Strong & Mighty RS Triathlon

I completed my first triathlon sprint this summer! Our Stake Relief Society put a lot of work into putting this together, but it was awesome! I'm so glad I participated and had such a blast I've already signed up for triathlon #2 next month!

The triathlon happened at the start of the olympics so I was all over the swimming competitions trying to take notes and get tips! I would not consider myself a strong or confident swimmer, so this was definitely my biggest challenge. That, and the fact that I hadn't ridden an actual bike in about 15 years...! So, a few weeks before the triathlon (yes, I waited till just about 3 weeks before...) I finally got a bike and got on the road. I'd been riding the stationary bikes at the gym, but this was a learning shock! Luckily I was able to ride the course a couple times before the event to get comfortable.

 

My times weren't too bad:

swim- 13:16, bike- 41:33, run- 28:49

for an overall time of 1:23:38 (not including transitions)

We'll see how triathlon #2 goes!

Birthday Boy & 9 years together!

 My little boy is getting big! The kids' favorite part of having a birthday is the balloons; Chase is already telling me that for his birthday he wants balloons!

 His favorite gift was some nesting egg dolls I finally found at World Market. He loves "Little Einsteins" and there is an episode with a Russian nesting egg doll. Ever since he saw it, anything that is oval or even just round he pretends is a nesting egg doll. Such a funny kid!

 Chase was obviously excited about little brother's presents too...

 This kid doesn't know how to eat a cupcake! At least there wasn't a big mess to clean up afterwards!

 At 3 years old his defining attribute is his temper! He is stubborn and head-strong and can hold a grudge like no other. He can also snuggle like you're a teddy bear, give great kisses, and loves to dance!

Our 9 year anniversary was this month too! A lot has happened these last 9 years and I know there's a lot more to come, but I couldn't imagine living life with anyone else! He's honestly my best friend and I wanted him to know what I love about him so I got this idea online and made it my own...

He took it to work and sends me a text each time he eats a piece letting me know what reason he saw. It's probably one of the sappiest things we've done... ;)

I also got him tickets to see Jeff Dunham later this month! We're both pretty excited about a good night of laughs!

a sad 4th of July

 I was all excited about a big 4th of July celebration as a new family of 5, but the kids had other plans. I think we were sick more this "summer" than during the "cold and flu season"! The boys weren't feeling good and Chase said he didn't want to watch any fireworks because they are too scary...so sewing a dress for my little girl and making this tule wreath were the extent of my 4th of July celebration. Seeing as how Independence Day is my 2nd favorite holiday...I was kinda bummed.

 But, the dress will still fit next year (as a shirt), the wreath can be used again, and we can hopefully look forward to a big celebration next year!

just hangin' out

We've just been hangin' out enjoying our new little one. Why is it that the first month of having a new baby always goes by way faster than the last month of pregnancy?!

She loves to be held and to nap with daddy!

 This picture shows how curly her hair gets when its wet! 

 Her first Sunday at church and I will say - it was way more fun to pick out her outfit than mine...still a little "saggy" from pregnancy, and I haven't worn anything resembling decent clothes in a while!

Daddy picked this shirt out for her after we discovered we were having a girl...surprise, surprise.

Our little comedian...

He was "hiding" under his shirt and yelling, "Where's Chase?!" then he would start counting, "1...2...3...HERE I AM!" as he would pull down his shirt. It was mildly cute (he's done it a thousand times now), until we noticed his shirt has a big ape face on the front and it lined up perfectly when he would pull it over his head! Ok, now THAT was entertaining!

my little model

I tried doing her newborn shoot twice and both times she refused to stay asleep and woke up just as I started shooting. I think she likes the spotlight!

she's here!

Temperance Elizabeth (aka: Tempe) has joined our family! She was born at 10:36 am (about 3 hours later than we was "scheduled" or "planned" thanks to another woman who came in right after us who was a repeat c-section and ruptured...can't really blame her for taking my spot)

She was 7 lb. 6 oz. and 19 1/2'' long.

While we were waiting to go into surgery, all the nerves and anxiety caused my contractions to get a little uncomfortable! But, Dr. Frank came in and chatted with us for a long time and made me forget about them...he's amazing!

Chase loves his baby sister and is always asking where she is. He loves to give her a kiss on the head and is always saying how "cute" she is.
Bennett is actively ignoring her for now.

I've never had a baby with hair before! I'm loving it and we love and absolutely adore her!

busy, busy

We've pretty much got the baby's room all put together, the final detail is hanging the chandelier, which our awesome electrician-cousin is helping with this week!

I've been obsessed with projects and trying different diy crafts...I made these pom-poms from felt and they are hanging in the corner of Tempe's room. (here's the link to the site where I got the tutorial: http://www.spendinglesslivingmore.com/2011/01/24/felt-roses/)

I also made some easy art projects for the master bedroom (inspirations from Pinterest!); like this easy fabric, mod-podge, and canvas piece.
And, I also found this really cute idea on making pom-pom fabric necklaces and had to try it - I like it! (http://www.littlemissmomma.com/2010/12/pom-pom-bib-necklace-tutorial-lmm.html)

And lastly (but not for long) I made this shag pillow for our master bedroom (it has all-white bedding). Chase helped me stuff it and wanted to help model it afterwards...
(http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2011/04/v-and-co-how-to-shag-pillow.html)

All of these projects were easy, but some were very time-consuming (good thing I've been hanging out at home "taking it easy", waiting for baby!).
I've got lots more ideas and stuff I want to try, but for now it's time to put that on hold and prepare for a baby - only 4 more days! I'm excited to see my parents and meet the new little one who thinks my belly has endless stretching abilities!

baby room projects; dresser & wreath

I realize now I've only got about 4 weeks left before this baby is coming and we've still got a lot to do! This is the first time we've actually decorated a nursery for a baby so I'm pretty excited to see it all come together...eventually.

First I knew we would need a dresser as the closet is tiny...and we're having a girl...girls need BIG closets! ;)

So, I sold a couple things on craigslist and it covered the cost of buying a dresser that I found on craigslist. I took the knobs off and sanded it...

Then painted it white and added new, "crystal" knobs, which I LOVE! I also painted to changing table white to match and I'm working on the crib!

 I saw this cute idea on pinterest (of course) on making a tutu wreath...being the crafty person that I am (yeah right) I decided that it looked simple enough for even me to try!
The colors in the room are black/white and lavender - a HUGE thanks to a cousin and friend, Kyle, for coming over and getting the room painted for us! It probably wouldn't have gotten done and she'd be stuck in bright orange room!

 I like how it turned out and want to add just a couple embellishments, but so cheap (about $3-$4) and easy for a little girl's room!

We've still got a lot to do to finish the room, and a few more projects in the works!

oh yea, Christmas!

We had a good Christmas in our family! Chase got a skateboard from his Uncle Patrick & Aunt Jess, which he loves because it's just like daddy's balance board that he plays on.

Chase was very excited about Christmas this year and everything that came with it!

On several occassions he would yell; "Christmas! I LOVE Christmas!"

He wanted to help everyone else open their gifts too... so thoughtful ;)

 As soon as Bennett opened his first gift, that's all he wanted. He didn't quit understand there was "more where that came from..." as they say, and was quit upset when we would pull him away from trying to play with his new toy to try and open another present!

One thing we learned from Christmas this year...the boys will get the SAME thing next year! They fought non-stop over toys and and I grew quit sick and tired of all the screaming...so I went and got a duplicate just to make it STOP! They are close enough in age that they love the same things and so just getting them similar toys was not enough apparently...they wanted EXACTLY what the other brother was playing with.
Oh well - makes next year easier, I guess!!!
So now we packed up Christmas (the very next morning) as we have a baby to get ready for!