Laura's Lil's

I am a "Runner"

2012-01-26T16:32:00.000-08:00

I am a "Runner". I used to be a "Dancer", well, I still love to dance too but there is something about running. I don't know how to describe it. I am no athlete by most peoples description but in my heart and in my soul, I am a "Runner". Those of you who run, know what I'm talking about. I always said, "I will never run!" As Fiefel says "Never say never". When I started running, I didn't like it, not one bit. OK, well, maybe one bit. The part I liked was that I was doing something with my husband and my son and now my daughter and my other son too.
I used to only run with someone else. It was too boring to do by myself. Revelation: There is something I have come to realize about myself. I used to hate to be home alone. I always had to be out doing something when the kids were at school and BJ was at work. I had to go shop or go out with friends or just go anywhere. The last two years, I have found that I really like being alone. What's the difference? I realized that I like myself more now. Not to be proud or boast. I just enjoy being around me. I have gained such confidence, not just by losing weight but by the accomplishments that I have made for myself in running. These accomplishments are really nothing to brag about in the "running world" but in my world, they were mountains that I climbed! I'm not breaking any records but my own and that's what counts.
I have a long way to go, especially with my recent set back. I had a herniated disc removed from my neck four weeks ago. I went running today for the first time since the surgery. For the last two nights, I have been up late, just antsy, wondering what is the matter. I couldn't go to bed. I just felt unsettled. I realized today as I was running, that I was just out of sorts because I hadn't been running. This is how I used to feel all the time. I couldn't sleep, I was anxious, I was depressed sometimes. I know that running has cured me of all that and I realize now that I was starting to slip back into that.
As I left for my run today, the Lord blessed this day to have some beautiful sunshine. I was pretty sure that he did that for me:) It was pouring down rain and then all of a sudden, it was sunny and I knew that I wouldn't have to go do my run at the gym. I went slow on purpose but just the feeling of running and the sunshine made me start to get a little emotional. I couldn't stop the tears from trickling down. Who would have thought that running a mile could make you cry. Once again, I will regain control of my body and continue my journey to be healthier and happier than ever. I can't thank the Lord enough for giving me this wonderful life! I am blessed.

Race Report - 2nd Half Marathon

2011-11-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

So apparently, this is what "runners" do after a race. They make a race report. Seeing as my race was over a week ago, we will see how much I remember. I decided to just rest last week and that will be another post. Now for the "Race Report"

I prayed and prayed the night before that the weather would cooperate, at least until after the race was over. I mean, yes we do need rain but for a couple hours in the morning while I was running, was it too much to ask that it just not rain? I guess not, because the Lord was very accommodating. I have said this before but I owe the fact that I run at all, to the weather here. It really was a perfect morning for running. It was a little chili but my wonderful husband let me borrow his extra pair of running gloves, which I only wore for a couple miles. It was cloudy but not raining.

My 11 year old daughter Sarah was also running the half marathon. This was her 6th one in less than a year! She amazes me, she doesn't even train for them. That's kids for you. Of course, my husband was running with us too. I do not run alone- or do I. We started out really great. Sarah was ahead of us and kept looking back to make sure we wouldn't catch up to her. Well, eventually, we did catch up to her and she was not doing so good. She was having some leg pains and the was getting discouraged about the race.

I had a goal to stay at a certain pace and Sarah was just struggling more than she ever has so I told BJ to just stay with her. So, I ran ahead of them, by myself! I couldn't believe what I was doing. BJ said, they would catch up to me. Well, I went for another 2 or 3 miles and realized that they weren't catching up with me. He had given me one water bottle so I could refill that but I had no food. I don't like gatorade or the goo's or actual food while I'm running but have found that I can handle the Shot Blocks. They are basically like really big fruit snacks. I didn't have any with me though. As I make the turn around at the halfway mark, I start thinking that at least I'll pass them so I can get my Shot Blocks but I was also worried about how Sarah was doing.

As I come up to them, Sarah is looking a little better so I feel better. BJ hands me my Shot Blocks and another water bottle and off I go again, by myself! Who is this woman, running a race by herself? Not me, oh yes it was! The fact that I was doing this by myself, just kept me going for another mile or 2 until it started to get really hard. By now I'm at mile 7 or 8 and I am getting really tired. BJ had told me that our friend Bob was going to come up and ride his bike to check on Sarah and I started thinking that maybe I would run into him. Well, we are so lucky to have friend like Bob. Here he comes on his bike with his Yoda helmet. Always good for a laugh and not a moment too soon.

I was starting to talk myself out of keeping my pace and just telling myself, to just finish. It didn't matter what my time was, I just needed to finish. Along comes Bob, like an older brother just watching out for us. He rides along with me for awhile and tells me he will go check on BJ and Sarah in a little while. I start thinking "Please don't leave me" . He stays.

BJ catches up to us to see how I'm doing. He did some pretty fast running to catch up with us. He didn't know that Bob had showed up but was hoping he had. Checks on me and says to Bob "You're going to stay with her, right?" Bob says, "sure I will". I am so relieved! BJ speeds off to go back and catch up with Sarah who is about a mile behind us.

I tell Bob, how grateful I am he is staying with me and that I didn't think I would be able to keep running at that pace without something to motivate me. I mean, with someone on a bike next to you, you don't really want to slow down. It's hard enough to ride slow while someone is running, I didn't want him to have to slow down even more!

Well, I didn't walk more than a minute for each of those last miles. I'm not saying I ran as fast as the beginning but I didn't just give up my goal pace!

The last quarter mile, Bob rode up ahead to tell my daughter Kate that I was coming so she could take a picture of me. She and Eric hung out at the aid station, the whole time. They were real troopers. I came up over that bridge and saw the finish line and I was so happy!!

I had a time in mind that I thought was doable and I had a time in my mind that I wanted to beat but wasn't sure if I could. Well, I did! I beat my previous half marathon time by 30 minutes!

Sarah and BJ were only a mile behind me. I was so proud of her for sticking to it and not giving up, even though she wasn't feeling her best that day. She is amazing.

Thanks to my wonderful husband for being an inspiration to me, Sarah, Justin and many of his friends. Hereally instilled a love of running in me!

Thanks to our good friend Bob Satko for being such a good support to all of us, especially me this time. He has given us the gift of his time many times to be race support.

I am so grateful for this experience. I think I'll do it again!

Unstoppable

2011-11-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

This has been my theme song for awhile. I just love the message it gives. Rascal Flatts rewrote their popular song for the Olympics. I do not dare compare myself to Olympic Athletes but we actually do have something in common. I will not stop. Like the postman, through wind, snow, rain, cold, ice, heat.

Trials come our way. I have been faced with many in the last couple weeks!

1. I have extreme pain that I am dealing with in my shoulder and have been put on lots of medicines that don't really seem to help. Running causes the whole body to experience a jolt everytime you take a step. Needless to say, it is not very comfortable with this shoulder pain. The pain that my shoulder feels is nothing compared to the disappointment I had the one day I decided to walk instead of run. I felt like I was letting this stop me and I am UNSTOPPABLE, so I decided not to let this pain get the best of me. I have a friend and a brother that deal with extreme pain every day due to diseases that they have. They are an inspiration to me! If they can deal with this, so can I. I have 6 days left until my half marathon and I have not let this pain keep me from my training workouts.

2. I have been very involved in a musical that I did the choreography for. The last two weeks, we have had practice almost every night. I also run a preschool out of my home. I volunteer at the school and at my church and of course have numerous responsibilities as a mother and wife. I decided a couple weeks ago that if I was going to be able to fit in these workouts, I would have to put them on my calendar. This was one of the best things I could have done. One day I had to get my oil changed. It was a very busy day so I just dropped my car off at Jiffy Lube and went for a run on the trail by the Jiffy Lube. I had to fit these runs in, wherever I could. I am UNSTOPPABLE!

3. When you have personal problems that come up, they can be very discouraging. I will not discuss this particular personal problem, because, well, it's personal:) We all have those moments that are just really difficult to deal with. Sometimes we feel like just crawling back in bed and curling up with a good book or a good movie. I have learned a much better cure for these frustrating, sad, painful feelings. I have discussed this before on Facebook. It's my addiction to LSD (Long Slow Distance). There is something about running a long time that releases a lot of the stress. I've heard many people say there is a chemical reaction in the body also. I don't know all the scientific facts behind it but I can tell you that I definitely feel the benefits. If I am sad, frustrated, mad or worried, I just go for a long run and I somehow feel better, I feel UNSTOPPABLE!

4. I would be ungrateful if I didn't point out that I have been blessed with wonderful friends and a wonderful husband, who have supported me and have offered help without me even asking. I can't do all this alone. I am so grateful to my wonderful husband and those friends who have brought me dinner and flowers and called to see if my kids need rides, etc.

So, in 6 days, I will be ready for my second 1/2 marathon. I know I will improve my time and I know that I will be UNSTOPPABLE!

Oh and by the way, in the last 3 weeks, with all this stress and medicine, I have still lost another 2.2 lbs! It's slow but steady. I'll take it:)

Getting back up on the horse

2011-10-21T13:43:00.001-07:00

This post will be more like a journal entry, mostly because I can type faster than I can write and I just have to get this out of my head.

I have been thinking for a couple days now, to myself. "Get back up on that horse Laura". It is so hard to lose this weight. This past week, I only lost .6 lbs. I feel like I should be happy with that but just like on "The Biggest Loser" that just doesn't seem like enough.

The past couple weeks have been kind of like that, just really slow weight loss or none. I would like to say I have an excuse but really, this is what life is about. Things come up in everyone's lives and they have to deal with them. So, I'm dealing with my busy schedule and my pain, just like everyone else. Just wanted to say, "It's hard!" , but most things that are worth it are hard, aren't they?

"Before" and "After" - yes again, but different!

2011-10-16T00:06:00.000-07:00

Here's another take on the "Before" and "After"

Warning, this isn't pretty! This post is no judgement on anyone else. This is a reflection on myself and a revelation to myself.

"Before"

High School Graduation

"After" I look like I'm 9 months pregnant here but, in fact, I am not pregnant, AT ALL.

My husband"s aunt was so excited for my last post about losing 50 lbs. She noted that I said I didn't have very many pictures of myself from when I was that big. She emailed me and asked if I wanted some pictures, later telling me that she was worried I would be offended. I actually was so excited! When I saw this picture of me in the red, I was horrified. Maybe if someone had showed me this picture four years ago, I would have started this sooner!

Everyone says that you should pick a picture of you when you were skinny and put it up and look at it and it will inspire you. Well, this picture from my high school graduation has been on my refrigerator for probably 5 or more years and guess what, it didn't inspire me. It actually made me feel like a failure, like I could never make it back to that size.

Well, for one thing, I am not 17 anymore! I am 37, do the math, that's 20 years! Of course, I'm never going to look like that again. But I will tell you one thing, I never want to look like that girl from 2007 again. This is my new inspiration. I can remind myself why I am doing this and hopefully it will keep me going. That's my latest strategy:)

"Before" and "Middle" 50 lbs!

2011-10-09T23:32:00.000-07:00

Before

After

50 lbs!

I can't call this Before and After because I am not quite halfway to my goal but here it goes.

I have lost 50 lbs! It has taken me almost 2 years but I did it!

The day after Thanksgiving in 2009, I decided that I better do something to get healthier! Since everyone I knew that ran, either lost weight or was very fit, I figured I better try it. I know my husband almost fainted when I told him I wanted to run. I always called him crazy for running and here I was saying I wanted to join in on the craziness.

I have watched Biggest Loser for years and what really gets me is not the way they look before and after but what the doctor tells them. "You are 37 years old but your real age is 60" I always think, is that my real age? Am I going to be here to raise my kids if I don't change something? I know what my own doctor told me, when I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, about heart issues and being tired all the time. To make a long story short, I realized I needed to do something!

That first day after Thanksgiving, I could only run about 50 feet! I think we did about a mile but about 99% of it was walking. I couldn't call myself a "runner" yet. I made it through my first holiday in years, without gaining weight but I still had only lost about 3 lbs. January came and I decided to start The South Beach Diet. For 2 weeks, I stuck strickly to the book! I lost 9 lbs. Then I thought "I can do this, I can do it on my own". Well, that was not exactly true. I tried to do it "on my own" for another 8 months, in which time, I gained back about 3 lbs.

During this time, I had a new neighbor move in, who became a good friend. I joined an online Biggest Loser club and tried to lose weight that way. My new friend Kari and I were talking one day and came up with the idea to start the same type of weight loss competition locally. We figured if we had a local team, and made it fun, that maybe we could stay committed to losing weight.

We were on a mission to start our own group here in Maple Valley.

We advertised just by email and Facebook and ended up getting about 16 people to join us! Everyone paid money in and the winners split the money. ( I won't go into detail about how the competition goes, if you would like more information on it, let me know).

All this time, I kept running, a little. I had done my first 2 - 5K's but didn't start losing weight until I started the "Biggest Loser" group we had started. For some reason, the accountability really worked for me! I really didn't want to let down my team every week, so I just worked hard!

We are now on our 5th session of what we call our "Weight Loss Challenge"! I am training for my 2nd half marathon! I have finally lost 50 lbs! It took me almost 2 years but I did it! I have done it "the old fashioned way". I exercised and changed the way I ate! For a woman who is 37 years old, I knew what I was supposed to be doing, I just needed some motivation to do it!

For those who have been asking me, here are some pictures. I didn't really have many pictures of me from 2 years ago. I tried to avoid being in the pictures as much as I could.

When BJ was taking my picture the other day, I didn't know how to act. I still had that feeling like I didn't want to be in the picture but I figured, I better document it.

Stay tuned for the updates on me losing my next 50 lbs!

BJ's 50 Miler

2011-07-18T02:25:00.000-07:00

My crazy husband was "inspired", "motivated", etc. to run 50 miles. I like to think he just "lost his mind" but this is nothing new to me. As soon as he has done something to make me think he can't get any crazier, he comes up with something else.

As many of you know, he has many running buddies but he has two that just really went the extra mile. I like to call them the Three Musketeers. His friend Bob spent the whole day following BJ to each stop and basically being his personal race support at every station. This was a relay for some but a few crazy people decided to run the whole thing to run a total of 50 miles. They started part way up Mt. Rainier and ran all the way to Ruston, near Tacoma. In the first half of the race, BJ had to change shoes and socks. He literally came into the aid station where Bob had a chair for him, made him sit down and took off his shoes and socks. He then proceeded to wash BJ's feet and put his clean socks and shoes on. Now if that isn't service, I don't know what is. I wish I was there to get a picture of that. I did happen to get this picture when Eric and I met him for the first time that day. As BJ came in to the aid station, he asked BJ what he needed. BJ said sunscreen so Bob just gets it out and starts putting it on him. It made me laugh at the time but as I think of all that he did for BJ, I get tears in my eyes. What a true friend!

His other friend Cody came down to run the last 20 miles with BJ. It sounds insane to say "the last 20 miles". He is such a motivator for BJ. Always pushing him to stay on pace and shouting "You betcha baby".

Running along a river on the sand. That cannot be too easy after all ready running 30 miles.

One of the stations was right by the museum of glass. Eric loved this sculpture outside. They were also doing demonstrations outside where we got to see them make a little glass unicorn. Eric was such a trooper going to the last 5 stations with me. The other kids were busy with other activities that day.

The finish line. Bob ran the last 10 miles with BJ and Cody.

It was hard for BJ to hold back the tears with these two guys by his side after all they had done that day. Thanks Cody and Bob for being such great friends and showing true Charity!

The crazy part now is that he qualified to be in a 100 mile race. Crazy!!! Good Job BJ!

5th Grade Musical

2011-07-18T02:13:00.001-07:00

Sarah's school does a 5th grade musical every year. She decided to particiapate. She loved it and got just as excited as her big sister about being on stage. They did the show "Rock around the Block". She got to be one of the school girls and happened to get one of the cheerleader costumes, which was fun because she IS a cheerleader.

We were listening to Sarah sing the "Nifty Fifties" and other songs from the musical all around the house. She had so much fun!

Nice Job Sarah!

2011-07-18T01:59:00.000-07:00

Pinnochio, Gepetto's Story
Kate was in the School play in March. She had multiple parts. She loved learning all the fun music and all the the stage hype.

She was one of the good children, an Automaton and the Asian Marionette. Nothing like casting a blond haired blue eyed girl as the Asian Marionette. Unfortunately, I didn't snag a picture of her in her cute marionette outfit.

Kate with Stromboli (he was hillarious)

Kate with the Blue Fairy (also a hillarious girl)

Happy that her brother was there to watch her. She looks up to him so much and he tolerates it just enought to keep her looking up to him.

Look for her in future shows, this girl loves the stage!

1st 1/2 marathon

2011-07-01T02:02:00.000-07:00

OK so I'm being brave by titling this my 1st 1/2 marathon. I thought I would never do one again but I know I will. I thought I would never want to do a full marathon but I know I will. The journey to get to this point was something unbelievable. I just can't express how much it has changed my life.
I started running because I thought "everyone I know that runs, loses weight". Well, now that's me. I'm not done yet but I have lost 43 lbs and am still going. A little slower now but I am not stopping. An object in motion stays in motion. I've got inertia now baby!
On Feb 21st, 2011, Presidents Day, I and my loving husband and "coach" finished 13.2 miles. I "ran" almost all of it. Every mile after the 2nd, I walked for about 2 min. then started "running" again. I put "running" in quotes because it is really "jogging" but I like to act like one of the big boys. One day, I will really be running. That is my next goal, to get faster. Now that I have finished this half marathon, I know that I can set a goal and reach it, so watch out I might just be a blur running past you one day, one day long into the future.

As you can see, this was a family event. Justin and Sarah also did the half marathon. Justin all ready being "Half Fanatic" and this was the start of Sarah's "Half Fanatic" qualifications.

A Thoughtful Girl

2011-02-08T07:58:00.001-08:00

This morning as I was getting ready, Sarah knocked on my door. I said "Who is it?" She said, "it's me, Sarah". I said "Come in." She walked in carrying my favorite breakfast.
It's not my birthday, it's not Valentine's day yet, it's not my Anniversary, it wasn't a special day until she walked in with my favorite breakfast.
Back up to Saturday when she wanted me to make her an "Egg Sandwhich" as we call them. I told her to watch me so she could learn how to make one for herself. She watched carefully and I gave instructions as I showed every step. Yesterday, she came up and told me that she had made her own egg sandwich while daddy supervised in the kitchen.
Now to fully contemplate how touching this is to me, you must also know what we have been going through with this little girl. She has had some major problems with sleep anxiety. We have tried the understanding route. We have tried the no TV before bed route. We have tried going to be earlier. We have tried many more techniques to try and help her not have anxiety about going to sleep. Finally on Sunday night, we tried the "Not going to put up with this any more" route. We had an all out battle that night about going to sleep. I had to become the tough guy, not what I usually like to do. She is always remorseful in the morning for the way she acts. It's actually quite tough on her. So, last night, after the previous night of deciding to be tough, we had not problems with her going to bed.
Fast forward to this morning when I woke her up and she was very happy and did not have to say she was sorry for the way she acted the night before.
So, she asked if she could go downstairs by herself (which she also never does) and make her own "Egg Sandwich", I said "sure". I go off to get dressed and ready for work and she knocks on the door. Back to the beginning of the story now, where she presents me with her gift of "Charity".
I love that girl, words cannot express how much my heart is touched today by her act of "The pure love of Christ".

Cloudy Day Creations: It's about time for a giveaway!#c2669349570405663078#c2669349570405663078

2011-01-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

Cloudy Day Creations: It's about time for a giveaway!#c2669349570405663078#c2669349570405663078

Justin's 2nd half marathon Feb 15, 2010

2011-01-02T22:39:00.000-08:00

I got a little behind on my blogging last year but as I catch up you will understand why.
I can't let this young man's accomplishments for 2010 slip past. He made a new year's resolution and he stuck to it. Here he is finishing his 2nd half marathon! Can't believe he can do this at 14 yrs old! Must get his craziness from his dad:)

Mother/Daughter Relief Society Activity

2010-07-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

The girls and I had so much fun at the mother/daughter Relief Society Activity last month. We made some cute hair bows, they performed some talents, we had a really nice slide show, there was also a service project that they didn't really get to help with since I was in charge of the hair bows. Lastly we had some ice cream Sundays and watched a fun slide show with all the women and girls in the ward and their friends and female family members.

We had a wonderful sister in our ward Daina Crowell who offered her professional photography services to take pictures of all the girls. The girls helped her daughter make her bows since her mom was taking pictures. Her daughter Sarah just loved hanging out with the older girls so they got their picture taken with her.

This is Sydney, the girls very best friend. They moved in two houses down a few months ago and have been inseparable since. Of course, they had to take a picture with their "sister from another mother".

Kate turns 12, I can't believe it!

2010-06-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Our Crazy Kate

She is getting so tall. I always thought she would be short but she is taller than lots of her friends now. They all call her crazy Kate because, well, she's crazy! Many of her friends who come over to our house say "I didn't think Kate could be any crazier than she is at school but then I saw her at home and well, she's crazier!!" These are stories I heard yesterday as I was chaperoning the field trip to Vasa Park. It was so nice to see how she has picked such good friends and they all love her. She loves to make people laugh and she loves to act and sing and dance. She belongs on the stage. I am loving watching her grow into a sweet young woman.

2010-05-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

Justin and BJ went snow caving up near Mt. Rainier with the Young Men in February. I know, I am way far behind but I'm trying to play catch up. Anyway, the Young Men were going and BJ is always ready to volunteer if they need an extra leader. This was before he was called as the Young Men's president. The boys each had a roommate that they shared their cave with. They had to dig their own cave before it got dark. It was hard work but they all did it and they were all such hard workers. The leaders dug a huge cave, nicknamed "The Castle" where everyone had their own little nitch but you could actually stand all the way up in it. I think the boys were actually warmer that night because the smaller ones stay warmer. They had a blast and Justin is looking forward to their annual trip to go snow caving again.
This boy is in his element when he is doing something that the ordinary person would not or could not do.

Here is the entrance to Justin's cave.
He could barely sit up inside but he says he was warm all night.

2010-05-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a little insite into our little Eric. He has just a tad bit of OCD. When he sets the table he takes such care to always do it with flare. He really takes pride in his chore. I always think it is so cute. I just had to take a picture of it.

Sarah is 10 Today!

2010-04-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

My Sarah turned 10 today, well technically, since we live in the west now, she turned 10 at 11:19 pm last night. She was born at 2:19 Eastern Time so we tell her she kind of has two birthdays now. She picked out her new outfit for her birthday at Justice. It really brought me back to some of my outfits when I was her age or a little older. The neon colors and peace signs just remind me of the 70's and 80's. Of course, we had to do a fabulous hair do to go with the fabulous new outfit so we found a wacky scrunchy around the house and totally did the 80's pouffy pony.

Sarah is such a joy in our house. She always wants to help cook. She says when she grows up she wants to have a bakery and call it "Sarah's Yummies". She has even made signs for it. She has a bounce in her step and the biggest teeth when she smiles. All my kids have big teeth but Sarah is not afraid to show them! Of course we have our ups and downs like most kids but since Sarah has been born she has always had a happiness about her that I love so much. I am so excited to continue watching her grow up! I love you Sarah!

Pacific Science Center

2010-04-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

We stayed here in Washington for Spring Break. The kids and I went swimming, to a movie and to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. Then the kids just played with friends the rest of the week. Sarah said it was the best spring break. It was by far the easiest for me to plan! Here are some pics from the science center. We went with our new neighbors the Vastbinders. The kids have really enjoyed hanging out with their 5 kids.

2010-02-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

Starting a new business. Please refer your friends to me if they are in need of any dresses or sewing lessons.

Girls New Hair Cuts

2010-01-18T03:09:00.001-08:00

Sarah has been itching to donate some of her hair. Kate decided that she and her "twin" Devon needed to get the same hair cut. So, off we go to our friend Cheri who is a friend of ours and also cuts hair.
Here's Sarah all ready for the cut!

A little nervous!

Here we go!

8 inches to donate!

Here is the result, a very cute little bob.

Time for Kate and Devon to get their matching hair cuts. They turned out so cute! I'm starting to believe these girls may be Siemese twins. It's hard to separate them.

You think she likes her new haircut?

Justin's 1st Half Marathon

2010-01-18T03:01:00.000-08:00

Justin's not quite awake yet.

O.K. Ready to go!

Justin had a burst of energy at the end when he saw Eric close to the finish line. He sprinted to the finish line.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-18T02:41:00.000-08:00

We had a fun time at Aunt Mary's in Bremerton on Christmas Eve. I'm not sure what the girls liked better, their new socks or the bows?

Christmas morning

Sarah again, having fun with packaging!

Kate is in love with "Jacob" and was so happy he was on her birthday month in her new calendar.
It was nice to get back to basics for Christmas this year. It was fun to see the kids make gifts for each other or sacrifice the money they saved to buy a gift for their brother or sister. I think this is a tradition we will keep every year!
We missed our other family members who don't live close but we have each other and we are becoming really close. That is so important to us and it is so fun to watch these children of god grow up right in front of us. We give our thanks to our savior for his Christmas gift, eternal life!

Sailing with the Sea Scouts Dec 2009

2010-01-18T02:27:00.000-08:00

One Saturday in December, BJ's 16 yr old cousin Ben invited us to go on the sailboat with his Sea Scout Troop in a lighted Christmas parade on the Puget Sound. We had so much fun even though it was pretty cold. The skipper looked like Santa and the boat was decked out in Christmas lights. We had a pot luck and we got to see Ben in action at the wheel of the boat! Thanks for a great time Ben.

Eric's Birthday Nov 29th, 2009

2010-01-18T02:17:00.000-08:00

It's all about the Bakugan for this 7 yr old.

So his sister's decided they needed to decorate a Bakugan cake for him.

He is so excited and loves his Bakugan cake!

Make a wish (for more Bakugan, of course)

Oh no, we have to take the Bakugan off the cake to eat it:(

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

We had a fun new years eve with some friends of ours. I just couldn't have another holiday without a ton of people in the house, so we invited some of our closest friends and family. We were told we know how to party but thanks to Nichole for bringing some of the fun stuff too and everyone else for bringing great food!

My friend Sue attacking Kate after Kate attacked her. It's perfectly legit, I promise. Sarah's getting into the action too
.

Kate has a twin named Devon. They even have the same PJ's so they had to wear them, of course. Everyone at school gets confused between the two of them and they love that. They are such good friends. They had to be invited to the party. Kate's other good friend Sarah Hill is also a regular around our house. Kate picks some good friends!

All I want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

2009-11-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

I think it's so cute that he lost both his two front teeth, right before Christmas. He lost one on Thurs. and has been working on the second one since then. His sister finally got it out for him this afternoon. She was persistant in helping him twist and wiggle until she finally pulled it out for him.

BJ's 10th Marathon

2009-11-28T14:20:00.001-08:00

BJ had a PR on his 10th marathon. 3 hrs and 56 minutes. His friend Cody paced him and BJ said he was like a drill sargent but humorous. Afterwards he decided to go take a dip in the freezing cold water. Crazy. I'm so proud of you BJ!

BJ and Cody mile 20

Finish Line

Cody, Bob and BJ

The Marathon Maniac

Going for a little dip

Facebook Hookup

2009-11-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

The day we were leaving to come home from Idaho, BJ saw that our friends, the Larsen's, who live in Lewiston Idaho were leaving for Utah. We realized we'd be passing right by them so I called Syd. We decided we would probably meet up in Boise. Along the way, we realized it would take us longer than them to get to Boise so I called her back and asked if there was another place we could meet so they wouldn't have to wait for us. She said, Mountain Home Idaho, which is where our other friends Tom and Lisa Brown just moved to this past summer. I quickly tracked down Lisa's phone number and called her too. We all met in the Walmart parking lot and visited for a couple hours while the kids played in the grass and at our picnic lunches. It was so much fun and not even planned until the post on facebook. Thank you Facebook!

Victor Idaho

2009-11-28T13:38:00.000-08:00

We decided to go visit our rental home in Victor Idaho the weekend before Thanksgiving. We were lucky enough to have our friends, the Thorpe's, come and join us. We always have so much fun with them. There wasn't any snow on the ground when we got there and we were a little worried the kids wouldn't have any fun on their sleds. Luckily we woke up Sat. morning and it was snowing. It snowed most of the day Saturday and Sunday so by Monday, it was great sledding. The kids even got me out there with them. I promise to go out with them at least once a year so I can check that off. I do not like the cold but thanks to snow boots, snow pants and a down coat, I didn't get that cold and it was really fun sledding with them and having a big snow ball fight.

Our Cheerleader

2009-11-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

Sarah cheered for the Maple Valley Raiders this fall. It was a real commitment for her. She practiced 3 nights a week and towards the end it was 4 nights a week before their competition. She had so much fun!

Review

2009-10-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

So, our camera's are on the fritz so we haven't been taking very many pics. I thought I'd catch up on some nice pics that I haven't posted yet for this year. Enjoy.

Here are a few sites that we take everyone to see when they come and visit. We love to have visitors so come and visit if you haven't yet.
Kerry Park, Seattle

Pike Place Market

The Space Needle

Mt. Rainier

Snoqualmie Falls

Poulsbo, Washington
We went to Pouslbo when my mom and dad were here earlier this year. My mom has a friend there that she hasn't seen in about 30 years. That's always fun when you meet someone who last saw you when you were 5. Sue was great and I'm so glad to have met her since I have heard my mom talk about her my whole life. Pouslbo is a really fun little Bavarian town with cute buildings and shops on the West side of the Puget Sound.

Mom, Dad and Sue

Being of Danish decent, this sign with the Lutafisk TV dinner was very funny to me.

Yes, that is a donut. They call them spare tires, they are so big.

The Japanese Tea Gardens, San Fransisco Golden Gate Park

My Hero

2009-09-14T23:36:00.000-07:00

So, BJ walks into Eric's room and finds this. Some kids have their favorite sports star's jersey up on their wall. Eric's first season of baseball was last spring. Now he is playing fall ball and I guess so far, he is his own favorite player. It just cracked me up that he would come up with this on his own. He got some thumb tacs and just hung it up on his wall, number facing out and all.

First Day of Freedom, I mean School!

2009-09-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today was a one of those milestones in my life. My youngest is going into 1st grade. All my kids are going to be in school all day. I never thought this day would come when I was up in the middle of the night with them and taking them to every errand I had to do when they were younger. Today, I went to Institute, without kids. I went to Walmart, with out kids. I went to lunch with a friend, without kids. Of course I had to rush home to see how Justin's first day was. O.K. Laura, next phase. Move on.

Kate's starting 6th grade at the Middle School.

Sarah's starting 4th grade and she is so excited, she got the teacher she wanted, Mr. Hartke.

Eric's starting 1st grade. The last one going to school all day this year. I had mixed emotions. Freedom being the first but loneliness and sadness not far behind. He is such a good kid, he really was a joy to spend the day with. I will miss him while he is at school!

Unfortunately, Justin slipped out so early this morning, I didn't get a picture of him. We said family prayers and he was out the door. He started 8th grade this year at the Jr. High.

2009-08-26T22:16:00.001-07:00

55 Cents for Cereal!

2009-08-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine here in Maple Valley introduced me to a new way of grocery shopping (thanks Rachel). I have been catching great deals here and there but today I had my biggest shopping trip. After 10 transactions and 3 trips to the car (because I couldn't fit it all in the cart), I got cereal for 55 cents a box! I bought 90 boxes of cereal! It doesn't expire until Nov. 2010 so with four kids and a husband that likes cereal a lot, we will eat it all. I'm not even sure that is a years supply as much as my family likes cereal. It was fun, exhilarating and I got kudos from all the cashiers. It was like getting an A on a test. Can I post my receipts on the refrigerator to show off? My friend describes it as a "high". I never liked grocery shopping before but it has become an adventure and I love it now!

DisneyWorld

2009-07-25T23:42:00.001-07:00

We took loads of pictures but I believe this one says it all. If you go to Disney you have to see Mickey. It only took us 45 min to see him. Not bad for a summer day at DisneyWorld. The kids were tired after the whole day at the park but we couldn't leave without seeing Mickey so we waited. Luckily we caught the last train from toontown for the night so we didn't have to walk all the way back up to the front of the park and we caught the tail end of the lights parade too. It was a fun trip but we sure were exhausted every night.

As we all know, Daisy Duck has a flirty side. After standing in line to meet Daisy at Epcot, she got so giddy and tiptoed around Justin as if he was the cutest thing on earth. She was getting fresh with my 13 year old son and I've never seen him get so red. It was the funniest thing and I remembered towards the end to snap a few pics. Unfortunatley I missed her giving him a kiss. You can see that even in the group picture, she wants a hand on him. Too much fun!

Grandpa got the picture!

Sea World

2009-07-12T21:37:00.001-07:00

I just itch to hold this little girl, our niece Jaden. She was so cute and so much fun, as was her big brother William. She would come up to me every now and then and put her arms up for me to hold her. You can see in the very next picture that she is a mama's girl and shortly after she asks me to hold her she reaches for her mama. We just loved spending time with them.

Papa, Donna, and the kids riding the Sea Carousel

Shamu "Believe" show

The Dolphin and bird show was amazing too!

Half way through the first day at Sea World Eric wasn't feeling good so we took him and his cousin Jaden who wasn't looking too good either to the first aid station. They were both running fevers. BJ and his sisters family took the kids back to the condo for some rest and things just kept getting worse. The next day Eric still wasn't feeling that great and so goes the passing of the germs. Sarah and Kate started to get sick too. We finally took them all to a clinic to get checked out and they all had the Flu. $200.00 in copays and medecine later, the kids all went back to the condo and took a couple days off from sight seeing. BJ and Justin went golfing while we watched videos and just relaxed and got better. It's no fun to be sick, especially when you're on vacation but they had pretty good spirits about them the whole time.

Florida, Summer Vacation part 2

2009-07-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

Jun 26th, we hopped on another airplane from Baltimore to Florida. We met up with BJ, his dad, sister and Grandma. We spent two days with his Uncle Steve and Aunt Debra for a Fun Filled Farish Family reunion. Say that three times fast. We swam in their pool and had a cookout and watched a great video that Steve's sister Mary made for his 50th birthday. (watch out Napolean Dynamite!)JK Steve. They were wonderful host's and we had such a good time visiting with them. Thanks Steve and Deb!

Summer Vacation Part 1

2009-07-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

School's out, time to head to Virginia, my home town of Stafford! The nice thing about summer in Virginia is that it is actually warm enough to go swimming for more than a month. The kids had a great time in the pool with Nana. We got to play with friends the kids and grown ups. Unfortunately, one of the kids, Eric, played a little too hard and took a tumble at the park in Fredericksburg. That night he was throwing up and ended up taking a trip to the new Stafford Hospital. Not the way I wanted to see the new hospital. After a cat scan, they determined there was no serious concussion but that we should keep an eye on him.

The day before we left Virginia we headed down to Southill to visit the grandparents Minx. We had such a nice time and it was good to be in the south again. We had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits and "dead" green beans. MMMMMnnn Mmmmnnnn! To top it all off grandma made homeade strawberry ice cream. It was so good to see them and grandma Pam!

Justin's Order of the Arrow Ordeal

2009-07-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

So my oldest son was elected to be in an elite group of the boy scouts called Order of the Arrow. He was so excited and it really is an honor to be elected by your fellow scouts. He had to go for a weekend ordeal where they send them out into the woods by themselves without a tent and only minimal food. They can't talk for 24 hrs and they have to do a service project the whole next day without talking and very little food, again. I mention the very little food twice because, as most people know, teenage boys can eat us all out of our food budgets. Justin is no exception. He left feeling very excited.

When he came back he looked so much older to me and he said, "Mom, I had a great time but I can only tell you about half of what we did." They are very secretive about what goes on in the Order of the Arrow but I do know that it left a great impression on him and it's an experience that he will never forget.

The Toothless Wonder

2009-06-07T01:45:00.000-07:00

Eric has been waiting and waiting to lose his first tooth. I feel so sorry for Kindergarten teachers. This apparently happens daily, because I have heard about it almost daily for the last 3 months. Carson lost a tooth, Alex lost a tooth, Ben lost a tooth. Finally it was Eric's tooth. He wanted to lose it at school because the nurse gives them a cool tooth container but alas, it did not work out that way. Here he is with his first lose tooth. You can see that the other one next to it is all ready coming in so, just 2 days later, out came the one next to it.

Homemaking skills

2009-06-06T00:27:00.000-07:00

For Activity Days the week before mother's day, the girls had a mother-daughter activity where Sarah learned how to sew a pillow case. Kate was sick that day. She was so excited. She has helped me cut out pattern pieces before but hadn't used the machine yet. I got a new sewing machine and she wants me to let her have my old one. I love how excited she gets to do new things.

Sarah has been wanting me to teach her how to knit. I decided to teach her how to crochet first so she could learn the hand posititon easier. I taught her the chain stitch and as most of you who crochet know, when you learn how to chain stitch, you don't stop. She kept going until she ran out of yarn. Now I just need to teach her the next step.

Sarah's Birthday

2009-06-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

Sarah turned 9yrs old on Apr 28th. She is so full of spirit. She has the best laugh. She has always been our child to laugh a lot since she was born. She is our little entrepreneur, gymnast, pianist, and teacher. These are all things Sarah is very good at. She has the cutest way of giving you the Puppy Dog eyes when she wants something and it always makes me smile. Sarah, I love you!
Sarah got bit by the Earth Day bug this year. She wanted to go down to the Cedar River behind our house and pick up trash. We took two trash bags with us, one for trash and the other for recycling. Would you believe we filled them both up. I'm so happy she cares about our Earth. We had a nice family walk down to the river and it didn't take much to just carry the trash bags back home. Thanks Sarah!

Tiptoe Through the Tulip Festival

2009-06-05T23:54:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Easter we heard they had a Tulip Festival up north of where we live. We decided to check it out. It was so beautiful. Not all of the tulips were quite ready but the daffodils were amazing. We did finally find some tulip fields with blossoms ready. Daddy said the kids couldn't tiptoe through them though because there were signs everywhere that said not to.

Easter

2009-06-05T23:49:00.000-07:00

O.K. so I know Easter was three months ago but it has been really busy at our house. We have two playing baseball now and Justin was running track also. This was such a nice family picture after we got home from church on Easter that I had to post it. BJ's Aunt Mary and Uncle Mike came over and my cousin Cody and his wife and kids also came.

Spring Break in San Fransisco

2009-05-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in San Fransisco this past spring break. My mom and dad came out to join us. We got to visit with two of BJ's cousin's, Randy and Allyson. We played the tourists very well. We went to the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate park, Alcatraz, Sausolito, Ghiardelli Square, Hyde Street Pier, Pier 39 on Fisherman's Warf and North Beach (where they have great pizza!)
The girls only had to be locked in the bathroom once to work out a fight. We were in the middle of a Food Network filming at the Boursin Sourdough Co.where they made a life size Alligator out of sourdough bread, so if you see us on TV let us now. We also had fun watching the gold and silver statues at Fisherman's warf.

Eric's First Baseball game

2009-04-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

Mon. Mar. 30th, 2009
Eric had his first baseball game on the same night as Justin had his first game of the season. We had to split up to see both games. Unfortunately the camera only made it to Eric's game.
Eric had a great time standing in the rain and made a great play when he threw the ball to first base. The first baseman made a great catch for an out. He felt just like his older brother playing his first baseball game. I'm sure we will have many more rainy games to sit through this year with two boys playing ball.

Forks, WA Mar. 20th&21st

2009-03-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

O.K. so I am a Twilight fan. Since we live so close to Forks, we just had to go. Also, my mother-in-law was coming to visit and she wanted to go. We checked the forcast and it was supposed to rain all weekend. We left Friday morning and decided to go through Port Angeles, its raining. Got to Forks about 12:30/1:00, it's raining. We ate at Sully's where they have "Bella Burgers". Still raining. We drive to all the different "Twilight" sights and it's finally done raining.
There's only a few hours left until we can check into the B&B so we decide since the sun has come out to go out to La Push. It was so beautiful. I thought, wow, this is really lucky that it cleared up for a few hours since it will probably rain all day tomorrow. Luckily we woke up to sunny skies the next day and we spent all day hiking to Ruby Beach and 2nd Beach.

Eric's first baseball practice

2009-03-24T00:03:00.000-07:00

Eric had his first baseball practice last week. He has wanted to play baseball for years now after watching his big brother his whole life. We finally broke down and let him start. Our life is about to be baseball fever for the next 4 months. His first two practices were cancelled because of snow, in March. Go figure, Washington. Anyway, he was just so cute, I had to take some pictures.

Our Mid-Winter Break

2009-03-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

Our kids get a mid-winter break in Feb. The kids and I spent the week driving to AZ for a little sunshine. We missed our family and friends that we left last summer. We had a fun week of visiting with friends and family. It was a long trip but my kids are seasoned travelers.

Sarah's Sledding Accident

2008-12-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Sarah was sledding in the neighborhood. As she was walking up the hill, she did not see a snowboarder coming down and he knocked her right over onto her arm, which twisted as she landed. She was in a great deal of pain. Despite her usual whining, BJ noticed she was definately being overly gentile with it and it was starting to swell. As I was finishing up my last minute Christmas shopping in Covington (about 15 min from home), he called me and gave me the bad news. In the worst snow/wind storm that Seattle has seen in 20 or 30 years, BJ met me with Sarah and I took her to the ER. It took us an hour to go about 15miles. To my suprise the ER was not very busy and they moved us to Rapid Care and we were out with a splint and a broken arm diagnosis in 2 hrs. It took another hour and a few stops to chip ice off of the windshield wipers to get home but we were finally home safe.
Wed, Christmas Eve. We headed out to get her cast on. We left ourselves an hour to get to the Dr.'s office because it was snowing really hard again. We made it almost all the way there without a hitch. About a mile from the office, the road was closed because of an accident. I decided to go through some neighborhoods to get there and had to make multiple turn arounds for people who think they can go out in a foot of snow in little 2 door sedans. We finally get there and we were a half hour late. It took us an hour and a half to get there. I wasn't about to go down the hill to the parking garage so we had to walk a little bit from the top parking lot but we had no problem getting out of there when it was time to leave. The cast artist, as I have dubbed her, was very fun and helped Sarah get a festive cast. We call it her Candy Cane or Christmas Cast.

And so it begins!

2008-11-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

Here we go. I have been so impressed with everyone's blogging technique, I thought I'd try and make them feel even better by this small attempt at a blog. I am still learning so it will, hopefully get better as time goes on. Can I take an online course in blogging? I love the journaling aspect of blogging and since I'm so terrible at journaling, I thought I'd try and leave my kids some sort of history. Please follow along as we make our journey as a family. We wish we could be near all of our friends and family. Hopefully this will help it feel like we are closer.