Cumberloupes, Jeeping, and Yearbook Cover

This post is full of random things I wanted to write about. 

Ms M learned to fold her arms while praying. She thinks she is big stuff when she does it with all of the family. What a cutie!

In our garden this year we tried to plant cantaloupes. However, this is what we got. A nice bright green melon that would not turn brown like cantaloupes are supposed too. So we finally picked one and cut it open. This is what we got: 

 Cumberloupes

 We planted our cucumbers next to our cantaloupes and they mixed together. This was the only fruit we had problems with. If it was not ripe then it tasted more like cucumber, where the more ripe it was the more it tasted like cantaloupe. Weird, but pretty cool too. 

A neighbor did not want their little jeep anymore and gave it to us. Buddy Boy is loving it! Ms. M thought it was really cool too. Of course the older kids like it and wish they could ride in it too. I'm glad we could still get some use out of it. The kids have loved it. 

 Lastly, Lil had a yearbook cover contest that she entered. They could only use one color. This is what she decided on. I think she did a fabulous job! The top 10 winners will be published in the yearbook. We will see what happens. But we had fun working on it, and she did a great!

Up next: Halloween galore, fun filled activities.

Top of Utah Marathon

I know I am crazy, but I have always wanted to run a marathon. Yes, it has been on my bucket list since High School. A co-worker was supposed to run it with me and she was unable to. So I decided it was still now or maybe never. So I went for it. I started training in July and it was good. Summer days, nice weather, and me and the open road. Then school started and my training died. It was non-existent during the week and I ran on Saturdays only. Luckily, the run was the 3rd weekend of September so I could get it over it. 

I actually had a ton of fun. I can see how running it with someone would have made it more enjoyable but it was still good. This is the start of the race, and my "I must be crazy" look.

 It was very cold at the start of the race. But I didn't want to have to deal with finding my clothes at the end of the race. So I froze for the first  6 miles. This was okay though because the cold numbness was welcomed before the heat and pain came. 

Down the canyon we go. I tried to get a good picture of all the runners going down but this was the best one I got. 

 I did good on the first 14 miles of the race. All the way out of the canyon was good. Then I started to get tired, and my legs would cramp up on me. In runners terms, "I hit a wall" from about 17-22 miles. I didn't eat fruit as early as I should have so my stomach wasn't empty either. IF I ever run another one I now know, IF. I really do not have any desire to do so though.

RB met up with me at mile 23 and ran with me for a mile. I was pretty dead but somehow found my second/third/fourth wind to keep going. 

I did run the last two miles too. That made me happy because I knew I didn't leave anything behind. I gave it my all and I was very happy with my time!

 I wanted to finish between 4.5 and 6.5 hours and I was right in the middle. YEA! I DID IT! I did get emotional at the end and I almost collapsed. A volunteer lady was very nice to help me walk around for a minute and get me some water till I could stand on my own. Then it was RB's turn to make sure I didn't sit down, and never get up again. Thanks for supporting me RB even though you were sick and not feeling well!

 My legs felt like they were going to fall off! It wasn't until Mon. that I could feel the soreness going away, and by Wed. I had no pain. I'm so glad I did it! What an accomplishment!

 I went home, showered, ATE, and watched my little Buddy Boy play outside.

It was a good fun day!

Halloween Craft

I saw this idea on Pintrest. I said to myself, "milk jugs, black sharpie, and white Christmas lights, I think I can handle this craft." (Especially because I am NOT a craft person!) Sure enough it wasn't too bad. The girls had a blast picking out the designs for me to draw and then taking turns coloring it in. The only thing that bugged me was the jugs all over my counter tops. I'm glad they are now outside! Plus, I think it turned out pretty well. Cute and easy, and something I may have to do every year now. These are the designs in the light, dusk, and then dark.

From Left to Right: Smiley face with X's for the eyes, Frankenstein, a spider in a web, jack-o-lantern face, ghost face, skeleton, crazy face, "smile" as a mouth face, the tin man, and last Dorthy and Toto.

Hoping some punk kid doesn't come along and destroy them. Glad we did it and the girls love them! It was worth getting my craft on!

Aunt Chel's Birthday

Nanny Chel is now one year older and wiser too. Well at least the first part is true. :) We had a great time celebrating with her and making her day a special one. We love having her living with us and being our nanny. The kids love her and so do we! It has been a great time having her with us and we hope she stays for awhile more!

We love you Aunt Chel!

Birthday Party

Our nephew had a birthday party at Boondocks. MJ, Lil, and RB went to it.  They had a really good time. Here are the pictures and movie that RB took while they were there.

Aggies

We decided it was time to go to an Aggie game again as a family. We went to see the Weber State vs USU game. It was a blow out and the Aggies creamed them 70-6. However, we still had fun being there and watching the game. Buddy was so excited that before the game we bought him an Aggie shirt. He wears it all the time now. At the store it was the opening of another store location. The radio station was outside and asked us to stop and talk for awhile. So into the microphone we all said our names. Then they asked what we liked best about the new store and I said the location. It has a parking lot where the other one doesn't. Then they asked what we bought. I told them a shirt for our son so he could match the rest of us, and a birthday gift for my sister. It was weird but fun at the same time. I was on the radio. I guess I can add that and check it off my bucket list. :)

It started to rain after half. It was down pouring! Good thing we brought our sweaters and blankets. Also it was a good thing Ms M stayed home with Aunt Chel. She would have been miserable. The rest of us enjoyed it, until Buddy had enough just after the fourth quarter started. So we headed home.

The girls still said they had a good time even in the rain. I know I did, and there is no doubt that RB had a good time!

September Coming To a Close

It is hard to believe that September is over with now. Hard to believe we are at the end of another year too. This post is random things that I wanted to share. 

First, nightly prayers can be a circus. Buddy and Ms M usually fight over who is going to sit on my lap. This night all four kids decided they wanted to sit on me. Luckily the older girls understand a leg is just as good. Ms M is trying to climb up to get to me.

Going to Grandma's and Pa's on Sundays are always fun. The kids always have a good time playing in the backyard and the toy room. Ms M LOVES swings. 

 Buddy always enjoys watching Grandpa's trains. Every time we are there we go down to watch them.

 This is Buddy dancing and being a goof.

These next three videos were taken one night when the kids should have been going to bed. The older girls were getting ready and so we let the younger two play for a bit. Little kids can be so funny!

For those of you who do not know my dad, he loves trains. We grew up chasing trains. Yes, chasing them. Driving down dirt roads, speeding up past the train, getting ahead of it just to stop-take pictures-and do it all over again. Coming home from the store I saw the light to the train coming down the tracks. Buddy was so excited. So we went train chasing. The train was further out than we thought so we went clear out of town to watch it. Then we chased it back into town, to jump out and watch it drive by. Buddy was scared when the whistle blew, but he loved it. The engineer waved to us and the girls thought that was pretty cool. 

During the month of September I made it a point to take my girls out one at a time on a mommy daughter date. We went to get ice-cream both times. Lil desperately needed some mommy time, some just her time actually. She is finally adjusting to a new school, a new language, and karate. 

MJ just wanted to go out so she wasn't left out. She didn't really want to talk about anything specific like Lil but she felt loved being able to have some one on one time too. 

These last two videos are old videos that came off of RB's phone.

Hope you enjoyed the update! Have a great day!