Crazy Sock Day

The only reason I wish drugs would have been more of a problem in America when I was in elementary school is so that I could dress up for Red Ribbon Week (Drug-Free Week). It's like Homecoming Week in high school with each day being a different dress-up day. Maxwell got really excited about it, mostly because everyone who dressed up each day got a rainbow stamp, which is highly sought after among Mrs. Stred's kindergarten students. My favorite day was crazy sock day. I have these striped socks that go up past my knees, so you can imagine that we had to adjust them a bit for Max. He thought they were pretty cool. The best part about crazy sock day was when Maxwell came home and said, "Mom, Mrs. Stred had the same socks as me". If he would have been in 3rd grade that would have been so embarrassing, so thank goodness for innocent 5 year olds!

A Porch Full of Fun!

This is our first autumn back in Idaho and I had forgotten how absolutely beautiful the trees are. You’ll drive past an Albertson’s grocery store and because they have planted all the same tree throughout their parking lot, and they are glowing amber in color, it has become amazing for the eyes to behold. Who knew that a grocery store could be a drive-by attraction!

Steve insisted that we have a festive porch, although he wanted spooky and gory décor, and even admitted that he loves the tacky stuff (like plastic cut outs taped to the windows…need I say more), I found my own way of bringing the season to our little front porch. As you can see, there is a narrow opening for guests to enter now! I had to copy my sister, Hilary, and buy three coordinating colors of mums for my front porch. The scarecrow was a silent auction item at Maxwell’s school carnival. Each classroom had a scarecrow they entered in the silent auction, and my name was on far too many of the bid sheets, but the “Ski Bum” is the scarecrow we took home, and we absolutely love it. It is an added bonus that the skis and boots are real and will probably be worn by Max this winter. Steve carved the skeleton pumpkin (Max’s request) at the Payne Halloween Party. Most of you probably don’t think of dentists as artists, but he sure takes his dentistry and his pumpkin carving serious. Details are important to him. Hence his pumpkin looks really cool and spooky, especially when it has a candle burning in it.

The Payne Halloween Party was major (in the words of Posh). The food was delicious, and Steve and I even baked several hours to prepare for the event. Don’t worry, it won’t become a habit! As you can see from the pictures, the electric jeep was the hit for children 3 and under and Max! Pumpkin carving was the other big event of the evening. Pumpkin carving is kind of like barbecueing to me…a man thing

Autographs

My little nephew, Luke, broke his arm a few weeks ago, which was sadly expected at some point because he is such a curious and energetic boy! He is a lot like my brother, Dillon, who has the biggest heart and is good to his core, and is even extremely laid-back, however, he can't hold still. If you sit across from him at the dinner table his feet are moving constantly. You want to just put a really heavy weight on them so your soup stops jiggling! Okay, I'm totally exaggerating, I just thought I'd give you crazy visual! Luke and his parents came to play the other night and Maxwell and Sophie got to sign his cast. We brought the camera out after the fact so we had to re-create the event! By the way, don't you love the leopard print Sophie is wearing? Don't worry, I don't have a matching one!

Still Getting Babied

Sophie looks much different from this picture, but my Mom looks just as good!

My back was giving me major warning signs a few days ago that it was ready for another breakdown. When this happens I now know how to nurse it back to normal quite quickly. I have to rest it for a day or two, do what little stretching my body allows, and pump the ibuprofen. I called my Mom and Dad the morning after I realized where my back was headed for some further advice seeing as they have each had back surgery(s). They voiced a lot of concern, and my Mom offered to watch Sophie for the day, but Sophie is very self-maintaining for a two year old, so I refused her offer. At about 2:30 in the afternoon I heard the door from the garage opening, so I called out "hi sweetie" assuming Steve was getting home early from work (which is not a good thing now that he actually earns money for his time!) It was not that sweetie entering the house, it was another sweetie...my Mom. She brought dinner and dessert over. Just a little something she whipped up that morning after she spoke with me. My Mom is the greatest. She still babies her adult children. Now really, who wouldn't want that? And Steve actually got homemade dessert without having to have guests over! Mom, I love you very much and am so thankful for the many sacrifices you make for your children, including cooking dinners at 8:00 in the morning before a busy day.

A Day of Firsts!

We had a day of accomplishments this beautiful Saturday. I'll start with the best news. Maxwell made his first goal in a soccer game! Last year, while playing in Arizona, he went from mostly running alongside the referee, smiling up at him, to actually following the ball. He didn't have many chances to score goals on that team, because his best buddy, Braden, was on the team, and he was about twice the speed of any of the other players, therefore he was the sole scoring machine. However, although Braden is sorely missed, Maxwell's scoring opportunities have definitely increased since moving to Idaho. He stole the ball and had a fast break (at least that's what they call it in basketball) and with several players chasing him down he kicked it in for his first goal. He was very excited and immediately looked over at the sidelines and gave Steve a big smile. Sadly I had to hear this story second hand because I missed it. But I missed it for a good reason; I was off accomplishing a first for me. I ran my first competitive race. You are probably all remembering me in my green swimcap during the triathlon, but let me remind you that I did not swim/run/bike that race in a competitive manner. I just cruised along, not exerting myself too much, and felt just fine at the end of the race. This was my first exhausted finish line. It is the largest 5K women's run in the nation. Over 14,000 women joined in the fun. Only about 1500 of those women run in the competitive heat, while the others do the fun run/walk heat. Myself and 3 other women from my ward registered for the competitive heat. Little did I know that 2 of my 3 friends are amazing runners. One of them even qualified for the Boston Marathon. I really think they should have disclosed that to me before asking me to join them! As we were driving to the race they shared their abilities with me, and there went my hopes of another leisurely race! Within 15 seconds of the starting gun going off I realized I would not be able to run the race with the two gazelle that were running at my sprinting pace, so I decided to push myself more than normal, but to run solo. I actually finished 113th out of 1444 runners, and I even finished 15th in my age group. It was nothing spectacular, but I had to brag a bit and post my standings because I am actually quite proud of myself. There were definitely moments throughout the race that I was not enjoying myself, but life is not always about enjoyment, which is a new concept to me! One more really cool first for me today is that I met Jared the Subway guy after the race. He even signed my race bib. It was quite hilarious because the bib was pinned to my chest, so I had to hold the bib away from my chest a bit while he signed. That was good for a few laughs!

Skipping Woodys

I decided that it has been way too long since I have been a member of a non-performing band (I think Lemon Chug was the last), so I created one. We are called the Skipping Woodys, and the trio includes myself, Kelli Jelinek and Brooke Romney. I should just let you contemplate this name and not tell the story behind it, because I know there are some of you, without naming names (Mike Romney, Sally and Rusty Jones, Tara Fisher, Alexis Brown, Alyson Nielson...yes Alyson, you are officially grouped with the pervs), who might think this band name has some sort of sexual innuendo. Get your minds out of the gutter...all of you. This band name is nothing of the sort. It comes from a majorly fun weekend the three of us shared in the great state of Idaho. At the end of the trip we decided that the two most quotable quotes from this party weekend were:

(1) "I need some more wood in this room" (said while decorating my living room till 3 am)

-Kelli Jelinek-

(2) "Skipping is so underated " (said randomly)

-Brooke Romney-

Hence the name Skipping Woodys.

Two of my best friends, Brooke and Kelli, flew to a hick state just south of Canada to visit poor little ol' me. Talk about great friends. I actually think they really liked Boise, and will hopefully spread the good word so we can have more visitors come our way. We had such a fabulous time. We ate some great food, we transformed my living room from blah to chic (pictures will come in a future post when it is officially complete) most of which happened after 1 am, we had soul to soul talks, also until the wee hours of the morning, we laughed, and we skipped. I was so sad to see them leave, as were my kids, who adore them, and my husband (although they may not have felt the love, it was surely there). Loves to them both.

The picture of the three of us in my car shows how devoted they were to me and my decorating project. We drove nearly 30 minutes with a jungle in Kelli's face and a wicker and wood chair (Kelli got her wood) caging Brooke in. It was a sight to behold!

9 years of Bliss

Yesterday marked the 9th anniversary of my wedding day. It would have been a good day to bring out the ol' wedding dress and reminisce, but I gave it to Deseret Industries years ago! Instead I will celebrate by blogging 9 of my favorite memories with Steve. Don't worry, I'll keep it clean!

1. Hitchhiking down the mountain in Mexico after we realized the bus would not be back to pick us up. I felt at ease when the man who kindly picked us up turned on his radio to a song that included the word "Jesus Christo" many times.

2. Cuddling in the off season! Cuddle season in our home excludes the summer months, because Steve does not like adding to his body heat when he is already hot. I love it when he breaks his own rule and cuddles in the off season. By the way, cuddling has increased since moving away from the desert!

3. Hiking to the top of the ski hill in Aspen, and many other hikes we have shared.

4. Seeing his emotions surface when Maxwell was born. Even the female pediatrician thought it was adorable!

5. Celebrating together during dental school graduation. I shed tears at graduation because I was so proud of his hard work. I often get caught up in my own little world, and forget that he works very hard too. The festivities of graduation also included our own formal dinner and dance, which we referred to as Prom.

6. Nothing makes me happier than dancing with my husband when he is footloose and fancy free. He cannot seem to find it in himself to dance in public and feel comfortable, but he does it at home...and I love it. His latest dance craze is to "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. You gotta see it!

7. Steve coming home from the grocery store. He is constantly thinking of me and the kids, even at the grocery store. He always comes home with something that he knows I love, whether it is my favorite granola and berries, or Bananas Foster ice cream. I love his cute little smile he flashes when he says, "I got you something!"

8. Family walks. These were formerly couple walks, which we enjoyed nearly everyday before we had kids. These walks are now shortened, mostly on Sundays, and often include scolding or bribing, but they still continue and are looked forward to.

9. Watching Steve get teary-eyed as Max drove away with Grandma and Grandpa Smith for a 3 day vacation to Utah. It was the first time Max had ever gone somewhere without us for a significant amount of time, and Steve was not thrilled about it. I am wondering how he'll do when Max goes on a mission!