Our December

This is what happens at our house every Friday morning. They can hear it coming and they run to the windows to watch the garbage man get the trash. If only he knew just how popular he really was!

We had a great Christmas this year. Brian had the day off and Brian woke up early and started banging dishes around to get the kids out of bed. Well it worked and the present opening began and they had a blast. The night before we had a special visitor as Santa stopped by and gave the kids a little pep talk and told them to go to bed and wait for him to come, he also left a little present to hold them over. When Tyler heard the bells he totally panicked thinking he had been caught out of bed by Santa and they wouldn't get their presents. Kate didn't know whether to cry or laugh or hide or what. In the end they were very excited and happy when they went to bed and had a great day. It was also fun because Grandma and Grandpa Muir were able to be with us Christmas morning to watch the kids open presents. They are at such a fun age its fun to watch them get so excited over everything.

Half Marathon

Saturday I ran my first half marathon. It turned out to be way harder than I expected. I had been training well and had done a lot of 10 mile runs without any problem. I thought that going from 10 to 13.1 miles wouldn't be that hard. WRONG!It was really a lesson in patience and pacing. I started out WAY too fast. So fast, that I got blisters (and I don't normally get blisters) within the first 4-5 miles.

Then, since my arches (where the blisters were) hurt, I decided to run on the outsides of my feet. That made the rest of my body hurt in places that have never hurt before. The last few miles I was going so slow and I was exhausted.

Then, as I was collapsed on the grass, knowing that I was going to cramp up if I didn't move, but not caring, I told Lisa that there was no way that I was going to ever do a full marathon.

Now, with a little more clarity, I am willing to do another half marathon and see how it goes before I completely rule out a full marathon. Anyway, I am glad I did it. Despite still being really stiff and sore 3 days later.

PS. My time was 1:48:15. I was hoping for closer to 1:40:00 but I guess I have something to work towards.

Family Pictures!

We had family pictures taken by a friend of mine a few months ago and here they are. She did a great job!

Kate refused to sit by us, she has quite the personality.

Halloween 2010

Zane's pumpkin was a ghost, Kate's a traditional jack-o-lantern, and Tyler was a skeleton face that he drew on paper and Brian carved for him.

Spiderman

Harry Potter

Spiderman, Harry Potter and cute little bunny

Kids with the neighbors before trick or treating

Halloween this year was crazy. There are so many activites that are held in addition to the traditional trick or treating. This year we went to the Old Town trick or treat events, a work party, and then went trick or treating on Saturday. The kids got plenty of candy, which I will shamefully admit I cannot stay out of.

This year Zane was Spiderman, Kate was a bunny when it was cold and a bumble bee indoors. Tyler was going to be Superman but had a sudden change of heart and decided to be Harry Potter instead. Tyler gave me the "best mom ever" award for being able to make the Harry Potter costume the night before the school party. Thank goodness for google and people who post free instructions for costumes. So we pulled it out and had lots of fun.

Kate's birthday

Kate had her second birthday this month. She has changed so much in two years. She is the funniest little girl but very shy around strangers. She got a little doll for her birthday and a Dora blanket, a Dora doll and outfit from Grandma Gunter and two outfits from Grandma Muir.

Things she likes:

Dora

puppies

cats

Backyardigans

animals

dolls

dancing

singing

pretty shoes

hairbows

candy

her brothers

she's daddy's little girl

bugs (to squish)

flowers

her little friend Levi

our neighbor Coann

So she is everything girly with a tom boy mix in there too. She has really started talking lately and will really let the boys have it if they make her mad, (its so cute to watch).

First day of school

School finally started up this year they pushed it back a few weeks because of budget cuts. Tyler started the first grade and is having to adjust to being at school all day. Sometimes he likes it, mostly the recess and lunches but he is doing well.

Zane started prescool and was so excited. I think he would go all day everyday if he could but it's only Mon/Wed/Fri for 2 hours. But he is doing great and loves to talk. (Hard to believe I know).

fun with friends and boxes

So what did Kate do all summer? Well she found a very good friend and fellow trouble maker in her little cousin Rawlin. They had so much fun at grandma's house and played great. If Rawlin did it Kate was close by doing it too. SHe also liked following her older cousins around.

She also liked trying on some cool shades and taking rides in a diaper box, giving mom and dad and Tyler a great workout.

Zane's birthday

So Zane's birthday was in August and if you were to ask him, it took forever to get here. Everyday after Ty's birthday he would ask if it was his turn to turn 4. So now he is four and just can't wait to turn 5.

For Zane's Birthday we went to Grandma Muir's house and had cake and ice cream with our cousins. Then on his actual birthday he opened presents, which was a big hit he got a Batcave, and then went to lunch at Wendy's. (I know we go all out). Later that evening we took family pictures with one of my friends here in town (hopefully I can post those soon). By the end of the day he was exausted, but he still asks if its still his birthday.

Some fun things about Zane are:

he is a very funny kid

he is terrified of animals but loves them from a very far distance

he loves to cuddle, and hug

he likes to talk A LOT

he loves to follow Ty and do everything Ty does

he loves to make Kate laugh

he is a very sweet boy.

Tyler's birthday

So things have been busy and to be honest, I haven't felt like blogging. SO here is the update. Tyler turned 6 in July. He got to invite two of his friends over, Blake a Makya. They went bowling with Brian and then came back and played with toys and had dinner and birthday cake. Tyler had a blast and loved every minute of it.

This year he decided he wanted cherry chip cake with white frosting and sprinkles. THANK GOODNESS! I was afraid I would have to make a Harry Potter or Batman cake. It was great, bake, frost, sprinkle.

Some fun things about Ty are:

he loves star wars, batman, super heros, and Harry Potter

he is a big helper

his laugh is contagious

he is very protecive of his little sister

he loves to read, and learn

he is learning to play piano

he is starting to swim

and he is one of the best boys ever!

The kids were getting ready to go swimming at Ross park and I couldn't help but notice the color difference in my children. Tyler gets his coloring from me and Zane and Kate get their dad's beautiful olive skin. I can't tell you how many people ask what ethnicity Brian is and if my kids have different fathers. So yes they ALL have the same father and he has scottish background, (he likes to defer to the Highlander for dark skin and handsome references). Kate just keeps getting darker with every trip outdoors, and Tyler just gets more freckles and sunburns, poor kid. Even though they look so different they have many things in common and they are great kids.

(Please ignore the black man in the background the kids were watching Barney)

Holy Cow what happened to June

Holy cow June flew by so fast! We have been so busy it has been good and crazy at the same time. We have started our summer off by taking swimming lessons up at ISU. They have a great program and the boys have done great. I started them both off in level one just to get them comfortable in the water. Tyler took swimming in Wendell last year but hadn't swam since so it was a good way to get back into things. Zane was a little shy at first but soon became more comfortable. After the first two weeks, Ty advanced to the next level and Zane stayed in level one. He was so sad, he likes to compare things to video games and so not being able to advance to the next level was hard for him, but after the second two weeks he will now be moving to level two. Tyler seems to be a natural in the water and has been doing very well and can now swim to the side of the pool by himself. Its still scary to watch them let go but I am glad they like it so much. We have them signed up for two more sessions.

We have also got to see cousins. We spent a weekend in Wendell watching Kyle's kids so Sheena could start to recover from surgery on her hip. We also got to see Derek's kids for a few hours. Kate just loved the "baby" even though the baby was as big as her. Trac loved to give her cuddles it was so cute. The boys play so hard with Talon and Brek that it takes them almost a full day to recover. Even Teegan stopped by to play.

We also went camping in Island Park with the residency program. They brought up a karaoke machine this year so Tyler tried his hand at singing and then Brian sang with Brad Hyatt and John Fenstermaker who are first year residents this year. On our free day this year we went down to Ashton and ate at Big Jud's and then had huckleberry ice cream. After lunch, we drove up to Mesa Falls which is beautiful if you haven't been there yet you should. The kids mostly Ty were mad that we didn't go anywhere with toys and refused to smile in any picture we took. We came back late Saturday night and drove to Burley on Sunday to be with Brian's mom, great grandma Gochnour passed away early Sunday morning. We attended her funeral on Wednsday and it was a really nice service. I'm not much for funerals, they make me uncomfortable and emotional. The first funeral I really remember was my grandma Gunter's and it came as a shock when she died. I don't know what it is but I have this thing with funerals.

Brian's schedule has been so busy we hardly see him. He finished an OB rotation last week and is now on night float which means he works from 7pm to 8 or 9 am and then sleeps for a few hours and we usually see him for 4 hours, 5 on a good day, only three weeks of that left. Which is why I am glad I have been staying so busy with the kids, with play dates, picnics, sprinklers, trips and much more. It is kind of true when they say you live two lives in residency, the one with your kids and the one that your husband gets to come occasionally. Two more years of residency and then we get to see him on a more regular basis.

So have i rambled enough yet, oh and we found out in a scary situation that Tyler is allergic to watermelon. We were in Aberdeen at my grandma Phillips and we were eating outside and Tyler dished up the watermelon like he usually does. Later he came back looking not so great saying that his throat hurts and its getting hard to breathe, and he is getting a rash on his neck. Luckily I had Benadryl in my car and I gave him some and within a couple of minutes he was ok but still not feeling well. So I was telling Brian about it because he wasn't there and he thought it sounded odd that he would react like that when he has had watermelon a lot before this. So I took him into an allergist who did some skin testing on him. Turns out he is allergic to cats, weeds, russian thistle, and watermelon. The doctor thinks that the combination of being outside in the weeds and bushes (grandma lives in the country) and the watermelon gave him a mild anaphilactic shock reaction, and thank goodness I had Benadryl. So now I get to carry a epi-pen in my purse and he is supposed to stay away from watermelon. Poor kid he really likes watermelon.

So like I said, very busy and at times scary month of June. Hopefullu July slows down but it doesn't look like it so far so we will see.