The Last 2 Months

Andy finally got to sit on Santa's lap. Braxton and Calvin weren't having it, though. They said Santa already knew what they wanted because they wrote him a letter. Their friends were there, so I think they thought they were too cool for Santa. How sad!


We went to a concert with my whole family and here are the boys after.

We got soooo much snow. We played in it a ton. I was afraid to let Roy out of my sight because if he would have fallen down, I wouldn't have been able to find him. We got 13 inches in just one storm, and several more in another. It's snowing again today! I love the snow. I'll never complain about it.

Chris and I ran a race in Moab. Chris did fabulous. I, on the other hand, need some serious work. I don't think Hepworth's were made for running.

Braxton LOVED the pinewood derby. He designed, made , and painted his car by himself. When they drilled holes in the bottom of his car to add weight, he was in tears. He would rather keep his car the way he made it than win. He's a sensitive little kid. His car did awesome, though, especially for being a triangle.

The Last 2 Months part II

We love putting puzzles together on Holiday's.

Calvin wouldn't let me or Chris touch his loose tooth. It's been loose for over 6 months. Finally, while Chris was brushing Calvin's teeth, he wacked the loose tooth with the toothbrush. The tooth was DANGLING there. We thought it was coming out for sure. Nope, Calvin wouldn't have it. He'd barely wiggle the dang thing.

Finally, the next day at school, he was playing kick ball, and the ball hit him in the face. The tooth popped right out! He was one happy kid. The tooth fairy left $5 since it took him so long to loose it.

Chris had a birthday, and is now officially OLD. Just kidding...I'm right behind him, but he is 37 now, which just sounds so close to 40.


This picture cracks me up!

Shopping

Guess what?! I did almost ALL my Christmas shopping online, and I'm feeling pretty proud of it. I'm not one of those girls that loves to shop. I think I've gotten so used to living in Blanding and not having many stores around, that when I do finally get to civilization, I get sooooo annoyed with standing in lines and stores not having what I need.

Online shopping is like having Christmas twice. First, you get to pick out and get excited about all your stuff. Then when the packages come rolling in, you get to open them and see what you actually bought. My most favorite thing about shopping online is reading reviews about the things I am shopping for. You can tell if it's really a good product by what other consumers say rather than what the salesperson tells you.

Seriously, I can't think of anything I bought at a store this year besides stocking stuffers.

On a side note, while we were in Provo last weekend I learned that Calvin, my 7 year old, LOVES to shop. He and I left everyone else at grandma's house and took off to find some jeans for him. He is VERY picky about what he will wear, so I didn't dare pick them out without him there. We had the best time together. It made me not feel so deprived about not having girls. Now I can just take Calvin with me whenever I get that shopping urge. I love that kid!

BTW- I still can't find the cord to my camera :(

Surprise, surprise

This will not surprise you all who know me well, but here's the scoop. I have several pictures from the last month or so I've been wanting to post on my blog. Well, time is short, so I haven't been able to find the time to post them. Well now I have the time, but guess what? I can't find the cord to my camera so I can't transfer the images over. No, this is not a surprise to me at all. This happens all the time. I have looked everywhere. I think it grew feet and walked away!

Oh well, to put it in a nutshell: Calvin lost his first tooth, we had an awesome Thanksgiving, the kids did tons of cute things, and we had a huge snowstorm. There ya go.

Let's just hope my memory card doesn't fill up before the cord decides to come running back.

Kitchen Craziness

I haven't posted in a while because we've had house guests. Chris' dad is roofing a house in Monticello, so we're entertaining him and another worker. I have tons to write about and tons of pictures to share, but it'll have to wait until later.

The kitchen craziness is coming in the form of a 2 year old thief. Roy loves my kitchen utensils. His first choice were the nutcrackers. Since I don't really use the nutcrackers, I succumbed and let him carry it around. He carried it everywhere as his prized possession, pinching everything at eye level...my rear end is at eye level :) He wouldn't even put it down to go in the grocery store.

Now he's figuring out what the "valuable" kitchen utensils are: the beaters, spatulas, and wooden spoons. I'm going crazy. They are strewn all over my house, and he refuses to fork them over;)

I know what you're thinking, "put a child lock on the drawer, silly lady." And to that...the kid knows how to break them. Yes, you heard me right. Since he was old enough to walk, he figured out that all he had to do was pull the drawer in and out as hard and fast as he could and SNAP. Oh well, maybe I'll have a future cook in the family. That might not be such a bad thing!

Back in the Saddle

After a long hiatus, I am back in the saddle, literally...my bike saddle, that is. It's not that I haven't been riding my bike. I have been doing it here and there, just not consistently. After my half-ironman in August, I was completely burned out. I needed a break. My family needed me to take a break. I just didn't know I needed THIS long of a break. After almost 4 months, 10 lbs., and tons of junk food, I've started training again.

In a fit of exercise madness last spring, I signed up for another half-ironman in April 2009. This was even before I had started training for the one I did in August. "How hard can it be," I told myself. Well, now I am kinda regretting signing up. I really hate being cold, and now I have to train all winter long.

There are a few positives that will come out of this, though.

1. I will probably lose the weight I have gained.

2. I am taking the whole family with me to San Diego, and we are staying in a condo right on the beach!

3. After this race I'll feel pretty entitled in taking the whole summer off and vegging.

So this week marked the beginning of my 20 week training plan. It feels so good to be working toward something again. It feels so good to push my body to its limits. And, it feels so good to finally ride my bike several times in the week. I love her so much (my bike). I view the world so differently when I'm in her saddle. Everything is beautiful, and life just makes sense.

So to help motivate me, I am posting some pictures of my race I finished in July.

Here we all are before the race, showing off our muscles and our body marking. Yes, they mark you with your age on the back of you calf with permanent marker.

Here is the mass swim start. There is usually a lot of thrashing and swimming over the top of people, but since this was an all women's race, it was pretty civil.

This is me on the run. Yes, I look like I'm walking, but I was just sooooo slow. It was so hot and I was hurting and feeling every mile.

Sweet success and a cold shower. I was so glad to be done!

Sick

I sit here sick as my boys and Chris are outside raking leaves. I am really sad because I want to be out there. We have so much fun raking leaves every year, jumping in them, and having leaf fights, and I'm so sad I'm missing it.

So, I'll drown my sorrows in this tag:

~10 years ago
Chris and I had just gotten married in May and pregnant 6 weeks later. I'm sad to say we fought a ton, and if it hadn't been for me being preggo, our marriage may not have survived. Don't worry, we're ok now. We missed the honeymoon stage of being married, and are celebrating it now ;)

~5 Things On Today's To-Do List
What was on my to do list (until I got sick) was:
1. Ride my bike
2. Rake leaves
3. Grocery shop
4. Go for a run
5. Go for a hike and out to dinner w/Chris (it's his b-day tomorrow)

~Snacks I Enjoy
Heck, I enjoy everything, but mostly I love to eat cold cereal, yogurt, and anything with sugar in it (I'm an addict).

~Things I would do if I suddenly became a billionaire
Build our dream home (passive solar, off grid home)
Hire a maid
Travel to the Bahamas
Take a Disney cruise
Buy a carbon bike
Eat all organic, homemade food
Make sure all my nieces could attend college
Give money to my parents and in-laws so they could retire

~3 Bad Habits
1. Picking out other people's bad punctuation and spelling. I don't know why, but it sticks out like a sore thumb to me.
2. Being too critical with my kids. I yell at them way too much instead of sitting them down and explaining things to them.
3. Spending too much time on the computer.

~5 Places I've lived
1. Hurricane
2. New York
3. St. George
4. Provo; Provo; Provo (we moved several times while there)
5. Blanding

~5 Jobs I've Had
1. Table Busser
2. Nanny
3. Cashier at a grocery store
4. Administrative Assistant
5. and my most favorite job of all.....DOMESTIC GODDESS

~5 Things People Don't Know About Me
1. I had braces and cosmetic dentistry done as an adult. I think I look just enough different that people look at me and wonder, but can't put their finger on it.
2. Chris plucks my eyebrows for me every Saturday night...sweet huh?! He loves doing it.
3. I love day dreaming. I am always wondering about and looking for the next best thing. I think it drives Chris nutty. He thrives on consistency. He'd love to stay in the same place, doing the same things for the rest of his life.
4. I have terrible circulation and very low blood pressure. My feet and hands are always cold, and whenever I stand up from sitting or lying down, I almost always get light headed, see spots, or black out for a few seconds.
5. I am ticklish on my head. I know this sounds so weird, but Chris knows the exact spot and he loves to see me squirm. I'm also a sucker for a good head rub!

Tag: Jilyn & Teala...that means you have to cut and paste and answer these questions on your blog!