Christmas Time! In March!

I know what you're thinking- "Christmas time? In March?"

Yes, sir!!! Thanks to the handy dandy tax return.

Annie repeated "Christmas time" over and over because this showed up at my house today:

I've already played some Scrabble and am currently reading Water for Elephants for my book club on Thursday. I love it!!!! In the words of Dallas, "Now [I] can e-read my life away." And I will.

Run My Guts Out

I started a new blog where I can post more frequently about running. I'll still update about races and a few big breakthroughs on this blog, but if you are interested in the day to day, nitty gritty dirt on running, check it out.

http://runmygutsout.blogspot.com/

My running blog isn't private, so feel free to tell your friends! I would love to hear feedback and hear about other peoples running journeys. It's all about inspiration, baby.

Here's the DL on why I started it:

I started this blog to get my running thoughts out so I don't bore my husband with jibber jabbering about it all day. Because, I'll be honest here, he likes running about as much as he likes ABC's The Bachelor.

I started running in January of 2010 because I was suckered into running the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back with some of my close girlfriends in the area I live. Little did I know how truly "sucked in" I would become. Since then I have completed a few local races, a half marathon, Ragnar Relay Del Sol, and I am pursuing the Ragnar leg in the Wasatch Back and the Top of Utah Marathon in September of this year. I can't wait for the challenge!

Many people have asked me why I love running, and it's a hard question to answer. I guess the best way to say it is that I love it for a thousand reasons. It's liberating. I love that I have time to just be me and not just a mommy or a wife. I love that I get to set goals and accomplish them. I love being able to take in a huge deep breath. I love the quiet. I love the views. I love that I can play with my kids and not get winded. I love all of my many running partners (my "pack"), and I love watching them have breakthroughs and improve. I love being challenged and pushed. It has filled a gap in my life and has helped me to become a better person.

Besides my love for running, I also love my family, my Lord, my friends, and junk food :).

Cutest Pray-er Ever

Annie has taken off with her speech in the last week or so. She has started repeating everything we say- and not just a few words, she's repeating entire sentences. She even reminds us to say prayers at dinner. Lately she won't keep her pants on and is constantly trying on someone else's shoes. She is still my little tantrum thrower and will stomp her feet and protest when something isn't going her way, although people usually only see the sweet and cautious side of our Annie Kate; she's on her best behavior around strangers. She definitely has my sweet tooth! Annie is at the pantry door begging for snacks or candy all day long. Annie's favorite person in the world is our next door neighbor Sariah. She is constantly saying her name. She even knows the pajamas that Sariah gave her and she begs to wear them. She always wants to play a "gamie", and she is a whiz at the wooden puzzles and puts them together all by herself! This is the most fun age- I hope she stays this funny forever. There is a lot of personality shoved into that little body!

Dallas

My husband gained another year in his age and has already proved to me since yesterday how much wiser he is than I am. He tends to do that a lot. In honor of his birthday, here are some things you may not know about Dallas:

1. Dallas is funny. Really, really funny. However, he only shows his humor to a handful of people.
2. If he could make a living as a used car salesman, that would be his dream job.
3. When he was about 7 years old, he leaned up to the stove and his shirt caught fire. Instead of applying "stop, drop, and roll", he ran- causing his mother to chase him around the house, finally tackling him outside in order to put out the flames. He was very badly burned and still has scars all up his back.
4. His Grandpa Lyman Nicoll gave Dallas a blessing after he was burned that he wouldn't feel any pain- and he didn't. Not even through the scrubbing of his skin and changing of bandages that happened every day for weeks.
5. He wants to move to New Mexico, and we talk about it often.
6. He does like nice new trucks, but I think he would still prefer the biggest, oldest truck he could find on ksl.com. (Maybe this isn't really true, but it sure feels that way!)
7. He's a good sport and listens to my Dad tell stories for hours (or days) on end.
8. He worries about his siblings a lot and is always thinking of ways he can help them.
9. At one point in his life, he used to have a parole officer. He didn't tell me this and I found out about it in the line at our wedding when his ex-parole officer introduced himself!
10. He absolutely HATES IT when I plan something on Saturdays. He wants to be able to do whatever he wants. If we do something spontaneously, that's fine, he just doesn't want any plans.

I'm so blessed to be married to someone that balances me so completely. There's no better time than 5PM when he strolls in the back door for the night. We're all so glad when Daddy comes home!

Happy 28th Birthday, Dallas!!!

Getting a good picture of children is nearly impossible.

This is one of the first pictures, which means I was still asking nicely and saying, "say cheese" with a smile on my own face.

Now we're in the midst of a battle- "Hold still!", "Look at the camera!", and "Don't smile like that!" can be heard like war cries in the battle field. Why won't they hold still and smile so we can just get this over with? Is it really that difficult?! Is it really impossible to hold still for 2 seconds?!?!

I've given up. I'm looking at Jennifer in defeat as I snap the last picture before my battery dies, when, lo and behold- (cue angelic music here)- a picture with all 5 children at least looking up!

Will, James, Alli, Miles and Annie
They're not all smiling, but at least I can see those eyes! Now off to swim!
Taken at the Yarbrough's condo in Deer Valley.

Ragnar Del Sol 2011

Each time I step foot on the asphalt (or pavement, or river bottom, or trail) I learn something. This race was no exception. I learned that:

• If you don't let yourself think that something is impossible, it won't be, and you will achieve results greater than you would have ever imagined or even hoped to expect.
• Celebrating the triumphs of a sister, brother, or friend is even better than celebrating your own.
• Although, demolishing your own goals is pretty awesome, too.
• Ragnar Relay's are like pregnancies- you never remember how difficult and challenging and miserable it is until you are in the midst of it all over again. You also don't remember quite how amazing it is to be doing it, either.
• Geology and geography are NOT the same thing.
• Minivans were engineered for my biology.
• 4 AM is NOT a good time to wake up in the morning for 4 days in a row.
• Michael Jackson is awesome, but not when "Thriller" is stuck on repeat during your night run of the relay.
• Triumphs are even better when I can celebrate them with Dallas and my kids.
• Attitude is everything! A race like this (and life) will always be what you make of it. Your attitude can make it, or break it.
  

I was able to blow my goals out of the water while running just over 26 total miles. Here are the results:

Leg 1: 7.05 miles at a 7:32/mile pace. I ran the first 2 miles at a 6:50! This is my fastest race pace to date.

Leg 2: 6.44 miles at a 7:56/mile pace. This was my only uphill leg. Running on a river bottom at the beginning in the dark slowed me down, but it was awesome.

Leg 3: 7.92 miles at an 7:59/mile pace. This was a good downhill leg, but I swear it felt like it was uphill! After sleeping only 1.5 hours over the space of the day, I was exhausted and my body was hard to keep going. I hit my goal and was satisfied and relieved that it was over!

LEG 4: 4.63 miles at a 7:50/pace. One of our runners, my cousin Nate Henrie on Dallas' side, injured his knee and was unable to finish his last leg. I ran it for him to come into the finish line. I felt better on this leg than I did on my third. It was incredible that I could run it- I was amazed at my strong body and my ability. I was so thankful that I had been training religiously since October and that I could complete the race strong for my team.

Van 1- Mindy Kohler, Clayton Wilson, Amylee Nicoll, Shawn Hansen, LaDawn Thorbe, Debbi Hilton

Mindy, runner #1 at the start line.

What happens in the van, stays in the van. Shawn, LaDawn, and Debbi.

Warming up for Leg 1. It was awesome to run outside in shorts and a tank!

Clayton running a 6:56/mile pace. He's a gazelle.

I loved that Clay handed off to me. We decided to do this race because we wanted to run a race together.

Make like a cactus...

And the injuries begin. Coach Clay was the KT Tape master.

Sisters! The other reason I wanted to run was because of Cami! She was totally amazing and worked so hard for this. I was so proud and so happy that I got to watch her finish her last leg; I couldn't help but get emotional as she rounded her last corner towards the exchange. This picture was taken right before van 2 began their journey.

Sleep? Yeah, right. I got a total of 1.5 hours during the race.

Getting ready to head out for our second run as the sun was starting to set. Mindy, Debbi and LaDawn.

Meeting up at the major exchange. Leslee rocked her 9.2 mile first leg and was feeling awesome. Angemarie came down with the flu the night before and was just praying she would make it through. Thanks to a blessing from Clay and Nate Henrie and a lot of prayers, she did it.

The only thing better than an Arizona sunset is....

...an Arizona sunrise. This picture is unaltered and was taken by my point and shoot camera, so you can imagine how stunning it was. I watched the sunrise for my entire 3rd leg of 7.9 miles. I was in awe. It helped me keep my mind off the exhaustion.

Clayton after he was finished. His last leg would have kicked his butt even if he didn't have to do it with stomach issues and a bad knee. I was so worried about him. I don't know why because he still managed to get 9 kills up the 8.8 mile hill and was only passed by 1 person. Half of the time he was even skipping. That kid is an animal!

Austin before his last leg- which he tore through at a 7:08/mile pace. This guy is an athlete without even having to try.

So you think you're done? Or not. This is me at exchange 35 right before I ran Nate Henrie's final leg- 4.7 miles to the finish line. If I didn't get lost, it would have been shorter! Watch for those signs, people...

Finished! Nate Henrie and me. I slapped the bracelet on Nate a few yards before the finish so that he could be the one to take it in. He hobbled as fast as he could and the announcer said, "Here comes team 114, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, showing their battle wounds!"

Our team- "Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote"- finished the race in 30:51:39 with an average pace of 9:22.8/mile. We placed 174th out of 306 teams- 70th in our division out of 141 teams.

Nate Henrie, Amylee Nicoll, Mindy Kohler, Clayton Wilson, Debbi Hilton, Leslee Wilson, LaDawn Thorpe, Cami Hansen, Shawn Hansen, Austin Nicoll, and Nate Hansen hiding in the back ground.We tried to leave AZ early the next day to avoid a snow storm, but instead we ran straight into it. We left at 4AM only to get stopped because they closed I-17. We waited at a rest stop for 5 hours before we could get on our way again. It took us a total of 18 hours to get home, we almost slid off the road one time, so did the boys in the other van, and a semi jack knifed right behind us. It was possibly the longest day ever!

Life is good.

I seem to have lost my blogging voice. We're still here and happy. Life is good, and the following quote is proof:

"Wancho is spanish for Ranch." -William Bentley Nicoll

I LUV U

Last week when I left to do primary visits, Will chose to stay home. Dallas was doing homework in the basement and Will was left with strict instructions not to bother him. After a few minutes he sat outside of the bedroom door where Dallas was working. Dallas could hear rustling at first, and then he saw the corner of the DoodlePro poking from underneath the door. Dallas opened the door to find Will, patiently working to scrawl out "I LUV U". He sounded it out to spell it and wrote it all by himself. He just wanted to leave a note underneath the door for his Daddy.

The longer I'm married, the more love changes for me. It isn't flowers and chocolates and surprises and presents and date nights- that's romance.

Love is going to school at 6:25 AM, coming home for lunch for 30 minutes and then heading straight to work; it's getting home to eat dinner with your family only to head down into the basement to do homework until 10 PM, and then going to bed to do it all over again.

Love is making peanut butter sandwiches, buttering toast, and wiping faces.

Love is buying beef bologna, expensive potato chips, and making pot roast on a Monday.

Love is ironing dress clothes and folding underwear in thirds.

Love is spending your Christmas money on diapers and size 4 shoes.

Love is watching the kids so one person can escape for a few minutes.

Love isn't perfect. Sometimes it's spelled wrong and sometimes the letters are backwards, but love is what gets us through.

Up to No Good

In January we weren't up to much.

Annie was as mischievous as ever. You can just tell that she's trouble.

Will was a good boy and smiled for the camera when I asked him to.

Annie spent a lot of time putting boots on... and off... and on... and off...
She also learned to dance like Michael Jackson- this picture is evidence.

We definitely didn't do anything naughty like eat cookie dough or unhealthy amounts of chocolate chip cookies. We aren't those kind of people.

We are, however, glad that the longest and coldest month of the year is OVER!

3 Nephi 13:30-33

About a month ago I had a dream that a major world war broke out right where we were living. I woke up with a pit in my stomach and felt the urgency that we needed to be stocking up on some of the food and things that we use the most. Every week Dallas and I have been talking about how we could use some of our budget to buy some extra food storage, but week after week we found ourselves without a penny to spare.

Friday night I read 3 Nephi 13:30-33 during my personal scripture study:

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.
31 Therefore take not though, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Saturday morning we were blessed by an angel, someone that must have been listening to the promptings of the spirit on our behalf, as our family witnessed what was to us, a miracle- food storage.

Over the last few years things have been tight for us financially, but we have always had the things that we need, and so many of the things that we want as well. Without the Lord's help, I know this wouldn't be possible. Our budget never works out on paper, but somehow, each month, we are able to meet our obligations and then some. I am so thankful that the Lord listens to my little pleadings and worries, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. He knows they are important to me. I hope I always have the faith to allow Him to bless our family.