This girl, that boy

So in love with this little creature.

She is an amazing little soul.

We went on a date the other day.

We took Sophie.

Sadie had to leave our date

(Arctic Circle shakes)

to check on sweet Sophie.

See her in the back seat?

Both of them.. so happy to be out.

Both of them cute as could be.

One of them--super stinky and hairy,

the other one--just delicious..

I love this girl.

We have a lot of fun together.

I feel like she was sent to me to slow me down a bit.

I need to remember each day

that nothing else is as important as taking time to connect with my kids.

Sadie helps me remember.

Tanner had the job of removing our dead tree.

Can I just say how A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

it is to have a teenaged boy around to do hard work.

He is sooo strong and had this tree disassembled in mere hours.

Root ball and all!

Todd was impressed.

I was so thankful.

Tanner was sore.

All in all, a good ending.

I love this picture of Sadie in her tree

and Tanner in the background working on the stump/root ball.

LOVE THESE PEEPS!

There is Beauty all around...

...When there's spring in UTAH!

It is about time, Mother Nature.
We have enjoyed the pleasant weather today.
Of course, Todd has started yet another yard project,
and there has been much football and basketball playing outside.
Lovin' having the trampoline set back up.
Love watching Sadie do her "Tricks".

I am a bit upset thought.
I will be leaving for OAHU in 5 days, and I am upset that I will be leaving SPRING.
I don't want to be jealous of Utah weather when I am in OAHU.
Is that possible?
For me.. yes...

I am praying for blue skies and sunny, warm weather..
UNTIL..
Wednesday, May 1st.
Then my prayers will be that winter will return for just a week.
So I can gloat as I float.

It is Utah. Stranger things have happened! (crickets, seagulls to name a few..)

Life

My princess loves the Walking Dead app.

I don't know when or how she got the app.

But she did.

I love Zombie Sophie, 

but Zombie Barbie is also very awesome.

Poor, poor Sophie.

Imagine if your Grandma, who was

in a wheelchair and had rotten teeth and 

a constant case of gas,

was posed and propped all the time.

I am pretty sure she hates her life.

Except for when this happens.

Sadie with my Iphone again.

At least she didn't Zombify me.

Sadie "cooking" 

That was one strong smelling cake she made.

Cumin, parsley, mushrooms, poppyseeds, Marjoram (what is that even for?),

Tarragon, salt, pepper, chicken, and red peppers.

I was busy making pizza.

I am so Martha, that I now have

a homemade pizza night, once a week!

I am slowly figuring out the best recipe for my crust and the best 

techniques to get the crust thin and crunchy.

This week we had a BBQ chicken veggie pizza and a Pepperoni/Bacon pizza.

Both were awesome,

because, lets face it..

I am awesome.

And so is Sadie's soup.

Shin Splints be damned!

Recently I made a very bad decision.
A decision I am sure to regret someday very soon.
The decision was volunteering myself to a Ragnar Team again.
Oh, Ragnar.
I did love you last year, but I feel as though this year, I may be pushing my luck.
5 pounds heavier.
1 year older.
Several injuries later.
One MD advisement to "choose something else besides running..".
What was I thinking?

Well, I will tell you what I was thinking.
I was thinking that I was 30 and could just put my mind to something and do it.
I was thinking that I wouldn't have to stretch for 10 minutes before and after each run, just like always.
Stretching is for OLD people. (HA)
I was thinking that I could WILL my body to cooperate with me for just a few weeks, until that glorious race weekend.

I was, obviously, NOT thinking.
I realize that there are a lot of people out there who run well past 42.
However, I should not be one of them.
I should be sitting on the couch, folding laundry and watching Ellen.
The only time I should really run is if a big ugly man is chasing me, or if my kids need saving. Or if I hear the ice cream truck...
Otherwise.. Momma should sit or gently walk.

My experience with running for the last 12-13 years has been that, most of the time, it is hard. The first mile sucks and then the last mile sucks. Doesn't matter how far you are going, that is the rule for me. Every once in a while, you get NIRVANA! A run that feels so good and exhilarating you feel like you could go for days-that your very legs are turning the earth on it's axis. Those runs, though few for me, are what keep me coming back.

I have had only one such run in my training thus far.
A chubby 42 year old, mother of 4, deserves more freakin' Nirvana than that.

I will gut this out, because that is the way I roll.
I will not quit.
I will not cry.
I will probable end up injured and treating myself in PT. (No co-pay! Winning!)
But, Ragnar will not beat me.
I don't think it will anyway.

Tomorrow is my longest run of my training thus far .. 6 miles.
I am putting it out there--I expect nothing less than to be rocked with the mother of all NIRVANAS.
Please.. I need some encouragement..and Aleve and Ice and an Epsom Salt soak.

Midway through Ragnar last year..Tired, but feeling good.

What will the Stacy of Ragnar 2013 look like??

Probably like an episode of "Walking Dead"

And more meme's and ecards because they make me happy...

Kidstuff

I love how Sadie is learning how to spell phonetically. The picture on the right above says "Dog Food. For Dog not humans". So cute.

I love finding these writings all over my house.

And by all over, I really mean ALL OVER.

The kids like to play store. They get money from their piggy bank and sell each other items. Sadie usually gets taken advantage of by my little Lamanite Luke.  It is okay though. They have fun. They don't fight for maybe 16 minutes. It is literally 16 minutes of heaven in my home. It usually comes around every 1000 years. 

We also had fun for about 5 minutes hours with an indoor fort. I spent hours constructing it and they played happily for many seconds. So fun.

Gotta love being stuck inside while the Spring weather rages outside. Hello 14 inches of rain. Hello housebound kids (AGAIN). Hello running 4.5 miles this morning and feeling (and looking) like I fell in the lake by the time I was done. Gotta love Springtime in Zion!

Easter 2013

We had a great weekend with our college girl.
Colored eggs.
Hunted candy.
Found baskets (Maddie is always the last to find hers!). I think 75% of the time she ends up crying. Not this year though! She finally found her basket in the washing machine. Silly Rabbit.
We ate and we partied.
Such a good time.

Maddie received a purse from the Easter bunny-
(that bunny is one smart fella-knows what us girls want).
It looks like mustard, but that is just because of the filter.
It is really a bright and happy spring color.
And that is my bright and happy daughter.

Tanner received food from the Easter bunny (chips, bacon jerky, candy).
Like I said-that bunny is no fool!.

Luke and Sadie received an extraordinary amount of goodies in their baskets.
I sort of felt like the Easter Bunny must have been distracted while assembling them.
I feel like, possibly, he got confused and thought it was Christmas.
The amount of "things" overflowed and didn't even fit in the baskets.
Sometimes that Easter Bunny needs to slow it down and think a little bit.
But I am sure he has been busy with laundry, dinners, cleaning, dusting, baking, dying eggs, making marshmallow peeps, & preparing Easter Baskets.

LOVE MY PEEPS!

Thank you

Dear Lord,

Thank you so much for this beautiful spring weather we have had.
I needed it sooo much.
My soul needed it sooo much.
One more day of off track kids + snow + cold would have = padded cell.

Thank you for my crazy kids.
Thank you for making them just the way they are.
Energetic, sometimes demanding, sweet, fun, occasionally high-maintenence, smart.
Thank you for their healthy bodies..
For their amazing brains..
For their strong spirits..
For the things I am learning by being their mother.
I would have loved it if they would have come to me enjoying vegetables.. but, whatev's.

Thank you for my home that we have worked so hard for-
I never thought we would find our perfect home.. I doubted that you would answer
such a temporally-minded prayer.
I was wrong.
I love my house.
Our yard is done, so now I love it too.
I love watching my kids on the trampoline, Todd playing football and/or basketball with the kids.
I even love mowing the lawn.
I dislike weeding and picking up Sophie's "brownies", but that is neither here nor there..

We have the perfect renter, Julee.
She is beautiful and quiet and timely with her rent.
I remember praying hard for the perfect renter, and you blessed us there, too.
Now we are making good use of a small part of our house which was never being used.
And a bit of rent money doesn't hurt either.
Thank you, thank you.
She is a blessing.

I love our neighbors and our beautiful neighborhood.
2 years ago, during our house hunt, I would have never dreamed we could get so lucky.
I thought I would never find what I wanted, but I prayed for it anyway. You heard me. So cool.
Thanks again for hearing my dumb temporal prayers..

Thank you for my sweet and kind and patient and sexy husband.
I do not deserve him.
He doesn't swear at me, even when I swear at him.
He holds his tongue when I do not.
He is so good to me and my kids.
I could not make it without him.
He is soft-spoken and hard-working.

He doesn't divorce me when I buy a new purse.

(It may seem like a little thing to divorce someone over, but you haven't seen my closet if you think that.)

He eats what I make for dinner and never complains.. I mean NEVER.

He gives the best foot massages in the world!

He tries harder than anyone I know to give his children the love and attention they deserve.
I love that he loves to play with any and all of the kids.
He loves chatting with the teens about their lives.
He loves playing football and basketball with Luke and Tanner.
He loves trying to teach Sadie to love football and basketball.
He loves laughing at Maddie as she sprains herself playing football and basketball.
I love you my husband, my sweet little cupcake.

We are trying to do the best we can.
We are thankful for our opportunities and challenges.
We are  so thankful for the spring, following a sometimes dark and cold winter.
I am mindful that I am very blessed.

Amen and amen.

Sunshine + Todd off + football = Heaven in my backyard