I love summer

I love spending the day at the pool. I love going to the park early, before the slides get too hot. I love hanging outside right before it gets dark. I love how my boys are so tired at the end of the day from playing so hard. I love the dirty swimming pool in the backyard. I love when my boys stink like sweat, dirt and sunscreen at the end of a long day. I love when Elijah plays in the mud. I love bbq's and fireworks. I love fruit salads and salads. I love spending the day at a lake. I love doing yard work and summer projects. I love that Sam will have breaks and we will get a mini-family vacation. I love that the T.V is hardly ever on. I love wearing summer dresses or shorts. I love running early in the morning. I love that my boys knees are always dirty and scratched. I love that I don't have to dress Isaac and it perfectly acceptable at this time of year. I love sitting on my parents deck. I love hanging out at the zoo. I love going to the library and museums to get away from the heat. I love Bee's games. I love tan lines.
I do not like that my boys fight a lot now. I do not like that Isaac has turned into a mischievous toddler, he use to be so sweet.

Ragnar 2010

This race was one of the hardest physical, emotional, and mental things I have ever done. The race starts in Logan and ends 188 miles later in Park City. I was in Van 1 and leg 5. We started our first runner at 5:45 am. My first run was 7.6 miles up Avon pass. It was a beautiful hard run and I felt good. My second run was suppose to be a moderate 4 miles but I was starting to feel the sleep deprivation and I had a hard time. I was half way through my run when I realized I had no idea where I was! I mean I knew I was in Utah but I was running through some farming community and I had no I idea where it was. After our second leg we actually got a decent 3.5 hour break. I was so ready for a nap. I ended up sleeping on Coalville's high school lawn. I wasn't able to sleep though! I was too worked up and was making sure our wonderful volunteers made it to their exchange points. At 2 am we got up to meet Van 2 for the next exchange. I did take another nap at about 4 am. When I woke up it was my turn for my last leg and I was ready to go! I ran 3.6 miles through Heber and it was by far my most awesome run. I think I was going on adrenaline and the knowledge that the sooner I got done the sooner I was done with my portion of Ragnar.
My team rocked! Thank you Geno, Eric, Lucas, Josh, Andrea, Trevan, Liena, Caroline, Molly, Larry and Lindy! I had a lot of fun. I said only a few things I shouldn't have. I laughed a lot. I am really proud of Larry this was his very first race! He killed it. Andrea is my hero. I mean really she is amazing. She has been through so much the last eight months but she wanted to do Ragnar. I offered to run her last leg with her and she refused. She wanted to do it alone just like the rest of us. Then when Lucas was running the worst portion of the race she got out of the car and walked the last mile with him! And of course Geno. He has a lot to be proud of! He ran Ragnar with his kids and put us to shame. He came across the finish line moving fast and looking good. I hope when I am his age I am running and looking as good as him. I think my only complaint is I missed Sam a lot. I hope next year he is there with me.
My team was awesome. We finished in 31 hours! We came in 130th place!
I am already looking forward to doing this again next year.

oh no

Well Sam is out of the big race. A few weeks ago he crashed his bike, he unknowingly slipped his SI joint. He then continued to run on it for three weeks until his hip was in so much pain he could barely walk. Poor Sam. He has worked so hard for this. I am sad because I was excited to spend that much time with him. He is going to stay home and hang out with the boys while I run and try and not say anything vulgar in my sleep deprived delirium.

We are enjoying the beginning of summer. Going to baseball games, the park and the zoo. Doing lots of running and a few bike rides.

Training and more training

Very soon Sam, Eric, Lucas, Larry, Geno, some friends and I will be running the Ragnar relay together. It is a 180 mile relay from Logan to Park City. Today Sam and I started running twice a day to get ready for it. We are only running three and a half miles at a time but let me tell you, it is hard work!

Elijah is going to be annoyed very quickly. He tolerates being in the jogger once a day, so twice a day will be a challenge for him. Isaac likes seeing the world from the jogger. I think we will have to think of a different route to do.

I might feel differently later but I am thinking this whole relay thing is crazy!!

A Normal Day

Today was just a normal day for us. We wok up early to have breakfast with our friend Andrea and some of her family. In the middle of breakfast Elijah told everyone he didn't want to watch the dragon movie he wants to watch KickAss. When Andrea told him he couldn't do something he asked if he could do it for just two minutes. Ahh my cute three year old. After breakfast we went to the library. Elijah was very well behaved and played nicely with the other children. Isaac on the other hand ran around like a crazy toddler, throwing books off the shelves as fast as he could. Every time I tried to hold him he would scream so loud. So I decided going home for some chill time was a good idea. When we got home Isaac fell right asleep, Elijah decided jumping on my head and doing face plants on the bed was a good idea until I told him I would put him in Isaac's crib to sleep. After a nice long nap I changed Isaac's diaper and just let him play around in his diaper. I was washing the dishes and he came in holding his diaper and laughing. I of coursed laughed also. He walked away for a minute and then walked back into the kitchen I then realized he had caca on his hands and all over his legs. He had made caca on the floor! We were not laughing anymore. While I was trying to clean him up, Elijah was kind enough to let me know Buckley was eating the caca! Both the boys got their night time bath at five and Buckley has been banished to the backyard. Now I have lost my phone, I am being forced to read Spider-man comics and play cars. Isaac is climbing the kitchen chair and I am not sure I want to cook dinner. I would say it was a good day.

It has been too long

We have a visitor coming tomorrow. It has been too long Grandpa BG and Grandma Sharon! I am excited for the boys to meet you and hang out with you. I am excited to talk with you guys and eat good food. Here are some pictures until I have more to show.

Isaac turned one!

trying to get the cake and ice cream off!



Elijah had to have a turn in the kitchen sink. I believe he is getting a little big for it.

I can not believe my baby is one. This year has gone by so quickly. He has turned into such a cute toddler. I love his little personality he can be so sweet or so grumpy and independent. He likes to sing and dance, he can already do baby sign, he climbs anything including the kitchen table, he likes to ride his bike, help me in the garden, play cars, drink chocolate milk and just be the cutest one year old this mama has ever seen. He wasn't too interested in his presents but he sure did love his cake.

Happy Birthday Mom

Yesterday my mom turned 60. We had an open house for her, with friends and family. It was such a nice day.We were suppose to have the party outside but we live in Utah and it was raining and cold most of the day. We brought the party indoors and things turned out great. My mom has a lot to be proud of! She has six kids that love her and love each other. She has a lot of friends that appreciate her. She has a husband who thinks the world of her and nine grandkids that think she is the best Nana ever. I forgot my camera, so I stole these pictures from Juanita's blog.

got this off Facebook

YOU WANT TO GET MAD? We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, but now you get mad! You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President. You didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy. You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got ousted. You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.. You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us. You didn’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war. You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq. You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people. You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans. You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden. You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed. You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city drown. You didn’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich. You didn’t get mad when, using reconciliation; a trillion dollars of our tax dollars were redirected to insurance companies for Medicare Advantage which cost over 20 percent more for basically the same services that Medicare provides. You didn’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark, and our debt hit the thirteen trillion dollar mark. You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans… oh hell no. AND NOW YOU’RE MAD !
By: Christian Struzan

1st stitches and 3rd ER visit

Oh Elijah. Right as we were getting ready to go to bed last night Elijah leaned off our bed onto my dresser. He slipped and as he went his nose connected with the dresser. There was instant blood and screaming. At first I thought it was just another bloody nose but with closer examination we realized part of his nostril was not connected to his face anymore and his septum was cut. Off he and Sam went to the ER. They gave him nasal Versed, wrapped him up in a sheet, three adults held him down and they gave him three stitches in his nose. He came home at one thirty in the morning wearing sunglasses so high he was hallucinating. He was seeing holes in the wall and bugs were coming out and every once in a while a fish would come by.
This morning he is back to being Elijah. His nose his swollen and ugly looking but I don't think it should scar too badly.
The picture is from the ER after the stitches when he was high as a kite.

The Good and Not so Good

The day before Easter I had a sudden onset of feeling like ass. I started having lower back pain and I felt feverish. After a few hours I called my parents to come watch the boys and I headed to Urgent Care. I was diagnosed with a kidney infection. It was good I went when I did, I had a fever of 104.5! I was started on IV antibiotics and told to come back the next day. In my fever induced delirium I didn't realize how sick I really was and how stressed my family and Sam were. Sorry guys, I guess the dramatics just seem to find me. I am finally feeling less like ass and more like good old Katie.
Thanks to all our family our boys were able to still have an awesome Easter. The boys dyed eggs with my parents, and we had an Easter egg hunt at my parents house. Of course there was too much candy and a lot of food.
Isaac is full on walking and climbing. He has the bruises to show for all his bravery. He is already 11 months old. I can not believe he will be one soon! I get stopped all the time telling me how cute he is, I always think "yes I know" but that isn't polite so I just say thanks. He started to lose his chunk but that is what happens when you walk, climb and ride a tricycle! That is right he is already riding a bike. It is something in the genetics.
Elijah is at the Why phase. He asks so many damn questions, I love it. I am having to be creative with my answers. He is also full of interesting comments.
Here is a conversation he had with a friend
Friend: You look like your dad"
Elijah: Nope
F: Do you look like your mom?
E: Nope
F: Who do you look like?
E: Michael Jack!
Yes he is funny. He loves Michael Jackson, cars, and Spider-Man. He has names for his special cars, watches Spider-Man and wears Spider-Man shoes, and of course our lives are full of Michael Jackson music. We listen to little Michael Jack and big Michael Jack. He has also started asking questions about baby bellies and gender. Oh I don't think I am ready for it. I try to be as general as possible but he is a boy and he does very boy things. For instants he put a stethascope around his hips and told me to look at his big pennie! I keep thinking he is doing and saying things he should be doing when he is a teenager.
Sam is still very busy. He is doing clinicals, working and school. He is even more busy! As weird as it sounds though I think he seems happier. Clinicals are good for him, he is thriving there and putting all his knowledge to use. He is almost done with his fifth semester! Only four more semesters until he can go back to riding his bike and racing cross.
Life is good. My boys are happy and entertaining. My husband is awesome and working hard for us. I am feeling better and maybe just maybe I will be back to running soon.
I just realized I take a lot of pictures at the dinner table and while the boys are bathing. I swear we do more than bathe and eat.

Conversation with a three year old

Elijah: "Mama did I come out of an egg?"
Me: "No you came out of my belly."
E: "Did I come out of an egg in your belly?"
M: "No just out of my belly"
E: " I came out like baby Eli"
M: "Yes"
E: "Did I eat dinner in your belly?"
M: "Yes"
E: "Did Isaac come out of your belly?"
M: "Yes you are both my babies"
E: "So Isaac ate baby food in your belly and I ate quesadilla's in your belly!"
and then me laughing inside because he is so damn cute.

Moab

We took a much needed mini-vacation to Moab this last weekend. I was suppose to run the half-marathon but my foot hasn't healed enough to start running. Sam, Juanita and I got to be the support crew/babysitters. It was hard to watch all the half marathon runners come across the finish line and know I had trained so hard to be there with them but I am hopeful I will be there next year. Since I didn't run I think Sam and I got more of a vacation. We did two small hikes and one big hike. After all the fun Elijah was worn out! Isaac was tired of being in the back pack and his car seat. Sam and I were dirty. So I would say it was a good weekend. I posted a few pictures here and I will post a few more on Facebook.




us


sitting in a "cave" Elijah found


He crawled part of the hike. I couldn't tell if he was tired or just enjoying getting extra dirty.


Moab scenery


Isaac chilling and eating some Moab dirt


yo my name is Geno!


Elijah worked so hard at the beginning of the hike he had to catch a ride on the way out


Isaac loving the ride


It was a hard weekend for some of us

This is always the last stop on our Moab trips. Rays has the best burgers and beer in all of Green River.

Mr. O'Atencio

My dad's birthday was March 17th. We had a little party for him, he made Irish Stew and I made Corned Beef and Cabbage and brownies. We all sang ugly happy birthday for him, I believe he loved it.
My dad is an awesome dad. He didn't have a lot of guidance on how to be a dad but he is one of the best dad's I know of. He is always there when we need him, he would do ANYTHING for his kids and grandkids. My mom never has to grocery shop because my dad does it. My dad cooks every night so my mom doesn't have too. Anytime I don't feel like cooking I know if I call my dad he would take us to dinner or cook for us. If I am happy or sad one of the first people I call is my dad, he listens when I need him to and he gives good advice (even if it isn't what I want to hear). My dad introduced me to running when I was only six years old, his passion has become my passion. I am so proud of him and so glad he is mine.
Happy Birthday Papa Geno.