Temple to Temple 5K

Who ever thought of this run was just a genius! 

It was so fun, yet semi dangerous (there were SO many people) and the kids loved it!

Little Lexi as she crossed the finish line said "I can't believe I just did a 5K!".

I have never run a race that was so jam packed with people. I was constantly counting heads to make sure I wasn't going to loose anyone. And all the while trying not to run people over with my stroller or get run over myself.

I was bummed I didn't buy myself a shirt and the kids really wanted a medal but for a free race what can you expect?

The hardest part for the kids was walking the 3 miles back to our cars which were at the start of the race.

They only had a few shuttles and the lines to get on them were hours long.

They complained a lot and they hated pushing the jogging stroller so I could hold Kasen who was by then trying to climb out of the stroller (didn't help the buckles are all broken). 

They really started to feel like Pioneers then.

I'm glad I had them watch 17 Miracles for FHE so they could see what the pioneers had to go thru and that they got a very tiny tiny taste of what it would have been like.

This just might be a new tradition. 

(Unless Tessa moves which would leave me solo since Tj works).

Grotto Trail

Tessa and I took the kids up to the Grotto.

Its just a short enough hike that there was no complaining from the kiddos.

Random

 Kasen LOVES strawberries and he pops them in his mouth like candy. Some days I just find him standing by the strawberry patch pointing. I can pick a bowl full and he will just go to town and eat them all himself. He is a fruit man! Except all melons including watermelon. None of my kids like them and TJ says they don't just because I don't. I have tried many times to get them to eat melons and as babies even before they knew any better. They always spit them out. Just goes to show that watermelon tastes like watery styraphone.

 Here is the all time most ridiculous bribe of the history of bribes and I am so ashamed and embarrassed. It was TJs idea. We had been to the Orthodontist several times with each attempt failed of getting Tallie's spacer put into her mouth. I tried sitting on her, with 5 girls prying her mouth open. NOTHING. I think I scarred her for life on so many levels.

BUT we had already paid $1500 to have one molded for her mouth and there was no getting my money back. Tj knew that Tallie had been saving her money for the new American Girl doll this year and he told her he would buy it for her if she got the spacer. He made a good  point saying it was either throw away $1500 or pay another $100 and get it done.

She got it done but it was painful and I have never seen her so honestly scared, nervous and anxious for ANYTHING. She made herself almost pass out multiple times. 

She was totally hyperventilating.

I'm glad its over and so is she.

Chloe asks for a date with me or Tj every Saturday.

She does not agree with taking turns with the others or doesn't think TJ and I need dates together either.

I'm trying to get her cooking with me to squeeze in some extra Chloe time.

4th of July Skirts

Every year I try and make something patriotic for the girls to wear for the 4th. I figure I should while I can before they think homemade clothes are lame. I didn't have a ton of time since I thought of this idea a few days before we were leaving for Arizona but it was really easy and for $5 I turned their old jeans into something new.

Chloe's was my favorite.

Hobble Half

Since I couldn't run the marathon with Tessa this summer I decided I would focus all on this one half and train really hard to beat my fastest half time of 1:49. We started running with really fast girls. We ran hard steep trail runs. We ran hills. We ran sprints up those same stupid hills. 

I was feeling really good about our pace most of the time. I knew I had to run an 8:15 pace or less on race day to get my goal time of 1:45. However the last couple weeks before the race I wasn't feeling so awesome about it. Tj was gone some days, and the last running week before we were in Arizona eating crap and running ridiculously slow miles in 100 degrees.

My runs were awful and I felt so sloooooow.

But the morning of I told myself I would do it and that I could.

It was pretty fun to have a group of us running the same race and starting together. 

For the first 7 miles or so I ran with Becky and Kelly and we started out at like a 7:25! We split up around mile 7 and I finally turned my music on and zoned out. I told myself I would keep it under 8 for as long as I could. And I did for the most part until the last couple miles where I was just over and then the last half mile or so I hit 8:20. It was such a good race because I never really hit a wall or got to the point where I just couldn't keep the pace. I had enough energy at the end to sprint to the finish and actually came in UNDER my goal with a 1:44.19! Too bad Tj missed it because he showed up at 1:45 at the exact time I told him to be there. I never expected to get under that.

Oh well it was fun and I love running even more now.

And the best part is I'm totally not very sore after that race!

Becky Clayton, Sarah Judd, Janae Carpenter, Kelly Thorpe

random

My kids are growing up too fast.

This is definitely a different kind of summer with the kids at the pool. All of a sudden we never hang out in the kiddie pool (so sad for Kasen) and Tallie is off riding all the slides and Chloe and Lexi are doing their own thing. Just today I took the kids to the Vets pool and Lexi put goggles on for the first time and wow, she is a fish now. She is jumping in alone and then will take off swimming under water. That girl can really hold her breath. Chloe started swimming in Arizona last week. To the point she will swim, come up for air, go back under and when she is tired she will roll over and float. When that finally clicks with a child I can almost breath again when we go to the pools.

Last night we took a pizza to the splash pad and had dinner and played for a few hours. Tallie and Chloe saw some boys from school and they kept complaining that they were bugging them and following them and throwing water on them. It must not have been that annoying because Tallie kept egging them on and was loving all the attention. I'm not ready for all of this innocent flirting.

TJ called me today. He doesn't have cell service at camp so I won't get to talk to him really at all this week but he had to come down the mountain to get more water so he called to say hello. He had some things to get off his chest about some of the boys, one in particluar. He really struggles with this kid because he is so disrespectful and mean and rude and crazy and always getting in trouble. And the problem is talking to his parents is like talking to a door knob. They are super defensive and won't hear it. They think their son is an angel. 

TJ is not the only one who has talked to his parents before.

Even the bishop has (after talking with TJ) and he is the kids grandpa.

Some parents just won't listen.

TJ said if he could he would send the kid home.

I hope he survives.

Tonight we are having a late over with Elena and Callie before they leave for Hawaii for 2 weeks.

I wish I would have had TJ show me how to set up the outdoor projector before he left.

Tessa

Tessa called me tonight.

Her divorce is final.

Her and Ian are no longer married.

She said its weird because she can't seem to shed a tear and that Ian can't stop crying.

It is so sad to think that 10 years ago they were so in love and they couldn't wait even a week to get married.

Just the other day Tessa was telling me she couldn't wait another day until the divorce was final.

People can change and it scares me. It can happen to anyone. And it happens little by little with small things as we slowly let Satan into our hearts.

I am not worried about Tessa tho. 

She has a bright future and I think her Mr. Right is right around the corner.

Jade even said the other night, "Mom, I want you to get married fast. And I want you to have another baby, fast". 

And really, maybe I'm jumping the gun, but I think she has already met him.

And I think the whole process with them deciding to get divorced and how long and drug out it was was just the way it needed to be. It had to be this way for Tessa to see Ian how he is and for her to feel at peace to make her decision to leave him and to not feel like she had no say. She was all for trying to keep the family together. But by having so much time pass, she was able to see and learn so much about Ian that she was able to realize she didn't want to stay.

She is strong and I love her and I can't wait to see what is in her future (or who!)

Coyote Gultch

It has taken me forever to write about this trip because I was kind of overwhelmed with just how much I wanted to write about it.

Tj first went to Coyote Gultch a few years ago with the scouts. He said that the whole time he was there all he could think about was getting me there because he knew I would love it. For my birthday a couple of years ago he bought me a backpacking backpack. However I got pregnant soon after and wouldn't be able to carry my pack and then you know nursing for a whole year after having the baby put this trip on hold for a long time. This was finally the year we could leave the kids and get away. For Mother's day TJ also got me hiking boots. 

We left Wed afternoon and got down the trailhead just before it was getting dark. Its about a 4 hour drive. And the drive wasn't bad because TJ ended up buying a new truck just minutes before we left town. I mean I drove the kids up to his parents house and while I dropped them off he was buying the truck. Anyways we set up our little tent in the middle of no where and got our fire going and just hung out until we ran out of wood. In the morning we packed everything up and left all that we didn't need in the truck. We ate our oatmeal TJ made in his water boiler and then started our 8 mile hike into canyon. It was so hot out and it was the first time I had carried a pack (thankfully Tj packed most the heavy stuff) but still it was tough at times. For the first few miles it looked like we were hiking into nowhere. I could see no canyon or anything. Just desert. Finally we made it into the canyon and we were able to take off our shoes and hike in the water. We ate our canned tuna and crackers for lunch lying on a rock looking up at the canyon walls. We had no schedule or time frame. It was just us and whatever we felt like doing on our own time. I was pretty bummed that when we got to the arch we had planned on camping under it was taken by a bunch of scouts. All of the good places were. We did find a good spot after awhile and set up our tent and hammock and then filled our water bottles up with the natural water fall that just seeped through the rock wall. We spent the next couple hours, with no packs (so nice) strolling down the river. When we knew it would get dark soon we headed back to camp and TJ made our dinner which was a dehydrated sweet and sour pork and rice. Now I'm not sure it was really good or not but it sure did taste delicious to have a nice hot cooked meal. We even brought a dehygrated berry crumble that we had for desert. Since we didn't have chairs or rocks for that matter to sit on to eat we would take every meal and walk a little ways around the corner and sit with our feet in the stream. It was a favorite time of the day. Once it got dark that pretty much meant bed time since there was nothing to do. We did stay up talking in the tent with our tiny bitty lantern. Of all the alone time we had during the whole trip there was never a awkward or weird silence. That is what I love about us. It's still just as awesome as when we first met and could talk for hours. In the morning we ate more oatmeal and then hiked over to some more rushing water where we could kinda shower (but without soap because we forgot). I did remember my razor tho and I did shave my legs and arm pits in the falls. We hiked to some arches and to some waterfalls and one day we hiked to a black lagoon which was surrounded by poisen ivy. I am still so surprised I didn't get any. The water was dark and gross and pretty stagnant and Tj of course got right in and started swimming. Me on the other hand wouldn't even get into a blue lagoon at the end of a waterfall in Hawaii because I have this thing with crap touching my feet and not being able to see the bottom. BUT I surprised myself and got in for a sec and made TJ take a picture to document that I can do hard things. We did have to get used to some things on this trip. We could only bring limited food and so whenever there was any down time we couldn't just snack. We had brought a bag of gummie bears for sugar and it was so hard when you wanted something sweet to only eat a few and ration the rest for the rest of the days. We also only had one hammock and so we had to take turns laying in it while the other would sit on the ground twirling sticks. It would have been nice after long days of hiking to just go back to camp and relax and take a nap but while one did that the other was ridiculously bored because there were no phones or anything and the tent was was too hot to lay in there. Every night we would walk to the fresh water and fill all our bottles  and then we would take a night stroll holding hands down the river. The best kind of hiking is the kind you can do barefoot. We were barefoot about 80% of the time. We both smelt so bad and were so sunburned (we also forgot to pack that) and I kept getting attacked by deer flys ( we forgot bug spray too) that there was no "alone" time if you know what I mean. On the last day we had planned to hike the same 8 miles out and we were dreading it because it was so hot. But the night before we met some people at the water station that were climbing the rope out and then hiking only 2 miles to their cars and said they would shuttle us down to our cars if we wanted. I was so nervous to climb the rope with my huge pack but it sounded so much better than dying for 8 miles. We met them at their camp pretty early. They were really nice and they were a lot of help. One wrong step on my part I could fall all the way down the canyon. If I leaned in too much I could loose my footing and fall but if I leaned out too much my pack could take me back. It was seriously one of the hardest things I have ever done, and the scariest. Once we got back to our car we drove a bit and then stopped at the slot canyons. That was a crazy hot hike down into them but once inside they were so nice and cool and I LOVED climbing through them. Finally our trip was over and we had to get back to pick up the kids. It was one smelly B.O. ride home for sure. Since I have been home I cannot stop thinking about that trip and how much I loved everything about it. TJ wants to plan a backpacking trip every year. I know that won't happen and we can't abuse the grandparents too much. I'd love to get my kids in that canyon one day and make that "our" camping spot.