1/2 way to my Ironman!

Who would have thought that these guys (above) could have helped me do this:

Utah Half Ironman in 5 hours and 9 minutes.

I swam in the disgusting and extremely stormy Utah lake, biked 56 miles in rain, wind, and hail and then ran 13.1 (my GPS watch actually said 13.6- hey if you are a runner every point whatever extra is a big deal) miles.....and LOVED every minute of it. I can't wait to do the Ironman in May!

***And yes that is Shayne running with me in the middle picture. He ran a couple of loops with me on the run and it was so great to have him there. Thanks Shayne. And thanks mom and dad for coming to watch and cheer (whistle!!) me on.

Vacations this Summer:

We got to go on a couple of vacations this summer:

Here are some pictures from our annual Pine Valley trip with Shayne's family. Lots of food, fun, and cousins!

We also got to go and visit my brother Marty and his family (Bonnie, Angie and Hyrum) at Catalina Island in California. He was working at the Cherry Hill Boy Scout Camp for the summer. The girls had a blast! We just played and played in the ocean. Parly and Clayre snorkeled for their first time. It is beautiful there. And we all got to go for a ride on the big boat, with only a few sea sick-ers.

We always go to Logan in the summer because it is so nice up there. This summer we had a surprise retirement party for my dad. He knew he was retiring, he was just surprised about the party. It was a short trip and we actually had to keep ourselves hidden from him for a night and almost a full day. (Was that really necessary or was everyone trying to just avoid the Scott Family?). But the surprise was real and it turned out to be a great party. Happy retirement Dad!

School Projects

I AM catching up. Here are some of the girls school projects they did LAST year. (No I am not getting a jump start on this year.) I always loved the big projects I did in school so it's hard not to want to take over and do them for my kids. But then I also hate it when you can tell the parents did all the work....so I just help my girls come up with something creative and let them do the rest.

This is one of Parly's book reports. They had to make a game. The book was called, "Lights, Camera, Action!" She had cute cards that mentioned parts from the book and if it was a bad thing that happened you had to go back a few spaces and if it was a good thing then you got to go forward. It turned out super cute and very clever. She said her classmates had a lot of fun playing it.

This was a big project for Parly. It was for the history fair. Parly chose to do it on the Tuskegee Airmen. She worked hard and research all the cool facts about these amazing black airmen. Clayre and I helped her some with the airplanes. We tried to get them to look like the fighter planes they flew back then. So fun!

I'm afraid Clayre is a lot like me and enjoys these projects as much as I do. She didn't get to do very many and so wanted to help Parly with hers as much as Parly would let her. But here is one she did get to do. She had to research a topic, learn about it, and then share it with the class. She decided to learn about; How to write a book. She called my brother Marty up and asked him a lot of questions about his experience with writing and publishing a book (The Evil Harbormaster). Then wrote it out on a board made to look like a book. She was happy about it but said that the kids only clapped a little when she was done and another student who did an erupting volcano got clapping and cheers. Oh, Clayre you are so cute!

Stop copying me!

So the other day before school started, Parly and Clayre were fighting. I know crazy! Parly was mad because Clayre was wearing something similar to her outfit and had her hair done the same way. Pretty much Clayre was a copycat-er. So Parly became the tattletale-er and I sent them out of my room (where I was busy reading my book) and on their way so I wouldn't have to be bothered. They came in a little later with this little diddy. Pretty cute!

Triathlon Time!

So back in April (yes, I said April...and it is now the end of July..what of it?) Parly and Clayre did a kids triathlon. It was great! They had a fun time. It was a 50m swim, 1 mile bike, and 1/2 mile run. Perfect, right?

Aren't they cute? Clayre had a tough time on the swim and after one length wanted to stop. Shayne went over to encourage her and talked her into wearing a life jacket and floating back. She did. It was fun watching them come in from the bike and start their run. They were spread out a little so Shayne got to run a little with each of them. They both ran the whole time. Parly enjoyed everyone cheering and the attention, where Clayre looked like she was ticked and might spit in your eye. But I cheered anyways....LOUD. Afterward they each got medals and were happy to be done. With the medal around Parly's neck she said, "I feel like mommy." Adorable.

So, now you are thinking...I want to do a triathlon. Do it! That looks like fun. It is so fun! And if you think you might be able to swim/bike/run a little more than these guys did then join me May 1, 2010 for the 1st Annual Ironman St. George. Yes. You read right. Ironman. It's just a little more distance; 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run.

It's been so long. Where do I even start?

How about I work backwards. The last week was spent getting Parly and Clayre's room, that they have to share now to make room for the preschool, painted. Here's how it went:

• Saturday: Move everything out of the room.
• Monday: Wipe walls, tape, and apply first coat of paint (turquoise). Clayre paint primer on the dresser.
• Tuesday: Second and final coat of paint on the walls. 3 coats of paint on the dresser (red).
• Wednesday: Last coat of paint on the dresser. 3 coats of paint on the bookcase and shelves (yellow). Start putting room together. Bed and bunk bed (from Ikea). LOOOONG Day!
• Thursday: Put up shelves. Fill the room with girls STUFF. Shayne get a mattress for the bunk bed. All finished! So happy. It turned out better than we expected.
  

Want to read a book BETTER than Twilight?

Okay, that probably isn't hard. Some of you might say. (And don't get me wrong---still a fan and loved the series). BUT.....So let me rephrase that. Want to read a book better than Twilight (in my opinion) that you won't be able to put down, that you will be depressed when you realize that it is over and the next book doesn't come out until September of this year, that you will finish and just want to talk and talk about? Yes? Okay, so go get: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. You will thank me or actually not thank me because your children will be left to fend for themselves, your laundry and dishes will pile up, and your husband will wonder why a book has gotten more of your attention than he has for months. The good thing is: ALL that will only last a day or two because you won't be able to put it down.... until you do and it is over and then you are stuck waiting 6 more months like me for book 2. So call me when you are there.

Check. Check. And Check.

A couple of weeks ago my parents, my brother Isaac and his wife Elise, my sister Sadie and her husband Christian and baby CJ came for a whirl wind of a weekend. They got here Friday night and left Sunday morning. It actually isn't that different than all the other times they come. Their trips are always short. I hope it is just because they are busy people and can only make these quick trips and not because they can't stand us another minute. But we are always happy to have them come no matter how long they stay.

Well this trip Isaac came along so we thought we should work on a few projects. He can do anything! I love to make a list of things for him to do and start checking them off. We decided to have him do something the man of the house (me) can't do, so.... he built a small wall in our shower so the water would stop hitting the baseboard and warping it. Yeah! And while he was doing that the ladies banded together to make new cushions for my kitchen benches. So nice. When we took off the old ones the cushions were so disgusting I don't even want to think of all the milk, soda, and other things that had soaked in and were stained there for years. We even put on a plastic cover so the new ones could be easily wiped off. And thank you Christian for taking over and putting them on so they actually looked good (no wrinkles or creases).

My mother bought me enough fabric to make matching cushions for my bar stools, but we didn't have enough time to make them while everyone was here. Sad. I was afraid they would never get made. But I did it and after a few calls to my other sister in California (who is the sewing queen) they turned out great! So here are a few pictures:


If you are wondering how the cushions on the stools fit so perfectly, it's because I made a pattern from the actual chair. I pulled out the tape measure and my math skills and went to town. I didn't think just eye balling it this time would work out as well, and I'm glad I went the extra step (again not like me).

Cupid shoot me please!

For some reason I like to have my girls make their valentines. Which is weird because I am usually all about taking the easy way... lazy way. Well this year I saw a cute valentine necklace made with saran wrap, candy, and ribbon. Simple. Not complicated. Should be easy. WHY? WHY? WHY? Sure these beauties were easy......but when you have to make over 60! Seriously we started around 5:00 and finished at 9:00pm. My back is so sore. Sorer than it was after I ran the marathon. Come to think of it I was sitting longer than I was running.

Anyway, you really missed a good show. I was talking to Shayne later and asked if I had gotten too mean, yelling and such. He said I was good. That we were all ornery and tired but kind of laughing at the same time, so it was okay. Pretty much we were on the verge of going CRAZY.
Here's a little peak of what was said:

"Mom, seriously my head feels like it is going to explode." -Parly

"Where's your family spirit? I have family spirit. See I'm still working." -Clayre

"This is actually hard. Do I really have to tie all of these?" -Shayne (Yes, we even got Shayne to join in on a few.)

"I would be so much faster if I only had to tie it once." -Parly

"Ready with another one mom." -Kate (Kate cannot tie, so she was pretty much just placing 10 hearts in a row and waiting for me.)

"I am sooooo going to lose it! AGAIN!" -Me

"Parly, if you don't keep working I'm going to tear your limbs off one by one." -Me

"What are limbs?" -Parly

"Mom, pleeeeeease can I stop and get a drink of water? I am so thirsty." -Parly

"After you finish 2 more." -Me (It seriously took her 10 minutes to do one. Parly works like her dad.)

"Can't we just stop and give our friends cards?" -Parly

"Are you kidding? Get working. If I have to tell you to keep working one more time. OHHHH!"- Me

"Maggie! Stop walking through here! And stop eating the hearts and spitting them out." -Me

"Is there any way you can sing another song?" -Me

"Why?" -Parly

"Because you have been singing that song over and over for an hour. And I'm going to really lose it this time." -Me

Song list: Barney's dead (Christmas tune), Beach Boy songs Parly is learning in Choir, Mercy, You're hot and you're cold...you're yes and you're no.....

"Hugs. Be mine. I want U. Parly do you really want these on a boys necklace?" -Clayre

"Are you seriously reading all of those hearts. CLAYRE WE DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THAT! Just put them on and keep tieing." -Me

When I start to get really tired I start to say things in song. So after a while it sounded like this: ME singing in some made up tune: "I'm so tired. I want to die. This was a really stupid idea. Who's idea was it?" THE GIRLS also in song: "YOURS!!!!"

We laughed and giggle and shouted and probably even cried, but we got done. And we will NEVER make those cute necklaces again, but we will remember that night FOREVER!!!!

Maggie is growing up...well at least getting older.

As you know my last child is turning 3 this summer and will soon be attending preschool. This fact makes me a little sad. I can't believe I am actually at that point.... already. Well I decided it would be fun to savor it by having Maggie come to MY preschool. You know... the one I am starting this fall. Anyone that lives in Santa Clara or wants to drive here can enroll. I will just be accepting 3 year olds (those 2 years before Kindergarten)...... Okay, just read the flyer below and if you have any questions or want to register: call, email, or leave a comment!


If you do not have a 3 year old but know someone who does, let them know or let me know and I can send them an email or a flyer.

FOUR reasons why today is a GREAT day already!

#1. I helped at Clayre's school and so I thought I would check out the Lost & Found (Clayre has been missing her new -just bought a month ago- coat). She said she checked the L & F, but I thought "Why not?" Yeah me! It was there. I love finding something that was missing. Such a great feeling.

#2. Also about Clayre. She couldn't find her lunch bag/box (it's been missing for about a week now) and I wasn't happy about this either. No luck in the Lost & Found but.... when I got to her class she told me she found it in her backpack. Yep, backpack. It was in the front pocket she never uses. Even I didn't check there. Another horray!

#3. Anyone that lives in our neighborhood or actually a 2 mile radius can probably hear our garage door when it open and closes. It is SOOOOO LOUD! So I went and borrowed some garage door spray* from a friend (thank you Rachel). It worked! Our neighbors are going to be so happy. It is so quiet now. *Just in case you wanted to know it was : GDL Garage Door Lubricant - in a spray can).

#4. This is a big one. We love our Kia Sedona. I mean it has served our family well. It has taught our girls friends that all doors don't open automatically, but lately it has also taught them that some van doors get stuck when opening and closing, that some doors are extremely loud, and sometimes they don't open all the way or open at all. That has not been fun! It's been very annoying. So I thought I might try a little of the GDL spray on the van doors, just to see. YES! YES! YES! They totally open now...all the way. This makes me very very happy!

Sad? No. Sometimes it's these small things that make life so great! And today is one of those days. At least for a few moments. It is lunch time.

Thank heaven for cold air.

The other night Maggie woke up with a croupy cough. You all know that horrid barking. Whenever Parly got the croup she always had to be rushed to the hospital. Not fun in the middle of the night. I have always found the running- the- shower- and- letting- the- hot steam- in- the room- relieve- the- croupiness method not so effective. Plus no hot water for my shower the next morning. Ugh. I HAVE found that taking the child out into cold air is the best and fastest method in relieving a croupy attack. Living here in St. George doesn't always guarantee cold air even at night, but I got lucky a couple of nights ago when Maggie got sick.

I went into her room and opened her window that is right by her bed. I bundled her up and we sat by the window breathing in the cold air. It worked great and soon Maggie was ready to go back to sleep. A few hours later she was barking again so I went in to repeat. She wasn't as excited to get up and over by the window. I told her she had to come over by the window so she could stop coughing and then she could go back to sleep. I told her to come and look at the air. I told her how great and cool it was and that the air would stop her coughing. So she came and we spent a few minutes commenting about the air and the stars and no moon. A couple more times like this and we made it through the night. No hospital visit. Not even a need to leave the room or really even get out of bed. Nice!

A couple of nights later Maggie woke up coughing. Not barking this time. So I went in to give her some cough medicine. She didn't want it. And kept spitting it out. Frustrating! I told her she HAD to take it so her coughing would stop so I ...I mean she could go back to sleep. She kept saying, "I wanna look at the air mommy." Sure. Sure. Now drink this and go back to sleep. I didn't get it until after I went back to bed. Look at the air. Oh, like we did for her croup. Funny. And smart.

24 days of Christmas -cliff notes style.

So I have been feeling like a little bit of a scrooge when it comes to holidays. I will blame it on my love for laziness. But since I want my children to have fond memories and traditions that they remember repeating, I thought I need to DO something. I saw a bunch of cute ideas for advent calendars on Mindi's blog (she has links to quite a few- check them out). I know I am starting a few days late but I thought this could be easy enough even for me to pull together. It was. I just got 24 green envelopes and glued 24 already cut red mittens on them and labeled 1 -24, representing the days in December (for those of you that don't know what an advent calendar is). I filled the envelopes with pieces of paper. On each paper are activities to do to celebrate the holidays together. Examples: Watch a Christmas movie, drive around and look at Christmas lights then come home and have hot chocolate, read a Christmas story, make paper snowflakes.....etc. For more of these ideas see Jordan's blog here. The best part about this is that I can switch the activities around however I want so if I don't feel like: making cookies and taking them to someone I can switch it with the: sit by the Christmas tree and stare at the lights together in silence. Nice. It all depends on how energetic I am feeling at that moment. This I can totally do. And if your kids are like my kids, anything that you get to open, read, and then do is the most exciting thing ever, even if it says: kiss your dad under the mistletoe.

Need a Hopeless Romance?

Have you ever finished reading a good book and thought, "I wish I wasn't done reading"? I do. You know, when you read through it too fast that it's over too soon. Yep? Anyway, here's a solution. I found this blog- My Super Hopeless Romance. It's about a girl who is in love with her best friend and he doesn't know it. It is cute, a definite chick-flick: all about loving, hoping and wishing for that love to be returned. It's written kind of like a book, but you can only read one post at a time (or at least until you catch up to today's post). She updates daily (usually). Go read. And remember what it felt like to really want that one perfect guy to like you, because you like him.

Daylight Savings= 1 extra hour of.....

So Daylight Savings, loved it before I had kids. Now, not so much..... until this year. On Sunday the kids slept in, so I got to too. Nice. Then today they woke up at 6:40 a.m. Not so nice. I finally decided to drag myself out of bed and noticed that the kids were : dressed, with beds made, and breakfast already eaten all before 7:30. With no need to head off to school until 8:30. What to do with the extra hour? Chores. Yep. My house was cleaned; picked up by Clayre, vacuumed by Parly, laundry sorted by Kate, and mopped by me all before 9. How great is that? Daylight Savings has a whole new meaning for me now.

Here are a few pictures of Halloween 2008:

Maggie Moo Cow

Clayre as a bride (yes, same costume Parly wore last year),
Maggie as a cow (great action shot),
Parly as a boy (that shirt was Shayne's when he was littler),
and Kate as a Fairy.

A little Short Getaway.

So I'm back from my weekend away. I went to my older sister's Mom's Out weekend again this year. Great time! Lots of yummy food. Movies. Talking and laughing. I also worked on a project this year. Which I stressed over each step, but they turned out superb. Here are a few pictures.

Me, Laurie (sister's mother-in-law), Emily (sister)

Table set for dinner

Food/Yummy

Movie time

Bedtime. One room was full of bunk beds. Good times.

Here is my project. Silhouette of the girls. They turned out great:

Happy?

So it has almost been a month since my last post. Sad. But how about something to make you happy. How about pictures from the Happiest Place on Earth. That's right. Disneyland! We went on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of last week. Advice: Go to Disneyland on Tuesday. It was awesome! The line situation is ideal. We went on Space Mountain 5 times, Thunder Mountain 4 times, and Splash Mountain 3 times. Each time Parly, Clayre, and I went on a fast rollercoaster ride we got braver and braver. One arm up, then both arms, and for Clayre finally screaming. She was always so stone faced and she finally started to let loose. Great fun.

I had a blast because Shayne does not enjoy any rides that basically move, so I got to run around with Parly and Clayre while Shayne mostly hung out with Kate and Maggie.
Favorite rides:

• Parly, Clayre, and myself loved California Screamin in California Adventure. With Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain a close 2nd and 3rd. Clayre also loves the Tower of Terror, which Parly and I braved but Kate didn't quite make it all the way. Opting out a the last second.
  
• Shayne enjoyed Soarin that is also in California Adventure.
  
• Kate said she like the Star Tours and Peter Pan and the Fish Carousel (in California Adventure), and the Rocket ride.
  
• Maggie's favorite ride? Probably playing on and around any stairs or railings. Kate and Maggie also seemed to really like the parades.
  

Lots of fun. Lots of laughs. Lots of memories.

Pictures above: Maggie enjoying her favorite rides.

One of the rides Shayne braved, Splash Mountain.

All the girls on Alice in Wonderland ride. Clayre looks like she is sick. Not so.
She was probably just bored. Clayre likes fast and falling rides.

Kate and Maggie on the Fish Carousel in California Adventure.

Parly, Kate, Clayre, and Maggie.

Also in October. Shayne and I ran the St. George Marathon again. It was Shayne's 10th, he is now in the 10 year club. Amazing. Even with the rain I was able to run my best, coming in at 3:32. That made me happy. Until next year.

Teeth and IOU's

Parly was so excited when a neighbor boy kneed her in the face. Why? Because it popped out her lose tooth. Tooth = Tooth Fairy = Money. Parly already knows about the real "Tooth Fairy" read about that here. So after all the kids had been in bed a few minutes, Parly came down to our bedroom. "Mom. Dad. I was thinking that since you don't have a lot of money right now, it would be okay if I didn't get anything from the Tooth Fairy this time. I will just keep my tooth. And it's okay... because it came out in a fun way." Wow. Sooo sweet. She left the room a little teary eyed. I of course had forgotten that she had even lost a tooth so was happy for the reminder. And Shayne told her not to worry that we would take care of it and that it was nice of her to think of us. A little later with the lights out, Shayne asks if I remembered to put something under Parly's pillow. Ah, no. What is wrong with me, seriously? I get up. Neither of us has any cash or change. So... Parly got an IOU from the Tooth Fairy. Now before any of you send us money to payback Parly for her tooth... Shayne does have a job now, no more redundancy...just no cash at the moment.

Back to School = Scott kids chores

School has started so that means the Scott Family is back to all it's routines. One of those routines is daily chores. I love that my kids are getting older so their chores actually help me, which means less for me to do...yeah! Each child must get dressed and make their beds before coming down for breakfast. Parly usually gets the cereal and milk out for everyone, so if I'm not running that morning, I'm still asleep. So nice. Lazy, yes. But nice. Parly and Clayre also get their lunches and backpacks and drinks all ready before school and THEN they can watch a T.V. show before it is time to walk to school. My life is too easy.

Another chore is at dinner time. Kate has to, gets to, set the table every night. Then Parly and Clayre take turns clearing the table and making their lunch for school the next day. (One does the lunches while the other one clears the table, then the next day they switch). It's easier for them to do the lunches then, because if we have some kind of leftover that they want then .... okay let's just say the real reason.... It's easier for me, because I don't have to worry about them rushing to make it in the morning and bugging me while I am still sleeping. There.

In addition to these daily chores the girls have to put away their clean clothes in their closets and drawers (this is usually just once a week). And my favorite is when one of them is grounded from T.V. or friends. I can then give them more chores, like; sorting the laundry piles, picking up shoes and toys left on the floor, taking out the garbage's, emptying the kitchen misc. basket. This is a small basket that I keep on the kitchen counter so when ever I find toys and things of theirs that go upstairs I just throw them in the basket and when it gets full I send one of them to clear it out and bring back. Genius. I am the Queen of making less work for me to do. Of course they must clean the bedrooms and playroom from time to time as well.

Now you may be wondering what little Maggie does for chores. Yes she can't get herself dressed in the morning or make her bed yet, she sometimes helps Kate set the table at night but this is not her designated chore. Maggie actually came up with this one herself. She has always had a fascination with cockroaches. Before viewing, note: rolly (meaning rollypolly) = cockroach



Yes, Maggie's chore is to find the cockroaches every morning so we can throw them away. She is very very good at it.

How to spend your Saturdays.

This weekend I got to run a 1/2 Marathon. We were up in Logan for a last minute thing and since most of my family (mom & dad, sister & brother-in-law, sister-in-law) were all doing it, it being the Top of Utah 1/2 Marathon, Shayne and I decided to join in. It was a lot of fun. Yes, running a 1/2 marathon CAN be fun, though mostly it is just good when it is over. It was during the race that I learned what shin splints are the hard way...hell. They are hell. But because of them I persevered, learned how to be mentally tough and ended up finishing strong (because they didn't hurt as much on the flat or uphill parts). 1:42 was my time. This was a personal best, so that is good. Everyone had a super race. My mom who hasn't run a 1/2 marathon in her life also persevered, she walked the last two miles with a broken foot. Well the verdict is still out on that but definitely a stress fracture. Only my mom would continue with pain like that. It made my measly shin splints seem more like a bothersome blisters. My mom is incredible. I unfortunately did not get this amazing attitude, maybe it skips a generation...which I actually hope is true...with 4 daughters...hummm. Anyways, I myself am a complainer. My mom IS NOT. I should be more like my mom.

Since so many of us were running in the race and the few of my family members that weren't, were watching all the children (that in itself worth a first place medal), we did not get pictures of the event. I will however post some from the Spudman Triathlon that a number of us did a month ago. That also was a great race. If any one is thinking of doing a triathlon (Olympic distance) this is the one to do. It is a FAST one. The mile swim is downstream. The 25 mile bike and 6 mile run are both very flat courses. It was a lot of fun. I did this race before I was married, and got a time of 2:29. 11 years and 4 kids later I got 2:32 . I didn't think I would even come close to my old time, so I was pleasantly surprised. Hopefully I will feel the same way about my St. George Marathon race this year. Fingers crossed for a personal best and no hellish shin splints.

Elise (sister-in-law), Isaac(brother), Christian (brother-in-law), Sadie (sister),
Baby CJ (nephew-did not race), Steve (dad), Me

Me

Here's one from the TOU 1/2 Marathon:
(My sister Sadie just sent this to me. Thanks Sadie.)

Shayne, Maggie (did not race), Me

Me (racing to the finish)

Thanks Liz or rather her husband Jared for taking this keeper.