the bash

My parents held a successful 3rd annual Grandchildren B-day party! Lots of fun. My bro from Oregon and his family were in town and my sis and her crew came from Idaho. My 2 younger bros were also there.

My little bro called me a few days before and asked me if I wanted to run a 5K when I was in town so we did Saturday morning! He couldn't stand the thought of his big sister winning him so he beat me by 10 seconds. My time was 26:53. I was pretty excited to cut 2 minutes off my time from the last 5K I ran. It was fun running with my brother and I won a ribbon! 3rd place in my age class (30-39) for females.

Back at Grandma's the kids had hunted for clues to find their b-day gifts and found that they got to go to Toys R Us to pick them out! A new toy for everyone!

My parents are so sweet. They had fun activities planned and my Mom had great food prepared. The kids did sack races, marshmallow gun wars, and archery. They stayed up too late and woke up too early.

My Mom's MS and other conditions have been bothering her for a few years and she hasn't been feeling well at all for the past few months. I know it was hard for her to do all she did for everyone. Sunday when we came home from church she was lying on the couch as pale as a ghost and could barely talk for all the pain she was in. Dad, Jason and Dax gave her a blessing and practically carried her to bed; she could barely walk. My heart aches to see my Mom so bad. I love her and look up to her and feel grateful for her everyday. I call her ALL the time to ask about gardening, cooking, fix-it jobs, landscaping, building, sewing, parenting, food storage-- you name it. She has done everything in her life and has worked her guts out in every capacity. It is hard to see my parents age and realize they won't be here forever.

I so cherish my health and ability to work, climb, run, dance, walk, clean, lift, and sleep and all the things my Mom and even my Dad cannot do easily anymore. I want to use my body to its fullest potential while I can. When I am 60, I don't want to say "I wish I would have enjoyed my good health more when I was younger." I need to enjoy my kids more too. All grannys say that about when their kids were young. That one is hard for me. Time is moving so fast, I can barely hold on. Preslie and Hunter are knocking on the door of their teenage years. I will turn Mack out into the public school system next year. Quinn literally turned into a little girl overnight- seriously. Yesterday she looked like a baby and today she looked so big I could hardly believe it.

I hope my kids will remember the fun times we had this weekend with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles and cousins! It takes a lot of work to get together but it's so worth it!