he passed...and then he almost passed out!

tonight kevin was on the laptop and i was pretty sure he was checking public records online to see if his name had been added as a licensed physical therapist (which is a quick way to know if he had passed the npte exam he took saturday--his actual results will be mailed later this week).

i knew it was good when i looked over at him and he was pulling his hair with one hand and had the other in the air victoriously! he was in complete shock. he seriously sat there, in that same position, for a couple minutes. just taking in the moment! it was a five hour test and he has been so sick waiting for the results so we were SO relieved and proud to finally KNOW that he had passed! he has been in complete shock most of the night. he keeps rechecking the website to make sure it's the right kevin wesley ward born on december 1st...or, to make sure his name is still there.

KEVIN-i am so proud of you and all of your hard work! congratulations!

try-it-tuesday

my sister-in-law, elena, has started a recipe exchange called try-it-tuesday! how fun is that!

here is how it works: if you have a tried and true recipe that your family loves, PLEASE share it. post a recipe on your blog and then be sure to comment here with the title of your recipe (i.e. elena says....heavenly chicken; that's all you have to type. and make sure you are logged in so we can find you.). that way anyone can quickly look at the recipe names listed and see if they'd like to read more about it. the more the merrier in this game.

here is a recipe i found on kraftfoods.com that we LOVE. especially for lunch, but it works for dinner.

salsa turkey grill

2 slices whole grain bread
1 slice of cheese
5 slices thin sliced smoked turkey breast
1 tbsp. thick 'n chunky salsa
1 tsp. soft reduced-calorie margarine

TOP 1 of the bread slices with cheese, turkey and salsa; cover with remaining bread slice.
SPREAD outside of sandwich with margarine.
COOK in nonstick skillet on medium heat 3 min. on each side or until lightly browned on both sides.

i did a 5k!

shocking...i know! my friend steph has been in idaho falls visiting this week from boise, id and she called me while i was in logan on friday and asked me if i wanted to run a 5k with her the next morning. i have NEVER ran in a race and actually only started "running" (if you can call it that) this spring. her father-in-law had a team put together but two ladies pulled out at the last minute so he was looking for some bodies to fill it. so, we agreed to be those bodies! and...i can honestly say that i couldn't have thought of a better way to spend my saturday morning.

steph and i basically just had the goal of not finishing last and to not take more than 45 minutes (pathetic, i know). we achieved both goals...finishing the race in 36:12. we have a lot of room for improvement but gave ourselves an 'A' for our effort! we weren't really racing, we were just pacing and hoping to be able to jog the entire time.

since kevin was in pocatello taking his npte test that morning (by the way, he should have his test results in 2 weeks) my parents were kind enough to haul the boys around the green belt while we were racing and even managed to take a few pictures. thanks mom and dad!



me and steph before the race. the sun was BRIGHT!



me and steph trotting along...with only 1/2 a mile to go. (man, i need a tan!)

the race was so fun and felt so good that we plan on doing it again and again. maybe next year we can do the 10k.

logan cont.

our last day in logan we went to the "zoo" and feed the fish and ducks. it's a very, small but very cute zoo so we all loved it. after we enjoyed a little picnic in the park the boys and i loaded up and drove back to idaho falls. it was such a fun and well needed get away. kevin was able to get some good study time and we were able to play with friends and cousins. win, win!



wesley getting excited about the zoo.

owen



wesley checking out the swans.

megan and gabby

logan cont.

here are some more pictures of our swimmers.



gabby-katie's daughter that is just 5 days younger than owen.



gordon-elise's little man.

owen showing his silly face.

our great hostest...katie! thanks katie for letting us play for a few days.

logan

last wednesday i decided to take the boys and make a last-minute trip to logan, ut for a few days. kevin was spending all his free-time preparing for the npte (national physical therapy examination) that he would be taking saturday morning so i thought we would give him some peace and quiet.

it was so fun to stay with my sister, katie and play all week long. wednesday night katie watched my boys so i could go and surprise my friend elise at the olive garden in logan while she was having an early birthday dinner with her husband. i TOTALLY shocked her with her favorite dessert and a hosts of singers. it made my day!



me and elise at the olive garden

on thursday we set up the banzai falls in my sister's backyard and played outside for a few hours. my parents bought this massive inflatable slide last year and they send around to every grandchild's house over the summer so everyone gets a turn. so i started the rotation by hauling it to katie's. this thing is massive. the pump alone took up my passenger seat and then the slide took up my entire trunk. a beast...but, VERY fun!

wesley

we also had elise and her two boys come and join us for some fun. thomas loved the slide. owen and thomas going down the "big slide". there is also a smaller slide that goes under the big slide the big slide but the kids weren't so found of it since it had a big pool of cold water at the end.



owen braving the "big slide". he was the first to get up there. he actually really loved this and climbed up and went down all by himself. last year he wouldn't go near it.

happy birthday elise!

happy birthday to my dearest friend, elise! we have been friends since grade school and i love her to death. yesterday i was able to make a trip to logan, ut and surprise her with dessert at the olive garden while she was having an early birthday dinner with her husband (thanks chris for helping me set this up!). so fun!

elise, i can't tell you enough how much i admire your creativity, your drive, your mothering skills, and your kindness! you are an incredible woman and i am so glad that we have managed to stay close through the years and miles! happy birthday! LOVE YA!

ps sorry i had to steal this picture from your blog.

just kidding about the whole "bring it on" business...

just kidding about the whole "bring it on" business. spinning class spanked me way to hard today! natalie was a ROCK and did EVERYTHING the instructor said to do in our interval training class today. increased her resistance, climbed, and rode standing up. me...i kept my little hinney on the seat almost the entire time. i have got some work to do! it didn't help that my legs were like rubber from yesterday's work out and i only got three hours of good sleep last night because of a nasty cold. but, nat was pretty much in the same boat...so i am running out of excuses. the old man sitting next to me (who also did a pretty fine job of keeping up with the instructor and kept talking about mcdonalds) told me it took him 5 months to be able to stand up and ride. i keep comforting myself by saying i can only do better! (;

i miss my camera...

so, who wants an update?! sorry i have been a major slacker. i guess life is lame-o when you don't have your camera around. my camera was shipped on monday so life should be getting a whole lot more exciting next week.

i am going to dig deep and find some interesting items of business:

last month i published my first book. kind of. i went to blurb.com and printed my blog posts from 2006-2007. a lot of work, a lot of time, but totally worth it. i have already started working on 2008.

also, this lousy weather has been putting a major damper on my green belt "running". so, natalie (my baby sis) had the brilliant idea of going to a gym to get a free week trial so we could try out their spinning class. last night we went to the gym to get a trial and two hours and a "nasty deal" (as the general manager put it) later we were suckered into buying a year membership. it was a very entertaining experience!

now, i have NEVER had a gym membership before. i prefer working out in the comfort of my own home or outside. but...i am so excited about this! nat and i went in today and worked under the direction of a personal trainer (two sessions come with the membership) and had so much fun! and we are looking forward to going in tomorrow morning for our first butt-kicking in their spinning class. BRING IT ON! (;

eight random facts

i was tagged so i HAVE to tell you eight random facts/habits about myself. i know i did one of these last year, but i am sure you are dying for more facts. (; fun enough!

1-when i get a new magazine i have to look at it in order of pages. i can't just skip ahead to interesting articles. sometimes i drive myself crazy...but, i just feel too guilty if i peek ahead.

2-i played on the tennis team in high school all four years. i really believe the only reason the coach kept me on was because i kept things entertaining. i think i maybe won two games during my tennis "career". when i went to try out the first year i didn't even know how to hold the racket. i loved coach hart!

3-i NEVER pump more gas into my car after the pump stops itself (because their is a warning inside my car that says not to). you know how some people will try to pump a little bit more...or try to get it to the nearest dollar? so it drives me crazy when kevin does it every time. am i the only one?

4-i do at least one crossword puzzle a day! my therapy!

5-i put socks on to go to bed. only because i have the driest heels in AMERICA. well, actually my mom does...but, i am next in line.

6-when i was single i was attracted to bald men. and if they had grey hair it was even better.

7-swedish fish are my favorite treats!

8-i believe that you can tell how great your summer was by looking at the tan line from your sandals!

i know a lot of you have done this tag in the past, so i am going to try to tag people that i know haven't done it (BUT, i invite you ALL to do it). i tag lisa, kelly, rachel, laura, rosanne, joni, staci, and jill. here's what you gotta do:

1) each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2) people who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
3) at the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4) don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

thanks jen. that was fun!

action-packed weekend

we spent this past weekend in logan, ut and it was action-packed! i love weekends like that.

we arrived saturday afternoon and spent some time with kevin's brother sam, his wife lisa, and their boys brian and tyler. it was fun to check out their new place and to let the boys play together.

then we meet up with katie (my sister), chris, izzy, ben (my brother), kaylin, and eli for some delicious dinner at the firehouse! the best pasta and bread around!

next, we made a quick visit to see my friend elise and her little family. owen really loves spending time with her boys and thinks it's great that they share the same names as his thomas and friends trains! (: then elise and i got away from it all and enjoyed some yummy dessert at olive garden. i really love this tradition elise...i hope it continues for YEARS!

on sunday katie's new babe, izzy, was blessed (which was the whole reason for this trip). she was beautiful and her father gave a wonderful blessing. all of my siblings and their children were in attendance along with my parents and both of my grandmothers. what a special day!



beautiful izabella

as we were enjoying a wonderful lunch katie and melissa convinced elena and i to send our husband's home together so we could stay an extra night and make a visit to hogle zoo monday morning. of course that didn't take much convincing!

owen LOVED the zoo and all the animals. but, his favorite part was the train ride. he thought it was so great that he got to give them a ticket to get on the train. he makes crazy things like the zoo SO worth it!

owen-loving the train ride.

as we were walking through the zoo the kids found the perfect photo opt and insisted that i take their picture.



halle, alyssa, payson, megan, and owen

after taking 15 kids to the zoo we were CRAZY enough to stop at the training table for some much deserved lunch. as i was picking up my order the manager asked if we were a daycare. HILARIOUS! i told him that we were just four crazy sisters and all these kids were ours. we kept the staff pretty entertained that afternoon. the manager kept commenting on how we deserved medals for pulling this off and gave us milk on the house!

four crazy sisters-katie, me, elena, and melissa