Wedding in the Woods

A couple weekends ago we attended Adam's friend John's wedding in Oregon. It was sooo fun. Some things you'll see in the slideshow:

A naked Bird; an awesome vintage wedding dress on Krista, the bride; a reception in a barn in Philomath, a tiny town outside Corvallis; dancing in the barn with the Bird in her backpack; outside the Portland temple (Bird and I waited in the lobby during the ceremony while I helped babysit for some other families); breakfast food that I can't stop thinking about (why did it take me so long to try eggs benedict?!); wanderings in Portland.

And as a bonus, a video for you with our short rendition of Charlie the Unicorn taken on the way to the reception.

Springtime Pictures

Thanks to Sarah Hull Photography, we have some bright new family photos to put on the wall.

Some Videos

These first two videos are from a couple months ago. In this one: She is woman, hear her roar.

This one had me laughing really hard, as you can kind of tell in the movie. It's how she got a carpet burn on her forehead. She seemed to like the game a lot.

Here's one from a couple days ago. You can't hear the music very well, but she's leading it.

10 Years and Running

This year I celebrate 10 (plus) years of consistently running. Here's a smattering of my favorite running memories through the years.

*In third or fourth grade I showed off my long-legged speediness when I beat everyone at some race to the fence and back. In gym, running the mile was no biggie. In seventh grade, my friend Marilee and I would wake up before school and run to the Jr. High and back, about 1.5 miles. It was then I realized how good it felt to start the day running; we'd even go in the middle of winter. Loco! In ninth grade I joined the cross country team. It hurt. My fastest time was 28 min. for the 3.1 miler and the entire race I was delirious and wetting my shorts. Yep. Humiliating, yet triumphant. I have to say it again: cross country HURTS to the maximum and I admire anyone who does it. I never felt in shape the whole season, just in pain. After that I joined drill team (which was a whole different kind of pain, but brought with it more passion so I enjoyed it much more) and never looked back. Until I graduated high school in 2000 and had few dancing options.

*Most evenings during my first two years at Ricks College/ BYU-Idaho found me in the Hart gym on a treadmill at 9 pm running 3 miles. I was religious about it because I'd heard horrible things about "the freshman 15." Staved off that and got to look at all the hotties on the treadmills across from me (we ALL looked hot in our BYU issue, believe me. Ain't no shoulders showing unless you got a little rebellious and folded them up under your bra strap. Oooowee! HOT TO TROT!)

*Transferring the BYU Provo made running a little more sporadic. The gym was not accessible for some reason, so we had outside and the indoor blue track. I can still smell that blue track. My roommates and I trained for the Moab Half Marathon on that stupid thing and we always had to talk each other into going because we hated it. Running indoors on a stinky rubber blue track in the middle of the winter is the opposite of fun. But we had a blast at the Half Marathon (pictured further below). I remember my roomie Rebecca, the true hard core runner, waking up at the butt crack every morning begging me to encourage her to get outside in the frigid winter weather and run. I did not encourage her because there was no way I would have done it. So, yes, sporadic it was for me. At some point while living in Provo I did the Provo Canyon Half Marathon by myself.

*(Below pictures) Here's me trying to get the hang of the jogging stroller with Sienna at 5 months old. Turns out I can't hack it. I don't use it anymore because a) it's a piece of crap and b) it defeats my whole purpose for running which is to get away from everything and everybody and be at one with the pavement.

(But doesn't The Bird look adorable in it? We still use it for walks.)

*I ran regularly the first 4 months of my pregnancy and then not at all for the last 5; I walked instead (both due to doctor's orders and because my legs were already struggling to support all the extra weight). I can't tell you how ready I was to get out again and run after having Sienna. Two weeks after her birth, I ran 3 miles and was in pain for the next few days. I decided to ease into it and now I am quite the pathetic runner, only getting in 2.5 miles here and there when Sienna (and I) have a decent night of sleep. I relish any time I can get my run in before Adam leaves for work. Endorphines make my whole life MUCH cheerier.

*The Big Lake Half Marathon in New Hampshire in 2006. This was right after Adam and I got married and were living in the Extended Stay America hotel in Tewksbury, Mass. GOOD TIMES! It rained the ENTIRE race and I couldn't feel any of my limbs at the end. Everyone was way faster than me, so they ran ahead. But, again, I couldn't feel my legs, so I just wanted it to end. SO COLD. Pictured above is me, Mercedes, and my old roommate Lauren who graciously lent me her windbreaker. The windbreaker was not a rain breaker, unfortunately, but it did much better than my tank top. I did not dress right at all and am lucky to be alive today as a result.

*Pictured below is one of the two half marathons I did in Moab. The first one I did alone (I think) because all I remember is running with a guy I knew (Carrie, what's his name??) who was sporting with confidence very short shorts. He was entertaining and nice enough to run with me because I was nervous about finishing. Then when I felt confident enough to finish the last couple miles alone, he ran ahead to try to salvage a decent time. I absolutely love going to races of any kind because there is such an electric feeling in the air. Something about sharing a love of fitness in the great outdoors.

*The second Moab race I did with my cousin Carrie and roommates Chelsea, Rebecca and Sarah. I wish I could find the picture of us in our hotel room dancing on the bed. That was a really fun trip.

*This was Carrie's first half marathon and she might just tell you the whole training and running experience sold her on the power of running. Do you dig our pink head bands? I do.

*(Picture below) At a 5K in Provo with my friend Miriam during college. I'd like to thank fun little BYU-sponsored races like these for introducing me to my husband. I was dating a guy who entered a biathlon (a swim and run held in this same area pictured below) that Adam also entered. Guy got first because he was a better runner, Adam got second although he was a better swimmer, he came to congratulate guy and there I was by his side. Adam and I need to make a pilgrimage to this area and revisit the grassy knoll I was sitting on when I first shook his hand then watched him walk away. That moment changed the course of my life and I owe it all to ... running (and a few million other events, but for the sake of this post ... running).

Hodge Podge

*We had some long lost friends visit us last Sunday and I want them all to move in with us so it can be like old times. I lived with Gloria (purple) and Lauren (middle) in a blue house on Porter Road in Cambridge, Mass. five years ago. Charlotte (left) was a frequent visitor, along with about 5,000 other friends Glo and Lo had, including my intended at the time, Mr. Adam Ware of Somerville. Our memories of dating and getting engaged in Boston are some of our favorite EVER and it was such a riot to see these girls (who now live in Central and Northern California) and re-live that fun time in our lives. Can I just add that Lauren was so worried about her avocados going bad over the weekend that she brought them in her suitcase and put them in the salad she made for us? So hilarious, and yet I can totally relate because nothing stresses me out more before a trip than all my food going bad in the fridge.*Our sweet Bird came down with a fever that Sunday. Just look at that sad, tired face. Her sleep has been messy since. But, still, look at that sweet face! She steals my heart every 5 seconds.

*What we know about business school: Adam got into University of Washington for sure, he is on the wait list for both Berkeley and Dartmouth. He hears from Stanford on March 31st. So, this is how it's all going to shakedown, y'all: He will have an interview with Berkeley next week, he will badger Dartmouth in a very diplomatic way to let him know ASAP (it's his first choice), he will not get his hopes up about Stanford because ... well, just because ... and meanwhile we will pretend we are moving to Seattle. Is that enough UP IN THE AIR for you? With all this waffling admissions stuff we may not know where we will be living until a couple weeks before school starts in the fall. Excellent.

*Do you know what it's like when you have three church callings and they all collide in the same couple weeks? I'm just about to finish up week two of this. As Assistant Den Mom to the Webelos, I was in charge of doing the science badge. You'd think 10 year old boys would be all over science stuff. Not so much. "I hate Boy Scouts!"said one before we even started "This is stupid!" said another. Silence from boy three who was playing video games and a sweet smile from boy four who is polite (and is also the son of The Den Mom). I finish part two of the science badge today. So help me. The other two callings involved organizing some stuff for the luncheon at Women's Conference (now over) and preparing stuff for Enrichment night (tomorrow). Do you ever wonder what you'd do with your life if you weren't active in the church? Next testimony meeting I'm getting up and starting with, "I actually do know what I would do if I never joined the church ... yep, I do. Lie on the couch. That's what I'd do."

*I hosted book club at my house last night. I think it would be accurate to say that book club is one of my favorite things ever. I made cream puffs (yet another wonder of the world made with just flour, eggs, butter and water) with homemade chocolate pudding (kind of lumpy) and real whipped cream (never a bad choice). We had a small group, but man did we have a good time. We discussed Wuthering Heights. I loved that miserable book. The language! The tortured souls! The unfounded bitterness and rage! We decided it was like watching a car wreck (not wanting to keep looking, but rubbernecking anyway) or reality TV (people destroying each other out of pure jealousy and spite). Good stuff.

*And finally, this belly ...

makes my whole life complete.

Spring/Summer

Every season here could be followed by a "backslash Summer." Winter had some rain but then mostly 70s temps, spring is here and was cool and refreshing but is now in the 80s, and fall is more of an Indian summer, reaching into the 90s with dry air that ushers in fire season.

Nevertheless, I will ignore "backslash Summer" and focus on how much I love spring. I think I may have just decided it's my favorite season. Maybe it's because it brings back some of my favorite memories: in high school, getting out of 7th period math and heading to the nearby baseball diamond to watch all my crushes play baseball; in college, breaking out the capris and soaking up the sun on BYU/Y-daho campuses (even though in Utah and Idaho it's more like "Spring/Winter"); seeing the hills surrounding Irvine turn from scorched brown to lush green and thinking, "Since when was I surrounded by hills?" Surprises me every time.

In other news, Adam got into biz school. We are OUTTA HERE! I have come to love Irvine and the O.C. and am counting the ways I will miss it (shopping! really cool people!), but boy am I excited to get my groove on somewhere else, somewhere in which the seasons are not followed by "backslash Summer."

Also, Adam is back to racing! The crazy man!! Click here to see his play by play, as well as The Bird trying her sitting skills on that narrow little cushion Adam calls a bike seat: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2321679&id=17812138&l=0b61b09030

A Poem for My 10-Month-Old

Compliance has ended, defiance has begun

And all I want to do is diaper your bum

You buck like a bronco when you hit the mat

I wish I could do 8, but it's more like 20 seconds flat

You have lots of teeth

They're sprouting like wheat

Four, five, six and now it's seven

Chomping down on all things solid puts you straight in heaven

You've still got the most surprising blue eyes

You avoid me with them, you think you're so wise

When the sun catches hold, though, make no mistake

Two brown-eyed, haired parents a blue-eyed blondie did make

At 9 months, I said, "I'm over breastfeeding!"

It's as if the formula makers heard me and were heeding

Free goods came in the mail, as they sometimes do

Which is just the push I needed to ignore them and forge ahead until you're through

There's a new show in the tube

It's called Parenthood

How apropos your dad and I were watching it

In the middle last night, during your mighty big fit

Sleeping through the night is just not in the cards

For you it is much, much, much too hard

I try to be cool with it, like say, "WHATEVER."

But maybe someday I will look back and say, "Hmm, that really DIDN'T last forever."

People still think you are the cutest thing on the block

When they see you, they flock, also because you rock (hee)

You're a bit more reserved, those strangers make you wary

But when you're home with us, you're a regular Jim Carrey

Every other sentence your dad and I say

Starts with, "She is SOOOOO cute in every way."

You bring us such joy, you just can't imagine

Your dad says, "Sorry" for that carpet burn on your noggin'.

So THAT'S Why My Shoulder Hurts So Bad!

As you may know, I crashed during a bike race a few weeks ago and broke my right clavicle and a rib about halfway up my back. The X-rays taken immediately after the crash showed a cracked looking collarbone that nevertheless appeared to be all connected. I've been telling people for weeks to imagine bending a twig just until it snaps, NOT until in completely breaks in two.

So imagine my surprise when I went in for my six week X-ray today, only to find that the break is actually worse now than it was six weeks ago! Go ahead and imagine that twig snapping all the way in half.

28 Things I Love About Marth

Dear Martha,

In celebration of your 28^th Birthday, I came up with a list of 28 things I love about you:

1. I love that you don’t judge me when I pound an entire sleeve of Thin Mints in one sitting
2. I love that you seriously considered getting me a Cheese-of-the-Month-Club membership for Christmas last year
3. I love your wide-brimmed-wicker-grandma-sun-hat
4. I love that you collapse in laughter over the SNL Closet Organizer
5. I love when you sing out of tune, especially when it’s a primary song
6. I love your deep and abiding commitment to the blogosphere
7. I love it when you get so hungry that you can’t talk, move, or even think until you get something in your stomach
8. I love that even in those crazy moments of awful hunger pangs you still won’t settle for just anything, but will cook something delicious in a silent rage
9. I love your tomato soup with open faced cheese sandwiches, but more than that I love that the only part that’s not homemade is the cheese
10. I love that you almost never prepare the same recipe twice
11. I love the way you look in high-heels
12. I love that you took a chance on the Olympics this year
13. I love that you cry every time that Dan Jansen commercial comes on, the one where he crashes in his race on the day his sister Jane dies, and then six years later he wins gold and then skates a victory lap with his tiny little daughter that he named Jane! You’re crying right now, aren’t you!?
14. I love the way you encourage me to meet my church responsibilities
15. I love how you inspire me to step up and be a man
16. I love it when you come to visit me at work for lunch
17. I love to see you and the Bird cuddling in your rocking chair
18. I love the way you helped me and cared for me while I recovered from my bike crash
19. I love the sight of you curled up on the couch under a blanket
20. I love that you always want to go to bed at the same time as me
21. I love you that you have faith in Jesus
22. I love that you’d rather chat with me than watch TV
23. I love that you understand me
24. I love your infectious and beautiful smile
25. I love the way you look at me when I walk in the door each evening
26. I love that you’re the mother of my precious little daughter
27. I love that you had the courage to marry me
28. I love you