Making Christmas Cookies

Dakota loves to help me in the kitchen when I'll let him. We've been talking the last couple of days about making Christmas cookies. Last night once all the errands were run and we were home, we decided to get out the flour and get to work. Little did I know that my flour was lacking in the food storage room. Thanks to Kris, she saved the day, and we made 3 batches of cookies:
Thumbprint Cookies
Crescents (Sandies)
Chocolate Crinkles

Dakota's job was shaping the Crescents and then rolling them in powdered sugar once they'd been baked.

His favorite part of the entire night was licking the beaters. You'd think he'd died and gone to heaven. His expression was priceless. He licked those things dry and had a crusty chocolate face to show for it!

What I Want for Christmas...

Dakota decide NOT to be shy this year with Santa. When I offered to take him to visit Santa, he was all over it. He waited patiently for his turn and then eagerly climbed on Santa's lap. Dakota told Santa that this year he wanted a Pokemon DS game. That came out quickly and easily. When Santa pried to find out what else he wanted, Dakota was stifled. All of a sudden he'd forgotten. Mind you, he has at least 30 toys circled in the holiday catalog. He couldn't think of one. Funny!

Dakota and I ventured out for some Black Friday Holiday Shopping. I lured him out telling him we were going to Toys R Us, so he could spend his toothe fairy money. He had already saved $4, received $5 from the toothe fairy (he lost 2 teethe last Friday) and then Oma said she'd match it. So, he had $14 to spend. He was on a mission to find just the right toy. He ended up choosing Pokemon Cards (what the...), and that was after an hour of going up and down every single aisle. Mommy did get some good ideas for Christmas though.

We then hit the other stores on our list. Mommy came armed with coupons in hand. We were ready to find just the right gifts while saving as much $$ as we could. Money's a little tight this year. Five hours later we came home with a few gifts for Daddy and Aunt Heidi.

This year we really don't have a lot of gifts on our list. Christmas in Hawaii is our main gift. We are focusing on food storage with Greg's side of the family, and I already have most of what I need for that. Maybe one more venture out, and I'll be all set for the holidays!

Thanksgiving Dinner at Our House this Year

Amy's Luncheon

So the Gants are moving on Thanksgiving Day, and that makes me sad. I am excited for Amy and her family, but selfishly I don't want her to move. Ever. They are moving down to sunny San Diego (bummmmm) where Jesse has a great new job. The company who hired him even gave them a great relocation package, so Amy doesn't need to worry about packing up everything (my very least favorite thing to do). Ethan and Hadley will make friends quickly - they are so outgoing, but the whole family WILL be missed. We love that family!

Dakota Lost His 2 Front Teeth!

Pulling Tooth #1 a Success!

Pulling Tooth #2 on the same night an even bigger Success!

DJ Shoots for Two!

So he shoots and he scores, and I missed it! Luckily Greg was there taping Dakota's first ever "swoosh" during a basketball game. I am so proud of my little guy. You can tell from the video he's pretty excited too. Just wish I could have been there in person! Dakota you are such a stud! You make your mommy and daddy sooo very proud!

Soon you'll be shooting hoops just like daddy!

My First Half

The home stretch. I had about 50 yards to go at this point. Almost there!

Who knew running could be so much fun? On Saturday I ran the Snow Canyon Half Marathon with Angie, Tara, and Greta. I had the most amazing time. I really did. I'm not just saying that. Everything came together that day. I felt great. I'd made sure I'd carb-loaded for several days leading up to the big event, and I was plenty hydrated. Thanks to Greg I got my "good sleep" in two nights before. He'd read that the night before I wouldn't sleep well because I'd be too excited for the race. So I went to bed early Thursday night. Just like he said, I tossed and turned Friday night, so I was glad for the night's rest I had the night before. Saturday morning we all woke up bright and early and headed to the school. Buses were waiting to transport us to the starting line up the canyon. Hundreds of people awaited. I'm not exactly sure how many people in all ran the Half Marathon. I know more than 1000 signed up for the Half and the 5k.

We all had our music except for poor Greta. Her iPod ran out of juice before we got to St. George, and none of us had the right connector to juice it back up. I still don't know how she ran the Half without music. Personally, I'd die without music.

Mine was working though, and I listened to "Another One Bites the Dust" to get me pumped. My Garmin was set, and I couldn't wait to get going.

The run itself was beautiful. I was surrounded by hundreds of motivated and excited runners. Red rock was everywhere. About 2 miles into it we had to do an "out and back" on an incline for 2-3 miles. That means we ran back up the canyon on a dirt trail. That was probably the hardest part of the whole run, but I'm glad it fell early in the race. While a lot of the Half was downhill, I was surprised at how much was uphill too. Another friend I'd met while at the race told me out of the 5 Half Marathons she'd run, this was by far the most difficult.

I finished with a time of 1:44. My overall average pace per mile was 7.59. I'd set a goal to keep my pace between 8.30 and 8.45. I'd totally beat my own personal goal time. Now that I know I can get under 8, I am excited to try it again and see if I can shave any more time off. It would be great to get between 1:30 and 1:39. Who knows. Maybe I can. I can try, right?

Everyone else did awesome too. Angie and Greta just barely started training 8 weeks ago. Greta came in at 2:06 and Angie came in at 2:37. There is no way I had the courage to do anything so drastic when I first started getting back into shape, so I am extremely proud of both of them. Now Angie and I are preparing for our next big race together. We are shooting for the Painter Half Marathon in St. George in January. I'm trying to convince Greg we need to go down for my birthday. Think I could convince him to run it with me? Yeah, right!

Halloween at School

FHE with Friends

FHE has never been so exciting! We had a great mind-reading demonstration by Gregorio the Great and his assistant, Maximus (did I get that right?) The twosome awed the crowd (the kids) which then led to a great paper airplane making lesson by BJ. The kids learned that without a plan and proper instruction, the piece of paper could not fly. But by following instruction exactly that they'd be able to create paper airplanes. The lesson was great - even if the focus of the kids was all over the place. They had a fun time!

We ended the night with apples, carmel, and paper airplane flying contests off the deck.

It was a fun Family Home Evening!

A fUn HaLlOwEEn PaRTy!

Making Carmel Apples

So last night we attempted Carmel Apples. That was fun. What I thought would be an easy project turned in to a mess. The carmel kept cooling before we had sufficient time to add the yummy toppings. We'd chopped up Butterfingers, pecans, toffee, and white chocolate. We were set. Greg and Dakota had unwrapped 14 ozs of carmel. I melted them (along with water and vanilla) on the stove top. We thought it would be simple. Not only did we find it difficult to get the toppings to stick, but we ran out of carmel. What we'd hoped would cover 8 juicy apples only covered 6. And we're not too proud about how they look. However...Greg was persistent enough to get some of the toppings to finally stick. And regardless how they look, we had a super fun time as a family. IZ was on the tunes while we danced and decorated the apples. Not to mention, they were absolutely tasty! We all had seconds!

Trick or Treat Street

Carving Pumpkins

Family Home Evening on Wednesday... First let me just say it feels great to eat again. As soon as Greg got home we headed out to Mi Ranchito for a quick dinner. Chips and Salsa sounded good. We all split a heaping plate of Chicken Nachos too. So, for $13 we had a filling sit-down meal. Not bad.

After dinner we headed home to carve pumpkins. Only a week until Halloween. We plucked, traced, and carved 4 pumpkins. We are Halloween ready, and have our pumpkins proudly displayed on the patio. It was fun family night.

BTW, Dakota personally drew the pumpkin face (not the frog) to the left. He wanted it to look scary but ended up cute instead.

A Mom and Son Project

Yesterday Dakota and I undertook a big project. We organized our Food Storage room. Greg recently put up more shelves for me. We'd gotten to the point where we had food lined up along the walls. Like every other room in our house, it was disorganized, and it bothered me every time I needed to find something.

So shelf by shelf we unpackaged, sorted by date, and organized. Dakota made countless runs to the garbage can with empty boxes. We cleaned it up and found a new home for all the food we'd just canned too.

When we were done, we felt a huge sense of accomplishment. Now we need to start on the "baby" room and the basement. Oh yeah, and the office. It never ends!

Running a Half with Angie and Tara

So I just decided to run the Snow Canyon Half Marathon with Angie, Tara, and Greta. Angie's birthday is coming up, and we usually try to spend our birthdays together. I have really missed them. Since they moved out to Mapleton, and we moved to Pleasant Grove, we haven't seen each other near as much as we used to. We were inseparable there for awhile. It's been waaayyy too long, and now that we are all into running, what better way to spend our time?

I am so excited for this. It's kind of spur of the moment for me too which makes it that much more fun.

Now if I can just find someone to lead the music in Primary. Erin is going to love me for this. Firs this, then San Diego, and then the month of December!!

Canning

For the last few weeks I've had the canning bug. I've been wanting to can, but I haven't had the time. Well, I finally found some time this past weekend. I thought I'd spend Saturday canning. Little did I know it would turn into a 3-day project. I canned Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I still have unused pears and tomatoes in the cellar. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet. Do I dare do one more batch? BBQ sauce? Pears in syrup? If so, not today. I need a break.

I'm happy with the progress though!

Strawberry Jam
Pear/Rasperry Jam
Raspberry Jam
Peach Jam
Peach/Rum/Raisin Jam
Peach Salsa
Peach BBQ Sauce
Spaghetti Sauce
Chili Sauce
Pears in Syrup
Salsa

A fun visit!

Last week mom and Cami flew in for the big event. We squeezed as much in as possible. Mom brought her clubs, but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. We attempted to golf on Thursday, but it was absolutely freezing out, and the wind was ridiculous. Dakota and I stuck out 9 holes, but it was only for mom. It was so cold. I thought it would never be over. We'd hoped to golf again on Monday after the competition, but that didn't turn out. The weather was below freezing, and we didn't even know if Hobblecreek (where we'd hoped to golf) would be open. So, mom brought her clubs, but we only got one round in. Next time.

Saturday was the big event. It was such a strange day. It was a much different experience from the NGA. We arrived 45 minutes late. That was the first challenge. We got lost using the map Greg had given me, so LuAnn had to walk us through getting to the high school. I missed the walkthrough and didn't have as much time as I'd hoped to really settle in and relax.

When I walked out on stage for prejudging, I was tense. I didn't feel comfortable at all. Sandy ran back after the first round and helped me with posing. I practiced and by the time I came out in my one-piece, I felt a little more confident. By that time though I think it was too late. I couldn't make eye contact with any of the judges.

During the break between prejudging and awards, Cami, Mom, Heidi, and I went shopping. We bummed around Macys, made a few purchases, and had lunch. I was still on my strict diet, so I picked at my boring bowl of lettuce and lemon wedges.

The awards ceremony was supposed to start at 6 p.m. It didn't. I don't think it officially started until around 6:45 p.m. In the meantime all of the "figure" girls were in their suits waiting to go out - thinking it would start at any moment. We were freezing back stage. With only one small little space heater and winterlike conditions outside (did I mention in snowed that day?), it was cold. The MC was a joke - half the time not knowing what to say or repeating himself. The night show dragged on, and I could sense the frustration in the audience.

At the end of the night I took 4th in the Medium Class and didn't place in Masters. I wasn't even in the top 5. I was absolutely heartbroken at first. I was proud of myself for such a huge accomplishment - for being there - for having the gutts to work so hard and then present myself on stage. Yet, I still felt a little letdown. I've gone over that day time and time again in my head since the event. I was too lean - too tense - too inexperienced. I'd dropped another 3 pounds form the NGA to the NPC which wasn't good. My "muscle" looked great, but I was too cut for figure - especially with all the controversy on whether figure should be more "lean" or "softer". The overwhelming feeling in the industry is that figure is going more "soft". I was anything but that. Not to mention I still have a couple of "troubled" areas that still need work. I'm finally in a place where I get it. I understand the voting and can move on. It just gives me more hope and determination to do better next year at the Emerald Cup should I do it.

Mom says the Emerald Cup is first class. They take care of the competitors. The NPC in Utah does not - at least it wasn't my experience for my first NPC show.

I am so thankful for my closest friends joining me for my special day. They know how hard I'd worked, and I know how much they love me. It meant so much knowing they were in the crowd supporting my crazy endeavor.

I've been asked what was the first thing I ate when I was done. I couldn't leave the competition fast enough. We headed straight to the Cheesecake Factory, and I had delicious stuff tortillas, corn cakes, and topped it off with an entire piece of white chocolate madadamia nutt cheesecake. I think I even licked the plate.

We spent Sunday in Park City. Cami had never been, so we bummed around Main Street and the Outlets before I had to drop her off at the airport.

Heidi turns 30 this year, so we had a little "early" birthday celebration on Monday night. We'd picked up the yummiest cupcakes from Dippidee for dessert. It was a night. I can't believe my baby sis is almost 30!

A Quick Trip to St. George

So a couple of weeks ago we headed down to St. George with the Chandlers. We barely got there and it was time to come home, but we enjoyed every minute we had on our mini-vacation.

The weather didn't cooperate with us on Saturday. This was also the day of the St. George Marathon. All our thoughts were with Colby as we knew he was out there weathering the storm (so to speak). It was cold, rainy, and windy - not exactly ideal running conditions.

The kids were anxious to get outside. When it cleared up we headed straight for the pool. The men played tennis, while Kris and I watched the kids swim. We did find a few minutes to hit the outlets, and I found the cutest new church skirt. Love it!!

Sunday made the trip though. We headed into Zions National Park and went on a nature hike. We walked along the riverbed along the steep rocks, found a cave, and took our time. The kids LOVED it. We loved watching them.

We hooked up Sunday night with the Allens for a quick dinner before we headed back. It was such a fun getaway. Too fast, but fun!

The NGA

The setting - Northridge HighSchool in Layton
The place - The auditorium
The sponsors - Gold's Gym, Muscle Tech, etc.
The Time - Pre-judging 10 a.m. and the Awards Ceremony 7 p.m.
The coveted prize - Trophies
The who - 50+ like-minded individuals
The why - They all had trained hard just like me

Last Satruday I competed in my first ever NGA Figure Competition. What is Figure Competing? Think Bodybuilding but softer and more feminine. That should give you an idea. I've been working hard all year. Decided a few months back to set a goal to compete and did just that.

Took 2nd!

17 Wonderful Years

17 Years. Are you kidding me? Where has the time gone? To think 17 years ago we were barely out of high school. Greg was fresh off his mission, and I'd never lived outside my mom and dad's house. We married in the Seattle temple, and I still remember it vividly. Our sealing was at 8:30 a.m. We had to get up so early that morning to make it there on time. My cute grandma stayed with me, got up early, and stayed by my side the entire time, helping me throughout the morning. It was raining that day which is typical for Seattle. Friends and family joined us in one of the sealing rooms. Greg and I admired each other across the altar. Just kids. That's what we were. We all chuckled as he stepped on my train, taking me off balance. It was an amazing experience - not one I'll ever forget. I remember feeling whole really for one of the first times in my life. I felt like my life had purpose. I had someone to share forever with - someone to experience life with.

Now here we are 17 years later and not much has changed but so much has happened. When I think about what all we've done and what we've accomplished, it just kind of boggles my mind. We really are in our late 30's. We really have been married for 17 years. We really do have a little boy. We really have a purpose, and we've really made the last 17 years count. It hasn't always been easy (especially me - I've made it hard at times for Greg), but it's always been worth it. I wouldn't trade Greg for anyone. He is the most incredible person in my life - always has been - and always will be I hope the next 17 are just as exciting and eventful. Happy Anniversary Baby! To us!

NuSkin Summer Party at Lagoon

Yesterday was the NuSkin Summer Party. It was absolutely perfect. The weather was warm, there were no crowds, and we were able to spend the afternoon with some of our closest friends. We invited the Chandlers to go up with us, and the kids had an absolute blast. BJ and Kris hadn't been to Lagoon in like 15 years. Their kids had never been (what??), so it was GREAT to see the kids enjoy the rides.

Things I learned during our adventure:
Greg and I LOVE amusement parks (I already knew that though)
BJ is already a GRANDPA (having to sit down after every single ride)
The kids would have gone on rides all night if we would have let them
No matter how much you do, it's never enough
Despite Kris' being pregnant, she was a total trooper and enjoyed the rides right along with everyone
Chase has NO fear - he was the bravest of them all
Parker's a little hesitant to go on rollercoasters (make that a lot hesitant) - BJ made him go on The Spider - he hated it at first but by the end of the night, he admit it was his favorite!!
Late September is a perfect time to hit Lagoon
Going to Lagoon with friends is the icing on the cake!

Christmas Cards Digital Scrapbooking Style

Going digital again. So I haven't touched digital scrapbooking in over a year and maybe for good reason. I forgot how little I know about it. It's a hobby I really want to learn, but finding the time to study it is the trick. Here's my attempt at this year's Christmas card. It's a work in progress. Totally simple I'm sure, but it still took me hours. I have so much to learn.

Celebrating Sara

I have never met anyone quite like Sara. She is incredible and indescribable. I could try to describe her, but you'd have to know her to really understand how amazing she is. She is the most generous, loving, giving, dedicated person I have ever met. She does NOT have a mean bone in her body. Anyone who truly knows her knows this is true. She is a perfect example of being service-oriented, but she's not fake. She's selfless. And I'm thankful I can say she is one of my best friends.

This last year she served as the PTA President, and like with everything she dedicates herself to, she gave 110%.

We were honored to finally celebrate a great year under her direction.

Daddy the Athlete

My little athlete. Like grandfather like son. One day Kota will be extra proud when he looks at these pics of his old daddy playing softball. What a stud!!

Has Greg ever told you the story about his Dad almost being drafted by the Dodgers?

Cool New Site - Scrapblog

Swiss Days 10k

Another race down, but this one's a secret. I waited until the last minute to sign up. I'm not even supposed to be running right now. But...after staying home and feeling sorry for myself after having to miss the Hobble Creek Half, I just couldn't resist.

It was a super cold morning. By the time I got up to Heber, it was a chilly 44 degrees - burrr!! I'm just glad I had my extra long-sleeve shirt in the car with me.

My iPod was ready to go. I'd personally picked out my playlist just for my run.

We were off right at 7 a.m. It was a beautiful course. I'd guess around 300-350 people showed up for it.

Overally I came in 30th, and placed 3rd (or possibly 2nd) in my age group. There they told me 3rd but online it says 2nd, so who knows. All I know is I beat my best time by 4 minutes. This time I ran in 50.14 - that's an 8.05 min/mile which is my best yet!