Running Away

It is a little known fact that I accidentally ran away from home when I was 6/7. A friend and I went looking for friends to play with door to door and ended up far far far away from home. In retrospect, we are super lucky that I didn't fall prey to some horrible person. It wasn't until the police found us that I rethought our plan.

In my adult life, I have taken this adventurous and reckless spirit a different direction. Now I enjoy running away for exercise, and I usually take our little boy with me.

Both Jameson and I are currently training for various races. Jameson is far more adventurous/reckless than I and is training for the Spartan Race . It is 12 miles and filled with obstacles that he gets to tackle in June. I can't wait to watch him succeed. We are both super excited. He is training regularly with his friend, Taylor.

I train regularly with my friend, Packer. I am training for a Half Marathon in October. What that means now is that I am training for a 5K in May and a 10K in July. I haven't actually picked out which ones I will be doing, but I am excited never the less.  



Anyway -- we aren't super into fitness, but I think that running and exercise in particular helps us to run out the emotions. It is a way to run away from problems, without actually doing so. When I come back from exercising, I can always face my day with a little more energy to do the hard things. I know that one of the first things a doctor will ask regardless of why you are there, is if you are exercising regularly or not. Exercise not only creates a healthy body, but a healthy mind.

Here is our little healthy man:

We love to go outside together. He is such a sweet little man, and flaps his arms up and down when he is excited. I don't think he is particularly excited here.

He has taken to holding his hands up in the air whenever he eats. I think it is so I can tickle him under his arms.

Jameson and Packer had fun with the dryer :)

Good Article to Read: A 21 Minute Fix by David Willer -- This was the article this week that made me look at running not as drudgery, but as a way to gain a clearer perspective.

Overcoming Chall . . . Look A Squirrel!

So, I feel that every week for me has been increasingly filled with spiritual experiences. We also have had an increase in setbacks. I was really hoping that Jameson would get the Assistant Branch Manager position in Tooele, but they went with a candidate that lived in the area. I don't think Jameson is all that disappointed. Tooele was not his top pick to live in (sorry Jen).

People deal with disappointments in differing ways. Perhaps it is like grieving, and you need to go through the five stages of grief with every loss to be faced. In which case, Jameson and I kind of live in a perpetual state of denial, or distraction, as I like to call it.

So here is a top ten list of my favorite distractions:

1. Sex -- while it should NEVER be used to distract from problems, sometimes a good 'ole roll in the hay is just what the doctor ordered. I do believe that there is credence to the need to get laid (when you are married, or the consequences totally outweigh the benefits). I'm fairly sure dopamine is involved.

2. Bake -- I seriously do this a lot when I am stressed. Expect lots of random treats to show up at my neighbor's houses.

3. Exercise -- again, with the dopamine. Also, I sometimes feel that there is little that I can control in my life, and going for a run helps me feel like I can gain some measure of control over the 'natural man'.

4. Clean -- this also stems from the control thing. Turns out I'm a bit of a control freak. If there is a problem I feel particularly helpless with, I often will clean. For instance, I might not be able to help a grieving widow, but I can certainly have a clean microwave.

5. Read a Book. This is why I love fantasy novels -- they are a way that I can escape, and I don't feel bad about it because I am 'improving' my mind.

6. Watch TV -- I really only do this when I am seriously depressed and don't WANT to pretend like I am using my brain. I tend to consider it a total waste of time.

7. Social Networking -- I call this attending to my correspondence. It's how I keep in touch and stay in the lives of those who live far away. Kind of a losing myself in the lives of others.

So here are some cute pictures of our sweetest distraction:

He is a very happy little boy -- especially when he can go outside and smile in the sunshine

Jameson says that it looks like he is directing troops on an old British naval vessel. I think he looks like a cute little boy playing with a stick.

 Good Book to Read: The Lacemakers of Glenmara by Heather Barbeiri This book was so beautiful. The plot is a healing story of love and the prose is lyrical. So beautiful!

Good Song: Sweet Pea by Amos Lee

Eight Months Packer Man!!

So not only did we keep Packer alive for seven months -- we made it to eight. That's right! We are totally the parents of the year. Some of you may be thinking - ha! we have six kids (Cami) and kept all of them alive and relatively accident free. Here is what I have to say to you: I am by far less responsible than you could ever pretend you were. This is a massive accomplishment for the two of us and we WILL celebrate accordingly!

Where did that sweet little boy come from with his easy smile? Oh yeah . . . Heaven!

 So some stats on Packer: I have no idea what he weighs, and since we lack a scale in our home (it just depresses me -- taking away from the fact that I work out regularly and still don't lose weight but I look AWESOME). But I would wager he weighs 16-17 lbs. Somewhere in there. I would also guess that he is about 28-30 in long. He is crawling around on all fours and seems to enjoy his new found mobility. He can say dadadada and bababababa and mamamamamama and gagagagagagaa. And sometimes dadee. It is important to note that none of this babbling seems to be associated with any one person or object just yet. He is in 6 month clothes and size 3 diapers (this just barely happened like 3 days ago). He loves to go outside, but I think he gets a little frustrated in the stroller sometimes since he can't stop and smell (or eat) the roses. He has 2 teeth coming in on the bottom -- in the front, and can consequently get a little cranky and drool-y, especially at night. He loves to flirt with strangers, but gets a little nervous whenever Mom and Dad aren't around. He loves to read books with me, and his favorite is by far 10 Little Fingers and 10 Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury. He used to sleep through the night, but now wakes up at about 3 or 4 to eat before going back to sleep. He wakes up for good around 8 in the morning, but that has changed to 9 since daylight savings. Pretty sweet business, and I hope that it lasts. However I am pretty sure his schedule will shake back out. He goes to bed at about 8:30. We do late bedtimes since Dad gets home so late. Otherwise, he would never get to see his dad. Who is a rock star in his baby's eyes. Jameson is just so much fun.

This is from when he was about 6 months, but it really shows how much fun he has with his Dad. They do all the crazy things that mom just won't do.

 We had a really sweet moment on Saturday. Packer generally is banned from our room, but on Saturday, I got up to get him in the morning at 8. I had to tinkle first, so I went in the bathroom. While the tinkling ensued, Jameson got up and got Packer, and brought him back to the bed. Initially, his trick worked, and I was a bit confused as to where the baby went. Turns out he was hidden under the covers of our bed and we had a fun and raucous morning all together. Lots of smiles and laughs. It was a stand out morning for me.

When I was at a Women's Conference for church, Jameson had some fun with the drums. There is a video of him actually playing the drums as well.

 Good Books to Read: Crazy Little Thing by Tracy Brogan -- this was a fun, saucy little romance in which it was easy to hate the bad guy, love the good guy, and root for the heroine. Favorite quote: 'Fashion is what separates us from the animals. And from the rednecks.' Not a lot of overt sex scenes (there are a few), but lots of funny innuendo. I found it on the kindle library check out for prime members.

Good Music to Listen To: Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney in honor of time flying by so very fast with my sweet little family. I know it is cheesy. I don't care.

Lucky Lander Land

Jameson and I had made plans to visit Lander over President's Day weekend. That didn't happen, so I made Jameson take yesterday off of work so we could visit my family just this past weekend. As always, Lander holds many hidden surprises and treasures . . .

Packer did so well on the ride up. Probably because we left around the time he goes to bed anyway, so he pretty much just slept the whole way there. However, once we were in Lander, that act dropped and he slept the worst that he ever has. There was one night I had to sit up with him and let him sleep on my ample bosom while I watched disney movies on Netflix. Just bear that in mind when you see pictures of me later.

Saturday we went to Cabin Fever Books -- a long time staple of Lander WY that has lots of books and some wicked sweet kitchen equipment. The owner, MaryAnn Hoyt is closing down shop because she is a grandma and wants to focus her life in directions other than making oodles and oodles of noodles (and money). She goes to our church and I have known her pretty well our whole life. My mom kind of spoiled us rotten this weekend and bought Packer and ourselves lots of fun things! We definitely had a hay day at MaryAnn's place. Everything was 30% off, and Mom and I kind of loose our heads over closing sales. Anyway, we had a giant pile of things on the counter when MaryAnn brought out some very fancy kitchen knives. I mentioned that I needed knives (I do) and mom said I could pick one out, then MaryAnn picked two out for me and gifted them to me! It was so generous and nice. It reminded me how supportive my hometown is.

Packer was so in love with my parents -- it was kind of weird, since he doesn't know them super well, but he took to them like a fish to water. He is usually a bit more cautious around folks he doesn't know well.

Moving on -- Sunday was kind of a disaster for Packer at church, so I didn't get to stay for Relief Society. Kind of a big bummer for me, mainly because I was looking for my friend Morgan Douglas who was my friend at SJHS, LVHS AND college. She is now a Vet in Lander and her husband is a Vet Tech with her! My Junior year of college, we were both moving into our apartments, and we both kind of screamed when we saw each other moving in -- turns out we had each moved 300 miles + just to be next door neighbors.

This is Morgan and her husband, Ben. They met on a guest ranch that they were both wranglers for -- they are buying a house in Lander now. So fun to see her and how she has changed and grown as a person!

Finally on Monday before we left, we went to visit the Sinks and the Rise with Packer Man. It was cold, but so fun just to go out and do something! It reminded me that we don't really need to be connected to our devices to be connected to people that we love, and that shared experiences are sometimes the glue that holds families and friends together. Definitely some motivation to go out and have some fun!

This is at the Rise of the Sinks -- I just love this shot of them walking down the pier with Packer staring over Jameson's shoulder.

My sweet mom and dad looking really great and the Sinks.

That's right -- we love each other. A LOT!!!

We braved the icy trail down to where the river goes underground. My Dad said some interesting stuff regarding some caves in the area where you can see the river flowing underground. You can tell Packer is done with the cold -- his nose is bright red.

This is about how the trip went -- Dad laughing, Mom vaguely amused, and Jameson really excited to show Packer what was up.

Good Book to Read: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margartet Stohl -- since the movie is coming out, I really wanted to get this read. Now I have to somehow justify buying the rest of the series . . .

Good music to listen to: Brand New -- I will play my game beneath the spin lights. I love the lyrics on this song: I would kill for the Atlantic, but I am paid to make girls to panic . . . when I sing.

The Face of God (Warning: This Gets Churchy)

I think that everyone on occasion feels that their lives kind of catch up with them. Meaning that you feel a little ahead of the pack most days, only to suddenly find yourself at the rear of the pack for what feels like forever. To sum up: Discouragement. Both Jameson and myself have felt like this for quite some time. Maybe it is the immense pressure to be/feel that we CAN do it all (we can't -- mostly laziness). We (meaning Jameson and myself) be an awesome Mom/Dad, homemaker/breadwinner, stay up on current affairs, read all the books we want, see every movie ever made to make sure we get the references on Psych . . . the list goes on. Maybe it is unrealistic expectations that we set for ourselves. Whatever the reason, we both feel a little discouraged.

This is my ultimate conclusion: We need to stop the pity party. For Real. There are so many people facing worse problems that we are (ours are of the 1st world nation variety: eat too much, watch too much TV). That doesn't mean we can't feel a little sorry for ourselves, we just have to get over it and move on. Do the stuff we don't want to, and realize it is okay when we occasionally screw up royally.

I came to this conclusion after we went and watched Les Miserables. There are MANY lessons to be taught by this book, play, movie, musical. However, the one that I want to highlight is the restorative power of faith. If we have faith in God and Jesus Christ, that they exist and love us, we have faith that they can help to change us. We can overcome our demons, whatever they may be, and find peace, hope, and love in this life. We can become better people. While this may not change our circumstances, we can work to change the circumstances of others, and truly love another person.



This video is a tad long, but it is a good medley of the music from the musical. This is from the 25th anniversary video. Nothing against the movie, but the voices are better on this one.

"To love another person is to see the face of God"

I love lots of people in my life that I love dearly, but here are some pictures of the one that probably brings the most sunshine into it:

Me and Bug on a walk

Packer's usual position as he is getting ready to crawl. Either this on flat on his face . . .

Ya Trick! Ya!

Our little English Gentleman getting ready for church

I am not going to recommend a book or movie right here, because I think everyone should read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo or watch the movie! (this means the list will be longer next week)

Hidden Falls/Our Valentine Apocalypse

This week was packed with good stuff. For those of you who are unaware, I am NOT a girl who is opposed in any way to Valentine's Day. I do not call it Singles Awareness Day (except for the first year I heard it, thought it was clever, subsequently overused it and think the phrase is a more than a bit passe now), I don't wear black, and I make sure that my loved ones know this. Is there anything better in the world than celebrating love, in ALL it's forms? I think NOT!! We are super broke, so we didn't really do very much this year -- Jameson got home with the cutest card EVER and we dropped Packer off with my mother in law then tried to go to Jalisco's (closed for Valentines -- I made up a super romantic story in my head involving the elderly couple that owns it and how he made a special dinner and closed the restaurant on Valentines for his cute little wife that works so hard. P.S. I don't know if an elderly couple owns it). So we ended up at La Morelia, and while the food wasn't great, we sat on the same side of the booth and cuddled while we ate. We didn't really say a whole ton, just enjoyed the quiet and one another's company. Then we picked Packer up, put him to bed and played games and read books all night. AWESOME!!

Onward, Saturday was a gorgeous day in Salt Lake. Hazy, but beautifully warm. We decided to go for a little hike. Edit, I decided to go for a hike and dragged my two boys into it.

At least Jameson is pretending to be happy about it . . .

Anyway, we went to Hidden Falls, which, as the website points out is not a hike, but a short stroll. But it is up in the mountains, so I counted it at Packer's first hike. Super fun. Turned into a photo shoot with Packer -- but it also reminded me how much I love the outdoors, and how much I missed being in it this winter. Note to self: take up snow shoeing.

This is my favorite photo of the whole lot. Packer's hat is kind of in the way, but they have the same expression on their face.

In order to get to the falls, you have to cross a log -- Also Packer is wearing his little hiking boots from Jameson's coworker Annette, it was so cute!!

I just loved how his little hand was on the rock. He was so tentative about touching the rock, it was rather sweet.

We are working on photo shopping Jameson's hand out of the photo . . . but he looks like a wicked cool rock climber!

I know that his eyes are closed, but I am so proud that he can sit on his own, on an uneven rock, with a waterfall behind him.

Jameson was just so cute with his little man here the whole trip. He is so good and fun with him.

I kind of look half Asian here, but I'm not.

Good Books to Read: Totally Cliche by Mormon Mommy Writers -- This is a collection of short stories that are a lot of fun. My friend, Jennie Bennett has a story in there. I am so proud of her and the story is great! Another great book is Reasons I Fell for the Fat Funny Friend by Becca Ann -- this is a funny quick read that is really empowering for women who aren't a size 2 or less.

Favorite song right now: Thrift Shop by Macklemore -- this is a cleaned up version, just know that the video is so incredibly funny, but the language is pretty bad. So if you don't mind some f-bombs, look up the official video.

We Have Kept Packer Alive for 7 Months!

I know -- it's a miracle. With how flaky I am and Jameson's frankly blatant disregard of detail, it seems that we would at the very least forget our child at a gas station. Well, we proved you all wrong, and Packer is a happy, well adjusted 7 month old wonder to behold!

Currently, his favorite past times include putting anything but food in his mouth and gumming it. If there isn't a toy nearby, he will sit and clap his hands together (I tried capturing this adorable activity on video, but Packer isn't really into performing). He also loves to get two small toys in his hands and clank them together, but sometimes he misses, and hits his hands instead. He is capable of babbling, but he hasn't really done that since I had laryngitis, and he couldn't have a babbling conversation with me. He is back to some rather loud high pitched screams to get his point across. It is remarkably effective. Especially with his Dad.

As far as our lives are concerned, we have finally eradicated the nasty viruses that have been lurking in every corner of our home. I went to our niece Cloie's birthday party on Saturday (I made this delicious soup -- seriously, the easiest thing to make EVER) and it was our first outing in almost two weeks. Oh the glory of the wind on my face! Jameson has applied to work as an assistant branch manager in Tooele. So if that happens, we might start looking at homes in the Grantsville area starting in about a year. I think he has some pretty good chances of getting the position. He is a little apprehensive about working in such a small town, as there just aren't as many businesses for loans, accounts, and such. Our Relief Society Presidency was changed, but I am still in it. I am really excited to work with all the new ladies, as always, church is a bit of an adventure for me.

Here are the latest photos from our life:

Packer playing the drums with Jameson, poor kid doesn't stand a chance with another instrument.

There was a nice day last week, and I went outside with Packer Man. He was killing it, eating grass and whatnot.

Good Series to Watch: Death Valley -- Reno 911 meets crazy killer vampires, werewolves and zombies. A little dirty, so be forewarned.

Good Book to Read: Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling -- I am trying to get through this. It feels very much like a Harlan Coban novel, and it isn't really gripping me, but I will prevail!!