Nova the Runner and Magnificent Moms

Two quick notes for you today. First of all, Nova took part in a race yesterday and, much to our surprise, ran over a kilometer by herself. Suzanne ran a 5K to support a fundraising effort for an ill friend, and organizers held a Kids K race after the adults finished. On a whim, Suzanne signed Nova up for the Kids K, fully expecting her to poop out after the first minute and need to be carried.

As you can see in the video below, it turns out that Nova got into the running spirit immediately. I think she was excited by seeing everyone else take off running, but whatever her motivation, she stood in awe for a few seconds when the other kids started and then ran after them, arms pumping wildly and Sunday-shoe-clad feet slapping the sidewalk.

Aside from being carried for 30 feet and subsequently demanding to be put back down so she could run, she ran well over a kilometer all by herself. Reportedly, she even stopped midway through the race, got down on hands and knees, and for reasons unknown did a little pushup before jumping to her feet and racing away once again. That's right, my little two-year-old isn't just tough enough to run a race without stopping, she's also confident enough to sacrifice her finishing time to stop and intimidate fellow runners with a display of upper body strength. She's not too proud to admit that she's completely terrified of men in soldier mascot costumes though, as you might have noticed when she crossed the finish line.

She's one of a kind, our little girl.
The second item that needs to be addressed today is mothers. They deserve our praise, thanks, and love every day, but today of all days I'd like to do it publicly. Too often we dismiss the roles of mothers in shaping our lives and assume that people would have turned out roughly the same regardless of who had mentored them.

Ridiculous, I say. Simply absurd.

I'm grateful that Nova has such a caring and hard-working mom to help her shape her future and become a brilliant and beautiful woman someday. And I'm equally grateful for a mother who was instrumental in shaping a man who isn't very brilliant or beautiful, but is as close as he could be considering what Heavenly Father gave his mom to work with.

Furthermore, thanks to all the moms out there who put endless hours, days, weeks, and years into raising upstanding children, no matter how hopeless it seemed at the time. We have wonderful friends and family because of you, and we can never thank you enough. Whether you're enduring the terrible twos or just wishing your twenty-something son would call you more often, remember that we need you and you truly are the epitome of charity and love.

Thank God for mothers.

eggy treasures and a sidenote

our new bro-in-law dave works as an accountant for some assisted living communites, and they put on an easter egg hunt for the residents families. so even though dave isn't 85 years old or a resident, he and elisa invited us to come on over and find us some eggy treasures. although nova was a little confused, she finally figured it out, and we all had a lot of fun--thanks "leesdave!"

SIDE NOTE: as a parent i have come to realize the utter oddness of holidays. a fat man who comes in your house in the MIDDLE of the night and leaves you presents? he watches you and sees if you are being naughty or nice? CREE-PEE. or, lets knock on people's doors, many of who perhaps you don't know, and they will give you candy.... stranger danger anyone? or the most recent, a bunny who leaves eggs? shouldn't it be a chicken?!!! since when do bunnies lay eggs? why do our holidays confuse? anyway.....its just that sometimes as i am explaining traditions and holidays to nova i realize how utterly weird some of them are, as they are coming out of my mouth, and as i watch the puzzled look on her face. but then again as per last post, the traditions we are creating around here are just as weird......so.....lets move on.

the pics:

nova was SUPER creeped out by the enormo bunny at first. BUT, then as we were trying to get her to find eggs, she asked where they came from---and we told her the bunny had hid them. "that bunny is a tricky one!" is what she said. then when she realized there was CANDY in the eggs, she ran over and gave the bunny a hug and said thank you. from there on out, they were the best of friends and she wouldn't stop talking to the bunny....

and non-hunt related pics, nova and her new-ish bike. our neighbors were giving it away and asked if nova wanted it. she is obsessed with practicing everyday. and she actually is doing pretty good.


the painting princess. she LOVES LOVES to paint. in fact loves doesn't even do it justice. she paints approx 4 times a day. but of course you have to be dressed appropriately while doing something as regal as painting.


blowing bubbles.....



snuggling with dad.....

oh, and read this song before looking at the next pick:
to the music of popcorn popping

i looked out the window and what did i see?
nova looking back through the window at me!
this girl always has a big surprise,
funny faces right before my eyes!
she can be a handful, but being a mom is neat,
she makes us laugh and she is real sweet,
her name is nova so,
and she makes us happy!
in 15 years from now please do not hate me! (for posting this pic!)

ha!
happy saturday!

what a bunch of fools...

yesterday we celebrated april fools, well, like a bunch o' fools. see the pics to see for yourself.....

Fool #1

Fool #2
and the complete group o' fools!

please note: i can't believe this picture is being posted on the blog. wearing your swimsuit over several layers doesn't slim you.....obviously......
also note: the straw glasses were fun, but only drink water through them, they drip and its kinda gross, but good for a laugh. but if you are going to laugh, drop the straw, or you will have milk in your mouth, around your eyes, and coming out your nose.

also yesterday night we went to the Ogden Temple to get some pics. they are closing it and renovating it and it is going to look completely different. we love that temple. we have had some really amazing experiences there. its sad to see it change, but we are excited to watch it all go down and then come back up. it was cool to go and take nova and hang out there and talk to nova about it. she loved it. she really loved that Heavenly Father had a 'swimming pool' at His House, and she was bummed that we were wearing our dresses instead of our swimsuits.

good bye old Ogden Temple. we love you.

just a quote:
"I have been WAITING and WATCHING for a cute little girl to APPEAR on SOMEBODY'S BLOG (or even in my email) wearing a PRINCESS DRESS from a recent wedding. If I gotta be patient about ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ELSE in my life, then you better help me out on this one. Do I make myself clear???"
yup heather, when you send harsh words, they end up on the inter-web......hahahahaha!
ok, so she was joking. seriously people she was. but its true, i haven't posted for. ever. dan has, but not i. but here you are--mostly for heather--hopefully the anger is diminished.

so here are some blurbs with pics---please enjoy heather!


nova before disney on ice......can we say excited much?nova and i before our tea party date for relief society
happy pie day! and nova with just the apple, minus the pie. someone call racheal ray......my pie making skills are too much, and i may need a show soon. ha!
rain storm at our house=dancing in the rain. we love us a little singing in the rain action at our house. one of our favorite movies, and we love to do it ourselves even more.
and pretty much the only pic i took at the wedding! seriously!!!! (and this is before the meltdown in the bathroom incident dan wrote about earlier.)


one night nova was crying after we laid her down for bed and i went in and she said she needed a snuggle. so i laid by her and she said that she was scared and needed to say a prayer.....ahhh.....seriously, how am i so blessed to have the people i do in my family. and then after the prayer, she said she needed to take a silly picture with mom, and then her 'scared would leave.' oh nova........

we did a countdown to valentines day and one of the days dan took nova on a date. he took her to tangled----just little girls, not moms---nova was SOOOOO excited. like more than SOOOOO excited. seriously, her face looks Ca-RAzy in this pic, but i had to pic this one because its funny and it shows how much she adores dan. and it shows my retro apron....that was made out of my grandma's fabric. love.pink breakfast for v-day


snow cones with real snow! (and made by snow white) it was so themed! hahaha! totally not intentional. i just made the snow white connection as i am typing. ice from the freezer is the pansy and more sanitary way of making snow cones.....plus using real snow is just more fun. the end.

nova getting ready for dave and elisa's wedding with jen---which by the way was awesome. i love weddings and theirs was awesome. we are so excited for them and they really are so cute together.
and dan posted something yesterday that is pretty funny.

Nova Says the Darndest Things

Nova: Did Sissa Jones have her baby?
Suzanne: Yeah, she did!
Nova: What it is?
Suzanne: It's a little boy.
Nova (obviously disappointed): Oh, that's to bad.
Suzanne: Why?
Nova: Boys are so boring!

On a separate occasion, we were at a reception when Nova said she needed to "go kinkles," which is her way of saying she needs to use the restroom. I asked her where Suzanne was, and Nova replied that she was already in the bathroom herself. So I told Nova I'd take her and headed to the boy's restroom.

Things went as they always had during the hundreds of other times I've taken her to the bathroom. After we had washed her hands and were on our way out, she looked up at me with a confused expression and asked, "Where's mom?" I thought, "You know the answer to that; you're the one who told me she was in the bathroom," but I thought no more of it and simply replied, "She's in the girl's bathroom."

Later it would become apparent that she asked this because she was genuinely confused. She thought we were in the girl's bathroom and so, logically, she should have seen her mom.

As I walked out, I heard some sniffling behind me. Confused, I turned to find Nova's face slowly dissolving into an expression of abject woe. She let out a piercing, mournful wail and melted to the floor in the most dramatic fashion possible.

I immediately assumed that she was hurt, that she had caught her fingers in the door or something. I had often heard her cry, but seldom with such despair in her voice. It was loud, and the cries echoed down the white brick halls of the church.

I stood her up and asked what was wrong. She brought her head up to look at me with eyes that clearly communicated a feeling of anguish as well as a distinct sense of having been betrayed. She choked back a sob and bawled, "You took me in the boy's bathroom!"

She collapsed back into a puddle of tears and sobs while everything suddenly came together in my mind. I desperately wanted to tell her that I had no malicious intent, but I found that all I could do was laugh. Her pathetic display coupled with a genuine misunderstanding and the sheer absurdity of it all caught me as irresistibly hilarious. I fought it, I tried to choke down the guffaws, but just as she looked up to see what all the gurgling sounds were for I belted out an enormous laugh right in her face.

As the combined sounds of an unjustifiably loud laugh and an equally over-the-top cry echoed down the hall, she tried to communicate just why this crime was so heinous to a father that quite obviously wanted to destroy her life. "I was wearing a dress in there!" she wailed in absolute horror. Then, emphasizing each word, she nearly screamed, "I almost died!"

Well, you can imagine just how hard it was not to laugh at that. And I'm sad to say that I also crumpled to the ground giggling like a Primary boy who has just tied Sally's braids to her chair. I couldn't stop, and poor Nova thought that I was reveling in her pain. She gave me a look that said, "I will never forgive you for this."

That sobered me up a little, only because I didn't think I would get that particular look until she was 16 and I had just told her prom date the most embarrassing story I knew about her. But even that couldn't stop me from hissing laughter through my teeth as I desperately tried to clench my jaw and hold a straight face.

Of course, Nova's screams could be heard throughout the church, and several people, family and strangers alike, came rushing to see who had lost a limb. Instead they found a poor little girl crying as if she had just watched Cinderella suffer a grisly death, and her father fairly crying as well, but from the gut-wrenching laughter.

This didn't win me any friends.

And now there are several members of the Jerome community (as well as their in-laws) who think I am a horrible person who delights in torturing little girls. They're half right; I mean, you can bet I'll be telling Nova's prom date about this.

On Being a Parent

Do you know those times when you don't know whether to laugh or cry?


Part of me is actually pretty impressed. I mean, it does have a certain artistic quality to it.

And if anyone makes a joke about that Footprints in the Sand poem, I swear...

just seein blue

conversation this morning:

nova calling me from the other room: "mom! i see blue eveething!"
me: "cool!"
nova: "no mom, its all blue!"
me: "what's blue?" i call
nova: "my belly! and toes! eveething! come see!"

NOOOOO!! i think! markers! so i walk upstairs....nope not markers, but i see a completely naked chick-a-dee and this:



me: hahahahahaha! what are you doin?

nova: "oh, just see'in blue."

what a kid! today i'm thankful that i have a daughter who is excited about seein blue. who knew goggles were so cool.