Back running again...

I'm so glad to be getting settled once again. I can start my running routine again. At least when Phil is not travelling. I can usually get at least 3 days in a week though. I ran 4 miles on Saturday, 4 yesterday and 4 today. This is definitely a different climate to run in (more humid.) It can be totally cloudy outside and you think it's cold until you start running. I'm sure that people here think I'm crazy to be running sleeveless and in shorts, but it's warm to me. Mostly I've felt really good. It's amazing to me that when you get out of a routine you almost have to relearn how to do certain things. For instance, my breathing. I've really struggled with abdominal cramping the last few runs. It's because I've forgotten my breathing. Cardiovascularly and strength really haven't been a problem but, the abdominal cramps can make a run or break it for me. Thankfully, I've been able to work through it. Oh, also I've come across a few blogs that have totally inspired me. http://willrunfordesignerjeans.blogspot.com and http://runningfarstrong.blogspot.com/ Maybe, just maybe I'll be registering for a marathon here shortly. I definitely need a goal to keep me going. An incentive like the one on willrunfordesignerjeans, seems to be right up my alley. :)

Great weekend...

Finally a somewhat normal weekend. No travelling, a little more unpacking and doing normal weekend family things. Just what the doctor ordered. Phil came home from Kansas City on Friday afternoon (the first time he's been home since we moved in.) We had a homecooked meal together and believe me it was so nice to not be going out to dinner. I normally love to go out to dinner but, after two months of doing it, I'm ready to eat at home. I think that secretly the kids are too. Saturday Phil and I both got to get out and go for a run. (Not together but, at least we got to do it.) I felt so great on my run and I came home feeling inspired to register for another race. (I'll post more about that later.) We hung out at home in the morning and went into Dallas to check out one of the malls later on in the afternoon. They have really great malls here with tons of variety. After that we took the kids bowling and had a blast with them. They had so much fun too. (Sorry I left the camera at home.) We got a kick out of Ash. As you know she is incredibly independent. (no ramp for her) She hefted her 7 pound ball and threw it on her own. Then she would sit down cross legged on the floor an wait for it to mosey on down and knock a few pins down. It was so funny. Allie did great and bowled an 88. Liv was pretty chill about it and just took her turn not really caring about where her ball went. I did alright, had a few strikes and then lost my umph. Phil did great, as normal athletic guys do. Someday I'll kick his butt at something. Ha ha. All in all we had a nice weekend. Looking forward to more. :)
P.S. Remember I'm taking my blog private. I would love for those of you who are normal, sane people to keep reading it and staying in touch with me. Just shoot me a quick email and I'll add you to my list. I may add some of you anyway. :) Love ya'll!

Going Private...

After discussing our blog, Phil and I have decided that now is a great time to make it private. If you would like to still view our blog, please send me an email at pachasefam@hotmail.com and I will add you to my list. I will leave it open until February 9th. Thanks and love you all!

Shout out to Linda...

My great friend Linda from Vegas has been taking care of her terminally ill mother-in-law for the last few months. It has been hard for her and her family to watch their mom and grandma slip away so fast. My own mom went through this for the last year with my grandparents. Her sweet mother-in-law passed away this morning. I just want to send a shout out to Linda and my mom and everyone else who has put their lives on hold to take care of a loved one. You should all be 'sainted'!

UPDATE TIME...

We are finally in Texas. We left on Wednesday night, drove to Flagstaff, AZ and drove the rest of the way on Thursday and arrived on Friday at about 12:30am. We really didn't have to stop too much. Just for potty breaks and dinner. The kiddos did awesome, thanks to the DVD player and their Nintendo DS. It was so long! Especially from Albequerque on. We are happy to be here and are looking forward to moving into our house on Tuesday.

Here is our new house. There are a few cosmetic things that the builder will be taking care of by Tuesday. For example the big empty space on the upper right hand side will have some shutters. I have a ton of pictures to put on here from the last month but, I just don't have access to them at the moment. So, I will be updating more later.

Christmas Vacation...

Our Christmas vacation started a little bit early this year. We planned to spend it in Utah because we knew that getting back to see family after the big move would be a bit harder. My Grandpa passed away a week before we were planning to leave so, we left a few days earlier for his funeral. The funeral was really nice. My aunt and uncle both spoke and my mom played her flute. To top it off it was a really beautiful day! We will miss my Grandpa so much! The night of the funeral we spent some quality time with family that we don't get to see very often. My cousins moved away when I was about 13 years old and I was so happy to spend some good time with them. Below are some pictures of my kids with a few of them. My kids adore them and have talked about them non-stop since.

The girls with Kait. Kait is such a fun gal! I miss her even though I haven't seen her for years. She is getting married this coming summer and the girls have been invited to be a part of the wedding. We're so excited for her and Simon!
The girls with Josh showing their "strength". They teased him and had such a ball with him!

Here's Cam, the cutest RM I know. He is such a great guy! The girls got a kick out of him too.

We played a new card game that was so much fun. (Thanks to Alison and Wayne!) It's called 99. We even got my uncle Reed to play and we all had a blast together. Trash talking and laughing so hard. I'm sure that my Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed watching us from heaven.

(See more posting of our vacation below)

Continuation of Christmas Vacation...

Phil and I left for Dallas the day after the funeral. We left the kids with Phil's parents, Margaret and then Sue. Thanks to you all for your help!!!! It was fun to go on a little trip with Phil and get a feel for what Dallas is all about. We saw some really great houses and spent some time with our good friends Barry and Susan. When we got home we went to Phil's parents Christmas party for all of their kids and spouses. It was fun and we all had a great laugh at the"12 Days of Christmas". (Sorry I didn't get any pictures.) And on to Christmas Eve. We spent the evening with Phil's parents and his sister Ann and her family. We had a nice dinner, very yummy! Then we did a little talent show. Allie played Santa Claus is Coming to Town on the piano, Ashlie did a dance and Ann and Abe recited "The Living Christ"(which was truly amazing.) Grandpa sang O Holy Night (my favorite Christmas song.) Then we did the Nativity. Grandpa read it, while the girls acted it out. John and Mel came by later and we had a great night.

Last Christmas Post

Christmas morning we woke up to this beautiful scene. I love it! I love white Christmases. I think that my dad gave me that. He always wanted white Christmases too.

Livvy got her Leapster and her Bitty Baby that she asked for.

Ashlie got her (DOS) and her Bitty Baby. She wanted a Nintendo DS but, always called it a DOS. It was so funny!

Allie got her DS too and her American Girl doll. They all had a really fun day!


We spent the afternoon and evening with my family and had a really yummy ham dinner and played the Wii. It was so fun! I forgot to grab my camera and didn't get any pictures. :( My mom and dad even have a cute little puppy! The girls and I are headed back up there next weekend for a Birthday Party, so I will post some pictures later. The day after Christmas we all flew down to Dallas as a family and house hunted some more. It was fun and the girls did great on the plane. We were so beat from all of the travelling that we picked up Daisy and left right away for Vegas. We were glad to be sleeping in our own beds again. However, we didn't get to spend very much time with our family and friends. So, that is why we are headed back up there. Phil left this morning for Dallas. We were sad to let him go but, are glad to be moving forward and getting closer to being settled again. My blog will most likely be neglected for awhile. So, until next time CIAO!

I was dreaming of a White Christmas...

Ever since I was a little girl I have loved the snow. I love it, that is until after January 1st. When we moved to Vegas I thought that I would never have a white Christmas again. Well, we decided to spend this one with our families in Utah and I got my white Christmas. At about 11:00 last night it started snowing really hard. By 8:00 in the morning we had about 8 inches and then it continued until the afternoon. It was beautiful and I loved every minute of it. I don't even mind driving in it. The girls loved it too! Unfortunately their Mom doesn't really want to buy all new snow clothes for them. So they get to play in it for about 10 minutes at a time. We've had a great Christmas, spending time with our families. Hope that you all had a great one too! Merry Christmas!!!

Bittersweet feelings...

Early this morning my sweet Grandpa joined my Grandma in heaven. I'm incredibly sad to see him go but, I'm so happy that he is reunited with his forever sweetheart. How do I express my feelings for a man that I love so much? He was so sweet and I never for a second doubted that he loved me. He could tease me like no other but, I always knew that it was out of love. He never let me leave without a kiss and he was always affectionate. I'm so thankful for the people who have taken such great care to make his journey home comfortable. I'm thankful for my parents for all of their tenderness and love towards him. I love you Grandpa and will miss you more than you can ever know!

Crazy runner...

After twelve years of marriage I guess there shouldn't be much about Phil that surprises me. But, he never ceases to. We both had registered to run the Las Vegas Half Marathon. I slacked on my training the last few weeks and with Ashlie getting sick I felt like I couldn't (in good conscience) leave her with anyone, so I didn't run this morning. I know it's kind of a lame excuse but, what can I say. My husband on the other hand rolled out of bed this morning and decided to run the FULL marathon. Yes, you read that right. I told him he was crazy and rolled my eyes. I showed up at the finish about the time we figured he would be done with the half and I ended up waiting for another hour for him. He finished the full marathon at the same time he finished last year, however, with about a quarter of the training. I'm so proud of him!!!! When he puts his mind to something he does it and it's amazing how well his body follows. He felt great and hopped on a plane to Phoenix about two hours after he finished. He just called to tell me that he ate a whole 16"pizza. I think he deserves to eat whatever he wants. P.S. Ashlie is feeling better and has been eating like she just ran a marathon too. I had to keep her home from church today though. She wasn't too happy.

Philly's tag with the half crossed out.


Rounding the corner to the finish line and with a smile!!!


Phil and our good friend Brandy. He flew into Vegas yesterday and stayed with us to run the marathon. We had a great time with him.

Brandy rounding the corner to the finish line.

Catching up...

Thought I would post some pics from our Thanksgiving trip...not many because my camera has been in the hands of my two year old once again and the lens cover has been messed up. I think it's time for a new camera and it will be stored high above the reach of Livvy's curious hands.

The girls were entertaining themselves while visiting Grandpa Omer. They even got him to smile for a while. There is nothing more priceless than to see your Grandpa smile at your kids, it makes me so proud to be their mom.

Every time we go to see Duane and Bev, the girls have to go swing on their old swing that Duane made for them. They love it and the people who bought our old house don't mind a bit when we stop to swing for a bit.

One of the highlights of our trip was to stop and play with our good friend's the Packer's. The girls miss their kids so much and it is always sad to say goodbye again. Ash and Sid had a blast playing in the leaves.

Allie and Paige always have a great time together. Sorry about the picture Paige!

Shout out and a huge thank you to Amy!!!!

The new family pics are courtesy of my great friend, Amy Leavitt. She did a fantabulous job and we are so excited to share these with you all!

P.S. She is also my visiting teacher and an awesome one at that! :) Hope I didn't embarrass her.

Her website is: www.amyleavittphotography.com Check it out!

Happenings...

I've got a few so, I'll just update everyone on what's going on with us lately...

• We went to Utah for Thanksgiving. The girls and I left on November 20th and Phil joined us on the 25th. It was a trip for making memories and farewells. Some really sad. My Grandpa is not doing very well and I spent a lot of time with him. I knew that my time with him would be pretty much my last so, we had some really great bonding moments that I will always remember. Also, my parent's dog passed over the rainbow bridge to doggy heaven while we were there. We got her when I was a senior in high school and she was pretty much my baby until Phil & I got married. It was so hard to say goodbye to her. She was such a great dog, very obedient and loving. We'll miss her! See her pic in the sidebar. Knowing the likely changes to be happening (see previous post.) We spent a lot of time with family and friends, making a lot of fun memories. All in all it was a great trip for us.
• Last Saturday night, while still in Utah, Ashlie got really sick. It started with her ear hurting really bad and proceeded to vomiting. We left Sunday morning for home and made it without much problem and Ash slept most of the way home, puking a couple of times. We figured she'd get better but, by Tuesday we knew she was just getting sicker. The pediatrician sent us straight to the ER and from there they admitted her to the hospital. After an overnight stay for IV fluids and antibiotics, she is home and doing so much better. She couldn't seem to keep enough fluid in her to stay hydrated and had a slight case of pneumonia. She was one sick little girl! We're so thankful she is okay.
• Phil has been wrapping up business at Meadow Gold and has been pretty busy this week saying good-bye to his co-workers and customers. He did a great job for Meadow Gold and we're thankful for the experiences he's had. Hearing all the great things that his co-workers and customers say about him is really gratifying. I'm so proud of him!

The rumors are true...

So, here is a brief synopsis of the latest going on with us. Phil has accepted a position with National Dairy Holdings. They are a competitor with Dean Foods/Meadow Gold Dairy. His official start date is January 1st. This means that we will be moving once again. Very bittersweet! Thankfully not over the holidays though. We will be moving to Texas within a couple of months, depending on when the house sells. Needless to say my life is crazy BUSY, again. Now that that's out of the way, I can blog about normal things, when I get a minute of quiet. LOL!