Just You+Me: Chloe

I make plans of grandeur each summer. Many won't come to fruition, but those that are most important to me always do.  Top of that list is one on one dates with each of our children.  We have busy lives. I think it's important for Scott and I to take the time with our focus solely on one child. Plus, it is so much fun to plan these dates and think what each of my children love to do. I'll start with the oldest child and share each of our dates in order of age.

For Chloe's date with me I had planned to take her to my salon. She's only had her hair cut at the Dollar Cuts or by a friend, so it was a special treat.

This is our before picture. Not a bad start I'd say :)

The night before our date we were evacuated from our home because of the Dump Fire.
We had stayed the night at Ginger and Scott's in AF.  I had limited clothing, but we still made a go of it.
We both had our hair cut and our makeup done. It was fun to spend the day doing girly things with her.
She has definitely grown up a lot the last year.
She is becoming a wonderful young woman with so much to offer the world.
I'm lucky to be her mother.


The date Scott planned for Chloe was a Real Salt Lake game.
Chloe loves soccer and has talked often of wanting to see a professional game.
Again, we were out of our house for the hardwood floor to be repaired.
So I drove them to the stadium from Salt Lake, and of course I sent them with my camera. They made good use of it. They came home with random pictures of the back of people's head, the sidewalk, etc. and giggled as I looked through. "We made sure to get lots of pictures for you Mom." Those two can get real silly when they're together.

My favorite shot of them. 

Back to School with Miss Miranda

We had our Back to School Dinner last night.
I started this tradition last year, and I was really looking forward to it again this year.

Usually I prepare the meal/dessert, set the table, and do all the clean up myself.
This year I had a couple of helpers who just love to add ingredients and such.

 On the menu this year:
Teriyaki Beef with snow peas, red peppers, and mushrooms over jasmine rice.
Steamed broccoli.
Soda pop of your choice.
Dessert:
Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze
served with a side of Honey Maple Nut Ice Cream.

I always serve the meal as if they are at a fancy restaurant.  

Using sir and maam.  

Getting them whatever they'd like. 

Even picking up dropped utensils.

You'd like a chocolate milk also, no problem, I'll be right back with that.

A second helping of dessert, absolutely!

Are you finished sir? May I take your plate for you?

 The kids just eat it up. They took up calling me Miss Miranda. One of our favorite episodes of the Cosby Show is when Theodore comes home and his folks have turned the place into a mini-town where he pays rent, must buy his own furniture, get a loan from the bank. Man it's good stuff.  Mrs. Huxtable goes by Miranda in that episode, so they thought it was a perfect fit.   The restaurant has officially been dubbed Miss Miranda's Fancy Back to School Restaurant. Too wordy?

They had a few good laughs at my over-politeness and delicious menu.
"The lady who usually cooks here isn't this fancy or polite."
"The lady who usually cooks here sings really loud and has bad dance moves."


When they were just about all finished with their meal Cole came in the kitchen and whispered,
"You're still my Mom, right?"
"Yes," I whispered back.
"Good. I love my Mom."

After dinner Scott gave each of the children a father's blessing to start the school year.
The words of encouragement he spoke were comforting. Each of our children has different and unique personalities, strengths and challenges.  Each blessing was perfectly tailored to those needs.  I'm so grateful for the power of the priesthood in my home.

I Run...

This summer I ran the Ogden Marathon in May with Molly and Tristan, a 5K in July with Asher and Gretchen, and a 200+ mile relay with Shannon and 4 other women I'd just met.

I've been asked often why? Why do you run? Why do you sign up for "torture".  True, there are times it does feel like torture.
My most common answer to the "why" question is, Because I can.

I don't mean "I'm awesome, I can run a race", because truth is I've watched many races and if you just scan the participants you will see a wide variety of ages and body types. I'm convinced most anybody can run any race if they put their mind to it.




So what I mean when I say I can is:
I have a healthy body.
I have legs that work.
I may not be fast, but I can keep going.
I'm not going to win a race, but I will win simply by being a finisher.
I can challenge myself beyond what I believe I may be capable of, both physically and mentally.
I can spend time and energy working towards a goal.
Most of all, I am so grateful to have a body that has the ability to do amazing things.
I am all too familiar with the immense sadness and struggle when your body becomes something other than what you've always known it to be.
I run for Scott.

He cannot. I can.
In every race I run I take a moment to clear my thoughts and think of him. Sometimes it's when things are really difficult and I just want to quit.  I think of him crawling to the closet each morning to hoist himself up and pick out a shirt.  I think of him maneuvering constant obstacles that most of us never deal with and wouldn't give a second thought.  It gives me courage to go on.

Sometimes I think of him when I feel like I'm flying and I could run a million miles.  I think of how he pushes himself and has a usually happy demeanor despite his physical limitations.  I think of the body he was blessed with that performed any athletic feat as if he'd been doing it all his life. He was a natural born athlete, I....was not.

He has been pushed so far from his comfort zone physically and mentally.  Most of the time this was not by choice. Many of us will not be tested in this way, but I think we can benefit in ways we don't even fully understand from being pushed. Even if we are the one doing the pushing. I have done well in some races (by timing standards) and poorly in some races, but it always reinforces the thought that I can do hard things.

While running through Soda Springs, Idaho in the middle of the night last weekend my thoughts turned to Scott.  I felt like my chest would burst with emotion.  I felt proud of what he has accomplished and I felt an immense gratitude for what my body can do.  I took a quiet moment in the dark to thank God.








In what ways do you push yourself? What inspires/motivates you?