My First 5K

A couple months back my little sister asked me if I wanted to start training to run a half marathon with her. It's one of those things on my bucket list so I agreed to it. Well, we decided we needed some motivation so last weekend on 9/11 we ran the Candlelighters 5K. I had no idea what to expect. I didn't expect that I would totally get sucked into it and love every moment but I did! I loved the hype, and the crowds of runners, I loved the competition and I loved the feeling of crossing the finish line! I had a runner's high all weekend long! I will definitely be doing another race soon!

The start and finish line:

Me and Snuff:

Where's Waldo? Can you find me?

Crossing the finish! Woohoo!

Official time 30:58, not bad for an old lady and her first race, haha!

Cole FINALLY Lost a Tooth!

This is a scrapbook page I made to commemorate this HUGE event in Cole's life. The journaling reads:

Cole has been waiting a very long time for his first missing tooth. It fell out at 6:27 a.m. on the 4th day of 2nd grade. Cole proclaimed it to be the most exciting thing to happen in his life this far!

First Day of 2nd Grade!

Ahhhh, the first day of school! It seemed to come quicker this year! But I think we were ready! This year Cole is a 2nd Grader! Wow!

A couple of things a 2nd grader needs for the first day of school are cool new Skechers!

A new Star Wars backpack and lunchbox!

And breakfast in front of the computer? (I pick my battles...)

Of course I had to snap the traditional photo in front of the house...

And one by the car (and yes, they are drinking Dr Pepper at 7:45 in the morning but it's caffeine free)...

And one last quick picture in front of the school since Cole won't permit me to bring the camera onto the playground and embarrass him.


I got a good report from Cole after school. This year he gets to be "Cole F." since there are 2 Coles in his class, he likes his teacher and they had blue cupcakes. Yay!

One Last Hurrah!

With school starting Monday (Aug 23rd) I was beginning to feel the urge to squeeze in one last fun adventure before it was back to the grind! We only had a small window of time to work with so we decided a "staycation" was the perfect idea. I booked our family a suite out at Lake Las Vegas and surprised the kids with the news of our mini vacation.

The hotel is surrounded by gorgeous scenery and has two pools, a water slide and a beach. The boys (and Mom and Dad) had so much fun playing on the beach and building sandcastles and taking multiple runs down the water slide.

It was the perfect way to end our summer vacation!

Carson Can Swim!

Remember this picture from earlier this summer? The one where Carson refused to go to swimming lessons...


Well look at him now!

A Rainy Sunday Afternoon

What do two little boys do on a rainy Sunday afternoon?

They strip down and run outside to float sticks and leaves down the gutter and jump in as many puddles as they can find!

Of course in true Las Vegas fashion, our fun summer rainstorm lasted about 10 minutes, but the boys made the most of it and had a blast!

*click to view larger

Flooded

The boys left the hose on all night long and we woke up to find our sandbox completely submerged. Carson thought it was great, like having a second swimming pool. What a muddy mess! There is never a dull moment around our house.

Legoland

Last week we surprised the boys with a trip to Legoland! We left on Wednesday morning, the boys were so excited, they are totally obsessed with Legos, so this was definitely going to be fun for them. I got them matching Lego shirts to wear, had them pose for a quick picture and then we hopped in the car for the 5 hour drive.

(The photos are in no particular order because blogger makes me c-r-a-z-y!!!)

The main gate...

Riding the duplo train...

Cole and his hero: George Washington...

No more photos...

Mommy and Cole by the wishing well...

Carson and his "delicious ice cream"...

This ride was for 4 yrs old and up so we told a white lie so Carson could ride..

Carson inside a shark...

Carson at driving school...

Inside the fire truck...

Cole posing by the mini Las Vegas...

Waiting for the 4D movie...

Oh no! Cole is being swallowed by a lion...

Now Carson...

***(More photos on facebook)***

Take A Hike

Saturday I had the opportunity to go on a fun 6 mile hike with the Young Women in our ward. We met bright and early and headed up to Lee Canyon to hike the Bristlecone trail.

Our group right before starting the hike...

Cute beehives in a tree...

That would be me...

Hooray! We made it all the way to the end!

It was a really gorgeous day, the views were incredible and the girls all had great attitudes. What a fun way to spend a Saturday morning.

Seven!

Today this boy is 7!

Seven?

Already?

It's gone by fast!

He celebrated with a party a couple of weeks ago at Chuck E Cheese and today he opened presents from the family, will have lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings and enjoy a night out on the town without his little brother bugging him.

We are grateful this little man joined our family 7 years ago today!