Giving it another try. . .

In our last house, we tried gardening a few times, all with no success. Here in our new house, there's not a lot of space around the yard that receives enough direct sunlight to plant anything. So, John and I built two 4 X 4 foot boxes and set them on some decorative rock in the backyard. With 32 square feet of space, we planted strawberries, two kinds of lettuse, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, and squash. It provided a great project for the kids to be involved in. We just hope things start growing.

Here's what we started with:

Here's how it ended up:

Try, Try, Try Again

John caught Andersen trying to put on roller skates the other morning. Here's a few pictures that tell the story.

Check me out Dad. I put these skates on all by
myself!

No problems here. I'm holding up just fine.

WHOOOOOOO!

I think I've gotten enough for one day. Now help me take these things off.

One More Under My Belt

I ran my third half marathon last weekend, this time with my older brother. My training was sporatic, as well as my energy level and sleep schedule during the 8-week training. Because of these factors, I didn't have any lofty goals of reaching my PR but just wanted to finish and get it over with. It was probably my worst race yet. My chip time is 2:15:10--nothing to brag about. Someday I'd like to get it under 2:10. . . someday.



Around mile 8, my left knee started bugging me and caused a lot of pain with every step. The pain subsided when I walked, so I took it easy from then on and walked probably a minute for every 10.



The race itself isn't what I love about the whole thing. I love looking at a week-by-week calendar on my mirror every morning that dictates what I do for exercise that day. I love crossing each day off on the calendar after finishing the required work-out. I love seeing progress that comes with time. I love the motivation that accompanies a far off goal of running a race.



With the race behind me now, I have a harder time getting myself up and out the door to exercise each day. The motivation is not there anymore. Time to find another goal to work towards.

Some things Never Change

As a young girl, I remember listening to my mom talk about her good friends from her college years. She would see them occasionally (every couple of years), talk on the phone once in a while, and exchange Christmas cards.

I remember thinking how strange the whole thing sounded. You can't be friends with someone that you hardly ever see or talk to. "Friends", in my childish mind, meant someone that you saw almost daily out on the street, that you saw in church and at school, that you talked to and played with and spent time with--daily.

Now I understand. I went to college with a deep desire that I too could find "those" kind of friends--where friendship stays close and strong regardless of time or distance. That first freshman semester, I met up with some amazing women. Since then, we have moved far away from each other and have all been involved in different things. We don't play with each other, talk to each other, or spend time daily. But we're still great friends.

Since college 13 years ago, we have met up maybe 3 times for a short weekend where we leave behind our "mom" and "wife" titles and get to be simply "girl friends" again. I always return to my other titles refreshed, uplifted, and motivated to do better, be better, and become more.

This past week we met up at a beautiful cabin the the White mountains of AZ for a week. And this time, it wasn't just the 5 of us. With husbands and children in the mix, we have turned into 25. I loved being together. I loved watching them in their new roles as wife and mother. I loved learning from them in our late night visits. I loved seeing our kids play together. I loved cooking and cleaning the kitchen together. I loved visiting and relaxing on the porch together.

Thanks for coming girls! As always, I have come home refreshed, uplifted, and motivated to do better, be better, and become more. You inspire me!

Fall Break is Coming to an End. . . all too soon!

I love having the kids home, all to myself. Being on a modified year-round school schedule, my kids have been home from school for the past 11 school days. One more day home before they all return back to studying, homework, piano lessons, bed times, scouts, and schedules. Tomorrow, we'll have to do laundry and get to bed on time. But today, we have done nothing but pure play. Yes, there is plenty of dirt in this house, laundry is piling high, and the lawns need to be mowed--but not today.

We visited the library, read lots of books, took naps, danced in the family room, jumped on the tramp, exercised together, played catch in the backyard, and talked to grandparents. A lot of my favorite things with my most favorite people.

Marjorie Hinckley believed that unstructured days with her children taught more than a relentless pursuit of talents; "I hope you enjoy your children; if not, you're in trouble."

Some days, I might be 'in trouble'. But not today. Tomorrow might be another story, but today was perfect in my eyes. Even with a dirty kitchen floor.

I lost my Wisdom last weekend.

All four wisdom teeth came out last weekend. Because of some traumatic dental experiences in my past, I was a little nervous for Friday morning to come around (maybe more than a little). I was pleasantly surprised. It hasn't been too bad. They put me under, thank goodness, and I don't remember a thing. The dentist said it only took about 20 minutes to get the teeth out.

My mom-in-law took great care of me and my family for 24 hours post surgery. I'm pretty sure she's the best nurse EVER. And since then I have healed well and am feeling better and better each day. I had minimal swelling, which was nice. Being 5 days post surgery, I feel a constant dull headache, but in the jaw (would that be called "jaw-ache"?) but don't mind it too much with Motrin. Could that be addictive?

Long Lived Dreams are finally coming TRUE!

Emma Claire watched Abby go through two years of dance and has long awaited the time when she was old enough to go herself. Abby has since grown out of the "dress-up-like-a-ballerina-and-prance-around-the-room" stage and is more interested in school work, soccer, and riding bikes. EmmaClaire, on the other hand, is in the thick of it!

Emma Claire attended her first dance class yesterday with three little friends from the neighborhood and was on cloud 9 all day long. When the dance instructor was giving directions, helping the girls stretch, and doing role call, Emma Claire kept asking where the music was and when they could do twirls. She learned first position in ballet and practiced doing leaps over a pillow. All smiles for that girl! Next Tuesday couldn't come soon enough.