One of THOSE Posts

This is bound to be one of THOSE posts.... you know the ones that make your eyes glaze over after you watch my children age nearly a year in the pictures I'm about to post?  Yes, it has been a while since I've been lurking around the blog; but life has been busy.  I have thoroughly been enjoying my days with only one little one at home and getting some stuff done.  Oh, and I'm not the only one around here who is doing great things, or at least things.  So, hopefully I haven't lost you already, and if you care at all about what we've been up to, keep reading.  I'll try to keep it brief, interesting, maybe even funny.  Happy reading.

Matt..... he's been around a lot more lately, which I have to say that I love.  His job is very flexible, but it can also make for some stellar single mother moments; which are hard.  These moments are usually manifest in the form of me locking the kids in their rooms at 7:30 because I am "off-duty" and can do no more.   Thankfully, Matt has been able to spend a bit more time at home with us lately.  He has been around to help with homework and encourage the kids to eat my dinners.  He is here so I can finally play Good Cop and he is building relationships with his kids; which is something this mom loves to see.

Matt ran his second marathon, the Top of Utah in Logan, UT on September 14th.  Although his time didn't improve from his marathon in May, I think he can finally believe that he is a runner.  It has now become second nature to him; when he doesn't run, there's something wrong.

Matt has been working hard in the yard; pruning trees, pouring concrete, taking care of the chickens, and digging our pond for our fountain.  We cleaned out the garage and finally got some odds and ends around the house finished.

Isn't it amazing that his car actually fits in the garage again?  Re-damn-diculous that we have a three car garage and can only get one of our vehicles in at any given time!  Oh well, new leaf has been turned over.

Like my stairs?  They're finally finished (almost a year after my temper tantrum.)  Matt finished all the trim so now he can look up when he's walking up the stairs again.

Matt also spent a week in England and Scotland recently, for work.  I don't really know what he did; but he ate something called Wee Haggis and Tatties and stuff like salmon for breakfast.  He had to drive all over the English countryside with a guy who drives him crazy, which makes for a lot of fun.  When he returned, he had to readjust to driving on the right side of the road and has to get over the fact that Americans just don't get roundabouts.

I'm sure he would tell you that he's been doing a lot more too, but since he's a grown-up, I take pride in the fact that I don't have to be aware of every little thing that he's doing.  Needless to say, he's awesome and I like him.....

Now for the truly mundane musings of Mommyhood.  I have been plugging along.... not really doing anything remarkable by anyone else's standards, but based on my own standards, I am doing awesome!  Here is the latest picture of me....

Still kinda fat, but down to the last 20 pounds or so.  Who'd have thought I'd be so thrilled to be simply overweight?  No more morbidly obese for me!  I am thrilled to say that I have walked with the kids to school everyday so far this year.  Will and I then go about our business on our own morning walk.  Sometimes we only do a couple of miles; sometimes we like to re-enact the Bataan Death March.  It all kind of depends.  He puts up with me; especially if I bring the iPad and he can watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I have been cooking and grocery shopping (which may not seem like a big deal, but is pretty much a miracle at our house.)  Matt and I took a Mexican cooking class which was lots of fun.  I learned how to make chimichangas; and was able to reproduce my success at home.  I have also made an AWESOME meatloaf and naan bread (oh, and other cool Indian food.)  Needless to say, I am rocking the domestic goddess part of my job description.

Like how I remembered halfway through that I should take a picture of my handiwork?

Pay no attention to my filthy oven.  It'll get replaced before it gets clean, so deal with it.

Not the best picture, but it was really yummy!

Seriously, one of my goals when I had this surgery done was to learn to cook.  I wanted to start making a greater variety of foods for my family and help them develop their taste buds.  Mine, sadly, are stunted, and will probably remain so, but there's hope for the next generation.

With that said, it's ironic that the next highlight of my life is the fact that I have made my kids lunch EVERY SINGLE DAY since school started!  Yes, I know we're only a month in, but that is the longest I have ever gone.  I blame Jack; he is more stubborn that the girls are.  They would give up on the home lunch thing way too easy, making school lunch the way to go.  However, Jack loves to have a home lunch, and despite the fact that I am trying to broaden his culinary horizons, he insists on having the same thing in his thermos every day; Mac N Cheese!  Oh well, he eats it; which is more than I can say for the sandwiches I was packing him at the first of the year.

I cleaned my laundry room; which means nothing to you, but is pretty awesome as far as I'm concerned.  I have decided that the laundry room is the one place that I squirrel away things.  To say I found a hodpodge of stuff would be an understatement.  Still, I dusted, vacuumed, matched up socks, reorganized shelves and generally made myself feel happy about the laundry.  Nearly a month later, I am happy to report that the floor is still clean and the kids are still fascinated by how much space that room has; Erin wants to make it her bedroom.

The Halloween decorations are up!  I have refinished a hutch for my front porch, cleaned my craft room and have great plans for my bedroom.  In the next couple of weeks, I plan to tackle the painting of the kids bathroom, painting the hallway and living room, and hopefully, new carpet.  Right now, our carpet looks like it has had a transmission changed on it.  However, with four kids and two dogs, I'm grateful that the fibers still cover the floor; even though they're gray!

Oh, and I think I've developed a bit of an addiction to M & M's of the peanut variety.

Erin is 12!  And she's in Junior High!  And she's doing great!

Erin's first day of 7th grade!

Eek!  Erin's first school dance.  There was a neon theme; no, I don't let her dress like this normally.

Erin is really doing well in school.  With the exception of her math class, I would say that she's thriving, even!  It is such a great thing to watch your kids succeed.  She is really trying hard and I have to say, the anxiety I was having about junior high is starting to subside a bit.  Again, this is where I have been so thankful for Matt.  He and Erin have become homework buddies.  What a relief!  It's also been fun to have her be able to come home for lunch.  It's nice to get a little quiet time with her during the day.  She is loving French and CTE; she has already picked her science fair project and is attending all of the after school activities and really loving it.  She has made friends, has her first cell phone and is loving being able to go to movies or just hang out.  She has also been cleaning her room without being asked.  Wonders never cease. So proud of you Erin!

Allie is happy!  My little bundle of nerves is LOVING school this year.  She is in a class with her friends, has time to play and is taking dance again.  I am thrilled to report that she has been really great at keeping up with her homework; it's such a nice email to get from the teacher that says, "My records show that Allie has no missing work."  She is reading a lot more and really enjoying it.  She is active at recess and loved having a big group of girls over for a late night the first week of school.  Here's my little darling on the first day of school.

Look at that smile for the first day of fifth grade!

Allie has really come a long way over the last few months.  In September, she went with Erin and flew to Denver to stay with my brother and his family.  They had a great time.  She is really enjoying her ballet and jazz classes.  Her fish have all died, so she's sporting a fabulously clean fish tank!  She's a great help with her little brothers and I'm amazed at some of the very insightful questions she comes up with.  We've been talking a lot lately about the election and the electoral college.  What a great kid!

This is Jack.  He's in first grade; all-day school!  And, according to him, he's the best soccer player in the first grade.  He's ALL BOY!

Jack's first day of first grade!

Lovin' the monster truck!

Jack has also made a complete turnaround with school starting this year.  Kindergarten wasn't a super great experience for him; although I'm sure I don't know why.  However, Jack is loving the first grade! He gets to eat lunch at school, has three recesses, is learning to read, rides his bike everyday, has made new friends and loves his teacher Mrs. Beesley.  He is so good to do his homework and go to bed on time.  He is sleeping in his own bed more, has stopped sucking his thumb and is really enjoying reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid with his mom.  He is growing up before my eyes.  The other day, he made Will's bed and told me that it was important that he do things like that because he needs to set a good example as the Big Brother.  He informed me that he waited a really long time to be a big brother, so he'd better do a good job.  Jack is really excited to start Instructional League basketball on Saturday; almost as excited as his dad is!

This is Will's first day of school picture..... mostly a glare!

Will, oh, Will, oh Will!  This boy keeps me on my toes!  I think he by far the hardest of my four kids at this age.  My others rarely threw tantrums, but this dude has it down to a science.  In fact, his temper landed him in the emergency room on Labor Day.  He decided to arch his back when Erin was trying to put him on her shoulders and did a header 5 and 1/2 feet down to the cement floor at the movie theater.  Here he is getting a CT scan on his noggin; not happy!  It turns out he has a cracked skull.  Fortunately for us, this kid's Charlie Brown head protected his brain well and we just have to wait for it to heal on it's own.

Don't you love how his dad is letting him play behind the bio-hazard bin under the sink in the emergency room?  Nothing wrong with this picture.

It's funny, this kid doesn't talk, at all, but he is so expressive with his actions and his sounds.  He also has this look that he gives us that just cracks me up!  We call it his "Gerald" look.  We call it this because of him.  He is Maggie Simpson's nemesis.

See the resemblance?

He is a stinker!  Those eyebrows will show you just how much he is put out by whatever you may ask of him.

He refuses to sit quietly in church.  One Sunday, after trying to leave on his own accord at least EIGHT times, I gave up.  We ended up in the car, watching a movie and eating Twinkies.  Some days, you gotta know when to call it.

Think he feels bad?  Me neither.

Where we found him the first night he wanted to sleep in his big boy bed.

Needless to say, this boy keeps us on our toes.  I am so thankful for him, but I'm not gonna lie; the moment I put him in bed, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Well, if it's possible, there are a few more things we've been up to as a family.  We went for a hike to the waterfall by our house.

Annie is missing from this picture because we discovered she is part mountain goat
and is scaling the mountain behind them.

One weekend when Matt was out of town, I took the kids to see their very first drive in movie.  Actually, it was two movies.  We saw The Odd Life of Timothy Green and Brave at the Redwood Drive-In.  We had a great time and will for sure go back next summer.

You gotta love this picture of these kids working on their routine 

to cheer their dad on at his marathon!

Most recently, we spent Conference Weekend at the cabin and really had a great time with just the six of us.  Will loved riding the four wheelers for the first time.

As you can see, we have been busy at our house.  We haven't necessarily been doing great things, but we've been having a great time.  Most importantly, we are filled with gratitude for the time we have together.

Where Has the Time Gone?

It was bound to happen sometime.  You know, the realization when you're at a wedding and your perspective has changed.  You no longer find yourself identifying with the bride and groom -- but with their parents !?!

It has been 15 years since Matt and I were married and nearly 20 since we started dating.  We still have a long time to go, I hope, but we're not the young lovebirds we once were.  Don't get me wrong, I don't know that 'd go back to those early days of marriage; both working and going to school, knowing he'd been there because there was a drool spot on his pillow.  Nope, I much prefer where we are now; although it does get a little crazy at times.

In honor of our 15th anniversary, we decided to take a little weekend getaway for rest and relaxation.  A big thanks to my folks for watching our wee ones; especially since Will barely slept at all!

We flew to Cancun on Saturday, August 4th.  Who in their right mind goes to Cancun in August?  Clearly we are not in our right mind.  However, despite the heat and the approaching hurricane, we had a marvelous time.

We planned very little and that was just the way we liked it.  Because I'm married to "First Class Matt" we love to partake in a few travel perks.  We were so excited to arrive and find out we'd been upgraded to the Caribbean Suite -- two rooms, two televisions and most importantly in Mexico, two toilets.  Just kidding.  But we had two balconies and LOVED watching the ocean roll in.

The seas were not calm during our visit by everything was perfect for lounging by the pool and enjoying a frozen drink with a little umbrella in it, sin alcohol, of course.

We walked along the beach (literally, for miles), got sand in places I didn't know existed thanks to the waves (get your mind out of the gutter), drank aforementioned drinks, bought silver jewelry and watched a lot of the Olympics.  We slept as late as we wanted and took naps, ate ice cream in the afternoon and took the bus into town to buy hammocks.

I love going to Mexico with Matt.  He relaxes and really enjoys himself.  He is a great guide and it is so fun to hear him talk in Spanish with all the people we encounter.  I believe that it was his mission that gave him the great interpersonal skills he has today and at no time is that more evident than when he's speaking Spanish.

I think the next trip we take down there will be with our kids.  It will include ruins, pirate forts, churches old and new, snorkeling and exploring culture.  We are so excited to share these things with our children but for now, it was great to have a few days alone, the opportunity to recharge and reconnect and, yes, celebrate us! (gag!)

My First 10K

Matt caught the running bug thanks to the encouragement/dare of his brother and sisters two years ago. I won't say that I've caught the same bug, but I did make an earnest effort.  As I have been ramping up my workouts, I have actually been pretty amazed at the goals I've met.  Not that I'm giving any Olympians a run for their money, but I am definitely not the same person I was a year ago.  So.... I decided if I was walking six miles at a time, I should try to participate in some kind of organized event that put my new found skills to good use.   Mid-June, this was the conversation at our house.

"Honey, I want to talk to you about something, but I don't want you to go nuts."

"Okay," Matt says cautiously.

"I think I want to do the Deseret News 10K on the 24th."

"Really? That's fantastic!"

"Yes, really, but don't be getting any big ideas about me being a runner girl."

"I think whatever you want to do is great."

"Okay.  Will you help me train, and promise to walk it with me if that's what it ends up being?  I mean.... don't leave me to get a better time."

"Of course; anything.  I think this is awesome."


So a couple of things about this conversation.  First, as you can tell, I have a very supportive husband; almost annoyingly so.  But it's a good thing, because if he hadn't been so supportive, I'm not sure I would have done it.  Second, I couldn't believe those words ever left my lips!

On the morning of the race we set out bright and early to the start line at Research Park at the University of Utah.  We met up with Katie, Carolyn, Alan, Catherine and Skyler and joined the throngs at the starting line.  And we ran.....

Here are my shoes with my timing chip on the morning of the race.  The flashy shoes make me look official.

Yes I ran.... nearly the entire first mile I ran.  I was actually ahead of others in the same race.  Never thought that would happen.

We ran and then walked and ran some more and then ran some more.  We drank a p$#%-poor excuse for PowerAde and ran down the parade route.  It was kind of awesome!  Not so much the panting, bouncing and sweating, but the crowd, the energy and the whole weight of the accomplishment.  Now let me be clear, I DID NOT experience the "runners high," but when enough time elapses, I think I would do it again.

I have a fantastic brother-in-law who takes great sports pictures.  He was awesome and showed up to photograph the whole event.  Check them out.

This is the part of the race where I finally see a familiar face in the crowd.  "Hey, it's Spencer... and he's got a camera.  Guess I better start running again."

"Hi guys!  Heck yeah, I've been running the whole time. Check out this awesome sweat stain on my shirt, and the lovely industrial-looking black sports bra.  Yep, I'm now officially a runner."

"Soooooo glad that's over.  Where the heck is my water?  Don't they have food after you finish these things.  Oh, there are the Creamies and the bananas."

Although I don't have an actual picture of this, shortly after this one was taken was when I had a sugar-overload from a banana and tried really hard to decide whether or not I wanted to throw up.  I decided against it.  And then, my stomach revolted and decided that it might want to poop my pants.  Apparently this isn't uncommon in race situations.  Well you mix that with my Homer stomach and it was not going to be pretty.  Fortunately, my phobia of pooping any place besides my own toilet kicked in and saved the day. TMI?  Probably, but it's my blog.

Anyway, Spencer snapped a couple of more pictures of us and then we were off... headed back to the start line, to our car and then on towards home and my favorite toilet.

Here we are, the hubby and I.  Couldn't have done it without him.  And by the way, every time I look at this picture, I think I'm holding a corn dog.  Oh well, wishful thinking.

Here we are, the whole motley crew after the race.  I'll be damned if there isn't fewer than five pounds between Matt and I and I'm still totally the fattest looking one in the picture.  Oh well, none of these other folks have squeezed out four kids.  Yay me!

Okay, here's the mushy part.

My husband is awesome; although he struggles with sentimentality.  Usually, that's okay, because sappiness doesn't pay the bills, but every once in a while, it's nice to have someone be thoughtful.  Matt's biggest obstacle to thoughtfulness is a lack of time; his schedule is packed to the gills.  Well this awesome man of mine did something truly wonderful for me for the race.  He put together an awesome playlist for me to listen to while running, complete with words of encouragement from my loved ones.  All my kids picked their favorite songs and recorded messages telling me how awesome I was.  He had my mom, my sister-in-laws, my brother-in-law and my father-in-law record messages for me.  It was sooo sweet.  I wouldn't be surprised if some of the sweat I thought was in my eyes were actually tears.... I was very touched.  He had taken time out of his schedule and put all of this together for me so that I could have a great experience.  He supported me 110%.  I have to say that I feel so blessed to have such a great cheerleader in my corner.  I love you honey!

Wonderful One-derland!

This blogging about the diet/lifestyle change has been really hard the last couple of months.  Not because I haven't wanted to blog, but because things have REALLY. SLOWED. DOWN.  Long term, I think this is better for maintenance and my body, but gosh, it's frustrating when you're finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It has taken me 2 1/2 months to meet my next goal... under 200 pounds.  Even saying that, I feel like I've shown up at school, in my underwear, and forgotten my locker combination to boot.  (What?  You guys don't have those dreams?)  Anyway, originally, I had wanted to be under 200 pounds by my anniversary, which is June 19th, and then by July 4th, which I nearly made.  However, those pounds were stubborn and they didn't want to come off.  I have been exercising and watching what I eat... heck, I even cancelled an upcoming vacation due in part to needing more consistency in my life and I'll be danged if those pounds were camping out.  Well, they're finally off, plus a couple more and for the first time in my married life I weigh under 200 pounds.  And, sorry to say Matt, I'm closing in on you.  Before this summer is over, I am going to weigh less than you!

So, how are things going?  Well, I am now down from a Size 26 to a Size 16, and depending on where they are in the wash and wear cycle, clothes can even be a little baggy.  I am still losing inches and hopefully gaining muscle.  I am the proud owner of some new workout gear and some hot pink running shoes; I'm pretty stoked about those.  According to my measurements, I have gone from Obese to simply Overweight which sounds sad, but is still exciting.  When I went to the doctor last month, she told me that I needed to adjust my goal weight.... it needed to be higher than I thought.  Which means that I have less than 40 pounds left to lose.

In the near future.... my first 10K.  I will be run/walking the Deseret News 10K on the 24th of July with my husband.  He has promised to stay with me and I have promised to train so that I can run part of the way.  So if you see me crossing the finish line at Liberty Park and really sweaty and looking unkempt, please cheer.... it will be appreciated.

Also coming soon is another big milestone.... 100 pounds lost.  A couple of years ago, I hit my highest weight.... 293 pounds.  Is that shocking to you?  It was for me.  I think this may explain some of the crazy in my life.  Anyway, here are some photos for comparison.

May 2010

July 2012 

Well, that's about all there is to say about this right now.  I plan on posting about my first race experience.  Hopefully it's a positive one.  Until then, yay for me!  And yay for you!

Living the Life!

2012 has been an epic year; for many reasons.  Those of you who see me on Facebook know that we have been on the road a bunch this summer.  We have had so much fun and have seen some great sights; let me tell you.

During the last part of June and the first part of July, we were lucky enough to join my family in the Pennsylvania hills for some great family time.  As always, we enjoyed the picturesque country around Gettysburg.  We spend time on the battlefield; the kids visited "the castle" at Little Round Top and climbed the rocks at Devil's Den.  I have to say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that they love this part of the country and that they look forward to our visit every year.

Erin & Allie on the top of Little Round Top

"Dad.... catch me!"

Matt and Will at Devil's Den

"The Castle" aka the 44th New York Infantry Regiment Monument

While we were back east, Matt and I took our kids on an overnight excursion to Niagara Falls and upstate New York.  Niagara Falls is one of those bucket list items -- and was so very much fun.  Nearly all of the kids loved it and I'm so glad we went.  A travel trip for those who go, stay on the Canadian side of the Falls; Canada has it's side made up much nicer.

We took the kids on the Maid of the Mist.  It was so fun to see my little family outfitted in their little blue ponchos.  Most of them loved it -- Will hated it!  Something about getting his face wet just rubs that boy wrong!  I think he gets that from his Grandma Homer.  Needless to say, he screamed the ENTIRE time we were on the boat!  After a while, only Allie and I were left up top to tell the tale.

Look at those good-looking folks.... Will's poncho is already half off.  That should have been my warning.

After our excursion on the water, we headed for dinner at where else?  The Hard Rock Cafe!  Technically there are TWO Hard Rock Cafe's at Niagara Falls, one on each side of the Falls -- pretty sad that I know that, eh?  Dinner was your standard Hard Rock fare but we got to eat in the Elvis Presley room which Erin loved.  After dinner, we walked along the midway back to our hotel; stopping for an awesome bit of ice cream along the way.

The next morning, we were up and out of there bright and early.  Back across the border we went and onto Palmyra, New York.  This little out-of-the-way town is very significant to members of the Mormon faith.  I plan to blog about some those experiences separately, but suffice it to say, it was a wonderful thing for our family to do.  We learned a lot, and I think, in general, learned to appreciated the sacrifices made by Joseph Smith and his family and the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

After we saw the sites, we had lunch at what my Uncle Dave would have called the "the local greasy spoon."  And true to form, Matt ordered "the special."  So many fun memories of road trips with Uncle Dave.  While riding back to Gettysburg through the Pennsylvania countryside, we introduced our kids to "Alice's Restaurant," an Uncle Dave favorite and to the greatest hits of Ray Stevens.  The kids loved The Pirate Song.

Speaking of music, it was so much fun to be with the kids in the car this summer.  These youngin's have very distinct musical tastes; which made for a really fun trip.  You haven't lived until you've heard Jack sing, "I'm Sexy and I Know It."

We finished up in Gettysburg with some shopping at the Outlet Malls, a little antiquing and a visit to the Eisenhower Farm.  The farm in Gettysburg is the only house that Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower ever owned; him being a career military man.  The farm is now run by the National Park Service; so fun to get that stamp in our National Parks Passport.

The end of this Pennsylvania trip culminated in a trip to Hershey.... the town that chocolate built!  How much fun we had.

For a treat, Matt and I stayed with our kids at the Hershey Lodge.  We loved this hotel -- the wallpaper and bed linens were covered in Hershey's Kisses, you got chocolate everywhere you went, the shampoo was made with chocolate and for the first time this summer, we got to do a big water park.  At the entrance to the park, kids are encouraged to find the candy that represents their height.  That way, they know which candy sign to watch for instead of constantly asking, "am I tall enough to go on that ride?"

If you go to Hershey, the amusement park is fun (duh) but if you're not looking to spend the money on theme park tickets,  the Hershey's Chocolate World experience is cool, in and of itself.  With your admission, you get to do a number of fun things.  We saw a 3D movie about chocolate, participated in a chocolate tasting course, took a tour of the town and made our own custom chocolate bars.  None of us have actually eaten them yet, but sometimes they beckon from the cupboard late at night!

Erin looks totally thrilled to be with her family, doesn't she?  Will didn't want to leave his cap on and we were threatened with expulsion several times during the tour because of this.

Here Allie & Jack are watching their chocolate bars go through the curing process before they get packaged up!

Here are some of the fun pictures we took and the great times we had.  Read the story of Milton Hershey and his chocolate empire here. All You Ever Wanted to Know About Hershey, PA!

The kids and Grandpa with the York Peppermint Patty.  A Homer family favorite for sure.

Jack with Mr. Kit Kat

Kids with Mom's favorite chocolate treat......

Who knew you'd have to eat so much chocolate?

We knew it was time to go home when the kids were turning down the chocolate they were being offered.  We had so much fun but I have to say after the trips we had this summer, there's no place like home!