1st 5K race

I have a fun bunch of friends from church, that have been running for the past year. They got me hooked this summer, and I have been loving it. I went twice in July, and decided it was way too hot for me, so I picked it pack up in September and have been going anywhere from 1-3 times a week. We have been going on a 6 mile run lately, and it is fairly challenging. The trail that we run has a wicked 200 ft. climb at about mile 3 and lasts a full mile!

Anyway, I decided to take my running a step farther and sign-up for a race. My 1st 5K was this morning. I ran the Bella Vista 2nd annual Hallween 5K. It turned out to be a cold week this week, and this morning was not the exception. It was in the lower 40's, and I nearly froze to death before the race. I finished at a P.R. of 32 minutes! I am so blest to have such wonderful friends that support, and motivate me in my running. I find myself feeling defeated during some runs, but they keep me positive and motivate me to go on. I love them!!

Next up: an all girls 10K race, coming up in November!

Halloween 2010

Reagan as a ladybug. Addison as a blonde Snow White

This was just before our ward trunk or treat. Addison decided that she wanted to have black hair, like Snow White, so we found her a wig.

Pumpkin patch

For the past two years, we have gone to this great farm in Missouri for their fall festivities. They have a hayride (that is waaaaaaay to long), a cow train (which is one of the favorites), some really fun slides built into the hillside, a corn maze, and a pumpkin patch. We went on the 1st saturday in October, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect (well, the weather has been perfect for pretty much all of October).

The cow train. Reagan was not liking it at first, but as soon as the driver honked the moo horn, she loved it and moo'd the rest of the ride

Reagan going down the gunny sack slide. It did not go fast enough for her.

Addison going down a slide.


The girls in the pumpkin patch

Catching up

Addison started her 2nd year of preschool back in September. She is a butterfly and has the same teacher. Her best friend is also in her class. It will be a sad, sad day if her best friend is not in her class next year in kintergarden.

A couple of weeks ago, Addison had her 1st field trip with her preschool class to the fire station. Reagan and I went along. One of the firemen put his fire proof coat and oxygen mask and hat on, so that the kids could see what he looked like, and that they wouldn't be afraid of him. Let's just say Addison wouldn't get within 10 feet of him. She was probably the only one that wouldn't take a picture with the fireman.

the preschool class beside the fire truck

Addison and her best friend

Reagan's favorite part of the fire station

Lake Powell trip part 2

Some more random pictures of the trip.

Drop down plasma screen

Addison posing in the water

Reagan on the boat, with her life jacket on

Brad, driving the boat

Reagan, Me, and Addison on the top deck of the houseboat

Aunt Jaime, Reagan, Grandma Nielsen, and Addison on the top deck of the houseboat

We had such a great time, and we wish it had lasted longer. We are so greatful to mom and dad Nielsen for making this trip possible, and even though they don't read my blog, thank you Knight family for being so generous!

Lake Powell trip

One of the reasons that we went to Arizona to visit Brad's family, was to go on a family vacation with Brad's family up to Lake Powell. We were very fortunate, that a friend of the family was generous enough to allow us to use their 2 million dollar houseboat on the lake.

The drive there was interesting. We did a lot of driving through Arizona on our whole trip, and I was amazed at the Indian reservations! I didn't get any pictures, but I did find this picture online. There were hundreds of these buildings, called hogans, throughout the reservation. I don't know if they live in them, but they were small, and they would be out in the middle of no where!

Anyway, about the houseboat, it was amazing! I don't know the specific details of it, but it was huge! 70+ feet long, and 20+ feet wide, with 3 levels! It had 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The main level was air conditioned. The kitchen had top of the line, Viking appliances. Every room had plasma t.v.'s. The second level was an open sitting area with a second kitchen and a 60 inch drop down plasma t.v. The third level was pretty much a sun deck with lounge chairs. I got a few pictures of the boat.

The grand view

our room with a king sized bed

The second level kitchen with a grill

The main level kitchen

The Magic speedboat that came with the houseboat. It was really fast, and Addison loved it!

The back of the houseboat had two jet skis, so we had plenty of toys to keep us occupied. The weather was perfect, low 90's with a few mild storms that blew in and cooled things off. We couldn't have had a better time! Addison loved going fast on the boat and jet skis and I even let her drive the jet ski with me. Reagan was a trooper and napped and slept well in the pack-and-play. She hated having the life vest on when we were in the boat, but pretty much fell asleep every time we went out on the boat. Both girls loved swimming in the water as well.

Addison driving the boat with Uncle Rob

Addison riding the jet ski with Uncle Mike

The cove that we were anchored at was called "Cookie Jar" because the rock formation looked like a cookie jar.

Addison standing in front of a rock formation

Summer happenings & Addison's B-day

I know, it's been too long. I have alot of excuses, but I won't go there. A few things have happened since the last time that I posted. Not much happened in April. In May, Addison finished her 1st year of preschool.

Addison with her two best friends at preschool: Ruby and Gus

Also in May, I was fortunate enough to fly out to Idaho with the kids and celebrate my Grandpa's 80th birthday. It was very special because, my parents and all my siblings were able to go out too. We had a blast seeing cousins, and uncles and aunts that we hadn't seen in a long time. I am so bummed that I didn't get any pictures though. I did steal this picture from my sister's blog of my Grandpa (thanks Whitnie!). We love you Grandpa!

Not much happened in June, really, I only have maybe 3 pictures that I took all month!

July, has been busy. Last week, we celebrated Addison's 4th birthday. We were in Arizona visiting Brad's family, so she got to celebrate it there.

We also went on a family vacation up to Lake Powell in Page, Utah, but there are too many pictures, so I will put that tidbit on another post.

Reagan's 1st Birthday

I know it's a little late, but Reagan had her 1st birthday last week. Yes, she is already 1. Time has flown by so quickly, it makes me a little sad that she is growing so fast. The day didn't start out to well, as I came down with the stomach bug. I mustered up as much energy to pull off a quiet little celebration for her day. We had a little cake, compliments of Walmart and she opened her presents with a lot of help from Addison. (As a side note, no, I did not feed my baby the whole cake. She ate a few bites and the rest she crumbled into pieces and squished between her fingers. Just in case you were wondering.)

I made an appointment for Reagan's one year baby exam for the day after her birthday. She got 3 shots and had to have some blood drawn to check for anemia. Poor baby, was not a happy camper after that. Her stats were very suprising for I thought she was a lot bigger then she is. She is 19 lbs. 13 oz.= 30% in weight, 28.5 inches= 31% in height, and 45.2 cm for head circumfrance= 55%. She FINALLY has a 3rd tooth, I thought the day would never come, and 2 more working their way through the gums. Lastly, she is taking 2-3 steps unassisted and is getting braver and more confident by the day. My life is about to get a little more complicated, but she keeps me on my toes for sure and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I love you Reagan, Happy Birthday.

Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam!

My baby is officially a Sunbeam. Addison's 1st day of primary was this past sunday, and she was so excited to be in her new class. It took her a long time to get used to nursery, but since she has been in preschool it definately helped her adjust to primary. She loves her teachers and they are great, so I am excited for her. Her favorite part about primary is singing.

Reagan

I thought that I would fill everyone in on Reagan. She is such a pleasant baby, and we have so far enjoyed having her in our family. She just turned 10 months and I am so sad at how the time has flown by so fast. Here are a few things that she is doing so far:

~At her 9 month appointment she weighed in at 18 lbs!

~She started crawling right around Thanksgiving, and is super fast

~Loves to smile and it doesn't take much to get her to laugh

~Says: mama, dada, daw (for dog), nana (for banana, which is her favorite)

~She loves dogs. Everytime she sees a dog, wether it is Winston, or a picture of one, she points and says "daw"

~She has just 2 bottom teeth, and has "a few teeth" on top (according to her doctor) coming in.... since November, ahhhhhh!

~She loves to eat. Anything you offer her, she will eat. She loves baby food, but lately wants to eat what we are eating. Her new favorites, are banana and maccaroni and cheese

~She has been pulling herself to a standing position and pulls herself up on everything

Snow

While we were in Arizona for Christmas, we got snow....... in Arkansas. Yes, it snowed Christmas Eve, and we missed it. Well, we got home New Years Eve, and three days later it snowed again. It had snowed during the night, so when Addison got up that morning, she immediately wanted to go out and play in it. I convinced her that she needed to eat breakfast first, but by 9:00 am we were tired of hearing her ask us over and over, so we bundled her up. Brad was a good daddy and volunteered to go out with her. It didn't last more then 10 minutes and she was back in the house crying that her fingers were numb, and she didn't ask to go back out the rest of the day. We need to invest in some nice snow gloves for her, because her mittens just didn't stay dry long enough.

Christmas 2009

I know, I've been slacking. Christmas is over, and things are back to normal, so I feel like I have some time to blog.

We had a great Christmas this year. We spent it in sunny, warm Arizona with Brad's family. We ended up being sick for the 1st 3 days with the stomach flu. Thankfully it was just a 24 bug, so it didn't last long. It just hit is all on different days.

Addison loved Christmas last year, but loved it even more this year. She got the whole Santa thing last year, so we decided to teach her about the true meaning of Christmas this year, of Christ's birth and of giving. She even took her part of being Mary very seriously when we acted out the nativity.

This picture was from a family get-together with my family before we left for Arizona.

Reagan could have cared less about what was going on during Christmas. She has been crawling, and fast I might add, so she is just busy getting into things that she isn't suppose to. The week after she started crawling, she started to pull herself up to things to stand, I know my life just got more complicated! She is a happy baby for the most part, except when she is teething which is now. She can be happy one minute and then get super cranky then next.

She did not like sitting on Santa's lap. She hated it so much that she started shaking before she even got to his lap.

Not Christmas related, but I had to show off her cute smile