Story Hour

Every week I try to take the boys to Story Hour at the Library. They don't always love to go, but once they're there, they really like it. The lady in charge of Story Hour is so good and animated. She always has something fun for the kids to do after she reads a few books.

Will playing a pioneer game with one of the other boys.

Shields and crests the boys made after learning about knights.

Will being a train conductor after learning about trains.

The boys made pig ears after reading all kinds of book about pigs.

Cherry Hill

We got passes to Cherry Hill again this year. It is the best money we spend all year. The  boys love the water and we end up going 2-3 times a week. They have turned into such great swimmers and aren't afraid of the water at all. We usually end up going to Cherry Hill a little before lunch time, we swim for a while, take a break and have a picnic, then swim a little longer. I shower the boys off when we're done swimming, and sometimes they fall asleep on the way home. I love that it wears them out because I still think they need naps, but they refuse to take them at home. The boys never get tired of going because there is so much to do there. Will's favorite thing is floating the Lazy River with his green goggles. Xav's favorite thing is playing in Pirates Cove. It's so fun to see them enjoying the water.

Xav's Surgery

My poor baby has been getting sick every other week for the last little while. We had been to a couple appointments with the Pediatrician and ENT, and the ENT finally said he thinks Xav would benefit from having his adenoids removed and his ear tubes replaced. I dreaded Xav having to have surgery, but he's been so sick and hasn't been sleeping well. His original ear tubes were falling out and he'd already had one ear infection. I didn't want him to keep getting ear infections, too.

Today was Xav's surgery and it went really well. The doctor said Xav's adenoids were decent sized, so we should notice a difference with his congestion. He also said his tonsils are on the border of needing to be removed. He said to watch Xav and see if he snores or isn't sleeping well. If so, he'll need his tonsils out when he's a little older.

Xav was a little whiny in recovery and kept saying he wanted us to take him home. He pulled out his IV right away, and was ready to go. The nurse had us stay for about 45 minutes, so Xav cuddled with Dad, ate a popsicle and watched the iPad.

Xav did really well the rest of the day. He's one tough boy! Hopefully this will keep my baby from getting so sick.

"Father/Son's Camping"

Jeff took will to the Father and Son's Outing this year. Will was so excited to go. He packed all his camping gear first thing Friday morning. He shoved all his clothes in this little tiny backpack.  All I heard all day was, "is it time to go to father/son's camping yet," and "when is dad going to be home?"

Jeff and Will had such a good time, despite the rainy weather. Will loved running around the tent, roasting marshmallows and getting dirty with the other boys. I'm so glad Jeff will do these things with Will. He's a good dad.

Willy Man Turns Four

Will turned four today. He is the sweetest, most considerate little man I know. He is sensitive and never wants to hurt anyone's feeling. He is so fun and goofy, and makes us laugh every day.



Will opened one of his presents in the morning and was so excited to get a scooter. I love his happy little face.

Will wanted a strawberry cake with a green 4 on it and homemade strawberry ice cream. The 4 didn't turn out very well on the cake, but he didn't care.

I love that cheesy face!

Grandma and Papa gave him a basketball hoop that he was so excited to play with.

Will really wanted a shark pinata. He helped me paper mache it a few days before his birthday, and was so happy with how it turned out. A few of his cousins came over and helped crack the pinata open and had cake and ice cream with us. It was such a fun day and Will loved it. It makes me sad how quickly he's growing up, but I'm enjoying all the time I get to spend with him. He is such a fun boy!

Winter Training Circuit 30K

The 30K race was today and I was nervous going in to it. The longest I've run is 17 miles and by the end of that run, I was done. Being pregnant and trying to run long is really hard because I get so tired. I wasn't sure how this race would go, but I just wanted to finish.

The morning of the race, I was running a little behind. I picked up my packet, pinned my number on and barely had enough time to use the bathroom before the race started. I ran into Heather Loughton in the line to the restroom and she said she just wanted to enjoy the run and go at a comfortable pace. That was perfect for me. I was planning on running 7:30 per mile, so we planned to run together.

After the first mile, I was desperate to find a bathroom. It was awful, all I could think about was urinating. The baby sitting on my bladder makes it so I can't hold off going to the bathroom at all. There was a bathroom at mile 3, so I stopped to use it. I felt bad because Heather stopped and walked through the aid station to wait for me.

This was how it was the entire race...I was searching for the next bathroom. I felt good running, I just had to urinate the whole time. I ended up stopping 5 times to go to the bathroom. One time I had to squat behind a parked truck and go. I feel like urinated consumed me the entire run.

The last 2 miles were awful! I was done and didn't want to go anymore. I wanted to walk, but Heather kept me going. I'm so glad I had her to pull me through the end of the race. I don't think I could've finished it without her. My finish was pretty pathetic, but I did it. I ended up with a time of 2:20.08, which is 7:31/mile. I took 5th place overall, but won the entire series!

At the end of the race, one of the male pacers was asking me if I'm going to run the Ogden Marathon. I told him I wasn't because I'm pregnant. He told me I have a huge advantage over other women because I have so many red blood cells and I should really think about running it. This guy has obviously never been pregnant and had to use the bathroom every other mile. I can't image running a marathon and all the bathroom stops I'd have to make. I don't think I could run that far either. I was done around mile 16 today.

I'm so happy I completed the series. It was really well run and I really enjoyed it.

Big News!

Xav Turns Two

My baby turned 2 today! He is such a fun boy with a little bit of sass and we love him to pieces!

 Xav woke up to his bedroom full of balloons. He and Will had fun running through the balloons and throwing them at each other. Then he got to open a gift that Will had picked out for him...a water gun. Of course Will had to get himself the same thing he got for Xav, but couldn't play with it until Xav could open his. To help Will with the temptation of playing with it, I had Will wrap up the two water guns together for Xav to open. 

Cuters wanted a dinosaur cake, so I bought some dinosaurs to go on top of the cake, but they kept slipping off the top...so much for the dinosaur cake. I don't think Xav really noticed there weren't any dinosaurs on his cake, he was just excited to blow out the candles. I love this picture of Xav because he was smiling at Will while Will was singing Happy Birthday to him. Xavy sure loves his big brother.

Xav got some sand toys to play with for the sand box. (Don't mind the Christmas wrapping paper.) We sure love this sweet boy and all the joy he brings to our family.

Winter Training Circuit Half Marathon

Today was the Half Marathon race of the Winter Training Circuit. We started from Eden and buses took us up the canyon to the starting line. It was the perfect day for a race and the course was downhill or flat. I started the race with Mandy Foster and told her I was just going to run the race as a training run. I feel like I'm behind with my training and didin't want to push too hard. It was so nice to run with her. We stayed together the whole run. I got a few side aches, but they went away with a few deep breaths.

My boys came to watch and when I ran by Will he yelled, "Go faster, mom, you gotta win." I was far from winning, but I was happy to hear his cute little voice cheering.

By the end of the race, I was pretty tired. I took 6th place with a time of 1:26:56.9, which came out to be 6:38 miles. This time is far from a PR for me, but I'm happy with it. I ran exactly how I wanted to run it.

Winter Training Circuit 10 Mile

Today was the Winter Training Circuit 10 mile race and it was tough! I ran it last year with my friend, Rachel, but I must have been distracted chatting with her because I don't remember it being so brutal!  The course started at the Dee Events Center in Ogden and looped through different neighborhoods with lots of hills. It was a great day for a run and I felt pretty good, but I kept getting side aches. I'd slow down my pace a little bit to get the side ache to go away, but it kept coming back. It was so frustrating trying to run with a side ache.

My boys came to cheer for me and Will tried to take a running picture of me with his camera. When I passed him, he was holding up his camera and yelled, "got it." I looked at the camera later to see the picture he took, but there wasn't one. He's such a cute boy!

Anyway, I was so happy to cross the finish line. I ran 1:07:24.6, which is 6:44 per mile and took 1st place. My time wasn't great, but I'm happy with it due to the tough, hilly course.

Done with the Thumb

Since Xav was 8 or 9 weeks old, he's been a thumb sucker. When he first started doing it, I loved it because it helped him sleep through the night and he looked so cute doing it.

This last month has been rough on my Xavy Baby. He's been diagnosed with RSV, croup, h-flu, mono and an allergy to Augmentin. He got really dehydrated with the mono and h-flu, and his lips cracked and bled. His left thumb got a big crack along the knuckle, and he'd put his thumb in his mouth to suck, then immediately pull it out and say, "owie, mommy, hurts." The crack was getting bigger and bigger because he kept trying to suck it. I decided to cover it with a band-aid and ointment as much as possible to help it heal. One night I didn't take the band-aid off and he kept it on the whole night, and slept well! I couldn't believe it! Xav hasn't sucked him thumb in over a week. I'm so happy he broke the habit!

Winter Training Circuit 10K

The Winter Training Ciruit 10K was today and it was another rough week. Xav got diagnosed with mono and has been so sick! I feel so bad for my poor baby. I feel like we've been to the doctor's office every other day for the last little bit. I'm ready for spring time and healthy boys.

I was more excited to race the 10K today, than the 5K a couple of weeks ago. The 10K is a much better distance for me. I still feel like I have to sprint the whole time, but I can slow it down a little bit compared to the 5K. I began the race and felt really good. My first mile was 5:54, and I thought that was a little quick for a hilly course. After that, I locked in to a good pace and just went. It felt good to open up and run hard. The course was around WSU, so I was familiar with the roads. It was nice to run around Ogden. I have good running memories there. I ran 39:57.8 (6:26 per mile) and took first place. I felt good the entire run...I love races like this!

I've started doing tempo runs and speed workouts a couple of times a week. It feels good to be on a training schedule again. I'm still trying to increase my mileage, but it seems like life happens and I don't get all the miles in I'd like, but I will soon enough.

Winter Training Circuit 5K

The Winter Training Circuit 5K was today and I wasn't feeling very ready to race. It had been a rough week because both boys had RSV and were miserable. They felt awful and weren't sleeping well, so no one was getting any sleep. I feel like the stars rarely align when it's race day, I just have to give it the best I've got.

A 5K is a hard distance for me because I feel like I have to sprint the whole way. I like longer races when I can lock in at a comfortable/hard pace and go. I rarely race 5Ks because I don't like to sprint for 3 miles. It's been years since I've raced a 5K, but today was my lucky day :) 

I started the race feeling really good. The course was around my old college apartment, so I was familiar with the hills. It was nice to run through the area, and brought back lots of good memories of college running. I kept telling myself I only had to go 3 miles, that's nothing compared to what I usually race. The course was pretty hilly, but I felt good throughout the whole run. I was so happy to have a good race after such a terrible week. I ran 19:35.8 (6:18 per mile) and took first place. I couldn't have asked for a better race. It's nice to be back racing again.

I was excited to race for Oiselle. This is the first race I've run as a Oiselle team member. I wore my Oiselle singlet, but didn't get any pictures from the race. I'll have to make sure Jeff has a camera at the next race.

I'm trying to get my weekly mileage up, but I've been stuck at 38 miles for a few weeks. I've got to have a break through week soon, so I can get cranking more mileage for my marathon training. I'm getting excited to race Ogden!

Back at it...

I love running in the snow. Twice the work for half the speed. ; )

I've taken a few months off of consistent running and I've decided that now it's -2 degrees in the morning and snowy, I'll get back at it :) 

Lagoon trail!

The Ogden Marathon is approaching shortly, so I've got to get running and racing again. I've mapped out my weekly mileage and I've started lifting weights a few times a week. I'm going to register for either the Salt Lake Training Series or the Winter Training Circuit in Ogden to get me racing again. It feels good to be back in a training schedule and I'm getting excited to start racing again.