Getting Real

Chruch started out fabulously today.  We had our annual primary program during Sacrament Meeting, an opportunity for our children ages 4-11 to share their testimonies through word and song.  It was just beautiful.  Our primary presidency chose to have the children write their own parts this year, and it was extra special to be able to hear them share testimony through their own words, rather than a scripted part.  The music was wonderful.  Both my boys were on the front row of the stand, and from where I was sitting in the congregation I could literally hear their individual little voices singing each of the songs.  The icing on the cake for me was when my boys and Matt, along with a little girl and her aunt who will also soon be leaving on a mission, sang a medley of I Hope they Call Me On a Mission and I Want to Be a Missionary Now.  It was Matt's last Sunday in our ward before he gets to become a full-time missionary and report at the MTC.   Hearing and seeing him and my boys up there together destroyed me.  I was kind of a wreck, but in a great way!  It was so awesome!

But after Sacrament Meeting, things went down hill quickly.  I was asked to help out in our nursery since they were short-handed today.  I won't lie, it's not my favorite place to be.  So when church was over I wasn't in my very best mood.  Usually after church, the kids and I will go to the Bishop's office and check in with Adam, say a quick "hi" and "bye" before we take off.  Since we usually don't see him until late in the evening, it's really the only couple minutes we get with him until late on Sunday.  But Adam wasn't in his office after church, and we circled the building trying to find him.  I was carting my Sunday bag, the diaper bag, and Annie--probably 40 pounds worth of kid and stuff.  People kept asking me where my husband was, and I wanted to scream, "Do I LOOK like I know where my husband is?!"  Once we finally located our guy, we had our rendezvous, I located my then-missing son,  and we were on our way.  So is it any wonder that I was feeling frazzled and just DONE?

We got out to the parking lot and McKay announced that he needed to use the bathroom.  I was like, Nuh-uh.  I am so not going back into that church buliding today.  I told him he would have to hold it, that we would be home in five.  He insisted that it was an emergency.  Let me just tell you something about McKay...he loves public restrooms.  So he often has "emergencies" while we are out so that he can check out a new bathroom.  I was not falling for it today.  I told him to hold tight, we would be home soon, and I proceeded to corral my brood into the van.

Well McKay, being McKay, stood in the middle of the van and said, "Fine.  I'm going right now."  I freaked out.  I was envisioning urine-smelling carpet in my van for months to come.  I screamed, "Get out of the car!"  My thought process being, if he pees his pants, it will run onto the pavement and not onto my carpet.

The next thing I know, McKay has his pants around his ankles and he is "watering" the bushes on the median of the parking lot!  And boy oh boy, did he spray those bushes down good!  I was mortified!!  All I could think of was, "Behold, Clarke Farms Ward, here is the Bishop's kid peeing in the parking lot!  Let our family be a model and standard to you all!"  Gah.  McKay got back in the car and muttered, "I told you it was an emrgency."  That boy.

This real moment has been brought to you by the Marchant family.  Just in case you were incorrectly thinking that I have it all together.

Backtracking a Bit

I was reading back over this year's blog entries this evening, and I have to admit that I felt sad about how much I have failed to record.  I'm totally chalking it up to being a new bishop's wife, having a busy young family, and trying to help my awesome brother prepare for his mission.  But, believe it or not, it has been NINE MONTHS now since Adam has been called, and I feel like I have figured out our new "normal", and am pretty well adjusted to this stage of life.  

That being said, though I am nearly five months overdue, I wanted to blog about the half marathon I ran last June.  It was kind of a big deal for me, not because it was a new experience or anything, but because I finally achieved my sub-2-hour goal that I have been chasing since 2010.  

In 2010, I finished in 2:00:42, just 43 seconds slower than my goal.  I was ok with it, especially since it was my first time, but I knew I was going to run it again.  So I did, in 2011.  That year was a bit of a disaster though.  After having a major car break-down on the way to Utah the day before the race, not getting into town until super late, not eating the right foods and only getting a couple hours of sleep before running, it wasn't any real surprise that I couldn't perform at my best.  I ran a 2:08:15.  And though that was understandable considering the circumstances, it was way disappointing.  Last year, 2012, I had a baby the day of the race!  So I had to take a bye-year.  

So this year I really felt like was the time!  My strategy was a bit different this year:  take off super fast through the first half of the race (down Provo Canyon), and give myself a comfortable cushion to take the second half of the race slower.   I ran the first 7 miles down the canyon in about 53 minutes--easily the fastest 7 miles I have ever run!  Then I slowed up and took the flat 6-mile stretch down University Avenue at a nice leisurely pace.  It was a great strategy!  I ran my best half marathon time ever!

My very favorite part of running in races is seeing my beautiful family at the finish line cheering me on.  It is so symbolic to me--how as a family we are each other's biggest cheerleaders in life, and it never ceases to make me emotional.  

And here's the proof that I finally accomplished my goal!  (My official time was 1:57:35, I was a little slow stopping my watch.)

My mommy and me!  Another one of my favorite things about running this race is that my mom has participated with me every year!

Just a week before Baby Girl's first birthday!

This year was the inaugural year for the Kids' 1K race after the marathon.  My boys were both so, so excited to be able to run in their first road race!  And it was pretty special to be able to have that experience with both of them!

Another awesome thing about racing:  all the goodies at the end!  My boys were totally loving the Jamba Juices!

The boys with their running partners:  Tooge ran with Ty and Dad ran with McKay.

Now that I have hit that goal I am considering what to do next.  Run it again and try for an even better time?  Try a FULL marathon for my thirtieth birthday next year?  Maybe give a triathlon a try?  The jury is still out on that one!

Happy Halloween!

Our Halloween this year was a hit.  I went easy on the costumes--I actually bought both of the boys' last year after Halloween on clearance for 5 bucks.  I'm pretty sure that neither boy has actually ever played Mario Brothers, but they were hugely excited to be them, nonetheless.  

We had a mellow morning, and then Adam was able to come home and work from home in the afternoon while Annie napped so that I could go to the school and be in the boys' classrooms for their class parties.  It was so fun to see them in the school setting--I don't get to be in either of their classrooms nearly as much as I would like to be because of Annie and her nap schedule.

After school, we headed to downtown Parker for the festivities they have there.  We had heard it was a good time, but had never been down there on Halloween in all the years we have lived here.  But it was a blast!!  All of the businesses down Main Street had trick-or-treating, there were carnival games and bounce houses, a hay maze, and dressed-up characters the kids could get their pictutres taken with--and all for FREE.  I cursed myself for having left my camera on the counter--where I had set it so I wouldn't forget it.  AHHH!

My very favorite part of the entire day came while we were downtown and there was a dance company dancing on Main Street.  They were doing simple dance moves that kids from the crowd could copy.  Both my boys ran out into the street, right into the throng of dancers, and totally rocked out.  I was laughing so hard at their totally lack of inhibition, and again could not believe that I didn't have a camera.  But at least I have stored that memory into my heart in the place where I keep things that I will never, ever forget.  Because it was a priceless moment.

Luigi

Luigi and Mario

Mario

And Annie was our little strawberry.  She has been cutting her canine teeth the last couple days and has diarrhea and a bad diaper rash.  So she was less than thrilled with her life.

 But I DO love this picture of McKay trying to comfort her while she was crying her eyes out.

And this was the very best we got all night of all three kids together.  You win some and lose some.

It also didn't help that every time I tried to get a good picture of Annie, Ty kept photo bombing!  I asked him where he learned how to photo bomb and he said, "From Grammie!"

Fortunately, once we got out and about the neighborhood, Annie was happy as could be.  I tried to get her to say "Trick or Treat" but she never did.  Once she caught on that everyone was giving her candy, though, she would rub her chest (ASL for "please") and say "Bease!" at every door.  Which was cute and probably more polite, anyway.  :-)
She choose suckers at every house that had them, and started on that huge orange tootsie pop with the wrapper still on sometime while we were still making the rounds.
All the kids had a pretty good haul!

Even though these mustaches bothered the boys and they refused to wear them while we were out, I insited that they put them on for a minute to get a picture.  They were just too cute not to!

Annie and Her Daddy

Uncle Spence came into town yesterday for a tennis conference that's in Denver this weekend.  So he got to join in the trick or treating fun, too.  And McKay needed to make sure that we got a picture of him.  As soon as he took this photo, he said, "Great picture, Spence!" which cracked us up.

Another adorbale anecdote:  while we were going around the neighborhood, McKay grabbed Ty's hand and said, "Brothers are best buddies.  So I will walk with Ty, and Dad, you walk with Spence."  And every time Adam and Spence were not right next to each other, McKay would remind them:  "Brothers stick together!"  It was beyond cute.

One last cute story:  as the kids were sorting through their candy after we returned home, McKay saw a pack of fruit snacks in his pile.  Fruit snacks are Annie's favorite thing in the world right now, and without saying a word to anyone, McKay walked over to Annie's candy bag and put his fruit snacks in her bag.  It was no big deal to him; he didn't do it to get praise or attention, and that's why it was so sweet.  He just has a golden little heart that I adore!

I was exhausted by day's end, but we had a really wonderful Halloween this year!