Our new addition

Say hello to our new little bunny Lila! (sorry Ryan and Julie for naming our pet the same as your baby! Elise loved tne name)

Our friend who we got the other bunny from gave her to us, and we are in love! She has big dark eyes and the cutest mane.

Elise first wanted to name her Soda, then Miles came up with Cheese. I told them no more food names, pick a regular cute one. So Elise and Monet chose Lila. Miles is still mad we didn't name her Cheese.

She is almost as big as Sugar! She looks bigger now since Sugar got shaved, but they'll be about the same size when she is full grown. Sugar just ignores the bunnies. We were hoping she'd be a good maternal influence, but she isn't interested.

It has been a sad day at our house.

Our little bunny died today. He was just a couple months old, and so tiny and cute. We got him about three weeks ago and the kids have LOVED having him. He loved to be cradled like a baby and was always licking Jared when he would cuddle the bunny.

This morning I found him just lying on his side in his cage, and just a few minutes later he died. He may have had a genetic problem where dwarf bunnies can't grow. He was tiny and didn't eat much. One of his siblings had that problem and died recently.

The girls are so sad! I think there have been more tears shed today than all of their lives combined. Miles on the other hand seems to be just fine with his keen understanding of the resurrection. He informed me that the bunny can be resurrected and it is with Jesus.

I've been waiting to post our new Lego family blog header. Monet worked hard on it the other day. She made a little white rabbit to go along with the rest of us. I just hadn't snapped a picture yet, so I guess now we won't need it.
After awhile, I told the girls to write down their feelings. Here is what they came up with:





Maybe we'll get another Lionhead bunny in the next little while. Monet is planning to ask Santa for one.

Mom, is this the John Tesh Show?

"Mommy, where is Eagle Gate college?"
"Hey, is this the John Tesh show?" (that guy is SOOO cheesy, even for me)

Just some of the comments I've heard from Miles in the car lately that make me realize that we listen to the radio a lot, and that kid pays attention to everything.

I was shocked when at two he broke out in perfect pitch and harmonize "F-M One Hundred!"

(Yes, I guess this should also make me realize how nerdy I am. I love FM100, always have, and probably always will. If only we lived back in California and I could have my "Love Songs on the Coast.")

Anyway, we spend so much time in the car, I should use my Pimsleur's Spanish. Maybe Miles would learn something useful and I could finally cross becoming proficient in Spanish off my long list of lifetime goals.

The Non-Shopping Fix

Anyone else add things to their virtual shopping carts with no intention of really buying it? I think it must give me some kind of fix. I just added this a few weeks ago. Every few days, I go back and check on it:

Although I think I do have $4 in store credit to this store, it isn't going to do much to justify me buying this dress. So I guess I'll just admire it in the shopping cart.

I'll waste way too much time scouring Ebay and Gymboree for cute little outfits for my kids, that I will never even attempt to buy. I think I have a problem!

It started when I'd add things to my cart, knowing I could watch for them to go on sale more easily. But it kinda evolved into this non-shopping high. I gain some sort of satisfaction of just having it in my shopping cart. No need to actually buy, just putting it in the cart feels good somehow. So odd. It is a cute dress though, isn't it? Maybe I should just photoshop my head on there.

Healing from Divorce

About 13 years ago my parents divorced. I was 19, and they had been married for 28 years. The day my dad packed up his closet (that was right across the hall from my room) and moved out was the saddest day ever. I would see that empty closet and just bawl. I hated the fighting, the accusations and the contention. And what was worse, the kids started fighting with each other about the divorce. It was just a sad time. I felt somewhat numb to it all in some moments, and pretty devastated in others.

For about five years, our family was still healing. It takes awhile to get through those types of things. There were still feelings to work through, and lots of relationships that needed mending. Teenagers that were struggling. Parents that were hurting. But at thirteen years post-family dissection, I look at my family, ALL of it, and just want to cry tears of joy.

I have a mom who is completely devoted to her kids and her grand kids. She travels the world and has lots of wonderful friends. She has lots of remodeling projects that keep her busy. And she is very happy. My mom will call and ask if we want to go out cause she wants to hang out with our kids. We love that! My kids, and pretty much all their friends too, come running home when they see Grandma Nancy's truck in front of our house.

My dad was remarried to Diane, who is so "awesome." LOL. She is our "bud." : ) She totally loves us, and is a friend to us. She always said, "I don't want to be your mom, I just want to be another person who loves you," and I know she does. They had three boys, Luke, who was just baptized last week, and their twins Sam and Max who are six. So I have three little brothers! It is pretty great. My kids love going over there because not only do they have three little uncles to play with, but they have great toys. I love the childproofed house and that they don't get stressed with the kids. My dad lost his job as a seminary teacher when he got divorced (church rule you can't be divorced and teach seminary). That was hard for him. But now he absolutely loves his job as a security analyst for the church, he gets to travel to South America and even learned Portuguese. Here is a picture I took of my dad, Diane and my little brothers last Christmas Eve:

I think the sibling bonds were really strengthened through the whole divorce. I remember Angela stepping in and really helping to foster a family identity despite the division. That identity was based on sibling relationships. I loved that. Even though our parents were divorced, we were still a family. I've posted about my brother here, and my sisters here. We just had our first ever kids trip to Pagosa Springs this summer. I don't think I could have had a better week--okay, maybe if my kids had not been sleeping on top of me all week it could have been better--but it was so fun to be with everyone.

Every year we celebrate Christmas Eve together. All of us. My mom, dad, all the kids, all the grand kids, everyone. We do a gift exchange, eat, and just do what we do best, talk! It is great. The kids run around together. And we have a really nice time, and it is just a great thing to us that our parents get along and don't seem too uncomfortable, even in this potentially awkward situation. To me, our Christmas Eve's symbolize that our family has healed.

I guess I just wanted to post this, because I know that back in that day when I felt absolutely hopeless about our situation, I could never foresee that we could have such peace. I know that I have some adult friends who are still struggling with their families, and I wanted to let them know that there is hope! Divorce is hard, and healing takes time, but it isn't the end of the family. I love the song "family tree" by Cherie Call. I am a sucker for all things sentimental and this one makes me cry pretty much every time I hear it. You can listen to it here.

5 Things I love about Elise--Happy 9th Birthday!

Elise recently turned 9! She had an Olympics Birthday party and it was so much fun!

We all loved diving into the foam pit. Here is Elise doing a backflip:

Her friend Hailey stayed up so late to wish Elise a happy birthday! She was on a trip to California and got back late, but wanted to see Elise. That was so sweet!

5 things I love about Elise:

I love that she loves fashion and girly stuff, but isn't afraid to get her hands dirty either. From covering her arms with snails, fishing, and building worm orphanages, to covering her body in paint or mud--Elise really loves adventure. Here she is catching her first fish. The next month she caught a barracuda that was almost as big as she was! Good thing she loves seafood.

Here is trying on clothes on her birthday, just the two of us. It was fun to have some girl time.

She is creative. I love the games she and her friends think up . For example: elaborate homes for her American Girl Dolls and stuffed animals, awesome forts, and creating all kinds of inventions and fashion designs.

She helps me SO much and is so responsible. She takes great care of Simone and Miles. She has started taking Simone to the park on occasion. Elise is so sweet in the way she talks to her and is incredibly patient. I am so grateful for her help!

Elise is keenly aware of humor. We love to tease her, because she just gets it and always has a ready grin.

And finally I love her personality. Sometimes I am amazed at how much she is like Jared. They both love seafood, humor, nonfiction books, animals, creating inventions, and sports. She has his coordination too. Thank goodness!

Here is another one because I can't resist. This was when Elise first got to hold her new little sister, and it is just so sweet and fun. I love that little voice!




I love you Elise! You will always be that sweet little baby that made me a mother. I loved you from the moment I saw those cute chubby cheeks. Actually it was way before then when you were dancing in my tummy. I am so happy to be your mom.

Pictures from the Race

So my friend Rebecca was nice enough to take pictures at the race and send them to me. Here I am running in--Rebecca had to take this one over the crowd:

Here is one of Cara, Shelah, Me and Rebecca just after I came in--see, I am still having a bit of a hard time standing up. : )

Here is one of me and Shelah after. I just took a bite of a huge hunk of Great Harvest bread. Unfortunately, I wasn't producing any saliva and that bread would just not go down, so here is me with my mouthful. Lol. (Wish those sunglasses had been a hat! My face was frozen!)

St George Marathon Race Report

I’ve been waiting to run this race for YEARS! Every other year (the one I wasn’t pregnant) since 2003, I’ve registered for this race, and not been picked in the lottery. This was the year I finally made it. And now I see why it is such a popular race.

I was very happy with my time, I averaged 9:35/mile and finished at 4 hours 11 minutes. 45 minutes faster than my time in Chicago.

My friend Shelah also got in, and it was so fun to share the experience. She is FAST. Like 3 hours and 16 minutes fast! That is 7:30 miles—so awesome, I am totally inspired by her. She is running Boston next spring, and I am thinking she is going to pull off a sub-three one of these days.

I’ll give you the highlights of the race.

What I loved:

• It was so well organized, and wow, cute shirts and cool medals. I love it when the shirt design is good. I have far too many ugly race t-shirts. The organization was great, lots of aid stations, etc.

• Thanking my lucky stars that the mylar blanket I snatched out of my 72 hour kit to bring to the start was actually a mylar sleeping bag. I forgot to pack my sweatpants that I was going to toss. So I was happy to be warm and toasty while sitting in the rain and cold. That mylar really reflects the firelight too. Loved that.

• It was pretty funny to look around and see a bunch of black garbage bags (people were wearing them as ponchos because of the rain) running down the road. It was a funny sound too!

• Looking down at my watch at mile 7, realizing I just ran an 8:10 mile, and I am not even winded or tired. Wow! Awesome feeling. It is so empowering. Especially since a year ago my long runs were averaging 12 min miles.

• The great downhill stretch at about mile 14 or so. It was so beautiful! I loved it. I was hoping it would continue like that. Unfortunately it flattened out for awhile.

• Not being roasting hot. It was cold, but higher than normal temps would have been worse in my opinion. I just wish I’d been better prepared clothing wise.

• Another bonus, with it being so wet, I didn’t see a single person run into the portapotties. I think everyone was already soaked and were thinking , “what’s the point?” I had a few people run by that smelled very strongly of urine. My first thought was, “Those people are not drinking enough water!”

• Hearing my friends cheer for me as I ran that last mile. I LOVE having friends at the finish. They were so cute to sit out in that rain and cheer for me and for Shelah.

• Crossing the finish line. AHHHH! Done! Nothing feels that good.

• I don’t think I ever hit the wall. I felt pretty good. I really ran it mile by mile, and wasn’t too anxious to be done until that last mile. My legs were really cramping, but I wasn’t too terribly slow at the end like in my last marathon.

• Hearing the conversations of all the different runners was touching. I love knowing peoples stories, and wish I knew more about them. I found myself thinking a lot about purple-shirt-braids-girl that ran in front of me at Chicago.

• Taking a nice long hot shower when I got back. Ahh. Felt SO good.

What I didn’t love:

• Toward the end, I had to stop at every mile and have my legs rubbed down at the aid stations or just on the side of the road. They were totally cramping up. Something I’ve never experienced. I had the hardest time running down one hill, and I couldn’t figure it out. Why are my calves hurting? My calves are never sore. Then I realized what was happening and decided to do something about it. The stopping helped me to run a little faster so my pace wasn’t so slow.

• My knee hurt—but fortunately it wasn’t a steady ache for the whole race. It hurts today, but will probably be fine in a couple of days.

• The rain. Ugh. I had to tie my ipod to the inside of my shorts cause it was shorting out and my buttons wouldn’t work. Every step was water sloshing out of my shoes. My legs and face were cold, I was wishing I was wearing a hat and running tights.

• Being locked out of the house when we came back from the race on wobbly, freezing cold legs, and REALLY ready for that hot shower. Fortunately we made a few calls from the neighbors and got in pretty quick. I don’t think a hot shower has ever felt so good.

It was a great race, and I am excited to do another one soon. I am hoping to do my next one in under 4 hours. With winter coming, I should be able to build some speed with intervals on the treadmill. I think we only did 2 or 3 interval workouts this time. So hopefully that will make a difference! Thanks for all the well wishes. Your comments were so sweet and I totally thought of all of you during the race. My friend Rebecca snapped some pictures of me running in, and at the finish with our group. I’ll post some pictures when I get them.

And a special thanks to Jenn and Annette who got me out of bed to run with them! They were faster than me, and it totally helped to have someone get me through that hard first stage. Jenn just started running in April or so, and finished her first full marathon, while totally injured (that girl has some perseverance) at the Top of Utah Marathon a couple of weeks ago. She is just too humble to blog all about it like me. :) I'm still waiting for that race report Jenn! Annette did the Mesa Falls Half in August. Hopefully we can all take a bit of time off to recover, and get right back into it. I love having running buddies!

In about 30 hours

I'll be boarding a bus and riding up a canyon, freezing for a couple hours while I sit around and wait to go run 26.2 miles with 7000 other people.

I am nervous, excited, and everything in between. This is my second marathon. My first was five years ago, and such a fun experience. Well, maybe fun isn't the word. It was rewarding. I compared my race to being in labor. Hitting the wall was a lot like transition emotionally and physically. (Then along came Miles and Simone, both with VERY short easy deliveries, and ruined my analogy. They came so quick, their deliveries were more like the one mile fun run)

In the Chicago, I wasn't trying for a specific time, I just wanted to finish. And honestly, my training totally sucked. This time, I've trained better. Not perfect, but better. I really hope to beat my time by at least a half hour, hopefully more. So I have higher expectations of myself and hope that I can meet those.

This year running races really changed for me. I used to get a huge high just from running and finishing. I didn't even really care much about my time. Now my performance matters more to me--maybe I just need a new challenge. I am not happy when I don't finish well ("well" is so relative in the running world), especially if it is because I know I didn't prepare.

So hopefully I will have happy news to report on Sunday. Wish me luck!

Fall Photos