Gratitude

Mixed in with the holiday season, the hustle and bustle of shopping, holiday parties, cheer comps, and more, gratitude seems to quietly grow overlooked more and more these days.  I am grateful however.  With EVERYTHING the past year has brought, despite hoping 2013 would be easier than 2012 and finding out that it may never get easier, I'm grateful.

 I have 4 healthy kids!  Sure they get scraped, bruised and sometimes broken, but they are healthy!  They are happy!  Their smiles light up my days.  

 As a parent it's difficult to watch your child struggle in any way.  Kids can be mean, siblings fight, some kids get things others don't.  My kids have been extremely blessed and I'm grateful.

 I'm grateful for transportation to take them to the many activities they are involved in.  I'm grateful they are able to participate in the activities they love.  I'm grateful for their abilities, their talents, and their desire.

 I'm grateful when they open our fridge there is food in it. I'm grateful that when they rest their heads at night they don't have to worry about the changing seasons outside their windows or worry that their home isn't safe.

 I'm grateful for the example they have in a father who has a strong work ethic and teaches them valuable life skills on a daily basis.

 I'm grateful that my kids get incredible education from amazing teachers and that their schools are close, clean, well maintained, and safe.

 I'm grateful I'm privileged to be their mom.

I'm grateful.

Halloween 2013

 October 31st has come and gone once more.  The kids were extra excited to go trick or treating since they were on a cruise ship last year for Halloween.  I personally preferred the cruise ship.  Halloween is always full of running around to get the kids class parties ready and costumes on and completed.  I kinda dropped the ball this year and made the older kids figure out their own costumes... Easton was an old man at school but decided to switch to the morph suit from last year to go trick or treating. Caleb was some sort of a zombie.  He had been looking up online how to make scars and such look real with makeup and did a pretty awesome job!

 Of course Peyton was easy to persuade to be what her mommy wanted.  Since I LOVE red.... Seriously so cute as little red riding hood and truthfully I feel like I get bonus points for being able to convince her she doesn't need to be a Disney princess EVERY year. ;)

Bailey was a zombie football player with apparently super long eye lashes.  She looked darling but refused to smile.  

The kids were all too cool to hang around for everyone to get a picture together much to my dismay.  For the first part of the night it was just Mat and I handing out candy to kids because even our youngest kids went with friends.  Are we really THAT old already???

Bailey's First Marathon....CHECK

It seems that every time we watch a race and cheer for runners at the finish line at least one of our kids thinks they want to run the next time.  Last fall when Bailey watched her dad run the St. George Marathon she asked if she could run it the following year.  Mat and I had decided a while ago that if our kids wanted to run the marathon when they turned fourteen that we would let them.  We asked Bailey if she would commit herself to training and commit to completing it. She said yes. Bailey said she also wanted to beat the course record for her age group.  After the first few attempts at getting her out to train she decided she didn't care about breaking any records.  After a few more attempts at getting her to train long distances she decided she didn't care if she even placed in her division.  After MANY attempts at getting her to train as the race grew nearer she flat out said she didn't want to run.

 We reminded her of her previous commitment and expressed that we had paid for both the entrance into the race as well as expensive running gear in preparation and that we expected her to keep her commitment.  She grudgingly agreed to run it.  Then, Mat got sick....

 Coughing and wheezing, sleeping all day, sick.  Of course Bailey wasn't going to run to train without her dad so everything came to a standstill.  As the week of the marathon approached we were trying everything (aside from antibiotics because apparently we are idiots and didn't think of that) to get Mat better.  We kept thinking it was just a cold and would go away.  He kept saying that he felt better but was clearly getting worse.  He considered trying to run two days before the race and couldn't get out of bed.  So....race day came...

I stayed up until 1:00 trying to make sure the runners had good treats, a good breakfast, all their gear in order, and good music for the run.  At 4:00 the runners awoke.  I sent them with various food and they went on their way.  At 6:00 I was able to calm myself back to sleep. At 7:00 I received a text update saying that the two runners had begun the race.  Excited I was able to get back to sleep shortly after receiving the update. When I received the update at 6 miles into the race less than an hour later I got excited! They were on pace to finish under four hours (which was crazy to me considering how little training they had done). I got dressed and told the kids that we would be going to watch them as soon as I go the next update at 13 miles.  I NEVER got that update.  So much worry weighed me down from not receiving the update I couldn't move.  I sat on the couch and stared straight ahead.  After 30 minutes I finally decided to see if runners were being recorded at the halfway mark or not.  I finally figured out that the sensor was recording!!! Soon after that I heard that they were spotted in Winchester so we made our way to the finish line. We decided we couldn't wait at the finish line that we needed to see them sooner.  We went to Diagonal and I can't fully express how incredible it was to see my little girl...smiling...looking strong...and beautiful!  Mat looked like he felt great.  In previous races he tends to look a tad sea sick at Diagonal so I was thrilled.  The two ended up crossing the finish line in 4:31!  Definitely a proud mommy moment.  It was then that Mat told me how sick he really was.  He wanted to get in the car and get home to rest.  He slept most of the day and really struggled to even walk.  Apparently he put on a happy face to keep Bailey going but later said it was the most difficult race he has ever done.  I'm so impressed by my sweet little family.  Now Caleb has been asking to run it next year...

Well golly gee, this is my first post ever.  May I first say thank you to you Jamie for the many hours she has put into our family blog posts.  They have been a fantastic family journal to look back on.  The books printed each year are a blessing.  

At this point in our little families life, I want to express my gratitude for the many blessing we have received from a loving Heavenly Father.  He has been so generous to us.  I feel his love and concern for our family so very often.

For todays post I would like to share one of the fun things I was able to do with Caleb and Easton a couple of months ago.  We packed up three back packs and made the 5.5 mile trek to horseshoe meadow, which is on top of Pine Valley Mountain.  The boys packs were each between 16 and 17 pounds.  Mine was a slightly heavier.  We started off at a good pace.  Grandpa Holt went a little over half way up the mountain with us and packed some drinks for us.  We found a patch of rasberries about half way up.  It was a refreshing break to eat them.  It took us about 4.5 hours to get to the top.  The boys did great.  We made a little shelter rough style for the first night.  The first morning we woke up to  see three 4 point mule deer eating in the meadow in front of our shelter.   We spent the day rolling rocks  , hiking, throwing knives, improving our shelter, playing games, attempting to build snares, and much more fun.  We had a great time together and plan to make it a yearly tradition.  I sure love these two boys and am so grateful to be a part of their lives.

Something From All Of Us

In an effort to include more variety and stories in our family books I've decided to add some new contributors. A new rule in our family is no electronics on Sunday unless family or church related. Needless to say the kiddos have some time on their hands today. Each of them are going to type a little bit of what's going on in their lives:

Caleb age 11

 I play tennis, and I am in sixth grade. I like to draw a lot. I also like to four wheeler, and make pottery. I love eating junk food. I like piano too.

Bailey age 14

I am doing cheerleading. I am on Raglan Coast Cheer. The levels i am doing are senior level 4 and junior level 3. I love to eat food and party it up with my friends. Madi Spray is my all time best friend. and i love my family and parker thompson. 

Peyton age 5

I like to do ballet.  I like to play with my friends. I like to spend time together.  I like to have fun and have a good time. I like to do mini team at cheer. My friends are Callie, Adria, Sadie, Gigi, Lyla, Karly, Rylee, and Alli.  I am learning to speak Chinese. I'm in Kindergarten.

Easton age 10

I am easton holt . I like to play soccer . I like pizza. I have lots of friends.

Back to School

 Four kids in three separate schools, each beginning and ending at four separate times, made for an eventful first day back to school for the Holt's.  Caleb was our first off this year beginning his turn at riding the bus to the intermediate school.  He has to be at the bus stop by 7:05 a.m. each morning but has been GREAT so far! He is already loving the six separate classes on his schedule and seeing all of his friends that attended different elementary schools everyday. Hopefully he will be a little less like his older sister and try to keep SOME friends from closer by.

 Bailey was our next to head out the door. She has to leave by 8:00 a.m. to walk to the middles school in time to make it to school.  Although she is technically a freshman, this will be her last year at Snow Canyon Middle before she heads up to the big school... If only we could send a mass bulletin out to all the high school aged boys that she JUST turned 14 and won't be dating until she's 16....

 Easton was the third out the door on the first day. Beginning his very last year of elementary school as a 5th grader he was up and at it early and excited for the new year. Easton doesn't need to leave for school until 8:40 to ride his bike in time but he leaves at 8:25 or earlier every morning. It's so strange to have him head out the door by himself each morning. 

 Peyton began her first year of kindergarten. She is participating in the Chinese Dual Immersion program our school offers. It was a difficult decision but one we are very glad we made! Most every one of her neighborhood friends are in the program. The only ones that aren't have moved in after the classes were already formed last spring. She still goes for regular kindergarten hours and she is in afternoon so she doesn't begin school until 12:45 p.m. each day.  She goes to her english specking class to learn reading and writing for an hour and a half then goes to her Chinese class for math as well as every other subject.  The only real difference is she doesn't learn her math in English and ONLY Chinese is spoken in her Chinese class. Parents are welcome to observe or help in the class but we are not allowed to speak any English if we are inside the classroom.  The teacher is from China but does speak English.  They just don't want the kids to hear her speak it. It's crazy!  She should be fluent in Mandarin Chinese before she leaves elementary school! When she graduates from high school she will graduate with a minor in Chinese. Once a child is accepted into the program (we were based on where we live) they are committed to stay in it until they graduate. Looks like we should start saving for a graduation gift because I can't imagine a trip to China will be very cheap. ;) I was very nervous about her starting a program like this but everything I have heard is amazing. 

I'm not one of the moms that gets weepy when the kids begin new school year's but rather I like having them actively involved in something everyday. I like being able to clean the house (if once a month a decided to) and not have it a disaster at least until they come home. I like to see them socialize with friends and  make new friends and have new experiences. I will miss the freedom of summer but I will never miss not having homework each night. ;)

Winding Up Our Summer

 The summer of 2013 has quickly come and gone for us.  The lazy days, late nights, and all of the fun summer brings. Our last week before the kids went back to school we took a quick trip up to Pine Valley in typical Nelson fashion on a Sunday afternoon. We ate, looked for snakes, played at the reservoir (well, grandpa and the kids did), and enjoyed spending time with our cousins.  

 Of course in typical Nelson fashion the evening would not be complete without a water fight (I've learned to carry towels in the car just in case) started by the 5 year old little girls. 

 The weather was perfect, the kids were silly, and it was a wonderful time.

 The Holt family stayed behind after the Nelson clan departed and went up whipple trail for a very brief hike. The kiddos weren't exactly thrilled at the idea of a hike to begin with.

 Mat and I often joke that we have friends with houseboats so we don't need them... beach houses so we don't need those... we just need someone with a cabin...

Anytime spent in the mountains with my family seems to encourage us more and more that maybe we just need to figure out how to get a cabin for ourselves. Time to go check the money tree. ;)