Joys of doing nothing

This weekend we made a trip down to Spring City. It is a super small town of about 1000 people and is on your way to Manti. My Great Grandparents built a home here and we go down to enjoy a quick get away. The best part about Spring City is there is isn't really anything to do. We spend most of our time playing card games, sitting under the big tree reading a book, hitting softballs, going on walks and playing in the creek. This time they were having a celebration for the 24th of July. They had a dance on main street from 9 to midnight. Jake and I decided to go down while my dad stayed with Kambree. It was so funny to watch the people dancing and to just be dorks. On Saturday we made it to the Spring City parade. It is a small parade but they sure throw out a lot of candy. You would think someone could get bored not really having anything to do but that is the best part of going to Spring City. You have an excuse to just lay around and be lazy and not think at all about the stresses of life. We had a great time. We also took some pictures with Bree Bug. She turned 18 months this week and I am so amazed how quickly the time has gone by.

Bree loves Grandpa :)

And he loves her even more!

Look at that goofy face

Yes I will give you ANYTHING you want with that face. 

She was having so much fun just throwing rocks into a pot hole.

Some of our goofy pictures

Jake was so proud of his triple decker sandwich he made.

Enjoying a game of quiddler. I beat Jake of course.

Trying to tame a wild little girl.

What are you capable of?

2 months ago our good friend Matt asked us to run a 5k with him. I told him I would walk it because my knee had bothered me before when I would run. When I got to the race all the excitement of everyone made me want to run it. I decided I would run the whole thing and only stop if my knee hurt. Well the knee never hurt and it felt so good to run or it may have been more like a jog. :) I liked it so much that I signed up for another 5k and a 10k within the next couple of weeks, each time getting a little faster and still being able to run the entire thing. I realized that my body was capable of so much more than I thought it was and decided to sign up for a half marathon. I had 2 weeks to train and had some great friends (Nicole, Whitney and Stephanie )who would run with me and help me to get better. The half marathon was this last Saturday. I woke up late because my phone died in the middle of the night and the alarm didn't go off. I was speeding so fast down the freeway trying to make it on time to catch a shuttle bus. I barely made it in time with 15 minutes to stretch, use the bathroom and try to get in the zone. It wasn't too hard to get in the zone. Everyone was so excited, the scenery was gorgeous being up in the canyon, and I was ready to accomplish a new goal. I was determined to run the whole thing and didn't worry what time I got in. It felt so good while I was running and I felt so close to my Heavenly Father. I am amazed how much he helps us to accomplish our dreams. I felt great until about mile 11 when it seemed like the last 2 miles were taking so long to finish, but then I saw my family towards the end cheering me on and could see how proud they were of me. I finished in 2 hours and 15 minutes which was an average of a 10.2 mile. I was pretty sore the last couple of days but honestly would love to do another one. I wanted to share a favorite quote of mine that I found while reading someone's running blog.


"I run because it's so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can't. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you're capable of so much more than you thought." --Arthur Blank

The run was with run 13 who supports fallen police officers. The race was up Hobble Creek Canyon and finished by Springville High School.

My dad and Bree waiting for me to come around the corner. 

Racing by so happy to almost be done. 

Dead tired but so happy. My hair was so disgusting at the end from sweat and dumping water on myself to try and cool off during the race. Mom and Arlene also came to support me, it was so nice to see everyone. 

Showing off my new shirt :) I don't think I have ever enjoyed wearing a t shirt so much. 

Vegas Baby!

Last week was such a crazy week. We were hoping to have Jake's surgery done on Friday but were referred to a doctor that wasn't comfortable with the surgery so we had to schedule with one up in Salt Lake. We had been invited by Loreen and Arlene to go to Vegas and stay at Tahiti Village. Luckily we couldn't get into the doctor until this Thursday so we were excited to be able to go down for a few days. Tahiti Village has a fabulous swimming pool and we enjoyed laying out in the nice weather and swimming lots. Kambree loved seeing all the lights and the water show at Bellagio. Every time we see a little waterfall or water feature now she gets super excited over it. Jake and I got tickets to see The Blue Man group while we were there. We had a blast! We were right in the middle of the theatre and were on the 3rd row (the poncho section). You are at risk for getting things like marshmallows, banana pudding, paint, water and yes even jello thrown at you. I was the lucky one who got jello thrown at my head. Everyone around me was touching it and I was so happy to take home a free sovenier. We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to get away from life since it has been pretty crummy the last couple of weeks.

Before the show in our ponchos!

Me and my jello. I was so proud of it. We put it in the fridge for the night.

He was our favorite out of the three. We were the first ones to get our pictures taken with him and then everyone else was going up after. 

We went to dinner at the Paris. It was so yummy. 

The Gardens at the Bellagio. 

Kambree wanted to smell all of the flowers. 

Kambree with Noni.

Kambree with Yia Yia. 

Missing my car

Last week Jake completely tore off his adductor longus muscle from his hip bone. We are awaiting an appointment tomorrow with the surgeon to find out what day he can have surgery. Because of his injury he can't drive his truck because it is too difficult to push in the clutch. So we have switched cars. I never realized just how spoiled I am to have lots of room and a nice air conditioner as I do now. His truck is very small and lacks the nice cold air. Even though it isn't convenient right now I am very grateful for this time to count my many blessings. It is pretty crazy that sometimes it takes something big to make you more grateful for all that you have. Now to learn how to mow the lawn. Yes I know, it is pretty ridiculous that I have never mowed the lawn before. But now I get to, let's hope I don't ruin it. Hopefully he can recover soon and we can back to normal life.

Bored?

So this week has been a weird week. I haven't had preschool and it usually is what takes up a lot of time. I know there is a lot to do like clean, organize, etc. but frankly I really have no desire to do those things. I would much rather be having fun. We have had a lot of fun though this week. We bought a pass to the Lehi Legacy Center and have been going swimming almost everyday. I really need some tips from people on what would be some fun things to do this summer. In the mean time I will enjoy the fact that I don't have as busy of a schedule as normal and enjoy my sweet little girl. 

We weeded a lot and all though this isn't my idea of fun it was nice to be outside and enjoying the beautiful weather.

My dad (Grandpa Turkey we call him) came for a visit and we enjoyed some yummy barbeque. 

One of our butterflies from preschool can't fly so we have just been keeping him safe. Bree loved it when I pulled it out and let her have a turn holding it. 

This little girl makes me smile. All we have to say is "oh" an she tilts her head all cute and poses for a picture. She has also been saying her name all week long. She calls herself B-bree. It is so fun to see how much she is learning lately. 

She loves talking on the phone. She has been doing this for a long time. I think it shows how much I do it. She even pretends to text on it. Too funny!

Bree loves being with other kids. Hunter is her best little friend. They seem to do everything around the same time. Even though she doesn't like to share and says "no, no" anytime they look at her toys, she always seems happy to have a playmate. 

My first 10k

Yesterday was the big day of the 10k. I was feeling really sick to my stomach and nervous about doing it. I honestly was worried I wouldn't be able to run the whole thing like I wanted to. Mainly because I am not a runner. I really wish I was but I don't go and do it everyday, I would much rather do my turbo kick class or go hiking or backpacking. The best part of the race was that Jake made me a playlist on my Ipod and put in some really motivational songs followed by some funny songs that gave me a good laugh. It was a great day and I was able to run the whole thing without stopping. It felt so good be in control of my body and be able to feel proud of myself for accomplishing my goal.

My great friend Whitney did the 5k race with her husband. I couldn't talk her into the 10k but maybe next time :) Also, my good friends Danielle and Stephanie ran the 5k as well. Bummer that I didn't get a picture of all of us.

Jake had to take a picture of me at the starting line. Everyone around me was super fit and into running as fast as they could.

This was the finish line, the girl in front of me hurried and passed me at the very end. I was sort of bugged but o well, I had passed her earlier.

1 hour and 5 minutes later I got to take a break it was a fun day and I hope to work up to a possible half marathon. We will see how it goes.

Summer Break

I just finished up my first year of teaching preschool. It was such a blast and I loved every minute of it. This week has been so crazy but was still a lot of fun. I am looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend. Last weekend our friend Matt had us run a 5k with him. If you have read earlier in the year you know that my knee has given me a lot of problems lately. I was just going to walk the whole thing and then when we  got there I got excited and told myself that I would jog the whole thing and only stop if my knee started to hurt. It did great and just kept on moving. I ran the whole race in 35 minutes. Not super fast but I was so happy that I was able to run without stopping and without pain. I think a lot of it has to do with my favorite Turbo Kick class I have been going to. It is such a good work out and has helped my legs to feel a lot stronger. I think I may have become addicted to running now. I signed up to do a 10k on Saturday and am so excited to see how the knee does at running a little more.

Here are a few pics of my cute little class. We were missing 2 students in the picture. They did such a good job singing their songs. They looked so cute. I am going to miss these little kiddos so much next year. 

We let our butterflies go. They didn't really want to fly very far at first. But eventually took off. 

Also, I am not one to usually post things about my weight but I am so excited that I finally got back to my pre-pregnancy weight this week! I lost all 60 pounds in 16 months. I am really excited to go backpacking and hiking this summer now that I am in better shape. What are your plans for the summer?