We DO Hard Things

The four of us left mid-Saturday morning leaving our spouses in charge. No kids. No husbands. Just girls wanting to have fun. And fun we did have.

Amber, Tishia, Tiffany and Jenny

It was so nice to leave behind the 100 degree/brown scenery for something more refreshing.

Yes, we did eat fresh, but this wasn't the fresh I was really meaning. It was especially hard for me to try and eat good on vacation, but when it comes to running. That is just what you do.

We got to Cabazon about 3:30pm and literally shopped until we dropped. By the end of the day they were kicking us out of the store. I am kicking myself for not capturing the ginormous line we stood in for Amber and Tiffany to get their Coach purses. But, they scored some awesome deals. I walked away with my favorite True Religion jeans. I was a happy girl!

Sometimes a little happy (ha) Those who know me can attest I get a weird sort of burst of energy when I am overly tired. I couldn't help jumping on the beds and if you look close enough Amber couldn't either. (her legs are behind me)

Sunday we headed down the road for sacrament meeting at 9am. Becca was sweet enough to give me all the information for church times/etc. The church building was absolutely gorgeous. We took a ton of photos and I think most of the members thought we were a tad strange over all of our ooooing and awing. I have never seen a chapel so unique.

Aside from the beautiful weather and lovely scenery we some how managed to drive on several toll roads. The GPS (aka Gwen) always gave us the fastest route which ended up being a toll road! And me being the cheap skate I am got a little tired of paying 2.75 to drive on a freeway. My friends found it humerous how upset I got over the whole thing.

After church we headed down to Crystal Cove near Newport Beach to soak up the sun. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Talk about a perfect relaxing day just before a race.

We couldn't resist doing a little Karate Kidd meditating, along with some cheer jumps in the sand.

Minnie flew in late Sunday night, just in time to eat a great pasta dinner from CPK.

Monday was race day. The weather was just right, over cast and most of the course was downhill. I think we all had the race jitters. We had our energy beans, FRS chews, and gu's all prepared to give us the boost we needed. I stayed with Amber until about mile 10.5 and my knee started giving me some agony not to mention I threw up one of the gu's I hadn't tried. At that point my body just couldn't keep up the great pace I was holding for so long. I was so bummed. I told Amber to run ahead and kept her in my sight as long as possible. She ended up leading the pack, but I still was able to improve my time by about 20 minutes. My average pace ended up being 8:28. Yay for me!

My time according to my garmin

Becca and Laurie ended up meeting me at the finish line. It was so fun to finally put faces with voices. I wish I had more time (and not so stinky) to talk to them. Perhaps next time we can do lunch.

Becca, Laurie and Jenny

Once we all ran into the finish line we were ready to head back to the hotel. The bummer part was the shuttles took a tad longer than I would have liked.

The line wrapped around Laguna Hills, HS

We were all pretty beat after such an intense race. I think we all pushed ourselves to our best ability. It was nice to ooze the muscles in the hot tub.

Last but not least, we ended up at In and Out Burger. After trying to eat semi-healthy for the first day, my body was seriously having some major withdrawals. Nothing like a double/double after burning close to 1600 calories! And it was really tasty!

It was such a great weekend. I hope to do it again next year, who knows which race we will do. St. George??? (Minnie, Tiffany, Tishia) At any rate it looks like I am being forced to stay off the road. (which may make me a little crazy) My knee caused me some major grief about 10 miles in to the race. But, with exercise there is bound to be an injury now and again. We all decided after running the Ragnar and putting ourselves through such a challenge we all may be a little crazy. But, soon after the race we began to train again for a half. I have to say even though I sit here with my knee throbbing it was worth every ounce of pain. Because in life, we do hard things, that is what we do!

Queen For May

Being absent for three weeks in the blogging community feels like a lifetime.  Recaping that much time is nearly impossible. The other downside is the small things you forget on a day to day basis, the funny comments your kids make, or the observations you have driving in your car just gets forgotten.  But, what I can't forget is how well my children and husband treated me for Mother's Day. I was literally a Queen for the day.  Luke's kindergarten class had a workshop the Friday before Mother's Day.  It went from coloring to being served cookies all the way to a manicure by Luke himself.

Mother's Day came and went.  I can't forget how much I enjoy this holiday each time it comes around. Unlike last year, I had the opportunity to share with four important women in my life. My grandma never seems to want anything material except quality time with her family.  I decided to make one of my signature pies (which she also happens to love.

Grandma modeling her pie

Isn't she the cutest?

Janet, Mom, and Jenny

Grammy with her 5 grandkids

Dad & Mom

(Mom's birthday dinner)

The weekend following Mother's Day, it was the Father son camp out.  Doug & Mark piled all the boys in and headed up near Roosevelt Lake to enjoy the cool pine trees.  The biggest highlight was not having to sleep in a tent.  The boys all piled in the camper (I think that is definitely my kind of camping).  

One of the three photos Doug documented.

Doug and Mark's self portrait.

Apparently, car photos were the only ones that got taken.

Hey, but at least there's proof a Circle K stop was made.

While the boys were off in the wilderness, I took my 202 photography class last Saturday.  It was a FULL take and a ton of information.  The main focus was lighting.  I also was able to learn a portion about editing.  I found this photo quite humorous.  We had about 5 different sets of kids to practice on.  Because all 8 of us were practicing it looked like this poor 5 year old was dealing with the papperatzi.

Taylor was lucky enough to be one of the kid models.  This particular shoot was learning the natural sun flare.  Isn't it cool?  She was quite a trooper, it not only was terribly hot, but she ended up posing for about 1 hour.

The heat has definitely kicked in and THANKFULLY our friends down the street have allowed us to use their pool pretty much when we want.  Weston and Luke both have gone from very timid and having to wear a life vest, to jumping in the deep end and touching the bottom.

Hershal, Weston and Jackson

Last, but not least this little preschool trio has spent the majority of the school year together.  It has been so fun watching Weston's friendship grow with these two. I know for certain he will miss being at school with his best buddies.  The busyiness continues with my girls trip to California this weekend (running a half marathon) following a weekend getaway to visit our best friends in San Antonio.  It doesn't get better than that!

Fabric Gold Mine

Tempe, AZ is most famous for it's college campus and home of the Arizona State Sun Devils. Since hosting the Superbowl a few years back the city has put some serious money into that area and revamped downtown Tempe. It now has a huge lake, several stores/restaurants and of course the famous "Mill Ave" bridge. However, before you reach ASU campus (found on Apache Blvd.) while driving if you look carefully you can spot a "hole in the wall". This isn't just a typical run down building, but a place you can sometimes strike gold. That is if you have the patience to dig. When I first moved here and was in the market for buying cheap fabric I was introduced to SAS. It's definitely not the nicest store on the block, but you can find some really good steals. I would best compare it to a scaled down version of LA fabric district.

I only wish I had a store like this living in New Orleans. It's seriously the greatest place to find costume gadgets. Perfect for Mardi Gras. I love this metallic ribbon, so fun for packages.

Sequence anyone? Gobs to choose from.

They also have three rows of ribbon that I could spend hours picking out.
A girl can never have enough ribbon right?

I think back in the day Taylor would have ate these feathers up (when she used to dress up in her princess outfits). I didn't quite capture the fabric so you will have to imagine a visual. However, take my word there are tables and tables piled to dig through. It has been months since I have actually taken the time to sew anything, however looking through some fun bright prints today I may reconsider and dust off my sewing machine. Chanel where are you when I need you?

Take A Walk In My Shoes

I bought new running shoes no more than 3 weeks ago. I tried on several pairs walked around and decided on the "more cushioned" style. When I got home I was excited to try my new shoes and bragged over the comfort. (you can even ask my husband) That was until I started running in them. I have been buying New Balance shoes for the past 4-5 years. They have served my foot quite well and why change if something is working? I also go to the New Balance store because I have never had good luck at sporting good stores with shoes. My only complaint is the choice of color for running shoes. Why are they always white with obnoxious colors? Purple most definitely wouldn't be a color I would jump up and down about.

Well, I ran a few long runs in them and couldn't get over how my left ankle ached during my run. I have never had this problem and began to question my shoes. Normally, knee pains and aches come from "old" shoes. It wasn't like I bought a cheap pair of shoes, these were the top of the line and I did fork out some money for these puppies. A few days went by and the thought of spending that much money and not loving my shoes was sickening.

I learned the toe box is important as well,
you don't want them too tight

A few friends had explained to me that there is a running store that will actually make you run on a tread mill to determine what type of shoe you need. Out of pure curiosity I drove out to day to Roadrunner Sports to see if this was too good to be true. After talking to the associate and explaining my shoe problem (I brought my problem shoes in to show him) I followed him over to a tread mill where the computer video taped me running bare foot. They call it the "shoe dog" At first I felt a tad strange, running in front of a stranger, but luckily it only lasted about 10 seconds.

Let's hope these ones serve my feet well!

I learned I wasn't a pronator, but that I run fairly straight and have high arches. Who knew? I was immediately sold after he brought out several of the "stability" shoes for me to try. I tried on brands I never knew existed (except in running magazines). I didn't end up buying a pair of shoes, but I did head back over to New Balance to exchange my current ones for some new ones free of charge. Gotta love that 30 day guarantee! This was really my only option since I could only get store credit. I guess only time will tell if I will love this style. I do know for certain, in the next few months when I need a new pair The Roadrunner may be selling me a new pair of shoes.

Have you ever heard of a place where they analyze the way you walk and run?

Cinco De Mayo

Luke chasing after his buddies

Today was Luke's field day. I personally wouldn't call it your "traditional" field day. There were no long jumps, races or hurdles involved like it was in my elementary school. For us it was all about winning as many ribbons as possible. I think I came home with 2, 1st places one year. It's unfortunate that the "everyone is a winner" has been instilled in kids these days. I think it has taken the challenge of what it really feels like to accomplish a personal goal. I am not knocking that everyone should get a fair chance, but I like a little competition now and again. Regardless of how I feel my kindergartner had so much fun. They had several stations they rotated through. I happened to come at the squirt bottle one. I had to stay clear due to my camera, but was able to capture some pretty cute faces.

The next station I witnessed was the tug o war. The rope was in 4 sections, so I am not sure they realized no one could really win. But, they did enjoy pulling with all their might.

Luke fell a time or two and I couldn't resist how he held his hands out in disgust. He was soaked from head to toe. He most definitely takes after his mom.

I managed to get a snap shot of him with Mrs Hughes (his teacher). I really have her to thank for such a wonderful year. He has come so far and just LOVES school. In between preschool drop offs and a trip to the grocery store. I discovered this awesome serving bowl, perfect for today's celebration. Gotta love the local grocery store...

I love all of the vibrant colors!

Doug's office put on a Cinco De Mayo lunch for all the employees. I would have to say it was more of a feast than a lunch. We had and entire conference table spread of food! I guess it's a good thing I ran 8 miles this morning. Happy Cinco De Mayo to all!!

Hygiene 101

Taylor's 7th Birthday

The moment you become a parent you feel a sense of responsibility to make sure your baby's needs are met. I never would have imagined 12 years ago would come so fast. Like the blink of an eye fast! The little girl who once wore two french braids, loved her bear, and belted Disney songs around the house has now grown up. This past weekend Taylor and I attended a brunch for all of the 11 year old achievement girls. It was a 2 hour seminar on appropriate dress, taking care of yourself, and most importantly remembering that each one of us is a child of God.

Bluebonnet Season
2006

I am not sure if I have been in denial with the whole puberty thing. It's pretty foreign to me as I have never experienced it with any of my children. I guess I assumed Taylor would come up to me begging to shave, ask questions if she had any, or sneak into my makeup. She has done none of the above. In fact, the thought of it all hasn't even crossed her mind.

Taylor and Mom
2007

My main concern is I don't want her to feel afraid to ask questions if she has any. My mom for the most part was pretty open, but really never gave me any hygiene guidance (sorry mom). I vividly remember sneaking into my Papa's medicine cabinet to use his razor. And it was probably one of the dumbest things I could have done. It was extra sharp for starters. Let's just say I ended up leaving the bathroom with several strips of toilet tissue attached to my wounds. As far as my female issues, I was alone and panicked the morning I started. My mom was at work and I called my grandma in hysterics as to what I should do. I had dance and couldn't be caught with a bulge in my leotard. It was definitely a memory I wish to forget.

Having said all of this, I want Taylor to have a more smooth transition into becoming a young woman. I know, that sounds completely cheesy, but true. I decided to step up to the plate and practice what we were taught this past Saturday. I went out and bought Taylor some facial wash, moisturizer and a razor.

I actually offered to help her shave her legs, but with full confidence she said, mom I think I can do it. In which I replied, "Are you sure? You may cut yourself?" Thoughts flashed back in my mind of the blood running down my legs as I tried to remove my blonde patches of hair on my legs. But, I was completely wrong and she came out of the shower without even a nick! A pro for the first time? Not fair. My little girl and I are now becoming more alike each day. We both wear bras, use razors, wear the same size clothes, have the same size shoes, and share hair products. It's a bit strange, but at the same time it's exciting to be able to do girl things with your only daughter. I better live it up while I can becaues I am sure the next 12 years will be here before I know it!

Back On My Saddle......

Grandma & Papa

It's been a rough two weeks. Some days I feel like several months have gone by and other days it seems like no time at all has lapsed. We lost my grandpa on April 22nd at 3:25am. At the point of his passing it was a blessing to see him go. We had watched him struggle and be in discomfort for about a month. He stopped eating a week prior to his death, he lost motor skills (due to another stroke) and he was no longer even communicating with any of us. The last words I heard him speak was on Easter Sunday. As I sat and held his hand stroking his hair, he uttered the words, "Jenny you have always been good to me, I love you. " I never thought that would be the last time I was actually to have a conversation with him, but it was something I will never forget.

The luncheon was held at my grandma's.
It was a perfect setting and something my Papa would have liked.

The funeral was held this past Friday May 1st. My dad did a great job at running the service. They had a Navy ceremony in which my grandma was presented a flag for his time spent in WWII. My dad, uncle Phil, my sister and I were given the opportunity to speak and share a few stories about my grandpa. Up until that day, I had held myself together and was fairly strong. However, once I entered into the funeral doors, I completely lost it. Pictures posted of Papa with us, my grandma all through out our life was hard to see. It's surreal that he is no longer with us. I miss him. His laugh. His smile. Everything about him. I know only time will heal, but for now it's just hard especially seeing my grandma's sweetheart of 61 years no longer by her side.

Ashton enjoying his food.
So cute!

I put fresh flowers inside of a pair of his boots for the centerpieces.

Heather, Gwen, Sarah, Marcia and Tiffany

Despite our families heartache, I have felt the love and service from so many around me. I have hands down the greatest friends. We have had numerous meals brought to us, flowers, cards, texts, and several phone calls all expressing sympathy for my family. I am grateful for each individual whether it was a small or large gesture, it meant a lot. I took it upon myself to organize the luncheon and the sister's from our relief society were so sweet and generous. There were 5 (see above) who came to help, serve, cook and clean up so our family wouldn't be burdened. It brought tears to my eyes to see how willing they were to help us. I know my family was extremely grateful and especially amazed that people they didn't know would come out and serve for them.

Bear Den, Home Depot Trip

April 2009

In the middle of all the craziness we have managed to keep up on every day things. Cheer tryouts came and went. I think Taylor had a wonderful experience (even though she didn't make it) I am proud of her for trying. Baseball games have continued twice a week. We have won some and lost some. A few field trips for scouts, home depot and the police station just to name a few.

All the Stake Leaders

Yee Haw!

Our girls camp kick off was last Wednesday night. We have some seriously talented women in our stake who have pulled together so many fun things. The theme is western this year and each ward has been given a song, mascot, and value that they are to make a skit from. I am excited to be able to go up for a week and see all of the things I wasn't able to experience as a youth. I am lucky enough to go on each of the hikes since they want all of it on film (yay for photography!)

Minnie, Tiffany and Amber (minus Tishia)

Our weekly running group is still going strong. Running has been so great for me, not only the bonding of friendships, but just to get out and be in the fresh air. The 4 (5--if Tishia decides, no pressure...) is planning on running the Laguna Hills Half Marathon (in California) this coming Memorial Day. We decided that in order to make it enjoyable we all needed a goal to reach for. We have been having to run our long runs starting at 5am because the Arizona heat has decided to kick in. I finally got another pair of running shoes which I desperately needed. The soles are completely coming off of my other ones (I bought 6 months ago!)

Proof I was really got into the FREEZING water.

Last, but not least our good friends the Hunter's invited our family to spend the day at the lake yesterday. It was a much needed stress reliever. The water was a tad cold for my liking, but I was still persuaded into getting in the water to try wake boarding.

Glad to be up out of the water!

Taylor tried for the first time, but got a little frustrated.
Maybe next time T!

These two 4 year olds were too funny

It has been close to 10 years since my feet had slipped into those boots, but like a bike I popped up on the first time. (yay for me) I definitely don't have the skills my husband does (which we were all impressed by). The most classic line of the day came out of Weston's mouth when Doug was boarding, he yelled "Dad you're tough!" It was a crack up.

Yep, honey you still have that wake board touch.
Doug was on cloud nine.

Jared tried his luck with the wakeboard too,
but he decided boogie boarding was
much easier.

The kids have exactly 4 weeks left of school--yikes. With that being said life doesn't get any less crazy, but I do look forward to a up coming getaway to San Antonio with Doug, perhaps a trip to Utah for the 4th and a weekend in California. And who can forget my favorite holiday this month, Mother's Day! Hopefully, two weeks won't go by before I check back in again, but I won't be making any promises.....