Spudman Triathlon

So this post is a little late, but better late than never. Michael did the Spudman Triathlon in Burley Idaho at the end of July. The triathlon consisted of a 1 mile swim in the Snake River, a 26 mile bike ride, and then a 6.2 mile run. Michael trained for this race for several months. He was very dedicated to running in the evenings and biking to and from work when he could. I was very impressed with his level of commitment and ability to stick with training. All his hard work paid off because he was able to finish the race with a better time than he expected. His total time was 2 hours and 41 minutes.



The swim was first and his time was 24:41. Not bad considering he did not practice at all for the swim.



Next was the bike. He finished in 1 hour and 13 minutes. It was fun to watch him come in on his bike and wave to us. He did not look tired at all. Then we got to watch him put on his running shoes and take off for the run.



He finished the 6 mile run in just 57 minutes and did not have to walk at all, he was able to run the whole time. I was so glad to see him running toward the finish line. He looked great and very happy. I was so proud of him for finishing so strong.



Eliza, Luke, and Jameson were his fans cheering him on to the finish line.



Out of his group of 5 friends he took 2nd place, and only by 9 minutes. Overall out of 1545 participants he took 684th place. Finishing in the top half for your first triathlon is quite an accomplishment.



I was so proud of Michael and I was glad I got to watch him participate and do so well. Thanks to his parents and Cameron, Brennan, and Abby for coming to cheer for him and support him. Way to go Mike!

Vacation!

At the end of June we went to Bryce Canyon for the annual Griffiths family camping trip. We rented a tent trailer and it made things much more pleasant. We slept great every night.



We spent the days hiking, swimming, and 4 wheeling. Eliza is quite the little hiker. She walked on her own on every hike. Luke and JJ got the easy ride in the backpacks.



My favorite hike was a short one to Mossy Cave and there was a waterfall, Luke's favorite. We got to walk in the river and it was very refreshing.



Our evenings were spent eating and playing games while visiting with family. It was a fun trip and the kids loved seeing their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.



On our way home from Bryce we went to Lagoon. We had such a great time with Liza and Luke. Jameson stayed home with Nana for most of the day and then joined us later. Thanks so much Nana! We spent most of our time in Kiddieland but we did go to Laguna Beach and hit some big kid rides.



Eliza was almost tall enough for all the big rides. They let her on the Big White Roller Coaster without measuring her. She loved it! We did not get away with that on other rides though. Luke loved the Dinosaur Drop and the Dragon ride. Jameson did the train, Carousel, and boats.



Everyone got to win a stuffed animal playing a game as well. On the way out of Lagoon they all got soaked running through the water fountain at the front. What a way to end a fun and fabulous day!

Sporting new looks!

This past week all 3 kids had some new looks that changed their faces.
First, Eliza had two loose teeth last Friday and on Tuesday she lost both of them. The first fell out during breakfast. She did not know it fell out until she felt the hole with her tongue. She was so excited and relieved when we found it.



The second one was hanging by a thread. I offered to pull it so it would not fall out at school but she was against that idea. Several hours after breakfast Eliza went into the bathroom and about 10 minutes later said it had come out. She just worked it back and forth until it was out. I was so pround of her, she was so brave! She was so excited for the tooth fairy to come that night. We told her it was neat that she had two teeth to leave in one night and that the tooth fairy might leave more money because they were her first teeth. When she woke up she was thrilled to find 5 one dollar bills. She looks so different with her teeth missing, she looks older. Because of the hole she has a slight lisp when she talks. It is adorable!



On Monday we were at Eliza's t-ball practice, it was cold and started to rain. So I put the boys in the backseat of Mike's truck to let them play while I put things away and got Eliza's jacket. I came back 5 minutes later and Jameson looked like he had been crying and Luke said, "JJ got hurt." Jameson had a huge red mark on his cheek and it was starting to bruise. I did not see what happened but he probably bumped his cheek on the console. Either that or Luke clopped him, just kidding! But by the next day he had his first black eye. Poor guy! But he was super tough.



Luke loves to eat ribs. Like father, like son. It must be the fact that he gets to eat meat off the bone and he is supposed to get messy. He really does a good job cleaning the bone and the BBQ sauce makes for great fun. Nice work Luke!



Lastly, about a month ago I bought matching PJ's for the kids. Eliza was always bummed when Luke and Jameson matched and she did not have a twin. So now I have matching triplets. They think it is great fun! I love these little guys!

Chicago!

Michael and I went on a vacation without our 3 little kids a few weeks ago. Thanks to our wonderful babysitters in Salt Lake who made it possible. We were gone 6 nights and the kids spent time with the Bensons, Grandma Kay and Grandpa Dennis, and Nana and Papa. It was so much fun! I love my kids, but sometimes it is nice to have time alone. Michael is a huge baseball fan, and I also enjoy watching baseball. One of his dreams is to visit every major league baseball stadium. So when we go to big cities we have to include baseball games. We flew into Milwaukee, Wisconsin and went to a Brewers game where they played the St. Louis Cardinals.



Miller Park was one of the coolest stadiums I have ever seen. It is covered with a roof but has windows and awesome lights. I could smell the grass and dirt because we were so close to the field. Our tickets were awesome! We sat on the first row along the third baseline. The Cardinals dugout was right in front of us. We could almost touch the players as they ran in and out.



I made eye contact with Albert Pujols, if Luke or Liza were there he would have thrown a ball to us. I actually did catch a ball thrown towards us but I gave it to the kid behind us because his dad said the player was throwing it to them. Even though I had the right to keep it I decided to give it to him because I felt stupid. It was an exciting game. The Brewers lost, but we also like the Cardinals. We didn't even leave our seats the whole game. I watched every pitch, it was very entertaining sitting that close. I thought it was one of the highlights of the trip. We then toured downtown Milwaukee and went to a science discovery museum and saw Lake Michigan.



We also went to the movies and saw Clash of the Titans in 3D and Date Night. It was nice not to pay a babysitter to go to a movie and just plan things as we went. Besides the baseball games we did not have plans set in stone. The next day we took the Amtrak train to Chicago. In Chicago we went to a White Sox game and Chicago Cubs game. The White Sox game was cold and windy but we had fun cuddling in the upper deck along the first baseline. It was opening day for the Cubs and it was crowded at Wrigley Field. There were probably 43,000 plus fans there, it was sold out and some fans had standing room only tickets. Our seats were in the outfield bleachers. It was also a fun game, the Cubs won. I must say they seem to have the best fans. We had a great time walking the streets of downtown Chicago and looking at all the buildings. We visited the Sky Deck in the Willis tower, formally the Sears tower. It is the tallest building in America. We had a fantastic night view of the whole city. Mike took some awesome pictures.



We also visited the John Hancock building during the day. There we enjoyed splendid views of the city and Lake Michigan.



We walked through Millennium park and to Navy Pier. The famous "Silver Bean" was quite the structure to see.



We walked down the Magnificent Mile on Michigan avenue which is world famous for shopping. Everyday we walked several miles, my feet got tired. The subway was very convenient and quickly got us to destinations beyond walking distance. Mike is an expert at navigating through the city. He always knew where we needed to go and never got lost. I just followed him and always felt safe. Sometimes I was cold, it is the windy city for a reason.



It was so fun to be with just Michael. I love our kids, but they can be a lot of work. I only had to take care of myself. We ate out at restaurants where our kids would not fit in. The subway and crowded streets would not have been conducive to children. It was a great place to visit without the kids, which is why we did it that way. Although sometimes we would say "oh the kids would like this." But ultimately it was much more fun without them. I am so glad that I enjoy spending time with my wonderful husband who is my best friend. It was a wonderful vacation and I loved having all that time to be with Michael. I can't wait for the next trip to somewhere fun!

Happy Easter!

We had a lovely Easter weekend eventhough it snowed on Friday night. It was only a few inches but it turned the saturday morning egg hunt at Albertsons into an indoor event. On Saturday afternoon I took Eliza and Luke to the movies, we saw "How to Train Your Dragon." I thought it was cute and the kids liked it. They sat through the whole thing and laughed as they guzzled popcorn. That night we colored eggs. On Easter morning we had an egg hunt for all the candy eggs the Easter Bunny left us. Jameson loved walking around and picking up eggs, he knew just what to do. We took a video but the file was too big to upload to the blog. We enjoyed a relaxing day of watching conference and eating candy. We all stayed in our PJ's the whole day, it was so fun! It was a great family holiday.

The circus came to town.

So my sister Allison and her 3 kids came to visit us last weekend. It also happened to be Eliza's birthday. So my sister Emily also came to visit with her 2 girls. Eliza was so lucky to have her cousins Hannah, Nick, Jack, Emma, and Maren come to visit and go to her party.



They also stayed for an extra 2 days which made her extra happy. We just love having visitors and showing off our cute new town. It was so fun to hang out with Allison and Emily and their adorable kids. Mike took a day off work and we showed them around town. We threw rocks in the river, played in the yard, and walked around Sun Valley. It snowed off and on so we also played inside and had lots of time to chat and catch up. We went to dinner at the Burger Grill in Ketchum. It was just Mike, 3 moms, and 8 kids. We were a crowd but I thought we were well behaved. As we left the restaurant an old man who was sitting by himself said to Allie, "I did not know the circus was in town." Despite his opinion of us I had a great time and I can't wait for them to visit again. Thanks for coming girls!

Happy Birthday Eliza!

Eliza was so excited for her birthday, she began counting down the days on the first of March. On her birthday she got to take cookies to preschool and wear a birthday crown and necklace. After school she had a fun princess party with friends and cousins.



Because Eliza is now 5 years old I wanted to share 5 things I love about Eliza.

E: Entertaining, she makes me laugh everyday.
L: Loving, she cares for everyone and wants them to be happy.
I: Intelligent, she loves to learn.
Z: Zest for life, never a dull moment.
A: Adorable, she is so beautiful, inside and out.

I can't believe my little baby girl is 5 years old, time flies when your having fun. We love you Eliza!