Close The Door

This is what happens if we don't keep the laundry room door closed. It's particularly hard right after the kids come home from school and are hanging up all their school stuff. That's what happened Friday November 18th. What I found was Evelyn and the cat sharing a delightful meal of chicken and rice cat food together. I think that's the longest those two have sat together.

Oh Beautiful

 for spacious skies, 

For amber waves of grain, 

For purple mountain majesties 

Above the fruited plain! 

America! America! 

God shed his grace on thee 

And crown thy good with brotherhood 

From sea to shining sea! 

Wednesdays are always really hard days for me. I even wrote a post the afternoon of November 16th because it had been an especially hard day but decided not to post it because I don't really like complaining on my blog. Then that night as I was rushing around the house getting ready for dinner I glimpsed this view out the front door. I called all the kids to come quick and we took a moment to just stand in awe. In that moment I thought about all the things I'm grateful for; my beautiful children, a wonderful husband, a warm home, food to eat, good health, good friends, a country full of opportunities and freedoms, and a testimony that I am a child of God and that he loves me and knows me. My heart was full.

11-11-11

I didn't realize I took pictures on the day but I'm so happy I did and that they were of Evelyn.  She was due on 1-11-11 (although she came early) and was walking on 11-11-11. Well, almost walking. 

I was busy in the kitchen that morning and when I turned around there she was, pushing her little toy and walking.  I ran and grabbed the camera.

She's learned to smile for the camera.  Have you ever seen anyone so Cheesy?

It didn't last long but it was a start. I'm excited, though. I'm hoping once she starts walking she'll find less things on the floor to put in her mouth.

Doctor Duty

On Thursday November 10 I had the other three kids tested for allergies. I decided it would be better to know and change everyone's diet now than regret it later.

We were in the waiting room for a while.

But the kids kept themselves entertained.

Unfortunately, Austin was still hurting pretty bad.  He laid on the couch in the office looking miserable. The sweet secretary took good care of him while I watched the other kids get their blood drawn.  We had Dallin go first.  He was so mature and brave.  Too bad he almost ended up on the floor.  The nurse caught him in time and held him up until he became coherent enough to move to a chair.  He ended up being green for about an hour after.  Cameron did a little better.  She shed a few tears and felt a little shaky but Eden was the big surprise.  I was expecting drama from my drama queen.  She cried a little but then she was done and ran out to the car while the rest of them hobbled and held on to railings.

At least we know now what to expect if Dallin ever has to give blood again.

No More Tonsils

On Monday morning, November 7, Austin got his tonsils out.  The hospital staff were so sweet to him.  They gave him a little blue teddy bear and took him into the operating room in a little red wagon.

Before

After

He spent the next week on the couch in the living room.  He went from bad to worse before he got better. He slept a lot and cried a lot when the painkiller wore off.  We learned to not let that happen. He finally went back to school on November 15 but only with painkiller.  Hopefully he will feel better soon.

Evelyn missed playing with her brother.

10 Months!

On November 6 Evelyn turned 10 months old.  She stands holding on to furniture and toys.  She loves to look at books on the couch.  She can say "kitty, uh oh, all done" and maybe "hi Dad" or at least something that sounds like that.  She also meows like the cat and does a high pitched bark when she hears the dog Chester next door. She likes turkey, rice, peas, sweet potatoes, and Ritz crackers although she eats lots of other things.  She has two bottom teeth and is getting two top teeth but not her front ones so she's going to look like vampire baby. I guess that will be perfect for the premier of Breaking Dawn part 1 this month. She can clap her hands and play peak a boo and find anything anyone might have accidentally left on the floor.

Evelyn also loves to give hugs and big wet open mouth kisses.  She is still a super happy baby.  Her favorite time of day is when all the kids get home from school.  I think she's starting to miss them when they're gone. I know they definitely miss her. She's irresistible.

Snow?

Yes, it snowed the day after Halloween.  So much for the beautiful fall weather.  The kids begged and begged and begged for me to let them play in the snow. I came down with a really nasty head cold after my half marathon and was feeling really wiped out. The last thing I wanted to do was dig out all the snow clothes. Obviously, I caved. My kids sure do know how to beg.

Happy Halloween!

Eden and her new birthday scooter.  Happy Birthday Eden!

The annual Halloween Parade.  Kindergarteners first.

My sister in law Joy dresses up every year.  She always goes all out.

Cameron, Emily and Emma

All of the kindergarten classes had a carnival in the gym.

I thought this doughnut on a string was a great idea.

Fishing Pond

The rest of the grades had individual class parties.  Eden and Halle.

Cameron, Felicity, Emily and Emma

Ryan was excited to take Evelyn, Eden and Austin trick or treating. Dallin and Cameron were off with friends this year.  It's crazy to see them growing up and heading off on their own.  Ryan brought Evelyn home after a little while and went back out with Eden and Austin.  All the kids got tons of candy.

I'm  not sure how Ryan got this photo.  He was sneaky sneaky.

It was a beautiful night. The best weather we've had on Halloween in years!

Eden's Birthday

We celebrated Eden's birthday Sunday night since we knew Halloween would be a full day.

She got lots of girly presents that "all" the girls were excited about.

She asked for "pumpkin pie" for her cake this year.

Five things I love about Eden:

1.  She is really good at gymnastics.  I love watching her do pullovers on the bar.  It's exciting every time.

2.  She has a crazy laugh that's contagious.

3.  She's a really good friend.  She told me about a girl who moved into her class a few weeks after school started.  Eden was one of the first ones to welcome her and be her friend.  The girl had been through some rough things and I appreciated knowing that Eden became her friend right away.

4.  She's very helpful.

5.  She loves to be loved.  She loves giving hugs and kisses and wrapping her arms around each of her brothers and sisters.  She's such a beautiful girl inside and out.

Halloween Half Marathon

For the past few months I've been training for my first half marathon.  I chose the Halloween half on October 29th because it sounded fun and I liked the idea of doing a downhill run (what did I know).  I trained by adding a mile a week starting at 6 miles.  It was challenging but mostly because it was hard to always find the time for the longer runs.  Running at 5 am wasn't my favorite thing.

My friend Kelly decided to run the half with me and started training (with only 6 weeks until the race!) with her neighbor Kim and her sister in law Tricia.  I joined them for some of their longer runs on Saturday mornings.  

Friday night we got together to drive the course, have dinner, and pick up our packets.  The line was crazy long and that was my first glimpse at how many people would be running the race.  I started feeling really nervous.

The morning of the race we were supposed to meet at the University Mall and catch a bus up to Aspen Grove where the race would start.  I decided the night before to go up a little earlier with my neighbor Kristen who was also running the race.  We got up to Aspen Grove at 6 am. They were supposed to have a heated tent where we could all hang out until the race started but when we got off the bus it was dark and there was no one to show us where to go. It was below freezing. The crowd eventually made it's way along a dark path that did indeed lead to a tent but it was not very warm. My friend and I huddled in her blanket until a few more thousand people showed up and the tent got warm.

 

Kelly, Kim and Tricia showed up about 30 min. later along with my brother Adam.  I started feeling more excited and even more nervous.  Kelly had bought wings for us to wear and brought face paint.  I was a little hesitant about wearing face paint myself since I could just picture it smearing all over the place half way through the run but I didn't mind helping them out with theirs.  I did get a little eye shadow.  Next year I'll try to get more into the spirit of the race.  I was too nervous to think about being silly this time.  My longest run so far was only 11 miles and I had been feeling a little under the weather all week.  I honestly didn't know what to expect.

I did batwings for Tricia that I think turned out pretty well.

There were about 4,000 people total that ran in the race. They had two groups, one started at 9:00 am and the slower group started at 9:20 am. We were in the 9:20 group. The first 4.5 miles flew by. I could tell it was hard on my legs but we were going so fast downhill and I felt pretty good so I didn't worry about it. My calves were tight but I thought I could run through it. The next 8 some miles after the steep hill were brutal but I managed to run the whole thing without stopping. I had some Gu and some Hammer water while I kept running. I stopped to walk once but a lady behind me asked me to keep going because she was following me. That was just the motivation I needed to keep chugging along. I was very tired by mile 11 but tried to mentally overcome it.  Around mile 12 Ryan called and asked if I was about 5 min. away. I almost lost it and tried not to cry while I managed to squeak out that I was maybe 15 min. away. As I was coming around the last turn and saw Ryan and the kids I felt like all the tears I was holding back would come bursting forth. I was exhausted, hungry, and my legs felt like jello. That was the longest part of the whole race. There were so many people crowding the finish line and I just wanted it to be over.

When I finally made it across the finish line I was afraid to even walk because I thought I would collapse. And I was starving! I grabbed a handful of oranges and then I saw the kids and my sister in law Joy (who also ran the race) and I lost it. She hugged me while I cried and cried.  I felt so overwhelmed physically and emotionally.  After a few minutes the adrenaline kicked back in and I started to feel better.  

My friends came in about 5 min. after I did. They have a tendency to stop for water breaks and I was afraid if I stopped I would never get going again. I kept thinking they would catch up to me because they're pretty fast but they didn't.  

The strangest part was that I kept looking for Adam at the finish line. He and I ran together for the first mile and then he took off. He looked like he was feeling great and I thought for sure he was going to finish way before me. When he came limping up after the race I was really worried but it turned out he just had sore muscles like I did. I guess he got stuck at the bathroom. It was fun having him there, though, and even better to have someone to commiserate with on Sunday when I felt like my legs were two big bruises with feet attached.

It was a pretty cool race and especially fun to see all the funny costumes people ran in. Maybe I can get better at these long runs and do this again next year without feeling like I'm going to die.  I finished with a time of 2:21.  I figured with my typical pace I would finish around 2:30 but hoped the downhill would make me faster.  I guess it did.  But it also blew out all my muscles.  I couldn't walk for three days.

Trick or Treat at Novell

Every year Novell invites children to come trick or treat.  I got the kids all dressed up and dropped them off with Dad so I could pick up my packet with the ladies for my big race the next day.  It looks like they had a lot of fun.

Austin was Darth Vader.

Eden was a half angel, half devil.  Cameron was an inmate with a mullet and scary face.  Evelyn was a butterfly in a tootoo (I don't know, it was something she could wear in a pinch).  Dallin wore his Ranger's Apprentice cape because I refused to buy him a new costume this year.  He's twelve, shouldn't he be done trick or treating?