Eleven-Eleven

So apparently I just don't blog anymore!  :(

Nate takes the laptop to work now, and we don't have the PC set up here, so it's not quite as convenient to blog.  But I don't want to get too behind!

Nothing new on the job search.  We press on. We are so blessed!

#Salemlife is great!  The weather this season has been unbelievable.  So warm!  We are taking advantage like crazy!  Lots of walks and hanging out with new friends....animal friends!  Allie has befriended every horse within a mile of here.  We take them apples and carrots.  We have also met kitty friends and a black lab named Kohl, who used to bark at us, but now when he sees us, he gets SO excited to play fetch!  And there's Bruce.  Allie wrote him a letter and put it in his mailbox (without my knowing), and he "wrote back" and gave us a Twix.  Awesome!  I love our neighbors!  Sigh.  We need pets....

Halloween!  It was a blast.

On a whim, I decided to run the Saltair Half Marathon with Cathy and Sonja.  It's a completely FLAT course, and we ran it in 2:26:52.  Pretty happy with that!  Sonja was sweet to stay with us, it was more of a training run for her.  Cathy and I did our best to keep our pace under 11:00.  The aid stations didn't have cups (SO lame), so we had to stand there and drink from the big thermos at aid stations.  Ate up some time.  It was fun to see Wan, Joshua and Meridith too!

Finally, some random pics.  Mostly of Claire because that's who I hang out with the most!  :)

October Life

Life is crazy!  I keep getting behind on blogging.  Here's an update:

1. Both potential jobs we were hoping for fell through, so we are back to square one.  I don't want to talk about it.  But these comfort me:

2.  Salem is still treating us well.  I can't get over how grateful I am that we have a place to live right now!  We were hoping it would be VERY short-term, but for some reason, this is where God wants us to be right now.

3. It's that time of year!  Pumpkin patches abound.  Claire is at such a fun age where she can keep up and understands things better.  I'm loving the kids' ages right now!

4. Running!!  We did AF Canyon again last weekend.  Nate came with me, and we ran the whole 8 miles with Wan.  It was such a treat getting to know him better.

Then on Tuesday, I went up to Yellow Fork Canyon and did a HIKE....it was supposed to be a run, but Wan took us straight UP the mountain!  I biffed it on the way down, but still, it was a blast, and I was happy to push my body and get stronger. It was such a fun group though!

 I love MY Janet!

Elephant Ride!

Last Friday was Joshua's birthday.  He invited some of his friends to go to the fair with him and his family.  It was a lot of fun!  We had sno-cones, pet the goats, bunnies, sheep, etc.  The girls rode the kiddie rides.  Jill made me ride the SCARIEST ride of my life with her.  You could hear me screaming throughout the entire park.  Upside down, people!  Hanging there!  Jill and I are now bonded for life.

Anyway, but the highlight of the day was when Cameron and I rode an elephant!  Joshua, Luke and I felt sort of bad supporting these poor elephants hauling people around on their backs in circles, but at the same time, how could we pass this up??

It was pretty cool.  I was proud of Cam!

Summer Fun

I have been slacking on my blogging.  My goal for this summer has been to stay BUSY with the kiddos.  This is our 7th summer at the Village, and I can't just sit outside in the court with them like I usually do.  Cam needs more than that now.  He needs a fenced yard and a dog.  (Okay, it's really ME who needs that, but still.)

So....until then, we PLAY!  Lots of swimming, hiking, running, hanging out with friends.

PICTURES!!!

Christy!  My big sis and bestie for the summer!

Bear in the forest

We did an evening hike to Lake Mary.  The kids were awesome!

The crew.

I love this picture!  Yes, Joshua wore a teenage girl's jacket.  #totesfine

Sweet Tooth Fairy with Meridith and Christy!

On Thursday, June 19, Sonja and I got to push the lovely Miss Elsha in a 5K race.  It was insanely hilly and hot, so I about died, but it was a VERY special experience nonetheless.  For the millionth time, I cannot believe how blessed I have been to meet so many amazing people through running.

Hanging out with two of our favorite people, Sonja and Chris (and puppy Callie!)

Claire is cute! That is all.

Pouting.

This weekend is RAGNAR!!!  I'm so excited.