Kind of a Big Deal

Let me start by sharing one of Dave's favorite jokes:

How do you know when someone has run a marathon?

Don't worry, he'll tell you!

Well, we didn't run a marathon, but I am totally going to be one of "those people" and post about the half marathon we completed this morning....just because I want to capture it and it was kind of big deal to us.  Plus I don't think too many people will read this!

Let me rewind about 14.5 years ago.  I was twenty years old and I ran my first half marathon while at BYU.  In that race, I had the run of my life, hit a great "runners high" and clocked in at 1 hour 58 minutes....which was exciting for me.  I had wanted to beat 2 hours and was so happy to do so.  Over the last 15 years, I have kept running (some years better than others depending on when my babies were born) but I had never done another half marathon.  As time kept passing, I knew that I really wanted to do another one, but I also knew that it would be quite the feat for me to beat my previous time.  And that discouraged me...which is silly because realistically I was 15 years older, had given birth 4 times, and was holding myself to beat my 20 year-old standard.  But for some reason, I really only wanted to run another one if I could beat the 2 hour mark again.

About 4 months ago, Dave and I started to feel like it might be okay for us to get up early, leave the kids in Parker's care, and start running together.  We started getting up at 5:45 three to four times a week, quietly waking Parker just enough to leave my phone by his pillow, and taking off to exercise before the kids woke up. We tried to stay close so we could get home quickly if needed.  Dave typically stays pretty fit playing basketball, using our elliptical machine, and lifting weights.  But he had never run further than about 2 miles.  It was funny when we started running longer distances and he had this epiphany that he really could run long distances if he didn't sprint the whole time!  When he found out what my typical running pace is, it suddenly became very doable for him and we decided to train for the South Jordan Half. 

We have had the best 4 months getting up early and having that time to run together.  With four kids, it's sometimes hard to find that time to talk and connect....somedays I feel like we hardly get to finish a sentence to each other!  We have enjoyed some great conversations during these early mornings and we have loved it.  We hope to keep at it. 

As race day approached and we were clocking our times (we were averaging 10 minute miles), I realized that it might not be the best to shoot for the 2 hour mark.  We decided that first of all, just finishing would be amazing, and secondly, 10 minute miles would be a good goal for us.  That would have us finishing at around 2 hours, 10 minutes.  But secretly, inside I still had my hope of beating 2 hours.   

Our race started at 8:30 this morning, but I was up at 5:30, so excited to finally be running a half.  Our baby-sitter arrived and we got to the start line about 45 minutes early.  Here we are, ready to run:  

And we were off!!  Dave kept telling me that he would stay with me throughout the race, but I thought he should just take off.  He's in better shape than me and I wanted him to do his best.  Bless his heart, he stayed with me and I pretty much set the pace.  I had some pretty good adrenalin pumping as we started and I knew it would wear off before too long, so we decided to hit it hard the first few miles.  The first 3 miles we were running 9 minute miles, with one downhill mile of about 8:20.  But after those first few miles, my stomach wasn't feeling so hot, so we slowed it down and I started feeling better.  We stayed at about 9.5 minute miles until about mile 8 and then we were shooting for 10 minute miles.  Typically Dave and I talk non-stop while running, but unfortunately for Dave, I wasn't in too much of a talking mood, especially for that time when my stomach wasn't feeling so hot.  He was a good sport to put up with my quietness and he stayed with me, until we completed the 12th mile.  He kept encouraging me through the race, but at that last mile when he was wanting to really pick it up, I told him to please just run ahead!  I could tell he had energy to spare and to be honest, I felt like I had nothing extra to give so I convinced him to just go for it and he took off!  Makes me wonder how fast he could have done the whole thing, but I sure am grateful for my kind husband that stayed with me for 12 miles!!

And we finished!  I was holding back the tears as I crossed...it was the best feeling!  We didn't beat the 2 hour mark but we did beat our goal of 2 hours 10 minutes.  Dave finished in 2 hours 2 minutes 19 seconds (averaging a 9:20 mile).  I finished in 2 hours 4 minutes 4 seconds (averaging a 9:28 minute mile).  Not too shabby and that 2 hour mark will be a great goal for the next one.  Hopefully it won't be 15 more years in the making!!  

Here we are after crossing the finish line, but before I puked.  Once that not-so-fun part was over, I felt pretty darn good!  We did it!!!  

American Fork Canyon

Since the kids had the day off of school today, Dave decided to take the day off work.   We headed to American Fork Canyon, one of our favorite Fall destinations.  There weren't too many of the red/orange leaves yet, but the different shades of yellows, greens, and browns were stunning.  The best part of getting away and outside is that the kids have so much fun together.  I love watching them explore, climb, run, and just enjoy each others company.  We left a little later than planned and didn't have too much time to spend there, but while there, it was just perfect.  

Parker couldn't get enough climbing in.  He is our fearless leader when it comes to exploring:

The girls tried to keep up with Parker, and Dave tried to keep up with the girls:

Here are Kam and Lyddi sliding down "slide rock."  So appropriately named:

And I got the best job of hanging out with this cutie pie.  She LOVED being outside.  It's her thing:

And Champ made it into this picture:

My phone camera never does anything justice, but it was just beautiful!

After our meanderings, we had a quick lunch and headed out...just as the big flood of campers started arriving.  Such a great day!!

Howdy, October!

Holy smokes, it's October!  I can't believe how fast this year is passing, but I love fall and love October so I'm happy to welcome it.  This cute girl started her 3 year old preschool last month and loves her cute teacher and my friend, Miss Marli.  It's in our neighborhood and with just 6 kids, it's perfect for us right now.  She always says in her sing-song voice, "When I go to preschool, I skip a day, go, skip a day, go, skip a day, go........"  You get the picture.  I love this age and wish I could freeze time.

 

No huge new updates with this one right now.  The doctor says she needs to eat more so we're trying to make sure she is full!  We suspect she's allergic to milk (I put a tiny bit in her oatmeal and she threw up for about 15 minutes, then was fine).  She likes to feed the dog from her high chair, is almost crawling, smiles on a dime, and is still pure sunshine.  She lights up my life.  So cheesy, but so true.

This cute girl stayed up super late with me while the boys went to the BYU football game....she just couldn't wait to decorate for Halloween.  I'm not a decorator but this girl takes it seriously and loves it.  She carefully and thoughtfully placed each of these bats on the wall, helped me make a wreath for our front door, and put fake fall flowers together for a centerpiece.  It was so fun.  I love her quiet, sweet personality.  And, yep, that family picture only has half our kids in it....that's just the way I roll people.  I finally just bought my first pair of skinny jeans which means they will be out of style tomorrow.  Actually, maybe they already are.  I never know.

I got to go on a field trip to the fire station with Parker's class, but had to book it back to the school early when I got a call from the school that Kam was feeling sick.  It was fun to be there with him while it lasted.  

We had an apple tasting contest for family home evening.  I bought five different types of apples, cut them up, and put them on plates for sampling.  Then we voted on our favorites.  And the winner was........... Ambrosia!!  I had actually never purchased them before.  I guess I will now.  We love apples and apple season!

And we just finished up General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It happens twice a year and they are my two favorite weekends of the year.  I love our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson.  As he stood at the pulpit to address us and struggled to stand due to his 88 years of age...my love for him grew.  He has given his life to serve the Lord and I love him for it.  The whole conference was so uplifting and I can't wait to re-read and re-listen to the talks given.  

Parker and Dave working on a puzzle while listening to conference:

The circus (and Scott) comes to town

My brother Scott and his wife Sidney came to visit this weekend!  They stayed three nights with us and it was so fun to have them. Their cute little guy, Van, is 2.5 weeks older than Josie....and about 2.5 times more heavy than her too!  I did get a picture of the babies together, but dang it, I didn't get any more pictures of the weekend. Both Scott and Sidney are so pleasant and easy going. It was so fun to catch up with them. We loved having them... And my girls were in heaven when Aunt Sidney painted their nails.  

I got to tend Van when they went to the circus. He and Josie would sit and look at each other, then Van would open his mouth really big and try to kiss her. It was adorable. We were sad to see them go!

Here we go!

So, here we go again....after over two years of no blog posts, I'm going to give it another go.  I have really struggled to document so many things that I want to remember.  I have started things here and there but I have the darnedest time staying consistent!  After going through a difficult time about two years ago, I found keeping a written journal was so helpful for me....and I did great for about a year....

And then I had baby number 4 and the written journal was pushed aside, except for the occasional five minutes I'd take to jot something down.  That baby number 4 is now nine months old and I have recorded so little.  We took a family trip to California several weeks ago and one day during some down time, I was telling Parker about this funny face he used to make as a baby.  Then I remembered I had a picture of that funny face on my blog so I looked it up for him and Kam.  Then I started reading some of the other posts about funny things they had said.  They LOVED it.  We were laughing and remembering funny moments of when they were younger.  As we read through them laughing I was sad at the same time, thinking of all the things I hadn't recorded.

Then, one morning, as I was out for a jog along the beach, I was thinking of my old high school friend, Becca....and thinking of her amazing blog that I LOVE reading (seriously, you should check it out http://renfroescoop.blogspot.com).  I was thinking of what a treasure she has with everything she has recorded (I am so grateful for her example)....and I knew I needed to give it another go.  I messaged Becca on Facebook.  I asked her how, with 4 kids, did she make blogging happen along with all the other amazing things she accomplishes?   She was so sweet to answer.  Among several other extremely helpful tips, she said that she was fast.  She said she loves writing and she was able to do it fast.  And I.......am not fast.  I also love writing, but I write and re-write, then second-guess, worry what people will think, get distracted, etc.  I rarely post anything on Facebook because after I do,  I analyze it over and over, wishing I had written it differently (lame, I know).  But I am going to try this blogging thing again.  And I am going try to be faster.  My kids are growing up crazy fast and I don't want to forget all of it.

I also love to cook.  I love looking up healthy recipes and I love cooking for my family.  Even though my house is rarely spotless, gosh darn it, my family is well fed.  So on the left, you'll see a link to a blog where I will post recipes that I try.  I'm just going to start recording recipes as I make them, instead of backtracking and thinking of everything I would like to add.  But really, this blog and the recipe part are for me.  I want to record my recipes on that blog so I can quickly look them up again.  And I want to remember this crazy, busy time in our lives that I love so much.  So if you are reading this, enjoy!!  Here's to another go of it.

Oceanside, how we love you

We love the San Diego area and have been there several times. We love this fun place we stay in Oceanside!  I've been having issues getting photos to upload, and we have so many more than this, but I'm just going to go ahead and post what I have right now with these random photos...or I'm afraid it won't ever happen!  Several weeks ago we took a week long trip to California and it was fabulous.  About 2 days into the trip, Dave said to me, "This is great and things are going well, but I've come to the conclusion that when you vacation with young kids, it just really isn't that relaxing."  Well said.  But we are very grateful for busy kids that keep us on our toes!  We wouldn't change a thing.

Here was our schedule we hung on the fridge at the condo:

 The kids had a great time playing in the sand.  We had a sand build contest with Girls vs. Boys.  Dave and Parker built a sea turtle.  They did a great job...almost as well as us girls.  I mean they definitely get an A for effort, but it didn't compare to the mermaid we created.  We're talking flowing hair, gorgeous tail.....too bad I couldn't upload the pic to prove it.

Sea world was the highlight of the trip.  This is my poor attempt at getting a picture of the sharks behind Parker and Kam.

 Lyddi fell asleep in Dave's lap during the killer whale show.  This is what pure exhaustion looks like.

 And Parker got sunburned and was miserable.  We didn't reapply sunscreen as we should have one day and he got burned.  It actually wasn't a bad burn but he sometimes has an allergic reaction when he burns that causes him to get hives and itch like crazy.  And he was miserable all Wednesday long, poor kid.  Dave took the older two girls out and about while I stayed back with Parker and the baby.  I was looking up home remedies for his condition and did what I could with our small vacation supplies.  The cucumbers did nothing....the yogurt below finally soothed him into a short nap.  This boy will, for the rest of his life, be wearing shirts while out in the sun, no matter what he is doing.  It's just not worth the misery.

 A morning jog on the beach selfie.  Jogging on the beach is my happy place.

 This happy girl is, well, a happy girl.  She is pure sunshine and did so well the entire trip.

 Waiting for the pet show.  You can't get much more stylish than Lydia Marie.

 A random family picture.  I think Josie is placing a calming hand on Lyddi.  Or something.

 We spent most of our trip on the beach.  They love to pose.

 Each of the kids were in charge of a day to choose meals and help prepare them.  This girl chose to put together a "fruit mix" for her breakfast.  Not to be confused with "mixed fruit" or "fruit salad."  She would correct us if we called it anything but fruit mix.

Well, that certainly was a random group of pictures, but I'm just trying to make the record keeping happen.  It was a fabulous trip.  On our way home, we stayed a night with Dave's college roommate Quincy and his family in Las Vegas.  It was so fun to catch up with them and they were so good to let us stay and feed us.  Our kids had a ball with theirs and we just think the world of them!

  We always make a top ten list after a vacation, so in no particular order, here they are.  I typed these up on my phone on our drive home, so excuse the grammar/punctuation.  I don't love typing on my phone.

Top ten (or 12) in no particular order:

1- sea world.  Each of the kids said it was their favorite day. They touched Dolphins, pet a kangaroo, touched sharks and sting rays. We loved the shows too!  We got to celebrate a killer whale's birthday.
2- Parker got a sunburn Monday and he is allergic and get hives when he gets burned. He did fine with it Tuesday but was miserable all day Wednesday. We felt it was a tender mercy he felt well on Tuesday for sea world- we would have expected that to be the worst day.
3- Wet suits!  Dave tried to persuade Candace to use her new wetsuit, but it was so muggy and hard to get on, she kept declining. Finally on our last night she squeezed into it to boogie board with Parker. It was a hit!  She loved wearing it and the waves were perfect. 
4- Master boogie boarder Parker would yell out tips and instructions as he zoomed past us on his board. He had it down!!!
5- Dave took Parker boogie boarding one morning as Candace cleaned up breakfast and let the girls play. Josie was sleeping so Candace was excited to have some time to read after cleaning. The very second she finished cleaning.....Josie woke up. Later as Dave and Candace lay down for a nap, Candace said, "This is great, we can relax and the kids are content."  That exact moment when she finished that sentence, Josie woke up.  Made us laugh. 
6- Out first night there, Dave and Parker rushed to the store to get our food for the week- two shopping carts full. Then they raced home and we quickly headed to the beach with about 45 minutes of daylight left. Dave and Parker had a ball boogie boarding as the girls ran screaming from each wave that came in. Such a fun night!

7- Each of the kids planned a day to choose and be in charge of meals. They loved it and were so excited for their days. It worked out great, we ate really well, and completely devoured our two shopping carts of food!!
8- Church. We found a ward in Oceanside and sacrament meeting was focused on missionary work. The bishopric spoke and it was so inspiring. Dave talked with one of the counselors to get his notes from his talk. The kids went to their classes like champs, even though they get nervous to go when they don't know anyone.
9- Our sand competition. The boys vs. the girls. The boys built a sea turtle and the girls a mermaid. Kam was so excited about making the perfect mermaid.
10- Morning runs. Both Dave and Candace went running each morning. Candace did long runs and Dave would do short runs then take Parker boogie boarding. We had perfect mornings!   Dave and Parker also ended each day with boogie boarding. They could not get enough!!
11- The kids were overall so well behaved. Josie, for being 9 months old, did awesome with traveling and being out and about
12-  Burritos. We ate out once in California. Dave and I got burritos in a little ghetto burrito place. So gosh darn delicious!!

And we thought we'd record the un-top tens (just to keep it real):

1)  Parker's sunburn. He was loudly miserable all day Wednesday.

2-  We were so excited to take the kids to Cabrillo national park to see the tide pools. We called on our drive to California to make sure we knew when the tide would be low. We were told noon by a very helpful lady. We made sure to be there at noon.... Only to find that the very helpful lady was mistaken. No low tides during summer days. We were bummed but had fun exploring the lighthouse and seeing where the tide pools would have been during low tide.
3-  The after beach clean up and showers. We were not aware that children could harbor that much sand inside their swimsuits. We could make our own backyard sand pit with the amount of sand we washed off of them!
4- Dave's multiple trips from our condo to the beach....back and forth, back and forth. He was so good to haul things around while Candace took care of Josie. Good thing we were close to the beach!!
5- We realized that taking 4 young kids on vacation to the beach is inherently not incredibly relaxing. We had little bursts of relaxation and moments of 4 happy kids here and there, but overall it was super busy and somewhat chaotic. But those perfect moments we had made all the work worth it.
6- Dave and Candace were so tired each night. It seemed we would fall asleep mid sentence while talking.
7- Parker's showers....."MOM, DAD, I NEED HELP WITH THE WATER TEMPERATURE....I NEED A TOWEL....ETC."  That kid has some healthy lungs.
8- Candace giving Dave grief about the wetsuit. He kept begging her to put it on...she tried once but it was so tight she gave up and complained about it. Then she finally gave in and put it on....and loved it. In her defense she did apologize for her poor wetsuit attitude.

Since we've been gone....

Since we've been gone.....this cute baby, Josie Sarah, joined our family.  She was born last December and made it our best Christmas ever.  There is so much I would say about her if I had oodles of time, but I'll just say she has been such a sweet, special addition to our family.  When I was in the hospital, early the next morning after she was born, I came across this quote:

President Gordon B Hinkley once quoted E.T. Sullivan who said, " When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, He goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn't stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts.  Instead, he has a helpless baby born...And then God waits. The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The greatest forces in the world are babies."

And there, in the hospital, I started crying like a baby.  It may have been the hormones, but I think it was the realization that Josie, just like so many babies born at this time, is so special.  I am certain God saved some of his most valiant spirits to come now. She is now 9 months old and I always say it, but she is pure sunshine.  She has a strong will that she manifests at times, but she is a happy, smiley, ray of sunshine in our home, and we just love her to pieces!