Sedona Trip

We had a great trip to Sedona this weekend! We met my parents at the Sedona Pines Resort where they own a time share. It was a nice place to stay. We had to sit through a timeshare presentation on Sunday morning - but were able to leave without buying anything (it wasn't easy though!) The kids played mini golf with my parents and then played games until we were done. We had a quick lunch then headed out to Bell Rock Trail for some hiking and biking.

Lyndsee got a mountain bike for Christmas so this was the first trail ride for her and it was a great location for a fun first ride. Brianna and Logan took turns riding my bike or Lyndsee's and the rest of us hiked. I even got a little trail running in when I had to run behind the kids on the mountain bike to keep up. It was a GORGEOUS day and we enjoyed about four hours at the trails.

The hikers in the group climbed part way up Bell Rock, there were spectacular views.

(The only bike picture I got)

Logan found a good Vortex along the trail and found peace with the earths energy. :)

Later we went and looked around one of the shopping areas and enjoyed the sculptures along the way.

Lyndsee with Grandpa and a sleepy bear.

She kissed the frog, but no prince appeared!

Aaaaaaaaaaa! Help me....

Why is Brinna always punching Logan?

I'll blog Monday's trip to the snow later, it was great too!

Advent Boxes

It's finally done and only one day late. The last few years we haven't really had an Advent Calendar so I have been looking for a creative one to make, that didn't require tooooo much effort. This is what I came up with (copy catted of course!) Each day there will be a treat (well, 3 treats) or a prize or activity to do that day in the box. If we want we can turn the lid upside down after they empty that days box, so we'll know where we're at on the countdown :). I'm still working on the 25 - I tried to do something clever and it just turned out silly. Lyndsee will be happy when she gets home. She's been very disturbed that it's not ready yet.

Here's a view of it down the hall with the Christmas tree in the background.




Thanks to Nicole for her fabulous Cricut machine and awesome selection of fonts!

I'm off to ice skating - I'll be painting the Christmas show sets today while the girls skate.

Lyndsee and York on the Diet Coke Chair

This picture says several things:

1. Lyndsee LOVES York - am I going to have to get her a puppy for her 13th birthday? Luckily I have 6 years to think that over.
2. Brianna wasn't home - if she were Lyndsee wouldn't be holding York - she gets a little jealous.
   
3. Diet Coke is on sale for $1.88 a 12 pack. I'm going back to the store on Friday so we can turn the chair into a sofa.

I'm heading to bed - the Turkey Trot 10k is in the morning. I'm excited and nervous but thrilled at the potential of burning 1,000 calories before Thanksgiving dinner.

Does anybody ever read this? If so please put a comment on today. I'm beginning to feel under appreciated. :)

Football Star

Yes, it's true. Lyndsee is playing football. She loves it. She does pretty good and when she's "in the zone" she does great! Lyndsee loves playing football with her buddies Tyler, Skyler, Kyler and Kevin. Yesterday she had a great run making it halfway down the field with the ball. She caught one pass for a two point conversion a few games ago too. She thinks of herself as a tomboy but don't think she doesn't have a girly side too. She goes from football games to figure skating classes and is looking forward to the figure skating show so she can wear her sparkly skirt and leotard. She sure keeps us hoppin'!

Best Birthday Present Ever

Brianna's 13th birthday is about 3 weeks away. For the past month I've been trying to find her the ultimate birthday present, and Friday we did it! We found York.

York is adorable. He is a Malshipoo (half Maltese, quarter each shih tzu and poodle) aka an overpriced MUTT. :) Brianna has been wanting a dog of her own for quite a while and we decided that now was the time to do it. He'll get to be about 10 pounds so not as tiny as I think she wanted but we didn't want him to be too delicate to play and go for walks and so on. I think he's going to be great. Brianna has been amazing with him. She's learned to clean carpeting really well :) and is getting up with him in the night, just like a new mom. Hopefully potty training will go quickly, he seems like a smart dog - especially since we are about to get new carpeting in the family room!

Brianna is a good girl, a fabulous student, a good friend, a great daughter, a (mostly) sweet sister and an amazing person! She deserves this furry little friend. You're only a kid once. :)

One Marathon Down, How Many To Go???

It was a great race. I was pretty far off my finishing goal, but I didn't care at all. I had a great time with friends, I felt like I ran strong and steady, and I never hit "the wall", and the best part was finishing with Lisa to the sound of our families cheering us on.

I was VERY nervous the night before. I was fine through dinner, I enjoyed meeting Marcie and Hannah and their families (Lindy's friends from Utah who were running the race too). I got several texts and messages from friends and family wishing me luck, I was touched that they were thinking of me. After the dinner clean up we all called it a night before 10pm. I think I laid in bed till nearly 2:00am before finally dozing off with the alarm waking me just two hours later.

At the start Lisa and I enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa, I thought that was a perfect pre-race treat. We tossed our bags in the truck as the race started and then we headed back to the fires for a final warming before starting the race about six minutes after the clock started. I felt good for the first little while but I was worried about going too quick at the beginning. I know my body likes to hold steady, where Lisa likes to change her pace a lot more. So we would get separated as she flew down the hills, then I would catch her on the flats. We were mostly together for the first 13 miles.

Around mile 9 I knew I needed to stop at a porto-potty. I kept seeing them and they would have long lines so I would go to the next one. At mile 13 I finally stopped and sent Lisa on her way. I stood in line and stretched while 7 MINUTES ticked away on my watch. I was frustrated, but once I stopped I knew it would be stupid to start back up as there would probably be another line at the next one so I just enjoyed visiting with the others in line. Once I started again I was running strong and decided I didn't care that I was clearly not going to make my time. My new goal was just to catch Lisa.

It was a HUGE BOOST to see my family at mile 16. Brianna and Madelyn were at the front of the crowd and saw me and ran back to tell the others I was on my way. They were all cheering for me when I got up to them and Lyndsee had her signs she had made for me. I took a swig of the cold chocolate milk they had for me, found out that Lisa was probably still 5 -7 minutes in front of me and ran on. It was awesome to see them and I felt really strong for the next few miles.

I was hoping that I was catching up with Lisa, I was running under our goal pace and all was going well till around mile 18. I started having foot cramps, not too bad at first but getting more frequent. It felt like my toes just wanted to curl into my heel so when I put it flat on the ground it hurt. I stopped and stretched a bit and walked through every aid station. I was getting more and more worried that I might not catch Lisa.

Finally during mile 22 I thought I saw her way ahead. Again I had a mental boost and I was able to really kick it (which at that point was a 10:30 mile) I caught her just past the mile 23 marker where she was stretching her calves. I was so glad she had dawdled and waited for me!

We ran together the last three miles, my foot pain was back and becoming more frequent. During the last mile it would cramp up what felt like about every 10 steps, I would moan a little and sort of limp it off but I was going to stay with Lisa! Just before the finish line we saw our families again and then we crossed the finish line hand in hand. As we looked at each other we were both tearing up, and it wasn't from the pain!

What a fabulous experience. It was such a good feeling to have this huge goal out there, to have a plan to work towards it, and to finally accomplish the goal. I was proud of my finish time, even though it was not what I originally wanted. I learned a lot and think I will definitely do this again!

Thanks to all of you who trained with me, supported me and cheered me on to the bitter end.

Saturday Chores

I just found this video that Logan took on a Saturday morning several weeks back. I didn't realize he was taking it. I thought it was a pretty funny glimpse into our routine. No one else may find it funny - but I was really laughing while I watched it. Here's why:

1. Lyndsee is supposed to be doing chores, but she's laying on the couch.

2. Logan is supposed to be doing chores but he is secretly videotaping our family.

3. Brianna is supposed to be doing chores but she is in her room reading (I can't confirm this but I'd be willing to bet on it as this is what happens every Saturday.)

4. There was a cupcake that was apparantly Lyndsee's, but everyone else wanted it.

5. Lyndsee wanted Brianna to have to finish all her chores before she could have it - my quote there is "that will be a long time." I'm pretty sure the cupcake would still be rotting on my counter if we were waiting for that.

I don't expect that much of them on Saturdays. They are supposed to clean their rooms and bathrooms and then do one or two other chores that I choose (like dusting, taking out trash/recycles, a load of laundry, etc.) If they just did the work it would take less than an hour - but usually it takes 3 or 4 hours and sometimes that's just to get their room done! Funny.