Christmas Magic

i just love the looks of their faces as they talk to Santa

StoryBook Land

Here in our town we have an annual Storybook Land set up every Christmas at the fairgrounds. Volunteers come and set up this huge display of trees, lights and tons and tons of different scenes of kids favorite rhymes, stories and characters. The kids love it and it is a fun, free activity for the whole family (well except Sam, he doesn't seem to enjoy it like the rest of us). Jackson was thrilled about the whole thing, he just kept running up and down the aisles. His favorite thing however was finding ordainments on the trees and use them as punching bags -- which is a big no-no, there are signs and people everywhere telling the kids to keep their hands to themselves. I had gone already this year with Gwen on a field trip, but it was FREEZING and my other kids didn't get to go. So this trip was much more fun, plus we got to go with Jess and Tim and their cute kids.

here's some pics:

sooooo excited.......................... (jackson,addie,gwen, dallin and elizabeth)

cutie elizabeth all bundled up..............
gwen just clapped her hands to make the automated spider fall at the Little Miss Muffet display, this is a favorite..................................
the kids love their Spongebob........................
This also is a crowd favorite - there is a magic X on the ground and if the kids jump on it, it makes the Grinch jump too ..................................

jump Addie!!..................................
Jackson loved the CARS display, he had to stop and sit for a while :) .................

Starting a new tradition

This year we have started a new tradition in our house. My mom gave the kids a gift that will now become a yearly tradition. It is called "Elf on the Shelf". It is a little elf and a book that explains about the elf. Basically this elf is one of Santa's elves and he is here to watch the kids everyday to see if they go on the naughty or nice list. Every night the elf magically flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa. And every morning he is back and in a new location in the house. The girls are LOVING this. They named him "Elfie Junior" (Gwen wanted "Elfie" and Addie wanted "Junior" - so that was the compromise). Every morning they wake up and race out of their room to try to find where Elfie Junior is. They are so happy when they find him and are amazed every single time. It is very cute. Here are a few of the places he has shown up so far..................................

thanksgiving

Every year for Thanksgiving we get up in the morning and go somewhere to play football. This year we decided to try something different - a run. Albany put on a run Thanksgiving morning, so some of the family signed up to run it. Sam, Alicia, Jess and Tim all ran it. I did not. I still am recovering from my marathon injury (stress fracture in my shin bone). So I gladly sat this one out. But I still went to cheer on the family -- even in the rain. Sam did the 5.2 mile run and Alicia, Jess and Tim did the 3.75 run. Alicia was too fast and was already done by the time I got there -- but I managed to kinda get some pics of the other guys as they ran into the finish line.

Sam making faces at the kids as he runs by.............

Yay Sam!!!.............................
"Too Fast" Alicia -- she got 3rd place in her age group!!.................
Run Tim Run......................
Jess waving to her fans :) .......................
Go Jessica Go..............................
:)
The Fans...................................
This year we also did something else different - we stayed in a house out on the coast for the weekend. It was fun -- cold but fun. Happy Thanksgiving

Random camping trip to the Coast

Sam loves to take us out camping for "memories". I am never that enthusiastic about it -- but definitely don't mind as much now that we found yurts. They are the way to go -- heat, beds, electricity. We totally ended up need shelter too since there was a huge storm while we were there. The thunder and lightening were so close - it shook our yurt. Scared the crap out of me!

But the beach is always a good time - no matter how cold it is - I can't help but enjoy it and so do my kids.

Halloween '09

This year trick-or-treating was so fun! They are all at an age that they LOVE it. Makes it so fun

Cutest little Chicken Little....................

Cute 50's girl or Lil' Bebopper................

Cute little witch (she actually wore this same dress when she was 3 - still works)..................

Monster Mash Fun Run (well kinda)

One week after I ran my marathon I ran the Monster Mash 5k. I had signed up before the marathon and figured a 5k would be nothing after running a marathon. But my body was definitely not ready to be running again after only a week. My body was hating me the whole run. It actually would have been a really fun run if I wasn't hurting so bad. I got to run with my little dog Peasy and since it was a Halloween run - they had trick-or-treating set up along the course that you could stop at and collect candy. I definitely want to do it again next year and have the kids do it along with me - they'd love it. They got to run the last little leg with me and cross the finish line with me and they were thrilled!

this is where the girls started running with us (look at Addie's face - so excited!)..........


on our way to the finish line...............

Addie turned 7!!

Addie turned 7 on Oct. 22, 2009. (i know i am behind..but i'm trying to catch up). My baby is growing it and it HURTS! She will be 8 and baptized next year. oooooohhhhhh -- I can't take it. But even though it hurts to see her grow -- I could not be more proud of her. She truly is a wonderful child. She is sooooo good, so obedient and her heart is so tender and sweet. I am so glad she is my first - she is such a good example and big sister.

So her request this year for her birthday (she is always VERY specific) - was an American Idol party. We started out her day by going out for her birthday lunch at McDonalds -- all decked out in their American Idol gear. They were sooo excited about how "cool" they looked :)

too cool.........................................
Addie wished for a locket necklace and Grandma Shirley delivered..........
The stage.................................
The judges table ( I switched back and forth acting like Simon, Randy and Paula) :)..................
Dance PAR-TAY!! ( i love this pic of Addie - no cares)....................
Even tho it was American Idol theme - she wanted a spider cake....????? whatever makes her happy :)
The gang....................................
It was a very fun party. We were having so much fun - I totally forgot to even serve the cake. My sister Jess had to remind me. I was having too much fun watching them dance. :)

Addie May: I adore you. I am so blessed that I get to be your mommy. Thank you for being my sweet girl. I love you baby girl!

Marathon

I am FINALLY getting around to blogging about my marathon. Sorry it took me so long - been a little busy.

So as you know -- I ran in the Nike Women's Marathon - Oct. 18,2009. Ok - wait lets start from the beginning. Sometime at the beginning of the year, my friend Lisa told me that she was signing up for this marathon - but it was a lottery and hard to get into. But she wanted me to sign up to hoping to increase the chances of getting in --because if you sign up as a team - the more people in the team - the more chances to get in. So in my head - I thought - "sure I'll sign up - but we wont get in and at least I can tell people I tried". So I signed up - which is where I made my second mistake. My pride got in the way when signing up -- I could have easily signed up for the HALF instead of the full. I would have recieved all the same cool prizes - but as I said - my pride wanted to be able to say that I ran a FULL marathon. So that is what I signed up for -- still fully thinking there was no way we were getting in and that I would really have to run this. Anyways -- a few months pass and I get a text from Lisa "we are in!!" My response: "OH CRAP!!!" I have never run farther than 6 miles before. So then our training began. Lisa had found a great program that would slowly work us up to be able to do those high miles. Well after a few weeks of training - I injured my knee pretty bad. I had to get a MRI done and everything. So I rested for a few months. And Lisa also rested during that time because she was about to have a baby -- THAT"S RIGHT - she was pregnant! Okay -- so during this break -- my knee started to recover and Lisa had her baby. Now we realized - the run was only 10 weeks away. So 3 weeks after Lisa had her baby (I know she's crazy) - we started up our training again. However this training was much more intense then our original - obviously since we had MUCH less time. But we did it. We ran and ran almost every night -- we had to do it at night because Lisa had school and I have the kids and have to wait till Sam gets home. Our attitudes would not be the best some nights -- but we still got out there and did it. I really never truly believed it would REALLY happen. I figured something would come up or happen that would make it so I couldn't go. But still I ran. Then we bought our flights. It started to feel a little more real then. Then we were on the plane. Then we were in San Francisco! Much more real then. :) So the night before the race -- I of course could not sleep AT ALL. I tried and tried -- but I pretty much was awake all night. So the morning of the race there were suppose to be 20,000 runners - but I read that there ended up being 28,000 runners. And let me tell you -- it felt like there were 28,000 people around me for most of the run. It was very crowded. I had to make myself stay calm because I REALLY hate being in crowed spaces. Lisa did a good job keeping her eye on my to measure my anxiety level - and kept us over to the side - so we were not in the middle of the crowd. That was very helpful.

When the race began - it was VERY exciting. There were so many people out there cheering everyone on -- it was a very cool feeling to be a part of such a big thing. I felt then - that I could run this thing non-stop - all the cheering gave me so much energy. I kept that energy for a while. But then realized around mile 10 -- this is a marathon. I have to pace myself - or I WILL DIE! So we got really strict with our pace. We were on a system where we would run for 5 min and then walk 1 min. So we stuck with that really good -- thanks to Lisa's sister Rachel - who ran with us. She trained on her own in Utah and met us there and we all ran together. She by the way - had a baby by C-section 5 months before the run. Those sisters are seriously crazy!!

Around mile 17 I was SOOO happy to see my mom, my sister Amber, my aunt Janice and my friend Carley on the side lines cheering us on. I can't explain how much that helps to see a familiar face in the crowd cheering you on. We really needed it and it gave us the boost we needed to keep going.

Then came mile 22 and I was TIRED!!! Since I hadn't slept the night before and since I had been running for hours -- I was so tired and I felt like all my emotions were right on the verge of spilling over. I felt like breaking down and crying at any given minute. But I held it together and kept going. That last mile still kind of gets me when I think about it. It is such a cool feeling to be so exhausted and get to the end where strangers are cheering you on - giving you the encouragement that you need to finish this goal. They would yell out -- "It's right there! You have done this!!" Then right before the finish line I looked to my left and saw my mom and sister -- when they saw me coming they started to run along the side with me. That really made my eyes water. PLUS as I ran into the finish line - the music that plays for everyone started playing "the eye of the Tiger" -- I felt like a real athlete. :)

Anyways -- at the finish line there were firefighters there dressed in tuxedos - they had our little blue boxes - with our Tiffany's necklaces inside. Instead of a finisher medal -- they had Tiffany & Co. design these necklaces for us. It is now my most prized possession. :)

My family met us at the end and my aunt massaged me a little :) -- that felt soooo good. I could have stood in a line for hours to get a massage -- but my aunt was nice enough to do it for me -- and I bet she was just as good.

After that - we hobbled - and when I say hobbled I literally mean hobbled -- to the car. We were starving so we went and had a fun lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.

I am so glad I did this. It is a great accomplishment that I am proud to say I did. I am so grateful for Lisa - I could never have trained for this on my own. She was a great partner and is a great friend. I am also so so grateful for Carley, my mom, Amber and Janice for coming and cheering me on. It really, really made the run for me.

Oh and lastly -- I am grateful for Sam for being so supportive of me. He watched the kids as I trained and while I was gone all weekend for the marathon. And when I came home he had the house clean and had surprised me with a certificate for a spa day. That meant so much to me because it just showed me that he was proud of me. :) I love my family and friends. Thanks guys!!

Project!!

So our dining table came with the lightest cream color fabric on the chairs. With 3 kids - they are NEVER clean. I don't know how many times I have scrubbed them and they always look so dirty from all of the stains. I finally got tired of it and decided to reupholster them.

before............................

the process........................
after................................
Much better right?!? I am very happy with them. I got a fabric that is indoor/outdoor - so I am hoping it is more stain resistant and durable.