St. George 2018 Trip

Since I'm on the 10 day social media fast that President Nelson invited us to do, I'm blogging a LOT.

As I said before, I wasn't able to run the St. George marathon. But since we had the hotel and I was bummed out, we decided to just go up and make a weekend out of it.

The first night was AWFUL. We drove just a few hours to a hotel to get a head start on the drive, and the hotel didn't have enough cribs for us! It took James until after THREE AM to fall asleep. Brandon and I were about to lose our minds. So we may as well have woken up early and left at 5 AM and gotten further than if we had gone to the hotel. And slept better.

 Otherwise the drive was uneventful. When we got to St. George, I realized how small it really was. Only 75,000, when I thought it was much bigger! But they had a great area near the children's museum. Splash pad, carousel, library, etc. The carousel only cost $2 for the whole family to ride, and Cora LOVED it. James was not as thrilled, because he was stuck sitting on the bench. 

There is a park nearby called Thunder Junction. It is all abilities, which means that James didn't have as many scary steps to crawl up as usual.

They also had fun things like swings to  

Definitely the highlight of St. George though was seeing Rachel and Cody! We haven't seen them since we left Rexburg, which (for those keeping track) is FOUR years and THREE kids ago! So we were glad they wanted to come meet up with us. St. George is about halfway, so we should do it more often! 

 Cora has been begging to go on a train for a while, so she was SO EXCITED. This picture may not show it, but she was.

 James loved all the dinos everywhere, he kept walking up to them and grunting to sit on them.

 It was at the park that we learned about the 3 hour church block turning into a TWO hour church block. There have been a few big changes lately, but every time I feel very peaceful and not unsure of it. And not just because this means I don't have to wrestle naughty toddlers in the hall for 3 hours. I think this is a good way to reach more people.

James, however, wants 10 hours of church on Sundays. Look at him!

 In St. George there was a farmer who discovered that the hill he was about to bulldoze actually contained many dinosaur bones and tracks. It was SO cool to check out!

James only cared about walking and walking and walking and walking and

And Cora and Brody just threw rocks and dirt. Good thing it was only $5 or $6 an adult. 

 We went to the Honolulu Grill, where Cora filled up on shaved ice and James ate rice and fish (well, Goldfish).

 It was so fun to see the Gamboas! Back in 2010 when we all met we weren't even dating our husbands, just crazy 19 year old girls who were all about going to Abs that Rock with the cute instructor and playing Monster Pong. Now we're married and moms and actual grown ups! We are NOT waiting another 4 years to meet up again!

(Also, look at Cora's blue lips. Haha shave ice!)

James Quarterly Report- 15 months.

Ok this is SO late but here is James' 15 month report!

James started walking around Labor Day. He has not stopped since. His favorite time to walk is when we are at church, which has led to a lot of walks outside.

BUT LOOK AT THE SUSPENDERS! 

 This kid... he loves to climb! I can't get him to stop! He falls off things all the time, but he's starting to learn how to climb off things.

I am obsessed, OBSESSED, with his hair. It is so soft and the COLOR. So amazing.

 James LOVES his cousin Charlotte. The feeling is not quite mutual yet. In another year she'll be bugging the heck out of him, but for now she just looks to us for help. 

 He is still the happiest little boy. He loves dogs and trains and dogs and dinosaurs and so many things.

 James loves to do everything Cora does. I knew this would happen but it is hilarious to watch! It's starting to double my expenses for them, because if I want to keep Cora happy then James needs to jump in on it.

 Every time we went to Grandma and Grandpa Murphy's house Brandon heard the same story about how they couldn't find me until they looked into a cupboard and found me upside down hanging out in the cupboard. So whenever I find James in our cupboard it makes me smile and think of Grandpa Murphy.

 Right at the end of September I decided, on a whim, that I should cut James's hair. Before:

And after:

 I totally butchered it. The sides had some crazy short ends, and the front is all wonky. But he still look so cute! And I left some of the front long so I could sweep it. I'll trim it when it gets longer.

 James has not been talking at ALL. Just in the last half of September he has started to make sounds instead of just grunts. He CAN say words, because in the past he has said "dog", "bye bye", "nana", etc. But right now he just wants to grunt at us. I am keeping an eye on it for the time being, but if he doesn't talk a lot more before his 18 month checkup I am thinking of having his speech evaluated. But he is SO CUTE. Even if he's so busy and I just sweat at church because I am keeping him alive.

Wascally Wabbit 5k

So, this was supposed to be half marathon 6, and my last double digit run before St. George marathon.

However, after my 18 mile run I had some issues, and went to the doctor. I pulled some muscles and had some core issues (which is as specific as I would like to be), so while waiting for an appointment with the physical therapist I should not be running long distances. As this happened the week I was supposed to run 40 miles (5, 10, 5, and 20 miles respectively), I knew I would not be able to make the marathon.

It was a huge disappointment, but I know it's more important to listen to my body.

BUT, since I had already paid for my half marathon I asked if I could downgrade to the 5k. I figured I would run what I could and walk the rest.

Around mile 2, a few other runners and I noticed a woman staggering toward us. Initially my thought was that it was a drunk person walking one off. Then I noticed blood all down her shirt, and I was a little alarmed. Then I noticed the zombie face paint. PHEW! A few more people jumped out at us, which was totally unexpected. They didn't mention that when we were signing up!

I did it in 41:20, which is a pretty good pace for me doing the walk/run pace!

Now to get stronger and (hopefully) faster!1+++++

Moving Austin to Stanford

One of the biggest reasons I wanted Brandon to take the Visalia job after Barry was because I wanted to be near my parents after their mission. We can also be close to Brandon's parents right now, so the kids can be near both grandparents starting next summer.

An unexpected bonus that we didn't expect a year and a half ago was having Dallin and Krystel in the Bay Area all summer, and now Austin will be near for the next 2 years at Stanford! It's only a 3 hour drive.

2 weeks before he was supposed to come out, his car got stolen. It was a very stressful time, as we were unsure as to how he was going to get out here. But miracle of all miracles, the Provo police found it just before he left.

He planned to move out this past weekend, and we were able to swing it so we got to go help him do some grocery shopping. We figured it was our way of being the "parents" here.

It was fun seeing another part of California. Apparently just outside of Palo Alto there is a NASA research center!

 Austin's dorm is... pretty good for students haha. He has a nice roommate I met at one point. It's basically the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen.

His ward is just off campus, so he can walk there which is nice! 

On the drive up we saw that there were tickets to the Stanford-UC Davis football game for $11 for the FIFTEENTH row. So we took it! James did not want Austin to ever put him down.

 Cora spent the whole game with her hands over her ears, saying "This is too loud. I don't like football. I want to go home." Then as soon as we left Stanford scored twice. Bummer!

Lunch was at Wahlburger's, which was pretty good. But raw jalepenos in my salad made my mouth burn.

We took Austin to Walmart and Trader Joe's. Cora made a few interesting fashion choices along the way!

 After dinner, we headed back to Oakley. We were teasing Ashlee and Luis for sleep training Charlotte with the video monitor... while she was 10 feet away. It's funny now, but I know I was just like this with Cora!

 James looked especially dapper in his Larry King outfit at church.

 He LOVES having Charlotte around! Charlotte is a little bit afraid of him, you can see her eyes get big when he comes stumbling up to her.

We tried to keep her safe from James, but it didn't work.

 He was jealous of her seat, so he BIT her toes. Not hard, because I couldn't see a bite mark. But she cried, Ashlee got her out, and then he climbed in and played happily with the toys. Sorry Charlotte!

We now have 2 stops to make in the Bay, and possibly 3 next year if Dallin and Krystel decide to move back here!

Where were you when the world stood still?

On 9/11 every year, people post about what they were doing and where they were when they heard about the terrorist attacks. I don't think I've ever written mine down so I want to for my kids to know.

I have a lot of secondary NYC pride. Being born outside there and having visited there for my growing up years made me feel like an honorary citizen of New York. While I have retracted wanting to live there (or any city ever again after living in Miami), I will still argue that it is better than any other Northeastern city (cough Boston).

So it was the beginning of 6th grade for me. I remember coming downstairs and seeing that the TV was on. The TV was NEVER on before school, so I thought "Cool!" Then I realized something was super wrong. My mom and dad were so focused on it and Austin came running up to me saying there was an airplane crash at the Twin Towers. We had just gone to visit the summer before, and Alyse went up into one of the towers. It was surreal to watch them smoking like that. As we were eating breakfast the first tower collapsed. It was so surreal (again, no other word to describe it) to be witnessing live. It was so unfathomable and cartoonish the way it came down that I thought this was a joke. Like a Pee Wee Herman type collapse? But it wasn't. All I remember is the audible gasp from my parents and the tears and then it hit me that this was REAL and this was horrific. I was 11, remember?

I remember the cameras shooting people running and screaming from the falling debris. My cousins told me that all day that day people were being pulled out of class to be told about the status of their parents.

Every year I learn a little more about that day. I'm so glad that our videos didn't show (or our parents protected us from) the footage of the people jumping out of the buildings. I think of the first responders and the people who saved lives and it's awe inspiring. I think of those people who rushed the cockpit and brought down United 93 to save the lives of who knows how many people and I am grateful for their sacrifice.

I just watched a video that had some audio of voicemails people left from the planes and it makes me never want to fly. The fear they had in their voices makes your heart stop. I still can't watch footage without tearing up.

So, that's where I was when the world stood still.

The grief of growing up.

The first time I wrote about the grief in hitting milestones, Cora slept 8 hours straight. I was so sad that she was growing up and I wouldn't get to see her as often in the middle of the night.

This week we signed Cora up for preschool. I have been so torn about this. I wanted to wait until Cora was 4 for preschool. And the tuition fee will be another added expense when we're looking into buying a house. AND since her friends are older, they'll be in the 4 year old program (MWF) and she'll be in the 3 year old program (TTH) so she won't see them as often. And finally, once she starts school she'll never stop. And that's too much for me.

But her friends are all going and she won't have the same level of peer interaction. Plus, she and I have been clashing a lot. 3 has been HARD. So if she has a new authority figure in her life it may help take some of the pressure off me. PLUS, whenever we have a third kid (not in the works yet) it will be nice for her to have a familiar routine. And finally, James will LOVE the one on one time with me 6 hours a week. He can do classes and story time at the library with me. 

But I am SO sad about "losing" Cora. I worry about how she'll make new friends. Her speech is still behind her peers' levels. I hope they don't think she's a baby or weird. She is the sweetest little girl. I don't want her to get bullied! 

Cora Faye, I love you so. You're the sweetest, even when you're driving me bonkers.

Bad Bass Half Marathon.

I'm training for the St. George marathon, and the weekend of my training to run a half marathon there was a half in Castro Valley (about 45 minutes from the Giullian's house). So I signed up for it! Sight unseen.

The good news is, I got a tough training run in for my marathon.

The bad news is nothing else went right. It was a HILLY course. Mile 1 was a nice paved trail. I was so glad they had so many photographers there, because we got some happy pictures.

But from then on, it was basically uphill. The hill was so steep from miles 2-4 that I literally couldn't run it for more than 5 feet at a time. Once we got to the top the volunteer said "It's all downhill from here!" FALSE. From then on it was rolling hills. It was basically a 13 mile hike. I didn't see another runner for the last half of the race, which is mentally draining. Then my headphones died 10 miles in, and my phone was just about dead so I couldn't listen to music for the last little bit.

 So this was a mental victory for me! It was the slowest race time that I've ever had, but it was the most difficult terrain I've run on by far. About half a mile from the finish line, I saw a pink shirt throwing rocks into the water. Seeing Cora helped me find some energy in my legs. And I made it! Look at my cute cheering squad. I also had Dallin and Krystel and Steve and Karen. So much love!

Cora Quarterly Report- 3 years 3 months

The biggest event of this quarter was that Cora is FINALLY potty trained! I have no idea what happened, but it suddenly clicked when we were in Ecuador. Thank goodness, because I was about to lose it.
Cora is a full blown Disney obsessed girl now!

 She is (generally) a very happy child, and loves to go along for the ride. I can only hope all our children are this easy going with traveling!

She finally has long enough hair for pontytails, which I LOVE.

 She tries to be so big, but still needs someone to snuggle with at night sometimes. I'm trying to tell myself that it will not last.

She has a cute group of friends.

 She's a great big sister, who lets James pull her hair (I DO try to stop it!)

 She finished her Joy school program with flying marks!

 We're trying to expose her to some fun Central California activities, like picking blueberries.

We sure love this Cora!