A glimpse of our Life

I found this coffee table at Savers for $9.99.  It was an ugly old oak that was scratched and dinged.  I had an idea of what I wanted and thought this little find would work out great.  I'm pretty proud of the way it came together.

Today my little baby girl turned five.  This year we are having family parties instead of friend parties.  She picked out her birthday breakfast which consisted of blueberry waffles and crepes.  Alexis shared cupcakes with friends at preschool.  Later in the day we drove to the mall to finally, FINALLY do something Lexi has been asking me for since she was two years old.  She got her ears pierced!  I can't believe I agreed to do it.  There were no tears.  She was the bravest little thing and couldn't be more proud of the pink daises that she's sporting on those cute ears. 

I realized that I only had three candles when it was time to sing.  I was hoping that it would go undetected, but couldn't have been more wrong.  It was the first thing she noticed.  I told her that I only had three, that we could put one on instead.  She smiled and said three would be fine.  Phew.

Singing Happy Birthday at preschool

After getting her ears pierced

LET'S EAT!!!

It was a day of celebration at our house.  The (more) mature seven year old proudly walked into the room with a huge smile on his face.



The front tooth is gone.  Trevor, you look awesome. :)

Wayne and I were able to take a quick weekend getaway to go see the BYU football team play Notre Dame in South Bend, IN.  We had been anticipating the trip for a while.  Initially we were going to take the whole family.  Wayne was going to meet up his brother, Brett and his family to go to the game.  Thanks to some wonderful friends we were able to leave the kids in Rochester while the two of us made it a getaway.

We left Friday morning at 10:00 a.m.  About two hours into the drive we saw a huge bird flying overhead and realized that it was a bald eagle.  The first either of us have seen in flight.  That was amazing.  A little while later we realized that we would be hitting Chicago traffic at 4:00 pm.  We decided to stop and watch a movie named Pitch Perfect in Madison, WI.   We laughed a lot, sometimes out of pure embarassement, but overall it was really funny.  After eating an early dinner at Olive Garden we continued on to South Bend.  We reached Chicago at 6:30 and were stuck in major congestion for two hours. Later the GPS had us take some local roads to avoid the traffic on I-90.  At least it was a change of scenery.  We were definitely antsy to get out of there.  By the time we finally reached the end of the bottleneck it was dark and the Chicago skyline was lit up.  It was absolutely beautiful.

We finally arrived at our hotel at 11:30 p.m.   A wife of one of the pharmacist's that Wayne works with told us about a place called the Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, IN.  It's about 30 minutes outside of South Bend.  Since the hotels were horrendously expensive in South Bend we decided to give it a try.  While driving there we wondered if a place could actually exist where the GPS was directing us, but all the sudden there it was.  It's huge for the town that it's in.  We thought it was perfect.

The next morning we woke up, got ready, and headed to the Notre Dame campus.  Places close to the stadium wanted $40 to park.  YIKES!  After driving just a few blocks down we found some parking for $20.  We brought some poncho's and headed to the school.  It is filled with tradition.  The marching band was playing the fight song while marching through campus.  The players received a police escort to the stadium.  Fans lined the outside of the stadium to where the bus let out the coaches and players.  They were all dressed in suits and were cheered as they walked down the courtyard and into the stadium. 

                                                     Wayne in front of touchdown Jesus.
                                          A very, very small portion of the marching band. 
                                              Wayne in front of the golden dome.

                                            Looking at the ceiling inside a gorgeous building.
                                                                Basilica

                                                                         Grotto
                                         
                                                              Loving the fall trees
                                                      Oh yeah, in the stadium.

Notre Dame is ranked five right now.  I really thought BYU was going to get stomped, but was surprised when they were ahead at half-time.  Sadly BYU lost by three points.  It was still a blast to experience it all.

Sunday we woke up and were on the road by 7:00.  We drove in to pick up the kids at 5:00 p.m.  I am so thankful for great friends.  There is no way we could have done this without them.

For the last four months I thought that I would never be able to post to my blog again.  Come to find out I just can't post from my computer.  Since I'm swapping sitting with some friends I am going to take advantage of their computer. :)

A ton has happened since my last post. 

In May I ran the Fargo marathon in Fargo, ND.  It is incredibly flat in Fargo.  That part was great.  When I picked up my packet it was almost 100 degrees outside.  Weirdly the weather turns quickly there and we ran in 60 degree weather the next day.  I was hoping to qualify for Boston again, but missed it by five minutes.  I pushed and pushed.  The last ten miles I was running in a 20 mph headwind.  It was rough.  I went with a friend who also ran the race.  Fargo is about five hours away from Rochester.  After finishing and getting through that post marathon sickness we hobbled to the car, drove to her friend's house, showered, called our husbands and started the drive back home. 

The next day Wayne and I took the kids to Minneapolis.  We went to a park and walked around.  I felt something shift in my foot.  After three months we finally figured out that I have a bone pushing against a nerve in my foot.  I haven't been able to run since the marathon, which has been really hard for me.  This week I had a cortisone shot in my foot and am hoping that it is enough to get my it back to that happy place.  If it won't I'll need to have surgery to break the bone and straighten it out.  I'm really hoping it doesn't come down to that.




In June we went to Utah to see family.  It had been two years since Wayne's last trip to Utah.  We had a blast.  I stayed with the kids for two and half weeks.  Sadly, Wayne can't take more than a week vacation at a time.  He had to fly back after a week.  Before he flew home we were able to leave the kids with family and go on an overnighter.  We stayed in downtown Salt Lake, went to City Creek, and ate some really good food.  We did that a lot. :)  I again, returned home with some pounds I had to lose. 

We also took the family to Lagoon.  My sister, Ali, and her family came too.  We packed in food and came ready for the entire day there. The kids were over the moon.  I was shocked at the rides my little Trevor was going on.  He went on everything!!  His favorite ride was Wicked.  Jacob loved the Colossus.  Alexis loved anything and everything she could ride.  She was super sad that she wasn't tall enough to go on the biggest rides with the boys.  We all went on Rattlesnake Rapids.  Who was dumped upon??  Yes, that would be Moi.  We went to Lagoona Beach right after that and let our clothes air out while we swam. 



We saw family a lot, that was wonderful.  We had our family picture taken.  We saw the Utah Symphony perform a patriotic concert.  We went to Taylorsville Dayzz, packed a picnic and saw a Neil Diamond impersonator in concert (the guy was awesome though!!).  After the concert there was an AMAZING firework show that was set off to music.    We discovered the Sweet Tooth Fairy and ate at a lot of our favorite places.  Rochester is great, but the food selection is not. :)

Jacob asked to stay in Utah for the entire summer.  Trevor and Alexis have both said they want to move to Utah to live by their grandparents and cousins.  Wayne will start to look for that final job in about a year.  We will see, we will see.

Over the summer we went to the pool three to four times a week.  Drumroll please . . . . Trevor decided to swim!!  Your eyes are not deceiving you.  It really happened.  Alexis is a fish to boot and Jacob is a fabulous swimmer.  It was so much fun watching them swim and play in the pool.

We were able to go to Thursdays on First a few times.  Every Thursday during the summer vendors set up on First Street.  There is music, food and shopping.  Wayne was on call every Thursday, so it was me and the kids.


We took advantage of the library.  Every Wednesday we went and checked out hoards of books.  We also saw a few concerts (one by a Grammy Award winning artist) and watched a NASA specialist give details about Curiosity, the first rover to land on Mars.

The kids also went to Quarry Hill camp.  It was the first time that I have sent them all to the same place at the same time.  It was heaven to have those two and a half hours to myself.  Jacob went hiking and canoeing.  Trevor's favorite part was analyzing animal habitats.  Alexis adored the opossum and is still singing ladybug songs that she learned at camp.  We will definitely be doing that again.

Trevor turned seven just before school started.  We are having family parties this year.  He chose to go to Chuck E. Cheese to play games and eat at Godfathers Pizza.  We were completely on board with that one.  As soon as we walked into Chuck E. Cheese the kids started to scope out the games.  Chuck E Cheese himself was walking around giving out free tickets to kids who would dance with him. Trevor wasn't paying attention when he saw him he threw his head into Wayne's backside.  When Wayne tried to pry him away he ran the opposite direction.  Those costumed characters FREAK Trevor out.  Trevor tried to convince Alexis of their terrifying nature, but she wouldn't have anyone scaring her away from an adorable furry animal.  What kind of animal is that anyway?  A rat, mouse, hampster??  Anywho, Jacob set up a very cool (I almost said adorable) scavenger hunt for Trevor the night before his birthday.  We ate chocolate chocolate chip cupcakes with chocolate mint frosting and chocolate dream ice cream.  Trevor chose the dessert.  I must say he is my child through and through. 

My next door neighbors have left town for a few weeks and told me to finish picking whatever we would like out of their garden and off of their apple tree.  We have taken them up on that offer.  I have processed over 100 pounds of apples.  I have our supply of apple pie filling, applesauce and apple fruit leather.  I told myself not to pick any more apples, but I couldn't help it and probably picked up another 30 pounds today.  My hands look like a mechanics from all of the stains I've received from picking, peeling and processing.

Wayne has ZERO call nights and ZERO weekend coverage responsibility for the next seven months!!! Can you tell how ecstatic I am?? We went to the St. Paul temple last night together. Next month we are leaving the kids and heading to South Bend, IN to watch the BYU vs. Notre Dame football game. We are like a couple of little kids waiting for Christmas. 

School started up the day after Labor Day.  This next week is when all of the extracurricular activities begin, which also means this is when my life gets crazy.

Boston is over!!  I can't believe that it has come and gone.

The winter weather was amazing this year.  I kept saying, "I've got to run today because this weather is not going to last."  I kept saying it and saying it.  I even ran when I knew I shouldn't.  The result of that was a mild hip strain that took about six weeks to work its way through.  Thankfully it happened in early January.

Once training started up again I had to start slow, but everything worked out and I felt ready to run Boston this year injury free.

Wayne was amazing and took vacation to watch the kids while I flew to Boston.  I don't think he knows how much that meant to me.

We all went to The Machine Shed on Saturday morning.  My friend, Rachel, had told me multiple times how good it was.  The kids thought it was awesome.  Right after we ate Wayne dropped me off at the airport.  I saw them drive away and there I was.  All.By.Myself.  I went through security and made my way to the gate.  It was a lovely time to sit and read.

My wonderful friend, Kristin, met me in Boston.  Her husband, Nick, and Wayne were the same year of medical school at UVa.  I couldn't ask for a better friend.  We were ready to hit up the town.  Her flight arrived 30 minutes after mine.  It's been two years since we've seen each other.  It felt more like two months.  Yeah, that's the kind of friend she is.

Kristin and me at the hotel

 We figured out how to ride the bus to the T.  The hotel was only a couple blocks away from the T station.  The location was perfect.  We were right across the street from Boston Garden and walking distance to the North End and harbor.

We asked the front desk of a good place to eat.  They directed us to a place called Fours.  When we walked up there was a guy (that we thought) was greeting people.  We said hi and started walking in.  We were immediately stopped as he asked for our I.D.  This was a first.  I pulled out my ID and had my hand stamped.  We looked at each other and kind of giggled, then headed inside.  I will say, the food was really good.

Trying to get a picture of Fours behind us.

Of course we had to catch up.  I normally go to bed by 10:30.  We were still talking at 1:00 a.m. and decided we should probably go to sleep. :)

The next morning we went to the Expo.  It was busy to say the least.  I bought a good amount of stuff.  The best new purchase:  Newton shoes.  I've been eyeing these for awhile and decided to finally try them out.  I love the concept and have really liked the two runs I have had on them. :) Frankly, I was a little worried about how I was going to get everything home.  I made it work, oh yes I did.

After hitting Atonios for lunch we went to catch our Segway tour.  That was a BLAST!!!  It was a  two hour tour of Boston.  We went through Beacon Hill, Newberry, Boston Commons, the North End, and other historic areas.

Segway tour . . . don't tell, we broke the rules.

Kristin pulled out some shirts that she had brought with her.  They were light blue, my favorite color.  She had them made for the race.  We had matching shirts that said "Haley Octane" on the front.  The back of our shirts said something different.  Mine was Haley Octane, 99 mph.  Love, love, loved it!!

We ate a delicious dessert for dinner (you read that right) and then headed back to the hotel.  I was in bed by 9:00 and actually slept like a rock.

There was a lot of talk about the heat that we would be experiencing on race day.  The Boston Athletic Association encouraged people to defer.  They even discussed cancelling the whole thing.  The average temperature on race day is normally 57 degrees.  This year the high was 87 degrees, a new record.  I was texting my running friends from New York all morning.  They were wondering if I was actually going to run the thing.  I totally thought about deferment, but I was already in Boston.  I'd have to get back to Boston.  I wasn't injured, which was a welcome change from last year.  I decided to go for it.

Getting ready to take the T to the shuttles

Looking at the long line of buses and runners waiting for the hour ride to the start

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I started running where I felt comfortable.  I knew that I would be dumping A LOT of water on myself.  Thankfully the marathon's first water stop is at mile three and every mile thereafter.  I drank Gatorade at every mile and took another cup of water to dump on my head.  I was soaked for most of the run. Throughout the race I saw kids holding buckets of ice, handing out popsicles, and spraying water from their hose.  Fire hydrants were opened with sprinklers attached.  Random people were offering pretzels and orange slices.  Digital marquees were set up and read "Adjust your pace.  Slow down.  Record heat.  HOT. HOT. HOT."  The race became more about making it through together than about our personal best time.

I was definitely hot.  I walked through most water stations then slowly picked it back up.  After the Newton Hills I knew that it was mostly downhill.  I said out loud, "Free energy.  This is free energy."  I was really tired, but my legs felt decent.

When I saw the finish line I thought I was going to cry.  This was the most emotional I have been at a race.  I think everyone coming together to make sure people ran this one safe made me feel that way.  I finished in 3:49.  I was thrilled to finish under four hours with that awful heat.  I mentally prepared for 4 1/2 hours.  About five minutes after crossing an older man came up and patted me on the shoulder.  He said, "Way to go!  Great race.  I've been following you for miles and lost you on the downhills.  Great, great job!"  I said thank you through near tears.

The longer we had to walk the more nauseous I became.  I thought I was going to lose whatever was in my stomach, which wasn't much.  When I finally reached the bus that had my bag I had to sit down.  I sent a text to Kristin and said that I wasn't feeling good and needed to sit and stretch.  I thought she would be waiting forever.  She replied that she was still on the T and on her way.  That made me feel better.  A medic came up to me and asked if I was ok and if I needed to go the medic tent.  I told him that I was just sick to my stomach.  He got me out of the sun and told me to nibble on potato chips and sip down some water.  He also said that if I had to throw up it was no big deal.  They'd clean it up.  I smiled after he said that.   I slowly ate some potato chips and after 15 minutes felt a bit better.  I started to walk to our meeting point, stopped,  threw out my stuff and leaned over my bag.  I thought I was going to lose it all.  Thankfully putting my head down helped and I was able to get to where I needed to go.  Sitting in real shade helped a lot.  Kristin made it.  She waited for almost four hours at mile 20 we didn't even see each other on the course.  She is such a great friend.  She had a soft pretzel and orange slices ready for me.  After another 15 minutes I felt ready to go.  I hobbled to the T.  Thankfully the hotel was only two miles away from the finish line.

I took a nice long bath, then got ready.  I didn't really want to eat, but knew I should.  We went to a close Italian restaurant in the North End.  I had some chicken noodle soup and was happy that it was a tiny little cup.  Why can't I feel like eating is a chore everyday?

On Tuesday we walked to Whole Foods and grabbed some fresh fruit.  We looked at each other and decided to take it easy.  We went back to the hotel and took a nice long nap.  After that we were ready to go.  We went to check out Harvard and the Natural History Museum there.  It was awesome.  As soon as we excited the T we saw a long line at a frozen yogurt place named Pinkberry.  We were totally game.  It was divine.  We went to Bertucci's for dinner.  I was so excited to see that restaurant.  Wayne and I ate there last year when we were in Boston.

Pinkberry

Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

Wednesday was our last day there.  We knew that we had to hit the King and I restaurant while in Boston.  One of my friends that lives in Minnesota told me it was her favorite place to eat when she lived in Boston.  Oh my goodness.  The Pad Thai is the best I have ever had.  I was stuffed halfway through and had to finish the entire thing.  Kristin and I stopped at all sorts of fun boutiques in the area and headed to Boston Commons to sit and people watch.  We mentioned multiple times how peaceful and happy we were.  How lucky and blessed we were for our husbands who were taking care of the kids while we were having a great time. 

King and I

Swan Boats at Boston Common

In front of Massachusetts General Hospital.  This one was for Wayne. :)

I couldn't believe that we had been there for four full days!!  The time went by so incredibly fast and I had the best time!!  Now I'm looking at races so that I can possibly qualify for Boston again.  I won't lie, it's an addiction. ;)

We love Easter.  Sunday morning the kids woke up and decided to hunt for eggs without waking me and Wayne up!  We made them put them back so we could video tape.  These pictures were taken at an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.

I've got to write this down so I remember how hilarious it was at the time. 

A few days ago Lexi had a little runny nose. The boys discovered it during breakfast and immediately threw their heads in the opposite direction. Jacob loudly said, "Alexis . . go get a tissue! Ew! Don't lick it!!" Trevor (half gagging) partially turns his head toward her and said, "Alexis!! Go wipe your nose! Do you want to be DISGUSTING or do you want to be BEAUTIFUL??"

Alexis just went on her merry way after her nose was wiped.  Sometimes that girl doesn't let anything phase her.  Other times she screams, "YOU HURT MY FEELINGS!!!!"  I'm glad her mood was decent during that particular morning.

A few days ago I went to check on Trevor and Lexi after they went to bed.  Here's what I found: 


Jacob is insanely busy right now.  He swims 4 1/2 hours a week with a swim team here.  We've traveled for quite a few swim meets.  He is doing awesome.  I'm so proud of him.  He's also involved in scouts and is in advanced spelling, english, math, social studies, and science at school.  His homework keeps ME busy.  I can't believe some of the things they have these kids do.  I think it's safe to say I'm a little nervous about him getting overwhelmed with it all, but for now, he is loving it.

Wayne is reading the boys Harry Potter.  They are on the third book.  He's made it super fun for them.  When they finish the book we have a Harry Potter party.  We rent the movie of the book they just finished reading and have Papa Murphy's pizza.  The kids absolutely LOVE it.

Wayne is on Bone Marrow Transplant right now.  It's an incredibly busy rotation.  I would say this is one of the most time intensive and emotionally draining rotations of his fellowship.  It's weird to think that in a little over two years the word "rotation" will most likely not be in our vocabulary.  After seven. . . well eleven years (if you include medical school) . . . that's weird.   

I'm heading to Boston next month to run the marathon.  I've had some injuries along the way, but whatever, it's almost normal for that to happen to me.  Some of my best friends are coming along for a girl trip. 

Last month the kids and I went to Utah for Sammie and Philips wedding.  Wayne was stuck working at the hospital.  We had so much fun on our quick trip. 

Alexis and Trevor - possibly Trevor's favorite thing that happened on the trip.  He said that if he had one wish in the world he would wish for a ticket on Frontrunner.  Ha ha ha!!

Jacob and Me on frontrunner

Bachelorette Party

Ali, Me and Kaysha

Kaysha and Meg

Me and Kaysha

Mom and Dad

Sammie and Philip

Dad, Mom, Kara, Meg, Ali, Sammie, Kaysha, Me, Chad and Sandi