Fun Run for Kids

My adorable aunts, Janie and Debbie Hill, traveled to Africa last year to do some service. When they returned home, they felt such a love for the children there that they started a Fun Run for Kids last year. All of their proceeds go to "Reach the Children" for Africa. Carter and my other nephew and neice participated last year and it was really a blast. It was so fun to see the kids race and every single kid gets a prize for participating. Breanne Garlick and I even participated in the Adult 5K and I was pregnant (needless to say I didn't win)! The 2nd annual Fun Run for Kids is coming up on Saturaday, May 3, 2008. Although I would love all of you fellow bloggers to come participate, I know distance is a constraint for many of you. For those of you who are in Utah and closeby, I would love for you to bring your little kiddies and Run for the kids in Africa. Check out their website for more details! As an added bonus, you get a super cute T-shirt for running! Let me know if you have any questions!!

http://www.funrun4kids.org/

March on!

Wow! Where did March go? I can't believe it is almost April. Here are a few key events from the month. Refer to the picture above for numbers corresponding to pictures!

1. Carter got a little "sticker happy!"

2. Carter's and Jaxon's cousins (Scottie, Stacey, and Daniel) from Texas came to visit!

3. Jaxon started eating solid foods (To mom's dismay, he likes to wear it more than eat it)!

4. Easter egg fun! I don't know how many times you hid eggs at your house but I counted over 10 Easter Egg Hunts at our house.

5. Carter showed us his G-funk look.

6. Jaxon learned how to fly. (He is constantly waving his arms straight out like he is flying).

7. Jaxon learned how to drink out of a "big boy" cup. Needless to say the cup was litterally bigger than him!!

8. We celebrated Matt's 29th birthday. We hope he enjoys his last year of his 20s! It's all over the hill from here!

MOAB!

First off, as I have reviewed my last posts, I thought to myself, could I be any more boring! House hunting, tagging? If you need something a little more exciting to read about go to my sister, Christy's, blog and check out her "40 and Beyond" post. It had me laugh so hard and for those of you who can relate to being overdue, it makes it a little more humorous. Click below. http://texasromneys.blogspot.com/

This weekend we spent literally about 24 hours in Moab, Utah. I haven't been down there forever and I forgot how beautfiul it was. Matt ran the Canyonlands Half Marathon and so we took a really quick trip down there. So here is how the trip went:

1. We got a late start on Friday night and didn't leave Orem until about 6:30, which caused our arrival time in Moab to be 10:30. We stopped at Wal-Mart and bought a portable DVD player for Carter (which was a lifesaver).

2. Like I said, we got there at 10:30 and since we were all in the same room with a single Queen bed, it made sleeping arrangements a little interesting. The minute we got in the room, Carter started crying and kept saying "I want to go to Grandma's house." After we got him settled down and to bed, Jaxon woke up crying. That is pretty much how the night went.

3. Matt left at 7:30 a.m. to be bussed up the Canyon. I think Jaxon is teething again (he has 2 teeth by the way) and wouldn't let me set him down all morning. After we checked out of the hotel, I strapped Jaxon in the front carrier and took the boys to the park. Carter made a friend at the park and then we watched daddy cross the finish line with a time of 1 hour and 51 minutes (which makes me sick since he didn't even hardly train). It would have taken me twice that long. (Which BTW, I am going to start training for a half-marathon in July, so we'll see how that goes).

4. At about 1:00 p.m. we headed back to Orem so that we wouldn't miss the BYU game. I wish we could have spent more time, but really vacation with kids is sometimes harder than actually fun. We hope to make it down there again and really enjoy the scenery more!

Here are a two pictures from our less than 24-hour adventure!

BATHTIME FUN

DADDY AFTER THE RACE...(looking pretty good for just having run 13 miles!)

House hunting!

When we moved to Utah, we weren't planning on buying a house right away, but we thought we would just keep our eyes open for a good deal. Since it is a buyer's market at the moment, it is a really good time to buy. There are about a zillion and one homes on the market, which makes it really hard to pick only one. As we have looked we have found some features of a home that we like but then other features we don't like as well. Sometimes the kitchen is great, but the master bathroom is dinky. We found one house that was beautiful but it had pretty much only a dog run in the backyard for the kids to play in. Then there are others that are just horrible. We saw a house that an man was selling and he had honestly used 25 different paint colors throughout the house and even 5 or 6 different colors on one door. To say the least, it was a mess.

We might not be able to find the "perfect house," but we have been able to narrow it down to features that are a must! Here's the list:

1. A nice kitchen. This is my request, as I probably spend the most time there.

2. A big yard. This is our request for the kids, because I think kids need a place to play. I'm also glad that Matt does the majority of the yardwork on this one.

3. A garage. It sounds funny, but there are homes in Utah that don't have a garage and after parking our cars outside all winter, we really would like our cars be out of the snow!

4. A nice master bathroom with 2 sinks. I guess we were spoiled with our other house and that is why I'm totally turned off by only one sink.

What are the favorite features of your house and what is most important to you?

This is our old kitchen, not huge but doable!

Tagged!

My sister Christy tagged me and what fun!! Here goes:

1. Ten years ago: I was learning how to drive, enjoying high school, and working for Papa Murphy's Pizza.

2. Five things to do on my list today: 1) Take a shower, 2) Ride the bike and read my book for book club, 3) work on a scrapbook page), 4) Have a meeting for my new calling for Activity days, 5) Work!!

3. Things I enjoy: Scrapbooking, playing with my boys, walking with my IPOD, reading (thanks to book club), decorating, taking naps.

4. What would I do if I were a billionaire: Travel the world, buy a house and decorate it designer style, buy an FJ Cruiser for me and a Ferrari for Matt, build a humungous scrapbook room, go on a shopping spree.

5. Three bad habits: Being a little OCD about some things, picking my face, and curling my toes under when I work at my computer (werid...I know).

6. Places I have lived: White Rock, NM; Orem, UT; Rexburg, ID; Mesa and Queen Creek, AZ.

7. Five jobs that I have had: Cosmetologist, Pizza Girl (twice), Meier and Frank/ZCMI, AA @ Combustion Resources, and Transcriptionist (currently).

8. Five things people don't know about me:
1. I am in love with my IPOD. I always thought I wouldn't want one, but when my in-laws gave me one for Christmas, I'm hooked.
2. I love hot showers, although with two kids it is hard to stay in one for more than a few minutes.
3. I would love to live on a lake in Oregon with green trees and moutain surrounding me.
4. I hate cats!
5. I want to go on a scrapbooking cruise someday.

Now, I'm going to tag Breanne, Nicole, Britt, Kari, Jay, and Kim. Please be good sports!

99 Balloons

Please take a moment to watch this incredible and sweet video clip. Make sure you have your tissues close by!

http://www.ignitermedia.com/products/iv/singles/570/99-balloons

Enjoy!

Bedtime

As I was putting my two sweet boys to bed tonight, I realized what my favorite time of the day is - bedtime. Yes, I have to admit after a long day of chasing after Carter, feeding, mommying, and cleaning I'm glad to have some peace and quiet when my boys go to bed. However, this is not why I love bedtime. I love bedtime because Jaxon looks up at me after I put him in his crib for bed and gives me the biggest smile almost saying "Thanks mom, I love you." Bedtime for Carter consists of choosing his pajamas, brushing teeth, and reading a book, okay sometimes 2 books, and sometimes he even talks me into 3 books and nighttime prayers! (As you can tell, he is learning how to stall). He just recently started wanting to "read" the words and so will give me his own rendition of the story. It is too sweet. His prayers are so sweet and simple. As I hug him goodnight and he says I love you, I soak it all in and think to myself that it doesn't get much better than this? How about you? What is your favorite time of the day?