Babysitting

My brother-in-law and his wife went on a trip to Disneyland and left the kids home with me and his mother.  The above picture shows the five year old and almost two year old girls.  I got to spend a lot of time with these two cuties.  Their two older brothers were in school during the day and then grandma came and took over in the afternoon so I didn't get a picture of them.

Anyway, back to my story.  I got to spend seven days with these two cute girls.  I loved helping them get their hair combed and done every day.  I loved putting together peanut butter sandwiches for them at lunchtime.  I love sitting and reading books with them right before nap/quiet time.  And I loved nap/quiet time.  It wasn't all magical because there were times of tears and tantrums (but I usually did that in my room) but I had a great time watching these cute girls.

Isn't this a fun shot?

Running



As some of you know, I started running last May (2010) for the first time since junior high.  I hated running in junior high and didn't understand why they called our mile run the "Fun Run" because there was nothing fun about it.  I struggled to breath and had that bloody/metallic taste in the back of my throat.  My knees and ankles would knock each other and I'd end up with the weirdest bruises from those "fun runs."   As a stubborn thirteen year old, I vowed that I would never run again.  Well, the vow was broken several times, mostly because I had to take other physical education classes in high school and college and both required running.

 Last May I approached my husband and asked if he would run with me and help me run.  I had no idea what I was doing but my regular exercising wasn't helping me lose the extra pound here and there that I was gaining. And so the first time I ran he took me for a three mile run and we did it in less than 40 minutes.  Yep, he almost killed me the first time we ran.  He also figured out that I didn't know how to breath while running.  He taught me to regulate my breathing, breath in for three steps, breath out for three steps.  And that was the beginning of a new accomplishment for me.  Running is not easy for me, but it makes me feel so good that I get up and run.  And, I've been able to lose those pesky pounds that I was putting on and not able to get off.

So, running has taught me a couple things.  First, I can do hard things (and that is an awesome lesson).  Second, I am in control of myself and can make myself feel better or worse by the choices I make.  And finally, I like running and the feeling of accomplishment when I've completed my run.  (The above picture is one I took while running on the Jordan River Parkway Path.)

My Grandma and her sister

This is my Aunt Noreen (on the left) and my Grandma (on the right).  Aunt Noreen is the baby of the family and my grandmother is the second to the youngest.  You will notice that they don't really look alike.  My grandmother had one other sister who also didn't look like either sister.  My grandmother has three brothers and they look a little more alike but now I know why my sibllings don't really look like each other.  My sister and I both have brown hair and brown eyes and we've heard that we look alike because of those few characteristics...but still, I don't think we look alike.

Here I am with Aunt Noreen!  A couple cool things about Aunt Noreen are that she loves to dance and continues to go to dances on the weekend.  She also does a lot of geneological work in preparation to do temple work for her ancestors.  I think she's done the work for close to 30,000 relations.



Here's a terrible picture of myself and my sister.  So, do we look alike or just have similar smiles or eyes or foreheads?



No pets allowed!

SM and I traveled to southern Utah at the end of January.  We stopped at a rest stop along the way and I just had to take a picture of this huge crow on this sign.  The crow was neither on the lawn nor in the restrooms so I was wondering, who had taught this crow to read?  A little later the crow found the garbage can and manipulated some garbage out of the can and found a yummy apple core to eat.  This was one amazing scavenger!

Just Dance II and Asain Food Party

On Saturday night my side of the family got together and had a small party.  We ate Asian themed food and played Just Dance on the Wii.  In the above picture my Mom and Dad jumped into the dancing while the kids were dancing to the Beach Boys "Surfing USA."

My sister had never done Just Dance II on the Wii and since she is a dancer, she enjoyed herself immensely.  It was just too bad that we had all just stuffed ourselves and then danced afterwards.  We should have danced first and then eaten.



My brothers were good sports and tried out dancing!  They were great.  Most of  the time I think they were trying to entertain us with their great "skills."  These are great men.



My sister-in-law was able to get a Just Dance for Kids free with her Just Dance II and so the kids were able to dance to lots of fun kids music.  The dancing was also simplified so that they could do the moves.  It was perfect for my parents.  (Hee, hee...it was also perfect for me...simplified and fun).

And here's my husband and brother dancing.  It was fun but also competitive!

And the biggest competition of them all...my sister and husband.  They both did very well...and I'm not going to tell you who won.  As a side note, I think my sister really liked the game, she loves to dance and did ballroom dancing in high school and college.

Happy Birthday to ME!

I had my birthday this week.  My wonderful husband got me two presents that I asked for and two that I had no idea what they were.  Here's the soundtrack to the musical The Scarlett Pimpernal. 

And here's a weird but surprised look that was captured by the camera.  I got Just Dance 2 for the Wii.

These are the four presents I got from my wonderful husband!  A game, a book, a Wii, game and some music.  What a wonderful birthday!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's day was very different for me this year.  I was at my brother's house, watching his three kiddos while he and his wife were in California.  It's been four years since I was working in the public schools during Valentine's day but it all came back very quickly as I was helping my nieces get ready for school and then when they came home with all their Valentine's.  In the above picture, my kindergarten niece thought that this sticker with a kitty with really big eyes was the best thing she had.  I thought this was really interesting because my other niece (from another brother) that is only two weeks younger than this one, choose to give out the kittens and puppies with the big, creepy eyes for her Valentines.  Both of these little girls thought that they were really cool Valentines...strange.  But I did have a great time staying with my nieces and nephew for a few days. 

And here's younger brother who was so excited when his sisters' brought home "candy" and they were very kind to share with him.  Such a cute kid that has a great personality.