March 26, 2012

some random cuteness

Here are some random cute pictures for your viewing pleasure. First, nothing is cuter than a grown woman digging greedily into a large, glutonous dessert. It was sooooo good!



Mr. Awesome helped out with the squadron spouse flight. Regulations forbid me from being on the same plane, so a friend snapped this photo of him and his awesomeness. He's so hot!



This is where X-Man prefers to spend all his time: play Mario Kart Wii. He doesn't get to, but he certainly tries. He's pretty good at this game, for a 3 year old.



Tor is getting pretty good at her horseback riding lessons. She's learning how to jump on Mystery and loves every second of it.



And who couldn't resist a few pictures of our sweet little Evy. She's now able to sit up and scoot herself all over the floor. I love her close-mouthed grins, and her concerned looks when she sees the green light on the camera that indicates the flash is about to go off. She's so cute!

March 18, 2012

rock and roll

Half marathon in Washington D.C., that is. That's what I ran yesterday. Yes, six months after having a baby I ran my sixth half marathon. And it...was...awesome! Seriously, perfect weather, beautiful scenery, surrounded by so many runners, best friend on the course with me, husband and kids cheering me on. Who could have asked for a better experience? Plus, I set a new personal record at 2:01:32. I am a little disappointed, though. I was really feeling it yesterday. I knew I was running at a great pace. I really felt like I was finally going to get in under two hours for the first time. So...again, I'm only a little disappointed that I didn't quite make it. But, the fact is that I have a new fastest time, and I know with all my heart that it's as fast as I can absolutely go right now. Uh oh...I feel a new challenge coming on (a.k.a. learn to run faster).

Okay, so here I am at about miles 5.5 where Mr. Awesome and four kiddos found me the first time.







I'm not in this picture, but it gives you an idea of how many people were out on the course. Seriously, everywhere you turned you could see hundreds of other runners. That's so inspiring to me.



Mr. Awesome and kids also got to see me right before the finish line. Yay!



After I loaded up with my post-race snacks (and I grabbed my money's worth :) ), I had to pose with my finisher's medal.



And here I am with my very dear friend. We didn't run the race side by side, but I think it's so much fun to know that you have a friend somewhere out there on the course with you. (Notice all the green shirts? It was St. Patty's Day.)



Physical achievement aside, I have to say that running half marathons has a spiritual side, too. It really reminds me of how grateful I am to have a body that can do so many things, like run and dance. As I was standing at the starting line, I couldn't help but offer a silent prayer thanking my Heavenly Father for those blessings. I am so grateful that I can set a goal like this (to finish a half marathon) and accomplish what I set out to do.

So, next goal: survive the Ragnar Wasatch Back in June.

butterflies everywhere

We thought that we'd take advantage of the little time we had in D.C., so we made plans to meet our friends at the National Archives, since we'd never been there. Well, that plan went down the toilet pretty quick when we arrived just after a large school group. We waited in line for about 30 minutes, then we abandoned that plan and instead walked over to the Museum of Natural History across the street. We've been there many times, but we just couldn't resist checking out the butterfly exhibit. Yes, it does cost a little bit of money, but today it was well worth it. We had a great time!

Here is my new little friend that landed on me and stayed for most of our time in the room.





This is TJ's little friend. Can you see it? It's kind of hidden in that mop that he calls hair.



This is Mr. Awesome's friend.



And this is X-Man right before he fell off the ledge into the bushes. Whoops! I sure hope he didn't squish any helpless butterflies.



X-Man was lucky enough to have two different butterflies land on his hand. He was, as you can see, very excited!

March 10, 2012

tj's big month

TJ has had a pretty exciting month so far, and we're not even halfway through it, yet. He started off the month with his last pack meeting. He (and I) had worked hard to earn his Webolos patch and Arrow of Light, so I was the proud mama to watch him receive those awards, along with a special arrow made by his cub scout leaders.



He's very excited to be advancing into 11-year-old Scouts/Boy Scouts. So is Mr. Awesome, since he works with the scouts at church.

After the pack meeting that day, we headed out to TJ's favorite restaurant, Olive Garden, for a little pre-birthday celebration since Mr. Awesome was scheduled to be out of town on TJ's actual birthday. TJ's so goofy!



He also finished up the basketball season. His team, like last year, was not what you would call "A Winning Team," but they played hard, and I know TJ improved immensely during the season. Here's a little action shot, and a picture of how he sits when he's on the bench. Tor thinks it's hilarious that he crosses his legs.:)





TJ also caught a monstrously horrible cough/cold. We all had it, but for some reason TJ got it twice. Poor kid! He came home from school on his birthday and crashed on the couch.



He livened up a little when it was time to video chat with Mr. Awesome so he could open presents. He was especially happy to get the large box of Pokemon cards he had been asking for.





But his energy was short lived. He didn't even eat a birthday brownie (and I had every intention of letting him eat half the pan all by himself).



Now that the excitement is over, TJ can focus on relaxing and getting himself better.