BJ's Birthday Night

Hair By Kris

Meet my new hair colorist. Have you seen her around? It's my dear friend, Kristalyn, and I love her to death. When I first started going dark again, I'd just go pick up a kit at the grocery store. Kris has since "saved me" from all the harsh chemicals and has pursuaded me to pick up some stuff from the local beauty supply store. I was just going to lather it all on, and Kris came over with her box of goodies, parted my hair, and slowly worked the dye in starting at the roots and then "pulling it through" (as she would say) to the ends. All in all she does a phenomenal job. So far she's done my hair twice. It's a fun treat having one of your best friends do your hair. We chat the whole time, laugh, and await the outcome. So far so good. I'll keep her and would highly recommend her to anyone. I love that Kristalyn Chandler!!!

Look Who's No Longer "Tri-ing"

Last weekend Greg and BJ made their official statement that they are no longer competing in the upcoming Sprint Tri in St. George. Trying to get a definitive reason out of either one of them is next to impossible. Their stories keep changing. Bottom line I think it just snuck up on them, and neither one of them are ready. Don't get me wrong - they are both in amazing shape. Their just not in "tri-shape". They haven't been swimming, running, or biking. So... they still plan to go down and support both Colby and Doug, but it might be from a local tee box instead. Quitters!!

Parties and Easter Eggs

Last night we headed back to Sara and Colby's to celebrate Baden's 2-year birthday. Just look at how proud he is with all the attention he's getting! He was right there waiting to blow out the candles and with a couple of tries, he did just that.
After dinner and cake and ice cream, Sara sat the kids down for a quick Family Home Evening lesson while Em, Kris, and I hid the eggs in the backyard.

We armed the kids with headlamps and flashlights, and away they went. Some of the easter eggs glowed in the dark while the others reflected light. The kids had a great time searching for the hidden eggs in the dark. We decided that this would be an annual tradition.

So the eggs are now neatly put away in storage and await the next Monday following Easter when we'll do it all over again!
Another exciting mentions:

Aftyn had her toes painted for the very first time
Sheena brought her husband - I think his name is Darrin (just kidding Darrin)
Colby slammed my picture taking and blogging to no end

By the way - prove Colby wrong. If you are a friend of a friend, drop me a note. He seems to think the only regulars on our blog are our friends in the pics. I'll show him!

Jam Ball at the Hardings

What funny boys we have. Greg, BJ, Roger, and his boys like to get together from time to time to play Jam Ball. The guys always have a GREAT time, and Teresa's usually on hand to take lots and lots of pictures. She took 200+ pictures on this particular day - which meant lots of cute pictures of my hubby slam-dunkin' the ball.

It should be a fun summer for our men.

Easter Egg Hunt

Today we had an Easter Egg Hunt over at Sara and Colbys. Kris and I went over a little bit early and hid dozens and dozens of eggs. Eggs were scattered everywhere. I'm sure Sara and Colby will be finding eggs for months. The kids had a great time though, and neighbors came from both wards to play. Every kid left happy with their treasures.

Pics from Greg's Party

Greg Turns 38!

Pics from the 5K Race

I'm a Skater Music Junkie

and I'm finally willing to admit it. I'm not sure why or when I really started to like this kind-of music. It started I think before Christmas. Now I can't stop. I've picked up more cd's in the last two months than I think I have in the last 15 years. For years I've fought off Greg's "new" music. I liked the 80's - the standards. You know - Boingo, Mode, anything from "my" generation. Greg would play me his music, and I'd tune it out. I just wanted to hear stuff I already knew. Stuff I knew word for word.

Now, I'm addicted to a whole new type of music. It totally energizes me, and I'm forever seeking out unknown bands that have that same "sound". I take it on my iPod every day to the gym - it gets me through my workouts and motivates me. I have it cranked when I'm getting ready in the morning and all day when I'm working. Some of it is better than others, and the questionable stuff I speed right through or delete. BJ thinks I'm a "tween" all over again, and Greg calls me a "skater". I used to fight it, but not anymore. Some people like rock. Others like classical. Some like pop. I just happen to like this funky, young, skater music. Oh-well. Call it a mid-life crisis. Who knows!

Skiing with Dad

We haven't really been able to ski much this year. I'm not sure why. I think it's the whole setting aside a day to hit the slopes thing. It's not that we don't enjoy it because we really do. I miss it. Growing up my family took ski trips up to Whistler. We'd ski the week between Christmas and New Years - without fail. I loved it.

Now it's almost like we have to have an excuse to go skiing. This time my folks were in town - staying up at their place in Deer Valley. Mom couldn't ski because of her surgery, so I had an automatic babysitter for Dakota.

Dad and I decided to go skiing. We invited Uncle Doug and my cousin, Ben, to join us. We had an amazing day. It had dumped just the day before, and the sun was out. It was cold enough to keep the snow good, and we skiied like crazy. Who knows when I'll get up again this year - if I will at all. Even if I do, it won't beat the great day we had in February on the slopes.

Happy Early Mother's Day to Me

Is it Mother's Day yet? Oh, I thought it was. Happy Mother's Day to me. I finally came clean with Greg a couple of days ago and let him know that I'd bought myself an early Mother's Day present. He told me he'd already regripped his golf clubs for his birthday which is coming up next week, so I asked if he'd bought me a Mother's Day present yet. With Mother's Day being nearly 2 months away, he thought I was joking. That's when I fessed up.

What did I feel the need to get for myself? Well, last week Kim let Emily and I borrow her Garmin watch for our 5k. Did I mention how handy it was? It was the best tool ever for the race. We were able to manage our pace, know our distance and our time. With just a quick glance at my wrist, I knew exactly where we were at, if we needed to speed up, if we needed to slow down, or if we were on the home stretch.

Since I'll soon be moving from the treadmill to outside, my new watch will come in handy. One thing I've enjoyed about the treadmill is that it keeps me at a steady pace. My watch will help keep me on track, and I can't wait to test it!

Thank you Kim for letting me "test-drive" your's and Sheena for putting the bug in my ear in the first place! It will definitely come in handy!

Parker's Pool Party at the Poelmans'

Parker turned 8 on Sunday, and last night we got to celebrate his birthday with him up at the Poelmans' pool. We joined the Chandlers, Poulsens, and the Browns (minus Darrin - dang it!). All our kids are the same age, so they had a blast.

I don't know who had more fun - the kids or the grown-ups. We all strapped on helmets and went down the slide - holy cow is that thing fast! Then we ladies climbed on our husbands and had ourselves a wrestling match. It was a great time.

Can I just say that I truly have some of the neatest friends? I feel so lucky to have such amazing friends in my life who love to play - just like me! They mean the absolute world to me, and I am so thankful for them!!!

Our First 5K Race!!

Yeah! We did it! Emily and I signed up for the Run for Red 5K in Provo around a month ago. As the race got closer we were both wondering what the heck we'd done. While we knew we could run 3 miles, we didn't know how many people would show or what to expect. Sheena had told us there would be a ton of teenagers. That was an understatement. I arrived at the school an hour early. I wanted to scope it out. I checked in, got my packet, and my number. It was freezing cold out this morning, so I couldn't decide what to wear. Should I wear my fleece? I'd never run in my fleece, but it was cold! Where was I going to put my car key? So many dumb questions ran through my mind. As I sat there tons of people checked in. Lots of teenagers - just like Sheena has said. They were in shorts and t-shirts. Maybe I didn't need my fleece. So many diehards were there. I didn't belong. What was I doing in a race? Give me a break. Em arrived, and she checked in, and then we were able to laugh together. We stretched, giggled, and stared down the competition. What were we doing? I'd read it was good to start towards the back for our first race. We didn't want to get trampled by the experienced runners. So, we held back. Then the warning, and then the gun. We were off...slowly. Imagine 300 people trying to run at once. Not easy. And to top it off we had to file through a couple of very narrow areas and a bridge. We easily lost a minute or two because we had to walk - at the back of the pack. There was no way we could run. Kim let me borrow her Garmin (thank you so much Kim), so we were able to monitor our distance, pace, and time. It was the best tool ever. Absolutely necessary. We were able to gauge how fast we were running. Some people passed us, but honestly, we passed most everyone. We stayed steady and left the sprint to the end. Em and I proudly ran through the finish line together. Our times were descent. Em came in at 27:34.9, and I came in at 27:35.2. I placed 4th in my age group and 26th overall. Not bad for a first race! Now we have our sites set on a new race. We found out there's another 5k in Provo on April 5th - my dad's birthday. We've already decided we are going to run it, and this time we are going to cut our time by a couple of minutes. We'll for sure start closer to the front of the pack. We're not going to lose time by walking again! Here's to the first of many! Yeah for us Em! I am so proud of us old ladies (you not so old - miss 33!)!!!

Here's the link to check out the professional shots taken at the race: http://www.jontehero.com/runforred/

Basketball Game Slideshow

Ward Ball Semi-Finals

Last night was the first game of the semi-finals. Greg's team won. Maybe it's BJ's tremendous coaching ability, or maybe it's because none of those guys wanted to lose. They won by (around) 12 points. Every single one of the guys got to play, and that they did well. Greg made some great shots, got some jabs in the stomache, but he took it like a real man. He kept his cool and didn't start something - even though I'm sure he was tempted. Like every game the guys were unhappy with several of the ref calls. What's new.

The excitement didn't start until after the game though. That's when a player from the team who had played before Greg's game got in a heated fight with one of the refs. They were on the floor, and team members had to break them up. After that incident, ball was called off for the rest of the night.

Tonight Greg's team plays again. If they win tonight, they'll have two more games tomorrow (hopefully). Could be a winning season for them! They are off to an awesome start!

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

The activities committee at the church had a fun idea. Each family had to meet at the church at 6 p.m. to pick up our "secret location". It wasn't until we got to the house that we new who the hosts were and who we were eating with. The Barnetts' hosted our dinner, and the Millers joined us too. It was a lot of fun. We found out that Bryce loves to cook, and he'd prepared yummy Chicken and Steak Fajitas. The Millers and us were supposed to bring a side dish. We'd gotten our food assignments earlier in the week. I'd printed off the recipe I wanted to make and was set. Then yesterday came around. I didn't feel like cooking at all. Dinner was promptly at 6 p.m., and at 5 I started to prepare my dish. I was supposed to bring Rice and Beans. I boiled the water and added the brown rice - then realized I was supposed to let it cook for 45 minutes. There was no way I'd have enough time. So I left the rice on the stove, grabbed Kota, and we headed to Bajio (a local favorite) to pick up a tub of Mexican Rice and a tub of Black Beans. After dropping Dakota off at Grandma and Grandpa's for a fun playdate with the cousins, I rushed home to put my "bought" Rice and Beans in dishes. I couldn't keep the secret though and fessed up right away at dinner. The meal was great. After dinner we headed back to the church for "once in a lifetime" entertainment - thank goodness it was once in a lifetime, because this Elvis impersonator honestly was not that great. The AV wasn't working just right, and his jokes just weren't that funny. the same it was fun to be with friends, and we still had a great evening.