Merry Christmas

The Robinsons are doing great this year. Here's the wrap:
Bryce is 11. We can't believe he is that old. he excels at soccer and plays goalie. He also played basketball for the first time this year and did well on defense. He started 11 year old Scouts and is excited for the Klondike campout in January. He continues to do well playing the piano and seems to have it come to him naturally. Bryce also won the inagural Robinson Family March Madness Tournament. We'll see if he can repeat this year.

Emily (9) enjoys piano and will play basketball for the first time next year. She enjoys crafts and Activity Days. She is also a great gymnast. I'll just say I can't do a back walkover can you? Emily has loved reading this year and recently moved to share a room with Sarah. She is tender hearted and loves to do secret things for people She is excited to ski this winter. She totally bombs the runs and just goes straight down. What a speed demon.

Sarah (6) is in first grade and turning into a great reader. She is awesome at soccer and scored from the goalie position with an awesome kick. She kicks HARD!!! She also loves crafts and is always coloring and using her imagination. She did gymnastics this year and was quite good. She lost 50 teeth this year and hopes to repeat next year for the extra income. She went skiing for the first time last year and loved it. She is excited to go again this year.

Abby (4) is so entertaining. She sings all day long and seems to prefer "opera style". She can do everything herself and loves to be magic. She can appear dressed or finish a chore quickly if you ask her to do ti magically. She loves preschool this year where she is learning tons. She has her favorite books memorized so if you read it wrong you get corrected. There is a Monster at the End of This Book is her favorite right now.

Caleb (2) is a busy little guy. He started preschool this year and for the first time in 11 years we are celebrating no diapers in the house. He moved to a big bed and lovces to be a "helper" around the house. His favorite pass time is being quiet and making big messes. This year's signature messes were the mural he made on the living room wall with permanent marker and pouring all the water out of the bathtub (don't worry it drained out the light downstairs).

Shon coached Bryce's soccer team again and served on the soccer board. He still loves his short commute to work and living in Farmington. He did the bike part of a quad-rathlon and his team medaled! He trained to do the Ironhorse but it was canceled this year because of snow. He is training again for the "quad" so wish him luck.

Juli started the year by having her tonsils out. Ouch. In her "spare time" she enjoys running and reading. She completed both a 1/2 marathon (13 miles) and a full marathon (26.2 miles) for the first time in her life this year. She read 265l4.4 books and another highlight was going to the Twighlight Premier. She is serving in the Young Womens at church and loves her calling. She is excited to ski this winter.

Our family made 5 trips North this year to visit family. The kids are pro travelers. We visited Sand Dunes National Park and went on the Polar Express this year. Both were great family trips. Shon and Juli spent their anniversary in Loagn, Utah where Juli ran a marathon (Shon ran with her from mile 20-25.5 where he died, I mean went to watch her cross the finish line). They also got to go on an overnight trip to Santa Fe, NM. Thanks to those that helped make those possible. Both trips included a temple visit which was great. On a sad note we lost both a guinea pig and a gecko this past year. If anyone wants a gecko or a guinea pig you know where to come. Merry Christmas,

The Robinson Family Shon, Juli, Bryce, Emily, Sarah, Abby, Caleb, a gecko and guinea pig

When October goes. . .

Ok. It's been a busy month. Here are a few of the things going on:


This year for Halloween, Bryce was dirty laundry (pretty scary eh?), Emily was Rapunzel from Rapunzel's Revenge (really, your girls will love this book), Sarah was a witch (Elphaba from our favorite musical, Wicked), Abby was a turtle, and Caleb was a stink bug. Yep, a stink bug. He picked it, not me.





Shon thinks I look like Sarah Palin. I think it's the glasses. That would have been a great Halloween costume.

Fall soccer is over. The kids had fun, but it's nice to not have so many practices to go to. Bryce is a great goalie. Abby spent a lot of time running around, waving to the croud. Her favorite part of soccer was giving the other team a high five. (I think four might be a little young for some kids to play soccer.) Sarah did really well this season. She is one quick kid.

October also brought our first frost, which means my garden is dead. It was an awesome garden year. Here's a picture of the tomatoes. They completely overgrew my white picket fence. We're still eating tomatoes that I picked green off the vine before the frost and set in the window. In addition to tomatoes, we also had peppers, pumpkins, watermelons, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, peas, carrots, onions, beans, corn, basil, cilantro, strawberries, cucumbers, purple potatoes, and yellow and red raspberries.

Here's Emily with a funny carrot.

Caleb is officially potty trained, which means for the first time in 11 years, no one in my family wears diapers. I wish I could take credit, but he's really the one who decided it was time. We were watching Bryce play basketball, the score was tied and there was a minute left and Caleb says "I need to go potty." I said "wait just a minute, ok?" to which he said "I need to go potty." I put him off again. Then I heard giggling behind me. I looked at Caleb. He had taken off his clothes. Ok! Let's go potty! He's got a lot of great role models to show him the way. It's nice. No bribes, no potty chair. Just a two year old saying "I do it self" every ten seconds. One tip I learned that I think really did help was that I started changing his diaper standing up. I don't know what that does, but it seemed to really help him take charge of things.

Here's Caleb on his first day of preschool. He LOVES his back pack. He even took a nap in it the first day. He's still my baby, so it's hard for me to see him growing up so fast. It's a good thing he's such a snuggle bug.

You've got to see this video. It pretty much sums up how I felt on Sunday.

Top of Utah Marathon - Delivered

I did it. I ran a marathon Saturday. 4 hrs. 38 min of exhilaration. Here are the details - probably more than you want to hear.

Friday, Shon and I drove up to Salt Lake with 4 of our 5 kiddos. (The fifth gladly stayed to play soccer.) We dropped the kids off with Shon's mom (Thank you, Debbie) and headed up to Logan. It's been a long time since I've been to Logan. It is beautiful. But the first thing I remember thinking as we drove out of Sardine Canyon was how far I would have to go. I could see the Blacksmith Canyon and I could see Logan and they looked really far apart. It doesn't seem to matter how far I can run, a mile is still a mile. A mile is a long way to go. I did 26.2.

We checked into our hotel and went to the expo to get my number and chip. This is where it got exciting. Everyone was so happy and enthusiastic and healthy?! Seriously, I don't think I've ever been in a room with such healthy people.

We got back to our room just in time to meet my sister, Becki for dinner. We went to a really great Italian spot called Le Nonne. It was a cute old house converted into a restaurant. The food was fabulous and the live jazz made for a great atmosphere. I love carb loading, but I was getting pretty sick of pasta - a week of it is a little much for a girl who prefers chips and salsa. But this pasta was great. Mmmmm.

My mom met us at our hotel and I hit the sack. I knew I'd be getting up early. Surprisingly, I had no problem getting to sleep - it was staying asleep that got me. I kept waking up thinking it was time to go. Suddenly, it was 4:30 -time to go. I didn't feel like eating but ate anyway - my standard running meal, a bagel and a banana. My heart sank when I realized that it was raining outside, but it looked worse than it was. I threw in a big plastic bag anyway, just in case. Shon drove me to the park where I caught the bus.

I sat next to a nurse from Ogden and a lady named Kathy from Park City. They were both so great. They were so encouraging. I knew I could do it after talking to them. We got up to the ranch at the top of Blacksmith Canyon and waited in line for the bathrooms. I've never seen so many port a potties. It was cold and dark and everyone huddled around the fires they had set up. Everyone was so friendly. I met people from Idaho, Massachusetts, other New Mexicans, and even a lady from Twin Falls (who had just gotten her contacts replaced by my brother-in-law!).

Someone asked me if I cried during my marathon. I did - 3 times. The first time I cried was, surprisingly, when the gun went off and we started down the hill. I was so excited and happy - I have no idea where the tears came from.

The canyon was beautiful. The leaves were changing color and a stream followed the road. I brought my ipod (which is permitted in the TOU) but I didn't listen to it. I chatted with people near me. Ester from Heber city. The guy who was doing 1 in each of the 50 states (crazy!). My training partner, Stephanie. The first 14 were down hill. I "gu"ed at mile 13. Yuck. I hate the stuff. It took me a while but I have learned that I can take the strawberry banana flavor without losing my lunch. Bananas are slimy, after all. I knew my family (including my dad who was in Idaho) would be getting text messages when I finished 13 and 20. It made me feel like they were doing this with me. I finished the first 13 faster than I did the Moab half - probably because it was down hill.

The course was closed to spectators until mile 14. I started to look for a familiar face. There they were at mile 15 - my cheerleaders. Becki and Mom had signs that said "Run like the Wind! Go Juli!", "Ya Juli! Run! Run! Run!" and Shon had a sign that said "Run Hot Mama! We love you." Call me egotistical, but I love having people cheering for me. A high Five and a quick kiss from Shon and I was on my way.

That's me in pink at mile 15.

The first 20 miles flew by. We wound through Millville and Providence and then on to Logan. At about mile 20 I started getting tired. I ran with a man from Oregon (65-ish but doing his 23d marathon!). He was very encouraging and we had the same pace. I saw him off an on until the end. I started to look for familiar faces again. And there they were, cheering me on. I almost cried, I was so happy to see them. I saw Shon was wearing his running shoes, so I asked him if he would run with me. Shon is a non-runner, thanks to a couple of bad knees. It's too slow and he would much rather cycle anyway - a bit of a thrill seeker. I know he didn't want to do it, but it was our anniversary - Happy 12 years to us! It was the most romantic thing he's ever done. I was tired and having him there next to me made all of the difference. I thought he would hang around for a mile and drop off, but he ended up running most of the last 6 miles with me.

We hit mile 21 and that's where crying #2 came. I realized I had 5 miles to go. I run 5 miles 3 times a week. I started to say "I'll just do a little morning run" and broke down. I thought of Debbie and Annie at home doing their run. I cried for about 10 sec., because a guy with a camera was standing there and I wanted to look like the whole thing was fun and games. It wasn't. I never wanted to stop running, but my body wanted me to stop. My right foot hurt, like it usually does after 15 miles, and I knew I had blisters brewing. It was raining a bit and there was a rainbow. The weather was actually perfect. The air was cool and breezy.

Shon left me at mile 25. I knew I could do the last 1.2, but I was sad to have him go. It was so fun to run with him. The last mile was the longest of my life. I know I'm not the only one who felt that way. A man had passed out with half a mile to go. The medical team was there, so I didn't stop, but still, he wasn't getting up of his own accord. So close. I kept running.

I thought of a friend of the family who had been in an airplane crash recently and is now in a burn unit and how hard her life is. People do hard things every day. I knew I could keep moving forward. And besides, there was a guy race walking in front of me. No way was I going to say that someone had walked it faster than me. So I passed him.

Almost there.

I knew the finish line had to be around somewhere because I could hear the music, but I couldn't tell how much farther I had to go. Then I saw a man standing on the corner. He had his yellow number on and a finisher's medal around his neck. He looked at me and said "You're almost there, it's just around the corner." I said "Nothing is stopping me now" and I rounded the corner. I can't tell you how much it helped to have someone tell me how close I was and hear the crowd cheering me on. I cried. (#3) And smiled. At the same time. There was the end. The announcer said my name and where I was from. I don't know why, but it surprised me. There was my family on the left. They had flowers for me. I gave them a hug, even though I was sweaty (you better believe it) and I heard someone yell "go Juli" from the right. I figured out later that it was the girl from Ogden I had met on the bus.

This picture makes me laugh. I'm almost there. Thanks for the flowers, mom.

And I was crossing the finish line. There were volunteers (in rubber gloves) to help if I couldn't walk properly, which I could. Someone took my chip, and someone was draping a medal around my neck. And the Nesquick bunny was handing me chocolate milk. (Chocolate milk?! Yep. Apparently, it's good for you. Kuddos to the guy in the suit who ran the 5 K and won his age group - in a bunny suit.)

Here's me and Shon at the finish. Don't I look cute! I couldn't see in my left contact that morning so I had to wear my glasses.

I wanted to take off my shoes, but I knew it wouldn't be pretty. It wasn't. I'm going to lose a toe nail or two. (I expected that - I stubbed one of my toes when I was a kid and it doesn't bend the same as the others, so it took the brunt of the down hill.)


I went to the hotel and took a shower and ate a little lunch (very little - I was definitely not hungry), took a nap while Shon watched football, and we drove back down main street to go to the Anniversary Inn (it is our anniversary after all.) There were people still running. I cried again. It made me feel very emotional to know there were still people out there working on their goal. I wanted to give them a wind at their back or run along side telling them they could do it - it's just around the corner. Instead I rolled down my window and cheered them on. The greatest thing about a marathon is that everyone who finishes wins. We all have different paces. I think that time is something very personal (like your weight). When Bryce asked me if I won my race, I said yes.

Shon and I went to the Logan temple - we don't live near a temple, so we take advantage of every opportunity we can. I was tired, but surprisingly alert. Super alert. I think all of those endorphins were kicking in.


As we sat in the temple, I thought about how life is like a marathon. We have a goal we're working toward - to finish. People are there to encourage us on the side lines, telling us to keep moving forward, and others to run the race with us. We're all going at a different pace, just for us. When we get closer to the finish line, those who have already finished come to cheer us on. It's just around the corner.


We went out to dinner at an Indian place and I don't think I've ever enjoyed eating so much. Overall, I think it was one of my favorite anniversaries ever.

Some of my favorite things about running a marathon:

The volunteers at the aid stations are so great.
Telling the cops stopping the traffic "thanks".
Giving the kids on the side a high five.
Watching the man pushing his brother with cerebral palsy in a wheel chair.
Taking a nap afterward. Best nap ever!
Saying I did it.
Advil. No, make that Aleve.
Ice
Sleeping in on Monday - no running for me, thank you. But I woke up at 5:30 anyway.
Laughing at myself as I try to walk down stairs. Seriously funny.


Sorry it took me so long to post results, but I was hoping to find some better pictures - they're not out yet. I will up date later. Thanks for all of your encouragement. I needed that.

I'm Expecting . . .

Don't worry, Mom, I'm not pregnant. But I feel like I have been. I just spent the last 9 months preparing for my first marathon . . . and I'm due Saturday. I'm running the Top of Utah marathon in Logan. I'm so excited. But like having a baby, I know it will be hard before the great reward at the end. I have no idea how big this baby is (4 hrs? 6 hrs?) and I haven't decided whether to go for the epidural (ipod). Which ever way, I will do this, or die trying.



When I tell people what I've been working on, I get one of two reactions: a) Good for you! or b) Why would you do that? So for those of you who are in the latter group, here are my reasons why. (Others have excuses, I have my reasons why. . . )

My Top 10 reasons for running a marathon

in no particular order

1) It's fun. I get to talk to people and see beautiful scenery all the while being left quietly to my own thoughts. (Quiet is something I don't get a lot of.) It makes me happy to run. I feel ready to tackle the stresses of the day.



2) I want to be healthy. I lost 48 lbs, and I want to keep it off. Heart disease runs in my family (I was in 1st grade when my grandmother died) and I want to live long enough to earn gray hair. I run for life.



3) I love my children. I read an article that said children who had active parents were more likely to be active. In particular MOTHERS who were active taught their children to move more. (Oh the pressure. It's always the mother's. . . ) I want my kids to be happy and healthy.



4) I want pretty legs. That's going to take a little more work and prehaps a vascular surgeon. I'm so vain.



5) Pain management. The first month I started running, I hurt. After that, I've hurt when I don't run. I have arthritis, and this has worked better and more consistantly than any pain medicine I've taken, though I still have my days.



6) Because I can.



7) Last year I took a personality test. It said that I am great at starting but not finishing. (You should see my collection of unfinished enrichment night crafts.) I have to prove to myself that I am a finisher.



8) I want a medal. Yep, that dream of mine from 6th grade where I win the gold, I'm still hung up on it. I want someone to put a medal on my neck. And a t-shirt would be nice too.



9) Every day I do ordinary things. I clean the dishes and toilets and do the laundry. For once in my life, I want to do something extraordinary. I want to do something that not everyone else can do - though I really believe anyone could do it.



10) There's something about being in a large group of people all moving in the same direction. I suppose this is the same reason I joined the community choir this year. My Communication Phd brother, Spencer, calls it consonance. I believe it is a physical need that we all have to harmonize - whether it be through music, running, art, community service, cooking delicious food - it's different for everyone.





So, if you wouldn't mind praying for me at about 10:00 am Saturday. I should just be reaching mile 20 - the wall.



I can do it? I can do it.

Emily

Emily is a better blogger than I am. Check out her report on a grandparent here.

We're off to Ashlee's wedding.

(I'm SO excited - about the wedding part, not the drive in the car for 24 hours part.)

Summertime

We just spent 2 wonderful weeks in Idaho. Here's a little of what we did.

We swam at Dierke's Lake.

We celebrated the fourth of July (my favorite holiday). Lego art by Emily.

And watched an awesome fireworks display with my sisters and their kids.

We threw a fun beach party shower for Jason and Alex.

Went to the Singleton Family reunion - so much fun camping.

That's one loose tooth, Sarah!

And best of all, we went to the Twin Falls Temple open house.

It was a great visit, but now it's nice to be home.

Happy Father's Day

To the father of my 5 delicious children, I say:

We love you more than Chocolate.

Which is why we made this delicious Chocolate Bundt Cake (in my new used Bundt pan - $2 at the thrift store) for our favorite chocoholic.

(Not my actual cake, but it tasted better than this looks.)

Here's the recipe:

1 chocolate cake mix
1 C sour cream
1 C chocolate chips
6 oz instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1/2 C warm water
1/2 C oil

Mix 2 minutes. Bake in a bundt pan at 350 for 45 min. Yum.

Thanks to the man who makes my life easier every day and does a fabulous job of teaching our children responsibility and hard work, and how to play MarioKart. Marrying you was my best decision ever. You're the chocolate cake and I'm the vanilla ice cream.

Happy Mother's Day!

Um, did I mention that this blog is EXTRA CREDIT. Yep, it's reserved only for spare time - time that I don't have a lot of lately. I've been working on the core curriculum - that would be laundry, toilets, floors, more laundry - you know, the dirty work. This being Mother's Day, the men of the family are doing the dirty work. Thanks hon.

Which leads me to my mother. There are 7 children in my family. I have the greatest family. Everyone is so talented and beautiful, and busy. I don't know how she did so much - "to do" being the verb here. She gets so much done. She sewed prom dresses, and chauffered us around to practices, and cooked healthy meals, and read books, and somehow kept the kitchen clean, most of the time. Some how I feel like I'm on a tread mill (my ultimate form of punishment) running and running and getting no where. So Mom, how do you do it?

And speaking of running, I just learned I did not get into the St. George marathon. Bummer. I'm going to have to find another.

During one of our busy soccer practices, Caleb did this to his nose. Yikes.

And Sarah is 6! She is such a happy, creative, graceful kindergartener, who loves dressing up and American Girls, and has been trying to put on make-up since she was 2 and "didn't stay in the lines" with my best lip stick. Bringing her home from the hospital was my greatest mother's day present.

What We did for Spring Break

Spring Break was a ball. We spent way too much time driving from New Mexico to Idaho, but thanks to books on CD, we hardly noticed. Just for the record, we listened to the entire book of "Eldest" - that's 24 hours of listening. My kids are great travelers.

Shon and I took the kids skiing/snowboarding with my sister Kim and her boys. They're getting pretty good. Em even did a "black diamond" without falling! You go girl.

Here we are climbing up to the Balanced Rock, which, surprise, is a big balancing rock.

The best part of our trip was being with family. The kids had so much fun getting to know their cousins. I read a couple of good books in the off time. "Summers at Castle Auburn" was a great read. Thanks Ash for the recommendation. I loved every minute. And "Book of a Thousand Days" by Shannon Hale. (I love Shannon Hale!) Good read.

March Weather

I just love living in the southwest.

Would you believe I had a drag race with a tumbleweed?!

We came to a stop sign and he just blew on through.
The tumbleweed won.

It was so dry and windy all weekend. I was shocked when it started doing this yesterday. Especially considering it was 50 degrees outside.

I run for Life!

What a great weekend. The kids and I drove up to Moab and met Shon (who was coming back from a conference in Orlando), so I could run the Canyonlands Half Marathon. It was great! This is something I've been working on for a while. Let me tell you about it.

One of my goals last year was to run 3 miles without stopping. That was a difficult goal for me. I was overweight and I couldn't even run 1 mile, better yet 3! I found a trail near my house that was exactly 1 mile, where no one would see me and I ran it over and over. I called the professionals (Weight Watchers) and lost 30 lbs, in addition to the 20 I lost on my own. Finally, last November, I ran my three miles. I felt invincible!

One of the things that kept me from running is that there just wasn't a convenient time. There is a group of ladies in my ward who run every morning, before the crack of dawn. I invited myself/they invited me to join them. It was the best motivator for me to get up early in the morning. (Y'all know I'm a sleepy head!) We did about 5 miles three times a week. It was a long cold winter, but knowing someone was expecting me there at 5:45, snow or rain, helped me get there. There were days when we ran in the snow and the sub zero temperatures. I tried to get a picture of the icicles on my eye lashes one morning. Don't you love my reflective vest?! Stylin'! I have to say that I really learned to love running in the quiet of the morning, and I even like the snow. Annie, Stephanie, and Debbie, you are the best. I couldn't have done it without you.

Saturdays we ran long. Some of them were hard, some were fun. One Saturday the dirt road we ran on had turned to mud. We jokingly called it our triathlon since half the time we were swimming. Then we ran into a heard of sheep - which wouldn't have been a big deal if there hadn't been big dogs and a sheep Herder with a gun. Oh, so much fun.

When I was 25 I visited a rheumatologist who told me I have ankylosing spondylitis. I asked her what that meant as far as exercising, and she said "you probably won't be running any marathons." I took that as a challenge. Someday I probably won't be able to run anymore. At least I can say that I tried. I feel better now than I ever have.

I have the greatest cheer leaders. Debbie and Dave (Shon's parents) and Becki and Ethan came all the way from Salt Lake to support me. Thanks guys. It means a lot to me. Becki helped my kids make these posters.

The race was fabulous. 4000 people had to catch a bus down the canyon along the Colorado River. The funniest thing to me was the lines to the bathroom. They were so long. Most of the men headed to the boulders on the hill. I'll take the pot-o-gold, thanks. It was so cold in the morning. It took a leap of faith for me to take my warm ups off and wait for the start. Sure enough, I was roasting within a mile. There were piles of clothing strewn along the first mile. I picked the slowest pace time to start at, which ended up being a mistake. It took forever to get through the crowd. I loved the water stations. The kids handing out cups were so excited. And the people on the sides were so encouraging. If I ever watch a race, I will know what to do. They handed out Goo at the mile 6 station. I have to say, it worked, but it's disgusting. I nearly gagged trying to get it down.

It was such a beautiful day and such a beautiful place. I talked to people as I ran. One lady from Michigan had done 10 marathons. Another lady was fulfilling a dream she had after having breast cancer. I told her about my Becki, who is a cancer survivor. I wish I had been strong enough to do this a year ago when she was in the middle of chemo. Better late than never.

Surprisingly, I ran the second half a lot faster than the first. I saw a group of little girls cheering on the side and I gave them a high five and suddenly I felt like flying. The hills weren't even a challenge. I breath in a pattern - in, in, out. I would think along with my breathing, "I am strong," ("We are strong" was the moto of Shon's cycling team.) I never felt like walking the whole race, though I could tell the minute I hit 11 miles. Before Saturday, that was as far as I had ever gone. There was a drum chorus at the mouth of the canyon. It was so motivating. I could hear the drums a mile away.

The last mile was very long. The people cheering me on were very helpful. I loved the kid with the guitar. I could see the finish line up ahead, but it looked so far away. I love finish lines, but it was all a blur. I finished in 2 hours 19 minutes. I'm happy with that. Bryce asked me what place I got and I said "1, 920th" - it doesn't matter, I just wanted to finish. Been there, done that.

I'm not done yet. I totally want to do a marathon. I told Shon that if I got to the end and still felt like running, I would keep it up. I was spent at the end, but looking back, I don't think I felt any more exhausted than the first time I ran 3 miles. I'll just work my way up to it. I can't wait.

Shon has definitely been my biggest cheerleader. Thanks for putting up with all of the Saturday runs and my-feet-hurt, grouchy mom-ness. You're the best.

Ta-Da!

After months of contemplatation, I've finally got our family blog up and running. Thanks you Kim for your help - I couldn't have done it without you. And a big thanks to my wonderful children who let me sit down at the computer by myself for a minute between cub scouts and soccer practice, which, by the way, we're going to be late for.

We've got a very exciting weekend coming up, but there is time to talk about that later.

Here's a photo of Emily and a half-naked Caleb with (yes indeed) 3 binkis.