I did it!

Over the last couple of years I've run 3 half marathon races, so the farthest I've ever run is 13.1 miles. This morning I ran 14 miles! And that was just a normal training run, not a race. I wasn't incredibly fast (in fact I slowed down the 2 ladies I was running with) but nonetheless, 14 miles is 14 miles and I must say it felt great. At mile 13.17 I raised my arms and shouted "I did it!"

A day with the grandparents

My parents came in town this weekend. They're staying with my sister but we were able to spend most of today with them. My dad did some handyman work around our house then we headed off to the park to enjoy the first day of spring (and the 75 degree weather).
Mom ended up helping all 3 girls across the monkey bars. She'll be sore tomorrow.

Megan finally coaxed Gabriella into going down the slide without help.

Caleb, Trevor and my dad playing catch with the football.

After the park we cooled off with some strawberry lemonade pie I made. It not only looked like the picture in the magazine but it tasted great too.

My mom gave in and fixed (yet one more time) Michelle's beloved stuffed animal, Kitty.

Rex Lee Run

This morning Trevor ran a 10k race with our bishop to help our bishop meet his "sub 1 hour" goal. They ran a great race and finished in under 58 minutes!

Gabriella, Megan, Michelle and Caleb got an up close and personal view of the cannon that was shot off to start the race (it also is shot off after every touchdown that the BYU gets).

Michelle Clogs

Tonight was Michelle's first clogging performance. She's only been taking clogging classes since the first week of January so I thought she'd learned a lot in such a short time.

The Mom Survey

Thanks for the idea, Jill (and the layout, Rees)!

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Michelle (age 6): thank you
Megan (age 4): do my jobs
Caleb (age 8): do your homework

2. What makes mom happy?
Michelle: when I help you
Megan: kissing
Caleb: a Clean house

3. What makes mom sad?
Michelle: when I don’t do my chores and I shout at you
Megan: when I don’t play with you
Caleb: when people don’t cooperate right

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
All 3 kids said “tickling”

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Michelle: you had dark hair and was nice
Megan: you liked to clap hands
Caleb: about as tall as me

6. How old is your mom?
Michelle: 27
Megan: 5
Caleb: 35

7. How tall is your mom?
Michelle: 10 feet
Megan: 5
Caleb: 5 feet 7 inches (he made me a year younger and 2 inches taller-what a guy!)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Michelle: have time by myself and sometimes playing with us
Megan: eating ice cream
Caleb: go running

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Michelle: chores and take care of Gabriella
Megan: wait for me to come home
Caleb: laundry

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Michelle: singing (I think she confused me for Trevor)
Megan: she got confused and frustrated about not knowing the meaning of “famous”
Caleb: making ramen

11. What is your mom really good at?
Michelle: taking care of Gabriella
Megan: swimming
Caleb: getting mad

12. What is you mom not very good at?
Michelle: keeping track of time
Megan: making sand castles
Caleb: getting happy

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Michelle: taking care of Gabriella
Megan: chores
Caleb: everything (He nailed that one)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Michelle: Ramen or macaroni and cheese (apparently she was thinking of HER favorite food)
Megan: syrup and pancakes
Caleb: chicken enchiladas

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Michelle: taking care of Gabriella
Megan: when you put on a tv show for me
Caleb: doing the most jobs

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Michelle: the nice lady in 102 Dalmatians
Megan: Manny (from Handy Manny)
Caleb: Ma on Little House on the Prairie

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Michelle: go to ice cream shop
Megan: play
Caleb: have serious conversations

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Michelle: we’re both girls
Megan: we’re not the same
Caleb: same family

19. How are you and your mom different?
Michelle: we have different hair color
Megan: you’re a mommy and I’m a sister
Caleb: height

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Michelle: you take care of me
Megan: hugging
Caleb: because you do jobs

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
Michelle: hugging him
Megan: giving him loves
Caleb: The white rose

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Michelle: Chuck E Cheese so you can spend time with us
Megan: the park
Caleb: the store

Haircut Happiness

For years I've been threatening to chop my hair off but was always too worried about how it would turn out. What if I hated it - it'd be a long time before it'd grow back. But I threw caution to the wind and had it cut short. It's been 3 days so far and I have never loved my hair more. Of course I still remind myself that it's not up in a ponytail, but I have no regrets.

Michelle saw my short hair and then wanted hers cut too. At the salon we compromised and hers is now skimming the tops of her shoulders (5-6 inches were cut off). Short enough she can now brush her own hair (HALLELUJAH!) but still long enough we can put braids in it.

Megan had 4 inches cut off of her hair - it needed to still be long enough to pull into a ponytail when she eats. Ketsup and syrup have a strong attraction to her hair.

The before shot.

The after shot.

Making it Worthwhile

I'm pretty good at washing and drying the laundry, it's the folding that I rarely get around to doing. The socks drive me crazy. Yesterday I finally managed to fold the socks. When Caleb opened his sock drawer and saw it was full he got a huge grin on his face and said "thanks, Mom" then came right over and gave me a good long hug.

It's amazing how far a little appreciation can go. Already today I've done a bunch of little chores that I've been putting off for weeks.

Spring Surprise

The kids and I have been sick this past week or two so we really haven't taken advantage of the warm temperatures. Since snow is in the forecast for tomorrow I thought I'd better get some yard work done today. In raking up last year's dead leaves and branches I discovered our yard's first flowers of the season.Gabriella was very careful in "petting" the flowers. She whispered "soft, soft, soft" as she stroked each flower.

Committed

Tonight Trevor and I registered for the marathon we'll be running in September. Now that we've each paid $55 for the honor of running 26.2 miles, we can't back out now. We have 200 days to train.

Mmmmm!

Today's my mom's birthday. Even though she lives 3 hours away from us I made a treat to celebrate anyway. These magic squares were made using homemade sweetened condensed milk. It's cheap and easy to make with things most people have in their pantry. And it works just like the name brand stuff.

Here' s the link if you're interested: http://southernfood.about.com/cs/candyrecipes/ht/sweet_condensed.htm