Sam

Last year while we were at Manti, the kids caught a salamander.  They loved Sam so much, that I allowed them to bring him home.  He hasn't been doing very well the past two weeks, and he passed away this morning.  Emily was heartbroken.  We cleaned out his tank for the last time and gently placed him in a special box.  While we were doing this, God Be With You Till We Meet Again came on my i pod.  I held my baby girl while she wept and said goodbye to her beloved pet. 

Emily wrote a tribute to Sam:

SAM

Was a good pet.  He loved cricets (crickets).  He hated mill (meal) worms.  He got crazy in the night.  On June 2, 2012 he died.  He loved to be holded.  Kate said, "He was a good pet."  Emily: "He was the best pet I ever had.  He loved me so much.  We had staring contests.  He always won."  Gavin loved to feed you.

By Emily

So long, Sam. You were a good salamander and loved by many. I hope you had a good life.......

Bye Bye Birdies :(

Lit the grill for dinner tonight.  When I went to put the pork chops on, this is what I found.  Sorry birdies :(

Math and Science Olympiad

Tyler (on the left) and Wes

Tyler got to go to the Math and Science Olympiad.  This year he participated in Logical Fact Fun.  I'm not sure how to play this game, but he explained that it's similiar to Connect 4, only with math equations.  He and his partner, Wes, got second place!  Way to go boys!

Half Marathon

I did it!!!!! I finished in 2:13! I am really proud of myself and so happy that I chose to run today! It was a beautiful morning and I met some really great people along the way. I got up at 3:30 this morning and picked up my friend, Kiersten Peterson, at 4:15. My bus wasn't going to leave until 5:30 a.m., but when I got there at 5:00, they loaded us up, and took us away! We had a long time to wait at the starting line, but it was kind of fun standing around the the fire pits and watching all the people.

There were 3,500 runners running the half. There were people everywhere! We started over towards the finish line a little before the race and I was off! I crossed the start line at 7:05. It felt really good to be running again! I caught up to one of my mom and dad's old friends, Tom Jensen, in the canyon. I stuck with him for 9 miles! It was so great to see him and catch up, it's been a lot of years. He also kept pushing me to keep running! There's no doubt in my mind that I would have stopped and walked had he not been there. At one point I was falling a little behind and he turned to me and said, "Steff, are you coming?" Most people would be embarrassed to be out run by a 65+ year old man, but I felt privileged to be running with such a good guy!

I went into this race with no expectations. I hadn't run since April 14 and even then, it was only 10 miles. I had been seriously sick this week and even tried to sell my bib four days before the race. I have been in a little bit of a rut lately, and kind of saw the light this week. I felt like I was ready to stop feeling whatever it was I had been feeling, I'm not even sure what I was feeling, and start living my life again. I expected to run/walk this race. It was to be a new beginning and a fresh start for me. It felt really good when I ran across that finish line!

Here's to a fresh start!

I'm Pretty

Kate just came to me to show me her new hairdo....

"Mom.  Look, I'm pretty."

I couldn't agree more, Kate! 

I hope we don't have to go anywhere important today ;)

Man or a Woman?

Kate is such a sweet little girl, however, she is a bit of a drama queen.  She does her fair share of whining throughout the day.  Especially when she's tired.  Yesterday she must have been SUPER tired.  She blames everything on her sore canker in her mouth.  She started to cry, really for no reason at all, and Emily had had enough.  She firmly asked her, "KATE.  Are you a man or a woman?"  It made me laugh because I'm sure that's not what she really meant to say.  After I thought about it for a little longer, it REALLY made me laugh.  Because it's kind of true ;)

HAHAHA!!!  LOVE ALL YOU BOYS!!!

Gavin's Birthday

I know I always say that I can't believe how fast the kids are growing, but I CAN'T believe that this kid is six.  It's like he went from a baby to a big boy overnight. 

I usually make them wait until after school to open presents, but I was convinced to let him open them before school.  He was SO excited!

Emily chose a green ball

Tyler gave him a "squishy" dinosaur and a Caramello

One of his favorites.  A 5' Darth Maul lightsaber!

We had so much fun on his birthday.  He loved Toad's so much last year, that he chose to go there again this year.  It had rained pretty hard the night before his birthday so they wouldn't let him use the batting cages.  He was a bit disappointed, but still had a great time spending all his money on video games.

She was so proud of the tickets she earned

Look at that concentration!

He scored a glowstick, glow in the dark teeth, plenty of treats and a princess crown for his little sister!

After Toad's, we had a little bit of time to play at McDonald's before going to school.  What a perfect day for this boy!

While he was at school, Kate and I decorated the cake.  She enjoyed herself!

The celebration continuted after school when family came for dinner, cake and ice cream. He chose spaghetti, french bread and salad for his birthday dinner.

So proud of my little man!  Gavin is such a fun, friendly and outgoing kid!  He is full of love and always has a smile on his face!  Love you, boy!