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.
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 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.
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!!
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!
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.
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!!!
