Halloween

This will be my last post to this blog... life is so much "Fuller" for us now, so we will be changing sites, but we had another great Halloween! We went to a pumpkin patch in mid October, and carved pumpkins for FHE just before Halloween. The girls loved both activities. There was a petting zoo at the pumpkin patch that Holly really enjoyed, and Alyssa got to do some sky high jumping on a bungee trampoline attraction, she loved it!

Holly chose to be a fairy this year, and Alyssa a ladybug. They've already told me what they want to be for next year....we'll see if they remember, or if they'll change their minds 30 times in the interim, I'm guessing the latter. Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Tigers

Alyssa and Holly decided they wanted to play soccer this year. They met their coach and team a few weeks ago and got their little uniforms. Orange and black wasn't their first choice, but since Ben's favorite color is orange, they're okay with it.

Their first game was a few weeks ago, and as a team, they decided to call themselves Tigers. These sweet little kids were so much fun to watch. Their coordination was obviously just beginning to develop. Watching them trying to kick the ball and run at the same time was pretty entertaining, but also a little frustrating for all of us impatient adults. Before the actual game they did warmups and drills for a half hour. Then they played 3 on 3 for the final 30 minutes. It was a complete mess, really. They hadn't really grasped the concept of kicking the ball into the goal. They would kick the ball down field past the goal and then just keep right on going. So much fun!

The second game was much better, I think the idea that they're supposed to get the ball into the goal finally registered. Both Alyssa and Holly scored goals this time. It was fun to see their bright smiles when they scored, you could tell that they felt a sense of pride in their accomplishment. One time Holly came running back as fast as she could and yelled out, "mom, I scored a goal!"

Summertime

Where did the summer go? Since the girls were in preschool for 10 weeks it felt like a very short summer, but we had some fun times!

To start it off, the girls went to Shreveport with their daddy for a week. I was ecstatic to have a week off. It had been 2 1/2 years since I had been on a real vacation (without my girls), so it was definitely time for a little rest and relaxation! I ended up doing a road trip through Mexico with some friends, and had the time of my life. It wasn't nearly as relaxing as I would have liked, but I laughed and enjoyed my time off tremendously!

I already wrote about Lagoon, which was one of the highlights of our summer, but we also went to This is the Place Heritage Park, which the girls loved, the Discovery Gateway, Thanksgiving Point, the Tree house Museum, Classic Skating, Kangaroo Zoo, the Davis County Fair, the swimming pool a bazillion times, some fun movies, and of course spent plenty of time at various parks around Davis County.

After preschool got out we made a special trip to visit my brother David and his family in California. The girls love their cousins (and their rats), and had a wonderful time playing at the beach, and at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. We also visited Queen Califia's Garden, which is a very unique mosaic art display in Escondido, California.

To end the summer the girls spent Labor Day weekend at Lake Mead with their dad, and then went with Ben and I to Zion's National Park where they went on their first hike.

We are so blessed with so many wonderful opportunities!

Spanish Immersion Preschool

One of the goals I've had since my girls were born is to teach them to speak Spanish. I have to admit, that with all the chaos and changes in my life over the past couple years, teaching them Spanish dropped to the bottom of my priority list, and I've kinda felt like a failure. So last spring I started searching online for a Spanish immersion preschool to help me get back on track, and I found one. Unfortunately, the closest one was in Salt Lake City, and was much more expensive than I was hoping, but they offered a 10 week summer program that I felt I could afford. I decided to enroll the girls with the hope that they would get a solid Spanish base and it would motivate me to recommit to my goal. I know that the best time to teach children a second language is before they are 7, so I need to get refocused! The girls went to class 3 days a week for 3 hours and learned a lot. Now I just need to keep the ball rolling, and make sure that I don't let this opportunity pass us by.

Single life post divorce

I know, I know, I'm a pro, right? Done it twice, haha.

The first time around I was actually quite excited about being single after my divorce. I figured there would be a wide selection of charming, handsome, intelligent, wonderful guys to choose from, and that dating again might be a fun adventure. Maybe I should have checked out the selection before I signed up! I'm extremely picky, I admit, so finding what I was looking for turned out to be a lot more difficult than I initially thought it would be. Where does a single mother of 2 two-year-olds go to meet these fantastic guys, the ones I had conjured up in my mind? I must have been delusional..why was I thinking there would be a lot of great guys available, and why would I assume that these hawt, awesome guys would want a thirty-something year old with kids, when they had their choice of a wide selection of beautiful younger girls without kids.

There I was, a 33 year old stay-at-home mom trying to find the man of my dreams, while stuck in my dumpy apartment all day. Since I wasn't working outside the home, the only places I frequented on a regular basis were the park, and the grocery store. How many single guys hang out at the park? And how many guys at the supermarket would hit on a chic with 2 two-year-olds??? And if he did, wouldn't that instantly mark him as insane and/or desperate?

I was in a predicament, how was I going to find Mr. right? What were my options? I knew that Heavenly Father was watching out for me and that if I had faith he could find me someone wonderful, but I also knew that I had to do my part. I had heard a little about online dating, but had labeled it my "last resort". Feeling pretty hopeless in my situation, not knowing where else to turn, my last resort became my only viable option, and wow was it an eye-opening experience.

Online dating is an entity unto itself. You have to experience it to truly understand. At first you might feel a little giddy about the prospects. You create a "handle," upload pictures, and write all about yourself, in an attempt to attract your "perfect match." Then you send your profile out into the world of singles and watch the system work it's magic. I could go on and on about the crazy online dating experiences I've had, but I'll save that for another time...I'll just say, it would make an extremely funny sitcom!

My second go-around I found that online dating wasn't actually my only option. I got some advice from a veteran in the singles community, and got involved. I was soon playing volleyball with other singles, going to parties, dances, and firesides. I was welcomed in with open arms, and really enjoyed getting to know others who were in my same predicament. I felt like I had found a family who completely understood where I was coming from and where I hoped to eventually be. I was meeting great people, but was feeling very underwhelmed by the guys I was meeting. There really wasn't anyone even in the same ballpark as what I was looking for. But I committed to continue to put myself in positions where I would have the opportunity to meet someone, and continued praying and having faith that God would provide. I think that's the key...do all you can do, and He will do the rest.

Limitations

After my sprint-triathlon in the spring I decided my next challenge would be to run a 1/2 marathon. I had always told myself that I could never be a long-distance runner. That I just wasn't made for endurance running. I had put a limitation on myself that I wanted to challenge. So, I picked a race, the Top of Utah Half-Marathon, registered and started training. I invited my friend Amber to do it with me and she agreed. Training was going well, but due to other events in my life, I realized that I was going to have a scheduling conflict that day. So, about a week ago Amber and I decided we would run the course together before the actual race. We agreed that yesterday would work best for both of us.

My training recommended that I get in one final long run a week before the race and then taper down. So last Monday I ran 10 miles. It was the worst run of my life. I have always had a little pain in my IT band, but that night, for whatever reason, my left knee wasn't cooperating at all. At about mile 5 I was in serious pain, but I wouldn't allow myself to stop, I wanted to run the full 10 miles. I pushed through the pain, and about the last mile and a half I was nearly in tears. It was excruciatingly painful. I hardly slept at all that night, and even a few days later my knee was still hurting. I decided to go back out on Thursday for a short run, but after a mile I had to walk. I didn't think there was any way I would be able to run the half-marathon the next Monday. I decided I would just rest it and give it my all on "race day."

Well, Monday came and I hardly slept at all the night before. I probably got about 2 hours of sleep. I got up at 5:30 to meet Amber at 6:00, but on the way to meet her I got pulled over for speeding. Luckily I got off without a ticket. Then we drove up to Providence, just outside of Logan, and made our way to the starting line, and started running. Things were okay for about the first mile, but then the pain started. I had talked to a physical therapist a few days before, who had recommended stretching my IT band more, so at mile 2 I decided to stop and stretch it, to see if that would help. It did, for about a half mile, but then the pain came back, so I stopped at mile 3 and stretched it again. At that point I didn't think there was any way I would be able to finish all 13.1 miles. But that became my pattern. I would run a mile, then stop to stretch for one minute, and commit to another mile of agony. I was making good time while I was running, about a 9 minute mile, so with the minute of stretching each mile, I was still on track to meet my goal of finishing under 2:10. It was definitely an exercise of mind over matter. By mile 11 I was still on track to make my goal. That's when things went from bad to worse. I took a wrong turn somewhere. When we started going through a neighborhood I realized I hadn't payed very good attention to the map. I was lost. I just kept running. I ended up taking three wrong turns, and adding over a mile to the race before I finally stopped and asked a nice woman for directions. I ended up finishing in 2:24. I must have ran closer to 14.5 miles.

My first thought was, I need a redo! On a good day,without knee pain, or the extra detour, I bet I could have run it in close to 2 hours. After thinking about it a little more, I changed my mind. I'm glad I did it, but I should just cross it off the list, and know that my self-imposed limitation no longer exists. Once again I believe, more strongly than ever, that I can do anything I put my mind to. As long as I am willing to put forth the effort, there is pretty much nothing I can't accomplish.

Enough is Enough

Poor Alyssa! If it isn't one thing, it's another. Earlier in her young life Alyssa had to deal with ear infection after ear infection. On one occasion, when she was very little, I held her in my arms the entire night. Each time she fell asleep I tried to lay her down next to me, so I could get some rest, and she would wake up instantly crying. It was obviously very painful for her. We had tubes put in her ears and she did better for a while, but soon the tubes fell out and things got worse again. After another set of tubes, and the removal of her adenoids, things improved. This past year we have gone from ear infections to strep throat. In the past 4 months alone she's had strep 4 times. Enough is enough, we finally decided to have her tonsils removed, so on Friday Alyssa had a tonsillectomy. Hopefully she will finally be able to go more than a month without having to see the doctor! One thing we have noticed is that she is sleeping much more soundly. She doesn't snore anymore, and doesn't toss and turn all night long. I used to say she slept like Taz, the tasmanian devil, but not anymore!