The Color Run

Today was... Epic. :) It was the first Arizona Color Run 5K, and I'm happy to say I did it! Last night I found out that I would be running with 6 THOUSAND of my "closest friends" and, because agoraphobic, I FREAKED! 6 Thousand? The biggest race I have previously been involved in had 3000 and I had major anxiety. And that race was a half marathon, so there was room to spread out. But, I decided I was going to wo-man up and do this thing. I'm so glad I did. It was so much fun.

Here are some pictures from the event. Here we are getting ready to walk to the started line.

Before pictures:

(I love my girlies) I didn't take a before with my little man, but here is one with my love of my life:

And my friend, MaKell, ran too! Here we are before:

Ready for some after?

The race was fun. It wasn't timed, so there wasn't any pressure to go fast. They chucked color chalk at you every K, which was fun. The cloud of chalk was so think running through the color stations, that it was hard to see and breathe. I have to say, it tasted AWFUL. But, even with the awful taste and large crowd, which didn't feel too bad (perhaps because I started up front with MaKell, or because there really weren't too many on lookers), I will definitely do it again. And next time, I'll register Melanie to do it with me.

Fun Kids

I love being mom. There are times when it is really hard. Times when I think being an engineer would be much much easier. (For example, my co-workers may have whined, but I could usually shut the office door and it would go away... you can't always do that as mom and not feel guilty.) As an engineer, at the end of the day, people acknowledge my decisions as being intelligent. I am a smart person... But as mom, sometimes it doesn't feel that way.

But, as a mom, I get to experience things like these:

(Melanie and Noelle sporting their robes and shaking some booty)(Melanie and Noelle sharing a room for the first time)

(Noelle and Oliver snuggling in Noelle's bed following Noelle's nap time)

These are so many other fun experiences are way, at the end of all the craziness of our days, I LOVE being mom.

Stained Glass Hearts

It's time to re-decorate again!. We started with heart garland over the front window, and fun hearts in the kitchen... but after taking down the Christmas decorations from the back windows, they were looking a little bare. We decided it was time to change things.

To make the stained glass, you need crayon shavings of whatever color you choose. I grated a red and pink crayon. I gave both girls a plain piece of white paper and allowed them to put the shavings on their paper however they would like. Then we laid a piece of wax paper on top of the paper/crayon. Then you set your iron to low. I put a towel under the paper so I could iron the paper at the table. I then put a small towel over the wax paper, just to be safe.

Because it was on low... I let the girls do the ironing.

After the wax is melted and cooled, you can pull away the wax paper. Then I let the girls paint over the entire paper with water colors. The water colors won't stick to the wax from the crayon, so it gives it a really fun look.

After everything was dry, I cut out hearts and let the girls hang them on the window.

When the light came through the hearts for the first time, the girls were so excited! I like them.

(Ignore the dirty window. I cleaned the inside of the window before taping the hearts on, but didn't clean the outside before taking the picture).

FHE: We Are Thankful

Yesterday's Family Home Evening was on being Thankful. We read from the scriptures the story about the 10 Lepers that Jesus healed. In the story, found in Luke 17, verses 11-19, only 1 of the healed returned to thank Him. We talked about how important it is to say "thank you". Then we wrote down things that we are thankful for on paper. I helped Melanie and Brandon helped Noelle. Between the two girls, they came up with 77 things. We turn the papers into a thankful chain. It was fun (and pretty).

After the lesson, I caught Noelle planning the next FHE. (I taught the lesson while feeding a very hungry Oliver. Apparently Noelle thought it looked fun).

This is what Oliver was doing during the activity. :) I believe both girls listed him as something they were Thankful for. I would have to agree. I sure love this little man.

2 Months Old!

Oliver has been part of our family for a full 2 months now! It's crazy how fast time just flies by! And it is also funny to think that 2 months ago he wasn't here, but now I can't imagine life without him in it. He is just such a wonderful little man.

Oliver is a generious smile giver. He prefers to be held, but can also "chill out" on the floor or in his bouncy seat. He is a cuddler. And sometimes he is even a giggler. He sleeps really good at night, only waking once to eat, and then goes right back to sleep. Overall, he is one really really good baby. I can't seem to get him to take a bottle yet, and he seems hungry every 2 hours (which is much more often than my girls) so I can't get away from him for long periods of time without him protesting... but with his smile, who'd want to?

I took him to the doctor on his 2 month birthday. He weight 12 pounds, 1 ounce (this is 50%), he was 24 inches tall (this is 90%) and his hat size was 15-1/2 inches (this is slightly less than 50%).

The following day he had several bloody diapers, so he went back to the doctor. The doctor on call tested the stool to ensure that the red was blood and not something else. Sure enough, it was. So... I am now diary free and soy free until I stop nursing or am told otherwise from the doctor. So... for about 10 months. If anyone has any good breakfast and lunch ideas for this diet, I'd love to hear them. This is really hard for me, because I'm not really a dieter. I'm a runner... and then I just eat whatever I want (within reason). And speaking of running, all my favorite high carb meals for my long runs have cheese... so I may need help there too. I have a marathon I'm training for and I'm currently out of ideas for the pre-race and post-race meals. Anyhow, let me hear them, I'd appreciate it! :)

FHE: Heavenly Father has a Body

Yesterday was Monday, and that means Family Home Evening. We learned that Heavenly Father has a body of flesh and bones, just like ours... and that he created us in his image.

We drew pictures of our selves and saw a picture of the first vision.
And then, because we were so thankful for our bodies, we made Snowmen bodies out of donuts, chocolate chips, pretzels, and reese peanut butter cups.

Melanie's:

Mommy's:

Daddy's:

Noelle ate hers up too fast to get on camera... but I'm sure there is a happy snowman in her tummy!

Someday they will laugh...

Someday the girls will see these pictures and laugh, I'm sure of it. Last week the girls were playing "baby". They took turns being the baby in Oliver's carseat... and then they took turns "nursing" eachother. Can I just say how grateful I am that they don't actually KNOW how I nurse Oliver. I actually heard Melanie say "Noelle... you forgot to feed me. You have to put your hand on my mouth!"

Perhaps I should tell her... but, then again... this is just too funny. And innocent!