Weekend Fun with Friends and Family

Last Friday the girls from Jason's work and his lab hosted Jason a going away party. We had fun talking and eating really good food. It will be hard for Jason to say goodbye to these ladies, they have been so great to him and they have formed great friendships. A few of the girls were a little teary eyed and I can tell it is going to be hard to say goodbye in a few weeks.



Saturday we went swimming with the Keith and Chapman family and then went over to the Keith's for a BBQ with friends.

Pictures over the past week

Here are some random pictures and events that occurred over the past week or two that I didn't post.

Over Memorial Day weekend we were busy packing up our house. The movers came on Friday and we were left with an empty house. We stayed on air mattresses in our house until Tuesday, the day we closed. We tried to get out over the weekend so that our house didn't seem so lonely and bare. On Sunday we went to Glenwood Springs to watch my niece Cydney play soccer and take in some attractions.
We rode the Gondola up to Glenwood Caverns for some cave tours, a great view of the city and mountains, and a few adventures.
Beckham wasn't so sure about the gondola ride. He never cried but, looked extremely nervous.
We rode the Roller Coaster at the top of the mountain. This ride is a lot like the Alpine Slide in Park City but, you are attached to the slide.
Mckay and Mckinley took in some rock climbing.
We ended our weekend with a trail run up Pollicks (Devils Canyon), some light cleaning, and the JUCO world Series. My kids have loved going to the Junior College World Series, which is hosted by Grand Junction every year. My kids love the game of baseball, cheering for their favorite team (which was Alvin from Texas), The snow Cones, and staying up really late. It has been a great week of baseball.


Mckinley's class went to Moon Farm for a field trip. Beckham and I decided to join them for a few hours. They loved the animals and the make believe fortresses.

Before we packed up our house we had the Chapman gang for the night while there parents went to Utah. My kids will miss their cousins and having them so close by.
Beckham loves eating with the big kids.

Last Day of School

The last day of school was a week ago but, I finally got a computer and some time to post. The kids have had such a great school year. It is amazing how the school year goes by. The kids are excited for summer. They love the pool, having sleep overs, trips to Utah, and relaxing. I am a little worried how I am going to hold up by the end of summer, I will probably be exhausted and broke keeping the kids entertained.
Mckinley with Mrs. Reid reading her paper on what she loved about Kindergarten.
This was Mckinley's teacher Miss K. She was so cute as we were saying goodbye she started crying and then I started crying. Mckinley was so confused as to why her mom and teacher were both crying messes.
Mckay with Mrs. Irion. He has loved first grade and his teacher. He has such a great group of friends that he will miss greatly. Every morning I would drop him off for school, there were always about four or five boys waiting for him. They love to chase the girls and make them scream (boys will always be boys).

Moving ON

It's 2:15 AM in the morning and I have found myself wide awake tossing in bed contemplating my worries, planning the day ahead and strategies for efficient packing. It's finally a night where Beckham is sleeping (he has been sick)not up every hour screaming and I can't sleep. My tired body wants to sleep but my restless mind won't let me. I once heard ( I think from Dr. OZ) that writing about your thoughts can help one relax and then fall asleep. I thought I would update my blog and write about some of my anticipation and hopefully relieve a little stress.

I have been packing up my house these past weeks. This week has gotten pretty stressful in last minute packing, final goodbyes with close friends who are moving to Utah and getting closer to finalizing a house purchase in Indiana. Little did I know that I would find myself stressed, a crying mess, and depending heavily on the Lord for spiritual and temporal guidance. My faith has been strengthened that he hears our prayers and stands ready to lighten our load. It is small trials like these that help focus me in on what truly matters, our faith in the Lord and the love for our family. I have great family and friends that are willing to help and have expressed concern for my well being. You will never know how your calls, help in packing, and advice have given me strength and relieved some of my burdens.

As I have been packing up this week I have so many thoughts-- sad, happy, relieved, and scared. I am sad to leave our first little home. I don't know if Jason and I are quite the home owners, when it comes to home maintenance, most times we are somewhat clueless (thank goodness for Phil, DJ, Kenney Sackette, and my mom for helping us). But, the home and our family seemed to survive well these past three years. There are many memories in this home, many which revolve around family and friends. Our home has been strengthened by family togetherness and the many people who have entered our home and touched our lives.

I am happy and relieved to start a new chapter in our life with new surroundings, different thinking and exciting experiences. It may be crazy to some but, for a few good reasons, I am excited to regain a life of simplicity. The first being that, we live in a world so focused on consumerism, objects and power that at times it's hard not to be drawn in. Going back to school it will be nice to escape this, somewhat. I have seen how the love of money and power ruins friendships and changes people. I don't ever want the love of things to come before the love for people. Second, Jason and I have discussed that some of our happiest memories have been when we have had nothing but friends and family. We always laugh that our newly-wed years were so fun hanging out with close friends and enjoying life. Life was more about experiences not worrying over which couch you were going to buy, what the neighbors might think, or appearing to have a life of perfection. Last but not least, I will be so poor that the freedom to purchase will be extremely limited and after packing all week I don't want to pack another object. It is has been freeing to get rid of so much clutter and "things" that occupy our space and life.

Lastly, as our time is coming to a close and we are embarking on a new journey I am starting to get a little scared. Change is good but, change is hard. I am hoping that our little family will adjust well to all this change. We have the strength of each other and the Lord, this will get us through.

Hopefully, after expressing a few of my thoughts and concerns, I will now be able to get some sleep. I hope my rambling and venting didn't put most of you to sleep. I have to apologize for my lack of blog updates. I have so many great photos and experience of the kids playing sports, field trips, and birthday parties that I want to share-- but, they will have to wait until next week. I have also missed staying up-to-date on all your blogs, so keep on posting and hopefully in the next weeks I will be able to view them.

Sunday Hike at Devils Canyon

A couple of weekends ago we went hiking up Devils Canyon with my sisters and their families here in Fruita. The kids had fun climbing the rocks and they loved running the trails. Beckham had to be like the big kids and hike up the mountain. Good thing he didn't make it to far.
The mountains here in Devils Canyon are beautiful. We will miss the trails when we move.




Beckham was in the pack on Jason's back. We are lucky he didn't break the pack or Jason's back. He loved it and kept saying wow and tree.

Boston

We Finished, barely! The end result was a 3:26 for both Jason and I. Jason beat me by 30 seconds. This race wasn't our best but, we are glad to have it over. I would have liked to finish a little stronger but, hey anything can happen on race day. I keep telling myself that with 25,000 plus runners Boston is just to be enjoyed. As both Jason and I finished we had the privilege of sharing the final stretch with Dick and Rick Hoyt. Many of you probably know their story but for those of you who don't-- The father races marathons and Ironman Triathlons with his handicapped son, pushing him the entire race. It was magical to see his son so happy and waiving his arms, I was teary eyed.

We had such a good time in Boston. After a few hours in the city we mastered the T (the subway system in Boston)and had fun walking the streets of Boston. We enjoyed shopping on Newberry and Boylston and visiting the historic sites. The highlight of our trip was definitely the Red Sox game. The Ballpark is so historic and the fans are crazy. Jason and I have been to MLB baseball games before but, this was a memorable experience. Lance Armstrong threw out the first pitch along with Rick and Dick Hoyt. Before the 7th inning stretch we were screaming with the fans, singing "Sweet Caroline" and "Dirty Water", and cheering for the Bruins(Bostons Hockey team) as we received updates. To top the night off Manny Ramirez hit a game winning home run and we got to watch Papalbon run on the field for the close.At the end of my slide show I have Papalbon running on the field as the music blared "Wild Thing". It was a great game and I think the Red Sox might have a little place in our hearts ( I only said a little).

We also had the privilege of watching the Women's Marathon US Olympic Trials. Wow this was so inspiring and amazing. We were watching all the ladies that I read about in Runner's World magazine. We were able to see the runners about 6 or 7 times as we ran along the Charles River. It was so neat to see Deena Kastor come back after a 2:00 minute deficit and take first place. I was amazed as they crossed the finish line in 2:29:35.

We had such a great time. Thanks to all that helped with our kids and for all of you that followed us online and cheered from home. It was so nice to know that I have such great friends who support me. I have been blessed with such great friends! Thanks!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Boston Bound

So we are headed to Boston tomorrow for the Boston Marathon. We have been training for some time and we are so excited to finally be on our way. I have been busy today getting things all situated with my kids so hopefully it will all work out. Thanks to all who are helping and for all the encouraging words. It will be nice to get away and have fun with Jason. He has been waiting to run this race for quite some time. Hopefully it will be a good run.

A few of you have asked about tracking us on our run. You can go to www.BAA.org and track us. The race starts on Monday at 10:00AM Eastern. My (Kellie) bib number is 4561 and Jason's bib number is 3963.

All About Mckay

Mckay had his program at school last week and I took a few pictures. The program was all about rain and what a coincidence it happened to rain all day. He just loved that it was raining while he was doing his program about rain.
I can't believe that my Mckay is growing up so fast. I tried to hug him at school today and I was surprised at his stature. My little Mckay is not so little anymore. There will come a time when he will not want my hugs, especially at school. He will be getting baptized this June. He has been trying hard to learn about the gospel and ask so many questions while we read scriptures every night. I am so proud of him and the great kid he has become. This is Mckay and his school friends and the picture above is Mckay and his cousin Jaxon. Mckay has such great friends and he loves playing with them. He cried one day after school because he was so sad to leave his friends.
Mckay got to play an instrument in his program. I don't even know what it is called, thats how much I know about music.
These pictures were taken a month or so ago when Mckay played flag football. I forgot to post some pictures so I thought I would throw a few on.

Fast Weekend in Utah

Over Conference we made a quick trip to Utah to see Jason's sister Lindsay who was in town from North Carolina. We haven't seen her and her daughter Kailtyn since the Fall and we wont see her again until Thanksgiving. We had such a good, but busy weekend. I went to a "Jean" party at Jamie's new house. It was fun to see her new house, which is so beautiful, and buy some great jeans. We went shopping with Lindsay and out to lunch on Friday. It was fun to spend some time with her. A weekend in Utah would not be complete without a visit to Brick Oven with the whole family. It was Chaos but the kids had fun. Mckay also went to a Spanish Fork Don's baseball camp with his cousin Andrew, which they loved. We ended the weekend with a family BBQ on Sunday before we left. It was so fun to see our family, I only wish we had a little more time to spend with everyone and see a few other people.

This was our attempt for a Grandchildren photo. Not all the kids were cooperating. Emrie is MIA in the photo.
Beckham and his two cousins Emrie and Kaitlyn. You would think with the size difference he would dominate these girls but, they seem to have him mastered. He just lets them have whatever they want.
Jamie, Lindsay and I waiting to get into Brick Oven
Three one year old's don't make a one hour wait easy. They were pretty wild.
Jason grooming Beckham to be his shortstop. You got to start early, right!

Thanks Linds for the photos!

A Tribute to Friends

As my time here in Grand Junction is coming to a close, I am mindful of my many great friends. Moving, helps me to be grateful for my life experiences and for the many people that have touched my life. There have been many phases throughout my life and it seems like each phase comes a new group of great friends. I still cherish my high school and college friends. Through cheer and dance groups I was able to make such great friends and create many lasting memories. I am saddened that I only keep in touch with a few of them but, the memories are still vivid. I remember first leaving Utah for the first time, I didn't know how I would ever live without Aly and family. Aly and I were inseparable we played softball, worked out at World Gym, ran and trained for marathons, watched Oprah, coached Spanish Fork Cheer, and hung out almost every night together. It was hard but, I found that we became better and closer friends. Aly and I still talk regularly on the phone and she is always close to my heart.

When leaving Ohio, I was excited for no more school and student loans but, I hated the thought of leaving so many great friends. I knew I would miss BUNCO with the Ohio girls, Columbus Zoo, Polaris mall, COSI, and Wyandott Lake trips with Tiffany and Kelly, Abbey Church Village and the many great neighbors, sitting through many Ohio State games with friends, talking with Kristy as she cut my hair, laughing at Mike and Jason cruising in the Mazda MX3, watching movies with the Reid's, play dates for Mckay and Dallin (which were good excuses for Tiffany and I to get together) and the many long tedious runs through the hills of Dublin with Tiffany and Corrie. Wow those were some good times. I am grateful that through the world of blogging I have been able to stay in touch with so many of my Ohio friends.

I have been blessed to have many great friends here in Grand Junction as well, two of them being my sisters. Most of our friendships have been strengthened by the many long training runs we have been on together. We have helped each other reach our goals and listen to each other when we just need to talk and vent. I will always remember our Birthday lunches and dinners, St. George Marathon weekend, Sunday game night at the Lynn's or Chapman's, Super Bowl Party, Friends Christmas Party, Christmas Eve Sledding, Oscar Party, gambling on March Madness, girls weekend in Steamboat, Coed Softball, weekend in Breckenridge, trail running with the Frunners, running up the monument at 5:30 AM,enduring many long 20 plus milers, and watching Suzy and Andy go through the temple with family and friends. Thanks guys for making our three years so memorable and thanks to all the many people who have touched my life throughout the years. I truly cherish and love our friendships.

Easter Weekend with friends and family

St. George Marathon 2007
Lunch at Olive Garden Michelle and Carla

Texas Roadhouse Girls Night Out and Michelle's Birthday

Kami and I posing for the camera
Michelle riding the saddle at Texas Roadhouse
Suzy and I post St. George Marathon
Monument Trail with the Frunner's