An Anniversary to Remember...

My guess is that there won't be many anniversaries in our married life that will be as exciting as last year's. We celebrated our decade of being married by traveling to France to see my parents on their mission. Great excuse, eh? It was a wonderful trip which seemed like a dream come true. And it was.

Many of our other anniversaries have slipped by, almost unnoticed. We've spent a couple of them in the process of moving, ice cream with the kids, or a quick date have been about the extent of it. But not this year. No, this year will go down in history as one of our most memorable. After an exquisite dinner of Mac 'n Cheese (baseball practice night), we spent our evening without kids, hand and hand at the movies watching an epic love story in 2D: Shrek Forever After. Now some of you might think this is a lousy way to spend our 11 anniversary, but for us last night, it worked.

It's a wonderful thing being married for 11 years. Extravagant nights out are great - we've had a few of those - but so are the simple moments of just sharing time together laughing and being goofy at the movies. We've had a great life these past 11 years. Ups and downs are better together. I'm so grateful for the life Phil has shown me. He is a great father and husband and I'm happy to be his wife. We've learned to work, play and pray together. It's nice to have a day set aside to remember how lucky we are, even if it isn't extremely exciting every year.

Authors note: My texts to Phil throughout the day were a measly gesture compared to my gift from him. The eleventh anniversary is Steel - so what did Phil do for me? Wrote me a beautiful song, yes about steel. He's amazing - I'm a lucky girl!

Congrats Grads!

Micah and I graduated from Preschool last week. It has been a fun year being his teacher and sharing this together. The kids did a great job at graduation showing off some of the things we've learned this year. I have decided not to teach next year. I'm going to wait until my kids are a bit older to go for something like this again - it took a lot out of me!! But I'm glad I got the chance to give it a try and to be Micah's teacher. Thanks for a great year bud! I'm proud of you and all you've learned. You've grown up a lot over the last 9 months!

18 seconds

Go ahead, count to 18. It's not very long is it? Less than the time to brush your teeth, make a piece of toast, walk to the mailbox...the list could go on and on. It's also the time I missed my Boston Marathon qualification by yesterday! I ran my best ever marathon, beating my last PR by 11 minutes, but missing my goal by so close has finally hit me this morning and I admit I'm a bit disappointed. Ok a lot disappointed!!

It was a beautiful day. Ogden Canyon is gorgeous in the spring with the green, horse filled fields, the snow topped mountains in the background, bright blue sky and sun shining. The first half of the race I kept well under my pace goal. It was great - feeling good. Then we ran around Pineview Reservoir - still beautiful but more uphill so you have to dig in and keep yourself focused. By the time I got over the last hill, my legs were starting to burn. It's an interesting feeling when you can't keep pushing as much. You tell your body to push, but by golly those legs won't do it.

My last 6 miles I knew if I kept under a 9 minute mile I could still do this thing!! But I knew it would be stinking close and was mad at myself for letting it be that close. Mile 25 was my downfall. Once you're out of the canyon and in the heat trying to muster everything left, there's not much left in the tank!!! 9:22 - ugh!! I managed to finish as strong as I could. My parents and Phil and the boys were there to cheer me on - it means so much at that point to see their little faces.

I crossed the finish line and just had to wait to see what the official time was. A marathon is 26.2 miles. My watch said I did 26.37 miles in 3:41:36. I had to get 3:40:59 to qualify for Boston. I was praying that somehow I was off .17 miles and would slide under. Official time 3:41:17! Pace: 8:26/mile. Still a great time and I'm so happy with the progress I've made!!! But 18 seconds? Give me a break. So this time as my body recovers, my heart will have to too!!

Mother's Day Traditions

Mom sleeping in, breakfast in bed, homemade cards, feeling guilty all day (does every mom do this?), and my new favorite: going to Temple Square on Mother's Day for pictures with the boys. We started it last year and I'm going to keep it! Though it was a bit windy, it was GORGEOUS!! I love the gardens there and we managed to get a few cute poses of this unphotogenic bunch. Picking my favorites is the hard part! Love these boys and being their mom!
Now you can see why the boys are laughing in all the pictures: Phil backing me up as always!What a hunk - and he even wore a tie since it was Mother's Day and I asked him to!
We asked our photographer to pose with Micah. I thought it was a pretty cute shot!

Though we're looking the wrong way, I love this one with the temple in the background. I'm so grateful that we will be together always if we work hard together to get there! Thanks for humoring me once a year boys!

A Leisurely Stroll for the Cure

While my parents were on their mission, things happened just like the Ensign said they would. The blessings started rolling in, and in many ways our families were able to benefit from them giving of themselves in a foreign country for 18 months. We prospered. Jobs went well, babies were born and grandchildren thrived.

Once they arrived home, we were SO happy to have them, but it seemed like life got a bit rocky for a while. Grandkids with swine flu, an apartment broken into and the shocking news that our mom had breast cancer. Luckily they caught it in the early stages and surgery and radiation were expected to take care of the problem. Would you believe that mom and dad got into a car accident and totaled their newly purchased car on the way to her surgery last December? It was a series of most unfortunate events. Thankfully no one was hurt and as far as I know they haven't resubmitted papers yet...

Mom's surgery went great and she was a champ through radiation, trying to remain positive and never wanting to burden us with her problems . Things look really good so far. Yesterday we were able to celebrate a bit as my sister and sisters-in-law (we missed you Laura!) participated in the Race for the Cure. It was amazing to be a part of this event and see just how many lives are affected by cancer. Along with 18,000 other participants, we strolled along the course, exercising our mouths more than our legs and feeling happy to be together. I'm so grateful that mom has done as well as she has, and for these great women in my life. Happy Mother's Day to all of you amazing ladies and especially to my dear mom. As I've contemplated motherhood this day, I can't think of a better example in my life of a righteous mother. You've given your all for your family and I hope that someday some of your amazingness will rub off on me!!

Thanks for everything mom! We love you!