Temple Trip Triathlon

I just got back (seriously, like 30 min ago) from the best week end ever!  We (me and the other youth leaders in our awesome ward) took the Priests and Laurels up to Gila Valley to tour the new temple and participate in a varsity triathlon.  It was so fun!

  

...and very windy!

The new temple is breath taking.  If you get a chance to go, DO IT!!!  It was amazing.  Being there with my beautiful Laurels and experiencing it again for the first time with them was an unforgettable experience.  It made me want to be there with my real daughters.  So guess what I will be talking Joel into when he gets home from work tonight? (taking our own daughters up there next weekend, that's what).  Some members of our ward have connections (remember before how I said this ward is awesome?) and they hooked us up with a place to stay the night at the Temple President's home, which was wonderful.  He took time out of his busy schedule to talk to our youth about the history of the Gila Valley and why there is a temple there and some other really neat things.  We were fed a delicious dinner and then went to a dance to kick off the triathlon events the next day.  What did us leaders do at the dance, you ask?  We got our Electric Slide on, joined the Macarana madness, and YMCA'ed to the amazement of the young folk.  It was so funny - they kept asking me "You know this dance!!???" as if it had just been invented last year.  I was like "Honey, this is old school." I actually was pretty surprised they were playing all the same songs from when I was in high school.  And they were old songs then.   No school like the old school.

Anyhoo, the next day we did the triathlon.  75 meter swim, 6 mile bike, 2 mile run.  It was challenging enough to make you work for it, but not so hard that you were hating life 1/2 way through.  I loved it.  The water was FREEZING.  It took your breath away the second you got in, and I don't think I started breathing again until I got out.  But the rest was fun and I hope we do it again next year.  My Laurels did awesome and I am so proud of them!!!!  (even though I creamed them all in 52 minutes :) ) 

Now I need to sit down and figure out a way to tell Joel thank you for being such a sweet man and taking care of the kiddos while I had a weekend of fun.  Hmmm... I think I can come up with something. 

This is more like it...

This is totally stolen from my sister Megan's blog, so she gets props for being funny.

Merrell-thon

The annual Merrell-thon has come and gone.
It was loads of fun!
Thanks for blogging about it Cindy so I don't have too :)

Blake finished first in like 5 min.  
Cindy kicked my trash.  
I came in 3rd at 25:14.
Joel killed it in 27 min. (beat by a girl AGAIN!!!  Ouch!)
Megan set an all-time personal best.

Now I'm off to get ready for a 
varsity triathlon this weekend.  woo-hoo!

Disneyland Vacay

To celebrate our 10 yr. anniversary, Joel and I decided to be the meanest parents in the world and go to Disneyland for the week without our kids.

(we actually didn't even tell them where we were going until we got back with presents to ease the disappointment.  We just told them we were going to "Anaheim") 

It was awesome!

It was so great just to be able to have fun with each other and talk 

with out being interrupted every 1.5 seconds.

  

see how excited Joel was?

The firework show was spectacular, despite the hoards of grumpy people who thought they had to have a front row seat in order to see fireworks hundreds of feet in the sky.  

Dude, it's the happiest place on earth - go eat a churro and calm down!  

"It's Tough To Be A Bug" show was so cute!  It was one of my many favorite parts.

Oh, and did you know Captain EO is back!?  We were so excited!  M.J. in all his glory.  It was radical.

Mr. and Mrs. Wagenman with Mr. and Mrs. Mouse

Tower of Terror and Space Mountain - best rides ever.  Check out my man and his buffness.

We ate dinner one night at the Blue Bayou.  It was way over priced, but we felt so superior to everyone riding by on Pirates of the Caribbean with jealous looks on their faces.

Character sightings:

We stopped by the beach on our way home.  I wish we would have planned another day to spend at the beach instead of just a 1/2 hour.  Or maybe I just didn't want this vacation to end.  I love my daughters more than life itself, but it was so wonderful to be able to reconnect with eachother and remember why we fell in love in the first place.

The Notebook

During conference this weekend, Hailey was pretty excited about taking notes (at least for the first session anyway, which I thought was pretty good for a 7 yr. old).  She told me she was writing down words that stood out to her.  Here is what she wrote:

heaven * home * blessing * follow * wonderful * apostle * mighty * strong * righteousness * strength * blessed * holy * temple * responsibility * protected * children * covenant * guide * challenge * decision * right * worthy * important * repent * scriptures * help * spirit * faith * strength * joy * trust * latter days * baptized * quote * desire * succeeding * success * resisting * witness * message * Christian * love * commandments * Monson * missionaries * mother * father * brothers * sisters * Heavenly Father * Jesus Christ * Savior * pray * family * priesthood * righteous * God * the Son * Joseph * Angel * Lord * church * Book of Mormon * power * authority * president  

I'd say that's a pretty thorough account of the important things we learned

Ten years and counting!

Joel and I were married 10 years ago today!!!!

I'm not good at being publicly sappy, so I'll spare you all the lovey-dovey mooshy stuff about how wonderful my Joelseff is and how blissfully magical these past 10 years have been and how lucky, happy, and grateful I feel to have him in my life, and just say

T-ball

This Spring, H & J have been playing T-ball and loving it!  Our awesome friend Kelli graciously offered to hold practices for free for anyone who wanted to come and play.  It was a super fun season and today they had their first and final game.  Last night when we reminded the girls that their game was in the morning, they suddenly became very anxious about the rules of the game and how to score points.  We explained to them about touching the bases and where to throw the ball if they catch it.  I think they went to bed feeling a lot of pressure until they remembered they got Otter Pops at the end of the game.

JoLynn up to bat!  She makes it to 1st and then comments

 to the first baseman, "Wow, I can't believe I just did that!"

Hailey up to bat!  She loved playing an actual game.  While she was playing right field I heard her say, "I hope we play until noon because I've realized that playing a real game is way funner than the practices!"

Here's the team with Coach Kelli.  She is so good with the kids and did a great job teaching them the basics of hitting, catching, and throwing, and of course good sportsmanship!

This was Shae's favorite part of the game.

I love these words

As I was doing the dishes this morning, these words came to mind an made me feel happy:

The errand of Angels is given to Women;

and this is a gift that, as sisters, we claim:

To do whatsoever is gentle and human,

to cheer and to bless in humanity's name.

How vast is our purpose, how broad is our mission,

if we but fulfill it in spirit and deed.

Oh, naught but the Spirit's divinest tuition

can give us the wisdom to truly succeed.

I am so thankful for all the women/girls in my life who have cheered and blessed my life, and who have shown me how to invite the divine tuition of the Spirit through gentleness, compassion, and good works.

Easter Dresses

I know it's lame to make my girls still wear matching dresses these days, but I couldn't help myself!

                           

At one point during this day they had matching flowers in their hair and Shae was sporting darling pig tails instead of her wispy baby mullet, but this was after church so I had to take what I could get.

Self Portrait

I laugh every time I unload my camera because 9 times out of 10, JoLynn leaves a surprise picture or two of herself for me to find.  She most likely sneaks the camera when she thinks she's looking extra lovely.  Oh I can't wait to show her these pictures of herself 10 years down the road!  I just think it's funny that she loves taking pictures of herself.

awesome hair day

introducing JoLynn's brains

finally the mysterious pink and blue finger prints on my bathroom wall make sense

perfecting the double chin pose

JoLynn turned on her baby video and took pictures of that too.

(wasn't she cute!?)

Looking back

Last night at my parents' house we pulled out the old photo albums and laughed and cried and laughed at the way we looked 15+ years ago.  I'm glad to know that my family are not the only ones who suffered through the 80's and 90's. 

Enjoy: 

Don't make this guy angry.  Don't.

Mom and Dad are always watching.

Lapping it up

Did you know we got a new pool?

Mom always knows best.

This family has nothing to hide.

These photos were lovingly copied from

awkwardfamilyphotos.com

Want to be a Queen For A Day?  If you live in the Queen Creek area, now you can!  

To help raise big bucks for girls camp, my Young Women are hosting an entire day of pampering where you (if you are a woman) or the women in your lives can come to be treated like Royalty!  Morning services include a Spa Day for Yourself, Mom, Grandma, Sister, Aunt, or Friend, and a Princess Party for Daughter, Granddaughter, Niece, or Friend.  Then that evening, the Young Women will turn their spa into a Child Care center where you can drop your kiddies off while you go out for a night on the town with your Prince Charming (or just stay home and enjoy some peace and quiet! :))

Saturday February 27th

Spa Day:
(includes relaxing atmosphere with music and twinkle lights, hot-rock foot massage, sweet & savory treats, and your very own pedicure kit to take home)
Manicure $10.00
Pedicure $15.00
Mani/Pedi combo $22.00
Available time slots: 9:00, 9:30, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30am


Princess Party:  
(includes mini manicure, dress ups, games, crafts, tea party, and treats!  Moms and daughters can coordinate Spa & Princess Party times and come together. For girls ages 2 - 9)
$8.00 per Princess
Available time slots: 9:00, 9:30, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30am


Babysitting 5:00-8:00pm
(Includes dinner for the kids, games, crafts, and a movie. For ages 6 months - 11 yrs.  This will all be highly supervised with adults.)
1 child $12.50
2 children $17.50
3 children $22.50
4 + children $27.50


Help send our Young Women to camp and treat yourself or the women in your life like Royalty!  Leave a comment (or call me) and I'll reserve you a time slot!  All money is due Feb 23 (but seriously... don't wait that long!  You don't want to miss this!)

I've child-proofed the house, but they're still getting in!

S.O.S.

Think she looks so sweet and innocent?  Don't be fooled.  This little master of disaster is turning into a serious climber!  I feel like we've entered into a whole new phase of parenting.  Not that we ever really had things totally under control (don't tell the kids!) but now I feel like I spend my days just chasing after Shae in a flustered, defeated panic.  Here are just a few of the places I've found her on top of lately:

from the floor, to the couch, up to the ledge

from the piano chair, to the piano keys, up to the top of the piano

from the kitchen chairs, to the table, up to the chandelier... makes a great swing!

We now have to keep all chairs OUTSIDE and then move one in every time we want to sit down.

from the bottom drawer, to the door handle, then she grabs the burners and hoists herself up on top.  Yesterday the door opened on her and she came crashing down.  The oven was on.  Bruised but not burned.  Hope CPS doesn't blog surf.

from the toilet, up to the vanity sink for a nice foot soak

from the dishwasher, to the counter, up to the breakfast bar

Yikes!  Can't leave these windows by the changing table (on the 2nd floor) open any more! And yes, the big girls' beds always look this messy even before Shae gets to the top.

She is so fast and so sneaky, every day she finds new places and new ways to climb on top of or into things.  And she is a buckle freak - she is determined to buckle anything she comes across, and yesterday after wrestling with a fellow ward member's baby car seat for the entire sacrament meeting, she figured out how to UNbuckle the raved-about 5-point safety harness.  Great!  No more confidently driving down the free way with this monkey 

unsupervised in the back seat.

Whatever happened to these calm days?  How did they disappear so fast?




.....I guess those days were crazy too, just in a less life-threatening way.







(p.s.- no I didn't clean my house just for these pictures.  Joel took most of these pictures one time long ago when the house was clean - he wanted to capture the rare moment.  It never looks this clean!)