The MANY Faces of Maxwell

 

For some reason me and Max were sitting on the bench watching the kids play and I had my camera so I tried to take picture of him and he got really mad so I kept taking them...these all happened within minutes of each other. He was shy then mad then angry then silly then happy then grumpy then mean, that is alot of emotions for such a short time. He is a funny kid.

Thank goodness for swim diapers

Like I said we never seem to have the right gear for the spontaneous water day in Grandma's backyard so Max just played in his diaper and when I took it off it weighed like 20 lbs. At least they are absorbent!!

Let the Training Begin...

I finally started my training for the Top of Utah Marathon...yes I am planning on running my very first marathon on Sept 20th. I decided the more people I tell the harder it will be for me to back out.
I have to admit I have become pretty lazy in my old age...that is to say I lack motivation. I have a job that allows me to sleep in so that is the schedule I am used to and it is very difficult for me to wake up any earlier than I have to. I have never been a morning person (except when I was on drill team and had 4:30am practices but I had NO choice then).

I have to come up with ways to motivate myself but I have a feeling I will be doing most of my running in the evenings even though I really would rather run in the morning. On Monday we went to Shaved Ice for FHE and I didn't get one instead I put on my running gear and ran home (or jogged, I prefer to say ran) I am pretty anal and always like to map out the course I am going to take in the car beforehand so I know exactly how many miles it is. I love getting dropped off somewhere so I have no choice but to run home. I really need to dig a little deeper and get motivated. I ran 3 miles on Monday and it was still pretty hot at 8pm and I am having major allergy issues right now so my lungs were really suffering when I got home.
I decided to run every other day at first so as not to over do it. Tonight I mapped out a 6 mile run and felt really great the whole time. I average around 12 minute miles right now which before I had Max was 10 minute miles so I am way out of practice.
Running is totally mental for me...if I know I am running 3 miles I don't get tired until the end of it and think there is no way I could go another block...but when I know I am running 6 miles I am fine until the end and think the same thing. I am hoping that will hold true when I have to start doing 12 and 15 mile runs!!
I ran a half marathon Sept 2006 and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I ran along river bottom road and there were a ton of deer and it was a pretty great evening to run, Thanks to Metro Station and Fall Out Boy for keeping me company and for Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional) for my cool down walk home.
If any of you runners out there have good running music ideas I am always open for some new running jams!!
Well that was quite a lengthy post but I wanted to keep track of my progress on the blog so you will probably be hearing more about my running adventures. If anyone wants to run with me I would be happy to start with you but like I said running is totally mental for me and I just like to go at my own pace and listen to my music and ponder life...but I love it when people are waiting for me at the finish line!!! I have to thank Rich for being such a great runner and I love running races with him and my sister Monica...we all start together but then we do our own thing and they are always waiting for me at the finish line.

Rich's Surprise for Me

Friday afternoon Rich and I headed up to Midway to "The Homestead" for our anniversary. Rich made all the arrangements, he is a great husband!! We went swimming in the crater. I have seen it on the Internet and we have both wanted to go try it out, it was really fun.
You can walk up the stairs to the top of the crater and they have the opening fenced in but you can look down and see the water. So this is the view from the top
They make everyone wear life preservers (which I am not a huge fan of but whatever...I like to be able to just tread water without the hassle of the thing up around your neck but I guess safety first right Melissa)!! It was really hot in there so I sat on a water noodle for a while so my arms were out of the water to cool off.
I took this picture inside the crater looking up. It isn't very big in there and there were 8 people doing scuba certification so it was a little crowded but we had a good time.
Isn't he funny. Rich never really learned how to swim and he just doggy paddles and I always give him a hard time about it but I am just teasing him. He was really loving the hot water and didn't ever want to get out!!
We watched the Kite Runner and sat in the hot tub. We slept in until 11am and only woke up because Alexa called. It was great being able to relax and get away for a little bit. We laid out for a few hours and then I took Rich to Texas Roadhouse for a late lunch. It was his first time. We ran a few errands and then went home.
Thanks so much McKell and Joseph for watching the kids while we were gone!!

Swim Lesons

Alex had swim lessons all week and he is such a great swimmer. He passed Beginner 3 so now he can advance to Intermediate 1. Alex is half fish I think, he can stay in the water for hours and hours and hours.

Here is his jump off the diving board
Then he pops up for a breath and swims to the side

He was a little bored in this class because he could already do all the things that they were practicing. He does have a small problem focusing and listening to the coach because he just was kind of doing his own thing.

4th Anniversary

Today marks the day that we became an eternal family 4 years ago. It seems like it has been longer. I asked Alexa the other day if she remembered life before Spanish Fork and she said a little. I am sure Alex probably doesn't remember much. Rich and I decided that it isn't only our anniversary that it is really all of ours. We went out to eat at IHOP for dinner and I got the kids a little anniversary gift. Rich and I are going to celebrate together this weekend. He has something planned that he won't tell me (even though I really hate surprises...yeah I know I am NO fun, but I have always hated them. Now If I don't know they are coming then I love it but it has to be totally out of the blue).
Anyway I wanted to post these pictures of the day we were sealed together as a family in the temple. I am sad to say but I don't really remember too many of the details because it was my wedding day and I was nervous and excited etc. I do remember the wedding ceremony it was way short and not at all what I was expecting. Rich's Grandpa Cope was the sealer and he was pretty old and having a hard time remembering things so that made it interesting. I do remember when the temple workers brought in the kids and Amy and Melanie were just bawling. Then Grandpa Cope really struggled with Alexa's name and had to try several times to get it right (I am not sure he ever got it exactly right but close enough). I know that it was really important to Rich that his Grandpa performed the ordinances.
Then we went outside to get some pictures and I just remember feeling really happy and peaceful and grateful knowing that my kids would now be able to receive the blessings of the Temple and that we were now an Eternal Family.
I am so grateful for Rich and for all that he has put up with adding 3 new people to his family all in one day. He is such a loving, hard-working, understanding husband and I will always be grateful to him for honoring his Priesthood and having such a strong testimony of the Gospel. I love my kids too and I kinda feel bad that Max wasn't able to be with us at the temple but I guess he was up in Heaven thinking "pretty soon I will get to come to earth and be a part of that eternal family, I can't wait."

Maxwell turned 2

Well I feel bad and I shouldn't even document this because he didn't know the difference but we totally skipped Max's Birthday. It was a really busy week and we knew that all our family would be together on the weekend so we just decided to have his party after the fact. June 4th was his Birthday and me and the kids told him Happy Birthday and he would get really mad and say "Ales brday" (Alex's birthday)then we would sing the happy birthday song and he would run out of the room. I asked him if he was 2 and he would get mad and say NO and then spit. He didn't really understand but it was really funny how mad he was getting.
We had the party outside because it was such a great day so it was tricky lighting the candles but he did blow them out, I love this picture...the timing was perfect (yes I am totally giving myself props, is that OK)?
I stole this cake idea from Rachel it was on her blog. It's just from Macey's but if you know Max then you know how perfect for him this cake is..it even turned out cuter than I expected and he loved it!!
It was my Dad's real birthday on Sunday and I felt kind of bad that Max got all the attention but he knows we love him and he got some gifts too (except that I doubt that my Mom is going to allow him to shoot off the illegal fireworks Steve and Melissa gave him, we'll just have to do it when she's not home...don't tell!!) Happy Birthday DAD I love you. Doesn't he look great for a 56 year old??

Beautiful Day

Saturday was so hectic that we didn't really get many pictures so I wanted a picture with Alex in his new suit...he looks so good, don't you think?
My sister Amy told him to be serious and I think he looks so handsome. GQ here he comes!
Here is a shot of Alex with his Grandparents, Linda and Terry Oliver.
Here is my beautiful family, we had to set the timers and we are kinda far away but it turned out OK. I can't believe what a perfect day it was on Sunday...I wouldn't mind a few more of those. (side note: Rich is really proud of how green the grass looks in this photo so if you see him tell him how great the lawn looks he will love it!!)
IS THERE A WEIGHT LIMIT ON THESE THINGS???
I guess they wanted to see how many people they could pile on the trampoline. It isn't a very bouncy trampoline so I hope that helped stretch it out!! We ate lunch outside and just enjoyed the great weather. Then half of my family had to leave and I was sad to see the weekend coming to an end. It was the best!!!

Alex's Baptism

We headed over to the Stake Center for Alex's baptism. He had alot of people there for him. My whole family was there, Rich's Grandparent's were there and almost all his family (just a few missing brother-in-laws), also his Uncle Isaac and his son Isaiah came. It was a great program Grandma Cope gave a talk on baptism and Grandma Oliver talked about the Holy Ghost. His cousin McKenzie played I am a Child of God on the violin. Grandpa Oliver baptized him and Rich confirmed him. It was really great to watch him have these important ordinances performed. I am so proud of him and the Primary had everyone that was there write something for him on a piece of paper and they made a book out of it. It is so neat to read and he got some really great advise so I hope he really enjoys that book for years to come.
My Dad Terry and Alex
Handsome Alex
Alex and Grandpa after the confirmation
Uncle Isaac and his son Isaiah

Lunch at the Park

 

We headed over to the park for lunch after the baptism. It was a cloudy rainy morning and I was nervous that we wouldn't be able to go to the park but by the time we were done the sky was pretty clear and it had warmed up so it was a great day for a lunch at the park. We had Ham and Turkey sandwiches and everyone brought either a salad, dessert or chips. We had a great time and the kids always love playing at the park. I am so glad everyone came and is so supportive, family is the BEST!

Noni Gardens

 

We all went to Noni Gardens after lunch. Shannon took pictures of the Harris's and the Clark's. We had a little photo shoot of out own. It is the first time we have a picture of my Mom and Dad with all 8 grandkids. I took some pictures of myself (because Amy made me do it) we got a cute sister picture and then we went on a tour of the place. Rich showed off his cubicle and everyone enjoyed it. Its a beautiful building and everyone was jealous that he had such a beautiful "backyard" at his work (which by the way he dosen't even take advantage of). It was a great evening.

Olive Garden

By the time we got done at Noni and decided where to eat it was 9:30pm (it is hard for 20 people to all agree) but The Olive Garden is always a great choice and so that's where we ended up. My sweet parents treated us all to a wonderful dinner, we had a really fun time. The food is always great and we even played a game while we were waiting for our food. We played 'Pass it On' where someone starts and pulls a face at the person next to them and then that person passes it on to the next and so on and so on, when it gets back to the one who started it they show the face they started with and the one they ended up with. Everyone participated (even Rich who hates games like that) it was really funny...I should have taken pictures of that!

Sleepover Party

We had 20 people sleepover at our house and we got home really late from dinner, its amazing that we were on time for church at 9:00am the next morning. My Mom and Dad slept in the 'spare bedroom' on the futon with Owen on the floor. Monica took over Alex's bed and Brinlie and Alex slept on the floor. Melanie and Dave talked Alexa into giving up her bed so they had a room to themselves. Amberly snores pretty bad so she was upstairs on the living room floor. Everyone else was in the family room. Melissa and Steve had an air mattress so did Alexa and Kenzie. Amy and Jason had the 'high rise' and Jake and Brooklyn were on the floor. Max ended up sleeping in our bed cause he was too wound up to be quiet in his crib. It was so great and there was even room for more!!

 

Alex is getting Baptized

Alex is getting baptized tomorrow and we are so proud of him. Revolution Photography (Lacey) made these incredible invitations and I think they are so unique and look fantastic.
I just have to tell a story about Alex real quick. Last Sunday was 'Fast Sunday' and since Alex turned 8 in May it was his first time to have to 'Fast'. I didn't say anything to him in the morning cause we didn't have time to eat breakfast anyway so we were walking home from church and he was talking about what he was going to eat and I reminded him that he was 8 now and has to 'fast'. He was very disappointed and very hungry. So he told me a few times that his stomach really hurt (but he says that ALOT) so I didn't really say anything. I just told him that he was hungry and I was hungry too but we have to wait to eat. He went to his interview with the Bishop and when he came home we all took a short nap. He had told me a few more times that his stomach hurt. A little later me and Rich were out in the living room and Alex was laying on the couch and he sat up and said "I am going to throw up" so I said "you better go to the bathroom" thinking that he would just sit there for a minute and come back. Well I was wrong, a second later we heard him throwing up and Rich looked at me like "I guess his stomach really did hurt". I felt really bad about not taking him seriously and told him that he could just do half a 'fast' for a while until his body got used to it.
Anyway I just wanted to tell Alex what a great kid he is. He is always nice to everyone and sometimes gets his heart broken because of it. He is such a sweet boy and I know that he will do great things with his life. I love you Alex.

Alex's Haircut

As you know from my earlier post I 'relaxed' or straightened Alex's hair and he was having alot of fun being able to do different things with it. I was kind of getting sick of helping him fix it and with the baptism coming up and it being summer and all we decided it was time to cut it. He didn't just want it shaved like I usually do so I made an appointment for him to get a haircut at Imageworks.

This is his hair before the cut...
Here he is after, I asked him if he liked it and he said not really. I asked him what he wanted it to look like and he said 'like Parker and Nate's' so I told him I would do my best when we got home. Alexa made fun of him as soon as he came in the door and then he had a baseball game so I didn't get to cut it til later on.
He wanted it a little longer on top and short on the sides so here is what he ended up with. his dad is way better at 'the fade' than me but I did a pretty good job and he was happy with it and that's all that matters!!