San Diego

Better late than never, right? I've been meaning to post some pictures of our trip to San Diego 3 weeks ago. Aaron and John ran in the San Diego half marathon and they both did awesome. Aaron found us a hotel within walking distance of the beach and we spent most of our time there.

H did not want to get wet, can you tell? :)

the kids did this all day, they love it!



just when you think you've seen it all at Mission Beach...the kids loved this! They were screaming, 'Get your camera Mom!'
while the kids are on summer break and getting on each other's nerves, this picture gives me hope. They really do like each other sometimes ;)

free digital kit

I just wanted to pass along a link to this really cute FREE digital kit that I saw on Ali Edwards blog.
Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to our...

Papa Bear
Gramps


and to our Dad and husband

We love you and are so grateful for each one of you!

summer sanity

I love summer, I really do. (Mom almost named me Summer, have I told you that?) Summer for us in AZ can be summed up in one word...swimming. I's such a great way for the kids to get their energy out and it is my summer sanity.
Here are 2 quick pages I did this morning:

Summer is officially here

The kids got out of school last Thursday so summer for us is officially here! I have to admit it's a challenge keeping the kids entertained but I've enjoyed having a break from the craziness.

Braden received the Presidential Fitness Award this year, we're very proud of him. This kid has so much energy...wish I could borrow some of it ;)

Just finished this page. I used a good ol' trusty template to make it quick and easy.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

organizing school memories

For some reason, documenting school stuff is so overwhelming to me! So many pictures and so many papers, I just didn't know where to start. Since the last day of school is approaching, I just wanted to share what I've been working on here and there to make documenting the school years a little less stressful...for me anyway.
These are years K-2nd for Braden. I wanted to keep it simple so there is a 2 page layout for each year. This is a template from Designer Digitals. I just clipped the pictures in, did a little journaling and called it a day. Now that I'm looking at them altogether, I may go back in and change the colors of the 'school memories' to add a little variation. (that's the awesome thing about digital, you can always go back and change it)
I will be using this template set by Cathy Zielski when B starts junior high and for P&H.
We keep 1 folder of art and papers for each kid per year. I'm sentimental so for me that's pretty good. For the bigger art pieces, I take pictures of the artwork or of the kids holding the artwork.
Just passing along some ideas!
Kids grow up way too fast...

May catch up

Just catching up on a few things...I can't believe May is half way over!

Paige received Student of the Month in her class, we are very proud of her!

Mother's Day was so nice. The kids made me go back to bed and brought me in some breakfast. My favorite part of the day was the homemade little cards and crafts they made at school. I look forward to this every year! Braden made me a little photo album in my favorite color. Heston made me a frame with a picture of us in it. Paige made me a little coupon book and also a story book.
This is the inside of the book that Paige made...

My favorite food is salad (and I love mushrooms so she drew those in there too)

The thing that I don't like...

that's sushi

and that's the truth

I help our family by cooking dinner on my sweet pink stove (a pink stove would be fun, wouldn't it?)

This is me (she drew me using my favorite color, I love that)

doing the laundry. That's our couch and it has clothes laying on it. This is a true representation of what our couch looks like most of the time. Laundry...that stuff is going to be the end of me...

This is B, P and I jumping rope. In the evening, we'll go out and do some jump rope. They'll teach me fun jump rope rhymes and then I'll teach them some from when I was younger. I jump the rope until I pee my pants and then we call it a night. The joys of giving birth...

My sweet daughter...she knows me too well ;)

I LOVE BEING A MOM!

Grand Canyon hike

Last weekend was a much needed getaway for me. I went with a group of women (from my former ward, some of them close friends of mine) to the south rim of the Grand Canyon to hike the Bright Angel trail. Honestly, it was one of the most enriching experiences I've ever had.

We left Friday morning for Flagstaff. When we got there, we all went downtown for some shopping, food and entertainment. The city was having a youth festival with all kinds of dancing and music. We stayed at a hotel and drove to the GC the next morning. We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. The trail was a total of 6 miles and I loved every step of it.

On our journey, I couldn't help but think of analogies a person can come up with while hiking in that canyon. You look down and see how far it is and you begin to question whether you can actually do it. It's possible, with some preparation...you just have to put one step in front of the other. I was also thinking about how life is a lot like this trail we hiked...


It has it's ups and downs, it's rocky in places and flat in others. Also like life, it's important to stop, look around and see how far you've come and really enjoy the scenery. The views there...the pictures just don't do it justice...
We made it! me, Cheryl and Ardie

Kym and I. This whole trip was planned a year ago by her. I'm so grateful to call her my friend.
This was taken before the hike. You can tell because we're all excited and have tons of energy. Some women hiked part of the way and some of us hiked more.

me right before the hike. I brought my new little point and shoot camera so I wouldn't have to haul my big one around. It worked out great.

Thank you to Nuskin, the company I used to work for. That free backpack has served Aaron and I well over the years. ;)

12,394th place...I'll take it!

Last Saturday, Aaron and I participated in Pat's Run. It's an annual run to support the Pat Tillman Foundation. It was crazy! There were something like 28,000 people, way too crowded. I signed up for this run to keep me motivated. Aaron could have ran laps around me but he was supportive and stayed with me all the way. It was 4.2 miles and I did it in 48:11. I'm pretty slow but I tried not to get wrapped up in the time. There will always be people that are faster and people that are slower. If you would have told me a couple of months ago I could run 4 miles without stopping I would have thought you were up in the night. I did it, that's all that matters to me.

My parents were here for a visit last week. It's always great to have them visit and the kids love it because they get spoiled with attention. I'm the worn-out mom trying to keep it together. I need a vacation so bad!
I don't know if I'm ready for May. May and December are the craziest months of the year for us, is that true for anyone else?!

The zen of doing

“Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.” ~Zen proverb
Post written by Leo Babauta

In the chaos of the modern world, there is a beauty in simply doing.

We’re buffeted wildly by whatever emails, conversations, news, events, demands, that are going on around us. Our minds become a constant deluge of thoughts dwelling in the past, worries of the future, distractions pulling us in every direction.

But all of that melts away when we focus on just doing.

It doesn’t matter what the doing is: sitting, walking, writing, reading, eating, washing, talking, snuggling, playing. By focusing on the doing, we drop our worries and anxieties, jealousies and anger, grieving and distraction.

There is something profound in that simplicity. Something ultimately heart-rendingly breath-takingly gorgeous.

“When walking, walk. When eating, eat.” ~Zen proverb

You are in the middle of your day today, and you’re caught up in the sandstorm of thoughts, feelings, to-dos, meetings, readings, and communications of this day.

Pause. Breathe. Let all of that fade.

Now focus on doing one thing, right now. Just choose one thing, and clear away all other distractions. Seriously, clear it all away. Turn off your Internet. Stop reading this article (OK, read a couple more sentences, then close your browser!).

Let all thoughts about anything other than the doing also fade away. They’ll come up, but gently make note of them, and then let them go. And return to the doing.

If you’re washing a dish, do it slowly, and feel every sensation. If you’re eating a fruit, taste it, feel the textures, be mindful of your hunger or lack of it. If you’re writing something, pour your heart into that writing, become the writing, inhabit the words.

Just do.

The rest of the world becomes meaningless distraction. It’s just you, and your doing.

And you realize: this is all that matters. In this, there is everything.

“Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.” ~Shunryu Suzuki

Where does the time go?

{me @ 27, Braden age 3, Paige age 1}

I came across this picture a few days ago. This was taken in the spring of 2003 by my aunt Apryl.

7 years...just like that.

Where does the time go?!

Iceblocking

The kids were out of school on Friday so we got together with Tara, Austin and Mason for some lunch and a little Iceblocking. Tara and I are always trying to come up with things to do with the kids and they had fun.

I just learned this weekend that they will be moving this summer :(

Braden and Austin became best friends in 1st grade. Tara and I hit it off right away and she is one of my closest friends. I'm going to miss her!!! I'm so sad to see them go but I'm excited for them and their new journey.

(I'm trying to be positive but it bums me out!)

March

Where has this month gone? Just an update on some of the things that have been going on in our lives:

Paige had her St. Patrick's Day Irish dance recital. She likes her class and her teacher Miss Kathie.

Braden had his final Pinewood Derby race for Scouts last week. It was the fastest and most organized pinewood derby I had ever been to. And no fights broke out so that's good.

Last weekend, we traveled down to Oro Valley (just north of Tucson) for the Arizona Distance Classic.

Aaron ran the half marathon and the kids participated in the fun run. We came here for an RV trip last year and really like this area. We came down on Saturday and took the kids to see "How to train your Dragon." It's an awesome movie!

our family on race day
Braden



I love this picture. The way he's staring down that kid...

He told us the day before the race. "I have a passion for running."

Here's Heston and Aaron. He was holding on tight to Aaron's hand and was booking it! We think he running fast because he thought all the kids were being chased by something. He just wants to be doing whatever B&P are doing.

Run Paige Run!




Aaron did awesome!! We can't wait to come back next year!

hanging with Papa

My Dad's friend needed a ride from Vernal to Kingman this week. He dropped his friend off and came to hang out with us for a couple of days. He has been spoiling the kids (isn't that what grandparents are for?) and I've enjoyed our daddy/daughter visits.

Heston is crazy about motorcycles. Dad took him to the Harley store in Mesa and he was in heaven! It was so cute.

(this picture is horrible quality. I took it with my phone, wish I had my camera with me)

Thanks Dad! We love you!

The Magic of the Family Meal

The Magic of the Family Meal

Spring break

Spring break is officially here! The weather has been perfect...we have to soak up all we can before it gets hot again. I brought my camera to the park yesterday and took these pictures. The one of the 3 of them holding hands is my fave.

G

just missing her today...love you Grandma!

Jojo Henry

Back in November, I mentioned that we took in a homeless cat that the kids named Jojo Henry. Jojo is doing great and we figured out that he is actually a she :) I'm taking her next week to get vaccines and spayed. She's such a sweet little cat and the kids love her. She lives outside and has a little bed under our patio.

She's been a great little pet for the kids

36:21

It's not that I've hated running, it's just not something that really interested me. One of my short term goals for this year was to run a 5k. Aaron, Braden, John (Aaron's brother) and I ran a 5k this Saturday in Chandler.

John did awesome and so did Braden! He took 3rd place in his age group (ages 10-14) with a 25:45. Aaron was such a great support to me, I couldn't have done it without him.

My goal was to run 12 minute miles and I ran 11:44/min miles. It's not earth-shattering time, I know that. But dang it, I earned every second of that 36:21 :)

little notes

Hallmark stores exist because of people like me. I'm a sucker for cute little quote books, funny cards and collectable ornaments. I think I mentioned in a post about working at the Hallmark store my aunt Dolly managed when I was younger. I helped wrap gifts, dust collectables, restock cards and of course, dress up as the Crayola Bunny at Easter because I'm the only one who would do it.

There's a Hallmark store on Baseline and Stapley that's one of my favorites. They have a contract US Post Office inside. (much more fun and colorful than your usual post office) The women that work there are great, they know me and Heston...I swear I usually go in to just mail packages. ;)

I went there today to "mail a package". and I came across these gems:

I occasionally put little notes inside the kids' lunches. Each time I've done it, my kids have loved it. Like most moms, some mornings are just crazy and I'm lucky to get a sandwich made. I'm reminded how fast my kids are growing up and I can never tell them that I love and appreciate them enough. Any little thing I can do to make their day a little better, I'll do it :)

So there you go...awesome finds at the Hallmark store. I'm excited to see what the kids say...