Age is Relative

Will:  Mom, are you in your forties?
Me:  No.  I'm only 28.
Will:  So how old will you be when you're in your forties?
Me:  I'll be 40.

Silence....

Annie:  So I'm in my threes?

Me:  :)

A day at the zoo with Aunt Pat.

Dallas' Great Aunt Pat only ended up having 1 grandchild.  She loves little children, so we went to the zoo while she was visiting from Montana so she and Uncle Jay could play Grandma and Grandpa for a day.  The kids were spoiled with snacks of all kinds, and even got to go through the reptile house twice!  Lucky ducks!

The kiddos:  Miles, Annie, Alli, Will, and James

Kevin Kaiserman, Annie and Alli

Smiley Miley with his best buddy Uncle Jay!

Aunt Pat with her kids!

He Loves Me {And You!}

I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed/tenderhearted and want to either scream, cry, or sleep right now.

It must be that time of the month.  You know?  4th Sunday- time to teach Relief Society again.

Although I could complain about this calling to no end and do everything I can to trade it away for something else, I am so grateful for it.  I'm learning so much about myself.  I have so much to learn about my Savior and my Father in Heaven.  Each month I am humbled again as I realize how much they love me.

I'm neurotic.
I have dirty base boards.
I like to stay up late and sleep in.
I have piles of unorganized notebooks visible to the world that I continue to ignore.
I feed my kids processed chicken nuggets and Ramen noodles.
I love to run- and what kind of a sport is that, really?
Sometimes I don't want to brush my teeth at night before bed.  So I don't.
I get competitive.
I'm bossy.
I eat too much butter and not enough broccoli.

I read in my scriptures the other night in Alma 40: 11- "Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life."

I thought about how I am His child.  His very own.  He probably has a Heavenly Blog where He writes down all of the funny things I say and do so that He doesn't forget- just like I do my own children.  I have no doubt that when my spirit leaves this mortal body behind, that I will get to wrap my arms around my Father's neck for a great hug.  He loves me so much.

Even though I am neurotic and eat too much butter.

Annie is in her "threes."

We celebrated Annie's birthday twice; we had a little party just the four of us the night before, and then a party with a bunch of the Nicoll side on her actual birthday.  It's so fun now that she really GETS it.  Annie chose to go to California Pizza Kitchen to get her favorite food- pizza- for dinner, for dessert we got gumballs from the gourmet gumball machine at The Gateway, and then she got to choose a bear and an outfit from Build-A-Bear.

She was in heaven.

Will said, "That was even fun for me!"   To finish off the evening the kids ran around in the fountain until their goosebumps became too much for them.  It was a perfect evening.

On her birthday I spent nearly the entire day creating a princess cake.  (I mean it- literally the entire day; I worked from 8 AM until 3:15 PM).  It was so worth it when she looked at it and said, "Mom, does a real princess live inside that castle?"  I'm going to have a hard time raising the stakes on this cake!  I made my own marshmallow fondant, and the entire cake was edible!

We had dinner, cake and presents at Grandma Kaiserman's house with a small crowd.  Annie was so cute that day and won the hearts of her Great-Great Aunt Pat's family.  Annie was spoiled with baking supplies and an apron, princess slippers, and some new clothes.

Annie is our little spit fire.  She can be so sweet, or so spicy, depending on the moment!  She loves stuffed animals and babies and is the greatest little mother (especially to Will, much to his chagrin).  She talks and talks and talks all day long without a break- except for maybe to sing a song.  Her favorites are "Twinkle, Twinkle", "I Am a Child of God", "The Temple Song", and "The Song That Never Ends".  She can count to 20, but it's out of order :).  She knows her ABC's and we are working on recognizing the letters- so far she has "A" down really well and even built it herself out of glow sticks last night!  Annie has a secret candy sense and she can sniff out gum or candy within a 1 mile radius, and she will sneak it if she can find it.  She stuffs purses full of all sorts of things- from markers to string cheese- and hides them all over the house.  She is sociable and will warm up so much easier than Will ever did.  She especially loves her Grandmas, Sariah, Audra, and Grace.

We love Annie so much.  Laughter is important, and she makes us laugh a lot!  Happy Birthday my sweet Annie Blannie!

Happy Father's Day, Dada!

He's cute AND an amazing dad.  Win win for me.

Thou Shalt Run a Ragnar

I just completed my 5th Ragnar!  How nuts is that?!  Just two years ago the Wasatch Back was my first race EVER.  My how times have changed!  For me, I feel like the Wasatch Back is the most challenging race that I participate in.  I love the hills, I love the difficulty of running in the elements, and I love doing it with great friends by my side.

Since this is my 5th Ragnar, I will share my 5 Ragnar Commandments:

1.  Thou Shalt Pack Light!  I sleep in my running clothes, and I take advantage of Ziploc bags.  However, you shouldn't follow my example of forgetting to pack a jacket.  Thank goodness my big sister continues to take care of me.

Van 1- Team "Stoked on Socks", Carissa Pugmire, Krissy Downs, Darcy Haas, Cami Hansen, Katie Cummings, and Me :)

2.  Thou Shalt Run Happy!  Smiles are contagious.  Feeling tired?  Smile.  Feeling sore?  Smile.  Feeling excited out of your mind?  SMILE!

Runner 1- Katie C.  She can run ANYTHING and absolutely crush it.

Runner 2- Carissa.  She may look like Athletic Barbie, but she is the toughest runner on our team.  She ran through her last two legs with IT Band pain.  I know what that feels like and I can't even believe she did it!  Amazing.

Runner 3- Darcy.  I love this girl.  She is the epitome of "Run Happy".

Runner 4- Cami.  My sister!!!  She worked so hard and deserved her finish line- and she got it!  She was also our van nurse and took good care of us along the way.

Runner 5- Krissy.  Holy runner IDOL!  She is a rock star.  She OWNED Avon Pass with an 8:30 pace and 82 kills.  Seriously.  This is even more amazing considering she lives in Washington and came in for the race.  You wouldn't even know how the altitude affected her.

3.  Thou Shalt Run Hard.  It's probably going to be hot on your longest leg with the biggest hill you've ever had to climb, so run hard.  You'll be proud of yourself if you do.

Run #1- 6.29 miles down Avon Pass.  7:10 pace, 39 kills (only passed by 1 guy at the end), and dropped 1,369 feet.

4.  Thou Shalt Get Out of the Car!  Everyone is tired, everyone would prefer to sit in the car and relax, but everyone loves a good cheerleader.  Everyone NEEDS a good cheerleader.  My own personal rule is that every time we stop to support a runner, I always get out of the van.  Always!  This is my favorite of all the commandments.  It makes you the best teammate, and your legs will thank you for allowing them to stretch and move.

We do spirit tunnels for our runners, and they are proven to help the runner run faster.  It's a scientific fact.

5.  Thou Shalt Rock the Night Leg.  I didn't get any night pictures this time, but the night legs are always the best.  Every time!  Maybe it's because it's finally cool out?  Rather than dread running at an obscene hour of the night, anticipate it!  I guarantee it will be your favorite run of the race.

This picture isn't from it, but here's the details from Leg #2- 8.2 miles up East Canyon.  8:18 pace, 64 kills, and passed by only 1 guy.  I felt so good and was able to finish so strong!  It was so dark and the sky was filled with about a billion starts.  I even had a team that was trying to recruit me.  I was wearing a green shirt and they called me the "Green Monster."  It was so fun!

Leg #3- 6.02 miles down Jordanelle.  7:35 pace, 31 kills, and didn't get passed!  I switched final legs because my sister's hip injury was killing her.  I took her longer leg, and she took my final 2.5 miles.

  My team was T.H.E.  B.E.S.T.  So proud of each and every one of them.  We finished in 33:53:32, and we had fun in every single one of those seconds.

Back: Krissy, Katie, Marcae, Heidi, Front: Audra, Breona, Darcy

I pushed myself harder than usual on this Ragnar, and it was great fun.  I'm way sore today- my quads and calves are both shredded.  I'm so happy with how I was able to run, and I can't wait to do one of these crazy relays all over again!

For Me

The sky is filled with endless stars

And the Earth its vast blue seas;

In spite of all these things that are,

His greatest creation is me.

He made it to perfect us all,

Its greatness still unknown;

Even though I seem quite small,

I have a greatness all my own.

I know this because he heals my heart,

He has memorized my face;

I am the most important part,

For me, He saved a place.

Hard/Cute

The past little while has been a little rough with the kids, so we've resorted to locking them in the trunk of the car. See?

Just kidding.  But that doesn't mean we haven't felt like it some times.  I'm not going to count down the number of pairs of dirty underwear I've scrubbed out or tell you how many times Annie has thrown tantrums today.  I've already told my neighbor Sariah and she helped me feel a little better.  Suffice it to say- it's a lot.

You know what?  Sometimes kids are hard!  It's just the way it goes.

You know what else?  They are also really, really, really cute.

They are especially cute when Will mentions the "nipple" in his eye, or when Annie pedals her little heart out on her trike.  It's a billion little things that add up to something wonderful by the end of the day.  We're all just doing the best we can- and that goes for the kids too.

Between tantrums and accidents, we've had a lot of fun, too.  Dallas is most interested in the steam cleaner we picked up for free at a yard sale.  He's a focused man- we have clean baseboards, dashboards, and door jams to prove it.  He also finished another semester at the U!  He's a smarty pants and received a 3.6 GPA this last semester.  I'm so proud of him.  He works so hard for our family and is such a good example for our kids (and me).

Last night we had a campout... in our back yard.  If you ask me, it's the best kind!  Dirt is minimal and you can walk out your tent door and have an entire kitchen at your disposal!  HUZZAH!

Annie has latched on to all of her little animals again.  I love it!  She calls them by name now and works hard to take care of their needs; she's such a little Mommy.  Here's the crew:  Kitty, Teddy, Kate, and Penguin.  (Have I introduced Penguin yet?  He's our favorite.  Penguin is the orange triceratops that meows.  He's a treasure in our family, no doubt.)

Looks like I've included everyone but the woman behind the camera....  I've spent as much time as possible swinging on my swing and falling asleep while attempting to read in the afternoon.  It's a charmed life I lead.  I've recovered well from my marathon last month and am looking forward to my favorite race- the Wasatch Back- in only a couple of days.

Summer.  Oh how I love thee.

Mohawk

Will had a mohawk... for 22 hours- give or take a few minutes.  Dallas and I still aren't sure if the mohawk made him mean, or if we just noticed the meanness because of the mohawk.  Chicken, or the egg?  Either way, he got the mohawk Sunday evening spur of the moment when we were hanging  out with some friends, and then Monday afternoon when we were walking into Walmart we looked at our son- mohawk, dirty face, and arms covered in temporary tattoos- and we kind of freaked.

He is now sporting a *very short* buzz- not to be confused with a skinhead.

See those mean faces?!  I swear!  Mohawks bring out the worst in people!!!!

School's out for SUMMER!

We've been out of school for one week so far and we've already been to the zoo and run a race together!  It has been beautiful weather and our sunburns are evidence of that.  I also have more evidence of summer:

This is NOT our bath tub after the Dirty Dash; this is what it looked like after a normal day of playing outside.

 We went to the zoo with my friends Kalie and Erin and their kids.  Kalie had to leave pretty early, but my kids loved playing with Hannah and Tyler- we're lucky to have kids the same ages.

 Dallas gave me a great gift- he ran the Dirty Dash with me.  This is us before the mud.  Unfortunately the muddy pictures of us are on my Mom's camera.  He was a trooper and allowed me to outrun him so that my self esteem wasn't ruined by someone that NEVER TRAINS.

 I took Will on the Piglet Plunge.  You may not know that I hate dirt.  HATE- all caps.  I nearly cried the other day when Will filled an entire bucket of dirt up at my friend's house and then dumped it on his head, so running in the mud is a very rare thing for him.  It's fun for me to share my passion with my children.  Will is a good little runner already.