A Day in the Life.

I'm IN!

2012-02-01T19:02:00.001-06:00

I am officially registered to run Chicago this October!

Woot, woot!

Nothing is going to stop me this year from running my race!

I am excited about this on a few different levels.

One I can't wait to race the streets of Chicago. I place I lived, and created so many memories.

Most of my marathon group is running this, and that makes it all the sweeter. Getting to run and finish and congratulate each other on an amazing accomplishment is HUGE!

What makes this even better, is since I am moving, and won't get to train with my wonderful friends, it will be a reunion run! Words can't begin to express how much I'm going to miss this amazing group of people...

And to make this day even better, I just booked a mini vacation to spend a few days away with my sweetheart here:

Arizona here I come!

Ryan has a conference and I get to tag along!

2012 is going to be great!

Grandma.

2012-01-30T22:03:00.002-06:00

I cant even tell you how happy I was to have my mom come and hang out with us for a week.

So much fun!

Caden was not wanting a hug. He was so happy to have Grandma come visit.

I just love my Mom. She is an amazing woman. So blessed to have her in my life.

Kylee was her little shadow. And even snuck in to sleep with her most nights.

The Brandon man and Grandma Lila.

Thanks Mom for coming and making my life easier!

DERBY.

2012-01-29T21:43:00.000-06:00

Saturday was Caden's first pinewood derby. Mine as well to be exact. I know I have two brothers, and didn't go to theirs... terrible sister...

It was really quite fun!

The girls awaiting the races:

Caden standing up as his name is called:

His first heat:

The crowd of kids:

And they are off!

The finish line.

The boys raced their cars 4 different times. Caden's car was not the fastest, but he did place second in one race! He's already planning his next years car!

What a grown up boy I have!

Tommy's. Yum.

2012-01-28T21:28:00.000-06:00

When you come to Chaska, you have to eat at Tommy's. Seriously, the best sweet potato fries ever! I could eat those all day long...yum!

(Brooke was not in the picture mood.)

As you can see, my boys feel the same way about the place!

And I couldn't pass up an opportunity to take a picture with my honey!

He came home this past weekend for another short visit.

Please pray that our house sells soon. Living apart really is for the birds!

"I blow dryer!"

2012-01-26T21:19:00.000-06:00

Remember how I told you about Brooke wanting to do everything herself?!

Well it continues. She now likes to blow dry her hair too!

I couldn't help but take a picture! I was laughing all night.

This last week was extra special. We had a visitor. My Mom!!

My wonderful husband used his miles to fly her in for a week. It was a great way to break up the two weeks apart from our father, and husband!

Brooke loved having an extra person to play with while the kids her at school. And play Grandma did!

Just gotta love this face:

A Party.

2012-01-19T20:58:00.000-06:00

Brooke's party was a little low key this year. Good thing she is only three, and won't even remember.

Our lives are pretty crazy with all this moving business.

Like the "wholes" in her brownie cake?! Yeah I put candles in a fresh out of the oven pan. You do the math.

No party would have been complete without her best friend David!

Scrappy.

2012-01-15T16:05:00.000-06:00

This is how we have been spending some of our Saturdays.

At wrestling tournaments. The kids really are troopers, cause these aren't short little things, and aren't for the faint of heart.

But Brandon loves them! And boy is he a scrappy little wrestler. Ryan says he runs a good half. I go with it!

He sure is cute though!

He was on quite a winning streak. That streak was ended this past Saturday. And for the first time I saw him get emotional after loosing. It broke my heart. It's so incredibly hard to see your little one so sad over a loss.

This was his closest match. And of course I'm biased, but he should have won this match. It was all the refs fault!

But that's OK. He'll have many more matches to come. And like I said, he's scrappy. This kids gonna be one good wrestler!

Life in Transition

2012-01-13T11:16:00.001-06:00

We are missing our Dad and Husband. Life without him is hard. To top it off keeping the house show ready, on my own, with four little ones is not ideal. But we are coping.

I don't want this to turn into a woe is me post.

So I am going to list everything I am grateful for about this new adventure we are entering into.

How lucky are we going to be to live close to family again!

Some think a snow storm may keep us from visiting family, but um we are a good 2 day drive now, so if a 2 hour drive turns into four, you think that would stop us?! Heck no!

Mountains! Oh how we have missed the mountains, and all the fun things that come with them!

Camping, hiking, skiing, you name it.

Ryan is just loving his job. Which is GREAT!

Living just minutes from a temple! I will have no excuse not to go.

Cheaper living. I browsed the grocery store while I was out there last weekend,

and was in heaven with the cost of food!

Cheaper housing. While the loss we are taking on our home here is depressing, we will make up for it on the other end. So every time my heart sinks, at what we are having to sell my home for here, I just need to think of that to calm me down.

So there you have it. Many things to look forward to, and keep our heads up as our family lives apart for the next little while.

And even though yesterday, and today winter decided to grace us with her presence, we had two days in a row with temps in the mid 50's, in JANUARY!

Life is wonderful.

Three is nice.

2012-01-09T11:04:00.000-06:00

Three years ago today, we welcomed this little one into our lives. We weren't quite sure after the twins if we would have anymore. Boy am I sure glad we did!

She has brought nothing but happiness to our family. She truly completes us!

At three, Brooke loves most Disney movies, but Scooby Doo has been her latest craze.

She wants to be like her older siblings, and I am now no longer needed for getting her dressed. Sometimes that leads to very interesting outfits, but oh well!:)

She loves playing with her friends, and going to Lifetime!

She knows all her colors, and can count to fifteen fairly accurately!

Her favorite food is quesadillas, or hot dogs. She'd have that for every meal if I let her.

She's becoming extremely independent, which can drive me a little crazy at times.

If she wants to do it herself, she'll tell you " No I, I!"

She is missing her Daddy more than words can express. But I am benefiting from his absence, as she is super cuddly with me!

Brooke, we love you and can't wait to spend many more birthdays with you!

A Project!

2012-01-03T05:30:00.000-06:00

Amongst all this craziness of getting ready to move, I've managed to squeeze in a fun project. Mostly due to our good friends the Salisbury's. I have been wanting to build these tables for my living room for quite some time, and it finally came true due to their kindness of letting us use their tools, and quite frankly Scott practically building them himself, with little of my help!

I did however finish them my self. Here is the before:

And the finished product:

I am so happy with the finished product! They really just make the room look so nice!

Thanks Scott for all your help!

Market Ready.

2012-01-02T15:45:00.000-06:00

After slaving all break long, our house is now ready for the market! Oh please let someone snatch it up!? So for those you have been here I am posting pictures to see the changes we've made, and for those you haven't been you can see a more detailed view of our home this past 4 and 1/2 years.

The kitchen:
The stagger just had me clear the decor above the cabinets, and we moved my IKEA shelf by the table:

The living room:

A few new pictures, thanks to my neighbor Kelly, and a chair from Rachel. They helped make the room! I now want to go out and get the chair, it's so comfy!

We moved the piano where the computer was:

The basement, and the children's lair:

We had to paint the basement. UGH. I do admit it looks better, but it was just quite the project during such a busy week. To top it off I got sick. Thanks to a wonderful husband, he stayed up until 2am one night, and then midnight the next. He is amazing.

The boys room: Not much changed here. Just added a night table.

The girls room: We flipped around the bed and moved some furniture around. I was worried about Brooke falling off. She did once and that's been it, so she doesn't move around as much as I thought!

The master bedroom: Thanks to my overhaul last year I didn't have to do anything! Whew.

The bonus room:

I had a hard time getting a good angle of this, but you get the idea. This is probably the most transformed room in the house. Not quite practical for everyday living, but amazing for staging.
So there you have it. Ryan has only been gone two days, and I miss him. The kids miss him. He has traveled plenty, but there is a definite difference. All is stuff is gone. This living apart thing is really for the birds. Please pray that it sells quick...

The End of Another Year.

2011-12-31T21:26:00.001-06:00

December 31st. The last day of the year. A day for celebrating the past year, and welcoming in the new. For me it's also a celebration of my fathers birthday! I was always bummed for him to have a birthday on this day. His party always is thrown in with the new year party. I thought in some ways, just being overlooked. But really what a cool day to be born. A day where you not only celebrate your birth, but reflect on all that you have done that year, and things you would like to improve on.

Not that my dad needs much improvement. I think he's pretty awesome.

I really have the best dad in the world! He's such a good example to me.

Happy Birthday Dad!

In other news, out break has been filled with getting ready to move, put our house on the market, and send Ryan off tomorrow. A word of advice. Never move around the holidays. UGH. I feel bad for the kids, cause their break hasn't been much of one. I'm glad we were able to squeeze the water park in, cause they've pretty much been neglected the rest of this break. Now I thought I was a pretty clean person, and fairly clutter free. Apparently not enough! We had a stagger come Wednesday and helped us stage our home to sell. We moved A LOT of furniture, and I had to put A LOT of things away in storage. My house feels very empty, but for the moment it is spotless!

Both me and Ryan and dog tired. And he leaves, and I have to keep this house like this for showings. Yay me. Oh we are so going to miss Ryan. Boo.

We went out for a last family dinner tonight. Buffalo Wild Wings on New Years Eve, another bad idea. The restaurant wasn't that crazy, but the takeout orders were, and thus we waited over an hour for our food. Normally you get your food 10 minutes after ordering... They were great though and accommodated us nicely for our patience.

We have had the best missionaries in our ward the past few months! They came by to wish Ryan well, so we took a photo opportunity:

I am so thankful for their example to my children. They look up to them so much, and I'm so glad to have two amazing young men as my children's role models.

And what better way to close out the year than snow!!!

We have had a few little spits of snow, but nothing that lasted, or accumulated. December 31st and we finally get the winter wonderland!

This has been a great year for the Ellis house. We have had wonderful memories to laugh, cry, and enjoy for years to come. Now as we embark on a new year, we also embark on a new adventure.

Ryan and I have been in the Midwest since we were married. It's going to be so weird to be back out west after 9&1/2 years away. But a good weird.

If anyone ever has the opportunity to live in the Midwest, take it. It's a wonderful place!

Amazing people, amazing beauty in it's own way, and a great place to raise a family.

We are going to miss it dearly. It wasn't an easy choice to pick up and move.

But I know we are making the right one.

Good things are to come for the Ellis' in 2012.

Happy New Year everyone!

Water Park fun!

2011-12-30T21:39:00.000-06:00

Monday we took the kids to Water Park of America. Yep right next to Mall of America. :)

We used our Christmas money from sweet Aunt Peggy to have some family fun.

And boy did we ever! The kids had a blast. And so did the parents:)

Caden was the first to brave the surfing wave, and failed to do so in my presence so no picture of him... But Brandon Rocked it!

Kylee was even brave and tried it. She just slid down and right off, and thought that was good enough. Love that girl!

Thanks Aunt Peggy for a great present!

Christmas Day!

2011-12-27T20:03:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas morning.

The kids didn't wake us up too early, which was welcomed!

We watched "Joy to the World" then opened Santa gifts. He did not disappoint!

Brooke received her "ipad".

Caden was delighted with a WII game:

Brandon a scooter, and Kylee an Easy Bake Oven!

We then had a yummy breakfast, got ready for church, and enjoyed a wonderful sacrament meeting.

After church we opened the rest of our presents.

The kids exchanged gifts, and it was beyond cute!

And the aftermath!

I made(with the help of good friends!) a bed for the girls' American Girl dolls. It was a hit!

But little Kylee couldn't get enough of her Oven!

I on the other hand got this:

Remember how I dropped my camera a few months back? Oh it was so sad, and I have definitely been in a picture funk, cause point and shoots just aren't the same! I am so happy!

I just love Christmas. Truly my favorite holiday by far. The spirit that comes with it, the giving, the joy and love felt.
It's always such a downer when the Holiday is over.
But at least it comes once a year, so there is always something to look forward to!
Until next year, Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve.

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

Nothing better than getting together with friends to make the holiday brighter!

And that's just what we did! Lots of food, games, and even some good Gingerbread house making.

The adults got in on some picture taking:

We even had a little fun Just Dancing away. The boys had some moves!

Once everyone left and we cleaned up, we started our night of traditions.

First up, Christmas PJ's.

I think they were loved by all!

Brandon very proud of his pair:

Kylee proud to be a present:

After getting nice and cozy in our Christmas pajamas, we headed down for a Christmas movie. What better than watching "The Santa Clause".

And after all were asleep, our living room transformed into this:

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

Not for the Weak.

2011-12-17T20:54:00.001-06:00

I had a fabulous run this morning, with my fabulous group! Despite there being a few icy patches we had to dodge, it really was perfect out for a nice long run. As we came back to the club, we got a few, "you are crazy" or "you must be obsessed". Well, maybe we are, but I choose to think this better describes me and my fellow runners:

Thanks Lisa...( I stole this from her)

Not only do I running, but I love how I feel after. Especially this time of year when I ate more cookies than I can count yesterday! :)

Cheers to my running group! Oh how I'm going to miss all of you...Sniff.

Chicago 2012 reunion run baby!

Next up...

2011-12-16T14:10:00.000-06:00

This:

is where the Ellis Family will be moving to!

Idaho Falls, ID.

Yep it's true. Ryan starts his new job January 3rd, and the kids and I hope to soon follow.

Oh the excitement, the emotions, and the stress that come with such a big change!

Let's add Christmas in the mix, no dig deal!

Basketball.

2011-12-13T15:27:00.000-06:00

This family is a little basketball crazy. And boy is it, "tis the season of basketball" in the Ellis house. Between college ball starting, and this little guy playing, I think we are watching basketball just about everyday of the week!

It's been so much fun watching him learn and grow, and just have fun doing something he loves.

(due to the camera breakage, picture quality stinks, but oh well...)

It's about time.

2011-12-08T11:23:00.000-06:00

Last month, while Lori and Richard visited us for a weekend, I pleaded with her to take some family pictures of us, ( it hadn't been done since Brooke was a baby) and she thankfully said sure!

And if I do say so myself, they turned out great! We didn't have a whole lot of time to work with, and as many of you with small children know, picture taking is quite a challenge!

But even with all that, we got some adorable pictures, and I love them!

This is one of my very favorite of Brooke. She was in no mood to take pictures, and I'm surprised this wasn't her look in all of them:

It's hard to choose which one I want to print out and frame!? Ideas would be appreciated...

And I just love these of Ryan and I. It's been quite some time since we've had good pictures taken of us!

Thank you Lori for the wonderful pictures!

A Baby.

2011-12-01T18:16:00.001-06:00

This is Dallin Harvey Willardson.

He was born Monday night to my beautiful sister-in-law Jenny and my Handsome brother Bret.

He definitely has the Willardson stamp.

Too cute for words.

Enough said.

Cousins.

2011-11-26T17:43:00.001-06:00

Even thought Thanksgiving has passed, I feel the need to continue being thankful on my blog. It is the holiday season after all. And even into Christmas, we can be thankful for all that we have!

Today I am so grateful for the blessing I have to come from two amazing families. I am grateful for the cousins that I have on both sides, and that we have remained close, even if it's been awhile since we have physically seen each other.

I am so glad that my mother and her sisters did such a good job of making sure that we had good relationships with our cousins.

Some of the Oberg girls are missing from this picture, taken a few years ago, but definitely not forgotten. There are so many memories of having so many girls so close in age!

Growing up I spent a lot of time with my cousins on my dads side. When we moved to Alaska, those visits became few and far between. But that didn't lessen our bond, the times we have seen each other has made it all the more special:

My freshmen year of college, I was able to go to school with Heather. I had so much fun, and I am so glad that I got to experience that with her!

The next year was twice the fun as four of us roomed together! You can never escape girl drama, even when you are family, but I wouldn't have traded that year with those 3 girls for anything! What better roommates than family?!

Even as we have grown up and started our own families, we've made sure to always stay close. Even if that means we drive a few hours to see them!

Or they pass through for a visit and we throw in some fun!

One of the best things about going home for the holidays is spending time with cousins!

I feel lucky that I married someone that lives so close to some of my family, that I get to see those that don't live in Alaska just as much.

I feel lucky that I have 3 cousins my age, and that I was fortunate enough to go through high school with Amy! She is an amazing person, and one of my best friends.

I truly am blessed to have such an amazing family, and such amazing cousins.

Thank you all for being a part of my life.

Friends for Life.

2011-11-23T10:19:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful for friends. But I am going to focus on a particular friend.

We have been friends, best friends, since I was 14 years old. She helped me transition from a private school going girl, to a public school girl quite nicely! She made my move from Mexico easier.

We had great times in high school:

And when I came home from college, we had great times on my hair! HAHA!

We were fortunate to see each other even when we both went off to college. I went to a family wedding of theirs, just so I could spend time with my best friend!

It's no secret that I was a young-en when I married away and had kids. She has been the best auntie to my kids, like she were my own sister!

And I was so excited beyond words, when she had her first little girl! I wasn't going to miss it, and made a trip home:

I feel lucky and so blessed to have such a good friend in my life. She lifts me up when I am down. She makes me want to be a better person. She is one of the most positive people I know. When we get to see each other after months or years of not, we can pick right back up where we left off. And I love that!

Now we have two little munchkins, who can carry on our friendship!

During these Holiday's, even if I don't get to spend time with family, and my best friend, I am just glad to live in a world where I can call her everyday if I need to.

Tara, thanks for being the bestest friend any girl could ask for!

Thankful

2011-11-16T20:18:00.001-06:00

I will never forget October 7, 2002. It's a day etched into my mind problably for the rest of my life.

It was a Monday. The weekend after General Conference. Ryan had had a horrible weekend coughing, barely getting any sleep.

We finally decided that he needed more than just some medicine, cause clearly that wasn't working.

He called me at work some hours later, and I will never forget our conversation.

The panic that set in, and the feeling, of this is not good.

The day was filled with scans, and doctors. And finally Ryan in the ICU.

Even though there were times that I thought that this was so unfair. He was young, we were newlyweds, his schooling was really tough, there were so many blessings that came from this trial in our lives. We gained so many close friends who took care of us. We had amazing doctors and nurses, who became like family to us.

As hard as that year was, it taught us a lot. I had a conversation with some friends some weeks ago about marriage in general. How some people say they would never repeat their first year of marriage. I happen to disagree with this statement. I think I shocked them, and Ryan. Yes, watching him go through that ordeal was horrible. But our marriage, not at all. I loved every minute of it. Were their hard times, sure, but not cause of our marriage, because of our circumstances. I feel we handled it well. Doesn't' mean I didn't have melt downs, cause trust me there were plenty!

When I look back now, I can be thankful. Thankful for what it taught me about myself, thankful for my spouse, and thankful for the gospel. No matter the outcome of tough situations,

we are an eternal family. How great is that!?

After a rough year we welcomed Caden into our family. What a blessing.

Thinking he may very well be our only child, and thinking it could take awhile if we were blessed with more children, not even two years later we were joined by our little spitfires, Kylee and Brandon. Brooke soon followed. I am so grateful for my family.

I am greatful for trials that test us and help us grow.

Most of all I am grateful for my husband. He is amazing. Who would have thought 9 years ago, that he would be a crazy triathlete, and father of four?!

Ryan, I love you!

Time for a Hoe Down!

2011-11-12T14:23:00.000-06:00

Welcome to another year of a Hoe Down. Brought to you this time by the one and only "TWINS" AKA: Kylee and Brandon!

Boy were they so excited to show off the skills they had learned in P.E.

I was quite shocked, and angry I might add, that they had my twins dancing on opposite ends of the gym. RUDE. And because of my back and forth, to try and capture some moments, I had some parents upset with me. I'll spare you the long story, but I was ready to punch a lady in the mouth!

Here is my Cowboy Brandon. He did a fabulous job!

Kylee had no trouble posing for the camera, and making sure I was watching the whole time!

I have tried for seriously the past 2 hours to upload the video I got, but for some reason it's not letting me. Oh well. Just envision a bunch of first graders dancing around in a circle singing cute silly songs. Amazing visual I know! Until next year!

Depression and a challenge.

2011-11-03T20:48:00.001-05:00

Did you know that it is national blogging month?!

Well now you do! I didn't know until a few days ago myself.

I would love to try and blog just about everyday this month, but when it comes to blogging, I'm in a bit of a depression. Mainly cause it's fun to blog with pictures. And since my lovely NICE camera decided to fall out of my hands, I am now having to make do with a point and shoot.

Now, I know it's still a decent camera, and I'm sure I sound like a bit of a snob, But once you have crossed over, and tasted the beauty of a NICE camera, it's so hard to go back. Sigh.

So I will make do for now. I have my eye on Black Friday!:)

What better month to start a fitness challenge with the fam than November right?!

NOT. You have no idea how hard it is to stay away from sugar! The rest of the rules of the challenge are not a problem for me, but no sugar?! And did you not see the huge amounts of candy that is begging for me to eat?! This challenge has really shown me how much I really do consume when it comes to sweets. It may not be much, but there is sugar in this girls diet everyday...

All I can say is heaven help me! Do you think my kids will notice if I accidentally throw it away?

Candy Coma.

2011-11-01T19:35:00.000-05:00

The Ellis house had a wonderful Halloween! We had an array of costumes this year. Starting with none other than Kylee, the beautiful witch:

Brookie the cute pumpkin:

Darth Vader

( sans mask... he took it to school for show and tell, (they don't let kids past 2nd grade dress up...lame), and left it there. I was not a happy moma!)

Not just a ninja, but a complete ninja:

Dad and the crew:

Mom and the crew: (Can you tell I love my sweats... they are too comfy)

Our family:

The girls didn't last as long as the boys trick or treating, so they helped passing out the candy!

The aftermath:

Seriously....

I don't think I've ever seen so much candy...well other than in the STORE. This is insane!

So much to tempt me wiht, and I'm about to start a fitness challenge next week! How do I do that with all this laying around?!

I tried to get rid of some. Sent a big bag with Ryan to work, took a bunch out to recycle in Christmas stockings( genius I know!), but there is still a huge bowl full of candy.

Maybe next year I need to limit the trick or treating time?!

Monster Dash!

2011-10-30T13:40:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday was my last race of the season... :( Sad but true. And in all reality my body needs a break! As much fun as this race was, back to back races was HARD!

I didn't go into this race with any sort of a plan. Mostly just to have fun, and well, the jacket. Some race for the t-shirt( I fall into this category most of the time...),

but I wanted the jacket they gave out at this race!

Not knowing how I was going to feel after Mankato, I opted for the 10 mile race instead of the half. Boy I am sure glad I did!

A few miles in I recognized a girl I run with, Lisa. We ran several miles together, and then here came Linda. Another runner from the Chanhassen Lifetime Run Club!

She didn't stick around to long and took off ahead.

So then that's when the goal came into play for me. Keep her in my sights. And that I did!

And because of that, I was so glad I didn't have 3 more miles to run, as I came up on the finish line!

I surprised myself by finishing about 2 minutes faster than I thought I would run it in! Lisa came in not far behind me! It was so fun to get to hang out with these girls at the end of a long hard run!

Lisa, Linda, Katie.

Monster Dash finishers!

And here are the official results!

And after all that hard work, and a podium finish in a large race, I was informed that they only medal the first two in the age group categories. Lame. Oh well! I still placed third, and had a blast!

Pumpkin Carvin FHE.

2011-10-29T12:39:00.000-05:00

This past Monday we had a blast Carving pumpkins!

The kids each had their own and wanted minimal parental help...

Brooke and Caden working away!

Brandon however, did want dads help when it came to the design of the face:

His finished product:

Brooke's Pumpkin:

Such a messy activity, but the kids love it. And this year I saved all the pumpkin seeds and rosted them! The kids loved them, and they didn't last too long!

Oh how I love fall time!:)

A Mini Caden

2011-10-27T22:14:00.001-05:00

Brooke has an obsession. Whenever she wants to color this is what she does. Sometimes they are "hearts", sometimes they are "C's" and then sometimes they are "O's". It depends on her mood I guess!:)

This little girl has tendencies just like Caden. She is very repetitive in things that she is interested in. Like this "writing" of hers. She loves to stack things, line things up, and we watch Scooby Doo as much as I will let her,(others have been Land Before Time, and Tangled). She is also just as sweet, and just as mellow as Caden was at this age.

We just love this little lady!

A Finish for the Books.

2011-10-24T18:07:00.001-05:00

Warning: This post may bore some, as I lay out the details of my race... if so the pictures of my cute kids are worth looking at, and you can ignore the rest. For my running buddies this post is for you!

All the training and hard work was over. It was now time to see if I could prove it out on the course!

Firday, Annie and I headed down to Mankato to get ready for our half Marathon.

We had a blast at the expo, trying on running clothes, laughing at the funny shirts and getting excited when we picked up our packets for race day!

Annie, ready to blaze the course!

We went to dinner, to carb-load(so delicious! Best salad dressing I've ever had! Oh and dessert too, I couldn't resist!)

We then checked into our hotel, and just vegged out watching chick flicks and talking. It was so much fun! I actually slept pretty well that night considering how nervous/excited I was for the following morning. I only woke up three times that night, and was able to go right back to sleep.

The next morning we were up bright and early, 5:20 ready to hit the course!

We got to the start line about an hour early. We hit the bathrooms, chilled in a bus shelter to stay warm, where we met and incredible, cute old man who was about to run his 292nd marathon! Just amazing! Once we warmed up we checked our sweatshirts in and warmed up with a couple of stride outs and some active stretching. Then it was time to hit the coral! Boy I was so nervous! This was the moment of truth! My awesome Coach MB had sent me an email, with a plan of how to run to hit my goal. I was going over it in my mind as I waited for the gun to go off. Right on time, we were off at 8am! We got as close to the start as we could, so it didin't take us too long to cross the start line.

Miles 1-3 were a warm up. Get loose. I stayed right about where coach told me, between at 7:55 and 8 min pace. It was so hard to not go faster. It felt slow, but I knew I'd be thanking myself come mile 11 to keep it there.

Mile1- 7:53

Mile 2- 7:49

Mile 3- 7:52

Miles 4-10 I was to get into race pace, a 7:40. This was a little hard, cause there was a lot of down hill, followed by up hills. So over all I think it ended up evening out.

Mile 6 and 8 or so I saw my family! It was so fun to get to see them! My kids are so cute!

Mile 4- 7:41, Mile 5- 7:29, Mile 6- 7:24, Mile 7- 7:38, Mile 8- 7:39, Mile 9- 7:45, Mile 10- 7:29

Cutest kids Cheering me on!

Brooke was a trooper!

Those first 10 miles flew! I felt good and in a groove. Then came the hard part. I had to dig in and find that power that I had learned all those early mornings with my training group. The plan was to kick it to about a 7:35, maybe a 7:30 mile for miles 11 and 12. I was having some pain in the side of my calf(this darn thing happened to me last year during the marathon...), but I pushed it aside, and pushed on!

Mile 11- 7:41, Mile 12- 7:32

Then it was track thinking time! Put it all on the line for the last 1.1 miles! I was tired, but there was a girl who had passed me around mile 11 and she was just in front of me, and I knew she had to be in my age group. She is the reason I found the energy to kick it up a notch. I couldn't have her beat me! (oh the mind of a runner!) Also knowing that my family would be there at the end gave me the courage to speed it up. (I am in the green shirt)

Last mile and some: 7:07!

I did it! It was quite emotional for me as I saw the finish line, and my family cheering me on. I had overcome the injugry, made it through months of training, with an amazing coach and great friends! I couldn't have done it without that group of friends and their support.

Official results:

7:40 Pace

1:40:30

13/313 age divison

161/1413 overall

My dear friend Annie rocked it! We ran about the first five miles together, then came the long down hill, and she was off! She ran a 1:38:35! Just incredible. I knew she would rock it. This girl ran in college, so even though according to her she didn't train hard enough, she is just blazin no matter what! We took some post pictures together, but the site has yet to post them... I'm sure we look awesome, but fun to have regardless!

We hung around for the award ceremony, and man, this was a fast field! That is Minnesota for you! These runners don't mess around. The winning male time was 1:09, and the female 1:11. Just insane!

We also headed out to the finish line and watched some marathoners as they came in! Remember the cute old man running his 292nd marathon?! Well he busted it out in under 4 hours! One of my good friends husbands was running his second in 22 days. That was so much fun to cheer him across to the finish!

So what is next for this running addict? Well, I am running this weekend in a 10 mile race called the Monster Dash, but this one is for pure fun! I am thinking some more half's this spring, then kick up the training to run the Chicago Marathon with the Coach, and some of my running group! Can we say road trip!?

Ryan and I sat down to plan out our summer of madness, between my running and his TRI's this next summer is gonna be crazy! Bring it!

Saturday fun.

2011-10-19T19:15:00.002-05:00

The Ellis family hit the pumpkin patch on a lovely Saturday afternoon!

This sign just cracked us up! If you know us, or our family in general, you know that each of our kids have about 20 nicknames each. Most of which have absolutely nothing to do with their names. So one of Brandon's is Ironside, and he loved that these pumpkins happened to be bearing his "name".

Mom and the kiddos!

Dad and the kiddos!

And they are off! They had some fun little things out throughout the patch for the kids to entertain themselves with:

And of course the picking of the perfect pumpkin!

Ending the adventure with jumping in a giant pumpkin. Now what is more joyous than that?!

Best Friends.

2011-10-12T19:02:00.001-05:00

Dosen't everyone just need a best friend?

Of course they do. And poor Brooke has been so sad without her Kenners around.

As much as I have been without Holly. Sniff.

She has slowly quit asking if Kenners is coming, or if we are going there. She has even quit asking if she is still in Alaska. P.S. we need to skype more often!

But thankfully all is not lost. She just loves her good friend David.

They play so well together and keep each other laughing constantly.

It's super cute!

So here's to best friends, everywhere!

You are loved and so important:)

And my goodness. Maybe the short hair is not so bad! Yikes. At least her hair is cute in a little head band and doesn't look like out of control Bieber hair!

The Solution.

2011-10-07T13:50:00.000-05:00

So I finally decided to do something about Brooke's hair pulling situation. Back when I was lamenting over it on this blog and Facebook, my mother told me to just cut it! Simple right?! Cause if it's short enough and she can't pull it it will break the habit... Well for me that was easier said than done. This was my baby girl! You want your girls to have hair! But after still not real progress, I decided to do it. And I had to do it while Ryan was out of town! (yes he knew I was going to do it, he just wasn't here to talk me out of it!) So this is the result:

A cute little pixie cut. I did get a little emotional... not gonna lie. It was hard to see her chop off her thinning hair. But Brooke on the other hand thought it was awesome, and has been telling me ever since how beautiful she is! And of course she is!

A Running Frenzie.

2011-10-05T14:01:00.000-05:00

We had a fun filled weekend. Can't you tell by Kylee's face?! She was actually very happy, just was being silly for the picture. Saturday we got up bright and early and headed to the school, to go downtown and do the Twin Cities Kids Marathon. Caden and I did this last year, and Brandon was all over it this year. Kylee only wanted to run once we got to the school, of course when it was too late.

Caden was none to happy that he had to sit with me instead of friends. This is sad to me, that at the young age of eight, I'm already not cool in his eyes. Sigh.

The clover Ridge kids ready to run their races!

Me and the kids!

The boys and I ready to take on the mile!

They run them by grade, so I ran with Brandon, being his first time.

The start line and the sixth graders are ready to bust it out!

Not sure what Caden's time was as this isn't quite a timed event, but little tiny Brandon busted out a 9:26 mile. Pretty dang good considering his tiny little legs!

It was so much fun to get to do this with the boys. Kylee is now determined to do this next year, but she says she's sticking to the 1/2 mile.

We then came home and enjoyed some conference! Wasn't it amazing!?

Sunday I got up bright and early and headed back down to St. Paul, where I volunteered at the finish line handing out Powerade and water for the 10 miler and the Marathon. The majority of my running group was running the marathon, and so I thought I would go and be there to support them at the end.

This was my post:

As you can see I took this as the 10 milers were coming in.

Hard to really see the time clock, but it is below the hour mark. Yep for ten miles! So these people would be in your elite group!The female winner ran it in 54:15. The male ran it in 46:46! Just amazing!

I had some friends who ran this race, and they all did amazing! One of my friends is in our running group, she's like a mom to me, just love her, and she busted out a 1:21 which is an 8 minute pace. She's 56! Such an inspiration!

The marathon started an hour after the 10 miler so we had a break for a while before the marathoners started coming in. It was so neat to be so close and get to see the winners come in! The winner of the Marathon ran it in 2:13:11, that's a cool 5:04 pace folks! The female overall winner ran it in 2:28:34, just a 5:40 pace..no big deal!

But even better than that was getting to see all my friends come across the finish line and accomplish a marathon! We have runners in our group who have ran many marathons, we had 2 who where running their first, and some that were trying to qualify for Boston.

One of the virgin marathon runners ran a 3:43! For those of you who don't run a ton, or don't know what that means, it means she killed it running at an 8:30 pace! On her first try!

Several had PR's of 8-10 minutes! Our coach ran in pain the whole way, and still busted out a 2:45! It was so much fun to get to be there and celebrate their victories with them.

Then it got crazy busy! I was so sore by the end of the day from standing and pouring all the Powerade! We had to mix it in a big can, then pour them in the cups. It was so hard to keep up with all the people coming through. I missed some people from my group cause I couldn't even look up, I was just setting out cups and pouring, repeat that times 100!

As crazy as this sounds to some of you, being there only made me want to run another even more! So here's to next year, and hopefully no injuries holding me back!

In more running news, the school has been running their mile this week! Really my favorite time of the year! I love to sit outside and watch all these little kids run. It's free entertainment. And this year is Caden's big debut! I was on the phone with a friend when I looked out and saw the kids getting ready...and I saw Caden! I was so happy that I could watch him run!

He did so well! Kept a good pace the whole time. He was so proud to come home and tell me his time, 8:23. I ran errands all afternoon yesterday, and so when the kids came home he told me that they had a chance to redo the mile if they wanted, and so he did! And ran a 8:06! So proud of my little guy! 3 miles in 4 days.

The fisrt graders run a quarter of a mile, and little Brandon busted out a 2:16. He's so stinkin cute.

Kylee wan't to hip on the whole running thing, and so she said she walked some of it. Didn't want to get sweaty and stinky. She came in last. She was pretty dang proud of herself for that accomplishment. So I'll be proud right along with her! She's the funniest, sassiest girl!

Can you tell that I love my kids?!

Now that I've bored you all to tears with running stories, I best be getting on with my day!

P.S. Oh how I miss my nice camera! The dates on these pictures are all off, and not near the quality my other camera takes...boo.

Coming to the Finish Line.

2011-10-01T13:05:00.002-05:00

This is my group! (minus Kelli B...we missed her!)

We have been through it all together. LOTS of miles, lots of sweat, lots of TMI talk on the road, lots of laughing, and lots of hard work. These people inspire me. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be in the running shape that I am at this point. I probably would have quit during my injury. Thrown in the towel. They helped me through it and made me a stronger runner.

We had a pre-pre race dinner together before most of my amazing running buddies hit the big 26.2 tomorrow! I'll be there cheering them on and to make sure they hydrate as they cross the finish line!

And one last shout out to our amazing coach, who still has to help 3 of us get to our races in the next couple of weeks! No real recovery for him, poor guy! He is what made this group what it is! Cheer to running!

A Paint Lift...and a Problem...

2011-09-25T19:04:00.000-05:00

Remember when my kitchen looked like this:

Well this weeks projects, other than a lot of sleeping to get over this nasty cold that is still plaguing me was to paint the kitchen. It was in desperate need of a paint lift. And since I was painting anyway, I was ready for a change. We have had this red color in our home since Chicago, so it was time to change. I did the majority of it on my own, but I did have a dear friend come help me! She was amazing. So detailed and much more picky than I was being. But I am so grateful cause the kitchen, I think looks amazing:

Another angle:

And yet another:

So I am very pleased with the outcome! Love the color and love that I have stain free walls...well for the next few days anyways. Well OK, maybe the next few hours!

On to my problem. Well I suppose it's mostly Brooke's problem, but it lands in my lap to try and fix this problem.

The first picture is of Brooke in June. remember this picture?! (Thank goodness we are out of this phase!)

The second picture is of Brooke just the other day.

What do you notice?

Perhaps the growth of her hair going backwards? Now her hair is clipped back in the second, but truest me, it's not holding much back. That would be due to her habit of twisting her hair in her fingers and pulling. She does this quite often, and mostly if she is watching TV, riding in the car, reading books to her. We've tried to get her to stop, and she now thinks it's funny! Well clearly it's not. She has small bald patches and it's starting to freak me out a bit!

Anyone have any advise...or is it time I take her in to the Dr.

Help!!!

A Race and a Cold.

2011-09-19T18:07:00.000-05:00

This Saturday most of our family participated in a race!

Friday I started to feel a chest cold coming on, but sometimes I get little ones and they don't really hinder my running, and that is what I was hoping for.

Well it started off great. I felt good, legs felt good. Mile 5 my chest tightened. It didn't hurt, but I could only take half of a breath. It was AWFUL. that made me get a little queasy, and I thought great, I'm going to throw up. I just want this race to be over!

I was able to keep the same pace, but not pick it up at the end like I had wanted, but hey I finished...and finished with a bang.

Stats:

10K- 44:22

2/36 in my age group

7th female overall

26/268 overall

Seriously best race ever! I had a PR by five minutes! I couldn't have been happier!

Right after I crossed the finish line:

Ryan ran the 5K, and was Mr. speedy.

So proud of him! He has improved a ton this summer. Running, Biking, Swimming. He's a machine!

Ryan's stats:

20:25

5/65 in his age group

13/544 over all!

The boys decided they wanted to run in the 1/2 mile kids run. I was so proud of them!

Caden crossing and giving Ryan a high five! He ran in the 3rd and 4th grade race and finished in the top half!

Here is little Brandon! He ran with 1st and 2nd graders and also finished in the top half!

Brandon had to be the smallest guy out there. He was so cute!

So proud of my boys!

Since we didn't get our annual 10K in May, we ran this one together. This is the first time that we actually ran most of the race together. She smoked me the last 200 meters or so and left me in her dust! Thanks for pushing me the whole race Annie!

Next up in the Ellis race agenda:

TC mile for the boys. This is an amazing event put on in conjuction with the Twin Cities marathon. I did this last year with Caden, and Brandon couldn't wait to be able to do this race. That is on the 2nd.

And then the Mankato half October 22nd for me!

The temps are cooling, which have been heavenly to run in, after running in A LOT of humid heat this summer! At the same time it means the racing season is coming to an end. Bummer. Oh well There's always a next season!

P.s. ran this morning with my group, and chest is not getting better, I have felt awful all day. So time for a few days rest, so I can actually have energy for the last race coming up!)

Your Gonna Miss This.

2011-09-14T15:08:00.001-05:00

There is a song called "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins. I heard it the other day and it brought tears to my eyes. It had me watching old family videos, going through old pictures.

As much as it is NICE to have so much time to do whatever I want, and as crazy and hectic those first few years were with Caden, Kylee, and Brandon, I truly can say I do miss this stage. What I wouldn't give to go back and hold those sweet babes in my arms and just love on them?!

In the moment things were just so chaotic, and I did many times wish that they would just grow up over night! Now it's easy to say I wish I could go back. I"m not sleep deprived, I'm not constantly covered in spit up, and not soothing crying babies 10 hours a day! But how could I not want to go back? How could you not think that looking that this sweet face:

Life was crazy, but life was simple. No worrying about things they pick up at school. No drying tears from mean kids. They were in my complete care. The only schedule we had was OUR schedule.

I was their best friend, and they welcomed kisses with open arms. Now I'm lucky if Caden will kiss me on the cheek. :(

What sweet precious children I have. Now they are in another's care 7 hours a day.

Now it's just me and this little peanut. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. How did she go from this:

To this so fast!

She's my little pack rat. Anything she can fit in a box, purse, pillowcase, she will do it! And I love it!

As much as I miss my older children, it is nice to get some one on one time with Brooke. We read, play games, sing and dance to none other than the Bieber. Oh ya we have moves!

I need to soak it all in, cause in 3 short years she will be gone too.

But your gonna miss this

You're gonna want this back

You're gonna wish these days

Hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But your gonna miss this

Remembering

2011-09-11T17:46:00.003-05:00

I will never forget that day. The things I heard, the things I saw, the things I did. It is forever etched into my mind and my heart.

I have never blogged about 9/11, I don't even think that I have it written down in my journal. And only find it appropriate that I right down my feelings about this day on it's 10 year anniversary.

I had recently moved to Logan Utah, and school had yet to begin for me.

My cousin Heather and I were still asleep, when my cousin Rita came running into the house, up to our rooms and woke us up. She was in a panic, and told us to come down stairs. New York had been attacked, everyone on campus was going crazy, we needed to come down and watch the news.

Those words: attacked. Seared into my mind. Who ever, living in America would ever expect to hear those horrible words?!

This is what we turned on the TV to see:

The second tower being hit. This image over and over. Who could do such a thing?

And this:

But this, this brought our country to a whole new level of unity. One that had been kept dormant, under the rug for awhile. I believe it awoke Americans up to the reality of what goes on in the world around us, that we had been sheltered from ourselves. Not only an awareness of keeping our country safe, but our families, friends and communities.

I remember walking to church that following Sunday, and seeing all the American flags flying. I don't think their was a house without one. Oh I love America. I had tears in my eyes.

We are a compassionate people. A loving people.

Through this tragedy, brought hope, and a new sense of love of country that I had not seen in my day. It did not bring us down, but only made us stronger. So many brave men and women have put their lives on the line (and lost) so that we are safer, so that something like this won't happen again. It's easy to forget. I was having a conversation with my children about 9/11 back when they had caught Osama bin Laden. They had no clue who he was or anything about that day...What?! I thought. But of course they weren't even alive when this happened. I hadn't ever brought it up before. That is why history needs to be kept alive. Not only through text books, but through us to our children, our families.

I am so thankful for this amazing country that we live in. We are so blessed to have the freedoms that we enjoy. I think we all take it for grantid.

It saddens me to see what is happening just on the other side of our borders. How close we are to so much danger. How we need to be thankful and grateful for those men and women who put on those uniforms to protect us. But above all, for a Father in Heaven who protects us when we need it the most. All we have to do is reach out to him in prayer. He will answer.

Back to School.

2011-09-06T10:17:00.011-05:00

We had such a fun before back to school day party at our house!

We started ( well I started my day with a 6.5 mile run in nice 55 degree weather...HEAVEN) the day going to the track. Ryan and I are running a 5/10K in a few weeks and signed the kids up for the kids run. So we needed to get some practice in of course. They had a blast running around the track.
We timed them a few times, and then they just ran and played. Brooke even ran around the track 3 times!

After a nap for a tired 2 year old, and a little shopping from me, we made our back to school crowns:

Notice Kylee is missing in action? Well that's because she was busy doing this:

She had scribbled on it and then was upset that she had ruined it. I didn't get it, since she was the one who controlled the crayon, but oh well. She finally calmed down enough to come back and finish her crown.

The finished product, and eating their pizza like the royalty they are!

They were all so worried, and reminded me multiple times to wake them up if they didn't get up on their own. I knew this wouldn't even be necessary, and boy was I right. Only about 10 minutes into my workout, (6:30 in the morning) and I heard a child on the computer. Sure enough Caden was bright eyed and bushy tailed. This being the kid saying he was not excited for school to start...

The three ready for the big day:

Caden:

Kylee:

Brandon:

Some group shots:

Brooke thought that she was going too. I had to pack her a lunch, just so we wouldn't have a major melt down.

Walking to school:

Caden: Pretty much over the pictures.

Kylee ready to go!
And I do believe I have a clown on my hands!
I did get slightly teary eyed, but dropping off three kids really distracted from getting to emotional. I just can't believe my little twins are old enough for school. Time sure does fly by.
As we were leaving Brandon's classroom, Brooke wouldn't come. She had the saddest pout on her face. I told her it was time to go, and she proceeded to tell me: "It's not fair."
Oh poor little "Z". We have been home for 2 hours now, and man is it quiet! This is going to take some getting used to. Well I am off to the park with Brooke! Even though it's sad sending my older three off, I am excited to get to spend some quality time with her!
Here's to a fabulous school year!

Camping outside is scary...

2011-09-05T18:40:00.000-05:00

(My title is sort of an inside joke... I can't help thinking about that saying when I hear the word camping. It's a Joeyism from our childhood days. pretty much an awesome song he made up..hehe!)
We are back from our camping in the wilderness! Well, that is the beauty of Minnesota, cause we were only miles from town, but it felt like we were 100 miles away from the hustle and bustle of a metropolis! And thankfully so, we did not have enough bug spray, so Bonnie volunteered to go get more. Man those mosquitoes were bad!
We spent a lot of time doing this:

Here are all the ladies! Aren't we just the most beautiful bunch of camping ladies you ever did see!?

This is not how I envisioned these pictures, but alas with my nice camera out of commission, I didn't get as many as I wanted, cause my old one doesn't do so well at night:

The next morning we were up bright and early for breakfast! It was a warm day, so Annie and I took off as soon as we could for a good run. Good thing we had our water belts, cause the sun was blazing!

The kids enjoyed the wonderful breakfast that the Dad's so graciously cooked!

Can't wait to do it again next year!

A summer wrap up.

2011-09-02T10:11:00.002-05:00

And what better way to end it than with a camping trip?!
We are headed off today to camp with some friends. Eat, of course. Play, laugh, get no sleep, and just have a blast!
This week has just flown by! We had back to school night Wednesday where we put the kids supplies away and were able to meet their teachers. All of the kids seemed pretty excited. Brandon was NOT thrilled that we went to his classroom last. And so for that, I think he thought a little pay back was in order. As we were putting his things in his desk, his teacher came over to introduce herself.

Mrs. O: Hi Brandon, I'm Mrs. O what's your name?
Brandon: Um... Bob.
Mrs. O: Bob... uh are you sure, I don't think I have a Bob...
Brandon: Huge grin on face
Ryan: Oh come on tell her your name...his name is Brandon.
Mrs. O: Oh Brandon are you so excited to start school!?
Brandon: Not really.

Oh this child. He really is a carbon copy of my brother Joey. Before I know it he's gonna be in college, thinking he knows more than me, and doing crazy dare devil things! Yikes!

All three are really excited to start school. I am ready as well. And then there are moments I am not. How can those little twins be in first grade?! I was getting chocked up on back to school night just thinking about it. Silly. That only tells me what a mess I'm going to be come Tuesday.

To top it off, Monday we walked to a park for FHE and I went to get my camera to take some pictures and what did I do...dropped it! UGH. It turns on, it just won't focus, and the few times I did get a picture, nothing. Just black. So it's off to the shop to see if I can get it fixed and so back to my point and shoot for the camping trip and first day of school pictures. Bummer. I have been spoiled with that camera. Serious heart breaking going on as I even type this. Boo.

So now I am off to get us ready for some serious camping, (sans nice camera...sniff) and last minute back to school shopping! Happy weekend!

Dare to TRI

2011-08-30T12:46:00.007-05:00

Ryan competed in an Olympic distance TRI this past Saturday.
So me and the kids packed up, and headed out to watch him and cheer him on.
I think these three thought this was the best part of the whole morning:

She was on cloud nine!

We had quite a few hiccups that kept us from getting there during his first transition, so we looked for a spot to camp out, and cheer on all the participants. The older three spotted the playground, and took off. Waiting around didn't sound like fun to them.
This is Ryan coming off his bike and on to the 10K:

Brooke had so much fun cheering people on! A nice old man gave her the cow bell and she had a ball ringing it:

The boy on the right was only 14 years old! It amazes me and almost chokes me up when I see these young kids doing these tough competitions. The man on the left, I just had to get his picture. he is a world champion in Triathlons. Chris McCormack, he is the current Ironman Champion, and has won multiple times. Just an amazing athlete. He came to help promote a new race that has been raced in the UK called the Tri star. It's a 1k swim, 100k bike, and 10k run.

And this is my handsome husband coming in to the finish!

I am so proud of him! He competed in this TRI last summer and he improved his time by 22 minutes! It's amazing how much he has improved.

The kids decided to come around and take a picture with their dad when all was said and done.

Oh and so they could mooch food off of him!:)

Highs and Lows of a Thursday.

2011-08-26T12:53:00.003-05:00

The highs:
Yesterday was my first race of the season. Holy buckets. August and my first race... But hey I am running and so therefore I am happy!
I ran in the Lifetime Torchlight 5K. It's somewhat of a fun run. They do have the USA Minnesota track and field athletes there racing, so that's fun!
Recap of my day:
5:45- run at the track with my running group. My coach was also racing the race so we were going to take it easy for those of us racing.
Enter in 100,000 mosquitoes which didn't allow for much standing around. We just slowed down some of the runs he had the others doing. 5.25 miles total.
8:oo- Man comes to fix our garage door. (last week repair man out to fix our air conditioner. When it rains it pours!)
9:45- Off to Lifetime for kids to get in a little cycling class and mom takes advantage and lays out by the pool!
12:00- Home, lunch and kids down for naps and quiet time, and a little power nap for me! Gonna need it.
2:00- get the house cleaned up, last minute things around the house. ( spend a little time on BB feed... that will be explained later...)
5:30 leave to pick up Ryan, and head downtown to pick up race packet and enjoy downtown.
6:30- feed kids some dinner
7:30- Meet some of my running buddies and head to the start line!
8:00- and the race is on!
21 minutes and 54 seconds later I am done. Whew.
So happy with this time. My first 5K ever, was last summer, and I ran a 22:32. So major improvement with not as many miles logged. BUT I have been doing a lot more speed work, which is what I attribute this race to! Thanks Coach MB!
Because this was more of a fun run, no official times, so no stats, but Ryan said there was only around 10 girls who finished in front of me!

On the low's: Came home to wind down, stretch and watch my BB show. Yes I like Big Brother. Almost to an embarrassing level. So it's my guilty pleasure alright...
Last nights show was crap. So not happy. Really should have waited to watch this today, so as to not ruin my high of a day, but because I might be one of the most impatient people on the planet, I couldn't wait. Needless to say the show didn't go the way I wanted. Not Happy. I sound silly I know, but it is what it is!
So if anyone else reading this is a BB fan, I say go Jordan!

Now on to a run this evening with my good friend Annie! Man my legs are gonna love Saturday and Sunday! This has been a lot of running this week!
P.S. Good luck to Ryan who is racing an Olympic distance TRI tomorrow! He's gonna crush it!

2 Weeks and a little lady.

2011-08-23T19:12:00.006-05:00

2 weeks from today my oldest three will be gone for 7 hours of the day.
It will just be me and this sweet little lady:

Poor little girl doesn't even know what is going to hit her. I have got to think of lots of little activities for this little munchkin.

On another note, she is a little camera snatcher.
She captured a rare moment, me and the piano. I would love to take up lessons again.

And of course she didn't forget the self portrait.

We hit up the pool today since it was SOOO hot today. When we got home I turned on a cartoon for her so I could shower. This is what I found when I came down:

Love this girl. I need to cherish every moment that I have with her, because she'll be heading off to school before I can blink my eyes...

A Yankee night.

2011-08-19T12:52:00.007-05:00

Last night we went to a Twins game. Again. But seriously, how could you not, they were playing the Yankee's. If you like that team or not, they are good! So we went with some friends who had extra tickets.As you can see, the seats weren't near as good as last time, but hey they were still pretty amazing! We had so much fun! Talking, laughing, and of course EATING!
Ryan and I:

Night time:

This picture made me laugh for a long time! I could not stop laughing!

Now because I don't watch much NFL I didn't know who this person was, but my husband did, and so did everyone around me, cause they were all taking pictures like crazy! If you're like me and have no clue who he is, he is the new quarterback for the Vikings, Donovan McNabb.
Scott got this picture for me, and apparently not to discreet about it cause he's looking right at the camera! The face he's making is priceless!

Overdue.

2011-08-18T12:47:00.001-05:00

This post is a few weeks late. It just seemed to get away from me. But not Kylee no way! This girl is on top of everything, and she noticed I had yet to post these pictures of her adventures in tooth loss.
She wasn't quite brave about this as you can tell from picture number 1. She had it all the was twisted around, but would not pull it out. She is lucky she didn't swallow it, cause it ended up falling out in her sleep. I love this girl and her unique, amazing personality!

Take me out to the ball game.

2011-08-15T16:53:00.000-05:00

While Mark and Caroline were here, we were able to go to a Twins game. I haven't been to a twins game at all, coming from Chicago and going to games at Wrigley,
the dome just didn't excite me. But since they got their new field last year,
and our seats were 3rd row behind home plate,

who wouldn't want to go?!
We had a blast! They were playing the Red Sox which was a bonus as well.
Ryan and I in our AMAZINGLY comfy seats!

Mark and Caroline:

Ortiz up to bat. He hit an awesome home run!

Ryan enjoying the game:

Minneapolis Skyline:

Twins dugout just a few feet away!

So i'm not a huge baseball fan, so I don't know much about the players, but this guy seemed to be every Twins fan fovrite player, Mauer:

It was fun trying to get quick shots as the pitches came in!
To top off the night with all you can eat food and drinks the Twins won!

I think another game might be in store for the Ellis'!

A day in the city.

2011-08-14T16:52:00.001-05:00

With all of Ryan's family in town the past week, we took advantage and did some city things.
One of which was going to the sculpture garden. We have lived in the area for four years and had yet to go. The kids just loved running around, climbing and enjoying the cooler weather! (yes we finally escaped the nasty humid weather that has plagued us most of this summer!)
I think the winner would be running across this bridge:

The famous Cherry in a spoon:

Climbing!

What an angel I tell you:

Couldn't resist the pretty flowers. This one's for you mom!

Caden's baptism.

2011-08-07T22:25:00.008-05:00

Today was a special day for our family.
Most importantly it was a special day for Caden.
Caden was baptized a member of our church today. I couldn't be more proud.

He was beeming ear to ear. The spirit was so strong. I love this gospel and the way it makes me and my family feel. It's amazing.

We were lucky enough to have all of the Ellis family out to witness it.

We also had some of the Willardson side, Holly and Garrett, and my dad was able to make it!
This was the family clan!

Willardson family:

And my little family. I am so proud of Caden and his decision to be baptized. I am so lucky that this little family that Ryan and I have created have the opportunity to be together forever.

And man, I really love my children and their awesome ability to take great pictures.
I have learned to embrace them though. They make for great memories.:)

Ryan's Tri

2011-08-06T22:03:00.000-05:00

Today we went and cheered Ryan on at his Triathlon!

As you can see the kids were very excited in the beginning:

We got there right before he transitioned from bike to run, so we saw him at the beginning of his race, and then as he came to the finish line!

As we waited at the finish line, the kids got a bit restless:
And weren't too happy with me when I told them they couldn't play with the race barriers.
So pouting in the grass was the next best option!:)

He looked like he was giving it all he had coming in the home stretch, and he was! He made his goal of finishing in 1hour 17 minutes!

In the end the kids were so glad they came. We are so proud of him!

Projects and late nights.

2011-08-02T15:51:00.004-05:00

I have been doing a few projects lately. Some for my room and some for the girls. It's been fun getting semi crafty again!
So the bedtime thing as I have mentioned hasn't exactly been going well...still. Little stinker! The toddler bed just wasn't cutting it. She kept falling out, and then thus waking up. I would find her wandering the house at 3am, or turning all the lights on at 4am. NICE.
So we tried another approach. The girls sharing a bed. This has been a major improvement, but she still struggles some. At least the middle of the night antics are behind us. We are now working on staying in bed at bedtime, and falling asleep before 11pm.
I didn't want to finish decorating until I knew how and where the beds, or now bed in this case would go, and since we are there, I have been working to spruce up the room!
Here is the semi finished product:

Don't you just love little Z in the corner of the picture?! She looks like she's ready to pose for a swimsuit magazine!

This is the new bed, and bedding. I think the bedding is just stinkin cute!

Just another angle.

I was thinking of painting a faux wainscoting on the bottom 1/3 of the wall...what do you think...I need some ideas?!

I am just a few short days away from finishing up my room. I can't wait to see how it's going to end up! That reveal to come next!

The end of Diapers!

2011-08-01T14:52:00.000-05:00

We are now diaper free in the Ellis household.
Raise the roof, blow out the candles, do the happy dance!
We started potty training last week and it has pretty much been a breeze!
Thank heavens, cause we are still struggling with the bedtime thing, so I was grateful that she decided to cooperate with this adventure.
I'm pretty sure it's because she already thinks she is a BIG girl. No more getting in the shopping cart for this one. She's big, she walks.
She is a private bathroom goer many times telling me to "git out",so this picture was a little hard to obtain. So here is my big girl:

All done and so proud of herself!

Trip to Houston.

2011-07-27T19:54:00.009-05:00

This past weekend I was able to get away by MYSELF to my cousin Dawn's wedding.
At first the plan was that I would drive down with my kids and stay a week or so.
Well with high gas prices, and a worried husband, he offered to take a day off so that I could go down there by myself! I'll just say that the second plan was definitely better!
I would have been a stress case. Making sure my kids behaved, etc.. etc...

So I left Thursday and spent the weekend enjoying my freedom, and some good bonding time with family. I stayed with my cousin Wally and his wife Ashley, and their three adorable children. We had so much fun talking and catching up. I won't even say how long it had been since I had seen them. Embarrassing!
Friday all the girls got their nails done and went to lunch.
Then we got ready for the dinner that night.
The dinner was pretty much wedding party and family, and boy was it good! Gotta love Mexican food...YUM!
Me and my cousin Dawn and me and my Aunt Debbie.
Supposedly I could be Debbie's daughter...what do you think?!

Saturday was the big day.
I hung out with my cousin and his boys, running around town eating, of course, before the wedding.
Then it was off to the big event.
Ashley and I:

She was beautiful, and just beaming! I really don't think I have ever seen Dawn this happy.
I couldn't be happier for her, and so glad she married a great guy!

Couple's first dance:

Tim has two children, and the part of the ceremony where they included them, had me bawling like a baby!
Her cake was amazing and was probably the best cake I've ever tasted!

After dancing the night away we headed back to the house.
The next day me and my dad went to my Grandpa's grave. I had never been. It was good to see.
I really do miss him.

Then we went back to my Aunt and Uncle's house for a few hours before I had to leave to come back to my little family.
I had so much fun, so glad I was able to go and be a part of her big day.
And we have vowed to never let it take this long to see each other again.

I was sure glad to come home to my kiddos. As nice as it was to have a break, I missed them. I kept finding myself comparing them to my little cousins, and talking about them non-stop!
I think little breaks like that are good for mothers. Sure makes you appreciate your children.
So here is to the next kid free trip.:)

A Party for Two.

2011-07-26T21:17:00.002-05:00

Today we had a party for two.

Kylee and Brandon's to be exact. We had fun! And good weather to boot.
We sang to the two birthday kids:

Took it outside, both to enjoy the lovely weather, and to save my floor, and played a bunch of water games!

And what party is complete without present opening!

The boys weren't still enough for a group photo, but you can always count on the girls for a good group shot!
Gotta love birthday parties!

6 Years Ago...

2011-07-25T21:16:00.000-05:00

My life was about to change forever.
Little did I know the impact that two little lives could make in mine.
At 10:59 and 11:01 I became a mother of twins.

I had entered an elite club of amazing women, who get the opportunity to have 2 babies at once. Two special spirits who have an incredible bond toward one another.
And these two are no exception.
Don't get me wrong. It was rough going that first year. A lot of it just blurs together.
But what a wonderful year at the same time. I wouldn't trade having these two together for anything in the world.
I can't believe how time flies! How can they be six already?!
It feels like just months ago I was up all night, bouncing a colicky Brandon, trying to change diapers and feed bottles all at the same time!

And it seems like just yesterday I had entered the phase of mischievous toddlers times two:

Oh what adorable little kids they were! They knew how to put the charm on whenever they knew what I would find around the corner would put them in time out.
Brandon, my little cuddler. Was since day one. (thanks to auntie Melanie I believe...)
Kylee my sassy little independent girl.

And now here we are 3 years later and I have a little boy and a little girl on my hands:

Still a momma's boy, and still my sassy independent girl. Oh how I love them.
They still share a special bond. One that the other two children can't touch. Sometimes they forget that bond, and go at it like any other sibling, but when it comes down to it, they always have each others backs.
They have taught me so much in their 6 short years of life. LOVE. PATIENCE. and more LOVE.
I feel so lucky that these two were sent to me, and sent together!

WE are having their party tomorrow, but they wanted to open their presents from mom and dad on their birthday. I'm pretty sure we didn't' disappoint!

Kylee has been wanting the American Girl doll Ruthie for 2 years, and tonight her dream came true:

Brandon getting roller blades! He promised not to knock any teeth out:

Here is to the next 6 years with these fun loving twins of mine!
Love you Kylee and Brandon. Happy Birthday Twinsies!

I believe!

2011-07-21T14:14:00.003-05:00

I have been on a quest this summer. To find something to help heal my leg. Yes, so I can run.
I have tried many different therapies. Some I had used when I had this problem before.
When that didn't work, I tried acupuncture which my run coach swears by.
When he could no longer help, I tried going to a physical therapy. That seemed to keep it from getting any worse, but no improvements.
I tried doing nothing for nearly two weeks and that didn't help either. Man I felt like this was just getting down right ridiculous. Would I ever be able to run again?!
So when one of my running friends told me to go to this chiropractor I thought why not, lets add to the list of things that may/may not help me!

This picture is the result of the therapy I have been getting. This picture doesn't quite do the bruises justice, but you get the idea. It hurts. Not unbearable, but man it's painful. The therapy is called ART technique. And I can say that it WORKS!
Last week was the first time since May I was able to run more than once in a week, and in fact I went 3 times! And for longer than 3 miles.
It's a slow process, cause at this point I can only do walk/runs, but hey I'll take it!
Today was a huge milestone for me, track run with my running group, and I didn't have to walk cause I had no pain at all! For me it felt like a miracle! 7 miles later and I almost felt like I had crossed a finish line. My group cheered me on. It truly was a triumphant moment.
This seems a little silly as I wright this, but this really has shown me how much running really is a part of my life. A part of who I am. I have done lots of other workouts, and they come and go. I go through phases of LOVING and trying other things, but the one thing that I just can't seem to give up is running. I have learned that I can still love running, even if there involves a lot of walking. This has also taught me A LOT of patience. It takes time to heal, and that's OK.
So here is to ART. and to the wonderful Dr. who is helping me get my running legs back, bruises and all!

The Party!

2011-07-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

We had a great party for Caden, with a bunch of his friends!
Even though the weather wasn't great, it was muggy and so the water party stayed in play.
Thank goodness too cause I'm not so sure what I would have done with all of those crazy boys.
They sure have A LOT of energy.
This was Ryan getting them with the hose. They thought that they were pretty good at keeping away...:)

After the hose and some water balloon fights, we headed over to the field for some good ol fun with races. Boys love to race, and love to WIN!

Since we got them good and worn out, pizza was next, and boy can those kids EAT! I think half of them ate 4 pieces!

Then of course we had to follow that up with singing to the birthday boy with his choice of cake, Ice Cream Cake fro Dairy Queen, delish!

Then it was present time. He is one lucky guy! His friends didn't' disappoint. He couldn't pick a favorite, he loved it all.

It was fun to see all these kids have so much fun, and now we get to do this all over again in a week!

Great to be Eight!

2011-07-15T15:44:00.007-05:00

Can it possibly be eight years since Caden came into my life?! That this time eight years ago, I was in the hospital, anticipating what the moment would be like the first time I stared into my babies eyes?!

Time sure does fly when you have amazing kids, and I couldn't have asked for a better son and first born. I am so grateful that Caden came to our family. He is just as sweet now as he was as a baby. A good friend, and a faithful brother. His siblings sure are lucky to have him.

What a fun little toddler he was! So full of life and my best friend!

This kid didn't know what was about to hit him
shortly after his second birthday! (Neither did his parents for that fact!)
It's so hard to transition from being the only child, but this kid had to share that with twins. Sometimes I felt like a horrible mother, cause the only attention he would get from me some days, was getting his diaper changed, and fed. Life revolved around the babies. He was chill and relaxed. I think that's why he came to me first. His little person had no problem being put third.
He was such a little angel 0:)

Third Birthday, and his dirt cake! All boy!

Fast forward three years and my boy is 6! Such a little helper, and such a good big brother to baby Brooke.

He scolds me sometimes if I am too harsh in my scolding Brooke!

I can't believe that I am old enough to have a child that is going to be baptized! He has been going to a lot of his friends baptisms, and is pretty excited for his own.

Caden I love you for the awesome person that you are, your sweet spirit, and for letting me be your mommy!
Happy Birthday Buddy!

A Gymnast?!?

2011-07-15T15:18:00.004-05:00

This post is WAY over due, but time just got away with me, posted other things, forgetting to post this, so it's better late than never right?!
Kylee took Gymnastics this past spring, and loved it!
At least that's what she says, but doesn't really want to do it again. She had the same attitude about this as she does about most things that require effort and concentration.
She doesn't want to put the effort into it, therefore a waste of her time... She is too funny!

Typical Kylee, staring off into space, and therefore falling off shortly after this picture.

And at least here there is some effort taking place!

I am not completely heart broken, that she isn't too sure about this sport. Of course I would love it if she loved it, being a former gymnast myself, but the cost of it here is outrageous!
I felt like I was giving my right arm for just 9 sessions!
So I am now on a quest for an activity/sport that requires less of my body parts.

Mommy Moments.

2011-07-12T08:00:00.004-05:00

I had a mommy moment. One I thought wouldn't happen to me.
Brooke has still been in a crib. Mainly cause she hasn't had the desire to get out. So it's been nice having her confined still during naps and bedtime!
I think our trip to Alaska brought on her curiosity in her climbing skills. While we were there she was in a pack and play, and had no problem getting out.
So yesterday we were all on the back porch, kids playing in the water, and I turned around and there was Brooke, standing in front of me behind the glass door. I was extremely puzzled. Did someone get her out?! counted the kids up...no they are all out here with me...
She had done it. Gotten out by herself. Now I know she's 2 and 1/2. Really this is the age they should be in a big girl bed. We've just been slightly spoiled with her.
So down to the storage room we went and pulled out the bed.
This is the moment I thought I wouldn't have. Getting emotional over taking down the crib for the last time. I always thought that was a bit silly.
Now I have to eat my words. I got choked up as I took the last piece out of the room.
Now I guess I know why it happens to moms. It makes it all the more real. My baby is not a baby, and there will be no more babies for us. A bittersweet moment.

So here is the crib coming down, meeting it's death(this thing has been through the ringer, time for the dump!):

And Brooke's big girl bed:

She struggled some going to bed, asking for her crib. Oh I hope that she transitions well. She has always been a good sleeper, I hope this doesn't break that cycle.
I must say, she was pretty darn cute laying in her big girl bed. Unfortunately she wouldn't let me get a picture of her in her bed. She'd scream and cry. Oh Brooke!

Tara.

2011-07-10T18:04:00.003-05:00

I realized I missed a post, so this is a little out of order:)
For my birthday, Tara and I went on a shopping trip to Anchorage!
My family was nice enough to watch all of our little rug rats.

We had so much fun trying on clothes, buying things for ourselves and of course the kiddos.
It's hard to resist buying things for the little munchkins...

Really a highlight of my trip was getting to spend so much time with Tara.
I am so thankful for her friendship. She is truly like a sister to me.
She's such a good mother, wife and friend. I need to take notes when I'm around her.
Now if we can somehow figure out how to live by each other...
Love you friend!

4th Celebrations.

2011-07-06T08:59:00.001-05:00

So we arrived home on the 4th. at 6:30. Had an amazing BBQ and then headed to the hill for the firework show. I was dog tried(up at 3:30 to head to the airport for our long trip home) but we couldn't miss out on the festivities!
Baby Lila was supper sweet. I missed that girl. Brooke and Kenadie had an amazing reunion.:)
They played on the playground while we waited for the sun to set!

Look at those beauties!

The kids enjoying the fireworks. Kenadie's face describes it all!

Afterwords I took a tumble down the hill holding Kenadie. It was quite Embarrassing and REALLY painful. I got an insta-bruise on my knee, and yes the one that has been giving me problems. I think a marathon is officially out:( Aiming for a half instead.
Now we are trying to get back into the swing of things, and back on Minnesota time. Holy cow this time difference is kicking my butt!
Now for the blogging frenzy! I'm going to update in order so scroll down if you want to catch up on what we've been doing the past 3 weeks!
Happy Fourth Everyone!

Good Bye Lake, Good Bye Alaska.

2011-07-04T11:53:00.000-05:00

After dinner Saturday night, we had to pack up and say good bye.

We had so much fun playing at the Lake and getting to stay in the new cabin.

Some views from the cabin. I just love Alaska. Nothing like it's beauty.

Brooke waving goodbye, and some views from the boat ride to the dock.

This last picture is of a Glacier on the way home. It was so amazing!

Me and Brandon on the ride back to the dock.
We got home super late, then just packed and hung out with the family the rest of Sunday.
It was sad to go, but it's been nice to be back in our own beds.
Til next time Alaska!

More News from the Lake.

2011-07-02T23:52:00.000-05:00

Saturday the weather cleared up and was really nice. Which meant more water time and way more enjoyable than the day before.
The kids loved being pulled behind the jet ski on the GT3. The Kayaks were also a big hit!

This is sweet Kade. He struggled a little on this trip. Poor little guy. Good thing he is so dang cute.

Playing in the water!

After the kids came in, Amy and I took the kayaks out for a stroll. Even though the weather was nice, the lake was still freezing, so I wanted no part of getting in. It was really fun rowing around and trying to keep balanced as to not fall in. If anyone know my cousin, then you know what happened next. As we started going in, I had a feeling she was going to try and tip me. And sure enough I turned around and she was gunning for me. We battled it out for awhile and while she did tip me first, I grabbed her on the way down and she went all the way under! Good times. Amy I will always win.:)

We headed back to the cabing for dinner, Stew and corn fritters, yum!

We also watched the men build a tent plat form. Such strong men.:)

Lake Louise

2011-07-01T23:50:00.001-05:00

On Thursday we made our way up to Lake Louise for the weekend.
I hadn't been up in 10 years!

Brooke loved the lake and loved the boat. She had a blast throwing rocks.

Friday we took a boat ride over to the beach for some water time!

Lets just say that it wasn't my ideal weather for playing on the beach, or the water for that matter, but the kids loved it! Kylee was a little fish!

We huddled around the fire a lot, then after a few hours, we headed back to the cabin for some dinner, and warmth!

Hiking the Butte.

2011-06-29T23:46:00.000-05:00

Now that the wedding stuff has died down, we did a few more Palmer things. Like hiking the Butte! The kids did an awesome job and Brooke even climbed about 2/3 the way up. There was no helping her one bit. She would yell at you and say " my turn, no it's my turn!"

At the top. Kylee of course was desperate for a picture all by herself
and Annie kept spoiling her plans.:)

Me and Sweet Sades. Love this sassy girl!

Check out that beautiful view! I love these mountains! There really is nothing like Alaska.

And some pics on the way down. Sadie on the other side of the hill. and Brooke barreling down the hill!

Happily Ever After.

2011-06-25T23:45:00.000-05:00

The cousins definitely did a good job decorating the getaway car. Very tasteful and cute! had to add the BYU, U of U rivalry!:)

They started off be being whisked away in Grampies little red car. What a fairy tale ending...

Happy Marriage!

The Reception

2011-06-25T23:44:00.000-05:00

After the picture escapade, we headed to Red Robin to stuff our faces. We were so hungry!
By the time we got back it was time to do the finishing touches at the church, and get ready to party!
It looked so beautiful, and the food was awesome. Mexican is always delicious!

The kids were so adorable. Grampie brought his little read car and parked it right out front. It was a big hit with the little kids. They also were loving the dancing.

I love these girls! They are my best friends. I had so much fun with them. Wish we lived closer!

Hanna Banana.

2011-06-25T23:43:00.000-05:00

We love our Hanna, and I love my boys! Aren't they so handsome?!

Kylee loves her Aunt Hanna, and wanted to be just like her. She wanted to look just like she did. It was so precious.

Sibling pics. Minus Holly. We missed her.

So excited for this next chapter in Hanna's life and that we were able to be there to experience it with her.

And I just couldn't resist this picture of Kylee. She is a photogenic little lady!

Hanna and Sandy.

2011-06-25T23:41:00.000-05:00

Hanna and Sandy were married for time and all eternity today. They had a wonderful sealer, who said wonderful things and made me bawl like a baby. It's so weird to think that my little sister is married.
And then the picture taking. I had told Sandy to be prepared for the smile fest, but he clearly didn't realize how much smiling he would have to do!
Brooke on the other hand was not in a happy mood. Couldn't get her to smile for anything!

Parents and Grandparent pictures!

The Willardson crew:

The McCleve Crew, boys and the girls:

The Bachlorette.

2011-06-24T23:39:00.000-05:00

After our dip in the lake, the boys took off for a golf Bachelor party, while the women stayed back and partied it up with the beautiful Bachelorette, Hanna!

It was fun, but we were ready to have Hanna to ourselves for the last night of her single-hood! So we shooed the friends out and had a fun time laughing, crying and talking and mom and dads bed.
Love Family time, and I love me my Hanna!

Kepler

2011-06-24T23:35:00.000-05:00

We took advantage of another beautiful day in Alaska and headed to jump into Kepler Lake.
Kylee just played around in the shallow part, while the boys were brave and took the plunge!

Caden and Brandon jumping in!

I even braved the COLD lake water and took a dive! Little Benny loved the water and splashed around.

Hatcher Pass

2011-06-24T23:33:00.000-05:00

No trip to Alaska is complete without going to Hatcher Pass. So when the McCleve's came into town we headed up the mountain to the mine. It wasn't the warmest day, but still a ton of fun.

Then we had good times setting up the gym, transforming it into a magical reception hall!

Day out with the Girls!

2011-06-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

We went out with the Hillis crew for mani's and pedi's before the big day! It was so much fun!
Elle even got her very own!

Midnight Sun Races

2011-06-18T11:27:00.000-05:00

Ryan got in Late Friday night, and we were up early the next morning to head into the Midnight Sun Half. This was the race I had to bow out of due to the dumb knee. So me and Hanna went to cheer Ryan, Mom and Carey along!

To make it less painful for me to watch, Hanna and I made bets as to who was going to win the 5 miler, and the half. We came close with the five miler, and nailed the half winner! He has fast! There was also this little kid that looked to either be fast, or just a running snob with all the gear. Well he ended our to be FAST! He was 13 and came in 3rd, with a time of 1:18. It was amazing.

The Kenyan above is the Marathon winner.

And here is Ryan coming down the home stretch. He killed it for his first half with a time of 1:46!

And of course my mom! She is amazing. She started having a injury the last couple weeks of training, and still ran in like a pro. Beating her previous time by 11 seconds!

All I can say is next year, next year this race is mine!:)

A Great Day In AK!

2011-06-17T23:21:00.000-05:00

It was a gorgeous day in Alaska, so we got some lunch and headed to the Lake for some outside fun! Elle stole the show in her adorable tutu swimsuit.

I didn't quite dress my kids for the occasion, so we just let them go in, clothes and all.
And I just want to squish this sweet little nugget! He could be a baby model. Seriously.

A Shower for Hanna.

2011-06-16T23:19:00.000-05:00

Hanna's shower was so much fun! We ate food of course, had a fun how well doe's Hanna and Sandy know each other game, and Hanna go lots of good marriage advice!

Good times in AK.

2011-06-13T11:18:00.001-05:00

We, or should I say, I survived the plane ride up with me and the four little rug-rats!
We had a fun bonfire tonight! Complete with a hot dog roast and smores!
We even had a fun play date with cute little Elle:

WE love little miss Elle. Brooke and Elle had so much fun together!

Alaska Bound.

2011-06-13T08:24:00.000-05:00

Greetings from the great state of AK!

I might have some trouble posting from up here as my camera card doesn't attach to my parents computer...so it may be some picture less posts, but some posts nonetheless so I don't forget things that happen on our amazing vacation to the last frontier!

We have already had a barbecue and had a fun play date with sweet little Elle!

Lots more fun to come! I love being on vacation! And I love being home!

School's Out!

2011-06-11T16:00:00.001-05:00

We had another amazing after school cul-de-sac party! Complete with silly string wars and plenty of ice cream bars! Now the summer can begin!

The mind of a two year old..

2011-06-08T08:09:00.004-05:00

Don't you ever wonder what goes on in the mind of your children?!
Especially when they go through this phase:

Cause you know once you find that, you are almost always bound to find this:

It does not matter the amount of times I tell her no, we only color on paper, 20 minutes later she is trying this again.

This did not happen near as much with my other kids...Why?
And why does she have access to all of this?!

Oh yeah, cause no matter how many times I put said crayons and markers up, the older ones just get them down again! So it's off to the store to buy some magic erasers.
They really are magic!

Life.

2011-06-07T17:25:00.005-05:00

Last night my sweet little niece Lila Claire was born!

I'll spare you the details, or let Holly make that her blog post, but she did amazing,
and Lila couldn't be sweeter!

So this naturally has me in a mothering, blubbering, hormonal mood.
As I have complained on here about my running woe's, getting to experience this birth, and watching a little video on a friend's blog, I realize how silly I am being. Not to say that I still wish I could run my miles, and it still won't get me down at times,
but I have so much to be grateful for.
And the first thing is my husband.
I will never forget the day the doctors told us he had cancer. No one likes to here that word. It's scary. It makes you think of death. I was a newlywed.
This wasn't how our first year was supposed to be like! Even though he was scared, he had faith.
And looked at the positive in what lay ahead for him.

There wasn't much that kept him down. He still went to school. Spent many hours studying and working hard for that Masters! He worked hard at his church calling. I know that the number one thing that kept his spirits up was his trust and love for our Savior, and our Heavenly Father. He is an inspiration! I think he helped me through that difficult time more than I helped him.

When I saw this on my friends blog... oh the memories. And there I was blubbering like a baby.

Life is precious. Sometimes I think we take it for granted. Well I know I do. Here I have been complaining about not being able to run, when there are those who would just love to walk.
After I watched this I called Ryan to see if he knew her(she grew up close to him). He was friends with her older brother. We were both silent. Then he said to me: I just had my scan Katie, I'm fine.
He can read me so well. It was the first thought that came to me.
What if his cancer came back? What would I do?!
But just like Tessa, I am grateful for that first experience, as scary as it was. It taught me to cherish life, whatever is thrown my way. That no matter the outcome, trials are here to make us grow and teach us.
Life is a blessing. Life is a miracle.
I feel blessed to have so many people touch my life everyday and help me grow.
Isn't' life wonderful?!

Summer has Arrived!

2011-06-06T12:05:00.001-05:00

Summer has officially arrived!
And we took full advantage on Saturday. After Ryan came back from his TRI (which he totally crushed, and I from another unsuccessful run...) we met up with Holly and Garrett and hit the Lake!
As you can tell the kids had NO fun at all:)

A few laughable moments: Kenadie's HUMUNGO diaper. Laughable now, but slightly scary then, Kenadie going under as I take a picture and both Dad's completely oblivious until they heard my screams! Oh good times.

And a Pizza Picnic to wrap things up!

Don't you just love Summer!?

Birthday Boy.

2011-06-01T20:44:00.002-05:00

Today is Ryan's Birthday.

Yeah for birthdays! He is the big 33. He says he feels old. Well he looks much younger if you ask me! He had a fabulous birthday!(I think) Me and Brooke met him for lunch. Then after work he went with a friend to check out their Triathlon course (there race is this sat). He got to bike and try out his new wet suit. Then he came home and we had some cake and ice cream.
Now for a little couple birthday time! Here is to another great year!
Happy Birthday Babe!

Good-Bye Mullet.

2011-06-01T11:12:00.005-05:00

I couldn't handle the mullet any longer. I tried to just grow it out, I did. But, because even the top hair in the back was short as well, pulling the top up wasn't hiding the mullet in the back any more.

So this is the new Brooke:

She even modeled side to side for me:

See?!

How can you resist this face?!

Can't, so don't even try:)

Lil' Cousins.

2011-06-01T10:57:00.003-05:00

These two are so much fun. And they totally love each other. They are known to each other as Kennews, and Bwookie.

They are sassy little toots.
Their latest endeavors include scaring their moms half to death by wondering away from the back yard.(we had literally checked on them 2 min before). After a good 5 minute scare, we found them frolicking in the ditch between the two soccer fields. My daughter sans pants. Yep she's stylin!(we never found those dang pants) They tried this little escapade yet again, but we were smarter this time, and foiled their get away.
As you can see they had the time of their lives having a little bath time together. Kenadie discovered splashing. Brooke thought it was hilarious. And I was soaked.
They truly are little best friends.
Brooke is going to miss her Kennews.

Track and Field Day!

2011-05-29T22:04:00.003-05:00

I am starting out by complaining some. You know to get it out of the way, and get on to the good stuff of the day!
1st. I had strep, making a day of walking around and standing around miserable for anybody right?!
2nd. It was COLD. And probably because the a fore mentioned issue, this made me REALLY cold. At least the rain held out... literally it started raining 5 minutes after it ended!
3rd. Last year it was HOT. Well nicely hot. I was sun burned from the day. So it was more salt in the wound to this cloudy yucky day.
Putting those three things aside, it was such a fun day getting to see Caden have the time of his life!

Ryan was a little late bringing the camera, so we missed the wacky relays. They of course were adorable, and oh so funny to watch!
This was the jump rope station. The other part of it was the shoe kicking competition, and I didn't have the camera for that either. That seemed to be the boys' favorite. Kicking their shoes as far as they could!

The obstacle course! This was hilarious! Caden was no exception to my giggles...

The next station was water games. Nice when it's 55 and blowing, but hey they still had a blast!

This was a nice refuge! In the warm gym for some parachute games.

Back outside to the highlight, running the 1/4 mile. Caden might be a distance runner that kid! He came in 2nd. I was a proud mama.

The 50 yard dash and whiffle ball hitting. You know too many kids on the fields to hit the real deal...

And last but not least the tug of war. This year there were tears. Well there were tears last year, but this year the tears were of a different nature. In fact Caden wanted to go home and not even see the tug of war. Because of time, and the massive amounts of 1st and 2nd graders, they had the teachers and parents do ONE tug of war. WHAT?! No class against class battle?! It truly was devastating. But we made him stay and cheer is teacher on. She is in the yellow jacket!

And the Second grade teachers and parents pulled out a tough win!
Until next year.

Hooray for Visitors.

2011-05-25T11:23:00.003-05:00

We had a break in the rain this Monday, so I was able to get some yard work done! It felt so good to get my hands dirty! And of course the girls were excited to play outside!

We also had a visitor! Grandpa had some business out this way, so he stayed a night with us. He took us out to dinner. It was such a treat! The only downer was that Brandon was a little under the weather.

And this last group of pictures, was from last week. You know my not so good week. The one where I had to do some venting?! P.S. I could still vent some...running is not happening still, but moving on. This is when Kylee thought she could be a beautician.

The pictures don't quite do the job justice, but you get the idea. I can hide it some, but she WILL NOT let me change her part to hide it better. And pony tails are a no go. The hair just sticks straight out! So it's LOTS of headbands for this girl. If she'll keep them on...

My Sanity.

2011-05-20T17:06:00.003-05:00

Do you have something in your life, that if everything else around you may seem like it is falling apart, it's the one thing that keeps you sane?!
For me that is running. I LOVE to run. It calms me. I can clear my head and think. A true stress reliever for me. This is week makes day 17 of not being able to run at the capacity that I would like. For better terms I am having some injuries. UGH.
I was improving, getting faster, ramping up my mileage for a summer of running. Looking forward to running with my mom when I go home. Now all for not. I've spent the last two weeks trying to figure out the source of the pain, coming up empty handed. Or not getting the answers I really want to hear. Rest. Don't run. These are things I can't fathom. I have no problem scaling back some. I'm not completely crazy. I run 3 days a week, not 7. I average 20 miles a week, not 50.
So why oh why am I struggling?!
This week has not helped. Lots going on.I am feeling overwhelmed in several areas of my life, and running is what I do to sort through my thoughts, and help me realize that most things that I worry about are silly.
My twins have been non stop fighting. (Joey I think there was a mix up, Brandon was supposed to be your child not mine..:)...)
Brooke is coming into her 2's phase of life. Don't get me wrong 95% of the time she is still just so sweet, but this week she has taken into hitting me when she's mad. Lovely.
Caden would rather be with friends than me. Boo.
My sister is getting ready to move.
My house was spotless this morning and now it looks like a tornado went through it.
Our yard is a dandelion field, more weeds than grass.
WHERE IS SUMMER?!
But despite all of this, I have an amazing life, amazing children, and a loving husband.
A roof over my head. Amazing neighbors who have great kids for my children to have as friends.
So until I can RUN again, I guess I'll use my blog as a way to sort through all my silliness.
Cause I really am so blessed.

Birthday's all around!

2011-05-16T17:18:00.005-05:00

Is this pic not just do die for?!?
Today is my brother Bret's Birthday. The big 25!
He still is a GOLF fanatic. And as you can tell by the picture he is working hard on passing down the love of the sport to his most adorable little son Benny!
I can't wait to see him...oh and of course Bret too! Less than a month baby!
My brother is the sweetest most laid back guy you'll ever meet. He's an awesome dad, and an amazing husband. So glad that he is MY brother.

Another birthday of someone special to me is today. She shares my brother's birthday, but also they are the same age! So I claim her as my sister. For more reasons than just the birthday share.:) I've known her since she was 16. Seen her date, marry and become a wonderful mother, to another most adorable little boy. Shayla, I love you, hope your day was fantastic!

Friends.

2011-05-15T18:25:00.002-05:00

Brooke loves her friend David. She asks about him all the time. It's really just too cute!

A Double Celebration Day.

2011-05-08T17:28:00.005-05:00

Today is special. Extra special this year.
Not only is it Mother's Day, but it is also this day nine years ago that I married my best friend. Truly the best day of my life! I am so blessed to have married such an amazing person. It is because of Ryan that I can be the mother that I am. He makes my job easier, lightens my load. He is such a great example to me and to our children. I feel so lucky. I love you Ryan!
Aren't we just too cute for words?!?

So in love...

Happy Anniversary Honey!

And I have my wonderful mother to thank for the path that my life took. Without her dedication to being the best mother she could be to me, I wouldn't have been where I needed to be, to have the life that I have. My mother is amazing. I don't think there is a lady out there who works her fingers to the bone like my mother does. Well maybe my grandmother, but she comes in a close second. She works so hard for her family, and for others around her. She's dedicated to the Lord, and I feel blessed that she taught me how to put my trust in Him.
I love you mom!

And of course I wouldn't have my amazing mother, without the most amazing grandmother!

One word can really sum up my grandmother. Service. If you need a lesson in service, this lady is the perfect teacher. I feel so blessed to come from such a strong line of women. Women who dedicated their lives to their families and our Heavenly Father.
I hope we all take the time today to tell those women who have touched our lives how much they mean to us! happy mothers day!

Jofus.

2011-05-06T16:41:00.003-05:00

Or also known as Joey, or Joseph if you want to be totally proper.

It is his birthday today! The big 23! I can't even believe it.
He's fun, goofy,and crazy, as this picture demonstrates:

I am so lucky to have him as my brother! I can remember all the fun times I've had with him, laughing so hard you want to pee your pants. I can remember the times I wanted to strangle him cause he was bugging the heck out of me! I feel blessed though to have a son that is the spitting personality image of Joey. It's like I'm living with Joey all over again!
Happy Birthday Bro! I love you!

Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-05T18:51:00.002-05:00

We of course celebrated Cinco de Mayo in this house. Living in Mexico, I have to carry on some traditions. Now if I would have been more on the ball, the feast would have been the oh so famous tortilla soup. But since most of my little nuggets wouldn't touch that meal ( they seriously don't know what they are missing out on...) and the prep of that meal just made me tired of thinking about it, I opted for something the whole fam would gobble up: Taco's of course!

We had a fun time eating on the place mats my mom made. It made it that much more festive!

The only thing that was missing, was some green salsa and Horchata... oh well, maybe I'll be more prepared next year and make it a party!:)

Trying Something New.

2011-05-04T17:04:00.003-05:00

I have to say that when it comes to medicine, I tend to lean more towards your traditional medicinal care. I LIKE doctors, and modern medicine. They saved my husbands life, and my sisters. I'm not above using antibiotics...they work miracles!
That being said, I do feel when it comes to lesser things like headaches, muscles issues, back pain, I am all for trying alternative routes. I love Chiropractors, and they have done wonders to help my headaches so that I don't rely on drugs so much.
A few months back I tweaked my shoulder while exercising, so I layed off doing anything to strenuous. As time passed, and I slowly would try to add things back in, even the slightest workout would tweak it again! Then yesterday after a very AWESOME run, my knee started to ache a little, and after a few hours, I could tell that my IT band was locking up. (this is a knee that has NEVER given me problems, I was NOT happy...)
The group that I run with quite frequently talk about these two docs they see at Integrated Medicine who practice Chinese medicine. As I was talking to my run coach yesterday, for seriously like the 5th time he told me to go see them. So I thought why not. It works for all these AMAZING runners, why not for me?!? Especially since I was now having a problem that can make running near impossible. And if you know me, you know there is no way this girl can live without exercise! I need those endorphins baby!
So I went today, an while it's only been a few hours, I really think it's working! I feel great! I had acupuncture, and some cold lazer therapy. I was there for an hour and a half, took a few cat naps in between. It felt like I had a massage! He said I should feel even better in the morning, so we shall see, but so far I LIKE!
Ryan is a little skeptical, but if this helps hopefully we can convince him that there is a place for alternative medicine!:)

Bi Polar Minnesota

2011-05-02T11:37:00.004-05:00

I think Minnesota is Bi Polar. At least when it comes to the weather.
THis was a week ago. We were having such a fun filled spring day! The sun was shining, it was in the 60's, my kids couldn't have been happier!
I mean just look at that face:

A face of pure joy!
The girls were so giddy, they thought a sword fight with bubble sticks would be fun:

Brandon couldn't even contain his joy as he enjoyed the warm weather!

Here is where the bi polarness of Minnesota comes into play. WE have had cold, rainy temps ever since. It feels like November instead of May. The sun maybe peaked for a second or two, but that's it. I think we will be lucky if we hit 40 today. Now I know that the weather here is unpredictable. I just don't enjoy the teasing of lovely weather, only to have a week of rainy COLD weather to follow. OR if we were going to just have one nice day a week, could it be Saturday?! Cause that is the day I run outside, and the day as a family we try to do outdoor things. But EVERY Saturday has been COLD/and or RAINY...
So as I look ahead to the forecast my prayers are slightly being answered, and I think that Minnesota is on meds. Cause instead of cold and rainy, it's spring weather(60's) and rainy. Hey I'll take it. Hopefully by June, Minnesota has been on meds long enough to decide to stick to the season it should be!

More Easter. Just a week late!

2011-05-01T08:49:00.004-05:00

A little late posting the rest of Easter. But better late than never right!?

The kids loved their Easter baskets this year, as you can clearly tell:

I kept it low key compared to years past, as I wanted Easter to be more focused on the Savior, so I was worried the older kids would complain, but they were just as thrilled with half the candy and a book instead of toys! I think we as parents put the expectation on our kids, when really they are so easy to please.

We had Easter dinner with some friends, and then did an egg hunt! The kids had a blast! Brooke thought it was so much fun!

A little bit of dog piling fun:
Brandon the little monkey!
After some playing we did a little scavenger hunt for the true meaning of Easter. We would read Scripture and the kids would have to go find something that matched with the clue. They had so much fun. The older kids understood the meaning of the hunt...younger ones not so much. But it was fun anyways!
So here's to next year!