It is Actually Growing!

We actually harvested peas last week!!  I had given up hope, due to the dogs eating the blossoms, but I guess we had a hardy stock this year.  We managed to get enough for 6 bags of frozen peas, and a couple of vegetable trays.  Unfortunately, we were in such a rush to get them frozen, I didn’t get a chance to make New Potatoes and Peas.  Oh well, next year!

Connor was excited to show off how much we had picked.  He has been OBSESSED with the vegetables.  Both Connor and Haden have spent the last couple of weeks outside “snacking” on the peas, to see if they were ready to pick.  Oh, well, there could be worse things that they want to snack on.

Had a fun time “posing”  He wanted to see how many different faces he could make.

Our other garden!!  It has turned out great.  We have hit the hump where now there are fewer weeds than plants.  It is great.  Very little work beyond the watering.  I love watching it grow.

Dan standing in the rows of corn.  The squash and beans are in front. 

Tomatoes, peppers, and watermelon.  I can’t believe it, the watermelon is actually growing.  Now hopefully we will get some fruit on it!

Our second batch of corn is almost as tall as Haden.  The boys love running between the rows.  Now I have to start thinking about putting together a scarecrow to keep away the birds!!

My Jaw Hit the Floor This Morning

We were getting Saturday chores done and I looked outside and saw this:

My son mowed his first lawn today…I’m so proud (sniff, sniff)!!  When did he get so big? 

He mowed most of the front yard, and Dan helped him figure out how to mow around the trees in the back yard.  His still needs a lot more practice, but next year it is definitely going to be in the chore rotation!

Haden was in tears because he wanted to mow, and Dan told him he wasn’t big enough.  So Dan took pity and let him help out a little bit.

Now we have two happy little boys.  Oh, and a happy Mom!

Completely unrelated side note:  I ran a 7 miler in 1:08:02 this morning and felt great.  Never thought I would ever break 5 miles.  Dan wants me to do the Highway to Hale 10k with him this year.  I am actually considering it now. 

4th of July Festivities

We took it easy most of the day, and then took off to the Christensen’s (Grandma Staci’s) for the annual BBQ.  This is one of my boy’s favorite holiday’s of the year. 

Connor couldn’t wait until the fireworks started.  He left a plate full of food when they pulled out the sparklers.

Garrick figured out the sparklers this year.  He was waving them around and running back to get a new one, just as fast as any of the older kids.

Haden getting re-loaded from Daniel.  He was really excited to get to wear his red, white and blue shirt for this holiday!  He set it aside a week before. 

We are grateful for the many blessings we enjoy because we live in this country!  What an amazing land!

BTW- Aerial fireworks this year – AWESOME!!  Not only on the 4th, but we had a firework show from our back deck every night for a week.  Oh, and we can see the Stadium Fire show from our back porch as well.  It was a great way to end my birthday!

4th of July Freedom Run

Stretched my comfort zone again.  My friend, Jolene, wanted to run her first 5k, so I woke up obscenely early and braved the crowds to run the Freedom Run 5k with her.  Total blast.  It wasn’t nearly as crowded as I imagined and the route was awesome!! 

We saw a quite a few friends and neighbors before, during, and after the race.  Since Jolene has only started running in the last couple of months, we took it pretty slow.  My time was 32:18 (bleh – okay, really slow), but it was a blast running with a friend, and I felt great afterwards.  It was one of the most relaxing races I have done.  (I felt a lot better about my running pace, when the next week I did a sprint workout where I ran 3 miles in 26 minutes where 7 minutes of that was walking)

Finished half of my goal.  I’m done with my five 5k’s. 

Highway to Hale	31:42
Hale Freezes Over	29:37
Paw Power 5k	33:14 (With a stroller)
Dirty Dash 5k	1 hour (apprx)
Freedom Run 5k	32:18

Only have to do 2 more Triathlons.  Next one in a little under 3 weeks!

Thanks for getting me out Jolene!  Can’t wait for Highway to Hale!

Mid-July Already?

I always forget how busy the first part of July gets.  We had holidays, birthdays, and mission homecomings to keep us going.  Here we are half-way through the month and we have YET to take out the tent trailer for a camping trip.  And, unless you count the overnighter in the Orem Home’s driveway, we are not going camping until the end of July.  How did the summer get so busy?!

It was Alicia’s birthday at the beginning of the month, and due to scheduling stuff, it was celebrated throughout the next week.  Dan was nice and took me to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then we went and saw the new Pirates movie.  It was great getting out together.

Garrick loved showing off my presents.  He knew just what to do.  I would open the gift, he would grab it an run over to whoever had the camera, hold it up and grin.  Then come back and drop it in my lap.  So stinkin’ cute!!

Since I decided that I wanted banana splits for my birthday cake with the Preece’s, (YUM!!)  I didn’t get to blow out candles on a cake until a week after my birthday, when we celebrated with July Birthday’s with my family.  And then it wasn’t “cake”.  We had an ice cream cake, and pies.  I love the non-traditional during the summer! 

Krystal was a little miffed that Tiffany could get the match to light when she couldn’t. 

Yep, that is attractive!  There we go, one year older.  Biggest downer about this birthday?  I now have to put a 31 on my calf when I race and Amy is still at 30!

Harry Potter or LOTR?

Connor:  “Harry Potter can never die because he has Gondor to protect him.” 

Mom:  “Gondor or Gandalph”

Connor: “Gondor has a king.  Gandalph has the most powerful wand in the world and he protects Harry Potter”

Heehee – I guess you can see the confusion between 2 old men with long beards.  Time to pull out LOTR and refresh Connor’s memory!

Side note:  I put out a veggie tray for dinner last night and my kids asked for 3 helpings.    ALL of them.  Garrick actually ate raw broccoli!  I actually had to say “No more vegetables until you finish your meat and rice!”  If I had known this, I would have started doing raw veggies years ago!  This will be great for our summer garden!

Father’s Day

Just a couple of pictures to share from Father’s Day.  It was really low-key this year, especially since Dan was gone to Texas the entire week before.  We were just glad to have him back!

A little picture story of how opening presents goes in our home:

Everything is so dramatic for a 2 year old.  Luckily he is easily distracted!

Elder Ian sent home his trench coat with Dan and Connor had fun dressing up in it.  (I totally call it for Halloween this year!)

It was way too long for him, so Krystal gave him a boost.

A tall, skinny giant in my family room.  I guess I should be used to that with my family! 

Thank you Dan for being such a wonderful husband and father!  I would totally be in the fetal position without you!

Kohl’s Cup Soccer

Connor’s Orem soccer team participated in the Kohl’s Cup Tournament last weekend.  It was a fun little tournament, where they played 4 teams, and were awarded points for winning/sportsmanship.  The 2 teams with the highest points went to the championship game.  Connor loved playing with his old team. 

Connor scored 3 goals in the tournament.  He was pretty shocked, and proud of himself.  I think that it surprised him almost as much as his mom!

HIs team ended up in the championship game.  They got creamed, but still had a lot of fun.  It was a great group of boys, and Connor will miss his team next year!  He is looking forward to playing with some of his new friends this fall.

The Gold Lightning team with their 2nd place medals.  Absolutely adorable group of boys!

It was a hot weekend for the rest of us.  I think I may encourage an indoor sport like wrestling….but then I would have to sit in a stinky gym, so maybe not.  Anyway, we had fun cheering Connor on.  Well, Mom and Dad did, Haden spent the time cuddling with his girlfriend:

Yep, I heard giggling, turned around and saw this.  They insist that they are going to get married when they grow up.  She is definitely the person Haden misses most right now, but they sure had a blast spending the weekend together.

Watch out ladies!  He is spoken for.  Watch out Mom, you will have a run for you money in the next few years!