One Week Sans Diet Coke.

I'm fairly certain that before Ross and I were married, Diet Coke was my boyfriend. My one true love.

Anyway, with this move and crazy schedules and my alter-ego "psycho woman" popping up more often than usual, my diet coke habit went from bad, to REALLY bad. I hate to admit it, but the caffeinated divine soda turned into my own personal nicotine. And I used it like one would a cigarette. It was a huge problem.

Mind you, I'm also attempting to train for a marathon. I say attempt because schedules have been crazy and I haven't been able to lace up my shoes as often as I'd like. Not only did my beverage and exercise habits go down the toilet, but my nutrition did, too. I needed serious help.

Thankfully one of my girl friends is a dietician. Or nutritionist. I'm not such which they prefer to be called. And more thankfully she's also my neighbor. We'll call her Shannon since she doesn't know I'm writing this, and she did me a HUgE favor.

I started asking her questions a while ago and she graciously offered to give me a free consult. About a week ago she came over with a ton of forms and information for me specifically. Formulas for me and my goals.

I usually read labels at the grocery store, but I had no idea I was looking for the wrong things in the labels. She spent a good couple hours at my house. She taught me a lot and gave me specific directions on what I need to be eating to achieve my goals. She even went through the food in my house. As embarrassing and humiliating as it was to open my habits up as honestly as possible to a friend, I'm glad I did.

She took the time to run through all of the information and forms, teaching me as much as she could, like she would with any one of her patients. I cant thank her enough for taking all of that time to talk to me and she'll probably know how much she helped me that night. At the end, I made some specific goals with her. Nixing the diet coke was one of them.

With that, it's been one week. Seven days. I got one today to see if I'd still feel the same way about it and if I still NEEDED it. It didn't taste as good as I remembered and I probably won't get another for a while. I was thinking of going until my birthday without any soda, but couldn't think of a reward for myself. It's a lot easier to stick to something that's difficult if you have something to work towards.

This week was HARD. It was full of inconsolable headaches, exhaustion, and unsatisfied cravings. I'm sure being sick didn't help either. I didn't even get a drink for my drive to or from Park City for Black Friday shopping. I was really impressed with myself.

I've decided to go ahead and continue sans diet coke until my birthday, but until I think of a reward, the reward will be myself. I once went a year without chocolate and noticed a change in my body. I'm curious what my body can do with a half of a year without my own personal nicotine. Maybe I can even line up a skinny shopping escapade and count it as my birthday present, too. I don't know what's more motivating than a shopping trip for a new body. Except maybe a pony. We live pretty much across the street from Sonic, and our new house will be 1.2 miles from a Sonic as well. Bring on the Powerade Slushies.

Thanksgiving.

We were really looking forward to Ross' break from school and work. His last class was on Tuesday, which he finished around 6, and then he'd have the rest of the week and weekend off. We had it all planned out, filled with tons of family activities that we could do together. To top it off, Ross' birthday was on Saturday.

We weren't able to go to Oregon for Thanksgiving, so we thought of fun things we could do around here. It was supposed to be a great Thanksgiving break. I was especially excited because last year, I was pregnant and really sick for Thanksgiving and Ross' birthday. I didn't get to eat anything, and Ross ended up catering to me on HIS birthday. I felt awful.

The funny thing about making plans is, I feel like this little Loveland family is famous for making wonderful plans, but always having those plans fall through.

So the break officially started on Wednesday. We had a pretty laid back day. I had a doctor's appointment in the morning. After, we all went to Hobby Lobby so the girls could pick out ornaments for this year. (Yes, they'll just be going into a box anyway, but it's a fun tradition we wanted to do this year anyway.) Claire picked a shiny pink pig ballerina, and Aoife kept attacking a blue, green, purple dinosaur. (Not cutesy for a 1st ornament as I'd hoped, but that was definitely the one she wanted.)

Then we headed for lunch at Tucanos for Ross' birthday lunch. Tucanos is an amazing Brazilian grill with an incredible salad bar. They bring by meat until you split the seam of your pants. It was like a Brazilian Thanksgiving. The girls hadn't napped yet, which actually worked out really well. We all came home and took a family nap.

Thursday. Where the fun all started. I was all prepped to get all of our Thanksgiving cooking done. Ross was sick. I'm grateful I had done quite a bit of the cooking the day before, as I spent Thursday chasing, refereeing, and herding the girls as well as finishing the cooking. Ross didn't eat much besides some fizzy water. We ate really early and took the girls to the park afterwards to play. We didn't stay long as Ross was sick, and I felt it coming on.

Friday. It gets worse. Thursday night, the outlets in Park City were opening at 10 PM for Black Friday shopping. I've never been Black Friday shopping. I didn't even know what Black Friday was until after I was married. I've always wanted to go, but have never had a friend to go with. Since both of our families are doing family pictures while we visit this Christmas, I jumped on the opportunity to get some deals. It was well worth the drive and the crazy. Actually, it wasn't crazy at all until about midnight. I had a really good time, and rolled into bed around 2:00 in the morning. And then the sickness struck.

Turns out, both girls were sick too. We were still determined to have a fun break, so we loaded up a bunch of fizzy waters and took the girls to Jungle Jim's to play. I love that it's never very busy and Claire can do most of the rides herself. We decided to take Aoife on the rides this time, too. We went with the girls on each ride until we felt sick and dizzy, and then had Claire go by herself for the rest of the time. I think they had fun. At least I hope they did!

Saturday. Ross' birthday. Sicker than a dog. I feel like I completely blew Ross' birthday this year. Again. Poor guy. Ross was a champ and was finally better, but the girls and I were even more sick. Claire especially. She cried and whined a lot, simply because she didn't feel well. We spent the day on the couch watching movies, and sometimes playing games. Ross had wanted a low-key birthday, but I'm pretty sure that was TOO low-key. I'll have to make it up this week.

While we were engaged and for probably the first year or so that we were married, one or both of us were ALWAYS sick on a Holiday, the Holidays where we wouldn't have work or school, and occasionally the obscure Holiday. Not even kidding. It started before we were married, and continued for a while. I'm not sure how we broke the curse, but it's back! At least we can put a good spin on it and think it's cute that we're acting like when we were newlyweds?

Sunday was the same and by then, Ross was more than ready to take on school and work. It's crazy to think that after today, Ross will only have 6 actual class days. And after that, he's finished! I've been busy cleaning the weird things, like pulling out the washer and dryer and cleaning everything in sight behind them. I'm trying to decide if I should pull out the oven, too. Later this week I'm planning on boxing up the rest of the plates and cups and sticking with paper for the last 2 weeks. I still don't think Claire has any idea what's going on, but I'm worried about her. She loves seeing her aunts and uncles. She Skypes with them regularly, and we're lucky enough that a couple of Ross' siblings are going to BYU, too. She gets to see them once or twice a week and she loves it. She's always talking about them, saying that they're cute, and asking if they're coming over. We'll have to see how she adjusts to the distance. Thank goodness for Skype!

Marathon Training: Week 2, Day 2.

Early last week I cancelled my gym membership. I'm paid through the day Aoife and I head off to Oregon for the holidays, but I'm kind of in a bind. You see, I sell myself short on a treadmill. I either run much much slower than I am capable, or I figure the last 5 minutes I'm supposed to run can be seen as a cool down and are optional, usually opting to not run those last 5 minutes. So I wanted to run outside. It was my stupid idea to train in the winter, so I had better learn to love tolerate being cold. I went out and bought myself a ridiculously warm neon running shirt which I absolutely adore, and some smashing long spandex, equally warm. I equipped myself with a running belt to carry snacks and a water bottle. There's just one problem. Daylight savings is a stupid idea, and I'm a woman. 

I would love to get my run done and out of the way in the mornings before Ross goes off to school or work. I had great ideas about waking up early and taking control of my day, using my runs to energize me and help me plan the rest of my day, and otherwise turn into Woman. Hear me roar. 

When I wake up at 5:30 or 6, it's DARK. and it doesn't get even remotely light until 7 or so. By then, the girls are awake and terrorizing the house and needing sustenance for their bodies, which have been starved through the night. When these two sweet girls wake up, the house is crazy and I'm not really able to ditch Ross to have my energizing, peaceful alone time. Running in the dark is an absolutely no, even with my trusty pink mace. To sum it up- Dark in the morning = No run. Let's talk about when Ross gets home.

Ross has a few late classes. Sometimes he isn't done till 7 or 8, but usually it's around 6:45. From 8 till 6:45, I am alone with my busy 2 year old, and exploring, scooting, equally busy almost 9 month old. I crave bedtime. I praise bedtime. I am so excited for bedtime, it's like Christmas morning EVERY NIGHT!!! Once Ross gets home to save the day, not to mention my sanity, I am exhausted. The very last thing I want to do is run. Unless of course, Claire was especially frustrating and I have a bit of steam to let off. And it's dark. It's dark at like 4:30! So- Dark when Ross gets home = No run.

I have loved my gym membership. The only problem is the cost is so cheap because they don't provide childcare. And I sell myself short on a treadmill.

So here's where my head is at for this week. Day 1 I missed due to cleaning and moving prep, but that's alright since I'm doing a longer run on Thursday before I get my turkey on. Day 2, Today: I set my alarm for 6:00. I've been waking up A LOT through the night because of pain, so I took the full dose of my prescribed sleep aid. (I always only do half.) I still woke up some, but come time for my alarm to go off, I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't even want to get up to shut off the blaring thing. But I did. I silenced the stupid machine and... got back in bed. It seems my best and deepest sleep always comes an hour or so before I need to get up.

This morning when I was awake and conscious, I was really disappointed in myself for not having the discipline to go running. It was only supposed to be 40 minutes, and I had it timed so I'd be back in time to get Ross off to work and the girls ready to go shopping for our Thanksgiving goodies. Being tired hurts, but not nearly bad as being disappointed with yourself. No one is really impressed when you sleep in. Having the discipline to get your butt out of bed and put on your running shoes early in the morning is impressive. There are all kinds of motivational images floating around the web that say something like, "The hardest step for a runner is the one out the door.", but for me, the hardest step is the one out of bed. 

Ross and I talked about that this morning on the drive to campus. Working out in the early hours is challenging for him, too. For a week or so, we used to get up early together. He'd work on things and read while I exercised. I didn't last long. He lasted longer, though doing it alone was hard. Then he started exercising in the evenings instead. We are a very fortunate couple and get to spend a lot of time together. Tonight though, after the girls go to bed, we will both be going our separate ways. I will be running, and he will either be exercising or taking some much needed quiet alone time.

Week 2 starts today and I am determined to get my run in today and the rest of my runs this week, especially on Thanksgiving. Week 1 was fun and all, but I didn't do my best. Week 2 starts today.

Loving Life.

I've gone a little crazy packing. Which is great! The hardest part was taking down the nursery decorations. It was a little heart wrenching, and tearful, but I did that a long time ago. With the worst done, and all of the other things that made our house a home boxed up, I've actually enjoyed the packing process. I turn on loud music, and Claire and I dance while we pack up. With all of the boxing and taping I've done, I've realized how much we really have and how much Ross and I have been blessed.

When we were married, Ross and I owned a sofa and a love seat that my parents had purchased the year I was born, a couple end tables (Again, which my parents had so graciously given us.) A mattress and box spring Ross found at a garage sale, a book case and dresser, that we had found together at another garage sale, and the wonderful wedding presents which so greatly added to our survival. I remember working as a telemarketer at first, and going to DI every day while I wasn't working to search for a table. One day I found one I fell in love with. We snatched it up. So we had a dinner table, and no chairs. a few months later, some kind neighbors loaned us two chairs to use until we were able to afford our own. They were always so kind to us.

With Ikea not too far away, Ross' scholarships providing extra grant money, and incredible KSL finds in the "free section" we were able to turn our house into a home.We finally got our own chairs and coffee table. I even found a free piano on KSL, which I had so desperately been wanting.

Right before we were married, Ross got a TV from one of his cousins that no longer needed it. Nine months later, Ross' grand parents lovingly loaned us a bed frame, head and foot board, and another dresser. They also gave us a dresser that they no longer needed. It was a wonderful blessing and gift of generosity. I remember being absolutely thrilled to have our bed off of the floor. Yesterday I took that bed set apart. Tomorrow it will be moving in with the rest of Grandma and Grandpa's things.

Moving, though difficult and challenging at times with two kids to care for, dinner to get on the table, and a house to clean, has allowed me to recognize and express gratitude for exactly how much we have been watched over and cared for. As our home is getting closer to the necessities, I have especially been humbled, and our family has drawn closer together.

Last night Ross and I played our game of Skip-Bo (I call it "our game" because I'm 100% certain we'll be 98 and still playing "our game" of Skip-Bo every night.), then got in bed with our mattress on the floor-just like the good old days, at 8:00 to watch cartoons. Dark Wing Duck to be precise. I love having our bed on the floor. It reminds me so much of when we were first married. We ended up talking about when we first met and all of the fun things we've done since then. It's been almost 7 years exactly since we were introduced at a church dance. The whole story of us is here.

We had so much fun last night laughing and talking about what each of us were thinking and feeling at certain points in our past. From the night we met, our friendship before Ross served his mission, and after he returned. I even had this poor kid meet me at a high school dance competition where we talked a lot, I searched his wallet, and learned his first name was really Andrew.We played guitar together where I pretended I knew what I was doing. While every time I'd seen him since the day we met, it was as if a spotlight was on him and an angel chorus was singing, apparently before his mission, I was an ok looking, fun, weird gal. (True story.) However, after Ross returned home and we had our ice ckating date, I had magically transformed into a good looking smart (I believe we decided upon the term "nerd") girl. And I guess he liked that. Talk about the Ugly Duckling... That conversation in particular drew out a lot of giggles.

We never dated, just had some really good times together. After he visited me for a few days in Idaho, things seemed SO complicated. I feel silly thinking back to late nights spent crying in despair for all of the reasons we thought we couldn't be together. Our first date after we were married was to Nicklecade. (Yup, before it was ever Nickle City.)

Last night was the perfect night, watching cartoons and laughing about all of our good times, favorite road trips, and how ridiculously silly we were. I love that the simplicity of our home and life right now brought us back to almost how we were like 3 1/2 years ago and sometimes what we I was like 7 years ago.

I remember our first married Christmas. We had been married a short 2 1/2 MONTHS. I remember all of those giddy excited feelings. We are just as excited and giddy if not more so this year. We're so excited to see and spend time with our families and friends who ARE a part of our family. This Christmas is really about family for us this year. We couldn't be more excited and grateful that we're able to spend so much time in Oregon before our next adventure.

My Sweet Baby is TWO.

Claire turned two years old today. Aside from me suddenly feeling old, this has been an exciting event. Ross and I have spent months thinking about this day. We would talk about present possibilities, party planning, the works. I decided a long time ago that I wanted my children to know that their birthdays, while fun and exciting for them, are also very special and important days to me. These little babies are precious to me and add so much to our little family.

For Claire's 1st birthday, I didn't do a great job planning. I had some ideas, but I didn't have anything concrete. This year, I started planning months in advance. A bit dramatic I'll admit, but oh so much fun for me. I don't have very many years where I get to plan these special parties all on my own. My little gal, Claire, LOVES Elmo. I can't even count how many Elmos we have in the house. Before I was even married, I had sworn that my children would never have an article of clothing with a licensed character on it. Little did I know that my children might possibly fall in love with a character and develop an obsession. I also didn't know that as a parent, sometimes you don't care what your child is doing or wearing, you just want quiet! And thus the undying love for Elmo was born. I have no idea how she found out about him, or how they were introduced, but I promise you: this girl is going to grow up and marry Elmo and live on Sesame Street with all her friends.

Walmart has a little kiddie ride that you stick two quarters in and it moves a little bit. It's a car, and guess who's in the passenger seat? Elmo. Claire knows exactly where that ride is and loves to climb up, throw her arms around her not so furry friend and kiss him. She doesn't care about the ride as long as she gets to pat Elmo's back and offer him smooches.


I knew this party had to have Elmo in it somewhere. Going back to my bratty attitude towards licensed clothing, I didn't want Elmo to be all over the entire house. I settled on a color theme of red and white polka dots and yellow first. I found cute cheap things to decorate at a local party store, and made my own giant poms out of tissue paper.


I had the food spread planned out thanks to a little site known as Pinterest. (Which is MY obsession.) I found some cute ideas, some way over the top ideas, and some other pinspirations. With Claire's first birthday party, I had moved the coffee table into her room and put a few toys in there as a kid's room. I wanted to do more with that this year, so I even made a tissue paper doorway that Claire loved running in and out of. The room gave a little table for kids to eat, and toys to play together and just have fun. I figured Claire would be too shy to play real party games, but still likes to play with friends.








 

I didn't think too carefully about the party time, and decided on 1:00. For those without kids, 1:00 is a popular nap time for every child except mine. For some reason, they love morning naps. Only a couple neighbors came, and I'm so grateful they did. Claire had a lot of fun with the kids and sharing her party with them.

I wanted to do something special with Claire for her birthday. This morning I had an appointment, and this afternoon she'll be going to the doctor. (Happy Birthday, Claire!) So last night I took her to Nickle City, which is an arcade that uses nickles rather than quarters. We had a blast playing together and she actually did pretty well earning tickets. She had enough to get herself a little spotted dog, and a piece of candy. The gentleman working the prize shelf was so kind and loaded her up with candy. After I took her for a Happy Meal. It was a fun night.



So my little baby is two. She's a big chatter box and is extremely funny. She has her own ideas, and is so smart. Yesterday, she threw her lamb outside the front door so that I'd go get it. The second I stepped outside, I heard the door slam behind me and tiny fingers frantically trying to turn the lock. She's a busy busy girl with a mind of her own. We love this little girl so so much. I'm so grateful she joined our family. We love you little monster! Happy birthday!

Marathon Training: Day 1.

Before I get into how this morning went, I want to talk about yesterday and last night. I thought about keeping a video journal, but decided against it because I'd be embarrassed whining and complaining and talking to myself into a camera in front of Ross. Which I know really isn't a HUGE deal, considering I whine and complain to him all the time. Poor fellow.

Yesterday I came up with my training plan. I'm a visual planner. I love lists. I carry around a bright pink notebook that is full of lists. Idea lists, grocery lists, menu lists, to do lists, thought lists, the list goes on and on. (haha Get it? I just made a punny!)

I like my workout schedule/plan to be written out on it's own calendar. I have one calendar hanging for family events, appointments, that sort of thing. I then have another calendar hanging, or rather blank monthly calendars printed from the computer with my work outs scrawled on the days. I love seeing exactly what I have planned for myself that day, as well as the next day. I can look forward to rest days, and prep myself for the big, long days.

As I was writing out my future millage, it was a blessing to see it all laid out. 26.2 miles is a long way to carry your own body. My plan spans over 21 weeks, and lines up perfectly with the half marathon I'm registered for in January. Back when I registered, I wanted to do a race as soon as we arrived in Wisconsin. I wanted to get involved with the running community, hopefully make friends, and stay active. Now that I'm thinking about it, I feel like the biggest fool for wanting to do intense training through the holiday season, while in the middle of our first move with two kids. I mean, honestly. What was I thinking?

Anyway, so I had my schedule all written out and it seemed doable. The first day I'd only run for 35 minutes, and the weeks to follow would prepare me for the 26.2 mile Trailbreaker Marathon on April 6th. And then I stopped looking at the first couple months and got lost in the "long" days where I saw where I had written, 20 miles, 22 miles, 24 miles, Race day." Uhhhhh... I must be INSANE.

Here's a secret. I don't even love running. Some days I don't even like it. Occasionally, ok RARELY, I find my sweet spot, where my breathing, pace, and strides are all intertwined and coordinated. That's the time where I am completely whole. It's hard to describe, but I can think and am totally consumed within myself. It's almost like the relaxing cool down part of a yoga session. I love that. Unfortunately, most runs I'm huffing and puffing and resemble a seal or walrus trying to run on land.

Me when I run. No not the cute lady, the lump passed out on the dock. Yup, that's more like it.

I don't run because I love it. When I did the Halloween Half a few weeks ago, both legs were cramped, I walked more than I wanted to, and probably looked like someone who had escaped from a hospital, still attached to an IV. But I crossed the finish line. I know I sound like a complete weenie describing this, and it's probably true, but I was amazed that my body carried itself for those 13.1 miles.

I have always been fascinated with the human body. I think it's incredible that a heart can pump and circulate blood through the tiniest tunnels throughout the entire body. I am in awe of all the the body does and all that it can do. It's amazing to me. That's why I run. I love accomplishing hard things and learning what my own body is capable of. While I might have been cursing and whining through the last few miles of the half marathon, and was no where near first,  the overwhelming satisfaction and amazement still came after crossing that line. After that moment, despite not having control over my lower body for the next couple days, I wanted more.

I had been thinking for a while that completing a marathon should be on my bucket list. I have a big list of "I want to someday's" and a small list of "I've done's). If my body could endure that much butt-kicking, I must have my imaginary limits set way too low. Everyone has limits, but perhaps we don't find out what those limits REALLY are.

Last night I came up with my morning routine plan. (Yes, I did write it in my pink notebook, although the list consisted of only three items.) My plan was to wake up at 5:30. I even created an alarm on my phone called. "JUST DO IT!!". Then I allowed myself 15 minutes to get dressed and grab something to eat before 5:45 when I'd read scriptures. What better boost could I give myself in the morning than a spiritual one? I could eat my breakfast and read for 15 minutes before 6:00 when I had to be out the door, on the way to the gym to do my run. I'd prefer to run outside, but no woman in their right mind would go running alone in the dark. Plus, it's freezing outside.

Here's how this morning went. The alarm went off at 5:30 and alarmed me. (Another punny.) I quickly shut it off to make it stop, didn't even bother to read the, "JUST DO IT!!" saying I had purposely entitled the alarm, and ducked back under the blankets to warm up and ultimately fall back asleep. Luckily, Ross had his alarm set for 6:30. I jumped out of bed, got dressed, grabbed my phone and earphones and ran to the car.

I had an amazing run. Since it was only a 35 minute run, I wasn't afraid to jump up the speed, blast the music and just go. Not gonna lie, I took an unintentional long break from running since the half, and had only run a couple times since then. I ended my run with a determined grimace on my face, just sort of grunting out loud, and near barfing point. Once I got myself under control, that runner's high that everyone loves so much kicked in and I was feeling great. Then I rushed off to the grocery store to get the weekly shopping done without the two kiddos. (Which is in fact, the greatest reward EVER.)

Gratefully, I figured out 5:30 is a bit too ambitious, and I should be able to get everything done in the morning that I'd like before I run, so I can rise and shine at 6 instead. Which will still require some determination to actually get me out of the warm bed.

Marathon Training Day 1: Success. I can say I'm proud of how my run went this morning, and it feels REALLY good to be back at it. Hopefully the rest of this week will follow suit.

Christmas Lists 2012

I can't remember who asked for our Christmas lists the other day, so we decided to post them. It'll be fun to look back and remember what was on those lists, too.

Ross:
Lego Lord of the Rings wii game
Avengers movies
Long sleeved white dress shirt
Classical music

Katie:
Running socks
Jewelry/accessories
iTunes gift card for running music

Claire:
Disney movies
Bubbles
Coloring book
Socks
Any fun toy to keep her happy inside, since it'll be cold for a while at her new house!

Aoife:
Long sleeved shirts
Hard books
Baby Einstein CDs
Colorful little toys

We're so excited to get to spend a long winter break with both of our families. We've been counting down the days!

Blowing Wishes.

As per November tradition, many have been posting something they are grateful for each day. Because our move is in the middle of the Christmas season, we've been in the Christmas spirit as well. I'm grateful that our move is happening when it is. Usually around this time, we think of things we are grateful for, but for me, this "gratitude attitude" is centered on Christ.

I had a traumatic experience almost five years ago. I'm not going to go into any details, as it isn't something I'd post for the world to see, but please feel free to message me privately if curiosity gets the better of you. An extremely very few whom I've confided in will know what I'm referring to. I compartmentalized the event after it happened and it stayed tucked away, with only minor reappearances, until now. I've been having flashbacks every night for the last couple weeks, sometimes making it hard or impossible to fall asleep. After an especially rough night last night, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and comfort when I stumbled across this video this morning.

Today I squeezed my girls a little tighter, cuddled a little longer, and laughed a little more. I forgot about the dishes and laundry, and was just a mom today. We ran the errands that couldn't wait and then went to one of my favorite parks. Utah has had incredible weather and I wanted to take advantage of it while we could. We ran and played and explored and climbed. Aoife even went down slides and laughed alongside her sister on the swings. We were there for a couple hours. On the way home, I got Claire a happy meal and shared it while talking and laughing.

We have dandelions along the sidewalk that leads to our car. Not the yellow sunny ones, but the ones you blow. I don't know what your mom called them, but mine called them wishes. Each time we pass, Claire desperately tries to pick one. Sometimes I'm in a hurry and try to speed her past. Lately I've been trying to take the time to carefully pick one with her. Hold it dearly, and blow on the count of three. Then we laugh as we watch the seeds fly.

It's funny how a simple day playing at the park and eating McDonald's can turn into one of the best days I've ever had. I am especially grateful for big smiles and little moments like these that take away our burdens, sorrows, and struggles, even if only for a moment. Sometimes in our hurried lives, it's necessary to take time and blow the wishes.

Deck The Halls.

Well, not really. I leave for Oregon 6 weeks from tomorrow. Last year we stayed in Utah and had our own little Christmas, so we have a tree, and all kinds of decorations. I'm almost done packing up the storage shed. It's a tad depressing that we won't be decorating for Christmas at all this year, but it doesn't really make sense to get everything out to pack it up in a couple weeks.

So we're not really decking our halls, but it wouldn't be a Loveland celebration if we didn't celebrate early. We were going to need new phones soon anyway. We were going to wait until Christmas break right before we left, but a wonderful salesman convinced us to celebrate the new job in style with new iPhones!

We've been playing with and loving them all weekend. If you know our daughters and technology, you'd know how much trouble we're in. Luckily Claire hasn't really noticed yet, thank goodness. We have a general rule that she isn't allowed to touch them.

We got so excited thinking about Christmas break that we ended up doing our Christmas shopping super early, too. Heaven help me keep secrets because Christmas is still a long way away!