Dream Come True

Last week as I walked home with Maesyn from the bus stop the air was cool and I could smell a fire burning. I wondered why someone would have their stove burning this time of year and hoped it was not a forest fire. Turned out it was a controlled burn. Anyhow, I liked that smell. This is the fall that I have been dreaming about for years. I cannot wait to see the color change. I cannot wait to make comfort food- however- i may gain weight. We don't have the great warm winters for running up here! I do have my treadmill though.

It seemed so perfect. Not to mention all of the sunflowers everywhere! I really love living up here. It has been nice to go through the season. I bought some rubber mats for the van and we will see how I enjoy the next winter. I really wish there was a way we could buy our house- or rent it for a few more years. Our landlord wants to sell it and it is still about $125K more than what I think we can afford! I don't think it is too bad of a price- and we don't need a full 2.5 acres! I am just liking living out here, and not liking the idea of packing up and moving our stuff in less than a year!
On Saturday I went running- we had 10 fabulous girls in our group. Gina and I were doing a 20 miler for our training and the other girls did 12 for their half marathon training. I was so excited. I have 9 other girls here (and there are more I have not yet met) that love to run ridiculously long distances at ridiculous early hours of the morning. One new friend just moved back here from California where her husband was doing a fellowship. She has run Boston and enjoys doing speed work- and I like doing it now too! I never really liked it before moving up here, but I started doing a little bit of it before we really started doing training and now we have done some fun 800's and it is great! We are going to try to all get into St. George next year and BQ! Oh, I hope I get into St. George again. I think that out of the group of us...all the people that really really want to BQ should register together and all those that just want a fall marathon register. If the BQ group does not get st. George at least the don't get it all together and we can do a different race.

And... this monster was in our garage the other day!

what if...

it seems like i have had this fantasy a lot...in different stages of my life...what if i were given 1 million dollars?

currently- 1 million is not a ton of money. well it is, but after taxes i think i'd end up with half that. so here it goes:
(warning- it is pretty boring).

• pay off Nate's student loans
• pay off the condo in Mesa and probably just keep it as a rental
• pay off the mini van
• buy a home with cash
• buy Nate a 4x4 truck with cash
  
• then....see if we could help our parents pay their houses down so that they don't owe more than they are currently worth
• if we bought this house- re do the bathrooms and kitchen
• put wood floors in this house
• buy my dream blender
• buy nate his dream guitars
• go on a nice vacation for a week
• put the rest away for retirement... and-not having student loan payments, rent or mortgage payments nor car payments...we would have close to $2k extra every month to put into savings and splurge on better dates and vacations that are a bit more fun! Add in the rent for the condo and it would be a bit more! yahoo.
  

oh well....it is fun to sit and dream about it.

Camping with our Friends the Palmers

This weekend we had the chance to go camping near Greenspeak with our friends the Palmers. We were neighbors when we lived in the condo's in Mesa and they were in our ward. The kids had a really good time and Maesyn LOVES Aubree. We are looking forward to getting together with them again in a few weeks to go on a double date (they live in St. John's and they don't really have a great selection of restaurants, so we are planning a sleepover where the Palmers come on a Friday night to go on a date with us and then we spend Saturday having fun with the families).

My camera died before I could get some more pictures of how pretty it is. This was my first trip to this particular area. I think that we may live in the prettiest part of Arizona, at least that we have seen so far. It seems so often that Nate and I are saying, "I cannot believe we are still in Arizona!" It is really a diverse state. There were lots of green rolling hills and the forest was blooming.
Once they got up the kids were off to work playing with their friends. Mine are still in their PJ's here. They are building a wall between these trees. They worked pretty hard on it and were really excited to show us.
Maesyn, showing off the wall in all her morning glory.
There were lots of toadstools around. There were so many different varieties.
Here is Jake picking wildflowers.
The girls.

Here is Maesyn with the evidence of a roasted marshmallow on her lips! Cute. The girls picked a bunch of wild flowers and I made little head bands for the girls (and Jake).
When Maesyn and I were on a pee break we found this horny toad in the grass. What better place for a horny toad than a toad stool?
Our campsite was near a pretty steep hill with a short hike to a little creek. Spencer really wanted to hike down there BAD. The kids really got a kick out of it. Mikah was having the time of her life.She kept putting everything in her mouth. It is that oral stage. Hopefully she does not end up with some sort of weird sickness from elk poo and owl pee.
The kids took their shoes and socks off so that they could play in the creek.
Aubree and Maesyn were like two peas in a pod.
Nate found a little snake.
Maes was brave for a second and held the snake. I did not think that I actually got a shot of her holding it, so this is a lucky shot.
Nate showed it to Mikah. The first time she had little interest. The second time she grabbed it really tight and wanted to pull it away from Nate and I'm sure put it in her mouth. We tried our best to get it from her grip and I'm sure I saw the look of horror and fear in that little snakes face! We got it back and it seemed OK. I just thought she would just look and reach. She does that with bugs that are on the carport. She even yells at them and bounces around.
We have this really old camp table. I think it is from the 60's. My grandpa gave it to us a few years ago. the top was just stained- i'm sure from camp food. We decided to always bring magic markers and decorate it every camp trip. The kids were there a lot drawing pictures. We always make sure that we document our trip with the date and place and who we camped with!
Here is Spencer. I cannot believe how big and smart he is! So fun to watch these kids grow.
Nate playing the guitar. His favorite part of camping is playing guitar by the campfire. Naturally smoke follows beauty. It is following Mikah here. Not only did the smoke like her, but so did the mosquitos- I did spray her- but she is just extra sweet they like to eat her. They are bad all over the White Moutains this time of year- but I hear this year they have been worse.
Here is cute Brigham. The Palmer's youngest. I had to catch a picture of him picking the wild flowers too!

If you let Jake look at his scrap book....

If you let Jake look at his scrap book chances are he is going to see this picture.
And when he sees this picture he will want to wear the dragon costume, but he will remember that he let his cousin borrow it, so he will call that cousin.
And when he calls that cousin he will not be home, so he will leave a message.
And after he leaves the message his mom will go out into the storage room (without her shirt on) and look through the Halloween costumes to see if it is there.
And when she looks through the Halloween costumes she will find his horse costume and offer it to jake.
And when Jake sees his Horse costume he will forget about the dragon costume and insist on wearing the Horse.
But when he puts the horse on he will realize that the horse head does not go over his head like the dragon did and want to try another costume.
So you go back to the storage room (still no shirt) and look through the box. He will want a lion costume but it will be too small.
Then you will offer an Elmo costume. He will put it on and then decide that he does not like it.
So then you will offer him a dog costume that is too small....but not too small.
Chances are he will insist you put it on.
And then take it off.
Then he will put the head piece around his waste.
And then he will put the horse on. Again.. and drag it around the house as if it is a real (dead and limp without bones) horse.
And then that mom will look for that dragon costume upstairs again. Because she is afraid to call that Aunt about the costume again...that was borrowed about a year ago... because there was this case of an elephant costume that was borrowed...and went missing...and is still not at our house, but she is pretty sure it is at her mother in law's house... But she really wants to make sure it is not here before sending them on a hunt...that end up fruitless...until months later when it turns up. (not at her house)- but she sort of hope that the dragon costume turns up here. Because maybe it was returned. But she does not remember packing it in the move... nor the elephant.
But when they do find , or get back, that dragon costume...chances are it will be too small.

The picky runner...

So, in late 2000, or early 2001 I bought myself a pair of patigonia ridge runner women's running shorts on reioutlet.com for less than $10. Women's size medium.
I was pretty pleased with them and that spring (2001) I bought a pair of the men's size small at the REI store in Seattle at full price. Yes. Around $40. I must have been rich then. Prior to this I had been able to buy shorts at the Nike outlet for around $10 or $15 and owned 2 pair of the Nike size medium. Very plain, very simple.
Well... The men's size small Patagonia were my favorites for a long time. Long enough that the liner wore out. The women's remain comfortable too. I wore the nike's enough to have to cut the failing liner out of one pair and the elastic just started to fall apart.
In the fall of 2003 (i think) i bought some brooks running shorts. I had gained a little weight, and the fabric was superb. I loved them. 2 pair at a very reasonable price. I had found a brooks outlet! (later they closed). Although comfy, those shorts remain my fat shorts and are something comfortable to run in while pregnant. I'll hold on to them.

Then, just a few weeks ago...i felt the elastic in my favorite pair of Patagonia shorts just fall apart. Where it gets brittle and just cracks. No more men's size small with a liner that is just indecent! (i have to wear underwear with them - i don't like wearing underwear when I run, and should not have to because of the liners)

So, with my favorites failing and the comfy ones too big, I was on the search. I did not like the current Nike shorts and the stopped making my Patagonia's. I did not want to pay full price for shorts that I might not like. So I ordered 9, yes 9 pair of shorts from REI outlet to try out. It was a mess. Either I liked the cut but not the fabric, or vise versa. I decided on one pair. These:

The brooks PR.

Regular $40ish but on closeout for '09 for under $20. The fabric is oh so soft, and they have a low rise and great zipper pocket across the back! bonus! I ran a speed work out in them and they were too long. That silky smooth fabric that my legs welcomed before was about 2, maybe 3 or more inches more than I could bear. or is it bare? Yeah, too long, at least for speed work. I will use them on a long run and see how they pan out. You can make returns to REI outlet, even after you wear things if you are a member of the co-0p.

So I drug out another pair of brooks from the bag of shorts to return. These babies.

The brooks ID Elite shorts.

They have 3 pockets. None of them zip though. Nate and I agreed that these would be returned based on their nerdy factor. But after my run in my too long shorts I had to try the shortest ones out. My older shorts were short too. In fact, I think the first time I came to get Nate to go running with me he was shocked to see my shorty shorts.
After my above experience, you know that these shorties are not to show off my legs. In fact, I liked the look of the other (longer) shorts better!
Well, these won. For the long run at least. I'll do speed work in them next week. I'm sure they will do well. The only problem is that there is a seam in the middle of the crotch of the liner. What were they thinking?. I think I could get used to it- it did not annoy me too much during my 10 miler this morning.

So what else could I be particular about?
Socks: I cannot have them touch my ankles. But it is nice if the back of my ankle is not rubbing on my shoe.

The Wright Sock double layer tab sock

These are low around the ankle (although they could go lower in my opinion) but offer some protection to the back of the foot. And they are double layered to prevent hot spots and blisters. Excellent! They do make a no show in the double layer wright sock, i might want to try them. But not for $9. Well maybe. I got my first pair for $2 or less at an rei garage sale. I got a few in different sizes and styles. They run small, so a medium fits well on me. I have some that totally cover my ankle and are nice to just wear every day. I have a small tab sock and I think that the tab is what keeps them from falling down. I found them at the REI outlet for under $6 a pair and nate bought me 4 pair for my birthday. $6 beats $10 (the regular price for the tab sock) per pair, but I still keep close tabs on these tabs. You don't want to loose one of these under the bed at a hotel! If you think these socks are expensive check these out!

don't worry. Paula wears them

And last. I used to hate getting new running shoes. Such a bother and then I wanted to find them on sale as well. Well, I got fitted at a specialty running store. Everybody should because they make differnt types of running shoes for the different ways peoples feet are made and the different ways they run. I need a stability shoes. I have been fitted in the small mom and pop stores in Phoenix (runner's den), scottsdale (scottsdale running compay) tempe (performance footware?) and the illustrious road runner sports. All said the same thing. I even spoke with a podatrist yesterday and he said I was doing it all right and had the perfect shoes. I've had these for about 8 years...not the same pair, but the same make and model- getting new ones every 300-500 miles (I mostly go by feel as I have not been good at tracking my miles).

brooks adrenaline gts

This is a stability shoe. Your shoes should fit with a thumbs with between your toe and the front of the shoe. I wear an 8.5 in brooks ( before being fitted I would run in a 7.5) and I wear a size 7 or 7.5 dress shoe. My chaco sandles and flips are mostly size 7.

Oh wait, here is a new piece of gear that I'm sort of into. I used to make fun of people running with a bottle in their hands. Then I started doing it. I used to just throw one in the jogger. So I finally opted to get one of these bad boys.
Mine is Pink and I can run with 32 oz of water on me and hardly notice, and I can put a few things in the little pocket. I won't race with it though.
I have big hips and an itty bitty waist, so it won't really stay at my hips, but sinches up on my waist. So i got a small..and even when i push it down it sinches up, so I wear it like a nerd.. High! yikes. I don't put it on until right before I run, so I have not really checked myself out in the mirror.
I'm sure i look way worse than this!

Walking Home on the First Day of School- or- I Cannot Believe That We Get to Live Here!!

So, when the weather is nice (when it is not raining or snowing) we like to walk the .6 miles to the bus stop to pick up Maesyn. And then we walk the .6 miles home. It usually takes quite a bit longer to walk back. In the winter there are huge snow banks to climb on, in the spring there are creeks created by the melting snow to throw rocks in, and sticks and rocks to pick up. There is just too much to do- we cannot simply just walk.

This late summer day we had an equally fun time. Here is the recap:

Picked Maesyn up at the bus. It was 20 mintues late, I attribute it to the first day of school chaos. Jake looked under rocks for bugs and found a nasty looking grub. I told him he could not pick it up, to yucky looking!
I love this picture of the bus stopped on the dirt road and the pine trees behind!
Maes has declared her favorite color green. Can you guess another little girl that had a favorite color of green? Me... when I was little that was my favorite color. Maes says it is because that is the color of nature.

Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between wild flower and weed out here, but the sunflowers are unmistakable. They were one of my favorite parts of running on the urban trail system in Flagstaff. Guess what! We have them here. Also, Jake needs a man bag bad. I think i'll make him a leather possibles bag for Christmas. He has been carrying this leather purse of Maesyn's around for a few days. It has letters to his cousins in it.
Maesyn eventually broke out in a run- although she was very tired when she got off the bus. I tried to get a good picture of it all, but she is just too fast. Remember. She wins races.
Jake stopped for the photo.

We stop a lot on our walks to see what there is to see. Every day is an adventure.

Poor Mikah bear wants to do and see everything that the big kids do and see. I did not put her shoes on, so she had to stay in the jogger most of the time. She is always SO excited when we go outside!

Jake and I were excited to see a dead snake in the road on our way to the bus stop- it was a fun surprise to show Maesyn.

The snake was smack dab in the middle of the road. Jake said it got ran over because it did not look both ways. It is important to squat and look at road kill for a while.

Of course they had to find some sticks to poke at it with.

Jake wanted to take a few turns with the camera. I don't think he looks in the view finder at all. Maes and Mom and the stroller with Mikah. Although I don't run with the jogger up here (it is to hard to push it on the dirt roads) It does make walking on the rocky dirt roads much easier.

Jake and his mad photog skills. His purse and the back side of a truck.

Here is a final one that Jake took. This is it.. this is what we see while walking home. What a great walk. I bet if everybody had a walk this beautiful they would not even think twice that it is a little over half a mile!
I would not mind renting this house for a few more years. It is fab.
We will have to figure things out and then try to convince the landlord not to put it up for sale for a few years.

First Day of school...where has the summer gone?

I cannot believe that it is the first day of school. Maesyn was up before 6 (possibly before 5) excited. I made her sleep for a while longer and then set her off to get ready. She did it all by herself. We made lunches last night and she would even do here own hair if I would let her.

She has Mrs. Flowers this year and has some of her old friends in her class and is excited to meet new ones.

She is so easy going. She is fine that I just fixed her old backpack from last year and is content to use her old lunch box. She did not want to wear her new hiking shoes or the really fancy cow boy boots that we bought for horseback riding... Just a new dress and her old Sunday Sandles. She gets new clothes for her birthday in June and they double as new school clothes. We will have to do something different when Jake starts school and just stop getting her school clothes for her birthday.

We met her teacher last night and I offered to help out in school. It will be a few weeks before that starts, but she seems interested in having me teach art lessons, I think Maes will like that.

I got up and got everybody bathed - even myself- this morning. (Maes had an extra half our because she did not take the bus, Nate drove her). She was a little too nervous for breakfast, so she ate some grapes (better than nothing). Nate gave Father's blessings to both her and Jake. Jake wanted one too, and I guess he is going to have a big change with out her around all day.

Jake and I read 13 books together. Mikah is napping.

Our summer consisted of a few trips to the valley, lots of visits from family and friends and Mexico. I went to girls camp for a week (the time that we had tentatively planned our Disney Land trip).

The kids spent time with their Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles while I was at girls camp and while Nate and I had a little weekend get away for our anniversary.

We went to parades and a rodeo- but did not camp once!!! WHAT!! We have a trip planned for this month though! And one in October on the Marathon weekend.

I guess the new school year is like a second chance at new years resolutions...
this school year i have goals to:

• Shower right away - lame that I have to make this a goal... but it is nice being ready before 1pm!!!
• get the kids showered and ready right away- if possible with Maes- if not then right after she leaves in the am.
• read at least 5 books a day with Jake
• read my scriptures daily (lame that i have to make this a goal)
• make sure Maes reads to me every night while i make dinner
• help out at least 2x a month in Maesyn's classroom
• follow through with chores and paying the kids allowace ( i owe them like 3 weeks of allowance!)
• make sure that nate and I do our scripture study together before going to bed!!!
• Limit sugar intake and junk intake- this will hopefully give me more energy.
  

We are doing good, but need to be 100% with night time scripture reading, morning prayers and night prayers (on the weekends especially). Also, make sure that our prayers are more meaningful and particular.

Nate and I need to re do the budget and decide what we want to do with our rental situation for the next few years- are we going to try to make a deal with our landlord to have him put off selling his place or look in town? Be better friends to our neighbors. Make sure that we take good care of a particular friend in our ward.