I can't believe I'm posting this

WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION, but I had to share another "Funny Sarah" moment.  Last night Jim brought home some yummy homemade tamales for dinner.  They were delicious, but there were some gaseous side effects. 

I am gathering my precious little chicks around for some uplifting scripture time before going to bed.  Okay, let's be honest...I'm threatening them with things worse than death if they don't get their hinnies in the living room pronto!  At precisely the same moment all of them get in the room, my body's digestive system is hard at work breaking down those tamales, and thus, emitting flatus. 

Rounds of "Ewww...who farted...that stinks..."  Usually I can blame it on Rusty, but unfortunately he wasn't in the room.  Sarah, Little Miss Sensitive Nose, looks at me and says, "Mom, you need to go take a shower."  I try to explain that I don't stink it is the "tamales."  She doesn't buy it, "You really need to take a shower."

Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?

What's that hanging on the door?

One day last week was a devestating day for Tommy (I think it was Wednesday).  It was feeding time for Venom I and Venom II, but Venom I was missing (again).  Venom I has escaped twice before.  The first time was shortly after Christmas.  He was gone for a week, then Tommy bought a new snake, Venom II, then the next day we found Venom I, which is why we have two snakes.  The second time was about a month ago, but Tommy found him right away down the hallway in a closet. 

Last week, Tommy was sure Venom I was gone FOREVER even though we reminded him that last time he found Venom I after he was missing for a week.  Jim and I were smart enough not to let him buy another snake. Could you imagine???

Let me set the scene:  It is Monday night.  The boys are all in bed (albeit probably not asleep).  Jim and I are relaxing watching "Pawn Stars" and laughing at Sarah being funny.  She really puts on the charm after the boys go to bed. Our dog, Rusty, wanted to go outside.  Sarah lets Rusty out.  Jim looks over as she is opening the door and WHAT THE HECK?  There is something hanging on the door!!

Is it a rope?  No it is Venom I. 

We yelled for Tommy to come downstairs and get it. 

He was pretty hungry after missing his meal last week. 

NOTICE TO ALL VISITORS:  Both snakes are now contained.  It is safe to enter our home (well, as safe as can be in a home with three rambuncious boys, one stubborn girl, two high-strung parents, a stinky dog, an extra stinky hamster, and two creepy snakes. 

I LOVE MY LIFE!

p.s. The pictures were all taken the next day, which is why you see sunlight.  I realized I needed to document this moment so we had Tommy and Venom I re-enact the scene.

p.s.s. Tommy was blessed to have his prayers answered once again by a loving Heavenly Father.  I am grateful that Tommy has had the opportunity to plead for his snakes (twice).  He is learning the power of prayer and it has been a great lesson, and having to pray, search, wait...pray, search, wait has been a good lesson in patience. 

WARNING: Disturbing Images

Friday and Saturday, I spent a delightful time at Time Out for Women.  I came home feeling physically, spiritually, and emotionally uplifted.  I was ready to be a "Holy Woman."  As a "holy woman" I decided I needed to spend more time interacting with my children, because quite frankly they are growing up way too fast!  Saturday night, rather than gathering around the TV to watch a movie we decided to have a tickle war.

Super Sarah!!!



The squeals of laughter rang through the house - "my turn, my turn...tickle me, tickle me..."   Our game of tickling turned into a game of wrestling, which turned into a game of Superman (or Super Sam/Sarah/Austin/Tommy).  

Unexpectedly our fun night of wrestling ended with one crack - one tumble, one awkward landing, one scream of pain, one look of terror, one trip to the emergency room.

Surprisingly, Sammy only cried for a few seconds then I think he went into shock.  We got a bag of ice and Jim rushed him to the emergency room.

As you can see from the x-rays, the radius and the ulna snapped right above the wrist.

Sammy was a trooper.  They hooked up an IV so they could give him pain medication before popping it back into place.  They gave him some pretty heavy duty drugs, which is why he is hooked up to all the monitors.  After they were all done Sammy in his heavily-sedated state looked at Jim and said, "Daddy, you're weird.  You have four eyes." 

Sammy and Jim finally made it back home around 11:30pm.  Sammy loves the blanket and pillow they gave him (seriously I cry every time I think of the kind people who took time to make blankets for kids in the hospital).  He also came home with some pretty spiffy hospital socks.  Sammy is definitely a sock boy.  He loves all different kinds of socks.  And of course his temporary cast is quite a fashion statement. 

I think Jim and I both deserve a Parent of the Year Award for this one! 

Like Mother, Like Daughter

My conversation with Sarah as I was doing her hair this morning.

Me:  How do you want to do your hair?

Sarah:  Ponytail.

Me: You always do a ponytail.  Let's do something different. Can I do a French braid in your hair?  It will be so pretty.

Sarah: No.

Me:  You let Marissa's mom and Grandma put French braids in your hair, why wouldn't you let me?

Sarah (with a voice of exasperation):  Mom, you ALWAYS have your hair in a ponytail!!!

She's right!

Race Results

The results for the St. George Marathon were posted today.  Here is my stat line.

Time:  3:38:28
Overall: 1068 (out of 5697 finishers)
Female:  230 (out of 2457)
Division: 6 (out of 96)

St. George - Race Day

Since we stayed in Mesquite, we had to get up extra early to get to St. George in time - 3:00 AM (2:00 AM Arizona time). 

All the runners had to be at the "loading area" between 4:00-5:45 AM.  Then we rode a bus up Snow Canyon to the starting line.  Brooke and I rode bus 315.

Me and Brooke on the bus.

The race hasn't started yet so we are still smiling.

It wasn't very cold but they handed out reflective blankets.  We felt like baked potatoes.

Duty calls.

Brooke's turn.

Brooke, bid #6975

Jenny, bid #5922 

At this point, I put my camera in my clothing bag for me to pick up at the end of the race.  Only runners (and race volunteers) were allowed at the starting line, so no pictures until mile 7 where Tim and Jim were waiting to cheer us on.

I was so fast that they didn't get any pictures of me at mile 7.  Actually I was in a big mob of people so they didn't even see me until I was almost pass them.

Brooke is still feeling good at this point. 

She made a few friends along the way.

This is me coming up on the finish line.

I look like I'm in a lot of pain, but I actually feel pretty good for just running 26.2 miles. 

RACE RESULTS:

(drum roll, please)

Total time:  3:38:28

Pace: 8:20/mile

6th place in the Athena Division (those weighing over 145 lbs)

The final overal results have not been posted on the website yet, but when they are I will break it down.  I am very excited because I beat my goal of 3:40:00.  This was the time I needed to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  So guess what everybody???

I will be running in the 2011 Boston Marathon!!!

(I hope...registration begins Oct. 18th; they only take the first 25,000)

Brooke - "Run, Fat Boy, Run"

Friday night, we watched a British comedy titled Run, Fat Boy, Run. It is about a guy who is training to run a marathon.  Hilarious!  Great movie to watch before running a marathon (although there are a few questionable scenes so veiwer beware if you choose to watch it).

Brooke did great for her very first marathon!  I am so grateful she registered with me.  Even though we live hours apart and we "technically" didn't train together, I feel like we did train together.  She helped keep me motivated through the hot summer months, sharing all sorts of running tips that helped me so much.  She did all the research on what we needed to do, where we needed to be and what time we need to be there.   

Thank you, Brooke!

Enjoying a much needed rest after the race.

The finish line was right by the St. George Temple, so as we hobbled to the car we took the time for one last photo op.

St George, UT - Prep Day

The big marathon weekend finally arrived!  Last Thursday, Jim and I drove to Mesquite, NV.  We decided to stay there because, one, we were a little slow to book a room in St. George and, two, staying in Mesquite saved us a lot of money!  The whole weekend in Mesquite cost about the same as ONE NIGHT in St. George over marathon weekend.

Brooke and Tim and their family arrived a little bit later that night.  Brooke ran in the St. George Marathon as well.  We shared a condo for the weekend and had a lot of fun hanging out.

Friday morning after dropping off Brooke and Tim's kids with grandma, we went to Kohl's so Tim could buy a white shirt.  We decided to go to the temple Friday morning (Brooke and I needed all the blessing we could get before the big run on Saturday).  Tim packed his suit but forgot a white shirt.  It worked out well though because I found some running clothes on the clearance rack.  I got two shirts and a pair of shorts for about $30...I saved over $60! 

Jim & I

Tim & Brooke

Brooke and I at the start line



After the temple, Brooke and I wanted to drive the course so we could have an idea of what we were facing the next morning.  

 The sign should read:  "The physical pain is temporary but very painful and you probably won't be able to walk very well, sit down very well or get up very well for a week."

Both of us are representing the Great State of Arizona.  There were participants from every state and quite a few countries. 

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