Sweatin 4 Sarah

The 2nd annual Sweatin for Sarah race was on Saturday, August 27th. I made the effort to go support both Sarah and Jamie. Both are great ladies that I love.

Since Lucy is just about the worst traveler ever I decided to take Austin with me to help her on the drive down. So right after we had breakfast with Spencer at school on Friday (Family Fridays welcome families to share breakfast) we hit the road. They all did GREAT - we only made one stop in Burley! I was amazed {and very, very grateful!}

Elaine and kids came down also and we had a nice visit that evening at Grandma Richards'. We went to bed at 10 pm {unheard of!} we must have been exhausted. The next morning Grandma, Elaine, Daniel and my peeps headed to Salt Lake for the 8 o'clock race.

Grandma and Austin registred so they could run/walk too. Austin ran the first mile with me and then he started getting tired. And complaining. And holding onto the jogging stroller that I was trying to push forward. At that point he went with grandma {THANK YOU!} Before leaving me he declared, "If they have this race again next year I'm NOT coming!" Apparently three miles is a little too much for him. Me too. Yikes that was brutal. The whole time I was "running" I kept wondering how I ever ran a half marathon. Lots of work to do {mild understatement.}

But like last year it was a special, emotional and spiritual event. Sarah is sweet, grateful, humble and so loving. And it radiates. We're praying for you in this battle. It was pretty cool to share this with my family this year. LOVED IT! Thanks for coming ladies. You are fabulous.


Still fresh and sweat free before the race.


Plenty sweaty afterwards.

DIY CEO Projects

During our Utah trip for Karen's wedding Maren said something that really struck me. It wasn't a new idea and I can't even remember what our conversation was about but it has been on repeat in my mind since she said it.

"You are the CEO of the home."

As CEO I want to have a beautiful haven that is organized and efficient. So no more waiting for some grand moment. NOW is the time to seize the day.

I have been searching antique and thrift stores for furniture I can transform to beautify and simply my home. I came across this desk.



and transformed it into this




I LOVE how it turned out! The color is beautiful.

Next I found a bookshelf to transform into a hutch to display my Vietnamese dishes. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture. But it was all brown and boring and NOW...

before dishes

and after




I know the yellow is bold but I planned it to accent my dishes. I think it works perfectly! It makes me so happy every time I walk by it. Even though it is not a real china hutch I think it works well for the small amount of space I have to work with. The real question is: WHY DIDN'T I DO IT SOONER!??!

Maybe more projects in store for this CEO.
;)

Start of the Kinder-First-Third School Year

Whew, the first day is over. It feels so much better now that its over. We did it. The kids had a WONDERFUL first day. There was such happy, bubbly, not-over-the-top-crazy excitement in the car on the way home. It was fun to listen to!

The very first thing Spencer said to me was:
"I didn't get in trouble!"

Definitely didn't think it would be a problem bud.

Another funny conversation:
M: Spencer are their twins in your class?
S: No. But there are 2 girls that look the same.
M: Spencer, that's a twin! lol

But it can all be best said from their own mouth.

SPENCER Gene Kindergarten



{he requested this shot.}

I love school. And I have a good teacher named Senora Brito. And I have good kids in my class. My favorite part was lunch and recess. I made friends with all of the school. Everyone in the class I mean.







Emma Lynn FIRST Grader


It was great!!! Because the teacher is really nice and I already made a new friend. My teacher's name is Mrs. McDowall and my friend's name is Claire. I liked recess because I got to play with Spencer. I like my classroom and the art project that we did. I really love school.



Austin R. THIRD Grader


My day was awesome. I had a lot of new kids that were in first grade last year in my class. My favorite part of the day was filling out a paper about me. I was about to cry when it was time to go home because school is so fun.


Ready for another fabulous year with our favorite Mrs. White and Senora Mason.

All I can say is that I'm so grateful for my 2 little ladies still at home. I think we are going to have a really fun time together. Roost was ruling the roost. :D She loved being in charge of Lucy, the role of my special helper and little buddy. She just chattered at me all day long. "Mom, I just love you." Not exaggerating she probably told me that at least 20 times. Its safe to say she won't have any problems adjusting.

To stay busy today we went for a run with our new-to-us {thank you craigslist} double jogging stroller. Roost is my personal trainer. She was so excited to ride in it. "Faster mom. FASTER!" When I turned around to run back home she quizzed me, "Why are you turning around? Don't go home yet. Keep running!" Yikes. I really have my work cut out for me.



We spent the rest of the day busy doing service and before I knew it it was time to rush to Ontario to pick up the kids. My heart is aching but so grateful too. I have an overwhelming feeling its going to be another super school year!

Last Hurrah!

Final moments of summer fun.

Austin discovered he could use the crib mattress to sled down the stairs for a super fun ride. They LOVED this!!! Braxton kept telling me over and over, "Spencer and I rocked!" We continued until I realized we were chipping paint off the wall. Oopps. SUPER fun while it lasted. I have a feeling their will still be some impromtu runs when I'm not looking. ;)







That night Kurt took the Mutual kids to Bully Creek with grandpa's boat. We went an hour before Mutual to let the kids play. The boys had fun on the tube. Emma finally got the courage to go and within seconds of her getting on it flipped. That was The End of that! And there was no way Ruth was going to try it after seeing what happened to Emma. There is still lots of fun to be had at the water's edge throwing rocks in. Even if you manage to throw one on your own head {Ruth.} lol















We had our Back-2-School dinner tonight {menu planned by Spencer: hamburgers, jello, watermelon, and corn on the cob.} Followed by 2 games and Father's blessings.









The uniforms are laid out, lunches ready and kids sound asleep. The time has come. Here's to another FABULOUS school year.

2 months

SPENCER

Spencer joins the special crew doing Back-2-School mommy dates this year. Hard to believe. Really hard to believe. Not waiting to face reality I waited until the last possible moment. We are down to minutes until the big first day so no more procrastinating.

Marti and Jeff went to Vegas for a few days so we had Braxton and Brooke Monday & Tuesday. Then they went to Grandma Cindy's. She invited my kids to spend the night with Braxton & Brooke. Sounded like a great last hurrah for summer and a extra special way for Spence and I to kick off our mommy-date. So after a BBQ we dropped off all the kids for a fun night at Grandma's except Spencer and Lucy.

When we got home Spencer and Kurt got busy building a fort in the basement. When it was complete with blankets and pillows Spence, Lucy and I snuggled in and went to sleep. He curled up in my arms and was asleep within minutes. I did have to peel back the roof half way so I could fall asleep {just a little too hot and claustrophobic for me.}



This morning Spencer had a home visit with his soon-to-be kindergarten teacher, Senora Brito. He felt very special that she made a trip to Vale to see him. He baked her cookies {"With you as my teacher I'll be one smart COOKIE!"} and wrote her a note to introduce himself. After she left we set out for more mommy date fun. We got a happy meal from McDonalds {with a Smurf toy}, went to the Dollar Store and the final stop was the theatre to watch "The Smurfs."



So I really love this kid. He is so easy to love. He is easy going, funny, huggable,and so stinkin CUTE! I worry about the middle child syndrome just because he has been so easy to raise that more often than not the attention always goes to the one who cries loudest. These five years just went by in the blink of an eye. I'm having a hard time remembering...what did we do during that time? Did I spend enough time with him? I'm wishing I had more time...{{LOVE is spelt t.i.m.e...}} While I know he is ready for kinder he isn't at the same reading level that Austin and Emma Lynn were at when they started. But luckily it doesn't matter cause each kid is different and we don't compare them. Just love them. Ahhh I'm going to miss those beautiful browns and sweet dimples. {{breathe}}

In Spencer's words:
I am most excited for recess. I am happy Austin and Emma will be there. I am a little nervous but excited too. And I like Lucy. I love Lucy. I really, really love Lucy.
That's all.

Heart Melters

Lucy is smiling. I love this stage. The first smiles are sooo precious and pretty much just melt your heart.






When I was looking through these pictures I was blown away at how much she looks like Spencer. Change the skin and eye color and W.O.W!




Ahhh what a sweetheart.

Life After the Wedding

We did have a life after the wedding {hard to believe, I know.}

Wednesday, August 3rd
Movie Matinee. My kids + Lorna and I saw CARS 2 while Joseph, Maren and Elaine watched HP 7 part 2. That evening we had a picnic at my parents stake center pavilion {they reserved it in advance.} Within walking distance {come on, this is Utah we're talking about here} and a nice fenced in area. The weather was great. The watermelon is always a hit. And the games were fun until both the ball and Frisbee went over the fence. Thanks uncle Joseph for playing soccer, kick ball, baseball and Frisbee with us.





Thursday, August 4th
Our Great Salt Lake adventure. Joseph, Maren, Adelaide, Lorna, Grandma and my kiddos all headed north to Antelope Island to float in the Great Salt Lake. Maren was the only one who had experienced this phenomenon. So there salt content in the lake is 4-35 % {compare this to the ocean at 3%.} It is sooo salty that only 3 things can live in the lake: algae, brine flies and brine shrimp. It had a very distinct smell. You got used to it after awhile. The brine flies swarmed the edge of the lake. They moved as you walked through but the buzzing was enough creep you out.









You had to be so careful with splashing cause any salt water in the eyes or mouth was nearly toxic. Live and Learn Lesson: bring a water bottle out with you.


Austin trying to get rid of the salt water in his mouth by gargling.

Check out the salt on Spencer's face and body after getting out of the lake.



We were luckily enough to find an open pavilion to eat lunch.




If you haven't noticed Adelaide loves watermelon!


Burying Spencer



We had an enjoyable time. Definitely something you should experience at least once. It is not so much a hang-out-swim-all-day type of lake. 3 stars {4 stars would have been given for free showering facilities.}

Friday, August 5th
Grandma did Richards Retreat with the 5 oldest grandkids {that means Lucy and I had the day to ourselves!} The kids were super excited for this special day and loved everything Grandma had planned. THANK YOU GRANDMA!!!

Maren, Lucy & I went shopping. There is an amazing shopping center {Jordon's Landing} just minutes from my mom's house. I cannot get over the convenience of having everything so close. But they do have traffic...and a lot of neighbors! Anyways we had a great time and found some good deals. But more importantly felt inspired and made some commitments in the NIKE outlet store {more on that later.} I enjoyed hanging out with Maren and getting to know her better. Kurt flew in that night so I went to pick him up and take him to dinner.

Saturday started the family reunions. We had a great week. The cousins loved playing, the adults visiting. It was wonderful to be together. We are already planning the next trip to grandma's house. Thanks for hosting.