Sailing and Swimming

Swimming has been a HUGE part of our summer fun. My kids would swim 24/7 if I let them, but since I am such an awful mother they only get to swim once a week or so. Everytime we go to the pool I totally space taking pictures so here are pictures from one of our swimming trips.


I know these goggles are ridiculous but oh my gosh she loves them and they totally crack me up.

Grayson and Maycie have both done so well swimming this year. They can both "dive" which isn't really diving, it's just swimming under water.

I LOVE TO GO SAILING...... Here are some fun pictures from our first sailing adventure with Grandma and Grandpa Rice

My dad is such an awesome Grandpa, he loves teaching the kids new things. They all
loved feeling like the Captain of the Ship for at least a couple minutes.

Oh Madi Bear you are just the cutest thing ever!

Enjoying the great outdoors

We were very anxious to get outside this summer. We had a VERY long winter and I felt like I couldn't have handled one more week of cold weather, so when it finally warmed up we did some fun things!

We hiked donut falls with the Moons and the Silver Lake with my Aunt Connie and Uncle Ken, and of course Grandma Rice.

Stadium of FIRE

Stadium of Fire was AWESOME.

Once again my sister invited me and to my surprise we were in the front row. No pictures of us together will be included in this post because we both look like poop in every one I took. Kym is the bestest!!!! Anyway it was an awesome show. We got to see Brad Paisley and David Archuleta perform. And as the pictures show we were right up close! I didn't include and pictures of Brad because my phone battery died right before he came out....sad sad day!

Flaming Gorge 2011

We took 2 pictures...that's it! So normally my favorite summer trip is to Flaming Gorge, but this year it was a little bit of a nightmare. We decided to camp with Jake and Manon which was fun when it wasn't raining but I think there was maybe a total of 10 hours without rain the whole 4 days! We tried to keep the kids dry but it was a joke. So instead of tanning, boating and crawdad fishing we hung out in the tent trying to stay dry, went and got ice cream, and took a tour of the Dam. Thank you Jake and Manon for being such great camping buddies!!!

I like to RUN.....................

I never thought that I would really like to run, but I do and I am totally
addicted! So here is the recap of my first races:


My first race was the Race for the Cure....not really a real race but it was such a great experience. We had a great time and its pretty safe to say I want to make it a traditon. I did it with Allison, Jessica and her kiddos, they lost their mother and Grandma to breast cancer and I was honored they invited me to come. We had a great time, but it was definantly a day filled with emotion, reading the shirts and signs of the people walking with us just humbled me. It is such a great cause and I can't wait to do it again.


Ok so there is a reason we both look blinded by the light...it was 3:30 AM, niether of us slept a wink and I was totally running on adrenaline. The Utah Valley Half Marathon was my first real race. We loaded the buses at 3:30 and drove up the canyon to the starting point. When we got up to the top I realized my first mistake I didn't take any Ibuprophen, which is a total staple when I run since I have bursitus and it tends to flare up, so after asking a nice lady we found some and moved onto the starting line, once there I took my GU...mistake number 2, don't take GU with caffiene if you haven't taken it before. It totally made me sick. I was so nauses as soon as we hit the 1st mile marker. Ahhh all of my training and I felt like all I wanted to do was barf. Anyway I am still not sure weither it was the GU or the after math of the stomah flu I had the week prior but I finished. My goal was to finish in under 2:20 we had to make a couple bathroom breaks, but after all was said and done we finished in 2:24 (I think). I really couldn't have done it without Allison, she kept me going and stopped with me on all of my potty breaks...lol, I have had 4 kids remember, my bladder isn't what it used to be :)

Double the Fun

This summer started out with an awesome party to celebrate Maycie turning 6 and my precious Madi turning 1! I still can't believe that a whole year has gone by. So to celebrate we decided on a hot pink and zebra print theme, you can't get much girlie than that! We really had a great time, it was perfect that my sisters were all in town to help celebrate. Thanks to the Smith Grandparents for letting us use your awesome yard! Did you see that cake? I have one talented sister. (thanks Dana)

Where do I begin?

I have been so overwhelmed with updating since we have been so busy. So I will do my best.

Is it summer yet?

We are dying to get outside and soak up the sun!

Running

Okay, so maybe this is a little crazy but I have signed up to do my 1st 1/2 marathon in June...when I think about it June it seems like a long time, then I look at the training schedule and I think oh man I am not going to be able to run that far in this short amount of time. So here is to hope....that I will find the time, and keep up with the training schedule. I have always wanted to run a marathon so I am grateful to have Allison who is willing to help me get there. She is awesome, really and WAY to nice, I really need her to kick my butt and tell me to keep going.

As for investing in my first real pair of running shoes..........ta da! I don't love the way they look, in fact they were my least favorite in the looks department (the picture is cuter than real life), but they fit like a dream and I am excited to start training in them.

Funny Bradley moment: At the store I went to they analyze your run to help you find the best shoe, anyway, after I ran for a couple seconds on the treadmill Bradley says, whoa mom I'm weally proud of you I didn't know you knew how to run on one of those fings.....

Bestroyed Bathroom

I woke up this morning to the kids practicing there oral hygiene.....ahhhhh with the dang blue mouthwash that finds all the places they missed when brushing their teeth! I am so annoyed this stuff is literally like food coloring in a bottle. I swear they conspire and discuss how they can make the hugest mess in the shortest amount of time. Seriously they must have put it in and spit it all over the floor, walls, mirror, and shower curtain. I am SO MAD! I asked Bradley why they like to destroy things, after he corrected me and told me it was "Bestroying" not destroying, I gave up.....someday I will have nice things, and my house will stay clean longer that 10 hours.......

Merry Valentimes!

"Merry Valentines day mommy, I really wuv you wots"......thats all I needed to hear to make it the best valentines day ever! Thanks Bradley!

It's Party Time

Allison and Adam


Rob and Michelle

The whole gang

Ok, since we don't have a huge house its always a little stressful having a lot of people over, so we kept it simple this year and had so much fun on New Years Eve. We played the Wii most of the time and pretty much the rest of the time we ate, and then ate some more. I really should have taken a picture of the ridiculous amount of food that we had. The friends we had over were so much fun. The kids played so well and eventually all of them (minus all 4 of my kids) crashed before midnight. This was the perfect way to bring in the new year, family, friends and yummy food!

My kids waited up to pop some "crackers" as Bradley called them. I think they were pretty bummed there were no fireworks that came out. I love that Bradley was so excited to go pop them he put on Maycie's rain boots.

Merry Christmas 2010!

The kids in their Christmas PJ's.

Smith Kid Cousins

We had so much fun this year on Christmas. Every year we go to Adams parents on Christmas eve and have a great dinner, open presents and my favorite part is the christmas program the kids put on. I love that the kids get to remember the true meaning of christmas.

Maycie got a uDraw for the Wii

Grayson get a Wii fit (which gets played all day everyday and has been a life saver this cold winter)

Bradley got Criss Cross Crash!

The next morning we woke up and had an awesome christmas morning at our house with the kids. They are all at such a fun age and were so excited to see what Santa had brought them. Santa brought me a Flip Video camera and that is why we have 1 picture of Maycie from our family christmas, most are short video clips and I haven't been able to figure out how to load videos onto blogger yet. On christmas afternoon we headed to my parents for round 3 of Christmas and had a great time. My parents, brother and sister were all there and we had a great time!

Dad Relaxing on Christmas

One of two pictures I took at my parents christmas

Maycie in her Christmas outfit

I got spoiled with a new serger, flip video camera and new pots and pans, it was a great christmas!

Winter Dance Recital

Maycie really did a great job, we are so proud of her hard work!

Thanksgiving 2010

Adam and Dad preparing the yummiest turkey! I love the intense look of concentration on their faces. That turkey was seriously delish!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year, It involved eating at both families houses on the same day which totally ended up leaving us stuffed! The food was awesome, this was the first time I can ever remember really enjoying the turkey. We ate first at Adams parents and then went to my parents for dinner. Of course the batteries in my camera ran out after these pictures which left me with no other pictures for the day :(

My favorite part of the day was these shirts I whipped up the night before for the kids to wear. These ideas always seem like they wont take long but the original thought was to have them done in an hour, 3 hours later, 2 matching hair bows and one tired mama they were finished and I think my little gobblers looked adorable in their matching shirts!

I love this picture, it shows all of their personalities perfectly!
Grandpa always has a yummy treat for the grandkids, this day it was dots ice cream.
Bradley did not want to take a picture...he is so naughty!

Its been too long!

It has been way to long since I last posted or blog hopped! I am making myself a promise to not get behind anymore. Sorry for the overwhelming amount of posts that will take place in the next couple days!