The Ragnar Relay

Well folks. I made it. I am still alive and moving (though slowly) and I feel AWESOME!! Here is a not-so-quick rundown of my amazing weekend.  (You can see my photos with comments on my facebook page).

The Ragnar Relay is a 202.1 mile run from Prescott down to Mesa. There are 12 runners per team, and 6 runners in each van. Van 1 started (for us) at 8:00 am Friday morning. (There are different start times for different teams depending on speed. We were one of the slowest teams, so we got an earlier start.) :) The people in my van were: Amanda Mahowald (the 6th grade teacher that got me into this), Dan Bowser our 69 year old team captain, Sue Daul, Brenda Careaga, Steve Hosfield, and me. We were called HalFast (half assed) because we're "half the speed, twice the fun!" We had painted donkeys on our vans with our theme. Thank goodness I was on a team like that because otherwise I could've really let them down! I'm certainly not Speedy Gonzalez!

You can actually go to the Ragnar Relay website and see the legs I had to run http://www.ragnarrelay.com I was runner 2. The first leg you can see was 3.6 miles, but it was a lot of uphill work. It was rated HARD for a reason! I did fairly well on it because I was pumped up at the beginning of the race and still had some energy. I did walk for a little bit of the time, but I passed up 4 runners (we call that "roadkill." See how I talk like a runner now??). I finished really strong, and felt great afterwards. One leg down!

After the 6 of us finished our legs we handed off to Van #2. We now had about 6 hours to rest, so we drove to the next major exchange point and spread out our sleeping bags and blankets onto the hard ground and tried to rest. Didn't really get much rest, though. :) I finished reading "Hunger Games" and tried to sleep, but the hard packed dirt didn't really cushion my hips so well, and the blaring music and sun didn't help much either. It was still nice to be able to just relax and chat with each other for a while.

At about 8:00 or 8:30 (can't remember) Van 2 finished and handed off to us. (Oh, when I say handed off, what actually happened was we passed a slap bracelet to each other instead of a baton). It was totally dark by now, so everyone had to be wearing reflective vests, headlamps, and a flashing red reflector on our backs.  This was actually cool, and my favorite part of the trip. I got to run in the pitch dark on Highway 93 for 4.6 miles! It was tough when cars were driving right at you with their headlights blaring, but I made it through. In fact, I'd say I did the best on this run because it was cool, my leg was nice and flat, and I was able to run almost the whole time without stopping. I finished in 51 minutes.  But, when I finished that leg I actually felt sick to my stomach. I had to walk around quite a bit after that one and let it settle. It was not fun. I couldn't keep my eyes open in the van after that.

By about 1:30 we finished our 2nd legs and stopped at the next exchange point which was Middleton Elementary School (I think) where we got to crash on a classroom floor. I didn't get much sleep here either. The hard ground and warm room were not very helpful! I did get maybe an hour of sleep, though. At 5:00 they woke us up and shooed us out, so we headed to the next major exchange point, which was a high school (can't remember where), where we were able to kind of clean up and get ready for round #3!

The final leg of this race began at about 9:00 in the morning. I ran from 11 - 12. It was the HARDEST leg of the race for me. It was rated HARD because it was literally straight up hill the whole time until about the last mile. It was also extremely windy. I was already exhausted from lack of sleep, and I felt sick to my stomach before I started, so I think I sort of psyched myself out before I had even started, but I did start! I felt like I was standing still when I was running, and I was having a hard time...but I persevered! At about the last mile I ran great and was able to finish strong. It was 4.2 miles.  

In all I ran a total of 12.4 miles (a half marathon! of course, not altogether, so doesn't really count the same...but still...). Before this I had never run more than 2 miles at a time, and I would have NEVER thought it was even possible. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life, though, and truly life changing. The atmosphere at an event like this is charged and electrified. Everyone is there for the same reason, everyone cheers you on as you go. It gives you the biggest boost of energy when your van (or someone else's) will stop and yell for you and give you that support. It was the coolest thing to be running on these roads where police would stop traffic for you, and to be seeing cars pass and think: "I used to be one of those people just driving by in the car wondering who would be crazy enough to be running! Now I'm one of those runners!" I never thought I'd BE one of those runners. But I was!  And even if I wasn't the fastest, I discovered that I was faster than anyone who never even tried. Faster than anyone who stayed in bed. Faster than anyone who gave up or quit. I was faster than I had been last week. It was such a great discovery!

It was so cool to hear people talk to me like I was one of them. When they'd say "well, you're a runner, so you know..." and in my mind I'd be thinking "ha ha! fooled you, didn't I??" But by the end of the weekend, I truly felt like I could be included in that category of "runner" and I wanted to (for the first time since high school) BE a runner. 

I am more excited for my triathalon than ever, and am joining the East Valley Runners club (which is the group I was with), and will continue my running journey. I know now that I LOVE being an actual participant in these events, and that I NEED something like this to motivate me to do more in my workouts...or to even make sure I DO my workouts! I'm now considering a 10K as my next goal. I've already conquered a 5k! :) I do SheROX in May, and then who knows what's next? I said I would NEVER EVER do a marathon...but now there's a crazy little notion in the back of my head that says: "Never? Really? That's an awfully long time...and you never thought you'd do a triathalon...and you never thought you could do this relay...maybe you shouldn't say never...maybe someday you WILL do a marathon..."

CRAZY, HUH??? Maybe. But here are some of the greatest things I got this weekend:

1) A new group of amazing friends.

2) A confidence in myself that I hadn't had before.

3) A renewed motivation to push myself and work hard.

4) A desire to continue competing in events.

5) A STRONG desire to never let life pass me by. I could sit and watch TV, eat, be lazy...and watch life go by. Or I could be out there EXPERIENCING life. Not just me, but my family. There are so many things going on each weekend that we could be experiencing, that we don't.

6) A personal confirmation that eating right and living a healthy life are NOT as hard as I thought, and that I actually want to do that even more now.

7) A husband who said he might even consider doing something like this....(SERIOUSLY...that right there is a bit of a miracle).

8) The knowledge that I can do anything I set my mind to.

9) Inspired by over 2000 people who chose to spend 2 days running.

10) 2 new quotes: "The miracle isn't that I finished.  The miracle is that I had the courage to start.

—John "The Penguin" Bingham

Once we clear a hurdle, it doesn't seem so high.

Clear those hurdles in life, friends. You can do it! :) I did it, and my next one's in sight!

4 Miles Baby!!

So yea. I'm innocently walking my class back from PE this morning when one of the 6th grade teachers comes walking down the hallway and asks me what I'm doing this weekend. Well. This isn't just any 6th grade teacher. This is the MARATHON RUNNING 6th grade teacher. Ya...she did the New York marathon this year, the PF Chang's, the Rock'n Roll, and just 2 weeks ago an ULTRA marathon, which is 31 stinking miles. She's pretty amazing.

So I was a little concerned about where this question was leading, but I told her I wasn't doing anything. So she asked........if I wanted to join her group for the Ragnar Relay. What the heck is the Ragnar Relay you ask?  Well, it starts in Prescott. There are 12 people on a team (or 6 if you're super crazy and like torture), and you each take turns running different legs of the race. Not little legs mind you. Big fat legs. Until you make it back to Mesa about 36 hours later. Non stop. 

She told me I would be doing the shortest leg. That would be 4 miles---3 different times! One of them even in the middle of the night.  I told her that a runner, I am not. Yes, I've been training for a triathalon, but the running is seriously my weakest area. My downfall, if you will. But I told her I'd think about it.

Well, the thing is I couldn't stop thinking about it. CRAZY. WHY was I even thinking about it? The last time I ran 4 miles in a row was in high school! But, it kept poking its way back to the front of my brain. Plus, she's hilarious and I knew we'd have a blast. So I told her I would do it. WHAT??? Am I insane? Possibly.

We leave Friday morning at 4:20 am (yep), and we won't stop or get home until Saturday  night. I will run 3 different times, the first 3.6 miles, the second 4.6 miles, and the last 4.2 (I think). 

I decided that I better just try out a run at the gym tonight to see if I could seriously do this without completely dying. (I did assure her that I was a crappy runner and I'd probably have to walk, and she told me it was fine. Apparently our team is called the "Halfast" group...half the speed, twice the fun...which is great for me! But really they're all part of this running club, and I am definitely not).

I decide I'm going for 4 miles (are we remembering here that the last time that happened was almost 20 years ago???).  I turned on my iPod, set the speed for 5.5, and off I went. I upped it to 6.0, then 6.5, and wouldn't you know it...I ran FOUR MILES! In a row. With only a SLIGHT stop for speed walking halfway through. And guess how long it took me? 45 minutes and 35 seconds. That's about an 11 minute mile in case you didn't want to figure out the math. Seriously? I have NOT been pushing myself hard enough apparently, because I did it! And I felt good! I was tired, yes. But I did it.

The funny thing is I've "hated" running for so long that I never gave it a chance. This made me think I might not actually hate it after all.  I can't explain the euphoria felt after that accomplishment tonight. Am I still scared to death for this weekend? YES. But at least I know I can do it. It is possible. And I won't die.  

Who knows? Maybe after this triathalon I'll join that running club. Nothing seems impossible anymore. I did it. I'm proud.

But let's hope I'm still alive on Sunday. :)

My Body Hates Me

OK, so it's official. I've decided my body has it in for me. I know, I know. It's my own fault. I've abused it for too long by filling it up with junk food and garbage. But still! You'd think that it would thank me for trying to fix that, and for trying to make it more healthy with exercise all the time. Nope. It hates me. 

I suppose it's just gotten used to all that extra fat, and it's become attached to it emotionally. I don't know. But I do know that it's TICKING me off!! I mean, come on. I have been diligently working out 5 days a week for 6 weeks whilst training for this triathalon. I have been a trooper on these fitness/food challenges that Dixie has been throwing at me (no soda, no eating after 7 pm, 5 a day fruits and veggies, no snacks except fruits and veggies, writing down my food/calories, and now no sweets). I haven't been perfect on the challenges. I've struggled with the fruits and veggies, and finding time to write things down has been tough. But I HAVE stopped the eating just because crap.

So I ask you...should NOT my body LOVE me for this and help me out by shedding a few of those unwanted, unnecessary, unseemly, UGLY fat pounds?? The answer, my friends, should be a resounding yes. But unfortunately for me, my body says NO! I LOVE the fat and want to keep it. Stupid body.  

You know what it's done? It's shed a MEASLEY 2 pounds since beginning this training on Jan. 1st. Just 2 pounds! On Saturday it was 3 pounds, but today when I weighed, it was back to just 2. Two. T-W-O. Dos. A Couple. Twins. A pair. 

Now, I'm not giving up, but I'm telling you my motivation and dedication are wavering in the face of this stubborn body of mine. I am biking, swimming, running, and weight training diligently and getting no results. For the love of all that's holy, people, what's wrong with me??

Never fear. I shall persevere, and eventually I will wear my body down so that I will be the champion. I WILL lose the weight, and I WILL look hot...eventually. Wish me luck, though, because right now my body is laughing at me and holding those two pounds in front of my face with a taunting jeer saying: "See these, sucker? I want them back, and I'm not giving up any more!" And I'm trying with all my might to look that body in the eye and stare it down with fierceness and shout back: "2 pounds is 2 pounds, jerk! Just watch out because IT. IS. ON!"

But I'm kinda struggling...

I need a boost. This will all work for me eventually, right? 

Or should I just blame it all on that blasted diabetes?! Ya...that's the reason....

GRRRRR!

Facebook is Addicting!

So, I realize I'm a total slacker when it comes to my blog, and I haven't posted for a while. I have to say that Facebook has officially sucked me in! It is addicting.  Here is the weird thing, though. I had someone "friend" me and could NOT figure out where I knew her from, or if I actually knew her. I waited to confirm until BINGO! It hit me! It was a student of mine from when I first started teaching...12 years ago!!

She's all grown up and engaged to be married. Who feels OLD??? Yep, me. So then I visited her page and looked at all her friends (like 400 something), and I found LOTS of my old students. It was so weird to see them all grown up, kissing boys, dressing...not like 10 year olds, etc. I still picture them as 4th graders, ya know??

Anyway, they are doing great, and I'm seriously enjoying catching back up with them...because after all, I spent 180 days of their formative years with them, and I'm pretty sure I'm the reason they're doing so well....KIDDING! But honestly, where does the time go??

Shouldn't everyone stay their innocent little selves forever? Ah well... 

Carpe Diem and all that.

Mrs. Crandell

As You Wish...The Results

So, here you have it! The results of our hard working MLK day at As You Wish. I was actually quite pleased with mine. I'm going to take it to school to show it off properly. :) Troy loved his (notice the blood on the front of the shark's mouth? Nice touch, babe). Cooper wasn't totally pleased with his (not surprisingly), but didn't complain too much. Surprisingly it was Carter who was unhappy with his because he didn't feel like he painted it well enough. I think it looks great! He's currently keeping change in its mouth. Brooklyn was thrilled with her poo-green colored flower. Yep, when you mix all the colors, that's what you get! It's the most beautiful flower ever! She's taking a nap with it right now...

On a totally unrelated note, I took Brooklyn to run errands with me this afternoon, and can we just say TRAUMATIC?? Ya, first we went to Sport's Authority to buy compasses for science camp. After I paid and was ready to leave she was NOWHERE to be found. Nowhere. I searched that store up and down, yelling her name, had her paged a couple times, had a worker helping me look. I finally panicked so much I called Troy to tell him I'd lost our child and could he come help me look, and that's when I found her...in the weights section in the very farthest corner of the store. Hiding from me. With a big smile on her face. Thinking this was cute, and funny, and a really great game. AAAAAHHHHHHH!!! I was NOT happy. Got my adrenaline pumping for sure. I gave her a good talking to and hugged her tight and spanked her bum, and then we headed off to our next store.

"I stay right by you right Mommy?" she says. "Yes you do. RIGHT by me. Hold my hand." Second store, success! We picked up our As You Wish items, and as we were leaving I saw the 90% clearance sale at Bath and Body and remembered that I HAD to stop there. I stock up every year at this amazing event. So, we stop. As soon as we walk in, what does Brooklyn do? She picks up a large candle and drops it, shattering glass all over the floor! YEP...she did. I'm embarrassed and offer to pay for it, blah blah. They tell me not to worry about it. I keep a much closer eye on Brooklyn. But at this point she is 1) tired, and 2) in heaven because it's all this yummy smelling girl stuff that she HAS to touch and smell! I keep telling her no. I grab her hand. She starts throwing fits. Lots of them. I finally decide, "trip over, let's pay." But the line? LONG, of course. I have to end up holding her (building muscles the whole time because of serious fit throwing and body clenching she's doing) while in line, the whole time listening to her scream and watching people watch me.

We finally make it to the line and to try and get her to shut the H up at this point I ask her if she wants to help hand the lotions to the lady. She of course does. But she basically just throws every single one at her. Luckily, everyone was nice, but I was very happy to get her out of there and back home for her nap. So that picture you see of her holding the flower? She's still ticked about having to go to bed and was STILL throwing fits. Which tells me she definitely needed the nap.

Moral of the story? DON'T take Brooklyn to stores with me EVER AGAIN!!! Or at least not if she hasn't napped...

Thank You, MLK!

So, I just want to publicly thank MLK for all he did for us. I realize he was a great man who helped bring about civil rights for all...but I really just want to thank him for giving us a holiday! :) Seriously, I so needed Monday off. I got through all my mail (piled to the ceiling) paid my bills, started laundry, straightened up the house, and got water and milk (which we were in desperate need of) all before 12:00.
After 12 we decided it was a family day, and doggone it, we wanted to spend it together doing something fun! We were going to try out the Wildlife World Zoo...but it's so far away and closes rather early, so by the time we were ready it was not an option. Then we thought we'd take the lightrail to Phoenix and check out the science museum. (They do have a Star Trek exhibit there right now. I mean, come on, how cool is that?? :) But, again, with the time--it wasn't going to be worth the money and effort. So...we searched through our coupon book and found: 50% off for up to 4 people at As You Wish!

We've been wanting to try this out for a while, because my brother Eric and his family swear by it. It's a bit pricey, so we thought it would be worth it since we had the coupon. Well, it turns out it was a BLAST! Everyone had a great time (including Troy, which is weird, cuz he usually only wants to go to dinner and a movie. Ever.) But, he really loved it.
Brooklyn painted a little flower. Well, she painted it all different colors and had a wonderful time. I'm not sure what it will look like when we get it back, but she was happy! Cooper and Carter both chose different fish, Troy chose a shark (which he embellished with "blood" all over the teeth. Nice.), and I chose a cup that I could use at school for pencils/scissors/etc.

The painting and being creative was really quite satisfying, I must say! I don't know that any of us will win awards for our artsy-ness, but who cares?? There was no fighting or arguing or complaining for a whole hour, and we left there feeling good about what we'd accomplished. We also left there a LOT lighter in the wallet, because that 50% off for up to 4 people? That's just on the time spent painting, not the pieces...so it still cost us $80! But it was worth it!
Just look at our faces: What fun! (Well, don't look too closely at mine. I look terrible and old, but whatever).





After our fun time at As You Wish, we went to the store to buy Cooper hiking boots for 5th grade science camp that's coming up in 2 weeks (Yep, I'm a teacher of 5th graders, and this year he gets to come with me!) We actually had to go to 3 different stores, and Troy was a great sport about it.

We then went to Mi Amigo's for dinner, which turned out to be delicious! I've never been there before, but I'm sure I will be going again. After dinner, though, was my very favorite part of the day. We went to the park by our house because Brooklyn had been begging all day. I thought we'd stop for a while and just push her on the swings and be done, but thankfully I was wrong.

First, TROY GOT ON THE SWINGS (yep, weird, huh??) and I pushed Brooklyn while the boys ran around. Then I got on the swings for a while. After that, somehow, we all started playing tag and it was SO MUCH FUN!! Troy was carrying Brooklyn around and we were all running around chasing each other, or running away from each other, having a blast! After a while, Brooklyn got down and was totally part of the action. I'd say we played tag for about 20 minutes or more. We laughed so hard, and really had the best time ever. I don't think we've ever done that before, but I can bet you we will be doing it again. (However, any of you who have had kids will know what I'm saying...be sure you go potty before running around and laughing with your kids...yep, motherhood has its sacrifices and it's blessings, for sure. The bladder issues? Not a blessing!) :)

The payoff? My boys were happy and helpful the rest of the night, and when my sister Allyson asked them about Monday Carter said: "Monday? That was probably the best day of my life!" And he meant it. Isn't it crazy? Just a little together time goes such a long way. I love my kids, and right now...I love Martin Luther King, Jr. for bringing us closer to each other. Thanks MLK!

Our Family Pictures

Well, here is just a sampling of our recent family photo shoot. Click on it to see the pictures better. Can you help me decide which pictures are the best to have printed? I need to know which family picture to choose. (We have 134 pictures to choose from...I just posted a few of my favorites). I know some of you saw this in our "New Year's" card, but those were really small pictures. Hopefully you can see these better.

Family Fun Bowling Night

So the other night I wanted to go out and do something fun because I had such a busy day ahead of me, and I needed something to look forward to. I asked Troy if he wanted to go out, and then I called my brother to see if they wanted to join us. He told me they were going bowling with Dixie and her family, so we decided we'd tag along with them. It was so much fun!

This was Brooklyn's first bowling experience, and they had a really cool thingy that the little kids could roll the ball down so that it would go straight down the lanes and hit the pins. They also had the bumpers up so there were no "gutter balls."

It turned out to be a very fun evening! Troy won and Brooklyn (due to that contraption...or pure beginner's luck) took second, I got 3rd, Cooper got 4th, and Carter came in last...but really, we all stunk it up! :) Troy did OK, but I didn't get even one strike, and only one spare...and usually I do much better than that!

All in all I think this was better than a movie, and it was fun to have the kids with us for an evening out.

(If you click on the collage you can see the pictures bigger-cuz I know you want to!) :)

HYSTERICAL!

A friend of mine just emailed this to me, and I thought it was too funny not to share. Hope you get a good laugh! (Actually, I have another one that I'm going to borrow from another friends blog to share here, too. It's teacher humor, but I think it's funny for all.  Am I wrong?)

(It says: When I grow up, I want to be like my Mommy!)

(Here's the reply the teacher received the following day)

 

Dear Mrs. Jones,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. 

I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit.  I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it.    Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole.  It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.

From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,

Mrs.  Smith

You gotta love kids and their amazing spelling!

I was tagged!

I was awarder the "I love your blog" by my friend Kimberley Smith (who taught Carter 1st grade--one of the best ever!) But with the award goes a tag, so, here goes:

1. Where is your phone? next to me on the table

2. Where is your significant other? driving home from work

3 .Your hair color? auburn

4. Your Mother? amazing and BUSY

5. Your Father? faithful and WISE

6. Your favorite thing? Family

7. Your dream last night? Dream? That would mean I actually sleep...

8. Your goal? Stay-at-home-mom in a nicer/bigger house

9. The room you're in? Kitchen

10. Your hobby? Reading

11. Your fear? Something happening to my family 

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? In Arizona in that nice/big house... 

13. Where were you last night? The gym, swimming

14. What you're not? a good homemaker

15. One of your wish-list items? A house in an actual neighborhood

16. Where you grew up? Mesa, AZ

17. The last thing you ate? cookie dough....I know...but it was GOOD!

18. What are you wearing? jeans and a long sleeved shirt

19. Your TV? on while Brooklyn watched "Little Mermaid 2"

20. Your pet? 2 dogs (want them??)

21. Your computer? Toshiba laptop

22. Your mood? content

23. Missing someone? not really

24. Your car? Honda Odyssey

25. Something you're not wearing? jewelry (which is weird)

26. Favorite store? The Red Dot Boutique (Target)

27. Your Summer? GREER!!

28. Love someone? Family

29. Your favorite color? Green

30. When was the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Tuesday, while watching The Biggest Loser

32.Something you crave? Sweets (esp. cookies and brownies)

33. Why you blog? Memories

I now award the "I Love Your Blog" Award to:

Allyson Van Patten

Dixie Dixon

Lana Shumway

Tammy Adams

Wendy Daw

Julie Fischbeck

Happy New Year!

So, I realize this is a little late, but HAPPY NEW YEAR! Troy and I took our kids as well as my brother Eric's kids over to Porter and Lana's house for a fun New Year's party, and we had a great time! Thanks Porter and Lana! There was lots of yummy food, fun games, great company, and it was a nice way to ring in the new year. Dixie and Shane, Porter and Lana, Troy and I, and Russell & Monica Kay were there. Porter had created a fun quiz for us to do when we got there, and had counted a candy jar for us to guess (which I WON!!), and there were movies for the kids to watch so that the adults could enjoy their time together. We played Buzz Word (fun game! the women totally rocked it), and the Newlywed Game.

Brooklyn was a trooper and totally stayed up til midnight. Cooper was zonked on the couch, but Carter and the other kids (minus the little ones) made it through and partied hard until the ball dropped. We had party hats, horns, poppers, and streamers to help us ring in the new year. Overall it was a great time!

I've already been doing great on my new year's resolution, which is to train 100% for the SheROX all women's triathalon on May 9, 2009 at the Tempe Town Lake. I've run, biked, and swam everyday (except Wed. and Sun.) and I feel great! I'm getting so excited for this event and know that in 4 1/2 months I will be in way better shape than I have been in a while, and I'll be able to finish this thing.

Hope you're all doing great! Make it a great 2009!

Day One of My New Life...

OK, so it's official. My traithalon training has begun.  I woke up bright and early at 9:30 :) and set off to do my 19 minute run. Dixie has created a schedule for me for every single day of training for the next 4 1/2 months until the May 9th triathalon. I get Wednesdays and Sundays off (for my Young Women calling, and for the Sabbath). 

I thought 19 minutes would be fine. Just so you know, the run scares me the very most.  I'm a pretty good swimmer, and I've been doing the biking classes at the gym for a while now, so those 2 don't scare me too much. (However, combining them all together is much different than just doing them by themselves...and it terrifies me a bit right now).  

I started my ipod, stretched, and then left the comfort of my front room. All I could feel for the first few minutes was my butt (and every other place with fat on me) jiggling. Embarrassing. I was sure that everyone (all 2 cars that were out and about) could see my jiggliness, and I was mortified. I decided to just ignore it. After 2 minutes I was ready for my first "interval training" so I walked for 2 minutes. :) Yea, I have a ways to go!

This was how it went: Run for 2, walk for 2, run for 3, walk for 2, run for 4, walk for 3, run for 3, then I walked all the way home. So I actually did more than my 19 minutes... Seriously, though--it felt good! I know I will be so much better in 4 1/2 months, and I can't wait to see those results, but I was proud of myself for being on schedule and getting my new life started. 

Tomorrow I swim for 24 minutes, and Saturday I bike for 48 minutes. I'll probably just do the bike class at the gym, which is actually 60! :) Starting Monday I will be doing both swimming and running in the same day...yikes! 

Happy New Year to me!

Christmas Part Deux

So the other great part about Christmas is spending the day with my family at my sister Dana's house.  We get there about 10 am and hang out until evening.  We play with new "toys", talk, EAT, and enjoy the day.  It's really one of my very favorite days of the year.  So, here are some pictures of that day. (I have more, but it takes forever to put each picture on and then position it, so I'll just put a few). 

Here's Brooklyn with Livy, trying out Owen's scooter. She had a great time!

Here are the 3 sassy princesses on the tramp. Tatum, Olivia, and Maya.  So cute! (Brooklyn's really trying to make it in their ranks.  She got to spend the night with them on Monday and she thought she was in heaven).

Maggie and Troy are sharing a conversation on the phone.  Allyson's blog has a cuter picture than this.  But it was sweet.  Mags loves her Uncle Troy lots!

Here's Coop with his new DS. They played with those lots that day.

And Carter playing with his DS!

Jere and Dixie (both obviously very sassy). Especially Jere. :)

Here's Allyson with her sweet baby Max.  (I have a cuter picture of Max I'll show you.  He's so dang sweet. Always happy and smiley, and very strong.  He is so cute!)

See, there's the cutie patootie! Look at those big eyes and sweet cheeks. Allyson got herself two sweet little babes. (Lucky duck!)

Since I'm always the one taking the pictures I had to beg someone to take one of me.  So, here we are...Troy and Jenny on this great day! I have other shots of family, but I think you get the idea.  We've got puzzles going on (read Dixie's post on that...hilarious!), games being played, football games on TV (where you will ALWAYS find Troy), food glorious food on the table, bike riding, trampoline jumping, ping-pong playing, air hockey playing, and talking and mingling going on all day.  It is truly the BEST. The end.

Project Saturday's continued...

So remember those project Saturdays we started a while ago?  Well, we've actually been keeping up on those, so I thought I'd give you a little update on our progress.  Troy worked for 12 hours laying sod in our backyard (after SEVERAL Saturdays just cleaning up and preparing the yard). I am so sad that I don't have a total before picture. But picture weeds as tall as children that can suck you in and never let you go. It was literally a jungle out there. After cleaning that up, Troy tilled the ground, and then laid the sod.  It's not totally finished yet (the sod part), but that will be finished this Saturday.  After that we are going to put a brick border all around and then put rocks and possibly some trees along the back fence.  We also left room for the garden we want to put in this spring.  So far, so good! 

Sibling Gifts

Alright, so this isn't Christmas Part Deux yet...but I forgot about a gift I wanted to share.  This year I decided that my kids needed to focus more on the giving, and that we needed to put more of our heart and soul into that and not just grab any old thing from the store. So, we decided to make gifts for each other.  I helped them look online for ideas, and sort of "nudged" them in a particular direction.  Needless to say they all ended up making the same gift for each other, but they were each unique.  We made fleece blankets.  I took each child separately to JoAnne's to get the fleece and they picked it out.  Then they made them.  Cooper had Carter, so he chose SpongeBob fleece (perfect), Carter had Brooklyn so he chose princess fleece (another perfect choice), and Brooklyn had Cooper, so we chose pirate/skull/treasure map type fleece.  Again, perfect. (I knew that cuz when we were choosing for Carter, Cooper said how much he loved it). Before Christmas Cooper ruined it for everyone by showing the fabric to Carter and telling him.  I was SO MAD!!! But, I got over it (sort of) and we went through with it anyway.  Just so you know, they were truly awesome gifts that they had to put a lot of time and effort into, and that they use every single day! (Alright, so Cooper's turned out the best...what can I say? Brooklyn's a natural blanket maker! :) Here's a picture of the 3 in their warm and lovingly made fleece blankets:

Christmas at the Crandell's

I LOVE Christmas. Have I ever mentioned that? For me it's ALL about the giving to my family.  I go a little bit crazy every year, and I've vowed to stop that because my kids don't fully appreciate it and they don't take care of their things. They have too much stuff, and yet always seem to be "bored." So this year we borrowed an idea from a friend of my mom's. They got 3 presents, and they had to make their lists according to a "need" a "want" and a "wish". Now you may think a want and a wish are the same, but I differentiated that by telling them that a want was something they wanted that they could probably get (not too expensive). A wish was something only Santa Claus could bring (my boys found out this year the sad truth, but I still explained it that way). It would be "the big one." Now, before I go further, I must say that I mostly stuck to my plan.  They did each get 3 gifts, but some gifts needed accessories, so they ended up opening about 5 gifts each. Also, I picked up tons of "family" gifts that they got to open because who can pass up the DVD deals for 3 and 5 dollars at Target??  So, on with the show!

Every Christmas Eve we spend in Heber with Troy's family, and Grandma Crandell gives all the grandkids pajamas. So here's a shot of that. Now we're ready for bed and for the arrival of Santa.

Brooklyn got her bran new kitchen this year from Santa! This was her  big gift, and let me tell you...she LOVES it! It even makes "bubbling" noises on the stove, and has a little phone that makes noise, too.  Santa found it at Wal-Mart for a smokin' deal the day after Thanksgiving. :

) (Nevermind her crazy hair in all these.  What's Christmas morning without crazy hair?)

Carter got a portable DVD player, which I didn't realize would be such a hit, but he loved it! He spent the morning in his underwear. Did I mention they got pajamas? Ya... but Carter really loves sleeping in his skivvies, so there you have it. At least they're not whitey tighties, right?

Cooper's "want" was an electronic keyboard.  When I first heard that I said no way. First of all, we have a piano that I can't get him to practice ever, so why would I get a keyboard? But then I found it for another serious deal on Black Friday, and I thought...why not? Maybe this will be more exciting than the piano and he'll practice? Let me just say...it was a hit! He has played it everyday since, and absolutely loves it! Yay, me! :)

Brooklyn's next gift was a fairy dress up box because she LOVES to dress up so much! 

Alright, so this was the super duper wish for the boys this year. A Nintendo DS. I told them it wasn't gonna happen.  These things are very expensive, and they hardly took care of the Game Boys they got 2 years ago. However, I found the BEST deal at Game Crazy the day after Thanksgiving, and so...they got lucky! However, these are the things that needed accessories, so that's why they got more to open (games, a carrying case, etc.) But needless to say, these were a very exciting gift from "Santa"!

OK, so it's not quite as fun to open your DS after you already know what it is, but it was still a fave! :) They were both quite happy.

Accessories for the kitchen. :)

The "need" for both boys was definitely shoes, and they both had their own choices there.  Cooper has really wanted Converse type shoes.  I found his at Old Navy for $8.95, so I totally scored because he LOVED them! Carter, unfortunately, wanted DC's, which cost considerably more.  But I made a good choice and he thought they were perfect. So both boys were happy, which, I gotta tell you, is rare! 

Brooklyn also got a little Cabbage Patch baby and a Princess hideaway tent.  She loved both! :)

Troy got a 16 gb Sansa MP3 player, and I got a Wii Fit! We both loved them, and thankfully for you...no pictures of our glamour in the morning! 

Stay tuned for Christmas part deux!

Christmas beauty

Just wanted to show you how 'dorable my little Brookers was for Christmas. I feel bad cuz I don't have any pictures of my boys, but seriously...they aren't that excited about "dressing up" for any occasion, so they just looked normal. I have lots of catching up to do, but thought I'd give you a little glimpse of my beauty! :)

So Much STUFF

K, so here's the deal-i-o. I have SO much to blog about, but I just can't get motivated to do it (or to upload the pictures), so I'm just gonna give you the quick low-down.

A) I DIDN'T (thankfully) break my toe. Turns out it was dislocated (though it hurt like a break). I found that out when I accidentally stretched my toes, felt the POP (and it HURT), and the next day I could move it. It was puprle for another week, but doing fine.

B) The Saturday projects continue. Again, I was LAME to not get a before picture of the yard, but we've already spent 2 Saturdays on it, and it's still not done (that should give you an idea of the enormity of this job). We cleaned up all the "crap" (literally), we raked up all the dead mile high weeds, (filling up about 8 GIANT black bags in the process), then Troy tilled the yard and spray painted where the border will go, and next week we put in the sod. Oh yea, he also fixed the sprinklers which was the real problem in the first place. We even sectioned off a part for a garden (next project = scared).

C) I pulled off the elementary school 4-6 grade choir concert. (I direct it with the music teacher at school). It was Tuesday, and let's just say I'm glad it's over! I learned a lot. :)

D) I just returned from 5 days in San Antonio, TX where I went to attend a teacher's convention with 10 other teachers and the principal from my school. I had a BLAST! But San Antonio? I don't recommend it to anyone. It was just plain ugly. Not much to do. The Riverwalk is cool, I guess, but if you want to experience something like it, just go to the Tempe Town Lake and walk around. Done. The Alamo was neat also, but nothing super awe-inspiring or anything. At least not for me. The fun was hanging out with the people there--that was GREAT! I also enjoyed going to the classes and getting LOTS of free books (cuz you can NEVER have too many books!)

E) Saw Twilight. I liked it...but then the more I thought about it, the more things I didn't like about it. I hated Edward. His make up looked like the joker (seriously, who was on hair and make up in this thing??) I liked Bella, and I LOVED the high school friends. They were perfect and hilarious. I just think Edward was too skinny and small, and he also was TOO tortured (even though I know he's tortured in the book). It was too much. Bad acting. There were parts and times where I thought he was sexy, but the black eyeliner and eyebrows and WHITE face and dark red lips were over the top. I thought Jacob looked weird. I think they did all the important scenes from the book, and I overall liked it...but there were a lot of little things that were just weird--like the scene in the woods. Just laying on the grass? Seriously, what was that all about? Also, the timeline didn't seem believable at all--she's already so in love with him right away, and if I hadn't read the books I wouldn't think that was believeable at all! I knew the story and had read the whole thing unfold, but in the movie it felt like it all happened in about a day, not a whole school year. Just not enough depth. What did anyone else think? So my initial feeling was thumbs up...my feeling now? Thumb in the middle. Not totally bad, definitely not totally great. I'm sure I'll still buy it though...

Brooklyn's spa day

So yesterday on our Veteran's Day off from school, Brooklyn and I decided to get all dolled up and go for pedis! :) She loves to be totally girly and have her hair (and make up if at all possible) done, and she loves to have her nails painted.  Since she's only 2 1/2, though, it's a bit hard for her to sit still for very long.  However, she did great yesterday.  This is a series of shots of her throughout the experience.  It's really hard to get a 2 year old to not move and to not touch her nails on anything, but she was a champ! I don't know what the deal is with her mouth--she's doing this weird thing with it instead of smiling, and it's a bit annoying, but I still think she's cute! So enjoy Brooklyn's big day out. (She got flowers on her big toes AND on her thumbs! The lady didn't ask me if I wanted to pay for those, she just did them, and I had to pay for them anyway. :( Oh well. Brooklyn loved them).