My First 5K

Whew!  I did it!!  I'm so pleased and glad that I finally tried.  I've run off and on for over 10 years but I've always kept to 2 miles or less.  I enjoy running but honestly I prefer weight training to running and would rather spend an hour at the gym lifting weights than 30 minutes pounding out three miles.  Earlier this summer I felt like I had stalled and wasn't making as much progress as I would have liked in my efforts to get back in shape.  So, I decided to switch things up and it's worked!  I've increased the time and distance that I run and feel more fit than I have in years.  As I began to see improvements, I decided to set a goal to run in a 5K and running in our annual city celebration 5K seemed like the perfect time to try since it gave me just over a month to train. 

The weeks seemed to fly by while I slowly made progress and by the weekend before the big event, I was able to run about 3.5 miles with only a couple of walk breaks.  It's been interesting trying to make time to run and still go to the gym in between everything else.  Brad's been great to help out and encourage me along the way.  The morning of the race, we all headed over - Brad ran with me too while pushing Winston in my jogger.  The race started bright and early at 7:00 am so we had to wake up Winston which he wasn't too happy about.  Once he realized we were going to a race though he brightened right up. 

We started out running at a steady, easy pace that felt great.  Brad told me to just run as fast as I wanted and he would follow (he can run lots faster than I can).  My two goals were to see if I could run the whole way without stopping and to do the race in under 30 minutes.  Brad stayed with me for the first 2 miles but then Winston started making a big fuss -  he wanted to run too - so Brad stopped, let him get out and run next to him.  I didn't notice that they'd stopped and just kept going.  Brad said Winston ran for quite a ways but they had an incident - he tripped and scuffed up his hands a little.  There were tears and hugs and Brad got him back in the jogger to finish out their run.  (I was glad the incident didn't include Winston needing to pee somewhere on the side of the road!)

There must be something about running in a race like that because even though I got tired, at the same time I still felt really good - like I could have run farther and maybe faster if I'd pushed myself a little harder.  I'm happy to say that I accomplished both of my goals!  I ran my first 5K in just over 29 minutes and didn't have to stop for a breather once.  I had to wait at the finish line for Brad and Winston but it was so cool to see them come around the corner and head my way with smiles when they saw me.  All in all it was a rewarding experience and I'm so happy and proud to have accomplished this.  I'm already looking forward to doing another one.

Thought for the day

We function most powerfully when we are giving love. The world has led us to believe that our well-being is dependent on other people loving us. But this is the kind of upside-down thinking that has caused so many of our problems. The truth is that our well-being is dependent on our giving love. It is not about what comes back; it is about what goes out.  Alan Cohen

Words to live by

I came across the following verses in my reading during the last few weeks and even though I've read and heard them before, these words really struck a cord with me this time.  I love the promised blessing of peace if we keep the Lord's commandments - not just in our actions but in our hearts (I could really use some peace in my life right now). 

PROVERBS 3:1-6 “…Forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments, for length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart; so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Sometimes in this rush and hurried world it's easy to lose sight of what's truly important. This scripture reminded me that no matter what's going on in and around my life, I need to trust Heavenly Father. He will bless and guide me through all my struggles. These words are so comforting to me, especially since I know how flawed my own thinking can be at times (I blame it on hormones - sometimes it's hard to be a girl - emotions, pressure from others and the typical distractions in life - besides, nobody's perfect.  Right?).  I'm recommiting to try and do all I can to Trust in my Lord.  I hope some of that peace finds me along the way.  :)

Winston's First Fish

On our recent trip to Lake Powell, Winston caught his first fish. Last year I'd bought him a little practice fishing pole with a weighted disk on the end and he's loved casting it off the back of the boat. Back in June he tripped when he was casting out and let go of the pole - it sank right away. He was so sad to lose his fishing pole and he couldn't stop thinking about it and talking about how he had wanted to catch a fish.  He started telling everyone about how his fishing poled had "drowned."

Brad and I decided to go ahead and get him a real fishing pole - hooks and all (Yikes!) and the first chance he had to use it was at Lake Powell during our July trip.  After a rainy afternoon, we were spending a quiet evening on the houseboat and Brad decided it was the perfect time to teach Winston how to fish.  Brad got his new gear all set up and explained to him the danger of the hooks and how to cast.  Winston quickly caught on and sat at the end of the dock next to our houseboat casting out and reeling it back in for about 45 minutes. 

He was just starting to lose interest and was messing around with his pole while the hook sank down in the water when all of the sudden he turned to Brad and said, "Dad, I think I caught a fish."  Sure enough, he had hooked something (Brad and I were pretty surprised too because we didn't think he would catch anything there with all the boats going by).  Brad helped him reel it in and all I could say was, "Wow, what a big fish!"  He had caught a striped bass about 16 inches long.  Winston couldn't wait to hold his first catch and was so proud of his fish.  (I'm glad I had the camera there to catch the moment)  He did get pretty upset with us when we let it go.  He wanted to keep it as a pet and then take it home so Brad could cook it on the smoker.  (I love the things he comes up with!)

He did catch another one the very next day off the back of our boat but while Brad was helping him reel it in, the fish dove back under our boat, broke the line on our prop and got away. Winston was so mad at the fish for steeling his hook - his favorite one because it was green. There's never a dull moment with Winston around. We had a great time and what an adventure for our little fisherman!

Grateful to be a Mom

Wow, where has July gone?  I could swear that the 4th was just last weekend and yet here we are at the end of the month already.  So, I'm one of the Relief Society teachers in our ward and it was my turn to teach this last Sunday.  The lesson was on Mother's teaching their children which is a topic I've had some experience with (I was so happy about that!)  I've only been a teacher since last December.  This was my 5th time teaching and I'm still trying to get used to it.  I'm fine with teaching children and even the youth but for some reason, teaching adults is very intimidating to me. 

Anyway, in preparing for this lesson, I was able to think back through all my experiences as a mother and all that being a mother has taught me over the years.  I think I've probably learned more from my children than I've taught them.  How wise Heavenly Father is to let us learn through our experiences.  I've always been better with hands on teaching rather than lectures anyway.  I guess in my ramblings here what I'm trying to say is that I'm so grateful to be a mom and for all the trials and joys involved with being a parent. 

I have to give kudo's to Brad as well - he's so loving and supportive.  He's been great over the last 7 months - offering me words of encouragement when I felt overwhelmed with this calling and helping me with my lesson preparations.  He has such great insight.  He'll read through the lessons and ask me a few questions or make a few comments about the topic and I'm off and running with ideas - things I never would have thought of on my own.  Thank you Brad for all you do to help me and enrich my life.  I don't know what I'd do without you and our wonderful boys.  You guys are my treasures and I'll be eternally grateful to Heavenly Father for guiding us to meet when we did and blessing us with three amazing boys who inspire me to try and be my best.

Rock Shapes

Last week we went to Lake Powell for our 2nd trip this summer. Winston made a game of looking for shapes in the rocks and on the 2nd day of our trip while we were boating up the Escalante arm, he suddenly called out, "Hey, there's a finger!"  At first, I couldn't see what he was looking at, but then I saw it - a shape on the rock that looked like someone holding up their pointer finger.  So we pulled over and took a picture while Winston happily posed in front of what he'd found.  

What a clever little guy he is - not to mention observant!

First Primary Talk

Yesterday, Winston gave his first talk in Primary. He loves to get up in front of people - our little man is not shy, in fact he loves the attention.  He's already given the prayer and a scripture and thoroughly loved it.  Needles to say, he was so excited to give his first talk.   I helped him put together some things to say about Zack and Bo - his missionary brothers and how they're teaching the gospel and helping the people where they are.  For his props, I made a German flag and a Japanese flag to hold up.  On Sunday morning while we were getting ready for church, Winston found one of Bo's old ties in his closet and just had to wear it for his talk.  He did such a good job and was so proud to talk about his brothers and their missions.  Here are some pictures of Winston holding the flags and wearing Bo's old tie.  Way to go Winston.  We're so proud of you!

A 4th of July to Celebrate

We had our annual 4th of July picnic party at my Mom's yesterday.  It was complete with a water fight for the kids and Winston had a ball.  He loved squirting his cousins and was a good sport about getting squirted.  We enjoyed lots of great food and time with my family.    Winston loved the water so much he stayed in the wadding pool until his teeth were chattering but he kept insisting that he wasn't cold.  He's such a boy!  Here's a link to make a cake like the one shown above.  Time to enjoy some fireworks with the neighbors.  Have a happy 4th of July!