I'm loving the weekends

Now that I am a working five days a week, I am totally understanding why everyone lives for the weekends. It's even better when you get an extra day off like we did on Friday. I don't want those kind of days to go to waste, so I took my kids to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum, a place we never made it to this summer.

We took our neighbor, Hank, with us. They all had so much fun posing like dinosaurs every time I took a picture.

Love all the hands on activities to do there.

My boys are awesome hunters. Look what they were able to take down!

Future paleontologists.

The other fun thing that we are now all involved in every weekend is sports. Mitchel had his first basketball game (no pictures yet) and Mason and Max are playing Taylorsville Rec soccer. Mike is the coach of Mason's team. Mason loves it and is actually quite good. In the two games he has played so far, he has already scored 4 goals.

(Don't you love Max's bony knees. I swear he is nothing but bones and joints!)

Happy boys! They are loving it and it is so fun to watch them play.

When we went home that afternoon I was again filled with such gratitude to be a mom to these amazing boys. I am so lucky that they are healthy and happy and able to participate in "boy" things. It is fun to sit on the sidelines and watch them. I am looking forward to hopefully many years of being the best cheerleader ever for the Harker team!

Dirt digging and Fair Fun

What do you get when you have dirt, a few kitchen spoons, and four boys? A big hole of course! My boys spent an entire Saturday digging a hole in the backyard, where they weren't supposed to, and made a lego fort with a moat. Pretty fun! And they worked together without fighting the entire time!

Monday night was family night at the Fair. My Dad and Tracy joined us as well . It was pretty crowded and for some reason, my boys were not all that impressed. We made them walk through all the animals and booths selling crap. They just wanted to ride the rides, but there is no way I was paying for them to ride those death traps.

The best part of the family night is the "All-you-can-eat" ice cream. You pay $3 extra dollars to get into this tent where they have Aggie ice cream, Dryers, Creamies, and Fat Boys, then you eat as much as you want. It was yummy and I think between all of us, we ate at least 10 fat boys. The name of that ice cream makes it all too obvious as to what happens after you eat it.

Over the summer the boys read 10 books each and were awarded some prizes for the fair. They got free admission tickets, a free drink, and one free ride. Finally when we were ready to leave we let them use their free ride. It took them a while to decide which one they would use it on.

Then they picked this octopus looking one. It was actually really cool and they were laughing and smiling the entire ride. So, in the end, they decided that the fair was pretty fun.

Other than that, we have just been busy with school, work, homework, and keeping up with everything. Life is going to just keep getting busier with me starting my "official" teaching this week, Max and Mason starting soccer and Mitchel starting basketball. Good times had by all!

The many adventures of the Harker boys

Once upon a time, there were three boys with the same last name who kept their mom very busy. One of them, the oldest, was much involved in the cub scouting program. Although his mom frequently forgot weekly den meetings, and his dad put off making the boat until the night before, he was still able to participate in the annual "Rain Gutter Regatta." He chose a pirate theme for his ship which meant his mom drove frantically to several scrapbook stores looking for the right size stickers. But luckily, he was happy with the results.

Unfortunately, his boat did not perform so well and fell over with every puff of breath this Harker child could give. It got a little frustrating, but in the end, a good time was had by all.

Meanwhile, the two middle Harker boys were having adventures of their own. Alas the time had come for a birthday celebration for the one turning seven. A party in the canyon was planned on the 6th day of September including breakfast and fun for all the family.

It was a splendid event full of exploring, food, family and fun for all.

The gifts were plenty and just what this Harker boy was hopping for. All was going well until his younger brother thought it was time to mix things up....

So he caused a great commotion by falling backwards into the fire. With lightning quick speed, his father dashed over and pulled him to safety, ripping his pants and underwear in the process. In the meantime, there was much screaming with panic and swearing by other members of the party. By some miracle, the only injuries sustained were on the fingers of the left hand. After a quick trip to Insta Care later that afternoon, this little Harker was bandaged, drugged, and doing much better.

But the adventures were not over yet for this one. The next morning he began his long school career by attending his first day at Jacque's Preschool. He was all smiles and couldn't wait to be like his big brothers.

Even better was the fact that he would have the same teachers that loved and guided his older brother. Mrs. Chris and Mrs. Carol, two of the best preschool teachers on the planet.

Max had not yet had his fill of birthday fun though. He woke up bright and early on his birthday morning to find some presents left by his loving parents.

And was treated to some birthday pancakes before heading out the door to another adventure in first grade.

The entire Harker family wanted to celebrate with Max, so off they went for a bowling adventure at Fat Cats. The competition was fierce, yet somehow Mom managed to rise to the top. (at least for the first game)

More food was consumed.

The birthday boy was happy.

And thus ends another exciting adventure in the ongoing Harker series. Join us next time for more chills and spills as this drama unfolds.

My Love of Running

If you would have told me three years ago that I would be a "runner" I would have laughed at you and said you were crazy. Why in the heck would anyone want to run just for the heck of it? Well now I am eating those words because I LOVE RUNNING!

It all began for me the summer of 2008 while attending Youth Conference. The Young Men's president at the time wanted to get a running group going in the neighborhood and asked if I and another guy wanted to start running with him in the mornings. My first response was "He** No!" But he talked me into it and we had our first run of about 3 miles. It actually wasn't so bad and I was proud of myself that I was able to do it. (Luckily, I was in shape from doing classes and working out at the gym). After that we just kept increasing our mileage until that same summer I signed up to do the 24th of July 10K, my first race ever. After that race, I was hooked! It was so much fun and the runner's high was awesome. After that, I figured I might as well keep going and signed up to do a half marathon that fall in St. George. Two weeks before that race, I found out I was pregnant with Miles. That half was probably the hardest thing I have ever done! I couldn't walk normally for about a week after. Since I was pregnant, I retired for running for a while, but still kept working out at the gym.

After having Miles the next summer, I started running a little bit and did a 5K. Then winter came again and I concentrated on spinning and weights. This summer I was ready to try again to conquer another half marathon. The guy who got us running in the first place has since moved out of our neighborhood, so I trained all summer with two other neighbors, Mike and Abe. I have been really lucky to have them because they have pushed me farther than I ever thought I could go.

So Mike (my neighbor) and I ran the 24th of July 10K together and just today, the

Salt Lake City Half Marathon.

It was AWESOME! The course started at the Mountain Dell Golf Course and went up Little Mountain for the first 4 miles. After that, it was a gradual downhill down Emigration Canyon. We ended at the U of U. It was an amazing run and I felt great the entire time. I kept thinking, "I can't believe I am doing this and that this is actually FUN!"

The finish!! My time 2 hours 3 minutes!! I could not have been happier or more proud of myself!

My running buddy Mike. He lives on the same street as me only about 7 houses down. Can you believe he is 52? I have a hard time keeping up with him most of the time. He sure has pushed me to become a better runner.

The best part of the whole race was seeing my family at the finish line holding this cute sign. It brought tears to my eyes and it felt great to have them all cheering me on at the finish. I love my family!! (And thanks Tracy for thinking to do that and helping the boys make it. I loved it!)
I am going to laminate it and hang it up in my classroom.

So I can honestly say that I LOVE running. It makes me feel so powerful, strong and like I can accomplish anything. I love that it is a sport where you are only competing against yourself. Each run is just another chance to run harder or faster or longer. It is an amazing feeling! I am grateful that I have a body that can run. I have already signed up for my next race, the Women's Only 10K on October 9th. I can't wait!

First Day of School

As much as I hated to see summer end, I absolutely love when school starts as well. I love the new clothes and backbacks. I love the smell of school and books and paper and sharpened pencils. I love that I had my own classroom to go to this year. And I love that my kids are as excited for school as I am. This is us on that wonderful morning. For some reason we all chose green for our first day of school outfit and I didn't even realize it until I saw this picture.

Mitchel is in fourth grade this year and Max is in first.

Mrs. Penton. Her baby is due in November so that will mix things up a bit for Max then. Max will also get to have some of the other teachers too since they ability group for Math and Reading.

Mrs. Linford. She was my sister-in-law, Kari's, mission companion. Funny huh. She is so cute and energetic and fun. I'm sure Mitchel will love her. He'll also get to have all the other fourth grade teachers too since they run it kind of like Jr. High with each teacher being in charge of one subject and the kids rotating around.

So it's looking like it will be a great year for the kids. I haven't started teaching my own class yet. We are going to get all the kids tested in DIBLES (a reading test) first and then decide how to split them up. I'm hoping to get an "official" class after Labor Day. For now I have just been going and helping the third grade teachers and getting trained on the DIBLES test. I can't wait to get my own students!

The End

Can I just say that I hate, hate, hate the end of summer!! The whole three months go by way too fast and there is just too much I want to do with my kids and time seems to just slip by until here we are again at the beginning of school. I love the lazy, carefree days of summer where we can go where we want and do what we want and stay up late and sleep in. I love, love, love spending time with my family of boys and feeling their joy as we participate in summer activities such as swimming, camping, exploring, etc. I think it is even better as a mom than it was for me as a kid. Probably because I appreciate each moment and realize how little time I have with them all being little. I have experienced pure joy this summer just watching them play together and listening to them laugh and talk about how much fun they are having. I hate it when it ends because I know it means we are one summer closer to my kids getting "too old" to hang out with their mom and closer to them growing up and being missionaries and husbands and fathers and leaving their poor mom to entertain herself. Okay, so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but really, I do see how quickly this childhood thing goes by and I am determined to cherish every moment. (And document it all on this blog so I never forget)

So here are the things we did to celebrate this last week of summer. Monday night for family home evening, we hiked up Ensign Peak. It is a short, pretty easy hike, but the view of the city from the top is amazing.

Tuesday we went back for one more dip in the Herriman Reservoir. It was a perfect day spent with some friends from the ward.

(My body is just as white at the end of summer as it was at the beginning. I am the sunscreen Nazi)

Wednesday was a day spent at Lagoon thanks to my sister who got us free passes through her work. Mitchel got to take his friend Ethan.

Unfortunately there are no pictures to post of this last summer adventure thanks to the following two rides.

I took my oldest camera in a little camera case to wear around my neck. When I went to board the Jet Star II, I was told that I couldn't carry anything on the ride, even if it was secured around my body. So I had to get out of line and not ride. Well, I wasn't going to let the teenage workers at Lagoon keep me from getting some really cute pictures of all the fun we were having. So I took the camera out of the case and put it in my pocket. All was well and I got some great pictures of the kids in kiddie land and Mason and I on the Music Express. Then it was time to ride "Wicked."

Well there is a reason they tell you to leave all loose articles with a non rider. Half way through the ride, my camera fell out of my pocket and went who knows where. I didn't even realize it until the ride was over and it was gone. I'm not too upset about loosing the camera per say. It was old and didn't take the greatest of pictures and I actually took it in case something like that happened. But what I am upset about is loosing the few good pictures I had on it of our trip to Lagoon. Oh well. Just know that we had a great time and we loved it. My favorite part was riding the "Turn of the Century" with Max and we both put our arms and legs out and closed our eyes and pretended like we were flying. It was such a simple, carefree moment with my son and one of those living in the moment feelings. The other was riding the wooden roller coaster with Mitchel. He just yelled and laughed through the entire ride just like a nine year old should on a ride like that. My Mason moment was on the Music Express. Since he is still to short to ride a lot of the rides, every one else rode another ride and we rode this together. He was laughing and smiling the whole time and loved that the ride made him "squish" me. We were both grinning from ear to ear and hanging on for dear life. So fun!!!

The rest of the week was spent getting ready for school and cleaning the house. So this is the end of summer. I am so glad I have this blog that I can look back and read about and remember all the fun we've had together. My boys really are a joy for me to be with and I hate that I have to send them off to the care of someone else for 7 hours a day. But I also know that they will learn a lot a gain experiences that I could not give them at home. I am hoping that they will find joy in learning academic and social skills and that school will be a positive and uplifting experience for them. I hope I can teach them to get along without me and to figure out how to solve problems and how to deal with the "real world." I also hope they know that they are unconditionally loved by me and their dad and that no matter what things are said to them at school that home is the place where they are safe and where they are the most important, special person on the planet. I just want them to be happy and know who they are and that they are so important and amazing and smart and handsome and so full of potential. Good luck at school boys and know that I'll be here with hugs and kisses when you get home!