Summer 2010

Just in case anyone's still reading, here's what we've been up to lately...

-Looking cute wearing Daddy's shoes

-Running races... This summer I ran the Wasatch Back Relay, the Georgetown half marathon, and this morning I ran the Utah Marathon Relay. This is my team from this morning. Racing has been really fun and rewarding for me this summer. Each time I do a race, I prove to myself that I am improving. I think I 'm going to cool it off with running over the winter and try something new.

Thanksgiving point Dinosaur Museum- Jack loves "Dinos" and had a great time looking at the bones.

Wheeler Farm. Jack is obsessed with "trackers" (tractors) and had a great time looking at the animals. He knows all his animal sounds.

Jack's cousins came to visit from Colorado for their mom's 10 year high school reunion. Jack and I drove back to Colorado where Tara and I ran the Georgetown Half Marathon. We both got a PR. Woo-hoo.

Playing in the park. This pic is with his cousin Halle, but Jack is a big fan of going to the park with Mommy during the day. He especially loves it when we take a picnic. He loves the "whings and lice" (swings and slides).

Lost

Last weekend we went on a family hike to Broadsfork. The parking lot at the trail head was packed, but we only saw 2 people on our way to the meadow/lake. When we got there, we took this picture...

We ate some snacks then Michael said that he wanted to go over the next ridge to see what was over there. Jack and I stayed back to throw rocks in the lake (probably Jack's favorite thing to do). As Michael left, I said, "wave at us to come if it's really cool." He said ok and set out over the ridge. About 15 min. later, I see him from afar and he waves, indicating that we should come see something really great. I put Jack in the pack and started heading up the trail. After hiking for a while, I didn't see Michael. I kept saying to myself, he's just around the next bend. The terrain started to get a little rough. I was bouldering and going over and under trees (normally ok, but difficult with Jack on my back). After hiking for 15 or so minutes with no sign of my husband, I started to get frustrated. I started thinking, why would he tell us to come and then just leave us? Then it occurred to me... he wouldn't. Something was seriously wrong. He must have fallen and was unconscious or dead (because he wasn't responding to my panicky screams). I walked for a few more minutes before I decided to turn around and hike down where I was going to call search and rescue.

I saw one man on my way back to the lake. He said that he'd seen a guy that matched Michael's description, so I started to feel a little better. When I got back to the lake, there was no sign of Michael. The backpack I had left sitting on the rock was gone though. I decided to continue down the trail. I was still convinced that my husband was dead. I was even cursing myself for not increasing our life insurance policies and trying to figure out how I would make it on my own. I was so scared that I could barely lift my legs so I was not making good time down the trail. Near the end of my hike, I saw a couple who told me that Michael was at the trail head waiting for me. I felt so relieved that I started crying. My step became lighter and soon I was reunited with my husband.

He said that he was just waving to say hi, not to tell me to come. He had bushwhacked over to another part of the meadow while I was heading up the trail to meet him. It was all just a miscommunication, but it made for a pretty funny story. I need to learn not to be so dramatic.

WBR 2010

Well, the day I've been waiting for has come and gone. Since finishing a half marathon in April, I have been training for the Wasatch Back Relay (188.2 miles, 12 runners, 2 days). My first leg of the race was very intimidating for me... 7.4 miles straight up a mountain. Every time I thought about the race during training, I wondered if I would be able to complete this leg without dying. Turns out I didn't die and I even made pretty good time at it. My other 2 legs went well, with me running my fastest pace ever in a race (since high school) on my final leg.

My sister, Tara and a bunch of her friends from Boulder, CO were my teammates (Team name Mind over Mileage). I loved this race because it presented such a unique challenge for each runner and her skill set. We finished in the top 3rd of the women's division. I came away from this race feeling very inspired by all the runners (including myself). I'm very motivated to work on my speed now, so watch out (August 14) Georgetown CO 13.1.

I had to share...

So, I was reading over an old post on my running team's blog and I found this link that was posted by one of my teammates... It really rang true to me and pretty much sums up everything I believe...
http://isnickelbacktheworstbandever.com
enjoy...

Three Little Kittens

Last Wednesday, we looked outside our back window and this is what we saw..

I called Animal Control to come get them, but they were really busy that evening and wouldn't be able to come until morning. So I fed the kittens that evening and was planning on calling again the next day. But the next day Jack was having so much fun watching them and yada yada yada... they still live in my backyard. Well, the two black ones do. The white one disappeared (very sad). Now I don't want to call Animal Control because they are just going to kill the cute little guys. I'm not sure what to do with them. Does anyone want one or have any suggestions?

Green Spring Cleaning

Since Jack was born, I've been trying to rid my home of toxic chemicals. The greatest offenders in my house are definitely my cleaning supplies. NOT ANY MORE! I've been reading about and talking to people who use natural cleaning products (and I'm not talking about Greenworks). I just wasn't convinced that vinegar and baking soda would clean as well as Comet and bleach. But this week I decided to just give it a try... I'm completely sold. I had hard water stains on my glass shower door that I had tried to clean with every chemical I could think of. Who knew that a little vinegar and baking soda would take those stains right off?
I am so excited about this. I got my recipes for my new green/non-toxic cleaning supplies from this website (I added some essential oils to the recipe to make the cleaner smell good too). My next project is homemade non-toxic weed killer for my yard...
Happy spring cleaning everyone...

Jack's One Year Portraits

Just thought I'd share...

Photos by Megan Bradley http://clandestineimages.com

Swimming Lessons

When I was a kid, I took swimming lessons every summer. At the end of the course all of my friends would get certificates with gold stars indicating that they passed that particular level and had could move on to the next. My certificate never had the gold star, but to spare my feelings, my mom would always put me in the next level so I could be with my friends. Needless to say, I've never been terribly good at swimming.

Michael, on the other hand, is a pretty good swimmer. He was even on the swim team in Jr. High :). A couple of years ago he tried unsuccessfully to teach me how to swim. It's not like I'm going to drown... I just really struggle with my technique.

All that changed this week. On Monday, I took my first swimming lesson as an adult. I've had 4 lessons so far and I feel like I'm improving. My breast and back strokes are alright, but I've been struggling with the free style. Well, last night, it just clicked...it's like everything just came together all of the sudden. I am now looking forward to swimming as a means of cross training. Maybe someday, I'll do a triathalon.

Happy Birthday to Jack

This post is long overdue... Jack turned 1 year old on January 22nd. Here are a few pics of his birthday party.



He is such a good little boy. He recently started using walking as his primary source of getting around. He can follow me so fast now. He is a happy and healthy little guy. His favorite things to do are play with anything round "ba" (ball), play with his light-up, noise making basketball hoop, play with cars "oommmmm" (vroom), read books with mom and dad, and hug and pat his stuffed animals.

I also recently discovered that he is quite a fan of chocolate milk... We were at Costco and he was enjoying himself with the smorgasbord of samples. One of them was a little paper cup of chocolate milk. I gave him a sip. He tasted chocolate milk for the first time and you would have thought he had died and gone to heaven. He grabbed the cup away from me, drank the whole thing, smashed the cup into his face and started licking what remained while saying "mmm...mmm...mmm."


It sure has been a fun year getting to know our sweet little boy. We love him so much and enjoy having him in our family.

A Feeling

Do you ever get the feeling... that craving for change? Over the last few days, I have this anxious, nagging feeling in the bottom of my stomach. I can't tell if it's the "something is coming" feeling, or the "I wish something would come" feeling.
A lot of people are scared of change. I'm not normally one of those people. I kind of like big changes like moving or getting a new job. I view them as a chance to start over. I don't know if any big changes are coming any time soon, but I've got a few little things brewing in my pot of change...
-I'm trying to improve my body (who's not?). I've learned some new things to do with weights and the ball and figured out a way to do a lot of it at home.
-I am trying to improve my overall health through healthy eating. For Christmas I received a subscription to the Cooking Light magazine, a knife block, and an apron with chickens on it. I have vowed to try one new healthy recipe each week.
-I am trying NAET www.naet.com to get rid of my restless leg syndrome. This is an eastern therapy that is supposed to reduce your sensitivity to chemicals, foods, hormones, etc. I am also being treated for a variety of emotions and my voo-doo witch doctor claims that it can help with morning sickness. I'll do a more in depth post about this at a later time.
-I'm starting a collection of essential oils. My friend Maria sent me some samples a couple of months ago. I've been studying the properties of many of the essential oils and am intrigued enough to try them out. I'll keep you posted on this as well.
Perhaps these are my little new year resolutions. Whatever they are, I hope these little changes help me to improve myself and my life.

First Haircut

Before...


After...

The Holidays

December was a busy month for us. We had a great time with our families and we really enjoyed our holiday season. Here are the highlights:

-Santa Jack...I'm pretty sure this hat was made for a dog, but I made Jack wear it to every Christmas Party we attended.



- We participated in a Sub-for-Santa with the Bird siblings. It was a lot of fun picking out toys for kids who might not get much for Christmas.

-Temple Square Lights and Secret Dinner... It is a Bird Family tradition to go to dinner and see the lights at Temple Square once a year. This year, the eating establishment of choice for this excursion was Cafe Rio. I enjoy a good pork salad just as much as the next person, but come on... there is a Cafe Rio on every street corner in our own neck of the woods. Nobody in the family really cares what Michael and I think, so we didn't even try to object. Instead, we politely called and told them we wouldn't be able to make it to dinner, but that we would meet them afterwards for the lights. We then promptly headed to Z Tejas, where we enjoyed delicious food that we can't have just any old time.



-Spent time with the Cornell cousins. My sister, Tara and her family came out to visit from Colorado. Jack had a great time playing with his cousins. He especially liked taking toys away from Baby Blake.

-Opened presents on Christmas morning... Jack like the wrapping paper, but lost interest after 1 present. He got lots of fun toys from his parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles.