Courage to TRI

Last Saturday was our Stake Relief Society Sprint Triathlon. The theme for this year was: Courage to TRI. As I was competing in the triathlon, all I could think of was courage. 

I was so proud of all of the ladies in my ward who had the COURAGE to participate. We had some ladies who are triathlon pros, and some ladies who were terrified of the idea of competing. Every time I would see one of the sisters in my ward I would beam with pride knowing that they were trying their best out there.

During the swim portion, I was in awe over all of the ladies who had the COURAGE to wake up early and volunteer their time on a Saturday to be there. This event could not have happened with out all of them!

On the bike portion I was passed by an old lady. . . like in her 60's. At first I thought to myself, I just got passed by a 60 year old and the competitive side of me picked up my pace a little bit. But then I got to thinking how much COURAGE she must have had to be out there. All of the time she must have put into training, and then I had the COURAGE to put my competitiveness aside for a moment and let her succeed at something that she was obviously better than me at. 

On the run portion, I ran by a funeral home when a family was gathering outside. I thought about how much COURAGE it takes to say goodbye to someone you love. I thought about how the healthy choices I have made in my life will hopefully help me to live longer. 

Also on the run portion, I passed by a lady in my ward who has a disability. She had the COURAGE to participate as much as she could. She swam 50 yards, but she walked the whole 5k. A week before the triathlon she wanted to back out. I told her I knew she could do it and to just try! As I passed by her I offered her words of encouragement and told her I would wait for her at the end. To see her face beaming with pride as she crossed the finish line is something I will never forget.

Again, on the run portion, I ran by a wedding taking place. I thought about how much COURAGE it takes to devote your life to someone else. To trust in them, to love them unconditionally. Then I started thinking about how lucky I was to find an awesome guy who had just as much COURAGE as me to make that leap and create a life together with me. And that pushed me to run a little faster so I could see him a little sooner.

Overall, I am so grateful I had the opportunity to be the coach for the sisters in my ward. I got to know some pretty awesome ladies, and got to strengthen the friendships that I already had. 

I am also grateful I got to deepen my understanding of what it truly means to have COURAGE!

 Running to the finish line

 My little fan club! It's always so fun to see them along the route!

 I spent many summer mornings training with this chicka!

 I love my mom!

Some of the ladies from my ward!

Tiffany and I. 

I still can't believe she finished the whole 5k!!!

My times:

Swim: 10:51

Bike: 50:03

Run: 34:14

I finished the whole triathlon 7 minutes and 20 seconds faster than I did the first year! :)

Other Randoms

Here are the rest of the things that don't quiet fit in their own post!

We have been working on a ton of house projects this last week. The biggest one of note: the front door. We have been talking about painting it since we moved it, but never got around to it. I'm kind of intimidated by paint projects because they never seem to go the way I imagine them going. But I finally did it!

 Those were the two colors we were deciding between and we went with Golden Chalice. I'm very glad we went lighter.

 Before

 After

Now I just need to get Shaun to put my hook in so I can put my red flower back up!

We celebrated our 8th anniversary last week! This year the gift was linen so we decided to go shopping together and pick out much needed new bedding. I really wanted a down comforter and duvet cover. Shaun didn't really care, so he went along with it. It was hard finding something that matches the paint in our room, and after buying and returning 3 different sets, we (read: I) decided on this one!!

 Now maybe one of these years we can actually get a matching bedroom set.

We found the Elmo costume the other day and let the kids have fun with it! 

The Stake Triathlon is coming up this weekend! I've logged 45 miles on my bike in the last 3 days! Shaun rode with me the other night and had a hard time keeping up! :)

A few weeks ago, Maisey decided to try her bike again with out training wheels! She really has it this time and is so good about balancing, turning, and stopping. She can go up and down the driveway, the curb, and she can even pull Miley around! :)

Trip Fail

As if we weren't tripped out enough by our 3000+ mile trip, I decided to take the kids on another trip. Shaun had to go to Vegas for work and I really didn't want to be stuck at home by myself with the kids. So I begged and pleaded with my mom to go to Running Y Ranch with the kids and I. My mom and I had always talked about trying out Running Y, and even though it's 5 hours away, she agreed to it. Shaun has a cousin who lives close by so we were going to meet up with her and her kids.

We drive the 5 hours to get there. My mom goes to check us in and we are on the top floor of this little strip of condos mixed in with a bunch of really nice homes. We find our condo, I unload the entire van up the stairs and into the condo. The whole resort is very calm and quiet, and let's be honest, my kids are NOT! So I am already feeling stressed trying to keep them quiet as to not disrupt anybody else's vacations (fail #1). Then I get swarmed by bugs (fail #2). So now I am stressed and itchy. Shaun's cousin texted me and said she wasn't able to meet up with us anymore (fail #3). We ended up taking the kids to the little play ground in the resort and they were the only kids there. They were running around and having a good time, but we were getting glares from people passing by (fail #4). We decided to go check out the pool area and it was only indoors and it felt really sticky inside with out good air flow (fail #5). As we were walking back to the van, my mom said she had an idea. She called my aunt Jeanne to see if anyone was using the Sunriver house. Nobody was until Thursday afternoon, so at 9:00 pm, we re-packed the van, and left our Running Y reservation behind, for a much more laid back, peaceful trip to Sunriver.

As I was driving on an unfamiliar highway, in the dark, with lots of deer crossing the road, after being exhausted from the first drive, I was kind of regretting our decision. We had to stop for gas, but I have never driven on this highway before, so I didn't know if there was anything close by. We stopped at some shady casino in the middle of the night and it was really creepy. 

But once we pulled into the garage at the Sunriver house, I was sooo excited to be there. Somewhere familiar, somewhere more private, and somewhere more kid friendly!

 This was the only picture I took while at Running Y. 

Our first day in Sunriver, we went to the SHARC!!! (the aquatic facility!) We spent most of the day there and the kids had so much fun. We did the lazy river, the kids whirlpool, the kiddie pool, the fountains, and the sand box. Each kid was totally in their own element.

The second day, we rode bikes, and went to the village to ride the train and eat shaved ice!

 Miley said "choo choo" the whole time!

 We had to come back a day early than our original Running Y plans because someone else was using the house.

 Gage took advantage of Dad being gone and us being home, and snuck into our bed. . . but before I even went to bed. It kind of scared me when I went back to bed to see someone in it! Haha!

We spent what was supposed to be the last day of our vacation at Grandma's school in the morning and then at the movies in the afternoon. Grammy took the big kids to see Planes!

Even though our trip started out as a fail, it ended up being a fun little adventure for us all!

Maisey's Big Birthday Post

 * What are some things you like to do? I like to watch the iPod, play the computer, paint my nails, and play Barbies.

* What things do you like to do around the house? Ride my bike with out training wheels and roller skating.

  

* What are some of your favorite foods? Tortellini, Pasta-Roni, and noodles with melted cheese. Oh and fruit, including fruit salad.

* What do you like to wear? Skinny jeans, my pink high heels, my dress I wore to Hannah's wedding, and my spring dress.

 * What is your favorite color? Hot pink and light purple

* Where are some of you favorite places to go? School, the rainbow park, and jump house places.

 * What things make you happy? Doing Family Home Evening

*  What makes you sad? When I am bored

 * What do you do when you are sad? I find something to cheer me up.

* What do you do when you are mad? I try to calm down by counting to 4.

  

* Who are your best friends? Madi, Isabella, Sadie, Xianna, Dymari, Shayla

Here is Maisey's 6th Birthday Interview!

* What are your favorite movies or TV shows? My favorite movie is Barbie A Fairy Secret. And my favorite show is Sophia the First.

* What are your favorite books? Fancy Nancy Secret Admirer, Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, Fabulous Fairy Tales, and my next favorite is Lego Friends Summer Adventures.

* What are you favorite songs? A Child's Prayer, and the Barbie Fairy Secret music video.

* What is the best thing about having a birthday? Because you get to be a year older!

* What are you looking forward to the most about being 6? That I can go to first grade!

*Anything else you would like to say? Thank you to everyone who is a part of my family.

Isn't she the sweetest six year old? We've been working on the sassy attitude for the last month or so, and I have to say she has toned it down quite a bit. She really tries so hard to be a good example and to be the best that she can be. If I think about everything that she learned in her fifth year, I am amazed. She can read anything you put in front of her, she can ride her bike, she can tie her shoes, she can make her sister happy, she can do crazy big math problems in her head, she's creative, she's strong willed, she's dedicated, she's kind, she's cuddly, she's silly and giggly, and she makes our home a better place.

I can't believe she's 6, and I know she's going to do big things this year!!!

Maisey's Birthday Party

 This was Maisey's year for a party, and we sure made it fancy!!!

 

 We started the night out with a fancy dinner, which Maisey chose. Tortellini, salad, breadsticks, fruit, and sparkling cider in fancy glasses!

 Then we rotated between 3 stations: Jewelry making, nail polish and lip gloss, and wand and tiara decorating.

 (See the orange purse in the background? That's one of the goody bags. They got to put in the lip gloss, nail polish, a Fancy Nancy book, the jewelry they made, and the wand and tiara!)

 Then each of the girls got to go to charm school where they learned to curtsy, walk properly (with books on their heads and in high heels), and learned some fancy words.

 Then Maisey opened her gifts. The AG doll horse was her fave! She got a ton of Barbie stuff which she loved too.

 And then it was time to serve the fancy mini wedding cakes!

 A group picture of the girls! 

(some forgot to dress fancy!)

And the minute Gage got home from the babysitter's house, he put on Maisey's tiara and shoved his face full of someone's left over cake. He was sad to miss the party! 

It was a pretty successful party and most importantly, Maisey had fun! :)

The Week Between Trips

You would think after spending all of that time in the car we would be ready to hunker down and not leave the house for days. WRONG!!! We had such a busy week after we got back. I had a birthday, we attended two birthday parties for friends, Maisey had her birthday party, we went to the zoo, had a sleepover, went to a swim party, and fixed a broken washer. Throw in laundry, weeding, bills, all that normal stuff, and that is why I haven't caught up on the blog yet! 

 I spent my birthday at the movies, but mostly out in the hall with my babe! I didn't mind too much. I love that girl!

 Shaun surprised me with flowers, See's chocolates, and a date night to pick out new shoes. 

 We had birthday cake pancakes for dinner! They were actually really delicious. I LOVE sprinkles, so this was perfect for me.

  This beautiful sunset concluded my birthday!

 This babe is always ready to go somewhere. She carries shoes around all day and stands at the door just waiting for me to say "Let's go!"

 At birthday party #1 for the week! This picture just screams "I LOVE SUMMER!" to me.

 Gage had a sleepover at Grammy's house.

 Hangin in the bear cave at the zoo!

 This was the kids' least favorite animal at the zoo. They are scared of anything that has a resemblance of a pig now! (See Rexburg post!)

 This was my favorite thing to see, a mama and her babe!

 We rode in the caboose on the train.

 Maisey stayed up late and helped me bake her birthday cakes. 

Birthday post to come next!

 Birthday Party #2 of the week. Our neighbor turned 3 and had his birthday at a train park! Gage was so excited to go to his party.

 And I loved spending some one-on-one time with my boy!

On one of the turns, Gage got to ride in the seat right behind the driver. He was so giddy!

 Shaun worked on our washer for two days and finally got it fixed, we think!!

She spent an hour in nursery last week and loved it as long as I was in there with her. 3 more months!!! You better believe I am counting down!