HAPPINESS

When I see these pictures I think of HAPPINESS. My kids are happiest when they are outside and they can wiggle and dance and throw and play. Noel biggest things right now are dancing and talking. Wow, that girl can talk. Sam still always has a ball in his hand and is always throwing.

Oh, and Noel is very particular about her hair. She always likes "some up and some down", meaning the top half up and the bottom half down. She usually adds a flower in her hair, all by herself. She is my little girly girl.    

 I think of MISCHIEF when I see this picture.

 Me and my kids.

 I love being a mom. Sometimes these kids make me a little crazy, but that's what we are here for right? To get through the crazy and have fun while doing it!

I love my kids!

May the 4th be with you!

Last Saturday on the 4^th, Morgan and I ran our first half marathon. My friend Danielle also ran it with us. It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. It was very hard work but so worth it! I think we will do another. Morgan says his new goal is to run a marathon, but maybe in a year or 2. He’s so ambitious. I am very much ok with 13.1 miles. His time was 2:13:15 which made his pace a 10:10 mile. I came in at 2:23:25 which made my pace a 10:57 mile. We had to get up at 3:30am for this race and stand in the cold in the canyon from 4:30am to 7:10am. It was FREEZING, literally. And we only had two layers of clothing on, a long sleeve shirt with a t-shirt over it. We met a lot of cool people while freezing our bums off in front of this little fire pit at Vivian Park up Provo Canyon where the start line was. We had a wonderful experience all in all!

Just before loading the bus at 4am! A couple of crazies if you ask me!

 My friend Danielle and I.

Danielle's sister and hubby were on the side of the road around mile 8 or so and took some pictures of us. 

 I know. I'm a freak but I was really excited to see some friends and have some support, hence the really scary excited face!

 30 feet from the finish line. My hips and the back of my knees and feet/toes were killing me! I don't know how the marathoners that were running the same race could run past that finish line and keep going 13.1 more miles. 

 A picture of Morgan and I just after I crossed the finish line. It was so nice to have him there at the end saying "Push it! Push it Terie! Keep going! You're so close!" and then say to all of those around him, "That's my wife!" He makes me feel special.

 Danielle and I at the finish line.

 Hanging on the grass. Oh, it hurt to sit.

After we got home. Whew! We did it.

 Sam showing off our medals.

 The fam. Noel wasn't so happy at the moment in time.

 There's her smile!

Growing fast

So, we've been busy here. The kiddos are growing and learning fast. Noel is now drawing "people". She sounds out the beginning of words and knows what letter a lot of words start with. She now says her "r's" correctly. She goes around singing "Arrr arrr arrr, a pirate, a pirate, a pirate says Arrrrrr." (It's from Backyardigans). She has some new dance moves. She still has a lisp with the letter "s" but she has "sh" and "ch" down now. It's so fun! 

Sam will be 2 in June! Weird! He will most likely not need physical therapy after he turns 2. Wahoo! He says, "Mikey" and "Chris" whenever he see's them. He loves to hold his "babies" (his little stuffed animals which he calls, babies). He also loves to eat their fur off of their heads too;) He is saying a lot more words and he loves to socialize.

Here are a few pictures of Noel's drawings as of late. I love her "people"! 

Morgan was gone for a few days. He was involved in a National Competition held at the Walmart Headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. He represented the Information Systems club at BYU by presenting to other schools about BYU's club and by participating in Walmarts IT Challenge. The kids and I were very excited when he came home. Here they are wrestling soon after he arrived.

 Noel running around because she is so stinkin' happy that Daddy is home!

 We played out in the pool today. It was in the upper 60's and was very pleasant. The water was really cold but the kids didn't mind. 

Easter Sunday

Easter was wonderful. The Easter Bunny came and left and left some yummy treats. It's fun to have a child at an age where she not only understands that Easter is when the Easter Bunny comes but also that "Jesus is alive". That is how we have explained it to her and she has repeated it many times. We watched a video from the Mormon Channel called "He is Risen" to show her why we celebrate Easter. It's a beautiful video. At the end when Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene Noel was excited and said, "Jesus is alive!!" It was precious. 

I know that Jesus lives and that He loves us.

Easter morning. 

 Easter egg hunt after church with Chris, Kareena and Ty. It was so fun!

 Little nephew Ty.

 Our cute little girl.

 HANDSOME LIL' SAM.

 Chris, Kareena, and Ty.

 Our lil' fam.

 Easter dinner. Yummmm!