Lots of signatures later...

We closed on our house this morning! We are now officially home owners (even though we don't get the keys until tomorrow).  We met at the house for a final walk-through, then went down to the title office to sign our lives and savings away.  When we sat down at the table I actually started laughing out loud.  We were sitting at a table with our realtor, loan officer, closing agent, the sellers, and the sellers' agent, and I felt really young and out of place.  In what kind of world do kids like us actually buy houses?  I took a drink from my water bottle to stop the laughing then settled down to business.  Like everyone had warned us, we spent the next hour and a half reading documents, signing documents, discussing documents, and re-reading documents.  The answer to everyone one of them should have been, "Yes, I am honest," and that would have saved us a lot of hassle.  But the short version of the story is this picture: 

As of tomorrow, this is home!

Break

Our trip to the park yesterday turned into much more of an adventure that I bargained for.  While the girls were climbing on the playground and having a grand time, I was reading a book and visiting with some other women.  I heard McKenzie crying, looked up and saw her laying face down on one of the playground platforms.  It looked like she had just tripped and fallen.  But even after I picked her up she kept crying and crying.  It was the kind of cry that let me know she was really hurt.  I watched her to find out where she was hurting.  She kept grabbing at the left side of her neck and she would complain about her left arm hurting when she tried to raise it to get a drink out of a water bottle.  My first thought was a broken collar bone.  I didn't see her fall, but I saw how she had landed and it was very possible she had landed on her shoulder without bracing herself at all. 

We called our park day short and I went home to call my friend who also happens to be the girls' pediatrician.  I just wanted to know if I should bring her in or not (because I don't like showing up with nothing wrong), and Danna told me to bring her in.  I still had my doubts at the doctor's because McKenzie had stopped crying by then and was using her arm.  She complained some when we moved her arm around, but not significantly and I began to think her shoulder was just bruised.  Danna had us go downstairs to get some x-rays just in case, and when they came back....yes, her left collar bone was indeed broken.  Instead of a nice straight bone, it looks more like a mountain peak. 

So now the poor girl must wear a sling for the next few weeks and just get used to being in pain until it heals.  We've started to realize that there are a few things McKenzie can't do right now: climb up on the couch, climb down from the couch, climb into her chair, crawl like a puppy, pull herself up with two arms, climb up the stairs, hang from the monkey bars, lift a heavy sippy cup, or raise her arm so we can get her dressed.  We also have to carry her a little bit differently because we can't lift her from under her arms.  Getting her in and out of her car seat is also a little tricky.  But she's been a trooper.  She lets us give her medicine and for the most part she's kept her sling on.  She even smiled for me when I got out the camera to take her picture.  Now it's just a waiting game for her collar bone to heal :)  Unfortunately this all happened during a busy moving week too...ah, just what we all needed.

Secret Spy

Today Cambrie wanted to be a "secret spy" at preschool.  So she found black pants, a black shirt, black elastics, and a black bow.  She told me that if she stands next to a black wall, no one will be able to see her. 

I told her that secret spies also use shadows to hide in, so she hid in the first shadow she found, a box ready to be packed.  What a cute secret spy.

Jabberwocky...not so much

McKenzie is 20 months old.  About this same time I wrote down all of the words that Cambrie knew-the list was very long (507 words actually).  But I can't compare my two girls because they're just so different-McKenzie can actually run.  Anyway, here's the list of words that McKenzie can say.  Some of them you have to listen to with "mommy ears" but I know she knows what she's saying:

all done

ball

bubble

buzzz

cat

cheese cup

Daddy

doggy

down

duck

eye

fish

Grandpa

grass

hat

hi

lawn mower

Mommy

moo

moon

night-night

no

ore

owie

Papa

roar (anything scary sound)

rock

shoe

slide

snack

splash

sssss (snake sound)

star

stuck

tow

truck

uh-oh

up

Yes, the list is only 39 words long, but she's learning so I'll stick with that.  She can understand everything though.  Yesterday she wanted a bag of goldfish, but I told her she already had a open bag of goldfish downstairs.  So she turned around, walked down the stairs, and grabbed her open bag.   I won't be sorry when her vocabulary improves though, because grunting only works for so much.  If anyone knows sign language, feel free to stop by and teach me everything because that seems to be working.  We know a handful of words that we use when she can't make the words, but my vocabulary is extremely limited and I don't know what else to teach her.

My Moose Medal

A whole summer of training was ultimately put to the test today at the Top of Utah Marathon.  Jeremy put a little bug in my ear back in March that I could probably qualify for the Boston Marathon.  Once that got in my head I had a hard time getting the idea to go away.  So I found some amazing friends to run with in the Redline Running Club, found a coach, and found a series of races this summer to get me to my goal.  Today's race was my last chance to get that qualifying time and I have been so nervous for it.  When I pulled into Logan and saw all of the banners up for the runners, I just wanted them taken down so I wouldn't have to think about it.  But this morning came, and the nerves were gone-it was time to get moving.

It was raining slightly when I woke up so I put on my visor to keep the rain out of my face, put on an extra long-sleeved shirt and some gloves.  While Lisa Dudley and I waited for the buses, we were getting rained on.  Once we got to the top and were waiting for the porta-potties, we got really rained on.   And then for the next 14 miles it rained, sleeted, and hailed.  My shoes squished with each stride, rain was pouring off my visor, and I had to ditch my extra shirt because it was so wet and heavy.  I have never been so soggy during a run, but there was something fun and exhilarating about running down a canyon with two-thousand other runners as we tried not to get hit by the lightning that was also flashing around us. 

For me to hit my goal time I needed to have an average pace of 8:23.  I started pretty quickly and tried to slow it down, but got carried away with the downhill.  I had planned on running with the 3:40 pace group, but ended up just trying to stay in front of them before I was stampeded by the herd.  It worked out though because I met some nice guys from Sacramento that were fun to run with, and I think I finished faster than if I had stuck with the pacers.  By mile 20 I was starting to realize that I was probably going to hit my goal time.  And I started to get teary-eyed.  (These marathons really do a number on my emotional state).  I picked it up a bit because I only had six miles to go.  By four miles to go I was hurting pretty badly, but there was no way I was going to lose my pace now that I was so close.  I gutted it through to three miles left and had another running buddy keep me going.  Two miles left....one mile left...and I got a huge surprise, my dad was there!  I didn't know if he'd be able to come and it was so nice to see him.  I cried again.  Then I saw that finish line and I couldn't believe the time I saw ticking away up top.  I hadn't looked at my overall time since mile 13, and it was such a great feeling to see 3:35:36 flashing as I ran under that inflatable arch.  And then I saw the two cutest members of my cheering squad being held by my brother and dad and was so relieved to be done.

I did it!  Even though it was wet, freezing, and really, really hard, I did it.  I qualified for Boston and accomplished the goal I had been working towards for six months.  What a great feeling.

Where were you?

Today is the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the crash in the Pennsylvania field.  Memorial coverage has been airing all day; coverage ranging from a real-time tribute to the attacks, memorial services, and special tributes to the victims.  Watching all of it today brought back a flood of memories of what happened a decade ago.  Memories that my children will never have first-hand.  But I remember, and this is a post dedicated to all of us who experienced that tragic day, a post of "Where were you when...?"

I was a junior attending Pleasant Grove High School.  In the mornings I would always eat a bowl of cereal while sitting on the counter in the kitchen watching "The Today Show."  This morning I turned it on and wasn't quite sure what I was seeing at first.  I saw a tall building billowing with smoke from the upper floors.  Then it cut to the news anchors, Matt Lauer, Katie Curic, Ann Curry, and Al Roker.  They are normally light-hearted but they were serious and looked a little frightened.  They kept talking about a plane possibly hitting the World Trade Center, but I couldn't make sense of it because it seemed so foreign.  Then right before I walked out of the door to go to school the second airplane came into the scene and crashed into the second tower.  Everyone on the broadcast gasped, stammered, and tried to explain what was going on, but didn't have any explanations.

I carpooled with my friends at the time and climbed into the van.  Some of them hadn't heard about what was happening in New York, and the others knew as little as I did.  In the school whispers about an attack started to circulate and you could feel some tension in the air.  Luckily I had U.S. History first period and when we walked into the classroom, the TV was already on and showing what was happening.  We sat there for the entire class just watching everything unfold.  We learned about a third plane heading toward the Pentagon and slowly received information about that attack.  By now we are all very scared.  We start talking about how many planes there actually were and speculating about where they will attack.  The FAA has suspended all flights, but we knew that they can't do anything about the ones already in the air.  As we are watching the second tower suddenly collapsed.  We were in shock.  We couldn't breathe.  We couldn't believe that we were watching an attack In New York City on live TV.  Everyone just held still...

My mind was racing.  I couldn't make sense of what was going on.  I couldn't figure out who it was that was attacking us.  I couldn't believe that they used something as simple as passenger airplanes and turned them into bombs.  Watching the building fall made it feel complete and hopeless.  This was real.  This attack was really happening, right now, in New York.  I just sat and watched as the news agencies started showing pictures of soot covered office workers, firefighters and policemen as they ran away from the collapsing buildings.  Before I had any answers to my questions, class ended and I had to go to Calculus. 

That teacher had a different outlook on how we should be spending our day, and turned off the TV's.  He didn't want us worrying about what was happening and instead wanted us to concentrate on our work; it was impossible.  My mind kept going back to the planes and the towers.  During class someone found out that the first tower hit had collapsed.  But no one else had any more information.  The rest of school was extremely frustrating.  No on had any answers.  Rumors started spreading of a fourth plane, but we couldn't find out what was happening.  The school day went on like normal, but it was so tense.  Some parents came and checked their kids out of school, but most of us stayed.  After school I went to swim team like normal, but I still couldn't focus.  My mind kept going back and replaying the collapsing tower I saw happen on live TV. 

When I got home I turned on the news and tried to watch as much coverage as I could about the attacks.  I learned that the passengers in the fourth plane had fought back and had crashed their plane into a field in Pennsylvania instead of letting it hit its next target in Washington.  I started hearing names fly around like Osama bin Laden, and al-Qaeda, having no idea what it all meant.  But still very worried that it wasn't over.  The video of the towers collapsing played over and over again.  Each time I saw it I was still in shock.  The videos of the survivors were heartbreaking and I had a hard time reconciling the images of the war zone I was watching with the New York City that I knew. 

It seemed as though suddenly, the entire country remembered to pray.  People were praying again.  People were believing in a God again.  People were kind to each other.  And I couldn't help but think that this felt like part of God's plan.  He needed people to return to Him, and even though this was a tough way to send a message, maybe that's what it was, a message.  People needed to have more faith and not forget their God.  That feeling of a religious country lasted awhile, but most potently the first few months after the attacks.  Slowly the feeling began to leave and I felt my heart break a little at the revelation that people have a hard time remembering their God.

After awhile President Bush declared war on Osama bin Laden and the Taliban in Afghanistan.  I was thrilled with his choice.  I hadn't realized how much I wanted vengeance for what they did, until he made the announcement.  It felt like the entire country wanted pay back.  Songs were written like, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," and "Have you Forgotten."  Songs that stirred your heart to feel like it did on the morning of September 11th.  We went to war and we fought.  At first the country didn't mind sending soldiers, but then after years of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, people got tired of the war and called it a useless and pointless use of our soldiers' lives and our country's money.  We didn't kill Osama until May of this year.  It took us ten years to get him.  People finally relaxed now that we had our vengeance, but I don't think most of them remember the passion we had when we started that venture.  It wasn't just for bin Laden.  It was for future terrorists, so that we could avoid another 9-11. 

Today as I watched the recaps of the attacks on the towers, the reaction of the New Yorkers, and the expressions of the family members of the victims, I felt everything come back to me.  It's amazing how much it still stings after ten years.  I tried explaining it to Cambrie today and couldn't help but realize how her world has been shaped by that event.  Security checks at the airport are just part of flying now, but they didn't used to be.  Prejudice against Muslims and Iraqis is still hot, but it wasn't always this way.  And people are much more paranoid about terrorist attacks than ever.  Our world has changed, and even my children don't really understand why. 

Most of the day I've had a song running through my head that pretty much encompasses what I hope other people are feeling today too:

"Have you forgotten how it felt that day?  To see your homeland under fire, and her people blown away.  Have you forgotten when those towers fell, we had neighbors still inside going through a living hell....Have you forgotten all the people killed.  Yeah, some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field.  Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?  All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on?  Don't you tell me not to worry 'bout bin Laden.  Have you forgotten?"

Today was a day not to forget, but to remember.  And I remember.

Hiding

All I wanted today was to eat my pizza in peace.  No tugging on my clothes, no snatching of my food, no climbing on my lap, no goobery mouth kisses, and no slimey fingers poking me.  So I hid.  

All McKenzie wanted was to not have me wash off those slimey fingers and goobery mouth.  So she hid too.  Don't we make quite the pair? 

First day of Preschool

Cambrie's first day of Mother Goose preschool was on Wednesday.  Cambrie is lucky enough to have two other girls and two boys in her class, all of them from the ward.  The mother's are fantastic and great teachers too, it will be a wonderful year.  I was so excited to see her get ready for school, remembering her backpack and new school supplies.  I am really having fun with this whole growing up thing.  Cambrie was just as excited too.  She couldn't stop talking about her class and showing me the projects they worked out.  Of course her stories came after the groan she groaned when she saw me walk in the door to take her home for the day.  While she's gone, McKenzie isn't quite sure what to do with herself and is so happy to see her sister come home.  Yea for preschool :)

Bye-bye binky & Hello school shopping

Well, the time has come for McKenzie to say good-bye to her binky.  My goal is typically to get rid of it around 18 months, but because of family vacations I let her have it for a few months longer.  She is totally attached to this thing and it's going to be hard to get rid of it.  Ironically she hated it when she was a newborn and I had to force it upon her at five months for a babysitting gig.  We cut the end of of it and gave it to her like nothing had changed.  As soon as she put it in her mouth she knew something was weird, pulled it out again to look at it utterly confused.  She didn't cry at first, she was just more curious than anything.  She requested a second binky later that night when she still wasn't asleep and we got the same reaction.  Unfortunately bedtimes and nap times have not gone smoothly for the last two days and I hope it gets better soon...

On a happier note we went and bought Cambrie her preschool supplies today.  I know she just needs pencils, crayons, and glue, and that we already have all of that at home.  But I'm so excited that she's growing up that I took her to Wal-Mart today and let her choose some new pencils and a pencil sharpener.  She chose Tinkerbell, I shouldn't be surprised :)  Tomorrow she starts preschool with our Mother Goose co-op, and we are both so excited for it!

Labor Day picnic

Today for Labor Day we headed up to the canyons above Boulder with some friends for a little creekside picnic.  For some reason I didn't think about actually camping this weekend, so a quick trip today up the mountains would have to suffice.  There were friends for all of us as we ate lunch and played in the stream.  We went with the Mowers, Hamblins, Andersons, Williams, Smiths, and Schaumanns. 

The water was cold but not enough to turn away Cambrie and Jeremy as they went hunting for shiny rocks in the stream bed.  They came home with a pocket full of glittering rocks. 

McKenzie was content to hang out by me and just pick up rocks until she saw them in the water and she just had to join the fun. Luckily there was a small area where the water was shallow enough for McKenzie to wade in safely and she could throw all the rocks she wanted.  

She and her friends splashed and played in the mud until their feet were numb.  They spent a lot of time standing on this beam to try and warm their feet up some.  I admit, I also spent a lot of time standing on that beam too. 

When I tried to capture my girls playing in the water, Cambrie insisted on being silly and turned away every time I pulled out the camera, but I did capture this cheesy smile. 

This picture I'm including mostly for laughs.  One of our friends' little boys fell in the water only minutes after we got there and ran around in his underwear the rest of the afternoon.  When it was time to go, all the kids were soaked to the bone and could have just as easily been running around nude. 

And this final picture is for Jeremy's sake.  There was a very large and very creepy spider hanging around near our picnic site...the kids thought it was great....myself, not so much.