Best Friends

Erin and Lyndi are great friends. They are exactly one week apart and they want to be together about 95% of the time. I love to listen to them as they play - they say the funniest things. I think they are so lucky to have each other!

Night Fright

When I was a kid I was terrified at night. I remember I would get so scared I couldn't even cross the hall to my parents room. Luckily I outgrew that (well, unless Bill's out of town, lol) but I unfortunately passed it on to my kids. All of my kids (except Erin - I think she's still too young) have gone through a phase of waking up, being scared, and coming into our room and waking us up - almost every night.

I have a theory: I think it is the result of a very active imagination. I remember thinking there was a little man in a trench coat sliding across the floor of my room, dragging his feet on the carpet. Well, it was really my sister breathing deeply, making a sound that could very easily be confused with dragging feet on the carpet. It really creeped me out.

All of my boys are very creative and have amazing imaginations. Hence, the waking up at night. One night when Ben was little he was really afraid of Bigfoot. I tried using logic. I said, "Ben, do you really think Bigfoot is going to come here to Layton, stroll down the street, and come knocking at our door?" He then looked at me and said, "Mom, now I'm REALLY scared!"

So, if your kids are keeping you up at night, just have a little patience. I'm thinking you have very creative children, I know I do.

Rise Above This

I have decided (with the challenge from my friend Dustin) to try to run a marathon this coming spring. Not only try to run one, but qualify for the Boston Marathon. Am I crazy???? I ran my first half marathon last spring and I loved it. The problem is, I was exhausted at the end and to qualify for Boston I will have to run thirty seconds faster per mile and then go twice as far.

The key will be the training. I have a friend who is an AMAZING athlete and she decided she would try a marathon this fall and started training. She started running longer distances and then decided she hated running those long distances. It really wasn't a question as to whether she could accomplish it but whether she wanted to accomplish it. That is really what has kept me from doing one before. I know I could do one, I just haven't wanted to.

So, now I want to (I think). This morning I went for a run and I was wondering if I could really qualify for Boston. Then the song "Rise Above This" by Seether came on my iPod. There is a line in the chorus that says, "I've fallen down, but I'll rise above this doubt". The importance of positive thinking really struck me at that point. We all have things we want to do and sometimes we just need to rise above the doubt we hear in our minds. I think if we believe we can do it, then our mind will find a way.

I still have doubt. But maybe I can find a way to rise above it.

A Real Fun Day

Bill's mom and dad took him and the kids to Cabela's and the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point on Thursay after school. I was unable to go because I had a million things going (preparing for the school carnival, a cub scout planning meeting, and preparation for a talk in Church). The "Germans" were in town visiting. They are a couple that Bill's parents have known for about 13 years from Hof, Germany. I can't remember their actual names, everyone just calls them "the Germans" (well, not really to their face, just in reference).

The kids had a great time. It had been a while since they had been to that museum and they had never been to Cabela's. I guess we just aren't hunting enthusiasts and it is 40 minutes away. I was appreciative of the time alone but I always hate missing out on family stuff. Sometimes Bill will offer to take the kids to give me a break but I always end up wanting to go with them. This time it was necessary that I stay and the kids assured me they missed me. I did get a lot done and I was happy to see them when they got home. They were exhausted but very happy.

A Strike of "Purple Lightning"

After watching her brother's play sports for her entire life, Erin finally got the chance Saturday to play in her first soccer game. She is so excited to be on the team with her best friend, Lyndi. The game was just so cute to watch as these four-year-olds have never played in a game before.

At first nobody seemed to know what to do. There was a lot of rolling the ball with hands, running out of bounds, and even trying to score on the wrong field! After the first quarter the girls started to figure it out. I think it helped Erin to have three older brothers because she was pretty aggressive and even scored a goal ot two. (Dad was so proud!)

Even the team names are cute - Erin's team is "Purple Lightning" and they played "The Princesses". Every picture I took of Erin she is grinning from ear to ear so I guess the old saying is true -it really doesn't matter whether you win or lose, it's all about having fun!

"Blocked Kick Saves BYU"

That's the latest headlines, folks! In a nailbiter, 15th ranked BYU beats the University of Washington to improve their record to 2-0.

Every Saturday is like the Super Bowl at our house during football season. Pizza, chips, treats - you name it - we have it. It's a celebration. Also, half the fun is watching my brother-in-law, Mike, watch the games. He is so intense. Everyone gathers in the family room to watch - even Jack senses the excitement and jumps around. We bleed blue at our house. Don't you just LOVE football season???

Back to Blogging...

I have a gazillion things to do right now but I am sitting here at the computer because I haven't posted for a week and a half. First, I have been dealing with computer issues but most of all with kids back in school life has been crazy, as most of you moms know. Homework, piano, dance, soccer - you know all the same stuff everyone else is dealing with. But, having said life is busier, I think it's better. I am finding I am one who needs structure. Although it's very, very difficult for me, getting up at 5am and getting to bed early makes me happy. I guess that's kind of an oxymoron but it's true. I like the feeling of having my workout completed, showered, dressed, bed made, laundry going, dishes done - all by 9am. That definately doesn't happen every single day (today I am still in my workout clothes and unshowered at almost 1pm).

Let me fill you in on a few things to catch you up from my last post:

I ended up getting an LG frontloading washer and dryer. Let me tell you, laundry is fun again (is that possible?). I agonized over which brand to buy and let me assure you there are many good ones - like deciding between Toyota or Honda. It just kind of boiled down to what functions I wanted. So, our hampers are no longer overflowing, thank heavens!

Kids are loving school. Alex absolutely loves junior high. He is working so hard and I am really proud of him. He has A's in all of his classes (I know we are only three weeks out) but he has had a lot of homework and he hustles everynight to complete it all. Maybe our "good grades will get you into college" speech is really paying off! All the kids are working hard too. I am really proud of all of them.

Ben and Austin are back at taking piano. Well, this is Austin's first year and he is so enthused and excited. Ben is on the opposite end of the spectrum in the excitement department but he is plugging away. We let Alex quit piano and he is going to start guitar. We came to a compromise that our kids could quit piano after 6th grade but need to take some kind of instrument. His choice is guitar - we shall see how that goes.

Last weekend was Bill's 20th high school reunion. As much as he dreaded it I think he really enjoyed it. It was fun for me to meet some of his old high school friends. All of them were so nice and you could tell they genuinely were happy to meet me. It sounds like he really hasn't changed too much from high school - same sense of humor and many said he looked the same except for the addition of a few gray hair. You be the judge - this is his senior yearbook picture from 1988.

Well, I hope I inspired some of you to post soon so I can hear how you all are doing. I guess I should go mow the lawn - and don't worry - eventually I might even take a shower.