The end

About 4 hours after my second leg, I ran the last of my 3. I ran the last 3 or so miles of the race, and it was rough. My phone died so I didn't have anything to listen to and I don't know how long I took, but I was able to pass 3 more people for a total of 8 (our van exceeded 100 roadkill!). 3 guys from my team came back and ran the end with me, which was very nice of them. I feel like in that last leg I wasn't able to achieve the "mind over matter" state that I usually do. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the unexpected variations of the course compared to the map I had studied, or being distracted by other things, but those last 3 miles were tougher than they should have been. Once I saw the finish line though, it got easier. It was fun to see my team waiting and to get to run in with them. Unfortunately, Mike was running late, and my mom didn't make it over with Ethan, so I didn't get to celebrate with the family. We ended up coming straight home after team pictures instead of hanging out at the shopping center where the race ended.

After two days without showering or sleeping, I headed straight for the shower and then took a nap until Mom and Gary came over with Ethan (that was quite the stupor I had to pull myself out of to get out of bed). We ate pizza, watched a little TV, and went to bed very early.

I feel like the Ragnar is a whole different animal when it comes to races. It is something that is best when done with fun people who are enthusiastic about the challenge and event. It is mostly about the fun of it. And running in these circumstances was so different than running at home. I'm glad I had a fun car to cheer me on and take on the extra legs of the race rather than sleep. What a weekend!

I didn't bring my camera, so when my team mates start sharing pictures, I'll get them posted.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

2 down

I finished my 6.3 miles in about an hour and 4 minutes. Not a great time, but after 15 hours cramped in a car between runs and about 27 hours with only 1 power nap, plus some challenging hills, I'll take it! (excuses, excuses). One more leg. I am finishing it up with a 3 mile flat leg.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

2

I'm about to leave for my second leg, a hilly 6.3 miles.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Changes

Our van was supposed to start running at 1230 am. We got one runner through before they redirected everyone back through phoenix and had us skip 5 legs. Those 5 legs were the big ones for our van, and some of us didn't want to go home without some quality runs, so we took over the other van's 6 legs and started up again at 630am with a whole 30min of sleep under our belts. So, out of the 12 remaining legs, our six runners will run 9 of them. My hardest leg was replaced by one 1.6 miles shorter but steeper.

We are still hearing rumors about the accident. The most believeable one so far is that a 17 year old volunteer stepped out in front of a car. CPR was performed and the boy was life flighted. Of course these are all still rumors.

We have been at this for 24 hours now and are glad to see the sun and ditch all the night running gear. I can't believe we've gone this long without sleeping!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Accident

We arrived at exchange point 19 after our first runner ran his second leg, and the road was closed due to an accident. We have only heard rumors, but it sounds severe. All race vehicles have been rerouted to exchange point 24, which is skipping all of our second legs. We're not sure what they'll tell us when we get there.

We are hoping praying those involved in the accident will pull through.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Ragnar "sleeping"

We have 3 men and 3 women in a tight 8 passenger SUV. To make room for our gear, two seats are folded down.

Our van left home at 830am and its last leg of the evening was mine, which ended at about 7pm. We got dinner at subway and headed to our next exchange point. We found a spot in the parking lot and tried to get as comfy as possible sitting up in a car.

Many other racers were in sleeping bags on the ground or in the elementary school. We would have considered this, but we didn't have room to bring our sleeping gear, so it is waiting for us at the house of our team captain's parents where we will rest after our next set of runs.

As we were sleeping in the parking lot, we had to battle with headlights, car doors, excited runners, cowbells, barking dogs, etc.

At about 12am, after a very short power nap, we got a call saying our team was an hour out. So now we are getting ready to run from about 1-730am.

Aw man, we just found out there were mats in the gym-that probably would have been worth the $2 they were charging.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Leg 12

My first leg was leg 12. 7.2 miles on overall downhill but quite a few steep but short uphill sections. I ran it in 70 min. I expected my pace to have slowed with my lack of training so I'm ok with that time.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Ragnar

The time for preparation has passed and the Ragnar has begun. Runners 1-6 came up really early this morning and started 8. I am in van 2 with runners 7-12 and we just arrived at the 6th exchange to get our van started. So far it has been fun to see lots of friends running on other teams. I am runner 12, so I have awhile before I run.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Ragnar

The time for preparation has passed and we're ready for some night (and day) time ragnar running!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Signing Time

I still think sleeping pictures are adorable. He always holds his blanket while sleeping; thanks for all the blankets Nana!



Last week I checked out a Signing Time video for the first time. Ethan really likes it. Mike was watching it with Ethan last night and decided to teach him the sign for candy. The real sign for candy is done by extending your pointer finger and twisting it while the end is touching your cheek. Kind of like you're pointing to the cavity you're about to get. :)

This is Ethan's version:


In this video you can see Ethan sign fan (his first sign), book (kind of hard to see-he puts his fists together), and ball.


In other news, last night for FHE we put Ethan and his truck of choice in the wagon and headed to an open grass area in our neighborhood. We purchased a $1 kite at Walmart and took it for a flight. It was lots of fun!

AND, my sister (plus kids) is coming out to visit in June!!! Hooray! That's three more family members I won't have to wait until Thanksgiving to see again!!!

Where is the camera?

Oh, there it is!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Look a Likes

We frequently find ourselves doing a double take because Ethan looks so much like Mike. Today, I did a double take because Ethan looked like me. These are the only baby pictures I could find on my computer. I think I could find ones that look more like Ethan, but I'm definitely seeing some similarities (dimples, cheeks...).




I'm not 100% sure which one I am in this last picture, so I had to leave us both in. :) Those of you who can tell--am I on the right? I think Lisa is on the left and kind of resembles Ruthie!

7

Meet my newest nephew, Joseph Parsonage Jeppson VII! We're so excited he's finally here! He was born yesterday at 5pm and weighed 8lbs 12oz. Congrats Lauren and Joe!

Manners

At the children's museum today another mom gave Ethan a ball and he signed thank you without me telling him to-yes!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Fun Day

We started off our day today by going to baby time at the library. Babytime starts with a big parachute laying out on the ground which the babies shake to a song. Ethan LOVES it. Today he kept stopping to squeal in excitement. Later, he got to play with bubbles!!! During the play time, I was talking to a friend, and Ethan came over, climbed in my lap, and gave me a big and hug and a few kisses--what a sweetie!
After the library we headed off to the park to meet some friends. There is a dirt lot next to the park that they are just starting to prep for buildings. Ethan kept taking off by himself, wandering, and trying to climb the dirt hills-see him?


Ethan has now mastered sliding by himself. He climbs the stairs, sits down, and pushes himself down. Such a big boy! He even went down the big steep slides by himself. The big slides drop off at the end, but if I tried to stand at the bottom to catch him, Ethan would move to a different slide. He took some crazy spills, but seemed amused by all of them and continued playing. He is one tough cookie.

On Track

At the end of January I read Look Me In The Eye by John Elder Robison. It was an interesting look at the life of some one with Asperger's. It made me reflect on students I've taught and wonder about all the characteristics that can be misunderstood in a person.

Yesterday I finished Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. This book analyzes factors that allow people to become outliers and attempts to prove that success is not only based on personal attributes, but the influences that surround a person. I really enjoyed this book--it made me think, gave me arguments to evaluate and analyze.

My goal is to read 1 nonfiction/month, and I am at 3 for the year. Still on track.

PS

Notice in the picture below how the side of the crib, right in front of Ethan, is brown. That is where Ethan has chewed the paint off...

No words

Ethan's proud giggling face in response to my shock at finding him diaperless, standing in a poopy crib, after his nap. He was just bathed too!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Bummer

We had a little mishap at Costco on Saturday...

There was another car involved, but everyone is fine and the cars just have cosmetic damage. I am vain enough that I am getting this fixed.

So far working with Liberty Mutual has been great and hopefully resolving this whole thing will not get too complicated.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Mama

Months ago I was sure Ethan used "mama" intentionally, and then he switched to only saying "dada" or "daddy". So I was very excited when this weekend he started saying "mama" consistently! Verbally, he now says, mama, dada, daddy, uh oh, all done (ah duh), thank you (day doo), and attempts at a few others like amen and kiwi.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Subtlety

About a month ago Mike and I altered our daily schedule. We get up at 5am, and he leaves between 5:30 and 5:45am to go study before work. He then gets home around 5:30 or 6pm. He usually chats with me for a few minutes and then takes Ethan outside to play until dinner is ready. Then I have been leaving for meetings at 6:30 or 7pm. We try to go to bed between 8 and 9pm (try). I think the best thing about this new schedule is how little time we have in the evening to be tempted to just sit and watch TV.

Ethan loves when Mike gets home and loves getting to go outside. Ethan is constantly, all day, signing "shoes" to me, following me around the house with shoes, or banging his shoes on the door in a not so subtle way of requesting we go outside, and he never gets tired of being outside.

So, to tie these two antecdotes together, Ethan has caught on to our new schedule. Now, every night when Mike gets home, Ethan smiles, laughs, signs "shoes", and runs for his shoe bucket. The kid just loves being outside!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Fresh Cut

Snap dragons from my yard brightening up my kitchen!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

For the Record

For my own record, and in case I've neglected you in some way, this is my life lately:

Sunday 1/31: church and a friend over for a "new member discussion"
Monday: FHE
Tuesday: Planning meeting for the Blue and Gold Banquet that I am now planning
Wednesday: Primary presidency meeting
Thursday: library baby time, play date, HOA board meeting (I'm on the board), freezer isn't working
Friday: Fix the freezer, jewelry party at a friend's
Saturday: Costco, taxes, missionaries over for dinner
Sunday: church, Mike set apart as Gospel Doctrine teacher, Superbowl party, Baptism Preview
Monday: Buy extra freezer, get new health insurance, FHE
Tuesday: Cub Scouts
Wednesday: Visiting teaching, dinner and "new member discussion", auction and museum?
Thursday: library baby time, play date, Boy Scout Roundtable
Friday-Monday: hosting family visitors!
Tuesday: Cub Scouts

Plus, Mike and I have been getting up at 5am for about a month now; I'm getting back on track with being organized about cooking, shopping, laundry, cleaning, etc.; I'm training for the Ragnar in two weeks; I'm working about 15 hours/week from home. Oh, and I can't forget that adorable little guy that takes up a bit of my time.

Maybe March will be calmer...

A Little Young

Remember that classic prank of leaving your full glass upside down at a restaurant? Today Ethan dropped/threw his sippy cup from his high chair. Somehow the rubber part of the lid popped out and I was left with a full, upside down, cup of water...
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Keywords

Mike got new jeans and shoes for this birthday.
Fun at the museum.
Ethan LOVES books! Every time he wakes up, we sit in the recliner and read. He signs "book" at me if I forget or if he wants to read longer than I do.
Our freezer stopped cooling sufficiently and this is what Gary and I found behind the back panel-yikes!
At Costco!
Cake samples at Costco!
Ethan in heaven at Costco!
On the way home.
Ethan got blocks from Grandma Abegg for Valentine's Day! They stack up taller than he is and then nest inside each other to fit in one box. This is pretty much the only inside toy Ethan has played with the last two days.
Laying on the block:

Stuck, but smiling!
Eating lunch at Costco with Papa. Ethan sat on this bench all by himself eating pizza-such a big boy!
Our new freezer from Costco! After having another freezer, purchased off Craigslist, die early, we decided to go with Costco's awesome warranty. Also notice the cabinets. Over the last few months, we have been installing cabinets from Grammy and Art into our laundry room! More pictures to come when we finish!
Proud face!


This is actually six blocks, a smaller one is inside.
Outside, Ethan loves playing with balls and his cars. Mike's car is temporarily parking in the driveway so that we have room for Ethan's cars. We're working on some reorganization...
Here is a video of Ethan playing with his blocks. At the end he does his sign for ball and book. Mentioning balls and books prompted him to run into his room where he came back throwing balls around the hall.

Rug Burn

A little too much sliding down carpeted stairs last night. : (
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

January showers being February flowers

The flower beds, peach tree, and rose bush we planted in the fall are loving the uncommonly wet weather Phoenix has been blessed with lately!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Talent Show

Ethan has been doing sign language for quite awhile now, so I thought it was about time to let the world see it! :) Today we filmed a little talent show for you. Ethan is hard to video because he is not the type to just do things on command. If I want him to say please, I need to be offering something. If I want him to say "uh oh," something better fall on the ground. You'll see what I mean in the video.

The last minute is pretty much just Ethan dancing to his favorite song, but totally worth watching in my opinion! He can't help dancing when he hears the theme song to The Office. Even when he is swaddled and drinking a bottle he kicks his legs and smiles.

I hope this brings some sunshine to all of you who have to suffer through six more weeks of unpleasant winter--here in Phoenix, we love the idea of more winter!

Click Here for Ethan's Talent Show

Leftovers

Every Wednesday we check out a new furniture auction nearby. One week they had this drum kit and Ethan was in love!

On the 5 minute drive home from church.