Just Killin' Time

So Adam has been working 14-18 hour days this week, which is ok, he had most of last week off, but in an attempt to entertain the kids on another long day, we drug out Tori's baby clothes and dressed Kade up and took some goofy pictures of ourselves. Let me say, that while he is cute, I don't think he makes a cute girl. Also, the dress he has on was the one Tori wore at her first birthday party. She was so tiny and he is on the large side so it fit him.










Yes, that is saliva on his shirt. The drooling has commenced! AHHHHHH!

Don't Forget To Have Fun Once In A While

I had such a great time last night. My friends texted me to see if I wanted to join them for a jog at the high school track. We ran, we acted silly, and we took pictures. It was nice to remember what it's like to just have fun and forget the rest. I honestly didn't think about a single thing other than just enjoying the evening.
I love these girls. What would I do without them? I hope I never find out.

Cheer For Adam (and Adam's Version)

The Utah Valley Marathon 2010 was held last Saturday. Adam and his friend, Brett, ran it together. They finished somewhere around 4 hrs 20 min but I haven't heard the official chip time. Adam said the first 9 miles was constant downpour of rain and it was cold, but they never stopped having a good time. He felt really great after this one and hasn't been very sore at all. I am so proud of him. I always knew I couldn't be married happily to someone who didn't make excersise an important part of their lives. I am so glad he likes it as much as me and that he strives to reach his goals.
Adam had shirts screen printed to say, "Cheer For Adam" and "Cheer For Brett." He said they were the most popular racers out there. Everyone was cheering for them by name. Hehe.

Hello, This is Adam with the true version of the story. It was a long and grueling ordeal. We were not quite sure when it started since they told us 5:30 then fired the start gun once and didn't let anyone run (or at least it seemed that way, it was hard to tell since we had been up since before 3 am. What kind of crazies get up before 3 am just to go run?). The second time they fired the start gun people actually began running. Then the rains came down and the floods came up. The roadway was nearly washed away from the torrential downpour we fought and pushed through 2 hours of rain. I know this because the side of the road around Deer Creek was all dirt where it should have been asphalt. Luckily, Brett and I were amazing and tough as nails. Then the rain stopped, and the wind started blowing straight from the North Pole. I may have been in the early stages of Hypothermia as I shivered and shook out of the mouth of Provo Canyon. Brett was there to grab my collar, slap my face and bring me back to reality. He was going on, and on, and on about how good the wind felt. Something about drying him out and pushing him down the canyon. I was busy focusing on keeping up with him. Apparently, real training helps one to perform better in marathons. Brett was concerned about passing the 19th mile because that is where he "hit the wall" of "bonking" in the last race of foolishness he participated in. We sailed past mile 19 and mile 20 without even noticing. (We were too busy waving and yelling to our adoring fans who had lined the road just to call our names.) Finally near the end we came to the overpass at the south end of University Avenue. There was only about .5 mile left when we got there. I have not way of proving it but I am pretty sure some ideeeeot raised it up about 150 feet higher than it usually is just for the race. We rounded the corner off of University Ave towards the Provo Towne Centre and thought we were done. We didn't know we still had to circle around the mall before they would let us finish. Luckily we had a few more fans waiting to cheer for us through that extra unplanned stretch.

A Slumber Party

I am so glad my kids are each other's best friends. They keep each other happy and busy. Oh, there is fighting and screaming and teasing going on but they would rather be with each other than with anyone else 95% of the time. I hope they can keep their friendship throughout their lives.

My Best Accomplishments

Yesterday was such a crazy day. I was in and out and taking kids to their activities from 9:00am to 5:00pm all day. I dragged the poor baby all over and he was fussy and hot and throwing up. I wasn't home enough to get any of the hours of bookkeeping for Adam's business done, the 4 loads of laundry that was piled up, the beds made, or do my hair decent. I had anxiety all day worrying about when I would get to those things. The last few weeks I have felt a little depression knocking on my door trying to ease back into my life and it is a constant battle to keep it from happening. I know that most stay at home moms feel these exact same things. It is hard to serve your kids 24/7 without much thanks or free time. I really felt run down and exhausted by it all yesterday.
NOW, I don't feel this way all the time and I wouldn't trade being a SAHM for any other job, but I do feel so underappreciated somedays.
BUT, I watch Victoria do her gymnastics so well, and then Mick will explain some cool science to me, and then Baby Kade will immediately quit fussing when I pick him up and sing to him and it all makes sense again.
It does not matter what else I do in my life, I have already done something extraordinary. I helped create these wonderful individuals and the world is a much better place because of it.
Knowing this gives me the strength to get through the hard days and remember to keep smiling.

Made To Be Hiking

Last Saturday, Adam had a little work to do on a house (more like a mansion-it was amazing) close to the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. The whole fam damily went with him and then we tried to hike up to a place called Doughnut Falls. We made it most the way to the end of the trail and then the snow was too deep and we would have had to wade in a stream to get there. We still enjoyed the going though.
It was Kade's first hike. Even though there was snow on the ground, it was warm, but I felt bad for his bare legs. Mom of the Year Award for me-I forgot pants for him.






On our way up the trail, Tori said, "Dad, I was made to be hiking."

Dress Up

Anyone up for a tea party?




I wish I could say this cutie was mine, but he is my friend's. He loves this hat of Tori's and always puts it on first thing when he gets here.

Memorial Day Happenings

Starting last year, we started a tradition to go to Provo City Cemetery's Memorial Day Presentation. They have music, speeches, the 21 gun salute, and of course the Pledge of Alliegance. It gives us an hour out of our day to really remember all our blessings of living in this country and to honor our soldiers. I can't get through it with dry eyes. This year they gave each family a blue balloon and had us release them at the end. I know it seems long to our kids, but I hope they are getting something out of it and learning to appreciate what we have here.





Afterwards, we went to a park nearby and had a picnic and did some badly needed relaxing. It was a wonderful holiday!

Totally Tori

Just a few pictures of Tori's special days last week. She graduated preschool and she did a special gymnastics performance for the school year end. She got a special award from her preschool teacher, Miss Heather, for being one of the best readers. She is quite good at her gymnastics class. I am proud of her. She takes it very serious while still having fun. She works hard at it and practices at home a lot. I love my girl!