Home Sweet Navidad

Brian spent much of December touring the country for residency interviews, so the boys and I got to go home and visit my family in New Mexico for a week.

Our trip was the best and yet the worst.

The first half of the week was the best. The weather was amazing. My mom warned me to bring our coats, but apparently "cold" in NM means 40 and 50 degrees, so we basked in the warmth of the sun without coats and often without sweatshirts. Ahh...
It was the perfect weekend to go home because we got to experience their Stake's "Joy to the World" nativity and Christmas displays at the church, watch the LDS Christmas Devotional, and drive through San Juan College's annual Luminaria display. 30,000 real (not the plastic and electric lights) paper bag luminarias set up across the college campus. It was breathtaking and something I've missed every Christmas season for the past 8 years. Too bad I forgot to take my camera that night... (picture courtesy of Farmington CVB)



We also got to spend a little time with my sister Alyssa and her cute family. We had a great time going for a bike ride with all the kids along the riverwalk and throwing rocks into the water.

We had a great time watching my brother Trevor's basketball game.

It was nice to spend time with my family and help my mom get ready for Christmas.

The bad part came when the rest of the week's fun got cut short when Ethan, and then I, got stuck throwing up from a stomach bug for a few days, in addition to Gavin having severe diaper rash and diarrhea the whole trip. We were gracious enough guests to pass on all of our germs to my parents and siblings. The result of this was saying farewell to my sick parents, and driving me and my boys 3 hours in the dark on a dangerous highway in my sisters car to Albuquerque to stay at my brother's house, so we could catch our flight the next morning, all while praying my kids would sleep the whole way and that I wouldn't puke, pass out, or fall asleep on the way since I was still pretty sick. My prayers were heard--my kids were wonderful travelers and I was able to feel well enough to drive. No one even got sick during those 3 hours, though Ethan threw up all over as a greeting to my brother and his family as soon as we stepped into his house.

I'm pretty sure we'll not be invited back anytime soon by anyone in my family.... ;)

But regardless of sickness or not, we had a great time and are excited to see everyone again sometime. We were sure glad to be home again so we could keep our germs contained to our own home, only to pass them on to Brian as he came home from interviews the same day and left again 2 days later, where he would get sick for his Wake Forest and Duke interviews...

How nice it is to be able to share so much with family members...
Lo siento mi familia.

The Number 3

I love the number 3. The age of 1 was good, the age of 2 was good, but I'm really enjoying having a 3 year old! Ethan had his birthday in October and I haven't blogged about him in a while, so here's a bit about Big Boy Ethan:

Ethan is SUCH a good boy. He listens and obeys well, tries to keep tantrums to a minimum and is such a good helper and big brother. Sometimes when he obeys quickly, or constantly tells me "Thanks Mom" without any reminders, I'm just am dumbfounded at how he's become a little gentleman and how we got lucky enough to have him. His nightly "Good night Mom, I wuv you too" really makes my day.

• Ethan was a late talker, but as soon as he turned 3, it's as if his vocabulary and grammer skyrocketed. He now can say almost everything, uses correct tenses, and even breaks out of his shell sometimes and talks freely in front of people outside his immediate family.

• I often hear Ethan throughout the day singing songs, mostly Primary ones. I melt when I hear him singing "I pwepawe myself while I am young, dis is my sacwid duty," "I HOPE dey caw me on a Miss-un" "I aways want to be with my own fami-wee." I wish I had a recording to put on here because it's just adorable.

• Ethan's favorite activity is puzzles. He moved from board puzzles a few months ago and now loves to do puzzles with 40-60 pieces, all by himself.

• Friends are an important part of his life right now. He'll often set certain toys apart because "I want to save these for my friends: Pepe (Spencer), Tanner, Jake... They're my BEST Friends."

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Happy Halloween!

Hope you have a SPOOKtacular Halloween!
From the Man (who refused to wear) The Yellow Hat and Curious George

My days of putting in time, sweat, and energy into costume making was equally matched with the tantrums and tears of my obviously less-than-grateful-and-excited-duo. I added in creative baking to our festivities because we obviously can't get enough sugar from trunk-or-treating and trick-or-treating. Receiving the "Tooth Decay" award "for delighting our sweet tooth and encouraging regular trips to the dentist" at our ward Halloween party for my Death by Chocolate Cake, I am reminded of two things:
1. Stick with all store-bought costumes next year.
2. Schedule dental appointments tomorrow morning.

Angel Baby

My little angel baby has turned 1 year old! What an amazing year we've had with Gavin. He is so much fun and easygoing. He really is a dream.

Here are a few of my favorite things at this age:

• Gavin adores his brother. They play together all day, and everytime I catch myself telling Ethan, "Stop, you need to be gentle and not so rough with Gavin because he's little" I'm interrupted by Gavin's laughs and giggles. He loves to wrestle!
• Gavin can entertain himself all day as long as he is fed and rested. He loves toys, but even if there aren't any near, he's content to explore. Usually if we pick him up, interrupting his play, he'll start kicking his legs like crazy to get back down and continue the fun in his world.
• Gavin is adorable. His big blue eyes and long eyelashes grab your attention, and his little petite body hard to hold on to because he can crawl faster than I can catch him. There is almost nothing I love more than a crawling baby. I want him to crawl forever!
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• Gavin is going to be a talker. He'll often just jabber away whether he's talking to himself or seems to be telling me a story in his little language. He can say Mama, Dada, Hi, and most recently, he can babble the tune of "The ABC Song" saying a few of the letters in the alphabet. I'm pretty sure in the last few days I've also caught some "E-I-E-I-O"s too.
  

WE LOVE YOU GAVIN!

The Half

September 11-- tragic day in history, but this year, it was a momentous day for me for a different reason. Brian, I, and my two good friends, Sara and Tawnya ran the Park to Park Half Marathon in Waterloo, Iowa. The weather was great, company fantastic, and the race was amazing.

THE GIRLS WHO MADE ME DO IT (thanks! never would have done it otherwise...)

The week before this, I realized I hadn't been pushing my pace for a really long time, and had been running 10 minute miles for 3 months. So, I picked up the pace that week and reset my goal time of running the 13.1 miles from 2 & 1/2 hours down to 2 hours and 10 minutes, with a secret hope that maybe I could even get close to 2 hours even.

THE RUNNERS

At the start of the race, Brian ran full speed ahead, not to be held back by us women-folk :) , Tawnya ran with her good friend from Wisconsin, and Sara and I ran together for the race. It was GREAT! Sara and I stuck to our goal pace for the first 10 miles and then picked it up for the last 3 miles. The last .1 mile was torturous, but we made it fun both giving our all by "sprinting" to the finish line and coming in at the exact same second. Our time? 1:55:24!!! We beat the secret goal by almost 5 minutes. I was on an adrenaline high after wards and was so excited (and more scared than ever) to do a full marathon a month later.

OUR GUNTIME IS SHOWN, NOT OUR OFFICIAL CHIPTIME (proof Sara beat me, the clock disagrees, but a picture never lies!)

Unfortunately, my pace that week was apparently a little too much for my feet and I ended up getting a stress fracture in one foot, as I found out a few days after the half marathon. The doctor at the sports medicine clinic put me in a trendsetting walking boot and a cross-training exercise only plan. As long as I healed well enough, I could try the marathon, though he wasn't convinced I'd be able to finish it or at least finish without ending up with a broken foot. I trained on a bike like crazy and as soon as I got permission to try a few miles at a time running on a treadmill, I tried it. It was okay, but within a week I felt more pain coming back into my foot and still have had some random pain with it. I decided that if a marathon is something that makes you want to die anyways by the end of the race, it's probably wise not to try one when you're already injured. I'll try again in the spring with a different marathon so I can heal properly over the winter.

MY NEW FASHION STATEMENT

Brian on the other hand, will run the marathon this weekend! I'm sure once I see him and other runners cross that finish line, I'll doubt my sanity at trying to also run one in the future, but I know Brian will do great. He and Sara (who did the St. George marathon a few weeks ago) are my inspiration!

Whoo da woo! Good luck in Kansas City Brian!

Grandma and Grandpa's Trip

A month ago, Brian had an all-day test in Chicago for med school, so I suggested me and the kids go (moral support, right? ;) ) , and my parents also volunteered to fly out from New Mexico (also moral support, hehe) :). It was the first time my parents got to come out to visit us just for fun since being in Iowa, so we were thrilled to spend the first few days of the vacation in Chicago together, then a couple days in Nauvoo, and a little bit of time at our house. We packed in as much fun as we could fit into the 5 day vacation, and it couldn't have been a better trip. Thankfully, my children were able to (mostly) survive a week of no naps...

CHICAGO
We made sure to hit all the Chicago hot spots:

Michigan Avenue


Hancock Observatory


Millennium Park


Cubs game at Wrigley Field


Giordano's Pizza


Shedd Aquarium- WOW! my favorite part of the trip


Water taxi to Navy Pier, lots of walking, expensive parking garages, and taxi's everywhere else, and an hourly scenic trip to the nearest "potty" for the toddler (my least favorite part about the city)

NAUVOO
Another two days were spent in beautiful Nauvoo. It was a perfect time to go because the weather was perfect and the tourist season had just ended so we almost had the whole town to ourselves.

My favorite thing there was going on an hour-long wagon ride.


The city looked so peaceful as we listened to interesting facts about the city's history.


Carthage held the good memory of Brian and I getting our Marriage License at the town hall almost 5 years ago, and I loved the reminder at Carthage Jail of the power of faith and the strength of Brotherhood.



The rest of the trip mainly consisted of getting in some good bonding with my parents, sleeping off the exhaustion of touring, and the icing on the cake was a trip to the outlets!
Thanks so much Mom and Dad for a WONDERFUL trip! We love you!

Alive and kicking (sort of...)

Don't worry raving fans of this blog, we are still alive. And kicking (with the exception of me).
I've been a slacker, I know, but it's really more from busyness than laziness--2 part-time babysitting jobs, 2 kids, and training with lots of miles running and biking. Don't worry, I will return.
More to come soon...trip with my parents, a race, and my new fashion statement--a walking boot...