Week 27- Red, White, and Blue

Getting back into the running game after having Em wasn't an easy task for me.

Was it the "zombie" affect of a new parent?

Was it nursing until she was 15 months?

Was I just being lazy?

Or was it the mental block that keeps us all from doing things we know are good for us, we enjoy, and feel better once we are doing them?

...who knows...

Here's to my first real race since the Ragnar I ran when I was 12 weeks prego with little Em.
So fun I was able to run with my dad and oldest brother!

Common questions/phrases in a runners world:

(These are real. The funny thing is, I think the majority of the time people are being genuine. It's humorous.)

*How many miles are on your shoes? These have at least 500. (Oh, do they?)

*You know you're not a real runner unless you've pooped your pants? (Interesting. So..are you a real runner? ...I wouldn't share that with too many people.)

*I just PRed! 

*How many kills do you have? (I keep the commandments.)

*How many shoes have you burned through? (Running shoes are expensive, I can't speak for you but I don't burn my shoes.)

*I pronate, do you? (Is that an ice-breaker?)
*What do you wear on your nipples? (Thankfully I have not been asked this question.)
*What would you recommend for chafing?

Oh to be a runner...or at least a wannabe.

*Hyrum Parade Fun*

Despite the heat, we had a great time. The kids always make the parade more entertaining. And it was adorable watching Em soak it all in for the first time. Safe to say she's a fan of parades! The horses and motorcycles were her highlights...oh and the candy ;).

*BBQ*

Grammie always comes up with the best activities! She made dinosaur ice eggs with an actual baby dino waiting on the inside. Here are the kids trying to "hatch" (melt) their eggs on the hot tramp. The ice and water balloons made for a good resource for an impromptu game of curling on the slip 'n slide as well.

Week 16- Easter

This Easter felt so special. The weather was beautiful, we had a lot of fun family and friend activities planned, and we centered the holiday around Christ. As I contemplated over the last few weeks what I could do in coming years to teach my children about our Saviors life, death, and resurrection, it helped ME to really focus on Christ this Easter, and it was amazing. I loved reading the gospel principles lesson on the Atonement with Couper on Saturday night, then listening to general authorities throughout the morning on Sunday. I'm excited to use this "Christ-Centered Easter" book in the future!

I hope you were able to feel of our Savior's love for you this Easter, and will continue to feel it and be able to apply the Atonement to your life throughout the whole year.

The girls Easter fun began on Friday. Em and I headed to Saratoga Springs to stay with cousins for the night.

Em wasn't that into dying the eggs..mostly cracking them (by throwing them like balls) and putting stickers everywhere. Oakley made it a very enjoyable experience though!

After eating a fun yummy breakfast that Val prepared, we literally ran to make it to the city "egg hunt". Em and Reagan were too dang cute. Toddlers are welcome to join me in an egg hunt anytime! Too cute!

We were able to hit up cousin Priya's 3rd birthday party on our drive back to Logan. I wasn't able to snap any photos because of an overly tired and clingy Em. But we loved being at the Gelter's and giving Princess Priya lots of birthday hugs and kisses. We survived the multiple long drives with very few tears, (Em did AMAZING and slept almost every time her head hit the car seat) and only one poop explosion (I sometimes wonder if these will ever end for this poor girl).

The Easter bunny knows Em has a thing for carrots (she loves them, but especially loves to sign "carrot", and we're all in love with that sign!). The candy carrot got just the reaction we wanted, non-stop Em signing "carrot" with a wide-eyed smile. We're excited for some new sidewalk chalk to purdy-up our walk.

Technically this was Em's 3rd Easter Egg Hunt (her first one was at Grammie's) and she scored. She was an expert at shaking and adding the eggs to her basket; and clearly so proud of herself. She's even trying to say "egg" now. We're so grateful for amazing friends like the Hansen's to include us in birthdays, blessings, and fun!

A lovely and entertaining Easter dinner with the Kartchners. So glad we could put my Christmas ham from the Preston School District to use...haha. I'm especially grateful my mom gave-in to herself and made Chocolate Wonder; a tradition that needs to stay alive.

Happy Easter!

Week 11-Going Green

For St. Patty's Day.

Seems like a silly holiday, because I don't really know the history of it well. But, there are some fun traditions you can make out of it. The biggest tradition for this minor holiday that we had in my house growing up was having a green meal. So, that's basically what we do :). The main dish of our leprechaun dinner consisted of these "green noodles", with a few other fun things. We went green the night before St. Patrick's day because Coup has class for 5 hours on Monday nights. Therefore, we didn't bother to wear green. We were glad Shantel could join us while Grant was in Salt Lake.

Em isn't sure what to think of avocado...

(Sorry this post is a) late, and b) not very exciting. I tried to convince Couper to blog for "week 11" about his adventures in Vegas for the WBB tournament, but when I relayed when I wanted it done by, he said "Not gonna happen..." I even offered to organize pictures for him ;). Although we are super, EXTREMELY grateful for a break from basketball and more time with Couper/daddy, and we do get to see him more...in all honesty he still really doesn't have the spare time to blog. So use your imaginations to conjure up how his last bball trip was, and be grateful I decided to put forth the effort for "week 11" anyway.)