The Final 20!

I ran my final 20 mile run today. YAY! It's a good thing too because it was pitch black even at 6:30 this morning. Fall is coming already! I ran up Provo canyon and it is not lighted at all. Plus, there is lots of tree cover, which is nice for the shade, but it makes it much darker in the dark. (if that makes sense!) I ran for several miles in the darkness. Maybe I need a headlamp! Course, if I got one, then I'd be expected to run in the dark!
I guess that means it is all "downhill" from here. I am happy to be done with ice baths, waking up hours before the sun comes up, and Gu gels for a few weeks. I am pretty stressed out about the race though. Actually, to say I am stressed out is the understatement of the year! I have worked really hard and really want to qualify, but it all depends on how I feel on that day. I know I have other chances to qualify for Boston, but it was a lot of work, and I don't know when I will have the time to do it again. I will be happy if I can do it under 4 hours though.
I know several people that ran the Top of Utah Half Marathon this morning. It made me think about my races. I have run many 5k races and a Marathon. I have not run any Half Marathons, and I have only run one 10K. I had a really bad experience with a 10K in high school. I ran the Speedy Spaniard. Remember when we ran that race Steph?! Yeah, it was the suck for me. So I have not run one since. This is dumb since I run way more than a 10K on a daily basis. I think I need to go back and run that race again, then maybe I will feel like I can do one again!

First Day for Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn started preschool on Monday. We decided to put her out at Challenger, which is a private school. She needs a little more than what some of the other preschools were offering to her. It is pretty intense, but she is up to the task. She absolutely loves going there. It's nice being at that school, because everybody treats you WAY nice. Because it is a private school there are lots of wealthy people attending there, so it is just like you see on tv. The teachers, staff, principal, you name it, they are all there to do whatever makes you happy. I have never seen so many expensive cars in one parking lot!
Dropping her off and picking her up is a little like being a chauffuer. You have to drive all the way around the school and then wait in a designated area for them to come and pick up your child. The teachers come right out to the car, open the door, and walk your child to the school. Then, when you come to pick them up, you have a special visor card with their name on it. You drop it down from the visor (with a case that they provided) and the teacher brings your child back out to the car. I felt like I was at the airport waiting for an unknown person holding up a sign with their name on it! It is pretty crazy, but really nice. She can't wait to get up on school days and go to school. She will definitely be like her parents and love school!

First Day of 1st Grade

My little Maya is in 1st grade today. She was stoked about starting school today. She loves the social aspect of school! She has to get up really early because she has to be on the bus at 7:15 in the morning. I almost cried today when the alarm went off! Isn't she gorgeous?!!
We went school shopping a few days ago. When we went to the dressing room she turned around and said, "You can wait out here mom." I was actually surprised, but said ok. I am on my way out of the cool circle for Maya. At least she let me take her to the bus this morning. That is not going to fly with her forever though. She wants to go to the bus by herself, I guess it is time for me to let her grow up a little! She did tell me this morning that she didn't need breakfast because she would be taking a lunch and eating it at school! Luckily, I can still make her eat breakfast for a few more years.

Goin' Campin'!

We went camping this last weekend for a family reunion with my immediate family. I say camping because we went to a campsite, but you can see my house from the campsite! We stayed here so my sisters with little infants could stay at my house at night, but still participate in most of the festivities. Of course it was horrible weather again! We got totally rained out. There were points of sunshine though so we did have a good time.


We were packed in like sardines in our family tent. Pack 'n Plays are definitely not tent friendly! I have decided that it is not a lot of fun to go camping with toddlers. They don't walk so well so they are constantly falling in the dirt/mud. They get way dirtier than everyone else! Plus, they run into the firepit, run out of the campsite, and just cause trouble! Here they are confined to a double stroller so we can make some food!
And they are still grabbing at each other! Babies at least can just lay in their infant carriers!
The boys all went fishing, and I had Brian take Maya with them. Guess who was the only one that caught a fish!!! MAYA!!!
Point for the women! She was pretty proud of herself. She even got to cook it in the fire and eat it for lunch! Maybe she doesn't need us parents after all, she can apparently live off the land!
We got out of the campsite Saturday before the huge monsoon-like storm hit. It was a fun time. I think we will definitely do it again!

Happy Birthday!!

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Happy Birthday Maya and Kaitlyn! Maya turned 6 yesterday and Kaitlyn turns 4 tomorrow. I am a mean mom and made them have a birthday party together yesterday. They each got to invite some friends and I rented a waterslide for the party. The kids had a blast climbing up and going down the slide over and over



Luckily, the weather was decent. They had been threatening all week that saturday would be cold and super stormy. It was a little cold, but the sun was out! The kids were freezing after playing in the water for a long time so they all huddled up in their towels!

They both got some cool presents. Kaitlyn was overly dramatic with each gift!
She got a big girl bike from us, which she really liked. Gavin was also a fan! Kaitlyn got out of her swimsuit to go out and ride it!

I decided to make the girls' cakes for them this year. I told myself, "I can make two Barbie cakes, no problem!" Good going Steph!!! I won't tell you how long it took me to make these cakes, but I can tell you that I was in labor with these girls less time than it took me to make these cakes!!!!

They turned out ok and the girls were super excited about their Barbie cakes, so that is what is important. Next year, we will probably buy cakes again! :)

Berry Picking

I had this brilliant idea to go pick raspberries as a family for family night. Since our raspberries are new we didn't get enough to make lots of jam. So, I found a place that will let you come and pick your own berries. Sounds like fun, right?! NOT!!!! We put buckets on our belts and had the kids help us get berries. After awhile my pants are practically falling off because my buckets are full, and Brian's, well let's just say he wasn't even close to filling his! He was pretty much a spectator.
It took a really long time and it got dark before we were finished. The kids had a great time, but I was really worn out. They tried to help dad out by only putting their berries in his buckets for awhile!
We came away with only one tragedy. Gavin tipped himself over in the stroller so he has a lovely bruise on his forehead.
We did get over ten pounds of raspberries and we have been enjoying them a lot.

Boise

We went up to Boise last weekend for a family reunion with Brian's immediate family. It was quite the drive! Gavin is not a good travelling child. He screamed most of the way there and back. Needless to say, we will not be going that far again for awhile! Brian and I about went insane. The kids got to play with their cousin Riley at a splash park. They loved getting wet and having buckets of water drop on them! Their facial expressions say it all! Gavin had an awesome time with Daddy in the water. They bonded. He got to go over to the water with Grandma too. They had lots of fun getting wet. He apparently loves tomatoes. I threw in this pic of him eating some tomato. What a cute kid! It was fun to see everyone and have a nice break.

LAST SWIM MEET!!!!

We finally had Maya's last swim meet. It was the Utah County Swim Meet. It was in Springville, (and let me just say that they really need to get a new pool!) and at night. It was really hot, and they did not start on time. Maya unfortunately did not qualify in the breastroke or the butterfly, but she is excited to try again next year.
She did really well at the meet even though there were lots of kids. She was the heat winner in backstroke!

She was really excited to get a ribbon. She won't know for a couple of weeks if she placed high in either of the races. She is actually really sad to be done with swimming, but Brian and I are relieved to have it done! It was a lot of work, but fun too! Congratulations Maya!