I always say how much I LOVE every race I do. And that every race I do is my favorite. This one really had to be up there, a way favoritest favorite. I got a random call from my friend Brianne, who I hadn't talked to in like 8 years... and she needed a rider to replace someone in their relay who was sick. I was like, heck yeah, I'll do that! The race started in Brigham, and was a 70 miler through Tremonton and a big loop back to the park in Brigham City. It was all girls, and we got to dress up like witches!
Jesse had the girls for the weekend and I was trying to figure out what I would do for the weekend so it was such a blessing, a little miracle even, that Brianne called and invited me. Sometimes I am so grateful for the smallest things that help get me through a day. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude toward her for thinking to invite me, because I so needed that ride that day. I ended up doing two of the legs of the race, so I did about 50 miles total. It went by quickly and was not very difficult. One of the girls on our relay team took a serious tumble when her wheel got caught in the railroad tracks, and she was catapulted off her bike, to come crashing down on her wrist and shoulder. She somehow managed to finish the race, but had to go to the hospital afterward and have her shoulder and wrist tended to.
The scenery along the ride was amazing, the weather was just perfect, the costumes were adorable, and the company was sublime. I am so glad I had this opportunity. My heart was very full this day.
A full moon! Breathtakingly beautiful morning in Brigham City, Utah
I had never seen the new Brigham Temple up close... it almost made me stop in my tracks on the road, it was so exquisite!
The cauldron at the starting line, ready for some witches to mix their magic!
The decorations for this event were just over-the-top incredible!
Cackle, cackle!
A hot start to the race!
Okay, so I am in this picture this is right at the start. I'm right behind the front middle girl. My number is 123, you can barely make it out, but that's me, ready to ride my broom bike!
Brianne cackled tackled the second leg of the race, aka the HARD one, with the giant mountain hill climb
At the first rest stop, after finishing leg 1. A happy me!
Brianne is ready to relieve me and pick up where I left off!
We ended up finding someone to drive our car back to the start so that I wouldn't have to, because Brianne and I decided we both wanted to go ahead and complete the third leg of the race to the finish line. So fun!
After my weekend being kidless, I was missing my girls like crazy. My dad went with me down to Provo to pick them up. On the way down, a giant metal something flew up on the road and hit the car out of nowhere... it hit the car with such force that it made a hole that went completely through the door. Scary! I was so happy to see my kiddos. They are just the sweetest angels ever. It wasn't long before they were both sound asleep in the back seat of the car... so good to have them back with mommy.
Avril munching on balogne, which she LOVES, for some odd reason, did not get that from her mama!
I really am trying to stay more on top of this blogging thing... just posted about 6 posts at once so I'm all blogged out. I wanted to just type some quickie updates though, before signing off. Avril: Avril has 3 best friends. She will gladly tell you their names, probably multiple times... they are Leila, Kara and Sierra. The first two are from daycare at All About Kids, and Sierra actually happens to go there but she is in the 4's class and Avril is in the 3's class. Sierra is our next door neighbor though. Every day as soon as we get home, Avril asks if Sierra can play with her. The especially love to draw with sidewalk chalk out front. Avril also recently started her first gymnastics class! At first she was very withdrawn and hesitant, but now she loves to go and can't wait. Sierra also goes to gymnastics at the same time, but is in a different class. Avril knows what a pike is and will show you how she can do it while pointing her toes! She still amazes me with her astounding vocabulary, and random off-the-wall comments. She will say the sweetest things to you that will just melt your heart. She does not hold back with saying anything at all. She is starting to be much nicer to McKel and take pride that she is the big sister. She is very protective of her little sis and will always tell you how much she loves her sister. Avril is the tallest girl in her class by far, she towers over all the other 3 year olds. She is often mistaken for a 4 or 5 year old because of her height and advanced verbal skills. But she won't be 4 till the end of February, thank goodness! Avril is still a challenge when it comes to bedtime. This girl has never been a sleeper and this has not changed. It is such a chore to try to get her to bed, and then she will wake up several times a night. If I wasn't so dang tired, maybe I could figure out a solution to this! I don't know... McKel: I cannot say it enough. This girl is little miss personality. She has the wildest facial expressions that make you wish you had a camera on you 24/7 to capture all the cuteness! She has a little mischievous grin on her face all the time that makes you wonder what she's up to. She has a ton of hair for a one year old. McKel is also often mistaken for much older than her 21 months age, mainly due to her full head of thick, long hair. Avril and McKel both have about the same shade of blonde to their hair, but McKel's has quite a bit of natural curl, and Avril's is stick-straight. Both have gorgeous hair though. McKel's vocabulary is rapidly increasing, as she adds all kinds of words constantly. Her words aren't nearly as clear as Avril's but she gets better and better each day at talking. McKel is much easier to get to bed than Avril. Mommy is grateful for that. She is still very attached to her bottle though, as well as her baby doll. She is absolutely adamant that they are with her at all times during the night or she will throw a fit. McKel adores her big sister and has to copy everything Avril does. She is a little ball of energy and joy. She has the cutest smile you've ever seen. If you make her laugh, your whole world is right. She's such a blessing.
Auntie Arleen surprised the girls with these crowns from Burger King. The girls loved them!
McKel wearing her crown. So precious!
Mom: Guess I'd better throw a mom update in here too, huh? I got a promotion at work! I am liking my job quite a bit more, now that I am in more of a position to make some positive changes. There are so many things that need correcting in the billing office at the hospital where I work. I am now the lead over the billing and collections for self pay patients. My office has moved from up front, to back behind the scenes in the business office, where I can get more work done with less interaction with patients. I trained someone new to take my spot and she is an excellent and productive employee, so things are looking up on the work front. I still am not making big bucks, but I like my job and that's important.
I am excited because I have an interview next week for a research assistant position in the psychology dept up at Utah State. I have been wait-listed for over a year for a spot to open up. I am hoping I can somehow work my own hours and fit this in to my schedule, because at some point I would love to go back to school (I know, crazy me) and pursue a different career path... hopefully clinical psychology. The problem I run in to with grad school applications is no experience recently or letters of rec, so this would be extremely helpful for me.
I try to find any races I can do... whether it be biking, running, obstacle courses, etc. I still do my boot camp in the mornings religiously. I am the only person in my boot camp who is consistently gaining weight though. Oh well. I'm tougher, and I like that :) It feels nice to be fit and able to accomplish my physical fitness goals.
Other than that, I just keep busy being a momma and trying to keep up with the girls and the house and everything that goes along with that. I have some of the greatest friends and support system ever, which is such a blessing because I really need that. I try my hardest to remain optimistic but its easy for me to get down about my situation, so I pray for strength constantly. I do have so many things to be grateful for :)
I scheduled my flight from North Carolina to come back on Saturday morning, so that I could make it in time to the circus with the whole family! The girls were sooo excited, especially Avril. She kept talking about getting to see the "real" Dumbo. She could not wait. We thoroughly enjoyed the show, it was definitely entertaining. The acrobats and trapeze artists were amazing, and the way that they could train those animals to do tricks was pretty incredible as well. The elephants were of course, a big hit with the girls. Thank you for taking us, Nana and Papa. It was so fun! I was especially excited to see my girls after 4 days of missing them. They are my adorable little sweethearts.
Just before headed to Salt Lake City for the circus, hair all curled, showing off her gorgeous big brown eyes!
So pretty!
Just like her shirt says, SMILE! You're my sunshine, on a cloudy day :)
Outside of the Energy Solutions Center, Britt holds McKel
An excited Avril, about to enter inside to see the circus!!
This was the scariest part of the show for me, I was so worried the lion would attack the trainer!
This elephant was trained to paint!
McKel and her cousin Brittney!
McKel and Auntie Arleen
Father and Sons
all of us chowing down on some ice cream!
Here is a shot of Avril watching the elephants with a gleeful grin!!
My lil bro (in law, ex) is also my very dear friend, and my hero. He has been serving in the army overseas, in Afghanistan since March of this year. We found out the good news, that he would be returning to his base in North Carolina and we decided it would be so fun to surprise him. He did not think anyone would be coming to see his homecoming. Annie and I were able to plan a last minute trip out to Fort Bragg, and it was such an amazing experience, I'm so glad we were able to make it out there.
Shelby was definitely in shock that we were there at the base to greet him. Mission accomplished :) Annie and I had a bit of difficulty at first, trying to find where and when he would be arriving, because apparently this was top secret information. Shelby had mentioned in an email the date he would be arriving but that was about all the info we had to go off of. I tried googling directory phone numbers for the Fort Bragg base and nobody was very helpful. One lady I talked to told me that the military person had to provide us with the details of the flight if we were to find him. I then stated, "well, we're surprising him though." To which she responded, "Oh, well we don't do that here." Annie and I got a kick out of that. Once we got to the military base we asked around and were able to get more details from some army wives there who had been through the whole homecoming thing all too many times.
It was just very emotional to be at the military base with so many waiting for their loved ones to return from war. There were even little tiny babies who had never met their daddies before. Lots of little kids were on the edge of their seats with anticipation for the return of their dads, holding up the signs they had made for them. It was just so sweet, you couldn't help but get teary-eyed.
Shelby came back very manly-looking, and mature. He had put on quite a bit of muscle and looked quite different from the Shelby that left 7 months prior. He was so appreciative of everything. When he saw the sheets on the beds, he squealed with excitement, that he got to sleep with sheets on a bed. He savored every bite of delicious food, that was real food, not the pre-bagged kind that you had to put water in to eat.
We got to meet Shelby's best army friend, and other half... his name is Andrew Spilman. His girfriend Michon came along, as well as Andrew's dad, Steve. We all stayed together at a hotel in Fayetteville.
There were all kinds of war stories to tell. I just really had no idea what they went through as soldiers, and I have so much respect for them.
At one point, on the 4th of July, a helicopter landed at their base, and crashed right in to where they were sleeping. The blades came within 10 feet of Andrew's bed, with sparks flying everywhere. He said it was like fireworks, but only real explosions. The pilot died in the crash. I believe they said he was Russian.
Three of the men in their unit did not make it back. Shelby said they were driving a vehicle and hit an IED (an explosive device buried underground by the Taliban) and it just completely obliterated the vehicle with the soldiers in it.
Shelby said that getting shot at was a daily occurrence.... except for on Muslim holidays, like the Ramadan. On 9/11 and July 4th he said it was especially heavy fire. The rule is that the US soldiers cannot shoot at their targets if they are within a certain number of feet of a civilian village. This put them in a bind because the Taliban would just go to a village and start shooting at the base and there was nothing they could do to retaliate.
The base they stayed on was only about the size of half of a football field. They did have one doctor and some medical staff there at the base. Often civilians from the villages would be sent in for medical treatments. Shelby said he would see a lot of women and children who were severely wounded, and it was hard to see, especially young children, as I can imagine.
Shelby really missed the girls. He said those were the pics he had up around his bunk. He would often email me and ask me to send him more pics of them because he was missing them so much. Those girls have so many who love them, I'm so grateful for that.
My experience helped me realize how much our military men do for us, and how grateful I am for the sacrifices they make for us on a daily basis. It makes you truly appreciate family and loved ones. I enjoyed getting to spend time with Annie as well, she is such a joy to be around, and you can't help but be happy around her, she has an amazingly bright spirit. She is one of those people who is just beautiful inside and out. I'm grateful to have such incredible people in my life. This was a very humbling, yet joyous trip. So glad I could go :) Shelby even brought me back a genuine Afghani beaded bracelet! I am wearing it right now as I type :)
I had the girls color a poster for me to take out to North Carolina for Shelby when he arrived. Sierra, the next door neighbor, and one of Avril's best friends who she talks about non-stop, helped with the coloring... Shelby loved the poster, he was very grateful to have it!
As I was driving down to the airport, I tried to capture a photo with my phone because the canyon was so pretty with all the bright fall colors!
Me and Annie sitting at the base, awaiting Shelby's arrival. It was a looong wait, we were just sooo excited to see him!
...waiting...
At the green ramp waiting for loved ones...
This little girl was so cute with her little army dress, I had to steal a photo of her :)
Shelby is walking down the steps, carrying the box with the gun across his chest
All of Shelby's unit, walking in formation
I tried my best to get a video clip, but its not the greatest...
I think she's happy to see him ;)
Yay!! He's home! Me, Shelby, Annie, and Steve (Andrew's dad)
Family :)
Shelby in the middle, with some of the guys from his unit
Annie and Shelbs, in front of the hotel we stayed at
We had dinner at Red Robin the first night he was back. Shelby was so excited to eat delicious food!
Annie, me (Ali), Shelby, Andrew, and Michon. Our whole crew!
Love this pic, we all look so happy!!!
Friday morning I went for a run around Fayetteville. It was nice and green and tree-filled. I ventured down a dirt road off the main road, and saw a white deer! At first glance I thought it was an over-sized bunny, because it was white with a bushy tail! Then I realized it was a deer. It was mostly white, with a little brown. The mommy is on the right and the baby is scampering off to the left, a little hard to see, but the best I could do with just my phone on me.
In our hotel room...
Michon and Andrew got engaged while we were there. Congrats!
the three musketeers...
While we were away, Carme and Jim (Shelby's mom and step dad) came down and stayed at my house while they emptied Carme's storage shed. They took the girls to a picnic at the park with my parents. Love the froggy and bee hats! So cute!
