March 2019

Mar 2, 2019

Max loves his new robe from Bishka!

Mar 2, 2019

It was a sloppy, slippery, wet wet wet 14 miles...You know you're on West Mountain when you see all the signs shot up--just don't shoot the trail runner! 

Mar 4, 2019:

Having a fairly active life, it seems like I’m always nursing some part of my body. If it’s not my shoulder that is sore, then it’s my big toe. If it’s not my big toe, then it’s my elbow. And so on. But these sore spots never seem to be visual, so I never have anything to show off. As the saying says, “chicks dig scars.” 

Last weekend I was donating blood and ran into some issues. I was doing the procedure where they pull out whole blood, spin the red blood cells out, and pump the yummy plasma back in. The procedure is done twice and halfway through the second one the machine started beeping and shut down. The nurse was on the phone with tech support for a good 15 minutes with my plasma sitting there in a bag waiting to be pumped back into my arm. The whole time I’m having horrific visions ranging from the needle popping out and stuff spraying, to my arm straight up exploding. 

Finally, she gets the machine working again and the plasma begins to return. After a few seconds I start to feel pressure in my arm and internal dialogue ensues, “is that pressure? It feels like pressure. Is it painful. Seems painful. Definitely pressure now. Oh, yeah it hurts. Should I say something...ok, now I’ll say something.” To which the nurse shut down the machine and said;

“You’ve been infiltrated.” 

Then she explained the plasma pumped into my arm instead of my vein and I would have significant pain and a prodigious bruise that may reach all the way down to my wrist. Another nurse across the room heard what happened and simply said, “long sleeves.” 

Well, here is my bruise. Officially giving up looking hardcore. Maybe a face tattoo?

Mar 9, 2019:

That time we tried to race daddy home and it was certain we were going to lose. Halfway there, after David passed us at a red light and then merged in front of us, I said, “Boys, that’s it—I’m pretty sure we’re going to lose...”. Max happily chirped up, “That’s ok! We’ll learn something!”

Mar 9, 2019:

Perfect morning: A little road, a little trail, nice easy pace for a rest run day before upping mileage next week.

Mar 9, 2019:

We got to sit in on Pace's dance class, and Max asked to take photos.  He caught some great shots!  I love watching Pace move, so much intense energy in such contained movements.

Mar 15, 2019:

We play dinner games most nights. It’s a container with dinner games or conversation topics to play or discuss during dinner. 

This night the card suggested we turn out all the lights, light candles, and tell spooky stories. We told a couple, and then we decided to tell pass along stories. So one person would start with one sentence, pass it for the next person to add a sentence, and so on. 

The best story of the night was about a fridge who was empty, and asked someone to fill him up. Not sure why the boys laughed hysterically at this, but they both fell off their chairs in laughing fits.

Mar 16, 2019:

Pain free 16 miles!!  So grateful for a good chiropractor and physical therapist to keep everything up and running.  Pun intended.

Mar 16, 2019:

We went to Peter and the Wolf symphony + Ballet West dancers this afternoon. We were rushing to get there because I got home really late from my run, but they apparently have open door policy for daytime kids showings, and let us right in!

Pace had a little meltdown when he saw we were on the VERY TOP balcony, and there were even some tears. But he breathed through it, had the mommy arm belt the whole time, and even enjoyed the show. (He won’t admit that, of course, but there were times he giggled at the grandpa dancer and asked about the instruments quite a bit). Max was enchanted the whole time. 

We walked around City Creek mall afterwards, got lunch, hit up IKEA on the way home, and now everyone’s laying in bed or on the couch for some much needed quiet time.

Mar 21, 2019:

Max pulled a dinner card that had a bunch of questions we had to ask each other to see if we knew each other’s “favorites”. When asked if Max knew who my favorite friend is, he replied without hesitation,”Me!...and Pace! And Daddy! Because we’re family, and family are friends”. Hoping everything stays this simple and loving for a long, long time.

Mar 23, 2019:

Thank you, West Mountain, for your 2 mile 45% grade climb, the 37-minute miles spent post-holing across the top, the icy puddle booby trap, and the amazing views that made us feel like we were on top of the world above the clouds for a hot minute.  Awesome run today.

Mar 23, 2019:

Mannequin Party!!

Mar 24, 2019:

I heard the boys talking and giggling upstairs, so I tried to sneak up on them to see what was going on. They were asking Alexa crazy questions: “Alexa, what’s 5000 + 5 million + a gazillion...” “Alexa, what does flash mean”. “Alexa play don’t mine at night”. “Alexa, what does foxy mean”. And when they saw me, “Alexa, what does mommy mean?”

Mar 29, 2019:

The day Max said, “mommy, I just love my life”. This just melted my heart and I said, “Really? What do you love?” “Everything.” 

I feel so grateful to have a family and home environment where my boys feel loved, safe, valued, and where my six year old can grin and with unrestrained honesty, freely say he loves his life. I would not have done this at 6. Everything about my boys just makes my heart so happy.

Mar 30, 2019:

After enough dud public Easter egg hunts, we decided it was high time to create a neighborhood hunt. We’re so grateful to have such awesome neighbors, and live in such a fun place. The boys were a little upset that they got less eggs than other kids, but they learned to trade.

Mar 30, 2019:

There are some training runs you go on and you have to shift your frame of mind to get through it. Today’s run did not go as planned...within 2.5 miles, it became apparent my distance + elevation planned run needed to get thrown out the window and shift into a strength run. 

Today’s strength run brought to you by the Battle —> Grove Loop with a 2.5-3 hour bananas post-holing battle of a hike. This 7-8 mile loop took us roughly 5 hours and every muscle from my toes to my gluts is gonna feel this one tomorrow. Glad I didn’t do this one alone!

Mar 30, 2019:

For my bday last year I asked for tickets to the symphony. We get to go once a month for a few months in a row, which makes for an amazing date night! We started at Tru religion pancake & steakhouse (an Orem must eat) for dinner, followed up with the Symphony. It’s so amazing hearing live music played straight from instruments. 

The overture to William tell is such iconic music. We both had memories from childhood cartoons. I’d never heard Dutilleux before, and I’d describe it as what would happen if you gave Beethoven psychedelic mushrooms and had him compose. Full of dissonance and bizarre dark sounds, it’s what every cellist would begin simultaneously playing, by sheer intuition, if earth ever gets sucked into a black hole. But the performance by the lead cellist was breathtaking, I can’t even imagine what the sheet music looks like. 

We learned “New World,” the quintessential American symphony, is inspired by Native American and African-American music, which added a better understanding and appreciation to the familiar melodies. I love how the violins grab the soul and elevate the listener. 

But the best part, for me, was the company. Every relationship has phases, and I’m in a phase of appreciation. I love getting to spend time with Michal and listen to her tell me about her life. Best part is she has agreed to another date ❤️!