Hellfire

After over a year of missing all of Dave and Derek's rocket launches, I finally made it out to the "BIG" event.  Annually, there is a rocket launch out on the Salt Flats, in July... thus the name Hellfire.  It is the coolest place to check out... driving on the road to get out there, you just come to a point where the road ends, and the salt begins, and you just keep on driving (no speed limit!!) a few miles out.  

The festivities go for several days, and Dave got out there a few days before me along with Derek, and our neighbors boys.  They would sell drinks and shoot rockets (or make rockets) all day long, and then go back to the hotel (Wendover) and eat the buffet (the boys looooved this), and swim.

Here's Derek and Teagan holding up their rockets (look at the big dogs on the left)

 

Our friend Stacie & her boys

 Derek getting ready to launch his rocket (the yellow and blue one).

 Dave and Jenna taking a ride out to explore.

Yes, I built a rocket too... it's called Sea Breeze, and it beat out our friend's rocket (beginner's luck).

 My loot -- there were guessing games (how many XX are in the jar, etc), and I cleaned house on them.  I'm not going to lie, winning and treats are two of my favorite things :)

 Out in the middle of NOWHERE, there is an old abandoned piano... There were about 3 keys left on it... all the salt has built up on the sides.  It was very cool though...

 Me and the little pig (aka Jenna).  Do you think her sunglasses are big enough? :)

 Jenna, reinventing the Titanic arms on the back of the 4-wheeler.

Despite the heat, we had a blast!  We had fun with the kids and our friends.  I am excited to go again next year.

Girl's Camp 2011

In July Hailey and I went up with our ward to girl's camp up in Heber.  We had a great time enjoying the beautiful surroundings!  In addition to some great spiritual moments, we did a challenge course (you see part of it here), which included jumping off a high platform to zipline.  It was awesome!  Hay cruised through it - fast!  

 Here is a group shot -- isn't that gorgeous!!

 Hailey and her buds out on the lake, canoeing, they had fun!

 What kind of camp would it be without a flag ceremony. 

 My favorite sign up at Heber Valley, while out on the lake, there is a 2-minute silence for everyone.  It's a great moment for reflection, and just enjoying how beautiful it is up there...

I was so happy that I got to be up there with Hailey her first year of camp... hopefully we'll get to do more in the future!

Scofield Tri Recap 2011

Dave and the little kiddos found me in the transition area before the start and came to give me good luck kisses :)

Amber and me pre-race.  Gearing up for a great race day!

heading down to the boat ramp for our swim

In the water, trying to get used to the temp.  It was pretty chilly (low 60s), but totally doable.

Right after getting out of the water, heading over to transition for the bike.

Derek & Cambrie (Amber's daughter), in the cheering section during our race :)

Me starting my run.  There was the hugest hill out of transition for both the bike and the run.  My legs felt pretty much like rubber after hopping off the bike. Thank goodness for the bike/run brick workouts I had put in leading up to the race.  It helped a TON!

I DID IT!  It felt great to finish my first Olympic triathlon.  I was feeling a little nervous before... I knew I'd be able to finish, but I wanted to have a strong race.  I had a few malfunctions during the swim... my left goggle kept filling up with water so I had to stop several times to drain it.  Dang!  Also, my first transition was slower than I'd hoped, the bike ended up alright, but the end of my run just got slow.  I was doing great to hold between an 8:15 and 8:30 pace for the first of the run, then got SLOW at the end.    My end results were... 10th place of women in the Olympic.  I finished the swim in 30:04 which was slower than I had hoped... I felt good in my swim, but wished I had been faster cause I know I am a faster swimmer.  The bike I finished in 1:19:32 (averaging 18.7 mph) which I was happy with, because heading out was decent, but when I reached the hill section I was going slow... little legs were tired! Thank goodness for down hill!   My run I finished in 55:53, averaging a 9:01 min mile, which I wish was faster, but considering it was the end of the race, i'll take it!  Overall, my finish time was 2:50:58.  I hope my next one is faster, but this was a great first olympic, really great course!

 

  

Amber's my hero! lol... I always tell her she is so hard-core, and she is!  She got first in our division and finished at 2:27.  I love having a great competitive buddy to help me train, and race with!

And of course my racing wouldn't be complete without my best supporter, Dave :)

I can't figure how to turn this, but we stayed up in Scofield for the weekend with Jon & Amber & their family up at a cabin.  We found a zipline off the side of the house.  amber gave it a go, but it wasn't equipped for bigger people, lol!  The kids however, LOVED it!!!

There was a playground right down the hill, and it had a fun teeter totter on the swingset, it was fun for the kiddos. Derek & Jenna loved it!

Happy Mothers Day

So mothers day has almost come to an end.  I woke up a little after 8:30 to Jenna whispering in my ear that they were making me sausage and bacon.  She was very excited about it!  I got breakfast in bed of my favorites -- turkey bacon, sausage, french toast and chocolate milk.    

For the most part the kids were really well behaved, and spoiled me with a new camera (my old one was beyond it's last leg).  I love being a mom -- my kids never cease to amaze me, whether for the good or the bad, they keep me on my toes.

 Mother's day wouldn't be complete without at least one meltdown from Derek  (we have several each day from Jenna, so they're not as exciting to document)

I'm glad that I have the best Momma in the world.  My mom  is the epitome of patience, consistency, service, and love.  I'm so glad that I have such a terrific example in my life! :)

I left my heart.... in San Francisco

A couple weeks ago, I met up w/ one of my girlfriends from Phoenix for a girls trip to Cali.  I was SO long overdue for a getaway... With a few day break between the end of classes and finals for me, I decided that was a perfect time to go do some relaxing and site seeing. 

We stayed with one of our cute YW leaders from when we were young, and had a great time catching up!

Day 1: we hit up Union Square in San Fran and did some pretty serious shopping!  We hit up tons of stores, got checked out (not in a good way) in Saks Fifth Ave... Nothing to make you feel good like a service person giving you the "you don't belong here" look... We got a kick out of looking at the 3000$ hand bags though!  After lots of shopping, we headed to the pier and ate at the Boulevard.  It was a delicious (and quite pricey) meal... which is nice to do sometimes.

Day 2:  We hung around in San Ramon (where we were staying).  I got in my 12 mile run- which was SO hilly- yikes! :)  Then we went to lunch at a yummy place with our friend Jen.  That night Natalie and I "doubled" with Jen and her husband and went to see Source Code.  It was fun to just lounge a little bit without kids or responsibility... sigh.

Day 3:  Hooray for Monterrey!  We actually drove down to Carmel first, spent a few hours, but were more excited to go to Monterry... and so we went.  We hit up the most divine bakery.  I ate so many baked goods on this trip (which-for anyone who knows me- are my true weakness).  We checked out the cute shops, had gelato, stocked up on yummy stuff from Trader Joes (which I WISH they had here), and ended up hitting some more outlets on our drive back (they had a Pearl iZumi outlet that I was SO excited about!!)  We were already late getting back, but we decided to hit up another show, and went to see Soul Surfer...which was good.  I will say, that I love Carrie Underwood, but she can't act.. ha!

Day 4: We packed up & headed home.  Hooray for old friends, and good getaways to rejuvenate and gear us up for getting back to life.

Sunshine at last!

The weekend before last, we took a last minute trip down to St. George as a family.  I have been HATING the cold and the inversion; so, the trip to warmth was very much needed!  We stayed with our great friends for a long weekend.  While there, my friends & neighbors Stacie & Denise were there, so we hooked up for a great trail run.  Talk about just what I needed! Nothing like a run in the sun (pardon the cheesy rhyme), to lift my spirits!  I love St. George!

'Tis the Season

There are so many things that I just ADORE about this time of year. All of them have to do with being around FAMILY.

We took our annual trip down to Temple Square to see the lights. I LOVE the lights! They are so pretty, and really put me in the Christmas mood. We took TRAX downtown so the kiddos could ride the train. It was convenient to avoid parking, but sure did take a while to get to and from...

Here is a shot of us.

The little buddies, Derek & Hailey

I LOVE this picture of Hailey & her Papa (Dave's dad). Hailey loves spending time with Mimi and Papa :)

One of my favorite traditions is going to see the Forgotten Carols. I love to hear the carols about the Savior, and especially I love feeling the spirit so strong.

At our trip to the mall to see Santa, Jenna & Derek were most excited with the Carousel :)

We hosted my family's Christmas get together this year. We had our traditional Mexican fiesta, rice pudding (Cami- my niece got the almond), our gift exchange (everyone draws a name prior to Christmas, and that's who they give a gift to, AND -- the family nativity. This year, Hailey was Mary, Derek was a wise man, and Jenna was an Angel (She was very sweet, but had moments that were more representative of hell's angels...:))
I love doing the nativity with all the kids, it's so special for them (and us) to take some time to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ.

THIS, is a captured moment that represents a FAVORITE part of the holiday. I love "catching" my kids doing nice and sweet considerate things for one another without being asked. This morning, I caught Hailey sitting and reading stories to Jenna (Her favorite activity (next to singing)). They sat up there for quite some time, Hailey reading one book after another. It warmed my heart to see the love she has for her little sis.

There are many, many more things I love about this season -- baking, singing (and more singing), visiting with friends old and new, and hearing updates of the lives of people I love.

I hope you all have a very Merry CHRISTmas :)

Awesome Christmas Cards!!

Okay, so I know some of you who already utilize the wonderfully simple way of doing online Christmas cards. In the past I have done all sorts of methods -- made cards, bought cards, had cards printed etc. But this year I am going to use Shutterfly, so I can get all my cards done without having to go ANYWHERE! And better yet -- there is a sweet promo going on right now.

So - if you haven't checked their holiday stuff out -- here are some links to their products:

For Christmas cards:
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

Calendars:
http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars
*** I LOVE doing calendars for family members who are far away, and I include pictures of my kids, so they can look at them all year! You can also put in pictures of people for their birthdays, this is my favorite thing! The relatives LOVE it!

If you're having a Christmas party or event that you want to send out invites to -- they've got those too:
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-invitations

This promo they are doing, you get 50 free cards. That about covers the majority of my Christmas cards for the season! I hope you all go check out their website, and score the same awesome deal too! I love a free deal... it's the best kind.

Hurry and check it out, because it is only available for another week or so... here's the link for the promotion :) http://bit.ly/sfly2010
Happy holidays!

Hailey is TWELVE!!

It's so hard to believe that Hailey has turned 12! She seems so grown up, overnight!
I love many things about Hailey. She has always been very responsible about things - even from a YOUNG age she would set her own alarm clock so she could get up & ready in the morning. She is the craftiest girl I know! Her mind is constantly conjuring up things she can create or invent. Her room is living proof of her creativity :) I'm pretty sure I've heard that the creative type are not the clean & orderly type :). She LOVES music, and is a very talented singer. She also has an amazing ear for music, and has taken up the Ukulele this year, and continues to play the piano by ear well too. She is such a great big sis, and loves to love on her brother & sister. She is sweet (literally) -- because of all the treats she likes to eat! She is a determined gymnast, and has improved so much -- and has been invited to join the competition team! Yay!
Hailey's dislikes are: chores (especially dishes or vacuuming), bedtimes, dinner w/o dessert, being woken up by siblings on weekends.
Likes: Music, treats, playing games, baking, crafting, creating, computer games, hanging with friends, jumping on tramp, and family.

I love having Hailey as my daughter! She has been so wonderful, and it makes me sad to realize that she is growing up, and will be around less and less.
Here's Hailey's friend party :)

The Birthday girl!

Hailey w/ her 2 BFFs, Ashlynn & Megyn

The group -- candying up :)

They spraypainted their hair & did makeup to look like rockers! Then they had a just dance competition. It was VERY funny to watch.

SO terribly behind!! Derek turns 5!

Well, to keep current with only being a couple months behind, I have to start doing September's post... yes, I'm a slacker.

SO - DEREK TURNED FIVE!!! I can hardly believe my little guy is so big! He is such a joy in my life. Some thing I love about Derek are:
Him cracking jokes, only not knowing for sure if what he says is funny, so he'll say it, then chuckle and ask "is that funny?" hehe
The "I love you infinity" game we play... whoever says it first each day wins.
Singing & dancing in the car
Watching him geek out to any & all of the Lego games on the Wii
Snuggling with him
Him being my baking buddy -- he's always the one wanting to put in the ingredients and and turn on the mixer
Reading books together
Playing games
Holding his little hand (this is one of my favorite things with my kids, and I know it's going to be gone before I know it -- sniff, sniff)
His smile
His face when he gets sad or disappointed, his eyes get big and tear up immediately and he has a big frown, like his heart has broken
Watching him play with his sisters -- especially when he entertains Jenna
His crane kick & round house
How he always wants to have a friend to play with (talk about social butterfly)

I really could go on and on, but these are just some of the things I love about my Derek, aka: little D, smooshie, shmunkins, Derico Consuelos Gonzolez

Now - onto the pictures.... Every year Dave shoves the cakes in the kids faces. This year, he must have gotten the perfect angle, because it went straight up his nose. I must have captured the incident at the perfect timing, but look how sad the poor guy is!

Pre- cake in the face

Derek was EXTRA excited that he got the two-sided General Grievous light saber for his birthday

D's birthday party w/ friends this year was a star wars theme. They did Jedi training -- so of course, they had to practice with their sabers (swords), and what better way to practice than to have a target (Dave) to go after.

They also did balloon tosses to work on their Jedi coordination... this wasn't quite so successful, but very fun to watch. Derek is so lucky to have so many great buddies so close by to play with!