Tuesday, October 30, 2012

book review: Born to Run

Born to Run is some really good story-telling about some amazing runners.  But wait - it's all true!  Running a marathon still sounds a little crazy to me and I love to run, but running an ultra-marathon (50 miles!, 100 miles! and not dying!!) . . . I don't even know what to say.  The cool thing is after reading this my goal of running a marathon feel so attainable.

 "You don’t stop running because you get old. You get old because you stop running."

Born to Run book can be read and enjoyed by any athlete.  It really brings out the inner runner in you.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Boutique in the Barn

Recently Andrew got to participate in a Boutique as a vendor.  I know, it may sound surprising that Andrew has something to sell to moms, but it is an amazing product.  Earlier this year he and my brother, Chris, started a business selling Soapy Nuts, an organic laundry detergent.  It's all I use to do laundry!
Soapy Nuts appeals to me not because my husband sells it, but because it is better for the environment, easy to use, and costs less than commercial detergent.  You can read more about it's benefits here and if you're interested, try a sample!
If you have any questions about Soapy Nuts feel free to ask!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

an October afternoon

Every week is noticeably cooler than the previous but apparently not too cold for swimsuits.
This is classic Elliot and Avery.  Elliot makes up all the rules and tells Avery what to do and Avery does whatever she wants anyway.  Zara is the silent observer for now.
Elliot is always a good big brother to Zara. 
 It'll be hard to see this perfect weather go but there are so many great holidays to look forward to!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Family Reunion

A couple Saturdays ago was a family reunion for the descendants of my dad's paternal grandparents.  We had a potluck lunch at a park and bread and spread potluck for dinner at a church building.  It was interesting meeting 2nd and 3rd cousins I didn't know I was related to.
 
Here is my grandpa's brother, Floyd, and his wife.  I wish my grandpa and grandma Stapley were alive to be here.  They were certainly in our thoughts.
Julie, Nora, and I all have the same hair style right down to parting our hair on the same side. Sisters?  Yep!
It was great seeing family I don't get to see very often. I only wish more family could have come.  It makes me grateful to see all my siblings almost every week except Louise in Utah.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

making jack-o-lanterns

When it comes to pumpkin carving Andrew and I are definitely amateurs. I can't believe we've never carved pumpkins together before so this was a new experience for us and the kids.  A new experience and a new tradition.  Do you see the mustache Elliot put on his?
Elliot's favorite part was designing the face of his jack-o-lantern.
Avery's favorite part was getting down and dirty cleaning out the pumpkin guts.
Andrew's favorite part was using a knife.
My favorite part was lighting the candles and seeing the end result.

This was so fun we might even have to do it again before Halloween!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

bits and pieces

Over the weekend we stayed home a lot to watch General Conference.  So I'm really excited about the change in missionary age.  It's already effected so many people including my sister, Ruth.  She turns 19 in February and wants to turn in her mission papers and serve a full-time mission next year.  It feels like she just graduated from high school but I couldn't be more excited for her!

So here are some snippets from the weekend.

Watching General Conference from the laptop.
Baking
Here's the {mostly} finished office! 
This girl has turned me into a human Kleenex!
I spontaneously began painting this bathroom over the weekend.  This is the before picture.
I love seeing these three play together.  Also, Zara has begun pulling herself up against everything.
This week is October Break so I look forward to finding fun things to do with Elliot and Avery!