YAY, I'm Alive!

I took the day off of church today (a few of you may have noticed my struggling husband in sacrament with the 2 older kiddos) because I am in pain. Its a good pain though! I am just saying yay for me for finally completing the Gilmore Adventure Race yesterday! This was my 3rd year doing it. The first year we were totally lost in the woods and had to quit, last year we were a few miles short of finishing but the race was called off due to horrible weather. But this year we did it!!! It took us 7 hours and 30 miles or so, but we finished and I am soooo happy!! No serious injuries other than bruises and scratches from all the bush whacking, but I didn't fall off my bike once and some of those trails were pretty gnarly (such an 80's word, I love it). Now that I've done that I kind of don't have any plans for the rest of the year. So I am letting you all know, not to brag, but if I tell you I have someone to report to.... I'm signing up to do the PF Chang's Marathon in January. There, I said it. AHHHHH! Yes, 26.2 miles and I'm scared!! Scared bad. I really don't like to run, but I just want to see if I can do it. Just something I want to check off of my "things to do in this life" list. Anyhoo, as soon as I get some pictures of Adventure Race, I'll post them for you all.

Tagged

About my guy:
1. Where did you meet? At one of those silly Young single adult parties. I guess those things are good for something once in a while
2. How long did you date before you were married? Six months
3. How long have you been married? 6 ½ years
4. What does he do that surprises you? He wears Cologne when we go out on dates once in a while. That's always a nice surprise
5. What is your favorite feature about him? His torso, I won't go into details why.
6. What's your favorite quality about him? He is very loyal and dedicated to his family. In fact he is very dedicated to any task he is given and he always works hard to make sure things are done right.
7. Does he have a nickname for you? Tina-weena (no one better repeat that!) or wifey
8. What is his favorite color? Red
9. What's his favorite food? Steak.
10. What's his favorite sport? He loves all sports, but his favorite is basketball
11. Who said I love you first? I think I did, I can't remember
12. When and where was your first kiss? It was at that very same young single adult party. He was pretty smooth back then
13. What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? We just like to be alone. Driving, dating, talking, anything with peace and quiet!
14. Do you have any kids? How Many? yes, 3 kids
15. What is a hidden talent that he has? I think his hidden talent would be dancing. He's always dancing in front of the mirror. He thinks he's good too!
16. How old is he? 30
17. What is his favorite type of music? He likes mostly rock, country and punk. Isn't that a weird mix?!?!?
18. What do you admire most about him? He does anything for our marriage. He always says sorry and puts up with my crap. I am a pretty demanding wife, and he keeps me happy. That is admirable.
19. Do you think he is going to read this? He doesn't even know how to get in to the blog. So probably not.
I'm tagging Caroline, Kelli, Marianne and Alisa

Quote of the day

Nolan "Mom, when Coulson turns into a girl I want to marry him."

Not enough time in the day

I had good intentions to post something but just wasn't sure if there was anything interesting enough going on. Now that last week is over with I feel much better. For any who didn't know, last week was nuts. I was working a lot and I had to plan the Relief Society opening social activity and to top it all off I was asked to speak in church. Whew! I did take some funny pictures though. I thought I would share.Amber was kind enough to let me borrow her bumbo chair. As soon as I brought it in the house the kids thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever seen. They are not convinced it is for the baby. They apparently think its a TV chair. Luckily Madison was at school when this picture was taken. Otherwise there would have been a huge fight over it.

Okay, this is a slide show of events. Nolan was quietly playing at the table, when Madison pranced in and said "How would you like to dance with a fair young maiden my handsome prince?" She was being so goofy that Nolan, being a boy, can't resist being goofy. He got down from the table and they danced the ballroom dance. Until...

Madison lost her footing and fell over. I love when she gets hurt how Nolan just stares at her and waits for a reaction.

The mean scowl. Then without skipping a beat the ballroom dance turns into a wrestling match. Where do kids get their energy???
The other night we had a movie night. Judd and I came into the living and saw that they'd invited their friends.

He does exist and he smiles too. I swear with all of the other stuff going on that Coulson gets the cold shoulder. Poor Guy. I haven't put a picture of him in for so long. Here he is.

He found his thumb.

The stare
No mama can resist a smiling baby

Meet Jeremy

For the past couple of days Madison has been playing with the boys at school. She said she is on the boy team and what they do is chase the girls around the playground. She thinks it is no longer cool to be a girl. This morning I told her to go and get dressed and she got dressed into her brother's clothes. She wouldn't wear a bow in her hair, she didn't even want to bring her girl back pack. This was our argument:

"I only want to wear boy clothes! Can you go to the store and get me some?"

"No Madison, I'm not going to the store today, and besides, your girl clothes are just fine. You don't need new ones."

"I don't want to wear girl clothes!! I want to be a boy. I don't like girls, they scream and act all ignoring (annoying)"

"Heavenly Father made you a girl, its okay to like boy things but you're still a girl."

"No I'm not, my name is Jeremy, I'm a boy and that's final!" (she actually said that)

"Fine, Jeremy, what would you like for lunch?"

Okay, so I gave up! That is very out of character for me. She is taking this really serious. I'm worried. I didn't think they started in on this tomboy phase so soon! Sounding the Alert! I need all of my friends with little girls to have her over for a play date STAT. Call me.

This is her in her boy outfit. She's very happy about it.

My Real Life Fairy Tale

Okay, for any of you who don't know, I am absolutely obsessed with the movie Pride and Prejudice. I have to get my fix at least once a week. Watching that movie makes me so happy!!! I even make the kids watch it and every time I put it on Madison says "Not Mrs. Darcy again!" I think its growing on them now too. Well tonight I decided to watch it again and Judd always goes in the other room because he says its...Gay (how'd you guess) as the movie ends and the incredibly handsome Mr. Darcy is kissing Lizzy, I just think, "wow, if only I could be that way when Judd kisses me." (for some reason I can't take him seriously in moments when he's trying to be romantic) Anyway, I finish watching it and I am smiling and happy and just feeling the romance. I dance my way into the bathroom with a big cheesy grin on my face, imagining that I am in a real life romance novel, and as I turn the corner... the friggin toilet seat was left up! Dang it, feeling of romance squashed! "Judd you left the stinking toilet seat up again!" Maybe I expect a lot. I am a demanding wife, I know, but come on. Where is the love?!?!

Quotes of the day

Madison

This morning was just one of those typical mornings when Madi wakes up and decided everything is going to be a fight. She keeps wearing her old shoes to school, even though I bought her new ones that she picked out herself, but still insists on wearing the old ones that are too small. They've been giving her blisters on her feet that she whines about. I've hidden them, but she still seems to find them. So this morning she comes out with those raggedy old shoes on, despite me, I'm sure, and shows them off.

"Madison, you shouldn't wear those, they gave you blisters yesterday, they're too small" I say, trying to be sensitive, walking on eggshells due to her mood. (I wonder if this is what my husband feels like around me :)
What comes next... stomp, stomp, huff, puff etc...
Well I go to talk to her in her room and she has her children's hymnbook tape playing and she's drawing a picture of me being mean, (which apparently happens often considering the amount of pictures I have that say "Bad Mommy") and she pouts...
"You don't love me! You don't think I'm a child of God"
It was too cute not to laugh. Of course I consoled her. Poor thing.


Nolan:
Today I took Nolan to the museum for youth. The exhibits were pretty lame. There was an exhibit about table manners which he definitely wasn't interested in. He's a little boy, I can hardly get him to eat with a fork! The other exhibit was a Dia De los Muertos exhibit, which in case you don't know means Day of the Dead in Spanish, kinda like the Mexican Halloween. There were skulls and crosses and I just didn't want to go in there because it creeped me out. Well he caught a glimpse and was like "cool, Halloween stuff!" so we had to look. At the very back of the place was this life sized skeleton that they dressed up like a little kid and he was sitting on a bike. Nolan went to check him out, and turns to me totally serious and says
"Mom, we better find a way outta this place in case this guy comes alive"
It was so funny. That kid watches too much Scooby Doo.
Just another adventure in Mommyhood. I wouldn't trade this for the world... most days!

Golf is no longer an "old man sport"

I took Madison with me to go golfing this morning. Boy, was it an eventful day! We met my dad and my mother in law at the golf course. There was the perfect amount of us to have 2 people per cart and Madison sure loves to cruise around with papa on the golf course. But when we were beginning to tee off on the first hole, a guy that worked there asked if a man could join our party. We didn't care, but he was going to ride with my dad in his cart and this upset Madison. If any of you know my dad you know that he is a big man, and this guy was not small to say the least. He was a goofy guy though, and of course he became one of Madison's best friends in no time. She insisted on riding with them, so it looked so funny to see tiny Madison smashed between these big guys cruising in the golf cart. Right away she ended up chasing a baby bird that couldn't fly, so that kept her entertained for about 10 minutes. Then a coyote ran right by us with half of his breakfast in his mouth, disgusting. She then made it her job to be the score keeper and started giving papa scores of 30 or 17. She quickly got the hint that a zero was a good score. So there were lots of those... but not for me, I played like crap, but that's beside the point. Before papa would hit she said "get a bird papa", in which she meant birdie and drew a picture of a bird on the score card. He was happy about that one. She also got in some good practice, but wasn't very patient. She would try to hit the ball with the club and miss then she would throw her club, stomp off and pout. Just like here mama!! The best was when I let her drive the golf cart. She had fun with that one. We swerved all over the place and almost threw Grandma overboard. Other than the heat, the horrible sun burn and the crappy score, we still had a great time. I did learn one thing... 18 holes of golf is a lot more entertaining when you bring a 5 year old along. She sure did take a huge nap afterwards. The moral of this story, for any ladies with husbands who golf... make them take a kid next time. See what they say, it will be funny. Madison and Papa checking out the hopping bird
Madison doing more exploring

Madi being silly, note the big guys in the background
Kinda hard to see, but these were the hot ladies on the golf course. Yes... that's Judd's mom, I know she looks like she's 20 years old, but its really his mom.

Moody Madi

This is a picture of Madison when she was 3. Just more proof that this probably began at birth.

Madison is 5 going on 16. That girl has too much attitude for one little person. I guess that its just typical of being the oldest girl. Today, for instance, we were practicing reading and she starts to get really lazy and want me to read for her. She gets all dramatic and slouches and convulses, makes weird faces and even stranger noises.

"I don't want to read anymore, its too boring. I never want to read again!" she whines.

me-"Well how are you ever going to learn or have an imagination? What about your I love Dad shirt? you won't even know what it says anymore, what about...."

"Mom, would you be quiet?!?!?! I'm trying to focus!" she says in the snobbiest tone possible.

Or this

"mom, can I play on the computer?"

"As soon as your toys are picked up"

Stomp, stomp, huff, puff, eye roll, mean face and hands on hips all at the same time.

You gotta love girls.

Little Blabber Mouth

Quote of the day:
Nolan is so funny. He came up to me and said all of this in a rush with hardly a breath in between sentences.
"I love you mom, and I love dad too. If I had an I love mom shirt and an I love dad shirt I would wear my I love mom shirt first and my I love dad shirt second, because I just love you. You are so pretty. I love Coulson too. He's so little and cute. But I can't hurt him, If I hurt him the Lord will say (in a deep voice) "don't do that Nolan" so I can't hurt my baby brother, but he's still cute and little"
Holy moly I don't know how his brain works that fast. I was exhausted just listening to it.

Super Dad

Judd has done this with the kids since they were tiny. As the months go by and they get bigger his push ups get fewer and fewer. He'd better start hitting the weights a lot heavier so he's ready for Coulson!

Nutritious and Delicious Breakfast

A couple of nights ago the kids told me that they were going to make me breakfast the next morning. That had me a little worried because I know how big of a schemer Madison can be. Those kids wake up every day at 5:30 in the morning!!! 5:30 people!!! So I knew that there would be no way to stop them if they had their minds made up, and they don't forget anything they commit to doing. I would be snoozing and they would be destroying my kitchen quietly and there's nothing I could do about it. Anyway, all of my fears were for no reason because they actually didn't make a mess and I was able to wake up to this beautiful nutritious breakfast. There's nothing better than a twix, a crusty day old bread stick some crackers and a pear. Its the thought that counts!

The Puzzle Master

This is my little Nolan man. I don't know where this kid gets his patience from. We have a lack of that in our family. A few times I've noticed it being really quiet in my house and I get concerned that Nolan's up to some mischief. I go looking for him ready for some type of altercation but there he is sitting at the table doing a puzzle. He has started doing 100 piece puzzles all by himself. He'll sit there for an hour just putting it together without whining or complaining. Madison as you know is more like me. She can't even do a 24 piece with out throwing a few pieces or stomping off.

Here's a picture of my big boy.

YAY, I have routine again!

This is my mini marathon post for the last week

First.

This past week has been fabulous! I feel like I have my life back again. I don't know how all you moms with older kids survive over the summer. Madison is in all day kindergarten so my days have been so mellow. I get the boys to take naps at the same time, I get my quite time and I get to run my errands. Whew!!! I love school! She is so glad to be back in school...(I wonder if its because most of her summer time was spent shacked up due to a new baby and her loss of interest in the long drawn out wars with Nolan) and she likes her teacher. She came home on Friday with an interesting story

"My teacher told me to be careful with my scissors and only use them on paper. One time a little girl was using her scissors and cut her tongue off and had to get it stitched back on"

I don't think this is a true story, but I don't think I'll have to worry about Madison accidentally cutting her tongue off while working on a project. Maybe one day I will if she grows up to be an emo. Sorry, that was random

Second.

After a few days of neglecting my home and family I finished reading Breaking Dawn and I am so sad. What do I have to look forward to? My mini vampire fantasy had ended. Don't worry, this post contains no spoilers. I thought it ended perfectly. A little strange in some places though but still, what more could you ask for from a book about a hot, rich vampire and his wacko girlfriend? Bella did start to get annoying and I can't imagine taking much more of her, so I'm happy its finally over. Now I need a new book, anyone have any suggestions????

Third.

I did another adventure race yesterday. It went really well. I only thought about passing out and dying about 10 times. I did it with Clint and Marianne and they are both in super good shape so I was totally slowing them down on the running leg, Sorry guys! But seriously in my head I was just like please just leave me on the side of the road to die, because I was so stinking hot and my feet friggin hurt. When I got home later in the day I found out why. My toenail is coming off and I have blisters all over my feet. I need some new shoes really bad I guess. The biking was awesome though. There were some pretty crazy trails we were riding and I thought for sure I was going to pop one of my tires because it was so rocky. I was worried about getting on my bike after having another baby. It seems like with every baby I get a little more nervous and stuff hurts more. But not yesterday, I had no fear and was flying down that mountain, it was an awesome feeling.

Fourth.

Coulson had his blessing last Sunday and that went really good. Judd was excited because his best friend Trent and his wife Sarah were able to come up and Trent stood in on the blessing, so that was special. We didn't do anything too elaborate. In fact, I skipped buying a blessing outfit all together and just had him wear normal clothes. I'm sure it still counts. It was a great blessing though and he is such a sweet baby. He didn't make a noise through the whole thing and was just starting at everyone. He is going to be 3 months old this week.

Fifth.

I had a little dilemma last Saturday. We were having people coming in for the blessing and I thought that I would do my hair that night. Judd always helps me with my hair (don't tell anyone, he gets embarrassed) so he put the color on and I went about doing things around the house. Well I forgot the time and went to rinse my hair out and when I looked in the mirror I was a little concerned. I dried it just to make sure, and my hair was black!! I was in panic mode because it was 9 at night on Saturday and there was no way I was pulling off that color. I tried taking it out and called Kelli because she does hair too, and this needed to come off and quickly! So we were up until almost 1 a.m. trying to fix my hair. It was pretty crappy, I was tired. I'm sure glad Kelli drank a bunch of diet coke earlier that night and was on a caffeine buzz, otherwise I would have never been able to go in public. Anyway, I survived and look normal again. Thanks Kelli, your a life saver.

Sixth:

I keep meaning to post this. Judd took the kids to the museum a couple of weeks ago. If you observe the pictures you'll notice they all look exactly the same. For some reason Judd has them stand like this. It creeps me out. I think it reminds me of the movie The Shining. Nolan doesn't look very happy.

Just like Mom

I just had to post this so I will never forget it. Madison is like her mama in every way. We both leave our shoes all over the house. We both throw our clothes on the floor. We argue with each other and say the same things. We are both equally strong minded and stubborn. I can't wait until she is a teenager! Its either going to be really fun or a total disaster. I have to learn to enjoy her more, that's for sure. One thing that we are totally alike on is our casualness. I have old ripped up shirts and pants that I just will never give away. They are so comfy and I just feel like they are irreplaceable. Like me, she also has her dingy collection. She wears the same outfit every single day. She knows she's not allowed to wear it in public, but as soon as we get home, cute outfit gets thrown on the floor, and raggedy old blue and yellow "I love Dad" shirt and pink and brown camo gauchos come on. I had to take pictures of it just so I will always remember the grossness of it. The shirt is so dingy that it looks like she rolled in dirt and there is a hole in the front that she always wants me to patch. The elastic on the pants is totally stretched out and the seams are coming apart. What a fashion sense!!