I believe there are angels among us

Last weekend we took a trip to Fort Collins, Colorado for Bryan's cousin Kristen's wedding. We left Friday the 9th around 11am and expected to get in about 8pm. Five miles east of Evanston, Wyoming we got in a wreck on the freeway. I was driving and came up on a hail storm. I was driving in the right lane in cruise control at 75 mph and slide off the road hydro-planing, headed for the middle. What happened next was the longest 10 seconds of my and Bryan's life. We spun counter clockwise, crossed a lane of traffic and the passenger-side back door smashed a metal reflector pole. We finished our crash with our back right side of the car hitting the metal barrier separating the two directions of traffic. AND WE ARE ALL OKAY! We were saved by 8 feet of thick sand off the side of the road and some tough guardian angels. We were able to drive away from our 75 mph wreck with no injuries and minor car damage. Can you even believe it? Bryan started screaming as soon as we started spinning and I started screaming when I realized that the brakes weren't working, but the girls were fine until it was all over. Emily was so excited for our trip that when she realized our car was facing the wrong way after the crash she started bawling because we weren't going the right way to Colorado anymore. We drove back into Evanston and got our the car's alignment fixed, got two tires and we were on our way.
On Saturday while we were waiting between the luncheon and reception we all went to Denver's Aquarium. Emily thought it was neat and the grownups were amazed, but Ashley hated it. Here are our fishy faces-

May Days

Bryan's step-aunt Ann Hanks got married at Bountiful Temple on Friday May 2nd. Bryan, Spencer and their dad went up to the sealing and the girls and I were planning on going up after for the pictures. We were in the car one minute all dressed nice when Ashley threw-up. Needless to say we didn't go to the temple then but Emily felt fine and was so sad she couldn't go, Bryan took her on a separate trip after they came home. Emily and her daddy walked around the house of God for 40 minutes and she loved every minute of it. She was pretty reverent and at one point she stopped Bryan and said, "Daddy, I can feel the Holy Ghost!" She loved the temple so much she just stopped and laid down in a sunny spot for a while. She was very sad she couldn't go all the way in but she loved what she could see. Definite highlight for both she and Bryan.

Ashley having a cracker snack one night. She looks so grown up these days! The sweater is her new favorite thing to wear over her jammies to bed.




This is a Joyschool field trip to the fire station. The kids loved to sit in the captain's seat- the most important seat. Emily liked firefighter Keri a lot.

I did it!

SLC 1/2 marathon results: 2 hours 10 minutes 7 seconds- 13.1 miles at 9:56 each mile. My running partner Abbi and I ran together the whole time. Every 2 miles we saw Bryan on his bike where he took pictures and cheered. We felt good physically the whole time. Mile 11-12 was the toughest. We sprinted the last 1/2 mile to the finish line and felt like we finished strong. The rest of the day was pretty low key- nap, reading to the kids, went on a date, and talked to family. Bryan was the best cheerleader during the race and afterwards he cooked all weekend and even gave me a massage on my sore muscles. Shout-out to my sweetie!
A correction on my previous post, the Moab 1/2 marathon I did in 2007 was 2 hours 27 minutes.

Countdown to 1/2 marathon

It's coming this Saturday- 13.1 miles. It will be the SLC marathon and the race begins at 7am. Actually we'll be getting up at 5 am to get ready, drive to the shuttles, get to the race start and go to the bathroom. The runners will be me, my running partner/ neighbor Abbi Cox, my uncle Bill, Abbi's husband Chad and three of her in-laws- 7 runners in all. Already I am getting excited and nervous. Today we ran our last pre-race run. There is a small chance of rain this weekend so if you could just all cross your fingers we'll not be dumped on, that would be great! The cheerleaders will be Bryan and my aunt Amy. The girls will be home asleep with my cousin Hannah during most of the race. My previous 1/2 marathon was in March 2007 and my time was 2 hours and 22 minutes. It would awesome if I could get under 2 hours, but my goal really is just to cross the finish line. My left toe pain is under control with a special get foot pad my doctor recommended. I am pretty sure this will be my last race, but that's what I thought last time too. I won't ever do a full marathon as I think it's not good on your body and consumes too much time for training.

VACATION!

We planned and talked about it for 6 months and it came and went so fast. We had a great trip! Surprisingly it was me and not Bryan that had the hardest time letting go of home and routine. We had Bryan's mom Barbara here taking care of the girls and all went well. The girls will miss her. We definitely felt relaxed and appreciated the chance to go. We were gone 7 days: 3 1/2 on the cruise and 3 1/2 in Zions National Park/ southern Utah.
Thursday we left at noon and drove south on I-15. We stopped in Las Vegas and had dinner with my college roommate Jana. Big points for Bryan to let me chat for a couple hours! We stayed the night in Primm, Nevada at a wanna-be-Vegas white-trash hotel. It was good quality and an awesome deal- we got a top floor suite with a jacuzzi for $75!
Friday we drove into CA and maneuvered into San Pedro around 1pm. We found World Cruise Pier and started off our journey finding out we got upgraded on our room for free! We got moved to 10th deck-the only one with a balcony. They said that never happens on a full ship and it was similar to winning the lotto. Then we made our way to deck 11 with the food- the eat all day and all night awesome food as much as you want place. And boy did we eat. We ate dessert after breakfast, lunch and the 5 course dinner. And pizza at midnight. We took the stairs lots and went running once so we didn't feel one bit of guilt either!
Saturday- Ensenada, Mexico and our shore excursion! We booked ourselves on a Rhino tour (no there are not wild rhinoceroses in Mexico, it's a small jeep). It was an amazing experience to go into the rural countryside of this city. I hope I can retain what I saw for a long time. Most of these people had no running water, no flushing toilets, no vehicles, no good roads, no good tools and they were the friendliest people. We walked along the streets after our tour and bought chiclets (gum), pork tacos, 2 bright pink guitars and Bryan got necklaces. We loved practicing Spanish again and loved mingling with the people. We left feeling so grateful and appreciative of our blessings. We felt some shame too coming from such luxury to such poverty. Very grateful for the experience.

Sunday Bryan, uncle Bill and I participated in a rock climbing contest. We had a 30 foot high outside climbing wall on the 12th floor of our ship. The winner was the fastest up. I took 2nd place in the women's group with 22 seconds, the girl in 1st place 20 secs. Bryan got 6th place with 14 seconds and uncle Bill took 1st with 7 seconds. We tried to go swing dancing but I got a little seasick. I took some meds and got feeling lots better. This was the night Bryan and I ate escargot (snails) at dinner.Monday we ate one last huge breakfast, left the boat and drove to Zions. Our hopes for a warm get-a-way were completely dashed with our arrival. We didn't get into our swimsuits once on the cruise because it was too windy and we show into Zions to some SNOW. :( This was the day I slept 8 hours the night before, took a 2 hour nap, then a 1 hour nap and went to bed and slept 10 hours. True vacation.
Tuesday we hiked Angel's Landing. I didn't know beforehand, but when you say that to someone who knows what that is, this should elicit a "WOW" response. It's a strenuous, intense hike that is for sure memorable. It was 2.5 miles up and you climb to the top at 1,500 feet with a little ledge you sit on with sheer cliffs down on all sides. To hike the last 1/2 mile, you hold onto chains they have bolted into the rock. Bryan said it was scarier this time hiking it because he was worried about my safety- he's a cutie!

Wednesday we took two more smaller hikes around Zions. We got some plant books and became educated about trees and plants. We're basically arborists now. We encountered hail at the end of our last hike. We drove to Nephi, Utah and finally pulled out our swimsuits to use the indoor hot tub. We woke up with 2 inches of snow on our car. The grand finale to our cold vacation.

Thursday we bought a bass guitar for me from the classified ads. I am officially the bass player in the new band EPP (EastPointe Project). We got home at noon and found our car we left had a dead battery, the fish tank was disgusting, laundry, bills, etc. So long vacation- I already miss you.

Happy Sisters

These girls really can be the best of friends. It's a good thing Emily is so laid back about a lot of things, because Ashley sure has a lot of opinions and wants. The latest thing they play with are Polly Pockets- plastic dolls that are 3 inches tall that have rubbery clothes you take off and on. Emily is way into Disney's Peter Pan movie, and who can blame her with flying kids? Ashley loves puzzles and pretend dishes. They both love dress-ups, babies, playing house, and working tools with dad.

The posters behind the girls we made during Joyschool. We made them as part of learning about being unique. The kids are also making a book about themselves which includes a hand and foot print, self portrait, favorite foods, their name in yarn, etc.

Hoppin' Easter!

Wednesday (19th) The girls and I made the 2 hour drive up to Pocatello, Idaho to join Bryan and the Hanks' for grandpa Clair's funeral. The girls did great in the car thanks to our portable DVD player! The funeral was service was really nice and his burial was given by the Veterans group. We drove back home that night and had a good time hanging out with Bryan's siblings.
Saturday (22th) I ran 7 miles by myself! I surprised myself that I can run without my running partner. I was supposed to do 10 miles but I chose to come home for the kid's Easter egg hunt at the church.
Sunday (23th) I decided no Easter bunny to try to have a more Christ-centered Easter. But it only kind of worked. We had the Fosters come to church with us. Afterwards we had Easter lunch and an early Ashley birthday celebration. I made myself sick with my pathetic self-control, eating lots of candy and birthday cake.
In church the primary kids sang 3 songs and we got to watch Emily in her first sacrament meeting show. And she was the show! She started out singing and then got bored so she started leaning way over the edge. Then she started rubbing her eye really hard and then lifted up the edge of her dress to wipe her eye, the whole time talking to herself. I asked her afterwards what was going on and she said, "I had some happy tears." I was the chorister and didn't really notice what she was doing, for which I am kind of glad and kind of sad.
Monday (24th) We are in a great stage where our girls absolutely love Family Home Evening! The fact that treats are involved definitely was a smart move on the part of the church's FHE department. We also have a tradition of singing the Family Night Song (pg 195). We tried to sing it as loud as we could and Ashley just started laughing. She was just giggling and walking all around the room from person to person just soaking it all up. Then we had a short lesson, played the game of Life and had popsicles. I have to appreciate it their excitement now because I think I will need it to sustain me through the years to come.
Tuesday (25th) Today I taught my 3rd day of Joyschool for the month which means I am done teaching until May. We are learning about being unique and different. That has been a tricky concept to for the kids to understand because 5 of the 6 kids in the group are girls with blue eyes and blond/light brown hair who like similar activities. Funny.

Coming up on Thursday night is my book club. The book we read was "The President's Lady" which is a historical fiction about Andrew and Rachel Jackson. I am impressed with the genre of historical fiction (facts turned into a story with no extras added). I was saddened to learn of their love story and how it was destroyed by politics. And I was WAY glad that my turbo husband is not as turbo as Andrew Jackson- that guy was a whirlwind.
Ashley is turning 2 on Sunday. Emily has been counting down this day the whole month of March and is probably more excited about it than Ashley. We plan to have Bryan's siblings up to celebrate on Sunday and then go the zoo on Monday.
And the best countdown of all is our cruise trip coming up! Poor Bryan has been so busy with work the last few weeks. He has been holding on to the cruise as the light at the end of his tunnel. We are leaving in 8 days and will be gone a week. Hooray for vacations!