July 07 Movie

Racing & Romney

We just had an eventful week! On Tuesday, July 24th I ran my very first race of all time! We did the "Speedy Spaniard" Spanish Fork 10K at 6:00 am with Samuel pushing both kids in the jogging stroller. (A 10K is 6.2 miles and I think runners call it a 10K because that makes it sound longer.) Let me tell you the kind of motivation we were to people! No one likes to be passed, but it is that much worse to be passed by a one-year old!! We kept seeing the people ahead of us noticing us getting close, and suddenly upping the anty (sp?) to not get passed by the stroller. I ran the entire time - I never walked - and I am super proud of myself because I've never run that far. Ever. I must also tell you, however, that a power walker was ahead of us the entire race and we only beat her because we sprinted in. Thats how slow we were. And we were beat by every single male from ages 50 to 70. Ouch. Okay, now for the stats. Oh, you should also know that Samuel was a dutiful husband and stayed by his wimpy wife the whole time, thereby destroying all chances of looking good.


Too bad we invented the stroller division and that we were the only ones in it! So now we are preparing for the Provo River Half Marathon - August 11th. We are dead. I'm dead because I doubt I can run that far. Samuel is dead because he has a hernia and probably kidney stones as well (he's in the middle of testing for those). I'm not a quitter, although I did already try to get a refund and I thought about selling our spots on eBay. The race is sold out and we are bib numbers 1 & 1000. Cool, eh?! Anyway, neither quitting option will work, so we might just have to walk this thing. Oh well!

Many of you will be proud to know that I just renewed my license and registered to vote as a Republican. Don't get your hopes up. I'm not staying a Republican. But I have gotten really involved in the Presidential Campaigns and have decided (after very thorough research) that I like Hillary more than Barack, Giuliani more than Hillary, and Mitt more than Giuliani. So, since I want to vote for Mitt in the Primaries, I have to be a Republican. So I'm a Republican until just after the Primaries in Utah. Then I'm changing. lol.


Seara had her 2nd birthday on Saturday! She got really embarrassed any time anyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her, it was so cute! On Sunday we had cupcakes at my parent's house with my whole fam and did the whole candle thing. You can guess how well that turned out! My favorite story about her birthday is this: I have wanted to get Seara a little kiddy pool for her birthday for the last few months. Money, however, is tight and I just couldn't find a way to afford it. I was, of course, very sad and disappointed. Well, on Friday I decided that even if we couldn't have a pool, we could play in the water. So I called my neighbor who I used to visit teach and asked to borrow hers. She is an older single woman who had bought one for her grandkids to use, but only used it one time. Well, she said of course and brought it over, and when she dropped it off she told me we could have it since she never uses it!! I was so excited! What a special tender mercy for both Seara and her mama.


Last but not least, two so cute things happened today. First, Elijah was sitting on the floor playing, and Seara sat down in front of him, leaned in and started hugging him. Then, he lifted up his arms and put them around her too! They just sat there hugging, so I ran to get the camera, only to have them stop the minute I got it on. Later we were in the back yard playing, Lije sitting in the kiddy pool and Seara walking around eating a popsicle. Well, Lije started to cry, so Seara ran over and popped her popsicle in him mouth and began to share it with him. Lije, of course, was immediately soothed. So, I ran to grab the camera (don't worry, I had a friend with me who watched the kids), and as soon as I got there what should happen? They stopped. I think I need a camera on, ready, and with me every moment of the day!

My Psychoanalysis

Well, it has finally happened. Elijah and Seara are starting to really enjoy each other. Seara usually wakes up during Elijah's morning nap, and after breakfast she'll walk around the house saying, "Lije? Lije!" In fact, Seara is playing with Elijah right now, and Seara is telling him "Don't hit. Don't kick. Don't chicken. Don't bite." The question is, what is "Don't chicken"?!

Elijah is really cuddly - each time he wakes up (in the morning & after naps) he snuggles into my shoulder and just lays there. I love it, especially because I am a cuddly person** and Seara is NOT. Well, actually, ever since Seara started noticing Elijah all snuggled up with me, she has started being interested in giving hugs, being held, etc. But she does have serious personal space and if I get too close when she is upset she pushes me away. Funny kid. Back to Elijah. He is the best eater!!

"Hey, this is new! Carrots? Yum!"

"Oh this is new too! Peas? Delicious!"

"Another new one! Green beans? Heavenly!"

"New again! Pasta? Fabulous!"

"One more time! Potatoes? Wow!"


Seara now laughs at movies - when Dash figures out he can run on water & when Dori stings herself on the jelly fish. I get the Dash one, because he laughs at that point and I think she just imitates him. But no one laughs when Dori hurts herself. Well, except Seara. Should I be worried? :o) She has also learned how to say "my turn" (probably from nursery) and now throws it out there every once and a while:

"Oh no, Seara! You made a mess!"
"My turn!"

"Here's your juice"
"My turn!"

"Want to go outside?"
"My turn!"

Okay, now on to Janae's rants. Feel free to quit reading now if you are mostly interested in my kids and not their boring mama!

I have decided that I am late bloomer. By high school so many of my friends knew what they liked to do and what interested them and what (at least generally) they wanted to do with their lives. I mean, heck, Samuel knew he loved art from the time he first touched a crayon. I think, because I am so interested in people and such a pleaser, I never really figured myself out. I just kinda went along with what other people liked and did. Well, for the last two years I have spent the large majority of my time away from any adult contact and this has allowed me to experiment and find out what I like for me.

So let me tell you about me. I love things that are clean and organized. Dirt and disorganization drive me crazy. I love the news, and I love politics. I really like intelligent humor. I love astronomy, star gazing, and planetariums. I hate when my hands are dirty. I love to cook, although I'm not a huge fan of eating. I love to learn about new things. I like to run. I don't know if I love it quite yet. I love it more when I'm done than I do when I start. I love to be spontaneous. I love being outside in the sun. I like lazy outdoor things (I'm not a huge hiker, but I love rafting down stream and biking down hill).

There you go. Janae in a nut shell. Maybe I could get Samuel to psychoanalyze himself for my next blog. lol.

Oh, and that is Sigmund. I thought his pic would be appropriate with all this delving into the depths of my unconscious.

**Samuel might disagree with that, so I need to put in an explanation. I am cuddly as long as I am not tired. If I'm tired, don't touch me. Ever.

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Seara the Talker

Elijah is an expert roller now. Although he can't push himself up on hand and knees yet, if we put him like that he'll stay there for a while. He loves cheerios, but he hasn't quite figured out how to pinch with his thumb and index finger. To get the cheerios in his mouth he just grabs a fist full with each hand, and then rubs his hands all over his face until something ends up in his mouth. He adores Seara and bursts into giggles any time she starts coming near him!

Seara continues to be a talker. While watching movies she repeats a word or phrase after almost every sentence (and on some of the movies she'll actually say the word or phrase before they do!) When we go on walks down the street she will not let me walk ahead of her - if I get ahead she squeals and tells me "wait please!" and then runs just to the point where she is in front again, and starts walking. She also repeats everything I say, including telling her dolls to "sit down!" and telling the phone, "what you talk about?" This last week she has started telling me "don't touch, just look" when I change her diaper. I can't quite figure that one out. I do tell her not to touch between her legs, but I can't imagine having told her to "just look"!! Then today she was just walking around in the living room and suddenly announced, "that's not funny!" Where did that come from?! This afternoon she also figured out how to walk backwards. She hasn't run into anything quite yet, but I am preparing myself not to laugh too hard when she does!

Well, I think thats it. Not much to tell about Samuel and I except that we had a noxious flu this last week. Hopefully we get better!

My Foot & Our Grass

So I have a game for you. While we were preparing our dirt for sod I was using a shovel to break up some rock-hard dirt clods. Well, somehow I missed the clod one time and hit my foot really hard. The next day we were at my parent's cabin and Sam accidentally dropped a small water bottle on that same foot, but a different part. I took this picture a couple days after each of those happened. The game is to guess where I got hit with the shovel and where I got hit with the water bottle. The answer is at the end of this post.

The fabulous news is that we finally have grass!! I am so happy! The sad part is that we have to water it all the time for the first two weeks and that makes the grass soggy, so we can't walk on it. And I think I am going to cry when I get the water bill. And the air conditioning bill. Summer is expensive. Then again, so is winter. I think we'll move to San Diego. That is our dream place to live. A bit expensive though. I've actually been looking in to the Houston area. It gets hot in summer, but not as hot as Utah. It rains a lot, but if I cut my hair way short then I won't care. We'd have to get flood insurance, but hurricanes usually come hard for two or three years, then are nearly non-existent for the next seven or eight, so if we move there next summer we'd basically miss the bad seasons. The real perk is that we could live close to the ocean (well, the Caribbean to be exact), and the Caribbean doesn't get cold like the Atlantic and Pacific. Now if only I could convince Samuel.

Okay, here is the answer to the picture game. Crazy, huh?! A metal shovel with all my might vs. a 12 oz water bottle. So strange! (Obviously I did the fancy picture work. You think I would have asked Samuel to make it look professional, but oh well! This should age me nicely!)