Pioneer Celebration Day!

For me the celebration started off by running in a race. There were signups to do a 5k and a 10k run. Leanne, Angela (from the ward) and I signed up to do the 5k two days before, but when we got to the race to sign in, we decided right then to do the 10k instead. So instead of 3.1 miles, it's 6.2 miles. What's another 3 miles of good road?

Right before they yelled, "Ready, Set, Go!" the volunteers in charge told everyone that the race was actually a bit longer than that. *cough* Excuse me?

It was an 11k. An 11k?! I know… pretty uncommon, right? Usually races are a 5k, 10k, half marathon, or marathon. Yet, the course that the race was held at was just about 7 miles, which is an 11k.

Ok. Well then. What's another mile on top of the extra three miles I wasn’t planning on doing? Piece of cake.

Right!

Did I train at all for this?
Not one bit.

Was I nervous?
Not really.

Did I doubt my ability to do this?
Only for a slight moment.

Did I finish the race?
Yes I did! And I happy to say Angela, Leanne and I didn't stop running once! (Well, except to tie my shoe and jump and scream at the site of a snake not three feet away from where I going to step next. Luckily, the snake wasn't dangerous or poisonous. It was just a big garden snake, but it gave me quite the scare!)

Leanne, the running machine that she is, finished the race with an amazing time of 1 hour and 7 minutes. Good job Leanne!

Angela and I on the other hand, finished dead last out of like 20-30 people with a grand time of 1 hour and 32 minutes. But we finished. We were close to "dead" too, at the end, but we finished. And this was Angela's first ever race!

Do I ache beyond all reason now?
Absolutely.

Have I been limping around the house like a 90 year old woman ever since?

Pretty much.

Was it worth it?
Totally.

Angela~Leanne

My next goal: To run a half Marathon.
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After getting home from the race and taking a much needed shower we took off to watch the Pocatello Pioneer parade! So many hours were put into the making of these floats, costumes and planning to make it special for the children and people of Pocatello. The theme for it obviously, was about pioneers, but it was finding “Joy in the Journey.” Which has been my motto for awhile now!

http://athomewiththehodges.blogspot.com/2008/11/joy-in-journey.html?zx=634f9a914357d3c8

In the car, ready to go!

Hanging out snapping some pictures before the parade came marching down the street.

Looking cool in their shades, Madi and Avery eating a snack.

"Hi mom!" Madi was having so much fun, waving at everybody as they passed by and grabbing candy as it flew her way!


"Joy is Help From Above."

Hand carts
What a good looking bunch!

Awww...




The girls had a great time and we are glad we went this year, as we have forgotten to go the last two years in a row! We came away with big smiles, good feelings and a diaper bag full of candy! Swwweeeet.

Weekend with Emily

Ryan and I drove down to Utah on Friday to see Emily. We couldn't believe how much Emily has changed in a just two weeks! We were not able to make it down the weekend before due to various reasons, and have only had our morning and nightly updates over the phone from the nurses. The nurses at the University Hospital have been nothing but nice and so helpful. We feel so grateful to them for taking care of Emily and keeping her so comfortable and happy. I was able to nurse Emily twice this weekend, and she did so good! She latched on and totally exceeded everyone's expectations! It was so great to be able to bond with her more and hold her whenever we wanted to... which was always! We also got to see our good friends, Alan and Cristi from California and have dinner with them Friday night in Provo. We stayed with them Friday and Saturday night and had a great time like always! Proud Daddy- these pictures are from Friday night, she weighed in at 3 lbs. 15 1/2 ounces

Saturday morning- this is Emily in her new BIG girl bed! She is now able to maintain her body temperature better so she has been in a crib for about a week now. Emily is still on oxygen but it is pretty much on the lowest setting you can go, so pretty soon she will be off of everything!
  We took turns holding Emily.... it was like we were two years old again, learning how to share, as we would "fight" over who had her the longest! haha! :)A little smile. She smiled a lot when we were talking to her. She also smiled when she was getting fed through the tube the breastmilk. Emily and Dad in a deep conversation about the meaning of life. Of course Emily wasn't in the mood for such a deep topic so early in the morning so she starting teasing dad. The teasing has already started...You can see from this picture how much she has grown with my hand over her head from the picture on the side of our blog with my hand on her head. She really liked it when I lightly moved my hand back and forth over her head softly touching her. Her eyes would roll back and she would shudder almost everytime. It was really cute.Emily looking around as we continued to talk with her.This was right before I got to nurse her. We were hanging out comparing hands waiting for the breastfeeding specialist to come in. I think Emily's got MY hands.Emily is getting her first bath! It was neat how we did her bath. We wrapped her up in a towel and kept her wrapped up tight just taking out an arm or leg washing it and putting it back in the towel. Right before her bath though, we weighed her and she was 4 lbs. 3 ounces!Emily after her bath! She smelled of shampoo, had clean fluffy hair, a new outift, and a little pink bow on top to complete the cuteness!Kisses for Emy!And this is what happens when Ryan gets ahold of the camera...What a goof!I told him I was going to post those pictures on the blog. His response, "Go Ahead!" Me laughing at him. He always makes me laugh!Emily stretching
Hasn't Emily grown so much!?

Who does Emily look more alike?

A. Madisen

B. Avery

Another Year.... Younger! :)

Ryan and I just wanted to wish Ryan's Mom a very Happy Birthday!!!

August 2008


Here's mom, Tammy playing a game with Madi. She always has so much energy! Where she gets it I have no idea, but would love to find out! It seems like every year she gets younger as we all get older! She will get down and play with the girls for hours. Tammy is such a great mom and grandma! Our trip to Hogle Zoo and afterwards eating at PF Changs!

May 30, 2009

Our beautiful Mom!

We love you MOM!!!

Madi "spills the juice"

On Tuesday I went grocery shopping and bought some V8 VEGETABLE juice and I can honestly say, I have never bought nor tried the stuff before. Prior to Tuesday, I have been buying the V8 Berry V-Fusion for several weeks, which is a mixture of fruits and vegetables. Pretty good stuff. In fact, I like it so much I recommend it to those of you needing more fruits and vegetables in your diet.

So, in my zest to eat better, I have been buying V8 Berry V-Fusion but I had a dollar off coupon, (I will have to talk about coupons on another day) for the V8 VEGETABLE juice. I figured they would taste pretty similar and since I liked the V8 Berry drink, I bought the V8 vegetable juice using my sweet, dollar off coupon! Pretty clever, eh?

Well, for lunch the next day I gave both girls cups of this thick orange-red stuff with their sandwiches. I went about my business cleaning up the kitchen and doing the last of the dishes while quietly watching them to see their reaction. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Madi take a drink and immediately thought, “Yessssss!” (like Kip, from Napoleon Dynamite). I was feeling like a pretty good mom at this point, (which is rare) feeding my kids’ good healthy food.

However, a few minutes later as I was busy making my own sandwich, Madi starts whispering, almost chanting to herself. At first, I didn't know what she was saying; as it was so soft, but as I listened closer this is what I heard:

“Oh no. I am not going to drink THAT anymore.... no..... I just can't drink THAT....anymore...Oh no…"

My first thought was, that is so funny! But why is she saying that? I am sure it tastes good. Should I ask her why she is saying that or just ignore it and tell her to drink her juice anyway?

She continued to whisper these chants to herself. After about a minute or so of quietly listening to her obvious unexpected agony over this V8 drink; that just kept getting more and more intense with each chant, almost as if she was doomed for sudden despair. "I'm not going to drink THAT....Oh no."

I tried acting like everything was fine, because at that moment I notice Avery picking up her cup to take a drink. But before I get to rejoice in my sneaky pursuit to give my girls, “juice” I am robbed, because as fast as she tastes it, she puts it down even faster. She then slides her cup across the table to get IT as far away from her as possible, like IT was some contagious disease. Oh and that look! The look on her face said it all. Pure disgust.

My initial thought, It can't really be THAT bad? …..Can it?

I decided to ask Madi.

"Madi, do you like your juice?”

To which she replied, “No. I don’t want that kind of juice. It’s yucky.”

Right away, almost as if I was a prosecutor trying to convince a jury of a crime, or maybe it was just the Newman side of me coming out, I tried persuading and challenging Madi that no, this is really good juice. I used every angle in my argument; it’s good for your body. It has antioxidants. It’s healthy. It gives you one serving of vegetables a day…blah, blah, blah….

Seriously. Like I could really persuade a four year old to drink something using arguments about the great benefits of vegetables??

So I tried another approach.

“Look. Mommy, is going drink some of this yummy juice too!” (Happy Face)

I went over and opened the cupboard and grabbed myself a BIG cup to prove…well, I don’t know, that I was going to drink A LOT? I proceeded to pour myself a whole cup full of “THAT” juice. Because of course as moms, we know everything that is good for us (Heavy sarcasm). How bad could it be? I looked over at Madi and Avery to make sure they were watching their “brave” (yeah, right. That’s why I made them try it first!) mom, before I plunged into the thick, slimy, orange-red substance.

Those that know me, know that I have thrown up a couple hundred times, during each pregnancy. I HATE throwing up. Who does, really?? Yet, after drinking “THAT” I wish…no, I was dying to throw it back up! (Why is it when you don’t want to throw up- you do, and when you want to, you can’t?)

I am sure my face resembled that of Avery’s. Pure Disgust. It was Yucky, just as Madi said.

I tried to not show my sudden agony though and casually tried spitting into the sink when I thought no one was watching. I felt so bad for wanting and making my kids drink “THAT” that I immediately threw it out and replaced it with apple juice.

To sum it up best, like the priest on Nacho, “this is the worst lunch [drink] I ever had.”