5k 2.0

So remember two years ago when I ran my first 5k and was all excited to run for the rest of my life? Well, I finally did it again, and since it had been so long, I started over completely with the couch-to-5k training program. And again, it worked. This time I convinced a group of moms from the boys' school to do it with me. We had a blast. Of course it rained, but we did it anyway; and we did it in style (note the hot socks). And they are already making me run again on Wednesday, so maybe we will keep it up this time. Thanks gals, its your turn to motivate me.

Thanks to Brent, Mom, the boys, and Oliver for coming out in the rain to cheer us on. You guys are great. I love you!! And thanks Keith and Margaret for the early Christmas gift via mom; the little mp3 case fit my player perfectly.
High Five!!

We got to spend Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Zollinger. They live in Utah now so its only a day's drive. YAY. After a tasty Thanksgiving meal, we visited Hollywood on Friday and Griffith Park on Saturday. Griffith was amazing. It was so clear we could see Catalina Island, Hollywood, downtown LA, Century City, downtown Long Beach, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. We also enjoyed a show at the planetarium. We had a great day and a great weekend. Thanks for coming to play Camma and Wendell.

elijah's first loose tooth

Elijah lost his first tooth today. And he pulled it out all by himself.

What a cutie.

park city with the zollinger clan

Park City is mostly a ski town, but I would highly reccomend a trip in the summer. The weather is a bit cooler than down in the valley, there are hiking trails all over the place, and there is hardly anyone there. We were able to rent a big house with almost all of Brent's family (we missed you Sue) and we had a blast. The cousins played. The siblings, and siblings-in-law bonded, and of course there was precious grandma and grandpa (and mom and dad) time.

Jacob played on the trampoline/bungee thing. He tried very hard for a flip but couldn't quite get upside down.

The kids played "Careful" with Grandma.

And of course; we ate. Sometimes, we ate out. And sometimes we cooked for each other. Either way, it was DEE-licious. We always love hanging out with the Zollingers. Family is the best.

one more childhood milestone, checked off the list

a few days with Grandpa and Dana

Our first stop on the Utah summer vacation was Grandpa's place in Sandy. We rode TRAX to Temple Square and visited the Museum of Church History, toured the Conference Center, and walked the grounds of the Temple. The kids loved the train.

The Museum had an exhibit honoring the 50th anniversary of "I Am a Child of God". It was adorable; the kids loved all the stations that represented the different stages in the Plan of Salvation. You start in the pre-existence, then the hospital where you are born, on to baptism and temple marriage, then the Celestial Kingdom. It was a great hands-on exhibit that helped the kids visualize all the things they are learning in primary.

Taking care of the newborn:

The museum also featured the Salt Lake Tabernacle and its amazing construction. We enjoyed seeing our ancestor's name (William H. Folsom) and photo, as part of the exhibit as one of the contributing architects of the Tabernacle.

Our future prophets:

The next day we spent some time at the Classic Family Fun Center. We rode some water slides, and played on the indoor jungle gyms.

Then Dana and I revolutionized dance.

this is how we roll

Remember when you were a kid and you went on family summer vacations and the car trips seemed to take FOR-E-VER? Kids these days. So lucky:

Oliver had the whole car floor to himself thanks to smart Honda engineers that make it a piece of cake to remove the seats:

Eli and Jake both enjoyed some solitude with their nintendo DS(es) and earphones:
And Spencer kept himself busy with his stuffed animals (buckled up for safety) and his own DVD screen.
Trips to Utah were never this easy when I was young. How did our parents do it?

I'm only six months late. Don't judge me.

Elijah turned six in May and he had a party. It was space-shippy. Here are some highlights. Enjoy.

I apologize for the sideways video.

first day of school 2009

crazy hair day

I'm not exactly sure how this will keep our kids off drugs; but this past week was red ribbon week and one of the spirit days was "crazy hair day." this is how the boys chose to celebrate. needless to say, they are all now newly shorn:

Halloween 2009

Hey, I'm back. Didya miss me? It's too much to catch up on so I am just starting from where we are: Halloween.

Here are the pix:

there was a pie eating contest:

Jake won:

brent played too:

but he lost:

happy halloween everyone. and 10 points if you know who brent dressed up as.

Spring Break

On Tuesday we took a day trip to Balboa Park in San Diego with the Bousfields.  We went to visit the model railroad museum.  This is the same park where the San Diego Zoo is housed but I did not know that. Who knew we had a Central Park in California? I had never been to the park before and I have missed out.  It is amazing.  They have several museums, beautiful landscaping and tons of Spanish Architecture.  I want to go back just to be able to really look at the park.

Inside the train museum.


One of the many lovely fountains.
The kids really liked "the dragon" entitled "Nikigator".  It was a sculpture and a mosaic.  Spencer says, "Its a dragon made of marbles, colored marbles."
We stopped at Ruby's in Carlsbad for dinner and did a little shopping at the outlets on the way home.  It was a great day.