Boise State vs. Air Force

Last week was our Fall Break so the kids and I headed up to ID. While there Kelly surprised us by coming to meet us with tickets to the Boise State game. It was last minute, and probably not our favorite seats but we had great time and couldn't have asked for better weather.

Ethan had been to a game several years ago (he was 3), but this was his first time going as an actual fan of Bronco football. He WAS SO EXCITED to the point of driving us nuts on the ride from Mtn. Home to Boise.

Fall Soccer

Fall Soccer was interesting this year. Ethan's first game (back in August) was a little frightening, causing us to believe he was put on the "leftover's" team that no one wanted to coach. Here's what happened: The opposing team was Phenomenal; every member of the team could dribble the ball in circles around our team. They had all kinds of plays and looked like they had been playing together for years. Obviously they dominated the scoreboard. It was so bad that by then end of the game they allowed every player on our team on the field to try and stop this pro 8 year old team. It was upsetting to see how discouraged Ethan's team was. It also didn't help that it seemed like there weren't any stand out players on Ethan's team. Later we realized that first team was the exception because the next few games seemed to be on level playing fields. And a game or two after that I found out from another parent that the first team was a competitive team that has been playing together for awhile and they asked to join the recreational league for extra practice.

A positive that came out of that first game is that we put the idea in Ethan's head that he could be the "star" of his team if he wanted to. This must have struck a cord with him because the next several games he was on fire. He was aggressive with going for the ball and began scoring goals.

Fall Soccer ended up being a fun season with decent weather the entire time. Ethan continued to improve on his soccer skills and we hope he chooses to play again in the spring.

Marathon Milestone

On October 1st I ran my fourth marathon and managed to attain a personal goal; qualify for the Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, it was a week too late to register for the 2012 race BUT my time will be valid for Boston 2013 so it's on the calendar!
When I started training for the St. George Marathon I had previously run a 3:45 so I set the goal to be under 3:40. I ended up coming in at 3:38 and some seconds allowing me to qualify for the old Boston qualifying time (3:40 for my age group) as well as the new qualifying time (3:40 when I move up an age group) in 2013.

This marathon was a great race for me (for the most part). The miles didn't seem to take quite as long as usual, by mile 13 I was surprised to think I was already half way done. At mile 20 I felt pretty strong trotting along and then came mile 23 . . . . . and 24 . . . . . .and 25 . . . .I lost all energy, I was feeling the heat, and began the mental battle that seems take over at the end of every race. Even with all of the spectators along the road the last 4-5 miles are always the hardest and always become a mind over matter struggle. Seeing my family during the last mile always helps me push through to the end and I'm happy to say I won the battle. There is no doubt I pushed myself the hardest in this marathon compared to my last three and I definitely felt it at the end.

My biggest (only) fans don't look so happy, but I think they enjoyed the mini-vacation.

I was so happy about reaching my goal I got a finisher's picture taken and then copied it from their website.


The STG course is beautiful! There was a point during the race where the horizon looked just like the poster they give to runners, seriously breath taking. It's funny because just when I was thinking how picturesque everything was I heard several other people mentioning the same thing. I also love running in the bigger race. It's about twice the size of Ogden with around 7,000 participants which makes the atmosphere that much more exciting. Being surrounded by all of the energy and every one with their own reason for running and goal their reaching for. It's fun to talk to people from different parts of the state and country (while waiting to use the bathroom). It's such a great experience. For the most part, it's the race experience and the sense of accomplishment that makes the months of training worth it and keeps me signing up for more.

Cedar Breaks National Monument

Utah is a beautiful state. During our trip to St. George we visited Cedar Breaks National Monument outside of Cedar City.

One week after visiting. . . . . last night the news ran a story about a huge rock slide that ruined a big section of the road up to Cedar Breaks. As we driving up we actually commented about all of the places that could have rock slides.

Three Years Old!

On September 26th Ellie turned 3 years old! It's so hard to believe how fast they grow. For weeks Ellie would ask if it was her birthday today so we made a birthday countdown and kept track of the days until she turned three. Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit the weekend of her birthday, and the day of she partied with her friends at preschool, then celebrated some more with dinner at Rumbi's (Ellie's choice) and a treat at home.

Ellie loves her silky tinkerbell pj's from grandma.

For weeks Ellie has been saying "I want skating shoes." Well this made things easy for her birthday. We weren't sure about the "skating shoes" thing, but so far she just stays on the carpet. (neither of our kids are "Dare Devil" types, which sure makes things a little easier for mom & dad).

***********ELLIE STATS ***************

FAVORITES:
Food: strawberries, blueberries, cheese sticks

Books: Strawberry Shortcake Ballet School, Pinkalicious!, Llama, Llama, Misses Mama, Little Critter books

Color: red, pink

Movies: Strawberry Shortcake . . . that's about it at the moment.

Activities: riding her bike and driving her little cars, making ice cream sandwiches & tea parties, playing roller coaster with Ethan, swinging

Songs: "Ice, Ice, Baby" Jack Johnson Songs, "The sun will come out, tomorrow" "It's a Small World"

***Ellie is quite the charismatic little girl. She's emphathetic to other's feelings, she intentionally says random, silly things to make others laugh, she loves listening and dancing to music. Usually she wakes up happy and goes to bed willingly. Ellie LOVES to read. She can often be found having mom or dad read the same book over and over, or reading a book she has memorized over and over, and even "pretend" reading a book she found.

Ellie LOVES her big brother. They play so well together (most of the time). She laughs at all of his silly gestures, rubs his back, plays with his hair, and gets into all of his stuff.


Happy Happy Birthday Elisabeth!
We love you.

Apple Days

We enjoy all of the little community celebrations that occur in our area. Apple Days (Sept. 10th) is one of those that includes a fun run, parade, and free community carnival. This year Ethan signed up and ran the 1 mile race. Trophies were waiting for the first place finishers, one boy and one girl - all ages. Ethan REALLY wanted a trophy and his competitive nature took over. I ran along with him and watched how hard he pushed himself. There was one boy he just couldn't quite catch, however he still took 2nd place out of EVERYONE who ran. This included all ages. He didn't get the trophy, but he did his best. He was also a great sport congratulating the boy who came in first. We're so proud of you Ethan.

Apple Pie A-La-Mode


Ellie borrowed mom's # and ran her own race.

ANIMALS GONE WILD . . . .

That same afternoon the family headed over for the parade and carnival. A feature of the carnival was a pony ride for kids. Well Ellie has wanted to ride a pony for the longest time so this was her chance. We waited in line and when it was Ellie's turn the smallest, cutest pony was available. So we saddled her up, I walked along side, and a nice young man lead Ellie and her pony on their way. As the pony decided to move into a little trot I could see the nervousness in Ellie's face causing me to reach out and hold her with one hand. Apparently this made the pony nervous and he proceeded to jump away from me, with Ellie on his back. Of course, this freaked her out, which freaked me out, and the more I tried to grab Ellie off of the pony the more freaked out EVERYONE got. Every time I went to pull Ellie off, the pony jumped away. At one point I found myself standing and waiting for Ellie to fall off and get trampled by the pint-size horse because I didn't know what to do. Kelly and Ethan were off at another booth as this pony was basically out of control with my daughter on his back. In the end, Ellie managed to stay on, the boy leading the pony got him under control, and I whipped her off the pony's back. When we walked by the pony rides later that afternoon, the smallest pony was no longer out. Maybe he had had enough.