Sadie's Halloween Dance

Sadie's Halloween dance was very cute too. Unfortunately I got a bad angle. But she did a great job and you can't help but smile watching girls that age dance.

Kali's Halloween Dance

Kali got to dance a contemporary dance for Halloween this year. It was pretty cute, but I feel bad for her because she was put in a place where she didn't have enough room to move around with everyone there watching. So just imagine her moves bigger and better because she likes to go all out. It was pretty fun to see her be the main part of the dance at one point too.

Carving Pumpkins

Pumpkin carving is one of my favorite parts of Halloween. However, it has turned out to be a lot of work over the last several years while helping our kids carve their own pumpkins and usually I just end up frustrated. This year was different for some reason. I think it's because our kids are getting older. Kali was able to carve her pumpkin's face all by herself. I only did the opening. Sadie did a great job too. She carved out the face, but we just had to make the lines a little straighter so that we could actually punch them out.

Ashlyn was a completely different story, but what else do you expect from a two-year-old. She wanted to poke holes in her pumpkin by herself. I kept trying to convince her to wait until I could help her, but after a while I finally gave up and let her stab her pumpkin several times with a pencil. It kept her entertained for quite some time and then we carved the face on the opposite side.

Provo Halloween Half Marathon

About ten years ago I started playing around with the idea of running a half marathon but never gave it any serious thought because my knees wouldn't let me run more than about six miles. Then last year, I decided I was serious about it and wanted to compete in the Provo Halloween Half Marathon. However, a couple weeks into my training program I got pregnant and had to put it on hold. After giving birth to Emmalyn, I waited for my doctor to give me the okay to start running and then began my training program once again. I knew the run wasn't until October but needed to make sure my knees could actually handle a 13.1 mile run before I payed the money to compete in the race. After working up to running 22 to 24 miles a week and actually running 13.1 miles once on my treadmill and again in my neighborhood, I signed up for the race. The training was grueling at times. If my knee wasn't bugging me, my ankle or feet were, or I was sick or not getting enough sleep. But I kept with it and finally fulfilled my goal.

Nothing went as planned on the day of the race. Emma wouldn't nurse before I left. The race didn't start at 7:00am like I thought it was supposed to. It started at 9:00am. They also started the runners in waves and unless you were planning on running under a 9 minute mile, you had to wait for the second wave which started at 9:20am. We were bused up the canyon between 5:00 and 6:30 in the morning and were dropped off at a place where we had to hike 1/2 mile just to arrive at the tents that were supposedly heated, but I swear they weren't. I could only feel body heat. My feet were so cold by the time I started the race that they were numb and felt like they were slapping the ground. So basically it stung until they warmed up, which took quite a while. Despite all that, my adrenalin was pumping and I let it guide me through the race. I was using the MapMyRun app on my phone to track my pace and the majority of the time I was running between an 8.5 and 9 minute mile. Unfortunately, my knee began hurting around mile 10. I did my best to push through the pain but with just under 1/2 mile to go, I could no longer run. My knee had given out. I could barely walk. I was so frustrated and even tried to run again on three different occasions but physically couldn't. All that went through my mind was how much effort I had put into training and how I had been able to do it at home, yet I couldn't finish my race running. I was so mad. I was mad that the people I had worked hard to stay in front of and even pass, were now passing me. I was mad that people were trying to encourage me by saying, "You can do it. You're almost there." I knew I could do it cardiovascularly, but my knee just wouldn't let me do it. And most of all, I was mad that I had to walk across the finish line. I was so mad that I didn't even look at the clock to see what my finishing time was. I simply got my stuff, got on the bus and drove back to my family. While I was driving, I called Josh on the phone and he asked me how it went. I broke down in tears. I had been anticipating this moment for so long. I had expected to feel satisfied and instead felt very different. It wasn't until the following day when the times were posted online that I finally felt a little better. I had run the race in 2 hours 5 minutes. That is just barely over a 9 1/2 minute mile and that included the time I was walking. That means I would have run the race in less than two hours and closer to an 8.5 or 9 minute mile had my knee cooperated the entire time. I've never run that fast. During my training, I usually ran a 10 minute mile. Now that I can say I've completed a half marathon in 2 hours 5 minutes, I have nothing to be unhappy about. However, I will need to run another half marathon just so I can say that I ran the entire way.

The Movie Theater

For memorizing the first four Articles of Faith, we took the girls out to watch Hotel Transylvania. When Ashlyn asked where we were going, we told her we were going to the movie theater. Upon arriving she informed us that she would be careful at the "movie vavator". I wasn't quite understanding what she was talking about until I realized that she thought we were going on an elevator, hence the need to be careful. I then explained to her that we weren't going on an elevator, but that we would be watching a movie at the movie theater. Unfortunately, she never really understood and as soon as the movie was over she asked if we could now go on the "movie vavator".

Surgery

Josh injured his shoulder about ten years ago while lifting weights and has lived with the pain and inconvenience of it until this year. The pain was getting worse and affecting him on a regular basis so we decided to do something about it. At first the doctors sent him to physical therapy. When that just seemed to be aggravating the problem, they decided to do an MRI and discovered that he had a torn labrum and needed surgery. So Josh had his first surgery. When it was complete, the doctor told us that it was one of the worst tears he had ever seen. He said he normally only has to put one little stake in, but Josh needed three. He also had a cyst under the tear that had to be decompressed. Thankfully the surgery went well and the doctor said Josh's quality of life should improve significantly. His recovery has been a bit rough as he has been dealing with a lot of nausea and trouble sleeping comfortably, but hopefully all of that will improve with time.

Pumpkin Patch

We've never been to a pumpkin patch before but were invited by Hannah to go this year. It was such a fun experience. The girls got to climb and jump on hay bales. They got to pet and feed a few animals at the petting zoo and...

they got to go through a mini corn maze. They could have also gone on a tractor ride and pick out pumpkins, but we already bought pumpkins for the year. I want to make a tradition of this in the future. Josh also happened to find some money in his jacket pocket that he had forgotten about so he took us to Village Inn to finish off the evening with some pumpkin pie. The girls loved it and I did too. What a fun evening!

Ninety-Four

Grandma Bair has turned 94. Between her and her dad, it's apparent that longevity runs in the Astle blood. For the last two years, all the grandkids have sent her homemade birthday cards because that's what she has done for each of us our entire lives. It's been kind of fun to personalize them and send meaningful photos in them. This year we added a dollar bill just like she always did for us when we were young. I love this woman and the example she has always been to me.

Seven Months Old

Even though others don't get to see Emmalyn smile very often, she's quick to smile for her family at home. She loves a little game that I play with her while I'm folding laundry. I leave the room to put clothes away, then come back to tickle her or kiss her neck and she screams and giggles. It's pretty cute. She's been a rough sleeper waking up between three and five times a night to nurse, but we put up with it and are hoping it doesn't last too much longer.

Master of Disguise

Kali's most recent session of Discovery was called "Master of Disguise". She was taught how to apply face makeup. The students were shown how to do it once and then they had to apply the makeup on their own. The parent volunteers were only allowed to help a little bit. One week they did stage makeup, the next week they made themselves look old, then they did scars and bruising, and the last week they got to do their own creation. She wanted to do fangs, blood, and stitches, but I convinced her that a clown would be a better idea. She really did a good job. What a fun thing to learn how to do. Her scar and bruising looked so real that she faked out  Josh, my mom and Sadie. Sadie's reaction was my favorite. She immediately put her hand to her own forehead and it was as though she could feel Kali's pain. Even after we told Sadie it was fake, she was quiet and seemed uncomfortable. She doesn't like blood.