As the days go by

 I so remember playing in the mud as a kid.  I am so grateful that my kids get the chance to do the same! And believe me they don't miss a chance to do so.

 Autumn was a flower girl for a friend of Isaac's wedding. 

 Autumn really enjoyed following the bride around and holding her basket of flowers.

 We feel grateful for having kind friends that let Autumn share in their important day.

 We got a new dog, Mercedes.  She is a rhodesian ridgeback, papered and all.  I never dreamed of a dog like Mercedes but a one of my athletes raises these dogs.  All of us our in love and will probably never go back to another breed, she is amazing just as a 12 week old pup.

Dryan has been potty training.  And true to form, here he is 'taking care of business with no reservations.'  He is doing great, but man the predicaments you find this kid are just plain funny! Notice the mud tracked in from just his little size 6 shoes, that look untied, but hey he is washing his hands after all.

 The kids got to walk in the 4th of July parade and that was a blast!  We had great company and the parade was the perfect distance for the little one, even Mercedes.  We brought candy for the kids to pass out and we gave it all out and took home none, this is my new favorite way to go parading.

We have been eating vegetables out of our garden now for two weeks.  So far we have bell peppers, snap peas, strawberries, and green beans.  I am so pleased with how the garden turned out this year.  With all the help and advice from friends I think our soil and methods are breeding success.  But if you come and visit the garden and smell dead fish or smelly cow it is all my mom's garden guy's book fault.

Summer

Summer has been filled with dirt filled socks and boots for these two boys.  

Bruce really loves to shoot his bow, ride the pony, ride his bike, build with legos, and  eat popsicles. Bruce has enjoyed swimming a the Aquaplex and even mastered some ice skating at Jay Livley.  

Dryan loves to take baths, water plants or dirt, build with blocks, ride our horse Polly, and play with the dog Charley.  Dryan is potty training and learning to do chores around the house.  

Both of these crazy boys wake up at  5:00am with Daddy and don't stop until you turn on a movie or take a drive somewhere.  Everyday I am grateful to be their mom and that they have each other, here's to the jokester and the clown!

Remington is still the highlight of everyone's day! It is hard for me to imagine the day when we don't have babies in our home, they are the sweetness of life.  Remington loves to be outside and will make a dash for the door anytime it is opened.  As the kids play and I garden, he will play and play in the dirt for hours.  Remington is learning to walk and talk.  The kids love to tickle him and his laugh is contagious.  

Autumn has finished kindergarten and her 2nd year of piano.  We are so pleased with her confidence in her learning and performing.  She has such poise!  I enjoy watching her perform and can't wait to see what the future holds in speaking and performing for her.  This summer Autumn has been riding horses almost daily. She loves to ride out to the forest and spot out the squirrels and deer.  Autumn is so helpful and always asking how she can help. Autumn is really is excited about reading and dancing, both of which she does often.  She is loved and adored very much at the Larsen home.  All the boys go to her when they are hurt or hungry or sad.

I don't mind it a bit!

Remington on a daily basis makes life so much fun!  One minute I put him on his bottom to watch mommy dig and the next he is right down in the dirt digging with me.

Track Kids

 Track season has been in session for a month now and I feel so blessed to have such a happy crew to assist me!

The weather has been beautiful and the kids have enjoyed playing in the sand pit (long jump pit), jumping on the huge trampolines (high jump mats), racing the bike track (400m track), and climbing the jungle gym (stadium).

The year is going exceptionally well with one of my boy high jumpers ranked number one in the state of Arizona and number three in the nation.  My girl high jumper is ranked number two in the state.

Remington has been the biggest helper, he has gone to all the meets and enjoyed every minute of it.  He takes naps in the wagon and eats dirt and grass like it is going out of style.

Bruce, Autumn and Dryan have enjoyed playing with all their buddies at track.  We now have nine track kiddos that come with their coaching moms each day.  One of the coaches mentioned that its like daycare for track & field training.  I LOVE IT!  Just think how well seasoned all our kids will be with years of experience on the track before they even get to middle school.

Birthday Crew

 A 4 year old boys top ten list:
1. Favorite food -hot dogs and ham sandwitches
2. Favorite friend-Spencer & Natie
3. Favorite thing to do-bring up wood for the fire & play with playdough
4. Favorite song-Heavenly Father Loves Me
5. Funny saying- Cumote for remote
6. Character- Bruce is very in tune with his feelings and will often tell you how he feels about something, he is also very helpful and will daily do chores on his own.
7. Favorite clothes-THEE elk shirt ( if I do not hide it, he would wear it daily as an undershirt)
8. Weird habits-Bruce always wears his pants WAY up high around his chest (his sister got him a belt for his birthday and it has heightened the situation).  Bruce is the first one up every morning, on a good day he is up 5:00am.
9. Talent-Bruce loves to rhyme.  He will go on and on with silly words that rhyme.  He also is very good at memorizing.
10. Favorite show- The Lorax with his favorite part being when the mayor sings "Let it die, let it die, let it shrivel up and die."

A 6 year old girls top ten list:

1. Favorite food-tacos & apples

2. Favorite friend-Makyala & Ryanne

3. Favorite babysitter-JC

4. Favorite thing do-ride horses, make letters on the computer, & watch movies

5. Personality-Autumn is so thoughtful.  On a daily basis she is making a card or thinking up something to cook for someone.

6. Favorite clothes-cowgirl clothes

7. Favorite show-Tangled

8. Talent- natural at running and singing. 

9. Weird habits-talks in her sleep
10. Upcoming adventures-getting baptized and piercing her ears

I HATE Christmas

I will start by saying that no one here truly hates Christmas, but after a marathon month of watching The 'Grunch' (how the kids pronounce it) Stole Christmas, our tune has changed a bit.

In the beginning of December one of my good friends was having some soul searching with the whole Christmas scene.  She really wanted Christmas to be about celebrating the Saviors birth and not be a who-ra of buying and getting.  Her thoughts kept turning to the 'Grunch' who said 'Maybe Christmas doesn't come from store! Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little more!"  I thought this was so neat and such a great example for me, but I had actually never seen the movie, so I thought that I better watch such an inspiring Christmas movie.  The first time I watched it, I was delighted, I loved it.  From then until Christmas, the kids and I watched the show many many times.
Well, after all the holidays passed we were cleaning up the decorations and I notice that Bruce is singing in his best and loudest baritone voice "I HATE snowmen, I HATE Santa, I HATE Christmas trees, I HATE elf on the shelf, I HATE stockings, I HATE candy, ........." I was appalled, where in the world did he hear that.  I was just about to lay the smack down (Larsen language for REDIRECTING his high frequency of HATE), but then I stopped myself and realized I had unintentionally ingrained the phrase "I HATE CHRISTMAS" in his little head.  We had watched the movie so much that it had became second nature to say ' I hate Christmas. '  Well, after I chuckled to myself a little, I asked him why he hated those things. Bruce looked at me a little confused and professed that he was just singing.  I gave a little reminder of why the Grunch hates Christmas and why it is important not to say HATE so much and now all is well.

Christmas

This sums up Dryan's Christmas experience.

 He LOVED getting gifts and would treat each one of them as treasures.  What a guy!

Candlelight Carol

This past weekend was our ward Christmas party. The prep going into the celebration was amazing, almost unbelievable   Autumn was asked to be an angel in the Nativity play during the program. The angel's were to wear white and sing Candlelight Carol.

I had never heard the song before, so preparing for a five year old to sing the song seemed intimidating   Well, I should have known the motivation of my little girl.  Once we got the music we put pictures to phrases and words and within two weeks of practicing daily she had the words down.  Autumn even was pronouncing words like seraphim and vigil perfectly.  Then we had the music transposed into the key of C so that I could pluck it out on the keyboard for her.  Each night  for a month we would practice as a family with me on the keyboard.  It was so fun!

 When the night of the performance came she was so excited to perform.  She wanted her hair perfect and kept reminding me that everything she wore needed to be white like an angel.  Once on stage she was glowing radiantly.  Autumn was using her mouth to sing the words like a pro.  Her poise was perfect. All of the angle's sounded so sweet and beautiful.  Sometimes I still can't believe her composure during performances like this, she is so confident and cool.   

We then met with good ol' Saint Nick.  Remington at first was terrified, but then he found Santa's beard and thought it tasted as sweet as marshmallows  Dryan was not to sure at first, but then Mrs. Claus kissed him on the cheek and all was well.  Dryan keeps saying, "HO HO HO!"

Isaac also got his time in the spotlight.  He has literally been practicing his debut for a year.  Isaac drove the drill truck in the Northern Arizona Light Parade.  Isaac was amazed at how many floats and people there were watching the parade.  At first he was a little frustrated that he was asked to drive the truck when he had already worked a 50 hour week and he would have to miss Autumn's performance, but then he was reminded that the truck was HIS truck.  Isaac is the only one at Goodman Electric that can run the truck, well that is every truck or machine at Goodman, so it would only be fitting for him to be the man at the wheel.

Students of the Month

#1 Larsen Student of the Month 

Autumn was Student of the Month at school.  Her teacher said that she is one of the most responsible and helpful little kindergartners she has.  Mrs. Schmit said that she loves how Autumn is always ready to go, ready to learn!  Autumn is loving school!  She loves her teacher, reading, PE, art, music, recess, Zero the Hero, math sentences, friends, lunch and even homework.  When she gets home she is trying to read everything in site and writes math sentences and words on any and every notebook she can find. 

You rock Autumn!

 #2 Larsen Student of the Month

With Autumn learning to read we have gotten out many of our 'first reader' books.  My favorites are The Critter series.  We have read through them with Autumn many, many times.  Well, the other day Bruce decided that he can read too.  He found a book and proceeded to recite every sentence, on the correct page of the 32 page book.  It was amazing!  Sentences like 'My kitty messes up Mom's knitting and she spills the trash with a loud, loud crash."  I decided that we better start reading some OTHER books or this kid is   going to start reading soon.  Isaac said "what do you guys do ALL day, read these books."  Well, no Bruce and I did haul 500lbs of rock to make new flower beds this week, but yes we have been reading a lot.

You rock Bruce! 

 #3 Larsen Student of the Mouth

I am so pleased that little man Dryan is maturing into a helpful young man.  Just this week he has helped outside moving rocks with Bruce and I.  Usually he is doing his own thing in the yard on the trampoline or picking green tomatoes or riding the dogs or climbing the 15ft high wood fence.  I was overwhelmed with happiness when he started filling up the wagon with rocks.  By the end of the day he was sweating and so tired he begged to go take a nap.  Dryan even stayed out and helped dig holes to plant bulbs.  He has also started cleaning up.  He loves to go fast and throw the toys in the baskets, but I am not complaining its the start of three good cleaners in the house. Dryan has also picked up more words this month.  His expressions behind the words still make me giggle!

You rock Dryan!

#4 Larsen Student of the Month

Our sweet Remington is the love of all our lives.  Everyone is just so attracted to his fun, smiling personality.  He loves people!  He will smile even when he is tried or hungry.  He gets student of the month because without my help he has been sleeping through the night.  I say without my help because after about three weeks of sleeping through the night I was thinking I should do some sleep training.  Then I quickly learned he already knew what to do.  I have never, NEVER had a baby this young sleep through the night so routinely without a little 'crying it out'. Remington is getting so excited about toys or just about anything in front of him, it is soooo fun!

You rock Remi!

Dr. Bruce

Dr. Bruce AKA Juicy Brucey
Speaks a little goosey

He has been known to rhyme
Even rhyming with a chyme

He will get goin' 
And with out you knowin'

He will come up with a rhyme 
In no time

Givem' a word and he is sure to impress
In lickty split he will take a word to express

At the table
He'll give his food a label

One breakfast instance
He came up with this sentence

"I am putting my plate away 
In a one horse open sleigh"

So givem' a try
I don't lie

A writer in the making
I'm not sure it makes as much money as baking

At least he is clever
Dr. Bruce can deliver 

tHe KaMiKaZe vs. The Ferris Wheel

The Kamikaze

It is interesting to me that all church talks seem to start with the definition of a word or phrase that the speaker will be covering.  I realized the reason that they must use this custom is so that the congregation will better understand or internalize the message.  I have used this custom in my parenting.  Part A: Define Child Part B: Try to understand child Part C: Learn to parent child.  Step by step, parenting for me.  So I have set to define one of my children so I can understand HIM and then learn how to better parent HIM.
Imagine if you will, going to an amusement park with your family.  You're thrilled, sooo excited, with anticipation for the adventure (like when you are expecting your bundle of joy).  As you enter the park you're a bit overwhelmed at all there is to do (like when you have more then two children).  So you focus on what rides your family might enjoy the most or maybe choose a path to hit every ride thereon.  In choosing each ride you might look for certain qualities; some being fast, slow, high, wet, long, short, big, fancy, colorful, etc.  Also, while riding the rides you experience different emotions such as excitement, fear, exhilaration, amazement, etc. (just like the personalities and emotions you get with each new child).
On your adventure at the amusement park you experience two that are similar, possibly Ferris Wheel style.  The ride has ups and downs, but it is smooth and steady, almost predictable (first two children).  Then you reach the third ride (Dryan). As you approach the ride you are not at all intimidated because it is comparably small in size, yet there is something about the intensity of the design and colors that is interesting (Dryan is in the 30% for weight, yet he is incredibly strong and flexible). Upon entering at the gate you realize that all the signs are in Japanese or possibly Russian (2 year old talk), but from previous experience you can interpret the name of the ride to be"The Kamikaze."  At first you think, wow this sounds fun and figure that the SMALL ride could not cause too much damage.  As the line proceeds to the start, there are colorful signs, again in Japanese, giving you direction and warnings and even with your experience it does not make a whole lot of sense (favorites from the Dryan are MIMI for Jamie, unkin for pumpkin, tin for Remington, boombama for Obama, Elk for milk, and eep for sheep).  You are sure that these signs are important so you try really hard to discern there meanings. Your heart jumps a beat when you read the next sign, which is German, but has an English version below.
'The Kamikaze means 'gods wind' aka this ride can be CRAZY strong and have a mind of its own.  The Kamikaze were warships that were built to DESTROY.  They were 'Purpose Built and DRIVEN'.  They dominated the seas and could overtake ANYTHING in there path.  These famous warships were loved by allies and feared by enemies.  The Kamikaze also can describe units in the military that sacrificed their lives to protect their cause, often time using there weapon to destroy and their body as a sacrifice."
ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?
It 's only a ride, right (or only a little boy, right).  So you take the plunge, you climb into the cart and take off on the amazing journey.  The ride makes you laugh, giggle, scream, cry, yell!  Sometimes you get wet, injured, panicked, and distressed.  At parts you want to jump out, but most of the time the ride is so entertaining that you endure to get to the next FUN part.
Part A: child defined, check  Part B: behavior somewhat understood, check Part C:  learn to parent, NOT EVEN CLOSE
Thank you to all those that love our little Kamikaze without reserve, you are a special part of lives!

Competition

I recently read an article highlighting the advantages of teaching kids that competition is a fact of life.  When we continually reward children based on the fact that they participated, we eliminate having a healthy desire to try harder, practice more, and train smarter in whatever the task is that they are trying to achieve. When 'everyone wins' there is a feeling of entitlement that breeds poor self-esteem.  I partly believed this theory, but I mostly have parented different.
I would say that I am competitive, but more on the side of highly self motivated.  In school I played basketball and could out run any player, but the game was about strategy, not speed, it was not a fit for me.  I also played soccer which again I was very fast, but in terms of defense I would just run and plow. When I started running track, I  felt responsible for my own destiny, it was a fast fit.  Though you are always competing against others you mostly compete against yourself, in other words, track more completely polished my self motivation. My senior year I was pole vaulting three to four feet higher than most of my competition, but it did not matter, I was going for the state record.  I could not tell you any of my competitors names or even heights in high school or college. As I have grown older I have realized that I am not competitive at all.  I am just extremely self motivated   I don't do things because I want to beat someone, I do them because I want to do it.
My kids are now at the age that they have had the opportunity to compete, whether it by horse back riding, running races, competing in a duathlon, or playing sport games.  Recently, Autumn and Bruce participated in a horse show.  They won many ribbons and had a great time.  I was very proud of them for trying and putting  forth the effort to practice months beforehand.  Then a few months ago they ran in a duathlon.  We trained for it by riding our bikes everyday and running down the dirt road.  We even had a number of trial runs were the kids would run out 1/3 of mile then come back and grab their bikes for a 2 mile ride and then we would run out a 1/4 of mile to finish off.  When race day came, they did great!  They tried their best and won a ribbon for competing.   I am very happy with how hard they worked to prepare to accomplish these things.
Well, after finishing the competitions the kids have both asked about their competition.  Autumn asked about the 'big girl with the pretty shirt'.  She wanted to know what place she got and was insist that she practice more so she could be like her.  Bruce noticed that his cousin who is three rode his bike without any training wheels in the race.  Almost daily Bruce would ask how his cousin rode without the training wheels.  Yesterday he asked if we could take off his.  In a determined mindset he knew that he could ride like his cousin, so he could do better in 'the race'.  Bruce jumped on the bike and I held on the back so that I could walk along as he learned to balance.  Before I knew it Bruce took off, riding all on his own.  Afterwards, he mentioned how fast he was getting compared to a first grade friend.
I think both of my children have found their own desire to compete without me even helping to develop a healthy since of winning and losing.  I am determined to do better, but you live you learn.  And mostly I have learned that my kids have so much potential beyond my expertise!

A man that can till the earth

In college I had the opportunity to live in an apartment with five super Molly Mormon's.  I use the term 'Molly Mormon' with the up most respect.  These young ladies were crafty, cute, and creative.  They all owned cookbooks that they had tested and used from their families. We would trade off cooking dinner and I felt inferior to their amazing skills. They could sew, iron and clean.  Each one had its own way of beautifying our place and made our home a place of peace. I truly loved each one.  They left a lasting impression on me as to the duties of a house-wife and you will see why this is so significant as this story is told.
One particular roommate was gorgeous.  So beautiful! Blond hair, big blue eyes, cute clothes, big white smile, and a heart as big as Texas.  All of us loved her.  She helped everyone around her.  Often times we would take turns sitting on the end of her bed talking about our concerns.  Out of everyone, I considered her the most stereotypical 'Molly Mormon'.  I learned so much from her, that she basically helped me plan my wedding and reception.  Her one great claim to fame for me was her advice for picking a husband.  'A man that could till the Earth'  was what we should be seeking.  I am not sure she took it as literal as I did but she believed in it.  After meeting Isaac he asked me one day about my dream husband.  The phrase 'a man that could till the earth' immediately came to mind and I began to explain for the first time to anyone what that meant to me.

Growing up on our family ranch, I knew first hand what 'tilling the earth' meant.  I watched my mom and step dad build their place from the ground up.  My mom could weld, frame, pour concrete, drive a tractor, use a post hole digger, roof, and a million other skills I have yet to even try.  Our family always worked right along side her holding poles, digging ditches, and lifting metal.  A lot of our time was spent outside.  My family woke early and came in late.  Many times we would eat dinner at 9:00pm because we had been out finishing up a project.  Not much time was spent inside cleaning or cooking (which is probably why I still don't exactly love these tasks yet). I had never met anyone that could work harder than my mom, so my roommates advice to marry a man that could till the earth really did seem as wise, but unlikely advice.

All that changed when I saw Isaac, not met, but saw Isaac.  His size was incredible, almost amazing.  He was buff and big and strong.  After we started dating I found out that he was raised on a farm.  My first visit to his home town we baled hay together.  I was SO amazed that he could throw the bales up on the trailer faster then I could stack them.  He could toss the bales 15 ft from the field to the trailer and 8ft high up on the stack. We worked for hours, quietly working, just as I had did with my mom.  OH, he was my dream guy!  Still to this day he races himself to see how fast he can pull wire or put in receptacles.  Isaac will try to dig as many holes in a period of time as he can or cut up a tree faster than any lumberjack.  And not only can he out work you outside, he can deep clean a stove or bathtub to make it look new.  I am so grateful for how hard he works and how much pride he takes in his work. 

So it comes as no surprise that after sending Autumn off to school we have found how hard our little man Bruce can work.  He loves shovels, dirt, wood and rakes.  He can stack wood, mow the lawn (holding on to the handle right under me), dig holes and clean for HOURS.  Literally hours!  When the little boys sleep Bruce and I will be out in the yard working and working for hours until sweat is dripping from his little head. He will often just go out and work on his own by pulling weeds or digging in the garden. When Isaac is home on Saturday's building fence, Bruce will stay out the entire time holding nails or wire. I am such a proud mama!

The school life

Autumn is now an official kindergartner (or kinygardner as I call it).  The boys and I miss her like crazy but when you are old (5) and wise you must move on from this life of leisure and enter the school life.

What is the school life exactly?  For me it was one of the BEST times of my life.  I loved school.  I loved getting my school supplies and my books weeks ahead.  I loved flash cards and an organized backpack.  I thrived on test taking and homework.  I did well in school no because I was smart, just studious and willing and able to memorize anything (even the page #).  I just loved the process of school and got involved in many clubs in college and high school.  So if I can pass anything on to Autumn it is my love for school.

For Autumn school life started with the usual excitement.  All summer she worked to buy her own school shoes and clothes.  We have never paid our children for working but Isaac grew up being able to buy his own stuff at an early age. Isaac is very good with money and the honor he took in taking care of himself still lives on today.  Giving the children money for their hard work has allowed them to pay tithing, stay highly motivated, and buy their own things. The week leading up to first day she carefully set out her clothes and backpack, checking it almost daily to make sure she was ready.  

The day before school Isaac gave her a fathers blessing which really made me realize how old and wise she is becoming.  Isaac gave her her blessing and then it was Bruce's turn.  During Bruce's blessing I heard some sniffles from Autumn.  As the blessing came to an end I realized she was teary eyed.  Upon asking her about it, she said that she was so happy and that she could feel the Spirit.  Immediately I could feel the Spirit so strongly that my heart was full of love for Heavenly Father for giving me my little princess.  After retiring to bed in her prayer she told Heavenly Father how thankful she was for being so happy and feeling the Spirit.

Once the day arrived Autumn was all to ready and excited.  The first day she told me about her new friend with the golden hair, all the rules of Mrs. Schmit's classroom, and how she befriended a young girl who cried all day. 

It is such an adventure, we love her so much!

The coach and the athlete

This past weekend the kids and I went down to Pine, AZ for Autumn's first gymkhana where she rode her horse, Polly, all by herself.  It was so fun to get her all ready.  A week before, she set out her competition clothes and for a month she has been practicing loping 'Wobin's' horse.  The days leading up to it she would ask all kinds of questions about how the gymkhana worked.  "Mom, how do you enter the arena? Mom, how old will all the girls be?  Mom, can I lope the whole way?  Mom, do you win prizes?" 

Up until this point of her riding career I have not really helped her.  'Wobin' and Grammy are the ones who coach her in her riding and because she is highly self motivated she has learned so much on her own. This weekend my grandma Jerry was there to watch the boys so I got to coach and ride with Autumn.  I have now learned a lot about my little athlete and me as a coach.

I had never thought of teaching your child or horseback riding as a coach/athlete relationship, but while setting up buckets out by the trailer to help Autumn become familiar with the patterns, my mom said "Well, there is the coach coming out in you!"  And she was so right because I am coach that demonstrates as much as possible.  I feel like if they can see it, than they can pattern it. I started instructing Autumn on the three patterns that she would need complete.  After following me once around, Autumn would declare that she had the pattern memorized.  So I would have her show me and sure enough she had it.  The coach in me wanted me to have her practice many times, but she insisted she had it after going through it once by herself.  Now the patterns are not hard but when you are five and on a horse there is a lot to think about. 

As Autumn's event approached I continued to instruct her and she continued to assure me that she was ready.  Now up until this point I was excited for her opportunity to participate, but as began to watch her I noticed her natural competitive spirit.  She was focused!  She sat on the edge of arena watching the other competitors and when we would offer her a drink she would quickly grab one and then she would continue to watch the other competitors. As we were standing around talking she would not say a word.  When it was her turn she was right at the gate.  The horse was excited, but Autumn kept her focus and took off to the first barrel.  She rounded each barrel with confidence and stayed right in the saddle. 

After it was all over, Autumn won first in the barrel racing with a prize of $6.  The experience was so cool!  I learned that with all Autumn and I do together she has learned to work hard and to focus.  I love that she is a competitor.  Recently, we have been training together for a biathlon in Snowflake.  After miles of riding or yards of running she will get into that zone of 'this hard but we are almost done'.  I am so proud of her!

I  also learned that as an coach my job is not only to instruct and teach, but to motivate then sit back and watch and let them discover their potential.

These are a few of my favorite things

Favorite color: orange (sunset orange)

Favorite shoes: cowboy boots

Favorite sport: track & field

Favorite car: Isaac's truck

Favorite movie: Secretariat

Favorite food: watermelon

Favorite drink: milk

Favorite way to exercise: bike riding

Favorite thing EVER: The OLYMPICS

My dad was a cyclist way back when.  He was able to travel all across Europe for three years with a cycling group.  After training and competing with the group he was invited to the 1968 Olympic Trials.  He did not make the team but the experience was a once and a life time opportunity.  My dad continued to do cycling and later coached a cyclist in the 1984 Los Angles Olympics (in the year and on the day I was born 8-4-84). Then 14 years later I joined the track team and went to Pole Vault Camp where I met and trained with the soon to be Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong and Stacey Dragila. Recently, as a high school track coach I invited Diego Estrada to do a motivational speech in February and now in August he is at the Olympics, AWESOME!

If you needed any other reason as to why I LOVE LOVE the Olympics then just watch it yourself, the most amazing talent in the world on one stage, exceptional!

So as you can see I love my birth date and for this years birthday my visiting teacher recorded every moment of the Olympics for me to watch and then my friend brought over bunny ear antennae so I could watch it in the comfort of my own home.  The kids and I have loved every moment.  GO USA! And GO kind friends!

We also found time to go hiking to practice for Climb to Conquer Cancer. Caves Crater is just three miles from our house and has one of the most amazing views of our little green community.

On my real birthday I got to do my first long run since getting back into running, 3.7 miles.  Then we drove to Winslow for fun with cousins and more Olympic action.

Fun times, I am never disappointed in all the amazing people around me who make my birthday special!

Thanks everyone!

Firsts

Little Remi Chemi (as Autumn calls him) is smiling!  He is just so sweet!  I can't get enough of him.  I have found that I am quite unproductive with this little guy around.  It is so precious to sit and watch him snore or make funny faces to get him to smile. 

Autumn has really enjoyed her lessons with 'Wobin' each week.  She is doing really well! This last week she learned to lope on her own.  Isaac made a little arena area for the kids to ride and Autumn is using it like a race track.  She giggles and giggles as she kicks with her feet to lope.  It is quite entertaining how hard she has to try to make the horse get into a lope.  It is almost as if the horse is saying " Are you sure about this?  Are you really sure you want to go fast?"  Robin has been working with Autumn on her balance and position in the saddle.  Robin has Autumn fold her arms with no reins or horn so that she focuses on her balance.  After telling daddy " I rode with no hands today Daddy?" Isaac was immediately after her saying "Autumn you do not let go of that horn and the reins, that is dangerous!" We explained the drill and all was ok.  Autumn and Robin are working on different skills so that she can enter a show in September.  Go Autumn!



Beararizona

We went to Beararizona this past weekend!  We really enjoyed the animals and getting to drive through the park.  My assistant coach volunteers there so we got a behind the scenes view of the raptors, my favorite being the owls.

The kids were all excited to see the bears.  We got to see nine baby bears that were so cute and playful!

 The little boys really enjoyed riding in the front seat of the car while we drove around and saw bears, bison, wolves, and mountain sheep.

 It was fun to be so close to the animals. At the raptor show the owl literally flew inches from the kids heads, they loved it. They also liked the petting zoo where they could run and chase the pigs and chickens.

Your weed, my flower!

My love of the outdoors and landscaping started when I was very young.  My family lived on a ranch and the front yard had an old wagon that had once been a flower garden.  At the age of seven I would come home from school and work on transforming that old wagon into a beautiful flower garden.  I racked and shoveled for hours on it. 

I have found that same love at my own home, but it took a while!

Reason:  Like I said, I love working outside and was thrilled to have lots of acreage to beautify, but after our first year here we lost three trees from a late freeze, along with early freezes, grasshoppers, drought and wind I joined the bandwagon of disliking landscaping in Doney Park.

We kept putting in gardens with hope, faith and determination to succeed and sure enough in our forth year we have reap the rewards of patience.  Instead of putting in tomatoes early and being disappointed that they freeze and die we start them inside and focus on the carrots, lettuce, strawberries, and onions.  This year all of our plants look so much healthier with the addition of steer manure and monsoon rains.  Many of our plants we have grown from seed that we dried from last year and I think that really makes the plants hardy.

 So I think we finally got the gardening under our belt, but I really want a nice yard of flowers, trees and grass.  Again, I had been under the mindset that it is not possible in Doney Park.  Well after meeting with a friend in the ward I realized that many peoples weeds are flowers, just out of place!  Novel Idea! I started looking around our house and realized we had many plants that were beautiful just not maintained or in one place. 

 Well, since my enlightening moment I have transplanted many many plants from the yard to flower beds. After doing so I started doing my research and found many of these flowers and shrubs people buy at the store.These natural plants included columbine, sunflowers, holyhocks, firs, penstomen, sage, iris, larkspur, and yellow mustard.  I have about seven others that I have found out back that are beautiful but I do not have a name for them.

 It has been so rewarding to watch these plants flourish since they are native to flagstaff or at least have survived Flagstaff climate without help. Once the plants mature we are going to have an oasis.

 Another project I have been working on is homemade sod.  I have always wanted a big green beautiful lawn but it is quite expensive.  So I have set to work to make what we have beautiful.  I have been digging up grass from my flower beds and transplanting them to the yard.  It is working quite well and getting greener by the monsoon storm.  After three years of pulling weeds we finally have a 20x20 area that is thick and green. 

If you spot me eyeing some weeds (flowers) in your yard by the side of the road please be kind and let take them :)