Christmas in Maui

We had an awesome time in Maui. Zach loved the ocean and sand.  He probably ate about half the beach! It was great to be with my family and make some memories together. We love it there and can't wait to go back someday! Enjoy the pictures :)

A Few Pics from Christmas Time

Always so happy and smiley in the morning!

Loves to take baths and even lets Daddy style a Mohawk with the shampoo!

Enjoys playing with his toys!

Loves his horse from Grandma Terri and Grandpa Nyle!

Zach's first kiss! Her name is Olivia and she is the daughter of my friend, Shandra.  I don't think he knew what to think!

Sitting on Santa's lap. He asked what he wanted for Christmas and he told him he wanted his two front teeth! Well, and maybe a few toys too :)

We got a big smile out of him!

Our Little Walking Maniac

Zach started taking a few steps here and there around Christmas but since last week is walking pretty well. He is 11 months old and doing great! I can't believe he will be 1 next month!

Some Fun Facts About Zach:

1. Still hovers in the 99% for his height (hopefully he will be tall like his dad)
2. Really likes to growl and grunt especially when he is throwing something or scolding us for taking something away. He is very vocal and always talking.
3. Likes to explore all of my kitchen and bathroom drawers. If it's not a toy he's attracted to it!
4. Like to play Hide and Seek with Daddy. They are little buddies and bunt heads together like bulls.
5. Enjoys playing with balls and cars. He is at that stage where he likes to put things into other things. The other day I found my hairbrush in the kitchen garbage after spending 30 minutes looking everywhere else!
6. He is getting smart and learning how to copy- I walked over to the air vent one day and pulled it up because I couldn't open the flaps from the top. After I walked away and without realizing Zach had been watching me, he went over and pulled it up. Now we are constantly watching him to make sure he doesn't throw anything down there that we will never see again!
7. Nicknames include: Zach Attack, Little Stinker, Little Z, Z Mister
8. Loves his baths

Fall Is Here!

Our little Giraffe

13.1 Miles.....Yeah, I did it!

HALLOWEEN HALF 

Yes I know this is a super braggy title but I figured with all the time and effort I spent training and working my tail end off, I deserve the right to brag a little! Before I started training, the longest I had ever ran was a 10k (6.2 miles) about 10 years ago. Most of my running usually entailed about 3 or 4 miles on the treadmill.  I decided to challenge myself and push myself harder than I have ever done before. I started really training about 2 1/2 months ago. Up until a week before the race I didn't know if I was going to do it because I had gotten really sick and hadn't been able to do my last long run. I decided I had worked too hard to give up and my goal was to just finish. I did better than finish, I actually placed in about the middle and averaged just a little over 10 min/mile. It took me 2 hours and 15 minutes. The Halloween Half is the second largest race in the state (almost 2200 people in just the half). The race starts at Sundance Ski Resort and comes down Provo Canyon. The run was beautiful but very, very cold! About 26 degrees! My muscles kept wanting to tighten and my right knee started to really bother me for the first time ever. I had to stop about 4 or 5 times and walk because of it. I didn't want to hurt myself and cause more serious/permanent damage. I'm doing good though, and as soon as my knee starts feeling better I'll get back to running and maybe do another half marathon come spring. Is a full marathon in my future? I don't know, I never thought I'd run a half marathon so we will see!

Part of the race was dressing up in costume! I went as a black cat because it was easy and comfortable!

Darrell Ann Smart (Our Running Idol), My Sister Taylor, Her Fiance Chris, and I

THE SIS' TAS

Brandon looking good! He's lost over 20 pounds and I'm so proud of him! Swimsuits on the beach in Maui- here we come!

Red vs Blue Rivalry Run 5k

Zach with Aunt Michelle before heading out to the race! Curtis and Michelle were so nice to come with us to keep an on on The Little Terror! It's hard to tell but he is wearing his BYU warm-up outfit from Grandma Terri!  

Just Chillin in the sun with his sunglasses!

"Enough with the eye protection, I want something to play
with!"

Before the race started

Group Picture

And we're off! 

Brandon setting a good pace!

On the Provo River Trail

We Made it!

Our prizes from the raffle included a KSL letter opener and a rubber jar opener, a BYU Pez dispenser, and a BYU cup perfect for Brandon's office

Our cute family!

He was too distracted to smile for the camera!

Island Park 2012

Around our house, August means a few things:

1. College football will soon dominate the TV
2. Our electric bill will hit it's yearly peak.
3. We will take our annual trek to Island Park, ID

While not necessarily in that order, we have managed to accomplish all three of our August benchmarks, and even had a few days leftover to take it all in.  The downside:  after paying a sizable chunk to the electric company, we had to enjoy those last few days in darkness.

Just kidding, of course, but we did take the opportunity to shut off the AC and leave the state for a nice relaxing weekend in the mountains.  My family has been going to Island Park since I was Zach's age, so it was quite a feeling to be up there with my own boy.   Zach had his first boat ride, and was even adventurous enough to dip his feet in the lake.  Next year I think he'll be doing cannonballs!

On his very first ride!  He was holding on to Grandma Terri's arm pretty tightly :)

His first dip in the lake -- it took him a minute to decide he was ok with everything.

Round two was much better.  He seemed to actually enjoy it!

He didn't mind getting in a bit more.  If we would've had a swim diaper we would've let him sit down on the deck.

After an afternoon of boating, the sound of the engine was all it took to send him to sleep.

Kristen and I managed to sneak in some wakeboarding too:

Overall we had a great time.  It's always sad to have to leave, but that just makes us appreciate it more the next time we're there.