Thanksgiving Day 2011

So this year we started our Thanksgiving off with a 5k that benefited the Utah Food Bank. It was a lot of fun. Neither Ryan or I had ever run one.

Kaylee was pretty excited about this turkey

This is me after the race.

This was our entire group before the race.

Ryan is naturally a lot faster than me so he stayed with me and tried to push me to run we finished in about 37 minutes.

We had dinner with my family that evening and it was delicious.

Go check out all the pictures from our evening here
I love Thanksgiving... I love life :)

PS My mom has a tradition of buying PJs for the grandkids each year and giving them to the kids on Thanksgiving... It's fun

Is there any way not to love this picture?

Tribute to my Mr. Right

Mushy? Yeah. Deal with it! Honestly I'm not exactly sure how I got so lucky and I mean that.

(Ryan reading with the kids in Kaylee's bed.)
Ryan is such a good dad. Our kids adore him. He's so good at teaching them to reach further and letting them learn. He's way more patient than me at bed time. He's so good at playing with them and making them laugh.

(our impromptu trip to temple square to see the lights)
His parenting skills are not all he has to offer! The man has no problems washing dishes, mopping floors, scrubbing toilets, etc.
Ryan is about as smart as they come. I generally think of myself as an intelligent person but there are very few things I know more about than he does. I'm not alone in noticing this trait in him. Most people who know him quickly learn what a valuable consultant he can be on many subjects. You should see how good he is with numbers. The man gets giddy over theoretical financial ideas. Go ahead ask him for financial advice. He'll love it. He also really keeps up to date with technology... there's so much to keep up on I have no idea how he does it.
Along with his intelligence comes many talents and hobbies. He's an amazing musician. He can learn just about anything you want him to on the guitar in no time. Heck the man can even juggle. Who actually juggles?
He's spiritual and enjoys teaching others the simple truths of the gospel.

He cares about what he looks like and always puts his best foot forward. I could blab on about how attractive he is (and he is, I mean look at that hair!) but it's funny how once you really know someone it's hard to notice their exterior looks without also seeing what you know them to be on the inside. Does that make sense?
Above all Ryan is not afraid of working hard. He earned his masters while raising Kaylee often times alone. He earns enough to keep us going every day inside his corporate job yet never loses site of the dreamer inside of him who always aspires for more.

Play Time

So thanks to pinterest I've seen some clever ideas on how to entertain small children. I actually haven't done many things I've found on there but I have been inspired to put a greater effort into playing with my children. Kaylee adores every moment she gets. When we sing together she never wants to stop.

The other day we played
Candyland
"touch the door" (I made her touch a door then run back to me for a high five)

"hanger pick up" (I threw a bunch of hangers into the air and Kaylee and Kevin loved bringing them all back multiple times)

and a bead game

So what are your games? I'd love to hear the things you do that help your children feel happy and in control of their lives. Also any ideas for easy ways to keep them entertained without needing of constant supervision would be awesome.

Wingers Sauce

For the record I didn't come up with this on my own but we have tweaked it to get it just right (and when I say we I mean Ryan because making the sauce just right is his job.)

We love making Wingers sticky finger salad here. You need good buttermilk ranch and not nasty bottled ranch.

Other than that you need lettuce, cheese, dried cranberries, and anything else you want (I like goldfish and chopped pecans.

For the chicken we have found the frozen breaded popcorn chicken cooked in the oven is best.

And then of course there is the famous sauce... All this time it was just 2 ingredients!...

Franks hot sauce and brown sugar!

The ratio that's best 1 part hot sauce to 4 parts brown sugar. They can be mixed in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave. If they don't mix well add 1/2 part water.

Put the cooked popcorn chicken in a tupperware with some sauce and shake it up. They are yummy alone or in a salad.

So there you have it. If you've never tried it, DO!

Protecting Our Children

Remember my post on teaching chastity? Yeah it's scary to think about but at least I'm a girl and I'd like to think that this fact will help me figure out how to teach my daughters. As far as teaching boys goes, I'm clueless. I realize these fears are premature because I've got a good ten years to go before I have to cross that bridge but I still think about it.

My friend Kristin posted an article on facebook yesterday about how pornography effects adolescents. It kind of scared me. Terror aside I still think all you parents out there should read it here. (there are 4 pages of the article so don't stop after page 1) The better we understand the beast the better we can protect against it right? Knowledge is power I think.

A few things that stood out...

The article talks about how the escalating need for intensity leads to real women becoming unexciting. When I worked at FYE we sold Japanese anime that had plot lines more dirty than you could possibly imagine. One of my co workers pointed it out to me and it made me ill. Not coincidentally 36% of young Japanese men have no interest in real women. Society destruction at it's finest.

Also the point was made that unlike other addictions this one is based on a natural impulse. If someone develops bad eating habits as a teenager, do they grow out of it as adults not usually. Same can be said for bad sexual habits.

The thing that makes me sad is that even if I do a fabulous job of teaching my children and they do as I ask both in the house and when they are out on their own. This doesn't change the deterioration that is still happening all around us. It can get discouraging. Maybe we can educate and improve the future!

M203

We are mostly settled here in M203!

Here's a little look (sorry all cell phone pics so the window light destroyed the pics)

Living room


The Dining Room


The Kitchen


Kaylee's room



Kevin's Room (we bought a toddler bed because he's never actually liked the crib so we will be taking down that crib.)


Master Bedroom


Master Bath


Sorry no picture of the second bath. I haven't done anything with it yet but it is bigger than the master bath.
I also didn't show the hall/laundry closet didn't think you cared :)

Still left to do...
pick up end table

Head board in our room
get our microwave stand from Springville
curtains for all rooms but Kaylee's
art in my dining room
buy washer and dryer

We are excited to be here and have been enjoying it so far!

Race Day Race Day RaRaRa

Well folks I did it! I completed The Halloween Half Marathon on October 29th. It was total insanity! Not sure what I was thinking but I'm still glad I did it... check it off the list of things I never thought I would do.

(This is me at 5 am all dressed and ready to go. There were a lot of ladybug costumes.)

Now before I tell you my official time I need to give some background details...

I randomly decided to train for this thing about 11.5 weeks before the race. Prior to starting a 12 week training program I was active to the extent of walking (slowly I might add) on the treadmill 3-5 times per week for 20-50 minutes. With a training schedule in hand I jumped into trying to move faster, for longer times, more often. The schedule gradually increased the length of my runs until I was readyish for the big time. I did well for a while until things went crazy in my life. My long runs were supposed to happen on Saturday mornings but it just so happened that out of my 12 training Saturdays the last 5ish of them were insanely busy! I had family pictures, Kevin's party, moving, Kaylee's party... something prevented me from getting my long runs in so I ran 7 miles one weekend then didn't run another long run again for about 5 weeks until the actual race. (In total I ran something like 113 miles prior to the race) I hate to admit it, but I wasn't getting faster... Even when I felt I was trying my best, my runs brought me in at about 15 minute miles. I'm pathetic I know.

If you ever decide to run a half marathon avoid the Halloween Half, it's very disorganized and you may end up waiting three hours to pick up your race packet or you may end up standing outside in light weight race clothes for an hour at 5 am in below freezing temperatures!

(Freezing to death outside and needing to pee from of the powerade we were trying to drink pre race)

(bus ride up provo canyon to the starting line.)

So race time arrived and I thought whatever, let's just finish this thing!

So I start out all pumped going down the crazy steep hill and after about 3.5 miles my phone battery is shot thanks to a number of issues and I am forced to turn the thing off and run the rest of the race w/o tunes :( SADNESS.

At about mile 7 I think I started having major pain in the arch of my foot that made it impossible to do more than just force myself to keep moving.

Still, all this aside I accomplished the one thing I set out to do which was finish! My official time was 2:52:22 . This was a nice jump from my usual 15 minute miles to 13 minute miles!

Ryan was running late (SURPRISE!) and didn't make it to the race but my mom, brother, and sister in law came to support Shauna and me.

(Kristi got this lovely shot... Still smiling and moving after 13 miles!)

(Putting food in my body after crossing the finish line. Shauna ran the last little bit with me)

I was beyond sore for a few days but I'm fine now and it's easy to forget pain once it's gone :)

Will I do it again? Probably not but you never know. I still really suck at running. But I do think I view my threshold for physical activity in a new light.

My sister compares running to making children. Training is the 9 months of super annoying pregnancy. Racing is the labor. Finishing is the delivery.
I'd rather have a baby though. The rush of oxytocin after delivering a baby is so much more magical than the adrenaline of crossing a finish line but that's just my opinion. ;)

The Greater Good

So for those who expressed appreciation for my candid post on some of my more controversial views, I've decided to share this with you...

I said that I've changed my mind on the vaccine issue but I didn't say much about why. I recently watched a documentary that explained things in a much clearer way than I ever could. I think everyone should know the whole story. (Please notice all the awards it's won.)

I promise this is not just a bunch of lunatic fanatical people trying to stir the pot. Please please please everyone visit this link http://vimeo.com/31036452 and watch this documentary. It is very well done! It explores the many sides of the vaccine issue and does NOT simply try to demonize vaccines. Truth be told I would love for more research to be done on vaccines so that I could confidently have them administered to my children.

I love this description of the movie and I've highlighted my favorite part.

The Greater Good looks behind the fear, hype and politics that polarize people into emotionally charged pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine camps with no room for middle ground. Exploring the cultural intersection where parenting meets modern medicine and individual rights collide with politics, this character driven documentary weaves together the stories of three families whose lives have been forever changed by vaccination. By reframing the vaccine debate and offering, for the first time, the opportunity to have a rational and scientific discussion on how to create a safer and more effective vaccine program in America today, The Greater Good challenges viewers to think again.

Update: It appears the time to view the film for free has passed :( I still think people should watch it though even if you have to rent it. Here is at least the trailer if you missed seeing the whole film.