Tender Mercy

 I noticed while weeding the garden a few weeks ago this rather prominent plant beginning to grow by my carrots that I hadn't planted. It was such an impressive weed that I decided to just let it grow to see what it was. I kept being tempted to pull it as it grew. Last week, I looked outside to see a beautiful sunflower in full bloom. The bottom picture is the flowers from my Dad's casket I preserved. He loved sunflowers & I have many memories of working in the garden with him. My garden is a reminder of my Kansas roots. I have no idea how that sunflower landed in the middle of my garden, but I'm thankful for little reminders that my dad is watching over me and aware of me.

Gavin's thoughts on the baby

Gavin is totally cracking us up this morning. After a fun night last night boating, tubing, riding fast and swimming, we asked Gavin what his favorite part of boating last night was. He said, "Eating." Also, he said our bedtime prayer last night and after we reminded him of all the fun things we did that he could be thankful for, he starts off his prayer, "Thank you that we can go to a BBQ tomorrow and eat.."

We have been looking at pictures of our cute new niece Gemma Rose this morning and Gavin replies, "She's covered in ear wax!!" We started talking about when we have our baby, how we'll take care of him. Gavin said, "I'll call him Oreo and then I'll love to take care of him!!" Oh man, we laughed. "So Gavin, you'll only take care of him if he's an Oreo?" Giggles... "Yesssss."

20 week belly

20 weeks! Half way there! 

Memorial Day at Sand Hollow

We spent the afternoon over at Sand Hollow taking my paddleboard on it's first ride! Alisha and her boys joined us for a few hours (her husband is hunting in Africa) and then later went over to a neighbors boat on the other side of the lake and played over there. Such a sunny, beautiful day!

Jaylen wanted to try the board by himself. I was worried I was going to have to rescue him, but he did amazing! He was so good up there! It was cute to see how proud of himself he was. Such a brave boy.

He got so confident he took the younger boys for a ride.

Gavin on the kayak and Jaylen on Ashley's paddleboard.

Ashley comes to my TRX class with her mom and step dad at the rec center every week. She also happens to live a couple houses down. She was telling me about a group of ladies who do paddleboard yoga on their boards and were doing handstands on them. We've been talking about attempting this and having it perfected by the end of summer. So I tried to get it. It's HARD! It was a fun challenge and I look forward to trying it more on our days at the lake.

Sand Hollow Sprint Triathlon 2015- 20 weeks prego

The Sand Hollow Sprint Triathlon went so well on Saturday. Oh, it felt SO good to still be able to race. Miles was so calm and my body felt great through out. 

I felt pretty silly in my wetsuit- squeezing in there all pregnant, but to be able to still do what I love was worth it. I was so surprised by how well the run went! I was able to pull off a 26 minute 5K, which is way faster than I've been able to run lately. I didn't feel Miles kicking at all, which is usually what turns my running awkward. Lots of pressure on my bladder and a moving body inside makes it feel weird!

Alisha and I before the start. Her first sprint and in open water!

My cute little cheering squad. It was so awesome to see them cheering me on and giving me high 5s with their excited faces. They always make me choke up- just love them and their support.

I loved doing this Tri with Alisha! Her first sprint Tri in open water and on her own road bike! She rocked it. I loved seeing all the local Tri friends out there supporting each other. This active community ROCKS! I love this crazy sport! I especially love seeing my cute little family cheering and supporting me at my races. I choke back tears every time I see their cute smiles and faces so excited for me while I complete my goal & passion.

Second half of May 2015

I came out from getting ready and the front room was a total disaster, but these two were giggling and being so cute with each other. I love when they play so happy together!

Its funny how my belly button sweats too with my prego belly

Jaylen finally lost his front tooth! His smile is hilarious now!

One night before bed, Jaylen came out and hugged me and said he didn't want to let go. So he walked around snuggled to my side while I cleaned up the kitchen. It was really sweet. He said, "I could just snuggle you all day long Mom!"

I love doing the masters STEP program M/W/F. It's so therapeutic to get in the pool and not feel the weight of my belly. It's such a fun group too. The boys come and play in the kid pools while I do class. Once I finish class, we play in the pool for another couple hours (it also helps Aaron have quiet time for school work at home too!) It's such a fun afternoon for us!

Gavin sleeps like this a lot. Its so sweet.

I took the neighbor boys and Porter to the park to meet up with Porter's mom and younger brother, Caleb. It was quite the sight to see 6 little boys chasing each other around at the park.

Alisha and I jumped in the lake for our first swim in open water! It was 64 degrees and COLD! Once we were in, it felt great. Alisha is such a talented swimmer!

After Jaylen lost his tooth, and I attempted to trim his hair, he looked just like Lloyd Christmas. Aaron and I laughed looking at him. After a couple weeks, I couldn't take it anymore so we went and had it cut.

Jaylen and I biked/ran to the store to get a donut on Saturday morning. We were running a little late, so Aaron came to get us. Gavin showed up as Luigi! Anytime we are home, he changes into his Luigi costume. Jaylen usually gets in his ninja or Mario costume, but Gavin for sure is always walking around like Luigi. They are pretty funny watching together in their costumes.

Jaylen's such a fun running buddy on his bike

My new job at Red Mountain Resort involves me teaching 3 classes every Saturday morning. I teach Nordic Walking, stretch class and an aqua class. It is GORGEOUS out there! I love walking up into Snow Canyon. Such a fun place.

Jaylen and Gavin working hard to clean their bathroom- PEE YOOOUUU!

A brand new park just opened up by the Dixie rock. It was amazing! So pretty! The boys loved exploring it and hopping across the river on the rocks.

This made me laugh. Love you, Aaron! :)

Jaylen's cute new hair cut.

Taking Porter and Caleb with the boys to run around at the river for the afternoon.

The heat has set in and it is officially SUMMER! YAY!!! The boys usually do chores (clean room, empty dishwasher) in the morning and then read books for a bit (Jaylen has been doing book reports for each book he reads and then gives Aaron a full report), and then by the time I'm home from training, we swim, play and finish up any other to dos. It's been a fun summer so far! Jaylen has been doing amazing with his books- he reads a Magic Tree House book within a day and can tell us all the details. It's pretty amazing how fast he can read!

My 31st birthday

My mom sent me some home videos for my birthday of me as a little girl. It's been funny, embarrassing and entertaining to watch. The best was watching my wedding to Rafiki, my stuffed monkey. Man, I loved that thing!

My best friend, Tiffany and I at her reception

A friend from Washington made this. I loved it!

We went to Sakura, a Japanese restaurant for dinner. It was soooooo delicious and the boys loved the guy that cooked up our food. They keep asking to go back! Such a fun way to spend the evening.

I'm loving my 30's so far! Can't wait for what all is in store this year!