Memorial Day Weekend

Just your typical family and fun filled Memorial day. We took the kids out of school on Friday and went to St. George to play at this amazing park. Its called Thunder Junction and it has a working train and volcano (just smoke). Plus an amazing rock splash pad and zip line. It kept the kids happy and active for hours!! Then we headed up to the cabin to see Caity and Clara (plus husbands) but a couple days. Jack LOVED the 4 wheelers and would sit on them for hours waiting for someone to give him a ride. Scarlett spent the whole time outside playing fairies in the woods and Alice just was happy for every minute. The kids were all filthy and exhausted when we left on Monday afternoon...perfection!

Mother's Day 2017

The girls were so excited for Mother's Day to finally arrive. They both had made me a special present and were bursting to give to me. I woke up to breakfast in bed and Scarlett begging for me to open her present. Alice drew a picture of a rainbow with flowers and Scarlett gave me a small mason jar filled with reasons why she loved me (she made it in school and I love it). I loved ready the notes and seeing all the reasons she came up with. My favorite was "I love you mom because you help do art". Scarlett is my little artist and I have actually been trying to encourage her to draw, paint, and be creative. It was validating that she appreciates my efforts. Nick was a sweetheart and got me a dozen red roses. It was the first time he was ever gotten me red rose, which are so beautiful and classic. I loved not having any church meetings in the morning and being able to enjoy the morning with the kids. I love celebrating all the mothers in m life and the lessons they have taught me. I have been blessed (as has Nick) with amazing women that have loved and supported us. 

I was thinking today of how strong motherhood has me. I am so much more emotionally, physically, and spiritually strong because of my children. The growth I have seen in myself in the last 7 years of motherhood has been astounding. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has drawn me closer to my Savior than my children. I am understanding more and more the divine role that families and parenthood has in the Plan of Salvation. I feel so blessed to be a mother, wife, and daughter.

Alice Graduates Preschool

Sweet little Alice graduated preschool last week. Alice just loved going to Ms. Kelly's preschool 3 days a week. Every Tuesday-THursday she looked forward to going to school with Spencer and seeing all her little girl friends. Alice is super social, smart, loves to learn, and can write her name perfectly. I will miss our quiet afternoons together next year as she goes to all day kindergarten. But I told her that she can stay home anytime she wants and some days I may even force her to stay home!! She is my sweet cuddly little girl and I just adore her! Her teacher said that one word that describes Alice is "delightful" and I whole heartedly agree!

Revel Mt. Charleston Marathon

                              

This whole marathon journey has been an absolute dream...seriously, I have dreamed about running qualifying for Boston since I was 15 years old. I knew that without a training group that was diligent, fast, and determined it would never happen (I trained for my first 2 marathons alone and it was such a negative experience and vowed to never do it again). But here I am with the most amazing group of running friends I could ever imagine. The most meaningful aspect of this marathon training has not been qualifying for Boston but making such inspirational friendships. 

The marathon itself was beautiful and BRUTAL all at the same time!! I started to feel tight and sore about mile 7, which plays games with your head seeing that you have 20 miles left! But I pushed through and about mile 14 things changed. I felt amazing! I put in my head phones and just cruised along side Emily for the next 9 miles. There was a point when I just started to cry because I knew I was running my best and doing what I have dreamed about for so long, qualifying for Boston. The sun was shinning and it was a perfect running moment that connected me with who I was, who I am, and who I will be. Running has always been a constant for me and I hope that never changes. Then mile 23 hit and I fell apart! My legs stopped working and my mind started telling me horrible things like "why are you doing this?", "just stop", "you can't push on". Luckily, our dear running friends (team mates really) were right there to jump in and run with us for the next couple of miles. Without their strength and words of motivation I could not have finished with a qualifying time. They will never now the how much inspiration they gave me to run harder! I pushed on and was able to maintain a good pace (but not without extreme pain) till the finish. When I crossed I fell into Tiffany's (she ran the half and was waiting for me to finish) arms and just started crying. I had qualified for Boston with 1:50 to spare...whew. My official time was 3:33:10 and I was 37th in my age group of 30-35! (out of hundreds! almost 2,000 ran the race). 

I have been teary all week thinking about the race. Some tears from sheer pain and many others from gratitude. So grateful I found these ladies to run with, grateful they helped me see my potential, grateful I took the opportunity, grateful 16 years ago I started this running journey, and most I am grateful I have the health and time to train. This has been an unforgettable experience and a complete gift. Really that is how I see it...I have hit the lottery! Now I just have to somehow have a baby and get to Boston. So that's my next year in a nutshell!

Easter 2017

We had a peaceful morning (without any YW meeting!) going through Easter baskets and having a family egg hunt. The kids loved finding out that the Easter bunny brought them a baby fish! After church we went to the Milne house for a delicious dinner, egg hunt, and hours of cousin time. I love this holiday and the way it reminds of the blessings of the atonement and resurrection. I know that  the plan of happiness would be nothing without Easter and without the plan of happiness there is no eternity with my family. I feel so blessed to have a testimony of the true meaning of Easter and a personal relationship with my Savior. "He is not here, for He has risen"

Everyday Life

Life has such a steady flow these days and I have come to really appreciate the simplicity. Mondays Alice and Scarlett have tennis lessons with an amazing coach and love taking it with friends. Jack always runs around causing all sorts of mischief during the lesson. In September he will be able to take it with the girls and I know he will just LOVE it! Tuesday Scarlett has dance after school and takes it with 2 little girls in her school class. She is so excited for the end of the year recital where she will dance to the Moana song. I find her singing and practicing her dance in her bedroom and it melts my heart. Every morning I wave goodbye to Scarlett as she bikes to school and she yells out "I love you mom". It has been a dream of mine to have my kids have good friends and a school close enough to walk to. We all LOVE it! Alice has preschool Tuesday-Thursday with Spencer and of course she has a gang of little girls that she loves to play with at school. And that's our week! We have friends come play in the afternoons and we started going to the library on Thursday evenings for family story time. Nick has been selling pest control till after the kids bedtime so I try and keep us all busy and happy in the evenings. We make dinner, do homework, and of course spend hours in our backyard. That backyard is crazy and wonderful and a complete lifesaver. As I type this Scarlett and Alice are painting fairy house back there. The kids love having no rules outside and can bang and destroy everything! I love that they are all smiles and enjoying the beautiful time of year. 

This time last year we were in a house that didn't meet our needs, a school we weren't growing/learning in, a ward we felt stagnate in, and Nicks job he felt stuck in. In one year we refreshed and revived our life and quite frankly I am very proud of us! We were able to come together as a family and make big/hard decisions and best of all make them with the help of the Lord. Now we have a house and jobs we love, schools we are flourishing in, and a ward we know really needs our service. I wake up every morning in the dark and as I run with dear friends I watch the sun rise over our near perfect corner of the universe. Every morning I get teary thinking how blessed we are as I watch the sky light up with sun!! I know the Lord loves me and my family and has set us up to succeed. I also know that the best way to show my thanks is to love and appreciate every minute!