New Colors

Just a peek at the new paint. Joseph and I got an amazing deal through Groupon to have 2 rooms painted. We did have to paint the ceilings ourselves (our house came as all one color so we are slowly making it 2-toned where we can.)

A soft gray in the bedroom (Kwal paint color Ice Jam)

For the bathroom, a Restoration Hardware-like greenish blue (Kwal paint color Cervantes)

and a new mirror from IKEA to add some grown-up glamor to our bedroom

And this is what my desktop looked like on Saturday night as I researched dream fabrics and upholstered chairs. Our current bedding is 2 tones of green but when we pull out the comforter in the winter, that bedding is white with a dark brown print. Still don't know what color/print to get if we even get a chair at all. But I love looking into all this stuff anyway.

Summed Up

Our weekend:

started with this double rainbow Friday night

included Bentley and Caroline's first soccer games of the season

(I am a bad mom and didn't get any pics of Cares at her very first game! Joseph was filling in as coach and busy with all the kids while I was home with Livs during her nap time. I am sad because my tiny girl even scored her very first goal! She is loving playing this year and you better believe that she is uber-cute all dressed up in her soccer gear and sporting pigtails in her hair--I will get pics next time.)

a long awaited trip to the Copper Mines with Joseph--a very important part of this year's visit

I think we were there on the windiest day of the year--if Liv's stroller didn't have both brakes on the wind handily just rolled it all around

And today Bentley went to work on his Copper Mines gift shop find--a dinosaur skeleton excavation kit. He was completely taken with it and super focused as he worked.

Livs was worn out on our drive home from Nanny's house this evening, but managed to pose so sweetly as she slept.
Joseph emailed me this pic and titled it "Liver Snooze." Cool.

**We also had our master bedroom and bathroom painted this weekend and are still in the process of setting back up. We've started updating our furniture with black paint and new hardware but we've been slow. I hope it will all be done in the next month and then I will feel ready to post pics--right now it is far from done. I still have to hang window treatments back up so I can sleep in there tonight!

Thank Yous

--Thank you Mom for making homemade jam every single year (and for teaching me how to make it too.)
--Thank you Seth for documenting the triathlon a few weeks ago and capturing us all "in the moment."
--Thank you Joseph for being so patient with Bentley this morning when he and Livs were both falling apart.
--Thank you Caroline for sleeping in until 9:15 am and avoiding our chaotic morning altogether.
--Thank you Maddie for playing with Cares today and entertaining her beautifully.
--Thank you Cec for In-N-Out lunch today (and for reading super fast and loaning me the complete Hunger Games series so I can dig in.)
--Thank you Olivia for taking a 3 hour nap today. You have been going on 2 hours or less for the past few days and it has not made you the happiest of babies in the evening.
--Thank you Heidi for sending us fun mail with Box Tops and an awesome picture for the kids from Max.
--Thank you Blurb for making all photobooks and blog books super easy to create.
--Thank you to me for saving all of Caroline's darling clothes and now dressing Olivia in them. It feels so good to know they are getting well used and well-loved. And each outfit reminds me of my tiny Cares and those are fun memories to think back on.
--Thank you Bentley for braving up right as school started today and making it through another long day of first grade. Oh, and thank you for rocking that pose when Dad took your picture tonight. You are hilarious and darling and I love you for being both.

1st Grade

Bentley was super excited to start school and see his old buddies from Kindergarten.

The report I got from him when we picked him up, "I don't think I like going for the whole day. Tomorrow you should just pick me up at 2:00." It's going to be a tricky transition but he'll get used to it, right?

The girls played together so sweetly all morning. I had to intrude while they were playing "princess sisters" so I could capture their happy game.

I guess princess sisters must wear Baby Legs on their arms

Once Livs went down for a nap in the afternoon Cares and I played Polly Pockets for a bit. After 20 minutes or so Caroline sighed and said "when will Beanie ever be home? I miss him so much!"

When we grabbed our Bentley after school he got two big hugs from his little sisters who were extremely excited to see him. And then he got a big hug from his mama...I may have been pretty excited to see him too.

Last Days of Summer

Today is officially our last day of summer--how did that happen? I feel like the recent months have just flown right by and suddenly, school is upon us. Knowing our gorgeous summer days were coming to an end, we packed in a lot of fun the past 2 weeks with tons of playdates and August activities:

Incredible Pizza

Discovery Gateway

Cousin playdate at Nanny's

Old friends + kids playdate--
something we have been talking about arranging since May and we finally found a free day!

Herriman High football game last night--
the very first game for our brand new team
(and one of my Mia Maids was performing at half-time so it was fun to go support her!)

Seven Peaks

We loved the water park today. It helped that we got there about 5 mins before they opened and were early enough to get a great shady spot, go on a bunch of slides without any lines, and play in the nearly empty baby/kid pools for a bit. Livs was such a trooper and let us stay for over 3 hours before tiring out (it helps if we just keep feeding her and then she's content).

Bentley's off to 1st grade on Monday...goodbye lovely summer! We have enjoyed you immensely.

18 Months

We have arrived at 18 months with our delicious little Livs. I love this age. She's right on the brink of being a delightful talker and animated playmate. And while I am dealing with more tantrums and outbursts these days (something I've grown used to with toddlers who can't communicate everything yet) I am also seeing and hearing her learn so much every day. In the car yesterday she said "Cares" for the first time and the kids and I were so excited about it. "Mama," "Dada," "Na-Na" (used for anything and everything she wants, and "Ba-ba" (meaning "baby" (herself) Beans, bottle and Grandma Bobbi) have been old favorites and in the past month she has added the sweetest version of "hi!" I have ever heard. It makes me happy to know she hears it that way from all of us--she really is still the star around our house and we all get excited to see her when she wakes up from a long nap. We all get excited to put her down for a nap too because when she is done, she is done. Such a sweet age--she still loves going to bed as long as she has her favorite blankie to snuggle.

Olivia is still a total mama's girl. I don't think nursery will work out very well at first but my hubby and I are quite determined to start enjoying church again and we will try our best to help her adjust.

Livs loves to play with her older siblings and is really into sorting things--putting blocks into one tall tower and then back into their basket or taking all the magnet pieces off of Ariel, one at a time, and then placing each one back on. She also loves to snuggle up on my lap for reading but lately she insists on holding books all by herself (she literally peels my fingers off of pages if I try to help hold on). She turns the pages at her own pace--and she is fast. I think it's pretty funny trying to read as much as I can before we're on to the next page. I am a little surprised by Livvie's independence but I think she sees her brother and sister doing so much on their own that she thinks she simply has to do it on her own too.

My 18 month old babe is a shoe-loving girl through and through. She reaches for them first thing out of her crib in the morning and we usually give in and pop on a pair of jellies or crocs right along with her jammies. It's such a cute little sight. She also loves to try any and every shoe on or at least bring ours to us so we will put them on and show her we are wearing them.

I am indulging her cravings--see this pretty new pair? I could not resist them--of all people, I certainly cannot help but buy a girl some sparkly shoes. And shoes are much more practical than a silly little toy, right?

I love this girl so much!

And She's Off

Caroline started preschool this week and she is loving it. My little girl is quite the socialite but also loves structure and learning. She has 2 great friends in her class (from our little Joy School group last year) and she already loves her teacher. It helps a lot that Miss Angie has a playhouse in her yard and a cat who likes to peek in and see the kids during school--after only 2 days Cares has sure told me a lot about that cat :)

Even though school starts at the early hour of 9:00 am and Cares is quite a sleeper (I had to wake her up by 8:30 today so we could get her dressed and fed), I think this will be the perfect fit for her this year. And if she ends up at the charter school with Bentley next year, it's my last chance to doll her up (uniforms are required at Bean's school.) I plan on doing just that...isn't that what daughters are for?

The first day we dropped Cares off Olivia burst into tears as her big sis ran into school. It was pretty sweet and I know we will miss her while she's gone but Livs and I have big plans for our mornings together. It will be nice to have my baby to myself for a change--and running errands with only 1 child sounds like a piece of cake these days.

Anatomy of a Race

...a first time beginner's race, of course:

Herriman Blackridge:

Swim: 500 yds
Bike: 14 miles
Run: 3.1 miles

(the shorter swim earned us some extra miles on the bike)

Good morning! We were totally psyched to get in that crispy cool water. I was begging the sun to finally rise so it would warm me up.

Up it came--just as we adjusted to the water and got ready to really, finally start. I swear those 90 mins or so before the race actually started felt like hours on end. I was sooo ready to go!

and then I held back for just a few seconds because I did not want to get kicked in the face--and it worked out just fine that way
(I'm in the back right corner--starting my watch as I ran into the water)

out of the water and on to my bike. I was smiling because I was thrilled to have part 1 all done. Also, I knew Seth was taking pictures :)

About 5 seconds before this photo was taken I was putting my socks on and totally stumbled over. I had no idea how dizzy I was until I tried to balance on one leg. Luckily, Seth was snapping shots and caught me before I totally crashed. And Mary was right by me in her transition and could laugh it off with me.

I'm off with my bike!

I had to add this picture of my mom in here because I love it. Do you think she's happy to be done with that swim and finally on her bike?

Finishing the bike course. I was loving that ride because I rocked that little hill I was so stressed about--it helped to have so many other bikers around me riding up it like it was no big deal--so the competitor in me just wouldn't let up.

And finally on the home stretch. I don't know why every smile that day was basically just a big open mouth--random...

Crossing the finish line!

and done!

My cute kids (and hubby) made me these fun signs

I was so happy to see them all there at the end.
Look at cute Bentley--he was way into cheering me on!

Kristin and me

My awesome neighbors

All in all it was a great race. Not the fastest or most graceful by any means, but good. It would have helped if it hadn't been that lovely time of the month, and the fact that just about 1/2 mile from the finish line my left eye totally went blurry as a migraine hit. I could hardly see anything as I ran that last stretch--made for an interesting finish...but I was so happy to be done and see my darling little family cheering me on!

Thanks Heid and Mom for paving the way and encouraging me to try one of these. And thanks for going for it with me, Mary, and trying something hard and totally new!

Herriman mamas--thanks for letting me be a part of your club on Saturday!

Joseph--thank you so very much for helping me escape so often for training. It is tricky business being a full-time mom and getting ready for one of these and all too often you so graciously did bedtime alone with all 3 kids as I biked or ran, and took the kids almost every single Saturday morning of the summer so I could train--sometimes for a few hours. I promise to return the favor should a triathlon spark your interest...but then I'll just want to do one with you :)

33 Years

Happy Birthday Joseph!!

Lest you think he was forgotten among all the race hype going on around here, he was not. I thoughtfully sent him to California last weekend in the hope of spoiling him for his birthday. I think he loved his trip and all the time he spent with his brothers and dad. He must have made an impression because my hubby left town and 2 days later his hosts had a new baby whom they named after him (well--middle-named after him...still very cool). That was pretty sweet news and my Joseph is quite proud about it.


I would totally name my kids after Joe too--I mean he is quite simply...amazing ;) Honestly, I love him so much.

One of my favorite memories of him was many years ago--about a month before our wedding. A big group of us decided to hike Timp on Labor Day. Sounded like an adventure to me and I loved spending time with Joseph doing anything so I was in. Everything started out great, it was a beautiful day and the hiking was fun--hard at times and steep, but good. And then less than half a mile from the summit I realized I was suddenly really worn out. Every step felt exhausting and I felt like I would never make it to the top. The elevation was really getting to me and I wanted to just sit down with the mountain goats and be done. I honestly thought I would just eat my lunch right there on the rocky terrain and wait for everyone else to hang out at the summit and then they would come find me on the way back down--no big deal.

This was a side of me Joseph had never seen--the defeated side. I mean we had only known each other about 9 months total and been engaged for 2. There were many, many sides of me he had yet to discover (lucky boy ;) but there I was telling him I was ready to quit--and whining about it in the process. And he didn't even flinch or react at all. He just said, "Okay. But let's just take a few more steps first." And then "let's just make it up this switchback and then we'll stop." And we continued on like that right up to the summit which was way closer than I had thought. I felt bad for being so slow but Joseph was just happy I made it up there. And I felt so relieved that he wasn't annoyed or disappointed with me. It was a pretty significant moment and he had no idea it was so revelatory for me. I loved how patient Joseph had been with me, how kind and encouraging and constant. I was not even being a cool, brave girlfriend--I was showing my true colors and he was still so good to me.

And that is how he is with everyone he loves--always kind and helpful and loyal to the core.

How did I get him to fall in love with me again? Babe--maybe you'll have to remind me ;) Love you--have a happy day.

A Peek

Race Day:

Started with some body marking,

a march to the starting line,

and ended with 3 very proud mamas (and one fancy medal for the grandmama!)

It was a raging success of a day and I am thrilled I finished in less than 2 hours (my goal for this race.) Mary and I basically raced within eye-sight of each other the whole time and ended up with times only about 10 seconds apart. Such fun. I have many more pics and stories to share...coming soon...