Clara Turns 4

This little lady turned 4 at the beginning of this week.  She's such a cutie!

And here's how she looked the day she was born!

Our family would definitely not be complete without this little firecracker.  She is loads of fun, very smart and keeps us on our toes.

Lagoon 2014 - a photo gallery of our day

Every year my mom's work has a Lagoon Day.  We love it!  This past Saturday, after I ran the Mt Nebo Half, we headed to Lagoon.

Because I was a little tired, I spent the majority of the day with Clara on the kiddie rides.  That is why the majority of my pictures are of her.  Thanks to Roni for some of these pictures.

Nathan captured this hilarious video of Clara on Bombora.

 Jared and Ethan got stuck on the top of a ride and had to walk down the stairs.

Jared used his own money and won this stuffed squid for Clara.  What a great brother!

Isaac and Ethan on the Rocket: Blast Off

We had a great time.

Mt Nebo Half Marathon

This past Saturday, a few friends and I ran the Mt. Nebo Half Marathon.

Sara and I at the start line.

Me, Ali, Sha, Jaci and Sara at the start line.

 

Crossing the finish line!!!

My official chip time was 2:01:56.2!  Wahoo!! I beat my previous time!

A video of me crossing the finish line.  I told my hubby to yell my name next time, because I didn't even see him and maybe if I had I would't have looked so exhausted and grumpy.... :)  I was tired!!

 Sara and I after finishing.

All but Ali at the finish line.  Ali did awesome!  She hadn't trained to run a half marathon and signed up only days before the race.  She finished shortly after this, but Nathan and I had already left to head to Lagoon with the kids.

One more bib and finisher medal to add to my collection.

Ogden Utah Temple Open House

This past Friday, Nathan and I took the kids to the Ogden Utah Temple Open House. 

What a beautiful building it is. I was particularly impressed with all the woodwork and I also enjoyed the paintings and artwork inside.   

Also, the spirit was so strong as I walked through one of the sealing rooms. It just hit me that I am so grateful that I know my family is sealed to me forever. It is all made possible thanks to these special buildings, the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the sealing power of the priesthood. 

I made sure to express these feelings to my children once we were in the car. I want them to know that temples are special to me.  I also wanted to point out that I felt the spirit in the temple so they could understand what it was they might have been feeling also.

If you want to know more about temples, click here.

 

 

Lesson: Why You Should Use a Knife Proportional to the Job at Hand

If you are trying to cut the plastic off of a small package, you should use a knife proportional to the job.

Maybe a small pocket knife, or a Leatherman.  But, NOT A BUCK KNIFE!!

While we were camping this past weekend, this scenario played out for my son, Jared, with less than satisfactory results.

It resulted in a quick trip down the canyon for some stitches.  **WARNING, some pretty graphic pictures follow, so proceed at your own risk!

 He was not amused with my picture taking!

Waiting for some stitches.

The wound prior to shots.

From a different angle.  The fatty cells popping out are my favorite part.

After some shots and prior to stitches.  You really should zoom in on this one and make that puppy big.  So interesting.  Unfortunately, it was so wide that the stitches kept ripping through the skin...

After all 8 stitches were in.  Technically this was the next day, but I wanted to put it in here.

Once we were done, it was back up the canyon to finish our camping trip.

Labor Day Weekend Camping at Granite Flats Campground

Over Labor Day weekend, we went camping at Granite Flats Campground up American Fork Canyon with Shane and Roni's family.  We had a great time!

There was fishing at Silver Lake.

Clara mostly caught moss.

 

I did not fish, I was in charge of baiting the hooks, repeatedly.

Eventually, Rissa caught the only fish.

There was lots of hanging out at camp and talking, and lots of cousins playing in the woods.

The last day, we went to Tibblefork Reservoir and fished, but were unsuccessful at catching anything.  The kids did enjoy kayaking though.

We had a great weekend.  Thanks to Roni for some of these pictures!  I'll post tomorrow about our emergency trip down the canyon to get some stitches, but here's a sneak peak: