Mud Run

Anthon's brother, Gerald, put on a mud run this past Saturday & asked if I could take pictures for the website. I was reluctant to go, with it being the 1st week of school, but decided to go ahead & take the weekend off from studying. The trip started out pretty rough- Anthon's other brother, Brandon's, clutch burned out on his truck between here & Payson so we loaded 10 people into our 7 passenger van, drove to Payson, & waited for Anthon's dad to come tow the truck the rest of the way up the mountain. We went to bed LATE that night & had to be at the mud run site by 6:30AM. I spent a majority of the day on a 4 wheeler chasing after participants & snapping pictures (I took over 1,000)! Even the young men from our ward came up & did it, so that was fun! By the end of the day my kids were beyond grouchy, I was sunburned, and we were all ready for a nice, warm shower! BUT I did get some pretty good shots! I feel weird posting pictures on my personal blog of people I don't know, so I'll post some of Anthon's family that did the run.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Jason- totally knows how to work an awesome shot!

I love the way his body looks in this one!!

Allison- she is amazing! So athletic!

My muddy man. Love his sweet smile!

Like I said before, I took over 1,000 pictures so there's no way I can post all of the ones I love on here! But, it was a fun experience non-the-less!

1st day of school

Roman started preschool this week & LOVED it! I can't believe he's old enough & it makes me sad to think that my time home with him is rapidly coming to a close, but I'm happy at the same time for him to be so excited about learning & becoming more independent!

He's going to preschool at a lady's house, named Arlene Lunt, on Thursday's & Friday's. I've heard wonderful things about her early readers program & she does a gospel based preschool where everyday they have prayer, say the pledge of allegiance, learn about heroes in the scriptures, learn the importance of being kind to everyone, and other great things like that, along with the "regular" preschool stuff! I'm so excited for Roman and the things he'll get to learn/do this school year!

Here he is all ready to go on his first day! He loves getting to wear a backpack :)

 I got to stay on his first day & do a parent/ teacher orientation, which was nice for Roman to be able to get used to his class while I was there if he needed me. There's a good mix of boys & girls & there happens to be another little boy named Roman in his class... funny, huh?!? Maybe this will help him learn his 1st & last names together ;). He seemed to get a long really well with all the other kids, & is the biggest kid in his class, despite being one of the youngest!

Here he is on day 2... No looking back! He's a pro now!

 Someone else is starting school this week, & that someone is ME... well, & Anthon too :)! Tomorrow will be my 1st official day as a nursing student! I was SUPER anxious/ nervous after I bought all my books, and really started to question my abilities- wondering if I could actually do this...

Seriously, this picture doesn't even do them justice!! They're big, they're heavy, & there are a LOT of them!

But... Anthon & I went to the temple last night and afterwards I felt completely confident, energized, & excited, like "I got this!" I love the scripture Romans 8:31 "... If God be for us, who can be against us?" and I know He's "for me"! He will support me through these next 2 years- especially when I'm not confident, energized or excited anymore, He'll be there for me!

I'm following my dream, & finally, actually feel like I'm progressing toward my goal!
It feels so good :)

Last Trip of the Summer

The day after we got back from our trip to Show Low we took off to Rocky Point for one last summer thrill. This time my mom, brother Peter, his wife Kelly, their 3 girls-  Ellie, Avery, & Livvi, & Kelly's mom all came too. We stayed in a lovely condo that had a wrap around balcony with fabulous views!! It was a FAST trip but still a lot of fun!

Monday: Day 1

 We spent the morning driving down there & once we got there we went straight to the market. I was in charge of dinner the 1st night & I wanted to make fresh flounder & shrimp (which turned out great, by the way! Here are the recipes I used FLOUNDER - SHRIMP). After shopping & lunch we went to the condo & unloaded everything, then headed to the beach to play for a bit before dinner. I could kick myself for not taking more pictures!!! But I guess I was having too much fun playing!

 After dinner, we bathed the kids... They had some fun with the jets & bubbles!

Sterling LOVES Livvi!! Every time he sees her he hugs & kisses on her a TON.
So much that we call her his Lovie

Day 2

This was our only full day at the beach & boy did we make the most of it!! Again, I wish I would've taken more pictures, but I was in the water the entire time!!

My mom & baby Livvi

Kelly & me- <3 her="her" td="td">

The water was PERFECT!! Crystal clear, calm, & cool. Sooo pretty! Kelly's mom brought snorkeling stuff & we spent most of the day checking out the animals at the bottom of the ocean- so fun!! We saw sting rays, huge crabs, tons of colorful fish, & even this little guy!

Peter found him & brought him up to shore in a bucket so the kids could see him. They loved it! Ellie named him Wilbert Gilbert- or something like that :). They watched him for a while in the bucket & then released him back into the ocean.

We went for a ride on the banana boat, too. Roman didn't have as much fun as I thought h would & Ellie was pretty much terrified the whole time. Anthon had a blast trying to fall off, but not fall off if that makes any sense.

 After we went in for lunch, we decided to go into town & check out the rest of the shops at the market. We didn't stay long because it was hot & VERY humid! We left the market & drove over to another beach (in front of Manny's if you know Rocky Point) & snorkeled there for a bit. There was a TON of reef right off the shore & lots of snails/ hermit crabs & some pretty fish, but nothing like what was at the reef back at the condo. We decided to head back & managed to get a cool treat on the way.

The boys were happy with their Thrifty ice cream

These were Anthon's & my official favorite treat of the trip- Piña Colada with fresh pineapple! Oh, SOoooo yummy!

 We headed back down to the beach to get in some more sand, sun, & snorkeling before we had to pack up & head back to reality in the morning.

Sterling cheesing it really hard

Roman & Ellie building sand castles

Sterling tried to steal this ball from a group that was playing just down the beach from us... kinda funny that it's as big as he is!

 We went back down to the beach this morning for a couple hours, but the water was more rough & not nearly as nice as it was yesterday, so we just packed up & headed home. It was the perfect end of summer getaway that we'll have to do again... only next time stay for longer!!