Time Flies

It was a beautiful spring morning back in '99. The flowers were blooming, the sun was shining and we were on cloud nine. Especially when we saw each other at the Logan Temple. Relief rushed over us as we both realized the other had shown up and we were actually going to go through with it! It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since we got married. That's almost 1/3 of my life!! 10 years, 5 states, 3 kids, 3 degrees, 2 residencies, 4 apartments, 3 homes, 3 cars, 2 frogs, 1 earthquake, 2 hurricanes, 278 walks in parks (I'm rounding), 1,000's of frequent flier miles, 6 wards, 18 callings, 3 marathons, 3 (almost) international trips together, 8 Jazz concerts, 2 Jazz games, 2 water heaters, 1 television with no cable, a few tears, many laughs and only 2 fights (pretty good eh?) later, we're still in love. Now after all that, it's a different kind of love, but you all know how that goes. Thanks for weathering the storms and singing in the rain with me babe. Here's to 10 more adventurous years!

Hidden Beauty

Right after we got married and moved to Seattle, I was in awe of our constant, beautiful surroundings. I felt like we were on vacation for two years and couldn't believe I actually lived in such a lush, green, gorgeous place. I remember thinking that Utah wasn't all that scenic and beautiful and felt a little gypped for having missed out on that growing up. We've lived in some beautiful areas of the country since then, but 10 years later, we are back in my original home turf. Over the past almost 3 years I have been discovering the beauty of living in Utah. The mountains. The lakes and rivers. The wildflowers. The changing leaves. The snow. It really is a great place to live and it's been fun to realize that I did grow up in a scenic area of the world. We went on a Stevens-boy sized hike (long enough to stop for snacks, but short enough that we don't have to be carried down the mountain) on Saturday and I was reminded of this beauty! My pictures don't do it justice, but here's a glimpse. And some pictures of Fathers and Sons as well. I'm convinced there is beauty everywhere, we just have to get out to take the time to find it!

All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir

On Wednesday, May 20, 2009, #2 of our 2 original african dwarf frogs passed on to the other side. Monopoly Stevens was a happy little frog, swimming contentedly about our fish tank. He brought joy and happiness to all that watched him and tapped on the glass of our tank. Monopoly was welcomed into our home a mere 10 months ago and has thrived in his environment, until a few months ago when one of his eyes mysteriously disappeared (darn tiger barbs) and has had inflammation in his mouth since about that same time. Even with his ailments, Monopoly swam about, often doing his "frog thing", sprawled out on top of the water. Monopoly was preceded in death by our good friend Swimmer and their offspring, little Tad Pole who miraculously overcame the odds of being eaten in the tank, then survived for only 2 weeks in a separate tank. We will miss you little guys. Thanks for the joy you've brought into our home. A very brief viewing occurred after the death and before the burial by water.

Silence is

OVERRATED! It's our Stake Fathers & Sons campout this weekend. I admit, I've been excited...ecstatic actually. Phil volunteered to take all 3 boys and I didn't argue. I've had some good one-on-none time. I took a nap, straightened and vacuumed the whole house (and it still looks the same some 18 hours later!), blared the Wicked soundtrack, balanced the checkbook, went to dinner with two awesome all-boy moms, ran 15 miles, painted my toenails, walked slowly past their bedrooms - peeking in, longed for someone to say "I wanna rock" (bedtime routine with Micah), tried to call 5 times to check in, cursed cell phone coverage, twiddled my thumbs a few times and jumped to the phone just now when Phil called to say they're on their way home. Now I know once they get here, I'll be ready for another break pronto, but it's nice to have a little silence once in a while to see how much I miss the background noise. Love you boys!

There is beauty ALL around

There are a few picturesque moments in our married life that have made me literally giddy. Fall in Connecticut. Paris and England. Two years in Seattle. Blue bonnet fields in Texas. Finding a bit of Fall in Bend, OR on a whim. Temple Square. Today for Mother's Day I wanted a picture of the boys and me on Temple Square. With tulips. All boys smiling. And looking at the camera. Phil could guarantee all but the latter of the bunch. It was GORGEOUS! If you live in the area, you need to get there soon. We forget how lucky we are to live so close to this beautiful edifice and it's incredible surroundings. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. There are a lot of them - I couldn't choose!

GOAL!!

Last week at Micah's 3 year old check-up, his pediatrician gave me some information about behavior charts for toddlers (potty charts etc). As I was reading through it, I realized, hey this is what works for me too!! I recently participated in a healthy competition. I don't diet, but for some reason a competition that had me keeping track of points on my little spreadsheet cured me of my sweet-tooth for 10 weeks. I was amazed! (Thank heavens for free Sundays though!)

One of the reasons I love running marathons is that it is a huge accomplishment, broken up into daily goals like running sprints or hills. I love printing out my little schedule and checking off each day that I did what I was supposed to. You gradually build up and find that wow, I just ran 20 miles. Check!

I'm trying to figure out how to motivate myself in different aspects of life. My closets for example are in dire need of cleaning, before school gets out! I just don't wanna do it...I figure maybe if I make myself a chart or checklist, it might actually get done!!

So my current goals are: run another marathon (I entered the St. George Lottery - wish me luck!), clean my closets, floss my teeth daily (yes, another goal that I have to mentally make myself do) and finish the Book of Mormon, by July 13 (per Bishop Heaps!) My question is: What are your goals, and how do YOU get/stay motivated?

Two-wheeler Club

Several weeks ago, Jacob told me he wished that "we" had raised Benjamin differently. By "we" he was implying that he had an active role in the raising. My initial response was, "Really? Be my guest to take over, my friend. I'd love to see to try!!" "Oh, and I can't wait until YOU are a parent!"

Jake's reason for regret was that he's really wanted Benjamin to learn how to ride the bike for so long and Ben has showed no interest what so ever. "We" 've tried to get him excited about it before, but yesterday Phil made a bit of progress. I think what finally got him interested was Jacob's invitation to the two-wheeler club once he mastered riding without training wheels. One of the greatest parts of the evening was hearing Jacob cheer his brother on. Yes, Jacob, you probably could do a better job than me! Way to go big and little brothers!

Before

After

Micah is also on his way to the wheeler club