I Was Tagged!

Adriennehttp://unklesbay.blogspot.com/ tagged me a few weeks ago, so I'm fianlly getting around to my assignment. Heather tagged me too, but I didn't realize it.... sorry Heather! Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about yourself.
4. Tag 6 unsuspecting fellow bloggers by linking to them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they have been tagged.

My Quirks

1. I dream of running, quite literally. Several years ago, I started trying to run. I couldn't even run a 10th of a mile at a time. But, after weeks and months of effort, I ran my first mile and then my first 3 miles. I also read everything I could get my hands on about running for exercise, running for weightloss, running marathons, etc. About that time, I began to dream I was running. In my dreams, I can run with very little effort. I'm strong, much thinner, my breathing is steady and my stride is smooth. My favorite running dream (okay, it's about the only one I can remember) is of running down a gravel road in the San Luis Valley in Colorado. There are fields of sunflowers on my left and on my right. That road really exists! When we went to visit our family in Colorado back in 2004, the sunflowers were in bloom and I can still see those fields just as vividly as if I were there this morning. So, one day, I hope to run in the San Luis Valley. (However, the altitude is outrageously high there, so I don't know if I could get my lungs to cooperate during a short visit. My aunt even told me Olympic runners train there!)

2. I have a VERY strong desire to learn to speak Spanish. This may be because of my adoration of Mexican food and I just want to order EVERYTHING on the menu at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Acapulco, but I think there may be more to it. Ever since I was a little girl, I heard my dad speaking Spanish to utter strangers. I guess that has always seemed kind of magical, super-hero-ish to me. When my parents came to visit last month, I got to introduce Dad to Jessica Martin who is from Chile. Off they went, talking a mile a minute. I was standing right there and only understood 2 phrases, but I LOVED it! My brother, Theo, served his mission in Chile and married my awesome sister-in-law who is originally from the Dominican Republic. So, now Theo knows "the secret" and speaks Spanish too. I've paid attention when he and Kirudys are talking to their kids, but I've only learned one word, "mira". I don't know if that is how you spell it. But, Theo told me it means "look". When my family was at the zoo last summer, we were behind a group of Hispanic people in line to ride the train and one woman said, "Mira!" I looked and on the ground was a 20$ bill. It was cool that I understood her! Unfortunately, I was too slow and they picked up their dropped money before I could make a dive for it!!!! I hope when the kids are a bit older I can learn Spanish, for now, I just pay attention to the waiters at Acapulco!!!!

3. I really like the large African mammals. When I go to the zoo, I love to watch the giraffes, elephants, zebras, and hippos! I'm not a real big fan of the lions and cheetahs. But, the others I could watch for hours. They are amazing to me. I love to read about them. I like to learn the different breeds, etc. I don't know why, but they are SO COOL!

4. I love to read cookbooks. I like to look at the pictures and read the recipes and try to figure out if they would taste good. I also like to buy cookbooks. A few years ago, Shane told me I couldn't buy anymore cookbooks until I had made a recipe from each cookbook I owned. (I don't take him that seriously...hee hee.) I don't have the time to do as much experimenting and cooking as I would like, but now and then I make some new dishes and love it. Along with that, I love kitchen tools, hand towels, kitchen catalogs, kitchen stores, spice racks, cookware, etc. Thank goodness my budget is small or my small kitchen would be stuffed to the brim with things I don't really need!

5. I like maps. When we travel, I always like to have the road atlas. Even though Shane could probably drive to his parents' mobile home in the mountains of Pennsylvania with his eyes closed, I am not satisfied. I must have a road map. It's not even that I don't believe he can get us there. It's just that I like to know where I am and I love to know the names of the rivers and lakes we pass. I like to read the names of the small towns and look for historical sites. And maps aren't just for travel time. Maps are just way cool anytime.

6. My last and final quirk is that I have a VERY long life list. I have so many things I want to do and learn in my life. I'm still planning on learning more piano. I want to learn to cook Chinese food, write calligraphy, pet a dolphin, cruise to Alaska, see Washington DC, learn to juggle, waste hours and hours doing jigsaw puzzles, figure out how to replicate my Grandma Schofield's banana bread, visit Cozemel, Mexico, learn to make my Grandma Martin's potato cakes (she's helping me on that one), join a gym, run a half-marathon (or maybe a full marathon), finish my degree from BYU, have a real vegetable garden, etc. Life may just be a bit too short. But, I figure I'm on the Camilla Kimball plan. She is one of my heroes. She kept learning her whole life long and I plan on doing the same.

I tag:

1. My cousin Constance- http://waverlybowen.blogspot.com/
2. My sister Jocelyn- http://jocelynsinanities.blogspot.com/
3. My friend Sylvia- http://smilensylli.blogspot.com/
4. My extra brother Eric- http://themanofsteelleg.blogspot.com/
5. My friend Julie- http://danieljuliepace.blogspot.com/
6. My friend Cassie- http://5inthebed.blogspot.com/

Unfortunately, I am not very blogger savvy and can't figure out how to "name" these links and make it look nicer. Oh well. Consider yourselves TAGGED!!!

A Walk at the Park

Tonight for part of our Family Home Evening we loaded up the kids, bikes, and the wagon and headed for Winton Woods. It was the first time in years that we have gone down to walk around the lake together. We had a wonderful time. We brought the wagon for Jared, but at around the third of a mile marker he was already out and ready to run. He stayed close to me the whole way around the lake and kept calling out, "Run Mom!" and then we would run together.

He ran a mile.

No wonder I can't get him to sit still first thing Sunday morning for sacrament meeting. The boy has TONS of energy!

It was exciting to me to run with him and not become the least bit winded. I felt like I was on The Biggest Loser tv show where at the end they show how much healthier the person is and the person says, "I always wanted to be able to keep up with my kids." I still have a long way to go to reach my weight loss goals, but I remember the first time we went to walk around the lake, I asked Shane to drop me off at the half mile mark so I could walk back to the beginning. At that time, I couldn't even WALK a mile. That was 3 kids ago. Now, I've run two 10K races and five 5K races. It is exciting to me that for now, growing older means I'm also growing stronger.

Savannah on the other hand chose to ride in the wagon pretty much the whole way......

The Black Squirrel 5K

On Saturday the 27th of September our Pink Princess Racing Team went to Glendale to run the Black Squirrel 5K. It was a blast!

Here is our team photo. Left to right: Sylvia, Courtney (Sylvia's niece), Me (Maura), and Mikayla.
This was the first time any of us have done to the Black Squirrel. It was MUCH harder than Sylvia or I were expecting. When we picked up our race packets the night before the race, we were told that the first part of the race was the hardest and that it got easier after that. WOW! Talk about an understatement!!! After only a few tenths of a mile the race went up a horrible hill. I will forever call it "heartbreak hill". It was a real struggle for me to keep my feet running all the way up. I felt like my feet weighed an extra 10 pounds a piece. Due to the hurricane earlier this month, there was a lot of debris still on the road: lots of twigs, leaves, etc. When I finally saw the one mile mark, I had already decided that they had neglected to put mile markers on the race!!! ONE MILE????? Are you KIDDING ME? I swear I thought I had already gone at least a mile and a half. What a disappointment! :)

My sport watch's battery died over a year ago and since I wasn't running much, I haven't replaced it yet. So, in place of a watch, I took my trusty cell phone with me so I could look down at the time and see what my pace was. Unfortunately, the print on my cell phone screen is kind of small and with how much my hand was bouncing I couldn't read the numbers at ALL!

I had been sick for several days with a sore throat and wasn't sure I would be able to run the whole race. I'm happy to say that not only was I able to run, but my finish time was surprisingly good! I finished in 31:44 minutes. (I had been hoping to finish in 36 minutes or less!) My legs felt like JELLO for 5 minutes afterwards, but it was so exciting to see Eric, Margret, and her kids, and Mikayla waiting for me at the finish line!

Here's Mikayla crossing the line! She did GREAT! I keep complaining about how hard the Black Squirrel course was. Mikayla says she liked it! What an awesome runner she is!

Okay, here's me. I'm huffing and puffing, but notice the girl behind me in the cute blue "running skirt". I had passed her about halfway through the race and as we were coming down the last couple tenths of a mile she passed me!!! This could not be! I poured it on the last hundred yards and beat her! Who says I'm competetive???

Courtney did wonderful! She too said the course wasn't that bad! I loved getting to know her better. She is a real sweetheart and I can't wait to run more races with her! Her finish time was super!

Last, but NOT LEAST! Here is my amazing friend Sylvia. She had a rough week too and the course was STRENUOUS! But, I am so proud of her. She did not give up! Sylvia finished really strong even though she wasn't feeling very good. Courtney, Mikayla, and I walked back along the course to find her and walk in with her. It was such a good feeling when she crossed the finish line and we got to cheer for her. She is an amazing woman!

Now this is my favorite picture of them all. Here is our team family. I and Mikayla are in back. Then we have Justin, Jessica with Heston, Sylvia, Margret, Courtney, and Eric. What a blast it was to have Margret and her kids with us at the race! The four of us runners came home with really cool participation medals and all of us came home with wonderful memories of a fun morning.

I can't wait for next year!

(okay, i could do without the hills! Sylvia is making me go back to train so we'll be ready for next year..... yuck!!!)

This week

So, I had to cancel a cleaning job this morning because I have a very sore throat. (Don't worry Dad, I'm doing my salt water gargle!)
I'm totally wiped out and sick of work. But, oh well. What are you going to do about it?
Actually, I work for really nice people, I'm just tired.

I thought I would write a bit about my week.
Jessica is going to Homecoming this week and Adrianne is going to do her hair. Adrianne came over Monday night to have a practice run at the hairdo. Shane worked that night until 11 pm.

Mikayla is doing awesome at Cross Country and finished 13th out of approximately 60 girls at a meet last week. I'm so proud of her.

Tanner is sporting a new haircut today. I absolutely HATE cutting my boys' hair, but I'm free and affordable. He is hoping to do 4th Grade Chorus.

I checked over Hunter's spelling homework this week. This is the sentence he had for the spelling word "thinning": My dad's hair is thinning.

Savannah was disappointed today when I wouldn't let her wear a paper birthday crown to school. She ran to her room crying. That is her normal reaction to bad news.

Jared may be getting pink eye. Or he just has the same cold I have.

On Monday, I took Hunter and Savannah to the doctor for check ups. Savannah needed to get 4 booster shots. I got her to lay down on the table, but when the nurse approached her, Savannah did a backwards somersault to the other end of the table and hopped down. (It's funny now!) I had to hold her down while the nurse held her legs, with her kicking and screaming. I wish I could take a valium before doctor appointments. They are no fun!!! Why is it the kids get the m&ms and stickers? I'm the one that needs them.

I really can't blame Savannah. A month ago she cut her foot and got 12 stitches. It was a really bad experience. Removing them took over an hour and she still has one buried in her heel that wouldn't come out. So, she was not about to willing let a nurse get their hands on her again!!!

Jessica's Junior Prom

Hi. I never got around to posting any pictures of prom. Here is Jessica and Michael before the dance. I think that on that day, Jessica was almost as pretty as Michael.

60 miles goal

I just want to brag on myself that I finished my 60 miles in August goal!!! It was not easy and I finished (barely) with 5 miles on the treadmill at 11:30 pm on the 31st!!! Nothing like leaving it for the last minute!!!

For September I am aiming for 70 miles just to make it interesting. Sylvia, Mikayla, and I are working toward a 5K on Sept 27th. I've got to get a bit more serious if I'm to have any hope of actually running this thing!

Sunday Morning Miracle

This is the right rear tire off our big 12-passenger van. We were on our way to Stake Conference this morning when this tire blew. And it is SHREDDED! We were in the high speed lane and all of a sudden there was a weird thumping sound. Shane and I both thought a motorcycle was coming up on our right side. But, then Shane said it was us and he started making his way quickly over to the right shoulder of the freeway. Unfortunately, their was a guard rail as far as the eye could see. So, we had to park just outside the line of the right hand lane.

When I first met Shane and we were dating he was the king of changing tires. And he still is. In those days he would actually have me "time" him. He could change one in less than 5 minutes. We were blessed today to have Michael, Jessica's boyfriend, riding with us. He and Shane worked quickly and had the whole process done in 29 minutes. (This was Shane's first time changing a tire on this van, so he was unfamiliar with the equipment. The part that took the longest was getting the spare to drop down from it's spot under the back of the van onto the asphalt. I know next time he'll shave off quite a bit of time!!!)

After about 20 minutes of sweating in the hot sun, and having the van rocked back and forth by the passing tractor-trailers, Mike and Theresa Jungkunz drove by, pulled over, and backed up dozens of yards on the shoulder to see if they could help. They sure did! We sent Savannah and Mikayla on to the meeting. Savannah was terrified by the passing traffic.

Shane and Michael were able to keep their church clothes pretty clean. I was in charge of passing out the baby wipes to try to get the grease off their hands. Just as we got all packed up and got ready to pull back on to the freeway a Sherriff pulled up. But, it was too late, we were all done and she didn't even turn on her flashing lights!!!! What a rip-off!

I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father for keeping us all safe. Gratitude goes to Him for not having ME behind the wheel when the tire blew! I'm also grateful that I was not alone when it happened. He kept us safe on the side of the freeway. No one veered into us while the tire was being changed. The spare tire was in good condition and able to be used. And BEST OF ALL, we had left home early enough that we were only a few minutes late to church!!!!! I think we got there just as the opening prayer was concluded. That is truly a miracle.