Family Time

A few years ago we started a fun little tradition called "girls night" where all the little girls come to my house and we do girl stuff like nails, face masks, eating candy, watching chick flicks, and dancing. It has been so fun to get together and hang out with those three cuties. The girls have been begging for another girls night- so on Saturday we tried to get one together. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling great (damn gluten in everything) and Sam had his comp all day. Things just were not coming together- so we had to settle for a "mini girls night" with boys too. We made some muddy buddies and painted our nails and did face masks. I think it was still pretty fun- just a little different than usual. Stockden is such a funny boy, you can tell he has grown up around girls. After we painted nails he came in and said "Oh cute nails girls" "Oh Stae, I love those colors" hahaha. After all the play time it was time to get ready for bed, but Stockden was still being so crazy. Luckily he got his "jammers" on pretty easily, the only problem was that his "jammers" has wings and he wanted to "fly". I couldn't help myself and I "flew" him all around my mom's house. I am not sure who had more fun- me or him. The girls walked into the house right as we were flying into the kitchen. They are still making fun of me :). I love spending time with my family. Man, I am so lucky to have them.

I told Stock I wanted to give him a kiss in this one-- he decided he wanted to give me a kiss too :) 

This is more of what I had in mind when we took the first one. I told him I am going to show him these when he is 16 so he can remember how much he loved me back then :) 

Red Rock Wage Park Comp {July 30, 2012}

On Saturday Sam rode in the cable park's first ever comp. It was an invitation only comp and Sam was SO stoked he got invited to ride. He has been going out to the cable SO much since he got his season pass.  He did such a great job! There were 22 riders from all over and Sam placed in the top 10. He was mad because he really thought he should have been in the the top five- if not the top three (and so did the rest of us. He KILLED it). But we were proud of him anyways. He rode the best I have ever seen him ride. I am so proud of him for working so hard at things and for going out and trying to enjoy things even though they didn't go the way he wanted them to. We still has such a fun day and all of my family came out to watch him ride. He for sure had the biggest cheering section.

Emotions

Does anyone else get emotional sometimes for no reason... or for a lot of reasons but none that really make sense?  I know that when its "that time of the month" girls can be emotional for no reason, but sometimes when its "not that time" I get super emotional. Like, randomly on the way home from the gym I was driving and a good song came on my ipod-- I literally started bawling. It was awful. I can't even tell you why I was crying, but it took me a few minutes to get it under control. Its weird. I didn't feel sad, or upset, or whatever. It just happened. Am I crazy?

Vegas Shopping and Wedding Dress Shopping

Because it was a holiday we decided to head down to Vegas to do a little shopping. Ash didn't want to go, so me Kate, and McKall headed down for the day. It was so fun and I got some GREAT new things. We really only went to Forever 21... by the time we were done there we were all out of money. 

Here's what I got:

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Me and McKall got the same mustache shirt and McKall got purple skinny jeans instead of red. We will be twinners for sure. It was so fun to get away and spend time with two of my favorite girls. While we were down there we stopped at David's Bridal and Kate tried on some wedding dresses. She looked so beautiful! Because she doesn't have G's yet, she made me try on one to make sure she would be covered up. It was weird. I told her that was more dresses I tried on than when I got married (I didn't want a dress and I did not want to go dress shopping. I borrowed my cousin's dress and I was happy with that). It has been really fun to go with Kati though. Here's the type of dress she likes:

She will have some little cap sleeves though

 The only bummer was that I got a FLAT tire on the way home. I must have ran over a screw in Vegas and it was really flat. Luckily we stopped at a gas station and they helped us get my spare on. Silver lining.

Instagram

My life lately according to Instagram

Bridal Shower Progress

I feel like I have made a little progress on Kati's shower and have an updated to do list. 

I like the idea of mostly white with a few little brown accents-- here are the brown accents I was thinking 

(cupcake liners, paper bags for take home treat, straws, and burlap runner) 

I like this idea of doing more of a dinner table setting-- but less formal. 

I like the white balloons as the back drop 

I was also thinking I would get a couple of these metal buckets for drinks

So, here's my to-do

1. Buy buckets

2. Buy burlap

3. Figure out chairs

4. Talk to Kate about a candy buffet

5. Pick up cupcake liners and straws

6. Next time I go to IKEA-- get white plates, napkins, and silver wear

7. Get clear plastic cups 

8. Talk to Shannon about the cake design

9. Get invitations finalized

10. Get finalized guest list

11. Figure out location 

12. Make planter boxes for center pieces 

Things I LOVE

-I love the rain. It has been rainy the past little while here- and we even had some crazy flooding last weekend. Its so nice to sit and watch the rain. The Bryce Canyon half was over the weekend and it rained the entire race. It was mostly a misty rain and it was actually really nice. I loved getting into my sweats after- I forgot how much I love to get into sweats after a run and watch the rain.

- I love primary. We have the cutest primary kids. Sam had a wakeboarding thing on Sunday, so I went to church by myself and taught primary. My kids are so sweet and so funny. I love being able to teach them- and let them teach me.

- I love a clean house. Last night after work I spent a good two hours cleaning up the house and moving things around. I love when things are cleaning up and organized. I love getting rid of clutter and making things simple. It so nice to be in a clean house.

- I love going to lunch with my family. On Tuesday I met up with Kati, my mom, and my dad for lunch (Ash was laying out). It was so fun to sit and have lunch with them. Because we all work we rarely get to go to lunch all together. It was so fun. I forget how funny my dad is. What a kidster he is.

- I love making plans. I love to plan things out and have things to look forward to.

- I love walking with my friends. This week I met up with Abee and Steph to go for a walk. I loved it! I love talking to them and spending time with them. I love getting out and doing something good.

Finally, a good run

Since my car crash I have had a really hard time working out. Part of it is the physical side. I do still have problems from my crash and I really lost all of my fitness by being out of it for so long. Part of it I think is mental. I haven't done it in so long, but I still remember what it was like to work out before the crash and now when I try and its a lot harder, and I get more frustrated. Well, last night was a turning point for me. I had the BEST run I have had in a long time! I have really struggled running and have really tried to do other things because it has been so hard. The problem with that is that ,the only way I can really loose weight is by running. All of the other activities (elliptical, spinning, walking, biking) seem to help me maintain but I don't see a lot of progress weight wise. I have run enough to be able to keep training, but I will admit it, I have been slacking because its hard. On Saturday we ran the Bryce Canyon Half, and it was so hard for me. I just do not have the stamina that I use to have. I give up way too easily. I finished, but I by no means pushed myself very hard. I was disappointed.

After that run, I decided it was time to stop being lazy and kick things back into gear. I decided I needed to do some more consistent running through out the week. So, Monday I ran 7 miles on the treadmill. It sucked. I had to do a lot of stopping and starting and I hated that. So, last night I tried again. I got on and started and it SUCKED even worse than Monday. I could not run hardly at all, so I got off and did the elliptical for 45 min. I did not want to leave without at least trying again (and I like to do an hour of cardio) So, I hoped back on the treadmill, and to my surprise it felt good. I felt strong again. I ran, and I didn't have to stop and start. It felt amazing. I needed that! I am so glad to have a good run and to remember what it is like to like running and to feel good at running. I really forgot just how much I love running!

Vanity Explaination

I just looked back over my last few posts and realized that there a lot of pictures of just me, and I feel like my vanity needed an explanation. I have been finding a lot of fashion blogs lately- which I really LOVE! The girls on the blogs usually post pictures of their outfits EVERY SINGLE DAY! That seemed like a lot of work to me, but I wanted to do something a little bit like that. I don't know that I can commit to every day but I feel like I could do something, thus the "Things I Love" posts. I figured that when I am wearing something that I really like or that is new or different I could document that. I like the idea of being able to look back at my self when I am 45 and say, "I dressed like a crazy" or " Man, I need to start dressing like that again". I am all about documenting things that are important to me so I can look back on them and either see the progress I have made- or be able to use that as a guide to get back on track. I use a lot of old blog posts and photos as guides for me weight wise as well. The problem is I HATE taking full body shots, so seeing the progress is a little hard. I am slowly working my way to that- baby steps. So, I may be a little vain, but I feel like its all for my benefit really, so I guess that makes it ok. :)

Things I love

I went shopping last night because I felt like my day had kind of sucked and of course I found some great stuff. One of my favorites is this blue shirt I am wearing today! I love it! I equally love wearing red lipstick. It makes everything look way better. I also got this adorable bag. I love the chain strap.

I love the rainy weather we're having. Last night we watched it rain and thunder and lighting. It's one of Sam's favorite things. He loves sitting out front during a thunderstorm, and luckily little Gator doesn't mind all the noise either.

I love working out and sweating. It makes me feel so good after. The hard part is getting myself to the gym or outside to run. Once I'm there, I'm good to go.

I love talking  to my sisters. I am so lucky to have such good relationships with my sisters and to have so much in common with them. I really value those relationships and feel really lucky to have them in my life.

I love getting ready for races. Tomorrow I am going to run the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon, and I am pretty excited. I love having races to get ready for and look forward to. This race is particularly beautiful and enjoyable. Last year this was the last race I did before my car accident. That's weird to think that much time has past. It doesn't seem like that long, yet I have made so much progress since that time that it does seem like that long. Weird how time works like that- especially as you get older.

I love having goals. I love having things to work towards and knowing when I have accomplished things. I have a few goals in particular that are always in the back of my head. It is fun to find little ways to accomplish them faster and to see that I am chipping away at them.

I love that Sam is enjoying wakeboarding so much this summer. He has made so many new friends and has been presented with so many amazing opportunities through wakeboarding. I could not be more proud of him. He works really hard at learning new things, but has the  best way of not taking things too seriously. He really has found the perfect balance of fun and progression.

Things I Love

 I decided to start doing a thing a love post for my blog. I have been working on my blog book from 2011 and I really think that's what's missing. It's nice to recognize the things around me that I really love ... It's a good reminder to me. So, here goes.


I love cheetah print and mixing it with other patterns in my clothes




















I love these fake green plants from Ikea and I have them all over my house. I especially love them in white pots

I love my new running shoes. They make me excited to work out

I love that Sam is so happy at the cable park. Wake boarding just makes him so happy, and I love that.

I have been loving root beer lately. It seriously has just been hitting the spot lately. I especially love it from a glass bottle

I love seeing my dad more. He has come by my office a few times in the past week and we went to lunch together. I love spending time with him. He is the perfect balance of wisdom and humor. I am so happy that he has time to spend with me now.