Two big days for James and Tiff

Wow. This day has been long due. My sweet James finally graduated!!!! Wahoo! The poor guy had to take 2 years off for a mission, and then another 2 years off while he worked and I got my degree... What a trooper. And what a relief and life change it has already been. He has been a little workhorse at home now, without having to leave for class or spend time studying, it has been so fun to have him around...and have ya seen our yard...it's looking sooooo much better since he's had time to kill... Yay for graduation! ...Oh, and yay for a raise too!!!

Next up, a day I was dreading. May 16...Triathlon day. I was soooo nervous for this one, because I had been originally trying to train for both the half marathon and triathlon at the same time, and it just got to be too much. So I stopped biking and swimming, and deciding to pick those both back up after the half. Well, intentions are always great, right... Well, really not totally my fault, but I didn't bike but like 2 or 3 times, and swimming, nope, not for like 2 months, (Josh won't stay in the kidscare at the gym anymore...cries so hard they come get me off the treadmill, after 2 or 3 times of that, I bagged the whole gym idea...hence, no swimming pool to train in...) Anyway...to say the least, I felt unprepared...
Here I am before the race...can you sense the nerves???
Here I go...
Swim: In a nice heated pool, 300 metersAfter the swim, on my way in and out of the transition area:
Bike, 12.75 miles:
Run: 3 milesAfter the race:
I surprised myself BIG time. I guess the half got me in way better shape than I thought...this race felt GREAT! It really was sooo fun. I don't know if maybe it was because it wasn't my first time this time, or if I really was in better shape, but I just enjoyed it so much. And it didn't wipe me out the whole day like the first one I did, or the half. Yay. But now I wanna do another one...it's so addicting! But really, not sure if I will, just because these races cost sooo much. After the half, race for the cure, and this one, I've already spent $160 on just the races...not to mention all the other STUFF you need, like gear, recovery drinks, etc... So, we'll see... anyone want to do a tri with me?

Top 10 at 10 Months!

Top 10 Favorite Foods:
1. Anything off mommy's plate
2. Berry smoothie from Costco!!
3. Yogurt
4. Carrots
5. Sweet Potatoes
6. Apples
7. Chicken and Vegetables
8. Grapes
9. Mommy's homemade bread
10. Gerber Graduates, but really only the sweet potato flavor...

New Skills:

1. Crawling (almost...)
2. Waving
3. High 5
4. Eating solids better
5. Stealing Kaylie's sippy cup
6. Rolling over from back to tummy
7. Arch moving (arching his back...)
8. Super reach
9. Kissing himself (see pic below)
10. Clapping

Favorite Activities:
1. Eating everything
2. Grabbing everything
3. Eating mom's arm, shoulder, finger, whatever I can find...
4. Looking at myself in the mirror
5. Reading books!!!!
6. Swimming/bathing/playing with water
7. Watching Kaylie dance and sing...cracks me right up!
8. Dancing with mom or dad, and spinning, and flying (Super Joshy)
9. Swinging (see pic below)
10. Nursing. I don't think I'll ever stop...

Things that make me cry:
1. When mommy is out of sight...even for a split second
2. When Kaylie won't let go of me
3. When Kaylie steals my toys
4. When I fall over...it happens a lot...
5. Getting out of the bath...I really LOVE water!
6. Being force fed...enough solids is enough, just let me nurse already!
7. Going to sleep
8. Putting clothes on...seriously, can't we all just be naked, all the time...
9. Getting teeth. They hurt.

10. Getting buckled in the car seat...not all of the time, just when I'm tired... Things that make me happy:
1. Mommy
2. Nursing
3. Kaylie being nice to me
4. Kaylie reading books to me
5. Being outside
6. Going on walks
7. Singing songs, ESPECIALLY The Itsy Bitsy Spider, no other song compares
8. Cameras, I'm really a ham
9. Bouncing (the above pic is at Classic, bouncing)
10. Toys

Easter (2 weeks later)

Kaylie was SSOOOOO excited that she got nail polish from the Easter bunny. Joshy was just lovin the eggs and grass so much he decided to eat them... :")Here are Kaylie and Josh sportin their cool new sunglasses from the Easter bunny:Easter Morning is sooo fun. We sure like that good ole Easter bunny!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kaylie and Josh in their Easter outfits... I actually had a purple dress on too, she we all kinda coordinated...(yeah, I'm cheesy like that...)

Isn't he so cute in his slightly femmy Easter bib!!!
(blame Grandma Kercher for that one!!!)

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Easter Egg Hunt with cousins! These are the "3 Musketeers" they are always wearing similar outfits, and almost always PINK...if you can't see that already...this is a common occurance! :)
Kaylie didn't get near as many eggs as some of the other kids...but those were even too many...I don't need my 2 year old eating tons of candy...hello, she's hyper enough without sugar!
Kaylie was so nice to share one of her eggs with Josh! She is such a great sister. And of course, Joshy just loved it so much, he ate it!
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Okay, and this random picture I realized was left out of the random fun post. And I just couldn't not post it. So, Liz and I are hangin at McD's, Kaylie and Jackson are playing for forever, being so good, next thing I know, Liz is cracking up...BIG TIME...so I turn around, and there is my daughter, buck naked, just sliding down the slide...Yep!!!!!!! HELLO KAYLIE!!! Seriously. And not wanting to risk of getting arrested, I didn't take a picture of that perfect shot, but threw a blanket on her, and here it is. Memory frozen in time people! I'm mad I didn't take my camera with me when I had to climb up in the tubes to rescue her clothes and diaper, that would've been a great pic! Oh well, you can picture, her shirt, pants, and diaper, neatly laid out in the very most top tube of the playplace of course. Ha! The funny part of this too, is Jackson came down the slide right behind her, fully clothed. Not what you would think, right, we kept waiting for him to come down naked too. Nope. Good kid. When I asked Kaylie what she was doing she said "I was gonna take a shower with Jackson." (In her defense...we had all just gone swimming, and they had showered together, but with swimsuits on...) AnYwAy, fun story huh!

I cannot believe it!

Yep, there I am. Finished the 1/2 marathon last Saturday. Got a new camera though, and need to install a program to upload pics, haven't done it yet...so this is stolen off the marathon foto website...hence the fantastic quality!
It was actually super hard. I trained to 9.5 miles, and I hit a serious wall at about mile 11ish, just after Liberty park, actually just after this picture... I felt like I was run walking, ya know, where you're really walking, but pretending you're running! And my Ipod only worked for about 5 minutes of the whole race...didn't have it when I really needed it...super frustrating, and it is in serious trouble right now...perma time out for the shuffle...HA! But my ankles and knees held up pretty well, which I was super stoked about, although they were slightly sore most of the race... I finished it way faster than I thought I would, I guess I'm a little more competitive than I thought, though my time really isn't brag worthy. But it was good for me, and I DID IT! Couldn't really walk after, but I did finish, and that is pretty awesome for little ole me! Now on to training for the triathlon in May... then I think no more races for a while! :)

RaNdoM fUn :)

This is a post of randomness. Better ones to follow, I promise. My new goal is going to be once a week, so there aren't anymore marathon posts. Cause after today, I don't like marathons. He he he. Yup, ran the half today. Don't think I'll ever do a full, the half was hard enough!!! Pics to come of that SUPER fun race! Ha!
This first pic I just had to take, it seems random, like lots of these pics, it is of when one day, I was feeding Josh, and Kaylie was in the kitchen, not unusual, I heard the silverware, also, not unusual, she gets to run rampant while I nurse...and then I just clean it up when I'm done... But to my surprise, I came out, and NO mess, actually, she had finished putting all the silverware away out of the dishwasher. Not kiddin. What a sweetheart, huh!!!!!! (and so well trained, huh!) No, I didn't train her to do this, she does help me sometimes to empty the dishwasher, but this was monumental, not making messes, no, cleaning!!! I couldn't stop hugging and kissing her, oh, she is such a great little girl!!!
Dying Easter Eggs, enough said: Lil J's mouth was totally blue after... he he he!
Just one day at Gateway, in one of the classes "Little Scientist: Bubbles" It was freakin awesome and the kids all had so much fun, I even enjoyed the experiments with baking soda and vinegar, and coke and mentos...try those at home!
Me, loving strawberry season: freezer jam, strawberry shortcake, and of course, chocolate covered...and it's only begun! Wahoo!Bowling with the Young Women and Young Men in the ward. Kaylie and Rachel, I think they both bowled better scores than me!!!! Ha! Please don't miss their fun shoes, that really made my day that they had small enough ones for the K bear!
One day at Jungle Jims, it was actually quite the party, but I don't have pics of all the friends that were there... Kaylie and Jackson rode this rollercoaster I think 4 times in a row. She's gonna be a blast at Lagoon this year, can't wait!!!
Cause I'm a fun mom, and they play so well together...Oh, how did I get to be such a lucky mom? I can't get enough of these kiddos...these pics really show their fun personalities...

Lotsa stuff: J's bday, Friday 13th, Sunny Fun, St. Patty's Day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY JAMESY!!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!! Sorry, this post is so long in coming...I know your birthday was oh, say, 20 days ago... We had so much fun just us 2 for a night on the town...it's okay that we got the call during dinner, Joshy needed a mommy, so our night got cut a little short, but not by much, we still had a blast together!!! I love going on dates with you, and I'm so stinkin glad you were born! xoxo!
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Draper Temple:
We actually went to the open house on James' birthday. It was gorgeous, and actually kinda cute, I loved the woodwork and the cute rug in the brides' room! Kaylie loved the baptistry, and thanked Heavenly Father for being able to see the stairs and the water, in her little prayers that night! What a fun experience, and what a beautiful, holy, peaceful place. Our family is so thankful for temples!!!

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FrIDaY thE 13tH:
Took our black car in. It's been smoking. It needs $800 worth of work.
My boss's friend, who was on his way to his mother-in-law's funeral, died too.
The canner we rented from the cannery on the fritz, had to get it back by 4pm, but it kept getting the cans stuck in it, food had to be canned that day, here's exhibit 1:
Last, but oh, definitely not least: our car, after my little sis borrowed it. Luckily, it is the one of our 3 cars that has full coverage insurance, the rest all have only liability. The one lucky thing on this really not great Friday the 13th. I didn't use to be superstitious, but now I have to be...This pic doesn't do the damage justice. The bumper is actually wired on, with nothing underneath it, and the side lights are all taped on with duct tape. Yep. Nice huh. :)
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On a MUCH brighter note, We have been having some serious fun in the sun...can't wait for it to come back again!!!
Unexpected. Joshy was the fussy one when I started running, I looked inside the jogger to see the EXACT opposite of what I thought I would see!!! Oh, they are so fun!
Don't worry, what I thought would happen did, like 2 seconds later!!! Ha ha ha!-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Patty's Day. I'm a very festive person. But this one was a little over the top, even for me!

Real Irish dinner for ya. Corned beef and cabbage. And yep, that's totally green bread!

Yeah, she looks happy in the picture, but she actually was pretty mad at that sneaky Leprechaun for turning her mac and cheese green. She said "let's go to his house and tell him to turn my mac and cheese yellow again." Ha! Kids! The poor girl was probably just so sick of everything being green. Yeah, I got a little carried away...Green: mac n cheese, jello, applesauce, grapes, and yeah, the milk too... he he he!

Joshy is already 9 whole months! And all of them have been a blast. Love you little man!