I may just forget running all together and only bike. Today was my first day of cross training to go along with my training to run a half marathon and I decided to whip out the bike. From my first morning on a bike in years, here is my comparison…

Running vs. Biking
-Running is very mental. I feel like I am always trying to tell myself to keep going and reminding myself why I am running. Biking isn’t so much and I was able to enjoy the beautiful sunrise this morning.
-There are a lot of bikers around here. I passed a group of 12-15 women biking and each and every one of them said hi or good morning. They are all so friendly, at least this morning they were. (I just barely found out that people are just getting ready for the Spudman and are going over the course, there aren’t usually so many)
-Your butt and hands get sore from biking in places that would never, ever get sore otherwise.
-You go a lot faster and a lot farther on a bike
-Biking is more focused on your legs and I didn’t feel like I got as good of a work out as I usually do running.
- The trailer/stoller issue will no longer be an issue… part of my birthday present was a bike trailer that was also a jogging stroller and is currently in transit.

I had a lot bigger list in my head as I was riding this morning but I can’t quite recall all of them anymore. I did like my bike ride and I am excited to have something else to do on my cross training days. I was actually really sad that I missed my run yesterday because of my sun burns, I didn’t even want to think about getting dressed yesterday, let alone go running. Hopefully it will be better by tomorrow.

I did have a good birthday yesterday. I went to lunch with pretty much my only two girl friends here in Burley, Kayla and Karena. We went shopping at Maurices afterwards and I got a new shirt, a sweater, and two new necklaces. Happy birthday to me! I also accidentally locked Ellenor in the car as I was getting ready to leave. Thank heavens the ac was on and it was her nap time. She only cried for about 10 minutes before she fell asleep and I think I cried more than she did. As I as on my way home from this whole fiasco I got a call from a florist shop. They had flowers for me! I never, EVER get flowers. Cody didn't get me flowers for Valentines day and has been saying that he would when I least expect it. It was just what I needed to cheer me up from being the worst parent. Last night I had mutual and we went boating. I love boating, especially when all I do is take hilarious pictures of the girls on the tubes… Pictures to come later, I just don't want to upload them right now.

Tonight we are going to dinner for my father in laws birthday (if I get homework & errands run). Tomorrow I get to get a bunch of food together in the morning and in the afternoon we are headed out to go camping with my young women. Saturday morning we get to go on a nice hike that ends at a lake and I get to prepare a lesson and talk for Sunday when I get back. I get to take engagement pictures on Sunday night and sometime between Monday and Tuesday I have to finish my class... Because WEDNESDAY we are flying out to ALASKA! Have I mentioned that yet? Well we are and we are excited!

Since the title of my blog is Searle's stories, not just Jayme's stories (maybe I should make one all about me! Just kidding), I figured I would share a little about this girly pictured above. She is a crawling machine. Vacuuming twice a week no longer is good enough, she is really good at putting things in her mouth.  She loves puffs and is really getting good at picking them up and putting them in her mouth. She likes to whisper, especially in the morning and says things like baba or dadada. And no she is not saying dada yet, it is just her babbling. She was a talking machine at church on Sunday and smiled at everyone. We had three people stop us in Walmart just to look at her and in return she smiled and talked very loudly right back to them. It is impossible to change her diaper, we have become masters at the art of putting a diaper while she is crawling away.

Today it reached high 90's. I am shocked that we survived. Well, sort of. We bought a cheap pool for Ellenor (mostly me though) to play in on hot days to cool off. We only played in the pool for a few minutes before she started telling me it was nap time, not play time. I decided that because I didn't get to be in the sun on Saturday as planned that I would sit outside. Also our internet was not working at all (finally started working at 3:30) so I could not do my homework or anything else that I needed to get done all morning. I sat out for an hour and I will never, ever again underestimate the power of the sun. Or the power of an hour. My arms aren't too bad but my shoulders and my thighs are AWFUL!

I hate to admit it out loud but I am used to spending nights alone. I don't like it but I am finally not traumatized by having to be in the house alone (besides the sleeping baby). Tonight Ellenor and I had a girls night. We watched chick flicks, snuggled, and ate a strawberry milkshake. I even got a nice big yell out of that girl when it was all gone.
 

Our garden, sometimes I call it Cody's garden because he does most of the work I just help on occasion, is amazing. We had carrots and zucchini with our dinner yesterday. We also got to eat the first tomato this year and it was delicious! Randomly going out and picking fresh peas and strawberries to snack on is a new favorite hobby of mine as well.

 I have been blogging quite a bit lately. I like the distraction that it is from my to do list. If I get overwhelmed instead of tackling everything that needs to be done and just sucking it up, I read blogs. I watch TV shows on Hulu, I take naps, I read blogs and eat an entire bag of grapes at the same time (that may or may not have been the case tonight). This week, well until October, but especially July is going to be crazy busy. This week we have Temple trip, putting crafts together, boating, making a packing list, shopping for food for camping, going camping, finishing my class before camping this weekend (only 1 1/2 week's worth of assignments left), youth softball tournament, and that's pretty much just the church stuff. Not to mention Alaska next week and things going on everyday the week we get back. So if you see a few blog posts in one day it is because I am trying hard to not go insane. And not die in this weather of 90+ degrees every day.

 

Cody went on a hot date last weekend while we were in Utah. (Thanks again mom for watching Ellie for us!) And by hot I mean that it was a good 90+ degrees at 7 pm.

We went to a place called Trafalga in Orem. They have mini golf (indoor and outdoor), batting cages, go-karts, a mini 3D movie, arcade with prizes, and food like dip and dots. Well we didn't wear closed toed shoes and found out that you had to have them in order to go go karting. We were just about to leave and go buy a cheap pair at Target when we decided to check out the course. I am so glad we did! It was a circle, literally. The people that were driving them had the wheel in the same position the entire time! 

We decided to just mini golf and play in the arcade instead. As we were playing mini golf we realized how boring of a game it actually is, especially when you have to wait forever for the people in front of you. We ended up messing around by hole 6 (only using left hand, knocking away each other's balls, throwing them...) and soon after decided we would rather do something else. We sucked it up until hole 12 just so we could take a picture with the castle and decided that we'd seen enough. 

Cody found his love for arcade games the last week we lived in Rexburg. He is good at them and is seriously a little kid when it comes to those darn machines. We were a little disappointed because all the games were like casino games for children, gamble your coin away and see if you can even get one ticket! But I did end up schooling Cody in one of the basketball shooting games and we did get some cool little toy airplanes.

When I was little I LOVED to ride bikes! Our back yard shared a fence with the church parking lot and we would spend hours out there riding all around. Well I have never had my own bike, just always ones handed down from older siblings. I miss riding a bike! Ever since we've been married we have talked about getting bikes so that we have something to do together. Well Cody surprised me this year for my birthday and got me a bike! I know its not quite my birthday yet but we figured why not go a head and use them! I am still in shock that I have my own bike!!!! We went to Twin yesterday to look for a trailer but came up empty handed. I want a trailer that will convert into a jogging stroller and I think I have found the perfect one. Now just to get it ordered and here before we leave for Alaska!

Speaking of running... June was an awful month for me. It was busy and I just did not make time to run. Well to get me more motivated to run regularly I signed up for another race. My goal race for the year... A HALF MARATHON! Last night I had my mouse on the Register button, all my information entered in including the credit card, and I thought What the heck am I thinking?! This is ABSOLUTELY nuts and I am going to die!!! Well I better get my butt in gear and get going. I have something to work towards and I am so excited to actually do it. Feel free to ask me how I am doing, actually I urge you to check in on me every once in a while. I am going to need all the help I can get.

 Oh, one last thing... Ellenor has been really crawling, like everywhere and to everything for the past few days now... Our baby isn't too little anymore!

It does not take much to make me happy. A few things that make/have made me happy this week are:

-Getting a $10 bag of delicious cherries at the store for ONLY $3!!!! SCORE!!!

- Also at the store getting a pineapple for only $2!!!!!!!!!! 

-Fourth of July festivities that included grilled kabobs (with pineapple), small town parades, and fireworks. 

-Ellenor loving said fireworks for the first ten minutes with that bright eyed stare and finger in the mouth.

-Cody getting off work early.

-Homemade meals, like meatloaf! I am a  sucker for meat! 

-Bananas. There has been at least one banana in the house for the past few weeks and both Ellenor and I are LOVING it! 

-Getting my birthday present a week early and absolutely LOVING it! 
-Signing up for quite a few fan clubs online just to get free food for my birthday! 
-My birthday is next week! 
-Being ALMOST done with my summer class! And realizing that I only have three more semesters if everything plays out right! 
-Ellenor. Her crawling, pulling herself up on chairs & my leg, the side of her crib.
-A clean house. I wish I had actually listened YEARS ago when people said just spend a few minutes every morning cleaning. Spending even ten minutes every morning has made the biggest difference in our home. And I LOVE it! 
-Thinking about leaving for Alaska in less than two weeks! No matter what, Alaska will always be home. 
-Getting to pick out the second part of my birthday present!
-Going to the temple, boating, and camping all next week. (Fingers crossed the weather cooperates!)
-Ice cream. 
-Free ice cream coupons.
-Free Jamba Juice coupon.
-70-80 degree weather! The 90's is just too hot without air conditioning.
-Living in the country where we don't have close, nosy neighbors! 
 

I have had quite a few discussions about nursing and breastfeeding with many different people lately and I might as well jot down a few of my thoughts about the subject. A fair warning, it may be too much information for some. IF you decided to keep reading I at least gave you fair warning.

Before Ellenor was born I decided that I would at least nurse until she was 6 months old. A lot of people talk about how nursing is the only way to go. When she was born she would not nurse and only take a bottle. I found offense in women who didn't have children and never experienced the constant fight for weeks trying to get your baby to nurse because they learned in a birthing class or read in a book that every woman can and should. 

 It was really tough and I felt like I was a bad mother because I couldn't even feed my own child. My chest was so large that I could not find a nursing bra that would fit. I finally found just a regular one but it was so large it was depressing. After a few weeks she finally caught on to the whole nursing thing and we were good to go. We would have to plan everything around her eating schedule because I had to completely strip down just to feed her. The first few months I would feed her in the car during church because I was so embarrassed. 


It was really difficult. Not only did I feel uncomfortable, especially in my back, but I felt left out of everything because I had to excuse myself for almost 45 minutes just to feed my child. 


This is a lot longer than I was intending... But once we switched her to formula at four months old I started to feel a lot better about myself. I didn't have to worry about mutual being longer than anticipated because she wasn't at home crying and starving. Eating didn't take nearly as long and I didn't have to spend half of my day half undressed and exposed. We could drive down to Twin Falls (45 minutes away) and feed her in the store if our errands were taking longer than expected. Cody got to have more intimate time with her while giving her a bottle, she used to rub his face and hands.


Overall nursing just did not work for me or my family. I have been given grief for it by some that I chose to stop nursing because its best thing for babies. But I don't believe in our situation that was the case. I have nothing against nursing and I hope none take offense to this. I hope for our next child that I will be able to have a much better experience with nursing because it is something that I would like to do again.

"We would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

Life has been busy lately and this video was meant for me. I think, no I know, that I try to do too much. I do not proceed at optimum speed for my circumstance, I try to proceed far above it. I am already nervous for this fall semester to come. I am only taking 13 credits but all hard classes while trying to be the best young womens leader that I can be, the best mother, wife, and person that I know how to be. 

Tonight we had friends over for dinner. It was low key, not stressful at all. Especially since I convinced Cody to make his AMAZING fajitas. But afterwards we really didn't worry about dishes or anything like that. We took a few blankets out to the front lawn and relaxed. We talked, laughed at their dog trying to get a stick that was way to high up in the tree, and let the babies wander all over the grass. I didn't worry about Ellenor eating the grass (a new hobby of hers that we have recently discovered). I didn't worry about getting the dishes done or getting food ready for tomorrow. I was able to focus on the significant, focus on building relationships and genuinely enjoyed watching my daughter explore.

I think too often I focus on what others are doing that I am not. It is something that I am learning not to do nearly as much and its a never ending process. I am learning more and more everyday to focus on what matters most to me. I could care less about how decorated my house looks or how many crafts I can get done in one week, they just don't hold significance for me. I am enjoying this summer being able to slow down, even though it has been pretty busy and July is lined up to be the busiest of all. 

I guess the point of this post is just a reminder to myself to not take little moments for granted. They are ones that we will never get back. Don't take on more than I have strength for and don't try to focus on things that are not significant to me. Take more time to watch Cody and Ellenor's relationship grow every day instead of running out of the room when he plays with her to get something else done. Delight more in the fact that he is the most amazing father to the most perfect daughter. My daughter. 

Don't take Ellenor for granted. She is the best blessing in our lives and I don't focus on that fact nearly as much as I should. My actions are sometimes geared towards her being more of a burden and I know that I have my priorities backwards when I start to think like that.  

One last quote from the same talk, "If life and its rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time to refocus on what matters most."

What a weekend!!! The plan was to leave on Friday night after Cody got off work to head to Utah for my sister's family sealing. Thursday Cody called and needed to head to Rexburg for some work. I got to spend some much appreciated/needed time with my sister in law and her kids. We miss living close to them and seeing them often.

Cody swung by and picked us up about 10:30 pm. As we were driving away he informed me that he had called and stopped by all the hotels in Rexburg but they were all full. He still had work to do and  we decided to hang out in the truck while he finished his work. About 2 AM he was finally done and we made the drive from Tetonia to Orem. 

Although we didn't get much sleep at all, Cody got none, we got a kick out of texting my mom at 6 am to come unlock the front door. We took much needed naps, went shopping, and played with cousins.

This little girl is so stinking cute!!! I just love her to pieces! She kept stealing toys right out of Ellie's hand, you can definitely tell she has big brothers! 

Friday afternoon the girls got pedicures. I forgot how much I love those darn things!  The last time my sister Jessica or I got one was right before our weddings. I can't complain because it was only three years ago for me but for her it was seven! Since the girls got to do something fun the boys felt like they needed to get out as well and went golfing. My sister and mom made cupcakes with almond frosting for lunch the next day and they were to. die. for! No joke!

Bright and early on Saturday we headed out to the Manti temple for an absolutely amazing event to take place. Both my sister and her husband were able to go through the temple. Cody watched Ellenor while I went through the session with them but we had a friend watcher her so he could come into the sealing. I have been to weddings before but there is nothing that compares to a sealing of a family. Especially a family that you love so much. It was amazing to see my niece and nephews dressed in all white and be able to be sealed to their parents for all eternity. 

This picture looks all romantic and cute. He looks like he is about to give her a kiss, right? WRONG! Jen got a nice, big LICK on her cheek! 
 

We went and had the most amazing lunch afterwards and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. That night Cody decided that we should go on a date right then and my amazing mother watched Ellenor for us. That will have to have its own post, when I get all the pictures off of Cody's phone.

Needless to say, it was an amazing weekend. I am so blessed to have the most amazing family ever. It was fun seeing everyone and just being able to enjoy the company. We are so excited to see quite a bit of family in Alaska in just a few weeks!