New Year, New Post!

The Christmas season is finally over and I can blog again! The boys went with Grandpa Larson and cut down his tree.

Miss Liv and I were able to go see The Nutcracker. She loved it! I'm glad to take her but I'm not a big fan.

Christmas came and the children were spoiled. Ryan got a Mechatar (I still don't know what it is). Drew got an easel so he can color with markers or chalk. Liv got a Rapunzel doll.

We rang in the New Year with cupcakes from 25 Main and mustaches!

And what better way to celebrate New Years Day than with Strawberry Waffles and Whip Cream!

Here is to a New Year and me keeping up with the blog! Next post My Goals for this year!

Tooth Fairy Visit

Ryan's tooth has been loose for awhile. Every day I would ask to see if it had come out yet. Well Sunday morning at 6am Ryan comes proudly marching into our room holding his tooth! I guess he pulled it out on a sleepy whim and had to show off his goods. After we congratulated him he goes back to his room and goes back to sleep. Pretty awesome if I do say so myself! I never had the guts to yank my own tooth!

Marathon

6am at the Marathon starting line with the ladies that helped me train! Thanks Gail and Kristen I couldn't have done this without you!



Michelle and I. She was the one that got me to sign up in the first place! What was I thinking!?!?!


A Finish is a Win.





This is what I get for forgetting sunscreen!

I have to say that running the St. George Marathon was THE hardest thing I have ever done! Funny enough it was far more Emotional than Physically hard. Starting off at 4am on a bus riding up what I was about to run made me sick to my stomach. Once at the starting line we jumped in line for the restroom and by the time we were done with that it was time to dance!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWgGBYQC0FI

Kind of a sad flash mob. I wish they would have had a meeting point. I heard there were little mobs all over the starting line.

And we were off. I did ok up until the last 6 miles. Man. That was rough! I walked and cried the last 3 miles. I was fighting an inner battle of crazy talk. All I could think was "this is so stupid! You can't do this! Just give up!". Then I would think about my support at the finish and I pushed on. Once I saw Bluff Street Park I thought "it's just the Mayor's Walk. I can do that!" The last turn to Vernon Worthen Park was where I just sobbed. Once I passed the barricades leading to the finish line I ran as fast as my tired legs could carry me (which I'm sure wasn't very fast but to me seemed like I was lightning!). I finished with a time of 6 hrs and 24 minutes. Rough.

Now marathon is crossed off my list and I am hanging up my running shoes! Anyone want to go roller skating? :)

Liv + Makeup =

*Note to self, NEVER leave Liv alone with makeup anywhere in the vicinity!

North Carolina

From Indiana we flew to North Carolina to visit Nat, Tara, and the kids. Although it was a short visit it was so fun to see them! It was the first time I met Sammy and he was almost 1! Raia welcomed us and she was a delight to see!



We were able to go to the science museum with Tara and the kids and had a fun time out in the trees. I couldn't believe how many there were!





It was so much fun being with family! We went to a great place and had LocoPops which are fun flavored popsicles. I tried Lemon Olive Oil and it was delicious!





Making Rice Krispie Treats was on the agenda as well and with Aunt Keena around you can guarantee we had some funny poses!





Thanks again Nat and Tara for your wonderful hospitality!

Indianpolis

I'm not sure why it has been so hard lately for me to blog or do anything computer related lately! I'll try to be better but no guarantees!

Big news that happened lately is in August Keena and I were able to go to Indianapolis for a Jewelry show. What a lovely city! I was pleasantly surprised by the people and the cleanliness of the city.



The architecture was beautiful and so diverse! Sadly the memorial that is in city center was under construction so I didn't get very good photos of it.

While there Keena and I decided to go to the State Fair and see Sara Bareilles and Sugarland in concert. It was Keena's 30th birthday and since we weren't at home to celebrate I thought this would be a great alternative! While at the fair I tried my first and I think last Deep Fried Oreos, Milky Way, and Cookie Dough.



Sadly I didn't get any before pictures of the concert. Keena and I really enjoyed Sara. She sang her hits "King of Anything", "Love Song", and "Gravity". After her set we were sitting in the stands enjoying the beauty of the oncoming storm. The sky was gray but not too threatening. After about 30 minutes of setting up for Sugarland the sky was looking like it might rain. Keena and I decided to move up a few rows so that we wouldn't get rained on. Not two minutes after we sat down a large burst of wind blew a dust devil on the fair grounds and what happened next was a nightmare. As we watched the wind blew the stage over onto the crowd below. Keena and I watched in horror as people were crushed by the crashing stage. Panic and Shock filled the crowd. I grabbed my camera and filmed just a few seconds of the stunned crowd. Here is the link it still terrifies me watching this.

My footage of the crowd right after the collapse is here

As we stood in shock people started yelling about tornadoes and the sudden storm. It was raining and lightning was crashing and thunder was booming. I felt the urge to run towards the stage to help those who were trapped. Keena had the good sense to seek cover since we Utah girls were unfamiliar with this type of weather. We ran to a barn across from the stadium. There our panic took over. We filmed ourselves in the moment and looking back we were pretty silly.

Our reaction right after the collapse is here

After about 2 hours after the collapse we were finally able to find a taxi and get back to our hotel. From there we watched in horror as the news kept replaying what had happened. We realized how fragile life is and how quickly mother nature can change!

The boys and I loved "The Little Mermaid" out at Tuachan.




Liv enjoying the fireworks with Grandpa Larson.



Keena, Ryan, and I went on a 5k Fourth of July walk



The kids at Lagoon.



Hiding out on Mars at the Clark Planetarium.



Temple Square.



Thanksgiving Point.