Chillins
April 13th, 2012 by Natalie in Happenings | Comments Off



Date night.
Rare.
Swap.
Walmart.
Firehouse Subs.
Fedora.
ALONE!



Play date.
Friends.
Sun.
Water.
Snacks.
Does it get any better than this?



I love my life!
So, this post is a week late. Horrible! But, my Sunday morning German pancake is in the oven and I have a few minutes now.
Last week, on March 4th, my sweet little Ryan-boy turned 4-years-old. I know, I know. Its really not THAT old. But its the oldest any of MY children have ever been.
We kept things simple this year. His birthday was on a Sunday, and the day before I had a shower that I was hosting plus his friends had their birthday party that afternoon. The weekend before we ran Ragnar, and Mama just wasn’t up for planning something crazy in the midst of everything else. Taking the wise advice of two moms and a best friend, we kept things low key and just had a little cake and ice cream (and presents, of course!) after dinner Sunday night. For breakfast he got to pick out anything he wanted, which was sugary, artificial, cereal that he NEVER gets to eat, and for dinner we had breakfast – including pancakes…with sprinkles. (Everyone say “SUGAR!)
Even with his grandparents, my younger siblings, and two of his best friends, that boy got spoiled! A new (to-him) bike, and dad’s hand-me-down Legos from when HE was a kid. Legos, angry birds, a super-soaker Nurf gun, matchbox car, a kids mp3 player, a baseball tee with a glove, balls and a bat were all his for the taking. And he LOVED everything! He told me afterwards, “Mom, this was the best birthday ever!” I hope he is always this easy to please.

Sugar for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

New tradition: Crepe paper zigzagged across the door and the kids have to break through it the morning of their birthday. Also, balloons filled his room.

"How old are you Ryan?"

Lemon cake with lemon curd filling and whipped cream frosting. Yes, that WAS his request! (His friend had it the week before at HER birthday and he loved it!)

Birthday boy getting excited for cake and ice cream!

Oh Baby! This present has already been used...A LOT! (Poor Jane!)
And now…Ryan through the years…;)

Taken exactly one year ago today. Ryan one week old.

First birthday.

2-Years-Old

Three.

My handsome, sweet, smart, active four-year-old best buddy.
Four special things about Ryan:
Ryan, if you ever end up reading this some day. I love you more than you have ever imagined…or can until you have your own. You are truly my sunshine.
So, its almost a week since the race, and I am finally getting some time to sit down and write about it.
Let’s see…so…last Friday morning we woke up, ate a yummy breakfast, did some last minute packing and took the kids over to Grammie and Grandpa Clark’s house. We then went and met our team at my in-laws and made our merry little way over to the Tonapah area (think northwest Phoenix/middle of nowhere) to meet the first half of our team who had already started the race at 7am in Wickenburg (think on your way to Vegas). While waiting forthem we watched Nacho Libre (however you spell it), got safety trained, used the potty, and FINALLY cheered in the last of our runners in van #1 and cheered our first runner of OUR van (van #2) off on her way!

Our van. Team Running with Porpoise. Hence the inflatable porpoises on the roof. Oh, and you cant see them in the light, but we also had christmas lights hooked up!

NACHO!

You dont want to know how many of these things I used over a two day period. Lets just say I have seen my share of port-a-potties to last a lifetime!

Waiting for our runner. It was HOT out...and dusty. I havent run yet, can you tell?

Off goes the first runner from our van, my SIL, Christy. Look at that enthusiasm!
So, if you don’t know about Ragnar, this is how it works: Each team consists of 12 people (and possibly two drivers, like us). Ultra teams can have 6, 4, or 3 people on a team, who then either run 6, 9, or 12 legs respectively. (NUTS!) There are 36 legs of the race which covers about 200 miles total. Along the way, most of the legs are supported, which means that the van can drive ahead, stop, wait for their runner and make sure they are okay, give them water, cheer them on etc. That is probably the most fun part of the race. There were a few unsupported legs (like my first) where the roads and traffic really didn’t allow for much support without crossing major traffic. Our team projected a finish time of 5pm Saturday evening. Our captain and trainers thought we could do it by 4pm. I finished my last leg, and our last leg as a team, a little after 8pm…in the dark…with only one team behind us…as they were taking down the festivities. BUT…we finished! Which is saying a lot for team made of mostly non-runners and a girl who got horribly sick the first night.
Here are a few memories from the race:

The back of our van. The dust was from our FIRST exchange. We hadnt even started the race yet and it was that dirty.

Team 197

The crazy outfits people wore. We were conservative with our polka dot knee high socks and hair bows.

See...hair bow! Courtesy of my SIL Randee!

Earnie. That man was amazing! After his last leg I talked to him and he said he was just sorry there wasnt another leg to run.

Runners...waiting...

Clint before his first and longest leg - 8.6 miles.

Me and Clint before his first leg.

My MIL and FIL, amazing runners. They ran WAY more than I did in the race! Great examples.

Our van's driver, and one of my best friends, Kendra.

Me before my last leg. 4.7 miles to the finish!
I complained a lot (sorry team!) and vowed that I would never run another Ragnar EVER again! But really, I could see myself forgetting about the pain and doing it again in a few years. Especially if it was with a group like this. The running was NOT fun. It was the opposite of fun. I hated almost every minute of it. What I loved though, was the sense of accomplishment, doing something I never thought I would or could do, and most importantly, building amazing relationships with people I already love, but now hold even more near and dear to my heart.

Bubbles
Sunshine
Rain
Clouds
Angel-Rays
Babies
My babies
Color
Books
CS Lewis
Doing things
Motherly Advice
Holding Hands
Life
Imperfection (Wabi Sabi)
Lemons
Wood
Garden-picked veggies
Farmer’s Markets
Organic
Yoga
Breathing
God
Primary songs
Little hands
Candles
Ross
Anthroplogie
Change
Creating
My bed
Sleep
Marriage
Grass
English gardens
Sunrises
Sunsets
the beach
the mountains
Snow
Seafood
BYU
Pictures
Memories
Making memories
Swedish Fish
Godiva
“adventures”
Training:
As I have mentioned before, Clint and I have been training for a race held here every year in February – the Ragnar Relay Del Sol. This year the route runs from Wickenburg (west of the city) and winds around and through the Phoenix area ending in Tempe. We start early Friday morning (van 1 begins at 7:30am) and end sometime Saturday afternoon – running a total of over 200 miles. It is a twelve man team and we each run three legs. My legs are some of the easiest at 5.9 miles, 3.1 miles, and 4.7 miles. Clint’s legs are 8.6 miles (uphill!), 3.9 miles, and 6.5 miles.
When I mention the race, I often have people reply, “I didnt know you were a runner!”
I’m not.
My 60-something Mother and Father-in-Law are runners. My SIL is a barefoot runner. Clint’s family – they run. I am a self-professed NON-runner, who made a decision to run a crazy race in the middle of the night in the middle of the desert.
Why?
1) Because Clint said he would if I would. While I get to do yoga when I want and chase two crazy kids around all day, he sits at a computer constantly and has no extra time to do anything physical. I am NOT saying that he needs to lose weight or that he is physically lacking to me in any way! BUT…I do want him to live a long time – at least as long as me – and I think we have a better shot at that if we both are active.
2) Clint has run this race with his family before and he loved it. Even though I have never been a fan of running, I have to admit, the thought of being on a team, working together, cheering each other on, and crossing a finish line with people I love sounded appealing.
3) I have never done something like this before and there is something appealing about doing something you never thought you would…or even could for that matter.
4) Finally, I knew that we were wanting to start trying for kid #3 sometime this year, and I wanted to get my body in good shape to tackle another pregnancy. (No, that is NOT an announcement!)
So, Saturday Clint and I went on a team run in the foothills near the San Tan mountains. I ran 5.4 miles of hills. That is the longest I have ever run in my entire life. IN. MY. LIFE! It felt good. Even if my MIL (and just about everyone else on the team) was smoking me!
I am getting excited for the race. It is in 15 days. YIKES!
Sick:
Jane woke up the other night throwing up. No warning signs. Just a few hours of throwing up and then about an hour of trying to get her back to sleep and nothing else. I had to cancel plans with my sisters for fear of infecting anyone else with whatever random bug she had, but she never even had a fever. This is what our house looks like when the kids are sick:

Did I mention it was RED throw up? Yeah.
Other than training and taking care of sick (and not sick) kiddos, I have been working on finishing my living room. With a LOT of help from my MIL, I am finally DONE! Here are some pictures of the finished (ish) project. (There is always more to do!)



We painted that green wall, re-upholstered the two chairs, painted the dresser and the lamp on the dresser, painted that red frame, painted the coffee table yellow, found baskets and made a foam topper and pillows to convert it to a bench, and made a few throw pillows for the rest of the room. Oh, and added a plant. Love my plants! We didn’t ever used to go in that room a lot, and now I find myself spending more time there, reading and spending quiet time. It’s lovely and feels good.
Other random shots:




by Ryan
I am too lazy to look it up, but I believe that there are statistics out there about how long it takes for people to give up on their New Year’s Resolutions – and its not long! Technically I never said that writing once a week on the blog was a “resolution” per se, but I guess it went without saying. And here I am on the last day of January giving up on the whole write-once-a week-about-the-previous-week thing. I still plan on writing here, and regularly (which to me means at least 4 times a month) but I can’t confine myself to a particular schedule. It’s just not me.
So, here are a few pictures and highlights since my last post:

"Brushing teeth" - more like eating the toothpaste!

on the potty

reading on the pot...start 'em young.

Ryan with one of his lego creations. He is VERY creative!

Sunday morning photo shoot.



"Dont touch your sister!" "Smile" "Put your dress down, Jane"


So, once a week is harder than it sounds.
I still don’t know how I want to do this. It isn’t feeling as organic as I think it should. I want to document the little things in our lives as well as the big, but sometimes it all feels too disjointed. And frankly I am too distracted or tired most of the time to focus too long on trying to make it connect or make sense in any way. Sorry. (That was mostly meant for myself.) I do wish my writing was better on this blog – something I know I am extremely capable of – I guess it just isn’t too high on my priority list.
Clint:

On a lazy day: Ryan playing his earned hour of video games and Jane watching while eating ice on the couch.
Ryan:
Jane:
Natalie

Unfinished yellow bench.

My fresh green wall - Grape Leaves by Behr. Should I do stripes??
Books we are reading and loving right now:
Shows we are watching and loving right now:
And that is the end of this post because my hiccups just came back (probably my BIGGEST pet peeve ever!) and I have to go drink a glass of water upside down.
Up.
Side.
Down.