O' Christmas Tree

Christmas tree hunting has been a tradition of our family ever since I was a little girl. 

The adventure always took place the day after Thanksgiving with all my Aunts, Uncles and Cousins in Bear Lake.  Once everyone had finished the exhausting process of putting on layer after layer we would pile into grandpas truck and head for the hills.

Once Grandpas truck was sufficiently stuck in the snow the hunt would begin, well...that is for the adults anyways.  We would spend our time finding the best sledding hill and building a jump that was much bigger then necessary :)






lol, Here is the tree Dave cut down whilst he was not being supervised..It was like 15 feet tall!

Here are some pictures from the rest of the weekend on the farm..I LOVE these pics!



Helping papa feed the cows

                                                       

Talula loved this calf

Tiffany + crossfit

“An athlete gains so much knowledge by just participating in a sport. Focus, discipline, hard work, goal setting and, of course, the thrill of finally achieving your goals. These are all lessons in life.” — Kristi Yamaguchi, world champion figure skater


 I can't believe it's been one year...I guess time flies when you're having fun

I realize that there are many of you who will read this and think; what a strange girl, blogging about her workouts.  Well, you know how we all have our "thing".  Crossfit is my "thing" like photography is my girlfriends thing or quilting is my mom's thing.  It's my hobby, my passion, it's what I catch myself day dreaming about as I'm driving home from the grocery store.    

It was all out of curiosity really, I had only heard about the crazy videos on you tube and how intense the work outs were; so naturally upon finding out that there was a crossfit here in Layton I had to stop in and check it out.  And a year later people cant get me to shut up about it. 

um yes, it helps to make a face when lifting :) It's a technical thing you wouldn't understand.

This ability to conquer oneself is no doubt the most precious of all things sports bestows. ~ Oga Korbut

this pic was taken as I am coming up out of a burpee, and from the looks of things I'm guessing we've been going for a while.

Burpee:1.Begin in a standing position.

2.Drop into a squat position with your hands on the ground.
3.Kick your feet back while lowering yourself without a pushup.
4.Return your feet to the squat position while straightening your arms.
5.Leap up as high as possible from the squat position with your arms overhead (you may not clap your hands above your head at the peak of your jump).


"To give any less than your best is to sacrifice a gift" Steve Prefontaine, runner

So WHY, why push when you just want to lay down?  Why hurt when you can stop?  Why show up when  you're scared?  I do it because it's not easy... because it does intimidate me....and when I overcome those feelings it empowers me!  There is a euforic feeling that only comes after facing ones fear and continuing when everything inside of you is screaming to stop.                                

  "Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Philosopher & Writer                               Flip             

                              PUSH

JUMP!

I guess it's just in me, something deep down wants to know how much harder I can push, to find that physical limit.







Muhammad Ali: "There are no pleasures in a fight but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win."
                                                                                                       some of my girls from WCF

I'd be lying if I didn't say that I luv, LOVE to compete and come out on top. This pic was taken at my first official crossfit comp. I ended up with 5th which is not exactly on top but let's just say I came away with a healthy appietite for more.

Michael Jordan "My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength."

   

Afternoon with the Leaves

One lazy Sunday afternoon the kids decided they wanted a pile of leaves to jump in.  A few minutes later I peek out the window to see how they are coming to find that they had pulled out their sand buckets from the garage and were painstakingly filling up the buckets and dumping them into a pile.  So what does a caring mother do?  That's right; I called to Dave and sent him out to rake up a pile of leaves for the kids.

I remember the first time jumping into a pile of leaves and expecting the landing to be a lot softer then it actually was:)

Sweet Jonah

"moment"
             c 
                 a
             u
       g
              h
            t

"A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air."

- Eric Sloane 

Pumpkins in the cornfields
Gold among the brown
Leaves of rust and scarlet
Trembling slowly down
Birds that travel southward
Lovely time to play
Nothing is as pleasant
As an autumn day!
-John Donne-

             

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came -

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

George Cooper

October's Party.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



2010 memories

I know this post is a bit out of season however, one of my many projects for the new year is to get caught up with my blog and I loved these pics so I decided to start here.  This post is from a camping trip we took this past August in the Sawtooth mountains in Idaho with the cousins.     

on the road to the camp site

I love that I can look at this picture and be taken back to... the windows rolled down, hot summers air hitting my skin and some country song blaring in the background.

    

the contrast of the blue summers sky against the dirty brown cliffs was intriguing.....you'll just have to use your imagination:)

                    Here we are at a rest stop and Tuesday and Jonah found a butterfly in the parking lot.

Beautiful butterfly...Darling children

                           

    Summer vacations are definitely near the top of my list of favorite things to do.  This was one of those trips we were able to let loose and be care free (if not for a few days) and remember what it's like to be silly and in love.

mother nature/weekend therapy

                                                              Talula & Bianca

 This truly had to be one of the dirtiest camp sites I have ever been to. The dirt was so fine that a one simple walk from ones camp chair to the tent and you were covered. Se la vi

                                                           

                                                           

look at that face

 

  

...may they always remember the joys of childhood

We headed down the canyon from our camp site and found this little stream for the kids to play in. While they were pre-occupied with catching tadpoles we kicked back and cracked open our book.

                                              around the camp fire

                                                  with uncle Dave

                                                            check out the concentration:)

After a successful camping trip we were homeward bound with great anticipation for a hot shower (at least the adults were). On the way we passed this train and I loved the graffiti

     And I am spent!!!  but it's all worth it; to be able to reflect on fond memories in times past.   

Ahoy, maytes! Captain Jonah turning is 5

"You ARRR invited"

Had a lot of fun putting these invites together, THANKS Michelle for letting me use your cute pirate stamps!

ALL THE NECESSITIES...BANDANNAS AND EYE PATCHES :)

oi, I spent a good half hour making a few pirate flags to hang in the yard (NoT thinking....I used acrylic on plastic table cloth) the next morning the paint was all flaking off.....never mind.

 arrrrr!

Some of the cutest RIF RAF I've ever seen :)

Another blunder.... everything was going smooth until I placed the lid on the back of the treasure chest cake.  Then it all started to crumble.  Um yea,  I was not happy.  Walk away, just walk away...

I guess it doesn't look quite as bad form this angle

eventually we just had to laugh because everything that could go wrong did.  So it's the end of July and only 15 minutes till the party starts and the wind starts blowing like crazy, then it starts to rain, not just rain but poor and then the rain turned into hail!  Soooo, we moved the party inside            

   F.Y.I the kids favorite inside the goodies bags seemed to be the sticky eyeballs!

"ready for my close up Mr De Ville"

Even with all the "drama" the party ended up being a great success!  It just goes to show that all the fuss that I put into the invites/decor/birthday cake and ambiance is more for me and my crafting needs then Jonah and his 5 year old friends.  

 

Oh my dear sweet Jonah, you bring a smile to my face!  I love your silly laugh and the way you crinkle your nose as you describe any and every situation.  I love how thoughtful you are with your baby sister Talula (I can tell you are her favorite:)  You are growing so big and strong each day I cant believe how independent you are.  I love you so much you are such a caring boy, often telling me "your the best mom ever", making me want to be better at being your mom.  I hope you have had a special day and know how much happiness you bring our family!  ((hugs)) mom

yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me