Turkey Trot . . . Say what?

I know, I know, you are all rubbing your eyes at the title of this posting. "Turkey Trot?" you say. "Wasn't that, like, 6 weeks ago?" you ask in bewilderment.

Yes, yes it's true. I am THE slowest blogger this side of the Mississippi. Now that you know my weakness here is my LONG overdue post about the Turkey Trot.

All my life (get comfortable), I have wanted to run with ease. But, I have not been blessed with such an ability. Instead, I was blessed with the desire, but no gas. (well that's not entirely true, ha ha) Well, I have been really working on being a better runner, and so I decided to give the Turkey Trot 10k a go. My sis-in-law Shay is one of those gifted runners (she did a half marathon!). We decided to run together and I was SO nervous. I didn't want to pass out, or puke, or faint, or slow her down. I REALLY wanted to be able to run alongside her the WHOLE time. Well, I am happy to report that none of those horrible things happened, I was able to complete it and run the whole thing with Shay. YIPPEEE!!!

One more quick thing, my 7 year old son Parker ran the 2 mile. Non-stop. What a stud!!!

Thanksgiving Traditions

LEGENDS - Turkey Bowl 2008 from Jared Foster on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving; that time of year when we join with loved ones to express our deepest gratitude for them and the wonderous blessings given to us daily. It's also a time to reflect on . . . who am I kidding, Thanksgiving is a time for FOOTBALL!!! (notice the cutee in the dark blue #6 shirt, what a babe!!!)

Happy Halloween!!

Name this couple!

Every year our good FRIENDS the Humphreys throw the most RADICAL Halloween Party. It truly is the PARTY of the year!!! We had such a great time. See if you can figure out who we are.

S.M.O.R.E.S

S - so much fun
M- much to talk about
O - October's the month we start
R- rich chocolate and squishy mallows
E - everyone's invited
S - stars out, songs to sing

It's official, it's Smore time!!! We love roasting marshmallows at our house. It's fun to do and it creates great bonding time with family and friends.

"Take me out to the ball game"

Papa, my MOST generous father-in-law, gave us four tickets to the Dbacks game this earlier this month. (as you can see I am catching up!) Anyway, Brandon and I took Parker and Ellie to the BOB, oh wait, the CHASE Field. We went early so we could watch batting practice. And to Parker's elation, he caught a BALL!!! Ellie is waiting for hers. After batting practice we went upstairs to see the new "kids play place". This really is SO cool. They can play on slides or practice hitting baseballs with coach pitch or a pitching machine. Ellie and Parker had a GREAT time.

After the 5th inning or so we decided to head home and get some ICE CREAM!! YUM!

Shay and Ty!!

My sweet sis-in-law, Shay, was married a couple of weekends ago. She married a fellow TORO!!!! Tyson Nansel!! The ceremony was so nice. I kept thinking how impressed and proud I am of these two people. Shay has always showed excellent discipline in her decisions and always tried to choose the right. There is a very long and happy life for them. Love you guys!!!

ps I LOVED her colors. She looks SO gorgeous!!!

I did it!!!

I did it!!! I passed!! To my relief! I haven't been this nervous in a LONG time. I wanted to so badly represent my instructor and the my fellow NAK friends with pride. I wanted to show that a woman can be just as tough and fight just as hard as anybody else. I trained so hard for this test I didn't want to fail. All in all, it went really well. My test wasn't as long as I thought it would be. And he didn't throw anything difficult my way. I did injure myself, but hey, this isn't foo-foo karate. I had such a great time and I want to thank all those who came or called or wrote to show their support. Couldn't of done it without you all.

Right before we begin our test we put our belts on. Typically, there is a moment where we breathe and center our thoughts, shown here.

Belts are on, now we are about to start. My blue top lets others know that I am an instructor. (incase you were wondering)I am waiting my turn. I am very nervous, so I am trying to distract myself. My test has started. Usually, testers go through their "material" first. I am doing my kicking sets here.

I am now being surrounded by 6 guys; some have weapons, some don't. The judges want to make sure I can survive a multiple attack.

At this point, I have taken his club and am now using it against him. :) Don't you love my great faces?!

So here is my injury. During my multiple attackers I decided to head butt a practice knife. No, it was actually an accident. Take my advice, don't duck on a knife.

I am finished!!! Next test, 3 years from now.

Vote on Nov. 4th!!

This is brought to us by our Catholic friends (and my brother, thanks Geret). Please vote and not only vote, but study on what the issues are. It's a very important election.

It's finally here!!

As many of you know, I train in the Martial Arts. Well, after 6 years I am up to test for my 2nd degree Black Belt. I have worked really hard this last year to make sure that I know all my material. There is great expectations for a student when approaching their degree test so I hope that I am able to live up to the bar that has been set. Truthfully, I am SO nervous, I truly hope I represent well. If you are interested in attending click here. I will let you all know how it turns out. Thanks . . .

You're joking, right?!

Well done, Mr. Damon. Very classy. Does this mean I have to stop watching the "Bourne" movies??

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty . . . "

Is it possible for a child to love accessories from birth? Taylor LOVES purses!! Anything she can drape over her sweet little arm she will. Buckets, watering cans, bracelets, etc. It's like she was programed to wear cheetah print purses. Boy am I in for it.

Comming soon . . .

Alright, in all the excitment of the new book and new movie due out in 77 days (I'm a total geek) my sister found this HILARIOUS spoof on the new trailer of Twilight. Heather I hope you get a kick out of this.
chow!!

Happy Birthday, Baby!!

It was Brandon's Birthday last week. We had so much fun partying all weekend. It was his big 30, birthday!! The kids and I spoiled him with an all day birthday affair and then made him a authentic Argentine dinner. Ellie and Parker both dressed up and served him restaurant style. Not sure how the food tasted, but we enjoyed pretending to be in Argentina.
Here's the Flan I made!!! That's right I MADE FLAN!!! Needless to say, it was gorgeous and very delicious. I am very proud of my accomplishment. :)
The next day our close friends helped me surprise Brandon with a night at Sunsplash water park!! We had a great time playing like teenagers. We later went out to IHOP and had some yummy pancakes. Thanks everyone for making this birthday GREAT!!

Breaking Dawn, Whoohooo!!!!

My cute friends and I all went to the release party for Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the Twilight Saga. It was so fun to be with them and wait like teenagers for this book. (oh, and there were A lot of teenagers.) I have to say that I didn't bounce back the next day after being out so late. That makes me feel very old. :)

Oh, by the way, the book was GREAT!!!

Arg!! Happy Birthday Matey!!!

Parker celebrated his 7th birthday last month. We threw a Pirate Pool Party and had lots of fun. As you can see we spent a lot of time playing in the pool. One thing is for sure. Twelve boys is A LOT more work than 12 girls. Just thought I would share that moment of insight.

"Called to Serve"

My sweet nephew Jordan left on his mission today to Alaska. I have always loved Jordan. Though quiet at times he has always made me smile and most the time laugh. I have been impressed how he has always stayed on the straight and narrow and lead others with a quiet strength. I know he will have an amazing mission and will be able to bring many souls unto Christ. Love you!!

"Till we meet again. . ."

I had the great honor of being reunited with a childhood friend the other day. I can't even tell you how great it feels to be able to "continue where you left off" after 11 years! Jill Peterson was my bestest of friends as a kid and I have nothing but the bestest of memories with her. I feel so grateful that paths cross as we go through life. And I am so grateful she found me. . .

My little stud!!

Parker participated in a tri-athalon at the YMCA! We had a long talk before hand about doing your best and having fun. Although, I was secretly wanting him to finish first by a long shot. (I'm a little competetive.) Parker is also very competetive and I knew that he didn't need any pressure from his parents. He started the race swimming 2 laps in the pool, biking a mile, and running a half mile. He finished a strong 2nd out of 22 kids! Needless to say that I am beeming with pride that he tried SO hard. And that he did SO well. Parker before the race. He was number 10!
Here he is biking 1 mile on a stationary bike. It was a tough task putting shoes on wet feet.
Placing 2nd. So awesome!!

Summertime! (warning - this is long)

We just got back from our family vacation in Utah. We go to Utah for the Fourth of July because it is SO fun. This year was especially fun with all the activities my big bro planned. We got in late Tuesday and on Wednesday we hit the ground running. I visited with my sister in Spanish Fork and we took the kids to Jumping Jacks (a bounce house). We had a great time and even wrestled a spider. :( Well, she actually wrestled the spider I watched from the top of a bounce slide. After our exciting morning we went back to her house and watched the kids play in the water. They loved it. On Thursday Geret took time off from work and took us up to Timp Cave. It was our first time there and we really enjoyed it. We hiked 1 and 1/2 miles up hill to the cave. Inside the cave it was dark and very cold. Ellie had a hard time with the darkness, but was quick to tell us how much fun she had AFTER we were out of the cave. After our 3 hour adventure in the caves Brandon took us all to Tango house, Argentine Cuisine. It was AWESOME!!! The empanadas were great and the Sausage sandwich kicked booty. :) I'm sure it was called something more impressive than just sausage. Doesn't really matter. It was great!!! We hustled back home and headed to the water park for some water fun. There were more single wards than I can count (which was a scary thought). We had the whole park to ourselves, pretty cool, and crowded. We were all very tired. On the fourth we went to go see the balloons launch and then back to the house for some sleepy time. The rest of the sibs arrived by dinner time and we ate some great food. Over the next couple of days we ate, layed out on the back lawn, and played lots of soccer.

My brothers Jabe and Buck came from Washington to visit as well. It was nice having them around. Jabe is leaving for Iraq in the next couple of months. He serves with the Army National Guard. I am grateful to him. Buck is turning in his papers for his mission. To say the least it was a nice time to meet and say adios for a while. In addition, my adorable (sorry it's an aunt thing) nephew Jordan is also leaving on his mission to Alaska this month. We were able to go with him to take out his endowments. We love you Jordan.

It was a great trip. We created memories I will always remember. Love you all . .

Where has the time gone?

I can not believe that Tay is one years old!!! I still think of her as my tiny baby. We had such a fun day with her. We woke her up by singing "Happy Birthday" and she got to open a couple of presents. Later that day we had a family swim party. Everyone turned out to see Tay eat all that cake and of course open her presents.

She truly has been an angel in our house and we are looking forward to getting to know her spunky personality. Love you Tay!!

All that Glitters is Gold!

Ellie had her dance recital over the weekend. She danced to two numbers "Babyface" and "Teddy Bear". One was tap and the other ballet. She has been SO excited to dance on stage and to wear her adorable costume. (yea, ask how adorable it was to my wallet?) She did such a great job. She knew all the dance moves and sang so we could hear her. I'm not sure how she can be so confident at such a young age. We had such a great time watching her. Good job, gorgeous! Ellie and her dad right before the concert.
Ellie waiting back stage.

This made me chuckle.

Parker and Brandon went on a Father's and Son's camp out. As you can see this is where they planned on sleeping. It made me chuckle at his creativity. He is always thinking outside of the box. It turns out that they slept really well. If you don't understand the picture, he put a twin mattress in the back of our tahoe. That's my big bad camper. :)

I really liked it!

Okay, I have to tell you all that I just finished the book The Host! I know there has been some skepticism as to whether or not this was going to be good, too much si-fi, and even a little creepy. I have to say that I really enjoyed it. You won't find Edward here, but that's okay. I found it entertaining, exciting, intense, and deep. If you are a Stephenie Meyer fan I think you will really enjoy this book, and if you are not you may fall in love with her ability to paint vivid pictures of the scenes in the book.