Memorial Day

We made the big switch today. We moved E&S to front-facing car seats. One of my mom's friends gave these to us and we're so glad! Sydney was screaming with excitement while Ethan was begging to get out--because he could see us. 

We took a drive to grandpa's grave and E&S gave him some tennis balls...we just had to convince them to leave them behind.

Rexburgonians

Not sure if that's a word, but it should be. Ethan, Sydney, and I took a trip to see my family in Rexburg this last weekend and left Doug at home to make some SERIOUS progress on his dissertation. I missed him a lot, but brought along my brother, Matt, for the journey. We had a great time. 

We stopped to see Steve and Megan in Pocatello on the way up and drop off a baby gift. So excited to meet baby Serra!  Wish I would've taken a photo because Megan is starting to show and it is so cute. I hopped in the back seat and fed E&S to save time during the drive. I climbed back to the front seat after I was done...a little haphazardly. They were pretty happy for the drive.

They had a blast with cousins and their kitty. So glad to spend some time with my sisters and their families! Thanks for letting us come on such short notice.

Marathoner

Doug and I have been in the workout mode and loving the outdoors. Now that our half marathon is behind us, I've started P90X and Doug bailed on me to train for a marathon. He plans to run in July and takes Ethan and Sydney for his long runs. I don't know how he does it for 15+ miles pushing a jogger, but I'm grateful I can get a few things done while my family is all 'on the road'.

We love visitors

We have had some great visitors this week! For some strange reason, we didn't get a photo of Doug's brother, Jeff, with Ethan and Sydney when he came over for dinner Saturday night. We did, however, get a photo of what he left behind. Ethan and Sydney were a little timid about the monkey and panda he brought them. Apparently they needed him to leave so they could show how much they loved them! They have been carrying them around the house.

Yes, they are carrying them because they are both officially walking!! They both look so proud of themselves everywhere they go. It's just plain adorable. They haven't given me a run for my money yet, but I am gearing up for it. I started P90X this week and am really loving it. Wish I wasn't so sore, but I am realizing that I am stronger than I thought I was. I 'curl' both E&S from a dead lift so many times each day, I am going to have to buy more dumbells with heavier weight. Craziness!

Also this week, Doug's sister, Michelle, joined us for dinner. She read a book to them and I nudged Doug to snap a few photos. It was a sweet photo opportunity.

We love visitors!

Sydney Lou Who

My friend, Kayla, stopped by and threw Syd's hair in two pigtails in about 1 minute and I was smitten. She was so adorable.

Kayla mentioned that she looks like a 'who' from Dr. Seuss in this photo and she is exactly right! This is Syd's new favorite facial expression (and my least favorite). Ironically, I call her Sydney Lou Who often!

I am loving this stage of their lives! They are both walking (not very far and they can take their time!) which is amazing. So fun.

We are having dance parties everyday now where we turn up the music and Doug and I dance with each of them...they LOVE it.

Weekend Celebrations

Friday-Saturday: Can't believe that Doug and I have been married for 5 years. It has flown by and I am so glad to be married to my best friend. My parents watched our kids and we stayed in Salt Lake for the night. It felt great to sleep through the night, but we were so excited to see E&S Saturday afternoon. 

Sunday: Mother's Day! Wow, did I get the royal treatment. It started with me sleepin in and then breakfast in bed (Doug brought it in with Ethan and Sydney). Doug is all about presentation--homemade strawberry syrup (using real maple syrup...yum) with strawberries, blackberries, and whipped cream on top. Delish!

Great mother's day!  Happy Mother's day to my mom also. She amazes me.

Race Day

We did it! It was fridged...down right freezing (literally). There was about an inch of snow on the ground at our house when we left and the temperature was around 30 degrees. We were there just 4 minutes before the race was supposed to start and I needed to get my watch on, ipod on, timing chip on, and bib on. When Doug was helping get my bib on (my fingers were so cold they weren't working) the man with the microphone said, "If you're bib #594, we have your timing chip". Yup--me. Well, in true Heather style, I enlisted the help of strangers...I just chose the right strangers! It ended up that the man getting my timing chip on me was the person in charge of the entire race and he determined when the race would begin. So, the 800+ runners who were a little irritated that the race started a few minutes late can thank me.

Well, the race started and I had a few set backs (two bathroom stops--yikes!) and the course was so tough. We ran 6 miles of the golf course with rolling hills--steep up and steep down over, and over, and over, and over.  It was painful and I pushed myself so hard to reach my 2 hour goal, but didn't really come close. I finished in 2:10:84. After training at sub-ten minute miles I kept the tradition alive with an average of 9:59 miles. I figure I lost about 7-8 minutes with my bathroom stops, but what do you do??

Doug met me at the finish line saying "that was a tough course!" and I felt validated. He finished in 1:52 and both of us were freezing once we'd stopped running for 5 minutes. My mom and Christine brought Ethan and Sydney to the finish line to see us (thanks Mom for watching our kids).  I was so excited to see them after such a tough race. Doug's sister Michelle ran the race as well and we had to make sure we got a photo with her. 

After the raffles we found this sign and wanted to take a photo. I was grateful for all my layers (2 shirts, 2 pair of pants) for the raffles.  It was so cold.

Thanksgiving Point gave all racers 2 passes for the day to their Dinosaur museum, Farm Country, and Gardens. We were happy to be indoors at the dinosaur museum and thaw out. We were glad Grandma could join us and play. We had a great time with her.

Sydney was in awe of the huge fish that were on the ceiling in one exhibit.

They both loved playing in the water and sand in the excavating exhibit.

Not sure why I appear to be freaking out in this photo except that I was sore and holding him was taxing. I felt disgusting with dried sweat on me until I showered at 2:30 pm. I even wore my medal the entire time because it was under my jacket (see the green ribbon).

So glad we ran the course and got to share the adventure with Ethan and Sydney. We just wished we could've had them in the jogger. Doug, Michelle, and I all spotted another guy with a single jogging stroller and were frustrated we didn't have our cute kids with us. It was a tough enough course though...Doug might be grateful.