St. George Marathon 2010

My five months of training paid off. I had a great run and finished the marathon in 4 hours and 6 min. I felt great and enjoyed most of it. The last 5 miles were long and I was glad when it all came to an end. I learned a lot from training for this marathon. I didn't think I would ever have the mental strength to complete such a task, but I learned that if you want something bad enough you can make your body do it. I learned to have self discipline. There were many mornings that my alarm would go off  at 4:00 and I wanted so badly to shut it off but I knew Sue would be there waiting, so I got up anyway.  I learned that if you turn up your music loud enough or get into a conversation long enough you can push though pain and boredom from running.  I learned what an awesome friend I have made through all of this, Sue never missed a run and pushed me when I needed it. I also learned what a supportive husband and son I have. Jack got use to me not being there when he woke up most mornings and Shawn didn't complain too much about putting up with a tired wife 24/7. I got teary eyed both times when I saw them on the marathon trail cheering for me. I loved their support, along with my parents, brother,Shawn's parents, sister-in-law, neighbors and friends, thanks for coming out to cheer me on.

PRESCHOOL

 

This is a classic first day of school picture. 

So there you have it Jack started preschool. I think he liked it but it was also a bit overwhelming. I have been prepping him that Mom's don't get to go to preschool, he has to do it by himself. He was really brave and hung his back pack up and headed in with no tears, yeah! 

When I showed up to pick him up he looked so cute waiting for me. He was so excited to tell me about everything and made sure I knew he missed me. The best part was when he got in the car and said, " Mom I feel like I'm going to cry." Then he just let it all out, sobbing and sobbing. Man he is too much like me! After he got all of his crying out he said, "I was so... nervous."  You got to love this kid. 

He has since told me that he had fun at recess and got to play duck, duck, goose. The real test will be if he will go back on Thursday :) Wish us luck.

Adding Them to The List

I have always been a big fan of children books. It is my favorite time of the day when Jack  and I can snuggle on the reading chair and devour book after book (Shawn and I fight over who gets to read the bedtime stories.) Most the time I get more out of them than he does. I remember when he was too young to hold his head up I would still read him books before he went to bed. Just yesterday we ran across these two books and I fell in love with them. They are a must reads, especially since Jack is starting school in the next week and his character will have a chance to bloom. 

I have seen this book many times but never sat down to read it. The rainbow fish teaches sharing and the way we feel when we share with others.

Second is " It's Okay to Be Different" it nearly brought tears to my eyes. It touches on all the ways we are different and teaches that it's okay, and good to not all be the same. Jack got out of the book that when skunks are mad they spray stinky stray, go figure.
 

The House that Built Me

                                                 (These are the only pictures I have of the house)


I can still vividly remember the feeling of shutting the door to the house on 1196 No. Trinnaman Ln. 13 years ago this month, there wasn't a dry eye around. We were excited to move to a new town and a new house, especially to a house that actually had more than one bathroom. But when that door shut it closed a chapter of my life. That is where my childhood stayed.

What got me thinking about this was the song by Maranda Lambert, "The House that Built Me." It brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it. I would give anything to knock on that door and walk inside my old house. Go play in my old room, that wasn't even a real room. I honestly lived in a hole in the attic. But I loved it, The door was no more that 4 feet tall and 2 1/2 feet wide. It was a cluttery mess but a lot of memories happened there. I would love to eat dinner in our little kitchen, and watch my mom cut hair out in "the shop."  I would go and hide in the blankets in the closet under the stairs. And last I would go out back and climb in the trees.  If I was lucky it would be cherry season.

I could tell you everything about that house, I know every nook and cranny.  I remember riding Carly's Purple banana seat bike in the garage, in circle for hours. Sitting on the fence watching my Dad rope, having races in the front yard with our dog Dingy, swinging from the barn rope swing, getting my fingers pinched in the fence, hitting tennis balls against the side of the garage, letting parachute men off the balcony of Dad's shop. I miss playing night games with the Colledge Boy's (our neighbors. Not really college boys, come on we were 10), I miss riding our bikes to Harts and stopping at grandma's, then trying to ride while holding a drink, that was tricky. It is amazing the memories that come flooding back.

In the song she talks about the dog the was buried under the oak tree. Our dog daisy was buried in the back corner along with at least 20 cat, a few rabbits, and a Turkey. I made sure that my Dad buried everyone of them, back by Daisy.

The freedom we had was crazy. It's not like living in a neighborhood, you can roam and climb and build. We had tree forts in trees all over the place. I had such great childhood.

The song talks about Mom cutting up pictures from Better Homes and Garden Magazine and Daddy giving life to Mama's dreams. We all want bigger and better, which is a good thing, we have to have dreams and work for things, that is what makes us grow. But I miss that simple life, I honestly believe life runs a little bit slower on 1196 No. Trinnaman Ln. and I am glad I grew up there.

Back Tracking the Fun

For the 24th of JULY our family had a bitty reunion. Just the siblings, the parents, the kiddos and my Dads brother and his Fam. We have been doing this for the past few years. Every year we meet in a new place. This year it was at The Little America in down town SLC. We enjoyed the 24th celebrations and relaxed at the pool side. We ate at a lot of yummy places and slept in until 8:00 both mornings. It was great. There was a great baby pool that Jack nearly lived in. He practiced up on his cannon ball and dunking his head under the water. As long as the pool is no deeper than 2 feet he has no fear. Anything deeper he is the biggest chicken. He is one silly boy. We had fun staying up late chatting with cousins and reminiscing the good ol' days. My parents were super generous and paid for nearly everything, Thanks Mom and Dad. We had a ball!

Who is that kid?

I am putting together a book from when Jack was a baby and I got a kick out of him having such dark hair. I just took this photo last week and I was trying to darken the picture enough to show that he even has hair. We will see where it ends up in 20 years. Probably balding and Red like his dad. -Shawn

Slipin' and Sliding

Pictures say more than words....