first pinewood derby

 Eric participated in his first pinewood derby!  Fun times. He made his own car - using a jig saw and dremel.  He also painted it himself.  Not bad for a first timer. 

 Uncle Dave taught him how to get the wheels to move fast... and he had a great time. 

 He has a great group of scouts - these are all of our scouts - from Wolves to Bears.  We may be small in number - but these boys are all good friends. I think that is what it is all about.  The age difference doesn't seem to matter.  2-5th graders all hang out at the park, riding bikes and having fun.  I hope it always stays that way!

Red Mountain 50K

 In 2015 one of my many goals is to run a 50K.  I wasn't really planning on getting it in quite so soon...but life comes fast :)

One of our good running friends, and owner of Saint George Running Center, hosted a race called the Red Mountain 50K, 30K and Dirty Hurty Half.  It is a trail run up in Santa Clara.  It is in some beautiful country.  Chris and I have run a few times on some of the trails.

So - at first I decided to sign up for the 30K.  I figured that is doable, and I knew I could finish it.  I was really scared to commit to the 50K.  Thirty one miles is a lot of miles on trails!  :)  So - I signed up for the 30K, and Chris signed up for the 50K.  The day after we signed up... we ran 17 miles along the course to get a feel for the terrain.  I FELT SO GREAT.  By the time I finished the 17 miles, I knew I needed to go for the 50K. I'd just done a 30K and felt awesome...I may as well push myself a little more, right!

So - I drove back to the running center and upgraded to the 50K.  Boy am I glad I did. 

It was one of the hardest races I've ever done - and the MOST BEAUTIFUL race I've ever done.  I had so much fun running along the trails, going up and down the hillsides, and just being outdoors.  There were no cars, no spectators...and actually very few runners.  Only 130 in all - for all three races combined - and only 30 were running the 50K.

The race started out great.  We ran alongside the 30K and half marathon runners...they were going pretty fast and we had to keep our pace in check to make sure we didn't die!  They left the course after the first two laps...and we were all alone with the 50K people.  Chris and I ran together the first 17 miles - and then he was dealing with some leg cramping.  He stopped at the aid station for some help - and I ran on alone. 

It's strange to be completely alone in a race - and yet, it's very freeing!  I was all smiles.  I hurt - but I was excited to be out there.  My knees were screaming, my legs wanted to stop those last 5 miles...but I kept going and I kept smiling.  Mentally I was doing great. 

It ended up being just under 34 miles, instead of the 31 because of a miscalculation...but I'm sure that will get fixed next year.  Those last 3 miles were the death of me ;)  But I still finished in 7 hours and 10 minutes....well under the cut off of 7 1/2 hours.  :)  That was my goal...just finish and don't get a DNF.  (did not finish)..  Chris was just a little behind me with 7:48 - and they still let him finish and didn't give him a DNF - because it was longer than expected. 

There were only 7 females running the 50k.  I was #5...and the 2 after me did not finish.  So - yes, I was last...  and that might seem sad - but I have never been so happy to just finish in my life.  The finish line was this... no one cheering, no one spectating... just 2 volunteers...one running the clock, and one to put a finishing medal on.  With races like this - I don't run for the show - I run for myself.
It's a great run, and I can't wait to run it again.

I know I am a very competitive person, and I used to be so hard on myself when I didn't do "well"  But I'm trying to be nicer to myself and tell myself that I'm here to have a great time and to compete against myself.  I'm not the fastest, and I don't expect to win any races... but I can be happy with myself.  I can be happy with my best effort - and that was definitely my best effort on my first 50k. 

Yes, this is the start of a new running relationship - TRAIL and ULTRA RUNNING! :) 

Birthday Weekend

We left for Salt Lake at 3am on my birthday.  Chris needed to be at a meeting at 8am in SLC.  And I had to do some things with Blue and Gold Banquet the night before so we couldn't leave earlier!
The kids did well, considering how early they had to get up.

While Chris was at work, I went with my parents, sister and children to the Family History center.  It was interesting. The kids didn't have as much fun as I hoped, but only because they don't yet have their own accounts.  But they did enjoy what we did. 

Ethan had a great time walking around in the snow.  He loved pushing the stroller!  :) 

My sister made me the MOST AMAZING cake ever!!  It was watermelon, pineapple, blueberry and kiwi!!  It was so delicious too. 

Making a wish....  I hope it comes true!

On Friday we welcomed Scott Bradley home from his mission in Boston.

He looks so good with all his brothers!  What a family.

On Saturday we went to Hailey's baptism.  Another wonderful day with family!

All the Grandkids... the only one missing is Baby LeMmon... who is due in August! 

On Sunday we got to go to Emily's baby blessing.  Oh - she is ADORABLE!!!! 

We even took a picture with her - this is what we would look like with 5... ya - not happening, but fun to pretend :)  If I could be sure it was a girl..... well, let's not go there.  My track record for having girls just isn't that great. 

We had a very busy weekend, but we enjoyed spending time with family.  It was a good weekend to spend with everyone. 

puppy blanket

 Andrew got a real treat when we went to Grandma's house!  His puppy blanket has been torn to shreds for the last little while.  He still carries it around, asking everyday if I can fix it. Believe me, it was beyond repair! 
No other blanket would do though - we tried!  I finally convinced him to pick out some new material.  He was reluctant, but finally gave in. He picked some red fabric with dogs on - two different patterns, one for each side.  He was super excited for me to make it, and asked me none stop if I would sew it together.  We decided to take it with us to Grandma's!
Grandma Jacobson happily sewed it together, Andrew was super excited to watch the magic happen. He loved watching Grandma sew.  Then we put it on the quilt frames and tied it.  We didn't quite finish before Andrew fell asleep on the couch while waiting. 
So, we put him to bed and later when we finished the blanket we put it on him as he slept.  He was so excited when he woke up with his new puppy blanket. 

This blanket is his new best friend!  Thanks Grandma!! :)

Wedding pictures

I was asked by a friend in my old ward if I would take some photos of a wedding for her friend.  To say I was intimidated would be an understatement.  I was so nervous that I wouldn't be good enough. I prayed earnestly that my camera would work properly, and that I would be able to remember all the tricks I've learned! 

My saving grace was that this was an older couple that were both getting married for the second time.  They weren't even going to get a photographer - they just wanted a simple wedding.  My friend insisted on a photographer :)  Just to get a few shots. So, I wasn't under a ton of pressure to find cutsie poses or fancy shots ... just capturing the essence of the day was all they wanted.

 The day here in Saint George was beyond beautiful.  It was warm, sunny and just perfect!

 These two were completely in love, and the spirit was so strong. It was just radiating from them. They were fun to work with.  And they are just the cutest couple!  I was glad I was able to help them capture their day, even though it scared me completely! 

 Sometimes it's good to be stretched beyond our own limits, and to do something scary once in a while. But, I'm going to say I don't want to do that too often.  I don't really have interest in taking wedding photos... it's way too scary!  I can see why wedding photographers charge so much...that's a TON of pressure. 

It was a beautiful day, with a beautiful spirit.  I'm so grateful I had a few skills that I could share with this cute couple!  And I felt like I was truly blessed to be able to be with them on their special day.

Bath Time

 Bath time can get pretty crazy around here!  Ethan and Andrew love bubbles.  They get EVERYWHERE...  But it's all in the name of fun, right?

basketball

 Abby and Eric have been playing Jr. Jazz this spring.  They have both really enjoyed being on great teams. 

Abby is on team HEAT.  Her coach is amazing - she's a great role model for these girls.  She is positive and encouraging.  She is constantly pointing out what the girls are doing right - and well.  She helps them see the positive in the game, even when they loose. It's been a great season!

Eric is on team MAVERICKS .  His coach is super amazing - it's his DAD :)  They've had a fun season together. It is fun to watch Eric get out there and play. He has picked up on it rather well.  I love watching Chris coach. He isn't an aggressive coach - and he lets all the kids play. They have had a fun time together.

UP theme Primary activity

 So - obviously my blog had to take a back seat for a few months.  I had good intentions of keeping it up and recording our families comings and goings...but Primary kind of took over my life.

I'm finally feeling like I'm getting used to being the Primary President.. if that's even possible... and I feel like I need to have a few things in my life that make me feel normal still. Like my blog, even though no one reads it.  Chris and I use it to keep a family history - so for that reason alone, it's worth it.

I don't know how many times since January 1st that I've sat down with all intentions to update this blog- to catch it back up and then keep it going.  But, each time I just feel too overwhelmed with how far behind I've become, and think tomorrow I will have more time to catch up.  It never happens and I've just become more and more behind.  So - today, I've decided that I'll just start with January 2015.  Then I know I can catch up without much trouble and hopefully keep it going!

Our Primary started off the year with a get to know your teacher party.  The theme was "come see what your teacher is UP to." 

 We had a great turn out!  The balloons really made the whole thing funner. 

 We fed them a sack lunch - it was all out on a buffet table, and they put things they wanted in their sack.  We had PBJ or chicken salad sandwich, cuties, fruit snack, cookie, carrots, gold fish, water or capri sun.  They kids loved choosing what they were going to eat.

 Then we ate lunch pic nic style.  The balloon matched their name tag color- and that's how the children knew where to sit and who were their new teachers.

 some classes are tiny - some are pretty big... but they are all amazing!

 We had a great time getting to know our teachers and children in the primary!

2014 Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving 2014 - we hosted the Jacobson family.  :)