Yet Another Day at the Races

Well another race down, only two more to go this year!! Russ and his friend Randy (a.k.a. Hannah's boyfriend) competed in the Taming of the Slough this past weekend and....TOOK SECOND PLACE! They were pretty excited about it, and I must admit that I am too. I didn't even think they were contenders to place cuz there are a lot of people out there who make these races their life. It was a 2 mile canoe, 2 mile run, and 7 mile mt. bike ride. Their trophies are pretty sweet too. You can see them in the pic, but they are made out of giant pieces of rock. I made the mistake, before I saw the trophies, of suggesting that he let Hannah have it. I totally thought that they would be those lame trophies with the bowling man/business man/sports figure on top. Russ wasn't too happy with me for that suggestion.

Hannah had tons of fun just hanging out in the canoe while we took some pictures. Russ really wanted to take her out on the river in the canoe, but unfortunately we couldn't find any life vests for someone so small. If any of you have any we could borrow sometime that would be great!


So after church on Sunday Russ had a meeting so we had to stick around for awhile and wait for him. Our friends husband was in the same meeting and the children were getting pretty restless, so she had the brilliant idea of shutting them in that little foyer area in between the two sets of doors. Such a great idea. They could run around to their hearts content, and we couldn't hear them screaming.

Our church is across the street from a giant corn field and Hannah has always wanted to go and play in the "corn trees." We finally got the chance and she had so much fun!

And here's Emma being her cute self. She is getting so big, and changing every day. She almost rolled over yesterday and I about died. She loves to talk to her sister, and gets so excited every time she sees her.

To Fill Up Some Time

Four Random Things I Like About My Husband
1. How good he is with our girls.
2.His patience.
3. How I don't even have to ask him to get up in the morning with the girls, he just does.
4. His hugs.

Four Jobs I Have Had
1. Secretary
2. Dance Teacher
3. Waitress
4. Retail at Disneyworld

Four Movies I Have Watched More Than Once
1. How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days
2. The Prestige
3. Center Stage
4. Somewhere In Time

Four Places I Have Lived
1. Price, UT
2. Orlando, Florida
3. Virginia Beach, VA
4. Logan, UT

Four TV Shows I Have Watched
1. Gilmore Girls
2. The Office
3. So You Think You Can Dance
4. Ghost Whisperer

Four Places I Have Been Most Recently
1. Cassie's House
2. Tori's House
3. Hyvee
4. Sylvan Island

Four People Who E-mail Me Regularly
1. Kyla
2. April
3. Than
4. Maren

Four Favorite Foods
1. steak
2. cherry pie
3. any fresh fruit
4. Russ's BBQ chicken

Four Places I'd Like To Visit
1. Bolivia
2. Spain
3. All of Europe...
4. Australia

Four Things I Am Looking Forward To This Year (I'm counting Aug 2008-Aug 2009)
1. GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!
2. Boards being over.
3. Going to the pumpkin patch, a.k.a. Schrute Farms
4. Mom and Dad coming in ONE WEEK!

Four People I Tag
1. Keara
2. Ashlee
3. Cindy
4. Cassie

"Getting Busy!"

"Mom, I'm getting busy!" Those are the words that I heard the other day when Hannah was playing in her room and I was in the living room. I got a little nervous, then curious so I waked in to see what she was doing, and this is what I found...she was spinning in circles, giggling, and shouting that she was getting too busy! Apparently the letter B has replaced everything that should have a D in it. And since I started laughing uncontrolably when I heard her say that, she thinks it's too funny to say it all of the time now. When we are with friends, at the store...

She has discovered a love of washing the dishes. A serious LOVE. It's the first thing she asks to do in the morning, and she asks several times over the course of the day. She will actually burst into tears if I tell her we can't do them right when she asks. I hope this love of cleaning sticks around for oh another 15 years or so!! (And yes, Russ does the dishes in our house most of the time!)

Emma doesn't appreciate being in her car seat. AT ALL. She screams the minute I set her in it, until the second I get her out. This really concerns Hannah and when in the car I will often hear her trying to comfort her little sister..."it's ok Emma, don't be sad Emma." One afternoon we got home from the store and I had to set Emma down so I could unlock the door and get the groceries in the house. When Russ and I walked back to get the kids, this is what we saw. Emma was upset, and Hannah was trying really hard to comfot her. It melted my heart. Hannah has such a big heart, and caring personality. I love it!

Finally...Last night we decided to set up a "tent" in theliving room and have donuts and watch cartoons. It has been a crazy week with Russ studying for boards, so we decided to do something special for our Friday night. It was a blast, and Hannah couldn't get enough. Isn't it funny (for all you parents out there) how much our ideas of a fun Friday night have changed over the years? Ten years ago I would have been mortified at the thought of hanging out with a couple of kids, making a tent, and eating donuts as my Friday night activity. Now I wouldn't change it for the world.

Ignore the halloween pj's. It got a little chilly in our house last night and these are the only warm pj's that fit her at the moment...

LIttle Acts of Kindness

Well, another week down. I try not to think about each day as one more day down of our Iowa experience, and I really love it out here, but honestly there are some days when that's al I can think about. I think about how nice it will be to have "real" life, with no school, and a real income. How nice it will be to not live off of loans. (I know graduating means having to pay those off, but sometimes that seems so much nicer than this). I try not to be jealous of everyone who has all of the stability that I want because I know that, for the most part, they have had to pay their dues as well. For all of you in the same position as me...do you ever feel this way?
Ok. Whining over. Onto the fun stuff.
We had a fun weekend with lots of family time. Russ got to play in a 3 on 3 bball tournament at Palmer and they came in third! I'm not sure who had more fun, him or Hannah!
We also got to watch our friends two little cuties one night. They are such good kids, and Hannah has so much fun with them that I can't complain about that added chaos to our house.
On Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market to check out all of the delicious produce! Hannah absolutely loved it and keeps begging us to go back to the "Market." While we were there we were checking out at one of the booths and this older man came walking up to us and handed Hannah a dollar. He got a huge smile on his face and told us it was his birthday and he wanted to share it with everybody. How cool is that?! How many of us are that selfless? It was an act of kindness that I really needed last week. It made me step out of my self pity and be truly grateful for the small acts of kindness that happen in my life almost daily.
We were heading to the grocery store right after the farmer's market and told Hannah that she could pick out whatever she wanted with her dollar, knowing that it probably would be something we normally wouldn't let her get. Sure enough, she headed straight for the giant candy bins as soon as we walked into the store!
To cap off our fun weekend we had our friends over for dinner, and for some strategic planning for a 12 hour adventure race that they, and my hubby, are doing in a cpl of weeks. Not a lot of strategizing went on, but we had a lot of fun playing with their twins who are only a month older than Emma. They are already competing over her :) (Ignore her soaked shirt...she has already turned into the drool queen)!

ETSY

I just wanted to tell everyone to go and check out the super cute stuff my SIL has for sale on ETSY!

Back to Life

I love when Russell has breaks from school. I kind of hate it too...We always have so much fun and the girls love having him around. But then there's always the inevitable breakdown(s) when he goes back. I'm not sure who has a harder time, Me, Hannah or Russell. It takes a while to get adjusted to real life again, but thank goodness I have great kids.We didn't do anything too exciting over his little break, but we had fun. Hannah went on lots of runs with Russ, I thought about running...Russ got to go mt. biking a few times, and I got to go to a movie with my friends. I always have so much fun with them, then I feel guilty for having so much fun cuz my kids are at home missing me, and Russ is with the kids...do any of you moms out there feel the same? Maybe I'm just weird. We just found out that my parents are coming to visit right after Labor Day!! It's their anniversary trip and i am so excited/grateful they are choosing to spend it with us!

For Ann

Yesterday a good family friend, and wonderful person passed away in a car accident. Ann was one of the sweetest people I have ever known. She had a heart of gold, and never had an unkind word to say about anyone. She has been my little sister's "special friend" for the last few years, and I know that she holds a special place in Taylor's heart. My little sister loved to walk up to her house and bake cookies with her, help her in her garden, or just spend time with her. Ann has an amazing family, and I hope that you all can keep them in your prayers during their difficult time. It breaks my heart to know she's not with us anymore, but I love the comfort we can all have knowing that she is happy.

Good Food and Great Friends

First, of all I have to tell you that this is one of the best desserts I have ever had! Our friend Randy gave us his secret family recipe for this dulce de leche dish. I am not a huge fan of really sweet desserts, so I was skeptical, but can I say heaven! You layer it with a slice of pineapple and some cool whip. This is definitely one for the recipe box! Thanks Randy for sharing the secret!

Now, onto the really important stuff...I have been a bit emotional lately, what with my post partum hormones, and homesickness. And my friends have definitely noticed. And stepped in and taken such good care of me. We had a group of our good friends over for a bbq the other night and had a blast! All of the husband are Palmer students as well, and it was so nice to have people around who are in pretty much the exact same situation as it, with the same frustrations, and worries. Anyway...one friend in particular has been really aware of my struggles with learning how to cope with two kids, and keep a clean house, and get dinner on the table, you get the picture...Well. she has been offering, no make that begging, since I had Emma to come over and clean my house for me. And me, being the prideful person that I am have been telling her no way because it would just be too humiliating to have her take a really close look at my house and see what sad shape it really was in. Hannah's room has been one of the hardest for me to keep up on. She is there pretty much all day, and has more toys than any 2 year old should ever have...so it pretty much looks like a tornado ran through it at the end of the day. And I am a bit of an organization freak, so everything has its perfect spot, and I can't seem to find the motivation to dig through all of the piles to put stuff right where it should go. ok, point of the story....this particular friend was over for dinner that night, and they had to leave so her hubby could go and study, so they started to take stuff out to their car. About ten minutes later we all realize that they haven't come back from their car and their little boy is still downstairs playing with Hannah. We are all a little confjused and wonder if they forgot their child, which didn't seem likely. They finally came back, with no explanatin, and headed home. Later that night I headed into Hannah's room to get her ready for bed and I notice that it is spotless. Completely clean. Which it was defnitely not when they got there. I wish I had a before picture, but this is the after. I still need more bins to store her toys, so it looks cluttered, but the room looks amazing! It made me cry! My friend finally got her wish to clean, at leat part, of my house, and I am surprisingly not humiliated. Thanks Keara!

Hannah has been on this kick lately where she loves to organize, and line up and repeat. Her princess shoes are a favorite toy to do all of this with because there are so many of them, and she can make a nice long line with them. She is so proud of herself when she is done, and always has to show off her work. She is such a cute girl!

And Emma is just as cute as ever. She is the smiliest ( is that even a word) baby I have ever met. She is so fun, and we love having her around!

Going back to my friends...I just have to let you all know how blessed I am. They have made these last few months so much easier for me, and I couldn't survive Iowa without them. They make life fun, and I love all of you!

Tag

1. What's your husband's full name? If you know us then you know

2. How long have you been together? The better part of 9 years.

3. How long did you date? If you count the time he was MIA on a mission, 9 years.

4. Who eats more? He usually does, except when I am nursing...

5. Who said, "I love you" first? He did, but I followed right after.

6. Who is taller? He is, by almost a foot.

7. Who sings better? HIM! His voice is one of the things that helped me fall in love with him.

8. Who is smarter? He is. But, I love having him teach me.

9. Who does the laundry? Usually me, but he never complains about helping out.

10. Who does the dishes? Mostly him. That is one household chore I hate!

11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you look at the bed, it's him.

12. Who pays the bills? I pay most.

13. Who mows the lawn? Russ, bless him. This church we live at has about a whole square block of grass. It's over a two hour ordeal.

14. Who cooks dinner?Me, unless we grill.

15. Who drives when you are together? He does, I wrangle the children.

16. Who is more stubborn? He'd say me, and I say him. Our children have no hope.

17. Who kissed who first? He kissed me.

18. Who asked who out first? He did. He had a girlfriend in another state, so I didn't think I had a prayer. I was oblivious to the fact he was crushing on me.

19. Who proposed? He did on a cruise. I knew it was coming sometime, but I had no idea he had picked out the ring. My mom was in on the whole thing, I was totally clueless.

20. Who is more sensitive? That'd be me!

21. Who has more friends? I think we're about equal. We have a lot of mutual friends.

22. Who has more siblings? Me. Oldest of 7, he has 6.

23. Who wears the pants in the family? Depends on the issue...he humors me.

I now tag whoever wants to be...