So, in the post for yesterday we asked if we were ready for Brenna to get out of bed whenever she wanted. Well, in less than 24 hours we have the answer. Night number one saw Brenna walking around the house at 10:30 while everyone else in the family tried to go to sleep. It was somewhat funny to have her come into our room and tell us what Aubrey and Kayla were doing in their room, and Jenna liked her play by play (Daddy's brushing his teeth, Daddy's putting on his pajamas, Daddy's trying to sleep). She is such a good talker a career in broadcasting or journalism would not surprise us. After the short night, nap time was virtually impossible this afternoon with Brenna coming out of her room every two minutes, so we bought a child proof door handle and have now trapped Brenna in her room. It feels strange since we have raised four other toddlers and never needed to do this before. Maybe we are just getting wiser in our old age... or less tolerant. Either way, Brenna will now have to learn how to open this door knob, which Robert cannot operate, if she wants to roam the hallways at midnight again. We are looking forward to some better sleeping in the meantime.

After a few crashes and falls from the crib, we decided it was time for Brenna to get a big girl bed, aka-toddler bed. Fortunately we happen to have one of those in the basement, so it was just a matter of bringing it up and putting it together. It was the taking down of the crib that was the harder and more emotional part. Is our Brenna really old enough to be sleeping in a toddler bed? Are we ready for her to get out of bed on her own whenever she wants? Only time will tell...

You would never guess is by the weather here, but soccer season has started and Lindsay played in her first ever organized soccer game today. We appreciate her team's neon green jersey's that make it very easy to spot her teammates when we arrive at the vast soccer complex. You can see her getting ready to kick the ball in this picture right here.

Lindsay enjoyed her game and displayed some amazing speed. She was frequently the first player to the ball, but with her kind and cooperative spirit, she was often willing to wait for her teammates to arrive and kick the ball. We think she has the makings to be an excellent player if she wants to be. You can't teach speed.

Emily and Brenna enjoyed watching from the sidelines, even though they were a little chilly. Brenna especially liked the little dogs of one of Lindsay's friends. Food and puppies are the top things on her list, and it looks like she will get to enjoy both as she cheers on Lindsay during this soccer season.

Kayla got to participate in a biography wax museum this week. She liked putting together her Anne Frank poster (and in true Kayla fashion insisted on having it completely done a week before the museum exhibit), but the best part was when she came alive as Anne when museum patrons pushed her information button. Kayla loved sharing all about Anne Frank's life and feelings and what she went through. We were proud of her diligence and know she has looked forward to this project since last year when she went to a similar wax museum.

Look closely in the picture, and you may see a famous founding father above Anne's shoulder...

Robert caught up to Jenna for a few months and we celebrated his 33rd birthday this week. It was an exciting night of dinner out, cake and ice cream, and presents. Brenna enjoyed helping to open gifts and cards. She especially liked the roller coaster card from Papa and Grandma. Too bad everyday can't be someone's birthday.

Aubrey's excellent history fair project on the Boston Tea Party a couple of months ago received perfect marks and took her to the regional history fair for fifth through seventh graders a few weeks ago. It was fun and she enjoyed putting it all together (and missing a day of school with a few of her friends to compete). Isn't that a good looking display board? You rock Aubrey!

Robert and Jenna have learned that one of the hardest things about running in a half marathon is actually getting to the race. We had to doctor this photo a little as the camera flash drowned out the clock numbers, but as you can see, we had to get up very early to drive downtown and get to the race on time. I think the actual alarm was set for 4:30.

Fortunately, the morning turned out to be the most beautiful and warm spring day we had seen this year. It was beautiful to see the sunrise, something we definitely do not take advantage of enough. The race also provided a choir from a local church who serenaded us prior to the race.

Although we are somewhat partial to the Provo River Trail half marathon, the Salt Lake definitely gets off to a wonderful start and we enjoyed running through the University of Utah and seeing the view of the valley as we ran the first couple of miles. Jenna felt just an amazing and overwhelming sense of gratitude. It was great to get out and feel our bodies working and feel the connection between body and spirit. We could have done without the 4 finishing miles of headwind and stomach cramps, but all in all we were happy with how it went. Our goal was to finish before the winner of the marathon and we ended up doing that quite easily. Unlike our first half last year, we actually were still able to function and walk down the stairs the next day, so I guess all of the training was worth it.


Our race also was another example of what wonderful friends we are fortunate to have in our lives. Rachelle came to our home and picked up all five of our girls at 7:15 am and drove them down to the race so they could be there when we finished. What an act of service.

Today Oliver installed the built in bookshelves. They tunred out great and we are so happy with the quality of his work. I think the black beadborad and fireplace were the way to go, as they tie in with that whole section of the house. We are looking forward to having adequate space for all of our books, atleast for a while. I think I've only bought two books in the past week, but I already have a few more in mind for my next bookstore or Amazon outing. There are a lot of good ones out there right now.

We have a Book Nook somewhere on the side of our blog, but it's hard to keep up to date when we are reading through books quickly. I will try to post some of our latests reads, but we hope you'll also let us know what you're reading and finding enjoyable and worthwhile. We are always looking for good recommendations and to hear others thoughts on what they're reading. Happy reading and thanks for sharing!!!

We definitely had a Super Saturday. Sometimes on Saturday mornings we like to make a list of things we'd like to do that day. Fun things, necessary things, etc. For some reason, this Saturday we just got up and started going, not really knowing what exactly we'd do. It was kind of a take it as it comes Saturday and boy did it come. Robert and I started the day early with a 12 mile run, our last long run before our race. Yeah! Then we headed off to Costco for some food fuel and Home Depot for some tool fuel, all in our sweaty gross running clothes.

It's that time of year - Time to see what new parts or services the pool is in need of. Last year we repaired the stairs and replaced the pump, heater, and transitioned to a Salt Water System. We are starting off this year by replacing the skimmer. Okay. Doesn't sound tooo serious. Unfortunately, the skimmer is enclosed in several cubic feet of concrete, and up against about 30,000 gallons of water. Blah. Luckily, our friend Ed takes very good care of us and the pool. They began breaking up the concrete about 8am and finished up the job about 4pm. The pool is currently being refilled. Can't wait for our next water bill. After this project, we will have replaced everything except the cover, liner, and light. It's like a brand new pool, and worth every penny, we think.

Aubrey made it through six shows and performed the final show on Friday night. It was a great production and all were impressed with the quality of the cast and the show. We appreciate those that came from far and close to be a part of it. Papa and Grandma made it out from California, and thanks to Jenna staking out seats two hours in advance, got to see the show from the front row. We are happy that Grandma Webber could also come out and see the show on Wednesday. The kids were amazing as usual, and had mixed emotions as the night came to a close. They were definitely exhausted from all of the hard work for months leading up to this week and seven long performances , but they were also sad to be done. Most of the cast of 62 were sixth graders, so Aubrey made many new friendships that will continue on through middle school.

Such Fun!!!