A race and then some turkey

After consuming turkey and skipping nap time

 Hanging out with family

 My little bro ran the 5K and I did the 10K

 Before the race

I knew I would probably be consuming lots of calories on Thanksgiving, so when I saw that there was a Turkey 10K that morning I had to sign up.  One of my New Year's resolutions was to run at least one 10K this year.  This last race was actually my 5th 10K and I am hooked.  I'm hooked on the runners high, the competition and challenging myself.  Next year I will probably make it a goal to run a half marathon.  I'm a little scared about this distance but I know I can build up my endurance for a race like this.  I did really well with my turkey 10K.  My finish time was a new PR, 47:30.  I took first in my age group and got to take home a pie to eat with my Thanksgiving feast.   

 

It has really been a year of races for me.  This last race was my 9th.  I just love the feeling once you cross the finish line.  I have had moments in every single race where I worried if I could finish but I am happy to say that I have finished every single one.  I am very grateful that I have been blessed with this healthy body.  I have always been healthy but now that I'm 50 pounds lighter than 2 years ago I feel so free.  I feel so much better about myself.  I hope to keep up my healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life so I can just enjoy life to the fullest without physical limitations. 

 

I am very grateful for my family.  My kids keep me busy and can be a challenge but I know they are a blessing and there is a reason why I was meant to be their mommy.  I am grateful for my husband Jerry.  I can't believe we have known each other for over 10 years now.  We will be celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary next year.  I am grateful to be a member of the LDS church.  Without my faith I feel like I would be so lost.  It was a good Thanksgiving.  I'm so glad I have a new job and I know I will not have to work on holidays anymore! 



Trick or treat

I need to hurry and make a post about Halloween before too much times goes by.  When Halloween is over I know Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before I can catch a breath.  The kids really enjoyed the holiday.  Xander was Spiderman and Wesley was Yoda.  When they were dressed up I could only call them by Spiderman or Yoda, not Xander and Wesley.  They are both old enough now to go trick or treating around the neighborhood.  We took them out for a couple hours in the evening. 

I don't know if it's a saying or a theory, but sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.  This will apply to my career.  I have been seeking a way to go part-time, but it has taken a couple years to find something that works.  It is very difficult to find a part-time job in my field.  I finally found a part-time job with my company.  I will be going from 7on/7off to two 10 hour shifts every week.  I have given up my day shifts for the evenings.  The plus is that I will be with my kids every single morning and that I only have to work twice a week.  I will get to be off every weekend and every holiday that falls during the days that I work.  The real downside is that I will be gone two nights a week.  There will be two nights every week that I don't get to spend time with Jerry.  I'm sure we will find a way to make it work.  I will be training full-time for the next 3-4 weeks and I will be gone every single evening M-F.  I am not looking forward to this.  I really hope it works out okay.  I think this new switch was a good idea but sometimes I have my doubts.  It is kind of a sacrifice because I was moving up in my career and now I'm stepping back.  I'm doing this for my kids though.  Here's to some crazy weeks ahead...

Crochet!!!

 Star hot pads

 Train Hat

 Owl Hat

 Sock Monkey Hat

 Owl and Minnie Mouse Hat

 Angry Birds Hats

For those who don't know, I learned how to crochet when I was pregnant with Wesley and I have been hooked (pun intended) since then.  I'm always looking for fun projects.  Lately I have had a lot of fun making hats for my kids and some friends.  I just recently took a new job at work and will be moving down the career ladder instead of up.  I'm going part-time in hopes of being with my kids more, at least while they are young.  I would love to build up an inventory and start a shop, probably on Etsy just to earn a little money on the side and because this is something that I really enjoy.  If you like any of the hats, or see something you would like me to make then let me know.  Send me an email to jerandelis@gmail.com.

The pumpkin monster rises!

At Lagoon

 Wesley at Black Island Farms

 The kids riding a train

Waiting in line for The Fear Factory

The kids met a friend at the straw maze 

Jeremiah did it again, pulled off another great pumpkin monster.  This all started in Halloween 2010 and he is been creating masterpieces for 3 years in a row.  The day of Halloween is not necessarily the most exciting.  It just means a bunch of children will be stopping by wanting candy.  It's the weeks leading up to Halloween that are fun.  We have done so many fun things already.  At the end of September Jerry and I finally went to The Fear Factory in SLC (http://fearfactoryslc.com/).  I love spook alleys.  I don't know when I started loving them, but it has always been fun for me to run around getting chased by monsters every Halloween season.  We have season passes to Lagoon and have been going to Frightmares (http://www.lagoonpark.com/attractions/frightmares).  The kids love the spook alleys for kids and the monster shows.  I think our kids are going to grow up loving Halloween as much as Jerry and I do.  We have also been out to Black Island Farms where they  have a fun courtyard full of fun slides and the corn mazes (http://www.blackislandfarms.com/).  This last Saturday we decided to check out a straw maze at the Tri City Nursery in Kaysville (http://www.facebook.com/Tricitystrawmaze).  We all had a lot of fun. This maze had tunnels and hidden areas where you had to find all the shaped hole punchers that corresponded to the pictures that they gave you on a card.  I know the weather will soon take a turn for the cold and stay that way, but for now we are enjoying some really fair weather.

Yellowstone trip!!!

 Kids Painted like rodeo clowns at the rodeo

 At the Buffalo Bill dam

 Xander dancing

 At the grave of the man he was named after, Jeremiah Johnson

I can't believe the summer is already over.  I do love fall but I am going to miss it.  I love the warmth of the days and all the fun stuff that you can do outside.  We did go boating a couple times this summer with my parents boat up in Bear Lake.  We had Lagoon season passes too.  Both kids love going on the rides.  We finished off the summer with a road trip to Yellowstone.  I was scared to go on this trip.  The thought of being stuck in a car with two little kids for hundreds of miles scared me.  We brought a portable DVD player with plenty of cartoons, food to keep their mouths quiet and toys.  They still drove us a little crazy but I felt like the trip was still a success.  Yellowstone is beautiful.  I'm pretty sure that the last time I went was when I was a little girl.  It's crazy to me that tourists flock to this super volcano and walk casually around the park every single day.  We saw plenty of geysers and lots of wildlife.  Xander's favorite animal was the buffalo.  We drove through the Idaho side to get to the West Yellowstone entrance.  We made a stop outside of Rexburg to see Bear World.  I think that was the most fun place for the kids on the whole trip.  We drove around a fenced area of the park where Bears wander around freely.  You can't get out of your car or roll down your windows  nor did I have any desire to.  Bear World also had a petting zoo and rides.  I recommend it to anybody visiting that area. 
  Our hotel was 53 miles from the East entrance in Cody, WY.  That was a fun town to visit.  There is lots of history there.  We went to the Buffalo Bill dam, the Old West Town, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and the Cody Rodeo.  It was my first time going to a rodeo.  I wish we had more time to spend in the Buffalo Bill Historical center.  It is a very large museum and we were only able to get through a fraction of the exhibits.  Our kids were also getting bored and tired so we couldn't stay long.  It was pretty good for one of our first family vacations.   

Happy Birthdays!!!

The birthday Parties are finally over...phew!  It is tougher then I thought it would be to have two kids born in the same month and have two parties for each one.  If I was smarter I would have just one big party, but the fact is that I wanted to honor each child individually.  Those two kids are growing so fast.  They just had their well checkups today.  Xander is getting tall.  He weighed 40lbs (80%) and was 41in (65%).  Wesley gained nearly 10 pounds during his second year.  He weighed 29lbs (63%) and was 34.5in (53%).  These two are brothers and they do fight, but the good news is that they do seem to be buddies as well.  They love seeing each other when they first get up in the morning.  They share toys at least 50% of the time.  I have seen Xander try to read a book to Wesley or do something to help take care of his little brother.  I really hope they continue to be close and be the best friends that I know some brothers can be.  Taking care of those two kids is fun, and crazy and stressful.  Just being a mom and putting the needs of two little ones above my own is a sacrifice, but I don't regret it.  Despite all the challenges of motherhood, I know that it really is a huge blessing in life to have this experience.

We had Xander's 4th birthday party at Cherry Hill on 7/6, one week before his real birthday.  He really wanted an Angry Birds party.  I did my best to follow the theme.  I have a very talented sister-in-law, Kristen who makes specialty cakes.  She made cakes for both parties.  I could never pull off the kind of things that she does.  We ate food, played a few games and just watched Xander have fun with all the kids who stopped by.  I'm sure that his next parties after this will be more friend centered rather then family.

 Cake made by http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Sweet-Fancy-Cakes-by-Kristen/228682690496797

 Aftermath, it was so delicious!

We celebrated Wesley's 2nd birthday this last Saturday, 7/21.  We had the party at Boondocks, a family fun center.  Since Wesley is still kind of a baby to me and I don't know what he likes, I picked his party theme.  We did kind of an Elmo/Sesame Street party.  Kristen came through again and made the cutest cake.  Xander loved helping him open all his presents, especially since I think he knew that he would get to play with them anyway.  Whatever Wesley gets, Xander will play with and visa versa.  We are so grateful to all the friends and family who made it to the parties.  It was special that Jerry's dad, Grandpa Stephenson, was able to stop by while visiting from Texas. 

 I think one reason I justify doing two parties is because I hardly throw any other events during the year.  My kids are one of the most important parts of my life so why not celebrate them?  I can't be too horrible of a mom if they have made it this long.  I just remember when Xander was born.  I had no experience with kids.  I didn't know how to a change a diaper.  They handed him to me and I was terrified to hold this tiny 6 pound newborn baby.  I was thinking in my head, "Wow, you seriously trust me with this little creature?"  It's amazing to look back and remember that.  Sometimes I'm still blown away when I look at my life.  I think about how I have been in a wonderful relationship to Jeremiah for over 9 years now.  We met 10 years ago next month!  I have two healthy kids.  It's amazing how much can happen and how fast it all flies by.