Friday, May 29, 2009

Final Report Card

Alexa finished out the 7th grade with all A's!!!
I am really proud of Alexa and all her hard work. All year long she was very good at getting her homework done right after school and not having to be asked to do it. She is such a smart girl and I hope that 8th grade will be just as good!!!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

3rd Grader No More

I went to Alex's third grade program today. It was really cute there was singing and dancing (Alex thought it was a little baby-ish) but I enjoyed it. After I went to his classroom and he showed me all his work and we did a multiplication race (I won) and we each drew his name in cursive to see who could do it the best (he won that one...he has really good hand-writing).

His teacher this year was Miss. Johnson. It was her first year teaching at Canyon Elementary and he LOVED her. She was a great teacher and she taught him alot. He has learned so much this year and is a smart boy.
Here is a picture from the last field trip they went on...I just LOVE Alex's pose!!! Hope 4th grade will be just as great!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

$1 FLIP FLOPS

I stole this post from Melissa's blog...I was going to change the wording to make it look like I wrote it but then I decided not to and to just admit that I was too lazy (and a little embarrassed) to type up this story but it was a great time so here it is:

This morning, Alexa and I met Angela and Amy and Old Navy at 9:45am. Yeah, Old Navy doesn't open until 10:00. But, they were having a $1 flip flop sale, so of course we were there. As we pulled into Old Navy, there were already like 30 people standing outside the doors, and they just kept a coming! For flip flops! I did not really want to be there to get trampled over $1 flip flops! This sale was probably worse than black Friday! We wanted to take pictures, but then we didn't really want to be seen with this group of people (no offense if you were there; but then again we were there, so what is that saying exactly!?) It wasn't so bad after we squished through the doors. I just kind of stayed back while Amy, Angela, and Alexa did the dirty work. They had grabbed about 50 pairs, but there was a 5 pair limit, so we just picked what we wanted. Angela still ended up with 20 pairs. So she called mom and Amberly to come down to buy some of hers for her. Monica also showed up to buy some for Amy. But there was still a slight problem...Angela still had 5 more pairs that she just could not let go. While we waited in line for over an hour (for our dollar flip flops!) Angela was scoping out the other people in line to see what they were buying and how many flip flops they had in their hands/cart. There were two older men in front of us just chatting to pass the time as they waited in line. As soon as there was a break in their conversation, Angela asked the man in front of Amy, mom and me for a favor. He gave her the crustiest look ever. Once he heard what the favor was, he busted out laughing! He was with his wife and she only had five pairs, so he decided that he would be nice and buy Angela's for her. I think he got a kick out of her odd request, if he didn't, I know we all did. Angela was very proud of her $30 savings!
After we got out of Old Navy, we went to Shaffer's bakery for a donut.
Then Angela, Alexa, Amy, Jason, Owen, Monica, Amberly and I all headed down to the Farmer's Market for about an hour. We met Melanie, McKenzie, Brooklyn, Brinlie, and Korver there. We got a delicious fresh squeezed Raspberry Lemonade. They are the best! They also have Watermelon and peach (depending on the month) which are also superb! Melanie, Angela, Amy, and I all bought matching necklaces that are super cute! Amberly played her special needs card and I ended up buying her a necklace too.
After the market, most of us got Old Gristmill and took it to the park to eat it. Rich brought the boys down to join us for lunch.
Then we did some more shopping and hanging out.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Preschool Graduation

Today was the big day...graduation from preschool! Since Norma was watching Max anyway he went to her preschool class and he has learned so much. He can count to 10 in Spanish...yes he is only 2. He knows colors and the letters in his name. Lots of his cousins are in preschool too so that makes it really fun for him.
 
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When I got there Max was really excited that I was there and he was being such a good boy sitting on his chair and saying the pledge allegiance. It is SO adorable to hear little kids saying all those big words.

Norma had each kid participate in the program by either telling a story or singing a song.
 
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When it was Max's turn he wouldn't do it. He just sat there when she told him to come and help her.
 
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Not only that, he wouldn't stay in his chair either and he had some pretty mean faces for everyone!! My proudest moment!!!

He did cheer up when it was over and he put on his hat...he thought that was pretty awesome!!

Here is Max with Grandma, I mean teacher Cope. She is so great with the kids and we are really lucky that she has so much patience. She is a great teacher!

Carrie made these cute graduation hat cupcakes, she is so talented. They turned out really cute and the kids loved them!

After the program she served a light lunch and the kids went outside to eat and play. Max still gets to go to her house everyday (until schools out, then he will stay home with Alexa and Alex) but it was so fun to go to the graduation party!!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Yard Work

A few weeks ago we had curbing put in around the house and the tree and the 2 ugly spots where all the green boxes are. Rich got the first load of sod hauled off and put in some bark last weekend but we still had about half left and it was looking really ugly.
Rich brought home the truck and we decided to make it a family home evening of yard work.
The kids were TOTALLY EXCITED about this...of course they weren't but that is to be expected. My kids have it WAY too easy, so this was a perfect way to get them involved in helping out.
We picked up piles and piles of sod and put it in a wheelbarrow and then dumped it in the back of the truck. We found tons of creepy crawlies and that made the project even more FUN!!!
It was actually alot of work and we were all pretty sweaty and dirty. We finally got it all in the truck though and it was great to have the kids help out.


Rich had to move all the equipment out of the truck to get the wheelbarrow up and so as he was getting ready to load it back in the kids asked if they could drive the riding lawn mower.
You can see on their faces how much fun they had. Alex was having a blast and giggling and screaming. It was a great way to end the night of yard work. We were going to get ice cream after but it ended up taking us way longer than we thought and by the time the kids all got in the bath and cleaned up it was way past bedtime!!!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Birthday BBQ with the Gowon's

After church Sule, Kalysa, Tayana, Isaac, Casey, and Isaiah came to Spanish Fork for a birthday lunch. We went to the park and had a little BBQ. Sule brought all the hamburgers and hot dogs etc and I made a pasta salad and some broccoli salad.
It is nice to have a park so close to the house, we have used it so many times for get togethers because it is fun for the kids to be able to play and there is more room and less clean-up.
Here is Alex opening his gift from his Dad and Kalysa. He got a DS game and some other stuff.
Here is Alex with his little sister Tayana. She is almost 3 and he loves her so much!
Here is Alex with his Dad.
Max was having a great time hanging out with Isaac. They got along great.
We went back to the house for cake and ice cream. Alex didn't get to blow any candles out on his real birthday so here he is...he got them all so I hope his wish will come true!!!
Here is Isaac posing with his son Isaiah and Tayana. He snuck into almost every picture I took.
We had a great afternoon and I am so glad that we all live pretty close so that we can get together.

Later that evening we went to Rich's parents house and celebrated again. We had brownies and Otter Pops. They were a HUGE hit!!!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Going Away Party for JOSEPH

Joseph is leaving for basic training for 16 weeks and so we had a surprise going away party for him at Steph and Jeff's house. McKell told him they were going to the movie.
All the kids ran up and grabbed him when he came into the back yard. It was cute, he is such a fun uncle all the kids are really going to miss him!!
We had some snacks and hung out just visiting and eating. It seems like we do alot of that in the Duvall's back yard.
Here are some of the cousins posing for a picture. Max, Mallory, Creed, Keanu, Samantha and Pieper. They are all really close in age, it is so fun for them to have so many friends to play with!!

I borrowed these pictures from Janean's blog, thanks for taking pictures Janean.
Carrie made this awesome cake for Joseph, she is so talented. I know it will be hard for McKell and Joseph to be apart for so long and I hope the time goes by fast for them. He will be missed for sure but 4 months isn't that long and he will be back before we know it!!

Friday, May 15, 2009

KIDA Relay -- 24 Hour Ultra Relay

Several weeks ago we were eating dinner at Papa Kelsey's and I noticed a poster on the wall that said "ultra relay" and told Rich that it sounded like fun. We went home and got on the computer to figure out what it was all about.
It is called the "Kida Relay" and below is a picture of Kida with her Dad Heath who organized the event, you can go here to find out more. The ultra relay consists of this: for 24 hours a team of 4 people takes turns riding a 26 mile bike loop (the first 12 hours, 8am to 8pm) and then running a 6 mile loop (the last 12 8pm to 8am)...it sounded like a BLAST so we had to figure out who we could recruit to join us. We knew Monica and Jason were our only hope so we called them up and told them about our crazy plan. I wasn't sure if Jas would go for it or not, he likes to bike but isn't a huge fan of running. Monica is easy and will do whatever (kind of like me) so it was up to Jason. The next day he texted me and said "I'm in." So that is where the story begins.
Now fast forward a few weeks later...Rich only went biking once, I went a few times but 9 miles was my furthest, I am not sure how Monica and Jason's training went but the night before we were all a little nervous and didn't have any idea what to expect. It is the first time they have had this race and we knew there were only 11 teams signed up so it was going to be a rather small event...maybe a good thing, right???
Or maybe NOT!!! We pulled into the parking lot and saw PROFESSIONAL bikers...all of them were but us. I honestly didn't want to get out of the car. Jason and Rich had mountain bikes and Monica had just picked up a $65 "road bike" from Walmart the day before that she and I were planning on using. We were WAY OUT OF OUR LEAGUE, to say the least. We decided that we would get out of the car and just do our best.
The organizer of the race is a pretty "hard core" triathlete and he must have gotten all his friends to sign up and support his cause and I guess we were the only ones that saw the poster at Papa Kelsey's so we were the only "outsiders."

Since Jason was our only "experienced" biker he was first. He got some "looks" at his mountain bike and that is all we would hear about for the next 24 hours. We really had no idea how long it would take to bike 26 miles, since none of us had ever even done it!!! I was thinking it would take me about 2 and a half to three hours based on my "training rides".
The first bikers came back in 1 hour and 3 minutes. WOW that is FAST!!! I went back home to get Mom, Amberly, Amy and the little boys. When we got back Jason had finished in 1 hour and 39 minutes and Monica was out taking her turn. It was such a beautiful day so that made it really enjoyable.
Monica finished in 1 hour 46 minutes and then Rich was off. Monica did have a technical difficulty, her seat wasn't tightened enough and it slid down to the lowest position. She had to ride like that for about half way and then she saw someone who could help her. He got her seat tightened and asked her if she was on the team "with the mountain bike." She had a good ride. We didn't recognize her as she came to the finish line because she looked like a "mountain man" with her hair coming out of her helmet, not really sure why she didn't put it in a pony tail!! Oh well we all had a really good laugh about that!
 
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Rich flew through his 26 miles in 1 hour 27 minutes. I was really impressed, I am not going to lie I thought it would take him longer. He is an awesome runner but he NEVER rides a bike. I guess it doesn't really matter, if you are in good shape and athletic you can do just about anything. Way to go Rich...he got the fastest lap time for our team.
 
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My teammates set the bar really high and I didn't want to be a complete loser and take over 2 hours to finish. I knew that I had to go hard and fast and not give up. They told us that the course was "flat" but it was not very flat at all. It was beautiful riding around the lake but by the time I took off it was like 1pm and it was HOT!!! I was really pushing myself and it was great when I could go fast and the breeze helped to cool me off but on the uphills when I was barely moving it was SO HOT. I got to this part in the course that everyone had warned me about...a steep little hill, I saw it coming and thought I was ready for it but I was wrong. I peddled a little ways up it and then my legs just stopped working and I had to walk it. Of course that is when one of the other riders passed me, I was a little embarassed but whatever!!
I was able to finish in 1 hour and 44 minutes!! I was so happy with that time!!! There was this long stretch where we were just riding this straight road going north and the wind was terrible but I finished in under 2 hours and that was incredible!!!
Here is a picture of our "campsite." I wish I would have taken more pictures of the spectators. We were so lucky to have Amy, my Mom, Amberly, Max and Owen there with us the whole 24 hours!! We brought bikes for the boys to ride and they had a great time!!! My Mom went and picked up Alexa and Alex after school.

Jason and Monica both took one more lap on the bike course. We had time for another one but neither Rich or I wanted to do it again so we just hung out and waited until 8pm for the running part of the race to begin.

Amy took the boys on a walk to the "beach" Utah Lake is really yucky!!! They saw this dead fish with no eyes and Max was telling everyone about it. Here are his words "we saw a dead fish with no eyes and the birds ate his eyes but Jesus will fix him." It was SO CUTE!!!

They had a few games of BINGO throughout the day and here is Monica playing. They had tons of treats and food for the participants and even brought in a guy to give us massages, that was nice.
They fed us dinner, pasta and breadsticks from Pizza Factory and it was really good. It started to get really windy around dinner time and so we hung out in the tent for a while and Rich took a little nap. My Mom went and got Little Ceasers for their dinner and they ate in the tent.

At 8pm the runners lined up and were off for the first lap. I knew Rich would be one of the fastest and I was hoping that he would be first but he ate two plates of pasta and his stomache hurt pretty bad. He came in just behind the first place guy in 39 minutes.
I ran next and it was dusk, it was a great time of night to run and I was feeling pretty good but my legs were a little jello-y from the biking. I finished a little slower than I wanted to in 1 hour 6 minutes. I wanted to be at an hour or under.
Jason was next up and after biking 52 miles he was a little nervous about running. He did awesome and finished in 56 minutes. Way to go Jason!!!
Monica was next and she also biked 52 miles and she finished in 1 hour 5 minutes. Incredible!!!
Here we are all bundled up, there was supposed to be a movie but they lost a cord so it wouldn't work. Amy, Alexa and my Mom went to Walmart at midnight. I got Max to sleep and Amb and Alex were already asleep. I dozed off while Rich was on his second lap and he came to wake me up when he got back. I wanted to rest for an hour or so but he wouldn't let me. He ended up doing my second lap with me. It took us a long time because we just jogged and talked. It was the middle of the night and it was pitch black except for his headlamp and it was awesome!!!
When we got back Jason took another lap and Me and Rich slept in the car since the tent was full. Mom slept in her car too. Jason came to get us after he got back but no one wanted to go again so we tried to get some sleep. It was COLD during the night. Max woke up and Amy brought him to me in the car, we both slept in the drivers seat, it was not comfortable at all but he did keep me warm.

We woke up just before 8 am and missed breakfast. Rich was planning on running another lap but he didn't wake up.
We sat through the awards ceremony. The first place teams got $500 but unfortunaltly we didn't win...ha ha ha!
We posed under the finish line for a picture and I think we all had a great experience, this is something that you really need to train and practice for. I think there is talk about doing it again next year!!

We got the tents put away and all the stuff loaded up and headed back to our house to shower and get cleaned up. We all went to Barry's for lunch and then had a shaved ice. Mom left for home and we went to the mall. We were all pretty tired so we didn't stay long. The Harris's left and Monica and Amberly came back to our house to stay one more night.