I Can Hear the Bells

Yesterday we enjoyed the festivities surrounding the wedding of Jon's sister Ericka and her husband, Wes. It's always a time to reflect on marriage in general and look back on how things have changed since I got married...what my expectations were then compared to the reality my life has become. We watched our wedding video tonight since we were in a sentimental mood. Boy did it seem like a long time ago! Old VHS tape and weird corny music!

Anyway, back to the current nuptials! What a great event! Friday night was a dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building up on the 9th floor with gorgeous view of the temple. The next morning the ceremony was at 11. Ericka looked stunning! They were both super happy, along with their parents. That night was the reception held at the amazing home of a family friend. Her yard backs the hillside behind the avenues. The food was delish and the atmosphere perfect. They had lovely music and an incredible video. It was so enjoyable. Fun to see lots of family and friends.

Paige and Haily had fancy dresses on and I kept them in tact until after pictures, then they were chocolate stained and torn from jumping on the tramp. What can ya do? Charlie looked adorable in his tux.

We were exhausted by the end of the day and the kids even more so! Had a good nights sleep that night! Here are some photos!

At the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the dinner. And on Temple Square.

Joc and Chad. She is having a baby tomorrow! Doesn't she look fabulous! What a trooper!Paige took my camera and got a lot of shots. I deleted the ones of the lights, trees, bees, grass,etc. I think Ericka and Wes had both had enough with cameras by the end of the night.

You were always on my mind...

Random thoughts I am having today:

1. Is it so horrible to let your kids watch TV for the bulk of the day?

2. How do I stop Charlie from pulling hair?

3. I need to spend more time on my spirituality.

4. It feels good to have the house generally clean.

5. How can I get my husband to take better care of his mental health?

6. Is it possible to win quizzy's word cahllenge?

7. What advice will I give my sister in law tonight at her wedding dinner? Have I learned anything that is worth sharing in the last 9 1/2 years? Or is it best to just go into a marraige blind? It's not like they are going to remember anything anyone says anyway, right?

8. How will I pay the bills this month? I beg of you, mailbox, produce a check or two!

9. I am still astonished at how good I feel today considering last night I was writhing naked on the bathroom floor in tears and pain. No, it wasn't an Eat, Pray, Love moment. I did a long training run and did NOT expect that much pain in my hamstrings. Which leads to...

10. Should I really do a marathon next month? Can I be ready that soon? Is it worth it? Is it just abusing my body? Will I regret it if I don't?

11. I need to take the girls school clothes shopping next week before they go back on track.

12. Are my kids getting a balanced diet?

13. I need to go to Target and get some tights for my girls to wear at the reception tomorrow night.

14. What will I wear tomorrow night? There will be lots of pictures taken. Hope everyone's hair looks like I DID actually comb it.

15. I haven't talked to my mom in a while. I should call her...

16. Now that I finished Breaking Dawn, what should I read next?

17. When will I ever get around to painting some rooms in the house? I have the colors picked out and everything!

18. I love that new show on MTV, Exiled. I sure feel blessed! My worries are so trivial compared to a lot of people in the world who live such a simple and meager existence.

19. What a beautiful time of year we are entering. Love the crisp fall air!

20. I need to figure out eBay. That could be a fun little side job.

run run run

I guess maybe it was turning 30 in combination with not being pregnant or nursing that caused me to feel an urgency to DO something this year that I can't do otherwise. So what did I decide to do? Run a half marathon!

Last Friday afternoon, just in time to catch all the northbound traffic, my neighbor Michelle and I headed out of town. We picked up my sister in law Ericka and her friend Tiffany on our way. When we got to Cache Valley we picked up our packets and then met my other sister in law Richelle for a delicious carb loading dinner at Blackstone.

Then we headed over to my Grandma's house which is conveniently about 2 blocks away from the finish line. The fun and completely NON awkward part was sharing a bed.

After trying to sleep we awoke at the last possible minute, threw on our running clothes, and jogged to the bus. There we met up with 2 more neighbors who did the Ragnar Relay with us in June.

After a bus ride to the top, we were feeling the race buzz and excitement. Here are the "4 bras" from the relay team at the starting line.

This is me with my sister in law Ericka who is getting married on Saturday and is fun to have in town until she moves to New York!

And 13.1 miles later...

Check out my right quad! Everyone did great! My grandparents and aunt Steph were there to cheer us along as we approached the finish line. And my brother Dave (Richelle's husband) was there with their kids too. My emotions were a little overwhelming at the finish line. It was a real accomplishment for me. Michelle is trying to talk me into doing the full marathon in 4 weeks. I'm a little torn. Now is probably as good a time as any... but 26.2 miles is a LONG way! A little scary!
What a fun experience! Thanks to all my fun girls for doing it with me and all the laughs along the way. BIG thanks to Jon for his love, support, and encouragment. (And for watching the kids on my little getaway) Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for the sleeping accomodations and for coming out to cheer for us.

Hailyisms

I love Haily! It amazes me the things she comes up with. I am constantly giggling. Tonight we spent a good amount of time in the car running around and she was very talkative. Here are a few things I did not want to forget.



Haily: "Mom I am really smart. Kylee (our 4 year old neighbor) said that dinosaurs live in England. Isn't that funny?! But I said, no, they live in Heaven! Right mom, they live in Heaven?"
Me: "Yeeeeah." (uncertain as I had never pondered the question before)
Haily: "Yeah, they do. Kylee's not really smart. Well, she knows like one thing."



Haily: "Mom, will I ever be bigger than Paige?"
Me: "Probably not. You'll be about the same size when you are teenagers but she'll always be older."
Haily: "Maybe when Paige is older and I'm a little older Paige will be nice to me. Maybe. Just maybe..."
Me: "Well Paige can be nice to you now. She is trying to learn to do better. And she only has about a year until she's 8 and she'll be baptised so she'll really have to try harder to choose the right." (that last comment was more for Paige's benefit)
Haily: "Yeah, like Nick (her cousin). He got baptised and now he's nice. Even to Addy. (his sister)



Haily: "Mom am I going to die?"
Me: (trying to be careful and honest at the same time) "Well, everyone dies sometime. We don't live forever."
Haily: "Well, I don't want to die today. Or tomorrow or the next day..."
Me: "you won't"
Haily: "Yeah, I won't. You might but I won't. I'll make it home."

Me: "Shoot. I just missed the freeway exit!"

Haily: "I know a way. There was a little road back there. But there was a sign that said, Danger! Don't go this way or you'll run right into the mud. And you'll get stuck in the mud."

I need to record these on a more regular basis. Watch for more "Hailyisms" posts to come!

Summer Days

Summer is winding down around here and way too soon in my opinion! I do have to admit that I enjoy the routine that has forced its way into my days. No more lounging around all morning in pjs without makeup. I need something to get me out of bed in the morning and get me started, and darn it, coffee isn't an option! So, here are some photos that are my tribute to the summer of 2008!

What would summer be without ice cream all over your face? This is Paige returning from her first long day of 1st grade. I couldn't get a close up so the photo is fuzzy. Of course, she is loving school!
Haily waiting for the bus on her first day of Kindergarten. I'm not sure why she is wearing floods but we hadn't done school shopping yet, it was the middle of July for crying out loud! (And we still haven't, we are waiting for fall weather!)



And here she is boarding the bus. Paige is looking back making sure she is doing it right. I tried to get Haily to turn around but she was worried she would make the bus late!We followed the bus to school to watch Haily get off and make sure she got to the right place. This is her inside the kindergarten playground. I can't help notice that it looks a bit like prison. And also the boy in the background wiping tears from his eyes! Poor guy! And I really feel bad for his mother. That is tough to say goodbye when your child is so sad.

This is the video of the girls walking from the bus to the playground. It takes about 20 seconds before you can really see them. What you can't see is that Paige had her arm around Haily! So sweet! (and rare!) You'll also notice Charlie is carrying his own "book bag". When the bus came he went marching off towards it and said "Bye mom!". How he idolizes his big sisters!

This other video is Haily learning to ride a bike. Such a funny contrast from Paige! It really speaks to their personalities. Paige decided when she was 4 that she HAD to learn to ride a bike and was relentless in keeping Jon out there until she got it down. She was determined to learn in one day. Haily hasn't been interested so we kept trying to encourage her. Finally she agreed to give it a try. She had a smile on her face and a constant giggle! She did 3 or 4 runs and had gone about 10 seconds without Jon holding on when she announced that she now knew how to do it and there was really no need to continue with this exercise. I don't know if she has gotten back on the bike since but according to her she knows how!

These pictures were so cute I had to post them! Jon had to go to Park City for work one evening so we tagged along and went out to eat. It was a beautiful summer night with a gentle mountain breeze. Haily was quite the model, coming up with all kinds of darling poses. (I think she had a lot of fun with Katie who did a photo shoot with my kids. Check it out on her blog http://kevansphotography.blogspot.com/ under "what a happy crew"!)

And that's it...one more summer has come and gone!

15th Annuel Olsen Family Reunion

Every summer the first weekend of August we have a family reunion in Cache Valley with the Olsen clan. I am of the 4th generation and enjoy this opportunity to reconnect with a part of my roots. It's a great feeling of belonging to something much bigger than yourself. I am always in awe at how many lives have sprouted from the original 2; Dewey and Leah. What a great family! I am so grateful to be a part of it!
Saturday afternoon we kicked off the festivities with a bowling tournament. (Usually it's golf but they switched things up this year.)

Here is Suzanne with Paige, Haily, and Noah. Haily got the highest score out of our two lanes!

Here is Charlie trying to get in on all the action. And Hannah with Shelle enjoying the fun.

Charlie was wiped out from a full day! He crashed at Dave and Shelle's.

The next day we had a delicious brunch at the park where we enjoyed food, an auction, and some got a little wet on the giant slip n slide. There was a lot of buzz within the family about the celebrity among us! My mom's cousin's daughter Rhiannon was a finalist on the reality show Legally Blond; search for the next Elle Woods. She auctioned off a pair of tickets to the show in which she has a supporting role! It was the highest ticket item followed closely by my mom's quilt. I think my sister and I have her convinced to start an online business so watch for the link soon!

Here is Paige enjoying the slide. She is such a daring girl!

Dave definitely won the prize for best farmer tan. Come on it's Cache Valley, what do you expect?

Charlie and I are watching the sliders.

Haily squirming down the slide.

Tribute to Stephanie

Last week my life long friend, Stephanie, passed away unexpectedly. Although we had lost touch over the last few years, she is a big thread in the fabric of my life. Our dads were childhood friends and so Steph and I first met by kicking at each other from inside our mothers' wombs. She was born one month before me. Our families lived close by for years. I have pictures of the two of us and our siblings splashing around in wading pools and dressed in costume to act out the Christmas nativity.
They moved to Lincoln the day we moved to Omaha and so we traveled in caravan, taking turns riding together and riding in the big yellow moving vans with our dads. I remember making chocolate milkshakes with vanilla ice cream, milk, and Nestle chocolate milk mix. We also loved making cookies and eating a good portion of the dough!
Her family moved to Idaho Falls shortly before us and I was so excited to have a friend waiting for me when we arrived! She accompanied me to the mall on my 12th birthday to get my ears pierced, a major right of passage! We would walk to the gas station near her house to fill up mugs with soda and buy candy. We even went trick-or-treating together the last year we were considered young enough to go. I dressed as a cave woman.
I also remember being in her kitchen listening to the radio and requesting "I Swear" over and over again. We were such love-sick pre-teen girls!
Steph graduated high school a semester early and moved to Salt Lake. My friend Dorothy and I came to visit her one day. We envied her being out on her own, in her own apartment and everything! We ate dinner at TGIFs before Dorothy and I headed home.
Life took us our separate ways after that, seeing each other only at wedding receptions and similar occasions.
Steph had a contagious giggle. Her beautiful eyes lit up when she smiled. She had a very caring heart and was a deep thinker. She was a great friend and I regret that so many years went by before we began to reconnect.
Steph, thanks for all the warm, sweet memories! You will be missed!
http://www.webfh.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=194425&fh_id=11049&s_id=80A390EAE469F6B0C9A260083E490D7C