Spring is in the Air

I know that there have still been some cool days and there will be more still, but throw some warm days in between those and it means that spring is coming. I have no problems with winter Really I am just the kind of person that likes to have a change in season. I can tell also that Garrett is really ready to get back to playing outside. Not wanting to bundle a baby up to go out in the snow hasn't left us much time outside this winter. So the other day the temperature was not too bad and Brad had the day off so we decided to have a family day. We went to the little lake in the area and fed the ducks. They are always up for food from the humans!

There is also the big grey goose that tags along with the ducks. Embrie loved the goose and wanted to follow it all over. I think she would've given it a hug if she could, but somehow I think the goose wouldn't have liked it very much. Wish I would've gotten a picture of her holding her arms out and chasing it around though! It is as big as she is.

Garrett is much more careful around the animals. He love them and loves feeding them but he isn't gonna try to touch one no way!

Embrie is a little duck herself. We could've put her down on the ground and she would fit right in battling for the bread. She cried until we gave her some. Her motto in feeding: "one for you two for me"

When the food was gone we took a walk around part of the lake. stopping at the docks. It is a bit cloudy but didn't feel too cold at all.

Once we got some distance between us and the ducks we let Embrie get down and walk more though she just kept trying to get back to them so we had to go for the holding hands method.

She loved the bridge.

On pig tail sticking straight up (nap-time hair style) and slight runny nose (teething) but still cute!

You may not be able to tell from the facial expression but Garrett was so glad to be outside.

The clouds did roll in and it got a bit nippy so we headed out, but like I said more warm days to come!

Funny Kids

Embrie is also now saying "Gargar" for Garrett and taking up to 6 steps at a time. I don't know if I think that is considered walking yet or not, but she is close!

Garrett is loving school as you can see learning all of his alphabet sounds. The game we are constantly playing is picking a letter and trying to find words that start with it. He is getting really good at coming up with the words himself!

Yeah its a brag session, but what parent doesn't do that?

Look who turned 1

EMBRIE Can't believe that it was a year ago! Throwing up in the car, getting the to the hospital at an 8! Having a sweet little girl that I didn't get to see for 3 hrs. or hold for 12 hrs. or feed for 18 hrs. One little girl who sturggled for breath at first, but we should've known then what a little spit fire she would become! Just like her brother! She is quite the fighter and it turns out that you have to be in with an older brother! Each passing day we appreciate her in our family more and more. We are excited to enter this new phase of life with our little Embers. Her vocabulary is beginning to expand beyond "mama" and (her favorite) "dada". She is very close to walking but not quite there. She loves to dance, give kisses and hugs, and get tickled (I will insert a video of that later). She is entering a learning spurt at the moment and is figuring out something new each day!

We started out with a little celebration, which was nothing more than opening a couple gifts from us the day after her actual birthday on the 5th, but with Brad's work schedule that was about all the excitement we could fit in.

Then we had a birthday party with family on the 13th.

getting a little help from her friends (cousins)


Who doesn't love to watch a one year old dive into an entire cake by themselves?



It must be a girl thing, she is a little concerned about getting her hands dirty.

We ended up giving her a spoon and she liked that idea.

Grandma Sheri feeding her a little bit of ice cream to go with that cake.

My favorite picture of the day.

Ending with a bath in the sink. (yes we were in a church building)

It's sweet to be ONE!

Splish! Splash! I was takin' a bath!

It is not often that I let these two bath together and with all the splashing you can see why! I have to be in the right mood to clean up a bunch of water. But they sure do love it!

No holds barred not even for babies!

Love these two!

Need a meal makeover?

For the past several weeks I've been so tired of making dinner. I am not entirely sure if I am sick of
the act of making dinner
the lack of meal ideas
or the fact that it is another mess that I have to clean up after

but either way I can't get out of doing it because we can't go out to eat every night, our budget and our waist lines can't afford it. I was disscussing this with some friends recently and found that everyone seems to feel that way once in awhile. So a friend set up a blog for dinner ideas and invited some friends to share recipes on it. I think it is a great idea so I am deciding to share it. Check it out if you need some ideas and if you would like to contribute let me know! The more the merrier dinners right?

http://nomoreboringdinners.blogspot.com/

Running a 5K: Check! plus a couple other Firsts for me

St. George 5k, fun girls weekend, what's not to love?

So I did it! yay! There maybe some people out there thinking "so you ran a 3 mile race whoo hoo big deal". Ya it was only 3 miles but as I trained for it, it was a first for me to push myself beyond just being tired and stopping whenever I feel like it. And I learned that I can do it and it wasn't quite as hard as I thought. In training I only time I ever timed myself running it was about 34 min. and I really didn't have a lot of expectations for time I just wanted to do it for the fun sake of doing it. But as I was running I kind of got into pushing myself a little harder. I ended up running it in 28:30 cutting 6 mins of my time! I was pretty surprised. I allow, however, that I was pretty excited and nervous when the race started and adreneline might have something to do with it combined with the lower elevation and fresher air. ;) There were 4 great girls who ran the 5k with me, they did awesome as well! 2 awesome chicks who didn't run but hung out and made it a great time. And 5 amazing ladies who ran the 1/2 Marathon! Being at the race was awesome. I had a great time cheering other runners on too! As those of us who'd finished the 5k waited to cheer for our girls running the 1/2 I was inspired by all the different people at different physical levels running in the 1/2. From very young kids to adults in their 70's. They all seemed to love the encouragement they got from the side lines. You could tell they were proud of their accomplishment and they should be! So I've heard racing can be addicting and I believe it. I have been continuing my training for the Riverton 1/2 marathon in March. I look forward to running with some of the same great friends, though I admit I am a bit nervous! I just keep thinking that 13 miles is a lot! But too late to back out now! I also am planning on two other races 5k in April and 10k in Aug.

As for my other "firsts". . . I left my baby girl for the first time over night 2 nights. I was a little nervous because she can be a mama's girl. But she did just fine! I missed both of my kids, but it was a needed break I think. Also the girls got me to try sushi for the first time. Not the raw kind (it would take a lot more convincing for that, probably money and a lot of it!) The first bite was alright, the second bite was ok and after that it just got worse. I guess I can say that I don't like sushi, for one thing the bites are too big and for another it just doesn't taste good. I'm not usually a very picky eater and it is unfortunate, my only consolation for paying for the food I didn't like was that it is healthy. Plus I tried something new.

These are my running buddies, some of whom I got to know for the first time over this weekend. I have to say I love them all!

Emily(5k), Angie(5k), Angela(1/2), Amy(5k), Jena(1/2), me, Jeanette(1/2), Susie(5k), Laurie(1/2)
awesome friend Nickie (1/2) was unfortunately not here for this picture.


Jaime (in blue) was the friend with the awesome connections for the condo we stayed in. It was a great place and she had us all cracking up with her super mad-gab and scrabble skills! Ya we live on the wild side! *hehe

Sheena(in red) supported us all on through the races we are working on convincing her and Jaime to run with us next time!

What is a weekend out with the girls with a lot of exercise if you don't then spend the rest of the time surrounding yourself with food?

(angela, jena, nickie, me, amy, sheena, jeanette, jaime, emily, laurie, angie, susie)

(plus a couple of cute babies!)

We stayed up too late and spent a good time not acting our age. And of course, it was PERFECT!

Grandma Kemp

My wonderful, sweet Grandma, Barbara Kemp passed away 2 weeks ago. It wouldn't be right to go on without saying how much she will be missed. As my step-grandma, from the begginning of our relationship she welcomed my brothers and I as if we'd always been part of the family. She was truly a great woman to follow as an example. She was a loving and giving person. I am so grateful that I've been able to have her in my life and hope that I can live my life the way that I should to be able to meet with her again someday. As the best kind of person there is out there, there is not doubt in my mind that she is with our Heavenly Father again.