Grateful

I had a GRATEFUL moment today in Sunday school. We were talking about mothers and things that we can do to be good mothers or BETTER mothers. Anyway, one of the main points was to be at the crossroads when your kids are coming and going. It made me reflect on my own childhood and how much I loved seeing my mom after school. She was the best mom and I just knew that whether I had a good day or a bad day, she would be there to hear about it.I loved that she was there even if we were just hanging out and watching cartoons. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to be home too. I feel really inadequate in some areas but all we can do is keep trying. I love my mom and I am grateful for my dad for supporting our family so she could stay home. I'm thankful also for Brett and his desire to do the same even if it means less snow mobile trips and truck parts! I'm glad to be a mother and for the wonderful challenge that it is. The kisses and hugs make it all worth it.

Anyway, I've reminded Brett about a billion times that Mother's Day is coming up. I wonder if he'll remember this year!

GO Fly a Kite!

Yesterday we went out and enjoyed the spring sunshine and flew our new Iron Man kite! Lucky for us there is a huge field right outside our back gate that is perfect for kite flying. Jolie chased the dog and loved sitting on this little baby sized metal seat.

She did one backward somersault off of her little spot, but luckily she was angled just right and she hit the grass and not the cement! She still got back on and off, on and off over and over again!

Here's the kite--it was perfectly windy for kite flying!

This is my favorite kite flyer! I had a lot of fun outside with Colby. The kite popped right up and only came down once. All 52 inches plus streamers billowed in the wind and Colby asked me questions like..."What if this was big enough to carry me away," and so on. Colby is such a good boy and he is so funny! He always has great stories and ideas.

Happy Easter

We spent the weekend in Utah hunting for eggs and enjoying each other's company. It was fun to see all of my sisters and their families. We vistited the children's museum in Ogden on Friday and then headed to PF Chang's for lunch in Salt Lake. It was very fun. Colby also got to go see the Hannah Montana movie with his cousins and even though he might not admit it to his friends at school, HE LOVED IT. Brett and I also did some shopping for the weddings I have coming up. I bought a lot of stuff, including 30 pounds of chocolate--YUM!

Here's Jolie this morning after she discovered her basket from the Easter Bunny. She can say "candy" now--very clearly. As you can see, Meatloaf was ready to help her with anything she might have needed.

Here's a picture of the annual Easter egg hunt at my mom and dad's. That's my sister Hilerie and her daughter Emily and Colby looking for more surprises.

Colby with most of his Easter loot.

Here's Jolie getting the hang of the Easter hunt with her daddy.

I just want to mention how grateful I am for Easter and for the Atonement. I am extremely thankful for my Saviour and the sacrifice he made for all of us so that we might return to live with our Father in Heaven. It has been such a blessing and a comfort in my life.

This afternoon we went to the park because it was so nice outside. Jolie walked Meatloaf for the first time with the leash and it was so cute! She loved the slide too and swinging with Colby. Colby raced around on his scooter for a little while and then played with Jolie. It was a great day.

A Great Run

Here's a picture of Jolie in front of the Snake River. I would post a picture of myself also but it's illegal to post a picture of legs that are as white as mine (and I had my shorty shorts on)--so sorry!

Anyway, today Jolie and I took our first spring run at Jensen's Grove. We were both so grateful to be out in the sunshine! She fell asleep after 3-1/2 miles so I kept going and finished at 6. It was in fact so nice outside that I had a Forrest Gump moment and "just kept running."

I signed up for the Pocatello Half Marathon again which is September 5th, but I would also like to do a couple 10k's etc... so if anyone hears of anything fun let me know AND let's run together! In case you need some convincing I made a list of reasons I love running that might swing your vote and get you out there with me... I think that I've proven that anyone can do it!

1. I love running because it's an individual sport. You are only competing against yourself and working towards the next PR.

2. I love running because I can be outside and the scenery changes keep my mind active and happy.

3. I love running because it has changed my life--it's helped me accomplish goals that I never thought possible!

4. I love running because it has helped me strengthen friendships and build new ones.

5. I love running because some days it's hard and some days it's a piece of cake.

6. I love running because I can do it with my family.

7. I love running because it makes me feel good about myself.

8. I love running because it helps me push myself and appreciate my ability to run.

9. I love running because you can run in fun races and get cool schwag.

10. I love running because it has made me stronger mentally and physically.

It's Freezing...

I feel so lucky that we were able to buy a new freezer last week. It came on Thursday and it is now freezing food in the garage. It was the biggest one we could find (21 cubic ft!). I know most of you probably thought this post was going to be me complaining about the weather again in southeast Idaho--well I gotchya!