Cody, Kristi and I ran in Pats Run this past Saturday in Tempe. Its a 4.2 mile race that took us over the Tempe Town Lake and ended at the 42 yard line in the stadium. It was a fun race with TONS of participants. I will be doing it next year for sure!
At the finish line! And no, it did not take us 2 hours to finish, haha!
It felt great to run in my first "official" race. Despite all of the people that participated in this run it was still totally worth it!
I signed Slade up to play soccer this year and he is loving every minute of it! He has his cousin Kleven on his team as well as two other friends. His coaches are his Uncle Chris and his preschool teacher's husband. His team had their first game this past Saturday and it was HILARIOUS! After a while Slade understood the point of the game but he just needs to work on going the right direction with the ball :) Here are some action shots:
He and his friend Jake had so much fun on the field together.
Slade and Skylar used to play soccer in the backyard and before his game I was trying to explain the game to him and that he needs to run really fast, like daddy showed him... His reply was, "I think I'm faster than daddy and I can kick the ball harder too." Oh yes, he is his father's child! Its fun to see Slade out there playing soccer and I know Skylar would be so proud of him. Slade asked me if daddy was playing soccer in Heaven and if there was grass there with flowers. I said that I am sure of it! He was satisfied with that. He is such a joy! Daisy celebrated her 3rd birthday today, well, actually the past few days :) She was able to go to Buid-A-Bear on Thursday and picked out a pink multi-colored bear and dressed her like a ballerina. On Friday, we went and saw How to Train Your Dragon at the IMAX and she loved it! Saturday she got to watch conference and then we went to Peter Piper Pizza for dinner. And, believe it or not, the celebrations are not over! She woke up this morning very excited to be three and was happy for most of the day! Her birthday will always land around General Conference, but I will have to remind her that she chose to come early so it wasn't my fault ;) 
Grandma Stock sent her a barbie head. That sounds funny, but Daisy really enjoys styling hair so this gift was perfect!! Shhh! Slade got into it as well...
Birthday candle! Slade blew it out the first time so this was the second time around.
Miss Smiley. What a contagious smile!
Had to pull the poor cats tail :)
Our friends, the Boretsky's, were able to meet us for the movie and all the kids loved it!
I found this list on another blog and thought it would be helpful to post. I have had a lot of people tell me they just don't know what to do for me, so here you go! I loved this list and I added a few things to it as well...
1. First and foremost TALK about the loved one who's passed. Even if it uncomfortable at first, it will become easier.
2. If you didn't know the person at all or very well, ask to hear about them and learn of them through stories.
3. Don't ever put a time line on someone's grief.
4. Saying things like, "They are in a better place," or "This too shall pass..." really isn't comforting. It makes the bereaved feel like the place they had with them wasn't good or that the pain will go away eventually.
5. If you don't know what to say, just say, "I'm SO sorry you have to go through this."
6. If the person needs to analyze the circumstances surrounding the death, let them just talk and rehash anything as many times as they need to.
7. Don't assume they are ever "better." It never gets better and will be a part of them for the rest of their lives.
8. Don't underestimate how frazzled, abscent minded & spacey grief can make you.
9. Pamper them if you have means. Retail Therapy works great! So did pedicures and getting my hair done, I felt awful on the inside, at least I could try to feel good about me on the outside.
10. Love notes. Emails. Thinking of You cards. Thinking of the bereaved person cards.
11. Do not, I stress Do not get offended if your loved one doesn't answer his/her phone or return your calls. Don't assume that they don't appreciate your effort. It's just that someone bereaved doesn't want to put on a "happy voice" and burden everyone with their grief.
12. Most bereaved people will not offer information on how they are doing unless they truly feel like you want to know.
13. Validate.Validate.Validate. Please whatever you do, don't compare your loved ones loss to someone elses' "harder loss". Every loss is hard. Comparing makes the person feel like they shouldn't struggle because it could be worse.
14. Serve. Even the smallest act of service makes a huge impact.
15. Just make sure they know you love them. Be a shoulder to cry on.
Maylee had her 1 year well check today and weighed in at almost 16 lbs. Her doctor weighed her twice and took the bigger number :) That put her in the .3% (yes, point three) for weight... I was told again not to worry that she is so small because she is following a normal growth pattern and is healthy. She is 27 inches tall (4th %) and ended up having an ear infection...again. So, no forward facing car seat for her for a long while!
