My sister, Rachel.

My sister-in-law Rachel is one of the most amazing people I know. She could actually be the MOST amazing person I know.
My littlest, Maggie, has claimed her as her favorite aunt. If we ever do anything with Joe’s family, I will tell Maggie, “Maggie! We’re going to play with Naomi!” (Naomi is Rachel’s daughter) to which Maggie will say excitedly, “AND RACHEL?!” It’s sure a good thing Rachel loves Maggie because I’m pretty sure Maggie would be heartbroken if we didn’t live less than a mile from her.

Over the years, Rachel has blessed our little family in more ways than just a few. In the summer of 2006, Rachel let Joe, Haylie and I live in her tiny little house while we were in-between houses. We only stayed there for about a week-and-a-half but it was a sacrifice we won’t soon forget.

In the summer of 2007, our family drove to Idaho for a visit. After stressing and crying about my little baby Connor who was not sleeping and full of gas, she took him without a word, went into the bedroom, pumped his legs, swaddled him in a blanket and laid him on his tummy where he slept for 2 whole hours.

In July of 2009, when Rachel had tiny, newborn baby Naomi (who was only a few days old), she welcomed our entire family, her siblings, her parents and almost all of her mom’s side of the family into her home for her brother’s wedding. Her house was meticulous when we arrived but within a half hour was a complete disaster area. She never once complained. Sometimes she would disappear into her room and quietly shut her door. I always felt so bad that we bombarded her during that time and I’m sure she was more than ready for us to leave, but we knew the giant sacrifice she made and are still so grateful.

In the summer of 2010, when I had 6 week old Maggie, we again drove to Idaho for a  visit. Rachel and her family were in the middle of selling their house. Her house was completely empty but she let us come and stay in her  bedrooms and dirty her kitchen and yard. When Maggie wouldn’t sleep, she again took her from me, swaddled her, patiently rocked her and laid her down to sleep. She’s like a baby whisperer!

Last April, Joe and I moved from Eastern Washington to Wyoming. Rachel and Steve (again) took us in. We were in a tough spot and didn’t know where we were going to end up and so were in a little bit of “house limbo.” They gave us their entire downstairs to stay. They bought groceries, paid bills, occasionally took and picked Haylie up from school, and took us on our own guided tour of the state of Wyoming to see everything it had to offer. And again, although we know that what they did for us was a huge sacrifice, we are so grateful. Right now, we are 3 months away from having a degree and full time job and I know for a fact, we wouldn’t be here had it not been for their generosity.

Lately, I have started working part time, and Rachel has been quick to offer to take Maggie for part of the day. Last week, she took her to the doctor’s office while her own daughter had blood drawn. During the trip, Maggie puked in the waiting room and then fell asleep. Rachel cleaned up the puke and then held her while she slept. That is PURE love, I tell ya’!

I have a lot to learn from Rachel. She is who I want to be like one day. She is quick to pile her car full of kids to take them to McDonald’s for ice cream. She has my kids over for sleep overs. She says yes to the constant tugging on of arms to go and play kiddie games and swing pushes. She puts everyone first. She is the least selfish person I know. She would sacrifice herself for the well being of me and my children and for that, I feel that my sister-in-law is really my Sister.

Rachel, thank you. One day you will be paid back for all of the incredible things you do/have done for us.

Love ya!

Fish Lake Relay: Richfield, Utah

On the 25th, Joe ran in the Fish Lake Relay in Richfield, UT. He has a bunch of family down there and his Uncle Paul (who is more like a buddy than his uncle) is in charge of the Richfield Parks & Recreation. He planned and organized this race and then ran in it with Joe and 4 other guys. The race was 100 miles!!!! The way it works is every team (there were 18 this year) drives clear up on top of this mountain near Richfield. I think it was about 1.5 hours to the lake where the race started. Each team loads up their car with blankets, pillows, snacks, drinks, etc. Each person runs 2 legs of the race. Joe ran leg #4 and #12 (the last leg). I guess it’s quite the jaunt! Lots of hills, drastic increase and decrease in elevation and shortage of oxygen since it’s so high up. Joe runs quite a bit and he said he’s never had such a hard time breathing while on a run. His first leg was about 4 miles and the 2nd was 5.5 and crossed the finish line.

The guys’ truck. As you can see they had “a few” bags and coolers filled with snacks and drinks. Joe’s Uncle Richard looks so happy to be up at 5 in the morning…

Joe’s Grandpa Carl, officiating the race.

6:30 a.m. And the race begins. Go Paul!

Fish Lake

Yes, that is the sunrise. SO. EARLY.
Joe said that next year I should come and be the driver for their team. I said, “Sure if you want to start the race at 8 instead.” There’s no way I’m getting up that early! ;)

This is Joe’s Aunt Molly (Paul’s wife, in the orange). She was on one of the girls’ teams.

This guy was amazing! He lost his arm when he was 3 years old by falling off the back of a truck and landing on his shoulder and head. The impact killed all of the nerves in his arm causing it to hang limp for about 14 years. When he was 17, he decided to have it removed. His team ended up coming in 1st place overall and an entire hour ahead of Joe’s team who came in first in the men’s division! This guy is going to swim in the next Paralympics as well! Amazing story, right?

Uncle Wells finishing and Uncle Richard taking off!

Molly coming in…

This is Joe starting his first leg… he thought it’d be funny to go zipping past this car and ask you can see the people behind him thought so too. He said he only ran that fast for about 20 feet before he decided he should probably save some energy since he felt like he was breathing through a straw.

Uncle Wells on his 2nd leg and Joe’s cousin Emilee. She was on one of the girls’ teams with a couple of his aunts and cousins.

Joe finishing up the last leg of the day. His team made it back before he got into town and they all ran in together. He thought the runner for the team right behind him was a lot closer so he sort of left his team in the dust…

They ended up taking 1st in the men's’ division! Great job guys!

Uncle Richard, Uncle Paul, Joe, Dr. B. (friend of Paul), Uncle Wells and Dave (friend of Paul)

I’ve sort of caught the running bug lately… I don’t always go but I want to. I just have to convince my brain at 6 a.m. that it’s a better idea than going back to sleep. This kind of race is a little extreme, in my opinion, but we’ll see next year.

My Little Runner

Last Monday, Haylie went running with Joe in her new birthday shoes and running clothes. They ran 1.2 miles non-stop! Pretty dang impressive for a 7 year old, if you ask me!

(P.S. Joe’s a little sensitive about his running shorts, so make sure to tell him how great his legs are.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYLIE (only 20 days late)!!!

My sweet Haylie turned 7 on the 1st!

She’s a pistol, that’s for sure. Always wanting things to be just so- she is our perfectionist! In Haylie’s world, everything has a way of “working.” One way (not two). She is our athlete. She has the endurance of an adult in great shape. She loves to run! Her first few years were quite tom-boyish and I thought for sure I would have to wait to do all the things a mom dreams of doing with her daughter, but the last year she has really “embraced” her inner princess. ;) These days it’s all about girl trips, shopping (sans boys), painting nails, playing dress-up and pretending to be a ballerina.

Darn those big kids… how did they get up there?

Told ya. Everywhere is a ballerina’s stage.

Haylie’s sweet friend, Hallie! Hallie’s mom, my good friend Melanie, lent me her camera when I forgot mine at home. Thanks Mel!

Haylie opening up the Henderson girls’ present – a princess tent!

A pretty green ring from Uncle Sam.

Real running shoes from Mom and Dad.

And tons and tons of art supplies from Aunt Rachel, Uncle Steve and cousins Lucy and Naomi!

After a fun afternoon at the splash park with good friends and family, the kids and I, my mom (who made the 13 hour drive from Washington again), my sister and brother-in-law and their girls all floated for a couple of miles down the Green River! Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of us on the river (obviously), but we had a blast!!! The only bad part of the day was these two wasp stings Haylie got after floating the river. Poor girl. She was tough though!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who came to celebrate our Haylie’s big day! Mom, Tami, Rachel and your girls, and Melanie and your girls! We all had such a great time and appreciate your love and kindness so much! Melanie, thank you for trekking across the city of Green River for my camera (which had a dead battery and a missing SD card). Thank you for lending me yours. :)

Happy Birthday Hay! We love you so very much and are so proud of you and excited to see the little lady you will become!

Just a few things about Connor’s 1st day of school…

Connor’s first week of school will go as follows:
Monday thru Thursday, he will be with one of the four kindergarten teachers. On Friday, he will find out who his permanent teacher will be. Today, he had Mrs. Schneider. When I ran into her in the hall before school was out, I said, “How did it go?” to which she replied, “Oh it went well! He did just fine although he really wanted to do everyone else’s work instead of his own.” (This is the exact same issue we had with Haylie when she was in kinder.)

Connor ran up to me when school was out and said, “Mommy! I made new friends!” A little girl walked by and he said, “Bye!” She eyed him quickly, did a short little wave and that was that. Connor then said, “See. She’s my friend.”

When Joe got home from work, Connor told him that his teacher was very mean and that she yelled at him. When I asked him what she yelled, he said, “She said, ‘CONNOR! SIT DOWN!’” A tad exaggerated, maybe?

Connor told us that he got to hold Mr. Campbell’s (the Librarian) pet lizard. While he was holding it, it shot out its little “dart thingies” (?) but not to worry. He got them out before it made him get really sick and die.

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

BACK TO SCHOOL

I actually love school days. It means no more crazy schedules, late nights and lazy days. Don’t get me wrong, I like sleeping in in the mornings a LOT. But sleeping in doesn’t happen unless my kids sleep in. My kids don’t sleep in unless they go to bed late the night before. And when my kids go to bed late, it means I don’t have my nice, quiet, relaxing cuddle time with my hubby. And if Momma doesn’t have a little “Me Time” every day, she gets a little cranky.

Back to school means that we get back into our routine. We wake up early and go to bed early. We do our chores and we do our homework. We eat dinner as a family. And all of these things make us happier throughout the day. I love having that big Summer break, but I am realizing that I am more of a schedule-type-of-girl. I like to make plans and lists (not obsessively). I don’t do well with last minute plans- there’s always something I will forget. For years now, I have felt ashamed of this little detail of my life, but in the last few days, I have come to be proud of it. I like that about me!

This year, I have 2 kids in school. My little Connor started kindergarten this morning. :( My mom texted me the other day and said, “It seems like he just got here,” and she’s totally right. Seems like we just brought him home and now he’s off to school. Poor kid… life will never be the same again. He doesn’t realize it yet, but he’s got some LONG years of schooling ahead of him.

Connor’s shirt says “You’re No Match For My Dad”
Haylie’s Puma shirt says “Be True To Your Sport”

This picture just about killed me. He was fine until we got to the classroom and he was supposed to hang up his backpack on a hook. Next thing I knew, he had his face buried in my shirt telling me he didn’t want to go. :(

Luckily, I managed to come up with something genius and this is how I left him. :)

My big 2nd grader. What an amazing girl!

And now it’s time to go and pick them up! Hard to believe the day is almost done… only 179 more to go! ;)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

For an early anniversary gift, I surprised Joe with tickets to go see “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” at Sundance Resort in Utah. Our anniversary isn’t until September 16th but with school starting and the play not running that long, I figured we better go before tickets were sold out. The resort is only about a 2.5 hour drive from our house which is SO nice (especially since we didn’t take our kids with us)!

The set. This play really was unique… ALL of the actors were amazing singers and dancers. What an honor to get to perform here!
Joe would like to make it clear that he thinks this is the ONLY musical where it’s OK for men to dance and sing (therefore it’s his favorite musical). I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of the actual play, so of course I didn’t…

My hot date.

This is Chad. He talks to Charles all the time! (As in Charles Robert Redford.) Lucky son-of-a-gun. He told a story before the play started that went like this: Before Sundance started putting on this play, Robert Redford tried to buy the rights for the play but kept getting shut down. Everyone told him no. So finally he decided to put on a play called “Five Brides for Five Brothers.” The end. Apparently, Robert called Chad the Friday before the first play was performed and said, “You need to tell this story before every play.”

I thought these pictures were funny… it was intermission and we got a little giddy. We kept trying to take a self portrait, which were all failed attempts (and which I will NOT be putting on the internet) and these are the final two pictures we took. We were both laughing so hard and I thought it was funny that we both took the same exact picture of each other.

It’s a good thing I married a mountain man who NEVER gets cold because I was FREEZING! Joe let me wear his jacket as well as my own, plus I was coverrd up with a blanket. And he told me it wouldn’t get cold… never listen to a mountain man. ;)

Thank you to my awesome sister-in-law, Rachel and brother-in-law, Steve and to Joe’s parents for watching our kids so that Joe and I could get away for our anniversary. We had such a great time and definitely needed to get away!