Life never stops moving and summer is well on its way. Hard to believe- the crazy heat also fits in this category. It took longer than I wanted to feel like my insides had recovered from the May marathon. I ran a half marathon in American Fork a few weeks ago (the same I'd done for the previous 2 years). It was wonderful to be with friends and run for people who are struggling with cancer. I stayed with my friend Kelly Johnson the night before and we had a marvelous time catching up. She is one remarkable and brave woman. I had such a great race that I soon thereafter thought I wanted to quickly find another half marathon. Practically over night the desire to do lots of races vanished. It feels good to just enjoy my family, focus on home, and do "summer" things.
Derek started his 1st swim lessons this past week. The 1st 2 days were interesting. I could readily tell that he was the least comfortable in the water, but he was mostly obedient to his teacher. The 2nd day I forced his swim clothes on him and carried him to the car. He was completely unaffected by my efforts to leave without him, hoping he'd want to come. That trick quickly died in flames- at least for that. But, now he loves his swim lessons. I figured it would take him a few days to decide they were OK. Yesterday I took the boys to the pool and we had a splendid time. He enjoyed himself much more than before. Now we need to help Benjamin like the water... Never ending!
Benjamin charms people wherever he goes. While visiting my mother in the hospital the other day, we were there while Elder and Sister Perry paid Mom a visit too. He charmed their socks off! That's my Benjamin! He has transitioned his swagger to walking, since he no longer crawls. It basically looks like he's dancing and walking at the same time. Pretty hilarious! Both he and his brother are fascinated with construction tractors and get excited every time we pass the high school where they're putting in astro turf. Thomas the Train has quite the fan base at our house too. We will start the Mom-tot swim class with him a week from tomorrow. Should be an adventure!
Tyler came home early from work today sick. He's been in a area of the prison lately where there is no AC and with this heat wave, no wonder! It reminded me of when I had to adjust to the heat on my mission in Brazil. That was an interesting challenge and I distinctly remember praying that my body would adjust. Tyler is doing well, overall. He loves his job and seeing this deep level of satisfaction for him is so rewarding. I see things in him I didn't know existed and I love him that much more.
I'm doing pretty average. My mom had heart surgery on Tuesday and is in recovery, doing well. I've been to see her every day since and the boys enjoy going too, the few times I've taken them. She's such a trooper and has a serious amount of grit. I'm excited to run the Riverton 10K this Thursday for Independence Day and continue doing summertime activities with my children. I want to take them to the mountains and continue to go swimming a lot. I'm looking forward to painting the dining area soon and getting a new table and chairs. There's always lots of yard work to do and cleaning, etc. Basically, I'm just enjoying life in the simple lane. No real training, just living in the moment, the best I can.
We are richly blessed! The timer to the oven is beeping telling me the chicken nuggets are done. What a Sunday dinner! With Tyler sick, it's not as fun to make a super yummy dinner, so I'll just cook myself a salmon burger and let the kids eat dinosaurs. At least they'll get green beans. That should compensate, right? Cheers to summertime!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Post-Marathon Re-Discovery
I don't how many people know what it's like to work towards a large goal for months, and then in the matter of a few hours or a day, it's over. There's a level of relief, and then comes the "Now what?" I'm still in the stage of the latter. I seriously waffled back and forth on whether to register for a fall Boston qualifier since I was only 54 seconds too slow (3:34:54 was my time). Thankfully Tyler was there to be my ever-effective sports psychologist and helped me remember why I am currently marathon-burned-out, that my time to run Boston has not yet come, and not to force the issue. I knew I'd done my best. Spending over an hour in the medical tent at the end due to hypothermia is proof. Who knew it would rain for all but about a mile?! I gotta admit, I LOVE training. I LOVE pushing myself to see what I'm capable of. Maybe I should re-channel that a bit towards my family and service. Chances are, I'll still find something to test my physical limitations amongst it all. That would be Me.
This last Friday we planted more ground cover and got rid of more less-than-desirable shrubbery and other plants. Derek was a great helper using his dump truck to carry weeds and such to the trash. He's such a good boy! Oh our yard will take forever to get where we want it. It sure feels that way a lot these days. We frequently have to remind ourselves how much we've already done. What a process! We did have someone come and take most of the old shed wood that was still back there. That means we practically don't have a back fence anymore and they took most of the floor boards too. Apparently they make furniture with it, so more power to them! I almost wanted to give them something since they were doing us such a huge favor, but they thought they'd found a gold mine, so hey- mutually beneficial is good enough for me!
Tyler has gone running twice this week. Yes, I said Tyler. Since he starts his post training in July, he wants to not have the running totally kill him. When he told me he was going to start this (he announced it a few weeks ago) I told him he's get no sympathy from me. He then proceeded to give me a hard time for not being a sympathetic and caring wife. Really?! What did he expect?! He ran a total of 3 miles this week. I ran 26.2 last Saturday and got my best time ever. The crazy part, his pace is close to mine and he doesn't train! Disgusting! Sigh. I'm proud to see him getting in an exercise habit. He's wanted to for years. The combination of motivation and a schedule that's conducive has finally come.
Derek and Benjamin are continually loads of fun. I LOVE this stage! I went and helped Andrea again the other day. I'll admit, I do NOT miss that stage of having a new baby and a toddler. Oh my challenging! I'm glad to help her though. Before we know it, Benjamin will be running. He's walking with more sturdiness and speed every day. Having Derek chasing him is a huge factor in that progress. Today we walked over to the high school field where they have a few construction tractors (they're putting in astro turf. I know, high school. Whatever). The boys are completely enthrawled with construction equipment these days, all because of a book from the library we got a few weeks ago. We walk to the library almost every Tuesday and they are re-constructing the junior high over there so there's even more tractors and the boys LOVE IT! Derek frequently asks Tyler or I to lift him so he can see above the fence even though we can see them quite clearly from atop the hill by the overpass over State Street.
Real quick, Benjamin has some great form when it comes to downward dog in yoga. He was doing it with me while I did yoga the other day. Both boys were trying to do namaste arms with me at one point too. AH! I could eat them up, they're so cute!
Okay, I have begun to develop a habit of ridiculously long blog posts. I don't know what to think of it. Nonetheless, I'm not deleting anything, so there! Life is rich and abundant.
This last Friday we planted more ground cover and got rid of more less-than-desirable shrubbery and other plants. Derek was a great helper using his dump truck to carry weeds and such to the trash. He's such a good boy! Oh our yard will take forever to get where we want it. It sure feels that way a lot these days. We frequently have to remind ourselves how much we've already done. What a process! We did have someone come and take most of the old shed wood that was still back there. That means we practically don't have a back fence anymore and they took most of the floor boards too. Apparently they make furniture with it, so more power to them! I almost wanted to give them something since they were doing us such a huge favor, but they thought they'd found a gold mine, so hey- mutually beneficial is good enough for me!
Tyler has gone running twice this week. Yes, I said Tyler. Since he starts his post training in July, he wants to not have the running totally kill him. When he told me he was going to start this (he announced it a few weeks ago) I told him he's get no sympathy from me. He then proceeded to give me a hard time for not being a sympathetic and caring wife. Really?! What did he expect?! He ran a total of 3 miles this week. I ran 26.2 last Saturday and got my best time ever. The crazy part, his pace is close to mine and he doesn't train! Disgusting! Sigh. I'm proud to see him getting in an exercise habit. He's wanted to for years. The combination of motivation and a schedule that's conducive has finally come.
Derek and Benjamin are continually loads of fun. I LOVE this stage! I went and helped Andrea again the other day. I'll admit, I do NOT miss that stage of having a new baby and a toddler. Oh my challenging! I'm glad to help her though. Before we know it, Benjamin will be running. He's walking with more sturdiness and speed every day. Having Derek chasing him is a huge factor in that progress. Today we walked over to the high school field where they have a few construction tractors (they're putting in astro turf. I know, high school. Whatever). The boys are completely enthrawled with construction equipment these days, all because of a book from the library we got a few weeks ago. We walk to the library almost every Tuesday and they are re-constructing the junior high over there so there's even more tractors and the boys LOVE IT! Derek frequently asks Tyler or I to lift him so he can see above the fence even though we can see them quite clearly from atop the hill by the overpass over State Street.
Real quick, Benjamin has some great form when it comes to downward dog in yoga. He was doing it with me while I did yoga the other day. Both boys were trying to do namaste arms with me at one point too. AH! I could eat them up, they're so cute!
Okay, I have begun to develop a habit of ridiculously long blog posts. I don't know what to think of it. Nonetheless, I'm not deleting anything, so there! Life is rich and abundant.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Time keeps a flyin' by and the other day I was reading the weather forecast and the meteorologist said something about "summer-like" weather. Huh? It's too early for that. Well, then I got to thinking and remembered that it is indeed the month of May, so such weather patterns would be permissable. I guess with such a ridiculously freezing and gloomy winter, I was subconciously consigning myself to colder weather for longer than necessary. So, bring it on!!!
Lately I have been amazed at how funny my children are. Correction, that's always been the case. Everything with Derek's is "tonight," "today," he wants it 2 times, and tries to negotiate everything. At dinner when we're trying to coerce him to eat more of something and we dictate how many bites is sufficient, he always retorts back with another amount. We eventually settle on what we deem satisfactory and dinner continues. The other day he was trying to clean the extension cord in the extra bathroom, while it was plugged in. Needless to say, Mommy only plugs it in when in use now. Just yesterday, while "helping" me make Lentil Salad for dinner, I was squirting dijon mustard into a teaspoon and Derek quickly observed and said, "It's poop!" I had to keep from laughing, explained that it's mustard (ou mostarda), and then he responded, "Oh, it's good." Yes, son. I will say, it does resemble baby poop quite closely. I still like it just fine. He is WAY into construction equipment right now- the big stuff. We've checked out quite a few library books about them lately and now everywhere we go, he sees mixers, loaders, cranes, dumptrucks, excavators, and the like. I'll admit, I'm learning what they're all called myself. I was too into playing with dolls and winning bike races as a little girl- oh, and piano. Derek also continues to love trains, garbage trucks, and pretty much all locomotives. Little boys are SO FUN!
Benjamin, in the last week, has finally decided that walking is preferrable to crawling. He still, on occasion, resorts to crawling, but really enjoys walking (our toddling) around now. It's so cute to watch him and he sometimes sticks his tongue out. He's trying to be a picky eater, but we won't have it! I figure if he doesn't want what we're eating, he can eat at the next meal and that he'll finally figure out that if he's hungry, to eat what's placed before him. He's too young to know what he likes and doesn't. Sometimes I wonder how much of it has to to with the fact that he's teething so certain textures are harder for him. For example, he's LOVED cut-up tomatoes in the past and wouldn't eat that yesterday. Meat seems especially difficult for him. He does best when it's mixed in things. And perhaps his ability to chew just isn't quite where I think it is yet. He charms people everywhere we go, yesterday at WinCo being a prime example. He bounced up and down in the cart, smiling to everyone and everything. We call him our little "bird" because anytime someone is eating, he approaches them, exhibiting maximum cuteness, pulls himself up and high as he can and waits for his bite. If refused, he yells. My morning green smoothie is a daily example. It's fun to watch him play with the cars when Derek is out of the room. He looks around to make sure Older Brother really is gone, and then proceeds to play, do sound effects, all with Derek's favorites, of course. Oh, and he freaks out on elevators. I gotta admit, it's rather funny.
Tyler continues to love his new job at the prison. He takes crap from no one (big surprise) and is working on finding the best time-efficient options for his downtime waiting for calls. One of which is developing a exercise habit- I'm very excited about that. He's always on high demand by Derek at bathtime (Mommy is forbidden to wash or dry him). He's all about getting our garden ready and thriving. I love how he's reading books to better himself and shares what he learns with me. I could be smug here and say that when he shares such things I'm thinking to myself "Jeez, it's about time!"- but that would be fibbing. In all reality, it's fun when he shares and I'm learning too.
As for myself, I'm just counting down til my marathon in a week and a half. I can hardly wait! I LOVE the course (who doesn't love Ogden Valley?!) and am feeling pretty amazing. I went and helped my friend Andrea yesterday since her 2nd little one arrived just 2 weeks ago. It was a delight and pleasure to be with her and ease her burdens a bit. I too am excited for out summer garden. The huge tree in the back is gone, so we have A LOT more sun and therefore an equal amount more of growing potential. Now that I'm gluten free, growing my own squash is something I really want to get good at. Speaking of which, it's employee appreciation week at work and they provided free lunch today. When I discovered this, I was cautiously excited. Well, turns out they had bbq beef sandwiches. Bummer! I at least enjoyed a fruit kabob. Sigh. I'm grateful that such moments are rare and I'm 99% glad to be free of gluten. I feel a lot better.
We went to Lagoon this past Saturday since Mia and Katee were dancing in some huge competition. It was fun to be with family and we all completely wore ourselves out. Derek LOVED some of the kiddy rides and Ben freaked out on the carousel, as predicted. The previous evening we all enjoyed eachother at LaNan's and ate til we popped. We celebrated Mom's birthday too. Family is heavenly indeed!
Well, that was a ridiculously long post!
Lately I have been amazed at how funny my children are. Correction, that's always been the case. Everything with Derek's is "tonight," "today," he wants it 2 times, and tries to negotiate everything. At dinner when we're trying to coerce him to eat more of something and we dictate how many bites is sufficient, he always retorts back with another amount. We eventually settle on what we deem satisfactory and dinner continues. The other day he was trying to clean the extension cord in the extra bathroom, while it was plugged in. Needless to say, Mommy only plugs it in when in use now. Just yesterday, while "helping" me make Lentil Salad for dinner, I was squirting dijon mustard into a teaspoon and Derek quickly observed and said, "It's poop!" I had to keep from laughing, explained that it's mustard (ou mostarda), and then he responded, "Oh, it's good." Yes, son. I will say, it does resemble baby poop quite closely. I still like it just fine. He is WAY into construction equipment right now- the big stuff. We've checked out quite a few library books about them lately and now everywhere we go, he sees mixers, loaders, cranes, dumptrucks, excavators, and the like. I'll admit, I'm learning what they're all called myself. I was too into playing with dolls and winning bike races as a little girl- oh, and piano. Derek also continues to love trains, garbage trucks, and pretty much all locomotives. Little boys are SO FUN!
Benjamin, in the last week, has finally decided that walking is preferrable to crawling. He still, on occasion, resorts to crawling, but really enjoys walking (our toddling) around now. It's so cute to watch him and he sometimes sticks his tongue out. He's trying to be a picky eater, but we won't have it! I figure if he doesn't want what we're eating, he can eat at the next meal and that he'll finally figure out that if he's hungry, to eat what's placed before him. He's too young to know what he likes and doesn't. Sometimes I wonder how much of it has to to with the fact that he's teething so certain textures are harder for him. For example, he's LOVED cut-up tomatoes in the past and wouldn't eat that yesterday. Meat seems especially difficult for him. He does best when it's mixed in things. And perhaps his ability to chew just isn't quite where I think it is yet. He charms people everywhere we go, yesterday at WinCo being a prime example. He bounced up and down in the cart, smiling to everyone and everything. We call him our little "bird" because anytime someone is eating, he approaches them, exhibiting maximum cuteness, pulls himself up and high as he can and waits for his bite. If refused, he yells. My morning green smoothie is a daily example. It's fun to watch him play with the cars when Derek is out of the room. He looks around to make sure Older Brother really is gone, and then proceeds to play, do sound effects, all with Derek's favorites, of course. Oh, and he freaks out on elevators. I gotta admit, it's rather funny.
Tyler continues to love his new job at the prison. He takes crap from no one (big surprise) and is working on finding the best time-efficient options for his downtime waiting for calls. One of which is developing a exercise habit- I'm very excited about that. He's always on high demand by Derek at bathtime (Mommy is forbidden to wash or dry him). He's all about getting our garden ready and thriving. I love how he's reading books to better himself and shares what he learns with me. I could be smug here and say that when he shares such things I'm thinking to myself "Jeez, it's about time!"- but that would be fibbing. In all reality, it's fun when he shares and I'm learning too.
As for myself, I'm just counting down til my marathon in a week and a half. I can hardly wait! I LOVE the course (who doesn't love Ogden Valley?!) and am feeling pretty amazing. I went and helped my friend Andrea yesterday since her 2nd little one arrived just 2 weeks ago. It was a delight and pleasure to be with her and ease her burdens a bit. I too am excited for out summer garden. The huge tree in the back is gone, so we have A LOT more sun and therefore an equal amount more of growing potential. Now that I'm gluten free, growing my own squash is something I really want to get good at. Speaking of which, it's employee appreciation week at work and they provided free lunch today. When I discovered this, I was cautiously excited. Well, turns out they had bbq beef sandwiches. Bummer! I at least enjoyed a fruit kabob. Sigh. I'm grateful that such moments are rare and I'm 99% glad to be free of gluten. I feel a lot better.
We went to Lagoon this past Saturday since Mia and Katee were dancing in some huge competition. It was fun to be with family and we all completely wore ourselves out. Derek LOVED some of the kiddy rides and Ben freaked out on the carousel, as predicted. The previous evening we all enjoyed eachother at LaNan's and ate til we popped. We celebrated Mom's birthday too. Family is heavenly indeed!
Well, that was a ridiculously long post!
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