Moab 1/2 Marathon

Ana dancing with the crazy guy. Or... was it the other way around?

After the race, obviously. Why am I the only one bright red and sweaty?

Pat and Ana after the race. Ana ran a 1:44, with hardly any training, and

a bad knee. I can only figure that I trained too much.

Hillary and Chad, looking as good as ever.

Mindy and Ryan. Ryan ran so fast he had time to run back to the condo and take a shower.

Geralyn and Andrew, Geralyn was the only smart one

Bart and I at Dead Horse Point. We finally figured out what happened to the horses.

Tanya, Shane and Mia. Shane said they were both "heavy with child."

Bart and I at Delicate Arch. I know that was more than a 3 mile hike.

We had heard the phrase "what happens in Moab, stays in Moab", so I guess we'll stick to that. We went down with a group of 12 to run the race. There was Ana and Pat, Hillary and Chad, Andrew and Geralyn, Mindy and Ryan, Lisa and Corby and Bart and me. We had a lot of fun. A few fond memories included the unmentionable item left in the shower, a large pair of ladies panties, a wooden spoon, a theft of a vehicle, lots of hard rock music, the prairie dawg port-a-potties, recycled gatorade, and a lot of running. Everyone completed their races and did a great job. I am glad that it is over. It is so much work, even though Bart refers to it as "the fun run", only 13.1 miles. The worst part for me was that my watch battery died during the first mile, so I had no idea of my pace. Bart got a 1.32 and his goal was under 1:35, so he did great. I got 1:51. I was hoping to at least get under 1:50, but that's ok. The weather was perfect for running, it was so nice down there. We had fun going out to eat with everyone. We drove out to Dead Horse Point with Ana and Pat. The last day, we hiked to Delicate Arch. Tanya, Shane, and Mia met us for breakfast and the hike. Shane carried a huge backpack, the princess carrier, and Tanya is 6 months pregnant. I couldn't believe she could hike so well.

Teddybear Picnic

Kate had her Teddybear picnic at school. They took a stuffed animal and a sack lunch. She was so excited to be able to get a pizza lunchable. It was so cute, they set up their dogs with their arms around each other. Eliza is Kate's best friend in her class. Kate said her favorite thing was getting to eat lunch at school.

A new car!

Well, now all of Bart's dreams have come true. It has always been his dream to own a Honda Accord. That dream was reinforced after all of our years of owning Audi's and Volkswagon's, with the frequent, expensive repairs. The necessary repairs always seem to be my fault, since I picked out the car. So, I agreed to let him pick the car this time. It is nice, I especially like the automatic transmission, since my last car wasn't. We decided on all black interior, which shows everything I am noticing quite quickly. Bart refused to pose for his picture in the car, but mine isn't this clean anymore, it has been a week!

Kate's 6 year old pictures

These are Kate's pictures for her six year old birthday, yes, that was back in October. I am a little behind, only four months though. She picked out what she wanted to wear and how she wanted her hair fixed. She really loves the dresses that can spin, and the long "princess hair".

Happy Birthday Kolten.

Kolten was lucky enough to be a Valentine baby. I am always reminded of when he was born, how scared we were. The cord was kinked around his shoulder and I had to have an emergency c-section. I have never been so scared. He was only 6 pounds and skinny looking, he wasn't like I imagined him. But, he started eating like crazy, and in a couple of weeks he looked just like I had pictured he would. I was so excited to have him, he was so much fun. He still is fun, and I am lucky to have him in my life. We have had a tradition to have heart pancakes each birthday, but he told me he doesn't like pancakes and he wanted McDonald's, so that is where we went for breakfast. That night, he chose Winger's to eat at, which isn't the easiest night to eat out, but it wasn't bad at all. We had a big birthday party with both of our families. It is alway pretty crazy, but it is nice to have just one big party. He never really decided on a cake that he wanted, so when I saw this Yoda cake online, I took it as a personal challenge. It had some instructions so it wasn't too bad. It wasn't perfect, but I have to keep reminding myself that it is just a cake. We had pizza for dinner so that was easy. It was a nice party, especially because the cake was done and the house was cleaned all the day before. Kolten mostly got money and gift cards because he's getting harder to shop for. He got a nice camera from Lucy for his trip to Japan. We are lucky to have Kolten in our family. He is a nice kid, he is nice to me. He does like to tease Kate, but he really loves her. He gets good grades and has kept out of trouble. He likes to keep to himself more these days, and isn't the talker he use to be. I guess that is what happens when you are fourteen. Happy birthday, I love you Kolten!

Valentine's Boxes

This is Kolten's box he made in the fourth grade. This is Kate's new pony box.

My busy week.

Valentine's week is always a very busy week for me. I guess that all started exactly fourteen years ago. That is Kolten's birthday. So, in addition to the regular Valentine's festivities, we always have all of the birthday festivities too. This week, Kate has been sick all week with a croup like cough and fever, and laryngitis. It is lasting forever, the doctor's office said she doesn't need to come in unless her fever is over 105, or she's having a hard time breathing. It has now been about ten days, they said it could last two weeks. But, she really does enjoy staying home sick from school for some reason even though she likes school. I think it is the tv. Our firs project was the Valentine box. Kate needed one for class. She wanted to use Kolten's bassett hound box that he made, but it is fragile and he refused to let her. We finally decided on a pony after lots of thinking about it. We just made it out of an oatmeal box and papermache. It turned out cute and she was happy about it. Bart said that I am crazy for making these things, but I think it is so much fun as a kid. My dad use to make me a Valentine's day box out of an oatmeal container, which was a train with wood wheels, and painted red. He said his dad did it for him too. It is just tradition. I remember being so proud of that box, I guess most people just decorate a shoe box, which is normal I suppose. She was sick on Valentine's day but she wanted to go to school anyways for the party. She decided on Hannah Montanah Valentines and M&M's to hand out.