It's Been Awhile...

It's been a long time since I've made an entry, and I'm not sure why because I think about it a lot. Sometimes it just seems like a little too much effort to sit here and type out my thoughts while Jordan keeps asking, "Mommy, are you done with your blog?" There hasn't been a whole lot going on, but the month has flown by. Jordan started preschool at the beginning of September. He loves it and comes home exhausted on the days he goes. He has a little buddy that he goes with and there are 10 kids in his class. Most days I can't get too much out of him about what they did, except for a few sketchy details here and there. I can't believe he's growing up so fast. I can't believe he can actually sit still for longer periods of time now! (In fact, the last three weeks we've made it through the whole sacrament meeting with both boys.)



A couple of weeks ago, Josey and I took our big date excursion of the year and went down to the BYU-Wyoming football game. We took some pictures, but I haven't been able to upload them so just imagine a slaughtering of 44-0 and us having a lot of fun. It was great to be able to go back to the BYU campus just to see how it's changed. I loved that place. I didn't love Provo necessarily, and I wouldn't like to live there, but while I was going to school, it was the perfect place and I'm glad I got the chance to be there. No, I don't think BYU is the most righteous university ever (or all those other things that sometimes non-BYU fans think BYU people think); it was just the perfect place for me and I spent a very happy 4 1/2 years there. We left our boys with a sweet lady in our ward who watched them all day. They love being with her because she is so great with kids and we all had a great day.

Since then, we've just been enjoying this lovely fall weather. I cannot believe how beautiful it's been, and I know I've got to enjoy it while I can. There hasn't even been any wind for the past 3 days! I took my boys out in the stroller yesterday and today for runs because I knew I had to take advantage of the weather. (I usually prefer running by myself because it's my time, and easier to run without the stroller, but I'm a morning person and didn't want to wait until Josey was home to see if things would work out that I could go running.) Anyways, yesterday as we were running, Jarrett fell asleep and Jordan was looking at all the pretty trees changing colors, and the river, and the mountains, and telling me that Jesus made all of these things because he loves us. What a sweet boy to remind me of these things. I'm glad we were able to take some time to enjoy some of the beauty God has blessed us with, even in Kemmerer! I have to admit that I don't always listen to the things that Jordan is saying because I usually bring my headphones and sometimes turn them on and just run. After yesterday's sweet moment, I shut the headphones off for a minute today when I heard Jordan jabbering away and I asked him what he was saying and he said, "I'm just talking to myself." I thought that was pretty funny -that a little 3-year old has to talk to himself so his mommy can have some time to think and kind of escape into her own world for a little bit - but glad that he's willing to do it and be happy about it. I love my boys - they bring me so much joy that I never could have imagined before they came into my life. How can you look at this sweet face and resist giving it a big kiss? (Never mind the fact that it's covered in dirt, but haven't you noticed this recurring them in all my pictures of Jarrett? - the boy LOVES dirt!)



And one other thing...I started taking a dance class. It's really hilarious. This lady in my ward teaches dance and a couple of people approached her about having an adult class. I do her accounting, so in exchange I decided to try out her class. We are learning hip-hop and jazz. I really stink at it. I have absolutely no rhythm, and I'm not sure I'll ever get it, but it's worth it just to go laugh for an hour at us old ladies trying to dance. I'll let you know how things turn out.

Confession

So I have a confession to make. I'm not sure why I'm sharing this on my blog, other than I don't really have anything else to post about right now. Here it is: today I was a very bad mom. The day started off okay, other than the fact that both boys woke up at 6:00 a.m., and I usually hope for 7:00. Since they woke up so early, I decided to take them on a run in the stroller. My energy was good at this point and we went about 6 miles. It was after this that things started going downhill fast. When we got home, my energy was sapped. So by noon I had finally managed to take a shower and get ready, and I thought I was feeling better. We had lunch, and then Jarrett went down for his nap at around 12:30. By this time, I felt completely drained again. I told Jordan I really needed a "power nap", so I would like it if he let mommy sleep for a little bit while he watched Sesame Street. Yes, I know this is bad, but really, I was totally exhausted. Jordan often begs me to watch TV, but he never really just sits and watches it. He has to be doing headstands on the couch or running around the house doing something at the same time. So as I was lying on my bed, I could hear the pitter-patter of his little feet running to and fro getting into stuff here and there, but I didn't hear anything disastrous. And nothing bad ended up happening. When I finally woke up (yes, I'll admit it...2 hours later!) he was sitting on the floor coloring with markers that he had gotten off the top of the fridge. At least he was doing something creative and productive with his free time, right? He also informed me that he had gotten himself some chips, but that he "didn't eat all of them, quite." He is pretty self-sufficient, don't you think? So after feeling guilty about this for a little bit, I took both boys to the park down by the river this afternoon where we threw rocks in the water, played in the sandbox, and went on the swings and slide. So, maybe I'm not such a bad mom after all, and I feel a lot better after having gotten some rest.

Memories

A lot of my friends and family have been doing this - so I thought I would too!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Since this is our family blog, feel free to leave a memory about any of the four of us.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. :)

Go Cougars!

Well, the time has finally come for one of my favorite times of the year - football season. Don't ask me why this always gets me excited. I've always just loved this time of year and watching football. Even though I've watched it practically my whole life, I still have basically no clue as to all of the rules and calls. I'm not sure why I still can't get it, but I get the most important stuff I guess.




We got to watch BYU's first game of the season today (we got Directv installed just in time), and even though there were some tense moments (and me & Jordan decided to leave the house to give Josey some space), they managed to pull it out in the end. They just had some really dumb plays. I love BYU football, mostly because I love BYU and when Josey & I were dating and married without kids almost all of our dates were attending BYU sporting events. I love remembering those times. This year we get to go to the BYU-Wyoming game and leave our kids with a baby-sitter and I'm really excited! If it's our only real date of the year it will be worth it. Anyways, just wanted to let everyone know I'm excited for the football season, and I hope BYU can do good this year. Go Cougars!!

That's a little too high...

...for a 3-year old to be climbing, don't you think? (Look closely to see Jordan's head) I was sitting on the front porch watching Jarrett play and Jordan was climbing the tree. The next thing I knew he was almost to the top! He got stuck and couldn't figure out how to come back down, but luckily Josey got home right in time to rescue him. He told us he wanted to climb so high so he "could pick a cloud and eat it." What a silly boy, but I'm glad he's okay and not one bit deterred from climbing.

My First Half Marathon (and other stuff)

Yesterday I ran in the Top of Utah half marathon. It was really fun, and I'm happy with how I did. For those of you who aren't runners, you may wonder how running 13.1 miles can be fun, but I can't explain it so you'll just have to get off your couch and start running! It was just fun to take part in an event with a lot of other people who enjoy doing what I do. My goal was to finish the race in 1:45 and my official time was 1:42:49, putting me 19th out of 243 runners in my age/gender category (154 out of 1315 overall). I felt great during and after the race, although my quads are a little sore today. I felt that I could have run faster if I had gotten a better start in the first couple of miles, but with so many people, and this being my first race, I was having a hard time pushing through all the people and getting on my pace. I hope to run more half marathons in the future, but I don't really plan on running a marathon, not because I don't think I could do it, but because I don't want to put that kind of time commitment into my training and I want to be a little easier on my body. Maybe I will change my mind in the future, but I don't know.

I'm amazed that I've come this far in only a year. When Jarrett was about 5 months old, my sweet in-laws gave me a double jogging stroller for my birthday. I immediately put it to use, mostly walking around town, which is a pretty good workout considering the hills here. When I decided to actually start running, I could only go about 1/4 mile before I had to stop and walk. I just kept at it until I was eventually able to run the entire 2.5 mile trail. When winter came, it was harder to find time to run, but I started going to the rec center and running on the track or treadmill. Eventually I just came to really love running. Part of it was the fact that this was my time during the day when I could do something for myself. Part of it was how I started to feel - healthier and happier. I encourage anyone who isn't taking the time to exercise to find some time, any time. It is worth it and you will feel better! I just really hope that I can keep this habit as my life continues to change and get busier.

And some other stuff...

Here is a picture of of our newly stained porch. This is mainly for my mother-in-law who helped us out a lot during the week we were doing all the work. She wanted to see the finished product. I think it looks really good. Before it was a dark red color that was all worn off and didn't look great with the house.

And here's a picture of my boys who were looking especially cute for church this morning. It is impossible to get a picture of both of them smiling and looking normal, but I'll settle for this one. They sure look sweet, don't they? Well, isn't it sweet when your 3 1/2 year old blurts out in the middle of sacrament meeting "Daddy, did you fart?" in a really loud voice (this boy refuses to whisper in church.) When daddy said no and I starting laughing and telling him to be quiet he blurts out "Mommy, did you?" (For the record, no I did not.) Needless to say, I found it quite funny, though embarrassing, and we had a little talk about it after church.

Done camping for now...Yay!!

I know that I've been needing to update my blog with our many adventures, but a lot of times I sit down at the computer and then get busy (sidetracked) looking at everybody else's blogs. Well, today (for the past 3 hours!) I've been enjoying a very peaceful Sunday afternoon because I've had two sleeping boys and a sleeping husband, so I feel rejuvenated and ready to update my blog for those of you who have been anxiously waiting (okay, I know my blog might be a little boring sometimes, but it's good for me to get these things written somewhere before I forget them.)

Where to begin? Josey finished remodeling the bedroom in our basement. He worked so hard on it and learned a lot about home improvement so now I think he's ready for any project I put him up to. The only thing we have left to do is order carpet. The second he finished the bedroom, he started working on the front porch/deck, which needed sanding and restaining. This has turned into quite a big project, and we're not quite finished. Luckily, Jan was here for a few days last week while Arielle was at VB camp at BYU, and she helped us out quite a bit. When it is finished, I think it will look great.

Last weekend, we went to the Squires Family Reunion in Polaris, Montana. This is Josey's grandma's family, and it is always a fun reunion with lots of people. We went to Bannack, a ghost town that was the first capital of Montana. We camped in a pretty campground (and luckily Lyle & Jan camped next to us with their trailer so it wasn't quite roughing it in the wilderness.) Josey & Jesse took Jordan digging for crystals. It was a nice weekend to relax and have fun with family, although Jarrett did get sick with croup and by the last day he was really miserable. The poor little guy sat in his carseat on the way home for 7 hours without ever getting out or crying. He slept for about 3 hours and then just had this miserable sad look on his face for the rest of the way. I was happy to be back home.

Jordan & Jarrett climbing the rocks in our campground
The boys throwing rocks with grandpa

Jordan in timeout in Bannack

Our family in Bannack

Jesse, Jordan, & Josey with the crystals they dug
I should mention that to prepare for this camping expedition, Josey made us set up the tent in our backyard for 2 nights before we left so the boys would be prepared for the camping experience. His plan worked somewhat (Jarrett progressed from waking up at 5:30 to 7:00), although during the second night of backyard camping we had this huge thunderstorm and I was scared (I tried to make it seem like Jordan was the one who was scared) so we finally went inside around 3:00 a.m. Needless to say, these 2 nights of camp preparation wore me out and next time I think I'll let Josey prepare the boys on his own.

Jordan has also been taking swimming lessons for the past 2 weeks. He's done great and he's loved it (some of the kids in the class NEVER stopped bawling the entire time). I've always wished I would have learned to swim because I still don't know how. I can stay above water, but I don't actually know how to swim properly, like if I wanted to go swim for exercise. Maybe I could still learn. Anyways, here are some pics of him learning to swim.