Pretty Muddy Run!

Running is hard on your body.  Yet I love it..but sadly my knees don't like it.  I really didn't start to like running until after I turned 30 which is really sad because my knees were probably pretty darn good 10 years before that but oh well.  I took a long break from running to let my knees heal and get better. I did tons and tons of stretches and exercises to strengthen it. So when a few friends from church asked if I wanted to run in a mud run I thought YES. Sounds fun.  I love running these especially with a ton of girlfriends.  My friend Leah and I made t-shirts that said muddy Mormons. We thought for sure someone would say something or ask us questions but sadly no one did!  I finished the race and felt pretty good but as time went on the back on my left knee started hurting and hurting and by the time we left to head home it was a struggle to walk.
Errrr!!!  I still loved running the race. This one wasn't as intense as warrior dash but still lots of fun.  The best part was Brett and the kiddos and my parents were all there when I crossed the finish line.  It was so cute to see them cheering me on. It was a fun surprise to see my dad carrying Giselle along the race towards the end.  She saw me and wanted me to hold her but when she saw how muddy I was she was happy to stay with grandpa!
I really hope my knee can get over this because you are really cramping my style!!!

Cross Country

 Genevieve is in middle so she was excited to try out for a team.  She can't do everything yet but was excited to try Cross Country!

 She is learning a lot about controlling her breathing and pacing and endurance.

 She is also having a lot of fun.

 She has done so well in her first few races.  So far she has come in right around the 17:50 to 18:50 mark.

 Her best friend Hallie is on the team too.  She is quite the little speed racer. She comes in around 14:30ish. WOW!!!

Genevieve was so excited when Daddy suprised her and came to one of her meet's.  They are at 4:15 on the week days so not an easy time for him to come but he couldn't miss it.  

Genevieve has a lot on her plate right now.  She practices every day after school for cross country until 4pm. Then on wednesdays and fridays she has soccer practice from 6-7pm.  Games on Saturday and an occassional meet as well. Like she had this past saturday. She ran in an invitational and came in 52nd place..13 schools were there.  Than went straight from there to her soccer game where she scored 2 goals.  She decided she needs to run 2 miles before every game.
She will start piano in the middle of October on thursday nights. Luckily soccer and cross country will be winding down.  Though she did tell me she also wants to play basketball and be on the math team at school and she was also invited to a robotics class...wow! She is one busy girl!!

Labor Day!

We had a last minute last of the summer BBQ!   It was hot so we had water games too. We are so lucky to have nice friends that are willing to be silly with us.  We did a little water balloon toss for the little kids that turned into a water FIGHT. Than a little later Jolie and her friend M'lynn filled a ton of water balloons for the adults to do a water balloon toss.  Leah and Scott won! It was a fun day with lots of yummy food and fun friends. As you can see from the lack of posts it was the end of the summer because school is back in and it's been BUSY!!!!

Daddy is always fun!

Brett took all these pictures because he was hanging out with them.  The top one is of Jillian putt putting for a daddy daughter date. They had so much fun and it was so cute to hear all about it.  The other pictures of a park visit.  Brett always find the best parks and the kids know it.  They love to play with daddy! Wish Brett was in these..next time I will make sure to go with them just so I can get some of him with them!
I just love my family!

Best friends - Jacob and Giselle!

Jacob and Giselle are the best of friends! They look out for each other and help each other with everything! Neither will go to bed without the other...perks of sharing a room.  

 It's been really fun to see these last couple of months the two of them playing so well together.  Playing trains and games and watching spiderman together.  Giselle loves to wear his super hero mask and yell SUPER all over the house.

 So it came as no surprise that she was going to be sad when Jacob went to preschool and she didn't get to go with him.  I was suprised though how much it made her sad.  She screamed and kicked and absolutely lost the whole way out the building.  She fought me strapping her into her seat. She yelled Jacob the whole way home.  It was so sad to see.  I kept telling her that she would get to play with mommy and that we would do fun things together...but she wasn't buying it!

 Luckily after a few days she calmed down and started to like a little alone time.  We went and picked out a new coloring book and she didn't have to share at all. I love seeing that great smile and I LOVE that they are such good friends!

Activity Days - Nutrition

It was my turn to host activity days and we had a fun time.  We talked and learned about healthy foods and the new food pyramid!  Once all the girls came we started with a song, opening prayer and then headed outside.  It was a beautiful night.  Ahead of time I hid papers all around my block.  The girls had to run to each paper and read what it said to do.  The good foods were easy things like take a rest, sing a song or listen for a bird. The junk food was to do an exercise like sit ups, push ups or jumping jacks.  The girls were really good sports and they did each one but they said they were tired after it all.  Than we came back and washed hands to make our snack.  Fruit Salsa! The girls, washed the fruit, peeled, cut and diced all of it.  Then while it sat in the fridge for a few minutes we went over the the living room and learned about the new food pyramid which isn't a food pyramid but a plate.  The girls discovered veggies are supposed to be the biggest then grain than protein than fruit. with dairy on the side.
After that we went back to the kitchen to enjoy our fruit salsa with homemade cinnamon chips.  They did a great job and we all had fun!

Fruit Salsa with Baked Cinnamon Chips

by Allrecipes

Ingredients:
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces raspberries
1 (16 oz) carton of strawberries, diced
2 tablespoons white sugar (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (more or less to taste)
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor (I used strawberry)

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray

Cinnamon sugar:
1 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes. 
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
3.Coat one side of each flour tortilla with melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray. Sprinkle tortillas with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Spray again with cooking spray (not necessary if using melted butter). 

4.Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture. This salsa can also be serve with cinnamon graham crackers or cinnamon pita chips. Best when made and eaten the same day otherwise the fruit gives off too much juice and it gets runny.