Uncle Brent

When Brent was down last time, this is the last thing he said to my girls... "Every night when you say your prayers before going to bed, pray that your mom and dad will bring you up to my house so that you can see a bear."

They've remembered. In fact they say it at every prayer. "Thank you for the food. Thank you that we can go see the bear..."

If, for example, Haylee forgets to pray about the bear, Lindsay will remind her and Haylee will add a P.S. to a her prayer. It totally cracks me up. I love it. So we really need to plan a trip up to Show Low to see a bear.

Happy Halloween!

I'm not much of a Halloween Freak (and neither is Glenn). So, this year I figured we'd forget about Halloween. I kinda' had hoped we'd be ON THE ROAD to TX... but we will be about a week shy... so... to keep with Family Tradition we did the ANNUAL cut.

It sure was a success and I'm so glad we took the time to do it! We got these humongo pumpkins (at Safeway) which made it pretty easy to cut. Ben & Zach really got into it!

Now all I need to work on is five costumes by Wednesday!?!? AUGH! (Now I remember why I really don't like Halloween!)

Deer Hunting

I spent 2 days in Southern Arizona near Wilcox in the Dos Cabezas mountain range. I hiked up and down the mountains with a heavy backpack and my rifle. Last year I killed my deer within 2 hours. Unfortunately this year there were about 35 other hunters there too. It was very crowded. I only saw one buck. He was about 400 yards away and he was running. So much for deer this year. I have no pictures because didn't kill a deer. I hope that Russ has better luck in November with his elk tag.

Here is a funny video of a guy that does not deserve to hunt!

Halfway to Boston

Amidst the chaos of school, soccer, scouts, gymnastics, selling our house, packing our house, closing on a new house and moving our family 1000 miles, Cindy and I somehow found time to train and run a 1/2 marathon on Saturday!

Cindy got the long-distance running bug when we moved to Mesa and she found a couple of ladies in the ward running. It wasn't very long before they were telling Cindy she ran too fast.

Cindy continued on her own for quite some time until she found another set of ladies training for the Salt Lake Marathon. Again, she was told that she was running too fast, at least for one of the gals, and the other one didn't want to rock the boat because she already knew we were leaving for Texas. The faster of the two finally bowed out with a knee injury.

Cindy needed someone faster than her to train and run with!

This is where I have to do a little flashback...

Once apon a time, I was told by my parents that there was a "cute" girl from Mom's Laurel class who had now graduated from high school and was attending college. "You should take her out while you're down from BYU...you need to date, Glenn!" So I reluctantly said I would ask her out once. (I just learned last week that she was writing to a missionary at the time...her future husband).

Thus began a long-distance dating friendship that featured brief dates (when I was down in AZ or she was up in Utah) and infrequent phone calls. At some point, I asked the put-up-or-go-away question....."Will you run a race with me?" The venue was the annual Moab, UT 5 mile or 1/2 marathon race.

At first she said that it sounded great. Plans were made. Then a week and a half before the race, she called me up to "dog" me, saying it was too far to drive. To far to drive?!? That was it...no commitment to running a race in such a beatiful location...with me....so what if she did like "Princess Bride"! Girls, who needs them! My ego bruised, I decided to run my troubles away.

Then that week I also got injured...problems with my knee. Instead of humility, there was defiance! I was going to take my brand new mountain bike to Moab Utah and have the time of my life mountain biking, if I couldn't run the race. I'd show her and every girl out there for that matter - I wasn't going to shave, I was going to wear a baseball hat the whole time...point me in the direction of Slick Rock and eat my sandstone! This was going to be GREAT!

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What happened next was magical and wonderful and the greatest weekend of my life. In a word, Cindy! What began as a weekend sans girls became a wonderful journey with the love of my life.

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Fast forward 12 years later. Cindy needed someone to run with, and happened to be talking to one of the mothers at Christopher's soccer practices. Guess who? The old "friend-girl" of course, who just finished doing a marathon a few weeks back, "but sure...let's train for a half-marathon!"

So after Cindy (and I) got over the weirdness of running with an old ex-something, it turns out they have a lot in common...our kids are about the same ages, they both don't like camping, etc. For several weeks and several times a week, Cindy and Michelle Cox trained together. Her husband and I would laugh about it at the soccer games. Cindy was grateful for the company.

But then race day came! When the chips were down, Mom watched the kids for us ... and Cindy and I both ran the 1/2 marathon, stepping closer to our dream of qualifying and running the Boston Marathon together!

Cindy did great for her first 1/2 marathon. She ran much of the race under a Boston qualifying time, only slowing down the last couple of miles (uphill) to finish at 2:00:17. Yes, that is two hours and seventeen seconds. Her average mile was 9:11! An amazing finish too...she past another gal (and me) right at the finish line!

Out of 479 total runners, Cindy finished in 190th place. And out of 25 other women, she finished 7th in her age group. Woohooo!!!!

I was a little surprised at my results...I was running this race as a pacer for Cindy...not really pushing myself. But out of 48 guys in my age group, I finished 24th. (A bunch of slackers out there! :-D )

It was a beautiful morning for a race, just before sunrise over South Mountain. The first couple of miles were downhill and we got a very good start. The last two miles as a result were brutal...2 miles of uphill to the finish line.

Cindy and I both learned a lot from the race. I learned that mile #11 is not a good time to give "running form" tips to your wife, or any kind of advice on how to speed up. In fact, at this point, encouragement can be dicey and pushing, pushy! Best just to keep running and occaisonally say "you're doing great honey!".

Cindy learned that she can do this! But she also learned that late night icecream raids are not innocent. Long races are tough - a marathon is a really long way if you have to run this far and then do it all over again - and much of it is mental. And finally, homemade granola is great, but not the day before a race - especially if you eat too much of it because it is soooo good!

Anyway, we forgot to get pics, but it was great to run a race together again (it has been a while with the kids and all) and to see our goal get a little closer. If y'all who are in Arizona want a good Saturday 1/2 marathon to run, we recommend this run!

Thanks again Mom for watching the kids!

The Lee's from behind

Never had a family picture from the rear before.

Just thought you might want a peek at all those cute tushes.

Billion Dollar Pumpkin Patch

Last year I posted about my love of Pumpkin Patches.

This year we were stuck up in LA because of the fires and Mindy decided to brave the Patch on her own while I was at work. Of course she also paid LA prices.

But they got to...

...Ride trains...


...Pose with Aunt MerryAnn...

...Get lost in a Corn Maze...


...Make sure to take a bad picture.

Southern California Fires

I came across this satellite photo of the fires so I thought I would share.

The Garage Sale

This is for you Heather-





Clark & Melanie got a little crazy!!
Or Clark being a good sport!

That time of year again....

I figured it'd been awhile since the last weather update, so here ya go. Yesterday we went to a birthday party and wore shorts and sandals. It was 78 degrees with lots of sunshine. Today we woke up to cold, dark and windy that turned into this:

So we curled up in front of the fire and ate a warm breakfast. I finally got to wear my cute new sweater and we are going to bake cookies tonight. We have to enjoy it while it lasts, It's supposed to be in the 70's again by Wednesday or Thursday. I love Colorado!

Stitches Here?

Bet you have never seen stitches here before! How you ask? Let me tell you a story.

Last night we met the cousins at Sheepherders Park for supper and play. We ate our KFC dinner and all were off to play tag. All the adults were talking under the veranda, enjoying the cool breeze. Then all of a sudden, here comes Nicholas, hopping across the park on his right foot.

I remember commenting, I don't think anyone heard me though, "WOW, he hopped on his right foot ALL THE WAY across the park! Real Cool!" It was dusk and he came hopping over and I did not see the blood. I heard him cry, scream and yell, "There's blood coming out!" And of course I thought to myself, "Yeah. A bit of blood. A nice scrape or something." But the intensity of his hop and the shreak of his voice led me to the cup of water sitting nearby. I doused it on the foot and then he really really screamed. We applied some pressure with napkins and then removed them carefully to see what we were dealing with.

Nick believes he stepped on a rock, but the cut was so jagged and deep that it looked like a piece of glass. It was just just gory-looking - perfect for a Halloween scare. I took him over to the Urgent Care Center on Brown & Gilbert - they know us there :)

Dr. Johns (highly recommend this guy for stitches - he has stitched up 4 of our 5 kids) took one look and went to work. Less than an hour later, Nick hobbled out with 4 stitches in the arch of his foot. It should heal, no problem. Wait and see I guess.

Everyone else continued the party and I am just so grateful that I did not have to haul 5 kids down to the UCC. Thanks Brent & April and Mom & Dad and Linnea and Melissa for gathering the rest of the kids and all of the toys.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Garrett is getting a head start on the holiday season. It isn't even Halloween yet and he made us start his letter to Santa. Over the past couple of days when he thinks of something he makes us get the list out and write it down.

It is fun to see him so excited about Christmas. Now he just has to hurry up and wait!

A weekend with the Lee's

Melissa and family (minus Jeff) came up this weekend for a visit. Here are some of my favorite pictures:





For more details and pictures you will have to check out My Blog or My Photo Gallery.

You can also visit Melissa's Blog. (She hasn't posted yet....but she will)



PS. Melissa told me she has a hard time viewing my blog or web gallery. Make sure that your browser is up to date. My blog uses a lot of web 2.0 stuff so you need to be up to date (don't ask me what web 2.0 is because I have no idea.... ask Glenn).

Conference On The Small Screen

This is what happens when you decide to change to some new high def TV system from AT&T the week before conference and forget to check if they carry conference.

Luckily they are going to be picking up BYU TV but not until Oct. 15.

Nicholas Thomas - Ringmaster!

Nicholas loves gymnastics. He seems to always be practicing it. Headstands, handstands, pushups, pullups, cartwheels, round-offs, dismounts off the kitchen barstools - you get the picture.

Within gymnastics they have six events. Floor routine, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and high bar. Although Nicholas likes all the events, he definitely has a favorite. And it's not one he can practice from home. And he's pretty good :-) Watch for yourself:



We are sad to leave the good friends and coaches he has here at USA Gymnastics in Mesa. But we have heard good things about the program in Plano, Texas (http://www.woga.net/), so expect to see more of these movie clips in the future! :-)

Geocaching

While out geocaching, we spotted this. Can you see it? Look closely. If you can't see it then scroll down the the last picture to see what you are looking for then try it again.










What is geocaching?

Tell me about your adventure. Sorry, but I just spent way too long blogging at my site. You'll have to go there. I will tell you that this elk popped up right in front of us and was bugling. It was pretty cool. We have been out calling elk a few times but we haven't been able to get them close enough to see (and we have only tried at night so even if they were close enough, we couldn't see them).

Disco Fever

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!I heard Mom and Dad took up a new hobbie

Chaos in San Diego

We had have been talking about changing the kids rooms around for a while but of course we decided to actually do all the work the week before leaving on our trip to Cabo San Lucas. So it was crazy.

We took everything out of the closets of two rooms and installed new closets with drawers. Then we repainted three rooms. (of course you know that when I say WE what I really mean is that Bill came and did it)

Then furniture arrived and we had to move rooms, reorganize everything and get rid of all the old stuff. Stuff was just everywhere for a whole week.

Garrett and Ryan are now sharing a room (there bunk bed isn't here yet) and the girls now have their own rooms with desks to do their homework. We still have lots to do to finish the rooms. But they are actually sleeping in them. So...

Notice Paige's polka dot bed spread, funky wall colors and matching green chair and lamp. Needless to say she thinks she has died and gone to heaven.

Whether or not all the money and aggravation results in better homework and less fighting is yet to be seen.

The hardest part is that I keep walking into the wrong rooms. The kids keep laughing at me that I can't get it right.