First day of KINDERGARTEN!!

Tallie started school today and she was super excited.

We rode our bikes to school because we live so close.

That makes me excited.

The first week is always hard and I know familiarity and friends will come.

I think I am more nervous than she is.

She looked dang cute though and she even let me do her hair.

She was embarrassed to hold up the "Kindergarten" sign,

she didn't want her friends to see her.

I reassured her that her friends moms were taking their pictures too.

Trafalga

We have these pass of all passes that let us in to Seven Peaks water park, Trafalga, Owlz games and a few other places. They expire in a week so we hit up Trafalga for some mini golf, rock climbing, bumper boats, race cars and the carousel. It was a great day and not too busy because school has already started.

20 miles and such...

Yesterday was my big run that I had been dreading and NEVER ever thought I could actually run, let alone solo. I woke up about 5:45am and drove myself up Provo canyon. That is where my run would start and would take me all the way down to Utah Lake. DO you KNOW how FAR that IS?? The first 10 miles were fine and the last 5 were mentally and physically painful. At mile 18 I stopped to walk a couple minutes because I sooo needed to stop but it was extremely hard to get my legs to move again. They were jello and oh so sore and it was everything I could do to actually get myself back to slow jog and then after the LONGEST 2 miles of my life I finally hit my 20 miles and I couldn't be happier to stop. It was a huge accomplishment for me and I am really proud of myself for doing it. And the fact that I did it on my own. I didn't need the motivation from anyone else but me and I didn't need someone by my side cheering me on or holding my hand. I did it for me and it feels pretty great. I'm still nervous for the actual race which is in 3 weeks but I know I can do it. There might be some tears involved (tears of pain) and it will definitely be a challenge but it will be worth it in the end.

Lately I have been stressing a lot about Tallie going to kindergarten. Not that I don't think she is ready or that I won't be able to handle it but because she is the only one in the entire neighborhood of a million kids in her class. Here we have a Spanish immersion program where throughout elementary they learn English and Spanish in the classroom and by the time they reach 6Th grade they are fluent in speaking Spanish. Tallie was on the waiting list to get in the program and they called to let me know there was an opening in the afternoon class. Of course without thinking it all the way through I say no because of the inconvenience of an afternoon class with Chloe being morning. After I hang up the phone I realize how dumb I was because all of her friends and everyone she knows are all in the Spanish classes and they will continue to be throughout elementary. Tallie will never be in her friends classes, ever. So I called the school back and they had already given the spot away. She is currently on the waiting list for 1st grade. I hope it happens. I just keep thinking about when I was in elementary and how great it was that my best friend who lived across the street and I were always in the same class and how we played at recess and never really looked for our other friends if they were in a different class. I want that for her. But Tallie being the sweet girl she is told me the other day that she didn't think any of her friends were going to be in her same class (she prob overheard me talking to TJ about it) and she reassured me and said "But it's OK because I am going to make new friends!" I'm so glad she is not worried and is comforting me because I am such a baby. Her first day is tomorrow and she is so excited. I am too! She also had her first day of gymnastics the other day. She has been waiting for a LONG time to start and we had decided that once she was five and in "FREE" school she could choose something and gymnastics was her choice. She was in heaven and is so happy to be in her friend Maili's class.

American Fork Canyon

Chelsea and Thomas Fredrickson

Chelsea and Thomas were sealed in the Draper, UT Temple on Friday August 19, 2011.

I am so happy for them. They are an amazing couple and Thomas is the kind of guy everyone looks for and I am glad they found each other and that he can be apart of our family. The sealing was beautiful and I am always reminded of my own wedding day with my eternal companion. It is a wonderful, peaceful feeling to know that we are a family forever and that I can forever and always be with my best friend. All of TJ's family came into town and we all stayed together at Bob and Mona's. The cousins had a blast being reunited again. On Thursday we all went as a family to the temple. Every one of TJ's sisters and brother and parents were together in the Celestial room. It is quite a feeling and a wonderful spirit that comes with knowing we are an eternal family. At the same time it is hard to not to think about my own family and the fact that we all could not be in the temple together. It makes me cry to think about family members who have strayed. TJ is always quick to remind me he loves me and that the day will come when they will come back and our day in the temple will happen. I love him for being aware of my feelings and showing me he cares.

After the temple we went home to take family pictures since we were all together and then a BBQ with Thomas and his family.

Friday was the sealing and then a lunchen and following was the reception. And it was quite the reception. It was of course beautiful and just perfect and sooo much fun. They had a DJ and because Chelsea has a billion friends everyone was dancing and of course I couldn't help myself. I love to dance. Dancing is one way that I let go and I think TJ's family was surprised to see me out of my shell like that and even Brinton Haymore said I have some moves and he was so surprised. I was sweating ridiculously. TJ had mentioned earlier in the day that he would not be dancing but I was so HAPPY to see him jump in the crowd and dance with me! I could tell he was having fun. When the song "Tic Tock" by Kesha came on we all busted out the "Just Dance" moves and it was so awesome! We eventually had to call it quits though because the girls were extremely tired and had had enough. On Saturday morning I forced myself out of bed after a short nights sleep and ran 13 miles and surprised myself how much I loved it. It was a really great run and having a different route helped a lot. Highland is a beautiful place to run. After we went to the Lehi pool and let the kids go wild and then we went up the canyon for a hotdog roast. Sunday morning TJ had to fly out to New Jersey for work and the Richardsons blessed their new baby Lucy at the house. It was such a great weekend and I love hanging out with everyone, staying up late telling stories and laughing our heads off. I really felt like at this little reunion I got to know Brinton and Tyler a little more and I'm excited to all get together again.

18 MILES!!

After Chloe's birthday party I needed to get my 18 mile run in. And I'm not gonna lie I was not looking forward to it. TJ drove me up the canyon 16 miles until we ran out of road. It was about 7:15 pm and 18 miles was going to take me at least 3 hours. That was my goal anyway. So he drops me off and starts to drive away. It was crazy because I was so far from home and all alone without a phone and I knew that the only way for me to get home would be to run there. I also knew that it would eventually get dark on me before I got home but TJ told me at least I would make it out of the canyon before it did get dark and that the rest of the run would be lit by street lights. So I wasn't too worried and I started my long journey. And it might sound crazy but the first 11 miles went really really good and I felt awesome. However it started to get stormy and dark early because of the clouds and I was still in the canyon. I stopped at the Hobble Creek golf course to go to the bathroom and picked up my waterbottle that I had dropped on the way up. I started to run on the trail instead of the street and it was sooo dark and I was having trouble seeing. I was alone in the dark in the woods and I was getting paranoid about animals and snakes. Which I guess was a good motivator because I kept a good pace. Then I saw TJ in the car pull over to me and it was so good to see him. He had gotten worried because at home it was super windy and raining and he thought I would be huddled under a bush waiting for him. He had been driving around for 45 min looking for me. I was ok. I had been running for 2 hours and had 7 more miles to go and so he waved good bye and I started again. At mile 14 I got tired and was frustrated because I knew I would have to add on miles around my neighborhood to make it 18 and that's hard to do once you are tired and so close to home. My legs were tired and I was so done. I did what I could but stopped at 17.5 miles. I couldn't force myself to add a half a mile around the block. I felt like I couldn't even take step. Plus it was 10:15 and I just wanted to go to bed. It was not as hard as I thought it would be but just as hard as I expected if that makes sense. I ran it in 3 hours.

I registered for the Top Of Utah marathon today...crazy to think I need to add on 8 more miles to that 18. It will definitely be a challenge and I know that after I will never run another full marathon again.

I'm also really sad today because my peach tree THAT I LOVE SO MUCH that this was the first year to get TONS of peaches that I would actually be able to freeze and can snapped in the windstorm the other night. The main trunk of the tree snapped and I'm not sure the rest of the tree will survive. Even if it did the majority of the fruit was on the branches that broke.

I'm depressed.

A little taste of what the girls do to me every day.

Chloe's 4th BIRTHDAY!

My sweet baby girl turned 4 yesterday! Though I am sad to see her grow at least she is still so tiny that I still feel like she is still my baby. Most 2 and 3 years olds tower over her but that just means she still fits perfectly on my lap and in my arms.

Some things Chloe loves right now:

dancing, singing, anything barbie, dollhouses, swinging on the swing, swimming, coloring, playing with friends, she loves ALL fruit, stretchy pants and skirts.

For her birthday she wanted a friend party at home so we kept it simple and played games including a pinata and a hello kitty cake (which I made). For dinner we went to McDonalds requested by the birthday girl. On Sunday her real birthday we had Mona (Bob was sick) and Chelsea and Thomas and the Langholfs over for fajitas and Ice cream cones. It was a great day and I'm so blessed to have Chloe and her sweet spirit in our family.

(Addie Brinkerhoff, Tayah Smith, Elena Wakefield, Jade Langholf, Callie Wakefield, Haeli Wilkins, Megan Clayton)

I love that every time it rains I KNOW I can look in the sky and find a rainbow.

I love how beautiful they are.

I love how Heavenly Father keeps His promises to us and is always reminding us just how much He loves us, especially thru nature.

In Bible times God promised He would never flood the earth again and to prove it He paints a rainbow in the sky each time it rains.

This time I caught a double promise.

And after all these years there are still rainbows in the sky.

How do people question God's love for us?

And how can one think that we are a forgotten people and that God only spoke to His people in Biblical times?

He talks to us today and always will.

We just have to listen.

Lately Chloe has been such a stinker and is constantly telling me no and never helps pick up or cleans up her room and she throws a fit over just about everything about every 5 min. Tonight was no different when I asked the girls to clean up their room. They whined and cried. I told them before we could go on our family bike ride they had to at least clean up the barbies and barbie clothes. I told them to touch nothing else, just clean that. Of course Chloe does the opposite, too stubborn to listen and comes out of her room telling me (with her hands on her hips) that she put away a baby instead. I dramatically said "NO! not the babies! only barbies!" she laughed and ran in her room and came back out boasting that she put away play food in her kitchen. Then I told her to just make sure she didn't clean up any clothes or put them away in her drawer or in the hamper because I LOVE messy clothes all over her room. She ran and disobeyed, laughing the whole time and quickly put her clothes away. It was awesome! We went back and forth and before she even knew it her room was clean and she thought she was in charge the whole time. Chloe definitely makes me think outside the box.

Bowling

The other night we took the kids bowling. It was a lot of fun and everyone had a good time. It kills me how good TJ is!

Actually I'm not surprised....he is good at everything.

I forgot to mention the date TJ and I went on the other night.

Totally free and TONS of fun.

We sent the kids over to the Wakefield's (our backdoor neighbors) and then Becky and Rob and us went to Seven Peaks (we have passes) and had a double date riding all the slides.

I have lived in Utah for 10 years and have never gone down any of the slides. I first started going to Seven Peaks after I had kids so I spend all of my time chasing kids around the kiddie pools. I can't understand why TJ and I had never gone while we were dating.

We are definitely doing it again.

Nixon Shaw's birthday party

On Saturday Nixon had her 2nd birthday party at a splash pad park in American Fork.

It was a busy day. We left our house at 10:30am and didn't end up getting home until 10:30pm.

After the party we went to TJ's parents house and put Lexi down for a nap and I cut Mona's hair. Then I ran to Old Navy to look for clothes for our family pictures. It was bad news with too many sales and options and not enought time and lines out the door. I left with nothing. After that we drove up to Layton for Sam Garretts baptism and then to their house for food.

From there we had to drive to Heber to pick my mom and Tandy up from their hotel and then home. Busy but fun.

Tandy and my mom were up here this past weekend for their essential oils training.

We were able to hang out with them for a bit before they had to go home. One night we met them up in Heber to go out and eat dinner. On Saturday night Tandy stayed at my house and my mom at Tessa's. They came to church with us and then had a BBQ that night. We did one of my favorite things which is to walk on the trail behind my house. I feel so lucky to live so close to a creek and so many trees. Growing up in Albuquerque we had to go on vacation to be in places like this. So it's awesome to have it in my backyard with the beautiful mountains in the background and also with a lake so close by. The closest lake for us growing up was Elephant Butte which was almost 3 hours away.

I love my neighborhood.

It was nice to have them visit and it was actually a nice visit. Sometime I worry that all our conversations will turn into oils and nutrition and loosing weight and all things negative in the world. There was a little bit of that but there was a lot of just good laughs and enjoying each others company (no matter how different we all are).

Little Lexi washing my car is too cute.

Chloe cracks me up.

The other day I came into the kitchen and her and Tallie were playing legos at the kitchen counter.

Chloe was randomly in Lexi's duck costume.

It's almost time for school to start.

I'm kinda excited to have a schedule back. Never excited for the warm summer to go away.

Happy 8 years!!!

Yesterday was our 8 year anniversary.

I can't believe it has been 8 years already, and I can't believe that I first met TJ 10 years ago!

Lately I just can't stop thinking about just how darn lucky I am to have married the man I did and how thankful I am we became friends first and got to know each other for 2 years before we decided to get married.

I really couldn't ask for a better husband. He loves me and constantly just wants to please me. He never puts himself first. He shares the load with me. He changes diapers, makes dinner, does the dishes, and cleans the house. He will stay up all night with a crying baby. I can go out of town and leave him with the kids and I don't have to worry or leave him a list of what to do. He has common sense. He is a handy man and can fix almost anything. He even crafts (thanks to his new job). He is the smartest person I know. He is responsible with our money and keeps us out of debt. He is a hard worker and a dang good landscaper/gardner. He is sensitive and I love how I can write him a poem and make him cry. He is funny and always making me laugh. He supports me in things I want to do. A.K.A. running. He is the best dad and is active and present in our girls lives.

He makes me happy and marrying him was the best decision I ever made.

He is my best friend.

I love you TJ

Timpanogas Half Marathon

My whole plan for this race was to be able to improve and get faster and beat my time. But it was a rough month with TJ gone a lot out of town (which means no running) and I was sick with the stomach bug one week (no running again) and then sick 2 weeks later with a crazy cold (more no running). Too much of no running equals me getting slower and loosing endurance. And loosing that meant loosing desire to run the race. It would be impossible for me to beat my time, or even get close to the same time. When I was able to run I felt like I was starting over. It was brutal and I hated it. Needless to say I wasn't excited about the race.

On the morning of the race Tessa was supposed to pick me and Becky up at 3:45. When 3:55 came I started calling her... no answer. I tried Ian's phone and no answer. I got in my car, got Becky and drove to Tessa's house and banged on the front door... no answer. We had to get going or we would miss the race.

She slept in and I feel so bad that she missed it.

The race was hard. I had crazy shin splints and no energy. As soon as I started running I was already feeling it and debating with myself whether or not to just walk it. At mile 8 I was finally warmed up and I felt good until mile 10. The last 3 were endless and drug on and on. But I did have more energy at the end and was able to sprint to the finish unlike the last race where I just wanted to collapse. I feel bad for Becky because her husband didn't come to see her finish. He just didn't care. She almost lost it and cried.

I would have.

It sucks to not have support (especially from your husband). I'm VERY thankful for TJ and the support he gives me.

My time was 2:00.

Lame