Finish Line

Jenny was the first one in but Paul's picture didn't turn out. This is Erica coming in with Leslie cheering her on.

Then Desiree came in.

Last of all, is me.

Enjoying our post race high.

Thanks to Paul for coming along to be our driver and photographer.

And thanks to Leslie for coming out to cheer us on!!

Heart of Holladay

The Running Chics - Jenny, Desiree, Erica, Lisa (Leslie didn't do this 5K)

Here we are excited to do the Heart of Holladay 5K race

Just before the start of the race

Our running group is training for a marathon but we are also having fun doing short races.

On June 14th we ran the Heart of Holladay 5K . It's a beautiful course lined with trees and pretty level - two hills. We ended up splitting up for the race and all came in with better times than our last 5K.

Food Storage Plug

I'm trying out a service my friend told me about.
It's called Myfoodstoragedeals.com. If you join you receive a weekly newsletter informing you of all the great, good and okay deals at the big stores in the valley (Reams, Smiths, Albertsons, Maceys and Harmons). I'm trying it out for the summer. One good suggestion is to ad-match at Super-Walmart if you live near one and then you don't have to go to all the stores on the list to get the deals. She also has a very informative blog about food storage.
Check it out and see what you think.

Update on the phone

So, I went to the Verizon store this morning actually hoping for the same person who helped me on Monday. Then I wouldn't have to tell the whole story again. No luck there.

But I did have a very nice gentleman help me and help me he did. They gave me a "special one-time deal" of signing up for another contract a 1 yr and then I could get a phone at a discounted price. So I got another new phone for $70 (minus the $60 I found at Lagoon yesterday and I'm really only out $10) and have once again entered in all the numbers that I had just entered in on Monday. This time I put insurance on the phone and don't plan to visit Lagoon anytime too soon.
And all good comments/suggestions in the previous blog. Unfortunately I'm just not that bright to think ahead. Justin suggested that I dye my hair blonde (no offense to those natural blondes out there).

Friday the 13th

So, if you remember, it was Friday the 13th last week. Nothing spectacularly bad happened on Friday -- it all came the day after and continued through to today!

On Saturday, we went to Lagoon for Paul's work party. It was a great deal - $10 per person with lunch buffet included. Everyone in our family went except for Justin who was camping in Zion's.

Things were going well and the little kids were having a blast (more on that in another post).
We went into the water park about 2:30 because it was so hot and we needed a break from the long lines. While we were still in the dressing room the power went out and stayed out for about an hour. That actually wasn't bad at all for us personally since we were just going into the water park and I preferred it with the power out - no splashing water and no loud music. Paul had a nap and Brooke and I had fun playing with Kamryn in the kiddie area (Jared didn't want to swim because that meant taking off his sock, which was his "band-aid" on his hurt toe).
Eventually we decided to go in the lazy river and after I got out I realized I'd had my cell phone in my short pocket that I had just gone in the river with. I forgot I'd had it in there. So it was totally DEAD!
Then later on we were putting Jared and Kamryn onto a ride and Paul said "You have you're camera, right?" Immediately I was sick to my stomach. I didn't have it and I knew it wasn't in the stroller. I was sure he had it. He hadn't had it in a long time. I was just SICK, SICK, SICK!! It's a small little digital camera and I figured it was gone forever.
After thinking about for a little bit I remembered the last place we had it was the train. So I ran back over there and talked to the crew. This was 4 hours after we had been there. The employees were really great about looking all over for it but didn't find it. They suggested I check the lost and found and assured me that people really do turn things in.
So I went to lost and found and "Colton" helped me. I told him what had happened. He asked me to describe the camera and the case and then he held it up and showed me my camera. I couldn't believe it. I was so happy and I told him I could just hug him and kiss him. Then he turned it on and said "Is this your family?" At first glance I said yes but when I really looked at the last picture taken it wasn't my family. It was 2 moms with their daughters doing a self portrait. They took a picture of themselves before they turned my camera in. I love those moms!! And the rest of the night I kind of tried to look for them to thank them.
So I got the camera back but still had a dead cell phone. I could deal with the phone.
On Monday I went into Verizon and they actually a month ago just started covering water damage as part of the warranty coverage. So they replaced my phone for no charge!
Things were looking up.
And then the 13th came back to visit me today.
Due to the power outage we were told we could go back to Lagoon for free any day before the 30th of June. So today was the only day we could go. Justin, Brooke, our friend Mackenzie and I all went. Right when we got there I had to use the bathroom and I walked in and found $60.00 sitting on the floor and someone's sunglasses. I marched straight to the lost and found and turned both things in. And who was there but "colten" the same guy from Sat. He told me it was impressive that I turned the money and I reminded him who I was from Sat and the lost camera. He remembered me then and agreed that I had to turn the money in.
Then on with our fun. We were a little bummed because Rattlesnake Rapis and Cliffhanger were both closed for the day and we had planned on doing both those rides to begin with because it was really hot.
So we went on the waterslide ride instead - the one where you ride a raft down a tube down at the north end of the park. Well, my phone was in my pants pocket and I got soaked - and you guessed it, another water damaged phone. Luckily I took it apart immediately and put it under the hand dryer in the bathroom (Justin's brilliant idea) and after a little bit I got it to power up and it seemed okay. Thank goodness.
Since I was soaking wet I decided to keep my cell phone tucked in my bra. BIG MISTAKE!
The next thing we did was go on WICKED and as we're going upside down I hear my phone drop on the ground. I didn't even feel it falling out. I couldn't believe it. I just got that phone yesterday. We had to wait until the park closed so the employees could go look for it. They thought they found it in pieces but it was another guys phone that looked almost exactly like mine. They never did find anything of my phone except for the battery. What a BIG BUMMER!! I don't think I'm going to be so lucky at the Verizon store tomorrow.

Justin's Eagle Project

BEFORE

AFTER

Justin admiring his hard work

I actually started this post and even posted it without finishing and even got some very nice comments about it before I deleted to start over again (I was having computer issues).

Paul and I were grateful for the opportunity Justin was given to do this tent pad for his Eagle project. It was assignment from the stake for this tent pad to be put in at our stake property before girls' camps begin in the middle of June. The scoutmaster felt like it would be a good Eagle project and Justin decided he could do it. He had 2 1/2 weeks from the time he found out about it until it had to be done. That was the beauty of the project - it didn't drag on forever.

Justin got the project approved, did the planning, obtained the materials and arranged for a crew to be up there working on it. He had some of his scout troop and several leaders up there overnight to do the project. There were a total of abotu 100 hours spent on the project. Everyone worked very hard, including myself, on the project. It was cold and muddy up there and it even snowed on us during the night and in the morning. Luckily the weather cooperated the rest of the day Saturday so we could get the project done. What a great feeling to finish it. Now Justin just has to finish 4 Merit badges - they are all in process and he just needs to do the paperwork.

9 Miles

Friday was our running group's long run of 9 miles!
I took a turn determining the route ahead of time. I clocked it out in the van acouple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful route,mostly downhill on quiet tree lined streets.
We started out at 5:08 am - it was just starting to get light. The first two miles were mostly uphill but then it was downhill from there. There were 5 of us and we stayed together most of the time with Desiree being the pace setter. She's made to run marathons. I loved running with my Garmin and checking our pace occasionally. We were running under our average pace most of the time. We finished up our run by going through Murray Park and ended at Mimi's for breakfast. That was a fun treat. We ran the 9 miles in 1:47:52 with an average pace of 11:56, that was 27 seconds faster than our previous best average pace (does that make sense).
We enjoyed our breakfast and chatting together while we were all on our runner's high. I faired much better than on the 8 miler - both during the run and after. I wasn't too sore and that was very encouraging. It was a great way to start the day and it was a super busy one (more about that in the next post).

2nd blog

As if I don't have enough to do already and keep up with, I've started a 2nd blog.
It's really a running/training log to track my progress with this marathon "craziness." If you're really bored you can check it out under Blogs I Read to the right of this post.

Fast Sunday

It's fast Sunday today and that term is an oxymoron as the day is anything but fast.
So, to pass the time before dinner I decided I'd do this tag from Paige.

Favorite person (outside family)? That is impossible to pick. I guess I would have to say my friends are my favorite people to spend time with.

Favorite food? Mexican

Quirks about you? I'm sure I have some but I don't really know what they are. I'm sure there are people out there that could enlighten me but I'm not sure I want to know :)

How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? "she's a party girl"

Any regrets in life? The following is Paige's answer and it is also mine: "There were a few times in my youth that I did things that really hurt other people’s feelings. I wish I hadn’t done those things, and I still remember and feel bad for them."

Favorite Charity/ Cause? Race for the Cure and Make a Wish Foundation.

Favorite Blog recently? I enjoy Marnie's blog.

Something you can’t get enough of? sleep

Worst job you’ve ever had? Working in the ice cream parlor and Orange Julius at The Galleria.

What job would you pay NOT to have? Researchers who work with mice.

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? My husband's job and my kids' classrooms.

Favorite Bible verse right now? John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

Guilty Pleasure? Milky Way Midnight

Got any confessions? I'm lazy and not very organized.

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it? Monthly massage and pedicure.

Favorite thing about your house? Location - by the schools, the rec center and my parents.

Least favorite thing about your house? Too many to list - but we're slowly working on them. Number 1 is probably the living room carpet.

One thing you are bad at? Cleaning.

One thing you’re good at? Having fun.

If you could change something about your circumstances, what? That I could magically de-clutter my house and then it would stay that way.

Who would you like to meet someday? Oprah

What makes you feel sexy? When my "skinny" clothes fit.

Who is your real life hero? I have many but I'll just list one here - my mom. She's a great example to me and her grandchildren. She is selfless, doesn't gossip, treats everyone fairly and is always there for any of us - friends and family alike.

What is the hardest part of your job? When kids throw up

When are you most relaxed? At night after the kids have gone to bed and I can have a little me time.

What stresses you out? Confrontations, being overscheduled.

What can you not live without? The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why do you blog? It's my journal these days.

Now, the hardest part - tagging others! Anyone who reads this that feels like filling in the answers.

The Nerds and The Chosen One, Part 2

Here is the rest of the video from Justin's assembly today.

I had to use my regular still digital camera because our camcorder is in the shop. So I had to stop recording so i could zoom in to get a better shot. And sorry for some of the shaky footage.
I'm so glad I was there to see this group perform. Hopefully Justin won't mind that I've put this on my blog AND on YouTube!
I was proud of him and Paul and I are both wondering who's son he is.

Justin Amazes Me

Justin is always surprising us with things he gets involved in.

This clip on YouTube is from Justin's 9th grade assembly today.
They call themselves "The Nerds and The Chosen One" (the drummer, Ty, is the chosen one because he's not in the nerdy "honors" classes with the rest of the guys. He's in our ward and we've known him since he was 8 - he's a natural with music and is self-taught).
Justin was pretty quiet about the whole thing and it was like pulling teeth talking to him about the assembly this morning. I finally called the school to find out what time it started. I knew I couldn't miss this.

8 Miler

I just got back from my first real big long run -- 8 miles!! It was me and two of my running friends. Our mother hen didn't go with us this time because she is doing a 50K (32 miles) run tomorrow!! (she's a bit on the crazy side)
We started at Smiths on Bengal Blvd and ran out Wasatch Boulevard to 12300 South and 1300 East (in Draper where Albertson's is). It was such a beautiful run and we all had a great time running together. We never even turned on our music - we had a good pace and enough energy that we just talked the whole time. It's so empowering to do something you never thought you could do. And it was so fun to see our mother hen waiting for us at the end (she dropped up off at the beginning and then walked for 5 miles). It took us 1 hour and 44 minutes. I never thought I would say this but it was a blast!!

Volleyball Slideshow

ER

I watched ER from almost the very beginning. I missed the first season when it originally aired but I own it now on DVD. I couldn't ever miss an episode and it was "me" time when I watched it - as in "don't bother me, I'm watching ER"
I haven't been following it at all this year and missed most of last year. It's just not as good as it used to be. I'd always thought I'd watch it to the end and I kind of miss it but not really.
Today I was searching YouTube for the Bon Jovi song (You Want to) Make a Memory and I found this video montage that someone put together of the years of ER to the song. I really liked it and I share it with you now.

Brooke's volleyball Team

Check out this link for some fun pictures we took of Brooke's volleyball team at their last tournament.
They were hanging out waiting around FOREVER for their next match to start. They had fun playing outside and having popsicles. It was fun watching the girls have such a good time.

Running

I've been on a marathon training program for several weeks. I've read several marathon books. The first book I read was actually the best and I'm surprised it's not more well known. ( I really think there was something inspired in that this book was the first one I picked up at the library).
It's whole title is "The Complete 26-week Training Program - Marathon and Half Marathon, The Beginner's Guide" by - Marnie Caron & The Sports Medicine Council of British Columbia.
I've haven't posted about this before because I was waiting to find out if our running group would get into the St George Marathon. Our little group came about by chance almost but it's been a great group. We call ourselves The Running Chics and our mother hen is Leslie Peterson. She is in my ward, cuts my hair and is an ultra runner. She's running the St George again this year - for the 12th time. It's been great to do long runs as a group. It's so much easier when you're all fighting your way up a long hill together.
So, we entered the St George Marathon on the very first day you could enter (April 1) and then had to wait over 6 weeks to find out if we would get in. That marathon is so popular that they have a lottery system to get in.
We all started this training program. It's a very detailed run/walk program that so far has been AWESOME! It takes every day of every week and tells you exactly what to do. That may not work for some people but it's perfect for me. We just finished week 6 with a 6 mile long run on Friday. I felt great during the run/walk (3 min run/1 min walk) and at the end I felt like I could've gone longer. I was pretty excited to go that far. I've never run farther than 3 1/2 miles in my life.
A week ago we got the sad news that we didn't get into the St George Marathon. We were all really bummed! But we're still training. I've personally decided to do the Logan Marathon (TopofUtah) in September.


Yesterday, 3 of us from our running group did the 5K Running With Angels at Thanksgiving Point Gardens. Races are always very motivating to me and get you all pumped up. The course was beautiful although more hilly than we expected. Our group stayed together for the most part and finished within 30 seconds of each other. My official chip time was 36:42:2. I felt great about that and it was fun to look at the race results and see that in my age group I was 21st. Racing is one thing where age gives me a little advantage :)

This is me and my friend, Paige. She was also at the race. She's the one that gave me the idea to do that race. She did a great job on the race and is an amazing woman. For her description of the race go here.

I can't believe I'm actually training for a marathon but I've thought about it for years and have talked with Leslie about it many times. It's one of those "bucket list" things for me. The main thing is the marathon training is a goal to just get in shape and be able to run 3 miles easily several times a week. I'm actually looking forward to our upcoming 8 and 9 miles runs.
For me, it's now or never.

Happy Birthday to Jared and Kamryn

It's pretty sad when it takes almost a week to post about my children's 3rd birthday. (I started this post on Wednesday but it's taken until Sunday to get to it to finish).

Kamryn and Jared have been pretty excited about their birthdays for weeks. Every time we went to Sam's Club (which is every week) they looked at the cakes and wanted to get their birthday cake. I told them that their birthdays were coming up pretty quick and soon we would get their cakes.
One sad note is I forgot to take pictures of their cakes, not that they were anything special. We went to Sam's Club Monday morning and I let them pick out their cakes. Luckily there were two perfect ones there - one with light green frosting and all decorted girly with flowers. The Jared picked out was decorated with a party theme with confetti and red frosting.
After we picked up their cakes they spent the afternoon at Grammy and Grandpa's while I shopped for their presents. They really didn't need anything but I got them presents anyway.


Here's Justin being a good sport at their birthday dinner. I decorated the kitchen so it looked like a party for Jared and Kamryn. I'd made them take naps that day and then had to wake them up for dinner. Luckily they were in good moods after being woken up and were very excited about their party.


We had our usual/traditional Monday night dinner - spaghetti with salad and breadsticks. The birthday kids ate dinner (that part is a little unusual depending on what's for dinner.) Then we headed over to the rec center to go swimming. Jared and Kamryn LOVE to go swimming and ask almost every day to go. So that is what we had to do.


Jared is always a little timid at first when we get in the water. This time he went right in and went down the frog slide. Kamryn loves the water so much so that we never got a good picture of her in the pool because she is always moving. She loved going down the big slide with her dad.
They swam for a long time with all of their cousins and grandparents that came to swim too.

Taylor enjoying the little kids pool.

After swimming, everyone came back to our house for cake, popsicles and present opening. All of that was crazy. Having two kids open presents at the same time surrounded by cousins is a little challenging. It took me a couple of days to figure out who gave them what (thank you to all). It took a week to get those bikes put together that they are opening in this picture.
By the end of the present opening it looked like a bomb had gone off in our living room.
In the future we would like to figure out a what to spread out all the fun. Let them alternate who's year it is to have a birthday (I don't think Jared and Kamryn will go for that). Maybe we can take turns celebrating on the actual day and the day after or something.

Mother's Day Follow-up

I had a good mother's day. My kids helped clean up the house on Saturday night and Paul stayed up VERY late painting the bathroom - yellow. Not what he would have picked but it was what Brooke and I picked.
Paul wanted to get me something but I didn't really give him any ideas. He got points just for calling my friend Leslie to get some ideas from her. I told him I didn't really need anything and had just bought new running shoes and a running watch.
We had a great dinner that everyone helped to prepare and then visited Paul's mom and my mom.
One of the best parts of the day was getting chocolate mint sandwiches as a gift after sacrament meeting. And then the bishopric taught all of the YW so the leaders could go to RS. That was a great break.

Happy Mother's Day

These are the mother's day cards I received
from Jared and Kamryn.
They made them in nursery at church.
When we got home Paul had them give the cards to me.

The card above is the one from Kamryn.
Look at those "cute little hands."

The card above is the one from Jared.
Anyone who knows him has heard him say "NOT" a million times.
It really made me laugh when I opened this card.

Bye Bye Binkys

On Monday it was bye-bye to the binkys. Here's the story:

So for the last couple of weeks I've been talking to Jared and Kamryn about not having binkys anymore (they only have them to go to sleep at night). At first we talked about them turning 3 and not having them but I decided they wouldn't like their birthday very much and wouldn't want to turn 3 so I had to figure out something else.
We've told them frequently that binkys are for babies and they are big now. So one time I told them we need to give them to little babies that are crying and need a binky and don't have one. I came up with the idea to take them to a hospital and see the babies in the nursery and give their binkys to a nurse for the babies.
Monday was the day - I'd prepared myself mentally for over a week for this. I think it was going to be harder on me than them.

After lunch we went to the Women's Center at the big IHC Hospital. Jared and Kamryn were happy to be going to see the babies. They each had a little ziploc baggie with their binkys.

This is where my plan got a little fouled up. I checked in with the receptionist and she told me that you can't just go look at babies in the nursery anymore. You have to be visiting someone specific.

Yikes! Now what? I enlisted the receptionist's help (she was a young mom and could tell what I was doing). I told the kids the babies were sleeping and we couldn't go see them but that the nice lady would take the binkys to the babies. Kamryn gaves her little baggy right up but not Jared. He was not about to give his precious binkys away to that lady. I talked to him for several minutes and he wasn't going to give in. I was about to give up and go to another hospital when a young mother walked in the lobby with her very tiny newborn baby sleeping in his carseat. Jared saw the baby and said he'd give his binkys to that baby. I enlisted that mother's help and Jared put his little bag of binkys on top of the baby's blankets and then got Kamryn's binkys and gave them to the baby too. Then the mom walked away on got on the elevator.

Good thing she got away quick. Jared held it together until we walked outside and then started crying for his binkys. He cried the whole way home about wanting his binkys back. It was so sad.

Kamryn was happy as could be and was singing as usual and noticing the pretty flowers.

When we got home Kamryn had a popsicle and Jared continued to be sad and we had to get all of his blankies and pillow and have sad time on my bed. After being home about a half hour all of a sudden Kamryn started crying. I went to check on her and she was in the kitchen. I asked her why she was crying and she said she wanted her binkys back. What a delayed reaction! She's a bit ditzy.

That night was when it was really sad for her. Jared went to bed okay and told his dad that he went to the hospital and gave his binkys to a baby and he was okay with it by then.

Not Kamryn! She wanted her "pink" back! She cried for almost 2 hours. It was way after midnight before she finally went to sleep.

Luckily they both woke up happy the next morning. She's cried about it both nights since then but is okay after a little bit. I wonder how long it's going to take.

An uplifting read

I just finished reading Amy Grant's book, Mosiac: Pieces of My Life So Far. It was a very easy read - most chapters were 2 pages. In between the chapters were words to her songs and also some poems she's written. It was fun to look at the pictures she's included in the book. It was nice to read a book that was spiritual in nature and some good things to think about. I particularly liked the following parts:
"Don't Go" a chapter about her friend dying from cancer
"First Thing" a chapter about how Amy starts her day and her interpretation of the Lord's Prayer
I recommend this to anyone who needs a quick pick me up.

Trip back in time

On Wednesday evening our mutual group went to tour the LDS Church's Humanitarian Center. It was fascinating and I highly recommend it for any youth group and all adults should take a trip there. The frustrating thing is to volunteer there as a youth group you have to schedule it a year in advance.
The trip back in time occurred during the movie they showed us at the end of the tour. They were showing all of these humanitarian missionaries all over the world and the projects they are involved in. All of a sudden, there on the screen, was Joel Sperry, my 9th grade math teacher. Seeing him brought back so many memories - the #1 being that Mr Sperry always pointed at the board with his middle finger!

May Day

Happy May Day!

My poor cousin is having a wedding celebration today at Gardner Village. What bad timing for a snow storm.

My poor flowers.

Some Random Thoughts

I've been thinking I should post more often just about random, everyday happenings.
**On Sunday our YW lesson was about traditions. The lesson suggests to use the opening from Fiddler on the Roof where Tevya (sp?) is talking about tradition. The MiaMaid counselor actually showed that part of the movie and Brooke said she had never seen the movie. So we borrowed it from my friend and watched it Sunday afternoon. We had no idea it was so long - at the intermission we thought it was over - good thing we kept the DVD playing so we could continue watching. After 2 1/2 hours Brooke said "This is a freakishly long movie." When I asked Taylor if he liked it, he said "No, there was too much singing!" Guess I should have told him it was a musical.
**I haven't said much about Brooke's volleyball this year. I don't take pictures because with my camera they don't turn out too well. She's played great this year and has really been a very consistent player on her team.
**What do you think of your 9th grade son getting a "C-" inn gym? I just found Justin's report card today - he never gave it to me. I'm not too happy with that kind of grade in an easy A class. I'm trying to decide what to do about that.
**The other day I walked in the kitchen and Jared and Kamryn were all set up with the haircut station (just like when I cut the boys hair - the folding chair in the very spot I use in the kitchen). Thank goodness it was just a giant care bear in the chair that was the victim for the haircut.
**When I asked Taylor about his soccer game last week (which I missed because I was at Brooke's volleyball tournament) he told me his team won 4-2. I told him that was great and his reply "They would have lost if it weren't for me." I asked him if he played goalie and he said no - defense the whole time because his coach said he's the best defender and his team can't handle the defense without him.

Shopping with Twins

Today I went shopping with Jared and Kamryn - I must have been out of my mind :)
Actually they were very good. We went to Ross and DSW (right next to each other) to return some things. That went okay - if you call Jared and Kamryn making it to the back of DSW while I am returning my shoes and I've just told them that they had to stay by me.
They were much better in Ross and stayed with me even after I returned my items and decided to look at some bedding.
Then we headed off to SuperWalmart. I never take them there. I usually only go there with a big helper to do a huge shopping or by myself.
They both wanted to get in the cart which was a huge blessing. Unfortunately there were no limo-length carts to be found so we had to use a regular cart. I bought some cheap basketballs and Jared sat on one of them the whole time. I think that really helped for some reason. I only had 3 things written down on my list but had a whole mental list that I figured I'd keep shopping for if they were good. We ended up filling the cart and they stayed happy - yeah! And the total only came to $200.00.

Proud Parent

I received this note in the mail the other day. What a great feeling to know that my daughter makes a teacher happy.

It's hard to read the note so for those that are interested this is what is says:
"I just wanted you to know that it is such a pleasure to have Brooke in my class. She is an excellent student who always gives her best. :) Mrs Bleak"

This is Brooke's art teacher.

(I really have no idea how to do this scanning thing. I need lessons.)

Integri "tea"

Just wanted to share what we did for Young Womens last night.
At the beginning of this year we adopted 8 grandma's in our ward. Each grandma has 2 grand-daughters (young women). The girls have heart attacked the grandma's and met with them to interview them about their lives.
Last night we had a tea party. We had discussion questions (slips of paper rolled up in a vase as the centerpiece) at each table about integrity. We had appetizers, muffins and white party punch for our "tea". To conclude we had a group discussion about our definition of integrity and some of the grandma's shared experiences where they showed integrity. To close, we played the Integrity song out of the I walk by Faith song book.
It was a successful activity and was very nice but didn't take a lot of work. Luckily we borrowed the decorations and some of the ideas from the RS Education day we just had last Saturday. The colors were yellow and purple and it looked very springy. My daughter even said it was the best activity we'd had in a long time. My only regret was I forgot to take pictures.

Tagged ... Again

I was tagged by Janice.
"Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages) 2. Turn to page 123. 3. Find the 5th sentence 4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog 5. Tag 5 people
The book I am currently reading Empire Falls by Richard Russo (a Michelle recommendation). "I could use some company."

Here is my response:
I am reading A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. (book club selection for this month)
"I bet he got sick," I said, clutching Weaver's arm.

I tag Ashley, Cynthia, Susan, Amy, Michelle.

If You Give A Mom a Muffin

Check out this post on Susannah's blog. Whoever wrote that should publish it - it's so TRUE!!

Jury Duty

I received that infamous summons in the mail a couple of weeks ago.
It was for one of the worst weeks possible, of course.
I called last Friday after five to see if I had to go in - and I did, of course.
So, Monday morning I got up extra early to get in my exercise before getting ready and then took Trax downtown to the SL City Court. I felt like a real grown up for a day - commuting and going to work. It was fine for a day but I'm sure grateful I don't have to do that every day.
Justin stayed home from school to watch Jared and Kamryn (he volunteered and I figured he knows if he can afford to miss school or not).
I was called along with 43 other people to fill 8 jury spots - 4 jurors each for 2 trials. Pretty good odds of not getting picked. They split us up into two groups and my group went into the courtroom (after waiting almost two hours) to begin the jury selection process with the judge and attorney. The defendant was representing himself. He was charged with trespassing on a dwelling and public intoxication.
The judge asked the group several questions and if you answered yes then he further questioned you on that specific question. The only one that I answered yes to was "Do you for whatever reason, NOT drink alchohol?" I figure that was my go free card because I wasn't picked to be on the jury. I was relieved to not have to spend the rest of the day there but it also would have been interesting to hear the case. I'm so curious to know how it turned out. I was paid my $18.50 for going in and am now safe from jury duty for 2 years (except in a federal court).

What happens when you're on the phone!

This is what happens when you've been chatting on the phone.

I was talking to my mom and she asked where Jared was. I said I didn't know. She didn't ask about Kamryn because she could hear her singing right by me.

We continued talking and as we were finishing our conversation I said I better go check on the kids. The funny thing was she'd asked about Jared and I didn't know where he was so you would figure he would be the one getting in trouble - oh no!

I found Kamryn, still singing, under the kitchen table. I get down to see what she's doing under there and find her with blue hands!

She did not enjoy the washing it took to get the blue off and then she did it again later in the day with a red marker ( I guess she was giving "the rivalry" equal coverage, or maybe Justin gave her the red marker).

Another Tag!

I was personally tagged for this one so I guess I'll comply:

1.What is your most embarrassing moment?
I've told this one many times but probably never here on my blog. It was when I was waitressing at Marie Callender's 20 years ago (hard to believe it's been that long). I had a big tray of drinks to serve to a table full of business men in suits. I was walking up to the table and stopped behind one of the men who had his back to me and didn't realize I was there. I took off the first drink and it unbalanced the whole tray and it slipped and spilled all down the back of that guy. I felt so bad. I don't remember anything after that minute.

2.What is something that you think about and laugh at every time?
This blog entry on my sister's blog:
"This might seem like a weird thing to put in my blog but if I don't, I will forget it. I was sitting on the couch when Jaxon came home from school today. He came over and sat next to me and hugged me. Then he said "Mom, I love your boobs, they are so cozy." I got a good laugh out of that one. Later on when I told Dale about it, he said "Like father, like son". Sorry if this offends anyone!"
I laughed about it the whole day after reading it and still chuckle when I think about it.

3. What is you favorite season and why?
SUMMER!!! I love to be outside and be active and be tan.

4.Who is your hero?
My mom - she never complains and is always willing to help out with anyone, she never gossips or finds faults with others, she's easy going and kind. The list is much longer but I'll leave it at this for now.

5.What have you learned throughout your life that you would share as advice for others?
To have fun!

6.What is your favorite goofy thing that your spouse does which makes you fall in love all over again?
His laugh! I especially love watching him watch Kramer on Seinfeld.

7.What is your favorite book(s) of all time?
I don't think I could pick a favorite - I've read too many (and can't remember details).

8.What is one of your pet peeves?
Drivers who don't signal!

9. Where has been your favorite place to travel and why?
A tie between the Disney Trip where we go to Disney World and then on the Disney Cruise
and
Playa del Carmen in Mexico (south of Cancun)

10. Add a question of your own! -- "What is one item on your "bucket list?"
To run a marathon.

**I tag - Cynthia, Stephanie Ward, Susan, Amy and any others who would like to play**

"Big Beds"

On Monday I decided to make some big changes in Jared and Kamryn's room.
Since Kamryn was sleeping in "panties" I felt like she needed to be able to go to the bathroom without trying to climb out of her crib.
So I took apart both cribs and set up 2 toddler beds. We already had one and then borrowed one from my brother and sister-in-law. Luckily they are almost exactly alike - that is an important thing for almost 3 year olds.
Jared and Kamryn were very excited about their new "big beds." The hardest thing for Kamryn was she thought since she was in her bed (playing) she could have her binky (yes, they still have those, yikes!)


They went to bed great on Monday night - no getting out of bed and right to sleep - that's how it is when they are really tired and don't take naps anymore.
Kamryn is a very restless sleeper - I found out that night. She fell out of bed more than once and was in Jared's bed at one point.
The 2nd night went a little better and she only fell out once. They are still in their beds when I go in there in the morning. I know that won't last too long but I'll enjoy while it lasts.

Potty Training

Kamryn is smiling because she is officially potty trained!!! (well mostly)

We started on Tuesday with wearing big girl panties. She changed her panties every time she went potty that day - I think she couldn't decide which princess she liked best.

She had a couple of accidents on Tuesday and Wednesday. She didn't really seem to get it and I was doing the thing I swore to never do - me be the one potty trained and always asking her if she needed to go potty. Thursday I was ready to give it up because she didn't really seem ready. We went back to diapers that day but on Friday she was insistent on wearing panties again and went the whole day with only one accident. And then on Saturday, while Justin was tending, she overcame the big obstacle of pooping in the potty. We were so proud of her and she got to get her present today - a DVD of Piglet's Big Movie.

I just hope we continue to do well. One down, one to go (that won't be anytime soon).

Taylor's science fair

Taylor with his science project for the 4th grade science fair. He wasn't sure he was going to participate in the fair or just write a science report. On Monday of the same week as the fair he decided he wanted to do an experiment. We really simplified the scientific method and did more of a project. His question was "Who runs faster - 4th grade boys or girls?" He figured the boys would run faster. He was right.

Visitors

These ladies came to visit me and meet my family last week. The woman in the middle is Ginger Meyette and she was my 5th grade teacher. The woman next to her is Linda, Ginger's partner. Ginger - Mrs. Avery to me - was the one of the greatest teachers ever. We've been in contact ever since I was in 5th grade. I tended her two little kids when I was a young teenager and then we've kept in contact by sharing Christmas letters.
They live in Denver and were in Utah visiting friends. I wondered if it would be weird to visit with someone I hadn't seen or talked to in over 25 years but it wasn't. It was really fun to visit with them and get to know them better. Jared and Kamryn took right to them and showered them with attention and toys.

Easter Pictures

Here are some Easter pictures from the Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Doesn't Jared make Justin look even taller than he really is?

All dressed in spring colors for the Easter party.

Justin and Jared dying eggs at my sister's house.

Brooke helping Kamryn hunt for eggs.

Spring Break

Spring break is over and we're all sad about that. It's never long enough. I think I would really like being on the year round schedule and having breaks throughout the year. I enjoy my kids being out and 3 days wasn't long enough.
We didn't go anywhere this year and just enjoyed being home and taking it easy.
We spent Thursday taking 4 kids to the dentist. Justin refused to go because he wanted to hang out with his friends. He missed out on going to Mountain Mike's pizza with us - it was pizza buffet and was delicious. I highly recommend the place, especially their dessert pizza. We met my sister and her family there and then we hung out at their house after.
Thursday night was book club, which is always a great night out.
Friday I took Brooke shopping for some new spring clothes. She's lucky she's so thin and can find such cute clothes.
At night, Paul and I went out to dinner at Iggy's with friends in our ward and then played Catch Phrase after.
Saturday we did an easter egg hunt at my sister's house with all the cousins. Justin drove us up to Kaysville and did a great job on the freeway. I was definitely a little more relaxed on the drive home than on the way there. Now he's only got 36 hours to go.
On Sunday I taught all of our Young Women an Easter lesson. The lesson went very well, better than I expected it would and all the credit goes to the girls! They shared such beautiful thoughts about the Savior.
After church we did our usual scripture treasure hunt for baskets and then had a delicious dinner.
On Monday, Brooke and I went with our friends and took their "adopted" grandma out to lunch. For FHE, we had fun playing outside in the beautiful weather and then had a lesson on money and finance.
Now it's back to school and the real world.

A must read!

If you need a good laugh, one that will make you cry, pop over to this blog for one of the funniest things I have ever read.

An unusual FHE

Last night we had a rather unusual Family Home Evening. We've always been a little laid back on our Monday night gatherings. Lately it's been more of a challenge because Brooke has volleyball practice and doesn't get home until at least 7:30 or later. By the time we finished with dinner it was 8:00 and we only had about a half hour to do something. We didn't have anything planned and were just winging it. Paul made the suggestion that everyone take a turn choosing a song off an iPod (we have 7 in our house, embarrassing to admit) and then we'd talk about music and how it affects us. The kids were all over this idea. The hard part was choosing just one song.
Justin went first and chose Waiting for the Sun by this band.
Then I went and chose Sweet Escape by this chic.
Brooke picked How Far We've Come by Matchbox Twenty.
Paul picked The Load-Out by Jackson Browne.
Then Taylor chose Walk the Line by Live. (We heard Daughtry do it on American Idol).
And we even helped Jared and Kamryn pick a couple of songs - Dancing Queen by ABBA and Under Pressure by Queen.
It turned out to be a fun evening and we enjoyed hanging out together. We could have gone hours choosing songs. Sometimes just being together is the most important thing that happens during FHE.

I don't really recommend this

Last week I mentioned to Justin that Jared and Kamryn wanted to go find him at school and he asked me why I didn't let them.
So the next day when they asked again I said we could go and find them.
We loaded up in the car and went to Rite Aid and bought the felt tip pens that Brooke needed for art and then went to the school. We got there just before the kids lunch hour. It was a little scary for Jared and Kamryn when the masses of teenagers came out of their classrooms heading to lunch.
When Brooke and Justin saw us they turned red and wanted to hide. They wondered why we were there. When I handed Brooke her art pens she asked me what she was supposed to do with them since she was going to lunch and I told her to hang onto them and be grateful that I brought them.
Then we told Justin that the kids came to find him and wanted to sit by him at lunch and he asked why. I reminded him of our conversation the day before and he said he'd just been kidding.
So I decided to continue the torture and walked to the lunchroom with the little kids and sat down with some of the Young Women in our ward. At least they were happy to see me and talked to me. Of course, I wasn't their mother so it was cool to talk to me.

The latest 2 year old argument

This was the latest conversation between Jared and Kamryn, heard yesterday two different times:
Jared: I'm two
Kamryn: I'm two
Jared: NO, I'm 2!
Kamryn: I'm two
Jared: NO! I'M TWO!!
Kamryn: I'm two
Jared: NO!!!! I'M TWO!!!!
Finally I stepped in and said "you're both two" to which Jared said
"NO, I"M 2!"

When this conversation began again in front of their dad and Justin it also included this:
Kamryn: It's my birthday
Jared: NO, it's my birthday.

Do you think he has issues?

"Look at me Mom!"

This is what I heard Kamryn calling from her room and this is how I found her.

Both she and her brother know how to climb in their cribs but haven't figured out how to climb out. She just sits on the side railing and waits for me to come get her. I figure I don't have too long until she does figure it out and then I'll really be in trouble.

Tagged Again

This tag comes from my friend Ashley.

A- Attached or Single? Attached
B- Best Friend? Paul
C- Cake or Pie? Pie . Double Cream Lemon at Marie Calender's - on sale this month
D- Day of Choice? sunday
E- Essential Item? My new laptop
F- Favorite Color? Green
G- Gummy Bears or Worms? Gummy bears
H- Hometown? SLC, UT
I- Favorite Indulgence? Pedicure.
J- January or July? July, for SURE!! Can't stand winter
K- Kids? Justin Paul - 15, Brooke Lindsey - 13, Taylor Benjamin - 10, Jared Truman & Kamryn Lindy - 2 1/2
L- Life isn't complete without? My family and the gospel.
M- Marriage date? August 31, 1991
N- Number of brothers and sisters? 2 sisters 2 brothers
O- Oranges or Apples? Like them both - but very picky about them - apple has to be very crisp and orange has to be very sweet and juicy
P- Phobias and Fears? I have very serious issues when it comes to mice and I am afraid of the dark.
Q- Quote? It is listed at the bottom of my blog - first heard it in the movie Akaela and The Bee
R- Reason to smile? My husband, my kids, my family, my friends.
S- Season of choice? SUMMER and Fall in Utah
T- Tag three people? Hmmm....whoever feels like doing this lovely thing.
U- Unknown fact about me? I used to take guitar lessons and had to sing and play in front of people at a recital.
V- Vegetable? Broccoli and spinach, though I love almost all veggies!
W- Worst Habit? Too much time on the computer
X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound. I had plenty of these when I was pregnant with the twins.
Y- Your favorite food? Oh man, can I just say FOOD! If I had to pick though, it would be Mexican.
Z- Zodiac Sign? Born on the cusp of Libra and Scorpio

Shannon Hale

Over the last 4 days I have read 2 Shannon Hale books, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.
First, I read Book of a Thousand Days and then this morning I finished Austenland. Both were very good. It's so great to have a local author doing well and writing good books that I can recommend to my daughter (she actually read both books before I did but I knew it was safe to have her read them). It's just one of my big faults that I am a compulsive reader and when I start a book all I want to do is read and do nothing else.

How Embarassing

So, this morning was going like most --- I went to exercise from 6:15 - 7:15. When I got home my kids were up getting ready for school (that part is not normal). Taylor, my 4th grader who I usually have to wake up, was up and eating breakfast. I got involved with looking at class descriptions for Brighton High School (another blog altogether) and said goodbye to the teenagers. I was still going over course descriptions and then heard the little ones talking so I decided I better get in the shower before I got them up. I took a long hot shower and then was fixing some stuff in my room. I came in the kitchen and made a phone call to my good friend, Melinda, and was talking to her about book club and high school registration when I noticed Taylor still here reading. I was so shocked to see him and was puzzled why he wasn't at school. And then suddenly I realize that I had forgotten him! I felt so bad!! I totally forgot to take him to school. Now in my defense, Taylor admitted that he'd gone back to bed after breakfast because he was cold and wanted to get warm and he thinks maybe he fell asleep. So out of sight, out of mind is how it goes for me.

What an ORDEAL!!

Did you read this article in the paper?
We were part of that nightmare on I-15. Brooke always has volleyball practice on Wednesdays at Open Court by Thanksgiving Point.
Her coach called just as we were getting ready to leave for practice and told us the practice would be optional due to the storm and that she would be there because she was coming from Provo and the storm hadn't hit down there yet. So I told her we would come with the 3 girls from our area. A little storm doesn't bother me and I'd watched the weather at noon and the weatherman had said the storm would dump a few inches and then move out so I figured it couldn't be too bad. This ended up being a very bad decision!
The freeway was totally backed up going down there and it took us 1 1/2 hours to get there, which was 30 minutes late for practice. We finally made it to Open Court and got a phone call from the coach that she'd been stuck on the freeway trying to go north from Provo for an hour and didn't know if she'd ever get there. One other mom braved the storm and was there with 2 girls so we ran the practice ourselves and then let the girls play cards while we waited for the traffic to clear up from the frontage road.
One of the hardest things of that night is that I had Jared and Kamryn with me which is unusual. We kept watching for the traffic to clear up and it never did so at 7:30 we decided to just deal with the traffic jam. It took us 45 minutes just to go one mile down to the freeeway entrance. By the time we got there the Highway Patrol wasn't letting cars go north on the freeway so we were forced to go south on I-15 towards Provo instead of going to SLC. We spent a total of 4 hours in the car trying to get home. Most of that was on the freeway either just sitting or going about 5 mph.
Luckily we had a full tank of gas and sandwiches I had made because the girls go straight from practice to YW. We stopped in Lehi when we got off the freeway to turn around to to go north and got drinks. For part of the time we had my laptop running off a battery so the little kids could watch a movie and then the girls started watching one of the pirates movie until the battery died.
At one point Kamryn and Jared had a crying spell but fortunately it didn't last too long and they went to sleep. The girls had a great attitude about being stuck in the car for so long and even started making up stories about the other travelers around us. One story they made up actually was true.
We finally made it home at 11:30 at night. The worst part was that we missed out on our Young Women's activity. Luckily, due to the storm, school started two hours late the next morning so the girls could sleep in.

Valentine's Day

Here is what my sweet valentine brought me on Valentine's Day.
We had a nice evening as a family - everyone helped clean up the house and shovel the driveway. Then we went out to dinner as a family to Iggy's.
When we came home we put Jared & Kamryn to bed and then we played Hearts - very appropriate game for the day.

I'm so sad

This is really such a trivial thing but it has made me so sad.
Kamryn had her FIRST haircut and it was done by her BROTHER!!
She's had a hard time getting her hair to grow and it's finally looking really cute and has lots of curls.
This morning Paul's parents were staying here while I helped at school. When I got back Carolyn asked me about a little curl of hair that Kamryn brought her. I'd seen it earlier but didn't think much of it. It started making sense. There was a lot of hair on the back of Kamryn's jacket and we found more little ringlets in the living room.
I asked Jared if he cut Kamryn's hair and he said YES and he seemed proud of the job he did.
Luckily he only cut off her hair in the back and it isn't really noticeable. I think this happened yesterday afternoon sometime (I'd given Taylor a haircut after school and I think that gave these two the idea). Thank goodness hair grows back but in Kamryn's case it sure grows awfully slow.

So much SNOW!!

On Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed up at our family cabin with Jared and Kamryn and my sister Susan and her kids. She went up the day before me and told me I would not believe how much snow was up there.

As you can see, there is a TON of SNOW!!! I can't remember the last time we saw that much snow up there.

We had a good time staying INSIDE the cabin. The kids all had fun playing with each other and we enjoyed playing games and watching movies. It's always a great get away up there.

Volleyball Rollercoaster

We rode the volleyball rollercoaster all weekend.
We were scheduled to go to Boise on Friday for a tournament that Brooke would be playing in on Sat. We were really excited about this trip because we had so much fun last year.
Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with this trip. We waited all Friday morning for IVA to decide whether or not to go on with the tournament scheduled in Boise (the biggest problem was that the roads were closed from the Utah/Idaho border most of the morning). Finally, aboaut 1:00 pm we found out that we officially were not going to play the tournament in Boise but instead at Open Court in Lehi. We were all bummed to not be going on our fun little weekend away but relieved at the same time to not have to travel in bad weather.
We went ahead and did a team bonding night on Friday night and went to Training Table for dinner and then went bowling. The girls and moms had a great time.
Saturday was a down day, unfortunately, because the girls really struggled in the tournament and lost all 8 games that they played. By changing the tournament around our team got moved up a division and thus played higher ranked teams. Their first two games were really tough but they improved from there and almost won several of their remaining games. It was definitely more frustrating for the parents and the coach than the girls. They tried hard and never gave up. We decided to still go out to eat after the tournament and have a good time together. Hopefully the next tournament (in 2 weeks) will go better.

My list

Here's my list for our FHE activity:

Paul - dependable, great laugh, non-judgmental, hard worker, honors his priesthood
Justin - easy going, good sense of humor, good student, artistic
Brooke - easy going/flexible, plays the piano, good student, good friend
Taylor - good friend, good student, great laugh
Jared - great smile, leader (bossy), likes to play with Kamryn
Kamryn - enthusiastic, happy, likes to play with Jared

Taylor's list

Here is Taylor's list (he struggled the most the night we were doing this, thinking of things):

Dad - He tickles me, gives me advice, and helps me with math
Mom- she tucks me in, makes me lunch and helps me with homework
Justin - smart, fun and good at basketball
Brooke - gives a good example, smart and tickles me
Jared - happy, funny, cute
Kamryn - happy, funny, fashionable (the picture below is how Kamryn was dressed during this activity hence the fashionable statement from more than one person)