SNEAK PEAK

We got family pictures done last weekend. I'm very excited about them. They were done by Kristi, a blooming photographer I know from work. She did such a great job and it was a lot of fun. A far cry from the experiences we've had at JCPenney and Sears :) Course that's what you get when you ask a 2 year old to SIT for a photo shoot instead of run around in the outdoors. I haven't seen all the pictures yet but she did post a few on her blog for those of you who are interested kristialyse.blogspot.comThanks for all your comments on my last post. Chad and I are thrilled to be having another little girl. For all of you who don't know... I never had a sister so I can't even put into words how exciting it is for me to know that my little girls will! Brothers are great too... but come on. I have to sit home and watch everyone else having "just the girls" weekends with their sisters. I'll never get that, but my girls will! I don't really like shopping all that much but I think it would be a blast to do with a sister! And besides that, it's a very nice thought to think we'll be taking from our storage rather than adding to it, right? So yay! Now we have to buckle down and start chewing on names :)

Cronin Addition

It's a GIRL!!!!

The other day, Jaedyn asked me to show her my teeth. So I gave her a big smile showing her my pearly yellowish-white teeth. Her response, "No, daddy, open up!" So I opened up so that she could see deep into my mouth. With concern on her face she stated, "daddy, your teeth are dirty."

As many who will read this know, I have a lot of fillings (due to a mix of my chosen childhood diet of lots of sugar, and poor dental hygiene...I hated toothbrushes). Maybe it was my fillings she was referring to?...

HALLOWEEN!!

We got to dress up a lot for Halloween this week. On Wed Jaedyn's music class had a party and we were babysitting the little puppy who was happy to come too. Then on Friday Jaedyn's babysitter had a party (no pix). Saturday she wore her costume all day from trick or treating at Walmart to the Downtown trick or treating at noon and then again for a party at some neighbors and neighborhood trick or treating. We had a lot of fun and Jaedyn was just cute as a button the whole day.
Halloween was a rainy one this year! I couldn't believe it! We went trick or treating under an umbrella! And yet Jaedyn still loved every minute of it, didn't want to stop and WOULD NOT let me put her jacket over her witch costume. Little Diva. It was freezing! But I guess she didn't want to ruin the effect. We went trick or treating with a few of the neighborhood kids, here's the group.
Of course... none of them are looking at the camera. Some are thinking "can we have the candy already" "ooh look at the rain" "what are these people wearing?!?" And who knows what else...
Jaedyn liked sharing the candy too. She had fun saying trick or treat and sadly is still saying it. In fact tonight at dinner she got to talk to her Daddy for a short while because he wasn't going to be home before she went to bed. In the middle of the conversation she says "Go trick or treating now. Hang up on you". Haha!

We carved pumpkins with our friends for FHE earlier in the week and sadly this is all we have to show for it. Not great justice to the hard work... I might add my arms were sore from a P90x shoulder and chest workout and all those stupid lines for the mane were overkill. I should have gone with something like Chad's space needle :)
And a HUGE shout out to Rebecca! Thank you THANK YOU for lending us the costume! It was adorable... even Chad exclaimed over it! We got TONS of compliments on it all week long... I was tempted to claim credit! But don't you worry, I gave it where it was due. So... What was Makayla 2 years ago? Ha!

A Lesson Re-learned

I re-learned a very important lesson today. It's not like I walk around making judgments about everyone I meet, in fact I try really hard not to! But today I learned that I do it sub-consciously at times. I was visiting with someone today and she was telling me some things about herself and they came as quite a shock to me. I had to sit back and ask myself why I was so shocked, why it had such a big impact on me, and why I could scarcely think of anything else for several hours.

I realized that I had been making judgments of her. She's such a happy and energetic person. You don't have to meet her, just see her and it's easy to thinks that she's young and innocent to life's cruelties. Not so. In fact what I learned today rocked me back hard. I couldn't believe some of her life experiences and some of the massive heartaches she has endured. And yet she has maintained such an amazing attitude!

Knowing now what I know, I'm amazed at her attitude, her energy, and her zest for life! It's incredible to me that she has turned around what easily and understandably embitters many people and has lived life exuberantly! I hope not to take blessings in my life for granted, and I hope to live with a more positive attitude. And I hope to keep an open mind to people and save judgments for someone much more wise than myself!

Pumpkin Walk

We missed out on the Pumpkin Patch this year. sniff sniff. Luckily Smiths had some good ones :) I called 2 weeks ago and the lady said "Sorry, the pumpkins are pretty much gone" WHAT?!? How on the ball are people?? The problem apparently was that it frosted early in Logan this year and ruined all of their pumpkins. Sad deal. But we made it to the Pumpkin Walk! And it was a totally different experience than what I had expected. Look how cool this is! I can't believe how talented some people are! And I'm grateful they're willing to share it with untalented people like myself :)Access to the pumpkin walk was shut down so we had to park a ways away and shuttle in. Very cool. PS for all you locals out there, the event is free and so is the shuttling!
How did Jaedyn enjoy it? haha. WELL... the kid only had eyes for the pumpkins that had candles burning in them. Funny girl.


I guess what I was expecting was elaborately carved pumpkins... they had that too all along the path, what I wasn't expecting were the elaborately painted and designed SCENES of pumpkins! Incredible.
I know we all look more terrified in this picture rather than like we're enjoying ourselves... I think it must have been the flash in the dark :)
We're planning on carving our Smith's pumpkins tonight for FHE.... maybe I should buy some candles for them so she can enjoy it :) I LOVE FALL!!!!!!!

My talented little girl. Seriously... who else can drink out of 2 straws simultaneously, milk AND water??? eww.

(BTW: anyone who is interested--- Old Navy is having 50% off their clearance prices right now and we got some killer deals. Not sure if that's just local but it's worth checking out :)

A Little Song for the Day

Naptime... Where did it go?!?

How does a 2.5-3.0 hour nap turn into a 30 minute nap in the course of a week and a half??? Jaedyn isn't 2 1/2 yet... she needs those naps... heck I need those naps! This cannot be normal! This is not a change for the good... HOPEFULLY it's just a phase?!?

My Mod Podge Summer!

So because I skipped so much blogging this summer I want to get rid of the feeling that it's hovering over me. So rather than catch up with many different posts I'm just going to select a mod podge of the best pix and go from there. Hopefully I'll do better through the holidays that are quickly approaching (no promises)

First off a lot of you know we've completed a lot of remodeling on our home. The most drastic difference is the bathroom. Enjoy the pinkness (those are the before shots of course) Sorry I'm not in the mood to post more before and afters, and truth be told, we didn't take great before shots so the afters don't quite do our work justice. Or maybe I just feel that way cuz it took so much work?

That's right. No shower!

Kitchen-before. What you see is what you get folks. That counterspace is literally all the counterspace that was there. How did people survive with more sink than counter???

Jaedyn on rides with her cousin Andie at Lagoon

Jaedyn with 52 mosquito bites on her face. The picture doesn't quite capture the true damage. But the sentiment is there.

I couldn't resist. This is Jaedyn with her little cousin Phaedra. Aren't their little bottoms cute?

Bear Lake Brawl

I was talking to my dad a few months back about the triathlons I wanted to do this summer. He told me, "you know, I always wanted to do one of those". And that was it. End of story. From there on out there was no way he was getting out of it. My dad and I swam, biked and ran in the Bear Lake Brawl on Saturday. It was a much nicer day weather wise than the last triathlon I did. The lake was beautiful! Slight head wind on the bike ride but cool enough for the run that we didn't overheat. Good thing too cuz the run for some reason was really difficult for me this time. I think my focus has been on improving my swim and bike and I let my run take a backseat. Not a good idea considering I've never been much of a runner. But I did it! And I improved my total time by 9 minutes! Dad did awesome too! He came in 6th in his division and I was so proud of him! What a feat! Good job Dad! I love you! Thanks for all the support and company! Can't wait to do one this winter with you... in Arizona! Here's my number one fan! You can tell I just finished the run, the veins in my forehead are still popping! haha. And this picture is a tad embarrassing as I don't have the most photogenic biceps! But it was fun and I had to post it regardless. Hoo-rah Dad! (K Chris, you gonna join us for the next one?)

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately and I keep seeing the phrase "neglected my blog". It must be a summer thing. So I'm not going to tell you've I've neglected my blog, but rather tell you I've been doing a lot of other stuff this summer besides blogging :)

Seriously.

We have really enjoyed our summer! Chad has been amazing especially since he finished his summer classes. The last few weeks have been composed of dust, mess, noise, 12 and 1 am bedtimes and I am LOVING the result! I now have tile on my floors! Chad's dad came and started Chad on the electrical and wall demolition in the basement and I now have lights, outlets, and walls in my basement! Chad has been working hard nonstop and while we miss him (sniff sniff) we're so grateful for all his hard work!

We attempted potty-training, did great for 3 weeks. Then after another 3 weeks stopped. I was totally out of control of that situation. Some of you may know how that goes.

We went camping and backpacking in Wyoming, got some great pictures (sorry none for this post... I'm not on my home computer, I might update it later but I'm not making promises), had a lot of fun and created some fabulous memories! I miss all my family already!

I also have been doing a lot of training for the Bear Lake Brawl, a triathlon held this weekend. I got a new bike! yaya! And have had so much fun on it! My dad has been training this summer too for it and I'm excited for it. I have to admit though with all the demolition in my home I have not had much opportunity the last couple of weeks and feel... ugh. How can you work so hard for such a long time and in a matter of a few short hours, lose it all?? It really is much faster coming down than going up!

I quit my second job. uh... that took some explaining. Mixed emotions, let's just put it that way. I will miss the people I worked with, it was invaluable experience and helped refresh some skills, but this will be better for my family and my stress level!

Um... I got accused of escaping from the local middle school by one of my patients. That was a blow to my ego.

Chad got released from the Young Men's Presidency... and then called to be in the exact same position in the Young Men's Presidency all in the same day. That was interesting.

We took a trip to lagoon! I had so much fun riding the rides with my nephew Jeremy! That kid is a brute! I couldn't frighten him despite all my threats of loose seat belts, screams, "I'm gonna die"s, broken roller coasters etc. My brother watched Jaedyn for me so we could take off together and we RAN from ride to ride to get as much in as we could and that 8 year old kept up! Well that is until we got to the Rocket Re-Entry. And then suddenly Jeremy was no longer 50 inches. Strange how walking across the park can make you shrink a half inch. Whatever! I'm still bitter, can you tell?

We've eaten some good food (Shawn and Kellie, our favorite has to be the Thai we had with you!) watched some great flicks, spent a lot of time in the water and even more in the sun (with sun screen and hats of course... I do work in Dermatology now:). We've been camping several times and visiting friends a few times too.

We've lived it up.

Summer please give my husband a little more time on the basement before you go away! I guess summer leaving isn't the problem. It's school starting. But I'm not complaining! We're so excited he was blessed to get in to the program!

Say what???

FYI:

Did you know that there is now a new law in place requiring children 3 and under to not only wear swim diapers in public pools, but a plastic diaper over that?

Neither did I!

All day today I was talking to Jaedyn about going to the water park. "It's going to be so much fun!" In the heat of the afternoon we finally got our chance. We decided to walk. It's only a mile away. But boy was it a hot mile!

So I took my little girl who, by the way, started wearing panties this weekend, to the water park. It's only been TWO days. So as added precaution I put her in a swim diaper. I wasn't going to be THAT parent. hehe. I came with $5 for admission and $5 extra for... I dunno why I had it to tell you the truth. They wouldn't let me in! Because of this new law I needed $5 for admission and $6 to purchase a plastic cover. Good grief! I was 1 silly dollar short! Walk a mile back home in this heat for 1 dollar??? Tell Jaedyn, "Just kidding sweetie. See all those kids having fun in the water? Wave bye-bye cuz you're not gonna be one of them!" You gotta be kidding me. ONE DOLLAR!!!

Some poor soul behind me in line took pity on me and gave me a dollar.

I could've kissed him.

So much for the cute swim suit. That diaper was bulking out all over the place!

A Week with my Nephew

We got to have my nephew Brendan come and stay with us for a week last week. We tried and tried to think of activities a 9 year old would enjoy so he wouldn't be completely bored while he was here. We were able to go for bike rides, visit the zoo, we went out for pizza and the kids got balloon animals which were a BIG hit (who knew?) We put him to work extending the width of our driveway, with a wonderful neighbor's help. He read A LOT, boy does that kid know how to read! We went rock-climbing, grocery shopping (yay), and of course we went camping. Luckily the weather cooperated and we had our first sunny weekend in.... well I'm not sure how long. Summer may finally be here though :)

The downfall to camping is Jaedyn didn't sleep a whole lot. She went to bed late and got up early. But even with the lack of sleep she had a great time and behaved.

Brendan showing off his treasure. He found a lighter! Don't worry Shawn and Kellie, we quickly confiscated it.

How can a family look so cute camping? These are our friends Jenn, Rich and Saydee Oldham looking picture perfect. It really isn't fair.

This kid LOOOOOOOOVES babies! Here she is mauling poor Saydee! She was just so cute Jaedyn couldn't keep her hands off of her!

This is how I found him late one night during his stay. The flash didn't even phase him. I wanna be able to sleep like that !

Lovin cousin Brendan!

Brendan got a Parrot that he named "Polly" and Jaedyn got a giraffe that she named "Parrot" haha. Cute.

Our friends, the Allreds, took us rock climbing which was exciting for Brendan "ON REAL ROCK!" he exclaimed. They even had a child harness!

Brendan was amazing in his tennis shoes! He scaled half way up the rock face.

Chad, of course, was a monkey and put us all to shame. He didn't even have the grace to break a sweat to at least make it look like it took a tiny bit of effort.

I got to go too, though the pictures don't prove it. I guess you just get to see how excited I was to do it.

Yup. The child harness. Even Jaedyn got to go! She even enjoyed it... til she got above my eye level. That was about all she had in her. But good job kiddo! Not bad for a first-timer!

So... even though we were up rock-climbing we were actually able to get a few of these...

Nice pose! No one, I repeat, NO ONE put her up to this. Where was this a week ago when we were doing our family photos??? Little stinker!

I love the little dimples she has under her eyes!

"Like a Diamond"

TriUtah! Woo!

Just in case any of you are curious... Here we are freezing, BEFORE we got in the water. You can only imagine the numb stumbling AFTER.

The SWIM

Here the four of us are: CheyAnne, Angela, Heather, Helen (aka Superstar)

Angela's out of the water and out of breath. Can't feel my fingers. Can't feel my zipper. (I'm the crazy one in the short suit not the smart one in the real triathlon full suit... Brrrrrrrr)

Helen's up and out and quickly pulls ahead. Like I said, "superstar"

Here come Heather and CheyAnne, and at this point I have to ask, "What in the world is there to laugh at coming out of THAT water?"

The BIKE

So this was an interesting experience. I have to say that the good sportsmanship out on the course was a little annoying. Sad huh? But I was one of 2 mountain bikes out there and I felt like 7000 people whizzed by me. Literally. I'd say "flew" but I don't want you to think I'm exaggerating. And of course as they WHIZ by they tell me "good job". Uh... thanks? Yeah right!

The RUN

Sorry, no pics. Well okay there were but this is a long post anyway and the after party craziness makes for funner pictures. The run. What can I say? My legs were exhausted from peddling my 30 lb bike. (Yes I even had to peddle on the downhill! And people were still gliding past me! aarrgh!) Oh yes, the run. The one thing that stands out to me first of all is why was the FIRST half uphill? Second, one of the volunteers directing tells me near the end, "The end is just around this bend". 5 bends and 1/2 a mile later I'm crossing the finish line. Way to play with a girl's mind! Couldn't he have just stuck with "great job" like everyone else?

After Party CRAZY

This pic of Heather cracks me up. She looks like she's at a dance party. But just to clear the confusion, there really is music playing

CheyAnne, Yay we did it! This was our first triathlon! But not our last right Chey? Chey? CHEY???

Helen and Angela. Able to breathe again. Yes my lips are blue.

Here we are recreating what we have just accomplished. I think it was the caffeine in the Gu. Anyway, Chey is running, Heather is transitioning, Helen is biking and I'm swimming. Or diving. Whatever.

The RESULTS

Yay Helen! Superstar!!

Yup. I have to use two hands. sniff sniff. Next time I'll have a bike. Even if I have to rent it.

Yes there will be a next time.