Happy Anniversary, Eight Years and Counting

Two days before our anniversary we decided to take a trip to St. George to celebrate.  It was a great trip.  I mean it, seriously we had a really good time!  Avery has been getting better and better at going on trips, and it's so nice to be back in the swing of things where we can just pack up and go.  Recently we have been staying in hotels, since camping has been a nightmare with Avery.  But I think she's ready to try camping again. :)

On Saturday we ate out for breakfast, biked 14 miles (up STEEP hills and into HUGE wind gusts which really sucked,) swam in the heated hotel pool, took a fantastic refreshing nap, grabbed some Cafe Rio and ate dinner at Pioneer Park, where we hiked and climbed and watched the sunset.  Avery went to bed and Todd and I relaxed and watched some HGTV (my favorite channel and a special treat whenever we're somewhere with cable.)  What a perfect day!

Sunday Todd went for a 2 hour run, then I went for a 1 hour run.  We packed up and checked out, then went for a 15 mile bike ride along the Virgin River.  It was flat and not windy, and a breeze compared to the previous day.  We picknicked at the park and blew bubbles with Avery, before driving home and getting lunch on the way.  Mmmm, Albertos!  What another fantastic day.

I feel so free and capable and happy.  And we want to have another baby, which I know will take that away from me for a couple years.  So I am really, really enjoying this part of my life right now.  I don't mean that I will be bound and incapable and depressed when I go through another pregnancy and birth, because there is so much happiness and love and bliss in having a baby.  But yeah, I'll be honest.  I'm kinda dreading doing it again.  It was hard.  Really hard.

I just keep reminding myself that going through the difficult parts of pregnancy and having a baby was totally hands down worth it.

 

Avery spotting daddy: 

 

Avery literally LOVES climbing.  It's in her blood.

   

The actual angle of the previous photo's climb: 

   

   

Sunset:

   

Biking lunch break

   

   

   

Blissfully blowing bubbles with beautiful baby:

 

Phoenix Marathon and Half

Todd did the Phoenix marathon, and I did the half marathon.  It rained and was a little windy and cold, but overall it was a well organized fun race. 

Todd got his personal best for a marathon, 3:14 if I remember correctly. 

I got my personal worst for a half, but I don't care. :)  I wasn't in it for speed, just for being free and able to do something like run 13 miles again.  It feels so good to be in shape!!!!!!!!  It took me 2:30 to finish.

We stayed with Todd's brother and family, the Tim Hammonds.  Libby ran the race too, her first marathon ever!  It was so fun to stay with them and let Avery get to know her Arizona cousins a little better.  Any time one of their 5 kids would sit in my lap Avery would freak out and yell and cry.  She's got something coming to her when we decide to have another child!

Since we both ran the race neither of us had a camera or took any pictures.  Here are a couple photos we did snap with Todd's phone (which have nothing to do with the race):

Avery and Henry, 3 weeks apart in age:

 

I just love how Avery's tummy hangs out over her pants. Tee hee :P 

 

My beautiful baby is getting big fast. 

The Yurt

We stayed at a yurt with some friends a couple weeks ago.  It was really fun!  The yurt was a big round room with a kitchen, beds, and a wood burning stove. Avery LOVED it and stayed awake till midnight with all the grown ups (despite me attempting to get her to sleep.) 

The next day we hiked around a little frozen reservoir and sledded with the kids.  Avery loved this part too and would cry when someone else took a turn on the sled, because she wanted to just keep sledding.  I think we have an adrenaline junkie on our hands.  Which parent did that come from?

Here are some photos:

 

The outhouse full of frozen sewage 

 

Incredible view from the yurt

   

Van enjoying a cup o' joe

   

We ate gourmet food while there.  And Bacon.  Lots of bacon.

   

Kate pulling the kiddos

  

We got to watch a lot of dog mushers

  

In spite of Avery's expressionless face, she really loved sledding

  

Brave mommy

  

The men hiking our precious cargo back to the car:

  

Thanks Hoover family!  Let's do it again some day.

Avery

So silly.

Page Arizona

We visited Page, AZ for Todd's first Ultra Marathon!  He signed up for the Antelope Canyon 50k (about 32 miles) and his brother Mark signed up for the 50 miler.

Todd and Mark were both leading their races and could have won!!  Little did they know, the race crew was scrambling to finish marking the course as the race was in progress.  Mark missed a turn because signage wasn't up in time.  Todd caught up to and passed the race crew as they were marking the course....twice.  He even helped place flags on one section.  At one point the course was marked incorrectly, leading Todd and five others 6 miles out of the way.  Eventually the race crew fixed it so the rest of the runners could stay on course.

Todd ran/wandered 34 miles and then called me to come pick him up.  Mark and other runners did the same.  He was a little disappointed that the course was so poorly prepared and he didn't finish the race.  But at least they gave him a bowl of chili at the finish line.

Other than the flop of a race, the trip was great.  We stayed in a cheap hotel.  Avery and I hiked to the Horseshoe bend.  We ate dinner watching the sun set over Lake Powell.  We hiked through Lower Antelope Canyon (which was AMAZING!!!.)  It was short but beautiful.

 

Avery is giving the cameraman a crusty

   

And a close up of that crusty:

   

   

I forgot her gloves so she wore mine. :)

Descending into Lower Antelope Canyon

   

 

It was cold but we bundled up
  

   

   

   

This looks like a cat:

   

I see a face in this photo.  Do you?

 

Lots of Projects

Since the air is so bad and we've been pretty much stuck indoors these past few months, I have been building up a storm. I have a precious 2 hour block during Avery's nap and a few hours after she goes to bed to work on projects to my heart's content. It has been great! 

Each project I tackle I find myself more than once swearing and wondering why I am attempting such a senseless thing... (After all, what business is it of mine to build furniture from scraps of wood??) And then when I finish I get so excited that I just want to invite the whole neighborhood over to see all my hard work. :) It's kind of a roller coaster but it keeps me busy and I am learning a lot. Here are the recent projects: 

Built in spice rack:

 

 

   

I love the carved detail in the frame.

   

   

I made these ripoff canvas prints.  Just painted texture cream on top of photos that I stapled to painter's canvases.  The "HAMMOND" sign was a Christmas gift a few years ago. (Thanks Beth!!)

   

This beautiful beast is nearly done.  It is way bigger than I had anticipated but I love it!

   

I sanded and stained all the edges.

   

This is a ripoff from pottery barn.  The real thing costs $1200.  

I built it out of old garage shelving (bought for cheap from ksl.com) and it cost me about $100.

   

Love hanging Christmas cards on this huge frame!

   

This seesaw was such a big hit that my niece threw up all over it from laughing so hard!  Ha ha!  

I made it as a Christmas present for my sister, but plan to make another one for myself cuz it was so easy.

   

Here I stenciled this bird-photo onto a stool we got from Todd's late Grandma.

   

I love the old weathery look.

   

 And of course the toy-hiding coffee table to match the media console.

   

Good thing Avery is too little to open this on her own. :)

 

Hapy 2014

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! For Christmas, Santa brought Avery a toilet (she tells us when she's got to go) but she takes the squishy toilet seat off and chews on it. Needless to say she hasn't figured it out yet, lol.
 To celebrate the New Year, we went down town where Todd's band, The Statuettes, played at the Salt Lake Eve. They were on the news, it was really cool! (Literally cool, it was 35 degrees!) Here are a few recent photos:

Playing in the snow together is comprised of 20 minutes of putting on snow clothes, and 3 minutes of Avery swinging her hand back and forth in the snow, then she's ready to go back inside.

  

My big girl:

   

Christmas Morning

   

To Daddy love Funion (her nickname)

   

   

  

   

  I usually make resolutions that I forget somewhere around May.  Here they are this year:

1. Be more adventurous with food.  I already ate a portobello mushroom!

2. Go one week gluten free, followed by 11 weeks crap-free.  That's right, I'm giving up crap for 3 months.

3. Don't talk with my mouth full.  This one is especially hard for me because I'm such a people pleaser.  The instant someone asks me something I feel the urgent need to respond right away so they know I'm not ignoring them.  I guess I'll hold up a finger or something, (not the middle one lol) then swallow, then answer.

4. Don't worry about pleasing other people so much.  This one is my favorite! :)