Catch up!

Man! I have been behind in posting as you can see!! December has been BUSY!!! I have been loving it though with all of the Paparazzi parties I've done and now performances I have been doing. It is such a fun time of year! I just love Christmas!!

Tomorrow we have our 3rd performance. They have been going really well! Last friday, we performed at Festival of Trees and Douglas and the kids came to watch. It was so much fun to perform for them! The kids loved it and kept asking me when they were going to start singing and dancing! Better get on that for next year!!

In just 2 weeks, we'll be in Disneyland!! I can't believe how close it is!! The kids are way excited to see all the Disney characters and I am just SO excited myself! It's going to be way nice to relax for a week after the craziness that has been going on!! No complaints though!! I love to keep busy!!

Douglas has been home more with not having as much going on with work unless it snows, but it hasn't much yet! Just you wait, when we are gone for Christmas, there will be a huge storm! Every time him or his boss is out of town, it happens that way, of course when they are short one person! We shall see!!

Turkey Day Weekend

This Thanksgiving was very nice! Unfortunately I had to work part of it, but at least I got to eat dinner with my family on the Nielsen side. Douglas' parents and brother Tylor were in town, so they took the kids to Nana and Papas while I spent time with my family since I had to work later. It actually worked out fine since the next day we had a second Thanksgiving at our home with Douglas and his family. Being with all of them just makes me love family even more! I am just so grateful for the relationships I have with my family as well as Douglas family!!

Day 1: The Gospel

Wow! I am horrible for now just posting this, but I have to finish!! The next thing that I am very grateful for is the gospel. Knowing why I'm here and my purpose on Earth, has helped me through the trials I have faced with and has given me such hope for what is to come for me and my familly. I am so blessed to have an eternal family and strive every day to be the best person I know I should be. I love my Heavenly Father so much and know he is there for me every minute of every day! I am so blessed to have a testimony and that I can stand strong in the things I believe in. I know that my Redeemer lives, that he loves me, and is there for me, even in my darkest moments. I would be a wreck if I didn't have the truth and light in my life!!

Day 2: My Grandpa Holt

I know I briefly talked about my Grandpa Holt already, but he recently was in and out of the hospital with pneumonia. I am so blessed that my aunt took him in early enough so the doctors could help him get better and with just 2 days, was able to come home! You never know what can happen at his age! I love Grandpa SO SO much!! He has been such an amazing example for me and has taught me a lot! I look up to him for the wonderful person he is to everyone, and I mean EVERYONE!! He is the most Christlike person I know. I am one lucky girl to be blessed with such an amazing Grandpa :)

Day 3: Friends

Throughout my life, I have met some awesome people, many I consider friends. I am so blessed to have those people in my life that have been there for me. I am very grateful for all of my friends I had in high school and happy to still have those close relationships with. I am blessed for the friends I am dancing with right now. We have such a fun group and I am so blessed to be a part of it :) So, thank you to all that have touched my life, have been a good influence, and who care about me and my family!! Love you :)

Day 4: Douglas' Job

Through out our marriage, Douglas has worked at various jobs that have been good and bad. The last 4 years, he has been working for CLS landscape company with his friend Mike. With some of the rocky things that we have dealt with in the past with employers, I am just so grateful now that Douglas has a good, solid job and an awesome boss like Mike is. I am also so grateful for the hard worker Douglas is. He has always been a self motivator and is continually looking to better his skills. He says he is dedicated to his job and I pray that things will continue to be successful for them in the business as well as providing for our family!

Day 5: Trinity

As much of a rascal our pup is and for things she just loves to chew on, I really am thankful for Miss Trinity. She has brought a lot of joy into this family, especially the kids. They adore her and love playing with her! She's a good dog and is such a cutie!

Day 6: My primary class

I am a teacher in primary for the 7 and 8 year olds. It has been such a blessing to teach these cute kids. I have learned so much from them and enjoy seeing them at a special age of being baptized and receiving the Holy Ghost. It'll be sad for them to go into the other class shortly, but I am excited to get new kids that will be ready and excited to turn 8. It is so fun to teach them and I really love being in primary :)

Day 7: My Home

We have lived in our house for 2 years now. I am so grateful that we were able to get into a place that we love and enjoy. It's nice to have a place of our own that we have worked our "you know whats" to get it!! Douglas and I have gone through a few struggles before, so to be able to have a home was such a blessing for us! We love working on projects that will better our resale in the future or just for fun that make our house our home! Like a saying I have hung up, " A house is built with walls and beams, a home is built with love and dreams" :)

Day 8: Work

For just over 3 1/2 years, I have been working for Jetblue. It has been a great job for me in being able to work from home and have flexible hours. There are days lately where I get frustrated and a little bored with the job, but really, I am very thankful to even have a job, especially one that has been good with my schedule and helping provide insurance and extra income for the family. I love talking to people all over the world and helping them with their needs. I am also grateful that it has given me and my family an opportunity to travel like to Florida and the Dominican Republic.

Also, I am grateful to be a consultant for Paparazzi. It has been so much fun to get out of the house, meet new people, and play with jewelry! It has also been so good for my sister Trisha and mine's relationship! I enjoy being business partners with her and hope that our work will stay busy and successful!!

Besides on what my actual jobs are, recently I have been able to help my Grandma Holt around her house since she is having such a hard time doing things than she used to. I am so glad to be that help she needs to get stuff done. I love my Grandparents so much and what to do all that I can to help them :)

Day 9: My Health, Talents, and Well Being

Being a girl and always finding flaws about myself, has pretty much been a part of me my whole life. Thinking about it and seeing how silly it is, has opened my eyes on things. I might not have the perfect body, hair, looks ect, but why should that matter when I have been blessed with the good health I have of being able to do a lot of the things that others may not. I am so grateful to be in the shape I'm in to do all of the races I participate in. I love every minute of it and feel so much joy in accomplishing them.

Recently, I just started to dance and perform again, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity at my age. It makes me so happy and I enjoy sharing my musical talents. I am also so blessed to be in Jenny Phillip's choir. It is a huge testimony builder for me as well as an awesome way to share the gospel.

I am so blessed to have had the experiences so far in my life that have made me stronger physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I went through quite a bit in my childhood and have suffered on and off with depression. What I am grateful for is the help I've had to understand myself and to accept the weaknesses in my life. It has motivated me to be a better person and to not focus so much on the bad, but the good that has come out of it. I am so much stronger as a person and know I wouldn't be if I didn't have those trials in my life!

Day 10: Family

So, I thought I'd start on one of the most important things I am grateful for, and that is my family! There are a ton of people in my life that have made a huge impact on me and about 90% of them would consist of family members.

First off, let's start off with my cute kiddos. Words cannot express the joy it is to be a mother, especially to 2 amazing, beautiful, smart, fun, children! Haiden and Mekenzie are the light of my life and I am SO blessed to be their mom! They bring me so much happiness and love each day! I pray that I can continue to be a good example for them and help them along their beautiful lives ahead of them.

My parents. I have to say that I was quite spoiled as a child. No matter how hard my mom and dad struggled financially, they did everything in their power to make sure I could do the things I wanted to like dancing, singing, swimming, school functions, ect. I can't even imagine what kind of money they put into all of it! It helped me during the hard times with family and myself to be involved in something that kept me out of trouble at a young age and to grow as a person. I will always be grateful for the things they did and still do for me! They are great Grandparents too :)

My In Laws. Bill and Susan are such great people and I am very blessed to have them in my life! I have learned so much from Susan and enjoy spending time with her. I look forward in being able to get together with them, especially at their home in Colorado! They have so much love for their family and Grandkids! I appreciate everything they have done for both Douglas and I!! Can't wait for Disneyland :) Douglas' siblings are also great people who I have enjoyed spending time with. Tylor, Robert, Steph, and Karee, I love you all so much and hope we can always be there for each other!

My siblings. I am so blessed to be the youngest of a big family! There are many things I have learned from each of my brothers and sisters. I look up to my brothers Jaren and Jeff so much! They have always worked so hard to provide for them and their families, plus they are just awesome guys! My sisters Amie, Taunie, Angela, and Trisha are all different, but alike in many ways too. Amie is the amazing big sister that I have always wanted to be like, Taunie through her struggles, has taught me a lot on how I've wanted to be as a person, Angela, is such a sweetheart, and Trisha is one of my dearest friends where we have gone through a lot of ups and downs, but I will always love her no matter what! I hope they all know how much I care for them!

My Grandpa and Grandma Holt. They are the most loving, giving people I know!! I am so grateful for the MANY things they have done for me as well as everyone else in the family. They are amazing people and I have so many wonderful memories with them! I Love them so much!!!

Extended family on both sides. Like I said, I have so many wonderful people in my family. I am so blessed to be close to so many of my cousins, uncles, aunts, ect. where we have had many traditions together to bring everyone together and I am so so blessed to have married into an amazing family as well with awesome cousins, aunts, uncles, too! I am one lucky girl to have such great realtionships with those on both sides and hope to continue and strengthen them :) Love you all!!!

Then of course to save for last, Douglas. With everything we have gone through in just our short 6 1/2 years of marriage, I am truly blessed we have gone through these trials, beacause it has brought us closer as a couple in understanding one another and relying on each other. I am so in love with him more than I could ever possibly imagine and I know it'll just keep on growing! He is my rock, my best friend, the one I can ALWAYS count on no matter what. He sees me for who I really am and loves me even though I can be a pain in the butt sometimes. I love him so much!!!

Wow, that was a lot of writing, but like I said, family is SO important to me. I love all of you so much and am grateful for your support, love, and friendship :)

10 Day Countdown to Thanksgiving

Starting today, there are 10 more days till Thanksgiving!! Since there is so much I could talk about on what I am grateful for, plus it'd take me forever to write them all in one post, I thought it'd be fun to do a countdown till the 24th and write a total of 10 things I am grateful for in my life. I'm sure I could do a whole lot more, but 10 is a good number I think, plus I can expand more each day on them! Enjoy!!

Great Grandma Wilson

On Sunday October 23, Douglas' sweet Great Grandma Wilson passed away. She was 102 years old. When we found out, I knew it was coming soon due to her age, but knowing that she was gone was difficult, but bittersweet to me. Having her return to her loved ones that have passed before and being united with her husband made it easier, but to not have her here is going to be hard getting used to. Ever since I have been a part of the family, she has always been there for family to support them whether it being a wedding, baby blessing, baptism, ect. Even at her age, she amazed me with how on the ball she was! I loved talking to her about her life and stories about the family visiting her in San Diego when she lived there. She did so much for others and still did even in her last days. I am so blessed to have known such an amazing lady who had such an unconditional love for her family! I am so glad that my children was able to know and spend time with her too!! Here are some pictures I was able to find over the last years of her life.

 Just after Haiden was born

January 2007

 Grandma's 99th Birthday

July 2008

 Mekenzie's Baby Blessing

November 2008

April 2009

                                         

Grandma's 100 Year Birthday Celebration

We celebrated her 102nd birthday in July, but I unfortunately don't have pictures of her then, except the one on top. That was the last time we saw her. 

Her funeral was this last Saturday. Everything about it was so nice! She looked so good. The talks were good and the music was beautiful. One of the Grandsons played 'Be Still My Soul' my favorite hymn, and I could not help but cry listening to the beautiful song. It was good to hear so many special stories about her and again celebrating 102 wonderful years of her life and the amazing things she experienced. Definitely a century of so many changes!!

We love you Grandma and know you are in heaven continuing your work and watching over us!! May we all learn from your example and strive to be the same to others around us. Until we meet again.

Much Love

Back In The Groove!!

So, about 3 weeks ago, I started dancing again!! My old dance teacher Nicole put together an all Women's Singing/Dancing cast for Christmas and Summer next year. The first week was fun, but HARD!! A lot of us haven't danced for years, and so we do an hour technique, half hour cardio, and an hour and a half learning stuff for our shows.  I consider myself quite athletic, but when it came to dancing again, it is such a different feel on your body with the kicks, leaps, movements, ect that the next 2 days, I literally could not move!!! I couldn't believe on how inflexible I was too! I was impressed though that I could still catch on to all of the choreography pretty fast. These last two times going, I have felt stronger every time and back to my old self!! I am loving every second of it!! It is just so fun to be a part of something again where I can perform and show my talents!! For Christmas, we will be doing a fun show, but I am really looking forward to our Summer show!! We will be doing a Las Vegas theme show consisting songs of Poker Face, Viva Las Vegas, My Last Name, Waking Up In Vegas, and many more! I can't wait to be on stage again!!

Busy Busy and More Busy!!

Wow! Where did the summer go?? It's gone by way too fast! August especially! With selling Paparazzi, The Nielsen family reunion, Colorado, going to Lagoon, and working tons at Jetblue, I guess that can make time fly by! It's sad in a way, but then exciting for what is coming our way! On the 6th of September, Haiden starts preschool which he is super excited about! He's been counting down the days to go learn and play with friends! His teacher I think will be lots of fun, plus his cousin Ethan will be going with him too, so that'll be awesome for the both of them!

For me, I am just starting my training on doing a half marathon in October. I'm really nervous since I hate running, but I'm doing it no matter what! We shall see how it plays out with training and such! You can check it out on my Training Blog with my progress if you'd like :) Another fun thing that I am stoked about is PERFORMING again!!!! Nicole from OnStage, where I danced at in High School, asked me if I wanted to join an all womens cast for this Christmas and next Summer. Of course I said yes, since I have been wanting to get back into that!!! I am SO dang excited! I hope I do as well as I did back then!

Paparazzi has been going very well for Trisha and I!! We just started doing home shows and love it!! If any of you are interested in doing a party, let me know! Everything is so cute and only $5.50 with tax! This fall/ winter is going to be busy busy with shows!!

And of course the biggest, most fun thing that us Belshes are looking forward to at the end of the year is DISNEYLAND this Christmas!! I can't believe it's almost here! We'll be staying a week with Douglas' family and I can't even explain just how excited I am in going!! It's been YEARS since I've been and to get to take my kids and see their faces will be unforgettable!!

So like I said, it's sad for summer to be at an end, but this fall and winter will be even more busy and exciting for us to look forward to!!

A weekend where I love most!!

This past weekend, we went and visited Douglas' parents in Colorado. Bill has an annual BBQ he puts together for family, and since we hadn't been there in over a year, we wanted to go! They live in Red Mesa on about 55 acres of land. Living in the city my whole life, it was definitely something getting used to at first, but now I am completely in love with the country! It is just so peaceful and simple out there. 

Bill and Susan have a cute little home as well as the barn which they recently added a cool loft and bathroom in it. We were lucky enough to stay in there! It reminded me a lot of the mountain hideaway room we stayed in at Anniversary Inn. So fun! The kids got to sleep on the top of the loft where you had to climb a ladder to get there. They thought it was the coolest thing ever! 

Uncle Lon and Aunt Josie came as well as Bill's brother Charles, his wife Joni, and Grandson Vaughn. We had a great time together! The guys helped Bill with the roof on the barn, we rode horses, played on the tire swing, had amazing food, watched movies, and played games. For the BBQ, Bill cooked different meats in the pit he has in the ground and it is SO dang good! We had pulled pork sandwiches and beef. The best stuff ever! 

I always tell Douglas that if I had a choice to move there, I'd be there in a heartbeat! I just LOVE it there!! It just makes you forget all the hustle and bustle of the craziness that goes on! 

 Thank You Bill and Susan for having us!! It was such a fun weekend! Hope to visit again soon! 

Happy Birthday Mekenzie!!

This last Monday July 25th, my sweet Mekenzie turned 3!! We had a fun day swimming at Lagoon and then watched fireworks at my cousin Megan's house. Mekenzie got her first set of barbie dolls, a rapunzel dress, crown, and a purse of hair stuff! She is definitely a girly girl!! She also requested for pink cupcakes to eat! She is one who knows what she wants!

Words cannot express on how blessed I am to have Mekenzie for a daughter! She is such a sweetheart with such a spunky personality!! I love her dearly and am saddened with how fast she is growing up, but at the same time, love the different stages she's gone through so far! She is my beautiful princess!! Happy Birthday Mekenzie!!! Your dad and I love you so much!!!!

Paparazzi

Last night, my sister in law Kellie hosted a Paparazzi party. It's a company that sells jewelry and hair accessories. I didn't think going would have me leave with such an excitement for my future! Some of you know that I started selling the Us Borne books. I've been trying to earn extra money besides of what I do at Jetblue. I like working for jetblue, but needed something different to get extra cash for Disneyland this Christmas and other things we want to do. I just cant handle working more than I have to on the phones! Anyways, Us Borne wasn't what I was hoping for in getting that extra income and to be honest, a little frustrating. I haven't been enjoying it like I should be. With that, these last few days, I have been really frustrated on trying to figure out what to do. I was thinking of maybe serving at a restaurant or something else, just to get out of the house. Then, with the party last night, walking into the room with tons and tons of amazing jewelry, 5 dollars each, I instantly got to thinking of what it would be for me to sell it. This jewelry is awesome and I would LOVE to sell the product!! I got to talking with the consultant about starting up, and with what you get out of it, it is so worth the parties and such!! Much more than Us Borne. Plus, everyone loves jewelry, especially at a great price!! So, I became a consultant!!! I have never felt so good about something! I know i wont know what to expect with booking parties and such till I actually start doing it, but from the consultant who just started 3 months ago, she has paid off her 5,000 loan she got to start her business and on average makes 2,000 a month. She did start big, but if I can even earn 500 extra each month, Douglas and I wouldn't have to stress so much about the extra things!! I am so excited on starting!!! If any of you would be interested in taking a look at the jewelry or even doing a party, let me know! It seriously is awesome!!!!! I pray that this will lead me in the right direction of helping my family!

  The Jewelry I got last night!!

A Fun Weekend!!

This last weekend was tons of fun! On Saturday, Douglas and I went and saw the new Transformers movie, then went to my Uncle Golden's house for our annual 4th of July BBQ. The water was perfect this year and the food was great! My cousin Tyler had his in laws over. His Bro in Law just got back from his mission to Brazil and cooked us different meats the way they do it there. It was really good!! After swimming, we watched the Riverton fireworks. I just LOVE fireworks!! Sunday, we didn't do a whole lot since I had to work, but on Monday, I took the kids to the West Jordan parade and carnival. They had fun watching the floats and getting candy. Mekenzie also loved all the "princesses" that were in the parade. Since Douglas had to work that morning, once he was finished, we met up with him and my cousin Megan and her family, and saw Cars 2. The kids did pretty good as long as they had their popcorn and drink :) It was a cute movie. Just very different than the first one. After the movie we ate at chik-fil-a (our favorite) then went home. I went for a run, then went to the store and got some sparklers for the kids to play with. Haiden at first was scared of them, but once he got used to them, kept wanting more and more to play with!

  I know the kids are still at an age where they don't quite understand the meaning behind all of the parades, fireworks, ect, but for me, The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. Not just because of all of the parties and such, but because of the reminder it brings on how blessed a country we are to have our individual freedoms and rights. I am grateful for those who made it that way for us and for fighting for our freedom. While singing in church on Sunday and singing the Star Spangled Banner, I was overcome with the spirit and couldn't help, but tear up a bit! It's just a special time for me to look at my life and thank my Father in Heaven for all the things we have for living in this country and spending time with my family and friends!

Friendship

Recently, I have had a lot of thought on friendship and what it means to me as a person.
There are many so called "friends" in my life that I involve myself with here and there, but it's crazy how few is considered a TRUE friend of mine. It's made me realize the importance of friendship, who matters most to me in my life, and the things I want to do myself as a person to be the friend others would want. Here is a little poem I found that pretty much explains my thoughts on what a friend should be.


Friends

A friend is someone we turn to
when our spirits need a lift.
A friend is someone we treasure
for our friendship is a gift.
A friend is someone who fills our lives
with beauty, joy, and grace.
And makes the whole world we live in
a better and happier place.

- Jean Kyler McManus -

TOUGH MUDDER!!!

Last Saturday, June 25th, Douglas and I did the Tough Mudder in Colorado!!  My Brother in law Tylor wanted to do it for his birthday, so we thought it'd be fun to join him, as well as his brother Robert, dad, and 2 other friends, and Oh My Gosh it was so awesome!!! Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done, but such an amazing accomplishment!! So here is what happened that day. We got to Beaver Creek at about 7am to sign in and get ready for our start at 9 am. The night before, I was so pumped and wide awake, so I only got about 2 hours of sleep, but was feeling great! The race was a 10 mile course up and down the mountains and consisted of about 25 obstacles. Many people go as teams and work together throughout the whole race to finish. It isn't a timed race, so just to finish it is what's important! The start of the race was on top of a hill where we had to run down the mountain, that was our first obstacle, The Braveheart Charge. I was a little careful of not going too fast since it was the beginning and knowing my knees aren't the greatest, I wanted to to be careful not to hurt myself right off! After that, we climbed up the first mountain. I was feeling good and pushed myself all the way to the top. The next obstacle were 2 berlin walls, which are 12 foot walls we had to climb over. It was definitely nice having people help on that one! The next obstacle was Boa Contstrictor. We had to climb down a tunnel into nice cold water and back up another tunnel. The water was a little cold, but nothing to what was coming our way! We jogged off and on for over a mile before we got to the next one. Some were struggling, so we made sure to stay back with everyone as a group. The next obstacle was Kiss Of Mud where we had to crawl under barbed wire about 12 inches off the ground. This is when we started getting nice and muddy!! It wasn't bad crawling under, but the ground was so dang hard that I could start feeling my knees hurting after that! Going uphill even more, we got to what is called Swamp Stomp. This is where the fun began! It was a lovely swamp we had to cross through. The water was nice and cold, but I can handle cold water ok, so it didn't do much of an affect on me. There was a huge freakin' rock in the center of the swamp where most people hit their shins on! Luckily I noticed it before hitting my leg on it! Douglas got it pretty bad on his shin though! Left a nice mark! Right after that though, we turned the corner and had to get into the water again, but all the way this time going under 3 different barrels. Going under the first one was COLD as heck!! It totally took your breath away!! Getting to the next barrel and the next really got me to have to brace myself and go under! 30 degree water really takes a toll on ya!! Getting out and continuing on made everything better for me though to where I warmed back up no problem. This was the hardest obstacle for Douglas though since he has like no fat on him! After the lovely water, we had to carry a piece of wood up and back down the mountain. Once we got done with that, we ran downhill about a mile to what was called Chernobyl Jacuzzi. There were 3 different colored tanks of cold ice water where we had to jump in again and go under to the other side. Douglas was not happy about that since he was just getting back to normal after the other water one! Luckily I could handle the water. What did it for me was the next mountain we had to climb which was the steepest of them all!! My butt, legs, and knees were starting to burn!!! In the middle of it was our next obstacle Devil's Beard where we had to climb under a cargo net. It was easy to get caught in it and you had to really work together to get through it. I was so happy to be done with that hill! It seriously sucked!! Oh ya, before the mountain was Turd's Nest. It was a huge net where we had to climb over the river. That one wasn't too bad. I rolled down to the center and then climbed up. Getting to and past the next obstacle was the longest incline in the race. In between was Sweaty Yeti. There were 2 big snow mountains they made for us. The first one, they had another net we had to climb under. That was quite fun (sarcasm there)... then we slid on our butts to the next one and so on! The next obstacle, still up hill, was running through the mud and over hay while people were spraying us with the fire hoses and tripping us with wire. At that point, I was getting very tired in my knees and legs! It was nice seeing my mother in law and Uncle Lon cheering us on though! Spectators could pretty much follow you and take pictures, but they had to take a lovely hike as well to get to certain obstacles! After that was yet another mountain that seemed to keep going forever. This is the only point I felt I was dragging behind. All I could think was put one foot in front of the other, put one foot in front of the other! I was hurting big time!! At least I never was the very last of the group thank goodness!! Next was Mud Mile, followed by Log Jammin, and to these huge barrels of hay we had to climb over. Then onto Spider's Web which was a big cargo net we had to climb up and over. It was pretty high too! Bill and I stayed together going FINALLY downhill to the next obstacle. Walking, my knees were killing me to where I could hardly walk. The only thing to keep them from hurting was to jog and keep myself moving. After running a while, we got to 3 more berlin walls we had to climb over. I was getting so tired, but pushed my way over them, thanks to Bill!! The next obsatcle was the mystery one which was a zig zagged tunnel thing we had to crawl through. At first I was kind of nervous seeing it, but there was actually more room than I thought to get through it easily. My knees were so hammered at that point though that I had to use all of my upper body stregnth to get through it! After that, Douglas, Tylor, and Robert caught up with us. (The one friend left us and went on ahead, and the other friend had to a see a medic, but ended up finishing.) Robert's leg kept cramping up really bad so they were trying to get him to continue without it hurting. At that point we were almost finished!! We came down the mountain doing The Super G Slalom which was a zig zag down the mountain, Mudslide, and Greased Lightning which were tons of fun sliding downhill on our stomachs. I guess I wasn't going fast enough though cause a guy rammed right into me!! Ooops!! Following that was the Funky Monkey. It was about a 30 monkey bar obstacle that inclined up, went across, and then back down. At that point, I wasn't feeling very confident about crossing it, but under if you fell in, it was icy cold water so I was determined not too, and Holy Heck, I did it!!! I was so proud of myself with how fatigued I was! Douglas was at the other end cheering me on, so that pushed me to keep going!! The second to last obstacle was Everest. It was part of a half pipe we had to run up and climb over. Douglas and Tylor went first so they could help us get to the top. I love that I had them to help me!! Bill had to try a few times due to not enough momentum, but by the 4th time, he got up!! Last, but not least, was the famous Electric Shock Therapy! This was the obstacle where you had to run through wires that has 10,000 volts of electricity! From the beginning I was nervous going through, but decided I just had to run through it and not think about it! Apparantly though some of the wires weren't working, but I did feel the shock twice! The second one must have shot right to my right calf cause once I made it through, I instantly cramped up and couldn't walk! Luckily, Bill was right behind me, tried helping me get it back to normal, but after realizing it wasn't doing any better, He carried me on his back through the finish line! What a great Father In Law!! Everyone was cheering us on!! Of course Out of all places in the race, it had to happen then, but it was a great way to finish I guess :) Overall, it was the most fun, challenging thing I have ever done! During the race I was thinking I never want to do another one, but after it was all over with, I am ready for more!! Tough Mudder is coming to SLC I believe next summer!!! I am so stoked to doing another one and get more of my family and friends to do it with me!! Such an experience you will never forget!!! Who is with me??

Ready to Rock It!!!

Our "Band"

And we're off!!

Enjoying the snow...

And the fire hoses!

Turd's Nest

Still going strong!!

Everest

Electric Shock Therapy!!

Across the Finish Line!!!

Proud Grandkids!!

Tylor and Blaine

Our Cheerleaders!!

We did it!!

Some of our lovely battlewounds!!

Thank You Tylor for including us in this awesome adventure with ya!! Great way to celebrate your Birthday!!!!

The Big 26!!

Wow!! Am I really that old?? I definitely don't feel it that's for sure!! Sunday was a great day!! We didn't do anything big for my birthday, but it was nice and relaxing to spend time with my family. I got to sing in sacrament which was cool. I usually have my Sister Trisha sing with me, but forever I have wanted to sing an arrangement of I Stand All Amazed. I finally got the music for it, so I sang!! It went well except for during the middle part I got emotional. Of course being a singer I got a little mad at myself letting my emotions take over my singing, but when the spirit is so strong, it's hard not to!! After church, Douglas made us a few of my favorite appetizers for lunch, mozerella sticks and edamame. For my birthday cake, he got me doughnuts which have always been my favorite too!! I worked only part of my shift and then we went to my cousin Megan's house and spent the rest of the night hanging out with them! She made brownies too, so I definitely got my sugar intake that day for the whole week :) It was simple, yet so nice!! Being with my family is the best thing I could ask for on my birthday!! And remember Douglas, I am 26 not 27!!! ;)

In Loving Memory...

Yesterday, Trisha and I sang at Chad Wade's funeral. He was one of the 4 men who died in the plane crash last week in Wendover. Our good friend Jenny is his sister and they asked us to sing. I met Chad a few times. He was a really sweet guy who was very driven in the things he did! He was also a successful businessman who was a huge influence to many people. The funeral was so good! All of the siblings spoke in which they shared stories and memories of Chad. One thing that was so neat was all the women in the family wore ties of Chad's and the men wore his suits and ties that were tailored to their sizes. You could tell just what an amazing person he was even if you hadn't met him. I don't think there was a single dry eye in the congregation. Trisha and I sang last. We were asked to sing Josh Groban's "You raise me up." We had a violinist play with us which turned out beautiful! I am so honored to have been a part of the funeral. May Chad's parents, siblings, 4 children, and other family feel peace and comfort knowing Chad is in a better place watching over them!

St. George

Last Sunday, I had a fireside in St. George with Jenny Phillips. I didn't want to have to drive down and back the same day, so the kids and I stayed the night at Steve and Brooke's house. The fireside went really good! I again just feel the spirit so strong when I sing with the choir. The next day, we played at a park and went swimming!! The weather was awesome!! Wish I could have spent more time down there!