Apple Harvest and Planking

So, last year D and I did the Onalaska Apple Harvest 8K (5 mile) run.  We both finished with pretty 'turtle-ish' times.  But we were determined to come back this year and do better.

Well, seeing as I didn't actually run the 5 miles, I will have to push that goal back to next year.  Having gotten home around 1a.m. from the temple the night (or morning) before, we almost didn't make it to the 8:30a.m. race.  But we drug ourselves out of our beds and our eyes were almost open by the time we got there to register...10 minutes before it started.  We figured it would be fine.  Not like it's some crazy, high attendance race or anything.  It's Onalaska, people!

I did, however do the 2 mile walk.  They had a little apple plaque for the top walker.  When I saw that, I got a little excited.  For some strange, somewhat unrealistic reason, I thought for a minute that maybe I could win it.  Don't laugh.  But as soon as the walking began, that thought was blown out of the water by this super speed walker lady in bright pink.  She took off...and I didn't see her again.  I shrugged my shoulders and thought maybe I could talk them into having a 'top pregnant lady walker' category.  I just walked along side my friend, Jill, as we complained about different pains that were stabbing us.  Sadly, both of us were soar the next day.  Hey...we walked at a pretty good pace and worked our hips, I promise.

D, on the other hand did great on his run!  His improvement from where he was last year still really impresses me.  His finish time last year was 57 min and some change.  (Behind my finish of 56:48...or something like that).  This year he came in at 43:57.  That is a 14 minute difference.  So proud of my man!  The competition was a little more intense this year, so instead of getting 1st in his age division, he got 3rd.  Still a 'podium finish' he says.  AND we both won stuff at the drawing.  He won a $10 gift certificate to Buzz N Blooms (a local flower, hair salon, coffee, tanning, shop) and I won a $25 gift certificate to Outback Stake House.  So much better than our last year's prize of a coffee mug!  A few of our friends that ran with us last year and some first timers were there and did amazing, with first place plaques and age division wins.  And of course, drawing prizes.  Hope Ron is enjoying his new Onalaska Loggers jacket.  Have you washed it yet?? ;)

Unfortunately, we had to take Payton to his soccer game in Rochester so we didn't stick around for the Apple Harvest Festivities.  We got home from the game, watched the 2nd session of conference and then vegged out a bit.  D headed to the Priesthood session (they have dinner before the broadcast) around 3:45.  I finally decided to take my aching hips and the kids to see what was left of the festival.  We got there and all that was there was, a bluegrass band playing it's final songs, ponies no longer giving rides and lots of trash.  My kids were bummed.  But, we did run into some friends and we ALL practiced our 'PLANKING' skills.  It was pretty hilarious.  Did it make up for missing the parade, the petting zoo, rock wall, pony rides, face painting, karaoke, arts and crafts, apple pressing, and elephant ears??  Probably not for them.  But I laughed so hard that evening, it was worth it to me.

 

This might just be our new family hobby.

IT'S ART...

It's actually purple nail polish.  All over my bathroom wall.

I bet you are wondering which one of my children did it.  If I were you, my first assumption, along with most others would be, the lovely mischievous Jillian Clair.  This is totally up her alley, right?  Lately one of her favorite things to do is stick her little fingers in the wax of my Scentsy burners and then leave a trail of dried wax behind her.  And she has loved filling bottles with water.  The conditioner bottle, the soap bottle, and now the tubes of toothpaste.  So, yeah...this could totally have been her.

BUT

It wasn't. It wasn't any of my children at all.

IT.  Was.  Me.

YEP,  I'm the guilty party.  I was just shaking my favorite bottle of polish around to put a coat on the toesies when the slippery glass bottle fell right out of my hands, landed on the glass scale and shattered all over the place.  Leaving the art work on the wall, scale and floor.  I just stared for a minute and shook my head.  Did I seriously just do that?  Getting it off the floor and scale really wasn't that big of a deal.  Nail polish remover.  But, not the wall.  If you look to the right of the pic you will see a little bit of lighter, smudged looking color.  That was my attempt at using the remover on the wall.  Ummm...it takes the paint off.

So, now I'm stuck.  Not sure what I should do.  Looks like I might be picking out a new paint color for the bathroom.  Sigh.  (and a little giggle.)

Going Vintage

September 17, 2011

Several months ago a lovely lady asked me to be in her fund-raising vintage clothing fashion show.  I was actually a bit giddy.  It just sounded like so much fun.  I didn't even care that I would probably be showing quite a bit and limited to what I would be able to wear.  I just wanted to do it.

Just thinking about it reminded me of when I was about 9 years old. I was in a community fashion show at the local Holiday Inn.  My mom worked for KMart and I was chosen to model a cute little outfit.  It was teal colored with leggings and a striped skirt.  Probably something I would put my girls in now.  I remember getting my hair done, make-up on and really falling in love with the clothes I had on.  I was sad when they said I couldn't keep them. Shouldn't that have been my payment??

I waited till about 3 days before the show to pick out what I would wear.  Sharon (the lovely lady) actually sells the vintage clothing online and had an entire room full of clothes from the 20's and on.  It was fun playing dress-up, although I felt a little silly trying to shove these baby curves into some of those dresses. I found my four outfits and showed up that Saturday night excited to be involved.

This was my 'fall' outfit.  It was an 80's light green lace dress paired with a 40's shrug.  Interesting combination as far as decades go. But I had to have some way of covering up the fact that it wouldn't quite zip up the back! That shrug ended up being sold to someone in the audience that couldn't live without it.

It was more nerve-racking than I thought it would be. I was just gonna go out and have fun and be silly...but chickened out and just put on a huge nervous smile.

(Please forgive the quality of pictures.  You see, my husband was taking them and he will be the first to admit that photography is not his strong suit!)

This is my 'Winter' outfit.  The material truly felt like upholstery!  It was a 50's cream, with a bit of texture dress.  This was Doug's favorite.  He said it reminded him of Jackie O.  The hat was an interesting last minute addition.  It had fruit all over it and sharp edges that kind of dug into my head.  But, maybe that was to help it stay on.

My 'Spring' dress.  I loved this one!!  It was a 60's periwinkle colored dress with a sort of netted over lay.  I felt so girly in it!  I got a little more brave and walked with my hands behind my back and put a little more spring in my step...I know...I shouldn't have been so crazy!

And lastly, my 'Summer' number.  This dress was a 70's flowered flowy thing.  It was actually completely see-through. So, I had to add a little something of my own to help that situation out.  I actually really liked this one.  It made me feel a little like a flower child but I loved how long and flowy it was.  Doug, on the other hand was NOT a fan! 

When I saw these pics, there was a part of me that was a bit horrified.  It appears that none of these dresses where very figure flattering and I was very hesitant to even put them up publicly.  But, oh well.  This was something, out of the ordinary, that I did and I had a blast doing it.  All the other 'models' were super fun and helpful (Thanks Carlie!) and we saw a bit more of each other changing in the back storage room of the Toledo Senior Center than we imagined.  But we all laughed and had a fabulous time together.

Can't wait to do it again next year!

BIRTHDAY GIRL!

Sweet Isabelle Grace celebrated her 4th birthday September 13th.  It was a Tuesday, so all the other kids were at school, Doug was at work...so it was just me and her.  I decided that she would have more fun with other kids around.  I called a little last minute play date with some of her friends.  Threw some cupcakes in the oven sprinkled them with her choice of NERDS and we were off to the King of Burgers.

Among several little munchkins (who were a bit camera shy) was Isabelle's best friend, Quinton.  This guy already knows how to woo the ladies.  He has brought Iz several flowers as a token of his affection.  All be it, some of them have been wilty or dead...but that just doesn't matter!

Lovely Girl.  This fabulous hair clip was made by Brook and her daughter.  It just so happened to match Isabelle's birthday outfit perfectly!

After hours of visiting, running and sweating we headed back home.

Later that evening we had a little family gathering and stuffed our faces with my amazingly decorated cake (she wanted suckers and sour gummy worms...hmmm) and ice cream.  It was a good day that I believe was enjoyed by the birthday girl!

This little lady is a crack up.  Her personality is really starting to shine and develop...and she is hilarious!!  She has a fascinating imagination, sweet dance moves and has already started a career in songwriting.  She makes 5 or 6 songs up a day!  She's on a roll people!!

Love.  This.  Girl.

Half Way There...

I thought before I played catch up with the happenings of the amazing Gifford family, I would post my belly bump pics.  I didn't want to get that far off of where I actually am.  I am officially 20 weeks along today.  The half way mark.  A part of me thinks, "Wow, I'm already half way."  And the other part of me thinks, "Wow, I still have 20 more weeks to go!"

Yep...that's my belly.  There it is.  In all it's glory.

So, a few things that have developed over the last 6 weeks.  Weight gain.  Doc appointments that tell me about the weight gain. Started to feel the little thing move and kick my insides.  My sciatic nerve being pinched causing my leg to, yet again, be numb.  More weight gain.  Braxton hicks...GALORE!  (Speaking of which, here comes one now!) Less exercising...no excuse there, just plain laziness and exhaustion.  Although I DID ride 15 miles on the ever so comfortable stationary bike today while watching the Primetime Emmy awards! More sitting on the couch.  More complaining about said weight gain (while eating sugary, fatening foods).  I probably should stop before I give too much of myself away.

It really has been a pretty low key, easy peasy pregnancy this go round. 

 When people ask me how I'm doing, I seem to always answer "FAT AND SASSY!"  Cause that's just how I'm feeling. 

to my douglas.  happy 13th anniversary.

reading, writing and rythmatic

first day of school

august 30, 2011

getting the kids ready to start school is always a little nostalgic for me. it brings back memories of getting our clothes out of lay-a-way at kmart and trying to find the cutest folders and locker accessories.

it was an exciting time...

this year, i'm sending one more away. jilli bean has been waiting very impatiently to go to school, take her lunch and ride the bus home. she woke up with as much excitement as chirstmas morning. it is actually quite comforting to know that she was perfectly happy to go and not going to miss me one bit.

savannah started 3rd grade and is still happy about school.  hope it last for a while longer.

payton, my 5th grader, is a different story this year.  unfortunately, he has started expressing dislike for school and how he wishes he didn't have to go.  i'm a mean mom and tell him that he might as well make the most of it because he still has a long way to go. 

they are getting so big...time is going by so fast.

we went inside and took everyone to their classrooms.  we had gone to the open house the day before, so they knew where to go, it was just us parents holding on a little longer.  we took jillian last because we thought it would take the longest.  definitely not the case.  she would barely sit still long enough for me to get a picture.  she said her goodbye, gave her pretty little smile to us and she was gone.  didn't even look back.  no attachment issues there.  no tears were shed, no worries on how everyone would do, just smiles and contentment.   

so, it's just me and izzy here at home.  it hasn't been just me and one kid since payton was 2.  iz and i have until feburary to soak up as much one on one time as possible.  to help her feel a little less sad about not being in school with her siblings, i have assured her that she will be my number one helper when the baby comes.  now that is what she tells everyone and she seems to be pretty happy about that.  let's just hope it's still the case when the little one gets here.

so the choas has begun.  early mornings, sack lunches, homework, soccer.  why did summer have to end so quickly?