triathlon number two

I completed the Provo sprint triathlon! It was so much fun.....when it was over. I'm not going to lie, it was a hard 1 1/2 hours. I was trying to keep calm in the open water while I felt other swimmers in such close proximity. Then my hamstrings were worked on my bike ride, and the run was just survive to the end. I'm sure I didn't look graceful as I painfully crossed the finish line. But the pain was worth it. I placed 4th in my age group and 15th overall for women! Way fun! I really do like triathlons. It's a great motivational tool to keep me working hard at the gym. I would never do a race on my own so I'm grateful I know people who enjoy doing them. Good job to Nanette, Deanne, Rosanne and Jeana!!! We survived!

Happy Late Father's Day???

Sunday morning Jason woke up with the kids, fed them breakfast, and got them ready for the day. I slept in until 11 a.m., walked downstairs, and noticed a plate of pancakes and hashbrowns on the counter. "Oh, you made breakfast?" I asked Jason. Very kindly he said, "Yah, it's Father's Day and I wanted a nice breakfast." OUCH!!! No, I did not forget it was fathers day...worse, I was just thoughtless. I knew I had to work Sunday night from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. so I thought I should sleep in so I wouldn't be as tired staying up all night. Bad excuse.

Since I also did not give Jason a Father's Day gift, yes I'm a loser, I think he deserves this post describing what a great dad he is...a gift I'm sure he's always wanted. (You know men, they love the blog scene.)

Jason is a great dad simply by being a tremendous example. By just watching him our kids are absorbing life lessons that affect them now and are shaping who they will be in the future. By watching Jason they are learning how to:

• love and respect others
• be faithful and committed in their religion
• work hard and be self sufficient
• keep priorities straight
• share in household responsibilites...men can clean bathrooms, scrub floors, bathe kids, do laundry, cook :)
• enjoy hobbies and interests
• love family and friend activities

I asked the kids to tell me what they thought about their dad:
Chandler said, “He’s taught me to not be lazy, that I should discipline my kids and not let them do whatever they want. He’s taught me that I shouldn’t sit around all day, instead I should go places with my family.”
Ashtyn said, “He’s funny and nice. He has BBQ’s, gives us baths, prepares food, reads us books, and he sits by us. He helps me do homework and piano. He is patient and plays with me.”
Morgan said, “He helps people and he helps me when I’m sick. He makes us breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes he helps us clean the playroom.”

I think you’re an awesome dad too. Thanks Jason!!! (Your my best friend.)

Whatever stage you're in now, you're gonna miss it

When Jason and I got married at 21 years of age, he was an undergrad student at BYU and I was trying to get into nursing school at the U. Our goal then was: get Jason in med-school, get through med-school and residency, and one day become a doctor. Now that “one day” is almost here I’ve been contemplating the past 12 years!

It was the years 1999-2004 that were the hardest. The main reasons were we had three children in 3 ½ years, (which we planned), Jason was rarely home, and I worked full time during it all. Doesn’t sound too bad, does it? But those five years kicked my butt! I’m talking, survival mode all the way. A typical week: Monday: laundry, cleaning, taking care of kids, packing for me and the kids, sleeping at my moms. Tuesday: Leave my moms at 6:15 a.m., work 12 1/2 hours, pick up the kids at moms at 8 p.m., go home, baths, bed. Wednesday: Same as Mon. Thursday: Same as Tues. Friday: Take care of kids, catch up around the house, take a nap so I could stay up all night, go to work at 7 p.m. until morning. Saturday: Get home from work at 8 a.m., nap during the morning.
If I had a spare day I tried to do something fun with the kids. We had a membership at the zoo and the Children’s Museum.

If asked, I wouldn’t do it again, but ya know what?... I miss it.

I MISS:

• My 400 sq ft. apartment in the avenues I lived in for four years.
• Moving our mattress into the front room every night cuz that's where the cooler was.
• Chandler sleeping in a porta crib in the front room.
• My 1978 Oldsmobile (my mom wisely counseled to get a new car so the fumes and/or summer heat wouldn’t kill our infant Chandler).
• Jason working at Smiths as a deli manager for three weeks because I freaked out about money.
• Four years living in student apartments where I withstood the temptation to quit my job because I was the only mom working.
• Carrying wet laundry to the drier in the apt. building basement.
• Kraft mac and cheese, ramen noodle soup, and all the other things that go with being a poor college student family.

Think about whatever you’re doing now…I promise, you’re gonna miss it.

"You're gonna miss this. You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast. These are some good times, so take a good look around. You may not know it now, but you're gonna miss this"

Little Red Riding Hood

Jason had the kids all day while I went to Logan to ride my bike in the Little Red Riding Hood women only cycling event. Way fun! There was a little bit of rain, a little bit of hail, a little bit of wind, a little bit of sun, and a whole lot of butt pain. I rode with my sisters Jen and Alisa, sister in law Nanette, good friends Jess and Deanne and my mom. We rode 80 miles. (Way to go mom for doing 46 miles!) I wouldn’t have ever done the ride alone so I am so grateful I had 6 fun people to be with. They made it totally worth doing. Don’t family and friends make life an easier and more enjoyable ride?!

anniversary

Jason and I just celebrated our 12-year anniversary. It was an exciting and eventful day… or maybe not. I went to the gym, took a shower, got the kids in the car, picked up Jen and Martell, and drove up to the Huntsman Cancer Institute to have lunch with Jason. That evening my mom offered to baby-sit our kids so we could go out on a date. We took that opportunity to go to Home Depot, Target, and REI. After getting home I read “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” to the kids while Jason went to the church to get some things done for his calling. We finished the night watching “So you think you can dance” on DVR while Jason painted my toe nails. For me, it was a typical, comfortable, and wonderful day.