In Love

I'm pretty much in love with this little boy. He makes me smile every day. He calls me "Tolette" which is a little too close to the word "toilet" for my liking but he is just so dang cute when he says it that I forgive him instantaneously. Luckily he is my nephew so I feel safe in my slight obsession but his mom still might be creeped out if she knew how many photos I have of him. Who could resist though? Honestly. 

On the Plane

After making a few seat changes on the plane to Salt Lake, I found myself sitting next to Sadie, my four year old niece.

She was one of my favorite flying companions EVER!! She did great!

We colored a Hello Kitty poster together. She played with my phone and iPad. She even learned to use the camera on my phone. I especially like her selfies. Here are the the highlights from the flight.

Border Run

I woke up early on the morning of July 4th to run for the border. After years of living on the Mexican International border, it was ironic that this border run was to Idaho. I signed up to run the 10K while my cute nieces signed up for the mile run and the 5K with their parents. At the last minute we had to make a couple change of plans and we decided that Hannah would start the 5K by herself and John would catch up to her in a few minutes. When the gun when off at the start of the race, Hannah looked up at me with tear filled eyes and said, "I don't want to run by myself." I realized that Hannah's feelings were far more important than my race so I ran the 5K with her.

Hannah was my first running partner ever. I usually choose to run on my own. She was a great companion. She felt bad that I was missing my race but I told her it was my decision and I didn't feel bad at all. John caught up to us and Hannah kept us at a pace that I was pushing to keep up with. She's a fast little girl!

She beat me across the finish line by a few seconds. I tried keep the race officials from scanning my race number but they did anyway. The problem is the fact that I signed up for the 10K and ran the 5K. According to the computer I ran the 10k in 31 minutes. That is like Olympic trial speed. I was the overall winner of the 10K. When I explained my dilemma, one guy was mad, while the other guy looked me on the eye and said, "You did the right thing."

That day I learned that it's not about how fast you run the race, it is all about how you run it.

The Invasion

I have to admit I have lots of catching up to do on my blog. Something about Aaron's unemployment gave me major writer's block. Please bear with me as I write posts I should have written weeks ago.

My entire family invaded Salt Lake City recently. We all boarded the new Frontrunner commuter train into the city.

There were 9 adults and 11 children in all. The kids all sat with huge grins on their faces as we waited to start rolling down the track.
My nephew Wyatt wasn't as impressed with the train ride.
After arriving in the city, we jumped on TRAXX. The kids were just as happy on the light rail. We got off at the Gateway, an outdoor mall. We all headed to the food court in order to beat the crowds. (What am I saying we were a crowd just ourselves.) The nice thing about the food court is everybody was able to eat whatever they wanted without the wait. Our next stop was the outdoor fountains. The kids had fun dodging the sporadic shoots of water.
Ethan said, "It's going to catch up them one of these times." His first time out in the fountain ended up with this result.My girls thought rolling up their pants would help. I personally like the style. Vanessa wanted me to see the bandaid on her finger. (I don't know what it is about four year olds but I'm seriously considering buying stock in bandaid companies.)

Soon, the music started and there was a watershow in commemoration of the 2002 Olympics hosted by Salt Lake. As you can see, my niece Addi was jammin' to the music.Our next stop was the Clark Planetarium also in the Gateway. They have several free exhibits we visited. The kids seemed to have a blast! Even I found it very interesting (Have I ever mentioned I wanted to be an Astronaut when I was in the fourth grade? I find outer space fascinating.)

Here is a picture of all the kids on the Mars landscape. (Am I the only mother who has wondered if my kids from another planet?)They also traveled to the moon (yes, all for free).As we were leaving, AJ did a quick little weather report. Notice the monitor in the top left hand corner. I hope he predicted a quick end to winter and warmer weather soon.We finished off the afternoon in an ice cream parlor. We completely took over that place. There was only one worker and I had to feel sorry for the poor girl. Do you know how long it takes to dish up 21 ice cream sundaes? I also feel sorry for my mom who footed the bill. I'm sure she had to take out a small bank loan to cover the costs.

After that, we headed home. The whole trip cost us $16 for the train pass and the cost of lunch. Of course that doesn't include the ice cream. (Thanks again mom!) It was a really fun day! Next time we go we are headed to Temple Square and the Church History Museum. I wonder if Salt Lake is up for another invasion.

Holly Beth

I spent Tuesday afternoon with my sister and her new baby. Holly is a beautiful baby. It was the first time I have held a newborn I am related to that did not come from my body. Newborns are so fun to hold and care for. The nice thing is, I'm not the one that stays up all night to feed her.

Milo, her older brother was pretty excited and wanted to keep tickling her. Holly is a very patient baby. I think babies with older siblings have to be forgiving.