The Month of June

Well, our fun filled month of summer vacations is done, and we are finally getting a day of rest.
It started off with running my (Elizabeth) first half-marathon on June 14th. It was such an awesome experience. I ran it at Bear Lake in Utah/Idaho which had great scenery. I loved running in such a rural area where there was nothing but farms, greenery, and a beautiful lake. It made me feel so free...after about 6 miles I felt like I was Forest Gump running across the nation on completely rural roads. Everything went smoothly the first 10 miles, but the last three were definitely the hardest. Overall it was a great experience to have before my marathon. We left for Colorado the same day as my race. To anyone thinking about running a long distance race--never, I repeat never, sit in a car for 8 hours immediately after running your race. It is not a nice thing to do to your body.

We got to spend a week in Colorful Colorado having fun with our wonderful family. We ate great food (and put on a few pounds), swam lots, and (one of my favorites) we played quidditch. Audrey had to know where Papou was at all times, and Derek and his cousin Logan were train gurus.

Then we only had a few days at home to rest, unpack, and repack before California. The month of June was definitely a good one.

Half-Way Through Summer Camp

It is July and our summer camp has begun. It is just like old times when I was the little kid pointing to my name on the picture Mama painted to welcome us.

We are half-way through summer camp, and we are having such a great time! We have gone to the beach, to Disneyland, swam, watched fireworks, done crafts, and had lots and lots of playing.

Of course Disneyland has been the highlight so far. Derek loved riding on the flying Dumbo ride, the "okey-dokey" ride (translation: the Pinocchio ride), and the merry-go-round, while Audrey loved Winnie the Pooh, the tea cups, and watching Tinkerbell fly around the castle.

Derek especially is having the time of his life. He wants to play all day with his cousins. Before he goes to bed at night he says, "we have to go to bed so when the sun is awake I can play with Devon."

Although we miss Daddy tons, we are so excited for another fun filled week! Thank you Nana for being such an awesome Summer Camp Director!

Day Out With Thomas

It was a month-long countdown to the big day out with Thomas. Every day, and multiple times each day, Derek would say, "I going to see Thomas at my bertday party," and Audrey would chime in with, "and Sir Toppy Hat (translation-Sir Topham Hat)!"

Thomas pulled us in "Annie" and "Clarabell" (the passenger cars) through the countryside. We listened to and sang Thomas theme songs the whole train ride. It was great.

We got cool tatoos too! Derek's favorite is Emily (hmm...one of the only girl engines on the show) and Audrey's favorite character is Harold the helicopter.

And of course we met head of the railway, "Sir Toppy Hat." We were surprised that Audrey got nervous for how excited she was to meet him.

After listening to stories, watching movies, playing with different Thomas and Friends train sets, and having lunch while listening to the Sizzling Strings band (which was...interesting) we went to the little gift shop and let the kids each pick out a new train. Then off to see the star of the show, THOMAS!

Then came the birthday party! Christian and I got creative and tried to make a Thomas cake. Derek thought it looked like him...so I guess it wasn't too bad. This day [filled with Thomas, trains, and a birthday party] was a dream come true for Derek.

Miniature Cherries

I have been so excited about all the spring


blossoms and miniature fruit appearing like


magic around here. I especially love the miniature


cherries and grapes. This world is a beautiful



thing, and I am so happy to finally live in a house

where I can fully enjoy it!

Along with the budding fruit, we have also enjoyed
our jungle of dandilions!

The Boy Loves Thomas!!!

Derek got new Thomas the Tank Engine underwear (for potty training purposes). When we got home he put them on (his bottom and his head), and danced and jumped and sang. He's in love! He ran around inside, danced in them, ran around outsite, played in them, and then he wet them (so sad).



Shortly after the joyous underwear hour, Derek thought it would be lots of fun not to wear anything at all. I didn't know this--as I was getting the mail--until I saw my little boy running down the street in the nude. Neighbors shouted "we've got a streaker" as he made is way down the street with me chasing behind. This kid has spunk!

Dirty Derek

A few hours after church on Mother's Day, we were relaxing in the kitchen when Elizabeth realized that Derek was nowhere to be found. We assumed he had gone out to play in the backyard, but when Elizabeth went to search for him she had trouble finding him at first. That was because his brown church clothes blended very well with the brown dirt surrounding him in our newly plowed garden. He was so excited to dig in the dirt!

10 Mile Milestone

For the last three weeks or so I have been having problems with my knees and calves, so I took my running shoes back and had my running re-analyzed. I found out I had been running in the wrong type of shoes and that they were the source of my injuries. I gladly handed over my expensive injury-causing shoes and went home to try out some comfy new Nike shoes. They worked great. Who knew that a shoe could cause such problems?

With happy legs and 31/2 months of training I finally reached the ten mile milestone, and it felt awesome! After being at 8 miles or under for that long, and my half-marathon (13.1 miles) being about a month away, I was starting to wonder if I really could pull it off. However, once I finished ten miles of hills, and realized that I was a little sore but not crawling on the ground, my confidence was majorly boosted. Ten seems to be a magic number...if you can do ten miles then why not three more?

So what goes on inside your head as you are running for 2 hours? Well, as I ran my ten miles I decided that running long distances is very much like having a newborn baby. Only, instead of using all of your brain power to figure out what your baby needs, you use all of your brain power to keep your body happy and moving and injury free. It really was a lot of fun. I particularly liked having an excuse to eat a yummy energy bar while I was running...If you have never experienced that liberation I highly reccomend it.

In short, if running ten miles was this empowering then I can't wait to know how the full 26.2 will feel! (I just found out that I got into the St. George Marathon--so if anyone wants to come-run or cheer-it is on October 4th).