My First Half Marathon

On Saturday I ran my very first marathon! I have been wanting to do one for a while now, too bad I finally decided to sign up for one during the winter. The race was in Mesquite and it was cold! When I signed up, I expected it to be a bit warmer. Ha! The hills were crazy and every time I thought I was done with them another huge one would come into view.

My family came to cheer me on and they were awesome! I loved seeing my boys yell for me! Having my parents there to support me made me think about all of the ball games they used to come to. I sure enjoyed reminiscing back to my high school days as I ran!

The last half mile of the race was brutal. It was up a huge hill and my legs were aching. Then I spotted my family cheering me on. Such a cool feeling. At the finish line Parker ran out and finished the race with me. I loved it! I finished 3rd in my division, which may mean nothing depending on how many people were even in my division. :) I'll find out in a week, but I'm already planning my next half marathon!

Life as of lately...

Holy cow! First of all, I am so glad that the month of September is OVER! Talk about crazy/hard month. Between both boys being sick the WHOLE month and Steve and I being so busy with work. Yuck. We have recently taken Parker off of gluten because of him being sick all of the time. He had a constant cold and with him, it is never just a cold. The poor kid will have serious breathing troubles on about day 2-3 of the cold. A nebulizer, inhaler, breathing medicine all barely make a difference. His body gets really really warm. Like 103 degrees warm and he just can't breathe. 

So I did a bit of research and found out that asthma (or breathing troubles) often go hand in hand with gluten. It basically compromises his system to where his body is having a hard time processing it. So being that it is working over time with that, there is little left over for his immune system. Gluten may also inflame the lungs...just as we have seen. Parker has been gluten free for about a month. I don't know if it is working yet, but he has not caught a cold since. So we will keep chugging along with this gluten free lifestyle. 

Now onto Jaxon. I swear this kid catches the WEIRDEST stuff. About a year ago he had a weird rash on his back. This time he got a rash that covered his whole body. It was even in between his toes. It just kept getting worse and worse, so finally I decided to just take him in to see the doctor. Basically he caught some viral thing like Roseola. The catch is that he was on antibiotics for a double ear infection when he caught this other thing. So symptoms were a bit different and the rash was weird. Oh my life! :)

 Braden is home... and Dakota is leaving! One last picture of us before we're separated again! 

The month of October has been a lot better to us. :)

Parker is 3

Parker - Age 3

Favorite color - green

Favorite book - Brown Bear Brown Bear

Favorite T.V. show - Phineas and Ferb

Favorite food - pizza, tacos, hot dogs

Favorite toy - Buzz

Favorite place to go - Grandmas house

Weight - 33 pounds - 64th percentile

Height - 39 1/2 inches - 89th percentile 

We absolutely love this little dude! Parker started preschool this year and he loves it. Parker had a minion cake for his birthday done by his Grandma Cluff. The present that I think he was the most excited for was his pair of boots. He had been asking for several months for us to get him a pair of boots. So $60 dollars later we found some and he loves them!
Parker loves to go to the store and buy a donut. Especially if it is with Grandpa.

I can't believe how big he is getting! I love spending time with him. I love the stories he tells me. I love the silly things he says. I love you Parker!

Jax is 18 Months

It is kind of crazy to me because when Parker was 18 months we had Jaxon. For my sanity, our next child will be spaced out more. Like a lot more. :) 

Weight 25 pounds - 36th percentile (I totally thought he was chunkier than that.)

Height 31 inches - 12th percentile (Really?! He's not that short! Too much Cluff in him...)

Jaxon is such a sweet boy! I just want to squeeze him all of the time. Lately he has been teething. He just recently added 4 molars and is working on his next bottom teeth so he wont look like a beaver anymore! Jaxon LOVES any kind of ball/balloon! He is seriously obsessed. He will go around the house looking for and playing with them all day. He absolutely adores Parker. He doesn't talk a whole lot but he does say:

-please

-thank you

-more

-Momma

-Dada 

-ball

-balloon

-banana

-cracker

-Grandpa 

-drink (um.. can you count him making the slurping noise?)

Jaxon is such a good sleeper! He'll sleep about 11-12 hours a night and will take a good 3 hour nap during the day. He loves to eat, play in dirt and go for walks. Pretty typical right? :) I love this boy! I just wish I could get time to freeze, like for forever. I love this stage in my life! 

Goofy picture....but this is how Jaxon usually is!

Seriously, where do I start?

I let three months slip by with out posting anything. This will probably be the longest post ever! I'll try to rewind a bit and start at the beginning of our summer break. 

We headed up to Rexburg and stayed with Jaycie and Josh for about a week. Jaycie and Josh went through the temple and received their endowments. I LOVE going back to the Rexburg temple. I was in Rexburg when they first started building it and I attended many sessions while we lived there. I feel like it is 'my' temple.

I also ran my very first official 10k. It was a tough one and half of it was up hill. I remember thinking during the race that I would never sign up to do another one. As soon as I crossed the finish line I was making plans for another one. I finished around 1hr and 4 minutes. 

I absolutely love visiting Rexburg (during the summer). I already want to go back!

After Rexburg we headed to Nampa to visit Steve's family. We were able to spend about a week with them and also go camping. The boys loved being with Grandma and Grandpa Dunn. If only they lived closer!

Right after we got home we all came down with a nasty stomach flu. I HATE the flu and I hate even more when my kids have it. Parker got it the worst. I was so thankful that I had my family to help out. I feel bad though because every single one of them came down with it too.

We went camping again, this time with my family. For some reason, this is the only picture we got. The boys did so well. Parker could seriously live out there. 

Parker and Jaxon are beginning to play better together. Jax adores Parker, but Parker doesn't really even care most of the time. I love the stage that Jaxon is in right now. The poor kid gets squeezed and kissed all day! He's beginning to talk a little more, but I hope to cover that better when I do his 18 month post.

I ran another race, just a local 10 k. It was small, perhaps that is the reason I was able to take 3rd place. I don't care though. I still think it's cool! :) My time was 58:37! I was so excited that I ran 6.2 miles in under an hour. I'm still running a lot. I want to do a half marathon but it has been tough to find one that works with my schedule. 

This past weekend Jaycie and Josh were sealed in the St. George Temple. What a cool experience it was! I am SOO happy for them. Jaycie is also pregnant with their second. It's a girl! I'm not sure we'll know what to do with a girl. Ha ha!

This cool dude opened his mission call last night... NO ONE guessed where he is going. I haven't even heard of anyone one that has gone to this mission either. He is going to INDIA, BANGALORE! How crazy! He is super excited and even more excited that it is English speaking!

Just because I love Jaxon's face. :)

Oh this kid. I could go on and on. What a crazy personality he has. He is almost three! Yikes. I'll hopefully write a post for him soon also. For now, I'll just say that he LOVES super heroes. 

Oh and last thing, we took over the pest control business from my Dad. We are so lucky to have something like this. For the most part, one of us will be able to be home with the kids. They will hardly have to go to day care! What a blessing. It is so nice to plan your own schedule and choose the days you want to work (for the most part). Yay! 

Well, heres to the last month of my summer break!!!

He is with Jesus

I have been thinking about my sister and baby Braxton a lot lately. My heart breaks every time I remember what my sister and her husband had to go through. The boys and I have driven by Braxton's grave a few times this week and each time we do I am hit with a huge wave of emotions. Parker recognizes the cemetery and we have had a few good talks when we go. The first time we went we talked about how Aunt Jaycie's baby died. How he lives with Jesus now. That it's just his body in the grave. Parker was very serious throughout our conversation, but was very relieved to know that at least Baby Braxton was with Jesus. I am so grateful for my boys and how close to the Savior they are. 

The second time we went this week Parker reminded me of Braxton and what happened to him. He made sure to tell me it was ok though, because he was with Jesus. 

I am so so grateful for my two little boys and I love them so much. I love how much they teach me. I love how big their hearts are.  I am grateful for my sister and her example and strength. I know she will get the chance to hold and love her sweet little boy someday. 

Jax is One!

Late again.... but Happy Birthday Jaxon! This little boy can bring a smile to anyones face. He is always so happy...unless he is hungry or tired. :) His smile is so stinkin contagious!

Jaxon still crawls.....which is totally fine by me. He would prefer to just sit and smile, seriously. He has gotten brave though and has taken a few steps.

Jaxon has six teeth. Four on top and two on the bottom. 

He eats anything. (Except boiled eggs.) I think smiling and eating are his two favorite things!

He adores Parker.

Jaxon is a mommas boy. When I am home I can never get anything done. If I leave the room he freaks out and of course I pick him up because I feel so guilty for working.

Jaxon is beginning to wave hi to people. (We're working on a few signs but we haven't been very consistent.)

He weighs 22 pounds.

Jaxon loves to play with balls. He can chase them around all day if you let him. 

We love our Jaxon!!!

Parker at 2 1/2

Oh my Parker...where to start? This kid is seriously crazy and so full of life! I'm blown away with how much he talks. Life has gotten so much better now that we can communicate so easily with him. Just today Steve went outside and asked Parker what he was looking for. He responded with, "worms and compost". REALLY? Compost? A 2 1/2 year old that knows what compost is? I'm pretty sure that I didn't know what compost was until like a year ago. 

Anyway, He loves superheros, especially spiderman!

This kid is COMPLETELY potty-trained (even nighttime)! We went to Las Vegas this weekend, stayed in a hotel and went to basketball games with NO accidents. I love it! It only took three different times of trying!

 One day, Parker told Steve that he needed to go to work. So he got himself ready and tried to leave. He is becoming so independent.

 This past weekend while we were in Vegas for State basketball games. My Aunt Heather came with her baby Lainey. As soon as Parker saw her he was begging to hold her. He LOVED every minute of it. He even thanked Heavenly Father in his prayers for babies... Sorry Parker, it's going to be a little while. :)

 Parker's version of whisteling consists of sticking his pointer finger in his mouth and screaming. Ha! It is so funny to watch. Here he is cheering for his Uncle Dakota during his basketball game.

No words are needed to describe this picture!

I just love this sweet, energetic, crazy, curious, loud, loving boy! 

Christmas Break 2012

Oh how I wish Christmas would stay around longer.  This is both boys first picture ever with Santa! (Even though this is Parker's 3rd Christmas.) Parker was so stinking excited to sit on Santa's lap. This Christmas Parker has been able to understand so much more. He loved reading books with Santa in them and watching movies as well. One morning Parker looked out the window to our backyard and shouted, "reindeer!" As soon as it was Parkers turn to sit on Santa's lap, he became very shy and wasn't so sure. Go figure! Jaxon was also sleeping at the time so I had to snag him from my Mom's shoulder. Both boys were just not sure what to think. 

 When we got home we opened their Christmas jammies from their Great Grandma Reber. They are so so CUTE! For some reason I don't have any pictures of the boys opening their presents on Christmas day. Jaxon could care less and Parker insisted on playing with each toy for a while before he would open the next. I got Steve his very first gun for Christmas and he loves it! Best gift I have given him. :)

We went to Brian Head later on Christmas day and stayed in a cabin. We also got to talk to Braden. He will be home before we know it!

Our friends from Rexburg came to visit us during the Christmas break. It is crazy how fast kids change and grow, especially when you don't see them for a while!

Jaxon just picked up crawling in December. He is EVERYWHERE! I am afraid it wont be long before he begins walking. Someone please slow down time! He also has both his bottom teeth now.

So, I have this thing, where I swear my twin brothers are still just awkward, goofy middle schoolers. I am then somehow reminded that I am completely wrong. They are SENIORS. They are almost old enough to go on MISSIONS! They have turned into quite handsome young men! I really think that I have been trying to ignore the fact that they will soon be gone. I have absolutely loved living so close to them during this time in their lives. My boys love their Uncles and I love to see them interact with each other. For now, I will try to soak up all the time that I can get with them!

 Senior Ball 2013

So here I am now, wondering how in the heck our break is over. I am both ready and not ready to go back to work again. I will miss spending all of my time with my boys, but I am also ready to get out of the house...plus I eat better when I am not at home all day! :) Too bad we somehow managed to wait until the end of the break to catch a yucky bug. Nothing like starting off a new year at work feeling exhausted! HA!

My Sweet Nephew Braxton

I have stopped and started this post quite a few times now. I think the best way for now is to just keep it simple.  December was such a hard month. Really hard. My sister Jaycie and her husband Josh lost their sweet little baby Braxton, just days before he was due. He was the most perfect and beautiful little boy. I was able to hold sweet Braxton’s perfect body. It was a very special but hard moment that I will never forget. My heart aches for my sister and her husband. I wish so badly that they could hold their sweet baby boy and have experiences that I have been able to have with my boys. I pray that they soon will.