Summer

Our summer has been crazy busy, and now that it is September, I guess you could say it is officially over, but it is still 100 degrees daily, so I can't say goodbye yet. Here are a few of the things we did this summer to keep us so busy:

Danny designed and landscaped the backyard. The pool has been the only feature in the backyard until now. Here is the before:

I left for 3 weeks and came back to this:





It's so fantastic! It's so nice to relax back here in the evenings. It has also been great for entertaining, and we have maxed out the capacity with a few parties this summer. Thanks Danny for all of your hard work. It was a lot of hours in the hot sun, but sooo worth it.

We took a quick trip to San Diego for the 4th of July to see baby Sasha be blessed. It was fun to hang out with my little brother and his family and to have the parents and Aimes with us too...we all got some sun, and saw a few fireworks too!


We took a trip up to SLC for the open house of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It is of course beautiful inside, but it was great to take the kids, they were so young for the last two open houses we attended. Taylor loved the Celestial room because he said it was the place he felt the most peace (the open house was really crowded and busy, and this was a bit of resting place...plus his sunday shoes were giving him blisters and he didn't want to walk anymore. So not that it was ultra spiritual, but it did provide a bit of reprieve!)

Danny had a mountain biking trip planned for the weekend. Had a great ride on Friday, and ended up doing some emergency bathroom remodeling for my parents the next several days until he flew home Tuesday.

My family humored me by going to the 24th of July parade...the WHOLE thing. My parents, Amy, and the kids and I were big troopers and endured the heat to relive some of my favorite childhood memories of the pioneer parade. Of course when we were little, we would watch it from Dad's office window right on the parade route where it wasn't hot and crowded. Also for some lame reason, they don't throw candy any more, so what is the point for a kid, right? There were some really cool floats, good marching bands, and we waved to Elder Eyring. Even being that close to him, I could feel the spirit witness of his testimony. I have always loved Elder Eyring, and so that brief moment made the parade worth it to me!

We took a fun hike with my sister Kath and fam to Donut Falls. Of course we had to eat Donuts for breakfast on our way up.

These three rascals are Crrrazy, especially the smallest, Noah. He and I ran almost the whole way up the trail.

Isabelle just loves to pose:


A big part of my summer was spent at USA cheerleading camps. I spent 3 weeks at USU in Logan, UT working as Medical staff. I got to take care of all the high school cheerleaders coming to camp to learn routines, pyramids and stunting (oh my).

Amy and Taylon are some of my fave staff, and Cheryl (above) and Wayne Moon (below) are the best part of Utah camps! Also my friend, Miranda joined staff this year as a head counselor and it was so much fun to have her there.

This was our awesome staff for the last week of USU camps.

And this is our really good attempt at instructional staff stunting with support staff!


No major injuries again this summer some stitches and a torn shoulder (later needing surgery) were the only notables. I also went to Carson City, NV and covered one camp there. No photos, but the highlight of that trip was seeing my two sister in laws and their husbands (and the chocolate and almond dipped delight we got for dessert!)

PHEW...no wonder I was EXHAUSTED at the end of August when it was time for school to start again!

ISABELLE

Isabelle has had a lot of fun the past few months. She had a darling recital. Her group performed a jazz/tap routine and were great to watch.


She had a fun time at field day and finished 2nd grade with high marks on everything!


She swam:

biked:

and ran her way through her 2nd kids triathalon.

She didn't place in her age category and was a bit bummed because she said, "I felt so confident." She did her best and was so determined in doing it. I love that about her. She may be the only other family member that will continue to compete in races like me!

Isabelle has seen all of her cousins in the past few months and is always so patient with them. She is the oldest girl cousin and always tries to set a good example, even though all the boys are closer to her age.

Isabelle is a very fun cousin to Matilda (above) and Katya (below)

TAYLOR

Taylor has had a busy couple of months...

He turned 11 and had ALL of 19 of the Youngs there! It was quite a celebration with his favorite present ever (he says that about every present) his long awaited Heelies!

His best friend in the whole world, Wiley Jacob, came on a surprise visit from Omaha. These two are "brothers from another mother" as they like to say and picked up where they left off like they were together every day. They played in ookalaka land, played video games, stayed up late laughing and sleeping in a twin bed together like they were still 5!


Taylor fell in love with another cousin. We had a great weekend trip to San Diego for the 4th of July for her blessing. Taylor is the oldest cousin on both sides and thus is the "protector"! So tender.


He enjoyed his last field day at William Wright Elementary school...

and will be heading to MIDDLE SCHOOL next month! He looks thrilled about it, you can see.

Most recently he went to the most "awesome" birthday party the other night for Carson and Connor Brown. They got to ride in a stretch hummer down the strip, but that wasn't the best part...it got a flat tire and so they got to be picked up by the "Rock Star Party Bus"...equipped with leopard print seats, a disco ball that came from the ceiling and, as he put it, "these fun polls you can swing around on". Wowzers! He said it has been a long time since he danced that good. You can see him in the red shirt in the back getting jiggy with it!

Sasha

Welcome to the world to my new neice Sasha. She was born right in between her mom and dad's birthdays this week. We are so excited to see her and happy for Katya to have a sister. Isabelle said today that she was glad for a new baby cousin because "Lucy is getting SO old!" (she is only 18 months!) Congrats Dave and Marina. So happy to have another "PettPett"!

des six

I was tagged to do this challenge, but didn't even know about it for the past few months because I have been a slacker at blogging, so here is my sixth picture in my sixth file:

It is SO random, but it is Isabelle and I at the Childrens Museum in Kansas City, MO. We went there with Nana and Taylor in 2004, so Isabelle was about 3 years old. You were hooked to this spider web of robes and you had to go over and under to get across. Sorry, Aimes, not as exciting as your babydoll hooks in the bathroom.

April...a bit late!

Here are a few late highlights of April:

SALT LAKE 1/2 MARATHON

I went for a girls road trip to SLC and ran one of the most fun races to date. We had a team dinner the night before at mom and dad's house and stayed up way to late giggling. A few of us almost missed the Trax to get up to the U, and when we did get up there, couldn't find our running partners...but it was SUCH a great race. Perfect weather, lots of crowds to cheer us on, great course, etc. It was the first time my parents and sister have seen me race. Hopefully I have inspired them to do it with me next year. After I was done, I was ready to do it again the next week...it really was that much fun!

This is me passing through Sugar House, close to my sisters' house. My 7 year old nephew ran down the street with me and yelled to his friends, "That's my aunt!"


It is so much more fun to run with friends. Some were cheering for me when I came through, others I cheered for when they came through. What great memories!


Karen, Miranda, Me, Amy, Marissa (just half of our Mountains Edge team that ran the race)


Amy Simmons, Miranda, Christa, Cheryl, Karen, Marci, Suzanne (after a yummy breakfast)

YOUNGS VISIT and TAYLOR'S 11th BIRTHDAY

All of the Young family came to stay at our house for several days. Mark and Rosy came from Orlando for a vacay, and Vegas is a good meeting place for everyone else. It was quite convenient that they were all here for Tay's big day. He was thrilled that everyone was there, and that he got new Heelies. He has been waiting for a long time.

Marissa took family pictures for us. It was freezing cold and windy, and no one was prepared for bad weather, so the little girls had a hard time. I will post some of the other awesome pictures next time!

Isabelle Is EIGHT!

A little late on the February excitement, I know! Our baby girl turned 8 on February 2nd. We had a very special weekend with family and friends to celebrate with her. I think we counted 24 people sleeping on any spare corner of floor space! We had so much fun with everyone here.

We were surprised by Isabelle's Great Grandma Zippro showing up just as the service was starting. She didn't let any of us know she was coming. How special to have so much love and support!


Isabelle has made some great girlfriends here. She was the first of the group to turn 8. She got some play make up and nail polish as a gift. The girls wanted to have a posing session to show off their glam look.


(Emily, Isa, Maddie, Isabelle)

January Brrr Project

My computer time has been a bit occupied lately with a little thing called Facebook! I just created a profile at the end of December and I have been amazed at all the old friends I have connected with. Since I haven't lived in Salt Lake for 17 years (besides summers) I haven't kept track of many people. What a unique tool to connect us all! So now it's time to get back to the blog world.

Here are some photos from our fun time in the snow. Taylor is doing a "January Brrrr Project" on winter and we had to pick our favorites!

We took the kids to Brighton Ski Resort. The boys snowboarded and the girls were on skis.
This was Taylor's second time and I was thrilled to see how well he did.

It was Isabelle's first time and she picked it up pretty quick and had a lot of fun.

We had to really be bundled and huddled together up the lifts...brr it was cold.


Isabelle and Katya (my neice) had so much fun building the "no-man". Katya lives in San Diego, so this was really a treat for her.

Taylor, Curtis, Noah and Isabelle labored for several hours, with tremendous help from Danny to build the coolest snow fort. Danny shoveled the six inches of snow off this whole deck in my parents back yard. It took him over an hour to shovel it and dump it all in one spot. Then the kids got to work with shovels and kitchen utensils to tunnel through.




I just love this picture because I am stylin' with my mom's famous H&R Block Green boots! But they kept my toes warm! Also, you can't see the other hand, but I have 2 right hand gloves on...all we could find under the stairs!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to all of our dear family and friends!

This year has been wonderful for us. Here are a few highlights:

Isabelle is 7 years old (almost 8 she reminds me). She is loving the second grade where she excels in everything she does! Isabelle loves reading and has read most of the American Doll series (which are fantastic) and is almost finished with a series about fairies. She has been taking dance this year and has fun group of girlfriends that get together once a week to play and do crafts. (Isn't she beautiful?)

Taylor and Isabelle both did the Diamond Kid Triathalon in June, and just completed the Las Vegas Kids Marathon where they ran all 26 miles over a 10 week period. They got to run the last mile through the actual finish line.

Taylor is 10 and surviving 5th grade. He has a great teacher this year who does fun projects which Taylor enjoys. He took art classes and had a nice gallery showing, and was selected for the Lego Robotics team at school. Besides that, scouts and training for races has kept him quite busy. He and some neighborhood friends love to play in "Ookalaka Land" which is a big empty lot at the end of our street, eventually to be a school. They have fun finding buried treasures and keeping their fort free of enemy invaders! He is almost as tall as his mom and will probably pass her up before his 11th birthday.



Suzanne has kept busy with a variety of things. This summer she worked for the United Spirit Association cheerleading camps as an Athletic Trainer. She got to travel to California, Utah, and northern Nevada for a week at a time to treat all sorts of cheerleader injuries and ailments! Next month starts competition season, so she can see all of the pyramid practicing pay off! Also Suzanne is on our neighborhood HOA board, and the Mountains Edge Social Committee. She has kept active running two more half marathons this year (which makes one full, right?) One in Bryce Canyon and one at Valley of Fire (North of Las Vegas). She has a great group of running friends to keep her motivated. Staying involved in the school, our church, and our community really make life rich and full.


The highlight of the year for Danny and Suzanne was their trip to China in October. You can read all about it on this blog. It was a once in a lifetime trip! The whole family took a great camping trip through the National and Utah State parks this summer (also on the blog) and had a great time hiking, biking and water rafting!

Danny has enjoyed having a full year of teaching under his belt. Starting over this fall was still challenging, but a lot less stressful after having gone through it before. He has spent a lot more time doing research and writing and just sent off his first paper for publication. He has great coworkers and students that make going to work fun! Danny is also part of the Mountains Edge Running and Cycling team, but sticks with the cycling side of things. In addition to riding part of the way to UNLV everyday, he loves to go out with the guys a few times a week to the rugged trails that surround our area. He is so thrilled about his early Christmas present, a brand new custom mountain bike. He is just putting the finishing touches on it and can't wait to go wild!

We feel trully blessed this year. We have been able to spend a lot of time with family. We had a great week at Disneyland with the Petts, and had the whole family stay with us at Thanksgiving. We get to see the Youngs a lot more regularly and it is great to have them nearby. We miss dear friends that are so far away, but invite you all to come and visit us any time!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

(PS: It is SNOWING today in Las Vegas...really snowing big flakes that melt when they land!)

First sledding trip of the winter

Today we are in Caliente NV and we went sledding with cousins and grandma.

Not what it's cracked up to be

I hear from people all the time how great it must be to be a professor on a 9 month contract.  Here is what US News and World report had to say about my job.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/best-careers/2008/12/11/overrated-careers.html

Of course "physical therapist" made a more desirable list:

http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/best-careers/2008/12/11/the-report-card.html

35

Yesterday I entered my "mid-thirties"! Oh boy!

I had a really nice day:
Started out with a good workout, and then came home and got back in bed (Isabelle told me the night before, "Mom, when you get back from running, will you get back in bed...and don't eat breakfast!) So it was chocolate chip pancakes in bed, calls and texts from friends and family, then a brand new Mac (Yeah--no more frustrating crashes) from my hubby, lunch and shopping with Karen, fantastic friends showering me with love and gifts all day, and a double date dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant with Danny and the Morgans. Absolutely perfect day.

Here is a pic of my PERFECT new apron from my friend Marissa. Shout out to her! www.marissamagnolia.blogspot.com

(As if I needed a BIGGER computer, but it runs so smooth and doesn't have all the glitches the last one had. The kids can play on the old one all they want, but they can't touch this!)

Thanks to everyone who made my 25th...um, I mean 35th birthday special.

Today they came to the university and interviewed me for a short news clip. Check it out.

A Bit Busy...and Tired

It was so great to have so many friends follow our blog during our trip to China. Everyone has told us that they felt like they got to have a bit of our Chinese experience. It made it more meaningful for us to share it with everyone while we were away.

Since we got back 3 weeks ago, you can imagine I have been a bit busy playing catch-up...and also training for the most grueling half marathon I have run!

It was at Valley of Fire state park...which was beautiful, and it was PERFECT weather. But, the whole race was a series of hills. Steep ones. I finished with my second fastest time, which should feel like an accomplishment, but right now it is tainted by how difficult it was! Taylor ran the last 100 yards with me.

This is a group all from our Mountains Edge Running/Cycling team. It is so great to have a group to train with and share in the experience!

There were also 3 of our friends that ran the 10K portion of the race, but were gone before we finished. Good job to all of my friends...it is time for the HOT TUB!