store in town to find drapery hooks, I FINALLY found the right drapery hooks and just got them in the mail last week. So, next week it's all about the curtains!

My curtain fabric.

• Cute kids! The past 2 weeks what I've mostly been up to is taking care of my cute munchkins. Often when Jeramy leaves, Ella can be really tough because she really misses him and tends to have a lot of melt downs. This time around she has been amazing! She has been so sweet and helpful. In her prayers the other night she prayed that she would be able to "help Mommy while daddy was gone." She has been surprising me with little helpful things around the house, making her bed without being asked, unloading the dishwasher without being asked, and has been really helpful with Finn. She is just at a really fun age, too. She's so grown up. She went to a birthday party yesterday and got there an hour late because she had music class. This morning she was telling me she didn't get any donuts and said "but I was okay with that!" And little Finn is suddenly obsessed with trains, Thomas in particular. He will get his Thomas book, go climb in the rocking chair in his room and just sit and look at the book, saying "choo choo, choo choo" over and over again for 10-15 minutes at a time. Which is amazing for him to sit in one place that long! Anyway, I've really enjoyed my kids lately. Being with them on my own for so long hasn't really seemed like such the chore or burden that it sometimes can. I truly have had fun being with them so much and feel so blessed for my little ones!
  

They don't look so joyful here, but I love how much spunk and energy my kids have. I love experiencing life through their bright eyes and little minds and take so much pleasure in seeing the joy that they find in so many simple, little things!

Ironman Begins

Not a real Ironman - well, actually a real Ironman just not in the traditional sense. So my community has a run series they do and in conjunction with one of the upcoming races - a 5 mile trail run - they are offering participants an extra challenge: complete an ironman - but instead of doing it in one day, you do it over a 2 week period. I thought that sounded like a challenge I was ready for. I've kind of been in a fitness slump lately and felt like it was time to re-motivate myself. This challenge couldn't have come at a better time!

The challenge begins today, and before October 11th I need to swim 2.4 miles (155 lengths of the pool), bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles. My friend, Marilee, is doing it with me and we both did up schedules for the next two weeks. We just worked in what fits best into our schedules but some of our training we will definitely do together. I was also able to recruit a few other friends, Jenni and Emily, who also want to finish the challenge.

Today was day #1. My schedule for today was to run 3 miles and swim 40 lengths of the pool. Also, not part of the Ironman challenge, to do a lower body workout. So this morning I got up and ran about 2.5 miles, did my lower body workout, then ran home for a total of 5 miles. Then a few hours later Marilee and I hit the pool. We totally got into a rhythm and felt great so we decided to just keep swimming. I ended up finishing 100 lenghts - just over 1.5 miles. So, hooray, day #1 is over and I'm ahead of schedule. I figure I better do the most I can now - for some reason I had a lot of energy today but I'm sure after a few days of this I will be wiped out! Also, Jeramy is going to be gone for my second week, so fitting my workouts in are going to be more challenging since I won't be able to go early in the mornings.

Anyone else want to participate? It's not too late!!!

Kindergarten

This year Ella finally started Kindergarten! I think the "finally" is from both of our perspectives :) Even though we have both been looking forward to kindergarten, school crept up on us so quickly this year! It seemed as though the summer had just started and suddenly she was off to school. The way it worked this year, it seemed as though we had 3 "first days" of school.

First Day #1 - Picture Day. This year they had registration and picture day at the end of July. In a way it seemed, to me, like the first day because when I grew up you always had pictures the first day of school. I remember it being a big deal, figuring out what to wear the first day of school, how to do your hair, etc. So, from that aspect it seemed like the first day.

We stopped for a few pictures outside the school before going in for
the "real" ones. The real picture is pretty funny! Every single one was
super posed cheese-ball smile. I figured there was no point in retakes
because they would end up looking the same.

First Day #2 - Meet the Teacher. On the first day that all the other classes started, they had the kindies come for 1 hour in small groups. We went to the school with 4-5 other kids and met Mrs. Washington. We looked around the classroom, unpacked supplies and the kids did a small little craft. Her teacher is fabulous!

Just before heading off to the school to meet her teacher.
She LOVES her backpack (and polka-dots!)

First Day #3 - The Real Thing! So, two days after meeting the teacher it was the real deal - the bus and all! She is in afternoon kindergarten, so I drove her to school and waited while the kids lined up and then went inside. The parents - all equipped with cameras - stayed for about 5-10 minutes while the kids got settled. After the parents were dismissed, I went down to the office because I was having a little anxiety about her getting on the right bus. The morning school started I changed her bus route so she would be on the same bus with another little girl she knew from preschool. I was kind of panicked that they wouldn't get her on the right bus, but they changed all her info and assured me my daughter would return home to me. So, at 4:12, Jeramy, Finn and I were all there waiting for Ella to get off the bus. It was priceless! She could not have looked happier. All she said for about 3 days was "I can't believe I get to ride the bus." Bus aside, she is loving kindergarten, has a wonderful teacher and has already learned a lot. It's going to be a great year!

I know, another collage. I just had so many pictures I liked, I
couldn't choose. I loved the way all the bus pictures looked in sequence.
I'm so happy I was there to get pictures of her getting off the bus.
How happy does she look?

Aloha!

This summer, Jeramy and I were super spoiled - again- and were able to head off to Maui all by ourselves. We cashed in airmiles, Marriott points and AmEx points and spent an essentially free week in Hawaii (ok, well we ate nonstop, so that was a cost a bit of money). My amazing, very generous parents came to Colorado and watched not only our kids, but my sister's 3 kids all together. Thanks mom & dad - sorry your week was a bit less serene than ours.

Since we went to Hawaii 2 days after getting home from Aspen Grove, we didn't feel the need for tons of adventure. We go to Hawaii for the beach! So, the beach is what we did - every single day!

It was such a great week and sadly, I didn't get too many pictures. I didn't want to take my camera with us to the beach because I wanted us to be able to both go in the water together and not worry about our stuff.

We bypassed the Road to Hana this year (I was pretty adamant about that one!), I still didn't do a surfing lesson (a little scared to do it by myself) and we absolutely ate at Mama's Fish House (the picture above is on the beach in front of Mama's. I typically didn't wear jeans and heels to the beach :)) We read a lot, got massages at the spa, I snuck in a pedicure - we were basically just really lazy the whole week.

It was a super low key, relaxing week and we had tons of fun just spending time alone together!

Wow, Hawaii is magic! Is that hint of a smile on Jeramy?

Not possible - another near smiling picture???

I thought everyone would enjoy my new hair accessory I picked up while in Hawaii. I'm really into fans! I think Mama's Fish House need to give their wait staff some photo composition tips :)

In one of the squares we walked through in Lahaina, there were dozens and dozens of these white blossoms all over the ground. I scooped some up and posed for a picture to show Ella - my little lallygagger, can't walk 3 feet without stopping to pick some flower, weed or blade of grass. Plus, it's about the only picture of me on our entire trip.

A beautiful view in Lahaina

Jeramy's best Forrest Gump impression. Not bad.

The view from our hotel our last night in Maui!

Aspen Grove

One of our highlights this summer was going to Aspen Grove Family Camp in Utah. We had a family reunion this summer with Jeramy's family. His grandparents surprised us all and paid for their children, grandkids and great-grandkids to go together. There ended up being about 80 of us. It was soooo much fun!!! What a wonderful place to go for a family reunion.

They had so many fun things for everyone of every age to do. Every day we would eat breakfast at 8:00 and then at 9:15, drop our kids off at their class. They had classes for kids of every age - newborn up through young adults. Then, at 9:15 we were free to go do whatever we wanted until 12:00 when we would pick up kids and eat lunch. Then at 1:30 we took the kids back to class until 4:30. And one of the days we were there - the kids stayed at their classes from 9:30-4:30. Then we'd eat dinner and in the evenings they had movies playing in the amphitheatre, talent shows, badminton. My favorite evening activity was a stop at the Aspen Grove Store for some BYU Creamery ice cream and/or a big pink cookie.

The kids would hike, swim, do arts and crafts they even got to climb the rock wall. They all had a great time getting to play with their cousins and do so many fun activities - BUT not as much fun as the adults!!! We hiked, did paintball, ropes course, archery, air rifle, hung out at the pool without kids :), pottery (NOTE: Jeramy and I and took a class together on the pottery on the wheel and it was so not like Ghost!) They had great guest lecturers like Susan Easton Black. Some people went tubing down the river and did some biking. It was fantastic! You didn't have to worry about a thing. You knew exactly when and where you were going to eat (the food was decent) and there were so many options for activities, there wasn't enough to fit it all in. I would highly recommend it - especially if someone else pays for you!

Jeramy on the paintball course

The most memorable thing I did that week was the ropes course. I thought I'd be a bit nervous, but I was terrified! You started on the pole with notches (on the R) then had to stand on top of the beam and scoot over to the rock wall part. I don't have any pictures of me doing it - they're probably all too blurry from me shaking so badly. Also, there's no way I'd post a picture of my rear-end from that angle - it was not pretty!!! This is my brother-in-law Eric.


The view from the backside of the the rock wall. Once you got to the top, you stood atop the platform then made your way through the rope course around the trees.

My brother-in-law Eric making his way through the ropes course. I thought the pole and rock wall would be tough and wasn't at all worried about the ropes part. But for me that was the hardest part. I could not stop my legs from shaking and then it would shake the ropes and make me more stressed. It was tough but I'm so happy I did it. I had no idea I would be that scared!

Ella, with her cousin Miles, getting ready for her turn on the rock wall.

She did so great! She didn't seem scared at all - she was a lot more brave than I was!

We only left the camp once during the week - just
a quick trip down to the BYU campus. I love going back - we
have so many wonderful memories of our time there.

The last night at camp, the kids did a program. Each class did a

little cheer and then performed a song

Ella's group did "The Twist" She was twisting her little heart out
with her cousins Matea (l) and Amelia (r)


Ella with her AWESOME group leaders, Erin and Blaine.


Ice cream obsession!

One last picture before we left the camp :(

Thirty minutes into our long drive home, Finn threw up EVERYWHERE. After we got him all cleaned up and stripped down, he seemed pretty happy. Luckily, he didn't get sick anymore on the trip - he just screamed at us a lot to get him out.

Two Wheels

This summer, after weeks of trying to fit it in between our trips, Ella learned how to ride a two-wheeler. She was so proud to take those training wheels off. She still needs a lot of practice, especially with stopping, but did so well!

One of the factors that really motivated Ella to take the wheels off came from my triathlon. Ella became very interested in triathlons and when she found out there are triathlons for kids, she decided she really wanted to do one. So, she decided she had better learn to ride a bike if she's going to do a triathlon. Here in Highlands Ranch they had a kids triathlon in August for kids ages 5-9. For the 5-6 year olds they swim 25 yds (one pool length), bike 1/2 mile and run 1/4 mile. So the first part of her"training" was to get her riding a two-wheeler.

Ready to get the training wheels off. And yes, she picked a

dress to wear for the event. Super practical!

The training wheels are off!

Oh, oh.....

Down she goes!

Down again. Finn to the rescue!

Getting the hang of it!

She has really been enjoying her bike a lot! I am so grateful for all the trails we have just right here. It makes me so nervous when she wants to ride her bike up and down the street with the other neighborhood kids. So the other day I took Ella and her friend (with Finn in the Burley) over to the park -- to get them off the road and away from all the cars -- and then we rode about 3-4 miles all around the trails - even a few good sized hills! They both had so much fun and were so proud of themselves.

Triathlon

Earlier this year I had planned to do a Triathlon over the summer. As the summer drew nearer it didn't look as though any of the Triathlons I had in mind were going to work out due to me being out of town or Jeramy being out of town. However, in July I realized that one of the triathlons I had wanted to do was on a different date than I originally was told. So, even though I really hadn't trained, three days before the race I decided to go for it and registered.

It ended up going great! I was pretty happy with my times and I honestly really enjoyed myself! I'm thinking next summer I might try and step it up and do an Olympic size Triathlon - which is about 2X longer than the one I did. I did a Sprint and the distances are about a 750m swim (1/2 mile), 20k bike (12.4 miles) and 5k run (3.1 miles). ( The one I did was a bit shorter on the swim.) An Olympic size is 1 mile swim, 40k bike, 10k run. It would definitely require some training!

The best part of the day was having my own little cheering section of 3. Last year none of them were there, so I was so happy that they made it. Poor Jeramy wasn't too familiar with my camera so wasn't able to get the shot of me crossing the finish line, but he was able to get a few pictures to help me remember the day.

Right after I finished the race. Hanging with my cheering section!
Leaving the transition area

I had to show off my favorite part -
my age sharpied on my calf! I know it's
hard to see but in case you are wondering,
it says 25!

Canada

This summer we made our annual trip to Canada to spend time with our families. We try and make it up there every summer for July 1st, Canada Day, and also the birthday of my hometown Raymond which is a REALLY big deal!!! July 1st has always been a big gathering event - everyone who has moved away returns to enjoy a few days or weeks with the family and friends that are still there. It is so much fun to see my little hometown of about 3,000 double in size for a few days. There is so much excitement and business in the otherwise sleepy little town. It is fun to go to the grocery store and run into old teachers, school mates or an old neighbor that you had nearly forgotten about.

I don't think I could live in Raymond again - once you leave and become accustomed to a big city and the amenities that it offers, it would be hard to go back -- but I absolutely love to go visit. The minute we drive into town I am nearly flooded with fond memories and warm feelings. It was such a wonderful opportunity to be raised there. Especially now that I have children, going back home is all the more important. I want them to experience some of the same things and traditions that I did when I was their age. I want them to gather candy at the parade and cheer for floats entitled "I Am a Child of God" and know most everybody in the parade. I want them to have a love of Waterton, rent the surreys and ride around town, then stop at Big Scoop on main street for ice cream. I want them to appreciate their many relatives they don't get to see too often and be able to spend an afternoon visiting and playing with them. When they are a little older I want them to stay up until 2am playing cards and games - claiming "THIS is the last game" for at least six games. These are the things I love and I hope to instill a love for in my children.

This year's trip was tons of fun and as usual went far too quickly! Here are some pictures of some of the highlights:

Fun at Waterton National Park:

Always our first stop as soon as we get to Waterton - the beautiful Cameron Falls.

We rented this crazy little bike, called a surrey, and rode all around the town. This is something I always did as a little girl and we hadn't done it for years - so this was top on my list of things to do in Waterton. You can tell Ella is not too happy when this picture was taken. She was really disappointed she had to sit in the front and didn't get to pedal. A few minutes into her ride, after we were sure Finn wasn't going to dive out the front, we let her sit in the middle with us. Finn had the best time of anybody - he just sat in the front by himself, giggling, waving and saying "hi" to everybody we saw.

Beautiful Cameron Lake. It is always breathtaking!

We always have to stop at "our rock" on our way back down from Cameron Lake. Jeramy and I had our picture taken on this rock when we were dating and ended up using it for our wedding announcement. Every year, we stop and take a picture.

A better picture of the view from our rock.

Ridge Park with Grandpa Leavitt:

It looks like Ella is having a miserable time :) (with uncle Jami and Skyla)

She had so much fun! I couldn't stop laughing just watching her. Finn was not about to let Ella have all the fun! Maybe it's more fun on the tube than in the water. Grandpa Leavitt to the rescue!

Afternoon in Lethbridge:

Ella with Grandpa Gary at his restaurant, Chopstix. Grandpa
affectionately refers to her as his best orange chicken customer.
I don't think he's exaggerating.

Apparantly the Asian-themed atmosphere inspired
Ella to bust out a few kung-fu moves.

Finn goofing around with Grandpa & Grandma Nelson

July 1st:

Sadly, I really didn't get too many pictures on the first. I was too busy catching up with everybody and kind of forget to take pictures.

O Canada! Ready for the parade.

I thought this float epitomized the Raymond Parade.
Notice the back of the float "advertising" Moroni's Quest (like youth Trek).
Pinata time! He could have cared less that there
was candy in there - he was just super excited that
someone gave him a stick that he was actually
supposed to be swinging recklessly around.

No help, please, Grandma!

Ella taking her turn at the Pinata (while my sister, Kim watches)

She's a little miffed she didn't break it open!

All the hard work on the pinata had a big payoff!

Busy Bloggers!

I'm still working on getting my blog caught-up but have been having too much fun catching up on everyone's posts. Originally I thought I had about 80 posts to catch up on, per my RSS reader. It was wrong - it must only be able to keep track of so many new posts then start dropping them off as ones I have read. My amazing friend Courtney, who has five young children including a set of triplets and did a cross-country move this summer, had about 40 posts alone. You amaze me, Courtney!

So thanks to everyone for having such a great, fun, summer and posting so many cute pictures and entries on your blogs. I'm having a great time living your fun moments with you and will get mine caught up soon enough!

Cover Baby

This summer Finn became a cover baby! He was on the May/June cover of Simple Scrapbooks. Rebecca Cooper, who took our family pictures last summer, is also a talented scrapbooker and is a contributer to the magazine. So she submitted the picture then let us know a few months back that he was going to be on the cover of the magazine. They use the name "Max" on the cover for layout purposes -- well, that or they think his name sucks --but it is our little Finn, with Jeramy's hands playing a supporting role :). I can't believe he ever used to be that little.

Still Kicking

It's official! My hiatus from the blog world is over - for now, anyway. I'm not really sure why I've been so removed from my blog and everyone else's. I haven't been extraordinarily busy but I finally found the motivation to get a few projects done around the house - painting the kitchen, making new curtains, filling up all the empty frames around my house with actual pictures, organizing, cleaning the garage. I'll blame it on Spring Fever and then over the summer we have been gone a lot (which I will post about soon). But I'm back and look forward to catching up on everyone else's blogs over the next few days. I just checked my RSS reader and I have 87 posts that I have not read! Yikes! Sorry I've been so out of touch.

We have had such a great summer and I have tons to post about. The kids are growing up way too fast. Last year Ella was big into imaginary friends and boyfriends. She had an imaginary friend "Lizabell" that was her sister and a boyfriend "Eric" (probably inspired from her short obsession with "The Little Mermaid.") So a few nights ago Jeramy was asking Ella where Lizabell was. Without thinking too much about it, she quickly responded "She grew up." Then Jeramy asked what happened to Eric and Ella promptly replied "he broke up with me." It was so funny but a little sad to see how my little girl is vanishing before my eyes. She's had some big milestones this summer, which I will elaborate on in a later post.

As for Finn, he is 18 months and has turned into a wild little creature. He is trouble with a capital T, but so darn cute, sweet, and funny (clearly, I'm not very objective! :)) that it's easy to overlook his naughtiness! He is into everything, climbs on everything and has started throwing some good tantrums!

Well, we had a fantastic summer and I have tons to post about - trips to Canada, family reunion in Aspen Grove, getaway to Hawaii, triathlon, learning to ride a two-wheeler, our cover baby, and Ella's first day of Kindergarten -- so stay tuned.

Flying Solo

So, right now Jeramy is in Europe for business - London, Paris, Bordeaux, Zurich. This is his longest trip he's taken - 13 days. We only have five left. Actually, what I really mean is - there are still five whole days left.

When he leaves on the longer trips I kind of feel as though I unravel a little. If my life were a book during those times, it would definitely be "She's Come Undone" (which, btw, I have never read but heard is great.) It's not that I completely fall apart - that sounds so big and dramatic. I feel more like a sweater with a loose thread that is slowly being pulled. Day by day life goes on and I hardly notice that my sweater has a hole in it. Then one day I look down and realize there is a huge hole and my sweater is ceasing to exist and that's when I switch into what I call "survival mode." This whole analogy is really silly but it's my best attempt to explain how I feel.

I'm learning that with these multi-week trips it's almost always the weekend that is my trigger into survival mode - which, basically, is me just trying to take care of the basics and survive. Nothing more. The house tends to get a little dirtier, my patience seems to fall a little short and I start to feel a little less like myself. Getting by is not a way to live life and I don't like living there - even just a few days at a time. My kids are bathed, fed, entertained and put to bed with hugs and kisses (okay, a few nights there have been some frustrated threats and a few tears - all of ours - mingled in with the hugs and kisses) but I feel like I get a little lost in the process. I've finally realized that it's not because it's so emotionally and physically exhausting to be the sole caregiver to two energetic, vivacious little ones. It's because I miss my husband. Simple as that. I can do thirteen straight bedtimes by myself and have my kids needing me from the crack of dawn until the sun goes down and do better than survive. But I cannot go thirteen days without a real conversation or an embrace from Jeramy and not feel like a part of me and my life has gone missing.

And even though I vowed I would not be living in survival mode this time around and worked very hard to try and prevent it - hard workouts, healthy eating, early bedtimes (ok, not tonight), some house projects to serve as distraction, diligent scripture study and sincere daily prayers - (always pleading for an extra dose of patience) a few babysitters lined up - in the end it doesn't matter. Because here I am in the place I tried so desperately to avoid. And it's occurred to me that it's okay to be here - of course this is where I am. I'm here because I have an amazing husband who is a big part of me and I miss him. This destination is inevitable. So, I will go on surviving for five more days until Jeramy comes home and will then turn my back on merely surviving and look forward to thriving once again.

Well Finn is awake crying (again) so I will end this post. Poor little guy is cutting five teeth right now - four are part way through and one is right there. He's been miserable and, well, let's just say it hasn't helped my cause this week. He's been such a trooper. Time for more Motrin and snuggles!

More Tooth Troubles

So, a month ago Jeramy had to have his front tooth pulled to get an implant. He'll get the permanent tooth in another 5 or 6 months and in the meantime has a temporary. For the whole story, check out A Real Tooth.

From the get-go, he has been having a few problems with the temporary tooth. First, he went in for a check-up on the tooth and they found it was completely loose. So they shaved it down a bit shorter and a lot thinner so he wouldn't use it to bite anything with. Then, Sunday night a piece of the temporary tooth fell off. He was just beside himself, since this whole thing is a 20 year nightmare being brought to reality. Luckily the dentist was able to fit him in yesterday afternoon. Not so lucky, I guess there are pretty significant problems with the temporary and it needs to be replaced. So, they had to take the temporary out because with the way it broke it could cause the screw (in his mouth, in the bone) to become misaligned and cause problems so it won't fuse to the bone and the unbelievable part is they aren't able to get him a new one for a few days!!! Jeramy is completely fired up about the whole thing (an understatement) He won't talk and keeps his hand over his mouth when he does. Luckily he is just working from home for the next few days and doesn't have to go anywhere before Thursday.

Even though he is so upset and grumpy about the whole thing, I decided to press my luck and beg for a picture - so me and so many others were so disappointed about not having one the first go round. So, here it is.

What a good sport, he even managed to
smile and goof around about it!

Oh, there's one more thing I forgot to mention about this whole tooth thing......






APRIL FOOL'S DAY!!!!

OK, the real story is that this is a prank we did for Jeramy's boss and co-workers. He was just out in Chicago last week and when he came home he was telling me about some of the pranks and goofy things they did while he was out there. I told him he had to come up with some kind of April Fool's Day prank to pull on them. Then, Sunday night when the piece of his tooth fell off, I thought it would be hilarious to pretend his tooth fell out. They all know about the whole tooth thing since it's been so traumatic for Jeramy. Since his tooth isn't "real" we didn't dare use shoe polish or eye-liner to black it out for fear it would stay black forever, so we used a sticker cut in the shape of his tooth. He was going to call them on Skype, using the camera on his computer - especially since the picture quality isn't great, we thought we could pull it off. I also wanted to take a picture for my blog but when we put the sticker on it looked ridiculously fake. So I edited the picture using Photoshop (don't know what I'm doing!) and he still used Skype and his boss fell for it! I'm not even going to flatter myself into thinking that anyone fell for the joke based on the picture I edited - it looks a little fake. For the sake of the blog, I made up the story about having to remove the temporary (the rest is true) and hoped by posting the story first, it would seem more believable. So, for those of you who noticed that the picture looked completely doctored - the joke's on us! And for anyone else - if you're out there - Happy April Fool's Day!

Easter

We had a really great Easter this year. It started out a little rough but ended up being a wonderful day.

Since we had just returned from Sydney a few days earlier, the kids were still not adjusted to Denver time and were up half the night, very awake and alert. Jeramy and I - very tired and grumpy! Finally at about 4 or 5 am everyone fell asleep. Thankfully the Easter bunny was kind enough to not come in the morning , allowing all of us to get a little extra, much needed, sleep.

Since having children of my own, I have decided that it is really fun to coordinate our family's outfits for Christmas and Easter. It is completely cheesy and something I used to roll my eyes at, but I've decided I love doing it, even if it is a bit cheesy! And Jeramy, who won't admit it, but I know doesn't like it, is a really good sport about it! He only complained about his tie a few times. :) So, we all donned our black, white and yellow outfits, and headed off to church looking like "bumblebees", according to Jeramy.

The full view of the bumblees!
Despite my friend Erin taking about
30 family pictures, there wasn't a
single one where we were all looking
with eyes open, etc. We are a
sad, pathetic group of subjects!

Church was wonderful and was nice to be able spend some time reflecting on our Savior and the true purpose and meaning of Easter. It was a good calming influence on our family and helped replace the chaos and grumpiness with feelings of love and peace.

After church we were invited by our friends, Sverre & Erin, to go to their parents house for Easter dinner and an egg hunt. Sverre's mom really goes all out for the easter egg hunt and creates several eggs that have a slip of paper with what the real prize is - such as silly putty, crayons, a bunny, baby duck.... Yup, that's right - a few lucky kids (and even luckier parents!) get to walk away with some real, live animals. It was so cute to see all the kids going full force ahead, seeking out eggs and excitedly prying them open to see what was inside. It was also great to see the look of panic on the parents faces when it was a slip of paper inside. You know everyone was fervently wishing - "please don't be an animal, please don't be an animal..." At least that's what I was thinking. So, I was pretty happy when Ella's slip of paper said "silly putty!"

Ella trying to figure out what her
paper says. Three cheers for silly putty!
Cute Tait and Sierra delving into their eggs.

Ella with one of the baby ducks.

Finn with one of the bunnies. They were
pretty cute and even came with cages!

After leaving the Jensens, we came home to find that the Easter bunny had visited our house. Despite being completely exhausted, the kids perked up a little for the little scavenger hunt that the Easter bunny always does. Right after the scavenger hunt the kids just crashed. Ella didn't even want to eat any of her candy because she said she was too tired. We all fell into bed exhausted and happy after a wonderful, uplifting and enjoyable day!

Blogger's Best Friend

Most of you blogger pals are more savvy than me, so probably already have an RSS reader, but those who don't - must get one! I can't even tell you how much time mine saves me! I've talked to a few friends recently who weren't aware these existed, so I thought I would do a quick post to spread the good word.

I use Google Reader. What it is, is a central location you can go to check for new updates on websites and blogs. You enter in all the blog and website addresses (eg. favorite authors, newspapers, etc.) that you want to keep track of then you simply have to go to one place and it immediately tell you who has new posts since you last checked. That way you don't have to go to every single person's blog to check for updates. It's nice because it allows you to organize things in folder - so I keep all my blogs in one, other websites together and I subscribe to some quotes of the day that I keep together. It also has cool little stats and trends it tracks for you. It is so great that more and more people are doing blogs, but it does make it more difficult to keep up with everyone. Using a reader sames soooo much time and makes it a snap to stay on top of dozens of blogs. I feel like I don't miss new posts, and that it allows me post a lot more comments.

I started with NetNewsWire (for Macs) which was a program that downloaded posts to my computer. I didn't like that I wouldn't be able to check updates on a different computer than my own. So I switched to Google Reader because it is web-based and allows me to check for new posts from any computer. Love it! Check it out if you don't already have an RSS reader! Just go to reader.google.com.

Australia

Well, we just made it back from our trip to Sydney. Most of you know that Jeramy has business that takes him there a few times a year and sometimes we get to tag along. We had a wonderful time! I was nervous about the traveling part of the trip - mostly about Finn - but it wasn't too bad. I would absolutely do it again - not next month, but sometime in the near future.

So instead of recording a play by play of our trip, I thought I would document it using random and crazy facts about our trip.

• Hours of travel to and from Sydney - 48.
  
• 24 hours each way! 34 hours on airplanes, 11 hours in airports, and 3 hours to and from airports. What a long, crazy 24 hours -times 2! Not quite up to Jack Bauer's standard of a crazy day (24), but getting pretty close. I mean, no one tried to kill us, but based on a few of the looks we got on the airplane, I'm sure a few people would have liked to!

• Number of hours of sleep the kids got during our travels - 8.
  
• They slept about 4 hours each way - leaving about 26 hours of awake time on the plane. Ella is really good at entertaining herself, but entertaining a 13 mo. old in about 5 square feet of space for 26 hours - most of it while he was buckled in - was quite a challenge. I don't recommend it.

• Number of books I read on our trip - 4.2.
  
• I hardly had anytime to read while we traveled since I was busy serving as the airplane entertainment, but Finn was the best napper ever while in Sydney, so I had a lot of downtime every single day. I would put a movie on for Ella and make her have some quiet time for a while and I would read or nap or a little or both and then me and Ella would move the chairs out onto the balcony and enjoy the gorgeous weather. Then in the evenings, we would have the kids in bed before 8 and since Finn was sleeping in the living area, we were banished to our room for the evening. More time to read. Aussie tv is horrible!

Ella chilling in our little balcony lounge
we would set up in the afternoons during
Finn's nap time.

• Amount of money spent at Subway while in Sydney - $139.05
• Out of the 10 days (8 full, 2 partial) we were there, we ate NINE of our lunches at Subway. Food was so expensive there! Even Subway, although cheaper than most, was darn expensive. Every single day, Ella begged to have Subway for lunch. Since it was convenient, healthy, fast and not too expensive, I couldn't provide a good argument for not eating there. Don't count on seeing me at Subway anytime soon.

• Number of pictures I took at Bondi Beach - 76

• Bondi Beach (pronounced BOND-eye) is one of our favorite places to go while in Sydney. It is a gorgeous, well-know beach that you've probably seen in magazine or in movies. It is without doubt Ella's absolute favorite place in Sydney - possibly the world - and the minute we stepped foot out of the plane, that was what Ella wanted to know - "when are we going to Bondi Beach?" Despite her begging every single day, we waited and went on the weekend so that Jeramy could come with us. We all had a great time! Jeramy dug a big hole in the sand near the water so that when the waves would come in, a little water would seep into the hole. He called it a bathtub and it was the perfect place to stick Finn to play. Finn had a great time crawling in and out of the "bathtub", when he wasn't eating the sand. Ella had a ball running out into the waves and letting them chase her back in. Jeramy was fantastic entertainment for the kids and my favorite thing was to take pictures of the huge smiles on the faces of the three people I love most!

Possibly my favorite picture from our trip. This
captures so many things I love about Ella - her
spunk, playfulness, sense of humor and zest for life!

Finn's first time at the beach.

Jeramy and the kids working on the "bathtub"

She had a smile on her face all day!
Busted! Didn't taste as yummy as it looked.
Caught in the act - again!

I completely buried Ella in the sand. I was so shocked
by how still she held. Didn't know she had it in her.
My two stunning boys!

• Number of times mobbed by Japanese tourists wanting to take pictures of the kids - 4
• These "mobbings" all happened at Bondi Beach - a big tourist attraction. You could tell these people had just arrived from Japan and the novelty of seeing people with light hair and eyes, well, they simply could not contain themselves. It was amusing to watch them survey the beach and stalk poor, unsuspecting, fair-haired victims! While at Bondi, we had four different groups of people come and ask to pose with and/or hold my kids for their pictures. It was pretty darn hilarious. Some of the groups had, like, 8 people and every single person had a camera and every single person wanted their own photos - note the plural on photos, one picture per person just wouldn't do! It kind of reminded me of my annual girl trips I go on - 8 girls, 8 cameras. Wow, we're really annoying! Nearly everyone wanted to hold Finn - probably because he wouldn't sit still - so I passed him over, laughing to myself as I handed my baby over to total strangers as it occurred to me that I would NEVER hand my purse over to a stranger - but, my baby? Of course - help yourself! A few times Finn got upset and started crying so I had to rescue him from the photo session, but that did not deter the determined photographers. Oh no, they would simply just include me in the photo. I guess they can just Photoshop me a blonde, too. Ella was in her element - all smiles and sass, loving every minute of the photo shoots. As we were leaving the beach, Ella asked why every time we go to that beach people want to take her picture? (Last trip it was the same story) I think after I explained, she was a little crushed that it wasn't because she was some kind of celebrity like Hannah Montana. In her mind it's more like - well, not yet....
  

• Number of hours Jeramy had to work to pay for us to go to the Sydney Zoo - 100?

• OK, a slight exaggeration, but it is very pricey. However, it is equally amazing! I am not an animal person but I love this zoo. You are able to get so close to the animals and it is such a beautiful environment with a spectacular view of the Sydney Harbour, Harbour Bridge and Opera House. They also have some animals that we don't get to see in Denver. My favorites, hands down, are the Koalas. You can get to within feet of them and they are so darn cute, especially if you can catch them awake - which is tricky because they sleep about 20 hours a day (what a life!). We all had such a great time at the zoo! Definitely worth the ridiculous price tag.
  

Wow, if you ask me - Ella looks pretty darn scary!
She looks as though she could swallow anyone whole.

When Finn saw me and Ella posing, he couldn't

stop giggling. What a cute little lion!

Finn's laughing because he though it was
hysterical to pound on Jeramy's head and
pull his hair. Let's just say the ride on
dad's shoulders didn't last too long.

A few pictures of the view from the zoo. Unfortunately,
the place in the zoo with the most amazing view of
the opera house, bridge, and harbour was blocked
off for a private function. It is still beautiful of the
of the harbour and bridge. Much more so in person.


These are some of our favorite animals we
saw at the zoo:

• Number of turkeys that Finn terrorized - at least 4 or 5
• At the zoo, they had a gated area you could go in that had some animals just running around free, some of which were turkeys. Jeramy and I were cracking up because Finn was a maniac. He was going full speed ahead, arms outstretched trying to catch himself a turkey. If I hadn't been worried about him getting pecked to death, I would have loved to let him loose to see how long it would have taken him to at least get a fistful of feathers.

As we were leaving, Ella was washing her hands
when a turkey snuck up behind her. She was a bit
worried, but her little brother came to the rescue!

Saving his big sister by chasing the turkey away!

• Number of birds that terrorized Ella (in her mind anyway) - 30
• We spent a lot of time at Darling Harbour on our trip. Our apt. was right next to it and Darling Harbour is where the Wildlife World, Aquarium, and park were located. There were also a bunch of shops and restaurants and in order to get to downtown or meet Jeramy we had to go through Darling Harbour. Anyway, because it is such a popular, busy place it is overrun with aggressive birds waiting for someone's crumbs to become their next meal. One day we picked up, what else, but Subway for lunch and took it to the park. We were immediately swarmed with birds wanting to share lunch with us. Ella was completely traumatized and sobbing and decided that the birds were all out to get her. So after we picked a new location for lunch - sans birds - she was constantly looking over her shoulder for the birds and would freak out if any birds came near.
  

The expression on her face kills me! She would
hardly stand there so I could get a picture of
Darling Harbour. She was so certain some birds
were going to swoop in and get her!

A magnificent fountain at Darling Harbour. Watch out for the birds, Ella!

• Number of times nearly eaten by a shark - 2
• The "shark encounters" occured at the Sydney Aquarium (see the pictures below for the full story! :) We always go to the Aquarium, at least once, when in Sydney. It was right next to our apartment and it is so fantastic! There are two things I particularly look forward to at the aquarium. The first are the sharks. To view the sharks you get to walk through these clear, underwater acrylic glass tunnels and literally feel surrounded by sharks - above you and beside you. It is a little chilling to see a huge mouth full of razor-sharp teeth right beside you! There is even a different place where you walk across a clear acrylic floor and sharks are swimming right at your feet. The second thing I love at the aquarium, actually my favorite, is the Great Barrier Reef Oceanarium. They have these HUGE tanks filled with all sorts of tropical fish (including those from Finding Nemo, which is always exciting for the kids) and live coral. The highlight for me is at the very end of the Oceanarium. There is a tank whose window is as big as a wall. There are steps in front and peaceful music playing and it is so beautiful and serene to sit and watch the exotic fish, eels and rays swim around. I almost feel as though there's no window there and I'm scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, well until my children start screaming and running around.......but at least for a few seconds I feel transported to the Great Barrier Reef.

Shark encounter #1! There goes Finn's fingers.

Shark encounter #2. Completely embarassing, cheesy picture, but it was fun!

Good info on distinguishing crocs and alligators.
It's all about how their teeth look outside their mouths.
Crocs - you can see top and bottom, alligators - only top.

Yikes! Check out those chompers.

Some kind of ray swimming overhead.
Brave sea turtle hangin' with the sharks.

Finn just hanging out (and drooling) at the Aquarium.

Finn trying to either eat or kiss the
fish in the Oceanarium.

My favorite place in the whole aquarium -
the Great Barrier Reef Oceanarium. It is magical!

• Number of new food names I was able to translate this trip - 4
• So I've figured out in the past that "rocket" is lettuce and "tomato sauce" is ketchup and "bangers' are sausages...but this time I learned that "capsicum" is a bell pepper, "coriander" is ciliantro, "rock melon" is cantaloupe and "sultanas" are raisins. Good to know!

• Number of days of perfect weather - 10 out of 1o
• Gorgeous and sunny every, single day there! The weather was the exact same every day we were there - sunny and low 80s. With the humidity it felt more like 90 degrees to me - which was perfect for the beach and pool. Because the weather was so great we tried to spend a lot of time outside - the park, the pool, just walking around, and when stuck at the apartment for Finn's naps - on the balcony.

The kids having fun at the park near our apartment.

Umm -gross! Can't imagine how
he keeps getting sick!

My little poser.
The bridge at gorgeous Darling Harbour.
My darling Ella looking gorgeous! :)

Hanging out at the pool one night.

• Number of separate items to send through the airport security conveyor belt - 25

• This included 8 shoes, one bottle of medicine, a sippy cup, a quart size ziploc bag of liquid items, DVD player, laptop, stroller - which came apart in 3 pieces b/c of the double seat and the storage bag, carseat, my purse, Jeramy's laptop bag, carry-on suitcase (sidenote: the first time we went to Sydney, our luggage showed up a day and a half later and if you add the 24 hours of travel - it was 2.5 days in the same clothes & underwear. Never again! I will always carry and extra change of clothes on long trips even if it makes for one more bag.), carry on bag for kids stuff, my bracelet (which set off the security sensor the first time around), Jeramy's watch and keys, Ella's jacket. We were quite the spectacle!

• Number of times we had to go through airport security - 4
• Oh brother!

• Minutes spent waiting for our luggage at the end of our trip in Denver - 50
• It was killing me! I just wanted to get home and brush my teeth.

• Number of times I said "I'm so happy to be home!" upon our return - probably 100
• I love to travel and our trip to Sydney was unforgettable! But when it's all said and done, you can't compare anything to the coziness and familiarity of your own home. I think after such an incredibly long day of traveling and battling children, it was just that much more wonderful to be home. By the time I'm all caught up on our laundry, I'm sure I'll be dreaming about our next getaway...
  

Crazy Kids

Life with little kids is certainly never dull! They sometimes do and say the funniest, craziest things. Here are two funny things that have happened recently:

Finn - So this morning I put Finn down for his morning nap. He has had a fever and has been sweating like crazy when he sleeps, so I just put him for his nap in his diaper and shirt. Shortly after I put him down he started crying and wouldn't stop, so I went to check on him. He had taken off his diaper and was standing up half naked crying. I went to pick him up and noticed the floor was wet. I looked down and saw that he had thrown out his pillow and stuffed Elmo and had peed all over them, the carpet and his crib bedding. Wonderful! I thought I still had another year or so until he started peeing everywhere.

Ella - On our trip to Australia, Ella ended up eating at McDonalds a few times (yuck!). She has always loved chicken nuggets but recently decided to branch out and try a cheeseburger. The first time she got a cheeseburger, she decided she didn't like anything on it but ketchup, cheese and the burger. So, the second time she wanted one she had to make sure to tell me that she did not want pickles or rice on her burger. Rice??? Me (puzzled): "Ella, they don't put rice on the burgers." Her (emphatically): "Yes, they do, Mom! Didn't you see all those little white things on my burger last time." ......Oh, the chopped onion. Too funny! Next time I'll be sure and have them hold the pickles and rice, Ella!

Six Word Memoir

The other night I came across an article from the New Yorker about telling your life story in six words. The article was in response to the book "Not Quite What I Was Planning" - a collection of people's (some famous, some obscure) six word memoirs. I think this book was probably inspired by the legend that novelist Ernest Hemingway was once asked to write a full story in six words. His response: "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn."

I started thinking about what I would write and, lo and behold, the next morning my friend Courtney had done a post with the very same idea. So, I decided to give it a little thought to see what I could come up with. The first idea I came up with was "Married childhood pal. Two marvelous children." But the more I thought about it, yes, it told some events of my life, but I didn't think it captured who I was and what I'm all about. The next one I came up with was "Fond past. Expectant future. Delightful present." but then I decided that it was pretty generic and really could be anyone's six word memoir.

So, after a little more thought this morning, this is what I've ended up with:

"Gospel, family, friends equals joyful life."

It's a little boring and could also apply to others, but I think that really tells who I am and what I'm all about. The principles of the gospel - such as gratitude, faith and service - as well as the teachings and example of Christ, are my compass in life. Those principles are my guiding force and direct me how to live my life each day. They are a part of my core and when I stay true to those principles and teachings, my life is filled with joy. And as for my family and friends, I can't begin to describe what joy, depth, richness and fun you all bring to my life.

Those three things are what bring me most joy in this life and make me who I am. Really nothing else matters. Oh, of course a fantastic pair of shoes makes my heart pitter-patter and I love finding the perfect item for my house but JOY - which means, "exultant happiness" and "high-spirited delight" --they do not bring. Besides the gospel and my loved ones, to me nothing else truly matters.

This was kind of a fun challenge and I would love, love, love to hear what anyone else came up with. I'm tagging anyone that reads this post and extending the six word memoir challenge to you! Good luck and have fun with it!

Prayer Air

The last week Ella has been really gung-ho about saying all of the family prayers. They are so sweet and sincere and usually kind of funny. The other night, she decided she didn't want to say them anymore. When we asked her why, she said it was because she "was all out of prayer air!" I'm not even sure what that means, but it made me smile.

Girls Ski Day

Yesterday Ella and I had a girls ski day. We were supposed to go last weekend and I even paid for lessons (nonrefundable) for her, but as our stay at the cabin didn't quite turn out like we wanted we were unable to ski. Since I had already paid, Jeramy and I worked it out that Ella and I would go up and both take lessons and he would stay with Finn.

The entire drive up I was peppered with questions by my very inquisitive daughter. "Mom, if I met a baby bear would he be nice to me?" After seeing a mountain goat on the drive "Mom, if I met a baby mountain goat, would he be nice to me?" "Mom, why are there balls on the wire?" "Mom, why did some people used to want to have slaves?" "Mom, do I run fast like a cheetah?" After a beautiful hour-and-a-half drive, my head reeling from our Q&A session, we finally got to Winter Park.

Ella did a full day lesson and had the time of her life. I knew by the end of the day she would either hate or love skiing. Luckily she loved it! They started the kids on the tiniest slope to teach them some of the basics and then had them use the magic carpets for a while. After lunch they took them up the chair lift to a really flat green run and had them practice. How could you not have a fun day with an instructor named "Mr. Potatohead!"

As for me, I enrolled in the "Learn to Ski" lessons - for people who have never really skied before. I've been about 3 times - twice in the early 90s and once a few years ago. I thought it would be good to start with the basics and learn proper form and technique. There were only three people in my class, so it was a nice student/instructor ratio. Even though I've hardly been skiing, I was surprised how much I did remember - kind of like riding a bike. I was a little anxious to go a faster and try more challenging runs but still had a great day! Now I've got the bug and can't wait to go again. Hopefully we can fit in another day before the end of the season.

What a fun, gorgeous day up in the mountains. The weather was beautiful - sunny and warm - and the scenery even more so. Even from the tiniest little green runs I was on the views were spectacular. I can hardly imagine what the views were higher up the mountain. All day long I kept thinking that this is why we live in Colorado! It's just one of the many reasons we love it and feel so blessed to be here!

What a beautiful view of the Continental Divide and
of Long's Peak! It is much more spectacular in person!

A Real Tooth

So, yesterday Jeramy got his front tooth pulled. When he was a teenager he got in a fight and got punched in the mouth. Apparently, that punch has caused his tooth to die. Ever since we've been married - 14 years - he has had a recurring nightmare about that tooth falling out.

Last fall his tooth started turning kind of pink so he had it looked at, and they told him it was starting to dissolve and eventually it would just fall out. So, he decided to get an implant. He wasn't too keen on the prospect of being half way around the world on a business trip and having his front tooth fall out!

Yesterday he got it pulled, had the screw put up in the bone and had a temporary tooth put in. In three months, after the screw has had time to fuse to the bone, he will go back for the real tooth. I begged him to take a picture of him without a tooth - but he didn't think the request was remotely amusing. I think it would have made for a much better blog post.

His temporary tooth looks great, but Ella has been a little disturbed by the whole thing. After he got home and told us about it, she ran right in the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Then last night for family prayer and today for the lunch prayer, she started with "Please bless that Daddy can get a real tooth...." She said his temporary "doesn't look like a fake tooth" but she said she "wants him to be able to eat apples and toast." I can see how life without apples and toast would seem traumatic to a five-year old!

Weekend at the Cabin..... sort of

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go with some of our friends up to their parents cabin in Granby, for the weekend. It is an amazing cabin set on a beautiful piece of property with an incredible view. We've gone the past few years and really look forward to going.

We went up Friday evening and had plans to put Ella in ski school on Saturday and then either Jeramy or I go with her and the other stay with Finn and do a little sledding at the cabin and maybe get some snowshoeing in, too and then come home Sunday morning.

Well, Friday night when we went to bed at 1:00, after some guitar-accompanied singing and all the husbands threatening to make a music video for YouTube, and some Phase 10 for the girls, Finn woke up and was up until almost 5:30am. He ended up coughing all night long, unable to fall asleep. As a result, Jeramy nor I got a wink of sleep until 5:30am. We probably could have managed okay, except for the night before I had my sister's kids and all the kids, except Finn, were up in the night several times. Ella and my niece, Avery, were awake most of the night, so Jeramy and I ended up with about 4 hours of interrupted sleep. So after a 4 hour night, staying up until 5:30am just did us in. We are getting too old to party like rockstars anymore! When 7:30am rolled around and both kids got up, neither of us could even entertain the idea of skiing/snowboarding all day, so we ditched skiing.

We tried to get Finn to take a morning nap with no success, so Saturday morning we just wimped out - packed up and came home. Ella had been so excited to ski and took the bad news really well - I was so proud of her. She put on her snow clothes and went out to play in the snow and do a little sledding while we packed up and had a fabulous time!

Despite the weekend not turning out how we would have liked, we still had a great time! Even the short amount of time we were there was fun and it's always so nice to get away - even for a night.

Anne of Green Gables

A few months back I started telling Ella some of the stories that happen in Anne of Green Gables. She became really interested in it, so for Christmas we got her an Anne of Green Gables chapter book. We've been reading every night for the past few weeks and just finished tonight. We both loved reading it.

Tonight we read the part where Matthew dies. I thought Ella might be kind of sad but then she started asking if she was still going to be alive when Jeramy died and started just sobbing saying she didn't want to be alive without her daddy. It was so heartbreaking! Then she asked if we were going to die at the same time. Based on how upset she already was, what could I tell her but "yes". After I got her settled down, we finished the book.

I have to confess that I have never read the book, but the movie that came out in the 80s with Megan Follows as Anne of Green Gables, is one of my favorites! Since we started the book she has been begging to watch the movie. We decided to wait until we finished the book and we'd have an Anne of Green Gables movie night. I'm so excited to see what Ella thinks of the movie. I noticed the Classic Starts has a version of Little Women. I think we'll read that one next, followed by the movie with Winona Ryder & Susan Sarandon. Someday we'll hit Pride & Prejudice!

Filthy 50

I am wiped! This morning I went to work out with Cliff, my trainer, and it was brutal. He is always really tough - but today he really outdid himself. Luckily, my friends Marilee and Mindy came with me this morning - misery loves company!

Cliff has this newer workout circuit that he calls the Filthy 50 that is so tough! There are ten exercises that you do fifty reps of. He times you and you cannot move onto a new exercise until you have completed all fifty reps. This was my first time doing the circuit. We did a practice one a few weeks back where we did only about 30 reps on half the exercises. The exercises are:

1) Burpees (a squat thrust with a push up and a jump at the end). These are probably the worst. I'm not sure why they're called "burpees." Barfees or pukees would be much more fitting!
2) Back Extensions
3) Box Jumps (he has these boxes that are about 12-15 high that you jump up and step off)
4) Squat Thrusts with shoulder press using 5-10 lb dumbells
5) Jumping pull-ups
6) Hanging leg lifts
7) Medicine Ball toss (you throw a medicine ball against the wall then squat when you catch)
8) Kettle bell swings
9) Lunges
10) Jump rope (200)

This morning he didn't have us do the jump ropes (too many bathroom breaks for us moms!) and I am still working my way up on the leg lifts. I did 25 hanging, then 25 on the Roman Chair. He timed us and I did it in just over 24 minutes - which is about 8 minutes faster than my time when I did the modified test run. I still would love to shave some more time off and need to get to 50 hanging leg lifts and add the jump ropes but was pretty happy with my improvement.

After we caught our breath we did some abs and finished off with treadmill sprints - 10.0 incline 7.0 speed. It was a fantastic workout! Anyone looking for a new, tough workout - this is it!

More Tag!

My fun, talented SIL Shanna also tagged me

2 Names I Go By:
1) TCo - Jeramy loves to make up silly nicknames for everyone. He made this one up during the whole "JLo" phase and it kind of stuck.
2) Tamairhead - My friend Melissa coined this one back in high school. I think it's so funny, and sadly a little true!

2 Things I'm Wearing Right Now:
1) My favorite jewelry item - I got a chucky gold bracelet from Anthropologie with a "T" charm on it a few months back. I LOVE it, it goes with everything so I wear it every single day!
2) A new lipgloss that I love - Sephora brand's "Rusted Rose".

2 of my Favorite Things to do
1) Workout - I can be kind of lazy, but fortunately I have a trainer who doesn't let that fly at the gym. When I'm done I feel amazing. It's an especially great pick-me-up /outlet when Jeramy's out of town.
2) Date nights!!!

2 Things I Want Very Badly
1) My children to sleep in until 9:00am tomorrow morning (since it's 2:30am)
2) A cure for stretch marks.

2 Favorite Pets I Have/Had
1) A German Shepherd named Princess that we got when I was about 9 and who lived until after I was married.
2) That's it - I'm really not a pet person - AT ALL!

2 Things I Did Last Night
1) Went to the mall in search of some jeans. After trying on a million pairs, left empty handed and very depressed!
2) Because of #1, ate a chocolate chip cookie from Paradise Bakery to help ease my pain. Doubt it will help me find some jeans - but it sure was yummy!

2 Things I Ate Today
1) A Protein Shake for "brunch"
2) A yummy lunch at Panera - Fandango salad and a cup of soup!

2 People I Last Talked To
1) Jeramy - he just flew out tonight to Chicago
2) Myself - I've recently realized I sometimes do this. Not full conversations but just little comments here and there.

2 Longest Car Rides
I've been in a million long car rides - think Utah to Canada and back; Colorado to Canada and back and throw in a little blizzard - lots of hours in the car! Two of most memorable car rides that seemed as though they would never end:
1) When I was about 4 months pregnant with Ella we went to Canada and from there to Echo Lake in Montana. I remember driving back to Colorado and Jeramy was sleeping and I just stationed a ziplock bag (the gallon size, of course) between my legs and threw up for hours while driving. Once Jeramy woke up and discovered this, he promptly banned me from driving so I just had to sit there with nothing to do or focus on for another 14 hours and throw up. We had to stop at a gas station along the way to replenish the ziplocks. It was miserable!
2) This one is the longest car ride proportionate to miles traveled - A few years ago I went to Moab with some friends to do a half marathon. We were supposed to meet at 9:15 am to leave. So Jeramy took me to the drop off at 9:15. Moab is about 350 miles - so should take 5 or 5.5 hours. We thought we would get there around 3:00 at the latest. Well, we ended up getting away a lot later than planned because the bike store, where our friends bike was waiting to be picked up, didn't open until an hour later than they thought, and it just all went downhill from there. We ended up stopping a lot for various reasons and ended up getting to Moab at about 7:00 pm. So from the time Jeramy dropped me off until our destination was nearly 10 hours to go 350 miles - 35 miles/hour! At least I was with great company and we had a lot of fun things to talk about.

2 Favorite Holidays
1) Christmas - Everything about it is magical! The liveliness and festivities, the lights and bright colors, the music - there's just a special electricity in the air. Especially now that I have kids - to see them enjoy the season is priceless. Of course the real meaning behind Christmas is what makes it truly magic. And although the commercial aspect can take over, I think in their hearts people do realize what it's about. I love that most people seem more kind, happy, thoughtful, and selfless at that time of year. I wish it would last all year long!
2) Thanksgiving - This has recently emerged as a new favorite. For one thing it's in the fall - my favorite season! Also, being Canadian - we actually celebrate Thanksgiving twice - once in October and once in November. It's just so enjoyable to get together with loved ones and share a wonderful meal and reflect on the many blessings we have. I love that it's kind of the kick-off to the holiday season (American Thanksgiving) and that is means a 4-day weekend!

2 Favorite Beverages
1) Ice cold water! Nothing like it.
2) Diet Coke - NOT caffeine free - which explains why I am awake at 2:30 am sharing embarassing things about myself.

OK I tag Colleen, Erin, Brecken, Mindy and Courtney

Tunes Tag

A few days ago I was "tagged" by an old college roomie, Bonnie. Thanks Bonnie - what a fun topic to be tagged! I looooove music which actually made this assignment a little difficult - only five???Anyway, the rules are simple - pick five songs from your music collection and explain why you love them.

Well, since the only source of music I actually listen to is on iTunes/iPod, I went straight to the source and started browsing through my library for five songs that I love and that I feel best represent me. I could have listed 500, easily. Music has always been a love of mine - ever since I was in sixth grade and got a walkman and a "Footloose" tape which I'm sure I about burned through listening to over and over and over (I could probably still sing you all the words to "Let's Hear It For the Boy!") Let me allay your fears - even though that was a milestone in my history of music - no Footloose on my list. OK, so here they are:

1) Soul Meets Body - Death Cab for Cutie - One of my favorite ways to waste time is to browse through iTunes, find songs I like and then follow the recommendations of other people's recommendations. That is how I found Death Cab for Cutie a few years back. I sampled them and immediately downloaded the whole album and after 2 1/2 years still love it. Usually I get so sick of songs but I could listen to "Soul Meets Body" every day for the rest of my life and not tire of it. The other reason I chose this song is because it represents one of my favorite styles of music - indie rock! I love it!

2) Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake - This probably seems like a really weird pick. But I chose this song for a few reasons. First of all this has an incredible beat to it and is a fantastic song to work out to. I love finding songs that make me want to keep moving. The other reason I chose this is because it reminds me of training for my triathlon last year. This was a great song to keep me going and I especially remember one run in particular that I was struggling with a hill and this song got me to the top.

3) Ordinary Miracle - Sarah McLachlan - Like the previous two, I chose this song for a few reasons. Number one, I love Sarah McLachlan! I have loved her since her song "Vox" came out in 1988. And very important - she is Canadian, which reminds me of my roots. Also, I just absolutely love this song. The lyrics are so simple but have such a profound meaning behind them. It is such a great reminder to stop and notice and appreciate all the beauty and wonderful things around us. So many lyrics these days are really pointless and a far cry from poetic or deep, so I really love that this song has a great message to it.

4) Home - Michael Buble - Another Canadian on the list! I love Michael Buble's voice. Also, I love the genre of a lot of his songs - some of the old standards (think "The Way You Look Tonight") I love those old songs and I think Michael Buble has the perfect voice for that genre. The reason I chose this particular song is because it reminds me that although Jeramy is often far away in his travels in fabulous cities doing exciting things, more than anything he wants to be here with us. "'Mid palaces and pleasures although we may roam, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!" So true!

5) I'll Melt With You - Modern English - My list could absolutely not be complete with at least one song from the 80s! Possibly my all-time favorite genre of music. It's because that is when I fell in love with music. When I hear my favorite 80s songs, they almost always have at least one memory attached - a dance, a party, a car ride. As soon as the song starts a million wonderful (mostly - a few heart breaks are in the mix) memories come flooding back. It was such an exciting time in life! I picked "I'll Melt With You" to represent my love of 80s songs - especially all the alternative 80s stuff - Oingo Boingo, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, etc......

Well, thanks for the tag Bonnie! It was a fun assignment and I would love to hear from a few of my blogging pals. Since that was such a fun trip down memory lane and I'm feeling a little nostalgic - I'm choosing all Canadians to respond!

Maurita and Tiffany - wonderful high school pals
Marilee - fellow Canadian Coloradan
My cousin Laura Lee
My sister Kim

Looking forward to your responses!

Hannah Montana

So last Thursday night, some friends and I took our girls to the Hannah Montana movie. For those of you who aren't big HM fans, the movie - "Hannah Montant & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" -- stars Miley performing as both HM and herself during her tour. It was in 3D and was great! The girls all looked so cute with their big huge 3D glasses on, standing up dancing and cheering.

Ella had such a great time, she was on her feet half the movie bopping up and down, dancing and cheering. It was so adorable! She was a bit of a fan before the movie but ever since we saw the movie she has started to become obsessed. She loves to go get a whisk or beater out of the drawer --for a microphone, naturally -- and will then crank the music on my computer and dance all around the house, singing at the top of her lungs. Anyone with Skype can call us on our computer and get a free concert!

Tonight she asked why Hannah Montana couldn't come to her birthday party. I explained that she was super busy with her show and concerts, etc. not to mention that she didn't even know Ella. Ella's quick -- and dead serious -- reply was "but Mom, doesn't she know I'm her biggest fan?" How could I argue with that? So now, Ella has decided if HM can't come here, that she wants to go visit -- right after she learns French and goes to Paris! What a girl!

Ella, Ellie, Chandler, Annie & Abby. Stars in the making!


Poor Sierra didn't quite make it all the way through the movie
All budding stars need their beauty rest!

One!

Today is Finn's birthday! My little baby boy is one! I cannot even believe it has already been a year. All day I kept thinking - " a year ago now we were on our way to the hospital; a year ago now we found out we were going to have a c-section; a year ago now I held him for the very first time!" So fun to think back to the day he was born and to think how many wonderful moments we have had this year.

Tonight we had a little party for him. We had a few friends over to help celebrate. First, we had him open his gifts. We sat him on the floor of the living room and all circled around him. As soon as he realized all eyes were on him, he got this big smile and kept looking around from person to person, trying to figure out what was going on.

After gifts, we did the cake. As we lit the candles and turned the lights off, his face just lit up! His eyes were huge and his smile even bigger. He just looked around with wonder and delight as we all sang to him. He definitely outshone the candles. So precious!

Then - my favorite part! We stripped him down to his diaper, put him on the kitchen floor and gave him a huge chocolate and vanilla cupcake to go to town with. It was so fun to watch! He didn't quite go for it the way I imagined he would but in the end, enjoyed eating the cupcakes but mostly enjoyed squishing and smearing the frosting EVERYWHERE! It was great!

The beginning and end of the Cakefest!
You can imagine what happened in between.

It's hard to believe that such a tiny little creature can occupy such a huge place in one's heart. What a joy every day of the past year has been as I have watched my adorable, happy little boy grow. He has such a fun-loving, playful personality and an infectious smile and laugh. He's my precious little puppy dog, crawling beside me, behind me, around me, all day long, panting, chewing on anything he can get his hands on. If he had a tail, I know it would be wagging constantly.

Each morning when he wakes up - even though I'm tired and fantasize about staying in bed a little longer -- I really am excited to go in his room and see him. Without fail, he is standing up waiting for me or Jeramy and as soon as he sees us, he giggles then turns around and dives - face first - into his crib.

What a blessing this little guy has been to me and Jeramy and Ella. He has brought so much love and happiness into our family and even though we've only had him a year, I can't remember our lives before him. I'm so excited to see what is in store for us this next year.

Birthday Collage

I can't believe that tomorrow is Finn's birthday! Over the past few days, I've been looking back through his pictures to try and find one for each month of his first year. For his birthday, I wanted to display pictures of him - newborn through one year. I also did this for Ella's first birthday and it was so fun to see how she had grown.

Last night I was talking to my SIL, Shanna, and we were talking shop - Photoshop that is - and she gave me the idea to do a collage. I'm pretty inexperienced in Photoshop and I'm just kind of a figure-it-out-as-I-go kind of gal, but I thought it was a great, fun idea. So, I took the pictures I had compiled and put them together in a collage. The top left picture is Finn the day we brought him home from the hospital, 2 days old. Each picture represents one month of his life and the bottom left one was taken yesterday. What wonderful memories and moments we have had this year!

Tomorrow Is a New Day!

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's just been one of those days and I thought this quote was a great way to end it. Absurdities, indeed! It's been a husband out of town for a week not to return for another four days - baby sick - throwing up everywhere- out of Pedialyte - off to the store for more but wait - dead car battery - running on 3 hours of sleep - have to cancel the babysitter and mom's night out -kind of days! Really more humorous than anything!

On a good note, I got our taxes done tonight. My goal is always to have them done by February 1st each year and since I just finally got Jeramy's W2 today, I barely made my deadline. We've been getting refunds the past several years, so I get a little gung-ho to get them done because I want our money back. I know it's lame to be giving the government an interest free loan. I used to meticulously calculate things each year so we'd break even. I've just decided it's too much hassle to stay on top of and, to be honest, it's kind of nice to get a little late winter "bonus". I realize I'm a complete geek - or "keener" as I was lovingly referred to by my high school pals -- to admit that I actually enjoy doing them. I'm not so sure if it's the anticipation of getting a check in the mail as much as the fact that it reminds me of my career days when I used to be smart and utilize a much larger portion of my brain on a daily basis. Whatever it is - I can now check taxes off my list for another year and start fantasizing about what I would love to buy with some of our refund. I've had my eye on this adorable dress at Anthropologie......

President Gordon B. Hinckley

I just found out that President Gordon B. Hinckley, the prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, passed away at his home a few hours ago. He passed away today, Jan 27th at around 7:00 at the age of 97 years old. I have to say that upon hearing the news, initially I was very, very sad. What an incredible, selfless, warm, funny and righteous man we have had the privilege of calling our prophet for nearly 13 years. I cannot imagine a General Conference without his presence, humor and spirit. Who can forget him having a little fun by "knighting" Elder Henry B. Eyring with his cane last General Conference. What a wonderful man!

As I have had a little time to continue reflecting on President Hinckley's passing, my sadness has given way a little to gratitude for such an incredible man and his life of service that he has given to others. He gave everything he had and now his work here on earth is done and he will be reunited with his adorable, sweet wife. Millions and millions of people are better, including myself, because of him, his testimony and his legacy. This occasion reminds me of a this quote I've heard:

"When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight." -- Kahlil Gibran.

It truly has been a delight to have lived and grown under this marvelous man's counsel and leadership. You will be greatly missed, President Hinckley!

Five Years Old!

Today was Ella's birthday - five years old! She was so excited all day long. Everywhere we went she would say to me - VERY loudly - "Mom, I can't believe it's my birthday today" or "I can't believe I'm five years old today!" and then try and make eye contact with anyone around and smile and wait for a reaction. She could barely contain herself - she wanted everyone on the planet to acknowledge that it was her birthday and to make a big deal about it.

This afternoon we had her birthday party. She had decided to have a "cheerleading" party. So this afternoon we were invaded by several 4 and 5 year-old cheerleaders. It was so cute! (My nieces and nephew came too, but I didn't get a good picture with them in it.) The girls all came ready to cheer in their cheerleading uniforms. We spent a while decorating megaphones and the girls all got their hair done all cute and fancy with bows and curls - thanks to my friend Neeley. They spent time watching and cheering and dancing to the Bella Dancerella CheerleaderDVD then we made up and did a few cheers. Finally it was the moment everyone was waiting for - the cake. Ella picked an ice cream cake from DQ and because my birthday was 2 days ago and my cake said "Happy Birthday T" she insisted on "Happy Birthday E." So cute!

In the spirit of the party and to pay homage to my former life as a cheerleader, we borrowed our friends SNL Spartan Cheerleader costumes. We were not about to be outdone by a bunch of little girls! We had a great time dancing and jumping around acting like goofs. And of course we looked amazingly fabulous in paper-thin polyester outfits. You can't really see Jeramy's pants, but they were hot! They look like he stole Santa's pajamas! In another few years, Ella will be mortified by what took place. Sorry honey - kids aren't the only ones who get to have fun at parties! I hope you'll forgive us when you realize you should be embarrassed by your parents.

Gooooooo Spartans!

Happy Birthday Ella. I love you so much and hope today was everything you imagined it would be. I hope this is your best year yet!

Round 4

This morning Finn had his fourth laser treatment. I've wondered if he would get to a point where just seeing the hospital or the doctor would traumatize him. We reached that point today. The minute we walked into the laser treatment room, he started crying. Talk about breaking my heart! Only 8 more rounds to go, little guy (or thereabouts).

Luckily, it doesn't seem to hurt him at all - he's just so mad that he's being pinned down and that his eyes are being covered with gauze. As soon as it is done - less than a minute - he calms right down and seems his usual happy self for the rest of the day. Here's a picture of him a few hours after the treatment. It looks so horrible. You should see the looks I get out in public! I can only imagine what people must think happened - after all it does look like someone took a cigarette and burned his poor little face. Good thing he's such an adorable, happy little guy!

A Birthday

So yesterday was my birthday. Most of my adult life I've been a little traumatized by getting older. As much as I love to celebrate my birthday with family and friends, I don't mind if my birthday quietly passes by so I can live in denial about aging.

Anyway, it was a fun birthday. Last weekend I went out with some friends for a little pre-birthday celebration. We went to one of my favorite restaurants - Hacienda Colorado and to the movie 27 Dresses. Super fun! Then yesterday, most of the day was business as usual. I went to the gym in the late afternoon and when I came home my cute little family was waiting with a cake and candles and a round of Happy Birthday! Then Jeramy and I left the kids with a sitter and went out to dinner and to a movie. What a treat to go out in the middle of the week! We went to a fairly new Asian restuarant called Jing, which was so yummy and then over to a new movie theatre. The theatre was really cool - it is $12 a ticket, which is about $2 more than the other theatres - but your ticket includes all your popcorn and soft drinks. For an extra $2 you can upgrade to VIP which gives you prime seating, really huge chairs with a little arm rest and place to put your popcorn and someone comes and takes your order and brings you your drink, popcorn, or whatever else you want. It was fun to try the VIP, but, personally, I think the non-VIP seats are more comfy. Also, someone will only come bring you stuff until the previews start - not during the show. Finally, as buttered popcorn is one of my passions, to have the opportunity to fill my own popcorn and layer the butter is such a treat! It's not a job I would entrust to someone else.

In addition to all the food and fun, I got a little spoiled this year. For Christmas 2006 I got a new camera - the Nikon D80. I had my eye on a lens to go with it, which cost nearly as much as the camera itself. Obviously I knew I wouldn't be getting the lens anytime soon, so I opted to get only the camera body and use one of my old 35mm film lenses. I didn't want to spend the extra $300 to get a mediocre lens that I knew I would want to upgrade anyway. This combination has been OK but not great. So for my birthday, Jeramy got me the lens I've been drooling over for the past 15 months. It's a Nikon 18-200mm lens and is supposed to be fantastic. I'm so excited and can't wait to get it out for a test drive. I think I'll take the kids out on Saturday and torment them with a little outdoor photo shoot. Here is the lens. It's a beauty!

Also, I got an adorable necklace from Ella. The other day I was online looking at the new stuff from Anthropologie. Ella had seen me looking at the earrings. After I left my computer, I guess I still had the window open, so she hopped on my computer and zoned in on a pair of earrings she loved and wanted to get me for my birthday. She had Jeramy take her to the mall to Anthropologie to buy the earrings, but I guess they didn't have them. So she looked through everything and decided on this necklace. The one she got me is a different color, but the style is the same. So sweet!

In addition to those I got a yummy and beautiful arrangement from my sister and her family from Edible Arrangements. I got a new filter for my lens from my parents and from my friends I got The Holiday on DVD (love that movie!), some great hand cream, a gift card and a cool wallet calendar called a WhoMi. Completely spoiled!!! So thank you everyone for your e-mails, calls, cards, gifts and love. All your love and thoughtfulness helps dull the pain of another year older. Despite getting old, I'm looking forward to another wonderful year!

At the Gate of a New Era

This morning I registered Ella for kindergarten. Through the many, many tantrums and emotional battle of wits that we have had over the years, I have to say there have been many days when I have dreamed about her being in school. Now that those days are right around the corner, I have to say I'm a little bit sad. I'm just starting to realize how quickly they grow up. And although there are a ton of things that I am looking forward to about having older kids - they are just so precious when they are little. I guess it's good to have moments like this to help me appreciate and endure the roller-coaster ride that we are so often are on.

Ella's Birthday Invitation

Ella's birthday is in just a few days. I can't believe she will be five! After lots of great, fun and expensive birthday ideas - like taking all her friends for pedicures and manicures - she finally decided that she wanted to do a cheerleading party. I think it will be a lot of fun! Here's the invitation (I deleted our address and changed our phone #)

Caught Up!

I have been so behind and neglectful of our blog! It had been several months without a post but I finally just got caught up. You've probably noticed that I "cheated" and back-dated everything. It's more for my sake so I remember when things actually happened.

For Christmas I got a new computer, an iMac that I LOVE, which has made blogging and other computer-related activities (ummm - online shopping...) so much more enjoyable. So now I have no more excuses for getting behind!

Zoo Lights

One of our favorite things to do around the holidays is hit the zoo lights. Each year the Denver zoo puts over 38 acres of lights throughout the zoo. They have all kinds of fun animated animal sculptures that swing through trees, jump across lawns and hide in bushes. It's a ton of fun for the kids.

This year we didn't manage to go until nearly the last day. Jeramy had taken 2 weeks off work but with company and illness (a lot of it!) we didn't get to do a lot of the things we'd planned.

The great thing about going when we did was that the weather was pretty warm. The bad - it was ridiculously crowded. And of course, everyone - like us - has a stroller or wagon which makes it so difficult to maneuver. Despite that, it was still a lot of fun and the kids - especially Finn - had a great time riding the carousel.

I pulled out my camera to bring but realized the battery was nearly dead. So, I brought the car charger but like a big dummy, completely forgot to charge it. I was so mad! I felt like we hadn't been able to do nearly as many fun things as we had wanted because everyone was sick and finally, we were all healthy and out doing something fun as a family and I wanted pictures! As we walked into the zoo someone took our picture and gave us a ticket. As we left the zoo I was still so mad about not having my camera that I fell for the swindling scam, and paid $15 for a bad picture with a superbly tacky border. I love it!

Thanks Grandma!

For Christmas my mom gave Ella and her cousins a little make-up kit. Of course the girls all loved it and Ella wasted no time getting gorgeous! What makeup kit is complete without electric blue eyeshadow?

Christmas

Christmas morning was spent at our house with just our little family. It was really nice!!! It was so much fun to watch the kids and we spent half the day in our pjs playing with the kids and their toys. Ella's highlight was getting her American Girl doll who looks just like her - down to the pierced ears! She named her Lucy Anna. Finn really enjoyed his first Christmas and quickly figured out how to tear paper off gifts in a hurry. What a wonderful day! It was also made extra special by getting a ton of beautiful, white fluffy snow. Talk about a White Christmas!

Christmas Eve

My favorite part of Christmas, is always Christmas Eve. My family has some great traditions that make Christmas Eve very special and memorable.

This year my parents and brother were in town, so we had Christmas Eve at my sister's house. We had our big Christmas turkey dinner, a cute program including the nativity (hilarious!), musical and dancing performances by the kids some songs by my dad on his guitar and a surprise visit by Santa.

Finn didn't have a part in the nativity, so
he nominated himself to be baby Jesus.

Finn's first time meeting Santa.

Definitely a Cooper-Leavitt
(the BIG mouth is a dead giveaway!)

Halloween

Well, for Halloween this year I decided to do costumes that were going to be easy and cheap (free, actually!)

When Ella was Finn's age, she was a skunk. It was the most adorable costume, gender neutral and really warm, plus it really seemed to suit both my kids personality - you know, little stinkers! Finn's costume - done!

Now, for Ella. One of our friends has a daughter a year older than Ella and the last year she was a can-can dancer. She had offered to let Ella borrow the costume. That was great, but Ella can be very opinionated and picky when it comes to what she wears. So, I had to use a bit of cunningness . I knew she had ordered the costume from Costume Express, a catalog that we get every year. So this year, when we got the catalog I found the can-can dancer and "ooohd" and aahhd" and told Ella how beautiful it was and that it was my favorite. She totally fell for it and asked if she could please, please be a can-can dancer for Halloween. What else could I say but "of course!"

Fall Festival

This weekend Grandpa Gary & Grandma Sheila (Jeramy's parents) came for a visit. They got here just in time to catch the last half of Ella's soccer game. Unfortunately, they missed the best part of the game - Ella with an amazing breakaway and a great kick sending the ball right into the goal.....ummm - the WRONG goal! Poor thing, she was so excited to score a goal, I hardly had the heart to tell her it didn't really count.

After her game, we grabbed a quick bite of lunch then headed over to the Littleton Historical Museum for the fall festival. They had a lot of fun things to see and activities to do. Jeramy, Ella & Grandpa went on a wagon ride. They also had a clothes line and wash tubs with a whole bunch of clothes. Ella had a great time pretending to wash clothes on the washboard, then hang them to dry on the clothes line. One of our favorites was the stilts. I thought since I could do them as a kid, that I'd be able to jump up on them and take off. Not quite!!! Still, they were a ton of fun to try. They also had a little hay-bale maze for the kids. What a fun way to spend the afternoon with Grandpa & Grandma!

Jeramy and Ella on the wagon ride

Grandpa & Grandma enjoying
some warm apple cider.

Fun on the stilts!

Laser Treatment

As some of you know, Finn was born with a birthmark on his chin. Our pediatrician had told us that over time it would go away on its own. Then a few months after he was born a small spot that looked like a cluster of broken blood vessels developed on his cheek. Our pediatrician was concerned about the spot on his cheek and referred us to a pediatric dermatologist who specializes in birth marks, etc. So in July we took Finn to the specialist who told us that the spot on his cheek would, in fact, go away on its own. The birthmark on his chin though, actually a port wine stain, would not and would actually keep getting darker and darker and recommended that we consider laser treatment. He said that Finn would need at least twelve treatments, two months apart and that starting before he reached his first birthday would produce the best results.

So now finally, three months later after dealing with the frustration of our insurance company and the fact that the doctor moved to a new location, we were finally able to have his first treatment done.

The doctor moved to the brand new children's hospital which has only been open a matter of days. What a gorgeous facility! As soon as we arrived we had to put some numbing cream on Finn's cheek and chin. The doctor recommended that after putting the cream on that we then put Glad Press'N Seal overtop to keep it from getting rubbed off. Well, keeping it on the puddle of drool on his chin was pretty much impossible, so we kept applying it to make sure it would help him out.

Before the laser treatment. Notice the piece of

Glad Press'N Seal stuck on his cheek!

Finn and Ella having a wagon ride while waiting to see the doctor.
Poor little guy looks so happy - he has no idea what's in store for him.

The actual procedure took less than a minute. Finn was so mad that everyone was trying to hold him down that he was already screaming before they lasered him, so I'm not sure how much it actually hurt. They just did about 7 or 8 quick zaps on his chin and one on his cheek and we were done! He calmed down very quickly and seemed just fine the rest of the day. Instantly the areas they lasered turned red and then a dark purple - almost black. I'll be curious to see how long they take to heal.

Immediately after the laser treatment. The areas they

lasered instantly turned red. Poor baby!

About one hour after the treatment. The areas
went from red, to dark purple. I think it looks
worse than it is because he seemed really happy
the rest of the day.

Family Bike Ride

An activity that our family has really started to enjoy is biking. Jeramy got a mountain bike this year for Father's Day/his birthday and this is my first summer really using mine since I bought mine last summer when I was pregnant. Some of our friends are really into it and we have kind of caught the biking bug, too.

One of my favorite things about where we live is all of the many trails outside our front door. In addition to all of the paved trails and parks, there are also two single-track bike trails that are about a 15 minute bike ride away. They aren't too difficult or technical (yet I've still managed several wipe-outs!) but they're fun and great practice for us newbies.

Anyway this weekend we borrowed our friends trail-a-bike for Ella to try. We do have a double Burley that attaches to my bike but Finn is still a little young so I like to keep him in his car seat buckled in the Burley, which essentially takes up the whole seat. Also, Ella is getting a little old (ie - heavy) to ride in it.

Finn just chilling in his carseat in the bike trailer

We tried out the trail-a-bike on Saturday afternoon but it was so incredibly windy (think Southern Alberta) that it wasn't a lot of fun. So then Sunday afternoon between conference sessions we thought it would be nice to get out of the house for a little while and get some fresh air. It ended up being really cold and a storm started blowing in, so once again we didn't get to go as far as we had wanted.

Despite the weather challenges we still had a great time! Finn absolutely loves the Burley and usually ends up falling asleep. Ella loved the trail-a-bike and begged to keep going, despite being freezing. We will definitely be buying a trail-a-bike for her. I'm so happy that we found another activity that our whole family enjoys and can do together. Hopefully we can get a few more rides in before the snow comes.

Ella had the best time on the trail-a-bike!

Pierced Ears!

I know. Before I even have to say anything, I can feel some criticism and judgment coming on. Ella is only 4, an age that apparently most people feel is way too young to have her ears pierced. I'm kind of surprised how strongly some people feel about it. I was 4 years old when I got my ears pierced and I vividly remember begging, and begging to get my ears pierced. I wanted it so badly! I think I finally probably just drove my mom crazy, so she broke down and let me get them pierced. So when Ella started asking and asking and asking I said "sure" because I remember being there. Also, I really don't think it's a big deal. There are so many other things that I do feel strongly about and that are a big deal and pierced ears isn't even in the same league.

I took her to Claire's at the mall. I called ahead and made sure that there were 2 girls there so they could do both ears at the same time. So we drove over, I filled out the paperwork, opened up my purse to get my ID and my wallet was not there. I remember earlier in the day getting it out for info I needed on the computer and I left it on the desk. Ella had been waiting so patiently and excitedly for today that I couldn't disappoint her. We turned around and drove home and I got my wallet. The only problem was when we got back to Claire's there was only 1 girl there, so that meant she had to have her ears done one at a time. She said she still wanted to do it. Based on her very dramatic, violent reaction to getting a flu shot last week, I was almost positive that we would be leaving with only one ear pierced, but I promised, so we proceeded.

She did great! She looked a little surprised and panicked after each ear was done and her little lip started quivering (isn't that the sweetest sad picture) but she held it together and a few seconds later was all smiles. She was so cute after we were done she walked around holding her hair up in a ponytail so everyone could see her pierced ears! Seeing how excited and happy she was just melted my heart and made me so glad I let her do it.

First Tooth

This morning while feeding Finn his breakfast, I noticed that the corner of his first little tooth just popped through! Such a fun milestone (especially now that this explains the fevers and diarrhea!)

Superstar Parents!

I was talking to my sister-in-law the other day and she was saying that she feels like blogs usually end up feeling like a big showcase for parents to brag about how wonderful they are by showing all the great things they do with and for their kids.

Just to contradict that theory, I wanted to tell you about mine and Jeramy's parenting week, last week. Let's start with me. In the course of five days, while under my care, Finn had three little mishaps. Number one - he rolled off the bed. Well, he actually launched himself forward and slid down, landing on his feet then pouncing forward ending up on his hands and knees. I do have a good defense to that one, which I won't bore you with. Number two - he fell down three stairs before I caught him. No defense at all! Number three - he somehow pulled the baby monitor out of the plug and put the cord in his mouth giving him a little zap. No defense - I was three feet away from him the entire time. (I made Jeramy stick it in his mouth and he said the current wasn't very strong)

Now, Jeramy's bad parenting moment. He only has one, which almost shouldn't count since he stuck a cord with a live current in his mouth to make sure his baby didn't fry his little brain!. We were at Nordstrom Rack last week getting Jeramy a few new clothes. We had gone out to dinner with the kids and Ella had behaved horrible. Then we had a few other errands we had run, so by the time we were at the Rack she had really worn Jeramy down. She went with him into the dressing room and was crawling under all the stalls and was completely ignoring anything he said. They came out of the dressing room to show me some clothes and Ella started tormenting Finn, who was already having a meltdown. It was too much for Jeramy and he let a naughty word slip (very quietly, I didn't even hear). No sooner was it out of Jeramy's mouth, Ella let out a big gasp and as loud as she could says "Mom, daddy said @#&$!" So completely mortifying!

So there you have it! No superstar parents here. As you can see we have moments when we are the worst parents. Such as yesterday when we had a crazy-busy day (school, soccer, ballet, pictures, young womens, playdate - husband in London) and Ella had two fast food meals and for a bed time snack - an hour past her bedtime - a pink iced cookie and a mini chocolate donut. Not my finest or proudest parenting moments, but you know, they happen so why pretend otherwise! Being a parent to little kids, I'm learning you just can't take things too seriously. There's actually a lot of humor and fun to be found amidst the chaos!

Now, partially to make me feel better, partially for pure entertainment and humor - I want some bad parenting stories! Post a comment with your best ones and we can all bond via our bad parent confessions.

Remembering 9/11

For the past few days I have had a small cloud overhead as I thought about today - the six year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks - an event that has truly changed all of our lives. Since I am so terrible at keeping a journal, I'm certain that I have never recorded my life that day. Each year as September 11th approaches, I think to myself that I really need to write down my thoughts and feelings about that day, and each year September 11th comes and goes with no written record. So, this is the year. This was such a significant day in our lives. Our children and grandchildren will learn about it and ask us to tell them about it and I'm not putting a lot of faith in my memory!

In September 2001, I was working for a small start-up company, CopiersNow, that sold and serviced office equipment. A friend from BYU, and Ernst & Young, left E&Y to work there and ended up recruiting me there. Not a hard sell, considering I was just finishing up my 3rd busy season at E&Y and had been pulling 100+hour weeks! (BTW - 120 was my record and yes, there are that many hours in a week!)

After a few months of doing really boring stuff in Accounting, they had a need for an IT Project manager and asked if I would want to make the change. I happily changed roles and was really enjoying the challenge of something entirely new.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I drove the ten minute drive to work in silence. For some reason the radio was turned off, which was extremely rare - I ALWAYS had music on, and I was so preoccupied with thoughts of work, I didn't even notice that I was driving in silence. I remember arriving at work, shortly before 8:00am, completely oblivious to the unfathomable events that had already occurred that morning. As soon as I opened the door to the office, I knew something was going on. The few people that were already there were huddled around a small tv. I remember watching and listening with unbelief, but it was nothing compared to watching the first tower collapse just a few moments later. Then seeing the second one crumble a short time later and just watching it be replayed over and over again on the news. It was all so surreal - I kind of felt numb. Most of us stayed around the tv for the majority of the work day. A few times I left to try and get some work done but couldn't think of anything else but the attacks. They should have just sent us all home because no one got any work done. I remember feeling so small and vulnerable and afraid . It was the first time in my life I have ever even thought about feeling safe within the borders of my country - Canada or US.

When I got home, Jeramy was already home because his company shut down early and sent every one home to be with their families. We just sat in front of the tv the rest of the afternoon and evening trying to take it all in - the sadness and grief for those whose lives, or loved ones, were taken; the fear of feeling, for the first time, the effects of terrorism; the anger and disbelief that people could plan and execute such atrocities; the joy and pride for the many, many heroes who emerged in the midst of the worst of circumstances and the patriotism felt by a country uniting to stand strong.

As time has passed, it has also dulled many of the emotions and has hopefully helped to heal so many of the wounds inflicted that day. For me, remembering 9/11 is not just about what was lost but what has been gained. To me, 9/11 represents faith, freedom, patriotism, perseverance, service and love. I have gained a greater appreciation of what a blessing it is to live in this country (and Canada), for the freedoms we are afforded and the people we are united with.

Soccer

Ella started soccer this week. A few months ago she told me she really wanted to play. I'm not sure if she even knew what it was, or why she was interested, but she kept asking so I signed her up. She had her first practice last Wednesday, which was so hilarious. There were nine little four year-old girls running all over the place, bumping into each other, kicking their balls, and when that wasn't working so well, they would just pick them up to get them where they wanted. Pure chaos!

Down the field, at practice

A goal!

Then yesterday was her first game. Her team is called the "Unicorns" - very appropriate sounding team name for 4-year old girls. Coincidentally, the team they played were also the "Unicorns." So for the game they play four girls from each team, obviously not playing positions, and no goalie. Pretty much the whole game there were eight girls crowded around the ball trying to get it going the right direction. Ella was cracking us up! Seeing how she doesn't have older siblings and really hasn't been that exposed to soccer, I'm not sure she completely understood her role on the field. She was just trotting around the field with a big goofy smile on her face. She got some good kicks in and almost scored a goal but mostly kind of stood back a little and waited for the ball to roll her way.

Warming up before the game. Nice kick, Ella!

Game on! (Although if I'm not mistaken, I think
you're supposed to kick the ball, not carry it!)

Ready to start the game! What fierce looking Unicorns!

This is pretty much how every picture from the
game looked - the ball, surrounded by eight little girls

After the game we went to lunch and Jeramy and I were telling her how great she did and were telling her that when you play soccer you're supposed to run really hard after the ball and try and steal the ball away from the other team. Her response "Am I allowed to do that?" Clearly, we had a bit of a communication breakdown somewhere. :)

Regardless if soccer will be her thing, or not, she said she had a great time (besides "getting too hot") and is excited to be playing soccer. She has a great coach and I think it's really good for her to play on a team. Let's hope we all feel the same way at the end of the season!

Labor Day

This morning when I went to get Finn out of his crib, I opened the door to find him holding on to the front rail, standing up! It's the first time he's pulled himself up. He looked so big but little at the same time. It was so cute I had to grab my camera. Wow, just the past week he hardly seems like a little baby anymore! I wish he would stop trying to grow up so quickly!

The majority of the day was spent "laboring" in the yard. We've been gone so much this summer that our yard has been a little neglected. We mowed, trimmed shrubs, weeded and shoveled rock. Not very fun, but the yard looks so much better.

We then decided that the poor kids needed a little fun so I loaded up Finn in the Burley (in his car seat) and attached it to my bike and Jeramy walked with Ella while she rode her bike and we went over to the park for a while. Finn had a great time in the swings, laughing and giggling. Do you love Finn's crazy faux-hawk? Just like his daddy's, but his hair's a little long.

This picture of Finn reminded me so much of one of Ella's first times in the swing. I went through some old pictures and found one of Ella at exactly 7 months old. It's kind of fun to compare the pictures of the kids - on the exact same swing and the same age, almost to the day. Such cutie pies!
While Finn was swinging away, Ella had a great time riding her bike around the park and then kicking the soccer ball around on the soccer field. She starts soccer this week and was excited for a little practice session.


Not our most fun, memorable Labor Day, but it was a productive day and fun to be together as a family.

Before I Was Your Mother.....

The other night I was talking to my sister-in-law, Lisa, about doing some photo books. She was telling me about a really cute template through Heritage Makers called "Before I Was Your Mother". It reminded me of when I used to scrapbook, I had always wanted to do a scrapbook about me. I have a ton of programs and tickets, notes, etc. saved from high school and college that need an organized home, but I mostly wanted to document that part of my life so my kids would someday know that I'm more than just a mom - I'm a person who has hobbies and interests and have done and enjoyed a lot in my life

Then today, on the drive home from church Ella somehow started talking about what she wanted to be when she grew up. She was talking away, rattling off a big list of potential careers - a cowgirl, dentist, vet, dancer, roofer (we're in the middle of getting a new roof). I guess she wasn't sure what she wanted to be the most because she asked me and Jeramy - "Can I be anything I want?" We told her "Anything!" Suddenly she was quiet then goes "Mom, you aren't ANYTHING!"

Even thought it was really funny (and kind of sad) and I explained that I used to be "something" but now I get to be "nothing" so I can be her mom all the time, it did get me to thinking. What would I tell me kids about myself before I was their mother? Off the top of my head here a few specifics (besides sister, daughter, etc.)

So Ella, before I was your mother....

1) I was a student. I went to school at Ricks and BYU and graduated with a Bachelor's and Master's in Accountancy.

2) I was a cheerleader. In junior high I was a cheerleader for football but by high school I decided cheering outside in below zero temperatures was nothing to cheer about! In high school I cheered for the basketball team and our cheer squad won provincials all three of my high school years.

3) I went to lots of concerts! I have always loved music and when daddy and I moved to Denver there were a lot of opportunities to see some great bands! Some fun concerts I've been to: Barenaked Ladies, Depeche Mode, U2, No Doubt, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Coldplay, Sarah McLachlan, The Killers, The Fray, Gwen Stefani.

4) I had a "career". A week after graduating from BYU I sat for the CPA exam and somehow managed to pass all four parts! (must have been a low curve that time) A few months later I started working for Ernst & Young, one of the "Big Four" accounting firms, as an external auditor. I also worked at a little startup (that went belly-up after a year) called CopiersNow as an accountant and IT project manager and then at First Data Corp in Coporate accounting.

5) I was a piano student and teacher. I started taking piano lessons when I was 8 until I was 16. During that time I did the Royal Conservatory of Music program complete with theory (yuck!) and exams. For a few years in high school I also taught lessons to a few students.

As you can see, Ella, before I was your mother I was "something"! I did have a job, even a career, I guess. But I knew it wasn't the "something" I wanted to do forever. When I became your mother I happily gave up "something" for "nothing" and have never looked back! Today, I told you when you grown up, you can be anything you want! I hope you find that "something" you are passionate about and want to be, but more than that I hope someday you get to experience how wonderful being "nothing" is.

Maui

Aloha! Jeramy and I just got back from a FABULOUS trip to Maui! My wonderful parents drove down from Canada - yup, 15 hours each way - to come and take care of the kids while Jeramy and I took advantage of all the airmiles, Marriott points and American Express points that he has racked up with his crazy travel schedule. One whole week in paradise!

We arrived to the hotel, the Wailea Marriott, late at night so we couldn't really see anything. In the morning - after a precious full night's sleep with no crying babies or nightmares to deal with (sorry mom and dad!) - we looked out our window and were blown away by the view - isn't it amazing?

We spent a lot of our time there just enjoying the beach, snorkeling, lounging by the pool and reading. Our second day there was Jeramy's birthday. After spending the morning at the beach, I booked him a massage at the hotel spa. For dinner we went to the most incredible restaurant - Mama's Fish House in Pa'ia. Even though it came highly recommended, the name of the restaurant conjured images of an old shack with beaten up wood plank floors and dingy walls that smelled of grease from all the fried food. I could not have been more wrong! The location and ambiance were enough to wow me. It was a converted beach house nestled in a coconut grove on a gorgeous white sand beach. We somehow scored the best table in the restaurant. And the food - AMAZING! Every morsel I tasted - and there were a lot! (don't tell Cliff, my trainer) - was sooo delicious. We had appetizers, main course and dessert - all of it scrumptious!!!

Jeramy & I enjoying his birthday dinner at Mama's.
We turned around for the picture but were facing that
amazing view our entire meal.

One of the days there we drove the Road to Hana. It is an incredibly windy road with tons of one lane bridges. I think our average speed was about 15-20 miles/hour. So why, you ask, do people spend an entire day in their car to travel a 70-mile stretch of highway? That's what I want to know!

Before we went I had heard mixed reviews - absolutely do it! or definitely skip it (one of my friends said it should be renamed the "Road to Hell") We've always heard about it and it sounded like there were so many beautiful things to see along the way - which there are - so we decided to do it. There were tons of beautiful waterfalls, beaches, caves, sea arches but I was so car sick I couldn't really enjoy anything. In retrospect, I'm glad we did it - it was really beautiful and the memories and pictures outlive the carsickness. Just don't ever try and get me on that road again.

Me and Jeramy in Nahiku - a little town

right on the coast off the Hana Highway.

Another stop on the Hana Highway.
Jeramy in front of a small sea cave at
Pa'iloa - a black sand beach

The 7 Sacred Pools - our last stop (halleluiah!)
on the Road to Hana. Then we just had to
turn around and drive the whole thing back!

Another fun thing we did was take a boat from Ma'alea to Molokini, a crater about 8 miles from Maui, to do some snorkeling. It was a lot of fun. The captain of the boat, the Four Winds II, was hilarious and kept us entertained during the boat ride. Unfortunately, the morning we went ended up being really windy, so the snorkeling wasn't as fun as it could have been. We still saw some great fish, an eel and Jeramy saw an octupus. We rented an underwater camera to take pictures but I haven't developed them yet so if there's any good ones I'll post them later.

The one thing I really wanted to do was to take a surf lesson. Unfortunately, it didn't happen this time. Between Jeramy's irrational fear of sharks, the wind, and conflicts with other things we had planned, it didn't work out. For sure next time!

Really, some of our favorite days were the ones we spent at the beach and the pool at the hotel. It was so nice to just do whatever we wanted with no one to take care of and no time constraints. Although we were in paradise, really the best part of the trip was just being together. I know that sounds really cheesy and very cliche, but it's true! Jeramy's travel schedule has been crazy this summer! And when he hasn't been gone for work we've been gone on family trip or we've been at home playing catch-up and getting ready for the next trip. It was so nice to have so much time together, away from everything, especially his Blackberry - yes, can you believe he actually left it! We had such a great time together! I absolutely loved the whole trip and am going to be dreaming about it until we can go again!

One day - after we fried ourselves and wanted to stay

out of the sun a little - we rented a cabana right on a cliff
overlooking the ocean. We just sat and read, had a nap
and would go jump in the pool to cool off. Heaven!

Jeramy reading in the cabana. Can you tell what
he's reading? Oh yes, none other than "Eclipse"!

Woowee! Hot stuff! Jeramy goofing
around on his way out to snorkel.

Yoga Baby

Our sweet little Finn is already trying to crawl. He suddenly seems so grown up! Didn't I have him just yesterday?


Anyway, I snapped a few pictures of him scooting around. He is so funny trying to move. I don't think he has quite figured out he's supposed to move on his hands and knees. He spends most of his time on his hands in feet with his little backside in the air - kind of like downward facing dog. Then from that position he will stick one of his legs out and balance on his hand and one foot. It's so cute and so much fun to see him learn and grow.

First Day of School

Today was Ella's first day of preschool. This is her second year of preschool - she is now in the 4-year old class. She is back with Miss Tanya this year - whom we both adore!

She was so excited this morning, she got dressed without a fight and, of course, picked out all her accessories on her own (the girl knows what she likes and she does not want anyone else's opinion!).

Before I took her to school, she happily posed for a few pictures. I can't believe how grown up she is!

There are 9 kids in her class at school. A lot of them are returning from her class last year, which she is so excited about. There will also be some new kids which will be great for her to make new friends.

Ella will go to school M,W,F from 9:30 to 12:00. I thought it would be a great time for me to go do errands - grocery store, Costco, post office, Nordstrom Rack :) .....but Finn naps right around 9:30, then eats at 11:00. Sadly, I will be hanging out at home. At least I can clean my bathrooms without a helper.

Ella with Miss Tanya. Not sure why,
but she wanted a baton as a prop in the picture.

Ella and one of her best little friends,
Sierra Jensen. Fierce posing, girls!

Triathlon!

This weekend I competed in my first, but definitely not my last, triathlon. It was sooo great!!! I really had a great time and truly enjoyed it.

About a month ago, my friend Tanya and I decided we would do the upcoming sprint triathlon here in Highlands Ranch. It was an 800m pool swim (32 pool lengths), 13 mile bike ride and 3.5 run. So for the month of July I trained for it but up until race day I wasn't too convinced I had any business doing a triathlon - I was sure all the participants were certain to be real athletes and serious competitors.

The day before and especially the morning of the race I was SO nervous. Tanya and I kept asking each other to remind one another why we were doing it. However, once we arrived and surveyed the scenario, both of us felt much more at ease. There were participants of all ages, which I know because we had to have our age branded on our calf in permanent marker - so humiliating! Especially when people in their fifties were FLYING by me on their bike! There were also people of all shapes and sizes - some looking supremely fit and others - err, not so much. (Myself included in the latter category, of course!)

We arrived at about 6:15am, an hour before my swim. We were grouped in heats according to our estimated swim time, so because my est. swim time was 22 minutes I was in the 9th wave and started at 7:15 - the first wave started at 6:00am (est. swim time of 6 min!) and the last at 7:54am (est. swim time 45 min).

Upon arrival we were assaulted with permanent marker! We had our bib number written in big black letters across our right should and thigh, our age across our right calf and our swim wave, lane assignment and start time written our right hand.

We next checked into the transition area and found our bike rack assignment. We hung our bikes and laid out our towels with all our gear organized on our towels. Talk about a lot of stuff! Bike shorts, socks, helmet, sunglasses, camelback, race belt, Cliff shots, running shoes, hat, ipod, water bottle.....and so on.

Around 7:00 we made our way over the pool. How relieved were we when we saw swimmers, in faster heats than ours, doing side stroke, very leisurely-paced backstroke and even hanging on the wall taking a break. We instantly felt so much more relaxed as we both had been nervous about the swim portion. Who am I kidding, I was nervous about ALL 3 legs of the race!

At 7:14 I jumped in Lane 2 of the indoor pool, along with 3 others assigned to my lane. They did 4 swimmers to a lane and started us all 5 seconds apart. I got to go first in my lane so at 7:15:00 I pushed off and began. The first length I did front crawl but then because I was nervous and couldn't get my breathing under control I switched to breast stroke, which I used for most of the swim. After 17 lengths in the indoor pool we jumped out, ran up two flights of stairs and jumped in the outdoor pool for the last 15 lengths. How happy was I to be done!

We exited the pool area right into the transition area. I found my gear, dried off my feet, put on my biking gear and went off on my bike. I was a little nervous for the bike portion because I was borrowing a friend's bike and it was only my second time using clipless pedals. The first time, 3 days earlier, as I went to stop at a red light I couldn't get my shoe out fast enough and totally fell right over. HA! I felt like such a moron and probably looked even more so! Even I couldn't help but laughing about how ridiculous I must have looked. Especially because I was trying to unclip my left foot and tipped over to the right. How'd I do that??? I got some nice bruises and a road-rashed knee. Oh well, at least the bike was lighter than my mountain bike and not too many people were around.

Anyway, I didn't wipe out on the bike but this poor lady did. I was about 15 minutes into the bike portion when this woman, with a big, black 50 on her right calf, cruises by me. I could see her ahead a little and as we made our way up a hill the gap widened. Shortly after the top of the hill, the course turned downhill (yah!) As I came around a corner I could see a girl flagging down a vehicle and a second later saw several bikes laying on the road and about 5 people standing near someone sprawled out on the pavement. It was the lady that had passed me and she looked to be in pretty rough shape. She was face down on the pavement and her arm and shoulder looked pretty chewed up. It looked as though she had had a pretty bad fall. I stayed for a few minutes but the others that arrived ahead of me had everything under control and an ambulance was on the way, so I continued on. I was so happy that there were so many people decent enough to stop and help this poor woman. I really hope she's OK.

The remainder of the bike leg was without incident and I made sure to unclip my shoes before trying to get off my bike. I made my way back to the transition area for the last, and most dreaded, portion - the run! The course was a fairly challenging, hilly 3.5 miles. I knew it was going to be rough when the very first part of the run was downhill and I was still having a hard time getting my legs to move. I felt as though I had a 20 pound weight strapped to each of my ankles! Also, by this time it was REALLY hot outside. I had to make a conscious effort to move each leg but I was determined I was going to run the whole thing. I kept moving but SO slow that I was barely passing people walking (I'm not kidding!) The first 2 miles and 2 big hills were really tough but luckily my ipod and some great tunes got me through it. Right around the 2 mile mark I was able to pick up my pace and make it up the last, and toughest hill without stopping. After that it was mostly downhill to the parking lot and to the finish line. By this time I was feeling GREAT! I knew I was steps away from the finish line and that I had done it!

Sadly, Jeramy was in London and couldn't be there to cheer me on. But my very thoughtful friend, Brecken, came to cheer me and Tanya on. It was nice to have a supporter at the end! I saw her on the side and could hear her cheering me on as I finished the race. Thanks Brecken!

Crossing the finish line felt amazing! Not just because I had finished the race but because I really enjoyed the whole thing (OK, with the exception of the beginning of the run) and had so much fun doing it. I loved that I was able to do the race with Tanya. It was so nice to have someone to train with, stress with and celebrate with! I look forward to another one!

Pictures of me and Tanya getting ready to cross the finish line.
She looks so amazing and strong (because she is!)
and I look like a goof - but a goof that is very happy to be finishing!

Pictures

We just got our family pictures back from Rebecca Cooper. We did a photo session with her in Canada. It was a bit stressful, mostly in part because of my very uncooperative 4-year old! I was really nervous we wouldn't get any good pictures but I was really pleased with them - Rebecca is so talented!

I created a new blog header (top of the page) with some of my favorites. Here are some more of my favorites.

O Canada!

Well, we just got back from our trip to Canada. We have tried over the years to go back for July 1st - Canada's birthday. It is also the birthday of the town of Raymond - my hometown. It is such a fun time to be home - there are so many people around and lots of fun activities and family traditions.

Our trip to and from Canada was LONG - yes, we drove - but the visit went by so quickly. With so much family to see it always seems way too short.

One of our favorite things we did was eat at Chopstix, Jeramy's dad Gary's new restaurant in Lethbridge. It is similar to a Panda Express, which is not in Canada, but much yummier. Not only is the food better, but also the decor and Chopstix has a drive-thru. After eating there two times, mine and Jeramy's unanimous decision for best dish goes to Lemon Chicken!

Another -errr- memorable thing we did was have family pictures done. It did not go well! Ten minutes into the session we were getting eaten alive by the mosquitos and Ella was having a meltdown, despire numerous bribes involving ice cream and Polly Pockets. A little while later both kids fell asleep, which was actually quite cute. It will be a miracle if we get a decent family picture. The girl who did our photos, Rebecca Cooper, does amazing work so I'm optimistic that at least something turned out - stay tuned......

We also had a chance to go to Ridge Lake with Jeramy's dad, Bryan . He brought out the boat and we had a great time tubing (after waiting in the cars for an hour for the rain and lightning to clear). Ella was a maniac in the tube and was constantly giving Bryan the thumbs up to go faster.
As for my little snuggle-bug, Finn, he just burrowed down into his life jacket and took a snooze.

One of my favorite things about the trip was the fact that I did the Raymond 10k! Despite planning on doing the race for about3 or 4 months, I only ran about 5 or 6 times prior to the race and my longest run in training was 4 miles. Needless to say, I felt a little unprepared for the run. But on race day me, my sister Kim and my sister-in-law Jessica were there ready to run. I ended up running every step of the race with a finish time of 1:08 - which I realize is slow at an11-min pace but I was just happy to finish!

A few hours after the race we ended up going up to Waterton with my family. Whenever we go home, Waterton is a MUST in my books! Even if it is almost always windy it is still great to go. While there we stopped at Cameron Falls, had lunch at one of the camp kitchens, drove up to Cameron Lake and a did a short little hike with the kids. On the way down from Cameron Lake, Jeramy and I stopped at "our rock "and took a few pictures. The picture we ended up using for our wedding announcement was taken on the rock - fourteen years ago! YIKES! Now every time we go up to the lake, we stop and take a picture. After our pictures we headed back down to the townsite for some ice cream at Big Scoop - a must do!

We were able to visit with my good friend Melissa McKendrick at her parents home in Welling. It was so great to visit. While we were inside visiting, they got the horses out so the kids had a chance to ride a shetland pony. Ella was in heaven! Finn seemed to have a good time too!

On our last day of Canada was the Raymond parade. Such a fun tradition - especially now with all the little ones. It was rainy at the beginning but turned out to be a nice day. After the parade we all went to my parents house - grandpas, grandmas, aunts, uncles, counsins, etc. to eat and visit for the afternoon. It was great to catch up with everyone. The evening, and our trip, ended with fireworks. The next morning it was back on road back to Colorado. Now that the drive is a behind us, it was a great trip and we look forward to next year!