Tes Singing her Favorite Song

"At Last I see the Light..." Tes LOVES Tangled and singing this song. She'll sometimes even carry a microphone around and sing the same line over and over. American Idol contestants watch out!

Carson's Kindergarten Picture

I just realized that I never posted Carson's school picture, so here it is. My big, Chinese speaking Kindergartner.

Happy Halloween!

The pumpkin carving is complete.
The kiddos in their costumes. Carson was Anakin Skywalker and is photogenic as usual and Tes was Minnie Mouse and would NOT let me draw a nose on her. This girl is VERY particular...I wonder where she gets it from? ;) I told her to take out her binky and smile and this was what I got, silly girl. I REALLY should've gotten rid of those binkies or "bee ba's" as she calls them when she was one, she is more attached than ever!
Sweet peas one and two.Yes more shots of the kids on the front stairs. I guess that was my only photo spot this Halloween.
Trick or treating at Daddy's office. Carson didn't want to stand for the picture and Tes is a stinker in front of the camera so she refuses to look at it and smile, most of the time anyway. I was a vampire, if you couldn't tell from those obnoxious fangs. I wanted the single fang, but they were sold out of them so I went with these ones which were a little too much for my liking. At least you could tell what my costume was with them in.Daddy and Cars, ready to get after it! Happy Halloween everyone!

DISNEYLAND!

After having a rotten weekend a few weeks ago (rotten=flood in newly finished basement & miscarriage numero 3), an opportunity came up for Tim to actually use up some of his vacation time so we packed up and went to Disneyland for a few days. We decided to go on Thursday so I got online and found a place to stay through Get Away Today and two days later we were on the road to Cali. It was a quick trip and despite us all being sick with sour stomachs & nasty coughs while we were there, we had a great time! Here are a few of our highlights...
Made it! The kids did very well in the long car ride. We made it to Barstow & then Tes started saying, "I want out!" so we let the kids run around McDonald's for a few before we got on the road for the last few hours. We took two luggage racks up to our room. One with the luggage on it and the other with the kiddos, they thought it was the coolest thing ever.The boys building a sand castle at Laguna Beach. We'd never been so we thought we'd check it out. It was a little more quiet than Huntington or Santa Monica, kind of a nice change though. Its always fun to see something new.The waves were really big the day we went & Tes did not care for them. She kept saying, "Don't get me!" She was worried the waves were going to get her. She loved the Oregon coast last time we were there so I think the larger waves made her uneasy this time.Disneyland, here we come. Tes was excited riding the tram to the park, even more so than she was on some of the rides.Halloween time at Disneyland. Carson didn't feel like taking ANOTHER picture so he sat this one out.
Carson in his Anakin Skywalker costume. He only lasted in it for about 5 minutes, just long enough for us to get a picture by Star Tours. He was able to go on all of the big rides this time. He of course loved Star Tours, but some of his other favorites were The Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, Thunder Mountain Railroad, & Space Mountain. Splash Mountain & Tower of Terror kind of "freaked him out".
Tes in part of her Minnie Mouse costume. She wouldn't let me put her ears on, not even for one picture. She loved playing around in Fantasyland by the miniature houses/doors over by Alice in Wonderland. She would go up to the door and say, "Knock knock" & "Open this Door!" (like they say on Tangled). I had to keep telling her that it wasn't a real door.Tessa's favorite ride was the Carousel of all things. She loved riding "the horsies" & "Maximus". She also loved the Teacups, Dumbo, & the Jungle Cruise.
Uncle Vic joined us on our 2nd day. It was fun having him with us.Mmmm, churro time. By the end of Day two we were all exhausted. It was a fast and furious trip, but great memories were made and we can't wait to go back...only next time we want to stay for a whole week!

Summer is Officially Over

Carson's Kindergarten Orientation. Here he is in the Chinese portion, hence the coloring of the Panda. It was so funny watching these kids just stare at their teacher as she rattled off in Chinese. I could see Carson's lips moving as she spoke, like he was really trying to take it all in and figure it out. Oh and did I mention that I bawled like a baby the minute we walked through the door. I'm glad Tim was there with me so I had a shoulder to cry on and so Carson could have one emotionally stable parent there.Carson's official first day of school. He was SO excited to ride the bus with his friends. He had a hard time finding his shoes this morning too, hence no shoes in the picture. We ended up finding them in the backyard, soaking wet from the sprinklers. Even after throwing them in the dryer, they still weren't dry in time so we had to go with the flip flops. I still can't believe my boy is in Kindergarten and not just Kindergarten, but Chinese Immersion Kindergarten. I'm overwhelmed for him already. He'll do great, its definitely going to be a challenge though.Poor Tes was lonely the first week of school without her buddy around. Here she is with all of her friends that she also sleeps with at night...yes ALL of them. All are cuddled up and ready to watch a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, their favorite.At it again, Top of Utah Half Marathon, round two for me. Here's Jodie and I before the race and no we actually didn't coordinate our outfits, we can pretend we did though cuz we were a team. :) It was a good 10 degrees warmer than it was last year which made it nice at 5:00 in the AM, when its usually freezing, but not so nice come 9:00 AM towards the end of the race. The last mile seemed neverending this time around. I just thank heaven for those darling children with their hose out spraying us runners as we ran up that last hill. Thank you, thank you, thank you!Jodie and I after the race. We came in at exactly the same time, 2:05!

Busy Summer!

Warning: Get ready for picture overload...

Backyard pool fun! Here's my bathing beauty.Here are the stud muffins, Carson and his friend, Rudy.Fun with Grandpa Ed while Mom and Dad were in Seattle.TENNIS! Turn, Step, and Swing.Tes loved the tennis court. Too bad she outgrew her tennis shoes & had to run around in her sandals.Cars and his concentration face.Copper Mine with Grandpa Terry and Summer.Roy PoolOur one day excursion to Minnetonka Cave up by Bear Lake.Swimming in Bear Lake...for all of 15 minutes before it started to rain.Swimming Lessons...successful swimming lessons I should say! I'm still bugged by the jerk who attempted to teach Cars last year. (Ya I'm not bitter am I?) The ladies who taught him this year were great with him. We will definitely be going back to them next year.Daddy and Carson hiked all the way to the 3rd waterfall up Adams Canyon! Mama and Tes stayed home this time. We had some shopping to do. :)Ogden Nature Center with the Webelos.

Jeez, I hope I didn't leave anything out. ;)

Happy 4th!

Happy Independence Day everyone!The kiddos with Grandma Lanie. Thanks for coming to the parade and BBQ after with us Lanie!The 3 amigos. Carson with his friends Breck and Porter. Carson stayed with his friends the entire parade. We kept trying to get him to come by us but he insisted on being with his friends. What a good looking crew!Happy girl!Tes watching the parade very intently. She loved chasing after the candy with Grandma Lanie. She's definitely my child, she has her Mama's sweet tooth already.Carson and one of his BFF, Porter. It had been a long, busy day and Tes was way ornery so Tim decided to stay home with her so they both could go to bed. Tim did have to work the next day so it worked out. Thanks Argyle's for letting Carson and I tag along!

Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Half!

Happy 9th Anniversary honey...now let's go run in a race! Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon here we come!After the race. Tim came in at 1:54, Derek at 2:03, and me, the stragler at 2:09. My knee started hurting the week before the race so sure enough it gave me grief during the race. From about mile 7 on I had to run/walk because of the excruciating pain in my left knee. Looks like its time for some new shoes and a knee brace, I officially have "runners knee". So after the race we caught a taxi cab back to Derek's place. The whole drive back, we wondered why the cab driver didn't roll up the windows once we got onto the freeway. He'd roll them up...and then back down again. As we got out of the car it hit us that we were stinkin up the poor guy's cab and he had his windows down so he could breathe. LOL! Thank you Mr. Cab driver for not charging extra for driving 3 sweaty runners back home.So the difference between running a race in the desert and then one at sea level is...the amount of visible sweat left on your shirt. So in Utah I know I sweat, but it seems to just dry so I don't see it as much. By the end of the Seattle race, I could've rang the sweat from my clothes and watch it drip to the floor...sorry if thats TMI. :) The weather was actually perfect for running though, it never got too hot.Tim at the end of the pier. What a pretty view.
Why does this home look familiar you ask? Its the Sleepless in Seattle house! I know that movie is like so old but it was still fun to see nontheless. Derek's friends, whos house we went to after the race for a BBQ, was just a few houses down the pier so I had to go check it out. I still think its cool that these houses float on the water.

Officially a Kindergartner

Here's my big Preschool Grad! Carson loved going to school and made lots of new friends this year. We're actually kind of sad that a lot of them will be going to a different Elementary School. He's such a social little guy that he will make new friends anywhere though, I'm not too worried. Its so hard to think that I will have a kindergartener next year. Heritage Elementary here we come!

Ogden Half Marathon

Almost there, almost there, almost there. The last mile I had to keep telling myself that. What a gorgeous race course though, seriously! It was fun having several gals in the neighborhood running with me too. I'm excited to say that I cut 7 minutes off my last race time so I came in at 2 hours and 5 minutes...wahoo! Its now time to get ready for the next one at the end of June in Seattle and then one more in August for the Top of Utah once again. I'm excited to have Tim run in the next two with me! Now this is what summer is all about!Me and one of my biggest fans and cheer squad. Carson was so cute and wanted to come see me finish this one. He was even out late with Daddy at the Father and Son Campout and still got up to see me finish. Tes stayed home with Grandma Lanie. You may have noticed that my bib says Brian on it. I hadn't actually signed up for this race because it filled up last fall, back when I was "pregnant" with the "Mole". Needless to say I was thrilled when my neighbor asked me to run for him because he hadn't had time to train like he'd wanted. Thanks again VanCamp's!!!