My Aussie

The last couple of weeks have been crazy as I have been in the thick of finishing the yearbook for the elementary school the kids go to. It is quite the undertaking and I will be pretty happy when I am done. I have been madly taking pictures and organizing pages. I actually enjoy it in a sick, twisted way but wish I had more hours in the day to accomplish everything I need to.

A couple weeks ago Austin was baptized. It was a very special day as we were able to have family and friends there. I can't believe that my third child is old enough to be baptized! Time really flies. Austin is such an amazing kid! I am so proud of him.
I was organizing some files on the computer and found some old pictures of Austin. Here's a few pictures of my "Aussie Bear":

Love you Austin!!!!

Back to Blogging (again) and Day ONE....

I am back to blogging. I promise this time.

Today is day one of my half Ironman training schedule. For those who don't know, I am doing the Boise Ironman 70.3 in June. The 70.3 stands for how many miles you go: half the distance of a full Ironman's 140.6 miles (in case you needed help with the math!). My training schedule lasts 16 weeks and today was my big return to the pool. I haven't been swimming too much this winter because I hate the cold and nothing is colder than getting yourself to the pool at 5am with a foot of snow on the ground. Today was not bad at all! I really enjoyed it actually. Except for the fact that I was slower on my speed sets than I used to be, I was pretty happy with my endurance. I have kept up my running and biking (thanks to spin classes and a bike trainer) so hopefully the swimming will come back quickly.

I hope to keep you posted on my progress as I train in the next 16 weeks. Of course and more importantly, I will be posting family updates as well. My kids have been bugging me to start blogging again as they have really enjoyed it in the past. For those not on facebook, that is what I have been doing with my computer time. I am looking forward to catching up on everyone else's blogs as well.

Just a few pictures to update you on the last couple of months:

Ben's Pinewood Derby Car "The Big Cheese" did pretty well but was by far the most creative (in my opinion!).

Erin participated in the Layton High School Cheerleading mini-clinic that performed at a basketball game. She had a great time.

Bill is coaching both Alex and Ben's Jr. Jazz teams. The boys are constantly outside playing basketball or watching basketball on tv. Both of their teams are doing pretty well.

Austin celebrated his 8th birthday this month. He is excited about being baptized this week.

Oh, and I have addded some of my latest favorite running/workout songs to my playlist. Give them a listen...

It Feels like Christmastime

It's the Christmas season - what a great time of year! Today was the first significant snowstorm of the year and I am helping kids put on their snowpants and boots and find matching gloves and mittens. However, I wanted to post a few pictures before it got too long inbetween posts!

We have had a lot going on as most of you have. Here are a few pictures of some of the things we have been doing this last week:

We went to Salt Lake for dinner at the Spaghetti Factory at Trolly Square where Erin and Austin saw Santa,

then we went to Temple Square to see the lights,




and last Monday we decorated a Gingerbread house. This is a picture of it before the kids ate half of the candy.
Well, these were our festive activities during the last week in a nutshell. I apologize for keeping the commentary to a minimum but I have a million things to do as I sit here. I figure people really only like pictures anyway. Hope you all are having a great holiday season!

Back at It

I have turned into a deadbeat blogger. It has been three weeks since I have posted and I am forcing myself to post something. Anything. I will be better.

I haven't downloaded the Thanksgiving pictures yet but I can assure you we had a great Thanksgiving weekend. However, I am in detox mode from all the naughty food I ate and as of this moment I haven't had any sugar for about 20 hours. We will see how long that lasts. You'd be amazed at how many sugary foods I mindlessly reach for throughout the day!

On another note, Austin really wanted me to post a picture of his book report poster he did for school a while ago. He worked really hard on his poster and was excited for me and the other moms to come see the finished products at school.
(It also happened to be silly sock day that day.)

Austin is pretty creative. A couple weeks ago I was sitting at the computer when a jumbo teddy bear on a rope drops outside the window. I have to say it is quite startling to have a stuffed animal the size of a small child drop outside the window:

Next a note drops down:

Now, unfortunately I had to end the fun because any good mom knows it's dangerous for kids to play at an open second story window but it's little things like this that make me smile and enjoy being a mom.

A Song for a Long Run

Today I ran long to start getting my body used to longer distances again. It was an amazingly beautiful fall morning, the perfect temperature and smelling of fallen leaves. The kind of morning that you're sure to get that runner's high.

One thing I find when I run long, I need to start real easy so when I get close to the end of my run I have the energy to pick up the pace. I find that sometimes fast paced songs are not always the best to listen to at the beginning of these runs. Songs that are somewhat relaxing help to calm me and even relax me while running. Today one song I really enjoyed was "Where are You Going" by Dave Matthews Band. His voice is soothing (even sexy) and I love the style of music, it's real original. Another song I loved this morning was "When You Come Back Down" by Nickel Creek. It's a perfect song for a cool crisp autumn morning run. Listen to it, you'll see what I mean. You'll find this song after "Where are You Going" on my playlist. Happy running!

Friday's Song of the Day

Today's song is "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend. This is a short fun little diddy that has a good running beat.

Our Last Week of October

Can it already be November? The last week of October was pretty busy. Monday was a big day for Erin. She finally turned 5. She had anticipated her birthday for so long and so when the big

day finally came, I don't think she was disappointed. It started with a special breakfast and the opening of presents before everyone left for work and school.

She had been asking for an American Girl Doll for a long time. Then the week before her birthday she decided she didn't want one, much to my surprise. However, because I had already ordered the doll, there wasn't any going back. Needless to say I was a little nervous to see her reaction to her gifts. Luckily, she loved her doll and new outfits. The doll is a "like me" doll and so her hair color and eyes match Erins. She really is a beautiful doll. Erin carries her around every where she goes.

Then it was off to McDonalds for lunch with some of her best friends. They all had a great time eating and playing on the toys.

She was able to play with her best friend, Lyndi, for the afternoon and then Grandpa and Grandma Bailey took her to Toys-R-Us for a little Birthday shopping. After a dinner of her favorite homemade pizza, we all sang Happy Birthday and had cake and ice-cream. Happy Birthday, Erin, we love you!

On Thursday, I went to help in Austin's class for his Halloween party. It's always fun to go into the class and see the kids your child hangs out with day in and day out. We did crafts, games, and had treats. Thanks Shelly, Janae, and Amy who came and helped me run the party. I am really happy with Austin's teacher, Mrs. Carmony. She is so good and patient with the kids and the most important thing is that Austin loves her!

Then for the big day - Halloween. The kids didn't have school that day and so they kicked back all morning and watched the Goosebumps marathon on TV. Bill took the older boys to the Layton High football game while Erin and Austin went to their friends house for a Halloween party (thanks Nikki!).

Then the big moment arrived and Bill took the kids trick-or-treating while Jack and I stayed home and passed out candy. The weather was so warm that the kids lasted over an hour and a half, allowing them to come home with huge, overflowing sacks of candy. When they came home Bill asked, "What's with the pumpkin outside?" I had no idea what he was talking about and so I went outside to see the Ute jack-o-lantern glowing brightly on our porch. For those who don't know, this is blasphemy to have any sort of University of Utah item anywhere near our home. Of course I knew exactly who the culprit was and the next morning I returned the unholy gourd to it's home. (Thanks, Trevor!)

So, now it's on to November....

Running song of the day: Today's running song is Hysteria, by Muse. This song comes recommended from my sister Amy. I downloaded it a couple weeks ago and I love it. Today I think I played it over at least three times. It fits my running cadence perfect. Thanks, Ame! If you want to hear it, just go down to my player at the bottom of the page and it is the next song after Lollipop. Love it!