Firsts

Monday was Miles first day of preschool. He keeps asking me, 'fall-time yet?' because he knows that's when he starts. He's confused about the fact that the leaves are still on the trees and green as ever. He was ready and waiting on Monday morning when the bus pulled up in front of our house. Things were so much different from 8 months ago when I had to drag him up the bus steps, pry him off my leg and hope that he'd survive his first day, as I wiped the tears off my own cheeks at the thoughts of sending my barely 3 year old off on a school bus! He's grown so much in that time, added so many words to his repertoire, and become independent and ready to face the preschool world alone.





Jackson finally started Kindergarten today. He has been so excited and ready all summer long. After many minutes of clothing preparation he was in the car and ready to go. We headed up to the school, where he led the way straight to his classroom, hung his backpack on his reserved hook, and walked in without so much as a backwards glance. I was so proud of his confidence and so glad to know that he felt prepared to make this BIG step.

Upon returning home, he told me that he would NOT be wearing flip flops tomorrow because he was the ONLY boy wearing them. "Only the girls wear flip flops to kindergarten, mom!" Seriously? The things that kid notices.

Race Day

Yesterday I ran the Top Of Utah Half Marathon. It was a perfect day. . . it stayed nice and cool through the whole race. The course was beautiful, taking us down Blacksmith Fork Canyon (in Hyrum), winding along a quaint little road and finishing at a park right by our house. After 10 weeks of training and over 195 miles logged, I was so ready for the day to arrive. I really wanted to finish under 2 hours and met my goal by only 7 seconds. . . finishing at 1 hour 59 minutes and 53 seconds!

I'm so grateful for Chel and Marcus being my fantastically fun running mates, for my kids enduring the gym's kids club more times than they've liked, for Nate giving up a few golf tournaments for my big Saturday runs, for Sam being such a fabulous training partner, and for Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" on my ipod, always giving me an extra boost when things got tough.

It was so great to get close to the finish line and see ALL my awesome cheerleaders whose smiling faces meant the world to me and gave me the strength to finish strong. Thanks Nate, Jacks, Miles, Lola, Tierra, Elise, Sam, Megan, Steve and Betty!

Tagged

I was tagged by Jennie Lynn about 12 years ago and here I am, finally getting around to actually doing it.

List 10 books you've read recently that you'd recommend to others. (One stipulation--you CAN'T list any of the Twilight series books.)

**A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - Along with the author's other book, The Kiterunner, this is a book that makes me so grateful to be a woman living where I live and when I live. This book hooked me bad on the very first page and kept me there until it was through.

**The Parenting Breakthrough by Merrilee Boyack - I swear no parent should try parenting without reading this book at some point. I go back through it all the time with my highlighter in hand!

**Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See - This is one of my all time favorite books. I loved learning about the Chinese culture and the rich traditions that are so much a part of their lives.

**The Host by Stephenie Meyer - I was a little reluctant to start this one. I'm not a fan of Sci-Fi and hate books that cause me to jump on the bandwagon, but. . . I ended up really enjoying it once I got into it.

**Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden - I love the way this book is written and the beautiful language in it.

**A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel - Such a fun little book about growing up in a small Indiana town. I loved the simplicity of this book and the way it caused me to think back upon my own childhood and the memories that I hold. I have been dying to start writing my own stories after reading it.

**The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale - This book is a fairy tale . . . a happy story that I found refreshing after the somewhat depressing books I find myself drawn to.

**Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza - Although hard to read at times, another book that made me feel so blessed to live where I live. The author is an amazing example of having a positive attitude, even as everything that means anything to her is taken away.

**The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards - Okay, so I haven't really decided if I would recommend this book or not. I definitely liked aspects of it. . . I'm still thinking about this one!

**The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom - Another example of an amazing woman living through the Holocaust, losing everything and yet possessing an incredible amount of faith in God through it all.

I'm tagging Tierra, Christina, Jacque and Jamie