Punkin Patch

Last Thursday, Livvy and I got to go to Gilcrease Orchards with Ashlie and her preschool friends. It was pretty hot but, we had a great time. I'd never been there before and I'm so glad we know where it is now. The kids got to pick their own pumpkins out of this HUGE garden/orchard.

Ash and one of her new "best" friends Abby. Ashlie loves preschool and all of her new friends. She is a little socialite and seems to make friends quite easily.

Ash and Liv with their beautiful pumpkins. They picked one out for Allie too.

Ash with Tanner and Monte a couple of her friends.

Livvy fit right in with all of the kids too. She was so hot and dirty but, she had a blast playing in the dirt. Needless to say we were all pooped out when we got home. This was the last of the hot days. Thank goodness!

Finally Fall...

After months of at least 90 degree weather we are getting a much needed reprieve. It feels like fall. Even 86 degrees feels a little more like fall to us. We really miss the fall in Utah because it starts in early September and it happens to be our favorite season. We have a traditional yearly trek to The Big Red Barn in Santaquin, UT. They have the best apples ever! We thought for sure we'd miss out on it this year but, we got to stop there on our way home from my Grandma's funeral. We just ate the last apple today. I'm telling you they are the best. They grow the best Gala apples and we look forward to them every year. We did discover Gilcrease Orchards here in Las Vegas though. I got to go there with Ashlie's preschool yesterday. It is like a four acre garden where you can go and pick what you want. I was very happy! The kids got to roam around in the pumpkin patch and pick out their very own. I found some zuchinni, acorn squash and pears. They also press their own apple cider. For now I am content to enjoy the cooling weather and my fresh garden veggies. (I will post pics of the kids hunting in the "punkin patch")

Planting flowers...

After a really super busy two weeks, Phil took Friday off. The girls were so happy to have him home. We went to the nursery and picked up some annual flowers and some herbs. He is so good to let the kids help him and they love it. When Allie got home from school he took us all out to dinner for "Date Night with Dad."

Bangs or no bangs...

A couple of months ago I decided to grow Livvy's bangs out. She has a weird hairline though and if I didn't pull her hair up into a top knot, it hung in her face and she looked like a Muppet. So, after a lengthy debate, I decided to cut them. Here are the before and after pics. What do you think?

Hump Day!

So, I made it over the hump and ran 8.11 miles today. Not very fast though. I picked Allie up at about 7 miles and ran the last mile with her. She is fun to run with and it's refreshing to talk to her after listening to my IPod for a while. We signed her up for the Presidential Fitness Challenge and she is running three days a week and will work up to four miles in a month. We are going to run a 10K (about 6 miles) with her this fall/winter sometime. She is a good little runner! It's quite funny to run with her because people driving by watch her and smile. It makes me smile too! Here is a picture of her on her first 10K, last summer (2007)

Still feeling motivated...

Well, so far so good. I'm still motivated. This means that I got up at 5:45 this morning (keep in mind it is Monday) and hit the pavement. Sorry for blogging about running so much lately, accountability is what keeps me motivated. I ran a little bit with a friend in my ward on Saturday and ended up going 7 miles (it really helped to have her to talk to.) I haven't gone more than 7 miles since the marathon so, I've got to get over that hump. Maybe this Saturday is the magic day. I am also going to take a weight lifting class tonight. My good friend, Linda teaches it and I went last week. I left the class feeling like a champ. I guess I didn't realize how hard she really worked us because on Wednesday I hurt in places I've never hurt before. At least it's a good pain! This weeks goal: Run 4 days, at least 4 miles each day. 2 days of resistance training. Eat more fruits and veggies.

Bedtime Blues...

What happens when Mom answers the phone while trying to get little girls ready for bed? They run wild and raid my shoes. Bedtime is always quite the fiasco in our house. We get the girls all tucked in and I run as fast as I can to mine and it's not more than 3 minutes later and one is calling for me. I'm pretty sure that most of you know what I mean by, "Musical Beds." Yep I play it almost every night.

Livvy has figured out that she can get out of her bed now and does whenever she feels like it. I'm trying really hard to not make the mistake of laying down with her to get her to stay there. I just take her back to bed and tell her goodnight (about 10 times before she stays.)

We've been out of town too much lately to really get a normal routine down. So, the plan is now to stay home for an extended period and get back to normalcy so these little princesses can get some shut eye. And Mom and Dad can too!

This mornings run...

Finally it is cooling off a bit here and it is actually enjoyable to run in the mornings again. It has been incredibly hard to be motivated since it started getting hot a few months ago. I never went a week without running twice though and I'm hoping to pump it up to no less than 4 days. I read a running blog yesterday that really got me excited about running again. I'm going to register myself for a race so that I have a goal to work towards. I usually do better when I have something pushing me to get my butt out of bed in the morning and hit the pavement. I'm still mulling over what that goal will be so, I will post that when I've decided. ( Marathon, 1/2 marathon, triathlon?) We will see but, for now I'm just enjoying feeling the motivation once again. Let's hope it's not so fleeting this time.

P.S. Have you ever heard of Team Hoyt? An amazing dad/son team that runs marathons and triathlons. Really inspiring! I will also post a link to some video of them. Not only does it inspire me to be a better runner but, a better parent!

Oasis in the desert...

Finally I am posting some pictures of our backyard. It is quite the little oasis for us. Not like our yard in Salt Lake but, it will do. We will be planting our garden in February which will consist mostly of tomatoes and a few herbs. There are two different videos so you can get two different perspectives. Enjoy!

I had to include this still picture to show the "garden" area. It is small but, at least we can plant some tomatoes and herbs. There are grass clippings on top of the soil so, we are just getting it ready for planting in February. The lines that are up on the wall are the irrigation lines and we will cut those and put them down into the soil when it's time to plant. The garden is by the back gate, (it is kind of hard to see in the video.)

Some sad news...

My Grandma passed away on Sunday morning. It wasn't totally unexpected but, I can't say that I was prepared for it. My Grandma and I were always really close and I'm so glad that I had her in my life for so long. Even though I didn't get to see her as much in the last few years, I already miss her terribly. She had a love for all things beautiful. Her house was always immaculate and decorated beautifully. She loved planting her own flowers and she did it every spring up until the last one. We shared a love for the color purple. She taught me so much! Last night I went running and it was raining. About halfway through the clouds started to clear and the sun peeked through a little bit, it was still raining though and there was a gorgeous double rainbow. I couldn't help but think that she would have loved it. Then I had another thought that she was probably just enjoying it from a different perspective. I am so thankful for a gospel perspective that teaches us that we will be with her again. I'm sure that she had many joyous reunions! Please remember my Grandpa in your prayers. This is going to be a difficult time for him until he's ready to join her. I am so thankful that she isn't suffering anymore but, I will always miss her! Love you Grandma!

She's a genius!

I think that most of you fellow moms will relate to my excitement on this one. Ashlie is really into writing letters and drawing. She literally has gone through a ream of paper in the last few weeks. I hate to discourage her though. Sunday she brought this one to me. She has been writing hers and her sisters names for a while but, when she brought me Australia, I was so surprised. I asked her where she learned to write that and she said, "Oh just from the ball sitting on the desk." We have a world globe sitting on our desk. She's a crack up. We sure love this kiddo! Her favorite shows are Super Why! and WordWorld. I love her zeal for learning!

Did my 2-year old just say that?

We were walking Allie to school this morning and I was pulling Ash and Liv in the wagon. The girls like to pick the flowers on the bushes when we are walking. Liv grabbed one and said, "Mom, this flower is for Nick Jonas." I made her repeat it twice because I was surprised that she knows who Nick Jonas is. Allie and Ash love to listen to the Jonas Brothers and I guess that Liv loves them too now. It's kind of funny.

Preschool Days are FINALLY here again...

Ashlie has been dying for this day to come for a long time. After only being able to go to a half year of preschool last year because of our move, she is so happy to be back in school. She wanted to look "perfect" (as she said) for her first day. Thanks to my friend Maribeth for hooking me up with a great preschool teacher! We are so excited to see what Ash will learn this year.
This little gal was feeling a little lost without her big sis to play with. She's not quite sure about having one on one time with Mom. I'm sure that we will find some fun things to do together but, she will definitely miss Ash when she's at school.

Ms. Rebecca is going to be such a fun teacher for Ashlie!

12 years and counting...

Phil and I just celebrated our 12th anniversary this last weekend. We normally celebrate it the weekend after because of Labor Day and school starting. But, we were feeling the need to have a little Mom and Dad time. So, we took the kids to my parents house for the weekend and headed up to Midway. We stayed at my brother-in-law Jim's condo and had a fabulous time together. We love Midway and have probably celebrated over half of our anniversaries there. It was absolutely gorgeous up there and the weather was perfect. We got there on Friday night and crashed at about 10:00. We got up and worked out at the gym and went for a nice run up towards Wasatch State Park. It was tough running up but, we really enjoyed it because it was cool and sunny. When we got back we had a nice breakfast and then went to Swiss Days. I LOVE Swiss Days! It is so fun! They had the world's best caramel apples too. After that we went back to the condo and had a nice uninterrupted nap. Then we pigged out on nachos, salad and pizza and watched some football. We went back to Swiss Days a little later and it was so fun to just wander around. I can't believe that we've been married for 12 years. I'm so grateful for Phil, he is always keeping me laughing. I truly feel that he is my best friend! Love ya babe!

Grandma's & Grandpa's House

The kids had a blast hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the weekend. They sure know how to work it. They got to go to Hallmark and each pick out a new Webkin and then had lunch at McDonald's. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking such great care of them and giving me a guilt free weekend. Love ya!

The girls loved seeing Uncle Scott too!