The Ward Family

Blast from the past

2012-01-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hello there. It's been a long time. We didn't get abducted by aliens, or get put in the witness protection program or anything. We didn't rob a bank and flee to tropical islands (although that sounds nice). What have we been doing for the last 7 months? Well, get ready for a little journey into the past. We'll do some time travel. It'll be fun.

SUMMER OF 2011
Since last June, Mark and I were introduced to wakeboarding. Our wakeboarding past consisted of a once a year trip to Lake Arrowhead with a broken board and a boat that is "usually" working. This was a brand new amazing thing to us. It caused me to have a small "mid-life crisis". It also caused me to get three concussions.

We spent the summer wakeboarding whenever we could, playing volleyball, running and biking through the desert, swimming with the kids, and having fun mostly.

Our computer crashed so I have one pictures of the whole summer that I took of Mark on his phone. Not the best picture, but it's all I got. :)

California Love

2011-06-22T12:30:00.001-06:00

We have created a lovely tradition in our family of spending a great week in California at least once a year. It seems like we have fallen into a pattern of doing the same things every time we visit. But we have such a good time, why change it, right?

Before we headed to Lake Arrowhead, we went to the Orange County Swap Meet. Knockoff designer sunglasses, watches, and purses is always a good time.

Sunday, we had a great day going to church with John, Sondra, and Joel.

On Monday, we were in Lake Arrowhead. I love this Mountain lake with the cool, crisp breeze and pine trees; the cold water, and sandy little beach. It’s incredibly therapeutic. I would never be able to completely relax like I’m can in Arrowhead if there wasn’t wakeboarding to be had. This year, some good friends came with us which made it even better.

Emma accidentally hit Abigail with an oar. We thought about seeing if she need a stitch, but decided a band aid would suffice.

The kids were playing red light/green light. They kept themselves super happy. Abigail kept collecting rocks, and calling them her seashells.

Emma and Tom and Krista’s Abby were best friends while we were there. She made Abby a cake for her 5th birthday which we celebrated on Wednesday. Gabriel had fun on the beach and the kayak. He was a little timid to get in the water because it was so cold.

Wakeboarding was especially nice this trip because we brought a borrowed wakeboard with us (Thank you so much Johnny!!!)

Mark and I tried to do 360’s with no luck. (we were able to get around on the water, but not in the air)

It was fun to watch our friends wakeboard.

Tommy Marshall (I love this picture)

Kim Marshall

Krista Jones

Friday, Mark had to work so I took the kids to Knotts Berry Farm. It was a great day to go. The weather was overcast and cool. The lines were not bad either.

Emma and I had a little mother-daughter date that evening and we went back to ride some of the bigger roller coasters. (Something I’ve been waiting for since she was born) She is just barely 48” and I had her wear some big wedge sandals just in case they gave us a hard time. Emma was so fun to be with, she even rode Ghostrider with me, which is pretty darn scary. I’m such a proud Momma.

In between swimming and playing with Grandpa and Grandma, We squeezed in a quick trip to the beach. It was really cold and windy, but the kids had a lot of fun regardless.

awww. for cute.

It was so windy, Mark could play Frisbee with himself.

A blessing from this trip was being able to spend time with Sondra. We all love her so much. Emma has such a special bond with her and Abigail wanted to be with her all the time. Gabe loves to get hugs and kisses from her. It was a gift to spend the past week snuggling in her bed and showing her the great caterpillars we caught.

I love that this has become a tradition for us. It’s a special time.

The Happy Things of Spring

2011-05-19T23:20:00.001-06:00

Baseball and Softball

Gabe and Emma started playing ball. They both really like it. I’ve really enjoyed Emma’s games because she is getting old enough that they are actually playing. They even have a kid pitcher and everything. It’s really fun to watch.

Easter

Easter weekend was so nice. We had a neighborhood Easter egg hunt, we colored eggs, and the kids woke up Easter morning to find their baskets.

We’ve had a great spring. The kids have been scootering all over. They are scooter-crazy

Stormie is getting bigger. She’s still cute, and we still love her.

Happy Spring Everybody!

Motherhood is Sweet

2011-05-16T23:12:00.001-06:00

For Mother’s Day, I woke up to a little yellow post-it note on my ceiling that said, “Happy Mother’s Day” . Mark had left little notes all around in random places. They were filled with praise, compliments and sweet things. I am still finding them here and there. Today, as I went to use my camera, I found a note under the lens that said, “Smile! I love you”

The Kids found these notes very intriguing and kept telling me where they were hidden throughout the day on Mother’s Day.

When Monday morning came, I awoke to an even sweeter set of notes from my kids.

I am such a blessed woman to be able to experience these little joys of motherhood. And even more blessed to be able to share these joys with a very charming husband. I love being a Mom.

“Mom, best friends don’t yell.”

2011-05-09T01:34:00.001-06:00

I love Mother’s Day, and I love being a mother. One of my greatest “mothering” faults - the thing that nags me when being praised - is that sometimes I yell. My kids really hate it, and I hate it. So, I’ve been trying to work on this. I believe that having the spirit in the home is the best solution to this. Daily Scripture study, and prayer throughout the day helps a lot. But there are days when I could use something else. After some discussions with the kids, we came up with something that has worked quite well.

It’s a chart. (yay for charts) This isn’t for the kids so much as for me. It’s something I can do instead of yelling. I like time-outs but as kids get older, time-outs can be very inconvenient. I am not a fan of spanking. It seemed the only way I could get across to my kids that what they were doing was not okay was to yell. (and yelling “works”. They will immediately do what I say, but again, no one likes the yelling including me) So now, I have an outlet. After I’ve asked my kids nicely to stop playing and get ready for bed 3 or 4 times, now I will calmly tell them to “pull their card” instead of screaming.

The way it works is, the kids start out on green each day, and if they do something they should not do, they move their card to yellow, then orange, then red. They are able to move their card up for good behavior. If they end the day on red, they have a punishment.

It has worked really good for me. We’ve been doing it about a month now. I hope to have many more days of being a soft-spoken mother.

Wiped Out

2011-05-03T07:25:00.001-06:00

We started off April with a great General Conference. I love to hear the General Authorities speak. It’s like a spiritual boot camp.

Unfortunately by Sunday, we were all wiped out. Gabe was so sick we ended up taking him to the Emergency Room that night. Abigail got the same sickness on Sunday. I think Emma and I got a little bit of the virus too because this is seriously how we fell asleep watching conference.

Gabe’s Birthday Interview

2011-04-09T17:24:00.001-06:00

I stole this idea from Julie MacDonald and her blog MACDONALD MADNESS. I think it’s a cute way to remember how my kids are at different ages and the way they talk. Gabe was full of one word answers on his birthday, But it was still fun.

How old are you? 6
- your Mom? 28
- your Dad? 30
- Emma? 7
- Abigail? 3
What makes you happy? “Mommy”
What makes you sad? “When mommy yells at me”
When do you laugh? “When Mom tickles me. When the tickle bug comes.”
When do you cry? “When I have to go in time-out”
What is something mom always says to you? “Clean your room.”

and your Dad? “Put your shoes away.”

What is your favorite thing to eat? "Pizza."
What is your favorite thing to do? "play video games.”
What is your favorite TV show? "Star Wars 6" (we don’t have “TV/cable” so my kids don’t know the difference between TV and movies.)
What is your favorite story in the scriptures? "Adam."
What are you really good at? "Soccer."
What is your favorite movie? "I told you already, Star Wars 6"
What does your mom do for her job? "Sells people houses"
- and your Dad? "I Forget"
Who is your best friend? "Dusty"
What's your favorite primary song? "I am a Child of God”
What do you like to do with Emma? "Wrestle”
What do you like to do with Abigail? “color”
What do you and your mom do together? "cuddle”
and Dad? "play video games"
Where is your favorite place to go? "to..what’s the place like Chuck-a-Rama but better? Me: Golden Corral? Gabe: Yeah! Golden Corral"
How do you know your Mom and Dad love you? "I don’t know. Because you had me when I was a baby”
What do you want to be when you grow up? "Artist hmm. no… A Fire Fighter!"

May the force be with you

2011-04-03T17:38:00.001-06:00

I could have used a little bit of the force during Gabe’s birthday. It was his first birthday party with lots of friends. There was such a strong contrast in the home as we waited for the first guest to arrive and a few minutes later when everyone came.

BEFORE

AFTER

Although the boys were quite a bit more rowdy than the “girl-parties” we are used to, everyone had a a lot of fun. The boys had a good time battling with light sabers, eating cake, drinking “Yoda Soda’s”, and breaking open a piñata. (Although the piñata almost gave me a heart-attack. Luckily no one went to hospital.)

Happy Birthday Gabriel!

Spring Break

2011-03-23T01:01:00.001-06:00

I had a fabulous spring break. It started off with the 4th annual Ward Women Wild Weekend. It is turning into my most-looked-forward-to weekend of the year. I love it. I get to spend time with just my sister-in-laws and mother-in-law. No kids. No Husbands. We all sit around, read books, and chat. It’s heaven. My in-laws are awesome. They inspires me to be better. I love them!

The next week, Mark took a day off work and we slept in, and played. The kids and I followed pattern for the rest of the week. It was a great break!!

Some fun caught on my phone.

Hiking in Snow Canyon

Jumping Jacks (My Kids LOVE this place)

Swimming!!

Fun, fun, fun. It was a “staycation”. Now it’s back to school. We actually have gotten so off schedule, everyone woke up at 8:50 this morning. (school starts at 9) whoopsy :)

Happy Alphabet

2011-03-05T16:41:00.001-07:00

I must post a new post because the title of the last one bugs me every time I see. I really did mean it at the time.

After soccer and gymnastics, cleaning rooms, and pulling weeds, the kids and I spent some quiet time inside today. While I worked on primary stuff, they were busy in the corner. This is what they made.

crazy kids.

I Love My Body

2011-02-21T22:02:00.001-07:00

I do. And I want to shout if from the rooftops. But I will have to settle for my blog which apparently only my sister-in-law Amy reads.

I really LOVE my body.

I had such a great day snowboarding today. It was pure happiness.

I am so thankful to have this body that is strong, and functioning. It allows me to take care of my home, and my family. It lets me sweat and work and achieve goals. It lets me play.

Sports and activities are such a joy in my life and I am just feeling very grateful that I have a body that allows me to enjoy them.

(Because today was seriously SICK!!! I wish I had pictures. I got some great air off some 40 ft jumps. Landing some 360’s, and maybe got a minor concussion :) The perfect day. )

The Day I Became a Tooth fairy

2011-02-16T20:43:00.001-07:00

It was sneaky. It was fun. I liked it.

Here’s how the tooth came out.

At bedtime, the family was speculating how much money the tooth fairy would leave under Emma’s pillow. Mark said maybe she’ll leave a quarter. Emma said kids in her class got like 3 dollars.

We left 2 gold quarters and 1 silver dollar under her pillow. She was so excited! Even though she knows the tooth fairy is not real, she still likes to pretend and get excited in the story. It was quite magical.

I noticed she has 3 more loose teeth. The tooth fairy is going to see a lot of action in our house this month.

SUPAF

2011-02-15T14:56:00.001-07:00

Last week, Gabriel preformed at the Southern Utah Performing Arts Festival (SUPAF). It’s a opportunity for kids to perform in front of an audience. There’s a judge who gives a score and critique.

Gabriel did great. He received the highest rating and was so cute. He had a lot of fun.

I recorded it on my phone. I wish I had waited for the applause. The adjudicator said he has a future in violin, and someone from the audience said he has some fans. :)

January

2011-02-11T13:10:00.001-07:00

Remember when I said I was going to take pictures this year and post about our life. This is me posting for the month on January. (Christmas letter style) I took these pictures with my phone. It’s handy, but the quality is not always great.

January has been a return to the normal. School, work, and play.

Emma has been performing at basketball games with her dance team PIZAZZ. She is taking a tumbling class, and finished up her own basketball season. She didn’t like basketball much.

Gabriel continues to enjoy the violin and video games. He got a Lego Star Wars game for Christmas and now is into everything Star Wars. I got him a few Star Wars books and loves those too. He is pretty much reading, watching, or playing Star Wars all the time.

Abigail learned to ride the bike she got for Christmas. Yes it has training wheels. It just took a while for her to get the motion of bike riding. She is loving preschool, and going to the park and of course, our kitty.

Mark has been working on updating the reference materials at work. He finished up in January and we went to a party in celebration of all the hard work of his team. He has been enjoying playing volleyball in the evenings. We got to go snowboarding a couple time too.

Me. I had my second closing in January. I have been organizing the house, and trying to keep it clean. I passed a huge kidney stone which has been bothering me for months. Having that gone has been wonderful. I also have been working on improving Gabriel’s room – painting and such.

It’s been a great month. The weather is beautiful. Life is great. We are very blessed.

A New Family Member

2011-02-06T23:28:00.001-07:00

A new little joy has come to our house. She has captured our hearts. Who couldn’t love this little face.

That’s right, we got a kitten for Christmas. She is awesome. She is sweet, trained, playful, and hilarious. Who knew kittens were so funny. She gets really playful around 11:00pm when we usually go to bed. I swear Mark and I stayed up for many nights playing with her and laughing our heads off.

If a kid could love animals more than Abigail, I would be shocked. The girl seriously LOVES animals. After some thought, we knew a kitten would make her 3 year old dreams come true.

We named her Stormy. Everyone loves her.

It took a little while to teach Abigail how to “be soft”.

Emma and I seemed a little allergic to her at first, but I guess we got used to her because we are fine now. weird, but great.

One day, Abigail got sick and slept on the floor all afternoon with Stormy.

We are so glad we decided get Stormy. She’s part of our family now :)

PS. To those family members who are allergic to cats – we don’t want to offend you in any way. And we still want to have you visit. We will keep Stormy outside for a week before you come. She is going to be an outside cat soon anyway. So please still come see us!!

Snow Day

2011-01-05T09:23:00.001-07:00

Snow days are rare in St. George. We get one or two a year. So it is a very special treat when they come.

I love waking up, looking out the window to see everything covered in white. As soon as the kids got up I hurried them through breakfast and told them we must hurry so we can get out and play before the snow melts.

Snow Days are fun because everyone goes outside. Everyone. It’s fun to see the whole neighborhood outside. I’m not exactly sure why.

Gabe immediately started building a snowman. Emma and I finished it. That’s why it looks like a girl.

We made snow angels.

And had snowball fights. Snowballs to the face are not too much fun.

And Abigail ate snow for 3 hours.

The best thing about St George snow days? They only come once or twice a year :)

CHRISTMAS!!!

2011-01-03T20:17:00.001-07:00

I think I should rename my blog something like “catch-up” or “update” because lately that is all I seem to be doing it. One of my new year’s resolutions is to take more pictures and write more about our family adventures. But before I can do that, I must do a little catch up.

CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas was wonderful. We went to the temple on Christmas Eve to listen to the Christmas Story and look at the nativity. We also drove around looking at lights and singing Christmas Carols. Then we came home and watched A Muppet Christmas Carol. The kids went to bed well, and Mark and I got to work. We had to go collect our gifts we had been keeping at other people’s house. (A basketball hoop and a bike for Emma, and another special surprise!) I was so excited for Christmas morning. Being a parent is just as good as being a kid.

I totally scored on Craig’s List this year when getting gifts, and the small Christmas I was thinking of turned into one filled with great gifts. Despite all the great presents, the very best one that everyone loved was a new little kitten! We kept her in our bathroom on Christmas Eve. Emma woke up first, came in our room, and heard meowing. She thought it was Abigail (because Abigail pretends to be a cat 50% of her life). When she opened the door, the kitty surprised her and then she started yelling that there was a real cat in our house and wanted to know if we get to keep it. She woke up Abigail right away to tell her.

The kids are all old enough to really enjoy Christmas, and enjoy it they did! We all enjoyed the day opening gifts, and playing with them. It was very relaxing, Mark and I even got a nap in. That evening we went to my mom’s for a very yummy family dinner and opened some more gifts and played games. We missed the family we didn’t get to spend the day with, but it was so close to a perfect day.

Catch-Up!

2010-11-29T02:23:00.001-07:00

It’s been quite a while. I’m going to give a quick update on what’s been going on.

My dieting goal is not going so well, partly because of stupid Halloween, and I had a nice revelation to be a better mom and focus on things that really matter. Like my family. I really don’t want to go through life with regrets. Right now, I feel like I could do better. So I’m going to focus on some more important things than what size I am.

FALL. Our family has really enjoyed fall. We’ve loved going on bike rides and playing at the park. The weather has been so beautiful.

HALLOWEEN! was a blast. The kids loved it. We carved pumpkins and went trick or treating. Standard Halloween stuff.

GABRIEL finished up his soccer season. I was so impressed with him. He hustled and never whined . He did a great job!!

WORK has been great! I had my first closing last week, and that feels great. My client was very appreciative of my service and that makes me feel good.

THANKSGIVING was a 4 day non-stop party. We took no pictures at all. We were too busy having fun. Volleyball, basketball, racquetball, shopping at 4 am, eating, poker, more eating, golf, playing cards until 3 am, fun, fun, fun. My whole family was in St George except Dave and Michelle. It was a loud, exhausting, great time.

I was just called to be the Primary Secretary. I am really excited. It sounds like a perfect job for me. Mark got called to be a primary teacher. He is teaching Emma’s class and enjoys it.

I just got all my Christmas decorations up. It is so fun to pull them out! But I must say, they are very old (some I had when I was a kid), and our tree is on it’s last leg. But even so, I love the feelings they bring. I love this time to celebrate! I tried to get the shopping done and out of the way this year so I can focus on the true meaning of Christmas. I want my family to feel our Savior’s love this Christmas and celebrate him and the gift of the atonement He gives us.

Motivation please

2010-10-26T23:26:00.001-06:00

What happened to my awesomely motivating posts? Well, I wrote a good one and it didn’t get saved, and now it is lost forever. I just didn’t want to start it over again. Maybe tomorrow.

I lost 3 pounds the first week. Yay. But, I’ve had an awful couple of diet days. Now I am writing about it. Hopefully that will be enough motivation to continue on will this silly goal.

Sweet Dreams

2010-10-23T10:00:00.001-06:00

My name is Sara, and I am a candyholic. My last candy pumpkin was …. last night. not just one, but a lot. *shame*

I actually have a strong addiction to junk food. Mark and I were having an in-house date night. I wasn’t sure the movie would be enjoyable without candy. Can I just sit and watch a movie and not eat anything? I have yet to find out.

Also, what is it about the weekend that makes me think I’m having a party and therefore justified in eating junk food? I’m not that big of a party animal. I’m sure I can do it.

As with most things in life, it’s important to just keep trying. Just because you eat one pumpkin doesn’t mean you fail and now can eat the whole bag. And just because you had a bad night, doesn’t mean you should throw the weekend away and pig out for the next two days. No. Get back on the horse and keep trying. It is a new day with new possibilities, like breaking a horrid eating habit.

Horrid Eating Habit #2

Eating late at night.

The last three hours before bed is the hardest for me, It’s so important because you can actually lose weight while you’re sleeping, or wake up with a little more body fat depending on what and when you eat in the evening.

Your last meal should be 2-3 hours before you go to bed. You should feel a little hungry when you go to bed. It’s your body’s way of telling you your losing body fat. It’s best to avoid starchy carbs before bed, (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes).

Why it’s bad to eat before bed

1. Instead of dipping into your fat stores while you sleep, your body will use the food you just ate, and have lots left over because it uses minimal calories while you are sleeping. So it will store the rest. as fat. yay.

2. One nice thing your body does every time you eat is your metabolism increases slightly. You loose this benefit when you eat before bed because your body is preparing for sleep.

3. Eating high-glycemic carbs (pasta, potatoes, white rice, sugar, etc.) right before bed will spike your insulin levels and slows nighttime Human Growth Hormone production. That's very bad because about 80% of this fat-burning, muscle-building "super hormone" is released during sleep.

Don’t know a lot about HGH? Some effects are decreased body fat, increased muscle mass, increased bone density, increased energy levels, improved skin tone and texture, increased sexual function, and improved immune system function. That’s a nice hormone.

4. Eating a large meal before bed can disrupt your sleep. Fatty foods take a lot of work for your stomach to digest and may keep you up. Also be cautious when it comes to spicy or acidic foods in the evening, as they can cause stomach trouble and heartburn.

5.There are many benefits to eating breakfast (I’ll save for another day) When you eat late at night, usually you’re not hungry for breakfast and miss this important meal.

4.All this talk of avoiding carbs before bed reminds me how I like to “drink” the crumbs in the Pringles can, and then brush the rest off my pillow. Here’s a tip for those night carb lovers like me. If you have a carb craving before bed eat the high-fiber, low-glycemic kind. (apples, berries, peaches, plums, bran cereal, fresh vegetables, vegetable juice, etc.)

Tonight I am going to get some nice fat-burning sleep.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

2010-10-22T08:56:00.001-06:00

Dieting is such a s.l.o.w process. I want to see results right now. I usually push myself so hard those first few days because I want the process to go faster. Two pounds a week is good, but it hardly shows. It doesn’t feel like much. But, that little 2 pounds will add up. Slowly those pounds will come off if you just keep going. Soon it will be 6, then 8 and 10.

It’s been very difficult not to go out for a run. I’m itching to exercise, but I know I’ve got to get a handle on these horrid eating habits first.

Tip #2

Avoid these horrid eating habits

#1 Not paying attention to what or how much you are eating.

-Write it down!-

Do you know how fast I can go through a days worth of calories if I’m not paying attention to what I’m eating. FAST. A handful of candy corn on my way out the door, some chips when I go in the kitchen, a few twizzlers while I’m reading my book. They add up so fast. Before I know it I’ve eaten 2000 calories of junk. How do you pay attention? Write it down! If you can, just make a mental note, and keep a running total of your calories for the day in your head. At the very least, think about what you are eating. So many times I’ll eat without the slightest thought about what I just put in my mouth. Be aware so you can make good choices.

“Keeping a food diary can double a person's weight loss according to a study from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research.” – abc news.

Tips for using a Food Journal

-Use something that works for you. whether it’s a cute notebook, an app in your i phone, or scraps of paper you staple together, the important thing is to get the info down. So whatever makes it easy, do that. I would suggest something portable as we often eat on the go.

-Write as you go. Write each thing you eat just after you eat it. Don’t wait until the end of the day, it’s too hard to remember portion sizes, and those little snacks.

-Keep track of portion size. Writing “a bowl of cereal” or “a vanilla shake” could mean you ate 300 calories or 3000 calories depending on the portion size. I write down my very best estimate of calories.

-Don’t cheat. It’s tempting to not record the bad things I eat, but it makes it hard to track and record. If I write down that I ate a whole plateful of nachos at 11:00 at night, I can better learn and prepare for the next time I get the late night munchies. Plus it removes a little bit of the accountability factor if you cheat.

*Stay tuned for Horrid Eating Habit #2.

Big booty

2010-10-21T07:07:00.001-06:00

My daily thing:

I wake up in the morning, go to my closet, and look at my clothes. After a few minutes I have to admit, I only have one pair of pants that fit me. I used to love my “favorite” jeans. Now, the sight of them makes me sigh.

So I am officially on a diet. I am going to give myself a birthday present and it will be 15 pounds lost. 15 pounds in 8 weeks. I think I will blog about it. It might be boring, but it might be interesting. It might give me motivation. I’ll share some tips and tricks, and maybe it help the three people out there who read this blog. Probably not.

Tip #1.

If you have really bad eating habits, like me, I would suggest not exercising for a little while until you can break those. I love exercise, but it makes me really hungry. Which makes eating right even harder. For a week or two, just focus hard on getting the right calories, and not eating any sort of junk food. Break bad habits like eating in the evening, and eating sugary snack during the day.

Hopefully, when you add exercise to your day, your good eating habits will be established and you’ll be able to handle the extra calories lost and not stuff yourself with every last candy corn you can find.

Here’s to hoping!

St. George Marathon 2010

2010-10-11T23:57:00.001-06:00

What an experience. I’ve wanted to do a marathon for a couple years now. This year I signed up really wanting to do it. Unfortunately that desire didn’t translate so well into training. This summer was busy. I was sick quite a bit, we traveled a lot, and then school and work started. I kept thinking I’d do it eventually.

It’s embarrassing really. I didn’t train a lick. The most I ran all summer at one time was the 6.2 miles I did in the mud run. And that was in June.

Crazy. I know. What was I thinking?

I was thinking that my entry cost money I didn’t want to completely waste, I didn’t have anything else to do, and I wanted to see how far I could go.

Mark and I joked the week prior about the Marathon on Saturday. I told him there was absolutely no way I was going to finish, and I hoped I could make it half way.

After a terrible night’s sleep, I woke up at 3:45 to load the buses at 4:15. (why is it when you really need to go to sleep, you can’t – drives me crazy) I was hoping I wasn’t forgetting something really important that is just common knowledge to the typical marathoner.

I took my phone with me, and was so glad! I was able to text Mark the whole time. Since I had no clue how it was going to be, It was nice to give Mark updates. He was so encouraging too, It was almost like he was with me.

So I ran.

It was really nice until around mile 11. My calf started cramping really bad. Mile 14, my knee screamed at me. I texted Mark and told him I didn’t think I could keep going.

I’ve been congratulated a lot, and it reminds me of the Nephites in 3rd Nephi when they boasted in their own strength, when the Lord spared them. I don’t feel good about taking the credit, because I prayed quite a bit during this race, and I know that I was blessed.

By mile 16, my knee felt fine.

Mile 17 I got to chat with my sister Lisa, who was working at an aid station, and I had an energy boost.

Mile 18 my energy boost died. But I came so far, I just couldn’t stop. I would walk the rest of the way if I had to.

I walked and jogged on and off the rest of the way. My calves gave me the most trouble. I just focused on the next aid station where wonderful volunteers would rub Icy Hot on my sore muscles.

my dad, giving me water.

The last six miles, my feet really hurt. I curled up my toes to keep them from hitting the end of my shoe. I didn’t know what was going on with my feet, I just knew they hurt.

Even though it was painful, it was exhilarating too. Enjoyable even. I like this sort of thing. I like really hard workouts. I like to push myself.

The hardest part was the last 300 yards because I refused to walk. All my muscles screamed at me, but I finished with tears of pain and relief in my eyes. It took me 5 hours and 14 minutes.

The most enjoyable part was hugging Mark afterwards. He was encouraging and supportive at a distance and it felt so good to be with him again.

Now I can say I’ve done a Marathon, but I don’t feel like I really did it. I didn’t put in the training hours, and it was honestly a miracle I finished. It was a very spiritual experience which I am grateful for.

The recovery was hard. I was too tired to take care of myself afterwards, and I was so incredibly sore. I couldn’t walk normal for 3 days. My toenails were black, and have now fallen off. I feel great now though, and it’s all a memory. One I hope I never forget. I look forward to actually training and completing a marathon. I think it will be much more enjoyable and satisfying.

More Family Pictures

2010-10-06T22:57:00.001-06:00

This one would have been good except for the Emma’s face. My kids often pull crazy faces. It’s one reason we don’t have a lot of good family pictures.

Family Photos

2010-10-04T21:13:00.001-06:00

We got pictures taken a while back by the extremely talented Rachel DeVault. We took them in the middle of back to school, vacationing, and birthday craziness. Rachel did such a good job. There are so many good ones of the kids, but I wish we got more of our whole family. Next time.

Enjoy.

Rachel DeVault . http://rdlens.blogspot.com

My little ladybug turns 3

2010-10-03T21:55:00.001-06:00

Abigail LOVES bugs! She was very clear she wanted a ladybug birthday party. She talked about it for WEEKS and would even invite strangers to her party. She was so excited for it!

I was very crafty for Abigail’s third birthday. Partly because I started planning it too late to order anything, and St. George did not have a big supply of ladybug things.

I made ladybug headbands for the guests….

ladybug beanbags, and leaves for games…..

and my sister-in-law gave me her bug pan so I could make these cute little cakes.

The Guests. Cousins Beckam and Mia, and friend, Matayleigh.

When the friends came, and gave Abigail her present, she immediately opened them. She loved it.

Games. We played a dancing game, decorated bug boxes, went on a bug hunt, and played throw the ladybug on the leaf game.

Abigail wore her costume all day. Here we are at Gabe’s soccer game.

Later that night, Mark took Abigail out on a special Daddy-daughter date to Fiesta Fun. It wasn’t planned and she was already in her pj’s. She had So much fun with her dad. She loves getting prizes with her tickets.

Abigail has been an absolute joy since she was born. She’s easy- going and so funny. She’s so often happy. We’ve all loved having her in our home. She’s a sweetheart, and will make us feel better when we’re sad. She pretends to be a kitty cat 50% of the time. She’s a fantastic eater, whether it’s broccoli or Cafe Rio, she’ll love it. It seems like everything she does is cute or funny. When she’s sad, she’ll quickly find a little spot she can hide in and sulk. She is a little mischievous, but it comes from her curiosity. The other day she was trying to draw a happy face on herself.

We love her so much! Happy Birthday little bug.

I am now the mother of a 7 year old. What!?

2010-09-27T20:50:00.001-06:00

I am going to continue to do this every year. Freak out how old Emma is. Next year she’ll be baptized. Wow. I’m thinking of the journal we planned on giving her when she gets baptized filled with our thoughts and memories of her and hopes for the future etc. I think there’s 10 pages filled out. We better get to work on that.

This year Emma planned her whole party, which made it easy on me.

Mark and I surprised her by getting her ears pierced. She has been really wanting to get them pierced, but was terribly frightened when she realized what was about to happen. She started to cry and asked to say a prayer. She is such a sweet heart. We kept telling her she didn’t have to do it, but she mustered her bravery and did it.

Next, we let her choose the place to eat lunch. She very excitedly chose Subway.

After lunch it was time for her party to begin. There are so many girls in the neighborhood her age, and we didn’t want to leave anyone out, so there was a big group.

They played games…

had cake…. and then everyone got pedicures!

It was a fun birthday, and just what Emma wanted. She deserves it. She is an amazing girl, and we all Love her SOO much!

Relax-ation

2010-09-13T20:59:00.001-06:00

That’s what I call the past 10 days. A relax-ation. We left not knowing exactly when we’d return, and no real plans except for spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Ward, time in Lake Arrowhead, and a birthday dinner for Mark. We woke up each day wondering what we would feel like doing that day. Usually I’m not a big fan of vacations like these, but I embraced it and enjoyed it. My sister Lisa and her family joined us for the first few days while we went to the beach and lake Arrowhead.

Lisa and Ellie’s rockin’ sand castle, Mark still thinks it’s his.

I was amazed at Dane (7) and Beckam (3) for their bravery in the cold ocean water. They didn’t hesitate trying to boogie board and were doing it before we got our stuff set down.

This is one of my favorite pictures we took in CA.

This is what my kids did most of the time at the beach. Look for seashells. They were a little boring.

We had some fun in the sand

We saw dolphins!

Lisa and Ellie gettin’ crazy

Sunday we went to Santa Monica Pier to watch the crazy people.

Later on Sunday we headed up to the Lake. Lisa and Todd stayed until Tuesday morning. Mark and I were left all alone with no one to crew for us. I’m still crying a little for lack of wakeboarding.

I was able to talk Emma into trying knee boarding. She did great, but she did not like it at all.

Dane and Ellie

We were able to get in a great morning of wakeboarding before Todd and Lisa left. It was glorious!

There’s no pictures of Mark or I wakeboarding because one of us was always driving the boat. I drove the boat! I hated it. At one point there were two other boats with people in the water on either side of me and I didn’t know what to do so I just stopped. Mark was wakeboarding and was really patient. Anyone else would have been so irritated.

After Lisa and Todd left, we . . .

hung out on the boat . . .

played on the island . . .

Swam in the lake . . .

and went bridge jumping. Amy’s family said they did it, and we thought if they can do it, then we certainly can :)

I LOVE lake Arrowhead. It is one of my favorite places in the world. It’s beautiful, relaxing, and so fun. I could stay forever if we have at least 3 adults. (so we can wakeboard of course) Mark and I considered asking a strange man who kept lurking around the dock to crew for us, but decided against it. After two days of the lake with no wakeboarding, we headed back to Long Beach.

-We did lots of fun things in Long Beach with Grandma and Grandpa Ward, which we have no photos of. Activities included going to the nature center where we took a walk through thick trees, with THOUSANDS of huge spider webs. creepy and cool. There were also turtles, and a variety of caged poisonous bugs.

-We went to the animal shelter, which we all loved. Grandpa Ward had to drag us out of there.

-We played lots of speed scrabble.

-I taught Emma how to play Settler’s of Catan. and she won.

-We swam everyday in the pool.

-We took the kids on the city bus. This is something they’ve wanted to to for so long.

waiting for the bus

riding the city bus. I’m not sure if it was all they expected, but seemed to enjoy it.

-One afternoon we ate at the Soup Plantation and saw “Despicable Me”

-Mark and I gave the kids $5 each to spend at the Orange County swap meet, and they LOVED that. I picked up the swap meet essentials. Fake Gucci purse, fake Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, and fake Dior watch. check, check, and check.

-We got to hang out with some friends we’ve been missing.

We had so much fun having Grandma and Grandpa all to ourselves. After 10 days the kids still didn’t want to leave.

Thanks John and Sondra for a great time!

Randomness

2010-08-20T07:39:00.001-06:00

The other night Gabriel told me he didn’t like to brush and floss his teeth. I tried to explain how important it is and if we don’t brush our teeth, they will fall out. He got really excited and said Oh Good! If my teeth fall out I will get money!!!

oh dear

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One of my favorite things is when there is a fairly large mess somewhere in my house and I get it all picked up, I dust everything, and I’m left with a slightly dirty looking room because there are bits of things in the floor. You know, like little scraps of paper, bits of popcorn, a crayon tip, some aqua dots. I can’t help but feel excited to vacuum the floor and transform the room into perfection.

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I got to have a little girl time with some friends last night, and oh how I love it. I really need to try to be more social.

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I am loving life. My pace has really picked up since I started real estate. I feel like I am going going going all the time, but I can’t complain because I have three amazingly amazing kids, and the greatest husband I could ever wish for. Among a hundred other things. I am very blessed.

Back to studies, back to books.

2010-08-19T06:13:00.001-06:00

Because the kids have been so excited for school, they’ve made it a little easier on me to send them. Otherwise, I may have been a little bit of a basket case.

It was hard to get a good picture of Abigail when she kept making this face

We got a couple though

Some of the kids on the circle getting ready to leave for school. (This is only about half the kids on the circle)

These are odd moments as a parent. I want my kids to go to school and be happy, which they are, so why does it make me cry? Why is it so hard to see them grow up and become independent if that’s what I want for them? I really don’t want them to stay little forever. I should be really happy – which I am. Sort-of. Except for the knot in my chest and the water in my eyes.

I have a feeling I’m going to experience this emotional conflict many more times as they get older. :)

I’m going to miss you bud

A penny saved

2010-08-16T21:59:00.001-06:00

The ice cream truck frequently visits our street. It’s magical song can be heard from far away. It’s tempting treats have been hard on Emma this summer because she’s been saving for a camera. At first she wanted a cell phone, but we talked her out of that one. Finally, after months and months of saving, and days of searching the internet (hard to believe we got a Kodak 9.2 MP pink camera for $22 bucks) her camera was here. I’m very proud of her. Not many 6 year olds would have the patience for it. And what a good example to Gabriel who also has been wanting a camera, but just can’t resist buying candy with his money. She’s been snapping all sorts of pictures and I think she’ll be a great little photographer.

(These were all taken by Emma)

Emma’s Friends and Sisters: Mickelle and Allie

What’s going on?

2010-08-13T18:23:00.001-06:00

I was prepared to post about school starting and such, and realized I didn’t take any pictures of Emma on the first day of school. This says what the last week has been like. I’ve been very forgetful and busy. School started a week earlier this year, and I wasn’t ready for it.

Emma started 2nd Grade!!! For some reason this has

struck me as extremely old. I say this all the time, but my kids are growing up so fast!!! Emma’s teacher is two words,

AWE. SOME.

I asked the incredible teacher she had last year for a recommendation- something I will continue to do each year. Who better to recommend a new teacher than someone who knows your child and the other teachers so well. Emma’s new teacher is Mrs. Heath. I love her and not just because she has a candy bar name. She is organized and sweet. I’ve got a great feeling about her.

Gabriel will start kindergarten

on Wednesday. Maybe I’ll take pictures that day. His teacher is incredible too. I feel so relived and happy knowing they are at school for hours in great hands. Seriously SO HAPPY!

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Last week I picked a broker and have officially started Real Estate! I joined a fantastic team that has more years of experience than I’ve been alive. And I get to work with my Dad.

Don’t I look like someone who will do a fantastic job selling your home or finding your perfect new home? I will. I promise. So if you know of anyone looking to buy or sell, a referral is the best compliment I could receive. ;)

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Our last few weeks of summer were mostly fun-filled days of swimming. In St. George, you don’t have a lot of other options if you want to go outside. One day, we had a primary activity and we got a mock rain shower from a fire truck. It was a lot of fun.

Gabe’s favorite thing was driving the fire truck. He had a happy little smile on his face that makes me laugh.

Abigail just wanted me to push her is the swing the whole time. She didn’t even want to go see the truck.

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One random picture. Abigail insisted on brushing my teeth one night, and she loved it. She brushed them so long I think I can skip my next cleaning appointment.

2010-07-23T07:45:00.001-06:00

After reading my last post, I realized there are a lot of references to alcohol, so I would just like assure everyone that I’ve never had the tiniest bit of it nor am I planning on it any time soon. Now that you can stop worrying about how to get me to an AA meeting, I’ll tell you about our favorite thing.

Swimming! Ahhh, it the best way to beat the heat in this 107 degree weather. The kids and I have been going swimming most days this summer. They love it, I love it. It’s a win-win.

I’m a big kid now

2010-07-22T07:53:00.001-06:00

A couple weeks ago I was telling my brother-in-law a story about my family reunion. I told him about a ‘dare game’ that was played which resulted in some pretty freaky stuff. I said, “some of the adults were a little mad.” He laughed and asked me if I didn’t think I was an adult. Just to prove it, he asked ……..the question. How old am I? 27 I laughed too and pretended that I wasn’t shocked to realize that I was an adult. Not just a young barely able to drink adult. A REAL, full blown, almost 30 adult. When I was my cousins’ age, who I hung around with at reunion thinking I was the same as them, I remember thinking of people my age who were married with three kids as old and responsible.

So my bubble has been burst. I’m like an alcoholic who finally realizes and admits they’re an alcoholic. My name is Sara Ward, and I’m a real adult. I should probably start acting like one.

An alcoholic’s family and friends probably think it’s stupid they are finally admitting it because they’ve seen it so clearly for years. That is what this may seem to you. But I am serious that I have been walking around for two weeks in awe that I’m not young as I’d perceived. It’s been a real epiphany. (Thanks Spencer)

I have kids now who will remember things. So it’s probably a good time to put my childish ways behind me. No more eating candy until it comes out my eyes, no more staying up late playing Mario Kart, and no more cereal for dinner. I love cereal. Here’s to my new, old self.

It’s 3:25 am.

2010-07-15T03:26:00.001-06:00

It’s been three days.

I counted. twice.

It’s felt like 3 weeks.

Three days of stomach and back pain, headaches, nausea, more nausea. A kidney stone, that seemed to pass and leave me with a different kind of stomach pain, and nausea. I probably have the stomach flu.

When did I turn into such a baby?

I seriously can not function. The laundry is piling up, the dust bunnies are coming out. My exercise goals are growing fainter and fainter. The lawn needs to be mowed so bad. My poor children have entertained themselves with video games and movies for much too long. It’s only been 3 days.

Am I whining? I guess so.

What a baby.

Johnsen Family Reunion!!

2010-07-11T22:08:00.001-06:00

This reunion was not just your average run-of-the-mill get-together. Growing up, the highlight of my summer was going to Idaho and hiking with my aunts, running around the lodge with my cousins, and begging my uncles to let me play softball with them. I spent my nights playing boogieman and trying not to pee my pants as I hid and then later got shuffled around like cattle from jail to jail. I have good memories of my Grandparents who played card games with me, and taught me not to be a baby when I get stung ten times by wasps.

I got to relive those memories this past weekend, and I experienced them again in a completely new and sometimes wonderful way.

Things that have changed:

1. I’m a top dog. No longer the baby who cries because no one will let her play. I don’t mean to sound conceded, but I’ve waited a long time to be a serious competitor in family games and serious competitor I was. (Winning’s my favorite :)

2. I got to be a boogieman, and a good one who bosses the kids around and makes them be quiet, and pushes them back into the dark little corner where they have to hide. he he. Loved that.

3. I have kids now. Kids who instantly make friends with their new extended family. Kids who constantly interrupt my activities, but some times I don’t see for a while. And later I find out they’ve made a cool fort or tried climbing the lodge. I have kids to show the importance of family, heritage, and legacy to.

4. My grandparents weren’t there. This was the most obvious change. It was strange without them. It always felt like there was something missing. Like we were all a bunch of kids with no parents. It was nice to share stories, and have time to remember them. They left us a lot, and it’s good to remember that. Here’s some of my favorite pics

Aunt Sheila running the torch to begin the Olympics.

The adult relay race during the Olympics. The games got quite competitive, and everyone was accused of cheating at least once, but it was a good time .

Mark and I took our kids on a hike that was beautiful.

Emma enjoyed reading by the river in the morning.

Our family talent show showcased a lot of great talent

After the talent show, we had a dance party

I loved seeing the family bond, and watching the new friendships that were created.

The best part was visiting my grandparents grave and hearing stories and testimonies from family.

We all had a great time. I’m thankful to be a part of such an awesome family!!

Dirty Fun

2010-06-27T21:50:00.001-06:00

We didn’t want to bring our camera anywhere near the mud run. It is new and wonderful after all. I couldn’t stand to see mud on it. So unfortunately we don’t have a lot of pics. Next year, I will bring a disposable water proof one with me and snap pictures the whole way.

In this picture we are not even very dirty because we already got washed off in the lake. Lame, I know.

As I said, we got to Camp Pendleton early and waited for about 3 hours to race. But the crowd was fun and we were with friends so the time went by fast. Tom and Krista Jones, and Krista’s sister, Lindsay raced on our team.

The run was 6.5 miles. We went through rivers, up some very steep hills, swam across a lake, sloshed through mud pits, climbed over walls, and crawled through tunnels. All while being yelled at by Marines (mostly encouragingly).

It was awesome!

The hills were hard.

Running with soaking wet shoes filled with sand was hard.

It’s difficult to explain why it was so fun to those of you who hate to run. Like any race, it’s fun because I get to compete. I get to push myself really hard. I don’t get to do that often and it just feels goooood.

The mud run is so much better than the average race because you get to do stuff that you dreamed of when you were a kid. I say dreamed because my mom NEVER actually let me play in mud.

“It’s where a military boot camp meets your inner five-year-old’s fantasy”

After the run we were all pumped to do another race. Tom, Krista, Mark and I all committed and are excited to do the Kokopelli triathlon in September. Although I want to do well in the tri, my big race goal this year is to do the St. George marathon. I’ve studied and came up with a training schedule that should help me with both races. So as Mark and I go into more intense training, I plan on writing about my goals and things here. Because it helps me stay motivated and keeps me accountable. So, thanks for that. And get ready for some fun!

PS. If this post makes you want to make a mud pit in your backyard and roll around it it, consider doing the dirty dash www.thedirtydash.com. It’s in Utah this September!

SUMMER VAY-KAY! WAHOO!

2010-06-22T08:49:00.001-06:00

Our beautifully planned vacation started off on the wrong foot when we decided to not go to lake Arrowhead (our favorite place) because –even though we LOVE it, we love it so much less if there is no boat. And there was no boat. So we skipped that and left on Wednesday for Long Beach to visit the beloved Grandparents.

We took Gunnar (little bro.) and Ellie (big niece) –not big, just the oldest. I thought Gunnar could use a vacation and we brought Ellie to hang out with Gunnar incase we wanted to ditch him. :)

Wednesday was a nice day hanging out in the pool. Gunnar, Ellie and I did some shopping, and then we were tired (because we left St. George at 7 am sharp) so we crashed.

Thursday, we left Gunnar (because he had to work, work, work) and fed the bunnies – which was not nearly as exciting as last time because there wasn’t very many. Then we fed the ducks. This was fun because we got to watch Ellie get chased by a really big goose. She screamed and ran to the car, and we all laughed a lot.

Then we headed to the beach. I thought it was quite chilly and didn’t get in the water like everyone else, and then regretted it later. (we don’t get to go to the ocean everyday after all.)

(Abigail would not look at me for pictures, so this is how they all looked of her)

After the beach we did more swimming in the pool. And then, after putting the kids to sleep, Gunnar, Mark, Ellie and I went to see The Karate Kid. I liked it. I want to take Emma, because she really loves Karate. She wants to learn Karate so bad, but I said no, because I think there are lots of better activities she could do before Karate.

Friday we spent the day at Knott’s Berry Farm. It was really crowded with middle school field trips, and waiting in line was not fun. But the rides were so fun that it was worth waiting in line. It was an exhausting day though. We stayed until it closed and headed to San Diego. We got there very late, and sweet Amy had all our beds ready. Thanks again Amy! Everyone was asleep before their heads hit their pillows. Mark and I were very much dreading having to wake up at 5:00 to go to the Mud Run.

5:00 came very fast. Once I was up and dressed, and on our way, I was excited. The crowd at Camp Pendleton was big and energizing. I’ll write a detailed post about the Mud Run, but I am so glad we went because I had SO much fun! It was my favorite part of the vacation.

We went back to Spencer and Amy’s to get the kids, Gunnar, and Ellie. The kids didn’t want to leave but we made them get in the car so we could go to the beach one more time, and head back up to Long Beach. After the beach, we swam some more, and tried to watch the old Karate Kid, but everyone fell asleep before it was over. Most of us within 10 min. of the start. We had been playing hard.

Sunday we celebrated father’s day as we got ready for church, and then headed home. We loved visiting family. That’s usually the best part of our trips to California. It was so good to see Grandma and Grandpa, Joel, Spencer, Amy, Karl, Rachel, and kids. Emma had big tears in her eyes as we left Grandma at church. She said, “I’m going to miss her so much again.”

One of a Kind Girl.

2010-06-12T00:32:00.001-06:00

Emma is such a special girl. She has been pleasantly surprising me from the time the doctor told me I was having a girl. Like how I was expecting a bald, kind-of weird looking baby (because that’s what I looked like) and she came out with a full head of dark hair and just as beautiful as can be.

Or how I was so worried she wouldn’t get along with her brother, and she loves him so sweetly.

She is sensitive, in a good way. She really hates yelling, teasing, and people acting stupid (like I do sometimes because I think it’s funny). She is thoughtful. From a very young age she would really think about things she didn’t understand. She loves to learn, and find out new things. One thing she said she wanted to do this summer is find out how a TV works. And she wants to learn Spanish. She is responsible, sometimes more than I am. She brushes, flosses, and uses mouthwash two times a day. I don’t even tell her to do this. She reminds me to put my seatbelt on, and what the speed limit is One time she refused a brownie because she said she was full and didn’t want to get a tummy ache. I have yet to learn this logic. If she’s sick, she’ll ask for vegetables so she can get better. If I’m sick, she’ll bring me drinks and a blanket. She’ll read to me if I want. She is a great caregiver.

Emma pretty much loves anything. Dance, gymnastics, basketball, choir, cheerleading, science, reading, softball, etc. She is patient and tenderhearted. I learn a lot from her. She is a joy.

Emma LOVED her first grade teacher, Mrs. Webb. LOVED HER. Because of that I loved Mrs. Webb too. She was amazing. Hooray for great teachers!

She received the radiant roadrunner award at school.

She’s been playing softball this spring and loves it.

She loves to ride her bike to school.

She makes friends easily. She is the very youngest in her class and found out this year she is the smallest.

She is just a good girl. She reads her scriptures and tries so hard to be good. She makes Mark and I look good as parents. In fact, I thought parenting was pretty simple before I had Gabriel. And I realized I just had a really good kid.

Oh, Emma loves to wrestle. I’m trying to think of something she doesn’t love. *thinking….. she does not like the dark. That’s all I got.

She is seriously the best sister Abigail and Gabe could have asked for.

We love her so much!!!

My week as a troll

2010-06-08T21:58:00.001-06:00

There have been some requests for my story of what happened last week. Okay, there was one request. But I know everyone else is dying to know.

Memorial Day was amazing. The short version: Running, Mountain Biking, Swimming, Volleyball, Family, Cafe Rio.

A. MAY. ZING.

Because of all the busy-ness and my habit to procrastinate. I had BIG plans to wake up early, skip my run, and work on lesson plans, and routines for my kids this summer. I didn’t want them to have one day to play video games and other nonsense and think that is what to expect this summer. Because I had big plans.

5:00 AM: “Bella’s Lullaby” flows nicely in my ears. (that’s my alarm clock song right now.) I tried to open my eyes. OUCH! PAIN!

I can’t. so I keep them close and fall back asleep.

5:30 AM: same thing.

6:00 AM: again. you get the idea.

At about 8:00, It’s just too late to sleep anymore. Dang it. I didn’t get up and plan. My whole summer is ruined. But wait, there is something worse than that. I can’t open my eyes.

I tried to open them very slowly. no. that hurts. Come on, Sara, slowly. After about 30 minutes of this, I get them open. I go to the bathroom to see what it wrong with them, but the light is excruciating. I can’t take it.

I must have an eye infection. It will be better soon.

I squint my way down the hall and check on the kids. They are all huddled around the computer playing a very educational game, but I still don’t like it. What is worse is that one glance at the screen makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry. I then proceed to Mark’s office and do that.

The longer I was awake the more used to the light I got. So we all got ready for swim lessons. It’s only a 5 minute drive, but I was so lucky I got there safely with all the squinting, and watery eyes, and blinking. That was stupid. It was chaos getting the kids to their classes. At least it felt like it because I couldn’t see. I got the help of a lifeguard, and squinted just enough to be able to walk. I felt Stupid. I finally sat down, put my hands over my eyes and created a little hole to watch Abigail from. I know. It must have looked so weird, but it felt so good. About then, I realized that I should not be there. As soon as I got home, I went to Mark’s office, laid down, and put my arm over my eyes for at least half an hour - maybe an hour.

BIG MISTAKE.

I literally could not open my eyes after that. It hurt so bad. Keeping my eyes closed, I felt my way downstairs to get Abigail a bottle. And then I cried. Emma always says that grown ups don’t cry because she never sees us cry. Well, she saw me that day. A lot. After a prayer, it took me 30 minutes or more to open them. I should have been worried at this point, but for some reason, I still thought it was an eye infection that would pass. I wanted to call the doctor, but I wasn’t sure who to call, I couldn’t drive, and it just seemed hard.

After a couple hours of getting used to light again, (and by light I mean a house with no lights on and all the blinds closed) My mom called. “how are you doing Sara?” “Oh, horrible.” I said.

She told me to call the doctor. RIGHT AWAY!!!

Mothers are a blessing.

My little brother, Gunnar, drove me to the eye doctor. Even though he had lots of work to do. He waited while I got my prescription eye drops.

Gunnar is a blessing.

So, what was the matter with my eyes? I had two ulcers on my cornea. Just on one eye. I’m not sure why they were both hurting so bad, maybe one had sympathy pains for the other. Corneal ulcers are not a huge deal, but it not treated, they can cause blindness. So thanks goodness for my mom who is so wise and sent me to the doctor.

The next four days consisted of living in a dark house, having my own chauffeur, putting eye drops in every hour, seeing the eye doctor every day, being incredibly tired and doing lots of schoolwork with the kids. (I love schoolwork). I also created a great schedule and charts and things for this summer. (I love charts)

I know there are thousands of things I don’t think about and appreciate. Sight was one of them. Probably because it’s so obvious. Of course sight is great, la de da. But Imagine living without it.

It’s AMAZING!!, and I hope I will think more often about the great joys in my life and give thanks.

Random Friday

2010-05-21T17:37:00.002-06:00

So I want to write a post, but I have nothing to write about. I could write about Gabriel graduating from preschool, or something about my political experiences of late, perhaps the weather that is so beautiful. Mark and I have a great new calling teaching Sunday school to 15 year olds. They are such a nice, quiet bunch.

*******************************************************************

I was at the 'What Women Want' show helping my friend Krista with her gorgeous bows. www.sweetabigailhairbows.com I was walking around shopping and sampling. A girl asked me if I wanted to try her lash extender, I said, "sure", She worked her magic, and my eyelash looked great. I waited for her to do the other side, and finally asked her. "Sorry," she said, "you have to buy my $35 stuff to stop looking like a freak with lopsided eyelashes." Nice.

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I miss my old ward. Not to say my new ward/neighborhood isn't great, but I miss my old one. I miss the outings, the mother's lunches, the immediate friendships, and most of all, the basketball. Oh how I miss the basketball. In a purely basketball sense, I will look back at my time in Jordan Willows and remember how I had it great for a while.

********************************************************************

I asked Abiagil what she wants for her birthday, and she said, "spider"
"A spider?" I asked
"Big Spider." she said
"uhh, like in a cage?" I said trying to act like this was a perfectly normal conversation.
"yeah, love spider."

great. I have a 2 year old girl who apparently loves spiders. I will have to dedicate a whole post to this subject, but I can say this, there is seriously no way I am going to buy a spider for my little girl. no way.

Treasure Hunting

2010-05-08T09:41:00.001-06:00

Sara is gone to the Republican Convention this weekend, leaving me and the kids to get into all sorts of trouble.

I discovered recently that my sister, Julie, is into geocaching. For those of you unfamiliar with the “sport,” you go to www.geocaching.com, or another similar site and load locations into your Global Positioning System (GPS) (if you struggle with the word ‘geocaching,’ you may call it ‘Treasure Hunting’). I was shocked how many there are in our area. I’ve since learned that Southern Utah is a hot spot for this.

Once you’ve loaded a few coordinates on your GPS, you go hunting!

Sometimes, it is just a matter of getting out of the car or taking a walk on a nice path.

And then there are the places that you probably shouldn’t take your kids to.

But, with Mom out of town, my voice of caution was also unavailable for the day…

Okay, so it is not as dangerous as it looks. Like the kids, I enjoy pretending I am Indiana Jones searching for the Holy Grail—okay, perhaps that’s just me.

Often times, the hunt will take you to beautiful locations.

Once you arrive at your location, you have to search for a container. Usually, it is small—the size of a film canister or a tube of toothpaste. But, some of the treasures are larger and allow you to trade your toys or trinkets.

Occasionally, you will leave empty-handed. But, just looking is fun, and you can always go back to the same location for a second chance.

If you haven’t tried this sport, I highly recommend it. Especially if you have children. Don’t have a GPS? Borrow mine. Or, if you’re spoiled enough to have a smart phone, you probably have a better GPS than most.

We miss Mom, but we are surviving.

If you’re reading this Sara, I want you to know that everyone is okay. Don’t worry about us. The local sheriff assured me they would find Abigail before nightfall…

Easter

2010-04-26T21:21:00.001-06:00

At the end of our little circle is a house that has been empty for a while. It’s very overgrown, and makes a great place to have an Easter egg hunt. Which we did as a neighborhood.

As soon as it was over, my kids enjoyed their loot right in the middle of the street.

Saturday, we searched for a school or a park to have a family egg hunt at, but had no luck because everything was too crowded. So we ended up in a deserty area. There were pricklies and a little barb wire, but it just made it more challenging.

I was so happy that Dave, Chandler and Marcus were able to come. We had fun with almost everyone on the Gabrielson side except Chris and JJ’s fam. We had some great games of Dominion until the wee hours of the morning. Got in some basketball, and a little time in the batting cage. We even snuck a little conference in there. It was a great weekend.

Give me 5!

2010-04-22T20:24:00.001-06:00

Gabe turned five during the moving craziness. I have never spent less time planning for a party. It was amazing. and wonderful. I am still marveling at all the time saved.

We decorated our empty living room with streamers and a sign (it’s become a family tradition).

At Gabe’s school, he got walk around the sun with the earth 5 times to represent 5 years. And of course pass out treats.

We had a party a Nana’s where we did presents and cake. Earlier that day I went to the store and let Gabe pick out his own cake. It was Pirates of the Caribbean if you can’t tell. While Gabe was at school, I got him his present. A new bike! Gabe’s guest was his cousin Dane. We all love Dane because he’s so funny. Then we headed to Jump on It, and had a BLAST. We love Jump on It, including Mark and I. We run all over the place, and I usually am just dripping with sweat by the time we leave. I was capturing the kids in my dungeon. It was fun. It was a pretty fun birthday! I’m so glad Gabe has made it to five. Gabe can be such a refreshing joy. I’m so glad I have my little guy to snuggle with and play video games with. This birthday seemed big to me because he’s no longer a toddler. He’s a kid now. A boy. Happy Birthday Dude!

What a month!

2010-04-20T23:38:00.001-06:00

I have been putting off writing a post because there is so much.

We are finally moved and settled into our house. I LOVE IT!!! It is a darling little house with a very practical yet fun floor plan. (I’m all about the floor plan) It took a few weeks of work before we moved in to get it ready. Mark and I took out the flooring in the kitchen, living, room, laundry room, and hall. We laid down laminate wood floors. We had to do quite a lot of painting, and the yard work was crazy. Thankfully our parents did most of the yard work. Thanks again wonderful parents! They helped so much. It was a lot of work, but we enjoyed learning new things, and Mark likes to do physical work. (I could have lived with hiring someone.)

The neighborhood is awesome. We live of the corner of a cul-de-sac and there are 35+ kids on the circle. Emma, Gabe and Abigail has lots of friends to play with.

Mark is supposed to be studying for the CFA exam in June, but has not been able to stop working on the house. I’m not much help when it comes to helping him studying, because I love to work on the house too. He won a volleyball tournament with Bob last weekend, and continues to work hard at his job. Thanks sweetie :)

We celebrated our 8th year anniversary by going (what else) snowboarding. It was soooooooooooooooooo fun. Thanks for Sondra and Aunt Linda for babysitting for us. It was a great day. I landed 4 beautiful 360s. :)(the self-portrait snowboarding picture. we have so many of these. It’s funny. )

I got my real estate license before we moved, and have been so busy I haven’t been able to do any work yet, but I look forward to it.

Emma is still loving her school. She recently sang in the school choir, and performed many times including once at Tuachaun. She loved it. She continues to do so well in school, and at home. She is so sweet and mature. I love the way her brain works. She is very curious and asks a lot of questions lately. She says she just wants to know everything.

Gabriel has discovered video games, and wants to play them non stop. When he’s not playing them, he is acting them out. “Okay mom, your are on the blue team. Do you want a sniper rifle or a rocket launcher? Let’s go throw grenades at Dad.” Yeah…. after a long talk about how real guns hurt and we shouldn’t pretend to kill people, he only plays Mario Kart and Sonic now. When he is not doing that, he is playing with Abigail, going to school, gymnastics, or riding his bike around with his friends. He continues to be such a great listener. I love that I only have to tell him to do something once (most of the time) He has also taken on more responsibilities at home by cleaning the toilet and setting the table everyday. He also is a big help with Abigail.

Abigail just had a big day of Potty Training. She did awesome. I have a system, which I got all ready. Mark was taking Gabe and Emma away, and before they even left, she went poo-poo and pee-pee all by herself. I was kind-of like, “well, now what should we do?” She loves her Dora underwear. Abigail is getting so big. She wants to be just like her brother and sister. She wants to have friends over because they do, she wants to play video games because they do etc. I’m glad she has such good examples to follow. Emma said she’s not a baby anymore because she talks and walks and doesn’t wear diapers anymore. It made me so sad because she’s really isn’t a baby anymore. She is one awesome kid though and I love to experience her grow.

I was thinking today how blessed I am, If I could have any life situation I wanted, I wouldn’t ask for anything different. What a great feeling! That’s not to say there is nothing I wish to change about myself, because I have lifetimes of improvements that need to me made, but I love the Gospel, my husband, children, country, family and home so much. I really don’t deserve it all, but I am so grateful I have it.

Boardin’

2010-03-11T21:34:00.001-07:00

Mark and I are on the most amazing vacation ever. It all started a few months ago when Mark won a sales competition at work. The prize was a trip to New York to see the New York Stock exchange. While that sounded fun, it didn't sound like the most fun ever. So Mark did a little switch-a-roo, and here we are. In Paradise. Besides being so sore I can't walk without moaning a little, and not being able to extend my right arm all the way, it has been perfect. Well, if I had learned how to do a 360 then it would have been perfect. But I’ve still got tomorrow.

It’s so comforting to know that our kids are being taken care of so well. Even, though Gabe received 4 stitches on his forehead yesterday, he and Emma and Abigail are having so much fun. Emma told me yesterday, “I miss you Mom, but I’m having so much fun.” I told her the same thing. :)

Don't Sweat it?

2010-02-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have this outfit. I am kidding myself to call it an outfit. Let’s rephrase, I have these clothes. It makes me happy to put them on because they are so comfy. I wear them at least once a week and not just in the house. Out there. In public.

They’re Sweats! okay. I admit it. I love to wear my sweats. A part of me thinks they are cute. They are not grungy sweats. They’re nice sweats. What am I saying? Nice sweats?! It reminds me of the time I started wearing tennis shoes in public. And not just to the gym. All over in public. They were just so comfortable. And I didn’t slip all over the snow in them like I did with my heely-type boots. They made it so easy to walk around. But, they were brown, cute tennis shoes. Not yucky ones. See what I mean? What is happening to me?!

Maybe this is a good thing. A constant struggle and area of improvement I have is worldliness. It is so hard for me not to focus on the beautiful things of the world like furniture, clothes, and sports equipment. It’s hard to quiet the little voice in my head that says, “I want, I want. I need, I need.”

So I am going to take this new preference for comfort over fashion as a sign of improvement, and embrace it. Hopefully it’s a little notch down from caring about clothes and appearances so much. Who cares if someone sees me wearing my wonderfully comfortable sweats or worse, my sweats with a messy ponytail *gasp*.

Buzz….buzz...buzz..

2010-01-29T17:25:00.004-07:00

I decided to take a break from my busyness to write about my busyness. We are supposed to close on our house soon. (Feb. 1) But there is a problem with the title of the home and the title company is trying to resolve it. So for now, the closing is up in the air. I have hopes it will get worked out soon - because that’s about all I can do. There have been so many more requirements and documents needed this time around, I have been printing, scanning, faxing, signing, emailing, running to the bank, and running to the broker a lot. I am kind-of sick of that. When I am not cleaning, cooking, teaching Gabe how to read, playing with Abigail, running Emma to school, dance, or basketball, helping out in Gabe’s class, doing projects for our family reunion in July etc etc……. I am studying for my real estate test. I hope to take it in two weeks! Yea! I’m excited to start my real estate career. I have been really enjoying studying for the test. I just wish I had a little more time to do it. I’m trying to stop wishing for things that are out of my control, but I still have such a strong desire to be a person who doesn’t need to sleep. Oh, the thought of the things I could get done!

This was Emma’s school picture this year. She had on a really cute sweater with buttons, but Emma thinks sweaters are to be worn like coats and she took it off. But she’s cute anyway.

I switched Emma over to her new school already because she was not enjoying her class at Arrowhead. I am happy to say that her teacher is great and she loves her new school! Happy Day! I just have to drive her every day until we move and then she can walk. She has been enjoying basketball, ballet, and gymnastics. She is still a little smarty pants. Mark and I have been teaching her multiplication and she’s got it down pretty good.

Gabriel has been doing puzzles like crazy. He does puzzles every day. They range from 24 to 150 pieces. He loves it. Today, I asked him if I could do the border, and he said, “um, no thanks.” He also enjoys preschool, and he is learning to read. He is doing great, and is reading simple books on his own. He still has a hard time eating anything different or nutritious, but he is healthy and happy (unless we try to get him to eat something he doesn’t want to. Then he is very sad.) He is my good listener, and has been such a great helper lately. Gabe also has been playing basketball and is a great dribbler!

Abigail is our crazy girl. She is talking much better now. Sometimes when she’s upset, she starts talking fast and whinny, and it sounds like words, but is totally incoherent. It’s so funny. She loves to dress up and is seen in a princess dress quite a lot. I let her go out in public in her dresses because she likes it, and I don’t want to fight her to take it off and it’s cute. It is one of those things I never let Emma do, but I have no idea why because now it seems perfectly fine. I hope my parenting is not getting too lazy. She hangs out with me all day, and loves to copy whatever I’m doing or saying. She is generally in a good mood, and can always make me smile with one of her big smiles, which she gives often. She is a sweetheart and growing up so fast. Mark and I just love her to death.

That’s pretty much what I am up to. I feel like I am going going going all day. It’s so hard to do everything I want to without feeling like I’ve neglected something else. But I just keep trying.

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.”

2010-01-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

Phew! I think I am done with the holiday posts. On to the here and now. Our most exciting news is . . . we are buying a house! Yay. I am so excited! I can't wait to use my own dishes and furniture, and to have a little more space. I feel like we have been in a wierd transition period that has gone on for so long. It will be so nice to be settled in a ward, and a neighborhood with the understanding that we will be there for a while. I feel bad Emma has to change schools - again. Poor kid, but she has adjusted well so far.

It will be an adjustment living on our own again. There are many great things about living here with my parents. We put the kids to bed and have babysitters almost anytime. This has been great for Mark and I. We've been able to play volleyball and go on dates together a lot. It's just easier with 4 adults in the house. We share cooking and cleaning responsibilities, help each other out in a bind, pick stuff up at the store for one another, and there is always someone to talk to. I remember the days when I didn't talk to another adult the whole day. I hope I make friends fast because I'm worried I will be a little lonesome. The kids are going to have a rough transition too. They've had 4 adults to care for them and love them all the time. They've been able to get their needs and wants meet much easier here.

I'm so grateful my parents have opened their home to us. It was so important for us. We have been spoiled because they take any opportunity to help us. I get asked everyday, "What can I do for you today Sara?" My mom cooks dinner for us all the time, and my dad will drop anything to help me fix a flat tire on my bike (just some examples). Hopefully, I have learned from their generosity and service, and I will take it with me.

I am a little scared and excited to move. It will be a new chapter in our lives.

winter wonderland

2010-01-10T16:48:00.001-07:00

Uncle Brian showing everyone a good time, as usual.

It’s no secret I love playing in the snow. Mostly snowboarding, but sledding is pretty good too. I may have passed this excitement on because for some reason, Gabriel was so excited to go sledding in Idaho. We got to the cabin at about 8:00 at night, and as soon as we announced we were here, Gabe yelled, “Can we go sledding now?” Mark and I laughed and said, “Gabe, look at it outside. It is pitch black. Do you really want to go sledding now?” and he yelled, “Yeah!”

I went sledding three times while we were there and it was fun. Although Gabriel and Emma didn’t have as much fun as me. Even Abigail wasn’t a huge fan. Gabe enjoyed it for a little while until he got cold and would go wait in the car. Emma sat around for a while until I forced her to go down and then she slowly warmed up to it and was enjoying it by the end.

Abigail insisted on carrying her own sled up the hill.

Mark’s idea of sledding. I like it. :)

Emma was not excited to go down. But that’s how they learn to have fun. You make them. Shelby, Riley, Aaron (above) Kayla and Kenzi (below) Riley and Brian were crazy.

Dave and Hannah

Chris was in charge of Shelby one sledding trip, and they had fun cruising down the hill.

Ahhh Snow. I love to play in it. Hate to live in it.

CHRISTMAS!!!

2010-01-08T12:18:00.001-07:00

The kids in their Christmas Eve Jammies.

Christmas was so fun this year. We spent it at our family lodge in Victor Idaho. The lodge is 2 stories, with a big open sleeping area on the second floor. There were 11 adults and 12 kids. The kids had a blast running around with their cousins. There are four holes in the floor of the upstairs, to let heat up and those holes entertained them for such a long time. We went sledding a few times and spent a lot of time playing in the snow. We’d usually play some games in the evening when the kids went to bed, and then I’d stay up watching a movie after the first round of adults went to bed. I was a wee bit tired, but held myself together fine. It was a very relaxing trip with nice lazy days.

Cute Cousins

The womenfolk hot-gluing gingerbread houses for us to decorate.

The Bachelors

We decided to just do stockings this year, but with our humongous stocking, and they were all overflowing, we had plenty to open.

If you can tell, this is Gabe dragging his stocking.

The kids got one present under the tree. My kids all got roller skates which were a huge hit. They skated all over the lodge which was a great setting for learning.

Abigail was the last one wake up Christmas morning.

We finally woke her up

But she spent most of the morning cuddling with Dad.

Overall, it was an awesome Christmas. There is something special about the lodge and being in close quarters all together. There’s fewer distractions and it’s just rustic and cozy. I love the lodge and I hope we don’t wait too long before we have Christmas there again. But what really made Christmas great was the family. I am so blessed to belong to a wonderful family who loves each other, and can share two bathrooms together for 5 days. :)

December

2010-01-06T10:22:00.001-07:00

December was a full month. After returning from Thanksgiving, we headed to California the following Monday. We wanted to spend some time with Mark’s parents and we were able to visit Tom and Krista and Amy and Spencer. It was a fun trip which we posted on Mark’s parent’s blog here.

When we got back, we were busy with shopping, wrapping, decorating, school parties, and lots of Christmas fun. One magical day it snowed, and the kids immediately put snow clothes on to go play. It’s a good thing because it melted pretty quick.

This is what I call a St. George snow angel.

Abigail loved to eat the snow. She just kept shoveling it in.

Snow is so fun!

Thanksgiving 2009

2010-01-05T21:20:00.001-07:00

It’s been so long since I’ve posted, I’m not sure where to start. Do I try to post from Thanksgiving, or just skip it and start fresh? What to do, what to do.

Well, I would like a little something to remind me what happened over the holidays this year so I guess I’ll get posting. Here goes Thanksgiving.

We went “up north” as I call it, for thanksgiving, but we left early to attend my cousin Maggie’s wedding. This was a special occasion because I have not seen my aunts, uncles, and cousins in so long. We used to spend time together frequently, but since my Grandma and Grandpa died, we have not gotten together. I love my extended family, and we all had a lot of fun. I didn’t get a lot of pictures of the family, but I did get a lot of the kids doing what they did all night. DANCING. They loved the dancing. Abigail spun in circles for a straight 45 minutes.

Emma- dancing with her cousin, Shelby.

Dane is an amzing dancer and he taught Gabe some moves. Emma learned the Macarena. It brought back 7th grade flashbacks. Scary.

The ceremony was beautiful and so was Maggie. With so many brothers and sisters, and cousins, I went to weddings all the time as a kid, but this was my kids first. I’m so glad we were able to go.

The real Thanksgiving A day and a half later, we spent Thanksgiving at Brian’s apartment complex clubhouse with most of the extended family again. Mark and I got a game of basketball in with Gunnar, JJ, Brian, and Chris. It is a lot of fun to beat my brothers at basketball. It was good food, and a good time.

Abigail and Chloe found their own spot to play

I’ve been busy

2009-12-12T01:31:00.001-07:00

I haven’t posted in a while. It’s this time of year I guess. I love love love this time of year though. It’s snowing outside. I love the snow. I don’t necessarily love living in it, shoveling it, trudging through it etc. But I love to watch it come down from inside my warm house and know that it will be gone by the morning, or a few days at the most. We returned our brand new camera to take advantage of an offer for a free zoom lens. We just have to wait for our new baby to come. (the new camera)

We went up north for my cousin Maggie’s wedding and a couple days later, Thanksgiving. It was wonderful. Two days after we got back, we left for California to visit friends and family. If you’d like to read a little about our time in CA, you can here.

In a week, we are leaving to go to a family lodge in Victor, Idaho for Christmas. I am so excited. It’s going to be a blast. From spending summers there as a kid and having so many milestones there, Idaho has a special place in my heart. Idaho was my first home when I “grew up”. I became a wife and a mother in Idaho.

I know I’m rambling a bit, probably a result of the hour (1:30 am). But it is officially my birthday. 27. I’m so blessed to have Mark and three amazing kids, and a million other blessings, it doesn’t matter how old I am. What a great life. :)

Great pictures to come soon!

Winning Isn’t everything. But it’s nice.

2009-11-20T16:20:00.001-07:00

On Saturday I raced in a triathlon right here in St. George. I got first place in my age division! It was a surprise, and pretty awesome. The race was just three miles from my house at the “SHAC”, which made it the most stress-free race I’ve done. Of course, I was quite sick the whole week before the race, which gave me plenty of rest/recovery time.

Mark took this pic the day before the race. Abigail and I were both sick and worn out. This nap at 9:30 AM while the other kids were at school was sooo nice.

Because I was so sick, I may not have raced if my friend, Erika, wasn’t driving down from Salt Lake to race with me. But I was so glad she came because I haven’t seen her in a long time, and I would take any excuse to hang out with her. Also, I’m so glad I did it because this was the most fun triathlon I’ve ever done! Not just because I won. really. I know winning makes everything more fun, but I loved racing in my “home court”, the non-stress factor and familiarity was so nice. Also, I went at a great pace. I went just fast enough that I didn’t kill my self – it was still enjoyable, but not too slow to make me regret not trying harder. And it was really fun to do it with a friend. And I saw Coach Baggs for the first time since high school, and it was really fun to talk to him again.

So yeah. I got first place! Wahoo! I thought I had gotten third place, and when they were giving the awards they called my name for first place. I was confused and when I got up there I ask the lady, “what place did I get?” and she said, “first!” And I was like, “All right!” It was pretty cool. Granted, it was not a highly competitive event (it’s not USAT sanctioned or anything) But a first place when I’m sick. I’ll take it, and I’ll like it. :)

We got no good pictures of the event. These were the best there were.

Me and Erika after she just finished.

Will the talented writer please step up

2009-11-20T16:19:00.001-07:00

Congrats to Mark for his first posting on our family blog! Hopefully there will be more as he is a much better writer than me, and I’d love to hear what he has to write about.

The Magic of Sour

2009-11-19T08:55:00.001-07:00

There is something wonderful about a child’s reaction to sour foods.

It’s like a black hole hiding behind her face is pulling all skin and muscle inward.

Fun weekend that was a while ago

2009-11-15T11:04:00.001-07:00

So a little while ago we had some family come into town and we had a really fun weekend. We talked late, and went for a hike, shooting, and mountain biking. The next day we played all day in a volleyball tournament. It was kind-of a boys weekend, but Julie, Aubrey and Brynlee were good sports. We love to spend time with family. Here’s some pictures of it.

Hiking in the “gap”

My children like to eat dirt.

Collin and Aubrey shooting

Brynee’s first shot with the handgun from about 15-20 feet

A fun day of Volleyball

Trevor, relaxing by the pool after a fun filled weekend. Nice tan.

Sugar sugar, honey honey

2009-11-11T14:11:00.001-07:00

What is it about seasonal candy that is so irresistible? There I was breezing through Wal-Mart with three kids and a cart full of groceries. We were groovin’ right along. The children were right on my sides and obeying quite well, the ‘no unplanned stopping' rule. Emma was dutifully announcing the next thing on the list when everything stopped. There were practically skid marks on the floor from my cart. And a loud gasp. What could have caused such a distraction? It must be something important. or good. Yes it’s very good. It was the shimmer of the silver foil and red stripes of candy cane kisses. No rational thoughts entered my mind. Nothing like, “Sara, you are trying not to eat sugar, remember? or Sara, you have a triathlon on Saturday. Do you really want that in you? or Sara, you have not been feeling good, maybe white chocolate isn’t going to help you get better.” No, just a loud, “Yes!” and in they went.

I am such a sucker for candy that I can only get during certain times of the year. Well done candy maker marketers. This is one girl who will eat her candy corn and think of pumpkins, savor candy cane kisses while wrapping presents, and enjoy Springtime with Cadbury eggs.

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet

2009-11-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

This year, Halloween seemed to last a whole week. Monday, we had a neighborhood Halloween party. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent preparing costumes, activities, and candy. Thursday Gabe had a Halloween party at school with a trunk or treat. Friday, Abigail and Gabe dressed up for a party at the gym’s daycare. I had to take them from the party just before the parade so we could jet over to Emma’s school for her party and parade. It turned out they changed the time and I was a 1/2 hour late and missed the parade. Later we headed over for some kids “zombie zumba” and the time for that changed as well and we missed it. We did not have the best luck on Friday.

I felt like I had been celebrating Halloween all week, but I was still ready for more come Saturday.

Gabriel had football and Emma had gymnastics in the morning. Later we carved pumpkins. Well, Mark, me and one of Emma’s friends carved pumpkins. Our kids were just not interested in them this year.

They picked out their designs and were done. That’s okay, I love to carve pumpkins, so I got to do it in peace and quiet this year. Then everyone took a nice long nap.

Lisa and Todd came over for dinner and trick or treating.

The kids waited so patiently to go trick or treating. The weather was gorgeous. It was just perfect for trick or treating.

Mark and I wanted to experiment with make-up, so we dressed up as zombies. It was fun scarring Emma.

Emma was so picky about her costume this year. I had to take her original witch costume back because it was not scary enough. She absolutely refused to let us paint her face. I guess it is good she sticks up for what she wants. Gabe picked out his knight costume and loved it. He told everyone that he protects his baby sister fairy from the evil witch (Emma). Emma did not like that.

Abigail didn’t care too much about the candy. She was so much slower than everyone that most of the time she didn’t make it up to the door. She was having so much fun running around though. We took the most pictures of her because she was the cutest.

Gabe and Emma were so fast. I have taught them well. They ate their candy the whole time while we were trick or treating. I think this is because they’ve learned they only get one night to eat it, and they were starting early. Gabe got tired pretty early, and wanted to go home to give his candy to the candy witch. Emma didn’t want to stop until her bucket was full. That was fine by me. I love trick or treating!

Who is the Candy Witch? The candy witch is my solution to the mountains of candy the kids get on Halloween. They eat as much as they want on Halloween, then they leave it out for the candy witch. This year Emma did not want to do it, so we told her the witch might leave her a present. That worked great. The kids woke up this morning to their little gifts, and forgot all about their candy. It think I heard them yelling, “thank you candy witch, thank you!” while I was in bed.

It was a very fun Halloween week, but I am looking forward to celebrating things that are not quite as spooky.

For dinner we ate what any good zombie would eat. brains.

Run, run as fast as you can . . .

2009-10-27T14:46:00.000-06:00

I can't get pictures on my blog or spell checker. Yikes! Is anyone else having this trouble?

I have a new workout philosophy. Speed. Not the drug. I am trying to do everything faster. For some reason, I have been under the dillusion that slower is better. Slower reps builds more muscle, slower jogs burn more fat, etc. This new discovery has come partly because of a new book, and partly because I can only run for about 20-30 minutes before my knee doesn't work. I figure I better run as fast as I can if I am going to get anything done.

It has been great. My workouts are exciting and challenging. Hopefully I'll be better prepared for races.

Do you have days that you are just super happy. You smile for no particular reason? It may have something to do with the combination of Ibuprofen and Excedrin I took or it may be the great fall weather and Halloween fun in the air, or I think it is just knowing how blessed I am.

EWWW!

2009-10-15T22:39:00.005-06:00

With parenting comes a lot of gross stuff. You really need a strong stomach. The diapers are enough alone, but then you have spit up, drool, throw up, diarrhea, toilets sprayed by a 3 year old boy with the worst aim, the weird foreign objects in diapers. (We have a good one for that. Abigail was always putting things in her mouth, and we would find some crazy stuff in her poopy diapers. These are things that have passed through her system. The winners were a polly pocket boot, and drum roll please . . . a used band-aid.) Gross! I know.

Last night I got a new chart topper for my most disgusting parenting moment. Gabe is sick with the flu. We were having a late dinner because Emma had ballet. I am unloading groceries, making tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches one a time, and not doing it fast enough. I guess you could say I was a little frazzled.

Gabe started coughing and threw up some of his dinner on to his plate. (This is actually pretty common for us. Gabe throws up his food 2-3 times a week. He's got a really strong gag reflex, and a psychological fear of anything that is not a waffle with cinnamon and sugar on it entering his mouth.) So a little throw up on the plate is no biggie. I got a little frustrated because he had asked for red soup all day and I had to go to the store to get him some, and now he just throws it and half of his sandwich up. I say, “ sigh, Gabe you love red soup and it will make you feel better and it’s really good.” Then I take a nice bite of the remaining half of his sandwich. Which is wet. I don’t even think about it until I swallow. Then I looked at his plate and realized his sandwich has been sitting in his pool of throw up.

I just stood there trying to figure out something that would make it better. I already swallowed it. I couldn’t do anything. Normal throw up would have been bad enough, but this was throw up that was full of flu germs.

Maybe developing this stong stomach is preparing us for something. If so, I don’t want to know what it is.

Happy Birthday Emma!

2009-09-24T14:22:00.008-06:00

I just realized I never posted anything about Emma's birthday party. So here it is a little late.

Since we were going to be in Utah County for a triathlon on Emma's birthday and a lot of her friends and cousins live up there, we had her party at Boondocks. (Boondocks is like a family fun center with video games, miniature golf etc.) This was Emma's #1 choice. It even beat out Disneyland, so how could we refuse? Even though it was not my first choice of venue for the party, it was really fun. The kids played games and played on the playground They ran all over making it a little hard for the parents to keep track of them. Those that weren't busy playing video games themselves *cough* Mark and John. Okay I had fun playing too, and happy to say I doubled John's score in basketball, but that's only to be expected.

We had pizza, and cake. The cake was made out of cupcakes, which we broke apart when it was eating time. What a great idea. I always go back and forth between cupcakes and cake. Cupcakes are so fun to eat and require no cutting or utensils, but I like to have a nicely decorated cake too. This way, I got both. Emma enjoyed opening all her presents.

The best part (for me) was seeing friends from Lehi. We've missed them so much. Emma loved seeing her old friends too. It was really loud and crazy, but it was just the kind-of birthday Emma wanted, and we all had a blast!

ps. Thanks to Rachel for taking pictures as I am still cameraless. *tear*

little help

2009-09-22T20:08:00.002-06:00

I have yet to figure out lots of things with blogging. Can someone tell me how to get rid of the border around the title? Also, how do you change the size of your font? And how do you put in your little signature? Yes, I know I have been blogging for a while, but besides the very basics, I don't know much. Thanks for whoever can tell me the answers to my blogging mysteries.

Sugar and Learning

2009-09-14T22:35:00.004-06:00

I got this idea from one of Gabe's preschool teachers. It is the perfect idea for him since he is so motivated by sugar. Okay, I enjoy the sugar too.

What you do is put jello powder on a cookie sheet. The child can draw letters or numbers with their finger. It has given Gabe a lot of good practice with his lower case letters and numbers. We'll do some math problems in it too. If he writes the letter right or gets a math problem correct, he gets to lick his finger. Mom also gets a lick for her excellent teaching. It's fun for everyone.

The Great Escape!

2009-09-14T21:19:00.006-06:00

This is contest entry for those crazy folks at TodaysMama and Cricut. Be sure to check out Cricut's cool new cartridges and the chance at $30,000 in travel for you and your friends at the !Great Gypsy Escape site

1. If you could escape to anywhere in the world where would it be?
I haven't been a lot of places, and I love to travel and new experiences, so I'd love to go pretty much anywhere. If I had to pick a place I'd choose Australia because I've never been there and no matter what time of the year I went I'd have awesome things to do like scuba diving or snowboarding. :)

2. What song do you play when you are by yourself in the car?
Right now - "I got a Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas

3. If you had a night to yourself, and money was no object, what would you do?
Gosh, I think I would shop. Anything I really love to do usually happens in the day. I'd go on a big shopping spree. Maybe I'd take a jet to a big city, and have my purchases shipped home. I'd spend a lot of time at Pottery Barn and Nordstrom.

4. What is your guilty pleasure?
Candy. I just love it. Give me anything mint and chocolate and I'll be happy. Candy corn, and those pumpkins that taste like candy corn are also a very guilty pleasure. Especially when I eat the whole bag myself. In one sitting. Don't judge.

5. What is the farthest place you have traveled away from your home?
Costa Rica.

6. Last book that you couldn't put down?
The Secret Life of Bees

7. When you want to escape into another time, what movie do you watch?
Michael Jordan to the Max. It covers his later years when the Bulls were playing the Jazz in the Finals. ahhh..those were the days.

8. What is your favorite local escape?
The pool. I love being outside in the sun and relaxing a bit while the kids play. If I'm by myself, I go mountain biking in the desert.

9. How do you escape on a budget?
I like to get books at the library and come home and read to the kids under the table. It doesn't really sound like escaping, but I love children's books, and I always feel good when I feel like I am doing something somewhat productive. So it's an escape for me.

10.Best food you've ever had while on vacation.
The catfish in Costa Rica. It tasted so good, and was like nothing I've had before.

Health Lesson from a 6 year old.

2009-09-11T22:26:00.005-06:00

Emma has been talking to strangers lately. I'm always around, but she'll strike up full blown conversation. They are so funny too. One funny incident happened on Monday. I took the kids to the Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake to see the frog exibit. Gabe is really into frogs right now. We parked on the street in front of a little bar. There was a man outside with a wife-beater on and he was smoking. He was very nice, and started talking to Gabe while I got our stroller organized. He asked if we were going to the museum, and they chit-chated. Emma came around the car and gasped very loudly. She practically yelled, "ARE YOU SMOKING!?" The guys looked kind-of embarrassed, but laughed, "yeah, it's a bad habit. You shouldn't do it."
"YOUR LUNGS ARE GOING TO TURN BLACK!" says Emma. She is just shocked. You would think she had never seen someone smoking before.
"I don't think my lungs will turn black, but it's not a good habit."
Emma was insistent,"They will, they will turn black!"
He continued to smoke and I hurried to get going. A few minutes later Emma was so upset because he was still smoking. "I can't believe he didn't stop smoking. His lungs are going to turn black."

Where's my other Mama?

2009-08-24T22:56:00.016-06:00

Emma is adjusting to first grade so well! She loves it. I thought she would be exhausted, but she comes home happy, hungry, and hyper. The only thing she talks about is lunch and recess. That's okay because she is so excited when she does. She got blisters from the monkey bars, but was so happy she did them all by herself.

There's one person who is still having a hard time.

Abigail.

If you want to make Abigail excited in the afternoon, just say Bus. She'll shout, "BUH!" and run to the front door. It is so cute. Mornings are sad goodbyes though. Emma is always the last one on the bus because Abigail gives her so many hugs.

Abigail misses her friend, but Emma is also like a second mother to her. I never really took notice until recently. Emma is so responsible and mature when it comes to Abigail. She kisses her owwies, helps her put shoes on barbies, stops her from getting into messy things, refills her bottle, wraps her blanket around her, and puts her shoes on before she goes outside. And Emma loves it. Emma's been trying to take care of Abigail since she was a baby, and finally Abigail will let her. It is quite the wonderful situation. I love my sweet little girls, and I'm especially grateful for what a great big sister Emma is. She is going to make a great Mom someday.

My Tree of Wonder

2009-08-21T13:33:00.008-06:00

A little while ago, I was running in the desert. I was looking for a trail Mark and I could take our bikes back from riding the first half of the loop. Anyway, it was about 1:30 in the afternoon. I didn't take water because I didn't think I'd be gone very long. Well, I was on a trail and I just had to see where it went, so I kept going and going. I was in the middle of the desert, and I came to a lone, big tree. It was perfectly round like one of those LEGO trees. It may have been because I was dehydrated, but I thought it was amazing. Next to it, was a really big rock that looked like an upside down triangle. It looked as though it would fall over if I tried to climb on top of it. It was a very cool site.

Two weekends ago, my mom hosted a granddaughter getaway. I took all the girls on a hike to my tree. It was a really fun hike, and the kids loved climbing all over the rocks of course. I was just glad that it really existed.

Here, see for yourself

The pictures look a little wierd because I had the camera on the wrong setting

We had a great view

I LOVE the tennis shoes

We found a really cool tortoise

Abigail, making friends

and building stuff

Here's everyone except me, the photographer

9-1-1

2009-08-14T20:20:00.008-06:00

Okay, I have been sick lately, and my brain has been so fuzzy - really up in the clouds. My mom says it's my blonde hair. (I've been getting that wrap my whole life - mostly from family) Anyway, it seems like one dumb thing after another. This one was a big one.

I was vacuuming the car out at the car wash. I took Abigail with me, and she was playing in the front seat pretending to drive. The car was on because it was at least 100 degrees. She was messing with too many buttons and windshield wipers so I turned the car off. A few hot minutes later, I strapped her in the car seat and went to get in myself. But I couldn't. locked. oh crap. Abigail had locked the doors when she was playing, and the keys were in the ignition, dangling ever so hopelessly out of reach. After frantically checking every door, I ran to the office. The car wash guys already thought I was stupid because when I was going through the wash, I couldn't figure out why I was going so fast. It turns out all the yelling I couldn't understand was "PUT IT IN NEUTRAL!"

Seriously, I have been really sick.

Anyway, I called my Dad, but he couldn't find my keys, so I called the police. I stayed on the line, and gave the operator updates on what Abigail was doing. She wasn't crying, but was really sweaty. They called an ambulance, but the police man got there really fast, and got her out very quickly. So we called off the ambulance. He did a great job. I'm going to have to write a thank you note. It felt so good to hold my sweaty little baby.

I went inside to give the guys their phone back and get Abigail a drink. I had turned the car on when I got her out to cool it down. I strapped her back in and shut the door. CRAP!

The keys were STILL in the car!!! I freaked out for a good 10 seconds. At least the air conditioning was on this time. I walked around and pulled open my door. Oh yeah, I unlocked the car when I got her out. Phew.

Four and a half hours

2009-08-14T12:47:00.005-06:00

I did it. I sent Emma to first grade. ALLLLL DAY! 7 1/2 hours! She is awake for 12 hours. That means I get 4 1/2 hours with her a day, and the days she has ballet and soccer, I have even less. And most of that time is spent getting ready for school, dinner, and getting ready for bed. Wow. I miss her already. *sniff*

I was thinking how precious those few hours with her are, and how I want to make the most of it. But then, all our time with our kids is precious. I want to enjoy this time, and I do. I would not choose another way to be spending my time than at home with the kids. (If I was good enough to snowboard, or play basketball professionally, I can see me struggling with that one.) But realistically, I am SO grateful that I am able be home. That's not to say I don't have so many regrets and worries. Am I too mean, too nice, am I teaching them the gospel, do they watch too much tv etc. etc. etc. etc.

Emma's school starts at 8:55. She was still asleep at 8:00. I went in to wake her, and I couldn't. I think it's mean to wake up a 5 year old. She did finally get up and we were still on time. Her teacher had a baby one month ago, which I was bummed about, but her substitute is awesome, and lives in our ward, just around the corner.

When I picked her up and bombarded her with question, she was most excited that they had 3 recesses! And she liked eating lunch at school. Today when I packed her lunch she said, "Mom, why do you put so much stuff in my lunch. When I'm at home I only eat one thing, so I only want one thing at school." I said, okay, what do you want. She said, "toast".

She did really great, and I think she'll have a good year. I'm not sure how much she'll actually learn, but that's a subject for another day. I gotta to go get Emma now. Yay!

When are babies not babies anymore?

2009-08-03T14:31:00.005-06:00

Yesterday Abigail fell asleep on my chest which is one of my most favorite things. She hasn't done that since she was a little baby. I took naps like that with all my kids when they are little. It's just so cute and cozy. I am little shocked that she is almost two. She is just a baby. A big 2-year old baby. I've got to remember to cherish this time because they grow up so fast.