Memorial Day

Today was a pretty good day. I'm gonna pretend that I was happy it was rainy and cold. I had to run on the treadmill today because of the rain and that is ALWAYS HARD! Every second drags and all I can do is stare at the time and wish for the running to stop. A world of difference from running outside. Chloe went on some errands with TJ and Tallie and I played games while they were gone (Lexi was napping). It was some good one on one time for both of the girls. We took our library books back, I'm pretty sure they were overdue which means my running total of late fees just got higher. It stopped raining for a bit so Chloe begged me to push her on the swings (like she does everyday) I love it. We went to TJs parents house for dinner. A lot of people and a TON of food, like always, and now 5 lbs heavier.

At 6 AM TJ is off for the week to go on a high adventure hike with the young men in the ward. I'm jealous. I WOULD LOVE TO GO! They keep telling me I'm lucky I don't have to go because they are doing 50 miles. Yes that would be hard. But it would be great. Instead I will stay home. But I've got a fun busy week so I'm not too sad. I plan to buy a million flowers and plant them all. We are going to SEVEN PEAKS and the kiddos will be in heaven. I have a couple hair appointments (not to mention my own). We will go to dancing waters on Friday and play with cousins. It kind of sucks that TJ is gone this week cause this is my last big running week before the race and I can't go. I do have the treadmill but I can't run as fast or as long so I'm bummed about that.

I'm gonna miss TJ while he is gone. I hate sleeping alone. I hate knowing that he is not coming home at night. I hate that I'm gonna have to rock Lexi in the middle of the night when she screams because TJ won't be here to save me from the dirty work. It will be a LONG week that I'm sure will go by fast.

Tallie's last day of preschool!

Today was Tallie's VERY LAST day of preschool! She finally gets to go to kindergarten. For her last day they had a pool party and a magic show. I was surprised at how entertaining the magician was and seriously all the kids were just rolling and could not stop laughing. Yahoo for free school in our future!
When we got home the girls wanted to have their own pool party. They invited their friends Maili and Haeli Wilkins over. I remember playing in the little blow up pools when I was little and then laying on the hot driveway to get warm. Being a little kid is the best.

This is the baby pool that I got for Lexi and what do you know it was the hit. Everyone loved it the most. Probably because it was really shallow and the water was not as freezing as the bigger pool. I know it was only like 70 degrees out today but whatever the whether we WILL DO SUMMER THINGS! It is almost June for crying out loud. Growing up my mom had the rule that it had to be 80 degrees outside to play in the water...that rule does not exist when living in Utah.

After dinner we went on a family bike ride.

Tithing FHE lesson

We decided it was time to teach the kids about tithing.

It has just been recent that they have been getting a dollar here and a dollar there from grandma or grandpa.

They didn't have their own piggy banks (and since we are trying to reduce our spending) I thought they could just paint and decorate old jars I had lying around.

They each got two: one for tithing and one for spending/saving.

On Sunday we told the girls they would get to give their money to the Bishop.

Tallie said that will be scary.

I have a testimony of tithing and it has never been hard for me to pay it.

No one can afford NOT to pay tithing.

Once when we were first married we totally spaced paying it for a couple months. It was around Christmas time and we already needed extra money to get through the holidays. When we realized that we were behind and how much we needed to pay we both felt SICK. How could we let this slip? We somehow worked it out and were able to pay a full tithe but man, I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!

All I can think about lately is running...I am so lame. I don't know what it is but I LOVE seeing progress. I had such a good run yesterday. For the first time ever I was able to maintain an 8 and half minute mile for 5 MILES! That is what I have been trying to do for the half marathon race...run 13 miles at an 8.5 minute miles. All the hard work and early mornings are paying off. For one of those miles I actually ran an 8 minute mile flat!! I'm finally getting somewhere.

NEW JOB!!

Yahoo!!!! TJ was offered the job at Silhouette and of course he TOOK IT!

We feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off our shoulders.

And all we have been doing is SMILING!

This new job will definitely be an adjustment for everyone.

TJ of course will have to learn something new after 9 years of giving his all to Verizon.

I am so excited for him.

He has been hating his job for the past forever and it was hard to seem him so down and worn out from the pressure and crap his bosses put on him.

I'm ready to see him smile again (job wise).

I have been dreaming of a job that would allow TJ to be home with me every night, having dinner as a family, reading books to the girls and helping me put the girls to bed.

It will be heaven!!

However I might miss him in the mornings since sometimes he didn't have to be to work until one o'clock.

He will have Saturdays off and that will be AWESOME.

And not to mention the best part...HOLIDAYS OFF!

And he doesn't start until June 6th so we have like a 2 week vacation!

How he even got this job is crazy. While he was still working at Verizon his friend Andy Barron told him to interview at his job. So TJ did. TJ was on the fence about whether or not he would even take the job if he was offered it. It's hard to walk away from a job that you hate if they pay well, pay for school, have AMAZING benefits, and it's what you know. Two days later he was let go from Verizon. Can you imagine if they would have come back to him and offered him the job and he said no and then he gets fired and then we had no job and told his opportunity with this new company NO??!! Thank goodness it took a bit for Silhouette to get back to him so that we have this job today. I don't think that it was a coincidence.

Brian and Brooke Soules are in town for Heathers graduation.

It's always good to see them and we can always just pick up from where we left off no matter how long it has been. Lana and Tallie played like they never missed a day. I love it. I wish they still lived close.

Today was a good day.

It has been raining and raining and raining and today we got a tiny break.

We were able to walk to church and play outside when we got home.

We went up to Bob and Mona's for dinner and we played some JUST DANCE.

I love that game (especially when everyone plays)

It's hilarious to watch the kids dance.

Chloe and Tallie are quite the little hip shakers.

Tomorrow is kind of a big day...

TJ is supposed to find out if he got the job at Silhouette.

We shall wait and see (I hope!!!)

Chloe is the little story teller these days.

She can roll any story in great detail off the tip of her tongue.

She always has me believing her.

Today she told me that she had primary at her teachers house and she rode in her teachers car and because it was so close she didn't even have to sit in a car seat.

I pretty much can't believe a word that comes out of her mouth.

I took Tallie and Lexi to the doctor for updates on immunizations before our insurance runs out.

Tallie needed her kindergarten shots.

It took me and the nurse to pin her down to keep her from giving one of us a black eye with her foot or arm.

She had to get 5 shots. It was so sad. And then it was Lexi's turn. More sadness and tears.

I hate shots.

But we are all caught up...almost.

Thursday we are going to the dentist. That should be fun too. Hopefully we don't have any cavities. But I'm not holding my breath (they have my teeth).

Some things in life are certain; unchangeable and firm

There are few things in my life that I know for certain and they will never change:

I KNOW the gospel is true

I know that my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love ME

I LOVE my family

we will be a family FOREVER

There are other things in this life that are not stable and can change any moment.

Like loosing a job.

After working for Verizon for 9 long years they let TJ go.

They let the most loyal, hardworking, and honest manager go.

It's kind of hard to put into words just how upset I am and how frustrating the whole situation is.

How some lazy and dishonest people get promoted and the ones who give the company their all get the boot.

There are better things ahead.

And if we keep the things we know for certain it will help us to have faith and get through the hard times.

I know we will be okay.

And wherever this journey takes us I will be happy as long as I get to travel it with my best friend and husband and my kids.

However my heart still breaks for TJ.

He did not deserve this and I know he must feel lost and a sense of failure.

But I want him to know I love him and he has never disappointed me and I will ALWAYS be by his side.

He is my HERO

Heartbreak

(Picture taken 2007)

My parents finally gave Cody the ultimatum.

Go to rehab or move out.

He choose to move out.

My parents put him in a motel for 30 days with a bus pass for 30 days so he could save some money to rent an apartment.

My mom said it was the hardest and saddest day in their lives.

They cried as they dropped him off and she said Cody was on the verge of breaking down.

All he could say was:

"I got a job and I am going to school and this is where it got me"

He is still blaming my parents.

He will NEVER take responsibility for anything.

My heart breaks for him.

And my parents.

I fear that this last visit home with him for his graduation was the last good memory for a long time.

I don't know when I will see him and laugh with him again.

And it hurts because he is my brother and I LOVE HIM!!!

windy day

On Sunday Tallie and I walked to church.

Chloe was coughing her lungs out and Lexi just needed a nap.

And TJ didn't get home from work until 3:30AM.

So it was just the two of us.

We had a combined Relief Society and Priesthood meeting where the bishop basically pleaded with us to return to the basics.

The basics being:

-prayer

-scripture study

We need to budget out time to pray, read our scriptures, go on dates, and spend quality time with our families.

Doing all of these things will strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, our spouces, our children and ourselves.

The key word is TIME.

Since it was a super windy day we got out our kites and spent a little time with each other.

Later we spent time with our neighbors playing "KNOCKOUT" (my all time favorite game) on their newly poured basketball court.

AWESOME!

Tessa and Ian came over for hamburgers...too bad it was too windy to eat outside (another favorite thing of mine).

Chloe was miserable that day and she totally looked the part. I am trying an experiment with her this week.

NO DAIRY

I think she may have food allergies which is causing her to ALWAYS be sick. It will be hard since she lives on yogurt, cheese and milk.

I just want her happy and feeling good.

5 year old friend drama

Tallie has this backdoor neighbor whose name is Elena Wakefield. And it is so great. It reminds of growing up with my best friend Amy Jelso who lived across the street. We would run back and forth between houses and play until the sun went down. We went to the same school, were in the same class and rode the same bus. It was the best thing in the world. Tallie and Elena are like that. They run from house to house and share everything and play until dark. But there is an age difference which makes ALL the difference. Tallie is 5 and Elena just turned 7. She is in 1st grade while Tallie is still in preschool because she just misses the cut off date for school. It's a pretty big jump. But they still play really well and are great friends.

The other day Elena came over ranting and raving about her new best friend Caitlyn who just moved a couple streets over and is in her class at school. She is 7 too. And lately she has been coming to play with Elena.

The problem with that is that 3 is a crowd and someone always gets left out. It happened with Monica Sanchez, Rebecca Gates and I in middle school and it happened with Monica and Crisitin Duff and I in highschool.

3 SUCKS.

When Elena gets with another friend she doesn't give Tallie the time of day and she is always left out.

The other day Tallie was sitting in the yard watching Elaina and Caitlyn playing across the yard (we share a yard) and she came to me and she was really sad. She asked for another friend to come over because Elaina has other friends and is not playing with her. It breaks my heart. Tallie was so sad. This new girl came into the picture and Tallie is watching her best friend play with someone else in her own backyard.

I knew the day would come when Elena might look down on Tallie and no longer want to play with her. I really hope they will always be friends and can look past the age and grade differences.

I worry about the other girls in the neighborhood too. There are so many 5 year olds, which is great. However, most all of them got to go to kindergarden this year and Tallie was left behind.

I worry because even though they are the SAME age their friendships might drift because they are in different grades at school. You know how kids are, they think they can't be friends with the kids in grades below them. It's uncool.

It's hard being a mom.

I never want my kids to have to go through pain and heartbreak.

But It's apart of life, and I can't stop it.

It's how they learn and grow and become the person they are meant to become.

It still sucks.

I know the future includes a lot of tears, and all I can do is hold them and cry with them.

p.s. I ran 11 miles today solo.

It was great and I'm starting to think I can hit my goal of 1 hour and 50 min

Tallie's field trip to the science park

Today Tallie had a field trip to an old wooden playground. I knew that Chloe and Lexi would love it so we went too. There were other schools there too which meant a lot of kids running around. It was kind of a nightmare following Lexi around making sure she wouldn't walk off an edge somewhere or get run over by a pack of kids. 16 months is a busy age at the park. I couldn't really get any pictures of Tallie because she was never anywhere to be seen. She was in LOVE with this place.

When we got home I got busy painting the front door. It has been on my to do list for 5 years and it feels good to check it off! It's not the best paint job but I did it myself and I'm pretty happy with it.

Finally it has stopped raining,

and I have stopped sulking. I wish the weather didn't have an effect on my mood but it totally does. When it rained all day the other day I put Lexi down for a nap and put a movie on for the girls and crawled into my bed and there I stayed for 2 HOURS! Yesterday was TJs day off and we got a few things done and went to cracker barrel for dinner. TJ put our box of leftovers on top of the car while he buckled in the girls. I really don't even need to say what happened next. We drove home and the lucky guy behind us got my hamburger on his windshield.

For family home evening we decided to act out what we have been reading in the Book of Mormon. We are currently reading about Nephi and the Brass Plates.

The girls thought it was SOOOO FUN to pretend they were Nephi and Laban etc. It was really cute and I think it will help them to retain the stories that we read (for me too cause I forget EVERYTHING). We then played Hide and Seek. It's hard now because Lexi follows everyone around and laughs and gives everyone away.

(Here is our little tent out in the wilderness)

Sad news...

This morning the results of the St. George marathon lottery were posted.

I'm depressed.

We did not get in.

I REALLY WANTED TO RUN IT!

I knew my chances were very very slim so I guess I should not be surprised or too disappointed.

But if there ever was a time to run it it would be NOW,

with my family, in beautiful St. George,

while I'm not pregnant or nursing a new baby.

The question is now; will I run the Top of Utah Marathon instead?

I'm just not too motivated now.

Plus it's raining outside which is putting a bigger damper on my mood.

Maybe when the rain stops...

Mothers Day

This morning I slept in.

TJ took care of everything else.

I woke up to tulips from my yard,

Pictures from my girls,

chocolate,

and a card from my best friend.

It was perfect.

I LOVE being a MOTHER!

I love the joys and tears and laughter and pain and throw up and giggles and poopy diapers. I love the hugs and kisses and tea party and tantrums.

I would never give it up for anything.

I LOVE Tallie and Chloe and Lexi and the rest who wait to come. Being a Mother is the best job ever.

I have the best MOTHER.

She is my friend and I love her so much.

She is an example of love, faith, and sacrifice.

I just want to be like her. And she gave me the best compliment the other day...she said if she had to do it over again she would do more of the things I am doing with my kids now.

Saturday was a really busy day. Starting at 6 am I wake up and ran 10 miles with my friend Becky. I was excited to run it but I'm convinced I run so much better solo. Maybe it's listening to my ipod that gets me going or whatever but I never run as fast with others and I always struggle and every mile hurts. It didn't help that we choose the most boring route ever and it made the run drag on and on. When I got home I got the girls ready and we went to Home Depot to buy hanging flower baskets and MORE FLOWERS. That trip alone with my 3 kids would have been enough for the day but I really needed to grocery shop for Sunday (Mothers day). By the time I got home I was seriously pooped and exhausted. REALLY?! I just wanted to lay on the couch. Shopping with 3 kids and car seats and bags and etc. really wears me out. Which is why I try to only do ONE errand a day and spread them out. I then created my own hanging flower pots and planted some more in the garden and drilled the hooks into the deck to hang the pots. We had lunch outside and then I mowed the lawn. I was beat! For the rest of the day I laid on the couch outside with my neighbor and we both took naps while the kids babysat each other (great mothering I know). I gave Rob (Becky's husband) and their daughter a haircut at 4 pm. Then Made dinner (if heating chicken nuggets can be considered "making dinner"). TJ came home and we went to a young mens/scout BBQ. Then we came home and Heather Soules came over to watch the girls and we went out with Becky and Rob. We went to Malouis to get desert pizzas and then we went bowling at the Provo Beach Resort. It was a lot of fun and we laughed a ton. I'm so glad that we are friends because I really love them.

We came home and went straight to bed. I was done.

It finally got warm outside and the only thing that was on Tallie and Chloe's mind was:

swimsuits + sprinklers

I have been waiting ALL WINTER for these days to return.

I am happy

I think this was Lexi's first encounter with the sprinkler.

She marched right over in her clothes and jumped right in.

I'm pretty sure she loved it.

Until she got cold.

Later that night we went over to Tessa and Ian's house to roast some marshmallows. Which is always a good time.

My 28TH BIRTHDAY!!!

On my birthday we came home from our little vacation in Park City.

It was such a nice day (I got lucky and got sun instead of snow).

All I wanted to do was get my hands dirty and plant stuff in my new garden box (thanks to TJ) and plant flowers in my new pots I ordered from the amazing store CRATE AND BARREL.

So I left the girls with TJ and went to the nursery.

I am no good at picking out what flowers go with what and putting arrangements together.

Needless to say it took me FOREVER to decide what to buy.

And I need to go back for more!

Back in April I asked TJ to make me a garden box.

Last year I stuck a tomato, pumpkin and strawberry plants in the ground.

Keeping my fingers crossed they wouldn't die.

They got HUGE!

That little experience has given me this drive to TRY and garden this year and see what will happen, so I needed a box.

And TJ made me the PERFECT box (such a handy man).

This year we will try our luck with more tomatoes, bell peppers, pole beans, and onions.

I still want to plant another pumpkin plant and plant some carrots and broccoli in the fall.

I'm really excited to see what happens.

Also excited to eat strawberries and peaches of the tree!

Here are my pots.

Hopefully they don't die.

It was a great birthday! Proboly the best in awhile. I love being outside with my family. TJ and I went to dinner at Tucanos that night and stuffed ourselves.

I really wanted to go rollerblading up the canyon but it got really windy and cold.

Tessa made me a video of all of my family member and friends and neighbors saying really sweet things to me.

I cried...a lot.

Sometimes you never know how you can affect other people lives. And it's good to find out when you have influenced it for the better. It was a great pick me up (since I had been feeling so low lately). Really it was an answer to my prayer and I'm glad that Tessa was in tune with the spirit to answer it.

You never know who is looking at you.

It's a good reminder to always try and be a good example.

Today was an awesome day.

We went to the post office.

Had a picnic lunch at the park.

Played outside the rest of the day (and got fried)

Went on a family bike ride.

The end

Park City getaway...

TJ and the girls picked me up at the airport on Sunday evening.

It was really good to see them. It's crazy how in just 48 hours how much they GROW! I swear Lexi looked a couple inches taller.

TJ had a surprise for me.

Instead of driving home he drove us straight to Park City for a 2 night stay at the Marriott Hotel. The Hotel had 6 mini heated pools for the girls to go crazy in. And they were in Heaven!

TJ is an amazing GUY! He watched the girls all weekend while I was in Albuquerque. I think most wives would be concerned to leave out of town leaving an empty fridge behind. But with TJ it's different. I don't have to leave him a list or make him dinners to freeze and pull out. He has common sense and can handle it. He will grocery shop. He will do the laundry and make sure the house is clean when I get home.

And while doing that he planned a vacation for us. He packed bags for all the girls.

He packed a bag for me (and he put good stuff in it).

He didn't forget a thing.

And I usually do the packing.

It was a great surprise and awesome to get away and have fun swimming!!

Here are the girls on their pull out couch getting ready to watch a movie.

I love seeing the progress the girls make in the water.

On the second day Chloe went from my arms and only the stairs with floaties to the deep end (still in arm floaties).

I signed them up for swimming lessons and I am really excited.

Not so sure Lexi will be as excited watching from the sidelines.