It's about time!

It seem like I am always behind on blogging and then I have so much to post. Below you will see 5 entries. I hope I can break this bad habit.

Seattle Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon!!!

10 years ago I never thought I would run a 1/2 marathon, but after 7 years of running at 6am in the morning I finally got myself to sign up for one. The Rock and Roll run sounded like so much fun.



So June 27th was the day. The weather was perfect, it was my 12 year anniversary, and I felt pretty good. We left the house at 5:30am and headed to the starting point along with 25,000 other people.



I have ran a lot of 5K's but this was different. So many more people and such long lines at the potties.



When the horn blew we were off and what a perfect day it was to run along beautiful Lake Washington into down town Seattle.

After 10 weeks of training we wondered how we would do. Zeke has been experiencing some back and alelies issues, two days before the race he didn't even know if he would run, but in the end he "rocked" the race and ended at an amazing time of 1 hour 40 minutes 46 seconds. He came in 505th overall out of 15,541 half marathoners! Wow! I was so proud of him.

It was Tara's first 1/2 too. We ran together and it was so much fun. We surprised ourselves with a great time of 1 hour 53 minutes 28 seconds. Which put me at 1884th place.

What a feeling of accomplishment it is to pass the finish line. The pain was worth that feeling.

The day before the race we picked up our packet at the expo and my kids made these signs along with Tara's kids. They stayed over at Grandma and Grandpa's while we ran. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for taking care of them on your 40th anniversary.

Later that night Zeke and I went out to dinner on Lake Union to celebrate our 12 year anniversary. Following we went to the post Rock and Roll run concert. KebMo performed and it was nice to sit back and relax.

Rock and Roll 2010 sign me up!!

Lydia's Dance Recital

Lydia has taken a ballet/tap class this year. Following the last day of school was her recital. She danced beautifully to "Candle on the Water". It was so cute I got a little teary watching her.

End of the Year!

The school year came to an end on June 19th this year. It was quite the ending this year, because my mom who has taught Kindergarten at my kids school retired. It has been so much fun for my kids to have her there. They are really going to miss her.

The day we got back from Utah she had a retirement party. It was so fun to see some many people she has taught or worked with over the years.

Utah Trip June 3-11th 2009

It was fun to see so many family and friends while we were in Utah earlier this month.
First stop: The Findlays
My kids love spending time with their cousins.

Below is Mason and Cameron, wearing the same shirt.

Second stop: Logan to see Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen, and several other Nielsen relatives. (Kristie, Richard, Mandy, Sydney, Chole, JoAnn and Jenna)

My Grandparents are amazing. They are both in their 80's and are doing well.

We are so grateful for them.

Lydia had fun hanging out with fellow 6 year old cousins. Jack (on the left is her first cousin and Sydney in the middle is her second cousin). Cousins are instant friends.

Third: Evans Family Reunion at the Edmond's Cabin in Kamas, UT

All 30 members and 2 dogs of the Evans family spent the weekend together away in the mountains. It was wonderful!

Lydia and Maddie (11) played together designing dresses for barbie.

Jacob loved hanging out with Snitzel, and Snitzel was very patient with Jacob.

It was an adventure to go four wheeling in the mountains. Zeke loved giving all the kids rides. After taking all the kids on rides, he and I went on our own ride and came upon an adult brown bear. It was exciting and got our hearts pumping a little faster than normal.

We also meet our newest niece/cousin Halle. She is such a cutie and a very sweet baby.
On Sunday was her baby blessing. Jana is very talented and made this adorable dress. It was a special occasion and Halle was precious.

We were grateful to be able to get a family picture of everyone together.

Mason and Landon had so much fun goofing around with Spencer.

After the family gathering Maddie gave Lydia a ride on her horse bareback right before loading it up and heading up to Logan to a horse camp.

Forth Stop: Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House!

The last time our family was able to attend an open house was when the boys were 2. It was so neat to be able to go inside and see this beautiful temple. As pretty as it is on the outside the inside was even better.

Fifth Stop: Catching up with college friends.

It was so fun to see my two closest college friends: Cheryl and Amy! Amy just had twin girls and they are adorable. Cheryl had a baby Heidi 1 year ago, and I hadn't seen her yet and she was a cutie. We could have visited all through the night, but unfortunately these mama's can't do that anymore, but it was fun to catch up and laugh about some fun times together.

Sixth Stop: Antelope Island "The Great Salt Lake"

Practicing our cowboy skills at the ranch on the island

With the few opportunities Lydia has had this spring with different horses, she has become a horse lover and tells me she must be a cowgirl.

Finally: Lagoon

On our last day in Utah we went to Lagoon. The crazy thing was it was a pretty rainy day. But hey we are from Seattle so we know how to do stuff in the rain and still have fun.

It's raining so why not go on a log ride????

Jacob warmed up to going on rides and had a great time.

When it rained we just went for cover. For the longest rain interval we got stuck at the bakery in Pioneer Village. Not a bad place to be stuck at for an hour!

Thanks everyone for taking the time to see us while we were there. My kids eyes were filled with tears from the time we got to the airport in the morning to the time they wen to bed that night. It's always hard to say good bye to those you love.

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip 2009

We love to camp over Memorial weekend every year. This year we tried a new camping spot. It was new to my kids and Zeke, but for me it was the camp where I went to Girls Camp many times as a young women. Ensign Ranch has grown a lot since I was a young girl, and taking my family there was a whole new experience. We loved it and they were all great at letting me reminisce a little about my time spent there as a teenager.

Here was our home in the woods.

The first thing we did was take Lydia and Jacob on horse rides. They both loved it.

Jacob was a bit timid at first to get on a big horse. (He has yet to ride a pony)

After watching Lydia ride we was excited and had a great time.

The kids and some grown ups enjoyed riding in the back of the truck around the campground. It was convenient to be able to haul some many bodies around.

Zeke is always up for the high adventure stuff.

The main reason we love to camp is so we can spend time together as a family away from the TV, phone, computer etc.

The kids had fun carving sticks all weekend. We came home with several walking sticks.

The ranch has several horses. Lydia and her friend McKenzie feel in love with them.

On Saturday we enjoyed a fun time on this great slip and slide.

Lydia was a little nervous about going down the slide, but she enjoyed covering her friends in all the tubes.
Landon, Mason and myself rode horses one evening. This was the boys first time on horse and the first day of the season their horses had done trail rides. It was pretty exciting at the beginning of the ride when Landon's horse decided to turn around and go back to the barn. Landon did great and remembered all the pointers he was given in our instruction video. Both boys told us that was their favorite activity that weekend.

Landon