Thanksgiving 5K

Williamsburg

The Smithsonian Museums

I can't help it, I have to share

Today, during one of my many trips to the kids' school, I ran into Annie's teacher in the hall.

"If you are headed to our classroom," she told me, "you might want to wait a little bit. One of the kids just threw up." Luckily, I was headed elsewhere.

When the kids got home from school, I was talking to them about their day. At one point I said to Annie, "Your teacher told me that someone threw up today. Are they okay?"

"It was Carson (name changed to protect the sick and vomitous) that threw up. I think he got it from his brother who was sick last week," Annie told me.

"Well, I hope he is okay. It is no fun to throw up in school," I shared.

To which our little girl replied, "Yeah, I saw it happen. And it was not pretty."

Like a chicken with its head cut off

That about describes my day. Getting ready for our upcoming week may put me in an early grave. I know I sound dramatic, but its true. Almost. Kind of. Could be. Okay, I'm exaggerating. But just a little. Or a lot. Would you like to know know what I've done today? Glad you asked.

Got up early to have a quick shower and be ready about six hours before I normally do.

Had Jacob offer to work from home during the morning so I could run all of my crazy errands--I do have the nicest husband ever.

Ran to a parent teacher conference with Matt's teacher. I was so grateful to hear what his teacher said, as my mother's heart feels a lot like a failure of late. I'm not sure why it does, but it does.

Headed to the store to buy huge quantities of food for the simple dinner we are having after Annie's baptism.

Drove home, hoping to be able to stay there for a couple of minutes before my next appointment.

On the drive home, one of my running songs came on the radio. Cried through the whole thing. Yes, I do need help, but man I miss running so much. And the fact that my leg is killing me today isn't helping my emotions.

Made it home with four minutes to spare. Left Matt to play while his dad was on a work call and took Ben with me back to the kids' school.

Helped Cam's teacher with a fun Thanksgiving craft she was doing with the kids.

Left the school and ran two more errands with Ben in tow.

Arrived home as the kids were getting off the bus (early day today).

Spent the next ten minutes organizing all of the stuff I bought on my errands. Sweet Jacob hauled things back and forth and helped get everything in order.

Jumped back in the car and headed back to the school (yes, for the third time) for a parent teacher conference with Cam's teacher. Once again, so grateful for my kids.

(And just in case you are wondering why I don't attend parent teacher conferences for Annie, I do. I met with her teacher a couple of weeks ago. And my heart was as happy that time too.)

Ran back to a nearby store for the two things I forgot to get the first time.

Back home, hopefully for the night. I still have about nine or ten big things to do on my list, but they all appear to be able to be done at home.


Even with all of the above, I cannot wait to spend the next week with family. I hope all of the crazy preparations will make the week full of fun and void of stress. To be honest though, it doesn't really matter. Because either way, I'll take it. I can't wait.

I dare you to watch this only once

I think I need help, I honestly cannot quit laughing.

Speaking of things I am thankful for...

 

Thanks again Keith!

What are you thankful for?

With just over a week until Thanksgiving, I wanted to share this video. I loved it!

Looking for something cool to read?

I thought you might be. So, here is an article that is a big deal in our family. Jacob has worked
(and continues to work) directly on this case for Goldman Sachs. This is a huge announcement
not only for Goldman Sachs, but also for the company Jacob works for...

Jacob loves his job. Which makes me love his job. The people he works with are incredible.
The company is so kind and good to all of us. Today is a good day in Jacob's world.
Which makes it a good day in mine. Happy, happy at our house.

Things I am thinking about today

It is incredibly warm here. So warm I even turned off our heat. Happy times a lot.

My cute friend had a post on her blog today that had large red and green font. I honestly thought I was having a stroke because the words were swimming in front of me. Is there something about those two colors together or does my brain just have issues? Don't answer the second part of that question.

I talked to my cute friend Kathy for an hour and a half today. It has been a very long time since I talked to anyone on the phone for that long. She makes me laugh. And she always makes me feel so good about myself. I'm keeping her for sure.

Congo bars for breakfast are delicious.

Our sweet Annie is going to be baptized in less than a week. I cannot wait to be with family and to celebrate her baptism. I love my little girl a lot. A whole lot.

When you need many books on tape for a long trip, it pays to have an ancient car. Because for some reason I am one of the few people on the earth that actually borrows books on tape at the library. I got some good ones. Awesome.

There are a great number of monopoly pieces, houses and hotels on the floor of my family room. And they hurt a lot when you step on them. But instead of picking them up like I should, I am writing a blog post.

I just picked up a book at the library that I know I am going to love. I knew it the second I saw it. In my crazy thinking, I don't want to even start it because then I will have to finish it.

I am wondering how many days in a row I can wear my favorite sweater before people notice or it becomes a problem. Yeah, I was thinking four more too.

Have you tried the candy cane Hersey kisses? Oh boy, I'm warning you they are good. Super good.

I'm already quite tired of the stress fracture in my femur. Not only am I missing the race on Thanksgiving morning, but I have many weeks after that of taking it easy. Okay no more complaining, it is what it is and I'm grateful it is not worse.

My grandma's birthday is tomorrow. I am so grateful for her and love her so much!

There is a candle in my kitchen that is so sweet smelling it is hurting my nose. I didn't even know that was possible.

Nobody has picked up the monopoly pieces while I have been writing this post. And just because three kids are in school, Jacob is at work and Ben is napping is no excuse. I guess I'll just do it. Blast.

Oh, and one last miscellaneous thought. I can see our neighbor in his yard, practicing golf, from where I am sitting. (I actually wasn't aware anyone lived in that house until this very moment. Odd.) He is in shorts.

Rock on.

 

Happy in my heart

I just finished designing our Christmas cards this year and I feel so happy. (I save a lot of money by designing our own and printing them as photos, not to mention I can make them look exactly how I want them to if I do the work.) I love this year's version! Absolutely love them.

I just placed an order for a couple to make sure they are going to print just like I want them to. (You know before I print my actual order of 476. Okay that is a little exaggeration, but not by much it seems). Give me a couple of weeks and they will be in the mail. I know you are just dying in anticipation. Or not. Either way. So until they are mailed, I will just keep bringing up the photo on the computer to see if I like them as much as I did five minutes ago. I need some kind of Christmas card therapy.

And I love it.

Two quotes from my children today

Annie walked in the door with a paper cup full of dirt and some of that fast growing grass (I think that is the technical term). The cup had a picture of Harry Potter on the front that she drew. I think the grass was supposed to be his hair. Awesome. I seriously love public school. Anyway, because the kids were having friends over to play, they were trying to do their after school chores quickly before their friends came.

Annie, holding up her cup and asked me, "Mom, where should I put this?"

With my hand outstretched I replied, "Here, I'll take it for you."

With a frightened look she countered, "Um, but I want to actually keep it."

Really, am I that bad? On second thought, don't answer that.

........................................

When Cam's friend showed up to play, they began talking about their day at school. Apparently all fourth graders (or maybe it is everyone, I didn't think to ask) have to clean out their desks on Friday, so they can be ready for Monday morning.

Cam's friend turned to him and asked, "Cam did you organize your desk today?"

To which Cam replied, "Joe, my desk is always organized."

My heart swelled with pride. Which was good because Annie's statement had shrunk it considerably.

........................................

Carry on. I'm done.

Veterans Day

I am so grateful for today and for the country that I live in.
I am so thankful for those that have given so much to keep us free.

Yesterday I attended the best school program I have attended since my children started going
to school. Our elementary school invited the veterans from our little town to come and watch
the fourth grade sing to them. I started to get teary even before it began, when I saw this row
of men (and one amazing women who was not in this photo) sitting proudly in their uniforms.

After a brief introduction and some thoughts about Veterans Day, they invited one of the veterans
up to take the roll call for every man and woman from our little town that has died while fighting
for our country. Before reading the names, they passed out the 47 pieces of paper that had the
name and photo of the person that was killed. The fourth graders that received one stood up to
hold it. Not only was it emotional to see our little fourth graders holding up the picture of a
fallen soldier, but the roll call was taken and after each name, the veteran standing next to the
man taking roll call would answer, "Absent." It was a sobering and touching experience for sure.

Afterward, our amazing music teacher lead the fourth grade through several patriotic songs.
Surprisingly, I had never heard some of them and they were absolutely amazing.

At one point they sang a tribute to each branch of the military and asked anyone
who had served in that branch to stand. It was really touching.

At the every end, as the students sang the last song, these veterans stood and proudly
acknowledged their gratitude. And then the white glove of each right hand
came up in a  salute and I could not stop the tears from coming.

I am so grateful for this country. I am so grateful for each and every person that has served
and is serving our country. I am grateful for so many family members and their sacrifice.
And mostly, I am grateful for my God. He has truly blessed America.

I am so proud to be an American.

Last night during family night...

...Cam was giving a lesson on the story of Samuel the Lamanite. He did a great job and afterward, Matt raised his hand. He wanted to know how the people in the Book of Mormon knew if they were Nephites or Lamanites. We explained how it worked and could tell he was processing what we said. After a few seconds he replied, "But how do we know if we are Nephites or Lamanites?"

And Annie, without so much of a pause, announced, "Mom said we are pasty whites."

When Jacob finally quit his hysterical laughing several minutes later, he turned to me, "Exactly what do you teach our children while I am at work?"

Hiding his feelings

My mom made us take family pictures yesterday.

And this is how I felt about it.

Which is actually better than how I felt about it earlier on.

What weekend?

It is Sunday night and I'm pretty sure I just missed out on a weekend. Ugh. I'm not sure I am a fan of how the past two days went. Actually, that is not true because there were so many things that we did that we loved and were so grateful to be a part of, but running from the second you wake up until the second you drop in bed, two days in a row, is not my favorite way to spend Saturday or Sunday. This morning as Jacob was leaving, I begged him to come back and bring the kids with him, so our little family could pretend it was Saturday. Apparently his work would not count that as a valid excuse. Blast.

But in the spirit of counting my blessing, I wanted to share some things we did this weekend that made it all worth it.

I was able to go to the temple for Stake Relief Society Temple Day. I love the temple. I love being with the women of the church. I even love being the Relief Society president most days--because on a daily basis, I get to see the goodness of women.

Saturday night we went to a ward party where they had an apple pie contest. Jacob won second place. He is awesome and is a seriously fantastic maker of baked goods.

The kids participated in the Primary program during our sacrament meeting. They did so well and it was one of those moments that made the thought of being their mom overwhelm me with joy. I love my kids.

We attended the baptism of three women in our ward. Jacob was asked to baptize one of them and I was asked to give a talk about the Holy Ghost. It was wonderful to be a part of it and I went away so grateful, all over again, for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our kind friend who is a professional photographer, took some family pictures for us on Sunday afternoon. Even though Ben cried the whole time, when I took a look at the photos, I felt overwhelmed all over again, for my darling family.

Life is busy. Life is good. I'm exhausted. But extremely grateful.

And hoping like crazy next weekend will be calmer. But with just as much apple pie involved.

Annie's 8th birthday party

Tonight we had Annie's 8th birthday party and it was a great one! Although Annie's actual birthday was a few weeks ago, we waited to make sure it was on a night when most of her friends could make it. She invited her four cousins that live in our state and then several girls from school (and a cute little neighbor girl who showed up and wanted to join us). Annie seemed very pleased about the night and all of the girls seemed to have a good time, so I guess we can call it a success.

Annie decided she wanted a late nighter, so all of the girls wore their pajamas and we played several fun games. The girls seemed to love freeze dance the most and it was hilarious to watch them show off their great dance moves. Toward the end of the night, they watched the new Hannah Montana movie and then the opening of the presents and the eating of the cake took place. Every present Annie received was either something to do with horses (her favorite for sure!) or something to do with books or journals or art--her other three favorite things. She has such sweet friends and we are so grateful that everyone could make it and make her happy such a fun one!

We love you so much Annie girl!

Like lightning

Boy howdy, Jacob is going to love this post. Because nothing makes him happier than me bragging about him to everyone I know. And on the family blog? Double bonus.

This morning Jacob got up to take a quick run. Quick as in seven miles—you know just a little jaunt. In his world. He ran a warm up mile and then proceeded to run six "real" miles. In forty-one minutes and fifty-seven seconds.

Holy frijoles that man is like lightning. He absolutely amazes me. And if I haven't ever mentioned it before, I completely adore him.

I call this photo

Little boy on laundry basket in pajamas at 11:41am.

or

The lazy mother.

I like options when it comes to naming my photography.

A Halloween tradition

This is what one of the rooms of our house looks like every Halloween night. The kids like to
pretend (at least now that they are old and wise) that a giant spider visited while they were out
trick or treating and left a messy web behind. I took the photo below before the festivities began.

Each of the kids has a rolled up piece of card stock with their name written on it somewhere in
 the room. The card stock is taped to some string that wraps around the room, in every which
 way possible. At the end of the string is a small reward for finishing this great Halloween feat.

Here are the cute kids making their way around our little yarn party. Apparently,
Halloween is also a night to find pajama bottoms and tops that clash greatly. In case
you didn't know and have been wearing matching pajamas every October 31st.

And here is another quick photo of Cam having to climb over the couch for the tenth time, Annie
 ducking under several pieces of yarn, Matt getting his foot stuck in a stringy mess, Jacob helping out
our littlest and Ben sitting on the floor playing with glow rings. He went from completely excited
 and laughing like a crazy person, to completely uninterested and oblivious to the rest of us.

Kind of like one of his parents. After eating approximately
 47 Heath bars and suffering a chocolate-induced coma.

Poor Jacob and his lack of self-control.