Nana Comes to Town

My Mom and her friend, Jan came to Utah a couple of weeks ago! They decided to stay in Park City, so we got to spend a few days there with them.

P.S. You see those shirts Reid and Link are wearing? Well for the second time (while wearing those shirts) I was asked by a stranger if they are twins...huh? I know they look alike, but come on people, twins? Really? Did link just stay put for two and half years after Reid was born?

We went shopping at the lovely outlets, and the boys and I got spoiled!

Then we spent some time in downtown Park City where some more spoiling happened.

Reid's favorite part was the trolley. He got to ride on it with Jan, and after that he waved every time it went by, and the driver would ring the bell. It was so cute. Reid has been talking about it ever since!

There was a swimming pool at the hotel, which was a definite plus for my water babies. Nana was great and took them swimming a couple of times. Yay!

Thanks for visiting Jan and Nana! We had a ton of fun, and can't wait for you to come back soon!

My Big Giant One-Year-Old

So, I know I already blogged about Link's first birthday, but I want to write about the kind of one-year-old he is because I don't want to forget!

-He is tiny. He fits into 9 month clothes right now, and weighs just under 2o lbs. (Reid weighed this at about 6 months). His legs and feet are especially skinny. So cute though!

-He has no interest in walking. At all. He will stand on his own all day long, but he REFUSES to take any steps. I believe the reason for this is because he is my big chicken. He doesn't like to take any risks. He gets scared when he's up high, he doesn't like to be thrown in the air even a little bit, and he absolutely HATES doing that little balancing trick where they stand on the palm of your hand and (Reid LOVED that!).

He does, however, love the water. He is just like his big brother in that area. He would swim all day if I let him, and the cold doesn't bother him any either. We went to the lake the other day, and he crawled right in, laughing and carrying on.

He is so, so different than Reid. I kind of expected them to be the same, but they are NOT. Reid is a daredevil, and Link is cautious. Reid was a screamer and a great sleeper, and Link has always been mellow and happy but a terrible sleeper. Reid is a chunk and Link is a skinny mini. Reid will eat almost anything, and Link is super picky. Reid is constipated Link is....not. The list goes on and on. It's really surprising to me to have two boys from the same parents raised in the same house who have been totally different from the beginning.

Link is not a big "laugher" (another way that Reid and Link differ, Reid is a goof ball!). He will laugh at me and Reid and Nate, but no one else generally. He won't laugh at just anything either, you really have to put in some elbow grease!

Reid was always pretty good about knowing what he can play with and what he can't. Link? Not so. Link is into EVERYTHING! This is the first time I have had to put locks on things. I was never really worried about Reid getting into the "poisons" as we call them around our house, but Link? I gotta watch that kid like a hawk!

Link is a total momma's boy, and I love it. After having such a big daddy's boy I have been ready for one to love me more!

He absolutely HATES to snuggle. This kid will NOT put his head on my shoulder or give me hugs no matter how tired he is. He likes to be held, but no snuggling for this boy. I miss that. I really think I would like a snuggler!

That's my Linkers these days. He is so sweet, and so much fun. I am so glad that he came to our family, and is so good at putting up with me and his big brother!

Happy First Birthday Linkers!

Home for Spring Break (uh, a while ago...)

So, we did it again. We did the 24 hour drive to and from Spokane, Wa. to visit the family before Nate started school again. This was a couple of weeks ago, but there are so many pictures it has taken me until now to get them all up.

I guess I'll start at the beginning. We found this great rest stop somewhere in Montana (it doesn't really get more specific than that!) and I was taking pictures of Link being all cute, and Nate says "why are you taking pictures?!" to which I replied; "because he's being cute" to which Nate says, "he's holding a cigarette butt!!!!." I totally didn't realize that. Whoops. If you look closely it looks like he's about to take a drag. Gross.

When we got to Grandma's house my kids were overjoyed to find Lucky Charms, chocolate milk, and all sorts of other goodies they never get with mean old mom. That's what Grandmas are for, right?

Grandma playing with Linkers on the swing!

I also brought my new bike, (yipee!) and I got to take it for it's maiden voyage. I rode pretty much every day, and the nice long flat roads were a great way to get used to the bike. The intense wind, however was not. I remember pumping my legs as fast as they would go when my brother-in-law drove by and shouted, "you're only going 15 mph! Is that really the best you can do?!" Thanks a lot, Pete.

We even got to sneak away for a date night!

One of Nate's cousins is a truck driver, and he stopped by on his way back to Alberta, so Reid had the great pleasure of being inside a real live semi-truck, and boy was it BIG!

Bye Mom!

Playing in the back yard with some of his favorite cousins.

Even though Allen is almost two years older than Reid he was so good at playing with Reid. They had so much fun together!

My wonderful Dad even decided to join in on the fun. He drove several hours from Tacoma to be there to see his grand kiddos and it also happened to be Link's 1st birthday!

My dad is so great with our boys. They just love him!

Within the week we were there it was Nate's Dad, Link's, our Niece Cheryse, and my sister-in-law Andrea's (who wasn't there) birthday! Whew. That's what you get in a big family, I guess. Anyway, we had a cake for Dennis, Link and Cheryse, (Allen is just there to make sure the candles get blown out properly) and had a great little combined b-day fiesta.

Enjoying the cake!

Link wasn't so sure about the cake at first

Then he just made a mess...

He really only ate a small amount of cake. Maybe that's why when we took him in for his 1 year check the next week he was only in the 3rd percentile for both weight and height. Sigh. He's my small fry.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to this lovely for the summer. We will miss you Katrina!

I don't know who took this picture, but it cracks me up. That's my very pregnant niece (I'm going to be a great aunt in a couple of weeks! No wonder I have gray hair already, yikes!) and her floor-sleeping husband. I don't know why this is hilarious to me, but it is.

Link opening his b-day presents! Thanks every one!

Thanks for all of the fun, Tulett fam., we can't wait to come back!

Happy Momma's day!

I guess I kinda' deserve a day just for me- look how full my hands are with these two!

My day (weekend!)

On Saturday Nate took me shopping to get the best mother's day present EVER...a tent! huzzah! Now we can finally stop mooching off of our friends and go camping whenever we want! Then today we went to church where Reid (sort of) participated in a children's program especially for mommies (so cute!). After church Nate sent me off to the park for two hours...alone! Yay! I read a book, fell asleep in the sun and got me a nice little pre-summer burn. I came home to a spotless house and happy boys. So wonderful. After that we packed up some food and headed up to the canyon with our great friends the Jarvis' for a momma's day dinner and a little exploring. It was a blast. What a perfect weekend!

On another note, I just have to say that I love being a mother more than I could have ever imagined. I remember when I first found out I was pregnant with Reid. I laughed and cried and wondered how I could ever take care of a child, but somehow I managed. Then when Link joined our family I wondered how I could ever love another child as much as I loved Reid. I remember feeling so guilty for changing Reid's life so dramatically, and stealing our attention from him. These days I am watching them grow and change and wonder how they are growing up so fast. The roller coaster of feelings that are associated with motherhood is unpredictable and heart breaking and amazing. I couldn't have asked for better boys, or a better family, or a more fulfilling role. Although mother's day is a day to reflect on all of the time and work that mothers sacrifice for their children I can't help but smile and know that's it is so, so worth it. I love my job!

Happy mother's day every one!

Movin' On Up!

Mr. Linkers is finally (barely...mostly) big enough to face forward, so Reid got a brand new big boy seat, and Link got Reid's old forward facing seat. My little boys are growing up so fast! I love these two!

Tri (try)

This is a picture of me doing my first triathlon in Bellingham a few years ago. As you can see I was pretty fat and out of shape in those days, but there's always room for improvement I guess. I wonder where I got that super fancy bike...(I really DID do a triathlon in Bellingham, by the way, but I was very unimpressive, so I won't share too much about it =).

Anyway, I just signed up for a triathlon in June. I am really excited, but I have never been much of a biker. Don't get me wrong, I have always WANTED to bike, and I have been LOOKING for a bike for a long time, but it has never really worked out. Luckily, my great triathlete friend, Sarah offered to help me shop for bikes. It was kind of a nightmare. I dragged her all over the Wasatch front to find a bike that had the following three qualities:

1.) is a road bike
2.) is my size
3.) fits my teeny budget (most important)

Finally, we found the beauty pictured below. I have already taken her out on a few rides and I LOVE it. I am so excited to get better at this new sport!

Thanks for all of your help, Sarah. I am a poo to shop with, so I guess I probably owe you something cool...

SLC Halfie

So, I ran the Salt Lake City half marathon again this year. I really do like this race because there are so many people, but I kind of hate it too because there are SO. MANY. PEOPLE. (like 15,000). This year was a little bit more fun though because Sarah's sponsor Paid her entry fee, so I had a friend to come along! We left Friday night and spent the night at a friend of hers who lives in Salt Lake so we wouldn't have to get up so early.

We still got up around 4:15 though because the race started at 7. We took the trax (is that what they call it?) to the University of Utah (where the start line was). Sarah lined up at the front, and I decided it would be better to pee before the race started, so when the gun went off I was in the bathroom! There were so many people though that I still had to wait in line for a while to cross the start.

I started out pretty fast for me (7:30 min. mile) and then settled into a pace between 8 and 8:30. I have to admit, this time around wasn't as fun as the first because I was working hard to get under my goal time, and they changed the course so that there was a two mile hill RIGHT AT THE END. What the?! I was not prepared for it, so it slowed me down a little. Overall though, the race worked out well for both of us.

FINAL STATS:

Me: 1:47:40 / 8:13 min. mile average / 208th place out of 2,885 runners

Sarah: 1:29:53 / 6:51 min. mile average / 17th place out of 2,885 runners

We both came in under our goal times, and got a PR!

Do you like all of these tiny pictures of us? The photography company wanted me to pay $50 to download them, so I just swiped the thumbnails...kind of lame, but better than nothing! Also, if it looks like I am in a lot of pain in the first picture, it's because I am. That was taken on that two mile hill at the end. Great idea, right?

Sarah looking awesome!

Apparently I need sunglasses so I won't make any more stupid faces like this

And this.

After the race Sarah put on her "compression socks" to help with recovery, but I think she wears them just to look cool. I told her to give me a sexy pose, and this is what I got. Come on, Sarah those sock are HOT!

Also, the fact that she is standing next to my open car is significant too because when we got back to the car we realized that my key-less entry thing wasn't working, which is kind of disappointing when you are in downtown Salt Lake all stinky and sweaty and tired. We pushed the button about a zillion times from a zillion different angles, and finally when we heard the doors unlock we shouted "yaaay!" all loud and excited just as this lady walked by looking at us like we were crazy for getting THAT excited about the Key-less entry. It was hilarious. I guess you had to be there maybe....

Then we headed over to her sponsor's store and spent an HOUR AND A HALF at REI in VAIN. More on that in another post another day because it is a dramatic story with a very happy ending.

Thanks for keeping me company, Sarah. You did great (as usual), and I am really looking forward to seeing you blow the competition away this triathlon season!


P.S. Race day happened to be right in the middle of finals week for my poor husband who does such a great job of supporting me. He watched the kids the whole time I was gone. It was pretty stressful for him, and I so appreciate him working so hard for our family. Thanks Naters for being such a great hubby, and making so many sacrifices so I can do these races. I love you!