Update

I was blown away by your sweet comments to my last three eternally long posts. Seriously, thank you so much they all meant so much to me. Thank you!

The biggest thing to happen around here lately is that Anna has gone and somehow gotten old enough to go to girls camp!!!!! What? Seriously, yes kids grow up quickly and everyone tells you that and you kind of think, uh huh whatever, but, it's true. It's just that my memories from being at girls camp are so vivid, how could that have been what seems like 10 years ago TOPS and now my firstborn is there? It just doesn't add up. Sigh. Oh and then to add insult to injury my baby is turning 1 in exactly 1 week. I don't want to talk about it.

So, word is Anna's doing great. Whew. I'm praying my guts out that she'll have a blast. I loved girls camp I hope she does. She's such a great kid, and I miss her so much. Honestly I feel like I'm missing a limb. It's weird. The night before she left her poor little sister was so sad and was crying herself to sleep. I went down to tell Anna something and found her bed empty. I peeked in Abby's room and there was Anna curled up next to Abby on her bed rubbing her back and comforting her. Oh.So.Sweet. We love Anna.

Abigail is a busy bee. "The King and I" performances start on the 10th so rehearsals are getting intense. She loves it and we're getting so excited to see her in it. Abby told me the other day, "Mom a lot of my friends' Moms buy my friends everything they want for their dolls whenever they want. (She is really into American Girl Dolls) I think you are a smart mom not to do that. That's what I'm going to do when I'm a mom." How great is she? How in the world is she wise enough to see the wisdom in my depriving her? We love Abby.

Nathan is obsessed with Subway, you know the sandwhich shop. Anyway, he was raving about it to Abby and said, "You can choose whatever cheese you want, like American cheese, England cheese..." He was also telling me about something fun he did with Rex on "Remorial (Memorial) Day". Latley he spells everything. "M-o-m, I w-a-n-t..." you get the picture, it's not my favorite mostly because it takes a lot more energy to listen to and comprehend on my part, but I have to say he is an excellent speller. He seems so old to me, he just knows things, like every member of the Celtics team and how to text (he picked up my phone tonight and texted Brennan, what?) Anyway, when did 7 year olds get so old? (Okay so this growing up way too fast seems to be a theme tonight. The thing is I really am loving having older kids they're so much fun it just makes me sad that I can't have little ones too)We love Nate.

Benjamin is such a summer boy. He's tan and his hair is sun bleached and his big huge eyes seem even bluer (is that a word?). He loves being outside and plays hard. At the end of the day he often begs us to put him to bed. I love that. He's so incredibly independent but still so sweet and affectionate. A while ago we finally took his pacifier (he calls it a "beep") away except for nighttime. The other night he couldn't find it so that was that. His best companion for the last 4 years is gone and he's been fantastic about it. I'm so happy and relieved and proud of him. He watched me make a salad the other day and as he peered into the bowl he snickered and said, "that's just embarrassing!" I have no idea what he thinks embarrasing means, but it really caught me off guard and really cracked me up. We love Benny.

Joshua finally decided to crawl a few weeks ago, but mostly cruises around the furniture or our legs or anything else he can hold onto. I make everyone always keep the bathroom door shut so he won't go in there, but the doorknob isn't working right so he's figured out if he pushes on the door it will open. He loves that trick so much it makes me feel so sad when I can't reward him by letting him hang out in the bathroom. He's mostly a happy squash, but is definitely starting to get some opinions and letting us know them. He's adorable and we love Josh.

We are loving Summer. It's truly a blessing to have a family, both immediate and extended. I'm so grateful for these kiddies of mine, they sure do make life interesting. They're challenging, exhausting, loving, joyful, incredible kids. I wouldn't trade them for all the sleep or money or peace and quiet in the world. What a blessing a great husband is. Brennan is the best, I love him.

Wasatch Back – The Whole Story, Conclusion

We met up with poor, brave Van 2 which consisted of Mandolin, Kevin, Diane, Tasha, Tasha’s friend, Sara, and Megan. Tiffanie was supposed to come but got sick Friday so she came up later Saturday for her last run which she did with her fiance, Alex. Very sweet. Van 2 went to the condo where I think they got about an hour and a half of sleep. (Van1 is definitely the way to go!) Anyway, I think it was about 7ish am Saturday morning when we started our last legs. Kristen went first and did an amazing job, she is my hero. Macy was next and did wonderfully. Collin was in major pain, really struggling with his knee and had like an 8 mile leg with some serious hills. He was such a trouper and went the whole way.

Kristen, seriously, 53?

My turn. My last leg, it was 3.8 miles but on the map it showed it was all downhill, I told myself I would let gravity do the work and I’d be fine. It was actually pretty nice, it was getting hot, but it was windy and gravity really did do a lot of the work. I finally came to the bottom of the hill and hoped I was about done, but we turned left and ran along side a highway I kept thinking any minute I would see the exchange. No such luck, so I kept going. I was fading fast, but I knew I had to be getting close. I finally passed the “one more mile” sign and determined to keep going. Probably about 7/10ths into that last mile I saw there was a left turn up ahead. I got there and turned and prayed I was lost. Up ahead was a dirt road that also happened to be a decent sized hill. By this time the wind was not my friend, the dust was blowing around and I was completely parched. It was hot and my body was screaming with fatigue. I hadn’t walked one step so far so I couldn’t walk now. I leaned forward and forced my feet off the ground one by one. I tried not to look up, I didn’t want to see that dirty trick of a hill ahead of me. I finally reached the top of the hill and saw my team and others waiting at the gate. I choked back some sobs and ran as fast as my exhausted legs would carry me. I slapped the bracelet on Sara and ran right into my teammates’ arms. My emotions finally caught up with me, I had kept everything in check knowing I wasn’t done yet, but now I was and now the magnitude of everything hit me hard. I did it!!!! It wasn't pretty and it certainly wasn't fast, but I did it!!!!

Macy

I was overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for prompting me to do this and helping me overcome countless obstacles, mainly myself. I was filled with love for my family and and teammates who had been completely supportive. To Brennan for staying home with all the kids by himself on Father’s Day weekend and for countless mornings getting up with the kids so I could go running. To Mandolin and Tiff for their continued encouragement and help in training. To my parents and family members who were praying for me and texting me and helping me anyway they could. Davis, who ran it in New York and offered me everything he had learned and sent me running music. I’m just incredibly grateful for the whole experience. I have come to love running which I just never thought I would say. I have a long way to go towards my ultimate goal, but have made a little dent and it feels GREAT!

Collin, he’s single ladies!

Macy, Kristen, Kristin, Sara and Collin – I adore you all and had a blast with you. Van 2, I wish we could have spent more time together, but it was great seeing you all when we did. My team was wonderful and so patient while it took me forever to run my legs. I was so impressed with all of their runs, amazing! We had so much fun, great conversations, laughing hard and commiserating when we were all kind of miserable. There were sports bra issues, missing hand-offs, deliriousness, nearly getting run over, almost falling into a canal and all kinds of adventures. Collin was such a great stand-in for all our husbands, he took great care of us and was our go-to support guy. Thank you, thank you, Mandolin, Kristen and Kristin for all your hard work arranging and organizing all of it. Tiff, we missed you so much! Thank you Tanner for all your hard work over the years and for bringing this event here and making it possible.

Kristin

Sara

Sara (Tasha’s friend who kindly filled in last minute), Diane, Megan, Collin, Sara, Kristin, me (note to self: shut your mouth!)

Tiff, Tasha, Kevin, Macy, Mandolin, Kristen

The END!

Wasatch Back – The Whole Story, Part II

I realize this is excruciatingly long to read. Please don’t feel like you need to. It’s been a really huge thing for me and I really want as much as I can recorded.

Here are a few notes I woke up to:

Friday morning we were supposed to meet at Kristen’s house at 5:45 am for 7:15 start time. After several set backs Van 1 which consisted of Tasha, Macy, Collin, Me, Sara and Kristin finally rolled into the starting point for a new start time of 8:30am. Our team name was “Un.Bell.ievable” in memory of our Grandparents. The place was packed, there were all kinds of vehicles totally decked out with all kinds of fun and crazy names. My favorite was, “Scrambled Legs and Achin” As I looked around I had a “what the heck am I doing here” moment. We saw Tanner who warmly greeted us in spite of being super busy. He was calling out team names for the 8:30 start and was definitely in his element. Tasha took off and had a great first leg. A few hours and legs later it was almost my turn and I was seriously terrified. This was my longest leg, 5.2 miles and I had no idea if I’d be able to do it. I kept telling myself I could walk if I had to, but I really didn’t want to. I started and went incredibly slow. I got passed constantly and never passed one single person. 60 year old women were flying by me, I didn’t care. Most people would say something nice like “Good job!” as they passed me. I never knew if I should just say “thanks” or “you too.” I had a feeling they were offering some extra encouragement to me because well I don’t look like your typical runner.

My van drove by several times to see if I needed anything and to cheer me on. It helped so much to feel like I wasn’t alone. It started to get hot, but not oppressively. I started to panic that I couldn’t do it and then ran past a little clearing of wild poppies. I instantly thought of my Mom and my Grandma and kept going. I finally got to the sign that said, “One more mile” and wondered if I had one more mile in me. My toes started really hurting, but I thought hurt toes was a really dumb reason to stop, so I kept going. I finally reached the exchange point. I couldn’t believe I had just run 5.2 miles! It felt great to finish and not have walked, but I was too exhausted and nervous that I just used everything in me and wouldn’t be able to do my next two legs to really celebrate.

Sara and Kristin ran two incredibly hard legs right after mine and I was feeling lucky with my easy ones. I was impressed with all my teammates as they seemed to breeze through their runs. After their runs we met up with Van 2 and handed the “baton” (a slap bracelet) off to them and happily went to lunch. We enjoyed a great meal and then headed off to Tasha’s aunt’s house for a shower and nap. It was heavenly to have a break from the car and running and nerves. I couldn’t really sleep, but it was still great to rest. We piled back into the car and found Ryan and the kiddies on their way camping. Seeing Rex and Lucy and Molly was great and helped me miss my own kids a little less.

We started our night runs. Tasha switched places with her mom, Kristen, so now Kristen was in our van. I watched my beautiful 53 year old aunt run down Trappers Loop, amazed. She’s done this 7 times!!! On my turn it was beautiful, the temperature was perfect and I usually love running at night. Part of me loved it, but most of me was still flat out exhausted. I had to run 4.2 miles this time which seemed like 402 miles. There were times I was completely alone for a few minutes and I wondered what kind of wild animals were there or how close the skunk I smelled was to me. I tried to distract myself from my pain and fatigue by looking at my beautiful surroundings, and it helped a little. It was pitch black and my head lamp didn’t do a whole lot. I felt like I was going to twist my ankle any minute by stepping in a pothole or something, but I didn’t. I finally got to the little town of Morgan and passed some volunteers who excitedly told me I only had one more mile. I wanted to scream at them and ask them why they acted like that was good news? My legs were yelling at me. I kept going, praying all the way, my favorite song came on just then and I took it as a sign that I could do this. I tried swinging my arms more hoping they could take some of the pressure off my legs. I finally saw my exchange and managed to drag my legs across. Whew, I did it and I didn’t walk! After the next two runs, one of which blew my mind with how hard it looked, we met our other van and headed off to our condo for some much needed rest. I fought to stay awake to help Macy navigate. After a miserable hour we made it and I wondered if I’d be able to sleep.

It seemed like two seconds later, but really about 3 and a 1/2 hours later, we woke up and loaded back up. I couldn’t believe we had to run. I felt like a crash test dummy. I didn’t know if I could walk let alone run. Another, what-the-heck-am-I-doing-here moment.

Wasatch Back 2010 – The Whole (LONG) Story, Part I

Last Fall I got completely fed up with myself. I was just done with the same old bad habits and weaknesses that I had been far too hospitable to for far too long. I knew what I had to do but I had proven to myself so many times that I couldn’t do it. I knew I needed help and guidance so I went to the Temple. While I was there I had one of those thoughts pop into my head. Ragnar. I needed to do the Wasatch Back. Ragnar is a company my cousin, Tanner, and his friend started. The Wasatch Back is the first of now many of their relay races. This particular one goes from Logan to Park City, 188 miles. A team of 12 runners each run 3 legs over the course of about a day, a night and the next day.

A few years prior to last Fall, we happened to be vacationing in the area of the race during the race and saw many of that year’s runners. The thing that struck me then was how varied the runners were. I expected all the participants to be the typical marathon runner -- a lean, mean running machine. I was shocked to see all shapes and sizes and a lot of them were even walking. Had I not seen that there’s no way I would have let that little thought I got in the Temple stick around and get comfortable inside my head.

It did get comfy and it did stick around. I didn’t talk about it at first to anyone, but then I knew I had to start setting things in motion. I told Brennan and he laughed. Not in a mean way, but in a way that I honestly think he thought I was joking. That motivated me a LOT. Making it social would be a big help so I called my aunt Jan, who lives nearby and who has a baby just a few months older than Joshy. I knew she would be a dependable and fun companion and when I told her my scheme she was ready and willing to sign on. We wanted to take it very gradually so we started walking together just three times a week. I think we started in November. Joshua was almost 5 months old and not even close to sleeping through the night. 6:30 came really early and I never could have done it if I didn’t know Jan was there waiting for me. Even though I was exhausted, I looked forward to our chats as we walked and started to feel a little more in shape.

December came and so did Winter. It was freezing. I remember several mornings literally having our hair and eyelashes frozen stiff. Christmas was a whirlwind and we got a little off track. We tried to get it back together in January but it seemed like one of us or one of our kids was always sick. We struggled along usually only going once or twice a week. Both our babies had one ear infection after another, both eventually got tubes. Neither of us was sleeping much but we still tried to go walking whenever we possibly could. We were supposed to start running, but we were so sporadic we never felt quite ready. It was rough and my goal was seeming more and more impossible.

After Jan had agreed to be my partner we had talked to my other aunt, Kristen (Tanner’s Mom), who has run the race every year. She was so encouraging as I talked to her about the possibility of being on a family team she put together. Her daughters and Tanner’s wife, Kristin, and another cousin had done it last year and there were several other cousins interested. The team came together and two of those cousins, Mandolin and Tiff, came to my rescue. They started joining Jan and me on Saturday mornings and helped us start running. Jan realized she would be selling her house right around the time of the race so she gave up her spot on the team but still joined us when she could. I started running when I could by myself and then on Saturdays with Mandolin and/or Tiff. Sometimes I ran with my cousin Megan who was also kind of a novice runner. I loved getting to know all of them better.

I think it was in February when I ran my first mile straight through. I was thrilled. That soon wore off when I couldn’t seem to run much past a mile for what seemed like forever. I tried to get out consistently, but Joshua was still battling ear infections and finally got tubes the end of March. Finally one day in April, I managed 2 whole miles without walking once. I started sobbing as I finished that run. Then I started laughing at myself for sobbing and then I finally pulled it together. I walked to my car where there was a note from Kristen and Tiff who had driven by and seen me running. They wrote some sweet and encouraging words on an envelope they had in their car and put it on my windshield. I found it, read it, and sobbed some more.

Things got really busy at home, Brennan was swamped at work and with the school year winding down there seemed to be 14,000 places to be all the time and a baby who wanted nothing to do with consistent naps. I was getting buried. I finally battled it out with Joshua and got him on some semblance of a schedule, and eventually got him to sleep all through the night. I quit trying to get up in the sixes to run and went at 7 about 3 times a week. It seems like there was always an obstacle and yet with a little determination and a lot of heavenly help, I was able to keep training and toward the end of May got up to 3 miles. The next two weeks I pushed up to 4. My longest leg in the relay was 5.2 . I really wanted to be up to 5 before the race, but the most I’d run was 4. We had the last week of school with all it’s insanity and then the first week of Summer with all it’s insanity and then Nate’s birthday party and on top of that some crazy weather. I was out of time and had had a few really frustrating runs on Monday and Wednesday. Thursday was my recovery day and Friday morning was the big day. Brennan gave me a blessing Thursday night which I will always be so grateful for. It helped me stay calm and put aside my worries about leaving the kids, especially Squashy. It reminded me that this had been blessed from the very beginning, that every obstacle had been overcome and already I had accomplished way more than I ever thought possible.

Nathan is 7!

Is there cuter little face in all the world?  I love this boy.  He’s really grown up this last year, he’s no longer that shy reserved, little guy.  He went from that to class clown overnight.  I’m not going to lie to you and tell you I don’t miss that little boy, I do.  However, we’re really getting  a kick out of this quirky, athletic, funny, sweet, sometimes volatile, sports fanatic guy.  Brennan is loving having a companion to watch the NBA Playoffs/finals and World Cup with.  Nate will watch entire recorded games, he’s really starting to understand a lot about these games and loves spending the time with his Dad.  He told me today that when he plays football he wants to be a “wide open receiver”. 

We had a fun party with some of his friends and I was so busy I didn’t take one single picture!  His cousin, Rex, got to come and then slept over while Anna and Abby got to sleep at Rex’s house with Lucy and Molly.  Fun for all!

Today Nate got to open his presents from us, the one thing he really really wanted was this:

We’ve all gotten pretty competitive with this baby.  Good choice, Nate.

We also gave him some really neat animal books I found at Costco.  One of them is about Sea Animals and one Safari Animals.  They have these envelopes built in with little cardboard animals you can assemble.  Nate was loving these.  He had a hard time going to sleep tonight so we let him go in our bed and when Brennan went in to check on him this is what he found:

 

 

Each little animal lovingly tucked in.  Good night, safari animals.

We love this boy so very much and can’t imagine life without him.  We’re so grateful he joined us 7 years ago.  Happy birthday, sweet Natey boy.  We love Nathan!!!

Graduation, Parties and Plays – Oh My! Part II

On June 3rd, Brennan turned 39!  I feel bad that his birthday falls in the middle of end of school chaos.  He always gets a little neglected, we haven’t even gotten a chance to go out on a date because of all the goings on.  I did manage to make him a favorite dinner and had brownies and ice cream.  He’s getting really old, but we still really love him.  Seriously, I adore this Brennan of ours, but more on that on our anniversary post.

So the Saturday after the last day of school went something like this:  Abby King and I rehearsal from 9 to 12.  Abby, friend’s birthday party from 1 to 3 then another friend’s birthday party from 4 to 5:30.  Anna’s friend’s birthday party at 4 (which Nate got to go too cause he’s friends with her little brother) picked them up at 6.  Made dinner while helping girls get ready for their ballet recital.  Ran out the door at 6:40 for the recital.  The girls did a beautiful job, it was so fun to watch them perform.  They’ve both gotten so graceful and really shine on stage.

 

This week is the Chloe and Anna’s production of Wizard of Oz.  Abby is the Wicked Witch and they’ve all been working very hard.  If you’re interested, you’re welcome to come watch at our Church Wednesday at 12:00.   I think it will be around an hour.  Anna even had them rehearse with distractions.  She would pretend to be a little kid whining for his blanket or an adult who’s cell phone rang.  They’ve thought of everything, and it cracks me up.  Also, when I went downstairs yesterday I noticed a few improvements in the room they rehearse in.

A little tablecloth for the counter, a flower, a lamp, etc. 

My favorite though, is this little inspirational message, I’m sure you’ve seen it before, but Chloe added that last line to make it more applicable to their little students.

Watch out, world!

Graduation, Parties and Plays – Oh my!

The last few weeks of school get a tiny bit out of control.  There are programs, parties, fieldtrips galore.  The kids all had so much fun celebrating the end of a great school year.  Brennan escorted Abby on a field trip out to a little island in a nearby lake where they basically got eaten alive by bugs – good times!  Nate had a little art gallery where Brennan and I got to go see all the art projects they’ve done throughout the year.  They study artists and then do projects like the artist, for instance when they study Michelangelo they tape a paper up on the bottom of their desk and then lay on the floor to create a Sistine Chapelesque masterpiece.  Pretty cool.

The biggie this year was our little 6th grader.  They got to go to a nearby public pool for a day, had a big 6th grade water fight another day, and got to go see “How To Train Your Dragon”.   Then the big graduation day.  In my cluelessness and busyness I just sort of didn’t prepare myself for what a big deal this would be.  I think I wrote about how Anna was selected to read her essay.  Well I thought she was going to read it for her class (her teacher had all the parents come to their classroom before graduation to show us some of their projects throughout the year). I was wrong, she and three other students read it in the actual graduation program.  We were so proud of her, she did so well.  They had to have her step in front of the podium because she’s so short no one could see her behind it.  Here’s a blurry video (my zoom in terrible!) of most of her speech.

Anna's Graduation from Andrea W. on Vimeo.

Here’s Anna and some of her best friends:

Chloe, Anna (and Chubs), Sadie and Kaycee

 

Anna and her amazing teacher, Mrs. Reed.

The sixth graders got to go home right after graduation at 10:30 so I took these two to lunch.

That afternoon at 4 Anna had a little graduation party with some of her friends.  I took them to our favorite park where they had a water fight and then we grabbed some pizza and headed home to watch Napolean Dynamite.  Each of the girls brought an ice cream topping for sundaes.  After dessert and the movie they played night games.  It was great, they’re such cute easy girls and they always have fun.  Poor little Anna woke up that morning with a cold and sore throat so she was kind of miserable but still managed to enjoy her big day.