Can you say excited?!

Once upon a time there was an old man (he's almost 30) who would go on week-long hikes with his family every other year. This year was no different! After planning this trip that will be occurring in 3-4 months time, supplies were bought and tested. Yup, tested...

Because you know.... he has to make sure that everything is ready to go! :)

Ben is so stoked for the Big Hike this year! They will be going to the Grand Tetons during the end of July and Ben has been preparing by upgrading a lot of his equipment! Everything is super light and durable. Hopefully (and this is a very BIG hopefully), we won't have to buy anything else because stuff like this gets expensive!

I'd come home from work every night and Ben would be messing with his backpack, unpacking it and then packing it again (Just to see how heavy/light his pack will be, etc). Or he'd be watching TV in the comfort of his sleeping bag (which he basically built himself.... He added a new lining using an emergency blanket that reflects 90% body heat. He calls it The Noisy Cricket.) that was laying on top of this sleeping pad thing that is super small and light but can inflate to over 2 1/2 inches. He also rebuilt the pad by taking out the air pump inside it and adding a better, more efficient one. OR he'd be laying in our front-back-yard in the sleeping bag that was inside the bivy sack on top of the sleeping pad because it was cold enough outside to test it out....

Yup, I'd say someone is really excited for this hike :)

Happy Easter!

We were excited for Easter this year because Peyton was old enough to look for eggs... well, not really LOOK but grab the eggs and open them! She loved it :) And even though it took her forever to look for a couple of eggs, it was so worth it to see her face every time she opened the egg! I didn't want her eating a whole bunch of candy so I only put 2 jellybeans in each egg.

Here was Peyton's process:

After our little egg hunt was over, we packed up and went to Russ and Ashley's place for dinner! The food was sooooo good and it was fun! We dyed eggs, played Don't Eat Pete!, made Resurrection Rolls, and did an egg hunt! Thanks for having us over!! As always, Peyton had a blast playing with her cousins!

Peyton's Easter basket:

We couldn't find our Easter baskets so I just used mixing bowls...It worked.

Daddy's Easter Basket:

That bowl with all the candy in it? 

Yeah, that's one of my biggest mixing bowls and it was over-flowing with candy!!

And in other exciting news....

I have a new nephew!! My sis-in-law just had her first and I can't wait to meet him!

Welcome to the world baby Graham!

What the Health??

I don't know about you but when I work out, I don't look like this:

Or this:

Definitely not like this:

Or even this:

Nope! When I work out, I look like this:

Messy hair, sweat dripping everywhere and a red, splotchy face... oh, and the extra words in there are pointing out the spots I'm trying to get rid of...

Yup, that's me today after a 2 mile run in 20 minutes. 

It might not sound like a whole heck-of-a-lot for all you runners/super in shape people out there but to me its kind of a big deal.

I've never really been in shape my whole life. The rest of my family was... is... but not me. Don't get me wrong, I've been active and played lots of sports my whole life but I've always been on the chubby side, not fat or overweight... just a little extra cushion, you know? 

After I got pregnant and lost the baby weight, I gained most of it back and it kinda got out of control. So finally, I'm doing something to change it and I couldn't be more excited! The past month, I've run almost everyday for at least a mile. The first time I went running, I ran a mile in 20 minutes. Gasp, I know... I walked most of it. I ran for maybe 1 block and decided it was too nice of a day to run at super sonic speeds so I should just take my time and enjoy the weather.... 

The next day though, I ran more and cut 5 minutes off my time! F.I.V.E. 

The day after that I cut 3 minutes off and for a few days, I ran a 12 min mile... That was pretty exciting for me but I knew I could do better (in HS, I could do a 7.30 mile). So I've pushed myself to get to a 10 minute mile and I've been pretty happy with that. Next step? 2 miles!! And I did that today! :)

I've also signed up for 2 5ks in the very near future (one on April 28th, Color Me RAD and another on May 5th, Chase the Mayor). I'm really excited to do them both! Hopefully, I can do a 5k at least once a month to keep me in shape...  I never thought I would be one of those people who thought running was fun. NEVER! I don't know if this is too ambitious or not but I'm thinking that a half marathon by the end of the year wouldn't be all that bad either! Too over the top? Probably... 

On another health note, I've signed up for Weight Watchers... It's only been a few days since I've started but I've already noticed a difference! Not in how much I weigh... in how I feel! I feel like Weight Watchers is forcing me to watch what I eat so I've only been snacking on fruits and veggies. Breakfast, lunch and snacks have become a diet of strictly fruits and veggies. I'm drinking lots of water and exercising daily (!!!). It's awesome. I have so much more energy and I get more things done in a day! Serious!! Too bad it took me a few dollars to make me do this but who cares?! I'm doing it and I feel pretty darn good about myself right now.

** Just so you all know... I didn't write this to get any sympathetic or "no, you're not fat, Trina!" comments! I just wanted to let everyone know how excited I am to get in shape, run a few races, and eat healthy!!

March Recap

Its that time again!

#1 - Read Scriptures and Pray DAILY
I've done pretty good. We say our prayers all the time now: family, couple, and personal. We also read the scriptures before we go to bed (thanks Janae for the tip! Its helped a lot!!  :) )

#2 - Go to the temple at least once a month
We set a bunch of dates with friends of ours. If we can't make it to the temple, then we try to just go to the temple with Peyton on Sunday and walk around it. I still need to be better about this one though.

#3 - Join a fitness class/get in shape
I have been running just about every day now, at LEAST a mile. Usually, I run a mile and then will run the extra whatever to get to the park by my house so Peyton can play for a little bit, run around the park and then run home. I also have signed up for 2 5ks in the near future (one on April 28th and the other on May 5th) and WEIGHT WATCHERS! See the next post I'm about to write about... AND Ben and I are slowly but surely getting back into indoor soccer and futsal. We also play basketball with friends every Wednesday night!

#4 - Pay my bills on time
Yes!!

#5 - Blog
I'm pretty sure I'm doing a pretty good job of that! Yay!

#6 - Make Memories!!
This month has been BUSY!

At the beginning of the month, we went to St George with some friends to visit Grandma Tweedie. We only stayed there for 2 days and then went to New Harmony with a big group of friends to stay at our friend's cabin for the weekend. We went for lots of hikes and built forts that would rival any other fort built for a zombie apocalypse. The fort included a place to sleep, a toilet, and a tanning room (all necessary for any zombie attacks...)

Ben's cousin, Jennie Ray, got married in Bountiful and we were able to attend her reception. She looked beautiful and it was good to see some of the family from Tennessee. Since we were up in Salt Lake, we decided to take Peyton to the zoo! And of course, her favorite animals were the ducks... animals she can see everyday by the duck pond near our house. Oh well! Afterwards, we went to REI to look at hiking boots for Ben and then stopped by IKEA for dinner. It was good to spend some family time together.

Ben bought me a new snowboard and bindings!! Its totally girly but now everyone will know I'm a girl when I snowboard :) And even though the season was basically done, we went snowboarding as much as we could! On one weekend, we went Friday night and all day Saturday the very next day! On Friday, we took Mira along with us. She was really nervous about getting off the lift so Ben and I explained it to her. The first lift comes and Ben and I both get off, turn around, and there's Mira "Agh! I can't get off!!" Hahaha, yup, she stayed on the lift and kept riding up! She was soo scared and nervous because now she'd have to get off at a more difficult lift AND have to do it by herself! Ben was able to jump back on the lift and find her. It was so funny though. She was fine and actually got off the 2nd lift without dying, and more importantly, without falling!

At work, they made me a Handle with Care Instructor (basically I teach people how to put dumb girls in restraints...) and I taught my first class! It went really well. Speaking of work... I've worked at this treatment center for almost 3 years and I've never been hit (well, I've been hit but it was an accident). First time for me, I finally got punched in the face TWICE by an out-of-control patient. I'm pretty tough though so it didn't do too much damage to my money-maker...My boss told me to press charges but I didn't. Oh well, maybe next time :)

St Patrick's Day dinner... really yummy!

Went back down to St George to visit Grandma Tweedie and Grandma Wheeler for a weekend. We made lots of pomegranate jelly, apple butter, banana pudding, and memories. It was an awesome visit!

Went to a pre-showing of the Hunger Games! We have a friend who does fund-raisers a lot. This fund-raiser was for a 4 yr old boy who has leukemia. The tickets were really expensive but all the proceeds went to a good cause. So basically, we got to see the Hunger Games the day BEFORE it came out and didn't have to go to the midnight showing! The movie started at 6pm and we got home by 9pm. Loved it! Such a good movie.

Peyton: Had her 18 month checkup and is super healthy and active! The Dr said that Peyton is one of the most active, balanced, coordinated kids she's seen in awhile.... Yay for that :) Also, Peyton can climb out of her crib now (toddler bed?!) and she just got a potty seat (no potty training though... I'm not ready for her to be a big girl just yet!!). She just likes to sit on her seat, read books, and then wave "bye-bye" to everything in the toilet when she flushes!

Banana Bread w/ pictures!

Remember the post about banana bread?? Well here are the pictures from that oh so funny day!!

Grandma Tweedie

Ben's Grandma is 90 (almost 91!!) years old... and she doesn't act like it! One of our friends met her and couldn't believe that Grandma was 90 and still able to make jokes, walk (well, with a walker), hold Peyton, sing, and just hold a conversation. (Her Grandma is only 70-something and isn't all there). Ben and I have tried to visit her for a couple days at least once a month. This past time we went down was probably the most fun we've had and I wish I had more pictures from it (but I'd rather the memories than being the person who is so caught up in taking the pictures that they miss the actual memory making.... yes, I'm guilty of that!).

I just wanted to write down some of the things that I thought about/want to remember about Grandma Tweedie...

Friday -- We didn't leave Provo until 7pm and with Peyton wide awake and a little fussy (we had to make a few stops... PS. Gas stations that have playgrounds are now my favorite!!), we didn't get down to St George until 11pm. Grandma T and April stayed up to make sure we got there safely. Ben and I were soo tired (he had to work really late (until 1am but didn't get home until 2 am because the owner of the workshop closed the gate so Ben couldn't drive home. He had to walk!) and I had to drive to Wyoming for work from 11pm to 11am the next day!) and of course, when you get a bunch of really tired people together, the funniest things always happen!

We were laughing about something that was funny when Gma's bird clock went off. This clock has different types of birds and every hour, on the hour, it will go off with the sound of that particular bird. The clock went off at midnight and went "who-whooo, whooo! who-whooo, whooo!" I stopped laughing and looked at Grandma a little strange but I didn't want to be rude so I didn't say anything. Ben saw the look and asked me what the matter was. I realized my mistake and then said, "I thought the clock was Grandma laughing!!" I think we all laughed so hard that there were definitely tears.... It probably doesn't sound funny now and its probably a had to be there moment but it's something I don't want to forget.
That Grandma.... she's such a hoot!!


Saturday -- We mostly hung out and talked stories. It was such a nice day that we were able to sit outside for a few hours too. April brought this mason jar filled with hundreds of random questions. She'll ask Gma a question and record Gma's answer. We did that for a little bit and I learned so much about Gma. It was fun!

A thought that hit me was how humble and grateful this woman is. There were 2 things in particular that I don't want to forget. (1) Grandma thinks that her greatest talent is serving in the temple... how cool is that?! If you ask most people what their greatest talent is, they'll answer something like running, singing, playing soccer, snowboarding, etc. Grandma's greatest talent was when she was an ordinance worker inside the temple... and she was dang good at it too! Seriously, is that not amazing?! (2) Grandma will forever be grateful for her sister Ellen. When she was younger, Ellen and Gma's mother were very sick. They were both in the hospital and the doctors said they'd only be able to save one person. Ellen quickly volunteered saying that Metta and Rosamund needed a mother more than anything else and so, Ellen passed away and Gma's mother was healed. When Grandma told this story, she started to cry. It is so amazing to me how this sister was able to sacrifice herself for her family.


Later that night, we made banana pudding, pomegranate jelly, and apple butter. It's become sort of a tradition with us now. Gma was so proud of herself. Everyone that called or came by to visit, Grandma would proudly say "Oh, me and my Betty made banana pudding, pomegranate jelly, and apple butter!" Grandma did a great job supervising and April, Ben and I had a good time making it! We didn't burn the apple butter this time either!!

Sunday -- On Sunday, I recorded almost an hour of piano music on the piano for Gma. After every song, she would clap and tell me how beautiful the music was or how much she loved the song. It is such a good feeling to be able to give something to a woman who has everything. She was so grateful for the music. I hope that it can bring her comfort and peace during her last while on this earth.

She kept saying that this past weekend was a little heaven on earth and if every day could have been like the past few days, she doesn't mind staying here after all. This woman is amazing. Her stories and lessons will never be forgotten and I hope that I will be able to be half the woman she is someday! I've never really known my own grandparents since they lived in Hawaii and Korea most of my life so I've really enjoyed spending as much time as we have with her. I know I haven't known her for very long but every time I've spent time with her, she's made me feel like I've known her for my whole life.

18 mo checkup

18 month checkup:

Weight -- 23 lbs (54%)

Length -- 33 in (81%)

Head Circumference -- 19 in (92%)

Yup... our baby has a big head! :)

All about Peyton --

Favorite TV show : its a tie between Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins
Favorite toy: any of her stuffed animals! She loves to give them kisses and hugs, tell them where their eyes/head/bum are, feed them her snacks, and carry them into whatever room she is in.
Favorite food: anything. Seriously... this girl loves to eat! She could eat popsicles, edamame (yeah... she is strange), oranges, and rice all day long!! She wouldn't ever stop.
Favorite game: hit daddy in the head with whatever she can find.... From how much she laughs, I guess its a really funny game!
Favorite thing to do that she is definitely not allowed to do: play in the garbage/put all the toilet paper in the toilet....OR climb up on the computer table and see how many things she can throw off of it
Favorite animal: dogs and cows....
 Favorite thing to do: CLIMB!! Oh my goodness, this little girl has such good balance. She will climb on anything and everything she can get her hands on. Chairs, tables, couches, TV, toilet, desks, diaper bin, rice cooker, boxes...

Peyton has a lot of teeth now. She's "talking" more and more every day! If you ask her what she wants, she'll let you know. If you ask her a yes/no question, she'll tell you yes or no (or she'll shrug her shoulders if she doesn't know!).We love our little girl!