A Very... Interesting Camping Experience

Friday was the day we decided to head out on a camping adventure. Saturday was the day of severe sleep deprivation and delirium...
Here we are thrilled for the adventure; back when we didn't know how the night would turn out.
Justin started the fire! (It was always burning since the world's been turning...)

That night we had the most delicious shish kabobs ever!

Kristy had an accident... But just with the barbecue sauce.

Yummy!

We had to shine the flashlight on the food to see if it was done because it was so dark. Sophie loved helping with this job... I'm pretty sure at least one of us ate undercooked chicken that night...

Then it was night... This was when the intense winds kicked up and never stopped. It was windy Friday which is why we only set up this one tent. It was an 8 man, and it was dark, and we didn't want to set up another tent; so we made it into a slumber party. Only the slumber part was missing from the equation. The tent walls blew in on us all night to the point that we felt we were going to be consumed by the evil beast.

The next morning we heard people talking around our tent. We were pretty sure they were laughing at us. When we got out, we understood why...

We intended to swim and canoe the next day, but the extreme lack of sleep left us with little energy for that. Not to mention it was still rather cold...

Sophie spent much of her time transferring sand from the beach....

Into the water. It kept her very amused. (Don't worry, we kept a close eye on her at all times.)

The girls

And the final taking down of the tent. Oops it appears we took it down with Simon still in it...

We stopped by my parents house for a quick visit and to play with their kittens. Oh, they are so cute!

Despite a rather long night with no sleep, the camping trip was an absolute blast. It's definitely an experience we will remember for always.

That afternoon we attended Tucker's birthday party. Sophie had so much fun!

They even let her help beat the pinata with the stick!

And while Tucker was opening his presents, she took off with his two biggest ones.

And this is a random picture of Sophie from today. It was a huge laundry day for me, and Sophie spend a good amount of time hanging out in one of the bins. She's so cute!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

At the end of summer last year, I bought several kites for pennies each, and I have been so excited to use them this year. I'm not sure what it is, but flying kites reminds me of childhood. A few Saturdays ago, we headed to the park, and the day was perfect!
Here is Justin putting together our rather fancy kite!

And then it was my turn to fly the kite.

The ice cream man came by, and we got some delicious treats to help cool us off. Sophie loved it! (She was supposed to be sharing with me, but as you can see, she wasn't keen on that idea.)

We ended up at the playground for a little while, and Sophie was terribly upset when it was finally time to go home. It doesn't matter if we spend hours and hours at the park, she is always upset when leaving time comes.

We had Justin's family over for a Mother's Day dinner last Saturday. My in laws got me this fantastic present. I'm not sure what this face was about...

The Gang

I got a scentsy thing. I love it! My house smells fabulous now!

Last Thursday we got to go to a Brian Regan concert! Justin's work took us. We got to sit on the fifth row! Thanks to Simon and Kristy for watching Sophie!

Here is just a random, very cute picture of Sophie in my sunglasses. She put them on her head just like Mommy!

And here is an out-of-order picture of us from Mother's Day!

Mothers,

"Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are and better than you ever have been as you try to make honest effort, however feeble you may sometimes feel that to be. ... Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish the role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones.... The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you.... If you strive to love God, if you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all God expects you to do.... Remember, remember all the days of your motherhood: 'Ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.' Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And 'press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.' You are doing God's work."

Jeffrey R. Holland, "Because She is a Mother," Ensign, May 1997

Oh, this made me laugh so hard!

The Happenings

Every day with little Sophie is such an adventure! She is into everything, of course, and she loves to do everything with her Mommy.
Here she is painting a picture for her friend Simon's birthday. I didn't get pictures of it when it was done, but it went from what you see in the background to being brown smudges all over the poster board. She had a great time!

And here she is with Simon. She just loves him to pieces. Every time we tell her she's going to see him, she gets so excited. She calls him "My Simo."

He and Kristy came over for his little birthday celebration!

Sophie loves to try and distract Justin from his homework. Because Justin would rather do almost anything besides his homework, she is often successful.

There goes Sophie! Justin and I won new ipods recently, so here is Sophie listening to my old ipod shuffle. Do you think I'll ever get her to listen to me again???

Justin surprised me with roses one day (he's so wonderful)! A few days later, I found Sophie perched on the table ripping them to shreds. What do I do with her!

This is something I see quite often in my little world. Sophie loves to read books, and not only that, she loves to read the same books over and over and over until Mommy wants to go crazy! I seriously spend about 2-3 hours reading her books every day. I would just tell her to scram, but she recently learned to say please without being reminded, and let's face it saying please with that cute little face is a death sentence.

This is Sophie's other love....the park! She loves to go there every day! This particular park is tucked away at the back of a neighborhood about a 1/2 mile away from our house. It's always deserted which means Sophie can climb up the slides without any interruption, and yes I did say up; I don't get the fascination. I do love the park; it prevents Sophie from making huge messes in the house, and we get some much needed sunshine (maybe my legs won't glow in the dark this summer). The only problem is Sophie loves to walk to the park, not in a stroller, but by herself. A 1/2 mile is a long way for a little kid and even longer for an adult when she wants to examine every rock, pine cone, and flower on the way there. It usually takes about 1/2 hour to walk there, 1/2 hour to walk back, and a total of 20 minutes getting drinks from the drinking fountain. I have just learned to find joy in the journey!

When we do get there, she loves to do this...

The binky in her mouth is really cool. If it drops, it snaps shut to prevent it from getting all dirty. Perfect park solution I must say.

Being a mom certainly has its challenges, but when I get to see this face all day, it makes it all worthwhile.

Salt Lake City Marathon

After months of training, the Salt Lake City Marathon was something of a disappointment. I started off strong, finishing my first 5 miles in 45 minutes. I was feeling great! I even got to see my Cousin Brooke and my Aunt Cathy.
About mile 6, disaster struck! A woman in front of me had a shirt tied around her waist. As I was getting closer and about to pass, her shirt came off. I caught my foot on it and came down twisting my knee. This happened right by the EMT station, and they all came running (which I thought was great at the time). They checked my knee, told me it was sprained, put a red band on my arm to mark me injured, and followed me in a flashing truck. Talk about embarrassing!
Every few miles, the EMT guys would check my knee and retape it. This caused me some time delays, but I still hit mile 10 at 2 hours. It was all downhill from there. The pain in my knee really started to set in at this point, and it took me 35 minutes to make it the next 3 miles; at which point, I was no longer granted medical clearance for my knee. So the man following me in the flashing truck yelled, through a megaphone I might add with many runners around, "Get off the course!"
I was humiliated and extremely upset. I called Justin sobbing to tell them they kicked me off the course (they said I could continue on the sidewalk, but that they were no longer responsible for me). I walked to Cottonwood Elementary School and waited for Justin there.
The good thing is that the EMT guys called the finish line, and when I went to pick up my gear at the finish line, they gave me a 1/2 medal. So I guess it wasn't all bad. What a round of rotten luck! I guess there is always the St George Marathon! I am hoping to train hard and finish it in 4 hours!
While I was disappointed in the situation, I did the best I could, so I couldn't be disappointed in myself.
Thanks so much to all my family who came to support me!
My little sister ran with me. She was able to finish the whole marathon! Way to go Jen!

And my lovely half medal!

I will try to post some pictures of my black and blue and very swollen knee for your viewing pleasure!

And now for the grandmas and other people who look at this blog mainly for the purpose of seeing my adorable baby, here's the good stuff...

Sophie was playing with the big kids at my Aunt DeeAnn's house. She's getting way too big

She especially loves Emma!

Anna's Birthday

We celebrated Anna's birthday a few weeks ago. It was the first event without Justin's brother Michael there since he headed into the Air Force. It was different to have him gone, and he was greatly missed.
Here is Anna in the apron Justin and I made for her.
It was such a beautiful day, we spent most the time playing outside! Outside is pretty much Sophie's favorite place to be.

She loves to rearrange these rocks...

Justin playing outside. Check out the view from their yard!

Singing to the birthday girl!

I really should have people take more pictures of our family. Usually, I get just one, so I have to use it even though it's not too great.

Sophie wanted to wear this arm brace. She had Grandpa put it on, and she just loved it.