The Most Amazing Concert EVER!!

I like concerts okay.  They are fun. Usually…… if I like the artist. But there is only ONE band I have ever REALLY wanted to see live.  And that is U2. I love their music and I just couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing them in concert before they are done touring. I found out they were coming to Salt Lake and begged Kenny to take the day off and go with me.  I called my dear friend from High School, who is also a U2 fan, to see if she wanted to buy tickets and go.  Turned out she was already going so we met for dinner and they let us hitch a ride to the stadium with them.  It was so fun.  I love miss Nycole Lyman Wescott. How would I describe her…. beautiful, infectiously happy, a free spirit and in her own words, a hippy.  She made me laugh so hard when she said in all seriousness, “I bought this awesome book called ‘How to be a Lady’.” I seriously could not stop laughing.  She told me that being raised by hippies, she needed all the help she could get. Love it.♥

I loved this display in the store Anthropology.  Kenny thinks I ‘m weird.  But I think it is so fun.  That is a cool store.

This picture is SO Nycole. 

Bryce and Nycole & Kenny and I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you tell we are PUMPED?!

Smashed like cattle on the tram

See the red letters?  That is the occupancy of the stadium.  50,000 people! And the number just kept growing.

 

 

And the concert begins………………

They sound amazing live and the stage/light show was awesome. As cheesy as it sounds, this really did fulfill a lifelong dream for me.

I got some video but I was singing along and I get annoyed at myself when I listen. ;o) Maybe I’ll post it because even with me squawking in the background, Bono rocks Mysterious Ways.

Body for Life

I made a big change a few weeks ago. I decided to strengthen and tone my body as well as change my eating habits to fuel my body with foods that are going to give me the nutrients I need.  That is a HUGE deal for me.  I have spent my whole life eating whatever I wanted. I was refilling my Coke about 10 times A DAY.  I have wanted to do this for awhile but didn't have the will power or desire to actually do anything about it.  I just sat around thinking about exercising and eating better while I was chugging a Coke and eating a Ding Dong.

My sister started talking about the personal trainer she had lined up and something clicked in my brain. I decided right then I was going to do something about it.  I grabbed the Body for Life book in my library and read it in 2 days.  I asked my co-worker, Shayna if she wanted to be my workout partner and I got Kenny on board too with a 12 week program.  I set up everything in 1 day.  I don't know what it was, but once I made up my mind, that was it.

Now before those of you who know me freak out saying, " you're so skinny, you don't need to lose weight...." just know this-  I am not trying to lose weight, in fact I will be happy to put on some muscle weight.  I am not "dieting"  I am just replacing the processed junk I was eating before with foods that are good for me. I quit drinking Coke and replaced it with lots of water. I am determined to get rid of my bat wings (arms), back roll, sagging bum and my muffin top....yes I have all of them. When I take my after pictures in 9 more weeks I will post the before pictures proving that I had one.  I mean, come on. I had 4 kids. Basically instead of being squishy everywhere, I will be toned and strong.

I meet Shayna at the gym 3 days a week at 5 am.  That was always one of my excuses.  That I didn't have time.  But I know if you want something bad enough you will make the time.  And I did.  It was rough getting up the first week and brutal the second with daylight savings....my body was screaming, "you know it's like 3:30 am right??!!".  That first morning I sat in my car in the parking lot and didn't want to go in because I thought I would be so out of place with my scrawny, weak, flabby self. But I just thought, "everyone in there started where I am". And so it began. Now, the more I go the more I want to go back.  There isn't a day that goes by that I am not SORE and I mean like walking like an old lady sore.  But it feels good and I am getting stronger.  The last few days I am just starting to notice the muscle building in my arms and legs.  The belly is going to take awhile....and lots of crunches. OUCH. I run the other 3 days and am training to run another race at the end of the summer.

The food change is amazing.  I can't believe how badly I was eating before.  Now I am always thinking about what kind of food is going to fuel my body to help it rebuild.  Before the diet change I was having headaches daily and taking Excedrin Migraine almost every day. My digestive system was going haywire and I was so tired all the time. I am 3 weeks in to the new diet and I have not had any headaches, my digestive system is not giving me any problems and I have more energy than I can remember having in a LONG time.  I am so excited to watch the changes continue as I work through the next 9 weeks.

The month that nearly did me in PART 3.

Let’s wrap this up shall we?

15. Drivers Training.  We signed Kelsey up to take drivers training through the school district.  We headed off to the DMV to get the proper credentials.  Do you think she is excited?

16. Snakes.  It must be the time of year….or the fact that we live in the mountains.  I don’t know, but we have had a ton of snakes!  They are only garden snakes but they still freak  me out.  This one in the picture was blocking my way to the car. I was walking out the door to work and there between me and my car was a snake.  I went to the right and so did the snake. I went to the left and so did the snake.  I called Kendall and he caught the snake.   The best was when Kelsey was using the net to clean insects out of the pool and there was a snake swimming in there!

17. Freshman Orientation.  We entered the gym where the  band was playing, the cheerleaders were performing and the bleachers were full of kids.  It was so strange because I remember being in high school like it was yesterday!  I loved high school, so I hope Kelsey has a good 4 years.   Annoyingly and predictably, the senior boys were all there to check out the girls.  Senior boys look REALLY old compared to my baby!…..and since when do high school boys have MUSTACHES?

18.  First day of school.  Kenny was out of town this week so I tried to be super organized.  In order to get everyone where they need to go I have to leave my house at 7:20 AM!  Here are some pics of the kids.

19. 1/2 Marathon. Two years ago I decided to run a half marathon with my sister, Becky.  She was living out of state and was planning to drive to Pocatello to run the race with me.  She had to quit training and couldn’t run the race.  I ran anyway.  But not the 1/2.  She is living here in Pocatello this year while her husband is deployed to Iraq.  Since they will be moving away when he gets home we decided to train and run our half marathon this year.  Training has been interesting.  With 8 kids between us, the training was crazy.  Some nights we were able to get away and get our run done quickly.  Other nights we brought the whole crew with us to the track.  Those runs took FOREVER.  There were messy pants to change, clinging children….you name it, it probably happened while we were trying to run.  It was pretty humorous.

 

Training for this race was a huge time commitment.  The long runs on Saturday usually took a couple hours.  It was nice to train with Becky.  She is a good listener and was able to help me work through some things I was struggling with.  I grew to admire and respect her insight and am so thankful to have her as a sister and friend.   Before I knew it, summer had flown by and race day was here.  It felt really good to know I had stuck with the training and was prepared to finish.  The race started well and I felt really good.  Things were moving along nicely until about mile 7.  I got a really bad stitch in my side that lasted the rest of the race.  I ran through the pain but I think it slowed me down a little.  The last 2 miles were ROUGH!  I wanted to die.  We only trained to run 10 miles so after mile 11 I could feel my body shutting down.  Becky is the only reason I finished my race.  Our original goal was to finish in 2 hours and 15 minutes but we really wanted to finish under 2 hours. I was slowing down and she said, “If you want a finish time under 2 hours you have to run faster.  I know you don’t care right now but you will after the race.  You want to leave everything you have on the road.”  I am so grateful I had her with  me to push me and encourage me.  If I had been by myself I would have stopped and walked those last few miles.  I can honestly say I left EVERYTHING on the road.   Now all we need to work on is my race finish….  They had our timing chips embedded in our race numbers.  When we started the race we ran across an electronic bar that activated the timer.  As we came to the finish line we were sprinting as fast as we could. I could see the electronic bar ahead and as soon as we crossed it we stopped running, only to see a second bar a few yards ahead was the actual finish line.  So we walked a few steps before realizing it and then ran to the second bar.  What a glorious finish!  Also note to self: Quit talking and smile when you come to the finish line so the photographer doesn’t get spastic pictures like this and this AND this.   Ya, that last one is a beaut!  I was so excited when they posted our times and we finished in 1 hour and 59 minutes!  Here are the pictures of the race.

Up before sunrise.

 

Riding the bus up to the starting line.  There is the electronic bar. :)

Don’t we look happy?……and sweaty?

WE FINISHED!!!

Back at mom’s.

20. Pizza Party.  We celebrated with the kids at Pizza Hut.

 

Zoey made sure to lick her plate clean.

And that is the end of my report on the craziest month ever.  Here’s to hoping September is nice and relaxing.

Blessings Part 2

Laundry is one of my least favorite things. I wouldn't mind it so much if I could ever get it under control and KEEP it that way. We seriously have mountains of dirty clothes at my house. It is hard to keep up with it all when I am working full time. My mother came up with a GENIUS idea that I am calling blessing #2. In addition to watching Kaiden for me, she is also washing my laundry and making meals for my family 4 nights a week!!!

HALLELUJAH!!!

No, this is not slave labor. I am paying her and I think it will work out well for both of us. Okay, more for me. But it IS all about me...At least on my blog. ;o)

We are starting on our first week and I am LOOOOOVING it. I can't remember the last time I could actually see the entire floor in my laundry room. I mean I actually washed blankets. You know, the ones that sit in your laundry room for 6 months because you barely have enough time to wash everyone clean underwear let alone a blanket? I drop it off and then pick it up all folded and hung up and ready to put away. I still keep some of our laundry but what she does really helps me have time to spend with the kids after work. Then the meal thing is awesome. No deciding what to make after a long work day, no clean up, no 3 hour trip to the grocery store, no more stunting my kids growth from too many Ramen Noodles....

One night this week I actually sat down and watched TV with Kenny. I SAT DOWN AND WATCHED TV!! That never happens. The kids were in bed, everyone had eaten dinner and I didn't have any laundry to do so I just sat. And it was nice. I am so grateful for this whole arrangement and for my wonderful mother!

MOM YOU DA BOMB DIGGITY! (spell check did not like that sentence!)

RODEO

For those of you who don't already know, I LOVE THE RODEO. Every spring the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo comes to Pocatello. The hotel I work for is the host hotel and so we have a busy and full week during rodeo. I am able to get tickets to go and I always have the best time. This year I went to three different performances. The first night Kenny and I attended with my co workers. It was fun and we enjoyed the concert afterwards. Shayna and Skyler Racheal and Casey On Saturday afternoon I took the kids, minus Kaiden, plus Zeb my nephew, to the afternoon performance. I also invited my friend Allyson and her husband Jeremy. The kids Allyson and I Kylie with the Rodeo Queens. Click on the picture to see it enlarged....then laugh at her teeth. She is sticking her tongue between her front teeth and it looks like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber. Isn't Kylie cute? Here is the biggest reason I could not actually participate in a rodeo...I would not be caught dead in women's wranglers. They are NOT flattering on any woman. That and the fact that if I tried to barrel race I would probably fall off the horse and knock myself out on the barrel. The Whole Gang Notice our seating. We are on the floor by the roping events. Opposite side from the chutes. Kylie On Friday night I found out I won........ WOO HOO! YAY ME! I was so excited to win seats sitting above the bucking chutes. Kenny had to work in the evening and was joining me later so I went to the Rodeo by myself. When I actually got to my seats I was amazed. I really did have THE BEST seats in the whole arena. I had a padded leather chair with arm rests sitting on the highest platform right in the middle. I could see all the chutes below me and watch all the cowboys prepare to ride. It was so exciting! I took lots of video and pictures. I will be posting the best videos when I figure it out....and you will see how awesome my seats were. I am not zooming in on most of the videos. That is really how close I was. Remember where I was sitting before? I had good seats then, but nothing like these ones! It was the highlight of my week. The bucking horses are my favorite rodeo event. The one downside to these seats.....I smelled like horses and crap when I left. A small price to pay. ;)
Looking down at a bull
The view of the arena
Sitting right above the gate
A cowboy prepping the horse
Kenny and I