Strawberry Days Rodeo

Jon and my first official date was back in June 2002. He got back from his mission around April and moved out to Utah to get a job before school started. My roommate, Jenni, was in his freshman ward at BYU. He and his friend Gil came over for FHE one night at the beginning on June, I think, and that is where I met Jon. We kind of went on a date a couple weeks later. We were hanging with our roommates who ended up having other plans later, so we decided rather than go home and be alone, we'd go do something. We went to Monsters Inc. at the dollar theater. Then we went to Shopko and picked out Father's Day cards for the others' dad.  A few days later when Jenni and I were hanging with Jon and Gil at their place, Jon asked if I would like to go to the Rodeo with him.

We went to DI in the afternoon to find cowboy/hick outfits, then went back to Gil's house and had "cowboy food", corn dogs, bakes beans, and corn. We took some pictures:

(Notice my "missing tooth"? I thought it made the picture more authentic!  I had a retainer with the tooth on it at the time.)

Group pics!

(Me, Jon, Gil, Jenni, Brittany (I think), Brian)

Its fun to see this pic-man we are all so skinny!!! HAHAHA. We are still in touch with all these people, except Brittany. And they are all married (to other people) and have families of their own.

Then we headed to the rodeo.

Last Friday was the first time we made it back to the Rodeo. (We tried to go last year, but last min decided not to because it was raining.) It was so fun to reminisce about what we were thinking and how we felt about each other back then.  Wondering does he/she feel the same way I do?  Having no idea how things would turn out over the last 8 years - marriage, 2 college degrees, 2 little boys, a house, and happiness!

Eight years later:

Anyway, enough mushy stuff. We had a good time. It was nice to have a break from the kiddos, and be outside in the beautiful summer weather! And I actually paid attention to the show this time. First they do "mutton bustin'". Little kids ride sheep out of the gate! Its way cute to watch.

Then the Buckin' Broncos! I tried to get pictures, but this is all that my camera could handle!

Just a blur of movement! It was crazy to watch these guys in person!

We had some strawberries in cream for the first time. They also did some calf wrangling. Then we still needed to eat, and Jon isn't a concessions type of guy. It was already 10p, but luckily, this fantastic Pizzeria was open!  We'd never been there but heard good things. It's called Pizzeria 712. Its was divine!! Sicilian style! Sooo good!

I am so glad we got to go to the Strawberry Days Rodeo, I had been wanting to do that for the last few years now. And I am so happy to be with my Honey!

Seven Peaks

Last week we were able to go to Seven Peaks for free! There was a free pass in the Valpak and I was able to get the boys in free too. We went with my Mom and Adam. It was so nice to have help! We had a good time. We were able to stay most of the day. And the boys wanted to stay longer-well Zac did at least, Max was wiped out.

It was SOOOO busy because of the coupon thing. The lines were soo long and slow! It took us about 15-20 minutes to figure out how to get in, with the coupon. And then we waited like at least 30 mins for a tube! Seriously, it was so busy. It was the last day of the coupon.

Then me and the boys headed for the tube run. The lines were long and we accidentally were waiting in line for a tube slide that the little boys couldn't ride.  So we had to switch lines! We got up there with our double tube hoping that I would hold Max in my lap and Adam would hold Zac in his lap. I was so excited to get to be with Zac for his first waterslide. When the ride attendant noticed there would be 4 of us going on a double tube she said we couldn't all go down. We could double up, but it was a double tube so only 2 people can go on it. So Me and Max got out so Adam and Zac could go. I wanted to cry. I was pretty upset for a few reason, I wouldn't get to be with Zac his first time, I hope that Adam would be able to grab Zac in case the tube tipped, and I didn't want to wait at the top for Adam to bring 2 single tube (you can do double on a single tube) and just the busyness and waiting was irriating.

Anyway, so I made sure we could cut the line after all that. I went down and got a single and met up with Adam and Zac and we were able to go this time. But I thought we could like hold on to the tube and do a train down so I could be with Zac too...nope. So I didn't get to be with Zac. But he loved it. Max was a little nervous but had a good time. That was the only time we did the big slides, because the lines were so long and the boys were cold waiting in line.

I was able to get over my frustration and we had a good time. We headed to the lazy river. The boys were scared and had a hard time figuring out how to sit on a tube. It was pretty comical. They finally figured it out.

Zac can walk in the lazy river in the more shallow areas. It took a bit for Adam to convince him that he could. But now, Zac thinks its pretty cool,

Max is a tiny little thing-especially without diapers! I think this swimsuit is a 12m. But it still is soo loose even with the band rolled down. That is how most of his shorts are too! He is constantly trying to pull them up.

The boys LOVE kiddie pools!

This is a snake that floats on the water

Evidence, that I was indeed there-

Snack time! One of the best parts of swim days :)

Kiddie pool waterslide:
Top

Middle

End

Sweet!

Zac swimming the breast stroke

Another slide in the kiddle pool

We ended up skipping baseball...now that I think of it, we never got any pictures of baseball! Sad! Since we missed spring soccer registration I put Zac is Start Smart Baseball. Jon was only able to make it to a couple practices, so it was hard for me to take pictures. Also, Zac didn't think I was very good at throwing, and didn't hesitate to let me know that ;) A couple times I hit him in the head with the ball. At least it was a very soft air filled one. But I think he did great and was even hitting balls without a tee before the session ended. We didn't even realize it was over. Jon took the boys to the last practice because I had Bunco. And they played a little game with the tee. Zac is excited to start new sports too. He wants to try basketball and football too!

I'd really like to go to Seven Peak again this year, and with Jon when its not soo busy. But it is so expensive. I don't know if that will happen.

Dancing!

Boys, PJs and Dancin'

I don't know what it is, but I LOVE new jammies-especially for the boys!

I bought these for Easter, but I think Zac noticed them in the cart so I decided to wait to give them. It was fun to randomly and unexpectedly pull them out tonight; the boys loved it too!

(I think I've said this before, I hate Sponge Bob. But I have given in. The boys love it, so whatev-)

One of the boys' (Jon included) favorite things to do to "unwind" before bed its to dance to Funk or other great music. Some other favorites are Queen, The Hives, The Sugarhill Gang, Shiny Toy Guns, etc.


I'm gonna try and post a video of them dancing, even though only the grandparents will fully appreciate it! It is so fun to see them let loose :)

Hair cut

I got my hair cut last week and I really love it. Its different that what I've had before. I got some bangs cut, and some brown with purple/red hues put in and with blonde highlights. It was quite and experience with the hair dresser though. I miss my other one.

Crafting with Lex

Lexie's boyfriend was out of town for about a week and a half. She was so bored and wanted to do something scrappy and memory like for her boyfriend. A few years ago, for Mother's Day I made a cute brag book type thing out of an Altoids tin. (Thanks for the make and take Andrea!) Anyway, I love it! So Lexie decided she wanted to do something like that, but make it manly of course . . . Jon says that isn't possible when you are doing something scrappy.

Well, this is what we came up with:

 This is the front of the tin

(His name is Ben, and sometimes she says, "Hey, B" instead of his name.)

This is what is inside the tin. The first page is a lyric from a song that means something to them. And she put pictures on one side and coupons on the other side. 

She is did a great job, with some tips from me ;) It's always fun to do projects with her. And its funny because we are always doing them late at night and we get a little loopy, (like last time we made V-day treats) and laugh at stupid things.

It's Finally Here!

SUMMER!

I've been waiting a long time! Today is the first day that I have felt Summer. Maybe, it was doing the same 5k that I did it. Last year, when I did this same 5k summer was in full swing. It was hot while running today. When we got home we set up the kiddie pool for the boys to play in.

Yesterday, they played on the slip n' slide at my parents.  Its fun to see my little sister and brother during the day, now that school is out.

While the boys played, I relaxed under the umbrella and enjoyed the nice breeze, for about 10 mins . . . until someone needed to pee and someone needed a snack, etc.

Jon went on a bike ride, then mowed the lawn just in time for us to get a call that we had someone who wanted to see the house. We had 40 mins to get the boys and Jon cleaned up, and the backyard and house clean. We headed over to Sammy's for their amazing pie shakes; I adore the banana cream pie shake!

Now, we get ready to have the missionaries over for dinner and make BBQ pizzas.

Welcome, Summer. I hope you'll stay for a while!

THREE 5k's!

This morning I did my third 5k of the summer. It felt great to meet that goal. And I did a couple minutes faster than the previous ones! It was 33 mins, about. Its hard to tell since they don't do the chip system, and I always start a ways from the start line. This was a more manageable run. I think my feat on this one was pacing myself well. When there are hills or other people (that I am competing with in my head), I tend to loose that pace, and then have no steam on the tail end.  I was able to pick up the pace at the end and sprint through the finish line.

Since my last 5k, I bought some running shoes. I feel like the shoes makes a big difference in how my body feels after the race. I feel tired, but not sore (well, thats a lie. My calves are a little sore, but that's because I am trying to run on my middle foot and not heel strike).

Rachel and I also went to a running technique class offered at a local running store. That was a great class. I learned a lot of things to change in my posture and what each thing will do to help be a more effective runner. I think that helped a lot with being able to make it to the end with some stamina. At the end of the class they showed us a race. We watched the last few laps and it was amazing to see the difference in the 2 leading racers, and how it affected which won. It really helped me to be able to hold the right posture til the end of the race.

It was nice to have my sister, Rachel, and my friend Callie in the race. It just makes me feel less lonely, although I didn't run near them.  But I think being on my own helps me control my pace better. The first half was up hill with a small incline. Then in the middle there was a steep, steep hill. Seriously, I felt like I was looking at a winding staircase. I was able to keep pace half way up that hill, where I started to walk. Then the rest of the route was down hill at a small incline and straight.

I am so glad I finished this goal! If I can start to train more and be consistent, then I'd love to do a longer race. But I haven't gotten the motivation to make it happen. Since I finished my goal earlier this year than I thought, I decided I am going to run another 5k in July.

Memorial Day 2010

This year we decided to just take it easy. We really wanted to head up to Idaho, but we just weren't feeling up to the travel and luggage and dealing with the kids away from home.

Jon got to come home early on Friday so we went to a mantinee and saw Shrek, the last one. It was a pretty fun to go as a family even though we didn't get to sit together.

Then we had a BBQ and games with our good friends, the Condie's.

On Saturday we just cleaned up, mowed, and cleaned cars. Jon went on a bike ride for a couple hours. And we went on a date. We went to a local theater where they put a play on of "To Kill a Mocking Bird". They did an amazing job; I am so glad we went. Then we grabbed some cookies and ice cream.

Sunday was nice. Neither of us had to prepare lessons so it was a relaxing morning. Then we came home, had an easy dinner and watched a movie.

Monday we decided that we would put the planters in. We were hesitating since we had an offer on the house and we didn't want to have to put money into that if it was going to sell soon. But the people decided to get a different house. I put flowers in the planters in the front about a month ago, but with all the rain and freezing temperatures most of them died. We bought the same ones to put in again. The flowers are really pretty and the leaves are dark dark green.  Too bad the flowers haven't bloomed yet. I love the heart shaped lime colored leaves, and the prickly looking plant. All the textures and colors make these my favorite choices for these planters. We also put deep purple and orange daisies in the other planters.

We also decided to plant the back planter, which has weeds and full sun.  We put weed cloth type stuff down. And chose the less pretty (in my opinion), full sun flower, like marigolds, and petunias.  But all in all I really like how it turned out. Maybe my favorite too. Ironic, since we are planning to move.

(Notices the large plant with purple blossoms? Its chives from last year. Its pretty, but there's always a faint smell. I am going to replace it, any suggestions?)

We finished just in time for a BBQ with my family. We played games in the backyard. I forgot how much I like badminton.  The boys were so tired. 

Max eating homemade chocolate ice cream without the spoon

Zac is mad that he had to eat dinner (a couple hours after dinner was over) in order for him to get some ice cream too

We came home put the kids to bed and I think we watched "The Blindside". GREAT movie! It was so nice to have a 3 day weekend without rain. And a thank you to all those who have sacrificed to give us the freedoms we have today!

 

Swimming Lessons: Zac

The boys have been in swimming lessons for the last 3 weeks. They have done great! They are both comfortable in the water, they like putting their face in and blowing bubbles, and they can both dive in and get to a back float. They also like to dive for sticks.

During Zac's second week of lessons, after his lesson was over he was playing on the stairs with the diving sticks, and got too far from the bottom step and was floundering just out of reach. The teachers were on the other side of the pool, with their current students (toddlers). I kept telling Zac to get on his back, but he was not in the mindset to compute that. I ended up stepping into the pool, fully dressed in jeans to get him. It was pretty much slow motion for me. I really did not want to get in. And to top it off, I couldn't go home. We were showing the house during the next 90 mins. So I ran to Wal-mart to get something dry to wear.

One time I took them to the rec center to practice their stuff, and they were both freaking out. I think because it was a new, unfamiliar place, but mostly because the water was cold. The pool they had lessons in was heated, like a bath. But after we practiced they were much better, when they got back to their lessons. I just wish it would warm up here to go to the pool outside and keep practicing!

There were a few teachers and we would have different ones depending on the day. This was their favorite teacher, Amanda.

This last week they were both having regular swim lessons instead of toddler lessons. Zac is working on form.

Floating on his back. They both still need to work on kick to get to the side of the pool.

Diving for sticks at the end of the lesson

Since I had to go in to save him a couple weeks ago (and 2 times last summer), after Zac's last lesson I wanted him to jump in with no one to catch him and get to his back float.  I wanted him to know that he could do it, with no help, and no one next to him. After 20 minutes of persuasion and a churro bribe, I got him to jump in the pool by himself, turn to float on his back and reach the side.  I was so proud of him, but proud of myself that I didn't just push him in after 15 mins of trying to convince :)

This is Zac breathing the right way all the way across the pool. Generally, after a rotation or 2 he will put his head up and ask how many more til he is to the side of the pool, and proceed to ask you about anything he can to distract from continuing the lap.

Zac diving and getting to his back to float.

Swimming Lessons: Max

I wasn't sure how Max would do with swimming lessons, because other than the bath, he hasn't really liked water. Last year, when we'd go to the pool he was never that keen on it. He was pretty upset the first 4 days. Everyday when we would put swimsuits on and get ready to leave he would want me to hold him. One day I even had to hold his foot (because that is all I could reach) as I drove to the lesson. But after that 4th day he walked over to the pool and put his hands out to the teacher all by himself. No matter how much they fussed or cried before or during the lesson, each time it was over they both said how much fun it was and that they liked it.

Max putting his head in and blowing bubbles as he works on his kicking.

Max floating on his back. I think both boys picked up on this about the same time. Max would just do what his teachers said. Zac would try and talk and distract the teachers or try and understand exactly what was going and what was happening every step of the way.

Max diving for sticks

Got them all!

Max is doing great! It is so comforting and fun to see them be able to manage themselves a little bit in the water.

Max diving, then floating on back

Max swimming

Teacher Appreciation Gift

This year decorated these jumbo clothes pins. I also did these last year for his teacher, and for Mother's Day. I bought them here.

We included a card, written and illustrated by Zac. This was the first time he has written a whole note all by himself. I love this!

We also included a target gift card, a great quote and note from me. The quote was by Maya Angelou:

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

 

 

 

Zac had an awesome year! He learned so much, and most importantly loves school. His birthday is the last week of August, and he turned 4 the first week of class. We decided back in Sept. that we are going to keep him back a year and start him in Kindergarten in the fall of 2011.  Last fall, he started in the 4-5 year old preschool class, but he seemed significantly younger than the other kids who were all 6 months to a year older than him. He didn't feel comfortable in the class. He said the work was hard and the teacher said he had a hard time staying on task and keeping track of what was going on in class. They also have a reading program and we were worried that he would have trouble enjoying it and staying caught up. So after a couple weeks of deliberating and talking to teachers and parents, we decided to put him in the 3-4 year old class, and therefore to wait til 2011 to start him in Kindergarten. 

 

All the parents I talked to, who have children with late summer birthdays who started Kindergarten when they were barely 5, said that their child has consistently had a harder time keeping up. So our main reason for waiting to start Kindergarten is because of that and we want him to enjoy school and be confident, not feeling behind all the time. I hear many parents keep their children back so they are bigger for sports-let's face it a year is not going to make much of a different in size with the genes he's got! He has done wonderfully in his class this year, and has loved it! When I told him it was spring break and explained what it meant, he cried because he couldn't go to school.  I am so glad he loves school.