RUNNING 21 MILES AND STORE

Yesterday we did our 21 mile run. We ran 11 miles in Neola then headed to Roosevelt, which was 10 miles. We averaged a 8:06 minute mile. It was SOOOOO windy - very annoying! It is bad enough to run 21 miles, let alone in the wind. The last 2 miles I really struggled. I didn't want to go another step. I have something in my head, I never want to finish those last couple miles. It doesn't matter if it is 10 or 20 miles - the last couple of miles go so SLLLLLLLOW. Next Friday Dusty will be in Kentucky so my mom is watching Staci and my kids while we run 24 miles... ahhhhh :) Dusty is so excited to go to Kentucky Derby. We bought him, Stewart, and Dirk tickets, hotel, and a flight for Christmas. Stewart was a jockey when he was in high school and they all love horses. Their seats are suppose to be on the finish line towards the front - so look for them if you watch the race!

We have taken on another adventure. A couple of weeks ago we bought the Neola Store. We are changing the name to Olsen & Sons C-Store. I am so excited about our new adventure. It has been my life long dream to own a store. We aren't going to start operating it until June 12. There is currently a lady renting the building so we are giving her a couple of months to finish her lease. I love figuring things out - what to do & where to move stuff to. Today I had a kid come and clean up the outside and Monday we are going to start painting it. I need to go take pictures of it because I hope by the time we are done there will be some big changes... I can't wait to get started :) Everyone is asking me if I am working in it - no I am not. I would love to but right now my time is for my kids. I am sure I will do a little here and there - deposits, ordering, cleaning, and such. But we have hired a couple of people to work in it - and looking for one more. I am super excited - I already ordered a fountain machine...

MY KIDS MAKE ME PROUD

Today was the Easter Egg hunt in Neola. There were 3 age groups and we had kids in each age group. Dusty took Ridge, I took Wayke, and Rayce had to go by himself. When it was all over we went and found Rayce. He was sitting on a table crying. He had only been able to get 2 eggs. He is not an aggressive kid. If him and another kid were at the same egg, he wouldn't fight for it. But he was really sad that he only had got 2. I talked to him about it and said it was ok, I was glad that he is the way he is. He then told me a story that another kid was crying and Rayce asked him what was wrong. The kid had only got 1 egg. Rayce said he felt bad for the kid so he said "Here you can have one of mine." I told Rayce that Dusty and I were happy with him that he shares and cares about other kids feelings. It was a proud moment for me. I want my kids to be good kids - and think about others.

18 MILES RUN

Yesterday we did our 18 mile run. I was shocked when we finished and found out we averaged a 7:58 per mile. It took us 2:24 to finish it. I felt so good until mile 14 and then I really started stuggling. Again, Staci kept pushing me and we finished in what I thought was a really good time. (However, when I was just about dead and said "can we go a little slower" she replied with "I thought we were going slow!) I sometimes wish she would leave me because I think she could get an AWESOME time without me. Thanks Staci for the fun run - can't wait until next Saturday's 21 miler ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RANGE

My baby is 1! He is so much fun. He is a little stinker - I can't lie. He loves to be held, he doesnt ever want to be put down, and always wants to be entertained. But we still love him. he has two teeth and pretty blue eyes. He weighs 27 lbs - chunky little thing :) He doesn't walk or sleep through the night. He is still on the bottle and the binki... With no change in sight. I love my little baby and his personality - and even his crazy hair that stands straight up!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RANGE

MORE FISHING PICURES

FAMILY "AWAY" EVENING

I have heard people say you shouldn't go anywhere for Family HOME Evening. (That is why it is HOME.) But I guess I don't agree. We just do something as a family. Last week we went fishing. Dusty's 2nd councelor works at the fish hatchery. The boys had a BLAST. The all caught so many fish. Rayce is the only one that would touch the fish. The other two boys like to fish, but then they didn't want to touch them for the pictures. Sister Dewey kept Range inside with her. The boys loved going inside the buildings and seeing the 1000's of fish. Some were huge, others just tiny. They fed us dinner - which was yummy! We had a really fun night. The boys were actually pretty good to. Dusty and I get so nervous taking them anywhere because they get so hyper and just start wrestling. They all sat down and ate (which I was very glad - they weren't rude!) Out family had a very good time and Brother Dewey says we can come back. The boys can't wait!

LIFE IS BUSY

I know everyones life is busy. Sometimes I honeslty can't believe how much we have going on. I seem to keep adding more and more and more. Right now I am in charge of the t-ball league in Roosevelt. Which means I have to put 270 kids on a team, make a game schedule, inform the coaches about the rules. I send out numberous e-mails each day to keep up with peoples questions. Next, I am helping with the Easter Egg hunt in Neola. This just takes me sending out flyers, buying prizes and eggs, talking on the phone and trying to figure things out. I am also the secretary for Neola Water and Sewer District. I have a real love/hate relationship with this job. Some days I really love it and I don't want to give it up. Then, it never fails, on a holiday someone will need something. I have to make 100 phone calls to get someones water shut off, or someone has a break, or someone just wants to call me to tell me they made their payment. And yes, a lady really does that. She will call me non-stop - back to back to back - until I answer the phone to tell me she sent her payment.... WIERD! And then I am a secretary for Dusty's company. This includes keeping the bills paid, deposits made, insurance people informed, DOT happy, rules, regulations, blah blah blah... It is very time consuming. And now we are working on another business deal that I will blog about later in the week. And then, I have 4 kids. 4 kids that need fed, clothed, bathed, dressed, teeth brushed, read to, and just kept happy. And of all my "jobs" this is my favorite. I love my kids and I love to see them grow. They are growing so fast and learning new things. Range is learning so much each day. I believe he can already say a few words like hi and mamma and dadda. He is crawling all around the house and is just the cutest thing. Ridge is speaking better and better. He still has a little lisp and I think it is so cute to hear him talk. He loves to be with Dusty and the cows. Wayke has grown up so much these last 6 months. He has become a very good helper. He is learning so much with his numbers and letters. He will be 5 and should be going to kindergarten this year. We have decided to keep him home for another year. I talk to his preschool teacher about it. She believed he would do well in school. But he is very shy. For a long time I thought he was rude because he wouldn't talk to people when they talked to him. I realized the last couple of months that he is very shy and doesn't like to talk to adults. Rayce is very smart. He is going to be 8 in about 10 months. I can't believe I will have a kid getting baptized. Rayce does very well at school. His teacher said he needs to read about 45 words a minute by the end of 1st grade. On his last test he read 76 words a minute correct. He loves math and is already working on his times tables. Again, my kids make me happier than anything else. On Wednesday I two people call me, one with the t-ball and one with Neola Water and Sewer District. They both got mad at me. The t-ball lady told me I was prejuduce because I had put more Native Americans on one team than the other teams. The guy who called me about Neola Water said that I didn't follow proper procdures and legally I had to do things different. I was so stressed out by the end of Wednesday. I decided that those things didn't matter - only my kids matter. On Thursday morning I left my phone behind and we took the kids to Provo to Jump On It and Chuch-E-Cheese's. The kids had a ball and I loved not having phone calls. When I got home I had missed about 18 calls. I didn't care because I had FUN with my kids - and that's what matters!!!

RUNNING A MARATHON

*Warning: Probably will be boring to read!*

(But I like to keep it for my information)

I am training to run a marathon in May. Staci and I signed up for the Ogden Marathon. Every Saturday we run our long distance run. This Saturday happened to be a 15 mile run. We ran it in 2:02 - which is about a 8:07 minute mile. At mile 13 we were at a faster time than I have ever ran a half marathon - even in a race. I believe we were about 1:45. I was really tired the last 3 miles but I made it. Staci made me sprint the last mile. I thought I was sprinting all 15! This Saturday we will run 18 miles, the next Saturday 21, and then finish with 24. We will will have a week off then run the marathon on May 21! I am glad that I am training with Staci. She really pushes me to run faster. When I was tired at mile 12, if I was alone, I would have really slowed down. She made me keep the pace for the rest of our run!

THE KIDS HUT IS DONE

The kids hut was finished last week. I am slowly moving toys upstairs. It is so nice to walk into the babies bedroom and not fall all over toys. I don't have toys spread all over my living room. The boys love to sleep up there. We are just loving it!

RANGE'S TOOTH #2

Range got his 2nd tooth. It also on bottom. He has also finally quit having ear aches. He hasn't had one for about 5 days which is a really long time for him. My aunt gave my mom some oils that said they helped with ear aches. I had tried everything and nothing worked so I thought it wouldn't hurt to try this. He is 5 days without an ear ache. I am a believer that it worked but I am also keeping my fingers crossed. He has been happier since they went away.

WAYKE IS THE VIP

Every week at Wayke's preschool they have a VIP. They get to sit in a special chair, pass out the snacks, and be the teachers special helper. Also, the parent gets to come in and do a craft, read a book, bring an animal, just something that the child enjoys. Yesterday I went to the school and we made bird nest. Wayke loves to do crafts so I thought this would be fun for him. We smashed a brown paper sack, glued leaves around the edges, and put eggs in the middle. They were the bright Easter Eggs and I had filled them with candy before hand. The kids liked the craft and a few even showed them them for show and tell at the end of class. On Thursday I will be taking a treasure chest back to the school of all the things Wayke likes. I also made the poster that tells all about Wayke!

WHY DID WE BUY 4 BEDS?

We wanted all the kids to sleep in the same room so we bought 2 sets of bunk beds. The baby is still in his crib so his bed isn't being used yet. The other four... well, I guess they like to sleep together?