Update Needed!

Well I was consistently updating the blog for a while there.  This is our family's digital journal, and it's what we love to look back on.  With so much to get caught up on, I'll get right to the photos.

We had some friends over for dinner one night.  We don't see them often but, when we do, it's so fun watching all the girls play together.  

hiking in Millcreek Canyon on a beautiful fall day

I love watching the girls explore.

Abby even walked around in the (cold) water.  This girl.  I'm still trying to figure her out!

A free puzzle in our teacher's lounge has turned out to be a huge hit with the girls.

just doing some exercises...

hangin' with friends at our Fall Festival...yes, Abby is wearing snow boots and no...it wasn't snowing.

We haven't seen many moose around this summer but, when we do, it never gets old.

Emma amazes me each and every day.  She decided to design and (help Andy) make her own stained glass.  Finished product to come...

We have had such an amazing and beautiful fall.  We take every chance we can to get out on hikes.

This girl and puddles...

Andy played in the No Name Saloon annual golf tournament with his 2 uncles (Jim and Rick) and a family friend (Bear).

We got our first snowfall...but it didn't last too long.

Emma loves having me pack her seaweed in her lunches.  This mama is not complaining.

We've had some chilly soccer games.

Proud mom moment right here...

I'm not kidding when I say the evening I ran my first half marathon Andy was asking me when I was going to do the next one.  In my head I'm thinking, "What?!" but my stubborn self got on the computer the next weekend and researched other half marathons in Park City.  There just so happened to be a half marathon on October 8th.  It was The Pink Series, which raises money and awareness for breast cancer.  My friend and running buddy, Amy, has been through it twice so we both signed up!  

It was a chilly morning at the start line--28 degrees!

 We felt amazing!!  (And we took 20 minutes off our time.)

fort-making time

Luckily, Emma's last day of soccer was a beautiful one!

Emma wanted to use some of the money she has saved up in her piggy bank to buy herself a cot for camping.  We ended up getting the kids' cots that can be made into bunk beds (picture to come).  She helped purchase the cots (online) and then we counted out enough money so she could pay for half.  She is so proud of herself (and Andy and I are two very proud parents).  

She was so excited about it that she wanted to sleep on it the night we got it.

Andy and I got out on a hike together.  It was a little windy but it was so fun to go on one of the hikes we used to always take Cooper on when we first moved to Park City.

It's pumpkin-picking time!

We had our annual pumpkin carving party last night.  It's always such a fun time!

13.5 What?

Phew, these last couple of weeks have been CRAZY!  As I have mentioned, I was down and out over the entire Labor Day weekend, about the same time that Andy was hit with a 2-week sinus something or other.  Then, Abby was out for a day because she got sick one morning (on me, I might add).  The next day, Emma stayed home because she was not doing well and felt like she was going to get sick. Right when I think we're in the clear, Abby gets the croup...again...and is out for 2 days.  Good gravy!
Add on meetings just about every day after school, organizing who is taking Emma to soccer and Abby to swimming lessons.  Oh, and I forgot about snack for soccer and snack for Emma's class. (They eat lunch at 10:40 and that makes for a long afternoon.)  Did I mention I head up the teacher appreciation (including teachers' birthdays) at Abby's school and the social committee at our school? Oh yeah, and then I just applied to be the liaison between our school and the Park City Education Foundation.  Only 2 more weeks of soccer and 5 more weeks of swimming and then we'll have a break before ski lessons start.  Speaking of...

We got our first snowfall this past Friday.

Going back a couple of weeks...Andy and I went to the Utah vs. BYU football game.  This is the madness that happens when you cross the street (diagonally) to the stadium.

It was perfect football weather!

After the game (Utes won, thank goodness) they allowed people to go down onto the field.

I missed the photo opp. but Andy got a high five from the head coach.

One day, I came home to this note.  It says, There's an envelope on the fridge.  Please turn it over. Please.  Thanks Mommy.

the envelope...

This is what was inside...melt my heart!

Abby is making small progress with her swimming lessons.  During her last lesson she started using her arms to do ice cream scoops.

On this particular day, she was all about pushing the doll around on the kick board.  It's not even her doll...

I was super impressed with Abby's picture of our family.  The "scribbles" in the middle are our beds.

This is Emma's math homework nowadays...it's all in Spanish!  Since she receives all of her math instruction in Spanish, her homework is in Spanish, as well.  It's definitely a challenge for her but, out of the blue, she will say something like, "Mom, did you know xxxx is Spanish for xxxx."

This was the scene around our school about a week ago.  The junior high next door to our school suffered two tragedies within 3 days.  Two 8th grade boys (best friends) passed away within days of each other.  The reason has not yet been determined but there has been a lot of talk about a super scary drug called "pink."  News crews were all over the story for a few days.

Last weekend was the BIG one!  The half marathon that I have been training for since March took place last Saturday and it was the perfect day for a 13.5 mile run (it was a little more than a half). And...even with my sickness a couple weeks back and Amy's anaphylactic shock a couple weeks ago (while on a run...scary!!) we still beat our goal and completed the run in 2 hours and 45 minutes.  I think I can see myself doing another half... It was such an amazing feeling to finish a race with an 1,100 foot elevation gain. Amy and I *may* have gotten a little emotional at the end.

I don't have enough pictures to do a whole post about our basement remodeling project so here is the latest.  Andy got all of the rock off the fireplace and the dry walling and painting are completed in the T.V. room.

Don't Get Too Comfortable

Something hit me...hard...last weekend.  My Labor Day weekend was pretty much useless because I spent most of my time laying horizontal on the couch.  No energy.  No appetite.  No running.  Ugh.
I really didn't feel "normal" again until Wednesday and, even then, I couldn't get myself to pound the pavement...quite yet.

Don't get too comfortable.  You won't need to put your feet up for this post...not too much to share from the past week.

 Last Sunday, when I thought I was feeling up to it, and just wanted to get out of the house, we ventured up to Oktoberfest at Snowbird.

It finally happened.  Emma lost her first tooth!

Last night, we went to a quaint little bookshop called The King's English (co-owned by Andy's 2nd cousin) to see Mac Barnett, the author of one of our all-time favorite books Extra Yarn.  We invited Emma's friend, Barbara, to come with us since she gave Emma the book a few years ago.

dinner at Caputo's

The girls were so cute, following along in their books as he read.

It really is amazing to hear an author read his/her own book (not even having to look at the book to read it, of course).

 Each of the girls had him sign a book.

reading with Nana in front of the bookshop

Yay!!  I finally got out on a run this morning.