Top Of Utah .5

Yesterday was the day. The day I'd been preparing for all summer. Turns out I wasn't the only one, some other 1200 runners started the race. Some were well seasoned runners, others were amateurs. We all had one goal though, to FINISH. And I did it!

And as soon as I crossed the finish line I just kept thinking "If only. . . the race had been one week earlier. Before I got sick, before my knee started hurting . . . I could have finished under 2 hours, closer to Chod."

And so, my running career isn't over. Maybe just on hold.

Hudson woke up at 5:30 so he could tell me good luck.
Looking for Hudson.

Mom reaching out to give me five as I cross the finish line.

Cold Feet

So here I am, less than 24 hours away from running my half marathon and I've got a serious case of cold feet. The past week I've been suffering from a nasty head cold. It is finally subsiding, but has gotten me quite nervous. I used to have aspirations of finishing in a specific amount of time, but now I just want to finish.

Wish me luck!

Need An Idea

This time of year I run into a brick wall, total mind block on how to use up all of my zucchini. I mean you can only stomach so many zucchini muffins, zucchini breads, zucchini stir frys and the likes. If you find yourself in the same predicament, here's a tasty recipe.

Savory Zucchini Squares
1 c bisquick
1/8 t pepper
1/2 c finely diced onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 t dried parsley
4 eggs; well beaten
1/2 t salt
/2 t dried oregano
combine all ingredients
add 3 c thinly sliced zucchini

Spread into a gread 9x13 pan. Bake for 30 mins and 350 or until golden brown.
Cut into squares and serve warm.
Next time I'm going to add cubed ham and make it a complete meal.

In A Pickle

So what do you get when your neighbor gives you two grocery bags full of cucumbers?

That's right, a whole lot of pickles. 10 quarts and 14 pints to be exact. The kids were pretty cooperative. Hudson was great about packing the cucumbers into the jars. His little hands were perfect for pushing them down into the jars. He kept the assembly line going by reminding me to get some more cucumbers cut.

But by our last batch he said "Quit canning Mom!" He needed me to read him stories and tuck him into bed. Canning will do that to a person.

Budding Photographer

Back in the days when I was the one buying the film for my camera and paying for it to be developed, I'd never think of handing my camera to a 3 year old. But times have changed and Brother has been fascinated with taking pictures lately. Of course, quite a few of them turn out like this:
But then you get a few like this.
It's kind of fun to actually have pictures taken with my children since most of the time I'm the one hiding behind the camera.

My Birthday

I had a very simple, but awesome birthday. For most of my married life, we've been busy in straw so working was the main objective. But this year was a little different and Brent was able to do something in the evening. We decided to go up to the cabin and go 4-wheeling. Two of my sisters were able to come with us. After an alfresco Cafe Rio dinner, we hit the trails and did a little riding. It was so much fun to spend time together.

Garden Time

I love this time of year when I can create meals directly out of my garden. As a matter of fact, my high school friends and I would skip school so we could have these garden fresh meals. Real rebels I know. It seems as though Sissy enjoys it as much as I do.

Working Man

To a three year old, the concept of money can be kind of illusive. It's generally what makes the adult world go round. With Hudson's first job came his first paycheck. He was excited to give some to the bishop for tithing. We had him save the largest portion of it, and he got ten dollars to spend.

As soon as he saw this Cars umbrella, he knew what he wanted. I insisted on him looking around, even at different stores. Still he begged for the umbrella. This went on for a day or two. Finally we went back to town so he could make his purchase.

He confidently walked up to the cashier and placed his money on the counter. You could almost see him grow as he swelled with pride from being able to buy something all by himself. And the best part, the cashier gave him money back for buying something!

If it's not raining, it's pretend raining and Hudson is carrying his umbrella around.

Free Ice Cream

Since our children are destined to be Aggies, I figure the sooner I get them acquainted with free ice cream the better of they'll be. After our hometown parade on Saturday you could get ice cream at the park. Dalanie handled her cone like a pro.
Hudson savored almost every lick of his chocolate ice cream. Never fail, a few drips always get away from him. He absolutely loves chocolate ice cream. He's only stained a handful of shirts this summer.

100 mile club

It's taken me 25 runs to get here, but today I finally arrived. I now join the ranks with Chod. Maybe one day I'll be as cool as him. Here's to another 100.

10 K

I ran in Oakley's Goose Creek Run Off on Saturday and finished in 53:49. Nothing earth shattering, but heck- that's why I'm here and not in the Olympics. It was a fun race. This high five was much sweeter than crossing the finish line.

He's my biggest fan. And toughest critic.

Most mornings he'll ask me "How was your run Mom?" Before I can even answer he'll say "You who-ee. I'll watch TV while you go shower."

A Lanie-Bug Birthday

So the little lady turned one. This entire weekend has been one big celebration with us celebrating in Burley on Saturday and at home yesterday. There has been plenty of food, so Dalanie hasn't complained at all.Grandpa Hillman's birthday is the day after Dalanie's, so they each got a candle in the strawberry pie (which Hudson blew out.)

It seems like only yesterday that we brought her home for the first time. But how we have grown to love her in just one year! Here are a few reasons that this little girl takes up big pieces of our hearts. She
-growls and grunts
-gets so excited when Daddy comes home
-gives us kisses
-has the tiniest, but strongest little hands
-eats her vegetables
-is a little spunky and sassy
-isn't afraid to get dirty
-is such a little tease
-is still addicted to her pacifier, but now like to share it

Sticker Shock

I'm getting used to having to mortgage my firstborn in order to fill up at the pump.

My stomach gets butterflies when I'm at the grocery checkout. When the cashier tells me the total and I think "big money, ouch! that was a whammy!"

Let's face it, everyone is out to get my money. I've become calloused to the fact.

Almost.

My last trip to Target found inflation rearing it's ugly head yet again.

The popcorn/drink combo is no longer $1.00. That's right, the one constant in my life is no longer. They now stick you $1.50. I about declined. And then I looked at my kiddos in the cart. How could I face them or my shopping list without popcorn. So I opened up my shrinking wallet, shelled out the cash, and enjoyed an otherwise pleasant shopping experience.

Make Shift

It seems as though I've got some kids that are great at improvising. Call it deprived, but they find their way to get what they need.Who needs McDonald's playland when you've got an oversized box full of packing peanuts. Did you know unshelled garden peas make awesome teethers? They've won Sissy's endorsement.

Camping Insert: Primitive Krispy Kreme

No matter what diet you're on, it goes out the window when you camp. I mean, camping is as much about the food as it is about the scenery. Here's a surefire way to make a few friends while you're out in the great outdoors.

Take a few tubes of refrigerated biscuits, fry 'em up.
Let them cool a minute.
Drown them in a nice sugary glaze and you've got a pretty darn tasty treat.
Here's my suggestions for a good glaze. Some might call it a recipe, but if you know me-- it's only a suggestion.
1/2 c. milk
3-4T butter
1 t. vanilla or maple flavoring
warm over stove until butter melts
incorporate 1 lb. powdered sugar with a hand mixer
This should coat 6+ dozen donuts.
Enjoy

Wildhorse Camping Trip

We set out to go camping this weekend. As always, it was a rush to get everything ready by time we decided to go, but we were off and away Thursday night. We got into camp at dark thirty and proceeded to put up our new tent. (I always chuckle when I hear people that do practice runs before hand.) Mission accomplished, now time for bed. It was a chilly night and the forest ranger confirmed it--a whopping 33 degrees.I tried to simplify and rely on our charcoal grill and square cooking irons for cooking. Sausage cooks up awesome in the cooking irons, as do egg sandwiches, and blueberry french toast. At first I thought I was crazy for not taking the camp chef, but it was a fun little challenge and cut down on the required gear.We did a good deal of 4 wheeling. A ride inevitably guaranteed some amount of nap time for the kids. There were a lot of trails to ride. A favorite was up to a lake where Hudson was able to do a bunch of casting. He's a casting maniac, and pretty darn good at it too.On the way home, we had a bit of a set back when the 4 wheeler came crashing through the rear window. Luckily none of the kids were hurt. Scared yes, but not hurt.I'm glad we made an opportunity to go as farming doesn't provide a lot of away time. Hudson is already talking about "next time." It was a great experience and neat to have so much fun as a family. Hopefully he can wait until next year.

Blessing or a Curse

Since Sissy was born, she's had a head full of hair. It's always the thing people comment on.
"Boy she's got a lot of hair."
"Did your other child have that much hair?"
"Look at all that hair."

Now I just smile and remark, "A blessing and a curse."

So this morning we counted our blessings and put 9 little curlers in before church. And this is what we ended up with.

Only Child

Since Brother is having the time of his life at Grandma and Grandpa's, Sissy and I have been able to spend some quality time together. In the process I have learned some new things and have been reminded of others. In no particular order:

-Teething is miserable even if you are 11 months.
- Brother keeps her out of a lot of trouble. I think she is loving the freedom to go and do whatever her little heart desires. I have found her upstairs playing with toys several times.
-Black beans are this girl's best friend.
- Patty-cake never gets old. We've got a roller on our hands.
- Standing is easy, moving your feet is the hard part.
- She's aspiring to be a secretary. Writing instrument of choice, big fat permanent marker.- She is a little fireball.
- Babies don't stay little for very long.

4th Fun

Our day got off to a poor start when the tire on the boat exploded as we were passing Mom and Dad on the freeway. Just 5 seconds earlier I told Brent that something weird was going on with the tire. After the initial pop, tread went flying through the air along with a trail of sparks. (Our own version of fireworks for the occasion.) Mom and I about went in to cardiac arrest. Dad and Brent made an awesome pit crew and they had us fixed up in a matter of minutes. For rest of the trip I was too gun shy to look in the mirror at the tires.

We continued on to Bear Lake where the Stephens + Tameka met up with us for some boating/beach fun. It was a little overcast, but that didn't stop us from having fun. The kids loved the beach, once Hudson realized that he could have fun even if his feet were dirty. Dalanie was a little skuttlebug that raced across the sand with her bum in the air.Tameka let us stay in her vacant apartment Friday night. Stephens fed us breakfast and then it was off to Hyrum Dam for more boating fun. Westerns met up with us too. The kids loved tubing and they even tried skiing.

Cookie Monster

As a mom I get to witness a lot of creativity, ingenuity, and innovative things.

I walked out into the family room to see this:Any ideas? If you're like me, you're a bit puzzled.

Upon further questioning I learned that my first born was attempting to glue these Little Debbie oatmeal cookies to the underside of his chair for safe keeping. He said he was tired of me "bossing" him so he was trying to hide them.

Nice idea, a little tough on the execution. A glue stick is no match for a heavy, cellophaned cookie.

And to think this is only the beginning of the "Independence" Day week.