Maximizing on Our Time at Disneyland

When we originally started planning this trip--about three years ago, we went to visit some friends who go to Disneyland often. They are former Southern California residents, so they knew all of the ins and outs of just how to do this trip.

image: ridemax.com

One of the things they shared with us was something called "Ridemax."

image: kk.org

You pay a fee for the use of the Ridemax website. You can log in and choose which park you're going to, what day and times you plan on being there, and which rides you plan on riding while you're there. The people behind Ridemax have done all the research as to which lines are shortest at what times and days. After you've chosen your rides, it automatically creates a plan for you so you end up at the shortest lines at the best times.

You can also mark on your plan when you want to take breaks and if you're willing to send a runner to get Fast Passes.

Here's an example of what we did....

We paid $14.95 for six months use of the site. It was the shortest plan offered. Let's say I was going to be at Disneyland from 8-9:50am on Monday. I chose Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and It's a Small World. This wasn't a real plan, this is just an example. I ask them to create an itinerary for me and end up with the following:

image: csdaley.com

Runner gets a fast pass for Indiana Jones at 8:05am while the rest of the group goes to visit It's a Small
World and waits in line for approximately one minute. After It's a Small World, the group goes to Pirates of the Caribbean at 8:30am and waits for four minutes. We then head over to Indiana Jones at 8:51am and wait for six minutes and use our Fast Passes to ride. Of course you have a whole hour left, so you can go back and modify and add other rides. Ridemax will tell you if you've chosen too many rides for the time frame you've chosen. You can remake your itinerary as many times as you want, and Ridemax will save your plans for you.

Everything I read as I researched this trip said to take a break in the middle of the day and go back to the park in the evening. This was very wise advice. We were all worn out by noon or so, so we'd head back to the house and relax for a bit. I would make two itineraries--one morning and one evening. That way, if we missed a ride in the morning, we could tack it onto the evening's plan.

The first morning, when we got up to go, and the plan was all set, the family all scoffed at my idea of using Ridemax: "Mom! This is a vacation. We don't have to have everything planned. Can't we just go for it and do what we want to do?"

I asked them to just be patient and see how it worked. If they didn't like it or it didn't work, we'd scrap it all and do it our own way.

image: free-city-guides.com

Truth is, it worked beautifully! Everybody recognized that as we arrived at Space Mountain late in the morning with the Fast Passes our runner (me) had picked up earlier in the morning. We were able to completely by-pass the entire huge, snaking line.

There were two times we chose not to follow the plan. The first time, we ended up waiting in a line for nearly an hour to ride Goofy's Sky School at California Adventure. Let's just say we became good friends with those around us in the line. The second time, we waited for at least 40 minutes for a 35 second ride on a roller coaster in Mickey's Toontown. Painful!

With Ridemax, we shot to the heads of lines thanks to Fast Passes. We also ended up in the shortest lines at the parks--less than 10 minutes most of the time, but never more than 20. Seriously, it was FABULOUS!

I think we all learned a little bit of the truth to the saying, "Fail to plan, and plan to fail." I can't imagine how long we would have waited had we not known about Ridemax. In this case, we all felt that our time was very well spent. We saw WAY more of Disneyland and California Adventure thanks to Ridemax.

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What I Learned from the Happiest Place on Earth

Yes! We finally did it! Mission accomplished....we went to Disneyland!

This trip was seriously YEARS in the making. Do you know how much it costs to take a family of nine to the happiest place on earth? Woah! That's some HUGE saving. But, we did it, and it was GREAT!

As we arrived the first night, I just kept pinching myself. Were we really there?

We had a BLAST! Everything went without a hitch, and when all was said and done, I had no regrets. We got to do everything we wanted to.

While we were standing in a line on our last day, the Warden got to talking to one of the guys who was supervising the line. The "cast member" (as they call all those who work at Disneyland) shared quite a bit of insight into the Disneyland mindset.

He shared that all who work there are "cast members" because they
feel that everyday they are part of a big show. Every day, when they come to work, their job is to entertain their "guests."

What a service these people provide. Their focus isn't on themselves or how they feel about ANYTHING. It's all about those who stand in their lines, walk on their paths, watch their performances, etc., etc., etc.

Once I knew this, Disneyland became a different place. These people were there to serve me and make sure I had a great time.

As we approached the place where you meet princesses, I walked up to the "royal page" and said, "Hey! How's it going?" He was a young man in his late teens by the look of him. I had momentarily forgotten that this young man was in costume. He was playing a part. His job was to stay in character and make me feel that I was truly going to be meeting some royal princesses. My greeting was met with "Welcome, dear lady," and he ushered me into the line I was to wait in.

Of course he did. It was his job to be a character in this play of the day at Disneyland.

Another thing the cast member had shared with the Warden while we waited earlier was that he was known as the "lead." In other words, as far as that ride went, he was the main character. He was the guy in charge. Of course, he had others he answers to but his responsibility was to lead in that particular area of the park. Others, he mentioned, had parts they were responsible for but his place was there. It was his specialty. He understood all there was to know about that one job.


All of these things have been jelling in my mind....

• What if I were to face every day as if I were a cast member in a much larger show?
• What if I were to focus my efforts on making sure that others were enjoying the performance that is life?
• What if I were to stay in character no matter how others interacted with me?
• What if I were to accept the responsibility for being the "lead" in my life?
• What if, as lead, I came to understand my role so well that I can make those things I'm responsible for run flawlessly?

I felt safe the entire time I was there. It was clear that each cast member knew his/her role. There was more than one time when I got on a ride with #7 and was concerned for her safety. It was then that I realized that I needed to learn to trust more. I needed to trust that those "leads" and "cast members" had done their jobs. They followed the rules and learned their parts and their main focus was me and my family and all the other individuals and families who came to enjoy their time there.

I have my own kingdom here. It CAN be the happiest place on earth. It is my own little show, and I am one of the leads. As lead, I'm in charge. I can make things go the way I want them to--any way I envision them. As lead, though, there are responsibilities that I need to take on that will keep the other cast members and those who visit my kingdom safe. One of the best things I can do is learn my part and be consistent in seeing to my role.


I now see that I also need to learn to be trustworthy--to learn my job and do it every day without fail. I need my children to know that as the lead, I have done my part and they can ride the ride of life without fear. They can trust that I have prepared them for the ride ahead.

Now that we're home, it feels like it was all a dream. Did we really go? 

Thank you to the Magic Kingdom for helping me understand my own kingdom a little bit better.

Kickstarting

I'm home from church today. It's Easter. I got up with all kinds of great aspirations of what this day would be to my family. So much of what I've been learning lately has emphasized the importance of having and upholding family traditions. There have been many traditions that we started with our oldest  that I have let go through time--through laziness; through being overwhelmed. I am now kicking myself. I know. I do that a lot.

Kicking myself, though, eventually leads to kicking myself in the rear end and restarting. I am working on allowing myself to begin again--to not give up.

Today, particularly, I'm sad that I gave up the Easter dress (and shirt and tie) tradition. Next year, my boys and husband will have new shirts and ties, my girls and I will have new dresses. I'm determined. I just think it makes this day that much more important and special.

I got up and put some caramel rolls into the crockpot and got the sausages out to thaw. I put the Easter baskets by each child's bed--thank goodness they slept in because so did I. I think our vacation wore us all out. It's taking us a few days to recover. I'm glad we returned a day early.

I stopped taking a medication the other day. It's been affecting my stomach in a very bad way. I'm now waiting for the effects to stop, but instead, it's getting worse. I'm hoping that this is just a "darkest before the dawn" scenario.

I have things I want to share. So many thoughts and experiences have been happening and teaching me. I feel that I've allowed myself to get distracted through the dark winter and now that the sun is out and the clouds are dissipating, I have a new vision for what I want life to become. I have more energy and more desire to change and make life what I want it to be.

This is what I feel that I need to write about. I need to make sure I jot down these lessons, so that I can come back and refer to them and learn from them especially when its dark and cloudy and I start to lose my way.



Here are a few key words (for my future reference), so I can remember all that I need to write about:
**small and simple things
**looking beyond the mark
**Julie B. Beck--"A Mother Heart" and "Mothers Who Know"
**Being the "lead"
**Mt. Baldy
**Planning - ridemax
**Organizing - a house of order
**Desire
**Forgiving myself/beginning NOW
**Envisioning and brainstorming (day dreaming)

Hope Smiling Brightly

I started my morning with a group of impatient people. It didn't help that I really didn't want to be where I was when I was and that I, in the process of being there, broke two nails down to the point of making one of them bleed--that's quite a feat considering I rarely have nails long enough to even break in the first place.

As I dealt with this, I remembered what I read this morning, and it helped center me again.


"Because of Christ there is hope smiling brightly before you, and you need not worry too much about sickness, death, poverty, or other afflictions. The Lord will take care of you. Your responsibility is to keep the commandments, feast upon the words of Christ, and stay in the path to your heavenly home." 
--Julie B. Beck, "There Is Hope Smiling Brightly before Us", Ensign, May 2003, 103


Even in as minor a situation as I was in this morning, this quote helped me remember that even if I'm hating my circumstances, there's somebody else in charge. I just needed to ride the wave and be patient.

I knew that things would even out later in the day to make up for my cruddy morning, and you know what? It did. It ended up being a great day.

Oh, but my nail still hurts.

Manicotti in the Crockpot? A TOTAL WINNER!

image: blogs.babble.com

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE manicotti. Seriously my favorite Italian dish. 

#1 brought it up the other day. Not sure what the context was now that I think back on it, but the wheels started turning...I wonder if I can find a recipe for the crockpot.

I had made manicotti once before. It was way, WAY back when the Warden and I were first married.

What a MESS! You had to cook the noodles and THEN fill them with the cheese mixture. No way! Uh uh! It was yummy, but probably not worth the work to get there.

image: fakinit.typepad.com

With this recipe, you just get the pasta out of the package, pipe in the cheese (I used my Pampered Chef thingy--not sure what it's called, but here's a picture for you), throw it on top of a lovely bed of sauce in the bottom of the crockpot, top it with sauce, meat and cheese and throw another layer of filled pasta on top then topping THAT with more sauce, meat and cheese.

I cooked it on high for a bit more than two hours.

Oh MY! YUMMMMY! And a whole lot less work.

Here's the link to the recipe again.

Enjoy!

Sweet Time with My Boy

I was working in the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher, alongside #5 today. The thought, out of the blue, hit me....This child is just different. He's different than the rest of us. Now, of course, I know that all of my children are different and individual, but he is much more serious and much more sensitive because he's the middle of my three youngest boys, I forget this fact rather easily.

Little did I know that that impression was necessary for today. I needed this information for what would happen later.

Today, fourteen years ago, I stood at my mother's bedside, alone, while she took her last breath. I shared a bit of the story of just what happened that afternoon in Primary today. #5 was sitting on the front row.

When I got done, I glanced over the kids from the back of the room, and I could see #5 hunched over, his teacher had his arm around him. I wondered if he was crying.

Within a few minutes, he came to the back of the room asking for the bathroom pass. His face was wet, and he was sniffling.

I took him by the hand, and we walked out of the room together. I directed him outside, and we stood there and hugged and cried together for a few moments. I asked him if he was sad about the story I shared. He confessed that he was. It was a sweet moment with my ten-year-old son, and I was able to share a lot of my feelings about life and death and the importance of Jesus Christ.

I was then grateful for the realization I'd been given earlier in the day--the fact that this boy was different. He doesn't joke around like the rest of us. Things hit him deeply. He feels deeply.

After church, I felt strongly that he was the one who needed to go to the cemetery with me--just him. So, we took off, flowers in hand.

As we drove, he, who is typically very quiet, piped up suddenly with, "Hey, Mom! Okay, I have a game. You ask me about my friends, and I'll tell you all about them."

So, I started in naming all the people I've heard him talk about: Brett, Eli, Tanner, Benny, Samantha.... He talked and talked and talked. When I ran out of friends, he came up with more. The talk went from friends to funny money (class cash) to state floats to his feelings about his younger brother.

It was a great day getting to spend it with a boy who never knew my mom in this life. I think he grew in his appreciation for her today. I think my mom would have been happy that I grew in appreciation of him. So glad he's my son, this sweet, sensitive, serious boy.

Crockpot Menu - Week #8

Menu

Sunday	Breakfast	potatoes and sausages
	Dinner	Roast beef
Monday	Breakfast	Pumpkin pudding
		Chicken Enchilada soup
Tuesday	Breakfast	Apple coffee cake
	Dinner	Manicotti
Wednesday	Breakfast	chicken broccoli quiche
	Dinner	Enchiladas
Thursday	Breakfast	rice pudding
	Dinner	Cilantro lime chicken
Friday	Breakfast	biscuit breakfast casserole
	Dinner	Chicken alfredo
Saturday	Breakfast	German pancakes
	Dinner	Chili dip

With the shopping list, please feel free to cross off anything you already have on hand. You don't need to buy salt every single week. If there's still some left in your cupboard from last week, just cross it off the list. I include everything here for you, but I cross off bunches of things. I don't know about you, but following these menus have saved me oodles of money. I've been pleasantly surprised.


Shopping list

Produce

Apples

Bananas*

Carrots

Celery

Onion

Lime

Cilantro

Garlic

Red potatoes

Potatoes

Meat

Lunchmeat*

Ground beef

Bacon

Breakfast sausage

Chuck roast

Dairy

Eggs

Milk

Yogurt*

Cream cheese

String cheese*

Sour cream

Cheddar cheese

Butter

Swiss cheese

Parmesan cheese

Ricotta cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Refrigerated

Biscuits – 5 ct.

Frozen

Chicken

Broccoli

Cereal

Granola*

Spices

Chili powder

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Cinnamon

Parsley flakes

Bay leaves

Cumin

Nutmeg

Cloves

Ginger

Vanilla

Thyme

Rosemary

Basil

Baking

Raisins

Chocolate chips*

Oil

Flour

Syrup

Sugar

Baking powder

Biscuit mix

Brown sugar

Nuts

Canned

Tuna*

Cream of mushroom

Cream of chicken

Evaporated milk

Pasta sauce

Corn

Diced tomatoes

Chicken broth

Pumpkin

Stewed tomatoes

Miscellaneous

Applesauce

Peanut butter*

Jam*

Alfredo sauce

Taco seasoning mix

Mustard

Worcestershire sauce

Pasta/Rice

Short-grain white rice

Manicotti

Ethnic

Refried beans
Salsa

Corn tortillas

Enchilada sauce

Chilies

Crackers

Crackers*

Pretzels*

Tortilla chips*

Bread

Bread*

Bagels*

English muffins*


There are a few items I buy for lunches and breakfasts that are included in this menu. I've marked them with an asterisk (*). Please feel free to delete them if you don't eat them.

The BEST of the Crockpot Recipes So Far

Dinner tonight was honestly SO GOOD! Yesterday, when I told the kids we would be having fish tonight, I expected them to groan, but was so surprised to hear the opposite. Two kids were going to be gone for the night. They were seriously trying to talk me in to changing the order of the menu, and I considered it. But the kids who are here wouldn't hear of it. I'm guessing we'll have to make this one again.

Thought I'd take a minute and share our faves of what we've tried in our crockpot so far. Here they are in no particular order:

• Bacon Ranch Chicken
• Caramel Rolls - we made these without the glaze and just called them Monkey Bread.
• Fish Au Gratin - This was tonight's dinner. We used tilapia. SO, SO, SO YUMMY!
• Southwestern Stuffed Peppers
• Loaded Baked Potato Soup - I think we've enjoyed every potato soup recipe we've tried.
• Sloppy Joes - A little spicy, but oh so, yummy!
• Southwestern Two Bean Chicken
• French Toast - the original name has "casserole" attached to it. I felt this was a misnomer, and a turn off for my kids.
• Foil Packet Tilapia - I wasn't home for this one, so my teenage daughter made it for the crew. They all LOVED it and raved about it. I will HAVE to make this one again, so I can give it a try.
• Cheesy Potato Soup
• Santa Fe Chicken
• Lasagna - My kids were unintimidated by the "green stuff."
• Nutella Banana Bread - We used the recipe provided, but next time, we'll use our favorite banana bread recipe, but follow their instructions for incorporating Nutella.

We've had some real losers too, so maybe that will be a future post. All in all, the kids don't love the recipes that have had eggs or hash browns in them. The consistency is just a bit grainy and not like what you love about either ingredient when they're cooked in a pan--firm and maybe even just a bit crispy.

I love that I've learned that pasta can be poured in uncooked for the last 15 minutes. That's so great! There have been too many times when I've made crockpot pasta dishes where they've asked that you pre-cook the pasta and pour it in. Ick! It ends up WAY overcooked.

Defusing Anger with Kindness

I believe I've mentioned before that Sweetie will sometimes get angry, and it has nothing to do with red dye. The red dye anger goes FAR beyond just being angry. It's aggressive and violent. His usual anger is aggressive, but it is calm-able. Red dye anger escalates out of control. There is no calming it. Sweetie has to let it run its course. At least, that's the point we're at now. Trying to flush it through his system by having him drink a bunch of water may have helped a bit last time, but I can't be sure. We've only tried that once; although, it did seem to shorten the duration of the problem.

When Sweetie is angry, red dye or not, instead of making things better, things are always taken to a worse place. For example, if I ask Sweetie not to do something and he gets mad about it, Sweetie will slam a cupboard or throw something. When I try to correct that behavior, Sweetie'll do something similar again. This will continue each time I try to deal with it.

Sweetie eventually ends up being moved to his bedroom or the backyard.

image: occupycorporatism.com

This morning, it was the backyard. I kept waiting for the police to show up at my door. Seriously, he was freaking out. Wish someone would put me out back sometime and tell me to stay there until I feel like coming in. It's the strangest thing. I walk him to the door and open it. Sweetie starts yelling. I say, "Please go jump on the trampoline and get some of that angry energy out there. Come back in when you're feeling less angry."

Within moments, the back door is being beaten on with whatever can be found. Thank goodness we have super good windows. Sweetie throws things and just really storms.

image: stokeelitetc.com

On a regular day, he'll take himself out there and jump to his heart's content, but when he's forced to against his will, it's like he's been put in a torture chamber. Isn't that just like human nature?

This morning, though, I think I finally found something that just might work in these situations.

image: jartheground.com

Each time Sweetie beat on the door or threw something, I told him he had a kind act to perform before he could come back in. He eventually caught on that the more he beat on the door, the worse things became for him. Sweetie built himself up to nine kind acts this morning. You could almost see the wheels in his brain switching gears. He had to start thinking of how to improve things instead of tearing them down. The great thing was that when he came in, my yard looked great!

I'm grateful for neighbors who trust that I'm still an okay mom even if my son is screaming, "Mom! Let me in!" in the backyard. I promise I'm not beating him. I just need to remove the angry child before someone gets hurt.

I'm doubting this tactic will work with Sweetie on red dye. I'm still trying to figure that one out. For now, he's doing fabulously in turning away from the things he knows he can't have....Thankfully.

Tonight's the Night

One of the biggest rites of passage in the LDS faith is going to the temple for the first time. #1 will have that experience this evening. What an exciting time!

If you'd like to know a bit more about LDS temples, here is a good article, or I'm sure I know a couple young men or young women who could tell you more if you're interested.

Here are some past blog posts in which I've mentioned the temple:

• The experience of taking our youngest son inside the doors of the temple.
• The temple's impact on our family history (sorry the video no longer works).
• How the temple figures into my view of success.
• The interesting find in my stolen purse.
• How the temple centers me.

So looking forward to #1's experience this evening. The temple will touch her for the rest of her life.

***

I just now received a phone call from a good friend telling me that her dad is dying. Ugh! Looking at the calendar, today is the day my mom slipped into her final coma and stayed there for five days dying. This coming Sunday it will have been 14 years since she left us.

Here is yet another reason why I love the temple. It gives me hope that I will see her again. I'm so glad that this friend has this hope as well. It just makes that awful pill a bit easier to swallow.

A Little Piece of Hesstory: Parallels

We spent this afternoon with someone I admire so much. Truly. I really can't explain it, but when it comes to moms, she's my icon. I just love to sit and watch her in action. She's just really got her head on straight and always has had.

As I watched her son speak in church today before he leaves on his mission, I thought of her. I thought of the influence a mother really has on the life of her child.

I feel blessed in my life to have had people such as this placed in my path. I don't think she knows what an influence for good she's been on me. Even though we've been miles apart for years, those foundational lessons I learned from observing and talking to her have stuck with me. Those were simpler times, and I just absorbed as much as I could from her.

We were placed together as visiting teaching companions. We were both newly married after returning from our missions not long before. We never really discussed our missions much. We were both concentrated on husbands going to school.

We were pregnant at the same time. We would take our babies for walks almost daily through the little town we lived in. We would go down to the craft store in town on a regular basis and buy the remnants of the fabric they had left over and would make overalls--her for her son, me for my daughter. I think we almost got to the point where we could make those overalls blindfolded and with one hand tied behind our backs.

These were such wonderful times.

One thing I learned from Lynda was to never budge. Know your standards and live them. Don't be afraid to face hard things in defense of what you believe to be right. I love her for that!

As I reviewed our lives, it almost made me laugh to think of how parallel our lives have been. Way back then, our husbands were both going to school to become teachers. Her's to teach high school science, mine to teach elementary school. Both husbands ended up becoming administrators in funny ways. Our children are very similar in ages even though we moved away a long time before most of them were born. Now, our oldest children, the ones who rode around town in strollers while their moms chit-chatted about life as new moms, will be serving missions at the same time.

Lynda's son will enter the MTC in two weeks (the day before his 19th birthday and the Warden's and my 21st anniversary). He will head to the Alpine German-speaking mission. #1 will follow four months later. Really, who would have thought this would have happened all those years ago?

The other funny thing...as I mentioned earlier, Lynda and I didn't talk about our missions much way back then, but I knew where she served...the Philippines. Yep, you got that right.

Today, when we were with them, Lynda got out her photo albums and some of the memorabilia from her mission to share with #1. So fun! She lent her a tape of children's songs in Tagalog. It was very encouraging to hear stories about the wonderful people of that country and about her experiences.

It's crazy how things come around. It will be SO fun to share mission experiences between our families. What a blessing to have such people in our lives!

As we rode home today, I felt a further boost to be the best mom I can be. I understood a little more my importance to my children and their futures.

How grateful I am for wonderful friends!

Crockpot Menu - Week #7

Menu:

Sunday	Breakfast	Chocolate zucchini bread
	Dinner	Stroganoff
Monday	Breakfast	brunch
		Bacon Ranch chicken
Tuesday	Breakfast	breakfast cobbler
	Dinner	Penne pasta zuppa
Wednesday	Breakfast	broccoli brunch casserole
	Dinner	Vegan layered dish
Thursday	Breakfast	crockpot hash
	Dinner	Tater tot casserole
Friday	Breakfast	Caramel rolls
	Dinner	Fish au gratin
Saturday	Breakfast	breakfast potatoes
	Dinner	Ravioli stew

Shopping list:

Produce

Apples

Bananas

Carrots

Celery

Zucchini

Garlic

Yellow squash

Red potatoes

Leeks

Green beans

Broccoli

Onion

Potatoes

Meat

Lunchmeat

Stew meat

Sausage

Chicken

Bacon (2)

Bulk sausage

Ground beef

White fish fillets

Dairy

Cheese

Eggs

Milk

Yogurt

Cream cheese

String cheese

Sour cream

Butter

Cottage cheese (24 oz)

Parmesan cheese

Refrigerated

Biscuits

Stuffed ravioli pasta

Frozen

Potatoes O’Brien

Tater tots

Mixed veggies

Cereal

Granola

Spices

Salt

Pepper

Cinnamon

Sage

Garlic powder

Dry mustard

Nutmeg

Basil

Baking

Raisins

Chocolate chips

Shortening

Sugar

Vanilla

Baking soda

Baking cocoa

Flour

Walnuts

Brown sugar

Powdered sugar

Canned

Tuna

Cream of mushroom soup (2)

Cream of chicken soup

White beans

Diced tomatoes (3)

Cream of potato soup

Green beans

Vegetable broth (2)

Cannellini beans

Miscellaneous

Applesauce

Peanut butter

Jam

Dry onion soup mix

Ranch dressing mix

Honey

Lemon juice

Pasta/Rice

Egg noodles

Penne

Ethnic

Salsa

Sliced jalepenos

Crackers

Crackers

Pretzels

Tortilla chips

Bread

Bread

Bagels

English muffins

Household items

Maybe I Don't Hate It as Much as I Remember

K, so as a follow up from my Facebook status this morning in which I asked for advice on how to start running again. Thank you to everyone who commented and left me private messages. More than anything else, thank you for caring. Dave, particularly, thank you for your message. It was very fitting for the circumstance, and I'm sure you didn't know that. Your message was inspired, and I felt very encouraged as I read it.

After all of the love that was shown, I thought I'd better give some follow up. It was too long for Facebook, so here  you go....

I went running. Yay, me! I knew I couldn't ask any of my three oldest to go with me, they are WAY too fast (Thank you, Wes, for taking the photos. I swear I wouldn't have any if it weren't for you). They all run cross country and track, so I asked #4. He doesn't do that crazy running stuff yet, so he was the perfect candidate, and he rocks! Did I ever tell you that? Well, he does.

We found a great park and just went for it.

image: brandeating.com

We went to breakfast with the Warden's parents for the Warden's birthday. I ate a light breakfast. Want to know what I had? Oatmeal. Yes. I ordered oatmeal at a restaurant where I could have had anything. It was DELICIOUS, and as I ate it, I thought, I'm being so good to myself. Again, yay, me!

#4, however, ordered an omelet and ate himself silly, so it was nice to have his gut an excuse to walk a bit during our run.

image: flickr.com

We ran at Noble Woods Park in Hillsboro. Hillsboro has some really nice parks. I searched them out online.

We ran on the main paths through the park and found ourselves on the opposite side, so we exited the park and ran through the neighborhood a bit.

I have no idea how far we ran distance-wise, but we ran/walked for a half hour, and you know what? It felt GOOD. I had forgotten how good it feels. I think the thing that makes it feel so good is the fact that I know I've conquered something in myself just to get out there and do it.

image: slashsport.com

I also have a new pair of shoes that I call my little gift from heaven that I'll have to explain, but once I explain, I think you'll understand why I feel such a compulsion to run.

image: store.nike.com

The other day, I mentioned that something awesome was going to happen and that I was waiting for it. Well, those shoes are one of three things (that I'm aware of) that were awesome that happened that day.

More on that later.....




Don't you just love it when I leave you with a teaser?