My Mommy Heart is Smiling

So, when I got home from Bunco last night, this was Steve's status on Facebook: just witnessed the gentle, loving comfort of a big brother to his baby sister.


Apparently Laney had fallen off her bed last night.

And when Steve got to her room, Tyler was already there comforting Alayna.

Ty was able to comfort her, tuck her in and get her back to sleep with all the tender mercies of a big brother who loves his baby sister.

My mommy heart is smiling.

The Cat's Out of the Bag

Change has come our way again.

This time in the shape of a ward split.

For those of you who don't know what that is, basically our congregation at church was gi-normous!! To say the least. So, they split us in half and now we are much smaller. The other side of the neighborhood is the "old" ward, and we are the "new" ward.

Which means everyone gets new callings (responsibilites).

Including us.

Finally, I can say that Steve is the Elder's Quorum President. This is a big responsibility that the Lord has placed on his shoulders, but I think Steve is up for the challenge. I've heard some of his ideas and think they are great. It has already been neat to see the Lord work in his life through the spirit.

My calling...are you ready for this...Gospel Doctrine Teacher.


Me.

I know! Me?!???

I don't think I have ever been more scared of a calling in my life.

Seriously!

I was stunned when they extended the calling, and could only sit there and question, Me? and are you sure you don't mean Gospel Essentials?

I was so overwhelmed on the ride home with the responsibility that has been given to me.

Here's the kicker:

So, when I found out the ward had split, I was completely fine with it. It was long overdue. Then I realized that Brother Durfey (the previous Sunday School teacher) was on the "other side." Oh no. I LOVED his classes to say the least. Let's just say that he has made a living out of teaching the scriptures. His depth and breath of knowledge is amazing. Then I thought, I sure wouldn't want to be the person who replaces him. Ha Ha. The jokes on me! I am replacing him.

I walked into the house and Steve could tell that I had been crying. His immediate thought was you just went for a calling, what happened?

I couldn't even tell him because I was sobbing into his side. I couldn't even wait for his comforting arms to wrap around me before I was sobbing. Poor guy. When I finally did get it out he gave the obligatory, "You'll do great!" Not what I really wanted to hear, even though I think he really means it. Poor guy.

But, after some quiet reflection early the next morning, I have been given the assurance that only the Savior can give. Upon further reflection I realized that I have been prepared, without my knowledge, for this calling for the last year.

Through my personal scripture study this past year I have fallen in love with the Old Testament. I know. But it's really not as scary as I thought. There are so many pearls of wisdom in there that have made a difference in my life. And guess what we start teaching in January...the Old Teatament. I can't even imagine how I would feel if that hadn't been the case.

But the Lord knows.

And He wants me to succeed as much as I want to succeed, maybe more.

And in the quiet reflection of Sunday morning, the Lord brought this quote from Brigham Young into my mind: The bretheren who came to preach the gospel to me, I could easily outtalk them, though I had never preached. But their testimony was like fire in my bones.

My testimony is fire in my bones.

I am grateful for this turn in my life.

I know that I will get far more out of this calling then those I am teaching. But, I hope that I can touch at least one person with my testimony of the Savior.

Mom Mom and Pop Pop Al Spoil Us!

We had such a great visit with my mom and my step-father Al. They are so much fun to be around and you can see how much they love each other. They love to tease each other a lot! And even have "pet" names for their "evil" twins...how stinkin' cute is that?

The visit was way too short. I kept us all pretty busy and I think I was the most tired of us all.

Here is the short-list of things we were able to enjoy with them while they were here:

Thursday: Gardens at Thanksgiving Point:

Mom Mom had bought these wings for Laney the day before. Laney absolutely loves them.

Al makes the best Pop Pop. Laney would run down the hill full speed into his arms. So cute.

I love this picture of them. They were joking before I took it.

Friday: a double date with the us and Mom and Al. I was so tickled by this idea. We went to Tsunami for dinner and Maggie Moos for dessert. We had a great time. I am so sorry that I didn't have our babysitter take a picture of us. Maybe next time.

Saturday: Boating on Utah Lake

Steve slalom skied and knee boarded. He's still able to wow me with his tricks on the knee board.

Tyler and Ethan being pulled behind the boat as we head out to the lake.

I was so happy for Ethan, who decided to trust his life jacket which meant he could do the kneeboard. He did great for his first time.

Laney and I went on the three-man tube. She had a blast and loved and wanted the bouncing motion of the tube as we skimmed the water. She kept wanting to go faster. I was the cautious one and thought we were going fast enough.

Saturday night: dinner at Liesel's in Park City.Grant, Ty, Cameron and Ethan

Cameron and Grant make the perfect playmates for Ty and Ethan. All four of them are 100% boy.

I think they were playing their own version of Wipeout; all I know is that I overheard them talking about going in through the dog door ten times.

I wondered why "Doggie Mac" kept getting in when I kept putting him outside. Laney was afraid of him until the end of our visit - she litteraly was on my lap the ENTIRE time.Laney and Al enjoying the delicious hor' d ourves.

Thanks so much Mom and Al for taking time to visit with us. Thanks for spoiling my children. We all miss you already and can't wait to see you in a few months.

Discovery Gardens at Thanksgiving Point

Boy, I am really packing it in this week.

Monday was the zoo.
Tuesday was Thanksgiving Point.
Wednesday is Meet and Greet the Teachers at Back to School.
Thursday School starts and a trip to BYU for Laney and me.
Friday is...not sure yet, but I will fill it.

So, Tuesday was our last fun day before settling down to focus on school. As a customer appreciation Thanksgiving Point offers $2 Tuedays for any venue. I know how to take advantage of a good deal when I see it. After seeing the line for the Dinosaur Museum we headed for the gardens. I think it was perfect and what I had secretly been wanting to do anyway. But, I was going along with the group.

The gardens are spectacular and the kids had loved it!

Laney loves to climb and following her brothers makes it even more of an adventure. Only thing is unbeknownst to me I was on the side of the cave and I panicked a little when I walked around the corner and saw she was headed for the top of this:

The boys had so much fun exploring.


I don't think I was able to adequately capture the beauty of the gardens, but I did capture my cutie, "Goldielocks" as she likes to be called these days.


Stopping to take a picture of us.


My dear friend, Francel and me before the beautiful waterfall. This was the side of the garden that I didn't get to explore to much because the kids were worn out. So, I will just go there when my mom arrives next week.


This was the last place we hung out. The Noah's Ark splash pad. Next time I will know to come prepared with bathing suits and towels. The boys were in here long enough to get soaked and then headed off to the mazes. My boys are growing up. I don't have to worry about them so much on outings like this and I can let them go off to explore on their own. They love this freedom and not having to stay where the "little" kids are. I don't blame them.

Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh My

We hadn't been to the Hogle Zoo in quite awhile, so when my friend offered up the idea to go to the zoo the Monday before school started I was totally for it. I think the developers of the zoo thought everything out and made it a really child friendly place. Because truly, how long can they look at something. So, there are parks, statues to climb on that make the perfect photo opportunity, and plenty of picnic tables with shade to eat a picnic lunch.

Here is a condensed version of what we saw:

We saw a live bird show. This was my favorite part. I felt the hawk's wings as it flew right over my head. It was amazing to watch the birds fly so low.

Notice the baby giraffe over Ty's shoulder. This was the boys favorite part.

I also loved the bears. I have such a fascination for them. Secretly I would decorate one room in my house with a bear motif if I thought Steve would let me.

These are the kiddos that we had to keep track of while we were at the zoo. It is so much fun to have a great friend and have our children play really well together.

Who knew turkeys could be so interesting. Do you think they realize those are what we eat at Thanksgiving.

I've Inherited the Princess Gene

Do you remember the story of the princess and the pea?

That is totally me.

Now it's taken years of deep pondering and therapy for me to be able to admit that. Okay, not really, just one recent epiphany. I will get back to this.

You see, we went camping at Cherry Hill. It was something we hadn't done in a while, and the boys had talked about wanting to do this summer. We thought church was canceled due to the Oquirrah Mountain Temple dedication (it's actually next week) and wanted to take advantage of no church and took the opportunity to go camping.

I offered to meet Steve up there so he wouldn't have to drive home from work only to turn around and have to drive in the direction of his work again.

I even offered to try and set up the tent myself.

I think the sky was falling.

Friday night was a fun evening spent with the family. We played Pass the Pigs, enjoyed a yummy Ginger Sesame Chicken salad for dinner, went for a drive, ate ice cream. And then it was time for bed.

It was early the next morning when I heard the ominous sound of raindrops on the tent.

Seriously, I think I am not meant to go camping because it rains everytime I sleep in a tent. But, I managed to think of it as white noise and fall back asleep. Until...the rain started even harder. And then the raindrops were falling on my face. Remember it was my first time setting up the tent. I guess I didn't get the rain guard on so well. It was also really cold.

Should we stay or should we go? The boys were disappointed because they thought the rain meant we wouldn't be able to go play at the water park features like Cardiac Canyon, the Lazy River, or on the Double Dragon. I thought the rain meant that too.

At one point Steve asked me if I wanted to go home. My instant thought was: YES! My instant response was: No, I want to stay and ride this out. Or something to that effect. If truth be told, I didn't want to be that girl who can't handle a little bit of discomfort. I didn't want to be that girl who lets a little rain ruin the party. I didn't want to be that girl who goes home.

Even more, I didn't want to disappoint Steve. I didn't want him thinking he had married "that" girl.

But, deep down, I wanted to be at home...in comfort. See, if I had slept on the pea, I too would have felt it through all those mattresses. Steve has always said that I don't have a very high pain tolerance (usually attributed to contractions during labor), maybe he's right. If we are getting into a hot car that has been sitting in the hot desert sun, I want the air conditioning right away. Why sleep on the pea if I don't have too. I don't like discomfort and don't feel the need to be in it if I don't have to; this is the epiphany that came to me when I asked him if he wanted to stay and he said without hesitation: yes.

I am glad the princess gene didn't prevail.

Look what we would have missed out on if we had left Cherry Hill:

These smiles!


Daddy and Laney whispering secrets to each other.


Ethan jumping at the end of the Double Dragon waterslide.

Laney's turn on the slide.

Cuddling to get warm. It was a little breezy.

Seeing brothers get along.

Floating in the Lazy River.

One perfect night in the tent: wanting to snuggle deeper into the warmth of your covers because the air had the perfect cold crispness to it. And...

a yummy camping breakfast: french toast, sausage, and orange juice.

I'm a Half Marathon Athlete

So, I've decided it's all about the numbers.

My bib #: 1172
My time: 2:04:29 (unoffical - official will be shorter)
Total training: 12 weeks
Total miles run during training: roughly 191 miles

I am so proud of myself and my accomplishment.

Thanks to Michelle and Emilie for this incredible journey.

So, this morning as I drove down to Provo, I kept telling myself that I didn't need to be nervous. That is was just running. It was just running. I really didn't let my mind review all the time spent training, or hard work I've put into this, or the hopes I had. But I was nervous.

As I was turning to lock the car door so I could go and catch the buses, I felt a moment of panic. I thought: I can't do this. There is no way I can do this. Even though I had those thoughts it was the emotional feelings that caught me by surprise. I'd had those thoughts before. I'd worked through them...but the panic, the feelings. I quickly had to squash them before they over took me completely and I broke down in the parking lot.

My first success of the day.

I had hoped to find a "friend" and I did. I found Becky. She was a cute little mom (maybe even a grandma) of 6 kids, and exactly what I needed. She was talkative and outgoing. She and I sat together on the bus.

My second success of the day.

Once Becky and I were dropped off in the empty field, we decided to get a jump on the portta potty lines. That is where we got separated. Luckily I found some more "friends" to hang out with for the next two hours. In.the.freezing.cold!!! I luckily had brought my jacket and was warm for a little while. However there were a plethora of women out there in tank tops and shorts. I felt so badly for them. By the start of the run, everyone was shivering. By the time I ran, my feet and hands were freezing to the touch and completely numb. I don't think I felt them again until the start of mile 5.

I loved the pitter patter of the hundreds of shoes on the pavement at the beginning as we all ran. I felt so happy to be a part of this great event. I don't think I will forget that sound.

The first 4 miles were mostly downhill. Quite different from the runs I am used to. Luckily I found Steve as I was getting ready to descend to flatter ground. This was the only picture he could get of me as I jetted by:


The next few miles seriously have to be some of the most beautiful to run. Our path ran directly by the river, and bridal veil falls. If I had been there for a leisurely stroll, I would have been most tempted to dip my toe in the water. Not on this day.

Steve found me again between mile 7 and 8:
















There was a little round about so he was able to get two pictures. I was feeling pretty good. Although I have to say the mile or mile and a half that lead to this spot was probably the hardest part of the run for me because I was running away from the finish line and it was all uphill. In the second picture after the round about, I was again running in the direction the finish line.

About now, I fell inline with a friendly, talkative male runner. He and I stayed together about the next 3 or 4 miles. But, he stopped at a water station between 11 and 12; I knew if I stopped there would be no jump starting this engine again.

I would say I felt great until mile 11. Then it became the mental game for me. I kept telling myself that I wasn't walking, although there were tons of people walking by this time.

Not me. No way. No How. Not me.

I was so stoked as I saw the finish line in my view. For the last half mile I had wanted to increase my pace, but I hadn't seen the 12 miles marker sign, so I had no idea that not only had I passed mile 12, but I was close to the finish. Once I started running through the business park where I used to work I knew I was close. But, I still wasn't sure enough to turn up the pace. That is...

...until I saw the big electronic time stamp sign. It said: 2:04:29. So, I sprinted for the finish line. I finished strong.

I know it's a weird look on my face, but that is pure determination.

Success #3: I ran the whole darn thing!


Running this marathon was awesome!!!

Boy am I exhausted.

Steve, Ty, Ethan, and Alayna met me at the finish line with hugs and a goodie bag. I love them for supporting me in this endeavor.

I have the best family.


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UPDATE

Official Race Time: 2:01:04.

That's awesome and well before the goal that I set for myself; but, it's too close not to offer my competitive side another goal. Dang it!!! I am soooooo sore today!!!!