Happy 11th Anniversary...

WOW 11 years! Time has gone by so fast & I can't even remember a day without Tyler in it. Funny how that happens. Today we are celebrating our 11th anniversary. We made it this far...so it should be all down hill from here right? We have gone through some ups....and some downs but together we have made it through and are stronger together because of it. Along the way we have brought 3 beautiful children into this world and they have made us better people individually and as parents. I can't imagine life any different than it is right now. It just seems so perfect and complete. Yes there are still challenges and I am sure we will continue to have some ups and downs but over all life is GREAT.

I am so happy to be married to Tyler. He is the perfect man for me. He tells me often that he is the only man with enough patience to put up with me. LOL! I think he is right though. I am amazed everyday that Heavenly Father chose a dentist office for Tyler and I to meet. Everything leading up to us meeting wasn't just luck there was definitely some divine intervention. I am thankful for his integrity and his willingness to go the extra mile and serve others. He is such a great example to me. I couldn't have asked for a better father for my kids. I am thankful for anniversaries that help me remember how lucky I am to still be married. In this world where commitment doesn't seem to exist and "throwing in the towel" seems to be an easy option, I am happy that we have worked together to make our marriage strong.

Happy Anniversary Ty...I love you! I can't wait to see what the next 11 years has in store for us.

Father's Day

Yesterday was a GREAT day. I had all of my family over for Father's Day dinner. Thankfully it was nice enough that we could eat outside. It was great to be together and let the cousins play. They loved playing in the hammock and having grandpa swing them back and forth. I wish I would have taken a video of it cause it was so cute...but I didn't. The girls talked about meals for when we go to the cabin & we got that all planned out so that was good. We are all counting down the days until we go...we are ALL so excited!

Yesterday morning I got up before Ty and made him waffles with whipped cream & strawberries & bacon. This was a treat cause I usually don't get up first on Sunday mornings and I don't usually make such a fancy breakfast. But I know he likes big breakfast so he deserved and him & the kids LOVED it...and so did I. After church Tyler took a long much needed nap...totally uninterrupted. I made sure the kids were quite and stayed out of the bedroom. I know he appreciated it. All the while I was busy preparing things for dinner later that night. All the work was well worth it. Even though I didn't spend a lot of money on Tyler for Father's day, the little things I did meant more to him. Some kind words of affection expressing my appreciation to him meant more than any present I could have bought him. He is the BEST Father to our kids and the BEST husband for me. It never fails to amaze me how Heavenly Father knows exactly who the perfect match for us is. Even though Ty & I are so opposite we fit together so well. We are a match made in heaven! Happy Father's Day Tyler..I LOVE you!

(Really OLD picture of us together 2005 befor my high school reunion...but I still like it...and we haven't taken very many since then with just the 2 of us. Time to do that!)

A Small Vent...

So today I had a friend stop by with her kids and they stayed for a little visit. During the course of the visit the 5 year old says to me, "Jodi why don't you like xxxxx's mom?" She told me that her friend told her that I didn't like her friends mom. I then told her that wasn't true and she should tell the little girl that. Then I got to thinking...okay where has this little girl heard this from? And who in their right mind would say that to a 5 year old so she could go and tell all her little friends. Now if I am completely honest here what the little girls said is partially true. I don't dislike her mom, I just choose not to associate with her because of past experiences. It isn't like I'm not nice and cordial to this mom, but I just choose to distance myself from her. If I don't care for a person I certainly DO NOT tell my kids that so they can go and tell their friends. I was just kind of shocked at the immaturity of this mother to be speaking like that around her daughter who then goes and tells a daughter of a really good friend of mine. I know this is probably so confusing cause I am not using names...but that doesn't' matter. You get my point.

Sometimes I don't think we watch what we say around our kids enough. They seem to be little sponges and pick up on everything. I have noticed this a lot lately with Tyson. He will ask me questions about money cause he has heard me talking to Tyler about it. He will ask me how much $200 is and if that is enough for groceries. LOL! On one hand it is kinda cute how he is so concerned if we have enough money and on the other hand it makes me sad that he has over heard these types of grown up conversations. It bothers me that a 6 year old is concerned about our families finances. It has really made me take a step back and think about what I am talking about in front of my kids. I don't want to take away their childhood with adult concerns. I also don't think it is right that we put our opinions of people on our children. I have always said to Tyson in the morning before he goes to school, "Be a good friend to everyone." I really want him to follow this council. And until he is old enough to know how to handle adult situations and relationships I want him to always live by that rule.

So there is my little vent or rant for the day. Sorry to bore you to death, but I just wanted to get it off my chest and now I have...enough said about the subject!

I DID IT!

So race day has come and gone and I DID IT! What a beautiful day for the Ladies Fest 8km walk/run. It was a bit on the HOT side though...about 20 degrees when we started and about 24 when we ended...but I would WAY rather have it on the warm side than rainy...so I'm not complaining.

I can't describe how great I felt accomplishing this goal I had set out for myself. All through my growing up years I was NEVER good at sports! I was always picked last for any sports event. I remember dreading youth day (youth softball tournament in Cardston) every year cause I wasn't any good. I HATED P.E. which we had to take in grade 10, otherwise I would have opted out for sure. I have never been the exercising type either, always had better or more lazy things to do. I would very often be jealous of fit people who had the energy to exercise and still be a mom and take care of a household. Well now I can finally say that I chose a goal and I stuck TO IT! Another thing I haven't always been good at. I am so thankful to the girl who suggested we run the Ladies Fest. I am so proud and happy that I stuck to my goal instead of procrastinating or just settling for walking the race, although I think walking the race is an accomplishment too. I am happy that I had the motivation, and energy to "train" before the race instead of just trying it on race day. I am thankful for my husband who supported me and would quite often put the kids to bed so I could go for a run, or get Tyson off to school so I could go running early in the morning. I am thankful for the positive attitudes of everyone during the race. It didn't feel competitive at all and it was great to hear people's words of encouragement.


I am happy that I reached my goal of completing the race in under 1 hour. My official time was: 55:31 and I came in #272 out of 674. A great accomplishment for my 1st 8km race. I was also thrilled that Tiffany and I placed #10 in the sister's category.

Pre-race face.

I was so happy that Tyler made it into town in time to see me finish the race. I was happy for their support. The kids wanted to know if I had won. LOL! Carson was in tears when I told him I didn't win...so Tyler had to fib...and tell him I did. LOL!

And here is Tiffany (she will probably KILL me for putting this on here) but I want her to know how proud of her I am and happy that she accomplished this goal with me. It was great to have her support and encouragement.

So there is the recap of my 1st 8k race. Now I have set a goal to do a 10k in TWO weeks in Raymond. Any of you girls want to join me? I could always use a running partner. I may have to opt out of the 10k to the 5k though...we will see if I can bend my thighs tomorrow and if I am not as stiff. LOL!

Be Good To Your Feet...

I have been running for about the past 6 weeks in preparation for the 8k Ladies fest THIS Saturday! I have learned a few things while training. The number one most important thing is your feet. You have to wear proper comfortable shoes. Remember you are running for a long time and travelling over quite a few miles. I had a pair of running shoes that were relatively comfortable. The weren't expensive by any means. I thought they would do...well they didn't! After the toe nails on my big toes turned purple underneath and one was throbbing so badly I decided I needed to invest in a good pair of shoes. My toes were so sore I could hardly touch them. I even had to drill 2 holes in each one so the liquid could escape. It was so gross...but felt so much better once I drained them. So I bought these shoes and they are SO comfy, well worth all the $$.

They are Asics...and so awesome. It really is important to have the right equipment when you do anything, it makes the experience so much better.

Another piece of equipment I have picked up is this...the Nike Plus. It is so awesome. You connect it to you Ipod and it will calculate how far you have run, your pace, and your calories burned. I am the type of person that has to know what I am accomplishing and this handy little tool has been so worth the $. It plugs into your computer and keeps track of all your stats. It is great!

And of course I couldn't be without my PINK Ipod Nano. I have all my favorite tunes in there that help me stay motivated to put one foot in front of the other!

If any of you watched Biggest Looser this season they had to run a marathon and they were wondering how on earth they were going to do it. I heard one of the trainers say...the best way to run a marathon is to just RUN...one foot in front of the other. That is what I tell myself when my body feels like shutting down and stopping. It actually works.

I have set a few more running goals, some short term & long term. I have really enjoyed training for this 8k race and am so looking forward to it. Next I am going to do a 10K...and then on to a HALF marathon. So I guess over the summer I will be hitting the pavement LOTS with all my great equipment to get me though those longer runs to come.

Playing Catch Up...

It is totally amazing how much you can get done when you don't have a computer. I actually spent quality time with each of my kids (I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't do it often enough.) I got laundry done, books read, and played outside...LOTS. It was great. It made me realize just how much time I invest in the computer. It is such a WASTE of time! I know I need to use the computer on occasion...but to the excess that I do isn't really justifiable. So I am going to try my hardest to limit the amount of time I spend on here. I think I need to train my brain that the computer isn't working or in the shop getting fixed. LOL! Maybe that would help.

I am looking forward to this weekend as the boys have a Father & Sons camp out. The boys are SO excited...they have wanted to go camping since last September. LOL! It will be a good time for all 3 of them to be together. So I have a babysitter booked for Friday night and me and the girls are going to hit the town! Nothing like a little ME time.

I went to visit my parents on Sunday when Tyler was out of town. It was such a nice day. The kids were goofing around and came up with this crazy hat. They all looked so cute. Even grandma participated.