Who'd have ever thunk that I would have a family full of amazing runners?  Since running certainly isn't one of my passions I could never have guessed we would be entering so many races.  If you had even asked me last year at this time I would have been doubtful.  It all started last year when Bailey began 6th grade.  She had run the mile in elementary school and ran with a time similar to what I would run it in when I was in school.  The first time she ran it in 6th grade however, she was 5 minutes quicker than her previous times!  Of course the gears started turning.  I quickly realized she had her dad's running abilities and her mom's competitive spirit.  A GREAT combination if you as me! We entered Bailey in the Swiss Days 5K and she did quite well.  Of course then her school had their annual "geckathon" and we encouraged her to give it a try.  Both times taking a solid 2nd place.  At some point the boys asked if they could run as well. In January we entered Caleb in his first 5K and Easton in a one mile race along with Mat and Bailey.  All of them did awesome with Bailey being the only one placing but still not taking first.  After the January race Bailey mentioned she'd like to try a half marathon.  I asked her if she LIKED to run or if she was running for her parents benefit.  She said that she liked it and would like to continue to compete.  We made a deal that day with all of the kids that if they ran one race each month for a year that they would receive a nice reward at the end.  Easton decided after his first 5K that running wasn't for him and that was okay.  I don't want it to be something I am forcing.  Part of the deal is that the kids can't just show up and race.  They need to actually train.  We gave them each a race distance to work up to with Bailey's being a half marathon.  All summer long Bailey has gotten up at 5:30 am to meet the cross country team at the high school at 6:00 to run.  She has run mostly with the A group which runs the longest distances and she has been happier and started to get really fast.  Up to this point the only race she had taken first in was the Dogtown 9K and it wasn't a great race for her she just happened to be the only one in her division.  She seems to always take second.  Caleb always seems to walk away with medals and does well in his division so we really wanted to see Bailey do well for her half.  Caleb ran the 5K in Bryce Canyon while Mat and Bailey were coming down the course of the half.  Caleb didn't run his personal best but he still took a first for his division.  After Bailey crossed the finish line we anxiously waited for the postings to see what she placed.  Every thirty minutes new times were posted so when we saw hers we were bummed.  Yes, she had taken first but was the  only one in the 12-14 year division.  I knew there were 11 year olds on the course and I couldn't believe she was the only one her age running.  Surely there were 14 year olds that had ran?

 We of course waited for the awards anyway.  Caleb deserved his first and Bailey did too even if she didn't have anyone in her division. Both kids ran with awesome times!  Caleb couldn't wait to run up and receive his medal.  Bailey was a tad more reluctant.

 When they finally called out Bailey's name they also called out a second and third place in her division!  We were so excited!  I went and looked again at the times.  There were actually 7 kids total in her division and were all 14 years old except Bailey.  We didn't see their times the first time because she was more than thirty minutes ahead of the second place winner!  She took her first WELL DESERVED FIRST!

 I am truly amazed at the runners in my little family!  They rarely complain about running and seem to really enjoy it.  It is merely icing on the cake that they are GOOD at it!

 We couldn't get a room in Bryce Canyon because we had decided too late to run it so we hitched up the camper and camped in a campground for our first time.

 It was definitely not the typical camping trip.  Not only were the campsites pricier than I would have thought but we were so close to the rest of the campers.  It was nice to have the pool to cool off in.

 The kids loved trying to guess which country other families were from since most of the fellow campers didn't speak English.

 We had a blast.  The kids asked if we could please stay longer and while we would have loved to we knew we had to get back to daily life. 

Overall a very successful weekend all around!

Top TWELVE reasons we love Bailey!

With my little girl turning twelve I felt it was appropriate to dedicate a top twelve list to her so here goes:

12.  Bailey's hilarious!  Once she gets you laughing it's hard to stop.  She's super smart but can be air headed about silly things and will definitely make your side hurt from the silliness she participates in.

11.  As mentioned before, she's smart.  Bailey gets great grades at school and always has.  She doesn't have to put much effort into her school but certainly doesn't complain when she does have homework.

10.  Bailey is very easy going.  She's just happy for whatever comes along.  Sometimes to point of frustration.  If you ask her what she wants she really doesn't care she just wants everyone else to be happy.

9.  She's our "built-in babysitter".  Now that she's older it is SOOO nice to be able to run errands or go out on dates and not worry about finding a babysitter for the younger kids.  The only problem we face is that other families are starting to catch onto the fact that she's old enough and they actually pay her so we don't get our freebies as often.

8.  Bailey is creative.  She likes to mess around with mom's crafts and while her creativity can be messy at times we love watching what she makes.

7.  She's kind-hearted.  Anyone that knows Bailey knows she cares more about others than herself.  She wants everyone to be happy and is very loving and sweet to everyone.  You don't ever catch her saying negative things about anyone and I doubt she ever even thinks negative things.

6.  Bailey is super helpful.  She gets her chores done and never fights me when asked to do them.  Once in while she forgets to do them but never complains even when extra chores are added.  We tease that Bailey is Peyton's second mom.  She's always concerned about her baby sister and watches out for all of her family.

5.  Bailey is considerate and polite.  I have these closer on the list because they are two things that are SOOO Bailey.  She is well-behaved and respectful when she needs to be and we never worry about her getting out of hand. 

4.  Bailey is athletic.  She doesn't care for traditional sports much but she is uber-competitive and if needs be she has no problem playing sports and showing how amazingly athletic she is.

3.  Bailey is BEAUTIFUL!  She small for her age but that just adds to her charm.  She really is quite stunning and I catch myself often looking at her and wondering how such a pretty little girl could be my daughter.

2.  Bailey is TALENTED!  Everything she does she makes look easy.  Once she decides on doing something she is usually the best at it.  Whether it be cheer, running, or competing against her family, she can do it all!  Most kids get one or two things that they are good at and focus on those strengths.  With Bailey it's hard not to want to put her in every activity because it is so fun to watch all of her amazing abilities.

And the number 1 reason we love Bailey is...

SHE'S OURS!  Bailey chose us to be her parents!  This incredible daughter of God chose our family to be a part of.  She's such a great example to each one of us and we are all truly blessed to have her in our lives!

Happy 12th Birthday Bailey!

Trying to keep up this summer...

So many fun things happening around the Holt homestead this summer.  I admit the first week that school let out I was filled with anguish thinking about the forthcoming 3 months.  Well, we have one month left of summer vacation and I wonder where the time has gone...So here's the run-down, quite out of order, of everything we've been up to.

 To celebrate the 4th of July we have always swam and spent the day barbecuing and such in my parents backyard.  Well, with the move that wasn't an option this year.  My parents were still planning on hosting a barbecue but Mat and I volunteered our backyard since it was a fairly nice day.  Bailey and Mat had began the day with an 8 mile run and it was even somewhat cool out. Nevertheless the kids still wanted water so my dad brought over the "slip n' slide".

 Basically a 20 x 40 foot piece of visquine.  We ran two hoses and covered it in dish soap.

 Eventually the sinkhole in the backyard helped pool the water enough to bring out the skimboards.

 Peyton and cousins were happy to sit and play with blocks and barbies all day.

 Of course the kiddos could barely wait for the sun to go down to begin lighting the fireworks.  I'm not even sure they watch them.  They LOVE lighting them though and if that's what they want, we just sit back and enjoy the show!

 Bailey and her friend were finally able to make their sparkler heart. Peyton loved sparklers and lighting the bigger fireworks as well.

 Although Bailey ALREADY had her present (her cruise) and wasn't supposed to have a party we couldn't resist.  And by we I mean ME!  I got it in my head that she needed a surprise party and immediately the theme, and decorations all popped into my head.  Once the planning in my head starts there's nothing you can do but embrace it if you're Mat.

 Aunt Amber made another beautiful cake for dear little Bailey.  Seriously we are so lucky to have Amber in our family to make such cute cakes for us. 

 Chantry invited Bailey over to play for the day so that we could decorate and get ready for the party.  We asked Bailey to be home at 7:30 to babysit and told her the boys were in the backyard.  She was so embarrassed her eyes were literally filling with tears.

 We played minute to win it, doge ball, and lover's leap.  Had cake and began an outdoor movie. About 30 minutes into the movie we heard the thunder crackle that said we better move the party inside.  We should've began clearing out then but sure enough a minute later we were all scrambling to get everything inside as well as all of the guests.  All of Bailey's friends decided it would be more fun to get wet so then they all headed back outside while the torrents of rain came down.

 Despite some efforts of clean up the night before the next morning the carnage that was left in the backyard was extensive.  Overturned cake plates, spilled popcorn bags, and my precious tissue balls were all sopping wet and made the backyard look like a disaster had hit.

 Of course what is summer without a trip to Pine Valley with the Nelson clan?

 The usual picnic spot was under construction so we had to hike down to the water which was still ice cold from the snow runoff but we had a blast.

 Peyton found a tractor and was quite miffed that there were no keys to be found for it.  Apparently she was going to take her cousins for a ride like she does in her barbie car.

Mixed in with all of our summer fun Bailey got to attend her first girl's camp.  Although she hadn't turned 12 yet she was able to go with our ward to Lake Powell!  Lucky girl to spend her first week at girl's camp lounging around on houseboats and being towed on a tube and learning how to wakeboard!

 One very fun part about summer was having so many cousins come to town to visit.  We are very fortunate to have most of our family live close but in the past two weeks alone we've had visits from ALL of our cousins coming to play, swim, and laugh with us.

 While Bailey was at girl's camp I had another one of my "great ideas" that Mat loves me so much for.  I thought it would be fun to finish decorating Bailey's room for her.  It took about 10 hours and money we really shouldn't have spent on her but it turned our DARLING!  When she came home from camp she was so exhausted she could barely talk but she loved it!

Our summer still has many fun and exciting things to look forward to.  With the Bryce Canyon half marathon this weekend, school shopping in Vegas, and a quick getaway planned to Park City, I'm afraid the next month will fly by far too fast.