Things I'm Lovin'

In no particular order:

* Connect 4 - set it up, hand Beckham some pieces, and he's entertained for quite some time.
* Market Pantry Fruit Snacks from Target - I'll never admit to how many packs I eat in a day.
* Lose Yourself, by Eminem - the ultimate running song when you need a pick me up.
* Hip scarf for Zumba - makes shakin' it way more fun.
* Being kid-free for 2/3 of church.
* Petite mini carrots - way smaller than regular mini carrots so you can taste all ranch and no carrot.
* Having dark hair.
* Skinny jeans (gasp!). Never thought I'd see the day.
* Steven Tyler & J. Lo
* Garmin running watch - can't imagine life without one.
* Knowing that in 4 months I'll be soaking up the sun in Hawaii!

That's right, people. We are heading out at the end of May to go on a Hawaiian cruise with Casey's parents. I'm so super excited about this I have to make myself not think about it cause I want to be there RIGHT NOW!!! (Patience has never been a strength of mine.)

the latest and greatest

Anyone else sick of being sick? I swear it's every other week in our house. As of right this very minute, Casey is the only one who is currently sick, but we all know that can change by tonight. Hate it. This is on one of Beckham's sick days. He snuggled right up to Jada and had himself a little nap. Too cute.



Jada's surgeon, Dr. Nath, is scheduled to come to Las Vegas in two weeks to do a free clinic. Haven't I said before how awesome he is? We're excited to see him and hear what he thinks about Jada's progress and find out about any possible future surgeries. Keep your fingers crossed for her. The other day she brought home a picture she drew at school and on it she had written, "Jada B wants to be a veterinarian". I thought it was adorable that she called herself Jada B. Sometimes we call her Jada B Jones, after the Junie B Jones books, and she gets so mad. I tell her she'd better not grow up and marry someone with the last name Jones.


Caleb is currently obsessed with Go Fish. It's really all he ever wants to do these days. That kid seriously comes alive during a game of Go Fish. When Casey gets home from work the cards have been shuffled and dealt and are waiting. Every day. Even after we've played 20 times. Last week Casey took him to wrestling practice to see if he was interested. No, he's not. He'd much rather wrestle everybody at home than boys he doesn't know. I'm a little relieved.


Beckham has also become obsessed with Go Fish. He holds the entire deck and carries it all around the house, and if those cards should fall (which they do, and quite frequently) watch out. It's like it's the end of the world. I've started hiding those dang cards. He also insists on wearing Caleb's shoes around all the time and throws a fit if one should happen to come off. He also gets really upset when the kids play the Wii and there's not a controller for him. I've seriously thought about buying a decoy controller just so he won't scream and cry. I think $40 is a good price to pay to keep him happy.



I registered for the Sand Hollow Marathon. Actually, I got suckered into registering. My sister/running partner said they were doing a deal where if you registered within two minutes of someone else you would each get a $15 discount off your registration fee. I registered less for the actual race and more for the cheap entry fee. But alas, come March 26th, you'll know where to find me. On the agenda for tomorrow: 19 miles! I'm actually excited for this. Ridiculous, I know.


I've been given a new church calling: Girls Camp Director! It scares the crap out of me, but I've finally started to wrap my head around it and am getting a little excited.


Tonight is Date Night!!!


Peace out.

Birthday Girl

Jada B turned 6 years old. Big stuff. What a blessing the past six years have been. She came into this world as a happy, smiley, content little girl and has stayed the same ever since. She is easy to raise. She has a very strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. She is sweet as can be and is always so helpful and thoughtful. She is always concerned about sharing whatever she gets with Caleb. She is quick to make sure everyone feels included. She has the purest heart I've ever known. Having said that, the past few weeks she has shown she can have a little attitude and a rebellious side. She sometimes acts teenager-ish. It's hard not to laugh. She likes to lecture Caleb on everything he does wrong. She likes to be in charge. She likes to tell me and Casey how it is. She is such a joy to have around. I can't imagine my life without this girl.

Birthday 2005

1st birthday


2 years old

3 years old


4th birthday



turning 5


6 years old!




She got this adorable dress from cousins Sydney, Reagan, and Tatum in Japan.

She was also Star of the Week in her kindergarten class this past week. We made a poster and she told her class all about it then her teacher hung it on the wall.

St. George Half Marathon

A couple of weeks ago I was on the fence about whether or not to run the St. George Half Marathon. I didn't feel very prepared and I didn't want to do it if I wasn't ready to PR. Then I got strep and that pretty much made my decision for me. I felt good about not running and thought it would be nice for once to just be at the finish line cheering the other runners on.

Well, the race was approaching and I realized I wanted to do it soooo bad. I was no longer excited about waiting at the finish line. I felt good health-wise and didn't have any injuries or complaints. Six days before the race I registered, which turned out to be a good thing because I didn't have time to get nervous or think about it too much. And I was very excited to run a big race again, since the last two races I've done (the Hoover Dam Marathon and the Hostess Half Marathon) had about 120 runners combined. It's pretty hard to run small races and keep yourself motivated. (The St. George Half had almost 3,000 runners this year!)

The race started at 9:00, a perfect starting time if you ask me. The Dixie Center was crazy busy. The weather couldn't have been more perfect if it tried. The course was new this year and is my favorite half course so far. I hope they keep it. I stayed with Melissa until mile 2 then let her do her thing. I didn't want to push it too hard too early. I felt way good the entire time. My legs started telling me they were tired around mile 9, and my time slowed down a little, but I was still able to stay pretty strong. My goal was to finish under 1:50 and my finish time was 1:48:10, a new PR by five minutes! I was beyond excited. I came in 21st out of 137 female runners in my age group, which I need to enjoy now because in May I move up into the fastest age bracket. Boo.

That girl looks like she's flying past me,
but my time beat hers.
Yes, I looked it up.

My totally awesome running partner.
She finished in 1:44:37, 12th in our age group.

Stuff

#1

Could he be any cuter?

Jada noticed this sign in the neighborhood by my mom's house and thinks it means no cats allowed.

My home workout turned into a family affair. Jada got on her bandana and worked out with me.

So did Caleb.

This is what Beckham did during our workout. Lounged on the chair eating a chocolate chip cookie. I think he's the smartest of us all.

Beckham wasn't feeling well and chose to snuggle up to Caleb instead of mommy. A brothers' love is really something special. BTW, I personally do not agree with dressing siblings alike, especially if they're not twins. But Caleb likes to wear this shirt when Beckham does, so I give in. Once in a while it's cute.


Why read a book on a chair when you can read a book in a tote on the chair?

Christmas Post (finally)

I'm just getting over a bout of strep and let me tell you something. Strep sucks. BAD. I've never had it before and wow! Surprisingly brutal. I went to InstaCare Sunday morning, and no, I didn't time it like that to get out of my Relief Society lesson, which, I admit, I wasn't very prepared for. So I got me some Penicillin and I'm finally able to swallow and talk again. Anywho, I figured as long as I'm just chillin for hours on the couch I might as well finally post about the holidays.

So I was pretty much Scrooge this holiday season. I didn't want to put up the Christmas tree. Or the Christmas lights. Or decorations. Or go Christmas shopping. You get the picture. I'm not sure what it was, I just didn't want to do it. Don't worry, I did. I did it for the kiddos. And they had a great Christmas season. We made sure to teach them the true meaning of Christmas, but when it comes down to it and you're a kid, opening presents on Christmas morning is what the season is all about. It just is.

We have a fake tree, which is just fine with me. My parents go out and cut down a real tree, which is great because then my kids can still have the experience of going out for a real Christmas tree. This year Caleb got to go with them while me and Beckham stayed behind to get Jada from school. He had a great time finding a tree, playing in the snow, and learning how to shoot a rifle. What, is that not okay to teach a 4-year-old?





We really enjoyed our annual family Christmas party, complete with a nativity play (put on by the kids, directed by Melissa and me), a fun gift exchange game, lots and lots of food, and SANTA, clearly the highlight for the kids. Mary (aka Jada) and Joseph (aka Griffin) were so cute with baby Jesus (aka Easton). Caleb really wanted to be a "King" (wiseman) and I can't remember what Beckham was. Great mom, right? He wouldn't hold still, and I was the director. I had a show to run! Beckham was mesmerized by Santa. See all the drool?


I didn't get many good pictures of Christmas morning. Here's the best we got.






Great Christmas, glad it's over:) What, I told you I was Scrooge.

Good News?

I'm not sure. We had Caleb tested for Celiac Disease and the results came back negative. Phew. I have been on the verge of panic for the past few weeks anticipating the enormous lifestyle change that was surely coming. In my head I was certain that was where we were headed. But today the results came back negative. Hmm. Don't get me wrong, I am super relieved. Like, beyond super relieved. But now the question becomes what does he have? Hopefully something minor, like an intolerance to something he's eating. He has had stomach issues for over two months. He's been very uncomfortable with belly aches every day. His stomach gets extremely hard and bloated and he has diarrhea. Every single day. I'm not exactly sure what to do next. I feel so bad for him. I guess we start eliminating things from his diet and see what helps?

Here's a fun text conversation I had with my sister today:
Me: Caleb's results for Celiac came back neg now the question is what does he have?
Melissa: What the heck is it then??
Me/Beckham who stole my phone: yy52
Melissa: Ummm what?
Me: Yeah, that was beckham I meant to say ??? He doesn't have yy52 lol :)
Melissa: lol out loud

That made me smile.

I love this kid.