For the past 14 weeks I have been training for a Ragnar Race. A Ragnar is a race where you team up with friends and split up the miles. We have 12 women and we will run 200 total miles in 24 hours. Crazy I know! We begin in Cumberland Maryland and end in DC at the monuments. When I first started training I went from no exercise really at all (I hadn’t started after having Kyle-terrible I know) to running 4 times a week. It has taken over my life it seems. Most days I hate the time commitment but then after I run the feeling is such a high that it keeps me loving it. I am so proud and grateful for my body. So often I criticize and critique my body when really that is the last thing I should do. It is good and strong and can do amazing things. The summer after I had Hallie I did a couple 5k’s which were a big deal for me. Now I eat 5k’s for breakfast haha. I can comfortably run 6 miles at this point in training and I’m getting fast. I love it! I never thought I’d be able to do this and I feel proud after each run. That is a feeling I miss since leaving the world and becoming a stay at home mom. Feeling like I rock! lol I am so glad my friend Molly thought of doing this race and asked me to join her. I have learned a lot about myself and it has given me something to achieve. It is now safe to say that I am a runner. 🙂

p.s. I will be running about 16 miles divided up into 3 different legs.

Last Saturday while Ben had a Scout day camp the kids and I took our friends out to Hartland Orchard to pick peaches. We had so much fun. The kids loved picking the peaches and then eating them. So far we have made peach jam and a peach pie. I bought a pressure cooker so we plan on going back next week to get some more. Best peaches ever! Yum!!

I love little adventures like this!

We just can’t get enough. We would go everyday if given the opportunity. To say we love it is an understatement. 🙂

Eating corn on the cob.

Chaperoning at Youth Conference. I got mistaken for a youth several times by other leaders and some young men. haha (We went to Mount Vernon and had a Stake dance. It was wonderful!)

Shopping…

Shopping…

And more shopping.

Reading books at the library.

Coloring pictures.(And yes that is ALL Hallie. She did it during quiet time.)

Going to parks and riding on merri-go-rounds…

And trains.

This summer is going by way too fast!

Our kids will usually only sleep in ONE place and that is their beds. However, the other night Hallie was throwing a fit and feel asleep like this:

Without any further adew I reveal to you our new house…..

It is a charming little house sitting on a little hill in the middle on a cul-de-sac. It has two bedrooms and one bath up stairs and the main level has a kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom and bedroom. (All very small of course.) We love it! We have done so much remodeling on it that any one who saw it before would be stunned. (I will post before and after pictures when I take the ‘after’ pictures.)

The backyard is really what sold us on the house. We want our kids to grow up being adventurous and imaginative. Two things that we believe are best produced by playing outside uninhibited and worry free (rather than inside playing video games). So far the kids love it. I have a feeling that next summer I will be able to read a lot of books out there while the kids play together. So looking forward to that! The only down side is mowing the lawn. I know this because I did it last week. Yikes!

I couldn’t get one picture with the whole backyard in it so you will have to imagine it.

Hooray for our new house! Now if we could just get get all unpacked! 🙂

Kyle’s first birthday was July 9th. I have neglected blogging about it until now because of the move. We kept things very simple (due to the move). Poor Kyle got short changed. Good news-he won’t remember. Bad news-it was his first birthday for crying out loud! We moved everything from our townhouse into our new house the day before and the day of his birthday so it was a little crazy to say the least. During the day I would try to take a moment and snuggle him to soak in the fact that he is one already. He is my sweetheart! He is just so stinkin cute I kiss his little cheeks off most days! haha I’m so glad he doesn’t mind. (If anyone else kisses him the way I do he gets mad. I love it! lol)

Some things about Kyle:

*He loves to walk along the wall or furniture, but isn’t brave enough to do more than 4 or 5 steps alone.

*He always wants the toy his big sister has and visa versa.

*He hates being in a room by himself.

*He now prefers his dad to me. He gets so excited every day when Ben gets home from work. Ben loves it!!!

*His favorite toys are balls. I know people say all boys love balls but this kid can play catch already. You toss it to him he catches it and throws it back. You have to see it to believe it. He will also just chase a ball around the house for hours.

* We haven’t found a food he doesn’t like. He will eat and eat and eat!

* He randomly comes up and gives you big hugs.

* He has four teeth.

* He says “mama, dada, baba”

* He has recently thrown a couple fits that involve biting a toy or the floor.

* He does the cutest bashful look when I am holding him and he sees someone new. He gives a sly smile and rests his head against my shoulder.

* He loves books and my cell phone.

* Weight: 21 lbs (26%)

* Height: 29 3/4 inches (18%)

This past year has been our happiest!

My parents came out for Kyle’s first birthday a couple of weeks ago. I love my parents so much. If you know the saying “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” then that describes me and my parents. (Except for the fact that they both look like indians with their tans and I am a total white girl!) I love how it feels like we didn’t miss a beat whenever we get together.

They are both such hard workers. We were moving the week that they came (more on that later) and boy did we put them to work. They needed a vacation from their vacation after the week they spent with us. It was such a crazy time with all the remodeling etc that we could never have done it without them. Really we would have given up and sold the house we just bought had it not been for my parents! They worked from sun up to sun down and played with the kids in between.

Thanks Mom and Dad for coming to see us and helping us move. We love and miss you so much already. We can’t wait for your next visit!

My BF, Tiffany, flew out to watch the kids so Ben and I could go on a mid-week getaway. I was so torn between going on the vacation and staying home because I wanted to spend every second with her. She is my HERO! There is no other friend in the world who would do as much for me and love me as unconditionally as she does. She has seen me at my worst and still calls me her friend. We decided this trip that we are the perfect fit because I always need help and she is always there to give it. lol To continue on my cheesy rant…she is the best friend I always prayed for as a little girl when my friends sucked. 🙂 The Lord truly sent her to me. I will forever be grateful we were put as roommates in Kerr Hall that first year in windy Rexburg, Idaho. Tiff I love you! Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for me. (I know you read this-even though you never comment!)
A few of the qualities that I love about her.
*Selfless service constantly
*Does not judge anyone
*Forgives easily
*Laughs at my jokes
*Lets me borrow her awesome clothes
*Fearless attitude
*Confidence in singing
*Always supportive
*Humility
*Compassion

We took a couple hours break from construction on the new house to enjoy our wonderful neighbors 4th of July BBQ. Leaving our neighbors is the saddest part of moving. We love them!! I didn’t get a picture of all of us but I did get a picture of Hallie and London. They are the cutest friends. Whenever they see each other they yell each other’s names and run to each other like they have been apart for years!

I just noticed Ben in the background of all these pictures. So funny! He looks thrilled doesn’t he. Oh and Kyle was sleeping that is why he is MIA during the sparkler fun.