I DID IT!!!

I finished my first half-marathon! I say "my first" because I hope to do one again someday, and possibly even a full marathon...someday.

I have to thank my sister-in-law Tawnya for talking me into it. I really enjoyed the challenge of training for it. I've been a steady gym-goer for the past 7 years or so, but I haven't ever taken anything like this on before. Having had 3 kids in the last 4 years, life is definitely busy. Forcing myself to get up off the couch and go for a 5, 6 or 11 mile run after a 12 hour day wrangling 3 girls wasn't always easy, but I'm glad to say that I pulled it off! That being said, I have to thank Tim for being so supportive in my training as well, hanging out with the girls when needed, and being there to cheer me on at the finish-line.


Here's the stats:
Miles - 13.1
Finish time - 1:50:30
Pieces of great harvest bread provided after the race - 3
Placing for women 25-29 - 4th (out of 57)
Placing for women overall -20th (out of 197)
Placing overall - I dunno, I think it was 50-something
Blisters - 2 (from the stupid time-chip thing)
Bathroom stops - 1 (ugh! I hated having to stop for that!)
Breakfast on race morning - Chocolate milk
Dinner the night before - 3 bowls of farina hot cereal - think cream of wheat. CARBS!!!
Hills - 2
Jell-o legs after hills - 2
Weather - Perfect!

The fair!!

Here are some random pictures from our trip to the fair a few weeks ago. We had a great time!

The night before we went to the fair, they were fighting over their magnet toys. I told them only happy girls will get to come to the fair in the morning. This is what I got - Happy faces!!
(Please excuse both of their ratty heads! Their hair was probaby brushed that day...probably.)


The girls and I in front of the beautiful, PVC pipe fountain.


Then, we went to see the animals. The girls thought that was fun for a while...but they couldn't resist the rides!


Katelyn was way focused on this ride, I think she thought she was really driving it! They only got to go on one ride, since tickets are a RIP OFF at $1 a piece, and 3-4 tickets per ride. But, they had fun! Katelyn almost had a meltdown, since she saw so many other rides she wanted to go on, but a grilled sandwich, fries, and ice cream fixed that problem in a snap! (I know, medicating with food is bad...whatever...the distraction worked that day!)


Audrey was so excited to see the "baby chicks" hatching. They had a bunch of quail eggs in a little incubator. It was fun to watch the eggs wiggle and shake around, and then eventially you'd see a little quail breaking through. Katelyn just marched around singing "Happy Birthday," which was fitting.


And, finally, this is how Sydney spent her day. She's my cuddle-bug!

The Upside of Downsizing

Last week, Tim and I moved into and older rental that he had bought before we were married. Since we've ventured off into self employment after layoffs at Micron, the super-low payment is the best option for us! The house is less than 1/3 of the size of our previous house, and we've had lots of "hiccups" along the way (smoke and pet smells, mouse poop, dead lawn, dryer not working...and the list goes on), but we know it's a good choice for us. I actually feel really good about being here, now that we're settled in. Here are some of the things we've enjoyed, since moving:

1. Older, established neighborhood makes for a large variety of big, cool leaves for crayon-rubbings. Our back yard has 4-5 different kinds, itself! There are also LOTS of pine-cones, which the girls think is SO cool.

2. Katelyn is now potty trained, just since we moved! She's seemed to like the toilets at the "little" house. It also helps that it's easier to monitor her more closely.

3. The mouse poop cleaned up easily, and I can hardly smell the smoke and pet smells left behind, since we were able to get new paint and flooring. :)

4. We have a nice back yard, or at least it will be nice when the grass (and probably weeds) comes in completely. There's lots of shade, and a sunny spot that I'm excited to put a BIG garden in next summer! I can't wait!! Who wants to teach me how to do canning?!

5. We should make some pretty good money selling things on craigslist. There's a good chunk of furniture and other stuff that just won't fit!

6. We found out the breaker for the dryer was the reason for our dryer not working. $8 fix - EASY!

7. There is a great park with a duck pond and volleyball net just a 10 minute walk away.

8. I really don't need to use a baby monitor - Sydney's room is across the hall!

9. If the girls need help with something while I'm busy, it doesn't feel like as much of an interruption when I only have to walk 10 steps instead of 50 to get them what they need!

10. It's neat to see that the kids actually really like our "little" house. It's fun for us to feel closer as a family. Audrey woke up the morning after the move and said "I love living at the little house, mom!" That makes it all worth it!

Sorry, there's no pictures! We can't find the little thing that you plug the camera cartridge into yet. It must still be in a box in the garage!

What should I do if my 2 year old...

...Thinks that a cheerio is WAY to heavy for her to pick up from the floor at church, and says "It too hu-vee, I cat doowat!"

...Is best friends with my feet, she hugs, kisses, and talks to them. If I kick a toy or blanket in her direction, she says "tank-u feet!"

...She sneaks out of her bedroom at 11pm to draw red circles on any and all pieces of paper unfortunate enough to be left out on the office desk.

...Claims that the reason she can't get back to sleep (after an episode such as the circles) is because she can't close her eyes. In her best whiny voice, she said: "I cat go seep. I cat close eyes, see? *blink* *blink* "

...While walking across the parking lot in 100 degree heat, crosses her arms, shivers (really, she's better than most actresses) and claims that "I need muh bank-kee, I cold!" (Side-note, you have to understand that this girl is way too attached to her blankie, and this is just a ploy to be able to get it out of the car - however, I was not fooled)

...Reasons that we can't wash her blankie because her baby doll (of course, not HER) needs it to take a nap.

Thankfully, she gives the best hugs and kisses, and she makes me laugh every day. What more could I want??

Back to Blogging with Bento Boxes

No...we don't like sushi. But, YES, we love these Bento Boxes!


Last week, while visiting my parents in Idaho Falls, my sister was also visiting from Moscow (ID), and gave my older girls these cute little bento boxes.

I couldn't wait to try them out, so this is what we made.

Today's lunch consisted of fun - shaped PB and honey sandwiches, cheese, strawberries and peaches. Did you notice the cute giraffe and dog shaped finger forks?

My sister, Emily, also got us little fun things to stick into the food to make it more fun. It's hard to see in the picture, but there's a little bear sitting on one of the sandwiches, and a handle for a sword on a spear of cheese.

In this one there's a strawberry with a cute flower stem in it, and a heart shaped peach ring. They really liked them!

It was a little more work than your average lunch, but I actually thought it was a lot of fun to put together, and I'm already starting to think of more cute lunch ideas. (Tortilla "sushi" and Hot dog "squid") She also gave me lots of other food decorations (like the ring and stem) that I'm excited to try out.

Here are the girls enjoying their surprise lunch!

Last quilt...for now

Just a quick update...look at what my scraps made!

Since NBA playoffs are frequenting our TV just about every night (um...go Lakers?), I have had LOTS of time for sewing in the evenings! Okay, maybe not just in the evenings, but any time I get a chance. Here are a few of the creations that I've come up with lately:

Quilt #1 - Completed! (Audrey's)

A little baby quilt for Sydney:

And a cute little taggy toy. This seriously took like 10 minutes, and I really like it! I used leftover quilt squares. and put those cellophane wrappers from microwave popcorn inside so it's crinkly when you touch it. However, I guess it's time to eat some popcorn now, because all of the packets we have are opened now!

Baby food jar pin cushion - I found this idea on the Internet, if I knew how to post a link, I would! I also used a leftover quilt square for this one. I have lots of them!

Here's quilt top #2 - Katelyn's. This one is actually upstairs tied and ready to bind now. I also have a green quilt top done for Sydney. It's in line to be tied and bound next, even though it will probably be a couple of years before she uses hers. I just want to get it done while I'm in sewing mode.

And even if sewing is happening a lot over here, it's not the only thing happening! We were lucky enough to have some cousin time the other day. My smart little 4 year old nephew, Jackson had something funny to say:

Tim had him in a headlock, and said: "Who's the master of the universe??" (A common thing for him to do...expecting to hear "Uncle Tim!" or "Daddy!" if he's doing it to our girls.)

Jackson: (struggling to free himself)

Tim: Who's the master of the universe?!?

Jackson: Jesus is!

Tim:No, you're supposed to say "Uncle Tim is."

Jackson: Well, Jesus is the boss of you...and actually he is the boss of me, too.

Tim: So what does that make me?

Jackson: You are the boss of your family.

Tim: and you?

Jackson: I'm the brother of my family!

Good job teaching him right, Candice, so he can put Tim in his place! :)

Happy Birthday Audrey!

3 days old...

1 year old...

2 years old...

3 years old...

And, 4 years old!!!!!!

In just 4 short years....Happy birthday to our little girl!

Audrey already had a great birthday celebration with her cousins. When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she replied: Pink cake.....with pink frosting......and pink sprinkles....oh, and pink ice cream!" Hey, I can do THAT! She was a happy girl with all of her pink (including a pink watch), and had a great time! So, even though cars, trucks, airplanes and rockets are her favorite things, she is still all girl. :)

On her ACTUAL birthday, we just hung out as a family. We went to the part, and Audrey and Katelyn got to ride on the paddle boats. They loved that their boat was shaped like a pelican!

After that we just played at the park for a while, then went to Primo's pizza buffet for dinner, where Audrey got to have her favorite dinner - Cheese pizza, Orange Soda, and Jelly pizza. What a lucky girl!

We are so lucky to have such a fun little girl, and we can't believe it's already been four years!

One Down....

Two to go....I'm trying to make some quilts for each of the girls, and so far I've gotten one of the quilt tops done! I'm so excited to see what they look like when they are finished.

Nerd-Fest

Actually, it's really called a "Hamfest" but basically, it is the same thing. For as long as I can remember I tagged along with my dad to his Ham Radio meetings. I remember feeling pretty important sitting there with all of those adults, even if I was just drawing pictures of trees with apples on them, or coloring in my favorite coloring book... Finally, when I was 13 my dad helped me study and pass the test to get my technician license (and even a cool call sign - KC7RUO) in Ham radio. I have lots of good memories of going to different events with my dad growing up. We went to "Field Day," a competition where we'd hook up a big radio and antenna and practice making contacts all over the world. And of course, there were the hamfests. Every year certain groups of "hams" get together to have classes, flea markets, raffle prizes, and sometimes commercial exhibitors come, too. Soooo....THAT is what I was doing last weekend!

One of the unspoken objectives for a hamfest is to look as nerdy as you can...I really wish I would have taken some pictures of the guys there! But, instead, here's a nerdy picture of me:
Note the two essentials: A corny hat with your call sign on it, and a radio strapped to your hip. (Cute baby sleeping in a beautiful sling is optional :) )

My mom also made tons of beautiful cards, and card sets to sell as part of the flea market.


I made some cute drawstring bags to include in her booth:
And, the girls favorite parts of the day were going swimming, and riding with Grandpa on his chair.
Audrey also liked playing in the game room, but she thought the arcade gun was a telescope:

It was a fun time, and it was great to see some family. My sister from Moscow even came to join in on the fun. (She and her husband are also "hams" :) ) It was great to see everyone! Emily, I miss you and your cute kids!!

Well, the time has come! I'm ready to start my blog, even though I still don't know how to do any of the cool stuff....will someone come teach me??

Today I finished a project that has been on my mind for a while. Back in November (yes, 5 months ago) I bought some cheap fabric to make Christmas stockings with. I had grand ideas that I'd have those stockings done in time for Christmas, but as it turned out, I didn't even cut the fabric until a couple of weeks ago! So, FINALLY I was able to finish them today! I was so excited with how they turned out. They are fully lined, and everything! Thank you to Mom for the fun trimmings!




Also, we are loving the nicer weather, and even though it was kind of windy today, I couldn't keep the girls inside, so we went to the park. Here are some pictures.

Audrey and Katelyn, happy to be outside! They kept saying: "I want curly slide! I want curly slide!" Our whole walk to the park.


And there's Sydney - she slept through the whole thing!