Why I Love Today...

Disclaimer: This may be lame and super cheesy to others, however I needed to write this down for myself so I can remember in the future!
Sometimes it's hard to be a mom. There are many days when the everyday routine gets to me, and I think to myself.."If I have to clean up another mess, I am going to lose it!" or "Please, let's all just be happy!" But at the end of the night when I am tucked away in my bed with everyone asleep I remember how much I love being a mom, and how lucky I am to have two beautiful children and one handsome husband! I try to ask myself, Why do I love today? Here are some of the things I have come up with: I love how imaginative EmmaLee has been lately. She is so cute with her babies. I think she may even be a better mom to them, then I am to her! She always makes sure that they have a blanket, so they are nice and warm. She puts them to sleep, sings to them, and even cooks for them! She is also learning how to share, thank goodness! Now I did say learning, she isn't perfect but she is starting to understand that if she shares her toys, then other people may share theirs. She loves to sing songs, especially in the car. We can't go anywhere without a song being sung. EmmaLee is starting to get really good at playing the Wii. Tonight she bowled a 134 all by herself! I am new at this whole mom thing, and watching my first child grow up and learn so many things, is amazing to me. Carter is just the sweetest thing right now. He is, for the most part, laid back and calm. He is starting to get his first bottom teeth. He rolls and is so close to crawling! I love when he wakes up in the morning because he tries to show off all of his cute little tricks that he has learned. I think he does it on purpose so I won't be mad at him for waking me up so early. He makes me laugh, and it starts the day off in a perfect way. I love when he smiles, you can see a brightness in his eyes. Neil is a great husband and friend. He is working so hard in school. This may sound funny, but just recently I thought about how much we've changed, since we were first married. I love how we are communicating so much better. I feel like when we criticize each other for something we've done or that we don't agree on, we take it in, and move on. I remember when we first were married, if Neil said anything criticizing me, I would have been so sad and thought about it for weeks. Now, he can say something and we can talk about it right then, and move on, not taking it in such a bad way. (with most things...) I love when we talk about our lives and situations and how we agree on so many things. It's amazing how similar our thought process is. So as days go by and I get down on myself for not having everything I want in life, I try to remember why I love today. It's the small things in life that make it all worth it.

EmmaLee loves to laugh... just watch and you'll see! She does this all of the time when we are in the car, or she wants some attention. I have to say, I don't mind it at all! (even if it is fake!)

Running

So I am in the third week of running and I have to say it actually hasn't been that bad. The worst part is just deciding to run. Once I am running, and I finish, I feel so good and am glad that I decided to run. It has been especially nice to have a treadmill at home so I can run at the moment when I have the motivation. To all of you who are trying to decide if you want to join, it's not too late! And to all of you who have joined.. keep going, because you are helping me to stay motivated!

Here is EmmaLee on the treadmill. She is so cute, she is smiling thinking that I am going to take her picture, not realizing that I have it on video! She always has to run before I do, I love it!

Thanks Jeff and Jill!

Here is a picture of Jeff getting Carter to sleep. Neil and I have been so grateful that Jeff and Jill have moved into our ward, because it seems like every Sunday, one of them has taken Carter and gotten him to sleep! It is really so nice to have a break and have someone take one of our children during sacrament meeting! Jeff always takes it as his challenge! Anyway, just wanted to say thanks!

Crawling and Birthday fun...

EmmaLee with her cousin Ethan.

Grandma Scott and Carter

Here are some pictures taken recently. Carter is in the process of learning how to crawl. He wants to crawl so badly, but he isn’t too sure how to do it. I am a bad mom and I am not showing him how to do it, because I don’t want him to be mobile! I just love the stage where they can sit up and play, but are content to stay where they are. I know that he’ll figure it out soon, so I don’t want to push it! EmmaLee started walking at nine and a half months, and I am not ready for Carter to do that! We are letting him take his time!
We also just celebrated Neil’s mom’s birthday over the weekend; I had my camera with me, so of course I had to take some pictures! She had asked for her birthday to have us do a project in her yard, so we sorted their firewood and put it in a neat pile. It was a cold night, but it was really fun. Happy Birthday Elener!

A New Semester

I feel like since Neil and I have been married I judge time by semesters! And just in case any one cares to know, Neil only has like 7 semesters left of school! So as a new one starts, our life always changes a little. I think his classes this semester are pretty intense, so we won't see much of him. But it seems like I have a lot to look forward to in the next few months. Here are some I can think of: *Neil and I are going to Vegas in March for 2 days to celebrate our five year anniversary! Yea! I love vacations! *My Brother is getting married in April to a really cute and fun girl. I am so excited for them, and especially excited to see all of our family together! *Lots of friends and neighbors are having new babies, oh I just love seeing new babies! *And Spring will be here soon! I can't wait for the weather to get just a little bit warmer! I really need to get outside! So, I have a lot to look forward to especially finishing the next seven semesters, but I guess I'll just take them one at a time!

Things I've learned in week number one...

So it's been one week since I've started training for this 10K. (it's not too late to join and start running, there is still plenty of time!) I wanted to write down my thoughts, so here they are in no particular order:

* It's hard to run when you have a cold. I've been fighting it the whole week. The morning time is especially the worst because I've been laying there half the night with my mouth open trying to breathe, and well, you know the outcome of that! It seems by night, I can breathe and that's when I have done all of my running

* EmmaLee is a great motivator. She loves the treadmill, and has to run on it before I or Neil get to. She gets this big smile on her face when she is done and you know she is just so proud of herself. On Tuesday night we were watching "The Biggest Loser" and I told her that after it was over we were going to exercise. At every commercial, she would ask if it was time to exercise? Even if I didn't want to run, she wouldn't have let me, she was going to make sure that we did it!

* Talking to other people about running helps. The more people I find out who are trying to run/walk or even do a triathlon, helps me stay motivated.

*The first week is hard. Here's why: when I am running, I keep thinking how I will never be able to continuously run for 6.2 miles. I am barely making it past .5 miles and I am running out of breath.

*The first week is great. Here's why: I am completely motivated because it's the new year, and it's time to get into shape!

*I heard that 80% of people don't follow through with their New Year's goal by February. That's scary!!

*Running .5 of a mile really doesn't take that long. It takes longer to get changed into your workout clothes and get everything set and ready to run, than it takes to run .5 of a mile. My experience is that it takes about 5 mins. No big deal, right? I keep having to tell myself that.

*Neil is 100% behind me and is following my workouts and that makes it a lot easier to stay motivated.

*I need new shoes. I have had the same shoes for over four years. I think they are too small. I've actually heard that after you have had a baby, your feet can be permanently bigger. Maybe that's my problem?

*Music, TV or any other distraction to keep my mind off of running really helps me. When I think bad thoughts, it is very hard to run. When I am positive, it is surprising how much longer you can stay on the treadmill.

*It's only going to get easier, right? Please tell me that it is!

10K Race!

Okay, so it's the new year, and it's time for me to get into shape! I've decided to run the 10K again. I haven't done it for a few years, so I am going to start off really slow and everyone can join! The more people who want to join, the better! The training started last Friday January 2nd, but it's not too late! If you can't run it all at once, that's okay, just run as much as you can and then walk the rest. Just make sure you are getting in all of your mileage at the end of each week. This will be really fun! So please join in on the fun! Here is the plan:

Start Friday January 2nd .5 miles 3X per week (If you are wondering why all of the dates start on a Friday, it is because the race is on a Friday, so I went back from there)

Jan 9th .5 miles 3X per week

Jan 16 .5 miles 3X

Jan 23rd 1 mile 3X

Jan 30th 1 mile 3X

Feb 6th 1 mile 3X

Feb 13th 1.5 miles 3X

Feb 20th 1.5 miles 3X

Feb 27th 1.5 miles 3X

Mar 6th 2 miles 3X

Mar 13th 2 miles 3x

Mar 20th 2.5 miles 3x

Mar 27th 2.5 miles 3x

Apr 3rd 2.5 miles 3x

Apr 10th 3 miles 3x

Apr 17th 3 miles 3x

Apr 24th 3 miles 3x

May 1st 3.5 miles 3x

May 8th 3.5 miles 3x

May 15th 4 miles 3x

May 22nd 4 miles 3x

May 29th 4 miles 3x

June 5th 4.5 miles 3x

June 12th 5 miles 3x

June 19th 5 miles 3x

June 26th 5.5 miles 3x

July 3rd 6 miles 3x

July 10th run/walk 7 miles one day this week, then the rest of the week run 5.5 miles 2x.

July 17th run 5 miles 2x this week, but take a few days break before the race.

July 24th RACE 6.2 miles!



Don't worry if you miss a few days or a few miles, just keep going. I know that it is so hard to stay motivated, so if you think that you can't commit to 3 times per week, try just 2 times per week, or even one. It will be so fun especially when you cross the finish line! A lot of runners don't need this much time to train, but I wanted to extend it for myself, so I could make sure that I was ready. Plus, I like to start off slow and then add a little at a time! Good Luck, and don't forget to ask me how I am doing, so that I can keep on track!

Christmas/New Years

Acting out the Nativity scene on Christmas eve. Carter was baby Jesus, just a bigger version I'm sure!

EmmaLee with her cousin Brennan. Em was Mary and Brennan was Joseph! How cute!

Em and Carter with their new pajamas!

Wow, we must have all been really good! (Santa combined his gifts with four different families) We just were trying to save Santa some time, isn't that nice of us?

Playing Rock band! (thanks Brother for the game, we love it!)

EmmaLee and Issak, playing bowling. We had bowling tournament, it was a lot of fun!

I can't believe Christmas has passed and it is now 2009. I love the Christmas season and how people are always thinking about other people. I love getting and sending Christmas cards. It is a great time to think about what is really important in our lives. I also love the new year, because it also gives us a chance to reflect upon the old year and to try to make better changes in our lives. Thanks to everyone, family and friends, who made 2008 a very special year for us. We love you!