As of late...

Just a little of our life lately

Happy #7 Haden.

Flag Football stretches.

So you think you can dance in CONCERT.

Red belt awarded. Yes, he can do the splits.

What a girl on the uneven bars!


Once again I must apologize to the world of blogging readers that may wander to this page. I am a complete slacker but hope to do better on updating at story telling. I have many fun stories and experiences to share but very little time. I may also go private (still debating). 

Random Acts of Kindness/TAG

I have 2 friends who left me a little something with a note today. Thanks so much for thinking of me, I have been feeling pretty down lately and I really appreciate your kindness. I hope all of us can take a little time out of our very busy schedules to do a little something for someone else, sometimes just a smile in the grocery store can make all of the difference.

On another note, I was Blog tagged by a another friend with a CRAZY 8 theme. Here goes...


8 Favorite TV Shows (do I really ever watch these...)

1. LOST (by far my favorite)
2. The Office
3. Law & Order
4. Anything HGTV
5. Frasier
6. Seinfield
7. ER
8. Anything on Court TV


Things I did yesterday

1. Primary program practice
2. Attended a baptism
3. Attended a fun trunk or treat ward activity
4. Halloween party at my Mom's with my family
5. Swept & mopped floors
6. Edited pictures
7. Made brownies
8. Something with RD late at night (not what you think)


Favorite Restaurants

1. Al Forno's
2. Pizza Nova (in San Diego)
3. Market Street Grill
4. Niel's Halibut
5. Goodwood
6. Dragon Diner
7. Blue Iguana
8. Everywhere we ate in Puerto Vallarta (amazing food!)

Things on my wish list

1. Peace on Earth
2. Cures to any illness
3. More strength to endure
4. More patience
5. To be debt free
6. To see my kids grow & live happily
7. Go somewhere tropical often
8. More time & knowledge to complete everything


Things I love about FALL:

1. Football
2. Kids go back to school
3. Beautiful colors
4. Pumpkins
5. Thanksgiving
6. Sweat shirts & sweaters
7. Cooler weather
8. Pumpkin deserts (but not pie)


PEOPLE I TAG

1. Kim
2. Lyndee
3. Mindy
4. Sara
5. Andra or Barbara (get with the program & make a blog!)
6. Andrea
7. Kara
8. Jayme

Check it off the list...I DID IT!

I am just going to gloat about this for a day or two because I was not sure I was ever going to accomplish this goal of mine or not but........ I did it, I did it, I did it! Saturday morning I ran the St. George marathon. My goal was to first, finish and second, try to do it under 5 hours. It poured rain, and wind blew the entire time but I ran the whole thing (I only stopped once for a quick potty break), my finish time was 4 hours 26 minutes. Not too shabby for my first one but nowhere near some of the amazing runners ahead of me. The top finisher ran it in 2 hours 22 minutes (unbelievable, especially since he's not Kenyan). 

My Mom and Dad were there to cheer me on along with my awesome husband and my friend Kim. Thanks guys it was so much fun to share that experience with you and RD I know you sacrificed a lot for me to train. I can not even explain what a mental challenge it is to run that distance if you have done it before I am sure you know. I thought I would "hit a wall" at some point but I really did not. I do remember seeing the 24 mile marker and thinking "are you kidding me..." sometimes 2 more miles feels like asking your body for 10. I think the worse part of the whole thing was sitting in the ice bath for 20 minutes afterwards. I met a lot of great people along the route and I am just plain pleased to be a finisher. Don't get me wrong...I have been popping the Ibuprofren since yesterday and I am sure it will be a day or two until I can walk normal.

Here are some of my strange random thoughts and things I think about that keep me going during the marathon & training:  

I'd like to have a sign on my back that says "Yes these are love handles but they just passed you!"(ha,ha,ha) or I think about how a dear friend found out I was training for a marathon and said "You just do not look like the running type." My body structure is not Olympic caliber material but I am the little engine that could.

(this one is a little weird but it works for me) Sometimes when I really feel like stopping I think about the poor Jewish people that were in concentration camps and how the Nazi's made them work or they would die. So basically I pretend I am in the camp and being chased...strange I know but it is a good motivator.

Of course I think about RD and other awesome people I have met that live with  Multiple Sclerosis everyday, and how they have to fight to move, fight pain and fatigue constantly.   

READY OR NOT...26.2

Yes, I know I have been a major BLOG slacker but it is fall now and I hope to try to post things about our family weekly. Between training for the marathon (this weekend, oct 4th), photo sessions, weddings, church duties, and watching 2 extra kids I just plain have no time.

I AM RUNNING the ST. George marathon this weekend. I need inspiring words of encouragement, I am scared to death. I love to run but I am not sure if FULL marathon's (26.2 miles) are for me. Say a little prayer for me around noon on Saturday...

Poor Neglected blog

It is summer and I already spend way to many hours sitting in font of the computer (working on my secretary hips!) to stay caught up with blogging.  Here are some of the fun things we've been doing this summer. I've been reading everyone else's blogs and it looks like fun stuff. Happy Summer!

Yes, that is a one eye dog.

Grandma Bette & Granny

Kid bowling on the 4th

Lagoon

The West Jordan stampede

Thanks...

A little venting for myself (a hard day):

Thank you to the large dump truck that kick up a multitude of rocks that ruined my windshield while driving to work.

Thank you to the Highway Patrol officer gave me a ticket for driving 65 miles per hour in a 60 mile per hour lane on the way home from work. I was not even in the fast lane, but yes I was five miles per hour over!

Thanks to my cat who decided to throw-up hairballs all over my hall way. Yuck!

If I drank alcohol today would be a day I'd have a nice cold one to sooth the nerves. Onward and Upward I always say...life is to short to sweat the small stuff!

A little of life for us...

Some of these are a little old but I do not download my little point and shoot camera everyday. We have a lot of fun stuff going on with the end of school and beginning of summer. I will post more stories and pics later.

RD made me post this...he just loved my crazy corn row hair from Puerto Vallarta. It took over and hour to braid and about 30 minutes to unbraid, and it was just a little frizzy...

The kids are my Grandpa's grave on Memorial Day

Emery with an interesting snack: ICECREAM & EGG ROLL????

Kindergarten Day @ the Zoo, we had a good time!

Is it possible to have raging hormones in kindergarten?

So at the Bishop house we have been trying to not watch as much TV and limit electronic time. We have been doing a lot of art projects. Blakely is obsessed with anything to do with cats right now and pretty much any art work has a cat incorporated into it. Haden...well he is somewhat of a "Don Juan." His artwork seems to involve dragons, swords but almost always a fair maiden. The flavor this week on his girlfriend list is Jenna. I am telling you "lock up your girls!"

I did it...I actually signed up!

I signed up for the St. George marathon. I had a goal to run a marathon this year and even if I have to walk the whole thing-I will finish! Wish me luck with the training during the hot summer...if they ever get here!

It is official...I AM AN IDIOT!

Yes, yes I am an idiot. In my rush to get the laundry done yesterday I was  loading in a load of colors due to the fact that Emery had just had a little accident (she is potty training) that rendered the shorts I was wearing a bit wet. So I went ahead and loaded them in with the colors. Later when RD was putting them in the dryer he found my one month old cell phone in my shorts pocket. It did not survive the colored bleach nor the spin cycle...I AM AN IDIOT!

My prayer was answered... (a long post,lots of pics)

So many know that I am a professional photographer. Whenever I take professional pictures I download them, then immediately burn and archive the original files. Then after I edit I burn and archive the edited files. I am very careful with digital negatives. However when it comes to my own family pictures in the past I have been pretty good at backing up my images and stuff...EXCEPT for this time. The other day I came in and found my little Emery clicking around like crazy on my computer. I did not think much of it until later that night I took a look at my family hard drive (I have 2 one for PRO stuff and one for family) and noticed that instead of only having 15 gigs left I had a whopping 40 gigs left. I got to thinking "what the heck" so I started to look around at our files. This was about at 10:00 at night, by 10:30 I was in tears all of my family pictures, my address book, my email data, and a bunch of other stuff (25 gigs worth) had been deleted somehow by my little stinker. We have now put a lock on the computer room door so little fingers can not go crazy. Well to make a very long story short somewhat short, I was in tears as I went through each one of my backup discs and realized that ALL of my family pictures from my point and shoot camera had been deleted with no way to retrieve them. I WAS AN IDIOT AND NEVER BURNED A BACKUP CD OF THE FILES. These included 2 years worth of Christmas's, Emery's first bday & 2nd bdays, Blakely's baptism, our vacation to Sea World, Haden's first day of kindergarten and just lots of memories. I could not sleep by the time I went through all of the discs (with no luck) it was 1:00 in the morning. I sat at my desk and bowed my head and said a little prayer. I know it is cheesy to ask a very busy Heavenly Father who has to help people with real problems out, but I asked anyways for some way to help me recover these pictures. I just kept thinking about all of those fun times I'd never get to remember except for in my mind. Right before I was about to turn the computer off, I decided to do a little search on google. I typed in "Recovering deleted files from the trash on a MAC." From that search I was able to find a trial version of this software called file salvage that I ran on the computer all night. When I woke up I had 15,000 JPEG files that I could retrieve from the hard drive. Of course I had to buy the full version of the software but I did for $79 and was able to retrieve the images. I felt like I had been given a little miracle, here are some of the images I got back:

Emery's first Halloween

My Mom and the Big Chief

A high school jock and his pregnant cheerleader.

Good friends at a special time.

Cousins with a close bday.

Emery's first bday cake.
\

Bean's bapstim

Easter Day
\

Haden singing "a Holly Jolly day with Mary..."

first belt award

Blakely at Seaworld

Emery loved her stuffed animal

Bishop's & Cecil's feeding the dolphins.

My husband.

Self portrait of Amanda

Bishop monkeys

Haden with his Okapi.

RD being a BIG pervert...imagine that.

A day at the beach

Excited little one in the sand.

The night the last Harry Potter was released (see Mad Eye & Harry?

finding a lady bug

Riding by himself

Just fun at the Gateway

Emery's preview of 2 year old pouting

Interpretive dancing by Haden

Another special day for great friends.

First day of Kindergarten

 At the beach with cousins

Halloween

Haden's bday

Reflections

Emery dancing to Frosty the Snowman

Christmas

Bean's 9th bday

Emery's 2nd bday.

Easter morning.