Lesson Learned

Aunt Mikkel came Sunday for a little visit. We decided to get out and enjoy the lovely evening.

We took her to our favorite hiking spot.So, upward we climbed.

We made it victoriously to the top.I think Aunt Mikkel liked the views.

They were pretty spectacular.Have I mentioned how much I love my family?

Avery picked me lots and lots of flowers. I held on to them until my allergies got the best of me!



People were showing off their muscles....

and climbing lots of big rocks.

Owen was feeling the fear of heights!

We found lots of Boise landmarks.

Tuckered out, we headed back down the trail.



Little House on The Prairie style.
Lesson learned, you wonder?

Never take your four month old shipoo on a hike!

Cut us some slack...we're new at this dog thing!

"It's Too Hot For Hair!"

Bob says...

So, he gets out the clippers...

and gives Owen the summer shave.

Then he proceeds to shave his own.

No drying

No straightening

No product

No spraying

NO HAIR!

Boys.....they don't know how good they have it!

A Milestone

Miss Avery J graduated from Brite Kids Pre-school last week.

We took the family to dinner beforehand to celebrate Ave's special night!Where the girls sipped happily on their favorite, cherry, Italian sodas.Owen and his Batman shades. He kills me! Avery couldn't get out of there sooner. She was ANXIOUS for graduation!

Where she reluctantly said good-bye to Teacher Summers. (The most amazing Pre-school teacher!)

...and her class of friends.
But, she was given a lot of fun stuff!
And was able to play with her friends one last time.
Which was by far...her favorite part of the evening.

Too soon the night ended and we had to leave. It took a lot of coaxing to get Aves in the car, and as we drove off she sadly sported big alligator tears dripping down her little cheeks. Her love for teacher Summers and her Pre-school friends is BIG, and she is going to miss them lots.
Miss Avery J, I can't believe you are entering the world of public school this fall. What am I going to do without you? I will miss you terribly, but know you will bring so much fun and energy to your Kindergarten class.

Graduating from Pre-school....A Milestone!
.....sniff, sniff

Our New Addition

CHANEL Writing that my Avery is obsessed with dogs is an understatement. I can't even put into words how much this child loves dogs. Half the time she is pretending to be one, and she even speaks her own dog language. The other day I told her to get in her car seat. She yelled, "Mom that is just so boring. I was born to play and have a dog!" I believe her.
I told myself I would NEVER have a dog. I grew up with the world's worst dog, sorry, no offense to my mom and brothers who loved that crazy thing, but ask anyone else who knew York, the terror of our neighborhood, and they will just shake their heads.

But when our friend, Rachel was giving up her little puppy, Chanel, who we had dog sat before, and my kids were in love with, Robert and I decided it was time. We needed to give our girl a dog. And so Rachel brought over Chanel and we surprised Avery, telling her this was her gift for her fifth birthday which is coming soon. Chanel has been in our home for just a short while, but like my dog lovin' friends told me, we're feeling she's a part of our family already, and I am enjoying that little puppy more than I thought possible.

Believe me, that's a small miracle, because the first day when she decided my room was her favorite spot for accidents, I really didn't know if I could do it.

Maybe it's knowing Avery finally has her dog, or that Pay and Owen too are having so much fun with her.....

Whatever it is......I think it's safe to say, "We're loving our new addition!"

It's All Good

Three years ago I went to St. George to cheer like a mad women for my bf's, Mal and Ange as they ran their very first marathon. That awe inspiring experience is what motivated me to start running. Many 1/2 marathons later, my running pals here and I, decided we would brave it and try the FULL marathon this year. So, Mal and my bf's back home in Pocatello, and my running buddies and close friends here in Boise, all jumped on board. I just knew that running St. George, with this group of amazing friends, would be the icing on my running-a- first marathon cake! So, after months of waiting to register, and another month to see if we made the lottery, we found out Monday we DID NOT get in.
Dream.......Shattered

But because I had it set in my mind that I was going to run a marathon, and at this point, I am half way there in training, ...........I decided to try Top of Utah, another great race we have heard many good things about. So, I am registered! It is official. I am nervous, to say the least, but very excited too! It won't be St. George, but friends are running with me, and Bob and our kids will be there to cheer me to the finish. So, really.....what more can I ask for? Besides, Logan is one of my favorite places. It takes me back to all my crazy fun college days at Utah State...

and my Logan Ladies, who are the best thing that happened to me in Logan!

Oh, and I can't forget all the memories of starting to date Robert, our long distance relationship, lots of emailing, outrageous phone bills, and major butterflies every time he came to see me. Then he married me in Logan, and swept me away....forever.

Anyway, ....... All that marathon stuff is months away, but tomorrow we leave for Ogden to run the half marathon! I have been busting my butt all week. No joke, I don't think I have had a minutes rest, until now. We have a friend coming to stay here with our little ones, so I have been cleaning and organizing my house like crazy! It's nice to have a reason to get a little fire under my rear and get some things done round' here, and I must say, Bob has done a pretty fantastic job marking off items on his honey do list! So, Ogden here we come AGAIN!
Running with our buddies.....

Bob and I racing together... and enjoying a weekend AWAY without our three monkeys.
Woo Hoo.....because like the Dixie Chicks sing, in one of my favorite songs, we're "Ready, ready, ready, ready, ready, ready to Run......Ready to have some FUUUUN!"

Really......I CAN HARDLY WAIT!

So, all this excitement for the weekend is starting to suppress my shattered dream. My pessimistic, are you kidding me, this stinks, what a bummer, attitude is slowly lifting........lifting........lifting

It's All Good!