Where does she get this stuff??

Today my 3 year old wanted to "play school". She told me to be the teacher, but yet she told me everything to say:

Myka: "Tell me it's time for art."
Me: "Okay, students, it's time for art."
Myka: "Yay. I got a crayon and paper. . . Now tell me to draw a begtable (vegetable)."
Me: "Students you need to choose your favorite vegetable to draw."
Myka: "Okay, I think I'm going to draw a grape."
Me: (not really paying attention) "Yeah, good idea."
Myka: "Mooommmm, a grape is a fruit! You said begtable, I was just kidding, silly . . . I am going to draw a potatoe because potatoes are begtables. First I will start with an oval and add some dots."

She completely took me off guard! She seriously keeps me laughing and in awe at how quickly she learns and picks things up!! . . . And I decided that next time she can be the teacher.

 P.S. I am LOVING spending more time with my not-so-baby girl!!

wow!

Do people blog any more? I don't know. I haven't checked. I've only posted a few times in the past few years, but I've decided I'm going to do better about blogging for myself. I don't journal at all, and it seems the only constant thing in my life is change, so in order to keep a record of it all I'm going to attempt to use this blog more often.

So to get you up-to-date:

Myka:

• 3 1/2 YEARS OLD!! Crazy, right?! She is the happiest, most loving and amazing girl in the world!! It's sad how fast she is growing up! 
• She is on a new kick about "peace makers", and she gives me lessons almost every day about whether I am being a "peace maker" or not. 
• She's doing great with her letters, their sounds, and also her signs. She loves figuring out what words start with what letters by trying to sound it out. 
• The only problem I've had with her so far is she is SOOOO friendly! She will go up to complete strangers and give them a big hug. We were in a gas station in Malad, Idaho, and Myka went up to this lady and hugged her leg. The lady was shocked, and I tried to explain to Myka that hugs are for people we know, you know "stranger danger" kind of thing, and she responded, "But mom, I like being nice to people and making new friends!". Okay, what do I say to that? She wins!

Casey:

• Separated his right shoulder playing football last month. 
• Had surgery on his right shoulder. 
• Broke his left arm at work after being back to work for about a week and a half. 
• Found out he has an infection in his shoulder where he had surgery. 
• He is at the doctors every few days, but I think he is on the mend! He is out of work for a few weeks so let's hope he can get all healed up from his injuries!
• He is the best dad in the entire world!! It's amazing to see him with Myka! And nothing makes me happier in the world than to see the two of them happy!

Me:

• Finished a great school year teaching Health at Vernal Junior High! 
• Turned in my coaching resignation :(. It broke my heart, but I just felt like I had way too much on my plate this year, and I'm taking more classes this next year. 
• I am a CrossFit addict, and I have wonderful friends who keep pushing me every day! I can now do double unders, hand-stand pushups, and pull ups. I love it!
• Have many new goals for myself. Definitely have a lot I need to work on as a person, and hopefully I will get better with time!

 
One of my friends told me today that sometimes when we think things in our life are falling apart they are actually falling together . . . it really has felt like things have been falling apart, so I can't wait to see what is really just coming together for our little family :)!!

Until next time, happy trails friends :)!

Mitt Romney

Although I am not a political junkie, last Tuesday I stayed up all night watching the Republican Caucus in Iowa. It was an extremely close race, and we didn't get the final results until 1 am. Mitt Romney won by 8 single votes.

This brought tears to my eyes because it was just 4 years ago that my brother, E.J., worked for Mitt Romney in Iowa. E.J. only actually met Mitt twice, but he strongly believed in his ability to turn our country around, especially financially.

When E.J. passed away, his wife, Adrienne, received a hand-written card from Romney and his family. He also included a check from his personal bank account for $2,000, and he said he wanted the money to be used to help send their two boys to college one day.

I can't tell you exactly what Mitt Romney's voting record is while he has been involved in government, but I can tell you that he is a kind and caring person who tries to bless the lives of others. The fact that he would take time out of his day while he was preparing to run for president to send a card to a widow and her two baby boys and to contribute to the boys' future tells me more about the kind of person Mitt Romney is than any voting record!

Thank you and good luck, Mitt!!!

Wedding

A few weeks ago, one of my best friends from high school, Sadie, married my cousin, Chace (proof I'm from a small town :) ). It was in Salmon, and I was so happy to be a part of it! It was such a beautiful wedding!

It was so great to see my friends from high school too! I need to do a better job about keeping in touch and visiting them because they are so much fun!

September 22nd

September 22, 1982. my oldest brother, E.J., was born. September 22, 1997, my youngest sister, Erica "Sam", was born.

It is rare that a 15 year old boy would intentionally want a baby sister born on his birthday, but my brother E.J. did. My mom had all 7 of us by c-section, so she was able to choose which day to have Erica. My mom thought she would have Erica on a different day so that E.J. could have his own special day, but E.J. insisted on sharing their birthdays.

It just goes to show the type of brother E has always been to us. In every picture of us growing up his is holding one of us, or teaching us to do something, or just has his arm around us with a huge smile on his face.

Erica has been dreading her birthday this year because she told us that her birthday would now be the most depressing day of the year for my family. It did end up being an especially hard day for us all, but luckily the people of Salmon once again stepped in and showed Erica so much love! My extended family also sent a huge bouquet of roses for my mom to bring up to the cemetery, and they had a wonderful turn out for Erica's birthday party.

And just so you know, my sister is one of the most beautiful and talented 14 year olds you will ever find! I hope she had a great birthday, and hope that somehow E.J. knew we were loving and missing him on that special day!!

E.J. Infanger Memorial Run-The Heart of Life is Good

This spring, after E.J. passed away, we decided that we needed something to look forward to this year. After we found out about his health problems (heart disease) that we hadn't known before the autopsy, I wanted my family to also get heart healthy.

So we decided to try to do the Salmon Half Marathon, which happened to fall about 2 weeks before E.J.'s birthday. I loved this idea because E.J., who is the oldest, and Erica, who is the youngest, share the same birthday. Erica has been dreading her birthday this year because she thinks it will be a depressing day for everyone. We thought if we made the marathon weekend a memorial weekend for E.J. we could focus on Erica on their birthday.

My mom and I designed and ordered shirts, but we really didn't know how many people would show up. After all, Salmon is a long way from anywhere, and it takes a lot of work to prepare to run 13.1 miles.

We themed the weekend, "The Heart of Life is Good". I heard this on a song on E.J.'s life video, and I thought it was perfect for the weekend. This has been an incredibly challenging time for my entire family, but there are still good things in life, and our Heavenly Father is still in charge, and that is so comforting.

We had about 50 people show up for the memorial, including E.J.'s wife and boys, my brother Craig, who lives in California, family and friends from all over Montana, Utah and Idaho. 15 people ran the half marathon, 1 ran the full marathon, and my mom also put on a family 5k for people who didn't want to do the half marathon. We had a dinner and spent time together on Friday the 9th (exactly 5 months from the time E.J. passed away), and the next morning we all got up, cheered each other on, and we finished something that I have always wanted to do.

I miss my brother more than words can describe, but it was such a healing weekend for my family. I couldn't help but think E.J. was watching over us, and maybe even cheering us through those 13.1 miles. I am so grateful for my wonderful family and close friends, and I am grateful for the knowledge that I will see E.J. again one day. And even though this has been the most difficult time in our lives, the heart of life is still good!!

We wanted to make the shirts look like E.J.'s football jersey. The front says "Morningside Mustangs", has a football picture of E, and says "The Heart of Life is Good". On the back it has E.J.'s football number and it says, "Running for heart health and in loving memory of "The Boss".

My incredible family (we are missing Britt).

Some of the runners getting ready to take the shuttle.

Finishing the race!

I love these people!!!

Rascal Flatts - Why - Lyrics