Some people go to dinner & a movie . . .

But not Matt and I. At least not lately. Instead our weekend dates the past few months have frequently been training runs for our marathon. The one we would run together.

My favorite was when the babysitter came at 7 AM on a Saturday morning for our 20 miler.
"So, you're going to just run for the next 4 hours?"
"Yep."
"Oh." Which, from the look on her face translated to,"You are really, really crazy."

Yes. It was a crazy idea. But we did it.

Initially we'd set a time goal, but with house hunting, packing, & moving, we did not put as much effort into our training as planned. We changed our goal to simply running the entire race together & finishing hand in hand.

When we started the race, I think we still both wanted to try to reach the time goal, but 10 miles in I knew that would not happen. Matt kindly slowed down so we could reach our primary goal of sticking together. He encouraged the crowds to "Cheer for my awesome wife!" when I was hitting a wall (and another and another). We made up rhymes at each mile to keep us going (Mile 14 there's a pain in my feet. But after this race I'm gonna eat & eat!). We voted for our favorite bands & cheerleaders along the route. Mostly I just groaned in pain & concentrated on breathing & keeping one foot in front of the other.

Unlike my first marathon, which was a momentous & spiritual feat, this marathon was just exhausting. I don't know if it was too many missed training runs or incorrect fueling or lack of sleep, but most of the 26.2 miles was just hard & painful & I wanted to quit. Our finishing time was ridiculous - slower than my first marathon - yet I had significantly more pain & exhaustion. At the end I felt so dizzy I couldn't even walk to the car (The doctor at the aid station said he thought I was overhydrated, something I'd never heard of . . .evidently I should eat salt while I run).

But during all 26.2 miles, I had this handsome guy next to me encouraging me the whole way. And that was awesome. When we saw my parents and the kids at mile 25 I couldn't hold in the emotion any longer and started crying. And finally, we crossed the finish line hand in hand. I love how in these pictures Matt is so peppy & I feel like I want to keel over and die.
Thanks to my awesome training partner Jenn for taking them. Thanks to my other awesome training partner Rachael for cheering me on while she sped past at every out and back. Thanks to the professional photographers for capturing our hand-holding finish (but not our finish-line kiss).
And thanks to my parents who took care of these rugrats while we raced and while we recovered (my dad didn't realize his camera was taking video . . . oops).

But mostly, thanks to Matt for sticking with me & supporting me every step of the way, not only during this 26.2, but always.

Danny's Disney

Danny LOVED Disney World. His favorite ride was Peter Pan's Flight. His least favorite ride was Splash Mountain. He rode on his first big roller coaster - Thunder Mountain - and loved it so much that his dad took him again. The two rides he wanted to do over and over were Buzz Light Year's Space Ranger Spin & Toy Story Mania. Other highlights for Danny included:

• Jack Sparrow's Pirate Tutorial, where Cap'n Jack Sparrow called his pirate hat (which we'd brought from home) "old school." Danny became a pirate apprentice.
• Kilimanjaro Safaris where Danny was fascinated not by the lions, but by the giant termite hills.
• Riding Kali River Rapids and getting SOAKED 4 times!
• Yummy frozen treats at least once a day - smoothies, chocolate covered frozen bananas, Mickey Mouse bars, sundaes with Mickey sprinkles, & ice cream sandwiches.
• Cruising through Fort Wilderness on Grandpa's golf cart.
• Watching the parades, especially the Electric Parade at night.
• Non-stop attention from Mom, Dad, Grandma, & Grandpa.
• Watching the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, where he quickly became on expert on how stunts work. "Don't worry mom, he didn't really die. He was just pretending." " They won't really let the fire keep burning. They don't want the whole park to burn down." "It's not a real giant boulder. It's made of rubber." He was fascinated & continued to verbalize what was real and not real throughout the trip on rides like Pirates of the Caribbean ("Not real fire, just beautiful lights") and Finding Nemo the Musical ("They're just pretending to be turtles. In their costumes.") Evidently there were some wheels turning in his little head, trying to distinguish between real and imaginary in this land of make believe.
• Riding on the soft opening of Star Tours with his dad - 4 times! The ride didn't officially open until the following weekend, but we were lucky enough to be at Hollywood Studios the day they previewed the ride. AWESOME!

Prior to the trip, I knew Danny would not be excited about meeting characters at the park. For some kids, this is the highlight of their visit, but past experience with mascots led me to believe Danny would not be interested in meeting larger than life characters. Sure enough, he had no desire to wait in line (oh, darn) and meet princesses or even Woody & Buzz. At our lunch in the castle at Cinderella's Royal Table, however, the princesses came to us. "Boys don't take pictures with princesses," he quickly grumbled to Grandma. I was worried the castle lunch might be a let down for him. And then, they brought him a sword, "Here is a sword for our little prince." After disappointment at not being able to pull the sword out of the stone, he was thrilled to get his own prince sword. He battled Dad, protected Princess Aurora, & even had a friendly skirmish with a cast member. As a little princess, Kaylee got a magic wand instead of a sword, but after watching Danny, she wanted in on the action too. Fortunately, the wand doubled nicely as a sword.

The most anticipated event of Danny's Disney World trip was his participation in Jedi Training. Months ago, he watched a video of his cousin Isabelle doing the Jedi Training at Disneyland. He was mesmerized. I think we watched the video 20 times in a row the first time he saw it. And then dozens more after that. During our trip planning, Jedi Training was the one thing Danny kept bringing up again and again. So, on our morning at Hollywood Studios, Danny & I made a mad dash to register him as soon as the park opened.

"What's your name, and how old are you?" "Danny. Four."
"Will you obey the Jedi Master?" "Yes."
"Will you be careful not to fall of the stage?" "Yes."
"Will you do your best to defeat Darth Vader?" "Yes.

And we were in. Though we had several hours before the 1:30 show, he kept asking, "Isn't it time for Jedi Training?" Finally, the time arrived. He obeyed the Jedi Master. He stayed on the stage. And he defeated Darth Vader. We were so proud of our little Padawan!

Kaylee's Disney

Kaylee's Disney World experience was unique. Most of her days started out like this picture taken the morning we went to Animal Kingdom. She was fresh and ready for an adventure, looking clean & crisp. By the end of a full day of activities, messy snacks (ice cream at least once a day), & excess humidity, she usually looked more like this. On our first day we returned home for afternoon naps, but on the other days we just kept going & going. She was such a trooper & though it was hard for me to catch her smiling (see previous post) I did catch her in action.

Some highlights from her trip included riding Dumbo, the carousel, Peter Pan's Flight & It's a Small World at the Magic Kingdom. She didn't go crazy over the princesses during our lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table (inside the castle) in part because she is more familiar with Buzz Light Year, Jedi's, & Pirates (thanks big brother), but also because she was served her own ice cream sundae with Mickey Mouse sprinkles. Sorry Belle, you can't compete with that! Kaylee was mesmerized by every parade we saw though. She was waving & blowing kisses to every character who passed.

At the Animal Kingdom Kaylee loved seeing the real animals. I felt bad that she was too short to go on the fun water ride (Kali River Rapids), but she found some fountains to splash in and got the wettest of us all. It was fun to watch her dig in the Boneyard - she was so focused. On this day her exhaustion got the best of her and she fell asleep right in Grandpa's arms. Though Kaylee will not remember this trip, except through pictures & video, we hope she will at least always remember the song she learned to sing.

Capturing the Magic

I'm so grateful for memories. Because as I've looked back over the 250 pictures I took during our amazing vacation, so few actually capture the magic we felt. (I know, cheesy, right?) I don't know if the problem is: A. My children who, understandably, prefer to look at whatever cool thing is happening rather than turn around and smile at me. B. My Canon Powershot that isn't quick enough to capture the expression I'm seeing. or C. My lack of photography skills.

Take for example, this lovely shot. Our first day heading to Magic Kingdom. The kids were a little sleepy, but SO excited. Grandma LaRue had made them these adorable Mickey & Minnie clothes & they were sporting their "First Visit" buttons. Cute, right? But could I get them to stand together on the cabin porch, look at me, and smile sweetly? No. We did get a few shots that captured the magic. What amazed me most about Disney World was how contagious the "magic" was. All 4 adults confessed to feeling like kids again at one point or another. How could we not?

Mom & Dad waiting for Matt to snag some more Fast Passes before riding Splash Mountain
Matt versus Dad on Buzz Light Year's Space Ranger Spin
(Space Mountain + No Kids) x 2 = GiddynessDad feeling regal on Prince Charming's Regal Carousel.Matt meeting his favorite princess (besides me of course).Toy Story Mania 4 times.

And even though my first picture of the first day didn't turn out great, these two made up for it. Pure magic.

Downtown Disney & Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue

We arrived at Disney World on a Wednesday afternoon. We arrived early enough to get settled into our Fort Wilderness cabin, but too late to go to a theme park. Instead, after returning our rental car, we browsed Downtown Disney. Really, this place is just another spot for Disney tourists to lose their $. I was proud that we were able to thoroughly enjoy the magic here without spending a penny. Highlights included designing our own light saber (did not spend the $21 to purchase it), building Darth Tater (saved $15 on this one), admiring the larger than life LEGO creations (free), & racing LEGO cars (free). We also rode our first of MANY Disney buses (free).

That evening we began our true Disney adventures by attending the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Pioneer Hall. When we first booked our trip, my parents insisted that we attend this dinner show, one that they'd enjoyed immensely on a prior trip to Disney. I'm glad they did because it was a riot. Cheesy performances, corny jokes, fun songs for the whole crowd to join in. They served the food in metal buckets. Fried chicken, ribs, & all the fixins finished off with Strawberry Shortcake- all delicious. The kids were laughing & clapping along and loved leaning on the balcony rail to watch all the action. The whole evening was as ridiculously, fantastically fun as my parents had remembered. Hoop-dee-doo!

Nostalgia

My family moved around quite a bit when I was growing up. I never lived in one house longer than 4 years, usually no more than 2. In fact, when I go "home" to visit my parents, it is to a house I have never lived in. Matt, however, goes home to the house he grew up in. When we visit, each room has stories and now my children are taking part in the memories of where their dad grew up - running around in the yard he ran in, sleeping in the rooms he slept in as a kid, & playing in the same rooms he played in .

This trip to Florida was particularly special because I felt like I was coming back to my childhood home. Though I hadn't been to visit Grandmother & Papa at their house for over 3 years, so much felt exactly the same. Not just the same as my last visit, but the same as every visit since I was a little girl. From the beef & noodles served on homemade mashed potatoes to the Tervis Tumblers to the sunny, pool-filled days, it was all the same. And during this visit my children, for the first time, were able to take part in all the memories of my childhood at Grandmother & Papa's.

No trip to Grandmother's was complete without her Mickey Mouse pancakes. True, I did not make them from scratch like she always did (hey - we had a flight to catch), but before heading to the airport to begin our Florida vacation, I served up one of my favorite childhood breakfasts. I even let Danny help put on the chocolate chip eyes and noses.
Our first afternoon at Grandmother and Papa's, Danny discovered and fell in love with the pool. I swam in this pool, played with that watering can, and dove for those sticks. Cousin Hannah spoiled Danny & Kaylee with lots of attention. Aunt Lisa & Grandpa both gave Danny mini-swim lessons. Matt played motor boat with the kids. I demonstrated the fine art of doing hand-stands in the shallow end, like I had done with Jessie & Jennifer & Lindsay over and over and over (don't worry, I spared any readers a picture of that frightening sight - Seattle legs flailing out of a pool - nobody needs to see that). And Danny, just like I had done, jumped in again and again and again until he'd worn out every adult who was willing to catch him. I spent much of my childhood in the Northwest, so beach trips in OR & WA involved sweaters & raincoats. On the sunniest days I could brave the water for short increments. But when we visited Florida, the sun and warmth were plentiful. As a cocky 6th grader aspiring to get a tan, I got the worst sunburn of my life during a Florida beach day. Beach trips began with a short ride in Papa's painting van and were filled jumping waves, playing volleyball, building sand castles, searching for sea shells & shark's teeth, and burying each other. Kaylee was a very focused builder, Danny didn't want to leave the water, and Matt was a willing volunteer to be buried. Fortunately there were no sunburns on this beach day. I almost laughed out loud when I heard myself saying, just as I had been told, "Remember, brush all the sand off your feet before you get in the car. And sit on a towel. Let's keep the sand at the beach." On our last day, I pulled out some of the toys from my childhood. Kaylee loved the stacking hamburger (forgot to take a picture) and Danny spent hours building with these straws, the same ones I had built with. In fact, when I was about Danny's age, older cousins and siblings used these straws to build a cage for me & my younger cousins. I loved reading him the books Grandmother had read to me. A Fish Out of Water, The Grown Up Day, and A Big Ball of String. And no trip to Grandmother & Papa's was complete without hot fudge sundaes. I can't believe I used to eat my hot fudge at that little table. It was a wonderful visit that I will always cherish. Thanks for a lifetime of memories Grandmother & Papa!

Magical Florida Vacation

I'll have posts with pictures soon, but I wanted to jot down a few things from our Florida trip that I didn't want to forget.

• Uninterrupted family time for 10 days - it was MARVELOUS!
  
• Kaylee & Danny splashing in Grandmother & Papa's pool & playing with the same pool toys that I'd grown up with.
• Kaylee devouring Great Grandmother's hot fudge - who can resist it?
• Catching up with cousin Lindsay, who I hadn't seen in 7+ years.
  
• Danny's shock at seeing great grandpa's dentures.
• Building with straws & battling between Danny & Papa.
• Aunt Lisa teaching Danny to swim
  
• Danny jumping into the pool over and over and over.
• Kaylee playing motor boat with her dad.
• Girl's lunch out.
• Beach dog park with the crew.
• Long, hot run with Matt, ending at the beach & playing in the waves.
• Building and digging in the sand.
• Giddiness when we started to see Disney World signs.
• Hoop-dee-doo Revue when Danny said, "They should have picked me. I know a lot about nature."
  
• Racing cars at the LEGO store.
• Matt & Danny building light sabers at Downtown Disney.
• When they opened the Magic Kingdom gates the first day.
• Fastpass Matt.
• Kaylee & Grandpa riding Dumbo.
• Danny's pure bliss riding Peter Pan's Flight.
• Danny refusing to take a picture with a princess at our Castle Lunch until I told him he needed to defend Sleeping Beauty.
  
• Matt's request to get a sword like Danny's at our castle lunch. He's still a kid at heart.
• Danny & Kaylee sharing chocolate covered bananas.
• Build your own ice cream sundae with Mickey Mouse sprinkles.
  
• Electrical Parade - everyone from Grandpa to Kaylee was in awe.
• Fireworks, holding my sleepy Kay-bear.
• Kaylee & Danny splashing in the fountains.
• Getting SOAKED on Kali River Rapids.
• Watching Kay dig in the Boneyard.
• Sitting next to my dad during Finding Nemo the Musical & thinking about what a good dad he has been to me.
  
• Sitting next to Matt during Finding Nemo the Musical & thinking about what a good dad he is to our kids.
• Tree of Life
• Messy Kaylee at the end of long, humid days filled with sweat, sunscreen, & ice cream.
  
• Canasta at the cabin after a long day.
• Toy Story Mania - Kaylee in 3D glasses.
• Danny talking to the other Padawans before Jedi Training.
• Matt getting into the soft opening of Star Tours.
• Florida Downpours
• Danny debating & deciding what to get for his souvenir.
• Dinner at 50s prime time cafe - Rootbeer Float for a drink + ice cream sundae for dessert.
  
• Sending the kids home with Grandma & Grandpa and park hopping to catch 2 fireworks shows in one night.
• Soaring & Tower of Terror - flying anyone?
  
• People watching with Matt from the train station.
• Star Tours & Toy Story Mania, again and again.
• Watching the Electrical Parade while riding Splash Mountain.
• Late night Thunder Mountain.
• Kaylee dancing with Chip and Dale at the bonfire.
• Danny roasting s'mores and getting into the sing along.
• Grandpa cruising in the golf cart.
  
• One last Mickey Ice Cream bar.

This was a vacation of a lifetime. SO MUCH FUN! I'll post pictures soon.

Beautiful Blooms

About 45 minutes north of us, there are acres and acres of tulip fields. Despite growing up in the Northwest, I never recall visiting the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. It was incredible!
My friend Rachael and her daughter Anna joined us for the adventure. 45 minute drives are actually quite enjoyable when you have another adult to talk to. And Anna and Kaylee always have fun together.

At the last moment I had the thought to bring an extra change of clothes for Kaylee. It had rained the day before and Rachael, who had already made a visit to the tulip fields, warned me it could be muddy. As mentioned in the previous post, Kaylee is drawn to big mud puddles.

Turns out Anna also likes mud puddles. Danny was able to enjoy the mud puddles by poking sticks in them, tiptoeing through them, and jumping over them.

But Anna & Kaylee were not satisfied unless they were splishing & splashing through every puddle. Rachael and I decided to just let them go for it. We didn't want to battle to keep them out, and the girls were having so much fun. Some people looked at us as though we were crazy. But most smiled & laughed at our muddy girls.

The only crisis was that after several of these . . .

...we discovered there was no running water available for cleaning the girls up. Oops. Luckily a gas station wasn't far and I had heeded the prompting to bring Kaylee an extra set of clothes. I should have brought an extra set for me too! Hooray for a beautifully muddy day!

Trouble

I'm not sure which I should be more concerned about . . . Kaylee's love of mud or her love of shoes.

Between General Conference sessions I knew the kids needed a little fresh air, mud or no mud. Some parents talk about how their children don't like to get messy. Hmmm . . . what would that be like? If I let her, Kaylee would probably be content to bathe in mud. On this particular day, she did.
While I was browsing summer shirts for Kaylee (because I'm being optimistic about warmer days ahead), I turned to see her removing her own socks and shoes. She had found the shoe racks and several pairs caught her eye. Trouble.

Spring has arrived.

Matt and Dozer soaking up the sun after church.

Spring

Although it's almost May, I'm still wearing sweaters nearly every day. For my morning runs I wear ear warmers and gloves. Even when I'm inside I put on a sweater which I now refer to as my Mr.Roger's sweater. I walk in, take off my jacket, and put on my sweater. Today in rebellion I wore flip flops, despite the 40-something temperatures. And now, as I type, I have our little space heater going full blast to warm my hands. SPRING, WHERE ARE YOU?

At this point I'd be content to skip right into summer. Luckily we'll be able to get plenty of heat on our trip to Florida next week. We are so excited to see family & take the kiddos to Disney World. And that 80+ degree weather will feel pretty great.

We haven't let the chilly weather hamper our festivities though.

In Mid-March we were spoiled with a quick visit from G-Pops & Grandma Angie. For St.Patrick's Day we feasted on corned beef & cabbage, (Root)beer, a clover crescent roll, gold coins (rolos) & green pudding parfaits. The evening ended with Danny & Dad having a good ol' fashion Irish brawl. And I regret not taking a picture of Kaylee's leprauchan charm before her nap. I suppose the bedhead & slimy face are pretty accurate though.
The week before Easter we were blessed with a beautifully sunny day for our playgroup's egg hunt. Easter weekend we drove to Richland to visit my brother Aaron and my parents. We enjoyed sunshine, the movie Hop (the company and the outing exceeded the movie itself), a Tri-City Fever indoor football game, a 16.25 mile run (Matt & I are training for another marathon), dyeing eggs, hunting for eggs, and feasting. Totally missed the classic "Easter Sunday" pictures in their cute new duds. I guess I forgot since their duds weren't actually new this year. It's always fun to visit my parent's ward and hear them sing in the choir. Though none of the lessons on Sunday were focused on Easter, the spirit was strong in each and I was able to feel a renewed gratitude for my Savior. As I've prepared this week for my YW lesson, I found this quote from Pres. Uchtdorf.

Individual and collective trials may sometimes seem overwhelming. That is when we need, more than ever, to draw near unto the Lord. As we do, we will come to know what it means to have the Lord draw near unto us. As we seek Him ever more diligently, we will surely find Him. We will see clearly that the Lord does not abandon His Church or His faithful Saints. Our eyes will be opened, and we will see Him open the windows of heaven and shower us with more of His light.

I have become particularly familiar with "showers" this spring (go figure . . . Seattle has rain), so I love the imagery of Him showering us with His light. Yes it's been cold & dreary & gray & wet. But this spring I have so much to be grateful for. Bring on the showers.

Forts are fun . . .

...until the static attacks.

House Hunting

This afternoon we spent 4 hours looking at houses. Our lease ends in June, and since it's a good time to buy, we felt like we should take a look around. I love looking at homes. Unless I'm actually considering buying one of them and making a long-term commitment to living in it. Then it's not as fun because you're also considering all the long-term implications of a mortgage, home value appreciation, etc. I've also found searching for homes in this part of the country to be a lot tougher than Houston. We knew when we made the move here that the cost of living was significantly higher than Houston, but wow. It's a lot higher. Case and point.

Houston area $204k

• 6 br, 3.5 bath
• 3558 sq. ft.
• Built in: 1998

Seattle area $220k

• 3 bed, 1.5 bath
• 1,340 sq. feet
• Built in: 1955
  

Awesome.

As we wander through houses built in the 50s, I remind myself of all that I love about this area.

Houston:
Seattle:

I'll take my mountains, beautiful lakes, and miles of hiking trails. Really, with so much to do outside, why would we need much house anyway?

And, really, really, I feel so blessed to be in a position where we can even consider buying a home AND to be extremely comfortable in the beautiful house we're in now. I'm mindful of the fact that so many others, like thousands in Japan, do not even have a place to call home right now. We truly are blessed.

THE COUSINS!

I married into a really cool extended family. I knew that before, but then Matt's cousins came to visit and I remembered just how fun and fabulous they really are. They only flew in for a few days, but we made the most of it. Lucky for us, Seattle had the most AMAZING weather while they were here.

We headed to Ipanema Grill in downtown Seattle the first night they were here. DELICIOUS. We also saw the gum wall that evening. Not so delicious.
Saturday was a whirlwind Seattle day, much like the ones I remember from my childhood. How many Seattle sights can you cram into a day? Well . . . we did a lot! First we drove to the top of our hill to enjoy the views, which could not have been more perfect.

Then it was time to hit the city. After eating our way through Pike Place Market, we wandered through shops along the waterfront, drank hot chocolate at Starbuck's, and fed the seagulls.

Isaac and Danny rolling down the hill near Pike Place.

Sean & Danny at Beecher's

Then it was off to Seattle Center. International Fountain? Check. Pacific Science Center? Check. Laser show? Check. Space Needle? Check. Tired kids? Check.

We didn't head home until we found the troll under Fremont bridge though. The cousins had energy to hit the mall later that night. Matt and I, not so much.
Sunday was filled with church, waterfalls, and playing games - PIT and Wacky 6's. Despite losing often, it was loads of fun.
And Monday, it was already time for them to fly back to real life. Sean, Katie, Isaac, and Calie - YOU ROCK! Thanks for a fantastic visit. We can't wait to see you again!