Half Marathon

Today was the half marathon fundraiser. I was at the park at 6am setting up. I could hear the thunder and see the lightening. By 7 am it had started sprinkling and we were all nervous about what was in store for us. It did stop and turned out to be a beautiful (but cold) day. We had a great turn out. There were 72 kids from the school that came and ran with us. That's almost half of the school. We ended up making around $900 from the racers and then another $300 left over from sponsor money. I am very excited about it. Everyone (except one person) enjoyed the race and we have many that have asked us to do it again, which we plan on doing. I even had some one come and ask us to be a sponsor next time. The kids all had fun too. There was plenty of food and all the kids get prizes on Monday. Pam and I are ready for a nap, as are a few others.

Life

Have you ever had moments in your life when you just walk around wondering what just happened? That's how I have been feeling the last few days. Wednesday Michael came home with some not so good news. It came as a shock and a huge let down. All that we have been working for seems all of the sudden so out of reach. We were so close to our goals and now it seems everything has been taken away from us. I have been walking around in a daze wondering what just happened, why it happened and what we are saupposed to do now. I don't know how to feel. I'm angry, I'm sad, I'm depressed, I'm very tired. I want to have faith and trust and feel reassurance but it all seems very slow coming. If I didn't have children and responsibilities, I would probably just curl up in a ball and stay there for days. I kow it sounds like drama, and it probably is, but right now it's real drama. Of course everything in life happens for a reason and we don't know what's in store for us, but the wondering and struggles in the meantime are very overwhelming. I'm sure things will settle down soon and we will all be all right. I just react emotionally. Why do people have to be so selfish? Why do they have to break their promises? I sure hope a change of heart happens and maybe all of this will go away. In the meantime, remember to be honest and kind. Look for those who need a smile and be aware of how much your actions affect those around you. We can spread good in this world or we can spread sadness. Even if we have been wronged, let's spread the good and see if it will help erase the sadness we sometimes feel in our own hearts. So to all of you who read this, I love you. You mean so much to me. All of you that I have invited to read this blog, have touched my life in many positive ways. Your love has changed our lives and continues to change it. Thank you for all you do.

Time Flies!

I can't belive it's October already. Last year on my birthday I went to school and read stories to the kids. This year they wanted me to do it again. It doesn't seem like that long ago but when I went to school Tuesday to eat lunch with Maddi I made appointments to come in next week on my birthday. Sometimes things get so busy, you miss what's really going on and before you know it, it's over and gone. The weather had turned beautiful again and we went to the park yesterday to enjoy the afternoon with friends. Today is clean up the house day. Next weekend is the big half marathon fundraiser. I can't believe it is time for that either. Things are coming along nicely but I am feeling the stress of trying to tie up all the loose ends and answering everyone's questions. We have close to 60 kids running so far and many more adults signed up to rn as well. We are collecting all our donations and the t-shirts are being printed. Anyone want to come run a 5K or half marathon. It will be fun! Next week we have our final meeting and then we go shopping to collect all the goodies and drinks. Friday night we will set up and hten early Saturday morning we will do all the finishing touches. It will be crazy busy, but hopefully we will earn a lot of money for our school. The kids are excited and we have people from all the communities around coming to support. I'll let you know how it goes.

As far as our loose tooth contest - Maddi won. Hers fell out this morning while she was brushing her teeth. Makenna is still working on hers.

Another face plant!

The other day, Maddi came home from school with a big scratch across her face. I asked her what happend and she said that morning when she was riding her bike to the end of the driveway to get the bus, she didn't stop her bike in time and she ran into Makenna's handle bars with her cheek. I asked her if it hurt and she said it did. I asked her if she cried and she said she did. It's better now, but with her it seems to be just a matter of time! I always thought it would be Makenna with all the bumps and bruises. Nowthe two of them are having arace to see who can get their front tooth out first. Makenna's is looser but she is more afraid to to pull. She's never pulled a tooth before, she just had Zeke kick them out. Maddi's not as afraid so she might be the winner. This will be the third tooth for both of them so losing teeth is still a big deal around here.

Appple picking

Monday night for Family Home Evening we picked apples. The kids love doing that. Ben even came and joined us for awhile which made it even more fun for the kids. He's pretty tall and he would lift the kids up on his shoulders so they could get the ones up high or he would throw them in the air and tell them to grab one while they were in the air. Michael had the ladder in the back of the pick up and the kids liked helping him in there too. Now I have 6 big buckets of apples to peel and as you can see I am avoiding it and blogging instead!

Pictures

Here are some pictures from our trip. We met the Searles at a park in Pocatello and the kids had fun playing together (except for the annoying dog that half the kids were afraid of and wouldn't go away until some one called the animal shelter). Theother is of the kids with Grandma Chris. We had a fun visit with her and she was already for us with treats for everyone!

These are some pictures from homecoming week. Friday was spirit day so the kids got to wear their Rebel shirts. The other is of Princess Lala. This is exactly what I used to look like except I had red hair.

I'm Back!!

It's been a long time since I have posted anything. Things just got crazy and I haven't been able to find time it seems. We went to Idaho and Wyoming to visit family and friends. That was great. We enjoyed seeing everyone and hopefully next time we can see a few that we missed. The kids are enjoying school - even Zane. This week is homecoming so they have been having fun with all the different dress up days. Tomorrow they get to be in the parade with me. Michael is coming back today from another Kentucky trip. Hopefully his last one of the year. I am getting ready for the half marathon fundraiser I have been organizing. It is coming up in just over three weeks. So far we have earned over $1300 in donations to help sponsor it. People seem to be very excited about it so I hope it is a success. I have put a lot of time and effort in to it and it has potential to really help out our school. It has been a lot of fun to do it, partly because I have gotten to spend a lot of time with Pam and partly for the challenge. I am also entering a poem writing contest in one of Michael's western magazines. The winner gets to be published. That would be fun to be a "published" author! I'm sure there will be tons of entries and I probably won't stand a chance, but it is still fun. Everyone is doing great and I will post pictures in the next day or so. We love you all!

Party Number One

Yesterday, Dillon had his first birthday party. He invited over the Johnsons and the Olsens and we had pizza, grapes, watermelon, cupcakes and ice cream, He loved it, especially the opening of the presents. Now he can't wait to get to Idaho and Wyoming for party numder 2 and 3!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. The kdis were so excited. They went to the open house last night and got to see their rooms and some of their friends. I felt some excitement too because I would once again have a schedule and only three children to haul around the countryside. When the alarm went off this morning some of my excitement left me. As I watched them go to the bus stop, I felt a little sadness. Each year means different experiences and each year means that they are growing up. My little cowboy is in kindergarten. That's not supposed to happen yet. I did enjoy the day though. I traded my 2 seater stroller for Pam's 3 seater stroller and the 3 little kids and I went on a 4 mile walk/run. It was quite windy and that stroller with Dillon in it is much heavier than the other one so we only ran down hill with the wind. We stopped at Lorie's and they ate a green apple and then we went home. Later in the morning we headed to Walmart and Runnings. It was nice to have a smaller crew with me. We got home in time to set things up for the Backpakc Fairy to come and then the kids came home from school. They all came home happy and had loved the day. I was actually more excited to see them than I had expected to be. Overall it was a good day. I guess ready or not, the kids are growing up and I will have to grow up with them!

Garden Harvest

Saturday we went through our garden and got out everything that was ready. We had green beans, corn, and potatoes. Zane even found one carrot. We still have some corn growing, squash, pumpkins and watermelon. Then there is the never ending tomatoes that seem to ripen overnight. Luckily I found out you can freeze them raw and whole. Then you can take them as you need them. That certainly simplified my life. The zucchini is also coming. I made 6 batches of zucchini bread over the weekend. The kids love the chocolate zucchini bread. I do too of course. Along with freezing tomatoes, I froze green beans and corn on the cob. There wasn't much of it but we will get a few meals out of each. Our stake president told us to grow a garden and if we did we would have food when we needed it. I hope that is true. We didn't grow as much as we wanted to but we did what we could so hopefully we will be blessed for that.

School starts Wednesday. This is our last summer night. After this we will be having to tell the kids they have to go to bed because there's school in the morning. We have been practicing. The kids have to pick out their clothes the night before and I have drawers downstairs that they put their clothes in. Last night they had to go to bed around 8:00. Tonight will be the same. Tomorrow they get to meet their teachers. Zane is especially excited. Hopefully he'll stay that way. I have my concerns about his teacher. Oh well, we all survived teachers we didn't like.