The Stevens Family: A Documentary

Ben got a camera for his fifth birthday this week. We looked at the kids cameras and just decided to get a real, cheap digital camera for him. He LOVES it! He announces to everyone that he has a real camera, as he takes their picture. We took it to the grocery store and wow! he got some good shots. So here is our life, documented by Benjamin. (I will not be including all 18 pictures of Baby Jaguar in the same pose - he informs me it is his favorite subject!)

















And there you have it folks, life according to our five year old! That says it all!

Out of the mouths of babes...

I've been keeping a list of the things that my third 2 year old (Micah) says, that my first 2 year old (Jacob) would have never said. So either he is very blessed to know the ways of the world at an earlier age, or he will be corrupt forever thanks to his older brothers. You decide! Here are some of his choice words:

"Cheater."
"That didn't count."
"Eeny, meeny, miney mo..."
"Na, na, na, na, na, na!"
"Are you afraid of a lollipop?"
"To infinity, and beyond!"
"M0-0m, Jacob________."
"Can I play computer?"
"And it came to pass..."
"Can I have a widdle tweat?" (ok Jacob would have said that, but I think it's cute.)
"Where are my brudders?"

He may be corrupt, but he sure loves those big brothers. Lucky boy!

map my run

Just had to pass on this awesome web site: www.mapmyrun.com . You just enter your starting location and it will map out your mileage for you as you plan your route (remember when we used to drive around in the car and check how far we went? With gas prices as high as they are... :o) You can choose satellite images for trails etc, or street maps. It can show you elevation climbs and even has a workout calculator if you're interested in how many calories you've burned, pace and speed. I love it! I always click on start mapping, then "Prefer old map" because I am set in my old ways. Enjoy!

double bubble trouble

I couldn't resist these pictures of the boys. Micah dumped the whole bottle of shampoo in the water. He also fed the fish on his own this week, but that's another story!

runnin' 'round

I recently had a conversation with some women about running. They knew I was a runner, but I'm not sure if they know how much I run. I didn't say much, but listened as they talked. One expressed the need for variety in workouts and another the boredom she experiences during too long of runs. "There's nothing to think about after about mile 5." As I've pondered that, I wonder when my metamorphosis occurred. Me, I run because I'm lazy. All it takes is me (at least 1/2 awake) and a pair of shoes. Out the door I go. I love to go with my fabulous running buddies (therapy and exercise at the same time is wonderful!), but can function on my own if I have to. When and how did I change from the 2-mile jogger with must-have friends, to someone who can go for a 15 mile run on a Saturday morning, by myself, unplugged (no ipod) and arrive home alive? What do I think about and how do I pass the time? Luckily I had 15 miles to ponder it this morning. So lace up your shoes, grab a Gatorade and come on, we're going running. Here's how this morning's run came to pass:

Mile 1: It's still a little dark, but with 14 miles ahead, that's how we like it. Beating the sun up in the morning is one of my joys in life. I plan how singing time will play out tomorrow and make some mental notes of what I need to get ready.
Mile 2: Hummm, I kind of need to use the bathroom. There's a gas station over there, maybe I should stop. Nah, I'll be fine.
Mile 3: I should have stopped. I spend the next few minutes mentally going over a map of the city to find out which parks are the closest. Perfect, there's one on this road I happen to know of at mile 4.
Mile 4: Yes, I made it! Just in time...oops, perhaps I should say, Just about made it (please don't think less of me...we've all been there, haven't we?) See how I wasted a couple of miles worrying about a potty stop. Now I have something to think about the next several miles as well.
Mile 5: Come up with the idea for this great post, spend the next few miles trying to write it up in my head.
Mile 6: Remember to look up! It's a beautiful morning, the glowing clouds dot the blue sky and still no sign of the sun. Glorious! Yes! I'm one minute ahead of my target time at this point!
Mile 7: Breath in the solitude of the quiet neighborhood streets of Centerville. It is so peaceful and calm (especially since I know that my household is up and swinging at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning...I do have ulterior motives for running :o)
Mile 7.1: Where am I? Don't worry mom, I know the area well enough, but have to back track so that I can make sure I get my fifteen miles in (I'm a little annal about this!)
Mile 8: Stop for a drink of Gatorade. I have been of the same opinion as others, at previous times in my life, that Gatorade tastes like warm spit. But drinking it on a warm morning after 8 miles is heavenly!
Miles 9-11: The dreaded hills. Mind you these are not big hills, nor 2 miles of only hills, but at miles 9-11, mole-hills can become mountains to me! Why did I include these again? Oh yeah, I'm pretending to be a real runner!! There's not much more to think about besides survival, these take all of my concentration!
Mile 12: Is that Phil? What is he doing? As he turns and drives past again, I see this on the back window of the van:
How cute is that? "Thanks Phil!" I mouth as he drives past!
Mile 12.2: What are they doing? I see my three rookies parked on the sidewalk, waiting for me to pass: one with a fan, one with a spray bottle, and one with a Gatorade (and a red mustache...I wonder what Micah did to pass the time!) They spray and fan me as I approach. By the van is a chair for me to rest in and get a little massage from Phil. I paused my stopwatch and enjoyed the luxurious treatment! Talk about an aid station!!! And he even brought the camera to document!
Mile 12.3-Mile 15: Wow! After 12 miles, I finally have something worthwhile to think about. I had most of this blog entry composed and ready to go when my cheering section pulled into view. My mood changed from how cool I am, to how cool they are, instantly. Oh yeah! I really couldn't do it without my "fans" could I? They reminded me that this really isn't about "me", but about "us". It's about supporting each other in our goals and making it through life in the "long run", together. That's what makes the Olympics so exciting, is seeing how the athletes' families have sacrificed and been a part of this amazing journey for them. There's so much that goes on behind the scene of each medal.
Mile 12.5: Here comes the sun (do-do-do-do) finally peaking it's head over the mountains, and I finally saw the light!!
Mile 15: We made it! Thanks for tagging along and keeping me company.

Next Saturday: 20 miles...what in the world will we think about?

Parks and Recreation

It appears that summer is going, going, just about gone. My first clue was when I announced a trip to the park yesterday. The response was, "Not again!" "Another park?" "We've already been to two parks this week." Are you kidding? I guess you know it's time to go back to school when the kids are complaining not only about jobs, reading, or not enough swim time, but now too much park time!!?

But before we go back to school, we as parents all feel the need to have one last hoorah! before we all hit the books again. We've been partying all summer, but have to do something aweinspiring and exhausting before we can call it quits. So when the invitation to go camping with some neighbors arrived, we quickly jumped on the bandwagon (someone else is planning? count us in!!)

We headed out Thursday afternoon down to Preservation park. The boys LOVED camping (Micah thought the tent was a hotel!) They got to tube down a river, bike ride with their friends, eat scones, roast marshmellows, eat more scones, play on the playground, go to a hot air balloon festival, play in the fire, play baseball and stay up late under the stars. Jacob even got to witness the catching of a real, live fish. It was really a lot of fun, with some wonderful people. We're lucky to live in such a great place. So...HOORAH! Now can we go back to school? I'm ready for a vacation!

Going, going...gone!

That's what it's all about!

This weekend it was my family reunion up at Bear Lake. I haven't been in 9 years and thought it would be fun to go. Phil was out of town, so I grabbed my sister-in-law Kristin and headed up. Wow! What a difference 9 years can make! And yet, somehow it is so much the same. Here's what I noticed:

Things that have changed: 1) How many kids have been added over the years! There were kids everywhere and they've all grown up so much since I was there last - some were as tall as I was. What is going on? 2) Being on the mom side of things is much different. I didn't realize how much stuff and stress is necessary for 24 of camping at the beach. And of course I missed a few things, but the van was packed. 3) Having my cousins be on the parent side of things. I was excited for great conversation and games like the good old days. Man, that cabin was hopping at 10:30 at night! We were all consumed with taking care of our own families, fun but crazy.

Things that are the same: 1) My ability to get sunburned. You'd think in my older, wiser years, I would learn a lesson or two about Bear Lake sun. I haven't been burned like this for 9 years. And what's worse is seeing the exact spots I missed with the sun screen on my children. They each have some very precious, unnatural, sunburn shapes. Good going mom!! 2) The distance around the lake! I can remember being so excited to finally get to the lake and it taking FOREVER to finally get to the cabin. It still does! 3) Raspberry shakes...need I say more! 4) The hokey-pokey. My family has an odd tradition of doing the hokey-pokey at our family gatherings. It was always important to grandpa and grandma, so we did it (even at grandpa's funeral luncheon.) As I did the hokey-pokey with Micah and danced the Virginia Reel with Ben, the memories flooded back. I was glad I came, chaos included. It's important to pass on those family traditions, as strange as they may be. The boys are already talking about next year's reunion, and perhaps, that IS what it's all about!

I've been Tagged?

By one of my college roommates, Jennie Y!! She is awesome and we were able to hook up again after about 9 years and take the boys hiking. We went to Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon and she brought donuts for the boys to eat! I thought that was so clever!! Here's a picture of the Jennies:
I've never been tagged before, but I guess I'm it. So here goes:

FIVE THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST: Give the boys haircuts, clean up our weekend house (without fail it gets trashed every weekend!) Shop for school clothes, remember to enjoy the final two weeks before school starts, go make dinner

FIVE JOBS I'VE HAD: cherry sorter (yes, just like on I love Lucy!), pizza maker, purchasing assistant, book keeper/accountant, piano teacher

FIVE PLACES I HAVE LIVED: Brigham City, UT; Seattle, WA; New Britain, CT; Bend, OR; Pearland, TX

FIVE FAVORITE SNACKS: lightly salted almonds with craisins, cottage cheese and crackers, chocolate, watermelon, fruit and nut granola bars

FIVE THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME: I'm traveling to Europe in the fall!!, I've run 2 marathons and am training for another, I teach piano lessons, I once asked Jeff Kent's (played for the Houston Astros at the time) family to a BBQ at my house (unbeknownst to me!), I'm double jointed (boy I was having a hard time coming up with 5!)

FIVE THINGS I WOULD DO AS A BILLIONAIRE: get my hair cut and buy new running shoes whenever I darn well pleased, buy a house with a bigger kitchen and more closets, buy a car for Phil that has air conditioning!, put air conditioning in my kids schools (I don't get that!), Go on a date with Phil every weekend

FIVE THINGS I LOVE: my family, the gospel, running, cheesecake, laughing

FIVE PEOPLE I AM TAGGING: Emily R, Tammy C, Abbey H, Kim H and anyone who's never been tagged before like me :o)

Trimming the fat

No, this isn't a commentary on my diet and exercise life (though I could use some tips on that too!) When we were first married and living in Seattle, on my income no less, it seemed like money was tight. We lived in a tiny studio apt and scrimped on everything. However, we always had money to do things like go to Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Stomp and countless other productions and events. We figured we'd rather have experiences than stuff.

Nine years later, why does it seem like we have less money? Phil is an accomplished prosthetist/orthotist, travelling around the country (and out) to speak to people and showing his expertise, working hard and making good money. I'm happy to be home with the boys, but not bringing in much mullah doing so (they don't pay well). As we look at finances these days, people always talk about the essentials and non-essentials and getting rid of those thing that aren't mandatory. I don't know about you, but our expenses are as follows:

mortgage - fixed WAY too high
tithing - fixed
401k - fixed
insurance - fixed
taxes - fixed
utilities - fixed (I'm not going without AC thank you!)
savings - fixed MUCH too low
etc, etc - fixed

The balance is not huge and with it, we are supposed to survive in today's society!! This is making me crazy lately. So I've been thinking about what I could give up...well I've actually been thinking more about my little indulgences in life that I don't want to give up if at all possible:

Clorox wipes - I LOVE these things. I can't imagine cleaning a toilet without them!
High speed Internet - We held off for so long and now, there is no going back!
Ziplock baggies (of all shapes and sizes) - I am probably breaking some kind of environmental code with the way I go through these, but I can't help it, they are handy!
Gatorade - In the little bottles for my runs. They are the perfect size for me to carry.
Oatmeal Cereal Squares - These are one of the only cereals I pay full price for because they hardly go on sell. They are a great snack and actually have 6 grams of protein!

Good grief, what a sad life if this is all I can come up with!!! If anyone has any ideas to help me save money so I don't have to give up these necessities of mine, I'd be much obliged. Otherwise, I'm going to have to start using those sandwich bags that fold over the top exclusively...HELP ME!!!!! (I'd also like to know what you splurge on, maybe it would help me feel better about my list!)