Happy Birthday Ashlynn

Ashlynn had a great day! We woke her up by singing Happy Birthday, then I made her favorite pancake breakfast. She wore a pin that read "It's my B-Day",and to my surprise, she never attempted to remove it. We headed to Chuck E Cheeses and played for the remainder of the morning.  After dinner, we had a family party with cake and ice-cream.  Ashlynn was so excited about her gift. She kept shouting "my bike my bike".

Preschool Christmas Performance

This was quite literally Alanah's first performance. She avoids performing like it's the plague,  I can't even get her to participate in primary programs during Sacrament meetings! I recorded the first song, which was her favorite: Rudolf the... Reindeer but the video was too far away.  Sadly, all you get is a poor quality picture taken on our iphone. Alanah is on the top row, in the red shirt, looking over her left shoulder. I'm so proud of her for singing with her class in front of so many people. She did a wonderful job. Be sure to ask her about it! :)

Clever Little Gingerbread House

We walked through the Expo and looked at some of the most amazing gingerbread houses. This one tickled me so much that I had to take a picture of it. It's an out house with a sign that says " Have a Regular Christmas." Is that clever or what?

Temple Square

Dance and Karate

Jayson just started Karate! He's excited and freaked out. His class sparred this week and...well, you can imagine the devastation he felt when he got punched in the face.  He played it tough during class but the moment he laid eyes on me, he burst into tears. He says, "I'll be ready for it next time and punch them in the nose first".
Alanah is loving her dance class. She takes it very seriously and she practices at home...and in the grocery store.  She's really come out of her shell this month! She's only had one class, so, there isn't much to say but she did a great job.  Because she did so well, I let her pick out a tutu, she's really looking forward to wearing it during her next class.

Halloween 2009

St. George Marathon... check!

  Limping, sweating and agonizing pain can't trump true will power.

Nate's friday night ended with a "carb-a-load" and much anticipation.  R.E.M was interrupted by his biological clock at 2am, 3am, 3:30 am and finally at 4am. The last bus wasn't set to depart until 5:30 am, but when you're that excited, an extra 30 minutes of sleep is a waist.

  At the start of the run, the temperature was bone chillingly low, nearly 2.5 hours passed before sensation returned to his ear lobes and knuckles. Once the chill left his bones, the first 20 miles weren't so bad...until one of his knees decided to go rogue.  To Nate's disappointment, this excruciating injury added a few extra hours to his last 6 miles.
He didn't quit.

  Nate crossed the finish line with a facial expression of accomplishment, relief and agony. Despite all odds against him, he finished at 5 hrs +, which is really great for a first marathon and little to no training. I am so proud of him for following through and enduring to the end.

Congratulations to the love of my life.