Another concert...who would have thought :)

This concert was in downtown Provo...they always seem to be down there. The main thing is...it was FREE!!!!

I love a free concert, especially when I love the bands that are playing! They did free giveaways and a water chugging contest. The weather was perfect and we went with some really fun friends!

First we went to dinner at a place called "Sensuous Sandwich" um...it was amazing! 

They have a 24 inch sandwich there, and if you eat it in under 30 minutes they give it to you for free, you get a t-shirt, and your picture on the wall. Looks like a lot of people have eaten it :)

 

 The girls...

 The moms...

 The Dads...

 When we got to the concert, there was the "People water" bus. We needed a picture of that for sure.

 Another surprise...while waiting for the concert to start (by the way, they started an hour late grrrrr...) we saw Randy and Brett from "Kid History". If you don't know who they are you should youtube them...they are so funny!

 These are the guys from the band "Van Lady Love". We have seen them perform a few times and they never disappoint.

 I got chosen to go up on stage for a contest...to chug "People water". You could win a $50 gift card to Sammy's and a watch. I have never "chugged" anything, so of course I lost, to a 12 year old girl no less. And sadly I have no pictures of the actual event...maybe some will surface later :)

And there was this weird guy...that I just needed my picture with...love crazy people :)

Look at all the beads on his jacket, and no he wasn't drunk...but he was a little tipsy from the Redbull.

On to the main event "We Shot The Moon"...the real reason we went!

(random pictures of the guys)

 

 It was a fun night...I might be addicted to concerts, but when they are free...you really can't complain! So who wants to go to the next one with us????

p.s. Just so you know...Shawn is always with us, he just hates having his picture taken, so he is the official camera man :) Love him tons for going with us crazy girls!

Cub Scouts

Rain Gutter Regatta

Austin was able to participate in the Cub Scouts Rain Gutter Regatta. It is sort of like a Pinewood Derby...but with boats. He worked really hard to make his boat look good.

You put your boat on plastic rain gutters and race them.

They had to "be the wind" for their boats.

And of course they all got ribbons for a job well done.

And just so you know, the fathers all raced their sons boats after wards. It was even tougher competition! Those dads can get intense :)

101 things...

As my kids are rapidly growing I worry about a million  things: are we making enough good memories, am I teaching them everything they need to know to make it on their own, will they be productive happy adults, and the list goes on and on. I heard about this book, 101 Things you should do before your kids leave home. Some of the things we already do or have already done, and some of the ideas were ridiculous and we will NEVER do them. After reading it, it made me want to re-evaluate the time we still have with our children, all toghether. In reality we will have 5 more summers before Paige graduates and goes off to collage. So as a family we made a list of "The things WE want to do before the kids leave home".
This first list of ideas came from this book, it gives you the ideas and the reason why it is such a great thing to do. I won't give you the reasons, you will have to read those for yourself. Hope you enjoy!

(oddly enough I was surprised at some of the things we HAVEN'T done...who knew)

1.Go on a hot air balloon ride.

2. Spend the night in the zoo.

3. Stand together on the edge of the Grand Canyon.

4. Run through the sprinklers- fully dressed.

5. Get elbow to elbow over a 1000 piece puzzle.

6. Conquer a mountain.

7. Dance together in the ocean waves.

8. Pick up trash in a park.

9. Serve in a soup kitchen.

10. Throw a dart at a map, and go there.

11. Dig for Dinosaur bones.

12. Read a classic novel aloud.

13. Go to the Planetarium.

14. Swim with a Dolphin.

15. Have a paper-airplane flying contest.

16. Make footprint and hand prints into garden stepping stones.

17. Create and bury a time capsule.

Then we decided to add a few of our own :)

18. Participate in a 5k mud run as a family.

19. Go to Swiss days.

20. Visit my brother and his family in Pennsylvania.

21. Go to a Mountain man Rondevu.

22. Go to the Redwood forest and drive our car through a tree.

23. Go on a Mormon History tour.

24. Go to Turks and Caicos.

We have 5 years people...can we get this all done? I am not sure, but we have a list, a plan, and are saving our pennies! If any of you want to join us on these great adventures feel free to, we always love good company. And if you have any advice on how to accomplish all these things, or where the best place to do some of them...feel free to share:)

10 things never to say to a stay at home mom

I found this the other day and it just made me laugh...it hit a little too close to home. I am sure some of you will be able to relate:

10 Things NEVER to say to a STAY-AT-HOME MOM

1. When the kids are older, do you think you'll get a real job?

2. How June Cleaver of you!

3. Oh, so you don't work?

4. Since you have extra time on your hands, could you whip up a few dozen brownies for the bake sale tomorrow?

5. All day with your kids? I can't even imagine.

6. I'm jealous. I wish my husband were rich so I wouldn't have to work either.

7. What do you do all day, anyway?

8. I'm sure you're not the only one who's ever wasted money on a college degree.

9. That explains why your son is so clingy!

10. Weird. I assumed your house would be superclean.

 

Thus ends Chapter #2 of summer adventures...

This adventure took place in Logan, the night before I ran in my race. 

We went bowling, had pizza, and played with the new baby puppies...oh so cute!

(if you would like one, just let me know I can hook you up :)

Our shoes all matched...pretty rare.

Dad helping Kam bowl.

Austin was soooo good, he got 2 strikes in a row!!

Shawntell had some unique bowling style :)

Paige bowls kind of like I do. I think her score was 38.

And if you have to bowl...at least match your ball to your outfit, haha.

And you should always eat pizza while bowling, I'm pretty sure it is a law somewhere.

Summer is over...for us anyways. No more adventures til next year. Maybe :)

The things they never tell you...

So today I am going to reveal all the great and horrible things about running a 1/2 marathon...some of these things might have been good to know before I started training :) Enjoy!

1- You quickly learn NOT to spit into the wind while running (or ever for that fact).
2- Sweat is an acquired taste (but you get use to it).
3- Sun block hurts when it gets in your eyes.
4-You will gain a love/hate relationship with the wind.
5- You learn to enjoy the sunrise, because that is the best time of day to run.
6-Your family will be your biggest support.
7-Talk to any friends that might be runners, pick their brains for advice and words of wisdom.
8-You need a good running program to follow...and follow it.
9- You need a chart to write your times and distances on. When you see the days get closer to your race you can also see how much stronger you are.
10-You will sweat so much...you might actually get stuck in your clothes...it's a strange feeling.
11-Your stop watch will become invaluable to you as you run, you might even become obsessed with it.
12-You might be a solo runner...I like challenging my self and not feel like I need to keep pace with someone else.
13- A good play list is a MUST!.
14-You gain a heightened sense of where cars are, when to slow down and let them pass you, and when cars start to follow you.
15-And if creepers do start following you...be prepared to practice some self defense moves...and then change your running route.
16-If you lose one ear bud...you might freak out...cuz you need them both to run.
17- In time, 4 miles feels so relaxing.
18-Body glide will be your best friend...honestly.
19- You need good "official" running clothes. I use to run in a t-shirt and sweats. But when you look the part you feel the part. That includes a good sports bra, good shoes, and socks.
20- Runners tans (not quite a farmer tan, but almost) are totally cool.
21-Your toes will look horrible...I have even heard of people that lose a few toenails, I didn't, but mine are not so pretty anymore...so sad.
22-The scale may not move. I thought for sure I would lose weight from running so much, but I didn't lose one ounce. I am more toned though. Those parts that were sort of jiggly aren't so jiggly any more :)
23-Ten minutes before your alarm is scheduled to go off...your toes will start to twitch, they are ready for a good run.
24- Lastly...after you have run 13.1 miles..go get a "sports" massage...they are amazing!!!!!

Hope I didn't give away too many secrets, haha. If anyone wants to start training for one, let me know...I'd love to run another race with friends again :)

This is my "really, you want to take my picture NOW" look :)

Top of Utah 1/2 marathon!!!! Oh yes :)

This story has had a long road...literally. So for complete details...read my journal, after I am dead, thanks :)

We went up to Logan the night before to pick up our packets. Two of my friends end up not being able to run, so I got theirs for them.

We arrived at the park at 5:00 a.m. to catch the bus up the canyon to the start of the race. But my body decided to be awake at 4:00 a.m! My nerves were really getting to me, I was pretty sick...and freaking out a little (a story to ask Shawn about another day, haha).

This is my cousin and his sister-in-law, they ran the race with me.

This is my Stake Pres. from our old neighborhood.

And this is the Bishop from out old neighborhood.

They were both amazing support, along with my cousin, and my sister Shelley. They all have ran a half marathon before. My cousin does triathalons,and a half Ironman! The guys from my old ward have ran FULL marathons. All of them are full of amazing advice, knowledge, training tips, and tricks on how to do well and enjoy the race. Could not have done it without them all!!

I have no pics. of me crossing the finish line...because that is when the camera decide it needed new batteries, blah!

This is my amazing cheering squad...they made posters for me and screamed really loud! It made all the difference in the world to have them at mile 10...because that is when you think you might die!!

SIDE NOTE: Yes I am doing a runners stretching lung and sorta look like I might puke...I was fine :)

More after race stretching...and yet I still look like I might puke...but I didn't :)

 I had to prove to my kids that I could stick a 1/4 of an orange in my mouth...yes I have a big mouth.

And now the recovery food of all champions...chocolate milk.

p.s. I love my DI visor...it says "So not a princess" and it has tinker bell on it. Totally worth the $0.50 I paid for it.

I know you all wanted to see the amazing shoes and socks that got me through 13.1 miles with no blisters...they are Brooks shoes and some random running socks I found at Target.

And a few pictures of the cool medal I got for running.

This is my knee all wrapped up...stinking IT band always hurts AFTER I stop running. While I run it is just fine. But give me 10 minutes of no running and it starts to KILL! I had an amazing "sports" massage later that night. It really helped.

Review: It was a life changing experience! I loved it, I hated it, it almost made me bi-polar :) So the big question is....will I run another one? Maybe :)