halloween

Devan was his favorite vampire, Edward playing the role of a vampire.

I know that I'm slow, but here are my halloween pictures for this year. I'm trying to keep up with my sisters, but I think I just run in a different gear than they do. The girls were fairies. Paula was a water fairy. Missy was a cotton candy fairy. Sarah was a rainbow fairy (and she wanted to wear her dress to church. It is a dress mom and on Sunday we wear dresses to church). Maggie was a black fairy. Emma was a fire fairy. Makayla was a flower fairy. I loved watching wings light up from the street when the doors to the houses opened. Priceless.

busy busy busy

We are officially in the busiest time of the year for our family.

Halloween was very fun. Devan had a party and 15 people showed up for that. (I let Dean cover that one. I had to sacrifice and walk the streets, talk to the other moms while our girls went door to door trick or treating. Which of course has a candy fee attached for anyone that comes back to my house and starts the candy swap. I got some Heath, tootsie rolls, 100 grand, dark choc snickers, licorice, .......)Anyway, Devan's party went very well. They met ate just a little (I had 5 Costco pizzas for them to eat and at the end of the night, I had 3 left. We are finding out how many times in a row one can eat pizza) They played apples to apples then went trick or treating as a group. They came back to our house and watched Young Frankenstein. I forgot all the innuendos there are in that movie, even though it is very funny.

Paula, her friend Missy, Sarah and her friend Maggie (from our last soccer team) our neighbor Emma and her friend Macayla were all fairies. Paula was a water fairy. Missy was a cotton candy fairy. Sarah was a rainbow fairy. Maggie was a black fairy. Emma was a fire fairy. Macayla was a flower fairy. I was so fun being a Mom and watching this group run door to door. When they would get to a door and it would open the light from inside the house would illuminate their wings and it looked cool from the curbside.

Next week Sarah is going to have a sleep over birthday party, which I hope that she will let me take them swimming so burn off some of their energy. The next week after that Paula is going to do the same thing, have a swimming sleep over birthday party. Next I am going to take my family to Blanscett's for Thanksgiving. I will take them the Sunday before, come home the next day so I can work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Sleep on Thursday and when I wake up join the Blanscett clan for turkey sandwiches. After Thanksgiving is over is my birthday and then it is full time Christmas

I have a routine again

School has started and everyone is doing well. Sarah is in soccer and is a Fox with 10 other 4th graders. Paula is doing well in volleyball and they won their first game today. There are 44 7th graders that are playing and have been split into A and B teams. So Paula has 22 girls on her team (only 6 can be on the floor at a time). Devan is in High school and he is doing good. I can't believe it, but he has turned in all of his home work and on time! (Life's simple pleasures are great) He is in the concert and jazz band at school and I was just told today that he is on the list to go to Japan in the spring. He has started taking piano lessons again. The lesson today was canceled because the teacher was in the recording studio and it was taking too long. (I was impressed in a weird sort of way. A teacher who really is a musician)

Despite what my kids are doing in school etc, they are gone during the day, need to be chauffeured after school, procrastinate their homework, and are noisy on the weekend. Ahhhhhhh, a routine.

1600 Miles

Last Thursday I took off for a fast quick long road trip. I was returning and picking up children and cousins. With Hannah, Paula and Sarah we went to Boise and picked up Emma. After that we travel to Utah and dropped off Hannah and Emma and slept the night at Grandma Long's house. We got up about 8:30 got ready and headed to Iona Idaho for the rockwood reunion. We celebrated Aunt Betty's 80th birthday and Barb's 50th birthday. It was good to see every one. We caravanned with Laura, grandpa Long, DJ, Ben,and Jackson in one car. I had Grandma Long, Devan , Sarah, and Paula. All the kids were way bored because they didn't know anyone. They weren't too thrilled about not having a day about them. Too bad, so sad.



When the afternoon in the park was done, Grandma Long ditched us and went home with Kay and Paul. The rest of us went visiting. Bruce and Jen came up on there new motorcycle. We all ended up at Gaylyn and Nancy's. We played and let the kids splash in the pool then went to the cemeteries where Grandma and Grandpa Madsen and Grandma and Grandpa Long were buried. I loved the location of the Ammon cemetery, it's up on a hill overlooking Ammon.



After visiting the cemeteries we stopped by Ann and Fenton's house. Fenton must have Alzheimer's, he had a lot of vacant-ness in him. Daryl met us and as we watched the fireworks. Idaho Falls did a very good job with them. They had many different tempos and music and a narrative to go with it.



That night we went to Pocatello and spent the night. In the morning Laura and her car went to Promitary Point and we headed home. I was so tired of traveling on little sleep that I was in bed with an hour of being home and slept for 11 hours and wanted more but church won and I got up went.

By the time we were done traveling we had put 1600 miles on the car.

Personal best

Well we did it!!! About at the 10 mile mark, Sherry summed it up very well. She told me this was just like birthing babies. Looking back at it 4 days ago, I agree. While I was walking the 1/2 marathon I was wondering what I was doing, I wasn't having a whole lot of fun. It was hot, I was thirsty, my feet hurt, then my hips hurt, then my back hurt, then my legs hurt ........and then my tail was frozen (for those of you who watch 101 Dalmations). I needed to pee and I wasn't going to wait in a big line so I would hold it another mile. But today it wasn't really that bad and I want to do another one.

All that said I am proud to annouce that our times were a personal bests. Below are Sherry's and my times.


NO. NAME CITY, STATE RACE # SEX AGE CHIP-TIME CHIP-PACE AGE-DIV PLACE-OVERALL SEX-OVERALL GUN-TIME GUN-PACE TIME-TO-START LINE

774. Janet Blanscett Bend, OR 4762 F 45 3:39:52 16:46 16 / 19 1087 /1161 774 / 842
3:40:34 16:50 0:42
775. Sherry Burke Bend, OR 4714 F 46 3:39:52 16:46 72 / 87 1088 /1161 775 / 842
3:40:34 16:50 0:42

Marathon

Tomorrow is the big day. I will be walking a 1/2 marathon. I had shin splints 2 months ago that side-lined me for three weeks before I got better and Sherry, my walking buddy, kept getting quarter sized blisters on her feet. We decided that a marathon just wasn't for us this year. Since the Pacific Crest Classic is in our back yard we can always so the whole thing next year. It's supposed to be the hottest day of the year tomorrow and reach 97. I'm glad we're walking in the morning. I hope tomorrow night I can still move.

We have done our cousin swap. I have Hannah. She and Paula just returned from girls camp and had a lovely time. I have sent Devan to Utah. He spent some time at Cindee's house and is now at Laura's. Next week on my days off . Thursday I go to Boise and pick up Emma and take her home and leave all the girls, mine included in Riverton. Friday I take Mom, Laura and I'm not sure who else to Idaho to a family reunion. Saturday or Sunday I have to go home so Devan can get ready for Scout camp on Monday and I can go to work Monday night. All this and more on my 5 days off. You too should have this much fun. I'm sure before I get back I won't want to sit ever again.

Ohh can I tell you I LOVE spell check.

I have done well this week as far as excersing goes. I was having a hard time getting motivated on Friday. I called my sister and she said that she had all ready excercised that day. Well I can't have her out do me, so I hit the treadmill. Today I went for a 4 mile walk. It doesn't seem like much considering that I want to do 26 miles in 3 1/2 months, and that doesn't seem like a lot of time left. What I like about the Sun River marathon is that they don't have a time limit. I just want to finish. I'm doing 17 minute miles when I push it, so it will only take me 7 1/2 hours. Kind of depressing thinking about it that way. The race is 2-13 mile loops. So when they are doing the awards ceremony for the winners I will at least be on my second loop. The side benefit to all this is that I lave lost 1 pound this week.

Being steady has always been a weakness of mine. I didn't exercise the day after I wrote last. But I did do well the last 3 days. I have my training calender filled in, if I look at it one day at a time it really is doable. All I have to do tomorrow is exercise for 45 minutes. To keep on my training schedule I plan on just focussing on one day at a time. Since I have a game plan that will get me to the marathon I will just have to follow it. My end goal is to be healthier. I'm at 235 pounds now, which is past any point I would have dreamed I would let myself go. I want to be healthier, that is my goal.

Paula was home sick today. Dean is leaving to go to Washington for work in the morning. I called in so Paula wouldn't have to be home and alone tomorrow. It seem like just before any vacation I go on I have to call in, which will leave me short hours to cover the vacation. Spring break is at the end of the month and we are heading to Utah. It will be nice to be there.

Next weekend we are going to go to Kennewick to say goodby to Vaughan. He joined the navy and will be going to bootcamp March 25. Secretly I'm laughing inside. It will probably be a rude awakening for him. No more late night gaming sessions and sleeping in and thinking only of himself. To his credit though, he is very smart and will probably do very well. When he is done in 6 years he will come out with a career in computers. I hope that he stays safe and he will adapt quickly.

marathon or bust?

Yesterday I realized that if I'm going to walk the marathon in Sunriver my training should have started 2 weeks ago. So, I went for a walk yesterday and will do it again today and get myself on schedule. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I'm certainly not getting any younger so why not now. I have a couple of friends that have said that they will do it with me. So I'll get myself registered this week and keep walking. Being thinner would be a bonus but I want to be healthier. If I don't do something I'll end up being a diabetic, I have the risk factors of being female, middle aged, sedentary, and according to my BMI I'm in the obese catagory. If I lose only 21 pounds then I'll just be overweight. I think that will be an exciting day when that happens.

I'm following Prevention's marathon training guide, when looked at it day by day it is a very doable thing.

This adventure kind of scares me to commit to. I don't want to fail, and a part of me wonders if I can even do it. If I say it out loud here I think it will help me keep my focus. Just one days worth of excersing is all I have to worry about at a time. When I look at it that way it makes it a little easier.

I'm back

Wow, It has only taken me 5 months to remember and to reset my password so I can get back to my blog. Now that I know I don't think it will be another 5 months. I'm tired so I'm going to bed. I'm afraid I might have a little of what brought Paula home from school early today.