january wrap

Tiffany and Brett are officially Phoenix residents now. They are on the opposite end of the valley, but we are so happy to see them any chance we get. Last week, Grant and Eden and I met some friends at the zoo. We stopped by Tiff and Brett's new place before hand and Brett made us biscuits and gravy for breakfast. And Tiff was able to hang with us at the zoo for a bit afterwords. Grant can't stop talking about them.

At the zoo - It was great catching up with friends we made in the MBA program. I didn't get a picture of us Natalie! We'll have to get together again soon. Also, we finally remembered to bring Grant's bike with us. He is ready to graduate from his strider. Once Grant is on a new bike, maybe we will adjust the strider for Grace, who is scared to ride her own...

After my long run on Saturday, the kids and I stuck our feet into the pool. It is still pretty darn freezing in there. 

Afternoon temperatures have been in the 70s. Last night we chased a parade of hot air balloons that were dipping down behind our neighborhood.

she will do it during prayer time too

image diary 1.23.2012

 *Thanks again Natalie!*

blessings

Cori and I had not one, but TWO date nights this weekend. I did chores all Friday long to try and feel deserving of them. Last night, we watched the U.S. vs Venezuela men's soccer match. Our boys made it happen with the lone goal of the game in the 7th minute of stoppage time. Even if we hadn't won, it is so fun being with Cori when he is around things he loves. Other blessings I'm counting today:

Several weeks of travel in the works for summer. I couldn't be more thrilled about spending time with our families and the things we'll be doing and the places we will be visiting. And it fills me with glee to consider the hot, hot days that we will be leaving behind.

That I was raised to rise early. I could count on one hand the number of times that teen-aged me was allowed to sleep in. I spent all of my young adult, pre-mommy days as an early riser- much to my room mates' chagrin- 7AM classes anyone? The habit is serving me well once again now that I find the best time for me to get my workout in is early in the morning. With the cessation of boot camp (a 5:30 AM affair) I tried to experiment with other times to get the exercise in, whether it was running or weights. But it just didn't happen as well. Time was short. Kids needed my attention. So I'm resuming my early schedule. The alarm is set for 5:15, people. That is pretty early. But I can get as much as a 5 mile run in before the children wake. And I usually feel great after the first 5 minutes. Thanks Mom and Dad!

The power of the scriptures. Our RS lesson today was centered on this message from Elder Scott. I spent the whole hour remembering so many merciful and powerful lessons that have come from my Heavenly Father to my mind as I have studied the scriptures over the years. Elder Scott describes that "Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high." I love that imagery, and I am grateful to have the easy opportunity to experience this in a very real way as often as I choose to quiet myself and read my scriptures.

other things making me happy

Ragnar! We are officially in to run the Wasatch Back in June. And our van is full of family. I'm so, so, so excited. It is nice to have something to train for. My boot camp is over, and with the half marathon completed, I was in need of some motivation.

Cori's Kindle He got it as an unexpected gift and I promptly usurped it. It is extremely convenient. So easy to pick up and put down. I never loose my place. I take it everywhere - not that I didn't do that with books before, but they would get so trashed. It is super comfy to read with in any position (isn't it a bother finding a comfortable way to hold a paper back when snuggled on one's side?). I've read three books this year already.

Eden's new nap schedule She has finally transitioned to a one nap a day schedule. It is nice having the larger chunks of time to play with her and then to get things done while she is resting.

The weather report for Tahoe Our annual ski trip is coming up in a couple of weeks and so far this year, everything has been melting off the mountain. The weekend weather forecast is giving us some hope.

The 2012 HGTV Dream Home Have you seen it? We still have the tour saved on our dvr. It is outside of Park City and we would move there in a fraction of a heartbeat. We have been in l.o.v.e. with the Heber Valley/Midway/Park City area for as long as we have been married. Cori and I are clicking in our two entries every day.

blessings

quiet nights- that used to be an easy, natural part of our lives. They take a little planning to achieve these days- or more often, Cori and/or I need to seize the moments when they arise. Cori is reading The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe to them right now. Moments like this one in the picture make me so happy.

old friends- a family that is dear to us from our days in California live in PHX now and are sending their oldest son on a mission. We got to spend time with them this weekend wishing him well. Several other families from our old California ward made the trip to be part of the weekend as well. It was so good to spend time with them all.

perfect weather- these are the glory days. We are not wasting them. We know the cool sunshine won't last long!

date night

Grace and I went on a date last night. She needed some new shoes and I needed some one-on-one with her. We listened to "rockin' music" in the car- her little voice outshining the speakers. She didn't throw a fit when I told her the shoes she really wanted were too expensive (not to mention that they were overly bejeweled, and yes mom, that is possible :) ). She was sad for me when it didn't work out to go to the restaurant I had originally planned. We went to Smashburger instead. When I asked her if she wanted a milkshake she raised her eyebrows and said, "Oh. Yeah." My kind of girl.

race day

My sister, Sara, turns the big 3-0 this weekend. Several months ago we began discussions about a proper celebration. It had been several years since we had done anything just the two of us. Talk turned to fitness goals we were both working on and I think the hair-brained idea was mine to train for a half marathon.

We started researching races. The race we really wanted to run was the Tinkerbell Half, Disneyland's first ever half marathon held on their glorious grounds. Closer examination revealed that race day was in fact on a Sunday. Further research showed that most long distance races are held on Sundays. It was a big bummer taking a pass on the Disney race, but we figured we would enjoy a Saturday run so much more. We decided on the So Cal Half. Though it is hosted by an Irvine High school athletics booster, the race is a qualifier for the LA Marathon and is really well attended. To the tune of around 4000 runners.

We couldn't have asked for better weather. There was a foggy marine layer that stuck around most of the race. And running at sea level in the humidity was a bit heavenly to this girl from Phoenix. Sara and I were super pleased with the whole thing. It was a big goal and I was so happy that we could do it together in celebration of her birthday! Here are my result stats:

Time: 2:11:03
Pace: 10:00
51/141 out of my gender and age group
1608/3960 over all
I'll take it!

Kevin, Sara's boyfriend, met us at the finish line and they let me hang out with them for the rest of the day. We went to lunch. We went out to the movies. Then we wandered around Downtown Disney for a while and had dinner at the Jazz Kitchen. As you can see, my plate was scraped clean no problem. It was such a super great day. I was especially grateful to Cori, who was not only encouraging of all my long saturday runs on the weekends leading up to the race, but who totally took care of the home front and gave me the weekend to spend with Sara.

Our old home town is just a skip off the 91 on the way back to Phoenix. I made a quick detour to snap a picture of our childhood home. It used to be shades of tan and brown. The oak trees are still the tallest on the block. All of the wooden plank fences that would blow down in the Santa Ana winds have been replaced with cinderblock walls.

I stopped by the park down the street and around the corner. It is so interesting revisiting places of one's childhood. In my mind's eye, everything is bigger and steeper and grander. Nobody was there. And the Santa Ana's were just picking up. It was hard not to feel sentimental standing there in the wind - a thousand memories at the ready.

It was an important little journey for me. The experience gave me the chance to throw myself at something and achieve. Though I still wouldn't call myself a runner, running is something I can get into my day without sacrificing what time I have for the more important things in my life. So, it was easy to do a lot of it once I got over hating it. And I'm so much happier. I get so tightly strung. I find that the more I run, the more I can chill out. And it meant a lot to me to do it with Sara who has endured being one of my best friends on the planet her whole life.

Still crossing my fingers for a chance to run a Ragnar this year! The one in PHX is in less than a month and it sounds like the team from our ward is still full. One of Cori's best friends, whom we had dinner with whilst in Utah, is putting together a team for the Wasatch back with his wife. Cori and I are hoping to run that one in June. It would be so much fun to do together.

milking a chilly morning (with his shorts on)

utah holiday

Though we enjoyed our quiet Christmas at home, just our little family, we really missed being with the rest of Cori's family. Fortunately, we were able to spend the rest of our holiday break with them in Utah. 

We feel like our time with them gets more and more precious. Our family group continues to grow and we are spreading out a little more. Ray's current battle with cancer definitely makes us value the time together. He and Sandy are bravely facing so much right now. It was incredibly good of them to open their house to ALL of us. The children played together all day. Then, after bedtime, the adults played late. We all took turns cooking for the group and ate ourselves silly. I totally hit the jackpot marrying into this group.

On the last day we were all together, we met down at Peteetneet Academy and Museum in Spanish Fork for some group shots. It was fun to show our kids where Cori and some of his brothers and sisters went to kindergarten.

We need to add someone to make it an even 30!

The ladies are a little out numbered. We like it that way.

Bedtime routine with the children is always fun in this crowd. We had hymns and scripture charades for FHE, and Grandma's milkshakes and chapters out of the Book of Mormon on other nights. Grace and Grant got to sleep fireside in the basement all week and loved it. All us parents were super motivated because there was Scum, Robo Rally, Settlers, Scrabble, Blokus, and The Farming Game to play once little ones were alseep.

We spent an evening up in Salt Lake with Randy and his partner Mondo. It is always so good to catch up and spend time with them. And Grace was especially enthralled this visit because she got to meet Gunner and Daisy, who are Grandpa and Mondo's dogs. Damien and Danielle were up there with their crew that night as well and we had fun chatting and watching the kids play. And, if I ever wonder what Cori will look like in the years from now, all I have to do is look at his father.

We went for a hay ride (down in Salem?). It was a perfectly chilly afternoon for the outing. Before the ride, we visited all the farm animals including the SMELLIEST pigs I have ever encountered. Seeing the snow in the mountains made us so happy. We were disappointed not to have snow in the foothills and in the valley though. Good thing my Lands End order containing all new snow clothes for the children, guaranteed to arrive by Christmas, didn't arrive until we had already left on our trip... I was livid. Bad form, Lands End. Bad form. But Mother Nature spared you some of my wrath. Cory and Britt brought down an extra jacket for Grant which I forgot to bring along on this particular venture (PHX brain!) and so he wore one of Gracie's old coats that we found in the back of the 4Runner. 

Nice face warmer Ethan! We think Joshua wears it better. :)

Grant is loving this jacket.

Stink eye from Eden.

We miss the mountains.

Gracie was ready to bring this puppy home. Many thanks to Ray for so many of the pictures in this whole post, including this one of Grace. It captures so much of her, I think.

Some of us took it a Cougar basketball game. Hard to refuse $1 tickets! 

The cousins all got along really well. Especially considering our number. Jacob is quite the pied piper with his younger male cousins for sure.

We spent one afternoon letting all the children run wild in the Church gym. We played all kinds of games involving all kinds of balls. A solid half an hour was spent with the little kids chasing Jacob's remote controlled cars.

That night at the Church, Cory and Brittany blessed their newest addition, Macaleb. Afterwords, we had soup and salad with some of Cory's family in the cultural hall. There was a stage and Grace knew her place. She and Sydni put on no less than three productions, co-starring Jacob and other cousins, with Ashton as stage manager manning the curtains.

We got to visit Peteetneet a second time to check out their annual train show. Grace, Sydni and Courtni followed the trains around and around until it was time to go.

New Year's eve, we put together a fun sequence of events for the children who were still in town and awake. We had a countdown (at 9:30) and did a little balloon drop. Each child had to find the balloon with his/her name on it and then pop it to find their prize - $1.

Then we had a little sky show outside. Cori bought some REAL fireworks. Everyone was very entertained, firework lighters and watchers alike. Once munchkins were in bed and asleep, the rest of us, who were not suffering from the stomach bug that swept through the camp, moved onto phase II of the evening. This involved eating more food, playing aces while watching The Music Man, eating caramel apple pie and eggnog cheesecake, taking a quick break at the stroke of twelve to watch the ball drop, give a toast, and kiss our sweethearts, and then play more aces. 2012 is off to a fantastic start. Minus the stomach bug, that is.

We always get to go out and do fun things when we get together. But my favorite times are the quiet one's at Ray and Sandy's house. Saying family prayers, reading books, talking in the kitchen, working and playing shoulder to shoulder.