Dare I hope?  I've seen the sun quite a bit these past few days and it makes me very happy.  My kids have been playing outside and summer break is just around the corner.  I really love the nicer weather, and I will make an effort to be grateful for any amount of sunshine and still air (meaning the wind isn't blowing) we can get, because I know they don't always last very long here.  Sometimes a few minutes a day is all I can get outside, but it's still better than nothing.  

This post (like most others) will mostly consist of random thoughts and things that have been happening.  I just do this so I have a record of some of the things that are going on in our lives right now, to help me remember.  Mostly, a lot of my thoughts and actions are consumed with how much I love my family.  How did I get so lucky to find Josey?  Even though he doesn't believe in "soul mates", I still claim he is mine.  And I love our kids so much.  They fill my life with joy.  Not only do they make me laugh, they teach me, they challenge me to push myself, to figure out ways to parent them.  It's not easy, but I'm thankful for the growth I've seen in myself over the past 6 years since I first held Jordan in my arms.

Jaycie has started walking, which means that at 11 months, she's the earliest of our kids to walk. 

Jordan learned how to ride a bike with one short lesson from his dad, which I am very grateful for because that meant I didn't have to teach him.

I raced a 10K (6.2 miles) a couple of weeks ago that I had been training for.  My goal was to beat 45 minutes and I really didn't think I was going to be able to do it.  But I guess when the adrenaline is pumping and you've done all you could to prepare, good things happen.  I finished in 44:35 (7:11/mile), which was good enough for 1st place overall female, which was fun.  It was a small race, but it was still fun to win.  Mostly, I'm glad I met my goal and got a new PR.  (Even though I look happy here, it was really close to the end, I was ready to be done, and that guy ended up beating me to the finish by a couple of seconds.)

One of the main reasons I actually started to write this post was to put some of my thoughts down about my Jarrett boy.  I get to spend a lot of time with him with Jordan in kindergarten all day.  He says some really funny things and challenges me in ways Jordan never has.  I'm glad I still get one more year home with him before he's off to kindergarten too.

The other day I looked out the window and was amazed to see how high he had climbed the tree.  When I told him he should not go any higher, he just told me he wanted me to take a picture.  So here it is.  I wasn't really afraid, but I probably should have been.  When Jordan was younger, he did the same thing, but he got stuck in the tree.  Jarrett was able to figure out how to get down, thank goodness.

I am always trying to get Jarrett to eat anything healthy.  It is a constant battle and a really hard thing to do.  The other night we were having family scripture study and Josey read Mosiah 23:7 - "Ye shall not esteem one flesh above another, or one man shall not think himself above another..." so we were explaining to the boys how we should never think we are better than someone else.  Jarrett applied this by asking, "even if they don't eat their vegetables?"  Yes, we had to agree.  Even if someone doesn't eat their vegetables, we are not better than them.  I think Jarrett was happy to have this little bit of knowledge to tuck away for future reference.

Maybe one of the reasons I have such a hard time trying to get him to not eat junk food is because I am a poor example.  (This following story is kind of embarrassing, but it made me laugh for an hour or so after he said it, so I'm going to share it anyway.)  One day I was eating some M&M's, minding my own business, when Jarrett tells me, "Mom, you eat way too much chocolate.  That's why you sometimes have major gas, because you eat too much chocolate and candy."  Like I said, a little TMI, but it cracked me up.  Even though he has me confused with his dad it was still funny.  He's always been a good talker and the way he says things often makes me smile.   

I was playing "Simon Says" with him on the trampoline the other day and Jarrett said: "Simon Says do a flip."  So I tried to do a flip.  He watched me and then said: "that was a tumble, but I guess it's okay."  I'm glad that I get the chance to play with him and that he wants to play with me.  Sometimes I have to make him wait a long time while I finish up other things, but he's very patient and forgiving with me.  There are so many things I can learn from my kids, and I'm grateful for this special time I have with them when they're young and sweet and growing and learning.  Some days are definitely very challenging, but I know that someday I will look back on this time with the longing to play with my kids again and kiss them and hug them all I want because they still let me.