Swiss Days

I can't believe Labor day weekend is here. This is year I am kind of sad to see it hear this soon. I feel like the summer has kind of been too short since we got shorted on the springtime this year. I am NOT ready for the cold to come and for winter. I am not a fan of the winter time. It will be nice to have the weather cool down a little bit, but I want it to stay that way at least through September, perfect if it lasted through October too.

It has been tradition in my family to go to Swiss Days up in beautiful Midway, Utah for so many years now. I remember going as a child on Friday night with our neighbors the Russell's, we always had so much fun. We have kind of continued the tradition by staying at my Grandma and Pa Edwards house on Friday night (they live in Charleston, which is the town neighboring Midway) and those that want to run the 10 k in the morning do and then we stay and watch the parade. It is something that I look forward to as the summer comes to a end.
We started off by meeting our good friends the Peck's, who were also headed up to enjoy some of the festivities. Now let me talk about the cute Peck's for a minute. They too are one of our fabulous neighbors that we love to spend time with. We have had many good laughs with them and a lot of fun memories. Just look at them, they are a darling family. Keysha and I have become great friends and I love to spend time with her. She is one of those girls that looks amazing, anytime of the day. If it is 5 am at the gym, she looks great or just when she is in her sweats, she makes them look killer, she is a doll. She has also been a great running partner too (although she is a little quicker than me, and I probably slow her down quite a bit) but we have had some good times running together. Keysha is very friendly and is always up for making new friends and always is ready to have a good time and always up for a good challenge, I love it! I know that I can count on her for anything. They are just an all-around cute family!

Alright back to the subject of the weekend....we went to a restaurant called Breadstix, it was pretty good, but kind of crowded so we split the tables up so we didn't have to wait as long. We had some wild and crazy kids that really wanted to eat so it actually worked out great, but we weren't able to talk as much. After dinner we said our goodbyes and they headed to the Zermatt and we headed to Grandma and Pa's for the big family slumber party.

The race started at 7 am the next morning. It was a beautiful morning, a tid bit cold, but it eventually warmed up. Alisha and Corey surprised us that morning, Alisha was up and ready to run the race, it was so good to have her there. (They drove up that morning from Salt Lake, very dedicated, it is a hour drive) My cousin's Brittany, Allison and Tyler were all running too, it was great to see them since we don't see them too much through out the year. If anyone ever has the chance to run this race, do! It is such a beautiful course, a little hilly at first, but worth it. A little downer was that I ran in a running skirt that I had never ran in before and I guess it was a little big, because I was pulling the dang thing up during the whole race, it was a little annoying and I am sure people got there share of a show that they really did pay to see, hopefully it didn't go down too low.

Here are a few after shots. Keysha, I didn't get one of you and me...duh! Keysha rocked the race, of coarse, she is die hard! And for all those single ladies reading my blog, my cute cousin Tyler is single (if you call him single, he dates up a storm) I could line you up....I would have to approve first, he is one cute kid and deserves the best.

After the race we hit the parade. This was one killer parade, well the parade wasn't the greatest, but the candy was awesome! They threw some yummy candy, not just your salt water taffy stuff, some good stuff, and tons of it. I think we have our Halloween candy set for this year we got so much.

Thanks Grandma and Pa for letting us crash at your house. Your hospitality was great like usual. I loved all the yummy fruit, especially those strawberries....thank you! And Tillmann's and V-dubs, we missed you, hope you had a great weekend. And another SHOUT-OUT to Collin who makes it possible for me to do these crazy race things and help with all the kids, mom and dad you were a big help too, thanks!

Hollie Dollie it's YOUR day!

Happy Birthday Haws it is your special day. For my birthday my sister Hollie did a post for me entitled "10 reasons to hate Natalie Richards" so I thought I would outdo her and do 15 reasons to hate Hollie Sorenson! So here it goes Haws, you asked for it!


1. She is the only one in our family who has been a super model....I mean just look at her, isn't she amazing? She really is beautiful, inside and out...ohh the tears:)

2. She got to serve a mission in Sydney Australia, what a cool mission! And besides the fact she got to serve in Sydney, she did a awesome job and built her testimony so strong and it continues to rock!
3. She has super, silky, dark brown hair....there is much that needs to be done to it to keep it looking good. Pantene commercials...yep that is her.
4. My brothers love her. She grew up the youngest girl which put her in the youngest 3 in our family, the other two are boys. She spent most of her time with the boys and she has built a great relationship with them.
5. She is tough! Because she grew up with the boys, she learned to fight and be super tough. I believe she broke her foot once when she was wrestling with the boys. She knows how to knock you down.

6. She is super smart. She has the brains and the desire. The 4.0 student in the household. I believe she is the only that has graduated with a 4 year degree in our family (I don't think you made it Stacy, correct me if I am wrong.)

7. She is a good mom. She wants to have lots of kids, this is very amazing given the fact that her 2 year old is EVERYWHERE and keeps her on her toes all the time and her new little one loves to scream. She is very patient with them, and they love her to pieces.

8. She made me cry in karaoke! She can always out sing me (I know, this isn't hard to do.)

9. She is a peacemaker. I know this isn't something to hate her for, but when I am really mad when someone has done something, she always seems to know how to calm me down and make me realize I am a little looney.

10. Everyone loves Hollie, and she has kept in contact with so many of her friends.

11. She is feisty! I love it!

12. Her husband. He is a bit on the feminine side (you can see from the picture below) and this makes him say "yes" whenever she wants pedicures, hair done, when she cries, when she wants chocolate, because he agrees and he feels the same.

13. Actually NOT! He is the furthest thing away from feminine. He is "Mr. Handy" he can fix or do anything and this is something all wives admire.

14. She knows every word to the soundtrack of "Grease 2." And she sings them with such emotion....especially "Reproduction." I mean she knows the parts like a flower like nobody I know...that is what the song is about right??

15. Her personality. She is one of those people that just attract other people because she is fun to be with and has a fun sense of humor. She doesn't get intimidated by others and can strike up a conversation with anyone, which will tell you why she has so many good friends. People are just attracted to her.

Haws I love ya and I hope you have had a great birthday!

Update on "a little fed up"...

Thank you for all your comments on my little issue with the "birds." They all were very helpful. After a lot of thought, my neighbor Heidi and I decided we would tag team it and meet at her house and discuss it. It worked out great, she was outside mowing her lawn when we got there and I even made her cookies to soften her cup and not seem so defensive. So we commented on how well she has handled her dogs (she has 5!!) and how they don't bother us and we have no complaints about them, and then we got to the next issue which would be the problem with the birds and the bird feeders, she was clueless! She had no idea that these bird feeders were causing so much problems through out the neighborhood and frankly I don't think she really cares. We tried to be as polite as possible and pretty much demanded that she get rid of the feeders, she seemed devastated and she never said that she would get rid of them. We did mention that if it is still a problem we will probably have to go to the city (who knows if they could do anything, but there has to be something with the health issues with all the bird poop).

Heidi and I decided we would give her until Saturday and see if she does anything, if not we will confront her again and see what happens. I pray that this will end well since we will be neighbors for a while. So we will see how it all pans out and I will keep you informed if the feeders are gone!

Thanks Heidi, you did a great job and you are great with confrontations, which I am not. It really helped to have you there.

Date night @ Boondocks

This summer my friend Lou Lou and I have been wanting to take Coop and Paul to Seven Peaks, well that never happened, so we decided to do a date night at Boondocks. I always love the time I get to spend with each kid individually. I got kind of frustrated because while we were driving the race cars, Coop kept asking " how many more laps?" Finally I got mad and said, "most kids would love to do this, quit complaining!" I got kind of mad, but he was being so ungrateful, all he wanted to do was play in the arcade and get a ton of tickets so he could buy stuff. Next time I will not spend the money on the race car and let him have it in tokens....seriously! But it was a great time besides that, I am so blessed to have such a good little guy. He is so obedient and such a great helper. He loves his siblings and takes such good care of them. I don't give him enough credit for as good as a kid he is.

All the prizes the kids got. Paul scored with the jackpot on one of the machines and got like 150 tickets at one time. (Coop was a little jealous, we had to discuss the jealously issue too.) When all was said and done, Cooper got all the prizes he wanted and we had a great time.

"Just a little fed up..."

Alright, this post links back to a previous post "Tuppence a bag" in the post I talked about a neighbor that has WAY to many bird feeders and I felt a little like Mary Poppins. Well now I am not so giddy as Mary Poppins, I am more like Rambo and want to blow the birds heads off or blow the bird feeders to pieces. I am so fed up with the birds! The main reason would be the bird crap that is all over the place. My house is surrounded by it and it is making me ill. For instance I have this nice patio furniture set that Collin bought me for Mother's day last year and it is no longer usuable, it is covered in bird feces! Everytime I look at it I get sick to my stomach and more frustrated. And I am not to keen on going out and cleaning up bird crap. I can't even send my kids in the backyard because of the bird crap everywhere, Bode would probably play in it. It is discusting! And it is just not my house, it is all over the neighborhood, we have been swarmed by birds.



So my question to all my fellow blog readers, is "what do I do?" Should I go and talk to her as kindly as possible and say what? Should we leave a anomynous letter on the porch? Should I call the city and see if there is an ordinance on how many stinkin bird feeders you can have in your yard? Should I hire a bird hitman? What do I do? It is driving me crazy!! Any suggestions would be much appreciated or any ideas on how to get rid of birds would be much appreciated.

This pictures actually don't do it justice...it is everwhere!

{Back to school for Bode}

Bode started his second year of preschool today and o'boy was he excited, just about as excited as I was. Call me a bad mother but I have been looking forward to this day for the last couple of weeks. It is such a good break for me, the bus picks him up at 10:35 and he gets home about 1:45, I can get sooo much done. And what is even more awesome about it is that he LOVES it! When I pulled out his backpack that he hasn't used since June, he knew exactly what was happening, he went and put it on and went right to the door. It made me so happy. We went outside to wait for the bus and he waited patiently until we saw it coming down the street. When he saw the bus he got this HUGE grin and started his hands and arms went crazy, he was so excited. He jumped on the bus said hi to Debbie, his cute bus driver, and was on his way. When he got home he was as happy as could be and emptied his backpack to show me what was inside. It was a great day for both of us. I am so grateful for the programs the state has for kids with disabilities. The people that work with them are so good and care so much about these children. They really impress me and I am so glad that Bode gets to be a part of it.

Runnin' just as fast as you can....

Yesterday a bunch of others and I ran the HObbLe CreEk 1/2 Marathon, it was a blast. This was by far my most favorite 1/2 I have ran (well it is only my 2nd, but still the best). The course was great, mostly downhill for the first 8 miles and then it kind of got hilly, but not too bad. It kind of got hot toward the end, but it was still great. The scenery was beautiful! You run down HoBbLe CReEk canyon and into Mapleton and finish there. It was such a fun group that I ran with, which makes it so much fun.
Here is a few of us finishing....T.J. I am especially sooo proud of you, you were amazing!Me and my biggest fan! I am so lucky to have a husband that will deal with me and all my long runs to get trained for things like this. It takes a lot of patience because he is with the kids on Saturday mornings and sacrifices a lot for me (a lot of early morning golf games). I really appreciate all the love and support he gives me.
It is always sooo good to have people cheering you on when you are finishing. I was so happy to see my awesome friends Marcy and Alicia at the finish line with signs cheering us on. You girls RoCk!
My sister Stacy ran this 1/2 also. It was so fun to have her there and to be able to talk to her during the training process. I am so proud of her! Her last 1/2 marathon she hated, so it takes a lot to try another one and she roCkeD it! There is nothing like crossing the finish line and having your fans there cheering you on, it is actually very emotional and Stacy definitely felt that. She was so cute, she came up to me after the finish the tears started coming and my tears started coming, it is such a good feeling. You cry baby Stacy!

This is the winner of the 1/2, he was amazing! He finished it in like 60 something minutes. Incredible! We couldn't help not get a picture with him...what a stud!

Like I said before this marathon was so much fun...including waking up at 4 am so we could make it to Mapleton to catch the bus by 5:30 that takes you up to the top of the course. We were lucky to get into a bus that kept overheating, so it had to continue to pull over so it took longer to get up to the top. The longer it took meant the more time we were able to stay on the bus and not sit around at the top in the freezing cold waiting for the race to start. And that fact that when we got to the top we had to wait in line to use the define "porta potties" to get the race nerves out of the system...if you know what I mean. I was so happy with my time and it just got me more excited for the St. George marathon coming up in 6 weeks! Holy Cow! Thanks friends for a great run...I had a blast!

Birthday dinner

My birthday was last week and my sister Hollie's birthday is next week so we decided to combine the little dinner get-away with my parents. We decided to head up to Ruth's Diner. I love Ruth's Diner, I think it is the atmosphere that I love more than anything. It is up Immigration canyon and it is this old little diner that has patio seating and it is just really nice and pretty out on the patio seating. On Thursday nights during the summer they have "Blaine's Barbecue," he lives near my parents and we have actually had him cater some of our family events before, so we all new it was so good. Well I decided to try something off of the actual menu instead of the barbecue...big mistake...well not huge, my food was still okay, but I really wished I would have got the barbecue. So that was kind of a bummer, but I was able to pick on everyone else's plate just to get a little taste, it was delish!

If there is ever a night during the last weeks of summer that we have, head up to Ruth's diner and get "Blaine's Barbecue," it is well worth it. Just a heads up, there is quite a wait, after 6:00 it is probably a hour wait. Crazy place, but crazy fun! They do have a live band on Thursday's night, which kept Peiton entertained.

Thanks for dinner dad and mom and for the fun night and thanks Jacki for tending the two boys so we were able to go.
Peiton got to tag along with the adults and she was so good. She loved listening to the band, we were front and center and she just sat there and clapped and kicked her legs. She had a blast.
Love ya dad and mom!
Russ and Haws...Russ your hand looks HUGE in this picture!

LIFE JUST GOT A little HARDER...

Peiton has now decided that she wants to conquer the long, dreadful stairs. She does great on them, the only problem is, she just stops and turns around and doesn't realize that she will fall all the way to the bottom and land on the hard slate. The stairs scare me to death! She needs to learn to do them, but then I don't want her falling and cracking her head open, but then again, all kids are destined to have a good fall down the stairs...right?

This woman ROCKS!

I believe I have found my new inspiration....Dara Torres! Doesn't this lady look amazing? The fact that she is 41, looking like this, and doing what she is doing, is awesome. I told Collin all I need is, 2 personal trainers, 2 stretching coaches, a massage therapist, a nutritionist and 6 hours a day to spend at the gym. I am not quite sure if it is going to happen...you can always dream, right?

Friday night @ the park

Friday night we decided to take advantage of this awesome, cool weather that we are having and venture out to the park with our friends the Myers. We grabbed quick Little Caesars pizza and had a little picnic. It was a great night to let the kids just run and play and the adults could do a little visiting when we weren't chasing kids all over the place. I know I have mentioned that I LOVE my neighborhood before, and one of the great things about my neighborhood is that I have became such good friends with many of them. We have loved getting to know the Myers over the years and our friendship has just continued to grow. Lou Lou (aka Leslie) is one of a kind. I love this girl! She has become one of my best friends and I can always count on this girl for anything. Every time I am with her, I can count on rolling a gut...she is hilarious. We are so opposite on many things but, sooo much a like on many things, it makes a perfect friendship. She has been a awesome running partner, we have had some of the most random topics of discussion ever...I look forward to every run with Lou lou...well maybe not the run, but being with her. She is one goofy, sincere, lovable, fun, wild chick-ita...that I love to pieces.

The other great thing about the Myer's, is that they have a son Cooper's age. Coop and Paul have become the best of friends. They play so well together, which makes it great for me and Lou lou. You wouldn't think that Paul is the same age as Cooper, he towers him by 5 ft...no joke! (Well maybe a little joke, but he is so much taller than Coop)

And then there is Jaa...Jaa...! Like Lou, lou, Justin is a blast to be with too. He is always full of conversation, there is never a dull moment with these two. And that fact that he puts up with his goofy wife and her two dogs...says a lot! J/K ...hehehehe!

Thanks for the fun night Myer's!

"Take me out to the ball game..."

Last Saturday night we were able to go to the Bee's game with the Richard's family. Cooper has been looking forward to this for the last month. I think this is the 3rd year doing it, Charlie is able to get his brother's suite and take all of us. The boys have a blast.....well, all the boys except for Bode. On the way down he fell asleep so life was awful for him. He screamed for probably more than half of the game. Everyone was probably ready to rip our heads off because we wouldn't give in to taking him out of the suite to run around. Then finally like good parents do...we gave in, Court and Matt took him for a walk around the baseball field and then he came back pretty happy. And then there was Peiton that was fighting a ear infection, so she wasn't the most pleasant little lady either. But we lucked out and had some awesome food and had fun visiting and watching the Olympics....go USA! And go Bee's...you need the as much of luck as you can get, they weren't looking so hot. Thanks for the fun night everyone!

Grandpa Charlie trying to comfort Bode during his breakdown
Nicky, Cam, Court and Matt...It was so good to have Court and Matt here so much this summer. We miss not seeing them, they are so fun to be with.

Collin and his little lady
Do you think they are related??? I am not sure. Matt and Mat

The man who makes it all happen

Kelly and Logan