Magic

Last month my friend Sarah and I went to the Utah Symphony. (wow, I can't believe it's been a month) The Utah Symphony was playing the music of John Williams and the famous pieces that inspired him. If you haven't heard of John Williams he wrote very very famous music. Some of his pieces, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, just to name a few. 

I like classical music and pop culture so this was perfect mix. We went with out our husbands because well they don't find the symphony or any classical music enjoyable. My mom was in town she came with us too. We had a fun night! 

Before the performance began we got to take some pictures with characters from the movies. Chewie, some stormtroopers and at the end Gold Leader and Snape. I had fun acting like a dork. 

Afterwards we walked over to the new shopping center Downtown and ate at the Cheesecake Factory! Delicious!

A Race to remember

I wanted to run a half marathon that wasn't all down hill and closer to home. Mike and I signed up for this half marathon in January, before Mike hurt his knee. We were going to be running it with my SIL and BIL. They both had to drop out too because of their kids activities. That just left me to run the race. The course was decent, the race was very well organized. 

Me, well I thought I had trained well. I didn't though. 

This was my first race since my surgery. I didn't know how I would do. I wasn't excepting a super time but I was excepting that I would a little better. Three hours and three minutes later I finished. I was so mad. In October, I ran the Halloween Half in 2:30 hours. I wanted that time or better. I think the cold through me off. Daylight savings pushed the sun up later so I couldn't run in the mornings. The worst part. I forgot my watch. My running watch. To tell me my pace, how far I have gone and how much more I need to go. When I got to the starting line and realized this fun fact, I almost turned around and went home. But I thought no. I will do my best and pretend it's just a run around the neighborhood nothing serious. Those thoughts helped for a little bit but by mile 9 I wanted to quit. I had a blister at the bottom of my foot. I was even madder since I had just bought new shoes. When Justin Biebers song came on the ipod, Never Say Never I wanted to puke and cry all at once. (My stomach wasn't feeling well either.) The song pulled me through. My last mile I just kept thinking never say never, I will fight til forever,  I could do this. Even though thoughts of me being a fat cow were dragging me down. I want to be called a runner. I want to look like I could run 13.1 miles without breaking a sweat. I didn't feel like I was even good enough to be in this race. I sprinted to the end. There weren't very many people left things were being torn down. This was one of the worst races I felt for me. I know there is room for improvement, always. 

I hope to start that improvement tomorrow. 

Next race, 40miles on my bike and then Ragnar. In all of this self pity, I'm not going to give up my goal of looking fit and being someday called a runner. I even put my name into the lottery for the St. George Marathon. That is in 6 months.

Skiing fun

My husband work at a local ski resort, Snowbird. We haven't taken full advantage of our benefit we get because he works there. 

I took the day off because the kids had the day off too. I wanted to go skiing. With recent snow here in Utah. I was hoping for a good day. I'm a fair weather skier. I like the fresh snow but I want the sun and no wind. That is a rare combination. But we got that today. The kids didn't really want to go but the threat of having to clean the house didn't sound as much fun as skiing. 

A perfect day on the slopes and the children did great. Phoenix is feeling more comfortable getting off the lift with me ( I snowboard not ski like the kids). Jersey is a speed demon on the slopes and loves to try to jump. After lunch the kids were done with skiing. Me? I wanted to keep going, I had to given in to the whines. I had a great workout though. I am hoping to have a chance to ski again just Mike and I before the season is

The Tenth Year

In Ten years, 

I have never 

laughed so much, 

cried so much, 

yelled so much, 

kissed so much, 

hugged so much, 

said I'm sorry so much, 

been right so much, 

cared so much. 

On this day Ten years ago. I walked out of the Mesa Arizona Temple a married lady for time and all eternity with man I chose. We still didn't know each other very much but we knew that we wanted to be together. To work out our problems, to see each other succeed, 

to encourage one another to be the best that they could be and most importantly love each other. 

I don't think we know everything there is to know about each other, now but I do know is that I love my husband and that he is the best man for me. 

I am excited that we can spend this day remembering that.

I came home last night from work to find a dozen red roses, 

a fantastic love note and an enlarge photo of our wedding day. 

Before we were sealed we took our pictures outside the Temple. I was late and Mike had been waiting with the video guy for 20 min. (right as I was getting ready to meet him I walked between to dirty cars and my dress got dirty, it took a moment to get it cleaned up.) He told me later he thought I was bailing on him. He looked so relieved when I showed up. 

We took photos at 6am (well, at 7am) and it was hot. 90 degrees already. 

The Temple was closing after that day for cleaning, 

there were 48 couples that day getting married. 

I remember being in the sealing room and looking at my soon to be sisters-in-law and they were crying. I didn't want to cry but when I saw them, the tears just started to come. My dress was so tight that it was hard to breath. When the sealer said that we could kiss. I didn't think about what he had said and I just shook my head. I wanted my first kiss with my husband to be special not in front of everyone. ( I have tried to redeem myself, asking Mike to kiss me over the alter, when we have done sealings later. But it is now a missed opportunity)

When we left the Temple it was 105 degrees with 15% humidity. The Utah family, was melting away. The Arizona family, was saying "oh it's not that bad" 

Mike was melting in his tuxedo and I was melting under all the tulle I was wearing. 

All the magical memories of getting married on 

the beautiful, summer morning in July will always be with us.

5 pounds lighter

No I didn't go on some fad diet or have any surgery. It was the removal of my cast that the extra holiday weight is gone. I'm so happy to have my right hand back. I did use every excuse in the book this weekend so I didn't have to do much. But now that it is off it's back to the grindstone.

I do still have to wear a brace mostly when I go outside and I'm fine with that because knowing my luck I would slip and fall and break it again. When the Dr. came to look at the last x-rays he did see that my wrist was broken in two places. NICE.

But everything has healed fine and I bought a loofah to scrape off all the skin. I was expecting it to feel good as new but my arm is a little sore and hurts but they say that it just has to move around a bit and for my hand to feel normal.

{The stinky cast}

{Before the Doctors visit.}

{After the removal of the cast.}

Mr. Phe is Three

Yes that is right. three years ago today, 6:55am to be exact, Phoenix made his debut into the world. I can never get over the whole child birthing process. Jersey and Phoenix have great stories leading up to the day of their arrival.
Phoenix's story:
I was at work taking a phone call and all of a sudden I couldn't talk or move. The lady on the line was getting irritated because I couldn't talk. When the pain went away I said " I think I'm in labor" she gasped and was more polite. She started saying just take your time. My friends around me were in shock as well. My due date wasn't for another 4 weeks. All I kept thinking was 'is this a false alarm or is this the real deal?' I got off the call with the customer and my supervisor was like what do you want me to do? Do we need to call an ambulance? I didn't know how long the contractions were going or how far apart they were. I stopped to breath a moment and said I needed to call Mike.
Ten days prior to this Mike and I were in the hospital for the same thing really hard contractions. They told me that it was too early that I couldn't give birth yet. My contractions were steady then but I wasn't making progress. They gave me a shot of morphine and sent me on my way.
Of course you could imagine Mike's tone when I called and said that I was in pain the contractions were about 15 minutes apart and he needed to get to my work NOW! He was so bugged. He had just arrived at my nephew's baseball game to pick up Jersey. When I got in the car he said "I'm not leaving the hospital unless I have a baby with us" (quite demanding, I know) We got to the hospital (LDS) which is downtown. I get to the desk and say that I'm in pain and I think the baby is coming. So they lead us to a room. It was the tiniest delivery room. Of course they ask you to change and pee in a cup. All standard procedure, right? Well after the tested my pee they said that something was wrong. The sugar was off the charts. The nurse asked if I could recall what I ate that day. "Um a bag of Oreo cookies, I'm not talking a sleeve but the whole thing." She asked what time was that? "Oh at 2pm" She walked out of the room so fast. Another nurse arrived saying that I needed to lie down because it was going to be awhile. I was hooked up to all the monitors. I was doing great but Phoenix wasn't his little heart wasn't beating very hard. The nurses called my DR. to tell him that I was there in the hospital and it looked like I would be staying. He was surprised because two days prior he had said I was no where near delivery. He came on over to the hospital.
Mike was nervous, being this was his first time to experience labor and delivery (he sorta missed that last one), Mike held my hands during the epidural he was amazed that I didn't cry. After things were calmed down, he ran home to gather a few things. I had packed my bag but it wasn't in my car. (I still had 4 weeks) When he came back he had brought the portable DVD player and the new Harry Potter book. I sat and watched a movie while he read. The contractions weren't really moving the labor along but Phoenix was getting more faint. To get a better reading the nurse put a monitor on Phoenix's head. She said you might want to get some sleep since at this point it was 1 or 2 am. Around 5 am my water broke, I woke up in a cold mess, the nurses were like, he's coming. They had to get my bedding changed, wake the Dr. and try to get Mike up as well. I was yelling at him you are going to miss this. The DR. came in, he was wearing some kind of rocker shirt and said "oh I'd better change" After he came back and the nurses were ready they said OK Mike it's time to hold her legs. Mike gave a funny look and said "hell no, I'm not doing that" so the poor nurse had to go scramble for someone else. Now it was time to push. I'm glad it wasn't very long, it was like two pushes and Phoenix was here. Of course my tactful husband said " That's it? That's what we have waited for 9 months?" I just looked at him with disgust.
Phoenix's arrival didn't mean that it was easy for him. The nurses rushed him off to the NICU. I didn't get to hold him right away. His heart and lungs were struggling. Mike went to watch. I still remember the nurse that helped us all night long. saying that her shift was over before Phoenix was born but she wasn't going to miss this delivery he had put her through a lot of trouble.
Even though Phoenix got off to a rocky start you won't believe it now. He is a ball full of energy, the most lovable little guy and so inquisitive. He loves his cars, trains, dirt and markers. He loves to color and will if I'm not watching color all over himself and the walls. We have so many masterpieces around the house that can't be taken off. Someday I will frame the art and give it to him as a house warming gift.


I can't imagine our lives without him.


Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Phoenix











We love our Pho or Phe (as we like to call him)

In memory

It's hard not to remember this day of infamy. It's crazy to think that 6 years ago that it happened. It's still one of those days that you remember so well. I remember waking up that morning and Mike leaving for work up at the University of Utah. I was getting ready, I think I was running a little late. As I'm trying to hurry Mike calls and yells turn on the T.V., I'm just thinking I have to get ready I can't be watching the news. Right as I turn the T.V. on I saw it, the second plane taking down the second World Trade Center building. I stood there in shock not knowing what was going to come of this madness. It was even crazier when I got to work. At the time I worked at East High School. The students, teachers and parents were all in shock as well. Some parents were freaking out and taking their kids out of school because they wanted to be together just in case something was to happen at school. I remember one crazy person so well that day. It was just as school was beginning, he was a totally skin head. He ran into the office screaming that he needed to get his girlfriend out of school so they could go hide in a bunker in the mountains until all of the madness blew over. I was thinking one who has a bunker in the mountains? Also I think terrorist will target some place bigger than East High School. Well he was so nutty that the Principal had to intervene telling the young man that he couldn't take his girlfriend out of school. Then he started screaming that he was the father of her child. Security was called and they escorted the guy out of the school. It's funny how that memory is still fresh in my head.

With all the madness surrounding that day, my ward at the time had planned a Relief Society retreat. It was in the mountains at one of the sisters cabin and while we were there not alot of people talked about what was going on with world. As we had our activity and enjoy each others company it felt like I was in a different world one of peace and calmness. Yet knowing that the feelings I was having there weren't going to last because they would be totally different when we got back home. I didn't want the retreat to end. When I got home Mike was watching T.V. just crying. I had never seen him cry like this before. He looked so sad. Almost like the innocence was taken from him of the world. I think that is how it was the innocence of the world was gone you always knew there were crazy bad guys in the world, I mean we all have seen James Bond flicks. But this was so surreal to hard to take in that something that you only see in movies actually happened. I kept thinking that day why would I want to have a baby and subject them to such violence and craziness of this world. But the peace I felt at that retreat help me know that yeah bad things happen but I know what is right and it will be ok. I'm sure glad I listened to those peaceful feelings. With in a week of the 9-11 tragedy our t.v. blew up so we didn't have a t.v. for like a month and half. As much as I wanted to know what was happening at that time seeing the news and hearing the stories, I'm sure glad that it did so that I could not be any more scared. I could just read about things in the paper and in Newsweek.

Even though I didn't know anyone that died in the tragedy, I still think about those people and the lives that were lost. I think I will always remember. This was the day that my innocence of the world was lost.