Jay got into the St. George marathon in October! The St. George Marathon is Jay’s favorite marathon he’s run in because he says it’s very organized and well prepared. So he’s been busy training for the marathon and I applaud the marathon runners because I know from watching my husband how dedicated and time-consuming it is to train for the marathon!
I’ve partnered with Bugaboo to test out their new Bugaboo Runner which came together at the most perfect time because my son is such a daddy’s boy and hates it when daddy has to leave. Like I told you before, he doesn’t want anything to do with me the moment daddy walks in the door from work. After all that I do for him in the day! Traitor! But it’s really cute because Jay also loves being with him at all times so now he has a buddy to run with and keep him company, and my son is in heaven because he gets to be with his daddy, just the way he prefers it. So it’s a win-win for all.
My favorite thing about the Bugaboo Runner is that I LOVE how it can be front facing or parent facing. It’s the first parent facing Runner on the market, how cool is that? I am a huge fan of parent facing strollers and I prefer to keep it parent facing most of the time. There are many benefits of parent facing strollers and it helps with the kids cognitive development on top of you being able to see and bond with your child where that’s how they learn about expressions and communication. The stroller runs very smooth and it also has an adjustable handlebar with a connection brake for one-handed speed adjustment, which is also the first jogger of its kind. My least favorite thing(I guess my only thing I dislike) about the Bugaboo Runner is that I wish the front wheel had the option of being a fixed wheel and also a non-fixed wheel. It’s only in a fixed wheel state because it’s made to be used only for running, but if you’re like me, I use my jogging stroller as a regular stroller, especially with this beautiful Bugaboo Runner, I love the sleek and simple design and want to use it everywhere! Is it super nerdy of me that I feel really hip and cool when I use this stroller? I guess that makes me actually uncool that I think I’m so cool because I think my stroller is so cool….
And how cute does my son look being all matchy-matchy with my husband? Jay would match with our son every Sunday to church and he’ll say to me, “What? I dressed first and it was Aiden who matched me!” He even got the same haircut after I took Aiden to go get a haircut. He has no shame in matching with our son every chance that he gets and I find it so adorable. These two are inseparable and now Aiden is Jay’s little training buddy to help him get ready for his marathon!
What do we do on a hot Summer day? Bike/walk to our favorite shaved ice place!
After taking the above picture, I showed it to the girls and they could not stop laughing!
Oh my goodness, I adore these girls so much!
I hope everyone is having a great Summer!
It just hit me yesterday that it’s almost August. Where did the time go? I swear it seems like the 4th of July was just a week ago! Time is a scary thing isn’t it? Every second that passes by, you will never get back. I’ve felt pretty depressed the past few days with no apparent reason, well, except for PMS+sickness+lack of sleep and was complaining a lot about how I hated being a stay at home mom and doing endless dishes and laundry and how I can’t do anything I want to do and how it’s so frustrating because I just want to do things on my own schedule for once, and not trying to squeeze it in between everyone else’s schedule during the day and then I realize at the end of the day that I didn’t do anything I wanted to do for myself and the day is already over. Maybe it’s because it’s Summer? Now I know why mothers get so excited and post on their status something like, “Counting down the days until school starts, can’t wait!” Summer can get pretty mundane and exhausting with none of the kids going to school and they complain they’re bored or there’s nothing to do. Actually, whenever they complain they’re bored, I make them do chores so they stopped saying they’re bored but instead say things like, “Mom, let’s go do something!”, “Mom, can we go swimming? To the park? To the store?” These smart kids. 🙂
I still haven’t completely gotten out of this rut but it’s getting better and I really think it’s just PMS. But it makes me wonder, what about those people that have depression? Like PMS, they can’t control their hormones and the sadness and the hopelessness is just there all the time no matter what you try to do to get out of it. PMS lasts only for a few days but depression is for a long, long period of time. I can’t imagine what that must be like and I feel for those people. Depression is a silent disease and people can mask it easily which is a scary thing. It reminded me to be more kind and more caring towards the people around me because you never know what they’re going through. And even if someone isn’t particularly going through something hard or difficult, kindness and extra gentleness and care could only help people to feel extra loved or happy and that’s always worth it. Kindness is always worth it. You will never regret being kind or nice or sharing with someone.
Starting a couple years ago, I decided life is too short to just let a thought of kindness go by so whenever I think of something nice about someone, I verbally express it to them right then. So if I see a cashier at the grocery store wearing a cute necklace, instead of just thinking that it’s a cute necklace, I tell them right then. Or if a lady at church sang a beautiful song, a couple years ago, I would just think she has a beautiful voice and if I happened to run into her, I’d tell her but if I didn’t run into her, then that would be it. But now, I go out of my way & walk around the church to find the lady to tell her how beautiful her voice was and how much I enjoyed it. My motto is never let a thought of kindness go wasted, in words or in action.
I am so grateful for everything that I have in my life. I can be a pessimist sometimes and focus on what I don’t have but when I step back and think of all the things I do have, the list out-pours and makes the list of what I don’t have seem so petty.
Anyone else having a “Summer-rut” like me? Anyone else kind of looking forward to the first day of school?
These pictures are not taken in front of my house, gasp!
I just got back from Girls Camp late Saturday evening and I came back totally exhausted and full of bug bites but it was so much fun. I teach 16-18 year old girls from my church and every year girls 12-18 years old go to camp and I couldn’t go last year because I was still nursing my son. I bonded with these girls so much and it was a time I will never forget! More on that later, I hope you all had a great weekend!
We had a busy week last week with our friends staying at our house and then last minute visits from family, so our house was very full! And so much fun. We spent the 4th with a ton of activities, we went to see the hot air balloon launch, then while I napped with my boy, everyone went hiking to the waterfall, and we went rafting down the Provo river, then a B.B.Q party at our house with more friends and family, then fireworks! Whew!
Jay asked our little girl if she was scared that she would slip and fall. “No, I know you won’t let me fall.” was her reply. How sweet is the trust she has for her daddy!
Riding our new boat for the first time! We got the boat from Sevylor.
Yeah… the adults should have worn life vests but we only had two…. Don’t judge us! Please!
We had Hawaiian teriyaki chicken, ribs, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms & corn on the cob, rice, kimchi, salad, truffle and otai, a delicious Hawaiian watermelon drink,
Look at all these fireworks! Jay was in heaven!
passing on the pyromania onto his son.
Hahaha, isn’t this the best? Doggie doo doo! Look at the dog’s face. It’s awesome.
I got my blouse, heels, and my girl’s top and the gold flats from thredUP, my favorite fashion resale company that I talked about previously. I just love this store so much! And guess what? They came across that blog post and have asked me to become their ambassador! I am so excited.
Another thing that makes me love thredUP even more is that they have partnered with AdoptAClassroom.org to recognize and thank teachers for their hard work. I get pretty fired up and passionate when I talk about teachers and how the government should higher their salary and stop cutting budgets to schools because the teachers are literally shaping the future of America. I don’t understand how so much money is spent on sports when in the end, they don’t make you a better person, and it’s solely for just entertainment. Teachers dedicate so much of their time and money into their students and what they do is so honorable. I always said you have to be not worldly and truly selfless if one wants to become a teacher. I love teachers and I think they deserve so much better such as better maternity leave, higher pay and more funds for their schools.
So how this Raise A Hand for Teachers Program works is, anyone can nominate a teacher between July 15 – August 23 that they think deserves an award and three teachers each win $2,500 for classroom supplies and $500 to thredUP. 50 runner-up winners receive $100 to thredUP. Teachers are extremely generous with their time as well as their money. According to AdoptAClassroom.org, teachers spend an average of $500 of their own money each year to equip their classrooms. 70% of teachers have even purchased apparel items like jackets, socks and shoes for their students. Read the inspiring nominations and watch an adorable video of kids thanking teachers, plus find new survey data from AdoptAClassroom.org at thredUP.com/Teachers. The winners will be announced on September 8th.
I have personally nominated my daughter’s Kindergarten teacher, my daughter graduated from Kindergarten over a year ago but she still talks about her and asks if we could go visit her so she could give her a hug. Her teacher made her feel loved, special, unique and confident in learning and I’ll forever love and respect her for that! My kids spend just as much time with their teachers as they do with me which is a little scary and sad, but having a good teacher is so important to the kids and to me.
Remember to share details of a teacher you are nominating, e.g.: I nominated [name] from [school] who [relationship to you]. [Reason for nomination.]
