Swimming Lessons....It's about Time!!!

Blake had his 1st round of Swim Lessons during the 1st part of July. I finally got my butt in gear & got him signed up (thank you Grandmother). I myself was a wee bit nervous for him. He's 6 1/2 & usually has to wear a life jacket. So off we went to the "Fabulous" new Antelope Aquatic Center. Wow....that place is sooo AWESOME!! It was a little chilly, but that's ok. Soooo Blake kinda freaked out on the 1st day. I forgot to mention that on 4th of July while they were swimming Blake stepped off the last step & was floundering & got a little freaked out before Brad could reach him. So his 1st day of class he was a little reluctant to say the least & would NOT let go of the teacher!! I was a little embarrassed & worried that he wouldn't get any better. I spoke with his teacher after & he said it was totally fine & that he would learn to "TRUST" them. Here's a few pictures of a couple of his lessons.

1st day.
Come on Blake...get your face wet....NO WAY!!

Learning to swim on his back.

Way to go Blake!!!

Hanging out by the side of the pool.

Well I am so HAPPY to say that Blake did very well in his lessons & he did finally put his whole face in the water & is doing great. We actually went swimming a few times & he is just doing great & he even says, "look mom" & dunks his face in the water. Woohoo. I would like him to do another round of lessons so he is even more comfortable in the water.

P.S. One of the last days of the lessons another mom & I were talking & she said I looked familiar. Come to find out we were in 5th & 6th grade together. CRAZY!! I thought it was so cool that she recognized me from so long ago. Now we are friends on Facebook & can keep in better touch & she knows a bunch of my friends too. Small world.

4th of July Fun Times!!!

Wow!!! We had a lot of fun celebrating the 4th of July. After our 5k we went home & rested up & then went over to Grandmother & Grandad's for some swimming & BBQ time. It was fun & refreshing for Brad & the boys to take a dip in the pool. If you look close enough at the enlarged pictures you will have a fun laugh at the life jacket Sonny is wearing. Blake was still very apprehensive about going in the water without a life jacket at this point. I get sooo worried about him....thank goodness his Swimming lessons were coming the very next week. Sonny is a little "daredevil." You gotta watch that kid. The food was great & we had a nice time hanging out & relaxing. Later on....closer to fireworks time Bryan, Kimi & Libby came over & even Uncle Lance, Aunt Carrie & Riley came to watch for a little bit.

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Here's all the pictures from the Fireworks fextivities. Brad & Bryan were being crazy & Brad even scared me a couple of times. But everybody had fun....though I think Sonny was very tired as you can tell from the pictures. He always has to cover his ears cuz it's just to "stinkin" loud. Very cute. He watches with super Wide eyes with his hands over his ears. Funny!!

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Well I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. I'm grateful to be living in this FREE country where we have the freedom to worship as we believe. We are so LUCKY & BLESSED!!!

4th of July 5K

So I have no idea why these pictures are so "stinkin" small. Whatever!!! Must be because I got them off of Facebook. Anyway....Our family went out to Elk Grove on 4th of July morning to participate in the Run for Independence 5k. It was fun. Me, Brad, Blake, Sonny, Lisa, Bryan, Kimi, & Libby were all there. My good friend Sarah C. came along with us too. I pushed Sonny in the jogger & I got a 2nd jogger for Brad to push Blake in but it sorta crapped out & was more of a burden than a help. So Blake actually ended up walking almost the whole 3 miles. What a good job that is for a 6 1/2 year old. Let's just say that we were not going for a good time on this 5k but I will say that it seemed extremly SHORT!! I mean...I did just complete a 1/2 marathon the week before. So here's 2 pics that were on my friends camera. As I said before, I have no idea why they are so "stinkin" small.

Me & Sarah C.
Beltram families & Sarah C.

Happy Birthday Dawn!!

We went to dinner at Lucille's for my "Bonus" Mom's Birthday!! That place is awesome even though I'm not a big BBQ fan. I like it but I don't loooove it like some people do. All of the girls were able to be there to celebrate with our mom. It was fun. I think we all got the way Delicious "strawberry lemonade" to drink. It was soooo good....but DANG was it expensive!!! It was like $4.50. CrAzY!!! It was good but, seriously if I'd have known I would've just gotten soda. Way cheaper. It was fun to be with family & to celebrate Dawn's 25th birthday!! That's what the cake said. Sorry the pictures aren't that great because of where I was sitting & I wish I would've taken a few of everyone that was there. Oh well. It was fun. Happy Birthday again Dawn!!

Here's my Dad & Dawn (aren't they so cute)


Here's Dawn with her cake. See....it says "25"

Sonny enjoying his ice cream cake.

Ohhh!!! I got a picture of him before he hid his face.

He was going through a spell of covering his face every time I'd try to take a pic.

4th of July CRAFT

On July 1st I was feeling a little CrAfTy!! I wanted the kids to do something fun & it was really hot outside so I went to one of my favorite crafty blogs & found an easy project for the boys to do. These are homemade fireworks & the boys had tons of FUN!!

It's really easy. You just use toilet paper tubes or paper towel tubes & tape some pipe cleaner to the top (so it looks like a wick) & let them paint whatever they want. I gave them red, white & blue to stay in the theme. You can also put bubble wrap on the inside but I didn't do that. My kids ♥ to paint but they usually have only water colors so this was a real treat especially for Blake. He loves to use Mom's paints. I really need to invest in kid friendly paint & just let them have at it...outside not inside. Hahaha.
Blake painting.

Here's Colby's

Here's the finished product. It was fun. Sonny actually did 2. Not something I kept but it was something fun to do besides watching TV.

Gig Harbor, WA

Here's a few pics & a recap of our last day in Washington.

Here's most of the John's family. The missionary who just got home is in the dark suit.

Here's me & my Cousins Kelli & Mandy

Here's me & my Gramma Diane in front of my Aunt & Uncle's home.

Their home is BeAuTiFuL!!

Well, while we were in Seattle we took a short trip to Gig Harbor, WA where my Aunt Debbie & Uncle Larry live. It just so happened that their youngest son Sean was giving his Mission Homecoming talk that Sunday!! CRAZY coincedence!!! heeheehee. Anyway I'm so glad that I got to see all my cousins. I think it's been like 10 or more years since I've actually seen them in person. They live all over the place. Poor Sean....he totally didn't remember me & I told him it was ok because he was only 2 or something the last time we saw eachother. He gave a wonderful talk & I'm glad I was able to be there for it. Gig Harbor is a cute little town...what we got to see of it at least. One thing I'm not so fond of is those STUPID round abouts!! All in all I'm so GLAD I got to see my family. One of my other cousins is getting married here in the Sacramento Temple on July 31st (which is actually just a couple days from this posting).

So after checking out my Aunt & Uncle's place we headed back to return the rental car & head off to the airport & back home. Wow!! What a fun trip. I'm so glad I got to go & do the 1/2 marathon & spend some time with my mother in law. Brad came & picked us up from the airport & it was freaking HOT when we came home. Nice to get a mini vacation every once in a while.

Seattle Rock n'Roll Marathon Day

So the morning of the marathon we had to get up "dark & early." Seriously, we had to be on the bus no later than 4:45 am. Whew....early. But so exciting!! We boarded the bus & were on our way. We walked around & there were tons & tons & tons of people there. We found our corral, which was 32. For those of you who've never been to a marathon, they group you in corrals by the time you think you will complete the marathon. So the elite runners don't get stuck behind people who are just trying to finish a goal. Pretty cool I think. The marathon started at 7:00 but we in corral 32 didn't cross the START line til 8:00am. It took us a full hour to get to the start line. Crazy...there were so many people there. Anyway here's my pictures I took along the way...hope you enjoy.

Just a random photo showing lots of people....people put garbage bags on to stay warm so they could just throw it away when they didn't need it anymore. Weird, but I guess it's very common.
Here's Lisa. It was pretty cold at 5:30 in the morning.

Here's me in my sweatshirt, but my legs were freezing. I'm glad they had bag

checks cuz we didn't have to carry anything with us. We put everything in this bag & gave it to

the UPS drivers & then they drove them all to the finish line. Pretty cool.

Here's a crowd shot as we were moving towards the START line. Sorry to make you

tilt your head. I thought I rotated it, oh well.

Here's a shot of the START line.

Here's a picture of Me & Lisa right before we got to the START Line. There was a nice

lady that offered to take our picture. I ♥ when people are nice.

I know....portapotty picture? What the heck. I just have to say that these were possibly

the cleanest portapotties we've ever been in. They even had hand sanitizer in them. It was so

nice they were sooo clean cuz when you drink tons of water you gotta go like 2-3 times before the marathon even starts. Gotta stay hydrated.

We were even on the freeway & went through a tunnel so I thought I'd take a picture of the sign.

Here's mile 6!!! I can't remember what mile I actually started jogging but Lisa & I were not together at this point. I felt kind of bad for leaving her but the music on my ipod was making me want to go faster so she said go for it. The 1st 3 miles seem like a breeze & when I got to mile 6 I was like I can totally bump up from 5k's to 10k's......BUT from mile 6 to mile 7 I thought that they made the distance longer than 1 mile!!! Seriously that mile was TOUGH!!! I kept thinking where's mile 7 where's mile 7. The scenerey was great but I didn't get many pics cuz I didn't want to stop but apparently there was a Bald Eagle up in one of the trees. I probably wouldn't have seen it anyway cuz I never see the stuff when people say look at that over there. A lot of times I just say...oh ya I see it. Brad knows now that I don't see stuff & asks me if I'm lying. LOL!!

Just a picture of one of the oh so many water & Cytomax stations. Thank goodness for all these stations cuz that meant we didn't have to carry our own water. It was great!!

Besides having local bands playing throughout the whole marathon they had different cheerleading squads from all over the area cheering us on!! It was fun.

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It's funny because you see a lot of the same people during the marathon. I would see somebody & try to get to them or pass them or keep up with them. I met a girl (can't remember her name now) & we would go for a while & then she would wait for her sister & then she would catch up & so on & so forth. It was cool. I remember mile 12-13 was so hard. At that point I told myself that I really don't think there was any way that I could do a FULL marathon. Not another 13 miles----no way. But finally, finally, the finish line was in sight!!!

This was the best picture I could get without really slowing down. When I was crossing the finish line there was a lady that had passed us earlier that actually tap danced the whole way!! Crazy!! I'm not sure how she did that but I'm sure she's done it a few times. What a great workout for your calves. So the time at the finish line was at 4 hours but when I looked up my real time I had come in at 3 hours 29 minutes & some seconds. Lisa finished about 10 minutes or so behind me. I was only hoping to come in right under 4 hours but I totally surprised myself with 3 & 1/2 hours. Awesome!!!!

After I finished I found the Team in Training tent & sat down to wait for Lisa. I stretched & just watched. Had some oranges, water & cytomax. I'm still smiling. I was sore, but not totally dead.

Here we are!! Mission complete!!!

So here's my medal, number & shirt I wore. I wasn't officially on the Team in Training team but Lisa got me a shirt. One of the coolest things was that during the Marathon they had tons of coaches & other people on teams around the country & every time they'd see a purple shirt they would cheer you on & give you encouragement. There's nothing like having all that support to help you continue & finish. Woohoo...go team go!!!
All in all, it was a great experience & I'm so glad I was able to go & that Lisa asked me to to with her. I will probably do one again sometime, I'd like to do more training though. Now, it's on to smaller 5k races to finish out the summer. The greatest thing about it is that I have actually learned to enjoy jogging/walking.

Friday @ the Expo & Sight Seeing

Friday morning we headed out to the Expo for the marathon& to pick up our shirt & numbers & all the other goodies they give you for participating. WoW!!! The expo was amazing. They have just about everything you could think of for walkers/joggers/runners. If you need something, they've got it. A little overwhelming, but way cool. Lisa & I had to make a pit stop & when I came out she was talking to these 2 guys & introduced me to them. As they continued talking I started wondering if I actually knew them & then finally I asked them their last name. They said Goold. I thought, "no way." I then asked if they were related to Patty Goold & they said yes. I know Patty from Girls Camp & she has become a good friend. Wow...how crazy that I just spent a week with Patty & I come to Seattle & run in to 2 of her brothers-in-law!!!! Crazy!! I had to take pictures & put them on Facebook to show Patty. After the Expo we went to lunch & then went sight seeing.

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We went to the Space Needle which was right across the street from where we ate. What an amazing view from way up there. I kinda felt a little out of sorts being up there & looking all around but it was really cool & worth it. We went on a tour around the city on one of those double decker buses. That was fun!! I know I have more pictures but I have to transfer them from my cell phone & I haven't really wanted to take the time to do it. I know....LAZY!!
It was really fun to go around the city, I'd love to go back again & do some of the other tours too. Did you know that Seattle was rebuilt on top of the old city after a huge fire & that all the buildings are made of concrete? No wood in that city, so there's an underground tour that you can go on. That would be cool. After we went sight seeing, we went back to our hotel & ate dinner & went to bed early. We had to be on our bus @ 4:45 a.m. to take us to the starting line. Ya!!! 4:45am. Crazy!!! The hotel food was soooooo good. (now I have to send all my photos from the marathon from my phone to the computer. I used my cell phone cuz I didn't want to carry a huge camera...be back soon).

Seattle Temple

We went to the Seattle Temple & it was just a wee bit cold. On the way there you go on this bridge (I forget what it's called) that is right above the water instead of being suspended in the air. I thought it was really cool & it felt kind of weird too. I can't believe how much water is in the Seattle area. WoW!! The Temple is huge. It's the 1st Temple I've been in that has an escalator. YES!! an escalator. I know that Temples have stairs & elevators but this was different. Plus it is just HUGE!!! I've been to some pretty big Temples too. It was really nice & I'm glad we had the opportunity to go. Here's some of my pictures that I took. (someday I will figure out how to get my mom-in-laws pics on here too).

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1st Day in Seattle

So....here we go (I've finally decided that separate posts is the way to go).............Lisa & I headed off to Seattle on a Thursday afternoon (last month) to participate in the Inaugural Rock n' Roll Marathon. We were signed up to do the 1/2 marathon. The flight was easy & uneventful. I'm always so impressed with the landings & the fact that we are up in the air. Amazing. Anyway, we went to get our rental car & it was kinda cool but I don't think we'd ever get one again. It was a Suburu (a new model). Not bad just not our fave. Found our way to the city & looked & looked for our hotel. It seemed it was nowhere to be found. Finally, we found it though. Seattle reminds me a lot of San Francisco. Hilly & crazy, not my fave place to drive, even while sitting in the passenger seat. LOL!! At one point we were at the bottom of a hill kind of in the intersection behind a big bus. Lisa was trying to get out of the intersection but there was no place to go & then the bus rolled back a little & we were sooo close. I thought I was going to die!!!I ♥ my mother-in-law, but we just drive soooo differently. I am very cautious & she is very gutsy. As you can see, I survived. We checked in to the "W" hotel. Fancy Schmancy. Have you ever been in a hotel where you have to use your key card to make the elevator work? Not me, thought it was a little weird, but it was a really cool hotel. Here's some pics of the hotel room. NICE!! We had a pretty nice view. After we got settled we changed our clothes & headed off to the Temple!! (next post).

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Overwhelmed!!

I'm ashamed to admit but yes, I have been avoiding my beloved blog. I have so many pictures that I need to put them all in order. I had a wonderful time in Seattle for my 1/2 marathon. We did another 5k on July 4th & had tons of fun swimming & shooting off fireworks. Blake also started swimming lessons. I'm working on colages so that it won't be so difficult to look at all of my fun pictures. Bear with me. I feel like I am soooo busy. I need to set aside time. (Time???what's that). I will do it!!! Yes I will!!!