Where did the time go?!

Today was Ben's first day of kindergarten. (It was basically an orientation for all the parents and a chance for the kids to meet each other and the teacher.) Ben told me last night when I was putting him to bed that he didn't know if he would be able to sleep because he was so excited to start kindergarten. He was dancing around the house all morning, counting down the minutes until we left. When I took his picture this morning, he asked me if I could take one of his backpack because "it's so cool!" Emma was having a hard time watching Ben get ready to go. She kept asking if she could go to kindergarten and Jake and I let her know only two more years until it's her turn. Thank goodness she doesn't have a real concept of time because the answer "two years" seemed to console her. The last picture is of Ben sitting with his class. His teacher, Mrs. Armknecht (arm-connect), asked "Who is excited for kindergarten?" It took a couple seconds for anyone to raise their hand but then eventually all hands were raised. I think Ben's teacher is wonderful and have heard only good things about her. I'm excited for him... my big boy!

Best run of my life

This morning it was one of those mornings... my alarm went off at 5:45am and I sat there staring at the ceiling, deciding if I was going to make it to the gym or not. I contemplated this for about 10 minutes, and then finally pulled myself out of my nice, warm bed.

I decided to set a goal for myself on the treadmill... run 3 miles without stopping. I know this might not seem like such a huge deal to a lot of you "runners" but I haven't done this since before I got pregnant with Emma. I figured the most important thing was pacing myself and not pushing too hard because then I wouldn't be able to make it the full 3 miles. I started off with pain in my knees but I know my body and once I hit a mile the pains usually go away. As I was running I realized my breathing wasn't labored, my heart rate was down, and I felt a burst of energy I don't normally feel at 6am. I ran the entire 3 miles just under 29 minutes and felt GREAT. I could have gone faster, but wanted to make sure I didn't push too hard and not make it the whole way. At about 2.5 miles I was thinking I would have to slow down, but instead I just concentrated on my breathing and imagining my heart rate was coming down. This really was the best run of my life on a treadmill. Now, why can't all my runs be like that?!!

I haven't lost any weight in two weeks and have been frustrated so today was a welcomed treat. Hopefully I have more runs like the one today. Tomorrow I start running on the road to get ready for my 10K on the 6th. Wish me luck!

Jack Johnson... LIVE!

I bought Jake tickets to see Jack Johnson for his birthday way back in March. August seemed forever away at the time but last night the big day finally arrived. As Jake and I were sitting there, waiting for JJ (as many die-hard fans were calling him) we were reminiscing about all the concerts we've been to in the past. Jake has been to many, most during high school. Then I started to think about all the concerts I've been to and I realized... my "list" was much smaller than Jake's. In fact, my concerts in high school consisted of watching my boyfriend's band, "Postal," and high school choir concerts (do those count?!) In my mind they did. Does the World Music Festival in Malaysia a few months ago count?? Jake and I did just see Los Lobos and the Lonely Boys at his work party last month up at Red Butte Gardens. We would have never paid money to see them so I guess that doesn't really count. Anyway, I think you get the picture. So Jack Johnson was quite the experience for me. I loved the entire concert and could have listened all night to him. I thought he sounded even better than his recordings. It was fun knowing all the words to the songs and singing along, and then looking at everyone around me and realizing they were all doing it too. There was a pretty funny moment when he was singing "Same Girl" from his new album. He was halfway through the first verse and just stopped and started laughing. He said someone in the front row screamed "I want my wife to have your baby!!" He said he was thinking about that as he was singing, and then hit a wrong chord and it went downhill from there. Then he told the guy's wife "I think your husband has had too many beers." He said he needed to start the song over. It was funny. My two favorite parts of the night were when he sang "Bubble Toes" and then when he played acoustic by himself during the encore. I was really hoping he would play "Angel," my favorite song, but it didn't happen. Another thing I really loved about the concert was looking around at all the fans and realizing all people, young and old, love Jack Johnson. If any of you have a chance to see him live, I would highly recommend it.

I left my camera in the car, thinking we couldn't bring it in. Here is "Better Together" live off YouTube, just to get you in the mood.



At the end of the concert Jake and I saw two girls get into a fight in the parking lot. We were about 5 feet away from them. One girl was in a Hummer and the other in a Mustang. The one in the Mustang kept inching up and was touching the Hummer's tire. The girl in the Hummer opened her door and told her to back off (in much meaner words.) The other girl didn't and scraped her car on the Hummer's tire. Then she sat right in front of the Hummer and let a couple cars pass and wouldn't move, so the Hummer couldn't leave. The girl in the Hummer inched up and shoved the Mustang a couple inches. That's when it all broke out. The two girls jumped out of their cars and started hitting, smacking and pulling hair. One girl was shoved to the ground. Then the girl's boyfriend in the Hummer started hitting, then the Mustang girl's friend got out and started hitting the other guy. It was insane! A minute or two into the fight a cop was called over and by that time we were out of the parking lot. Crazy!

Dancing & Walking

Today I signed Emma up for her weekly dance class for the '08-'09 year. She's doing a Tiny Tots class and will learn some jazz, tap, and tumbling. I believe there will be two recitals (one around Christmas and one in June.) We were given a list of dance necessities today so I took the kids to a local dance store and bought Emma tights, a leotard, tap shoes, and ballet shoes. She is SO excited. Can you guess what color her leotard is?! Pink seems to be the #1 color in her mind and I don't think that will be changing any time soon. (Her leotard, tights, and ballet shoes are all pink.) I just hope she has fun and enjoys these classes. I remember loving my gymnastics classes when I was little and hopefully Emma will develop her own love for dance (or whatever she chooses.) I think Jake is a little apprehensive about a future filled with dance recitals, tutus, costumes, makeup and frill but what can you expect when you have a daughter?!

I also had to post a video of Josh cruising. He is loving his new-found freedom. I'm sure it will be just a matter of time before he is running and trying to keep up with his older siblings. He's such a sweetheart and we are all smitten with him.

6 Week Weigh-in

I started at Gold's Gym 6 weeks ago and my trainer told me on day one that every 6 weeks he would measure me, figure my body fat, and weigh me. I know some of you have been asking about my workouts so decided instead of talking about this every post (which I'm sure many of you would get bored with) I will try and post at these 6-week weigh-ins. Of course if I have something really cool come up or race, then I'll post more often.

SO, drumroll please...

I've lost 3 inches from my waist, 1.5 inches from my hips, and nearly an inch from my neck (how is that even possible?!) I lost 4.1% body fat!! (I'm really excited about that one.) My trainer said that is really good and many of his clients don't even see those kind of results in a year. I'm down 12 lbs. and only 22 lbs. away from my goal. I'm excited! When I get brave enough I will post before and after pics, but not this time around (I'm still sporting a nice little belly I don't want the world to see.)

I'm running a 10K on Sept. 6th. It's up at the U and starts at 9am. My sister-in-law is doing it with me. If anyone else is interested, just let me know and I'll get you the details.

A Good Laugh

As I was working out at the gym this morning I noticed this man (probably in his late 30's/early 40's) keeping a pretty good pace on the treadmill. It looked like he was really pushing himself and working hard. I tried to get a good look at what he was watching on his tv screen. I figured it must have been something really hardcore. His earphones were plugged into the tv and I noticed he was watching one of Elder Nelson's conference talks. Here I am, cranking up Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty" on my iPod, and this guy is watching this talk about temple work and the gathering of Israel as he's sweating bullets. It made me smile this morning. Don't get me wrong, I like conference and really enjoy the talks, but when I'm working out I have to watch/listen to something that gets my body moving and blood pumping. I guess conference talks really do it for this guy. (No offense to those who workout to conference talks.)

The countdown begins...

I LOVE the Olympics. I remember watching the Dream Team play in 1996. I remember watching Kerri Strugg stick her landing on her second vault after she hurt her ankle, helping the US gymnastics team win the gold. I remember watching curling with Jake in 2004 and wondering how that is even a sport (he says if there was any sport he could represent the US in at the Olympics it would be curling.)

08.08.08 the Olympics will be here again... 3 days and counting. I'm excited to see Shawn Johnson and Michael Phelps compete. Am I geeky? Probably. I don't care though. I can be geeky every four years... right?! If you're a gymnastics lover like me, have your DVRs programmed for Aug. 11th and 12th. It's the Men's and Women's Team final. The 13th and 14th are the All-Around competitions. I better go set my DVR now so I don't forget...