Home sweet home!

Tomorrow we are headed home. I am so happy! Can I stress the HAPPY! Although, that's a different story.

Our night in Mesquite was fun. We loaded up the trailer with just a little too much weight. But what the heck, we love a road trip that the max you can go is 50 mph. So getting home the next day took us a little longer. We fit over 10,000 pots in there and still had room for a couple thousand more. Thank goodness we didn't have the kids. Another plus is maybe we won't have to go back next year (ha ha I laugh at that but honestly it wasn't as bad as last year.)

Getting home will be our next 6 hour venture. I'm so ready. : )

Complete Lockdown

We went to Utah this week for a couple reasons.

• It's spring break for the kids and McKay goes to her other dad this year.
• Jake had some work at Geneva he wanted to get a headstart on.
• To pick up pots in Mesquite to hopefully start planting soon.

Although this means that Jake and I go into what I call "lockdown". We lose all of our things we take for granted.

• Internet...... I don't know how people can go without this.
• Our beloved Dishnetwork (and dvr). I don't watch T.V. at all all day long, although when I finally get the kids to sleep, I enjoy watching a couple shows (while checking everything in blogger world)

We left this morning to go to Mesquite though sans kids. We didn't want them to have to make a 12 hour drive in the truck. So now for one night I will have wireless. I guess that leaves one conclusion....I'm way too easy to please.

Creativity. That's all I can say. Cruz dressed himself. As hard as it was, I let him stay this way all day long.

He's also so proud of his "tractor" books. What they really are are construction auction pamplets with a list and pictures of the upcoming machinery.

P.S. Keli, I thought of you when I saw this.

Face of an Angel

Take a look. Innocent, sweet, cute, adorable are all words that come to mind. This is my baby.I had been blessed with three very easy, very mellow babies. All of them that slept the night early on in their little lives. None of them very picky, all of them happy and playful. Did I mention VERY EASY? Needless to say,my fourth, has been the exact opposite! She has been very strong and independent from birth, and I was grateful for this trait. Now, I don't know what to think. This sweet angel teases and knows just how to push my buttons. She still refuses to eat almost all foods. I've never had a biter until her. I often feel like I fight her with everything simple thing that happens in life. She's fearless and I spend most of my day trying to keep her from falling off chairs, or jumping off couches and beds. Then nighttime comes, and bedtime is another battle. Her precious attitude has made me glad that she is the last and not the first. Although it's not just me that puts up with her.... (busted....)
Kirsten and Cruz had climbed in her playpen to protect themselves from Katanya hitting them on the head with a doll. She knows how to tease and loves it. Many times she will run and grab something you are using or working with and start running around the bar saying na, na, na, na, na, na, or she runs and hides.

Where did she learn this?

Although, after all is said and done (and she is in bed and asleep) we still love her.

My prayers have been answered....

THIS IS THE ANSWER TO MY NEW CAR!Think how much money I could save by getting 330 m.p.g. compared to the 12 I get right now. Click here to read all about it. It's suppopse to be out in October of 2008. I seriously would buy this!!!! Now my new problem. How can I get a family of six in it?

If you want more information you can also read THIS.

P.S. I also just thought of one more problem, this wouldn't do very good in snow. Looks like I'll have to find a new house in a warmer area. Dang! : )

More Arches

After seeing Betsy's blog and all the pictures from hiking to Delicate Arch I finally decided to sort thru mine. I realized Jake just may take a lot of pictures. Here are my favorites.... Jake in the cove right before Delicate Arch.
I like this one of Betsy..... ....and this one as well.
I had honestly over 50 pictures of Karl in this pose but with the lens tilted in every direction. To be honest I think Karl got a little tired of working the camera. : )

Given the situation we were tired and hungry after this hike. I would have loved to do more but my legs hated me at the moment.

Three down, one to go

How do you get your three year old excited about going on the toilet when his baby sister comes and bites him? Doesn't leave a good impression.

Although Cruz made it through two whole days with no accidents! YAY.....as bribery we are off to TOYS R US.

Things I learned about training this year

This year my time was : 2:19:32

Last year my time was: 3:14:46

I am happy, need I say more?

Next race time goal : 2:00:00 or less

(I'm thinking maybe Lake Tahoe in September)

THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT TRAINING THIS YEAR

1. It is funner to pass people than to be passed.
2. You are not nearly as sore the next day.
3. It leaves a good taste of running after the race.
4. It makes me want to do another this year.
5. It can make you go just a little bit fast and last a lot longer.

THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT MOAB:

1. Do not hike up to Delicate Arch a couple hours after you finish running 13 miles. That mile there will be your longest one yet.
2. Staying in Moab is way better than Green River. And cheaper too! The townhouse has many advantages! Again a brilliant idea by Jake.
3. It is about 215 miles from Orem to Moab. Check your gas gauge incase your husband doesn't.
4. A good breakfast will get you far. Not like last year where a power bar didn't even last to when the race started.



THINGS THAT DROVE ME TO FINISH FASTER THIS YEAR

1. Having Kirsten remind me ALL year long how I was near the end or what she called last. (2007)
2. Proving to McKay that I can do it better and faster.
3. Proving to myself that I can do it without wanting to quit.


WHAT I AM GRATEFUL FOR

1. A husband that decided to run with me because he didn't want painful knees afterward. In return this drove me to go faster. He even stopped when I had to go to the bathroom. WOW!
2. I love my kids, but thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for watching them. It took a lot of stress out of the way.
3. Betsy's sport beans! All I can say is YUMMY! One per mile is all the reward I need.

4. Thank goodness they let the i-pod rule slip by.

Before the race jitters.

(It really isn't as cold as it looks. There low was our high. It warmed up pretty fast.)

Car runs on gas....

BASED ON A TRUE STORY....

Meet Betsy, Jake, and Amy. They are going to Moab to run. On Friday afternoon, Jake starts driving. They eat, laugh and talk. Ninety minutes later the car sputters and slowly rolls to a stop in the middle of nowhere.The car runs out of gas. They are nineteen miles from the next city and just one gallon short of making it there. Betsy and Amy laugh and laugh.Jake calls for help. No luck! Then he has a genius idea to make a sign. It says G A S. He gives it to the girls and sits embarrassed in the back seat.Betsy and Amy hold the sign for cars to read. Two cute girls, not many cars will pass? While waiting, they laugh and laugh some more. Finally a very nice family turns around and helps. They are saved and the race is on.

Roll call.....

So I have we have our first roll call. I have even oped it up to anonymous comments if anyone is interested. It's really simply but a little different.

1. Name (first is fine)

2. Favorite song

3. Do you like the green purse or the blue purse better?

Another view?

OCD?????

Since I was little, I have had one thing that I am OCD on. I mean really OCD. Not little things on how I like stuff but a real thing that "thing" that bugs me so bad if I can't do it my way. Jake has mentioned it before and I described it a little in the past but last night he was persistent on finding out why I did this. I kept it hidden for several years in the first part of my marriage. Then when he mentioned it, I just simply avoided the situation and had Jake take care of it so it wasn't on my mind. It's only one thing, well two things that have to be right concerning this one thing I guess. I'm not a wierdo or strange and I really don't know why I do it.



Anyway Jake kept asking and asking last night why. I refused to tell him because then he would have leverage and make fun of my "ways".

I think it's time to let it go. I'm tired of this situation. Jake, here is your answers. I'm am ditching my OCD.

I hate turning off light switches.

This is one reason Jake has all the light switch controls on his side of the bed. So I don't have to do it at all.

My explanation:

I have been terrified of fires since I was little. I was often told turning a light switch on and off would cause a fire. So I came up with this solution. I would turn the light switch off. (First OCD) It would have to feel right. The click, the way it went down, and by no way on earth could it just be half off. Jake tortured me with this last night. (Second OCD) I would hold the light switch down (sometimes tap it, later on I would just still touch it so it wasn't obvious) and count to my "special number". This number was the number of people in my family. So as of right now it WAS (notice the past tense) six. This was done to sort of "protect" them. Don't ask me where I came up with this odd way of thinking. Then if everything felt right I was done. If not and something had gone wrong or didn't feel right, I would flip the light on, and then off again, starting the process over.

Jake tried to convince me it was an OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I'm convinced it's an OCO, Obsessive Compulsive Order. That didn't work on him though.

Now, everyone knows how different I am. : ) Although, I'm sure everybody has just there one little thing. Even if it is so little that it is unnoticeable and unrecognizable. This I guess was my safety blankie. Like none of us want to, I have grown up and don't need it anymore.