Mutton Bustin' and other rodeo tricks

We had the privilege to go to AZ a couple weeks back and participate in a local rodeo. The boys did some Mutton Bustin' (riding sheep) Luigi was a little stiff-backed (read--scared to death) but he held on tight for the ride of his life!! Mario held on as tight as he could but ended up getting thrown off the sheep. He lost a shoe in the process and was a little shaken. A rodeo clown helped him up, gave him his shoe and a couple pieces of candy. He later told Papa the story and added, "It wasn't a REAL clown though. Just somebody dressed up like a clown". TOO FUNNY!! Let's hope he never meets a REAL clown! Luigi's take on the experience?---"Mom! Can I do that again???!!!" Mario's take--"Uh, mom, I don't want to do that again, okay?"
In addition to the mutton bustin' they got to chase a greased pig (along with about 50 other peers). They didn't catch him, but I think they each got a little grease on their hands. There was also an amazing petting zoo with chickens, chicks, sheep, goat kids, baby cows, and puppies. Even Daddy got in on the fun and hypnotized a chicken for the entertainment of a few kids who kept asking, "Is it dead?" hahahaha! The boys also got to ride ponies (twice). It was a full day, topped off with some great BBQ.





We also made a trip to the famous Phoenix Zoo while we were there. FUN! Luigi's favorite was the giraffes and Mario's favorite was the elephants. Great zoo! Great day for us all.

Recent events

We took the boys to see the Lion King a few weeks ago. They LOVED it!! We stopped and had frozen yogurt beforehand.
We've been keeping busy with parks, bikes, trips to the 'big ditch', sidewalk chalk, jump ropes, movies, computer games, and of course, video games. They had me tie kitchen towels (the flour sack towels) around their necks like capes. They were enchanted by how their super capes fluttered behind them as they rode their bikes. Boys are on track break and we've got some other adventures planned. We've also managed to strengthen our immune systems as well with a little visit from a stomach bug that we've passed around.
The boys came downstairs yesterday in matching shirts and Mario said, "Mom, we're kinda like twins because we wearing the same shirt and our eyeballs are the same". Uh, NEWSFLASH! You ARE twins!!
Baby girl is learning more words everyday. She can now recognize the letter E. Thank you Sesame Street!! She loves 'MoMo' = Elmo. And now she's started saying 'Abby'. She likes her too. Still lovin' her some cows, and she frequently asks for a bow for her hair. Sweet baby.

17 Months Old (well almost 18 months)

This baby girl is SO SMART!! She is almost 18 months old. She amazes me daily with her vocabulary and memory. Seriously, the boys did not talk like this til well after 2 years old.

Words she says verbally:
Cow, Whee! (slide), bike, bath, drink, Baa-bo (brother), Mimi, 'hnack (snack), bye-bye, kekel (chemical), stuck, yuck, ho-ho-ho, bow, guu-girl (good girl), baby, taco, daddy, mama, night-night, dink (drink), baa (bath), wago (waffle), wagr (water), Momo (Elmo), cookie, ojos (eyes), tee (teeth), na-ee (nariz/nose), no, pay (plane), side (outside), bug, gilk (milk), gick (music), peepee, dity (pretties--necklaces/bracelets/etc), deese (cheese), nana (banana), doast (toast), beh (bread), pancake, pac-pac (backpack), book, bike, dogdie (dog).

Words she does in sign language:
bath, baby, brother (pats one cheek--she made up this sign on her own), outside, drink, eat, play, potty, milk, music, bow, night-night, banana, grapes, cheese, pancake, cracker, cookie, raisins.

She loves Elmo, babies, cars, and COWS!! She's been wearing her cow Halloween costume for the past 4 days. She can make various animal sounds. She LOVES books. She has amazing hearing to hear EVERY airplane outside and tell me about it. She has also learned that by screaming she can get her brothers to do or stop doing anything she wants. sigh.

Love this baby girl!!

Two-wheelers!

Friday, January 15th. We had gone to the park for about 3 hours that day (no school). Got home, had something to eat, and I said, 'Back outside!' The weather had been gorgeous! I had them help me with the wrench to take off the training wheels on their bikes. Luigi went first. I was running around holding the handle bars & seat. Wobbly-wobbly! My first thought was, "we are not ready for this". But I realized that it was ME. I had to let go. I was SO SCARED! My baby! What if he gets hurt? I had more fear than he did. But I did it. I let go. And this is what I wrote that night--"Remember that feeling when you let go of the boys today and let them ride away on that two-wheeled bike. Remember how deeply you connected with that moment. Remember how you knew it was much deeper than teaching your boys to ride a bike. Remember your joy in them. Remember how you jumped up and down and cheered them on! All this--because you were BRAVE enough TO LET GO!"
It really was one of the top moments of my life. I was jumping and yelling and cheering--Yahoo! That's my boy! Go! Go! Go! Pedal! Pedal! Pedal! I was crying and SO HAPPY. But I remember vividly that very moment I had to decide to let go. I am so happy I did!

I am Currently....

...happy she's ACTUALLY updating her blog with SOMETHING!!!
...waiting for bedtime :)
...sick and tired of criticizing herself. I need to be my own greatest fan. I really am a great person.
...listening to her baby girl play in the tub next to her.
...wanting Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream to eat while watching Biggest Loser tonight.
...thinking about signing up for the SLC Half-Marathon in April.
...sitting on the bathroom floor with the laptop.
...dreaming of a beach vacation--YES--with the kids.
...trying to decide what to make for dinner tomorrow night.
...grateful for my health and my healthy kids
...needs to finish the dishes, start the dishwasher, and do a load of whites.
...needs to make more time for herself.
...hoping she can find sometime to run this week.
...wishing her hair would grow faster.
...looking for dress pants for the boys!! I've been to every second-hand store--picked over!
...needs to think of activities for the upcoming Track Break.
...inspired by her VERY talented friends. They truly make me strive to be a better person and cultivate/make time for my own talents. Thank you!


Thanks for reading.
What are you currently...?

Thanks for the inspiration Brit!

Okay, now the first REAL camping trip

So the boys got out of Kindergarten on Friday, August 7th. The next morning we boarded a plane (just the kids & I) to Michigan.
We had a GREAT time camping with Papa and Sylvia and Uncle Cass in northern Michigan. We actually stayed in cabins which worked out great. The boys each slept on a top bunk and there was even enough room for baby girl to sleep in her portable crib. The campground itself had lots of activities including beach access to Lake Huron, a heated pool, free putt-putt golf, and a nightly old fashioned firetruck that made rounds in the campground. They boys rode on it a couple of times and got to wear a fireman hat.
We went to the UP (upper peninsula) of Michigan one of the days. Across the Mackinac (pronounced MACKINAW) bridge and a little west on the coast--lovely time at the beach on Lake Michigan. We also made a trip by ferry to Mackinac Island. A very quaint, car-free, island where every one makes their rounds on bike, foot, or horse and buggy. We visited the Butterfly house and rented a horse and buggy for our own tour of the island. They gave us the biggest horse they had--BUD. A 2000 lb Clydesdale that stood about 7 feet tall. Huge. Bud was great. He didn't like to rush, as he too was enjoying the scenery up the coast of the island. When we got to the halfway point, most everyone dismounted for a break at the local snack bar. We were instructed to move the horse and buggy around to the field so as not to block the road. I was still in the buggy with baby girl and my brother drove the buggy around to the field. Mario, Luigi, Papa, and Sylvia had all gotten off. Well, right at that moment, another buggy came by. Bud did NOT like being passed, let alone by Pearl. (we later found out her name from the livery) Bud took off. With more than half of his load gone, he trotted as fast as he could up the hill after Pearl. Picture this--Mama & baby in the buggy, my brother trying to pull the reins to stop a 2000 lb horse, and my boys and their Papa running up the hill behind us yelling Stop! Stop!! Yeah, didn't happen. Bud had his own agenda and would slow for us, but then bray loudly and take off again after Pearl. He would not let her out of his sight. This part of the tour was a wooded area and every time she'd go around a corner, he would trot until she was within his sight again. We tried to stop him about 3 or 4 times at first and after the 4th time he got really mad and ran the fastest he had thus far. I was worried he was going to run the buggy into a tree to try to shake us or something. It was pretty scary. After that, I just said let him go, he knows the way back to the stables. We talked to my dad via cell phone and told him to ask someone at the snack bar to call the livery and have someone come pick them up. Everything turned out just fine, but let me just remind everyone that there are no seatbelts in buggies. I was nervous. My brother and I nick-named Bud "Seabuscuit". The boys had a great time riding back to the livery on a 'hay ride' that had no hay. They didn't seem to mind all of the excitement, they washed away their fears with free ice cream from the snack bar. By the time our joy ride was over, we had just enough time to grab some dinner on the island and catch the last ferry back to the mainland.
After our camping trip we stayed at Papa's for a few more days. Uncle Cass taught the boys how to fish and they had much success. We also had a campfire at Papa's house (yes, he has a permit for that) and caught fireflies. We also had some great time visiting Mimi in Michigan. Raiding her candy stash, a 3 HOUR trip to Chuck E. Cheese, and of course, bowling. FUN FUN adventures for our family. Too bad daddy had to finish up teaching his summer course and attend to some church responsibilities here at home.

Lilsusha Running....or not.

I don't know if I've ever explained the name of this blog. Back in the day, when message boards were all the rage online, it was necessary on one board or another to make up a screen name. I really don't know what my thought process was, so here is an attempt to explain it. At the time, a friend had recently gotten married and had teased that the theme for the food was going to be everything 'Lil'--i.e. Lil Debbie snack cakes, Lil Smokies, etc. I thought that was pretty funny. Then 'susha' well, I don't know except that it's close to 'sushi' which I have never eaten. So 'lilsusha' was born.
When I found out I was pregnant, I thought it was a great time to start a blog. The intent was that this blog was to serve mainly for documenting my running throughout my pregnancy--my return to running postpartum and my eventual achievement of my life goal of running a marathon.
WELL, I have made somewhat of a return to running. As per previous posts, I was scheduled to run the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon on July 18th and the St. George full marathon on October 3rd. It didn't and it ain't happenin'. I've had a few hiccups physically and mentally, I'm just not 'there' right now. Yes, the 100+ temperatures have had their part in all of this. I AM a marathoner, I WILL run my marathon. But this one isn't it.
Running is my therapy. I'm somewhat of a 'purist' with running--no headphones, no music. Just me. It is my time to work through situations and emotions inside. I love when I find the 'flow' on a run. When all I hear is my own rhythm of breathing--everything else is still and I don't even know I'm running.
So, the fact that I haven't ran in awhile, thus have not had any 'therapy', has taken it's toll on my emotions. I'm quicker to temper--just frustrated and tired most days. I WANT to run, but again the 100+ degree weather has had a part in my return, or rather my delay in returning. I will keep everyone apprised of my progress.