Grandma and Papa Come!

This was definitely one of the highlights of the year.  My folks were in Utah for my Grandma Jensen's 90th birthday and my mom had to go back to work (reason #43 that working is overrated) so they could only come for two days.  The kids were so excited! Olivia has a special bond with them, probably starting when she and I lived with them for a couple of years and then living so close after Adam and I got married.  Benji was super excited too.  Though he hasn't seen them as much he remembers that they are fun!  We try to Skype or face-time regularly so they are familiar with them.  Rachel was a little shy at first but she's starting to open up a little and was letting Gramma hold her and change diapers and letting Papa tickle her. It was super cold when they were here so we didn't do too many outside activities.  They took the kids to the movie Frozen and made cookies too.  Plus we took them to eat some good Mexican (can't get that in WV).  I jogged with my mom in the morning and my Dad and Adam chatted late at night.  Then they came to Olivia's piano recital, which went very well.  Of course we did an early Christmas with them too.  It was a sad little good-bye.  We miss them so much and wish they were closer (Hint Hint).

 Rachel was already in bed, I didn't get any pictures of her with them.

 Rachel got a fun ladybug scooter!

 Lucky to get all three kids in a picture at once. Ben doesn't sit still long enough.

 Olivia's recital

 The original trio (the kids stayed home with a sitter).

Papa rode with Olivia to school.

Halloween 2013

Not much to post. We carved pumpkins (actually Adam drilled two of them), made milk jug ghosts, trick or treated, and once all the kids were in bed Adam and I enjoyed the rest of the quiet, childless evening sitting by the fire pit.

Olivia was a vampire.

Ben was Buzz Lightyear.

Rachel was the cutest cow ever!

Marathons are for people who don't have kids...or a job...or a life...

So, I have been training for a marathon officially since August, though I've trained for several shorter races since the beginning of the year. I'm up to 17 miles. Well...I'm done.  I have been mulling over whether to continue training for a couple of weeks now and I've decided to stop.  Still running, but with only the purpose of getting exercise.  It's hard for me to walk away from this goal. I've wanted to do this since I was in 10th grade and I thought this year I could manage it.  But I have three children, a husband, a full-time job, a church calling...I can't do it all. Something's got to give.  Well, I can't get rid of the kids, don't want to get rid of my husband, need the job and, actually, I asked for a less time demanding calling. Long run days were shot, even though I'd run early in the morning, I was hashed the rest of the day.  My stress level is high and my kids still get up at night sometimes so I don't sleep well and I have to skip AM workouts at least once a week. This just added to the stress of trying to increase my base fitness level while running longer distances each week.  Instead of feeling more accomplishment after each run I've felt stressed: when's my next run, how far, if I sleep in tomorrow could I do a double workout the next day?  Trying to juggle this with life is just inconvenient and I'm unhappy.  I want a big accomplishment like that to be worth it and to be celebrated.  It's not the right time, so for now I give it up for a time when there is time...

Rachel's 1st Birthday

Oh my sweet baby is one! Can it really have been a whole year since she came into our lives in the back of our minivan?  I frequently forget about that day and have to read over my story to remind me.  Is it wrong to have a favorite baby?  Maybe they are all like that. I was in love with each of my babies, but for some reason I do not look forward to her growing up.  I like her as a baby.  She's so fun and cute and sleeps so good!  Yet, she is growing up.  While she still looks like a baby (a BIG baby-23lbs) because she still lacks hair and hasn't lost any chub yet, she is starting to walk and occasionally throws herself onto the floor when she gets upset.  She has refused baby food for almost two months, but prefers milk from a bottle instead of a sippie cup.  Rachel has brought such happiness to our home.  Everyone loves her, pretty much all the time. She's laid back and just goes with the flow, except her sleep time is pretty regimented.  Ben would sleep anytime, anywhere.  Rachel sleeps in her bed, and only her bed. Thankfully, though, because of her easy going nature she's not a nightmare if she misses her nap. Her hair is almost blonde, and her eyes are green, but more hazel like Adam's than my green.  She only has six teeth, but two more are on the way.  She doesn't get cranky when teething! These are my favotire pictures of her through the year.  

So Rachel is my little pumpkin, even before she was born.

I made her a cute little  pumpkin (pumpkin spice) cake. To which she promptly destroyed and thoroughly enjoyed!

Quick Trip to Susanville

I ran another half-marathon this month, up in Susanville, CA.  We stayed with my newly empty nested Auntie Em and Uncle Bob.  We love going there.  It's so wide open and beautiful.  The race was just OK.  I ran it in under two hours, which isn't bad, but since it's a net downhill race I thought I'd blast it.   I think the lack of sleep the night before and the 5000 ft elevation got to me.  Anyway, I kept wanting to stop the whole time because of the fall colors.  The river was lined with golden trees and the sun reflecting off the water looked like treasure.  I could have sat by the bank in some grass and napped to the sound of the rushing water. My family and aunt met me at the end.  I searched for some water, while everyone else was pooping beer bottles open-weird-who wants a beer after running 13.1 miles at 10 in the morning?  Anyway, I took a nap in the afternoon while everyone else went for a walk. I swung on the porch swing and just absorbed the beauty around me.

 

Anesthesia Humor

This sight had me and a coworker in stitches all day.  

I didn't know the ventilation bags could get that big!

Ben is 3!

Ben turned three this month.  What a big boy he is!  We went to the pumpkin patch on his special day, which ended up kind of sucking.  It was so windy and it's dusty at the farm and we were getting pummeled. It was a little chilly and the line was too long for the hay ride to take us out to the fields, which are no longer within walking distance, I guess for crop rotation.  Anyway, so we rode the train, drank a fresh apple cider icee, ate some apple pumpkin muffins, and I didn't get any pictures with my kids and the giant pumpkins.  Lame! However the day was good once I got the dust out of my eyes and ears.  Ben is into all things Buzz Lightyear so I made him a Buzz cake. He loved it.  It was a little time consuming because I had to make ten different colors of icing, for which some of the colors I probably needed less than a teaspoon. His favorite present was a 5 inch Buzz Lightyear toy he takes to bed every night and the Toy Story 3 character figurines.  Ben is such a fun BOY!  I emphasize boy because he is all that.  High energy, into rough play and sports and dirty all the time. He swings a bat left handed like his dad and makes contact pretty regularly. He can get really annoying trying to be independent and failing miserably and whining til I want to pull my hair out. He is also my most affectionate child who seldom runs pass me without hugging my leg and saying "Love ya!" before running off. He loves to terrorize Olivia, but he really loves her and is so cute and sweet with Rachel.  I'm glad they are closer in age, for they will be close as they get older. He is so easy to put to bed at night, thanks to no more naps and him going 80mph all day, but he still finds his way into our bed about three times a week. He is so fun to watch play.  His favorite thing to do is act out the Toy Story movies with his toys- Buzz, Woody, Mr. Potatohead, barrel of monkeys, etc.  It's probably bad that he knows all the lines. He loves to do puzzles and is very good at them. He is very methodical when he does it. One of my favorite things to do with him is read. I can't say enough, but who can about their own kid?  I love our little guy, who's not so little anymore, and I try not to think about the day when he is too big to snuggle.

 

Count them, there are ten!

AGHHH!

 This is a common sight at our house.  I can't keep Ben off the counters, out of the fridge and out of the food. He only takes about three bites too before it ends up tossed somewhere like the trash.   I would have saved the banana but I hadn't cleaned the sink after handling raw chicken.  Sometimes I'll use the apples, bad part cut off, and put them in salads.  So annoying!