Phoenix ZOO!

Yesterday we kicked off our first day of fall break by going to the Phoenix ZOO. Randy took the day off work and came along....It was WONDERFUL having him there. He carried Anney around most of the zoo and if he wasn't carrying Anney, he was pushing Megan and Anney in the stroller. The kids had a great time and LOVED seeing all the animals. If you ask Anney what animals she saw, she can name all of them and the sound each one makes. What a fun day!


The giraffes.....pretty obvious!

I love this picture of Anney's face...She didn't want me to take her picture!

how Anney spent most of the day!

She is counting the zebras...

Petting Zoo!

cute Picture!

Megan

The famous cactus slide...obviously it's a little quick at the end and this is Anney's outcome!

The End of the day....we were in seeing the monkeys and the kids were hot and tired!

saint george Marathon!

Randy ran the Saint George marathon last Saturday....Yes I said marathon and yes a marathon is 26.2 MILES! Why anyone would want to do something like that is beyond me, but he loved the challenge and worked so hard to achieve his goal! He had so many early morning runs and lots of sweaty runs, but it was all worth it in the long run!

Randy and I left the kids home with my sisters and mother in law and headed up Thursday night and stayed a night in Vegas before we made the trek to Saint George. We had gotten a hotel off priceline for $45 and we kinda assumed it would be a dump.....We stayed at the Golden Nugget hotel and let me tell you we have stayed in A MILLION hotels and this was the nicest hotel room we have EVER stayed in.....It was a two room suite, 2 -50 inch plasma screens on the wall, 2 bathrooms (one even had a TV in it!) Jacuzzi tub, kitchen, etc.....IT WAS AMAZING! I wish I would of taken pictures but I left my camera in the car that night. WE got up the next morning, had breakfast and headed towards Saint George. It's only about 2 hours from Vegas so it was a quick trip. When we got there Randy checked in at the race expo, we attended a mini workshop class about the marathon and then we went and drove the bike and run course for the Saint George Ironman next May.....Yes My husband is CRAZY...first he does a marathon, but who in their right mind would ever want to do an IRONMAN????? CRAZY! After that we headed to Outback for Randy to have his famous prerace meal of chicken and pasta. We then headed to our Hotel to check in. We stayed at the Travelodge....it was okay but after staying at the Golden Nugget the night before, this place was a DUMP!

Randy had to wake up at 3 the next morning to be at the race by 4 am. We ended up running into Denny's early in the morning so Randy could grab some pancakes for breakfast before his race. Nothing like getting Denny's takeout at 3 a.m.

The race started at 6:45 and Randy did awesome! He completed the marathon in 4 hours and 29 minutes! Amazing! I sat at the finish line for about 30 minutes waiting for Randy and I was so amazed watching these athletes. Everyone of them were amazing to watch cross the finish line. Some limped in, some couldn 't walk, some ran hand n hand with their spouse, etc.......Then there was the 9 year old kid that flew on in! CRAZY! It was quite emotional watching the whole thing.

I'm so proud of Randy and how hard he has worked...I remember the day 18 months ago that he struggled to run a mile......and now.....he has run a marathon! Good Job Babe and thanks for the inspiration to all of us! I LOVE YOU!

Start of the finish line

The front of his shirt says....."If You're Going TO BE DUMB....."

This is a saying his dad has said for years and that saying ended up being our team name when we ran the Ragnar Race last February.

All done...wearing his medal proudly around his neck!

mom.....LOOK at my BIG bandaids!

can you tell what these are? Anney came to me earlier today and said...."mom, look at my big bandaids!" This kid is obsessed with bandaids...she loves them. Somehow she was under the bathroom sink and found some pantyliners and thought they would make great bandaids! I cracked up laughing and had to take a picture! We love our little Anney!

No More Cub Scouts!

These pictures were taken at Travis' last pack meeting as a Cub Scout.....He is 11 years old now and officially a Boy Scout! He is so excited and is looking forward to his next adventures. He has Incredible leaders that he loves and they are so motivated and he has done so well already. Good Job Travis.....mom and dad are proud of you and all your accomplishments as a cub Scout. We are excited to help and support you on the path to your Eagle! We love you!

Brother Milczarek his new 11 year old Scout leader.

Bishop Montierth presenting Kaden, Kyle and Travis with their religious Knots!

Less then 100 days!

Everytime I get on my blog I watch the little countdown to the right of my blog that tells me how many days until my due date.....It's always seemed so far away until I realized that we have less then 100 days now! These next few months are so crazy with all the holidays as it is, I'm sure it's going to FLY!

Things are still going great with this pregnancy. I can't believe how great I feel and how much energy I still have. I know it won't be this way until the end, but I will continue to enjoy it while it lasts.

We still don't have a name picked out, I really like the "EE" or "EY" at the end of a name for a little girl, so I think i'll start focusing on that! I'll take any suggestions....

Megan suggests about 10 names a day.....EVERY girl name in her class or any girl she meets, etc. Some of them are quite interesting, and some are quite common, and some are just plain hilarious cause she makes half of them up!

If anyone has any name suggestions.....send them this way!

Travis and Taylor want to be in charge!

Travis and taylor are wanting to be elected as student council officers of their school. Travis wants to be the President and Taylor wants to be the Treasurer. Last night we wrote up a little paragraph on why they would make good candidates for their job and we included a picture! The general election is next week and then the primary election will be the week after. Here is what they said......(both of them wrote the majority of this themselves....I had to actually cut some of it out cause not everything would fit on their papers they were given.

This was Travis'

I feel you should vote for me as your President because I feel like I am qualified to be the best president ever! I am a natural born leader because I am the oldest of 5 kids in my family, and I have many responsibilities at home caring for my younger siblings. I also feel that you can depend on me for anything, and you need that in a president. If you ever need anything from me, I will do my best to have it ready as soon as possible. I am a great people person; I can get along with ANYONE so I know I can relate to everyone in our school. I have been involved as a student council class representative and I always made sure my class was aware of what was going on, and I would do the same for the school.

I am actively involved in orchestra, mustang fiddling and video club at Madison. In my spare time I love to go to the sand dunes, play sports, attend scouts, hang out with friends and cousins and just have fun!

Please vote for Travis Ferrin as President and I promise you will not be disappointed!


This Was Taylor's


You should vote for me because I would be a very responsible Treasurer. For example, do you like the pencil machine? If you didn’t have a responsible and dependable treasurer, you wouldn’t have any pencils! Another reason you should vote for me is I am a very good at Math and I am also a straight A student. I also work very well with other students and I love to be around other people.

In my spare time I love to ride quads, dive, swim, shop and hang out with friends and my family.


I promise I will be the best Treasurer. Please VOTE Taylor Ferrin for Treasurer and you will have the best school year ever!

Ward Swim Party!

Tonight was our ward swim party. It was so much fun! We had it at 4 houses right in a row. 2 of the houses had swimming pools, 1 had kids games, and 1 had all the food! Everyone could just come and go as they wish and everyone had a great time! This picture is Anney and Joshua playing in the little swimming pool at the beginning!


Travis playing some water games!

Taylor and Alexis doing a water relay

Megan swimming!

taylor and Paige

Anney had so much fun swimming with all the kids......She loved it! They all catered, played and spoiled her. She had a blast!

Megan getting ready to dive!

Ashley throwing Anney in the air!

Snack Time!

Dillards huge extra 40% off sale!

hey everyone....it's my favorite sale of the year! The dillards take an additional 40% off everything that is already on sale. I picked up some deals today! I went to the Dillards at Chandler Mall and got all of this for 90 bucks! 2 Billabong swimsuits for Travis, 2 shirts for Travis, 2 pair of Roxy flip flops for taylor and megan. 2 hurley shirts for taylor, 1 shirt for megan and 2 shirts for Anney. And.......I actually bought myself another Kathy Purse. These are my favorite purses and this one was normally 110 and I got it for 17.93! Awesome! I think the sale goes through the weekend......So if you are in the market for some clothes, they have some great things, Especially if you have a boy size 8-20...I could of bought travis 20 shirts and 20 swimsuits if I wanted! crazy! Just a tip......the best deals are the items that are already marked 70% off and then you take an additional 40% off that! The sale has already been going for a couple of days, so it might be picked over!

ETA: I went to the superstition springs dillards and they NOTHING for any of kids except ANNEY...if you need baby clothes, they have TONS!

We have a new addition to our family!

Today in nursery Anney learned how thankful she was for fish and that Jesus created fish! SO CUTE! Our cute nursery teachers gave all the kids a goldfish to take home and we got so lucky to come home with 3! We put them in this cute bowl and so far they are all still alive! Don't know how long it will last, but for now she loves them and checks on them every second of the day. Our 3 fishies are named Professor Peanuts, Barney and Mrs. Guppy! Quite the combo huh! Travis is already hoping for babies soon.....don't think that will happen!

It's a WHOLE LOTTA DAY>>>>>>

Today we've done....

A Whole LOTTA...Yardwork (started bright and early!)
A Whole LOTTA...Swimming (with friends)
A Whole LOTTA...Running (randy started off with a 12 mile run!)
A Whole LOTTA...MESS in the kitchen....(feeding 5 extra kids today=MESS!)
A Whole LOTTA...Nursery Stuff............I'm rearranging the nursery starting TOMORROW!
A Whole LOTTA....NAPS!..........(randy and anney are asleep..hopefully anney will sleep a while)
A Whole LOTTA....Laundry! (it's never ending)
A Whole LOTTA...Articles of Faith...(travis and taylor are working on them)
A Whole LOTTA....money being spent!...(gotta make a trip to COSTCO...need I say more?)
AND........

by
The Time the day is over.......

We'll be doing a WHOLE LOTTA cleaning.........this place is a disaster, but we've gotten LOTS done!

Cute Pictures of the Kiddos........

Anney fell in love with this dog and wanted to pet it so bad....thank goodness the lady was so friendly and let her!

This is my favorite!

Such a cutie!

Travis was climbing this tree while we were waiting for Randy on the bike. I think he looks so big and grown up!

Anney

Megan and her buddy Tyson. Tyson's dad did the triathlon with Randy.

While we were watching and cheering him on this past weekend, I took some random photos of the kids.......they are so cute, I had to share them. I'm so grateful for such good kids, there are days that they push my limits and make me insane, but they are good kids and I'm proud of the choices they continue to make. They have great friends and are great examples to their friends.

Okay.....time for a baby name poll/opinion! Most of you know we are having another girl and coming up with names is the hardest thing for us! I've come up with 4 I like and would be happy with any of them (If I could get Randy to agree with one of them, I'd go for it!).....So tell me your opinion on them......If you have other suggestions, I'll take those also!

Kenadee

Marlee

Hallee

Ellie

Tri In The Pines

This past weekend Randy participated in the "Tri In The Pines" which was held in Showlow Arizona. He did so well. He took almost 6 minutes off his time from last year. Good Job Babe!
He did this race as part of his training for his marathon in October and Ironman next May! He is working so hard and doing so well in his training!
This is him getting ready for the swim....he's the second one from the right.

Joking around with the guy in his lane!

Getting ready to start the bike.....12.5 miles!

Coming in from the bike...He looks like he's having so much fun huh?

The Run was 3.5 miles.....randy cramped up really bad the first 1/2 mile and even ended up throwing up, but I think he felt better after that! Poor Guy!

Almost done...keep up the great work, this high altitude takes a toll on you!

The FINISH LINE! I love this picture cause you can see Anney running behind him trying to catch him! Everyone couldn't believe how fast she was! She was so excited to see Randy and was so cute to all the other participants in the triathlon. She would cheer everyone on and would tell them "Good Job and Keep it up!"

Wellness Challenge!

Yesterday I started a wellness challenge with some friends and family. This seems to be the "new" thing going around. When I read the rules and requirements I actually thought this IS something I can do...and it's something I can do being pregnant! Maybe it will help me not gain 50lbs. Here are the rules.....

Each item is worth 1 point, with a possible 10 points per day
1 48 oz. of water
2 30 minutes of exercise (not necessarily consecutive)
3 2 servings of veggies, 2 servings of fruit
4 No soda, beer, wine, unhealthy snacks (ex: potato chips), or bad fast food (anything fried)
5 No sweets. (Desserts, pastries, sugary snacks & cereals) * ONE item with a Sugar-Free alternative is OK (as long as it doesn't conflict with #4 above)
6 No eating after dinner/9pm
7 15 min. of scripture reading (or spiritual text if you don't do scripture)
8 One journal entry (any length)
9 Express sincere appreciation, love or praise to a family member or close friend
10 Personal Goal

Let me explain the personal goal. Each week, you will come up with your own point/goal for the week. So, for the first week, my goal might be to read to my kids for 15 minutes every day, provide service, fix dinner each night that week. Or it could be going to bed before 9:30 every night…etc, etc.

Note: You have one free point, PER CATEGORY, PER WEEK. One free point for exercise, one free point for soda/fast food/unhealthy snacks, one free point for sweets, etc. You do not have 10 free points to use however you choose -they are NOT interchangeable and if you choose not to use a free point in a category, it is gone at weeks end. You could also just choose to have one "free" day where all points are free (which is less confusing), but we are allowing for flexibility and success!

The goal obviously is to get 10 points each day, every day. On your “free” day, you can automatically count 10 points. If you choose to have a free day on Saturday, then Sunday you eat dessert, then you would only get 9 points for Sunday. You can choose to have one free point every day if you choose to do it that way too. So if you go out for dinner on Wednesday and feel like having a soda, then you can use your free soda point.

Exceptions:-You are excused from the sweet rule on YOUR BIRTHDAY.-You are allowed three sick days where you are excused (only) from exercising and eating veg/fruit/water [if you can’t eat/drink] This is ONLY to be used if you are indeed sick.


Yesterday I did so GOOD....I was perfect. I ate a whole wheat bagel and cream cheese for breakfast, tuna sandwich loaded with spinach and 2 whole tomatoes on the side and for dinner we had spaghetti and a huge salad! It was awesome.....I ate fruit as my snacks and I wasn't even hungry. I walked a total of 6 miles yesterday and it felt so good. So far today I have had a bowl of grape nuts cereal and a Ham sandwich at subway LOADED with veggies and I got their sliced apples also! AWESOME! I'm hoping I can stick with this challenge so I will have more balance in my life and feel better. You all might see lots of posts on my blog in the next few weeks, I plan to use my blog and a small journal on my computer as my two forms of journal writing.

So here is to a healthy next 12 weeks....Please don't bring me cookies, cinnamon rolls or ice cream!

Anney's Lunchbox

Every night when the older kids pack their lunchboxes for school, Anney has to pack her lunch also. This Barney bag came with 3 Barney DVD's in it and for some reason Anney is determined it is her lunch box! She is so dang cute with it! Today as she was eating lunch, I heard her say.....

"I got my juice box"

"I got my granola bar"

"I got my CHEETOS" (these are her favorite chips ever)

"I got my sandwich"

I just had to grab a picture of it cause I thought it was so dang cute!