Mini-triathlon 2009!

Saturday morning, bright and early, Gracey and I headed to the Wellness Center where they were holding a mini-triathlon for the youngsters. It was so fun to watch, and more fun to see Gracey do so well.

We showed up and picked up her packet and number. She seemed pretty happy.


Then she got all marked up.


Then got distracted by the rocks!! (She is totally Corky's child! Very social and fun, but also loves to putter and do her own thing!)


Finally it was time to get ready for the race and she was already tired of pictures!!

All the rest of the pictures that were taken were taken by two of the awesome young women in my ward. Somehow I manipulated them into waking up at the crack of dawn and take pictures for me since Corky wouldn't be there! I am so appreciative of them because these pictures are priceless. With me having to swim next to Gracey, then helping her with the transitions, there was no way I would have been able to take any good ones.

Anyway, so onto the race. It began in the water. The kids had to wear flotation devices AND have a parent next to them. A little overkill if you ask me, but better to be safe than sorry. I wanted her to do everything she could on her own so I didn't touch her in the water.


After the water, I did help her with her shoes and helmet. She was freezing but didn't want to waste any time putting clothes on! She was off to do the bike loops.




After she did the bicycle portion, she went straight to the run. She took off!!! We could barely keep up to take pictures!! When Corky saw these pictures, all he could say was "good form! That's my little runner!" (side note- did you know Corky ran cross country in college?)


As all the parents there were, I was quite proud. I was so impressed with her memory and ability to follow directions, not to mention the athleticism she showed at such a young age. Before the race started, we walked through the course. Of course there were a lot of volunteers to help guide the racers, but she never once seemed confused or nervous!


And not an entire minute went by before she was jumping in the bounce house!!



If only I had that kind of energy!!

It was such a fun time. Hopefully next year both girls will be able to participate!

Camping and movies.

This wasn't the first time that Corky and I have to divide to conquer, and I doubt it will be the last. All I can say is that is was a SUCCESS!!

Corky had one more night of going to the mountains for scout camp but the next morning Gracey was racing in a mini-triathlon. I had to be in the pool next to Gracey (so lame!) and wasn't sure what to do with Emily. It was Corky's idea to take Emily with him camping. We were nervous about how we would present this to Gracey because I was sure she would rather go camping.

I told her that her and I could go to a movie that night while daddy took Emily. Surprisingly, Gracey was ecstatic!!! We drove Corky's truck all night long because Corky had to take our car so he could drive some of the stinky scouts home in it. According to Corky, Emily had fun. She is a pretty mellow kid when she is in a new environment. She ate soup, cheese and crackers, and lots and lots of gummy bears!


Gracey and I loaded up on popcorn, red vines, and snicker bars while we watched movie "Up"!! It was great!

There is always next year I suppose.

Mine and Corky's anniversary is this Saturday. It will be 6 years. I love this man of mine and have loved being married to him. Last year he totally surprised me with an anniversary band. He had heard me say once (maybe twice) that I would love a band to wear every single day on my wedding finger. It wouldn't snag or catch or injure anybody else. (which it had, I sliced a kid's head once when I flung my hand around!) Not that it is a competition or that I am trying to "one-up" him, but I wanted to get him something really great this year. He is usually the one giving the well thought out, well planned, and meaningful gifts that I absolutely love. I figured it could be his turn to receive one.

As much as I try, I can never surprise him! He always has a clue. Somehow he always knows what I am getting him. This year I wanted it to be a surprise. I looked up the traditional 6 year gift and was excited to see I had options. Traditionally it is something wood, or a candy of some sort. More modern gifts though include something iron. I was pumped. If you know Corky at all, you know he is obsessed with golf. I contemplated purchasing a new golf club (wood/iron, get it?) But then decided against it because there was no way I could get that one right. I also didn't want to be so typical of me and say "Here honey, go get yourself a new golf club!" That would be so predictable.

This is turning into a long story. It's almost over.

So I have the BRILLIANT idea of buying my husband private golf lessons. That way he has to use his irons and woods! Make sense? So I make some phone calls to Butch Harmon School of Golf and purchase him some private lessons with the pros. And when I say pros, I mean PROS!!!

So the lady tells me she will mail me the gift certificates but not to expect it before this Saturday. So I go through a process and have her fax a copy to my friend's husband's work. It was going to be perfect!

Until today......

Corky gets the mail while I am cooking dinner. He walks in, places a large envelope on the counter with "Butch Harmon School of Golf" in HUGE letters and says "This is interesting!" I swear I blacked out for a minute. I totally panicked! There was just no getting around this one. So after stewing about it for 10 minutes or so, I decided that he gets his present early!

I was SO CLOSE to finally surprising him. He didn't have a clue.



But he loves it, and now we have a funny story!

Love you so much, Corky!!

A little more productive in the treat department!

Don't get me wrong, last night's treat was delightful. I thought about it throughout the day today and it still was making me smile. Tonight though, I wanted to be a little more productive in my food creations while Corky was away again.

I had a big bowl of apricots from the my neighbor's tree (she gave them to me...I didn't steal) that were ripening nicely, and I was also out of bread! So while I waited for my bread dough to rise, I made a batch of apricot jam. It still sort of felt experimental since I had never made apricot jam before.

My house smelled so good. There was a hint of the vinegar smell from the small amount I add to my bread dough, but that cooks off quickly. The combo of the baking bread and boiling jam were just too much for me. I knew I would be up late so I could enjoy them both fresh and most importantly, together.

My midnight (almost literally) snack did not disappoint. Even though the jam wasn't set up yet, it was still divine! I also feel so much less guilty after eating it. After all, it is %100 whole wheat, and real sugar....that's totally healthy! :)

Is your mouth watering yet?

What a mood changer this is!!!

Tonight was very much like my last post. I was dealing with two very irrational children while trying to put them to bed. Corky made his way to Scout Camp for the night and the girls were just out of their regular routine. Not to mention, they both skipped naps today and so both were just so tired!

It was a night full of sobs, tears, time-outs, and screaming. I was at my boiling point!

Finally after sending Emily to her bed for the 50th time, she finally stayed. I took a small walk across the street to get the mail and during that time I decided that chocolate cake would surely fix this. I wished so much I had one of those Warm Delight Desserts in my pantry. So I came straight to my computer and was on the hunt for a homemade version. Sure enough, I found the cake in a mug. After reading a few reviews, I felt pretty confident that I would make this work PLUS have some on hand for the next time!!!

Cake in a Mug

1 (18.25 ounce) packaged cake mix (I used triple chocolate cake)
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix (I only had the family size box....didn't care, used it anyway)
2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder

1. Check your coffee mugs to make sure each one holds 1 1/2 cups water.

2. Place dry cake mix and dry pudding mix into a large bowl and blend well with a whisk. This will be about 4 to 4 1/2 cups of dry mix and will make 8 coffee cup cake mixes. Divide mix into 8 small plastic bags (about 1/2 cup each). Place mix into a corner of each bag and tie it there with a twist tie.

3. Make glaze mix: in a medium bowl, combine confectioners sugar with powdered cocoa. Divide into 8 small plastic bags and close bag with a twist tie. Attach each glaze mix to the cake mix bags with a twist tie. Place one of each bag into each cup.

{I am cheap and after adding the cake mix to the bag, tied it off real tight. Then added the glaze mix to the top of that before closing! It is a tight fit, next time I might consider not being such a cheapskate.}



4. Attach the following instructions to each cup: Generously spray inside of cup with cooking spray. (I skipped that part) Empty contents of cake mix packet in cup. Add 1 egg white (or a little less than an egg white, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 tablespoon water to dry mix. Mix 15 seconds, carefully mixing in all dry mix. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes. While cake is cooking, place ingredients from Glaze mix into a very small container and add 1 1/2 teaspoon water. Mix well. When cake is done, pour glaze over cake in cup. Enjoy while warm.

This is nowhere near gourmet, but oh my goodness it was still good! It totally gave me my chocolate fix! Please try it. I liked it! :)

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I am, at this very moment, literally cringing at the sound of my two children. They are fighting, and crying, and screaming...and it is taking everything I have for my head not to implode because of it. They play together most of the time pretty well. Today is not that day and I am pretty sure I am turning into that crazy-psycho mom. If it isn't Emily's whiny little voice because Gracey isn't taking her shoes off, it is Gracey being the world's biggest nark about Emily coloring on the table. I know I must discipline and stop it because I don't want it to be a habit....but just for today I wish I could say "Have at it, little one. If it keeps you quiet!!!"

Now my bossy 2 year old is saying "Mommy, make dinna!" Do you ever resort to the old elementary adage "You're not the boss of me!"?

You don't? Am I really the only one that stoops to that level with my young kids?

Children are a joy and a blessing! I really do believe that.