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First time Hosting

My parents decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather in AZ and spend Thanksgiving with us.  I have been so excited to host people at our house!  I realized that living in Utah we never really had that chance because we were always going to our parents house.  I don't think it will be anything spectacular, but I've enjoyed planning a meal, getting guest items ready and getting Jackson excited for guests.  We tried to make Turkey decor (and once again, failed . . .)

The inspiration:

Mine:

Theirs:

 Mine:

I hope everything goes smoothly and everyone of all ages has fun with family, luckily my family is really laid back and will enjoy anything :).  We're also excited to have babysitters so we can hit up the Black Friday shopping again for the 5th year in a row.

Shun the Sun Run

I decided since I was already in shape for the 1/2 I would participate in the race put on my the 1st counselor in my bishopric.  It's called Sun the Sun (skin cancer awareness) and it was in Mesa.  The course was FLAT, down one side of a canal for 6.5 miles and up the other side.  I'll be honest, it was a pretty 'boring' course, but it was exactly like what I've been training on and it was easy to run.

I've learned a lot about sports psychology in the past 10 years.  After training for and running 2 marathons, I learned a lot about setting goals and reaching them.  I gained confidence in myself and I was able to keep myself going for a long time.  But I still got down on myself when I didn't perform the way I wanted or thought I should.   Then I got married.   Dave is a super star when it comes to mental health in sports. We would play racquetball together and I would get frustrated at myself when I didn't play well, and Dave would literally NOT play with me when I would get like that.  So I HAD to learn to control my frustration if I wanted to play with the big boy.  He taught me to not dwell on the past play when the next play was happening.  Finally, as a PE teacher I went to in-service where there was a BYU sports psychologist speaking.  He talked about how the best athletes are able to live 'in the moment'.  They only think about the things they can control (perfect form, moving quickly, etc) and not the things they can't (winning or losing, who passes them, what happened in the previous play).  This opened my eyes to how I was in sports and competitions and it has changed the way I run.

I am a very competitive person, so I love to do races and I really like to do well.   Especially since I had  just run a race, I thought I could do better in this race and the pressure to do so was scary to me.  I wanted to say, "I can't do it, so why try".  The herniated disc in my back flared up again on the previous Saturday and I took 3 full days off running and visited the chiropractor (and said many prayers).  I wanted to use this as an excuse to do poorly and be ok with it.  I almost let my fears of not performing well take over my mind (and, in turn, my body) several times during the race, but I just kept trying to focus on the present and what I COULD do to run well and not think about the outcome.  I was proud of how far I've come from my miserable senior year of cross country in high school.  I stayed focused, I forced myself to think positively.  I conquered my mind and my fears in a way I didn't think I could.  For me, that was the greatest WIN in this race.

BUT I also ran eight minutes faster than my Park City time and got my personal best in the 1/2 marathon (1:38:18 - which equals a 7:30 min/mile).  I was the 8th girl to come in, but got 4th in my age group, so I didn't get any award or anything :(.

This race had the most awesome finish line ever!  There were 12 bounce houses, cotton candy, face painting, balloons, etc (for the kids).  There were the standard massage therapists, bananas, water, etc, but also jamba juice and popcorn (love it!) and rolls and sugar cookies that you frosted and decorated with as many sprinkles as you wanted!!  AND hot chocolate!  It was incredible!  (mostly because Jackson was so happy and I got to stay and enjoy the post-race feeling for longer than usual!)

One thing I love about getting older is seeing progression.  It is exciting . . .and also a little embarrassing to think about how I 'was'.  But mostly, exciting to see that we can be better than we were.  We can overcome hard things.


*and I didn't get a single pic :(

Where will you be on 11-11-11 at 11:11:11?

I'll be at a PARTY!!  We'll its more of a park activity on steroids.  Since no one who reads my blog lives here in AZ (well, there are a few, but they probably won't read this until after the party is over), I won't be giving away any surprises!  Here is the invite:

We will celebrate ONES with a few decorations:

And play games with 1s (the half noodles)

We will have some races and everyone will win a #1 Medal

We will make lots of noise at mess at 11:11:11 and make an EPIC wish!

What's a party without gifts?  the kids will be exchanging ONE dollar gifts.

The adults will also have the option to win a prize by playing people bingo 

Or by identifying the languages in this poster. How many of these languages do you know (all these words say ONE)?

It should be a fun time.  Only 3 people have RVSPed so it could be a total flop of a party (I know very few people here, school is out that day so many people have plans with their husbands or other families)  I love planning parties, but I dislike the stress of not knowing if anyone will show up or enjoy themselves.  But I think it will be a fun way to celebrate a day I've been looking forward to for many years!

P.S.  Happy birthday, Mom!

Fastest trip in the West

Where can you find  snow on autumn colored trees?

Christmas decor galore 

And egg nog, when you live in 75 degree weather in November? 

Utah, of course!  

I thought I really wanted to take a few weeks off of traveling, but after being home a full week I started itching to travel again.  When our plans were not working out (flights full, lots to do at home), I thought we would stay home, but Dave was really wanting to feel like it was Christmas with the decor and the weather getting colder (here, we go to the park daily in shorts and short-sleeves and take evening walks as a family).  But I was NOT going to run my long run in Utah weather and I really wanted to go to our ward service projects and  some garage sales.  So after doing all those things on Saturday morning, we boarded a plane at 1:30 pm and flew to Utah.  It was a wonderful weekend with our siblings (we only saw Dave's side of the family, I guess next trip is my side).  We had a wonderful dinner, pumpkin pie, set up a Christmas tree and enjoyed the first snow of the season.  We stayed up late talking and enjoying family.  Got up early to let the cousins play and eat together.  And then we  headed back to AZ at 11 am and were home in time for church and getting new callings!  (I am in the YW's for the first time ever :) and Dave is the Sunday School president!)   

Someone in the ward invited us over for dinner, so I didn't even have to worry that I hadn't prepared anything before church.  I think that was the first time we were invited over to someone's home who we hadn't invited over to ours first!  So thankful for friendly people and friends!

We were in Utah for a total of 18 hours.  This is close to the 20 hour trip to CA, but still our shortest trip yet.  I really enjoy traveling.  The kids are usually really good and it gives me time to focus on them, or when Hallie falls asleep I get to do sudoku or watch a movie or read scriptures.  So even though it was a short trip, I think it was worth the travel time.  Airline travel is long, but since it is broken up (car, shuttle, security, boarding plane, take off, DRINKS, landing, car ride) it doesn't feel that long.  

Halloween

I should have thought to get out our 'costume' box last month.  Jackson loved trying everything on.  He was a girl, bee, train, monster, pirate, etc, etc.  He loves dress ups!  What a perfect holiday for him.  We trick or treated in Dave's office.  It was so fun to go see where he works and meet a few co-workers.  Jackson was actually really embarrassed and scared to trick or treat, but after some warming up, he was a pro.  

Halloween in Arizona is like the 4th of July in Utah.  Everyone is sitting outside, driveways filled with neighbors chatting and watching everyone.  It was much more fun than a cold Utah running around treat or treating.  Jackson really enjoyed sitting out on the driveway on our camp chairs and handing out candy to others.  I love these two kids and holidays are so much more fun with kids!!

Hallie was NOT going to be a monster!  She needed something much cuter!

AND she also said NO to being a beautiful Blonde

 Although Jackson was loving the new do.

Our ward had a fantastic Halloween party complete with costumes, carnival booths, haunted barn, train ride and cotton candy (not to mention FOOD!)  It was alot of fun and I even convinced Dave to dress up a little!!  I'm not sure what we are, but at least its festive!  This was Jackson's Thomas costume and he also had a James costume, too.  Hallie was a BYU cheerleader (yes, the party was outside and this is all she was wearing and I was hot!)

Jackson liked trying on Hallie's costume . . . even though it is a 12 month size he still got it on!

 Hallie was a cute little plump bee