I HEART my...

As I get a little closer to the end of my marathon training (1 1/2 weeks away...yikes!) It has kind of has been bittersweet. In a way I am glad that the crazy running will be over with for a while, but then I am kind of sad that the running is going to be over. I have had such a great time doing it all and I was thinking the other day of all the many things that have helped me get through this training and make it enjoyable. Here are a few of my favs...

The Garmin Forerunner rocks! It has been so much fun to put it on and always be able to see my pace, how far I am going, what my average pace was and etc, etc... And it is able to do so much more that I have not even figured out yet. I have loved running with this.
Next would have to be my ipod. Music helps me so much, although I am talking most of the time, it helps to have that background music getting me through the run. I am kind of bummed because a lot of races are not allowing headphones anymore, which is a bummer. Music rocks, it pumps you up on some of the races and gets you through to the end.
One of my favorite running shoes would have to be Brooks Adrenaline GTS. I love these things! They have been awesome to run in.

I also have recently tried a pair of Mizuno running shoes and I have really liked them too. They actually are little bit lighter than the Brooks which makes it nice. These are the ones I will actually be running the marathon in, hopefully they make me happy:) When doing long runs, you have to plant your water and food. Since we had our GPS watches and these little guys, we didn't have too. It saved so much time not having to map out everything and then we could just carry our water and food with us. And surprisingly, they didn't bother us one bit. We looked like a bunch of dorks with them on, you have to wear them high on your waist so they don't bounce around, but I will take looking like a dork if I don't have to map anything out.

And last but not least, I HEART my running partner. We have had a blast doing this training and she has been awesome to run with. When one of us is having a bad run day, the other is too. It has been crazy how that has happened. We run at the same pace and just have a lot to talk about. I am going to miss our long runs, I know crazy to say, but I really am. And she has deal ed with me and my bowel problems, I know a little too much information, but when you got to go you gotta go. Lou lou it has been real, your super rad!

Under construction

"Where have I been lately?" Well, I guess you could say, "a little busy." About 9 months ago, we noticed our kitchen floor starting to bubble and pop up, well we realized that our fridge had been slowly leaking and the floor was getting warped. Well finally, we are getting around to repairing it. And we have lived here for about 4 years, so of course, I want to kind of change things up. I guess nothing can be done simple...right? So, I have been busy, priming, painting, ripping up floor, keeping kids out of the kitchen/family room, living with my fridge in the office, no stove, eating out, living with dust EVERYWHERE, and just really wishing this doesn't take to long. Collin on the other hand has been, ripping up floor, laying sub floor, laying flooring, working, dealing with me, dealing with our patient kids, and did I mention dealing with me? We both have had our hands full for the last few days. We are both excited so far on how everything is turning out, I love the paint and I love the floor. So we will update soon, hopefully everything will be done sooner than later.

And a big hooray goes out to all of our help...we have been so thankful for it. Randall, Jason, Charlie, Cam, Justin...you rock!! And the Lou thanks for the pizza, milkshakes, and babysitting. And how could I forget the fan...it has kept Peiton asleep through all the banging.

A glimpse of the water damage. Luckily it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be.

Ripped up carpet

Starting the painting...ohhh, how miserable. This was the hardest stuff to paint. Thank goodness it was worth it, because I will never use it again.

The floor is a comin' in!
Randall!
Charlie!
Jason and Collin!

Birthday Celebration

The last week we have been having birthday celebrations like crazy. It has been a fun and wild, 7th, birthday for Coop dawg. We started the celebration on his birthday. I was really dreading throwing a kid birthday party for him and with a little negotiations, I didn't have to do one...yipee! He had a great day at school, he was able to be the "king for the day" which he thought was pretty cool. He got out of school and to his surprise, there was Grandma Bubba ready to walk him home, he was so happy to see her and spend a little time with her. Then when he got home, Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Holly were there waiting for him. He got to open presents from both grandparents, he was already spoiled, no need to give him the ones we got him. After Collin got home we opened the presents from us and then headed out to eat at his favorite restaurant, NOODLES & company. As part of the negotiation, we told him we would take him to Boondock's, well we got there and the parking lot was crazy full! There was no way we were going in, he was a good sport and said that was fine and that he would go play with some of his birthday toys. He was also pretty lucky because, the doorbell kept ringing, all of his friends and neighbors were bringing him birthday gifts, did I mention he got pretty spoiled?

On Friday night we had a little party with the Richards side of the family. Everyone was able to make it except Cam and Nicky and Court and Matt. It was fun to celebrate AGAIN.
Then Sunday night we celebrated with the Van Wagoner side of the family, or as you can tell by the picture, a few of us decided to celebrate :)

I think I am all birthday'd out for a while...

Flags

For the last 6 years, we have been going to the flags that are displayed in Sandy City in remembrance of the people's life's that were taken by the 9-11 attack. It has been a tradition and will continue to be a tradition as long as they do it. It is weird to think that Cooper will be learning about the 9-11 attack in school someday and it will be good to know that there was also some joy in that day, it being his birthday.



I am so grateful for the men and women that continue to fight for our freedom. We live in an amazing country and we are so lucky to have the freedom that I have.

Coop's Seven!

My little guy is 7! I can't believe how time flies. I still remember the day he was born, I will never forget that day. He entered our world at 4:30 in the morning, a few hours before the 9-11 attack. I was so happy to have my first child and that he was finally there, it kept my mind off of the horrible things that were happening. He has grown so big and is such a joy in my life.

Here are a few reasons I love Cooper so much...

He has always been the cutest little thing. His cute red hair, fun smile, and great personality.
With him being my first child, I have such a special bond with him. I love when he gets in his very talkitive moods and we can just sit and chat. He says the most clever things.
He is a goof ball! Who doesn't love a goof ball? He is always cracking a goofy face and always up for a good time.

He loves to play. He isn't lazy by any means (unless it comes to unloading the dishwasher, making his bed, setting the table, etc....but he will always do it if I ask.) He loves to play!
He is so tender hearted. He gets this from me. I can very rarely raise my voice at him because he will put him in tears. It is great because he is such a good kid, that I hardly ever have to get mad at him. He is very good at following the rules and making sure he doesn't get in trouble.
He is the best big brother anyone could have...seriously! He has been so good to Bode. He lets Bode wrestle him to the ground (which can be quite painful at times). He always includes Bode when he has friends playing over. He is very protective, when Bode is on the run, he is the first one to go and chase him down. He has been so much help with Bode and Bode loves him to pieces.
He has also been a awesome big bro to Peiton. This little lady loves him so much. He is my mini-babysitter, always so helpful when I need him to keep a eye on her when I need to get something done real quick. Always so good to entertain her and just play with her. She is going to love having such a great big brother when she is older.

There are so many more things that I love about my little Coop, but these are just a few. I hope you have a great day Cooper and I love you so much I couldn't ask for a better son. You are too perfect!

Book Club

So I am the lucky one and got the assignment to host the "Breaking Dawn" book club...yipee! What a fun book club to host. Thanks Kristen. Call me a dork, but I really get into things like this, making it fun and trying to put yourself into the moment. To start out with, I downloaded a few trailers from Youtube and had those playing on the TV to get us more in the mood (I am so excited for the movie, I already have my ticket purchased, Thanks Alisha!)

I had a great turnout and the discussion was fun. We had a lot of good topics to discuss. Some loved the book, some liked the book and some didn't care to much for the book. I was with the like the book. I really had a hard time reading it, it didn't keep my interest too much. I liked it, but I found myself bored a lot. With Twilight, there was so much happening, so many things that made you want to keep reading, I didn't find that with this one. Anyway, back to book club...
For the food, I thought I would try to keep it along the red, black, fancy line...since we were dealing with vampires, and the Cullen's do like the best. For a little handout, I had "Vampire Repelling Garlic Mints," and I was so excited at how my cookies turned out. I decided to make sugar cookies and do a Team Edward-Team Jacob theme, and I must say, I was really surprised how good the werewolf cookies turned out. I wasn't too sure how they would look, but I think they turned out okay. Now the Edward cookies, weren't so fab....that's okay, Jacob deserves to have the spotlight every now and then, right?

Nine years of complete bliss....

Alright, so here it goes, the famous anniversary post is about to begin. You know the cheesy, lovey dubby, posts we all make to our husbands on our anniversaries. I can't believe it has been 9 years for Collin and I, where has the time gone? It's crazy! It has been like I said, "nine years of complete bliss..." what do you expect being married to a guy like Collin, he is the greatest!Nine of my most memorable memories

1. Of coarse, the day we got married. It was a perfect day! The day was beautiful, the wedding ceremony was amazing, the luncheon was fab, the reception was a blast and you know what happens next...perfect! We couldn't have asked for a better day.




2. Our first year of marriage was awesome. We had our new little town home and life was just happy. We both worked bringing in a solid income and we acted like we didn't have any worries. (We probably should have saved a little more, but we sure did have fun) We went to movies whenever we wanted and just had a blast. We both also put on some weight due to the constant binging of Tostitos con queso dip.

3.Before Coop was born, we were able to go to Paris France. This was so much fun to be in this romantic city over Valentine's day. We had a great time.

4. The birth's of all of our kids. Each one is so different and I have such different feelings with all of them. Cooper it was our first, and we were so excited. We were so excited to start this new chapter in our life's. Then there was Bode. Ohh Bode! This is probably the delivery that affected us the most, at least me. After Bode had been delivered and I was experiencing some problems where I literally thought my life was coming to an end, I remember looking at Collin, and I will never forget the look on his face, so scared, so sincere. And LASTLY (really) there was Peiton. We were having a girl...yipee! And as long as we could get through the delivery smoothly, we were fantastic. After the delivery was over and we got the A-ok on everything, we were ecstatic!

5. The emotions of buying our actual first house. We were so excited! It was so much fun to pick everything out and even better to move in. We have loved our house and I will always cherish the memories we have in it.

6. The first time we bought a NEW car. We had always had these used, cheaper cars that worked out actually really well. But Collin took me car shopping almost 2 years ago and put me in the drivers seat of a Pilot. I was in heaven! I loved driving this brand new car, no squeaks, no stains, no nothing, brand new! Well and that was that for a couple of weeks, until he drove home one night and pulled it into our driveway. I was ecstatic! It was such a great surprise.

7. For Collin's 30th birthday party, I threw him a surprise party. This was such a memorable experience for me, because he had no idea and he was sooo surprised. It was such a fun night with family and friends. We had quite the crowd there.

8. We have had some awesome trips, they have all been so much fun. We have gone on killer family trips that have been so much fun. We have been on a few friends trips that have also been amazingly fun! One of the trips I am going to highlight right now is taking our kids to Disneyland 2 years ago. We had such a good time with our kids. It was so much fun to see their excitement. Collin and I our BIG amusement park fans, so we are super giddy when it comes to places like Disneyland. We try to get the most out of the park and spend all day there until they kick us out at night. I think we probably drove Collin's parents crazy, because we were non-stop!


9. My last memory would be just all the fun dates I have had with Collin. Our favorite thing to do is go to dinner and a movie. We both love the movies! We have had some great laughs at the movie theaters.
We have had some great memories over the past nine years. I am looking forward to all the many more we will have.

To celebrate our anniversary this year, we were able to go to the Zermatt for a night (thanks Holly). We had a blast!

We headed up early Friday afternoon and stopped at Park City and did a little shopping at the outlets (although, most of them aren't outlets anymore, kind of lame).

We went to the local Smith's and bought a BUNCH of junk for us to eat that night. And no lie, we pretty much ate it all!

This was a little surprise that was delivered to our room..(thanks again Holly).

We ate at Schnietter's restaurant which is located at the Zermatt. On Friday nights they have a seafood buffet. I am not a big seafood fan, but I was a big fan of this. It was excellent. Very high quality food. We ate ourselves sick. And then we went back and enjoyed all of the yummy snacks that we bought and ate ourselves sick again. It was well worth it though. We had a great time and felt very lucky to getaway without the kids and spend some time to ourselves. I love you babe and I appreciate all you do!

"Dig me up some copper!"

Today we went a little further than our backyard and headed up to Kennecott Copper Mine. I have been wanting to take the boys here for a while now and it was a perfect time since it was Coop's last week off track. I haven't been there since I was like 14 and I didn't remember much. It was pretty neat to see the big hole (or mine) and the huge trucks. Bode was actually quite intrigued. It was a perfect trip, only $5.00 to get in, and we were there probably about 45 minutes, just in time to come home for lunch and naps. I don't think I will be buying a season pass there, but I am glad we went.
A few shots by the huge tire
All the kids except Sydney, Jake and Cole
Cooper, Paul, Luke
Bode loved the visitor's center. There were so many buttons to push, things lit up, and he looking darling using these telescopes.