My Baby is Four!

Yesterday was an incredibly busy day. In the midst of the craziness, we celebrated Micah's FOURTH birthday!! My baby is four? Unbelievable. And yet it is. The third boy has grown and matured rather quickly, and it seems like he's been four for a while now.

Micah wanted a Mario birthday, so we did our best to accomadate:
He got a Mario remote control car, mario treats, a mario movie and PJ's like his brudders. The best present was this amazing Mario game that Jacob created:

Micah's other birthday request was that we go mini-golfing. So we were lucky enough to be gathered together with cousins at my grandma's house and made a quick detour on the way home with everyone to mini-golf.
With everyone outfitted, we were ready to go (Micah is Blue Toad and Jacob is Yellow Toad. There are also a couple of Princesses in the mix of Mario and Luigis.)

The boys club!

The perfect Mario and Luigi combo. We love our cousins!

Shayla and Emmy were some of our best golfers!

We ended the afternoon with Mario birthday cupcakes. It was a fun day!

Happy Birthday Micah! We sure love you!!

Enduring to the End

I'm telling you, if you want to learn lessons in life, train for and run a marathon. The whole process is full of little life lessons. I just finished week 12 of 16 in my marathon training for the Ogden Marathon. 16 weeks is a long time! Phil's sick of my training, my running partners are sick of my training, and well, I'm sick of my training! The current plan I'm using (FIRST if any one cares) is pushing me more than I have ever pushed before. I've run 4 twenty milers over the past 12 weeks with ONE MORE TO GO next week! Wahoo! The week day track repeats/tempo runs are stinking hard and I rarely reach the pace they want me to. I've also been trying to do some biking/spinning a couple days a week to cross train (I've never cross trained before and I tell you, I kind of like it!)

So though I can hardly keep up, I am starting to feel myself getting stronger. A few more weeks and I'll be ready for the big race - regardless of the outcome, I have benefited by pushing myself and my attempt to endure to the end.

Today I'm reminded of another kind of enduring to the end. The end of life. My dad's side of the family gathered today at Grandma's house to lay claim on any remembrances we would like before they sell her house. Grandma has moved to an assisted living facility and came to the house while we were all gathered. Talk about enduring to the end. This is a woman who has raised 5 kids, kept an immaculate house, served her church and family faithfully, made numerous treasures with her hands, and is now ready for a nap after getting dressed. 96 years is a LONG time! And now grandma is enduring. She's ready to go (she's tells grandpa to come get her every day) but it is not her turn, so she's waiting patiently, watching the world go on around her (she can't hear well) while she endures.

As I went through the items I brought home, I felt a bit unworthy. I washed bread pans that she'd used countless times in making homemade bread. I put books on my shelves that were read in a constant effort to learn and study the gospel. I put away items that she had lovingly made with her hands when they had worked long and exhaustive days. No Grandma, I don't know much about enduring to the end, but I will think of you as I use these items and in my efforts to follow in your footsteps. Thanks for your great example. I'll also think of you as I endure my final weeks of marathon training and complete my race. You're my inspiration!! Go Grandma! You can do this, and in the end the rewards will be endless!

Grandma's freezer was always stocked with ice cream. I was tickled to get this picture of my kids eating ice cream in her backyard.

Some of her posterity!

The Swing in the Back Painted Red
by the Austin Cousins
It was six feet wide,
Could swing real high,
"Careful" Grandma said.
It was made by Grandpa with loving care
In the back of the yard in the shed.
It had hose on the chain, carpet on the seat.
We thought it was neat.
We got slivers in our __________
But we had a lot of fun,
On the swing in the back painted red.

Spring Break

Yes, I did say "Spring" break! We started off the week by enjoying another round of snow. I was happy to be able to take the boys sledding one more time, but let's hope it's ONE more time! We had great fun at the park as well. Spring in Utah!

We obviously needed a little sunshine, so we headed south to Arches National Park. We had a wonderful time exploring the amazing creations of this world. I'll let Benjamin's journal do some of the narrating for this one.

This is Park Avenue. The boys enjoyed exploring the new terrain.

We named this one Dolphin Arch. Do you see it?


Balanced rock(s)


Stinking Cute Arch


Double Arch with our good friends? in the background


Parade of Elephants


The boys were excited about seeing the famous Delicate Arch, but we opted to keep Micah somewhat happy and see it from a Distance.


One of our favorites was Sand Dune Arch. Here are some of our fun pictures we took there:

(my personal favorite)The boys were in heaven in all that fine, red sand.

After pizza, pool and pie, we had a good night's sleep and headed out again Friday morning. A bit more crowded, but still enjoyable.

We ended our trip at Dead Horse Point State Park. As you can see, we were a bit anxious as the boys ran around jumping from rock to rock...yikes!! It was perfectly safe, but being parents does things to you!
Gulp!!

We had a great trip. The boys did super in the car. We listened to Harry Potter 2 and took in the scenery. Can't wait til next time!! We'll just have to remember the password:

Crazy Love

This is a shameless plug for Michael Buble's new CD Crazy Love. My wonderful husband got me Michael Buble tickets for my birthday. So I'm not one of those crazy women that go ga-ga over the guy. He seems pretty cocky and I wasn't really that excited (don't tell Phil that!) Then Phil bought me this CD and I've really enjoyed listening to it and dancing with my boys in the kitchen. I love to hear them singing little snippets from it!

The concert was Wednesday. As we walked around, I was a bit disgusted. All the Buble shirts, posters etc. I figured he must be pretty stuck on himself and was not sure what to expect...I absolutely LOVED the concert!! He was such a great entertainer. He was funny, sincere and man that voice for 2 hours!! He exposed all those people to the great sound of big band music. He break danced, sang ballads and told corny jokes. What a great life to spend it doing what you love every night. So...now I'm a big fan. I'm still not going ga-ga, but I have a new respect for a great performer and entertainer. Check out the CD!