LET IT SNOW!!!

We have gotten almost 60 inches of snow in the last 17 days. It is crazy here! There is snow everywhere and many events have been cancelled. People haven't been going anywhere because of how difficult it is to drive. Scott was supposed to go in to work today, but that didn't work out. It is kind of fun, if you ask me!! This month has been the snowiest one on record. The last record was in January 1950 where it snowed 56.9 inches. The kids got a fun inflatable sled for Christmas that they already tried out on Christmas day. It looks like we will be getting a lot of use out of it this winter!

Naughty and Nice

My sister bought these for my kids and I thought they were so cute. Ryley loves to wear her apron when we cook.

Naughty and Nice

Ryley being Nice

Kirye being Naughty

Naughty :)

I put them on the back of my kitchen chairs when we are not using them.

Dreams do come true...in the Philippines

Scott and I love this guy. His name is Arnel Pineda and he was the lead singer of a cover band in the Philippines. The band Journey was looking for a new lead singer to replace Steve Perry. The guitarist of journey was just browsing on youtube one day and came across Arnel and his cheesy band called The Zoo. They called him up and invited him to audition for the band. Arnel got hired and now he has been all over the world as the new lead singer of Journey. It is uncanny how similar he sounds to Steve Perry.

Discoing Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I have nothing to say

I've been thinking and thinking about what I can blog about, but I honestly have nothing to talk about. Shocking isn't it??? Okay, well I guess I can blab about my kids. Today we went to the dentist and Ryley got her front teeth checked out. About 3 months ago she bumped her mouth and her front teeth. It didn't kill the root, but it damaged the teeth and they are a purplish/gray color. So she got x-rays this morning on them to see if they were getting worse or better. The dentist said that her body is trying to reject the teeth, just like your body rejects a sliver and tries to push it out. Basically she has to have her teeth drilled in to and they are going to take out the damaged part and fill it. I do not know all the correct terms, so this might sound a little funny. I guess in a way it is kind of like a root canal, but it isn't fully in to the root.

I started my no sugar diet again and I am a grump! I never diet, but I like to limit my sugar intake. This summer I kind of slacked off a bit since I was running so much. Well, now that it is cold and dark out in the mornings I am not running outside as much or as long (back to the treadmill for me)! So, not as much running means I can't justify eating whatever I want. Which means I go all week with no extra sugar from treats or candy, and then on Sunday I can eat whatever treat (or treats) I want. Yeah! It is my favorite day. I feel really good when I do this, not only physically, but also mentally. I am a huge sugar person, so just knowing in my mind that I can do this makes me stronger.

What else...Scott is going full speed ahead with school, work, exercising, church stuff. He is a busy man. I am hoping this weekend he will have a little time to go to the pumpkin patch with the kids and I. The kids love that place and it is always fun to take cute pictures and drink hot cider.

Kath and Kim

Does anyone else think that new show Kath and Kim looks hilarious! I can't wait to watch it and see if it's funny or stupid. All of the commercials for it are really funny, and I love Molly Shannon, so we'll see.
Oh crap! I just read some reviews and they aren't good!

Half Marathon

Well I DID IT!! I ran my first half marathon on Saturday. That is 13.1 miles folks! I feel like I have been training all summer for this. It was a great race, but it was raining the first 7 or 8 miles, so my feet were wet the whole way. I finished in 1:41, which I was pretty happy with. I have been training at about 8-8:30 minute miles, so by my time I was running about 7:45 minute miles. I felt like the race wasn't organized that well though. They didn't even have gatorade at the mile markers, which is odd for a race that long. Scott, his mom, and the kids were at the finish line waiting for me. It was so good to see them there cheering. I just looked at the results online and I placed 31st out of 200 runners (that includes men and women); 5th place out of the 107 female runners, 2nd in my age group. I was only 4 minutes behind the female winner. Oh man, if I would've known maybe I could have pushed it a little harder (Scott just calculated that I would have had to run 19 seconds faster per mile). The course was so hard though! There were a ton of hills, and at one point there was a major hill on a gravel. It was pretty bad. A lot of people had to walk up it.
After the race we went around Greenbluff, which is an area of small family farms with apple orchards and pumpkin patches. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy, so we didn't want to stay long. Ryley had fun going through a corn maze with dad. I will have to post pictures when my mother in law sends them. I think we will go again in a few weeks so we can enjoy ourselves a bit more.
Back to the grind tomorrow. Where do the weekends go! Ugh.

Dark Chocolate Chex Mix

Has anyone tasted the new dark chocolate chex mix? I really like it and here's why....the normal sweet and salty mixes are good, but they have way too many plain, calorie wasting pretzels in them. The dark chocolate chex mix still has the pretzels in it, but they are covered in dark chocolate. See the difference? Before I would have to sift through and take out all the pretzels. Now I can just dig right in! Thanks General Mills.

Conversation with Dad

Dad: Ryley, I just told you last night not to play with the outlets. There is fire in there and it could come out and GET YOU!
Ryley: I don't want it to come out and get me.
Dad: Then don't play with the outlets.
Ryley: There's fire in that hole in there?
Dad: Yup

Boy, I love how we scare our kids. The other day I told Ryley if she kept swallowing her gum she would get bugs in her tummy.

Random

I found these pictures on my camera the other day. It looks like we have a photographer on our hands. :)

New Hobby???

I thought I would post a little about our vacation to Mammoth Lakes, CA. First of all, it was so great that my mom was able to drive over and watch the kids for 5 days. I can't even tell you how fabulous it was to not worry one single minute about my kids. The whole vacation I was so relaxed and at ease knowing they were in good hands.

We left on a Wednesday and flew in to Reno. When we got the directions to Mammoth the night before I thought the drive would only be about 1 1/2-2 hours. Well, turns out it actually takes about 3 hours because of the highway and going through small towns with the slower speed limits. Ugh. Actually, I can't complain at all because it was so nice to just drive and not have to worry about the kids in the back screaming. We just listened to music and talked and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

The next day our friends weren't getting in until later that afternoon, so Scott and I decided to go mountain biking. Mammoth Lakes is a ski resort in the winter and a big mountain biking resort in the summer. We rented some bikes and got our gondola passes. The gondola ride was only about 10 minutes, and when we got to the top we were at 11,000 feet. We had a map and we were prepared to go down an easy trail, considering we are both novice mountain bikers.

Here is a picture of us at the top, ready to take on the mountain!!


So, remember that "easy" trail we thought we would go down? Unexpectedly, we happened to get on another trail which ended up being a more difficult one. It was frustrating because none of the trails were marked that well, so we just had to guess which one we were on from the map. Scott and I had a great time going down the mountain. I was braking practically the whole time down. It was so steep and really rocky. I felt this great rush though and I feel like I can truly appreciate the passion true mountain bikers have.
At one point as we were going down the mountain and there was a lot of loose gravel type rocks. Well, I totally bit the dust and went flying over my handlebars and skidded on the rocks for a few feet. Luckily I didn't get hurt, only a few scratches. I just felt stupid. Scott of course was instantly frantic and rushed to my side! Actually, he just laughed and took a picture.

We had such a great time mountain biking. I can't wait to go again! Maybe next time I will be a little more prepared for the steep trails and wear protective padding.

ELLEN!!!!

I got all excited because I thought Ellen started her new season today, but I think it started last week! I can't believe I missed a week of her show. I never miss a day, but since we were on vacation and getting back in to things, I must've just missed it. This morning I set my dvr so no show will be left behind. Jason Lezak is on the show today. How cool is that!
Oh Ellen, how I love you. You always make me laugh and put a skip in my step. Some days I may not be able to watch you until 11pm, but don't you worry, I always make sure to squeeze you in! Happy 6th season! I can't wait to see what this year will bring. OH, and I WILL win one of your 12 days of Christmas this year!
http://www.ellentv.com/

New Bed and New Stash

Ryley got a new twin size bed for her birthday...thanks to grandma and grandpa!! She loves it and so do I. Before that we just had her sleeping on the spare bed which was a queen. It was too big for her room and too big for her. When we bought the bed we were looking at head boards, but they were a little too expensive to buy right now, so I just decided I would hold off and maybe find one at a garage sale. Well, today I found one at our local thrift store for $8! It literally looks brand new. It is white rod iron and I think it looks great. It may not be my first choice of Pottery Barn Kids, but it works and I think it looks cute in her pink room. Now I just have to get a comforter and bedskirt, which my mom might make. I also think I might spray paint the gold bed knobs or possibly get new ones. The gold just isn't working for me.

While we were on vacation Scott decided to sport a new look...the "beard." It doesn't grow in great since he doesn't have dark facial hair, but it was kind of cute, in a "Shaggy" sort of way. Oh wait, I don't think Shaggy is cute, so I guess I didn't really like it after all. Today he shaved it. It was too scratchy for me.

When Mom is sick....

**I still have to roll out of bed and try to function as normally as possible.

**The kids get hamburger helper for dinner

**I get the pleasure of finding my rolling pin outside in the grass next to Obi's doo doo....I sure hope they weren't doing what I think they were doing.

Birthday Part II

The weekend of Ryley's actual birthday we were in Seattle visiting my grandparents. My mom and dad drove here and picked me and the kids up. Poor Scott had to stay home and work. We went over for the weekend and met up with Scott's mom on Sunday, which was Ryley's birthday. It was fun because she took her to the aquarium and brought her presents. The kids loved the aquarium and Ryle even had her face painted. Here are a few more pictures.

At the hotel with the cake Grandpa bought. Looks good!

With her cousins Abby and Kaylee.

Blowing out the candles.

Grandma made her wear this silly hat

Showing off her necklace...

Here's a better look, but no smile.

She instantly had to try on her new raincoat from Grandma.

Getting her face painted at the aquarium.
It was an octopus that covered half of her face!

My little princess. By the pier, looking at al that water!

Ryley's Birthday

Okay, so I know her birthday was 3 weeks ago, but a lot has been going on and I haven't had time to post anything. My little baby turned 3! I can't believe it! We had a great time with friends and family over. She was so excited and kept talking about her princess cake and how she would get to blow out the candles.
Our friends gave her some princess shoes which she wears everywhere, even to the grocery store. It is actually quite cute and I can't believe how many people comment on them. Usually though, I only let her wear them if I know we are going to be in and out fairly quick. They aren't the best shoes for walking in, and have absolutely no traction.

A few of Ryley's favorite things right now are:
1) Oatmeal and grape nuts
2) Lip gloss
3) Princess shoes and dress up clothes
4) Sours (she calls sour patch kids or similar candy sours)
5) Playing with her cousin Abby and her friends Lei lei, Melia, and Nohea
6) Her barbie playhouse
7) Reading books and going to the library
8) Saying prayers
9) Going for drives
10) Cartoons
11) Being sassy and saying OH. MY. GOSH. (I am trying to get her to say oh my goodness instead).


Here are a few pictures of her special day!

Sassy!!

Strike a pose!

Her princess cake. It was tiny, but we had another sheet cake for everyone.

Ryley's friend, Nohea, who has the same curly hair as she does.

Whoa! What is daddy doing?

Some friends and cousins.

Kirye was lovin' it!

Go Ryley! Happy Birthday sis!

Opening presents.

OH. MY. GOSH. Princess shoes!!

Her favorite present.

Standing next to the sign daddy drew for her. Pretty cool, huh?

Oh No LoLo!

I just love Lolo Jones and I was so sad last night when she hit the 9th hurdle and crushed her dreams at winning a gold medal. It was so hard to watch her cross the finish line and fall to her knees, with her hands in her face. And then they showed her family watching the race and how astonished they were. That is when I get emotional in the Olympics....when they show the families and how proud they are of their children. Watching Shawn Johnson's parents just made me want to cry. Her mom and dad were so happy and so proud of their little bulldog (as Scott calls her). She is so awesome! I can't wait to see her in London in 2012!

The kids and I are off to Seattle tomorrow! Scott is staying home and I am driving over with my parents. We are going to stay in a hotel and hang out with a few of my other sisters and go visit my grandparents. I am most excited about going to the zoo and the aquarium with Ryley. I just know she will love it!

Olympic Fever

Future Olympians

So, I have been informed that I haven't updated my blog in a while. It's not my fault, really! It's the fault of NBC and all those blasted Olympics being shown non stop. We have been crazy here watching them every night until midnight or later. My sleep is definitely being deprived. But I don't care. The Olympics are just so great and they only happen every 2 years. In the words of Tim Daggett, "WOW!" Does anyone else think he looks a little androgynous? I'm not sure if it's his high cheekbones, or his smooth tanned face. But doing a little research on him I found out he is married and has 2 kids. I would not have guessed that.

It's no secret that I love track and field. Since it has been on I get the biggest high. I think that is why I find it so hard to go to sleep. I just can't sleep knowing there are still amazing events running. We even record the events that are on USA from 11pm-5am. We usually end up fast forwarding through most of them, but sometimes there are some good events. My most favorite unusual event has been speed walking. IT'S CRAZY!! They had to do 20km, which I'm not sure how long that is, but they finished in over an hour. Most of them had such skinny legs and would wear hats. If you get 3 red warning, or yellow, cards, you are out. When I watched them I just don't know how you can tell if they are lifting one of their feet off the ground. They go so fast and their hips wiggle and their heads bobble so funny. I bed they have bad hips. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else saw it! I think we have 10 hours of recorded Olympics on our DVR right now, and we try to catch up everyday.

We have also been watching a TON of volleyball of course. And guess who is commentating on all the matches....you guessed it....Karch Kiraly (ka-rye), who Kirye is named after. Yipee! We love volleyball. I really hope my kids are in to sports and especially something fun to go watch and cheer. I mean, if they want to play handball or do trampoline-ing (is that as word?), I guess that's okay, but it would be so much more exciting if they played volleyball and ran track!

Summer Days

So, I got a used Prowler bike trailer at a garage sale on Saturday. I have been wanting one for a while but never got one because we didn't have any bikes and we didn't really have the extra money to spend on one. Some of them are almost $500! Well, on Friday this lady was selling a really nice Bell one for $75, but that was too much. You can buy a new one, although, not extremely nice for $100. So on Saturday after my early runs, I usually walk around the neighborhood before I go home and check out the different garage sales. It is around 8:30am so I am there early enough where all the good stuff isn't gone. I went to this house that was selling tons of baby stuff and she was selling her bike trailer for $35. It looked practically new. There were no scratches or problems. So I ran home and told Scott about it. I hurried back and got it because I thought for sure someone would snatch it up if I didn't. I am so excited about it.
On Tuesday, my friend Emily and I went on this great bike trail with our kids. I borrowed one of her bikes. We biked about 5 miles and then stopped and had our sack lunches. We were going to go another 2.5 miles to Nine Mile Falls, but the kids were getting a little restless. It was already almost 1pm. So we just biked back and we were home by 2pm to get the kids down for their naps . It was so much fun and I forgot what a workout biking is, especially going up the hills pulling both the kids behind me.

On Wednesday I went to the recycle center and on the way home we hit the thrift store in our town that is only open 3 days a week. I like going there because I can always find cheap shoes for the kids, and the kids each get a free book. After I was there for a while this lady came in who said she had a bike to donate. She said she had only used it twice, and I kind of believed her because she was really overweight. As soon as they brought it in I went and looked at it. It wasn't super awesome or anything, but it was a nice "Huffy like" 15 speed purple girls bike. It really did look like it was in great condition, except for a little rust spot on the handle bars. So I bought it for $22! I was so excited. I have already used the trailer 3 times and the bike twice!
So, I got everything, including 3 bike helmets for $60! Isn't that great??

Tonight while Scott was having a meeting at our house, I took the kids to the park that is about 5 miles away. It was a good bike ride and fun for the kids. It is such a fun summer activity and I figure Kirye will still be able to go in it 2 years from now. Now I also have a bike if I want to do the triathlon that is coming up.

Bulk

Can I just say how much I love bulk stuff! I almost wish I had a bigger family just so I could go and get a bunch of bulk products. Today after my run I walked past this garage that had some bulk toilet paper and kleenex and something else, and I just wanted to run to Costco and stock up. It's weird...I get this crazy feeling when I'm in Costco, like I have to have a 5 pound jar of hummus, even though we will only eat 5 ounces!! I do like getting toilet paper, paper towels, detergent, soap...things that won't expire. Oh, and don't even get me started about their bakery items. I can't walk by there without wanting to buy each different dessert. I usually can't get them though because they are so huge, and unless we have company over, there is no way we can eat it all.

So, last night I did the stair climbing machine and lunges, this morning I ran 8 miles, and then later my friend and I are going biking with the kids and the trailers. I have a feeling I am going to be sore tomorrow!

*****I forgot to post this yesterday.*******

I am totally sore today...mostly in my buttocks area....from all of the lunges I did at the gym! When I try to sit down is when it hurts the most.
My kids are on something already today. They both slept in until past 8:30, so I don't know what is up with them. I think I need to go put Kirye down for a nap, and Ryley needs to go run around outside.

Spidey Sense

Yesterday we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. Ryley needed some new toothpaste, so I asked her if she wanted the princess kind or the Dora kind. She picked up another one and said, "I want the Spiderman kind." I don't know where in the world she got that. We have never watched Spiderman with her or any Spiderman cartoons, so I can only guess she got it from a commercial on Nickelodeon or something.
Ryley rarely watches tv anymore. She used to watch at least 1 episode of Dora a day. Now she either doesn't watch any tv, or a few clips here and there. She does like Funniest Home Videos, which I think is cute. On Monday I rented Alvin and the Chipmunks for her and she watched it 3 times in less than 24 hours. It is fun that she can start watching movies like that and making it through almost all of them. Scott took her to see Wolly the other day and she made it through about an hour of the movie.
Our friends Greg and Cory are having their baby today. I think they were at the hospital by 6am, so I am curious to know if the little guy is here or not. I need to go text them. Good luck guys. We love you!

Novo-can I get my face back

I went to the dentist yesterday to get a hole filled where some enamel had chipped off. My appointment was at 10 and I probably got my novocaine shot at 10:30. Well, I was numb for 5 hours! I didn't start feeling my face again until around 3:30! It stunk too because all I had time to eat before my appointment was a piece of toast. And you know when you are numb, if you try to eat it doesn't work that well.
Speaking of dentists, Ryley's teeth are looking a lot less grey. I am think the color might be slowly coming back in to them. Thank goodness. Ryley is just so cute. She is growing up so fast. I can't believe she is almost 3! She catches on to things so quickly and will say the funniest phrases. The other day she said, "Mom, Jesus likes when I give Kirye hugs and kisses." We are trying to help her be nice to her brother. Last week we took her to the track where I was doing some speed work. She decided she wanted to run like mommy, so she ran all the way around the track, IN HER FLIPFLOPS, without stopping. I was amazed! I hope I have a little runner on my hands.

Run Like A Girl

This weekend my friend Melanie and I drove to Portland for a 10K race called Run Like A Girl. It was an AWESOME weekend! We stayed with her mom and aunt and we had such a good time. We drove down on Friday and just hung out with her brother and some of his friends that night and Saturday night. Her family is awesome and they have such a close bond...it was just fun to be around them.

The race was on Sunday morning at 7:30am. That meant we had to be up by 6am, but it worked out fine, even though I only got 5 1/2 hours of sleep! The race started and I was up in front, and within the first 1/2 mile I was leading the pack. There were probably 200 other runners that started at 7:30 (there was another group of 450 runners that started at 9am). I didn't know this, but the 7:30am starters weren't being officially timed. I guess if you signed up to run early, people didn't care as much about being timed or "racing" per se. I kept thinking people would start passing me, but I won the race and I couldn't believe it. I ran the 6.2 mile course in about 53 minutes, but I think I could have run faster if there was someone in front pushing me to run faster.

After the race, I talked to the guy who organizes the race and he told me I should have run with the 9am group...but what could I do. Now I know for next year.
I looked on line this morning and found out that the top finisher ran in about 48 minutes. Out of the 450 people that ran later, I would have come in 17th place and finished 3rd in my age group. I was so happy with the race. It was so fun and the trails were crazy, but I loved it. At times I was flying so fast downhill I thought I was going to fall and roll down!! I can't wait to do my next 10K or half marathon. I am probably going to do a half marathon in September. Running just makes me so happy and when I race my adrenaline is pumping like crazy and I remember why I love to race competitively! Today I took the day off because I am a little sore from all the downhill parts, but tomorrow I am back on the road!

July 4th and Purple Teeth

Ryley at the parade.

Kirye would NOT look at the camera!

The Rock Band...Elyce and Kirye are groupies.

Playing outside

Notice the purse in his hands.

$1200 of fireworks!!

Ryley and her cousin Kaylee snuggling while watching the show!

We had an awesome 4th! In the morning we went to my sister's house and had a huge pancake breakfast with the works. There was a fruit bowl, scrambled eggs, and some really good turkey sausage. It was so good! Actuallly, before that they had a mile fun run. It started at 8am, so we didn't get there in time. I was up at 5:30 anyway for an 8 mile run, so I wasn't too sad I missed it.


Then was the parade. My sister organized it with neighbors and friends. It was so much fun and we even had people come out of their houses and watch. There were a lot of kids, which made it fun. We waved flags and rode bikes and strollers and threw candy and marched to patriotic music. And then all the kids had popsicles. It was perfect.


Later in the day, we had a bbq with my sister and our friends. I just love bbq's! Scott and my cousin Braden and our friend David played Rock Band for almost 2 hours. Scott was the lead singer and did a great job...and it was his first time!


After the bbq we all came home and slept. I was so tired. Later that night we had our friends over for fireworks. Our neighbors spent $1200 on fireworks, so it was like our own Stadium of Fire in our backyard! It was awesome. Ryley didn't go to bed until 11pm! I just love the 4th of July and I feel so blessed to live in this country!



So, about 2 weeks ago I noticed Ryley's teeth were looking a little grayish, purple. I told Scott and he looked online and we thought maybe she was getting too much flouride. Well, I wanted to be sure what was going on, so I got her in to the dentist pretty quick. Come to find out she somehow bumped her mouth and her 2 front teeth are half-way dead! I say half way because they took an x-ray and the root has not been damaged. I almost started crying at the dentist! I was so sad, but hopefully they will go back to her normal color. I was so scared the root was damaged and that she would have to go 3 more years without any front teeth. In the last post you can kind of tell her front teeth are discolored. Crazy huh?

It Happened!

I was wondering and wondering when it would happen, and last night IT happened!! Ryley found the scissors and cut her hair! Why do kids do that? Luckily Scott came in and she had only gotten a small chunk cut off, so at least her hair isn't all lopsided. We know this little girl who cut her hair a few months ago. She is 4, so you think they would know better by then, but kids just love those scissors. They had to cut her hair really short, but it ended up being a cute hair cut. Sometimes when you have to "fix" the hair after they've cut it, it just looks so awful and you know they tried to cut their hair themselves.

This morning Ryley says to me, "Please don't talk to me like that." I was like, excuse me? And all I said to her was to please go in the bathroom and get a towel to clean up the water she spilled. She is getting to the age where you say something to her, and you don't like it, she will try to talk back or stand up for herself. Sometimes it can be humorous, and other times it can just be flat out annoying.

After my run yesterday morning I found a few fun garage sales in the neighborhood. I ended up getting Ryley so much fun princess dress up clothes, shoes and crowns for really cheap. I came home and she got so excited about them. If I was smart, I would have saved some for her birthday that is coming up at the end of August. Oh well. Maybe I can find a few other good garage sales and get her some good stuff for her birthday. It is funny because the things I found were practically brand new. I found Kirye some clothes and shoes that had only been worn once! I love garage sales...especially since we are trying to be very conservative with our money.