Backyard fun

It has been a long, long, long process of getting our back property into a useable condition. First the logging, then the lawsuit, then the replanting, then the care-taking of newly-planted trees, grading, more fill, more grading, more county troubles, lots of angry idiots across the river, lots of angry idiots at the county, more fill, more grading, more logging, and finally last summer the finished grade, irrigation system and planting of grass and shrubs. That was at the end of summer, so we didn't really get a chance to enjoy the fruits of our labor. But we have been making the most of it this year.

The picture above is of Jake mowing the lawn a few weeks ago. He decided to write his name in the lawn. And yes, we really do make our boys mow the lawn with a non-riding mower.

Monday was so warm and nice that we played outside all day. The kids played baseball for hours, and only lost 2 balls over the cliff in the river.

Other big news this week is that Aubrey got her braces off. Her teeth are so beautiful. She has had some type of braces or retainer since she was 8, so it is very fun to see her without any extra hardware.

Run, Jill! Run!

I am ready for summer. Saturday was the first day I have been able to run wearing shorts and short sleeves. It was amazing. Yesterday and today also brought the world a peek of my albino legs. Running in 50-degree weather is much better than the 20s, 30s, and even 40s. I actually preferred the super cold mornings of January-March to mornings when it is in the 40s. It was so much easier to know what I needed to wear when it was below freezing; when the temperature is in the 40s, it is almost certain that I end up too hot or too cold.

Aside from my winter running wardrobe being boxed up, here's the update on the marathoners: Mark is running a lot faster and further than I do.

Before I go on, I must tell you that Mark is very encouraging and supportive of my running. He is always telling me how great it is that I can go an put down 6 miles every morning like it's nothing, or run 10 miles on a Saturday. He really is incredible and proud of me.

Sometimes I have to kick myself when I start thinking about how wimpy I am that my longest run thus far is 10 and he can run 20. It takes all I have to keep a 10-minute-per-mile pace, and he is down in the 7's. He was made to run, and he has a lot of willpower to really push himself.

But I must remember not to compare. He has been running for years--sure, only 3-5 miles a day, but his body was used to running. I only really started in January. I've gone from 0 miles to 10-at-a-time, and I must say I am proud of that. I never thought I would be able to run even 5 miles! The other fact I keep reminding myself when I start to compare my running to Mark's is this: he was born with a natural ability to perform physical activity without looking like a freak or using all the wrong muscles. I was not. I have never been able to do anything sports-related.

To illustrate this point, I will tell you all a sad story about 11-year-old Jill. She was on a soccer team, and her dad was the coach. Jill's parents tried for years to give Jill every opportunity for physical activities that might help her lack of coordiation. Dance lessons were a complete waste of time, money, and hideous costume making. Soccer was a more useful investment, but Jill was still the worst player on the team. It seemed that Jill always ended up as goalie. She tried the other positions, but she never scored a goal, or assisted a goal. But goalie was a pretty safe place for her to not mess things up too bad. One day, when Jill's team was playing their arch-rival team (whom everyone knew cheated and they hated us as much as we hated them), Jill was once again the goalie. She did a pretty fair job that day. Until she caught a ball and drop-kicked it right over her head and into the goal, scoring the winning point for the other team. She never played soccer again.

Anyway, I'm way over that.

Mark is whittling his projected marathon finish time down to around 3:30. I'm hoping to finish my half-marathon in about 2:15. I'm really excited for my sister to come run with me. She is doing the full marathon, but at least I'll have her to run with and keep me going. Then she's on her own once I duck out of the race.

Some very good news is that at this point I am able to run without IT band pain. I believe it is partially thanks to my sweet new Saucony shoes, and partially to the strengthening exercises from physical therapy. I have also figured out that on long runs, if I stop after 3 miles to stretch out my.......gluteal muscles.....it also helps prevent IT band pain. So far so good. We'll see how 11 miles goes this Saturday.

Cookie Time

Our stake hosted the youth dance this month, which was Saturday night. My cookies were requested for the refreshments, so I set my new record for number of cookies made in one day--somewhere around 300. I ended up with about 100 left over, but that was actually convenient because then I took them to church the next morning and had my Young Women make their moms a little goodie bag for mother's day--and it looked like I actually planned it.

I have never taken pictures of a baking marathon before, but I shot a few on Saturday to post here. The dance decor theme was Luau. Chocolate Chip cookies I couldn't make fit into the the theme, but I made them anyway. I was going to make sugar cookies with a hibiscus-shaped cookie cutter, but then I had a better idea--HULA DANCERS. I got my gingerbread girl cutter out and went to town. Aubrey made the grass skirts and I made the pink flower leis. I think they are the cutest sugar cookies I have ever made.

Birthday Boys

Our birthday season got started last week. Joel starts us off April 30th with the family birthdays. Then we have one birthday a month through October, with 2 in June and August. They are all nicely spaced out, and away from the holidays.
Joel is 10, which is amazing. But what is even more amazing is that Abram is 15! I am the mother of a 15-year-old, and that makes me feel so old.
Joel wanted a Garfield cake. Random, I know. But that is what he requested. I was hoping the old Krispy Kreme donut cake would win, but it didn't, so I pulled out my cake decorating supplies and came up with a dang good Garfield, if I say so myself.
It tasted excellent, too. I usually do not like cake, but this one was pretty good.

Abram's birthday was Saturday, and Mark took the kids to see Star Trek. They loved it, but Zack said it was TOO SCARY FOR ME. I stayed home to bake a billion cookies, which I will blog about next. I do want to go see Star Trek, though. Abram then went to a dance on his birthday night, and I tagged along to chaperone and feed kids. It was a fun night.
Now we have a few weeks before Savanna's June birthday. She usually plans things out extremely well for me. Her birthday list is on my desk ready to go.