Jan 30, 2012

Things are moving along well in preparation for Cole's mission.  We have almost everything ready.  


His farewell will be on February 12, 2012, from 11am-12 (Sacrament Meeting) at our Stake Center, 6270 W. 7000 S., West Jordan.  

I just received a missionary tracker from ldsmissiontracker.com and it just arrived!  Here's a photo:

I'm guessing it hasn't really sunk in yet because it all seems so surreal.  

Welcome *2012*!

Wow, the holidays are over and a new year has begun! I'm so excited for 2012! It is almost palpable the positive energy I am feeling about this new year! It's hard to believe that the holidays are over already! It was such a fun holiday season for our family, one of my very best holidays yet. Paula came into town on December 18 and stayed with us most of the time she was here. It was so great to have my 'older and wiser' :-) sister here with me to help me with all the cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc! The Allen's had a big family get together on Christmas Eve which was a blast. So many of our out of town family was here for the holidays, so we were only missing a few. Lots of fun and food and evening went by too quickly. So good to see our far away family members. Christmas day was nice and quiet for us, Paula went to Cameron and Carrie's (her son and DIL) for a few days, and it was just us. Having one hour of church was odd and coming home after church, it sort of felt like it was just another Sunday. Scott had off the day after Christmas, so it was nice to have him home longer than usual. Our friends from San Diego, The Turners (aka TheFuzzins), took their daughter, Tamsyn to the MTC for her mission to the Idaho Pocatello Mission, where she will be serving as a Spanish speaking missionary on the Idaho Falls Temple Square. After a very long and trying trip, they were able to get her to the MTC just in time for her appointed meeting time, and then came to our house following. It was SOOOO good to see them! We had them here for several days; we ate and shopped and played and stayed up late and all of us picked up where we had left off. (Isn't it great when you can see your besties and pick up where you left off last...true friendship!) All the fuzzins all had a great time. (Poor Kai missed out on a day or so fun when he was down with the stomach flu.) New Year's Eve we decided to celebrate with food, hats, music, etc and it was great! We ate all kinds of appetizers and watched Coldplay live in Austin while we partied! It was great, all of us were singing and enjoying it to the fullest! (Except Grandma Jo who was asleep.) When it was 12:00, it was like the house exploded! We got our horns, poppers, fireworks, and started making the most noise possible. (At one point I was worried that we woke mom up and scared her, but she said she wished she was with us! LOL!) We all went from the front door, to the back door, back to the front door, etc. for probably 20 minutes! Tracy was hilarious, collecting and blowing as many horns at one time as possible! It was so much fun! THAT is the way to start off a GREAT year! Below are some pics of our New Years Eve bash...

Kai, ready to have fun!

Me and my besties: Melinda and Shelly!

Tracy just after dancing...darn, I just missed the picture!

Melinda! (looking a little French with her cute beret!)

Kai with his food! Only chips???

Vinson, Chandler and Cole...FUZZINS!

Paula, Scott and Cole having fun!

Update and a new beginning

I haven't blogged in a very long time and when I was blogging it was more of my "running log".  So I'm giving that up for now and beginning a new family blog, aka Cole's mission blog.  Since the purpose of me originally starting this blog was to blog about my family, I've decided to go back to that and blog our lives.  Of course, I'll also blog family events that happen in the meantime, but this will be a place where we'll record Cole's experiences, photos and letters.  Hope you enjoy!  Here are some of the things that have been going on for the last year that I may have neglected.

11.24 Yesterday was Thanksgiving AND Cole's 19th Birthday!  Hard to believe how quickly time flies!

09.21 Cole received his mission call to serve in the Columbus Ohio Mission!  He reports to the MTC on 1.11.12! He's so excited!

It only took 2 days after he got his mission call to get his Ohio State shirt!

10.08 This was the major mission clothes shopping day.  He got some really sharp suits and clothes!  He's starting to look like a missionary!

08.11 Cole's official mission photo.

09.25 Kai's first 'date' and Homecoming Dance.  So cute!

09.18  Kai's Eagle Court of Honor!

09.18 My two Eagle Scouts!

08.05 Kai's photo for the football game program.  Great smile!

I thought this was kind of cool so I had to put it in.  This is a bookmark taken from action shots.  Each player got at least one shot on a bookmark.  Pretty awesome!

09.03 Both boys enjoy playing the drums.  Here's Kai.  Pretty good for being self-taught!

07.01 The boys had the opportunity this summer to go to their first Pioneer Trek.  They said it was an amazing experience!

06.23 Kai's 16th birthday!  Guess what he wanted to do for his birthday?  Eat biscuits and gravy, his favorite!

Can't believe he's 16 already!

06.01 Cole's high school graduation.  Can't believe this time has already come.  

05.22 Cole's seminary graduation.  Great frothers! (friends + brothers)

03.02 Big day for Kai!  The braces are GONE! Yay!

01.11 The boys at their 2010-2011 Football banquet.  Cole finishing his senior year of football, Kai finishing his Sophmore year.  Sad it's over!

That's a quick version of the happenings over the year!  Crazy 2011!  :-)

08.21.11

(Thank you Heather for the kick in the butt to get this going again.!)

I think I've neglected my blog because I've used Facebook and it's so much easier!  I'm going to try to stay on top of this and keep updated.

Another birthday is approaching and I'm feeling it.  I hate it.  Mentally, I feel as if I'm still in my 30's but unfortunately, parts of me KNOW that I'm not!  Tomorrow I've committed (and maybe it's good that I'm blogging this to hold myself accountable) that I will start running again.  I've been seeing friends and family that have been running this summer and I want to be doing that as well, but I've been so overwhelmed that I can't seem to get myself out there to do it.  I did walk/run for a week or so trying to get back, but then had a minor set back and didn't get going again.  So, tomorrow I'm doing it.  When the weather is nice, I love it.  But, know that the weather will be getting cold again soon.  I've got to try and not focus on the weather changing and it getting cold, it seems to hinder my enthusiasm.  (BTW...did I say I hate the cold?...)  I would love to run a 5K or 10K sometime before the winter starts, so here I go making myself accountable.  Wish me luck!

Also, this blog is also going to be my family updates, at least for right now.  Cole's sent in his mission papers and is waiting for his appointment with the Stake President, at which time they will go to Salt Lake.  So, I'll keep the updates here for now, and possibly when he leaves for his mission, I'll start one for that.  Possibly.

That's it for now!...

I'm Baaack!

Can you believe it?  It's been 9 months since I last posted anything.  And it's been since October that I ran last.  In hindsight, I shouldn't have stopped but I'm such a wimp in the cold weather and it does nothing for my motivation.  I hope that this year it's something that I can get over.  Today was awesome.  It felt so good!  I ran about 2/3 of my route!  I really didn't think I'd feel like or be able to do much running, so I was pleasantly surprised. I'm working on upping the length of my routes and my time this summer.  I'll be really happy if I get consistent at 5 miles or more.  I'm hoping that my muscles' memory comes back quickly and I can work up to the 5 miles more quickly than last year.  Today didn't feel like too much of an effort, so I'll see how sore I am tomorrow and what I can do on Thursday.  I'm actually excited to start running again.  Time to get some more good music! :-)

What equals a CRUMMY run!

5 hours of sleep + 95 degree temperatures, that's what! UGH it was awful and I couldn't wait to get home. Not only was I HOT (what WAS I thinking?), I was dying of thirst and could hardly walk the rest of the way. One more lesson learned. I also realized that I need to do 'something' on the off days of training. I'm afraid I'm at the point now that I need to get some type of cardio in every other day of the run. Not sure what that will be yet. Wednesday is my 5 mile day and Friday is *6 miles*! It's getting hard, but the reward is awesome! I think I'll be sticking to early mornings and evenings until it cools WAY down.

Farther than EVER!

Oh my goodness! I just came in from my run today and I ran farther than I EVER HAVE in my LIFE! I'm soooo happy that I have pushed myself to this and am accomplishing something so challenging! I even ran them in under 15 minutes per mile! OH MY GOSH!!!! (Again the time thing isn't anything except that it is a measurement to me of how I'm doing.)


The boys have been in football conditioning for a few months. They have on occasion complained about how hard the coaches have been working them, harder than they have ever worked. They sometimes dread practice and come home sweaty and worn out. We've had constant conversations with them (especially one who is really having a hard time "digging deep") that they can't quit, they have to work hard and give it their all. Stretch themselves. So that they CAN be a better team, and when they DO win, they will realize that they deserved it. On Wednesday, when I couldn't get myself to get out there, but finally did, as I was toward the end, I thought about my boys. I realized that I can't expect them to do hard things if I'm not doing it myself. As I was running today, that went over and over in my mind. And how rewarding it is to accomplish those hard things. I think we are all growing by this experience and I'm glad we are sharing it together.

Thanks to all of you!  You are so supportive and I appreciate you so much!  :-)

This has nothing to do with running, but I have to say that I'm getting SO excited for football season! I love summer and don't want to hurry it away, but I can hardly stand waiting!  Today the boys got their helmets and practice jerseys, #11 and #32 are in the HOUSE! LITERALLY!, which they start practicing in this afternoon. Next Friday is our first scrimmage and the following Friday is our first GAME! It is the endowment game at home playing Syracuse.  I grew up with my brothers playing football, football on TV, radio, married a man who played and coached football and now 2 boys that play, well, you might say were destined to play, but I have come to LOVE the game and everything about it.  So, I saw this video and thought I'd post it.  It is my life, from a spectators perspective, a football mom, and I love it!  I hope you enjoy it! (I'm not much of a fan of country music, but I can't help but like the song because of the video, of course!)

Kenny Chesney - The Boys of Fall

W3D2 - AWESOME!

Honestly, this morning I was looking for ANY and EVERY excuse not to go.  I was planning on not running today.  But then, something dragged my lazy butt upstairs and got me dressed and out the door.  I think the motivation today was that I ran a different route.  I decided I would try a flat run today, so I ran Grizzly Way.  It was GREAT!  I'm excited that I was able to finish without walking at all (despite my negative attitude earlier) and even more excited that I timed myself at about 17.5 min. miles.  Now, I'm not worried about my time in this marathon, although I would love it if I wasn't the slowest in my age group.  This time "mark" is a mental thing and helps me see my progress, and is so gratifying.  The best part is, that I ran 1 mile more than Monday and it's getting easier!  AND I LOVE IT!  It feels sooo good after a good run...even the sweat. (hee hee)  SNOW CANYON 1/2 MARATHON...HERE I COME! :-)

W3D1

So far, so good.  Since last Wednesday's hard run, things are going great.  I ran the route again, and ran all but up the hill.  It felt really good.  The night before we had pasta and I was thinking that the carbs may have had something to do with the run feeling really good.  Maybe we need to have a pasta dinner the night before the 1/2.  Anyone tried this?  This morning the run was really good, no stopping and I'm feeling strong.  Over the weekend I actually thought "I think I can do this!"  I'm getting excited!  (But still a little scared!)  :-)

Week 2 Day 2

Wow, I thought this wouldn't be so hard, at least for the first few miles...I've done this before. But I think from having some time off, I've had a hard time getting up to where I was before. It's a little disappointing, but I'm hanging in there. Like I said, I'm going to do my best to run as much as I can of the 1/2 marathon, but I'm sure I'll be walking some.

Today I went out of my comfort zone and tried a different route. A big challenge....7000 S. A friend told me yesterday to give it a try and just run it. She gave me a few tips, said to start off with an Ibuprophen before and one after (which I have yet to take...maybe I don't need one?). Then, go all the way down 7000 to Grizzly Way and back (which is 3 miles), but on the way back, from 5600 to the first fire hydrant to sprint. So, I decided I'd try. The way down to Grizzly was great, it wasn't too difficult and it felt so good. I turned around at Grizzly and just that slight incline started making a difference and it got harder. I ran up to the pasture and ran/walked alternating from lightpost to lightpost. Then at the first lightpost after 5600 W., I sprinted to the next lightpost! Wow! That was tough! But I did it! I was trying for the fire hydrant, but couldn't quite get there. I was pleased with myself that I did that much! Then the rest of the way up 7000, I walked. It was a BEAST! UGH! I am going to work on trying to run it, but I think I need to work on distance more. So, we'll have to see. I'm thinking I did pretty good today.

W1D3

This is Week 1 Day 3 of our 16 week training. Our race (St. George Snow Canyon on Nov 7) will be right on W16D3, so we may not make it all the way through the training but hopefully it will be ok.

Monday I ran and it was OK. I did better than I thought I would, but I struggled and did a bit more running than walking. Wednesday, I was about to give it up. It was a HARD day and the mental pressure it was giving me was too much. Then I thought about my friend who said "I have no doubt you can do this!" and all of you that are supporting me and encouraging me, and I realized that I can't let anyone down. So at that moment I was doing it to not dissappoint (one of my personality traits...) and do it. But as the day went on, I started looking forward to it and it turned out to be a great run. Very little walking and running the whole way. I was so proud of myself! I'm looking forward to today's run. I think it's going to be really great, hopefully no walking.

I've realized that these blogs and letting other in on our goals is what is going to keep us going sometimes. I had to reach deep down inside me to find something to motivate me to keep going and had it not been for you, my friends, I'd have quit. So, thank you. I'm hoping I'll thank you much more along the way, and of course on the afternoon of Nov. 7th!

"Oh no you DIH-ENT!" (finger waving in an "S" shape with hand on hip)

Scott came home a few weeks ago and I'm on the couch with my foot propped up on pillows, wrapped in ice and said that he promised some friends that we would run the HALF MARATHON in St. George in November! OH NO YOU DIH-ENT! (didn't) I can't believe it. At the moment, I had many emotions; FEAR ("oh my goodness, I barely made it through the 5K in May, how could I run 13 miles?!), ANGUISH ("I'm nursing a sprained foot right now and am I ever going to be able to run?"), ANXIETY ("a HALF MARATHON!?!? Are you KIDDING ME???")...among others. (A friend told us that from our house to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple and back is about 13 miles.) oh. my. GOODNESS!

I haven't ran since my mom was in the hospital, so as of today, it's been about a month. I feel like it won't be too bad to get back out there and run, but I know I am going to have to start slowly to get back to where I was when I stopped. After the shock wore off, I've started to entertain the idea a bit. I have resolved that I am going to do it, even if I have to run/walk! It is a HUGE undertaking for me, I'm really scared when I think of the actual race, but maybe that won't be so bad once I start training. Although, I have been really comfortable running in my neighborhood and to think of going outside that comfort zone is making me a bit nervous. I know that sounds weird, but I can't imagine running down 70th, down Grizzly way, down 90th south or Skye Drive, and toward the OM Temple...it just makes me nervous. (I think because it is such a long way from home!) I wonder if any of you have had these same emotions. If so, please let me know and what you've done to decrease/resolve the concern. And any other helpful tidbits you can give to this novice runner would be MUCH appreciated.

As I always say "You eat the elephant one bite at a time", so I'll be taking baby steps to get to the 13 miles. I love having to log my running details on this blog and your encouragement is priceless. Thanks all...and I'll keep you posted!

Catch up

Ok, I haven't blogged lately about my running because it's been really inconsistent and I hate it. Things got so busy I had no time to run. Then last week, my Mom went into the hospital and of course had even less time than the week before. She came home and we've had to get her set up with Physical Therapy and get her back into being at home and that has taken time, along with catching up with work from the previous week, so I had even LESS time than the two weeks before. BUT, I did get a run in on Monday, and was excited and looking forward to getting back in the groove, then Tuesday, something happened to my foot (dang flat feet!) and I can hardly walk. It's getting a little better today, I'm hoping to not have to limp much and maybe I can run tomorrow afternoon after the BYU 7-on-7 football passing tournament. (YEAH! Can I tell you how much I LOVE football! And I love the heat and sunshine, tomorrow will be 82 degrees, and I'll be in heaven!) So, hopefully tomorrow, I *WILL* get back in the routine again!

2 steps forward, 1 step back...

It feels like it anyway. It's been a hard few days. The weather has been horrible and I think it really effects (affects?) me. It's been five days since my last run and I was still mentally hung up on the fact that I mostly walked last week and couldn't go as far as I had. (I wasn't able to make the 5K on Saturday due to work.) I had been talking with a friend and I realized that I was having a block, that I couldn't get past the fact that I felt more successful on my runs when I would take my usual route (which included quite a few big hills - yeah me!) but when I tried a new route (0ne that would have been the route for Saturday's 5K and has not much incline) I just didn't do as well and really struggled. So, the five days in between were not only because of the weather but it was getting over the mental hump of feeling disappointed and unsure. Until last week, I felt good and thought I was doing well, having completed the 5K and always looking forward to running, to not wanting to run and being unsure of the outcome and my ability. I really felt that I had taken 2 steps forward and even 2 steps back somedays!

But the sun is shining, figuratively and literally. After talking with a great friend at work, she encouraged me (well, committed me) to just run the new route and be determined to do my best. I also spoke with my brother Ralph, (who always has good advice :-) ), who said to just run for time, don't think distance so much right now and do what you can. So, with that attitude I ran the new route yesterday, and I ran the whole 30 minutes (still doing the program, yesterday was W9D1, so only 2 more on the program, then it's up to me) and felt SOOO good! I didn't complete the 3 miles, - actually did 2.17 miles! (I know, I'm slow) - and walked the rest of the way to complete a 5K. I am so pleased that I was able to complete the run and to run the route without doubts and negative bogging me down. I really concentrated on my breathing (thanks Heather!), and it will take a while, but it gives me something to focus on and I think it made me a stronger. I'm excited and looking forward to running again on Thursday!

Still going...

After the Race for the Cure, I decided I'm going to pick up where I left off on the training, so I'm currently on W8D1. The last few runs since the 5K were really good, but today for some reason it was really awful. I don't know what it is, (stress maybe?) but I just didn't have much motivation or strength. I'm running a 5K on Saturday and at this rate, I hope I can run the whole thing. But if not, then ok. I'm bummed I had a day like today, I've been doing really good and feel like I made a few steps backwards. I'll run again on Wednesday and hope it's better.

I did it, I did it, I DID IT! :-)

What, you may ask? THE 5K race, of course! It was amazing! I was sooo nervous last night and today, getting ready, driving there, I was totally calm. It was nice that this wasn't a real serious race, and made for a fun atmosphere. I was told there were 18,000 people there, which is the most they've had (I'm guessing here in SLC). I had anticipated "seeing" a starting line, at least in my head I did, but because I was so far back in the crowd that I started running way before what I think was the starting line. None the less, I was amazed at how many people were there! I was about 10 minutes in to the run and I looked up the road, waaaaaay up the road and saw just a sea of people, white, pink and black everywhere. Then I looked behind me and saw the same, it was something indescribable. I made up a new playlist on my phone last night so I was excited that I'd have some really great music to keep me going. At first, the crowd was so thick and there were so many people, that those of us who were running, had to run on the sidewalk for about the first mile. Then, throughout the race, I would have to dodge and weave in and out of groups of people, sometimes speeding up or slowing down, it was interesting and I definitely had to pay attention and not "zone". At the 1 mile mark, I was surprised at how far 1 mile really was. I was still going strong and feeling good. Almost at the two mile mark, where we start around the top of the loop, it is a bit of a hill, I was able to see the 2nd mile mark and thought "wow, this is really farther than I thought", but NOT ONCE did I think, "I need to stop and walk"! (I didn't realize it until the end when I replayed my run to my family.) It was so awesome to cross that finish line (it was a little chaotic, too) but felt so great. Scott was standing on the side just after the finish line and I immediately found him and hugged him and cried a bit, I was so thrilled that I accomplished such a huge thing for me. And then I remembered these wonderful women survivors that I watched today, that have accomplished something even bigger and more meaningful. They were truely an inspriation and I was proud to be running for such an important cause. I'm excited and thrilled and can't wait to do another one! (May 22nd BABY!)

Last run before the big race...

W6D3 was a good run, but really windy. It was 2 10 minute runs with a walk in between. I'm feeling really good today and am excited (and a bit nervous about the unknown) for Saturday. No training until race day, let's pray for nice weather!

W5D3 Woot Woot!

I did it! I can't belive I DID IT! It was a straight 20 minute run with a 5 minute warm up and cool down. It was another one of those days where I was putting it off until the last minute and really, really was anxious about it. I chose a more flat route, though this time, anticipating it being a little more difficult. And it was, but I DID IT! I can't believe I went from sedentary (and I thought I was a "little" active, ha!) to running 20 minutes straight! Woot Woot!

Oh, and on another note, it's really, REALLY official! I received my T-Shirt and number for the race on Saturday! I'm number 2010 (being new at this, I'm not sure if that is everyone's number or if I just got a number that goes along with the year of my first race?!), and it's pretty neat. Ok, so now I'm a little unsettled about all the unknown (Should I drive and park or take Trax? Should I drive by myself or have someone go with me? What do I do when I get there? Do I wear my number on the front or back? Will I have time for a 5 minute warm up? How early should I plan to be there? What happens after I cross the finish line? Should I plan to stick around or leave afterward? So many unknowns.

Next week is Week 6! Let's hope we have really nice weather on Saturday. So far, it looks pretty good.

W5D2 update

Ok, today was a seriously UGLY day. The weather has been horrible! Windy, cold, rain/snow, who wants to go out in that, let alone RUN?! It was about 6:30 (and still a full night of "stuff" left to do) I didn't think I was going to run, and had really already resigned myself to not going. Scott got home and said plainly, "just go". So I did. And it was great. Today's interval training was different than Monday, so today I ran 2 8 minute intervals with a 5 minute walk in between. Friday (or Saturday, depending on the weather), will be a straight 20 minute run. I'm a little anxious about it and yet confident too. So, we shall see. Off to Women's Conference at BYU tomorrow and Friday, so LOTS of walking. I can't wait! (Hope it doesn't rain or snow, but of course, it's supposed to!)