Kiddos' Goings On

 Lydia's first day of preschool and Russell's second birthday fell on the same day.  I think my kids orchestrated that so they could make sure I knew just how grown up they were getting.

She was so EXCITED!  And call me rotten if you want to, but I didn't choke up in the slightest as I dropped her off.  I knew she would love it (and that I would too).

I picked her up two hours later and we headed to the park to meet with friends and eat cupcakes.  It was a hot, sticky mess, but we have fantastic friends and neighbors.  And after Daddy got home, we did one our favorite family activities:  ice cream cones at Macey's.

We had his actual birthday party on Saturday so we could accommodate family.

 I decided to forgo the crazy cake in the shape of an animal, steamboat, or tank and just did a simple (but delicious) chocolate peanut butter cake.  He doesn't care, right?

Russell was not going to blow out his candles, and I must say that I was very pathetic in attempting to help him.  Not sure he will get his wish this year.

 Yes, I put the kid in a girl bib to eat his cake and ice cream and then I took a picture of it.  I didn't even think about it being a girl bib until the picture was snapped.  Oh well.  Call me a politically incorrect mom if you must.

Russell was in boy HEAVEN after he opened all his gifts.  He might as well have been in some magical place where every toy is a different kind of truck.  What more could a boy ask for?

As his mother, I could ask that he be a little more fearful of my disciplinary tactics, wasn't quite so messy with absolutely everything he ate, and that he not pick up on so many of his older sister's sass.  But then he flashes that dimple at me, asks for "choc nupe" which is his word for milk, says "thanks, Mommy" or "lub you, Mommy" and he knows he's got me right where he wants me.  I might be in trouble with this one.

Phoenix

I mentioned in my last post that we were going to Phoenix.  We went, we had tons of fun, and we came home.  The End.  Just kidding.  I was worried about the drive.  What mom wouldn't be worried about twelve hours in the car with her two endearing children?  And that is one way, folks!  But they amazed me and did incredibly well.

Day one we drove to Mesquite later at night and they just watched a movie and then fell asleep.  Once we got to the house though, they went a little nuts.  I forgot how excited kids get when they find a new place that is kind of "theirs."  It took hours for them to calm down.  I think they finally fell asleep at 2 a.m.  I wasn't too worried though because I knew they could sleep in the car the next day.

Day two we finished up the rest of our drive.  We had to stop at Hoover Dam though and see that new bridge.  It is phenomenal!  We were hiking in 100 degree weather at like ten a.m., but it was worth it.

 This picture doesn't do justice to how red the kids' faces were.  It was HOT!

We arrived in Phoenix later that night and got to visit with our family finally.  Of course, one of the first things we did was go to the grocery store and buy Blue Bell ice cream.  Oh my!  Seriously one of the highlights of my trip.  We should all sign a petition and get that stuff shipped to Utah!  It would be worth the hassle.  Trust. Me.

We spent the rest of the weekend playing and eating and preparing for the baby blessing which was the main reason for our trip.  We went to the Antique Mall, go carting, swimming, out to eat, and swam some more.  It is incredibly hot there.  Being outside feels like you are inside a hot car on a really hot day.  So stuffy and hot you can hardly breathe.  Yuck!  The kids loved being in a hotel.  I thought they would give me a hard time, but they slept like rocks and it was AWESOME!  Maybe vacation with children is possible after all!

 Lydia found a copy of the Bible in the drawer and laid down to "read her scriptures".  Very cute.

On Monday we headed for Vegas to spend the night.  The drive there was so easy we were wishing we had booked rooms in St. George or something to take advantage of the kids being so good.  But we had already booked a room in Sin City so we stayed there anyway.  I must say we got a sweet deal.  Our room was less than $40 and it was huge!  It had a couch and chair and a dining area with a full kitchenette and table, two beds, and a huge bathroom with a stand up shower and a tub.  Loved it!  

We drove the strip for a bit, not really knowing where we were going.  We finally parked at the Bellagio and watched their water show.  Then we started walking.  And we walked and walked and walked.  Lydia was a trooper since we didn't have stroller for her.  We finally made it to M&M World which is the only place I could think of that I thought the kids would enjoy.  We saw the race car and watched the free 3D movie and then of course, got stuck spending $20 on specially colored candies and a souvenir for the kids.  But it was worth it.  We made sure we found  the tram to get back to our car.  A fun night.

 The next day was a long 7 hour drive to get ourselves home. Russell was done with the car by then, but they still did amazingly well.  We stopped once at a gas station to let them run around and then stopped 20 minutes from home to get dinner.

Now we just need more money so we can go on vacation again!

My Weary Mind

I've thought, "I need to post on my blog" a thousand times over the past few weeks.  Now I have a big list of things I was going to post about so I think I am going to steal an idea from one of my neighbors.  She frequently does a post on her blog called "My Random Thoughts" which is hilarious.  She puts all her little thoughts that she wants to share in a bulleted list and I love reading it.  So I thought I would try something a little like that, but since I'm not as witty as her and a bit more apt to complain, I thought I would call it "My Weary Mind".  We'll see how it goes:

• I was going to post about my half marathon (which I loved and did really well in), but I'm sick of posting about races.  I do want to remember forever though (even though I didn't get a picture) the image of my kids sitting in camp chairs in their pajamas ringing cow bells for me as I ran past.  Loved that!
• The weekend before the half, we went to the Uintahs camping and I did mean to post about that.  Russell was a STINKER the whole time (he was sick so I guess I can't blame him), but I did get some really good pictures:

(Russell saying "Noooo!"  Pretty much the mood of the entire trip)

• Chad's grandma passed away two weeks ago so we got to have his family get together.  I love his family so even though we were gathering for a sad reason, at least we got to gather.  I got to have all his sisters over all day Friday.  Russell LOVED his baby cousins.  

• We went to Bear Lake with our neighbors yesterday.  I love Bear Lake and my neighbors rock.  Does your entire neighborhood plan all-day outings together??  Mine does!
• Now for the "Weary Mind" part.  I have not been able to enjoy my job as of late.  I find myself having to play referee between the WWF-like war going on between my two children.  And all this when I am trying to decide if it is time for another baby, I find myself asking instead if I want any more babies at all--ever!
• Since we continue the WWF-war like behavior in Sacrament meeting as well, I think it would be nice if we had a nursery for that particular hour until kids are approximately the age of 12.  I actually think that our Sundays are so terrible right now because we have 1:00 church.  We all sit at home bored all morning, getting on each other's nerves; by time we are sitting in the chapel, we can no longer handle each other's company and the tired, restless children in such a close-quarters, keep-quiet situation.
• My summer has been incredibly busy.  Though I do not look forward to winter--I do look forward to having a lighter schedule.  If only I could keep the warm weather as well.
• We are driving to Phoenix over Labor Day weekend.  I think the drive might do my nerves in, but we will see.  We leave in less than ten days in which time I have to go to the eye doctor, get Lydia's hair cut, buy her school clothes, get Chad's car taken in for safety & emissions so we can register it, buy Chad's birthday present, buy Russell's birthday presents, get Chad into the family doctor for more asthma meds, run a four-mile race, attempt visiting teaching (probably not), have dinner with our good friends, have a primary presidency meeting, put in the maximum triathlon training for my race on Sept. 10, grocery shop, and pack.  So I probably won't be posting until after our trip.
• Will someone please remind me to take my camera on this trip?  Never has my camera seen so much of the inside of our cabinet and missed so many fun summer activities!!
• And indeed a random thought: Aren't you so glad that germs are invisible?  I mean think what life would be like if we could see the germs roaming around on the things we use everyday: keyboards, cell phone, dishrags, counter tops, and even our own skin.  We'd constantly be bathing, soaking, scrubbing, and emptying the store shelves of bleach.  But "out of sight, out of mind," and gratefully.

Echo Triathlon

Hope y'all like my racing posts because that is one of the major happenings in my life this summer.  There are at least two more races to go, so prepare yourselves....

The Echo Triathlon was on July 9th and here is the summary: 1K swim + 20K bike + 5K run (750 meter swim, 13 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run) = One good time!!

For a lot of you, the above summary will suffice for this post.  But in honor of my sister-in-law not knowing much about triathlons, I thought I would post a few more details. Above is me before the race, getting out of the car and such. I had to ride my bike into the racing area while Chad rode a shuttle.

Once there, you find your place among the rows and rows of bike racks.  There you can put her bike up and prepare the rest of your gear.  Set out towels, running shoes, pin your number to your shirt or put it on a belt you can slip on, and a bunch of other stuff you want all set so your transitions from one sport to the next can be as smooth as possible.

The race started in four different waves.  I was set to start at 8:05.  Chad and I watched the other racers for awhile and then it was time to don my wet suit.

Attractive, right?  I had never been in a wetsuit before so I was a little nervous about that. I stepped in the water and couldn't even feel the water until it got to my zipper.  And I could definitely tell that it was helping me float.  So the countdown began, and we started swimming.  I didn't dive right in right at the start.  Everyone kind of started moving together and we were all in each other's way so it took a minute for things to spread out to where we could swim.  I was totally swimming with everyone at the start, but a few minutes later, I took a peek to see where I was, and I was really far to the left.  In fact, there were some people out in kayaks to give aid to the swimmers if needed, and they were yelling at me to swim to the right.  Oops.  I finally got back on course after a long ways and was so excited to round the first bouy.  I thought that I would for sure swim in a straight line this time, but I found myself swimming to the left again.  I was getting tired fast.  The wetsuit made my arms way more tired than they would have been otherwise.  I got to the second booy and headed for the finish when we passed some of the men from an earlier wave who were struggling to say the least.  I ran into one of them a couple of times before I finally passed him and made it home.  When I finally went to stand up, I found that the water was only 2 feet deep.  I probably could have stood and ran out a little sooner.

I made my way to the transition area where I had to get out of my wetsuit, dry off a little, put on socks, shoes, shirt, bike helmet, bike gloves, and I grabbed an energy bar and a swig of water before hauling my bike onto my shoulder and heading for the out.  The out was a long ways from where I was and carrying that bike was hard. (I carried my bike so I didn't run the risk of getting something in my tire since it was dirt and stuff).  Later I found out that my transition time was over five minutes.  So much for being smooth and efficient.

I headed out for the bike ride.  I was excited for the ride, I thought it would be fun.  And it was, but it was also a serious quad burner.  I hadn't had time to train on the bike like I had wanted.  I think I had only ridden like five times before this race and I could tell that I wasn't prepared.  But I huffed along anyway, feeling the burn the whole time.  By about mile 10, I was ready to get off that thing.  I made it in, put my bike up, ditched the helmet and gloves, grabbed a water and a few energy chews, and set off for the run which was an easy, flat 3.1 miles.  I was feeling pretty good, but was holding back a little so I didn't burn out before the end.  A few of the runners commented on my race shirt.  It is hard to miss, but that is also the point.

And here I am sprinting to the finish. My final time was 1:43: 48.7 which got me 7th place in my age group.  Not too shabby, eh?  But I figure I could easily have done much, much better.  I could have swum straighter, had a straight bike tire (after the race, we realized my back rim was bent and the wheel was wobbling back and forth against the brake the whole time--no wonder it was so hard!), and I could have run faster because I can do that run well under 30 minutes easily and for some reason I did it in 32 that day.  I think I was just over pacing.  But it was my first time doing an open-water triathlon and I definitely needed to get a feel for things.  So I went home excited about it, but really wanting to do another one so I can do much better, much faster.  We'll see.  I'm having trouble finding one that is on a weekend that would work for me.  Hopefully I find one though because I am totally addicted!