Monday, September 30, 2013

Setempber this and that!


This was Seth's soccer picture this year....Doesn't that just crack you up?  All the other kids look like they are reverently going to primary and Seth looks like he's going to pop something!  Love it!  He did so awesome this year in soccer.  And I'm not just saying this cause he's my kid.  The kid totally carried his team.  Defense or offense, he was all over the field.  Stopping goals, scoring goals.  He really was sooo much fun to watch.  And who is that hunky coach?


Beautiful Jaq getting dressed up!

Collin's little buddy Ty playing Connect 4 with him.  His mom got sick for a couple weeks so we were able to hang out with this little dude a lot and he is a doll.  It was so much fun!


Well its September so naturally i am out looking for a girls camp spot. :) So these are some pics from our little day adventure up Beaver Canyon.



Collin has been doing this nose scrunching grin that just cracks me up. Thought I'd try to capture it. 



Collin gets so excited if I let him play in the car for a bit right when we are parked.  Its funny he knows exactly what to do.  (loved this one)

Friday, September 27, 2013

Mountain biking for Cordelle's birthday in Santa Clara

So it was Cordelle's birthday and I had no idea what to do.  Then it hit me how much fun we used to have mountain biking, PRE-kids.  So I briefly looked up a southern utah trail and found a "moderate" one in Santa Clara.  So I thought what the heck?  Lets do it.  Found a sitter for the kids, made Cordelle take a half day off work and we took our bikes down.  Took a bit of 4 wheeling to get to the trail head but it was SUCH a perfect day to ride.  Only we forgot helmets, and had we had known this would be what online calls a "technical" ride, we probably would have opted for something a little more chill.  BUT I LOVED THE CHALLENGE.  And challenging it was.  I should have taken pictures of the parts when we were literally bouldering 4 foot boulders with our bikes and centering our pedals so they we wouldn't scrape or get caught on the other rocks around us.  I would do it again in a heart beat.  I think Cordelle had fun, but probably not as much as I did.  Haha :)  I can't believe we didn't have helmets and that neither one of us turfed it. I love and hope we continue to do things like this together. 

 
 Pics at the bottom of the mountain right outside of Santa Clara







 And lastly we ended the evening with Papa Murphy's with Neal and Brittlyn and an  MINT OREO pie.  Have 33rd!   I love this guy!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Happy 5th birthday to my sweet Jaquelle!!





Oh Jaquelle how we have had our moments, but I'll tell you, she is the sweetest thing on this earth.  She loves all things girly and is already constantly worried if things match or look weird.  She loves to look or shop for clothes, or jewelry (I know where did she come from?) but I absolutely love it.  She is her brothers best friend and his constant tease.  She is the best babysitter even at 5!  (Ok, don't go calling DCFS I just have her watch Collin when I shower! :) She has a heart of gold and I love having a little girl that I can do girly things with like get dressed up for dance recitals, paint toenails or hang out while the boys are at fathers and sons.  :)  She is exceptionally good at everything she does, including soccer, dance and coloring.  She wants so badly to be as big as Seth that she is teaching herself how to read and learn sight words. She loves her long beautiful hair but hates. it. being. brushed. :(
  A fun memory about Jaq are, whenever we are done saying prayers or if we are driving in the car she will pretend to be asleep, which of course we just play along with and pick her up and put her straight to bed.  What is funny about this is, she is so determined to keep up the act that she does not get out of bed or let up the rouse for a second.  We of course love this because even though we know she is asleep she will not get out of bed and will eventually fall asleep on her own even if its an hour before bedtime!  Haha! Jokes' on her!
  She loves her dad to tickle her back and watch her dance.  She could spend hours coloring or dancing in the living room.  She is shy and gets very nervous and embarrassed when she knows she has to do something out of the ordinary like get up in front of the class. Yet, she is brave and always does it.  She is far more outgoing with being left with babysitters or at other peoples houses than her older brother. And she takes pride in that.   She is a saint at church.  :) Like the ideal quiet, reverent, obedient child....some traits that she often leaves at the door when she gets home.   Her primary teachers never believe me but she does have a temper that usually gets inflamed when she is not being listened to or understood...or when she is tired.  (All pretty legitimate reasons if you ask me.) Her favorite people in the world are her uncle Neal and aunt Brittlyn but that's probably because they adore her and give her all the attention she could ever want. 
 

Monday, September 23, 2013

Bryce Canyon with our long lost cousins!

 We got a treat this weekend!  Our cousins who have been living in China the last couple of years are back in the states and they came to visit us for a weekend. So we took them on a little Bryce Canyon tour and it was beautiful weather and so much fun to get to know these cousins! 







Oh if Anthea only knew how much Jaquelle loved the attention she gave her! She talked about her for days!



Seth, Connley, Anthea, Jaquelle and Dane




Kent and Rebecca

it was a long day for some of us.  How can he sleep like this?

There is this hidden little waterfall just past Bryce that we like to go to.  Super short hike but pretty.



Saturday, September 21, 2013

JAQ!!

 Jaquelle of course is doing dance again this year and she and her dance group got to walk (dance) in the Labor Day parade in Parowan.  I thought she would feel like she  missed out not watching all the floats but she was absolutely satisfied to be IN it!  It was hot, but all the girls had a good time.

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Jaquelle before her first day of Pres-school at Mini Muffin preschool with Ms. Marnie!  She is so excited!


Since Seth got one...couldn't let Jaq start school without a giant cookie too.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

RED ROCK RELAY 2013 -Team Wonder Women

 So this is pretty much the craziest relay ever!  3 legs of 4-10 miles, one in the middle of the night, often there is rain (for us it happened during Tawna and Christie's night trail runs, which made it more like a mud run.) However, we did get to shower after almost every leg cause the first legs were in Brianhead (showered in Enoch...and got to nap in my own bed....not common for this type of 2 day relay), then just west of Cedar and our final legs ended near Snow Canyon.  I think I was the only one who slept at all the whole weekend, but I can and will sleep anywhere.  :)  But the girls we ran with are the best so it made it so much fun!  We definitely bonded!  (Which may or may not have included one of the scariest experiences of my life, where a member of our team, and really close friend of mine, who is hyperglycemic had 2 full blown low blood sugar seizures and then insisted on running her 3rd leg at 2 in the morning!  During which we tried to check on her every mile but somehow missed her on mile 2 which left us frantically retracing her steps and searching for her, knowing only hours ago she was seizing uncontrollably.  Little did we know she had unknowingly passed us and was waiting at the exchange.)  How do you not feel bonded to someone after that???!!  Terrifying though. 
  I personally felt great about my legs though.  The first one was 3 miles-ish but the longest, steepest hill I have ever ran, I could barely run it was so steep right out of Brian Head.  My second leg was west of Cedar and had 4 kills and a great time (not that anyone really cares about times in this long of a relay...but still fun for me to push it).  And my 3rd leg was around 4AM just north of Snow Canyon, and I literally had to pee for 6 WHOLE MILES.  It was one of the longest 6 miles of my life.  I know I didn't have to go when I started.  Yikes!  Anyways it was my 2nd Red Rock relay, and I still think the sleep deprivation and crazy schedule of running is nuts, but I'll probably be talked into it next year.


The exchange at SUU

Before Christie's night/mud run.


After showering at Christie's brothers house in St. George just waiting for the other van to finish.


Ending in Zions!


High legs.  (high five)

Showing off our 3 accomplished marks on our calves representing each "leg" we ran.

At the finish line!  Well at least our van....not sure what happened to the picture of the other half of our team in the other van.  :)