42 miles . . .

Alright, I hit a milestone after my run today - 42 miles in two weeks!!!  I ran 20 miles this week and 22 miles last week . . . never, never, ever in my life have I run this much and so it's a MAJOR milestone. 

I thought I would remember the moment with a post because if my knee continues to give me grief around the 10-11 mile mark, I'm not exactly sure how I will finish my first marathon in October.

I have my friend and seasoned runner Michelle to thank for getting me up at the crack of dawn for our long runs and knowing exactly what routes to take and how I should train.  I absolutely love my early morning trail runs up Bells' Canyon, even if those first switchbacks are ruthless, it's worth the views and fresh air.

And if it weren't for my sister Jenna, who encouraged me to attempt a marathon, I would never have accomplished this little milestone.

Here's to 26.2 and to keeping all my major joints intact :-).

The simple moments

"It is a valuable exercise to close your eyes every once in a while and think,
'What is the most wonderful moment I have lived through during the past year?'

It might be part of a grand event or a very simple moment, perhaps a brief interaction with another person.
The grand or the simple, it doesn't matter.
Just the remembering will lift your spirits, and warm feelings will fill your soul."

~Marjorie Pay Hinckley~

Today was one of those days I want to remember.  A day filled with many simple, yet profoundly sweet moments spent with my children, friends, neighbors, and my husband.  As simple as a trail run in the cool early morning, surrounded by the fresh scents of pine and mountain air, and a meaningful conversation with a friend.  As simple as morning hugs, kisses, and "I love yous."  As simple as feeling the warm spirit within our home as Caroline takes time to make bracelets, build forts, and read stories with her sisters.  As simple as basking in the energy of a teenage son's awesome day and listening to all the details.  As simple as helping Liza master her first basic piano pieces and sharing Caroline's modest pride in her own accomplishments.

The joy found in making dinner with my children and the sweet conversations that take place when we work together.  The simplicity of an evening walk, entranced by the thunderstorm rolling in from the east and casting it's spell with a breathtaking sunset and picturesque canyon sky.  The spontaneous, welcoming conversation with new neighbors as we watch the western sky.  As simple as spending time reading and pondering the scriptures.  And, of course, the beautiful simplicity of spending a few minutes cuddling and talking with my love at the end of the day.

Indeed, a day to remember . . . and it was all so simple.

What we've been up to this summer . . .

Alright, time for the elusive "catch-up" blog post - hey, I'm on a roll here.  It's exactly midnight and I told myself I needed to get up for a run in the morning, but what the hay, I've already written two posts and figured it's time to burn the midnight oil and have some fun!  I have a feeling my run will have to take place tomorrow evening :-).

S U M M E R

First off, what would summer be without plenty of pool time?  We've spent just about every saturday at the club as a family, plus swimming lessons at our neighbor's beautiful backyard pool.  Thanks Megan for teaching the girls!

Dance recitals.  Caroline danced beautifully in her performance (unfortunately the pictures I took were part of those that are forever lost), and Sophie and friend Carli were a darling little hunters in the ballet "Snow White."  I enjoyed a good run with my daughters, but now, after years of ballet performances, Nutcracker, and all those classes, both have opted to focus on sports.  It was a good run and Liza at the moment has absolutely no desire to dance.  Chris is very pleased with the wise choices his daughters have made ;-).

Father's Day.  I love my DAD!  My parents were in town, so it was great to have my dad and mom over for a bbq, along with my brother and his latest girlfriend.  The day before Father's Day, they took Ryan golfing - it was his first time golfing 18 holes.  He just began playing this summer and has really enjoyed it - thanks to my dad for handing over his old clubs so Ryan can learn and develop a love for the game!

Track Meets.  I decided to sign Sophie and Liza up on a local track team for the summer to keep them active and try something new.  Sophie liked it and did really well, even placing 2nd in 400m at the all-county meet!  Liza, however, endured it . . . we're still trying to find her "thing."  So far, no luck.  Just tonight Caroline suggested she try karate!

Concerts!  Paul McCartney rolled into town a few weeks ago and Chris was sure to find some amazing tickets to see this living legend and share the experience with Ryan and Caroline.  However, Caroline was at girls' camp that week, so our friend Deja joined in the fun.  It was an amazing, AMAZING concert experience, truly one of the greatest concerts I've ever attended (even better than the last time we saw McCartney perform about 8 years ago).  It was fun to be part of so much energy on a beautiful summer evening.  Chris is also taking Ryan to see RUSH this week, and I'm hoping to catch John Mayer and possible Jack Johnson later this summer . . . we absolutely love outdoor summer concerts.  Ah, memories of Jackson Browne last summer in Deer Valley, or The Police two years ago.  Seriously, what is summer without a fabulous concert on a warm evening under the stars??

4th and 24th of July spent up at Bear Lake.  Really, what isn't to love about illegal artillery fireworks set off near the beach and giant sparklers lit in the firepit?  S'mores, cousins, tubing, sand castles, trampoline, scary movies under the stars, volleyball, capture-the-flag, FOOD, bike rides, homemade ice-cream, family, incredible sunsets, and staying up late around the fire . . . all of what makes Bear Lake so special and one of the most incredible places on earth.  Here are a few pics from this summer's adventures:

The kids making their way down to the beach for some fun in the sand (mud).

What would the lake be without the tramp??

Sophie flying high

Getting ready to take the kids out tubing.

Caroline, Ryan, and cousin Berkley heading to a Bear Lake dance

Evening is here . . . love the fire!

FIREWORKS - thanks to my cousin Michael

Plenty of beach time . . . or mud, whatever, it's Bear Lake.

Good friends, great memories . . .  every summer!

YES . . . it's that wonderful.  We love Bear Lake!!

Alright, it's past my bedtime.  I'll save the Cantera fun up in Island Park for another post.  The rest of the summer has been taken up with Skyline summer hockey games (the play-offs begin this week), LAX camps, tennis lessons, my tennis league & marathon training (ran 22 miles last week - yipee!), hiking, night games, summer reading (oh ya, bring on the Hunger Games), and still trying sell the house (really slow right now, which is fine, it's too crazy to get the house ready to show anyway).

Life is good, Chris is home (he's been in China for the past week), and we're happy . . . exhausted, but happy :-).

Forgiveness

This is a beautiful story of true, Christlike love and forgiveness.  Many of us here in Utah are familiar with this tragic incident a few years back, but I wanted to share with everyone who struggles to forgive, in whatever situation might arise.  If this man can so freely forgive in such tragic circumstances, how much more can we let go of those offenses that hold us back from the love and compassion others so desperately need from us. I will forever be touched by his story . . .

Happy Birthday Sophie!

Our little Sophie is growing up - much, much faster than I would like.  She turned NINE yesterday and I can't believe how quickly time is passing.  I miss the days when the "S" sound was so difficult, and she pronouced her name, "Ho-hee," almost as much as I miss her round little face, pudgy cheeks, and pigtails!  Sophie has now become our resident athlete with a love for soccer, track, and tennis.  She has no desire to ever put on a leotard or ballet shoes again, tellling me in a matter-of-fact tone that "dance just isn't for me."

We are so grateful to have Sophie in our family, she adds enough spark to keep everyone on their toes and enough sensitivity to help us remember what is truly important.  I've always felt she was a very special soul and need to remind myself that when those emotions of hers are just too strong for one little girl to handle, she just needs more love, time, and attention.  Don't we all?

Excited to open gifts - 9 years today!

Birthday request - Peter Breinholt concert - and thanks to our friends, Pete sent Sophie a personal "Happy Birthday" from the stage!

Birthday outing - movie, then meeting up with Uncle Travis for dinner.

Blowing out the candles on her cake that Caroline made.

A MONTH . . . really??

Freak, it's been over a month since my last post . . . so many thoughts, ideas, and moments to record.  I think the lack of writing and expressing myself on this blog is leading to some serious depression!  OK, it's not that bad, but the past few weeks I've felt a deep need for an outlet and I've missed writing.

Ahhh, how good did that feel to write one small, measly paragraph?

So, I am back.  Clean slate, new template and tonight I will finally remove the spring pics, add some fun summer pics, and if I I'm really ambitious, maybe another post :-).

Thinking about posting . . .

I'm thinking one of my dear readers has this blog link, and therefore may wonder when I will post again!  In fact, there is a year of posts just waiting to be read . . .  just click here.

So, yes, I have many wonderful ideas and posts floating around in my head which will be translated into official posts. When? Hmmm, good question. Probably when I get my real laptop back. Right now I just have this iPad which is lovely for most of my Internet needs, but a real pain when it comes to blog posts or uploading pictures. Chris has our laptop currently while his is getting fixed and I'm actually getting anxious to write and share thoughts and ideas once again. As for pictures, well all my May pictures were accidentally deleted - UGH - so, my next post will be a recount of the important events that were lost with the pics, because I know if I don't write them down soon, those memories might be gone forever without pictures to remember them by.

As for life in general, I can't complain. It's summer, the kids have been sweet and helpful, the yard is beautiful, the mountains are absolutely stunning, and every evening I still find myself caught off guard by the beauty of the sunset. Ahhhh, as the sun descends into the western sky and our backyard is cooled by the canyon breeze and I sit with a favorite book, while the little girls, carefree and happy, race with the neighbor kids up and the down the streets of our cul-de-sac on their scooters . . . truly, not much more brings such peace and sense of childlike wonder to the soul.

Thank you summer.

Good-bye school, hello SUMMER

Ahhhh, the final day of the school year.

Desks and lockers emptied, yearbooks signed, hugs goodbye, even tears (notice Sophie - she and her best friend ADORED their teacher and were very, very sad to have to say "good-bye") . . . another year of school has ended with it's usual fanfare of parties, field trips, field days, and excitement.  I think this has to be one of my favorite parts of being a mom - when those last few days seem to bring back memories of the pure freedom associated with the end of school and beginning of summer vacation that I remember so well from my own childhood and adolescence . . . quite nostalgic.

Liza and friend Kate at field day

Sophie helping the girls team during tug-a-war

The local firemen surprised the kids with their trucks

Soph and friends were SOAKED!

After field day, I raced over to the Jr. High to set up for the 9th grade promotion party LUAU.  Thanks to Caroline and Jodelle's daughter Hannah for their help!

Here they come - tired boys after a day at Lagoon . . . let's get this party started!

Ryan and best buddy Sam Peterson  - boys will be boys . . . sigh.

Awesome party - shaved ice, dinner, live band, and yearbook signing!

Our boys didn't mind too much having us there - Jodelle always keeps things lively!

Caroline signing yearbooks this morning w/ friends Maddie and Sophie

Our teacher gifts - a special cookie and movie gift cards.

Liza saying "good-bye" to her kindergarten teachers, Mrs. Pope and Mrs. Oakeson - what a great year!

Sophie and her absolute FAVORITE teacher of all time, Mrs. Menssen.  She will be dearly missed!

Sweet Hunter gave Sophie a hug to help her feel better - she did manage a smile!

I think I'm going back to bed . . .

I refuse to get up when this is what we get to wake up to this morning:

With the crazy, cold, wet spring we've been having Caroline predicted just the other day that it would probably SNOW on her birthday . . . well, her birthday is tomorrow and we already have about an inch of the white stuff on our lawn and it's showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.  What happened to spring this year??

The poor birds - they're outside chirping madly trying to figure this all out . . . especially when the snow didn't melt until after 2pm - I don't ever recall a day in May when I had to use my 4-wheel drive and wear my ski coat to a soccer game!

We ended up with 4" fresh snow - that's got to be a record for this late in the season.

What do we do?

I ran across this article in from the Washington Post the other day and thought I would share.  I found it very insightful, especially considering the insanity of my own particular brand of motherhood the past two weeks, which translates into no blog posts . . .

The author's words about the daily influence we have on our children really struck me, and I'm learning as my kids get older that it's our example and ongoing conversation with these little creatures that is ever so important.  Here is the following unforeseen "mom duties" I have been attending to the past couple weeks (this is the short list of everything that didn't include the daily feeding, washing, clothing, and driving my children require):

• 
  
  A dead pet.  Yes, Miffy, our little bunny who thought it was a dog, bit the dust a couple weeks ago.  I received a call from our neighbor (who found Miffy dead on her lawn) while picking out a birthday party gift with three of the kids.  I told her to put the bunny in a bag and we'd come get it when we get home.  Sophie, unfortunately got off the bus alone, discovered our dead pet on our porch, and seemed to handle the trauma surprising well until I could make it home.  My duty:  keep calm, dole out long hugs to those who loved Miffy (everyone but Liza - she was thrilled the pest was gone), explain the purpose of life and death, and oversee the digging of Miffy's grave and funeral service (where Liza happily decorated the headstone).
• 
  
  Disappointments.  Later that evening, Caroline competed in her first G14 (girls age 13-15) tennis tournament where she was defeated quickly by an East HS varsity player.  My Duty:  offer as much encouragement as possible that she is a good tennis player, tell her she played great (while at the same time she tells me she played horrible), and continue to encourage her never to give up and try again.
• 
  
  Agency.  Learning a few days later that our children have their agency.  We can teach, direct, listen, offer advice, encourage, love, sacrifice, etc., but the hard part is realizing that our children will at times ignore our wise counsel and make their own decisions.  My Duty:  Continue to love, despite disappointment.  Forgive without bringing up the past.  Move forward without blaming myself, or even worse, thinking I've failed as a parent.
• 
  
  When the world crashes down on a 12-year old.  Realizing that it's not "just 7th grade" or "just dance company," but when making the Jr. High School Dance Company means everything to your daughter, and when her two best friends made it and she was cut, it was the end of the world.  Tears, tears, and more tears.  I've never seen Caroline so distraught, but I've also never seen her so resilient.  My Duty:  Stay positive, be her greatest supporter and cheerleader, continue to tell her she is a beautiful dancer and there just must have been a mistake made in the judging ;-).  And most important, let her know that life goes on and sometimes life just doesn't seem fair, but she'll be a stronger person for the experience.
• 
  
  Injuries:  Mine.  I don't function well if I am incapacitated and I can't be the mother my kids need.  On Wednesday this week I woke up to terrible pain in my foot after a long tennis match the night before.  I had been feeling slight pain for a few weeks, but refusing to rest and stay off my foot, I continued to run (even participated in a 5k race), hike, and play tennis.  Now I was done for, thought I had a stress fracture by the way my toes were swelling and how the slightest painful touch about did me in, and believed I had no hope now to train for my first marathon this fall.  My Duty:  REST (impossible) and stay off my feet and try my hardest not to be a grouch around the kids and anyone else . . . stay positive (ya, right), oh, and make a dr. appt. ASAP!  The one bright spot of my week - it's just inflamed joints, refraining from any weight bearing exercise for two weeks and some meds should heal my foot . . . phew, I can be a mom again :-).
• 
  
  Attention.  Something my little girls were going without considering everyone else's struggles of the week, as well as the ongoing process of trying to sell the home.  Homework assignments, spelling lists, and book reports were forgotten, one on one time was non-existent, and they had to rely on each other for company during these weeks that also included Caroline's spring dance performance, Ryan's end of season LAX stuff, school fundraisers, etc.  My Duty:  Try to make time, and we did.  Yesterday we took off for a movie ("How to Train your Dragon" - if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it) and lunch, then a relaxing Sunday and time together as a family - a nice weekend and the girls once again felt important.

So, in answer to the writer's question of what we do all day: well, it goes beyond anything I could have ever imagined even 10 years ago.  It is constant nurturing, teaching, loving, forgiving, protecting, reassuring, and many hugs and kisses thrown in for good measure.  It requires an amazing amount of patience, humility, faith, and hope . . . which many days I'm not sure I have enough, but somehow I do and realize that motherhood molds women into pillars of strength that cannot be found in any other occupation, and I am eternally grateful for that opportunity.

Inspiring

I just posted my Mother's Day post, but wanted to share this video with you all about an extraordinary woman and mother whose unbelievable story of strength and humility is a beautiful reminder of God's deep, powerful love, and the comfort he offers to each of us.  He truly knows us personally, and especially our struggles and heartaches.  If this amazing young woman can continue to find joy and happiness each day despite her setbacks, how much more do we have to be grateful . . .



To follow Stephanie's blog, click here.  You'll be inspired!

After I watched Stephanie's video, I stumbled upon another message about overcoming the afflictions and challenges of mortality.  This talk by Elder Cook is just so reassuring, and I hope it brings each of you more peace, understanding, and light . . .

Mom's Day

"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much."

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Great, no pressure!  I'm hoping "bungle" here means getting them all to the age of 18 and out of the house with as few emotional scars as possible and with enough common sense to make life decisions on their own . . . yikes, scary.

Well, another Mother's Day has passed, another weekend to remember how blessed I am to have the opportunity to raise these kids and reflect on the divine gift of motherhood.  It was also one of the greatest Mother's Days on record!

For me, I love celebrating this holiday with my family . . . forget time alone, time getting a massage or pedicure, and forget any gifts that come from a store.  This year was just special.  In the past I think Chris was unsure about how to go tackle this holiday, and therefore at times just pretend it didn't exist, which was quite hurtful.  However, this year, he asked what I would like to do for Mother's Day, what would make me happy.  It was very sweet and I know he is making an effort to help me feel acknowledged on this day.  Of course, he always seems so surprised when my requests are so simple - in his words, "you are so easy to please - that's it?" 

One of the many cards made by Liza - this was my favorite.

Here is the rundown of my ideal Mom's Day weekend . . . 

an outing: dinner (Greek) and movie ("Oceans") with Chris and the kids which even included a stop for ice-cream on our way home (check), thoughtful homemade gifts and cards, and Ryan's sweet words during FHE (check), plenty of hugs and kisses (check), Chris taking over my church calling as primary pianist so I could attend the other meetings (check), a long phone conversation with my mom (check), Chris' grilled steak for Sunday dinner and his help in the kitchen (check), time outside in the sun watching the kids play and Chris work with Liza on her bike (check), and finally, the sweet acknowledgement from my dear husband of my contributions to our family and how much it means to them that I am their mother (aahhh, check). 

I ended the day snuggling on the couch listening to Liza read, then just holding her with her little arms wrapped tightly around my neck while gently rubbing her warm back under her pjs, and thinking how truly wonderful it is to be a mom, how blessed I've been to spend every day in the presence of these children, and how much I'll miss them dearly when they're gone.

This was the watercolor Sophie created for me - I LOVE it!

BYU Women's Conference 2010

I came home brimming with renewed energy and filled with more . . .

Truth, Hope, Understanding, Testimony, Righteousness, Courage, Love, Faith, Mercy, Light, Goodness, Humility, Strength, Comfort, Forgiveness, Power, Wisdom, Obedience, Guidance, Peace, Compassion, Gratitude, Trust, Diligence.

Women's conference is truly a time to strengthen my testimony and feel the energy of so many righteous, faithful women in one place.  I come home rededicated to keeping my priorities aligned with the Lord's and more committed to having the spirit in my heart and home each day.  I feel completely rejuvenated and I am so grateful for the many volunteers, and especially the inspired speakers that made the conference possible.  It was such a treat to attend BOTH days this year and I'm already looking forward to next year's spiritual feast.