Sunday, March 27, 2011

The Buffalo Run

Yesterday morning was a nerve-wracking one for me. Brigham ran the Buffalo Run 25k (that's about 15.5 miles for those of us who are not super mathematical) on Antelope Island, and the shocking truth of it is that he really hadn't trained properly. Blame his work schedule and different illnesses, but when it all came down to it, he was not ready to race a 25k. Especially a 25k trail run. Up and down steep mountains. In the mud from the rain the day before. With wild buffalo roaming about ready and willing to gore passing runners. So I was nervous. But like always, Brigham rose to the challenge and slew the Buffalo Run, soundly beating all of his colleagues from work that he was so worried about being humiliated in front of. True, he can barely walk today, but he can drink proudly from his new Buffalo Run coffee mug.
(Brigham didn't really want me to post this picture because he says that it looks like he's walking to the finish line, which is not entirely accurate. It really looks more like power walking. But the truth is that he absolutely was running. I can swear to it.)


After Brigham's victorious run and Benjamin's first soccer game of the spring season (which was not as victorious but fun nevertheless), we went with Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup to the Discovery Gateway museum. Any place that can make all of my kids this happy is one of my favorite places! What a good time!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

March Madness Madness

No, I haven't started stuttering. The level of Benjamin's obsession for everything relating to March Madness has reached levels that can only be described as... well... madness. While I'm sure that thousands of little boys around the nation have pored over the NCAA bracket and painstakingly filled one out, I'm not sure how many have filled out at least fifteen (same teams, slightly different outcomes-- kind of like those choose your own adventure books). Most of Benjamin's brackets have been drawn by hand, although this afternoon I did take pity on him and print out four more for his use. He was ecstatic. We are beginning to worry. I asked him today what he is going to talk about once the tournament is all over, and his prompt response was, "How the teams all did!" *Sigh* It may be a long wait until football season...

Ty has developed some passions of his own. And while no one has passion like Benjamin, Ty's feelings are still quite strong. (Benjamin would be appalled that I started my sentence with "and", but I'm a grown-up and I can, so I did. But (!) please don't tell him or I'll lose all credibility as a writer in his mind.) One of Ty's loves is playing outside in the dirt with his trucks. Even rain could not keep my wild thing from wanting to go outside with his whole soul, so one day this week I finally put him in some old clothes and sent him outside. When he eventually came in, he was covered in mud and a face-splitting grin. "Gwamps' house" is the other thing that really floats his boat. And why wouldn't it? Where else can he run up and down hills, play in a playhouse, drive tractors in the dirt, ride down the hill in a car, eat treats, and play with his cousin Emmy? More and more often the first words out of his mouth in the morning are, "Gwamps' house? Go car?" Today I made the mistake of telling him that we were going to go to Gramps' house after his nap. He cheered and went to his bed happily enough... only he didn't sleep. I've made a mental note not to mention Gramps' house if I hope to get Ty to sleep before the trip is completed.


Jacob deliberately threw up in the car again today, and I'm still fuming about it, so you'll have to wait until next time to get an update on him!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Getting in Touch with my Masculine Side


















Had you asked me 15 years ago how I'd feel about being surrounded by four handsome, adoring males, I certainly would have said, "WAHOO! Bring it on!" And with good cause-- it definitely is exciting! Had you also asked me to rate a day spent at a model train festival and a BYU basketball game on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being "Please don't torture me like that!" and 10 being "The most amazingly fun day ever!", I probably would have given it a 2 or a 3. Little would I have realized back then that my answer to question one would directly lead to the scenario in question two. The shocking thing to me is that after spending the day in said pursuits, I have to give it very high marks.

I'm not sure what has happend to me over the last 15 years. Perhaps it is the constant indirect exposure to such high levels of testosterone, but now I find myself shouting out, "Fire truck!", "Train!", or "BULLDOZER!!" when I'm driving around-- even when there are kids in the car. I also confess that this season I have watched a game or two of BYU basketball on TV even when Brigham was at work and Benjamin was at his grandparents' house. Of course I rationalized that I just needed something to watch while I was folding laundry, but sometimes there was more watching going on than folding. Just what is happening to me??? I don't know, but just being able to share in the joy of my little boys beholding model trains or my big boys beholding Jimmer's shots from half court makes it alright. (But someone please slap me if I ever start talking about fantasy baseball or spitting in public, okay?)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Identity Check

As I was putting Ty down for his nap just a few minutes ago I said, "Good-night, Trouble!" His response was, "I Ty!"

Little does he know that they are synonyms.