Running and Hiking

Courtney and I have been running partners ever since it became warm enough to run this year. We even did two races together with the babies and have loved getting to be outside with our girls and getting a little adult interaction in at the same time. The poor girl has even put up with me being on a completely opposite running ability than her. She is post baby and well I obviously have been growing another one.

Our first race was the Main Street Mile. Some how we talked Teisha into doing it with us and we ended up running it in 7 minutes which is pretty good when you have stroller and have to make your way through a crowd of other runners.

Our second run together was very last minute and a cross country 5k. We both arrived literally as the race started and i was not prepared for it being cross country. We survived it though even at 32 weeks pregnant and pushing the stroller. Leighton was so happy when the race was over, she hopped out of the stroller sat in middle of the road and ate her grapes like it had been hard for her too. 

Once it wasn't too hot during the day we thought it would be fun to take a break from just running and start doing a few hikes. So far we have only made it to two new places but both were really great to do with the babies and fun for us.

Our first hike was at Red Cliffs which is the nicest little hike randomly off the freeway between Cedar and Saint George. It takes you back to a few little pools and when theres run off a waterfall, obviously no waterfall at the end of summer though. Leighton was amazing, she hiked all by herself until the very end when she made me carry her and she fell asleep. I love taking her outside and letting her explore. I honestly believe its one of the best ways for a child to learn and grow. I hope she will always love being active and will realize how lucky she is that she gets to experience so many beautiful places. I know i am glad i've been able to explore Southern Utah so much this year before we say goodbye.

I am sure this pictures look a little familiar. Leighton and I had already visited Zion National Park with my family back in July but now that the weather was perfect and the government was no longer shut down we just had to go back. I seriously wish i would have taken way more advantage of all the beautiful trails Zion has to offer in the past couple of years. We had so much fun visiting the other day that I hope we will go back before it gets too cold. So at 38 1/2 weeks pregnant i hiked my way around the park and this time Leighton would not hike on her own. Yes, i carried not only one but two babies the entire time. Luckily one of them made a good seat for the other. The leaves haven't changed yet in Zion but it sure felt like fall. The weather could not have been more perfect. We did the river walk hike that leads to the narrows and the weeping rock. Leighton was not thrilled when we almost got attacked by a squirrel on our first hike, but she absolutely loved getting to play in the water at weeping rock. She was so excited afterwards that she wanted to run down the trail almost giving me a heart attack. It was a good day for Courtney and I to get out and spend together before baby girl number 2 arrives. I am in need of getting all the adult interaction stored up as i can and the physical activity too. I am so nervous for the aftermath of birth when i will have to start completely over on getting into shape and feeling this good. Yes, now at 39 weeks i am still feeling great. Very pregnant, but great. Even though Leighton is so young, i hope one day she can see how much time i tried to spend with her and love her and play with her before her world was turned upside down. I kind of expect nothing to change and that all these things i do with Leighton i will just do with two now. I guess i will see how that goes but for now that is my plan. It really is crazy to think that this time next year our adventures won't be in Utah anymore we will be across the country and exploring completely new places. I am sooo excited but i know i will miss days like these as well.

Nashville

Sarah, Leighton and I packed up and flew out to visit the city we will soon call home. Camille and Alex were so nice and let us take over their cute little house the entire time and i am sure they are happy to have it back to themselves. We stayed crazy busy the entire time. Camille and I worked on setting up shop or what we could of it and Sarah got to chase Leighton around all kinds of fun places. 

Nashville is really a beautiful city and full of the nicest people i have ever met. It really seemed like everywhere we went people were wanting to talk and smiled and were just so sweet. 

We took the day off of working and spent the first day of fall drinking pumpkin chai lattes and picking pumpkins. Leighton was in love with the pumpkin patch. She was so braved and chased around the animals in the petting zoo, went on her first pony ride, played on a couple huge slides and picked out the cutest pumpkins. I can't wait to go again next year with both little girls. 

The wonderful designer Sarah Seven flew in for opening weekend. It was so much fun having her there. We had a great time with our first brides, shopping on our down time and going to a Vanderbilt football game.

After two weeks of being away from Kaden i was ready to get back to Cedar but i am so excited for us to finally make our big move to Tennessee. The store is going to be beautiful once it is completely finished and it will be a nice change for our little family to be in a bigger city with so much to do. 

Dear Kaden

Dear Kaden,

Leighton and I are sleeping on the couch tonight and as I lay here listening to the rain I can't help but miss you. We have been in Nashville for a week now and it feels like we have been away for much longer. The store is coming along now and after a really busy day tomorrow we will be ready for our Sarah Seven and Sarah Janks trunk shows. We have so much going on that I wish you could have been here to see and to help. I know you are working hard though and I am so grateful for all that you do to support our family. We never thought this time would be easy, just hopefully worth it  in the end. I am so proud of you a and how hard your working in school. I know it isn't easy going to work all day and then coming home to do homework. You are quite amazing babe and I am so lucky to be your wife and Leighton is so blessed to be your daughter. We both love you so much and can't wait to be home with you again. 

Love,

Your Wife

Our National Park Adventures

We have been a pretty busy family this summer. And even though I have tried to keep up with the blog I have failed at sharing our fun summer adventures. Now that school is back in session (yes, even for me) its time to say goodbye to summer and finally post all the outings that never made it on here.

At the beginning of the year Kaden and I talked about how fun it would be to go to a lot of national parks this year. We only really made it to two but we loved them and so did Leighton.

Our first park was Bryce Canyon.

Leighton asked to walk on every wall and Kaden let her, even if it about gave me a heart attack.

She also started a large rock collection. Grandma was very patient with her when she collected about 20 rocks at one point and tried to carry them all herself.

The second park was Zion. I have been wanting to go there for a long time and this park we did with my entire family and Uncle Jimi, Aunt Heather, the boys and even grandma.

I am so glad we were able to visit a couple of the really beautiful places that we live so close to before making our big move to the south. 

Motherly Advice {Pregnancy Perspective}

It has been quite a while since my last "Motherly advice" post i figured its time for another one.

In the beginning of this pregnancy all i could think of was how badly i jinxed myself in sooo many ways. Every time i heard of someone getting pregnant for the 4th time in 3 years or the 2nd time before their baby was 1 i would roll my eyes and think "what in the world is that woman doing, doesnt she ever want to have a life, or they should really have been more careful." Then guess what?! Bam when i swore off another child until Leighton was 3 so I could have a life someone else decided to give me some perspective. So even though i was running, i was nursing, we were "careful", i didnt have a cycle and it took 2 years and lots of clomid to get Leighton, I was pregnant. With all of the odds against us it happened. Every thought i had about other women ran through my mind but apparently nothing besides being abstinent was going to stop us from having a baby. So from then on my judging has mostly stopped.

Now i have had to learn what being pregnant for a second time is like. It really isn't any easier than the first. Don't get me wrong i do not have hard pregnancies. I have an average amount of morning sickness and i feel tired pretty often but something happens when i am pregnant and i feel like i have way more self control. I tend to eat way better and exercise harder and more often. Mentally i try to stay sharp and spiritually i try to grow stronger in my beliefs. If you have ever been pregnant though you know being pregnant is not fun. Some girls can not wait to have a baby bump or the pregnant glow but me i worry constantly over how healthy the baby is or how much weight i have gained and some pains that my body goes through growing this little human make me want to just curl up in bed all day and hide.

Instead of focusing on all of the negative though i tend to look at how positive of an experience this is. I include Leighton in all of my pregnancy activities like running in the mornings. She loves it, if we miss a day she will go to the door at least 10 times and ask to go or climb in her stroller and tell me she is ready. I tell her about the baby in my belly not that she gets it at all but she sure does love my belly and somehow i think she knows its special and not just because it looks like hers. When i rock Leighton at night she snuggles close to my stomach and can feel the baby kick, they already love each other.

Sweet things like that do make this second pregnancy nicer than the first. I was so involved in Leighton's pregnancy and learning everything there was to know and now i am involved in preparing Leighton for the new baby and myself for her as well. Knowing more of what to expect takes some of the edge off and really seeing once again what i am capable of is nice too. Pregnancy really does tend to put life into perspective for me. With Leighton it was the not getting pregnant part that made everything seem like such a miracle. I really learned not to take anything for granted and that things happen when they are supposed to. With little girl number two, again things do not happen on our time it is all up to the Lord. What an eye opener that there are more things in store for Kaden and I than to be selfish and save money and travel and have an easy couple years of doing whatever we wanted to do. Having a baby is so much more special than that so i don't know what we were thinking anyways.

So my advice out of all of this. Try to learn from everything that comes your way. I have posted about pregnancy and timing before but besides that life throws a lot at us and we are expected to do so much. When things are easy love it and when they aren't grow from from it. If i can run 4 miles pushing a stroller while 27 weeks pregnant i know i can basically do anything. Find something in your life that tells you that, because it is true.

                                                   

Grandma Karen

Grandma Karen passed away suddenly last Thursday, July 25. Karen was Kaden's Grandma and one of Leighton's three Great Grandmas. I always thought Leighton was such a lucky little girl to be able to grow up knowing three Great Grandmas. I can only remember one of mine and very vaguely. I think i remember her more just because we talk about her and i have seen so many pictures of her. It was very surprising to have Karen pass away. Although she was 76 she was very energetic and still loved to be very independent. Besides being independent she took care of everyone around her. She literally was the care taker for her sister Diane who needed full time supervision and needless to say is not very easy to be around but Karen loved and cared for her anyways. She had lots of grandchildren who all adored her and tons of great grandchildren. I remember when i first met Karen i couldn't believe how much she did. She was a snow bird and spent her winters in beaver dam and most of the year in Cedar. She golfed all of the time and still drove her trailer to family reunions. 

Last year when Kaden worked full time and i was in one of my last full time semesters at school Karen watched Leighton for us. At first i was a little skeptical only because i knew Leighton was a handful and i didnt want her to have to worry about Leighton screaming or anything. Some days were not as easy as others but Karen absolutely loved spending time with Leighton and was so funny with her. I would get there to pick her up and she would have her in her lap with a pile of interesting things to play with. Leighton really did love her and Kaden and I both love that they had that time together. The more i think about Karen being gone and what that really means the sadder i feel. I know she is at peace and that she is with her husband and that she is watching over everyone in her family and that we will see her again one day but my heart breaks just a little that she wont get to meet our new baby and that Leighton won't really remember her except for when we tell her how much her great grandma loved her. All three of us will miss her so much but we are so unbelievably grateful for the gospel and the peace it brings into our lives knowing where Karen is and that we will meet again. 

After her passing we found a journal entry that she had wrote just a few days before and it was such a sweet earthly reminder of why we are here and that there is a bigger plan for all of us. Karen wrote a simple and sweet testimony of her faith and that she knew she would be with her husband again. I don't think there is anything more special that can be left behind than a reminder to your family of what you believed in. We are so grateful for the simple birthday cards she never failed to give us, that she attended the temple with us on several occasions, including when we were married and that she so willingly watched Leighton and was so proud of her. We will think of her often and always keep her in our hearts, until we meet again.