Tulip Festival

I went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point with my friend Jolynne.  I decided to take Lexi and leave Abby behind to keep Cameron company.  It was so pretty, but it seemed that there were still quite a few tulips that hadn't bloomed yet.

 Jolynne and Tayslee

Lexi and I

It was so funny we sat the girls on the blanket and they were both unsure then Lexi started to cry

Then Tayslee started to cry

Picnic at the Park

(going down the slide, her all time favorite thing)

 (climbing, which always makes me nervous)

(Lexi in her car seat, her home away from home) 

Like most two year olds, Abby loves the park.  And with the weather being to perfect lately, we have taken her almost daily.  Yesterday, I decided to pack a picnic lunch, and go in search of a new park that she's never been to.  It was fun and she is so cute to watch discover new adventures.

Salt Lake Half Marathon

I decided to run the Salt Lake Half Marathon again this year.  I should have known it was going to be rough going, but I thought I could tough it out.  Each time I sign up for a race, I try to wait till the last minute because I'm always nervous that something will come up preventing me from being able to run.  So I waited, and about a month ago, everything seemed good, so I went ahead and signed up.  Well sure enough, about a week after I did, my hip started to bother me.  This is a recurring injury, so I knew I had two options: 1-run through the pain (which didn't work out very well last time I had this problem) or 2- rest and try to let it heal at the first sign of the pain.  I opted for #2 and rested, and rested, and rested.  I rested for about 2 1/2 weeks total and had very little improvement.  So, as the race neared, I decided to just take a few ibuprofen and go for it.

On the race morning, I felt good, the ibuprofen was working, and so I even had hopes for a PR.  Well about 6 miles into the race, my stomach started to get a little upset, by mile 7, I was desperate for a restroom.  And the rest of the race, I had to stop and almost EVERY water station for a bathroom break.  I honestly can't remember ever feeling so ill.  The most frustrating part was, I had tons of energy!  When I was running, I was cruising at optimum speed, but my tummy had other plans for me that day.  Grrrr!!!  So needless to say, no PR.  But I did finally resign to the fact, that this just wasn't my day, and there would be other races, and other opportunities to PR.  I still have no idea what caused the problem, maybe the pain med, or maybe my sorry attempt to "carbo load" the day before. 

(Finishing the race, I didn't see them, but they saw me)

(I look about as good as I felt, I was sick, and it HURT just to walk)

 

On a plus side, Cam and the girls were able to see me finish.  It helped me keep going knowing that they were waiting (and waiting and waiting) for me to cross that finish line.

Kangaroo Zoo and the Petting Zoo

I got in touch with Rayma, an old friend that I used to work with, and it turns out she lives in Eagle Mountain AND has a little boy that is about 6 months younger than Abby.  We got together and went to Kangaroo Zoo in Pleasant Grove.  Abby had a blast jumpin' around and I enjoyed the opportunity to visit with Rayma.

I took some pictures but right now every picture I take is blurry because Abby got a hold of the camera and touched the lens.  I haven't been able to get it clean enough to take a decent picture yet.

The next day, I met up with Are and Piper at Thanksgiving Point to take the girls to the petting zoo.  I've taken Abby a couple of time before, and she likes to look at the animals, but only from a distance.  Are was excited to take Piper on the pony ride, but I kept saying "there's NO WAY Abby will go on it".  Once we arrived and were looking at the animals, sure enough, Abby got scared if the animals got too close the fence, she wouldn't feed them and was pretty content to just stand back and look.  When we finished looking at the animals, we got in line for the pony ride, and I felt even more confident that Abby would not ride the pony.  As it got closer to our turn, Abby said she was going to ride the pony, but I figured she'd get scared when we tried to put her on it.  I had Lexi in the stroller, so I had to hang back, and Are took the girls to get on the pony's.  And guess what, Abby got on the pony, and was happy and excited! Never, would I have thought she would do it.  Those of you that know my timid little two year old, might understand my amazement.  I was SO, SO proud of her.  I know it seems silly, but I think that was one of the most proud moments I've had as her mother so far.  I still, just thinking about it get full of pride for her.  Abby is VERY shy, and can be VERY timid, and this was completely out of character.  I can only imagine what it took in her mind to convince herself to get up there and do it.  It's funny how the small, random things seem to remind us parents of the joy and love we have for our children.  GO ABBY!!!

 

A Special Day Just for Abby

I know that my having two kids pales in comparison to some, well probably most, other people's challenges and responsibilities.  I think one thing that might set me apart, is, honestly, I'm not a "kid person".  After Abby was born I was terrified and overwhelmed.  It took me a while to really bond with her, basically because I was scared of her.  I always worried about the damage a novice mom could do to her little infant.  Over time, I became less scared, and more confident, but I also became less and less patient.  So when it was time for a second little baby to join our family, I knew I could be a mother, but I was so concerned about whether I would have the patience.  Well...I have found that right now, patience isn't what I am lacking, it's time.

There just isn't enough time to get everything done.  It's seems that most days, by the time I get all the chores and errands run, it's already 4 or 5 pm.  That means it's about time to start dinner, then it's time to get the kids in bed, then, if I'm lucky I will get about an hour of relaxing before I crash into bed.  What happened to free time?

I think what bothers me the most is KNOWING how bored Abby can get.  I wish I could do fun activities with her all the time, but it just isn't possible right now.  I've tried to get her excited about helping fold laundry, or vacuuming and it worked for a while, but it seems to be getting less and less fun for her everyday :)  So after a week or two of her following me around as I cleaned, or dragging her to run errand after errand, I decided to have a fun day just for Abby.  We started by going to a local bookstore that opened up  in my little town a while ago.  We've never been, but I really like to support the local businesses, so we browsed around a bit.  Next, a viewing of "Princess and the Frog" at the Provo dollar theater.  I've never taken Abby to see a movie, so I thought if it was a complete failure, at least I'd only be out $1.50.  We arrived in Provo a few minutes early, so we took a trip over the Provo temple to do a drive by.  Abby loves to see the temples, but is always disappointed when all we can do is drive by them and look at the outside. 

Once we got to the movie, I got her a small popcorn and drink, and she was so excited!  When the previews started she got upset, she thought we weren't going to see "Princess and the Frog".  But eventually the movie started, and she sat and watched the movie and ate her popcorn.  I can't believe she sat through the whole thing!  And Lexi did great too, she just slept most of the time!  Since we were down close to Orem, I thought we would try to stop and see Cameron at work before we headed home.  However, almost as soon as we arrived, they got a call and had to leave.  So, we loaded back into the car and headed home.  To top off the "day of Abby", I let her stay up late, and then we had a sleep over in my room.

I hope the day was special for her, she seemed to enjoy it.  I LOVED the whole day.  It really was special to me and helped to build a little better relationship with Abby. 

Easter

This year, Cameron had to work on Easter, so we kind of celebrated the day before.  We dyed eggs and gave Abby her basket. 

 Abby  managed to spill one cup of dye all over the kitchen :)

Then on Sunday I took the girls over the Are and Wills were we had a family dinner and watched conference.

Announcing Ellie Ann

(A collage Scott put together)

My brother Scott and wife Sonya just welcomed their new little baby girl to the family.  Her name is Ellie  Ann, born March 31st. 9 lbs 4 oz and 21 inches long.