10 Day You Challenge - Day Three

Three Films:

How to pick just three when there are so many great ones?  Hmmm...

1. Pride and Prejudice - the BBC one with Collin Firth
2. Sleepless in Seattle - I love the soundtrack too!
3. Charade - I love Aubrey! Hepburn and Cary Grant

10 Day Challenge - Day Two

Now on to day two:  Two Songs

For right now, two songs I love listening to are:

1. In my Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride
2. A tie between The Way Love Looks and Roll with It, both by Easton Corbin

I guess that's cheating a little since I kind of picked three.  :)

P.S.  I forgot about a new song by Rodney Atkins -Take A Back Road which I'm really diggin' right now.   

10 Day Challenge - Day One

I saw this on another blog and thought it sounded interesting so I've decided to give it a try - here goes:

Day One - one picture of myself.

This picture of me and my little buddy is from a few weeks ago.  A friend of Brad's offered us tickets to a demolition derby.  I've never been to one before but have always wanted to.  It was a lot of fun - really!  We had a great time in spite of a massive thunder storm. I'll post about our adventure another day.

Half Marathon

About ten weeks ago I had a momentary lapse in judgment and signed up to run in a half marathon.  Yikes, what was I thinking!  I'd planned on running in a 10K race this year but when I saw this all women's race I thought to myself, "a half marathon isn't much farther than a 10K" and I signed up.  Silly me!  A half marathon is more than twice as long as a 10K - I really did know this but like I mentioned - a momentary lapse in judgment.

When the reality of what I'd done sunk in, I kind of freaked out for a few minutes but then decided this would be some good motivation to get my sorry self out running regularly again.  I figured I could at least get in good enough shape to finish and started getting up at 5:00 am to run before work 4 days a week.  On Saturday mornings, I'd go for long runs to build up my distance. (I haven't blogged this whole month because I've spent my extra time trying to get ready for the race.)  It was pretty hard at first but within a few weeks I could tell a difference - the running was getting easier.

I'm a pretty slow runner so my goal was to finish in around 2 hours and 45 minutes.  I'm happy to say not only did I finish the race, I actually accomplished this goal by finishing in 2 hours and 37 minutes.  I did it!  It was hard, and there were moments when I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it - I'm so glad I didn't listen to the self doubt and give up. 

Brad has been a HUGE support too - encouraging me the whole time, helpimg me get out to run and even going on a few runs with me.  He came and ran the last 4.5 miles with me - I'm not sure I would have made it without his encouragement.  Crossing the finish line was such a great sense of accomplishment.  I plan to keep on running and who knows, maybe I can do another half marathon next year but finish in 2 hours - it's something to work for.  :)

Spicy Ranch Dressing - Cafe Rio Style

I love this dressing!  This tangy ranch with a little bite to it is so very yummy - my mouth waters just thinking about it.  I've tried several different recipes and ended up compiling a few of them to come up with a version I like best.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Spicy Ranch Dressing

1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 package ranch dressing mix - I like Hidden Valley
8 oz. can Salsa Verde
1 clover garlic, minced
1 small jalapeno (seeds removed)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tsp kosher salt
1 - 2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Refrigerate for several hours for the flavors to blend.  It can be thinned with extra buttermilk if needed.

Flashback Friday

Looking back through some old photos I found these cute pics from when Winston was not quite one year old yet on a trip to Lake Powell.  Zack was helping him drive the boat. These were taken July 23, 2007 - almost exactly 4 years ago.

I love looking at our family photos and remembering all the fun we've had together and seeing how far Winston has come.  I can't believe he'll be 5 this year!

Warm Bellies

I don't do many product endorsements, but when I find a great product or something really useful I like to pass the information on. Since we spend quite a bit of time on the water, I wanted to find a wetsuit that would be easy to get Winston in and out of. and I foud one! 

They're called Warm Belly wetsuits and these suits are made just for kids.  You just pull them on and they fasten at the shoulder with velcro straps.  Also, they're adjustable so they grow with your child which really helps.  I hate spending money to buy a quality product only to have Winston grow out of it after a few months.  This will last him for a few years.  So, if you're looking for a great wetsuit for your child, you can find them here at the Warm Belly's website.

4th of July Highlights

We had such a great time this year.  Our ward put together a primary parade and then the bishopric made breakfast for them afterwards - pancakes, bacon and eggs with orange Tang to drink.  Winston was so excited to decorate his bike - he had a blast riding in the "parade" and wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July.  

Here's the proud rider.  :)

He was so excited to go I could barely get him to hold still for these pics. 

He wasn't quite sure if he should just jump in - it was his first parade.

Off he goes!

After that we headed up to my mom's for the annual 4th barbeque and water games.  The grandkids (and now the great-grandkids) look forward to this event every year.  Winston hardly ate lunch - he just couldn't wait to get the water fight going. I didn't get a pic of it (because I was the one filling them) but we filled up over 150 water balloons for the water fight - boy did they go fast!

This was my brother Bruce's gun and it was taller than Winston but he managed to make it work.

Winston and Jack had a great time together.

Brad with our "grown-up" boys - it's so great to have them back home!

My mom jumped in to get their pic too!

Jack, Winston and Clay were all on one team fighting against their older cousins.

My beautiful sisters Heidi and Lauri and my beautiful niece Brittany.  Lauri's holding little Scott - the youngest grandchild for my mom.  It was so fun to hang out with these amazing women.  I'm blessed to have them in my family! 

Me and my wonderfully awesome mom.

I had to catch this shot with my mom, Bo and Zack.  I like that you can see Brad and Bruce  in the background.

Jack, Luca and Winston - we finally got them to hold still for about 30 seconds to snap a few pics of them together.  They're all within about a year of each other and it's been fun watching them grow up together.

Winston, Jack, Clay and Tucker bouncing and squirting each other - good times!

Winston and Jack having a jumping contest.

All in all it was a great day!  I sure love my family!!  :)