The show must always go on...

So I wasn't sure I even wanted to post these pics. My face looks like a blow fish, I have no make-up (yikes!) and I was soaked and wet. I figured under the circumstaces that most of you would all be understanding. So if the pics really do disgust you ,just look away.

Kara and I

The Swim

The Bike

Kara at the finish line

The Run. (I figured my legs looked allot better than my facial expression. So here's to a better view.)

Me being so happy!


So the day finally came for me to do the triathlon. Of course I couldn't sleep much the night before. You'd think it was the night before Christmas or something! Anyway all through the night before it rained. All the day of the triathlon.....It rained!
I always imagined it being warm with the sun shinning down on me and just a little breeze on my face. Oh no, it was wet, cold and there was far more then a breeze on my face. I am sure for the crowd it was like watching a bunch of drenched sewer rats running along the street. Yet, it was still awesome.
Before we got started I was sure Matt wouldn't come. I told him to not worry about it because it would be too cold and wet for the kids. Yet he surprised me and came anyway. I was so excited when I saw Matt, his parents and my kids walk in and stand by the pool to cheer me on. I seriously really appreciated Matt's parents coming all the way from Bountiful, just to sit in such cold weather and watch the race. They are so thoughtful and supportive. It meant so much to me to have some family and support.
So lets start with the swim. My friend and I went on Wed. to practice and my fear for the water totally came back. I was basically freaking out and didn't even know if I would be able to make 2 laps the day of the race. I knew I could, but my nerves were totally taking over. Plus I really am not a fan of swimming with no life jacket. Well the day of the race something new took over, probably excitement, and I totally swam the 300 meters without even stopping! It was so awesome! I even passed a few people.
The bike part went great as well, except for I have no rain proof jacket so I wore some cotton jacket (not the best idea). Even before I finished my first lap I was soaked. I made it through though. Since you go a little faster on the bike the rain felt like hail as it hit you. I was almost wondering if it was snowing it hit so hard. I made it though with not much of a problem except I was freezing.
When I got to transition for the run I decided to shed the drenched jacket and basically run in nothing.... Just kidding. It felt like nothing though. I wore my cute little shorts and top that I swam in. BY the time I got off my bike I literally felt nothing. Running in wet shoes was like running with cement shoes. I didn't know if I would even be able to walk. I started to jog though and eventually I told myself, "Why stop jogging? If you can't feel anything what does it matter!".
It was so awesome getting to the finish line and seeing Matt and Tate waiting for me.
As for my friend, she did awesome. She is an excellent swimmer and was totally passing a ton of people. She is way more athletic then I and she finished with no problem. Well, other then the loss of feeling in her hands and legs as well. Poor girl was so cold her lips were purple the whole drive home. Well I am so glad I found such a great friend,motivator and partner to do triathlons with. Kara your awesome. Can't wait for our next race and lucky us, it's in November...

The Circus

So a while back I took Tate to the circus. He absolutely loved it. His favorite part was the motorcycles in the cage and the tigers. Tate's was also very excited because his cute cousin Raegan and Grandma also joined us. It was so mice to just have mommy and Tate time. He is such a funny little boy.

Catch up continues.....

So we have been so busy lately. After many challenges we got our dang sod finally in. All we have left is the plants, HALLELUJAH!
In the mean time I been doing many art projects. It seems when one comes they all come. Hopefully after this next week I will have those all caught up with, I have left many people waiting on me...... Sorry! So enjoy some of my pics I have been meaning to post.

Girls night out was a success! I always miss my friends after we get together. They are all so fun and so dang cute.




Tate and his friends continued to try to help work in the yard these past weeks. I think they were as helpful as me!



And Tate started Pre-school. he loves it and so far I just love his teacher. She has been awesome.

So our neighborhood has been taken over by bees. Seriously these poor kids have all been stung. Our neighbors poor daughter and Addie both had their first bee sting. It was so sad. And Tate has been stung a marvelous 6 times. Actually it isn't that great except for he is so use to it now that he gets stung cries for a couple of minutes and is ready to go back outside and face the bee's. This year his arm and hand swelled up almost double its size. Well my neighbor and I decided to get the three musketeer's and take their picture. Addie is obviously the happiest since that was not the day she was stung....

My baby is turning 1!

Wow were did the time go. Addie is going to be one on the 5th. She has been such a great addition to our little family. We love her and Tate both so much. Addie is such a silly girl and loves to rock out to music. I will have to catch her on video some time. She is finally crawling and pulling herself up. Soon enough I am sure she will be taking her first steps. I can't wait.
We had to celebrate her birthday early so we invited our families over to our house for some cake and ice cream. Matt and I have the greatest family. Those who could, came to wish Addie a Happy Birthday and spoiled her with gifts and Attention. It was so fun to have everyone there and enjoy each others company.
Once again I got a little carried away with the cake. I love making cakes now that I learned how to make fondant. I still have a lot to work on but was pleased with how it turned out anyways. My sister in-law told me to post the fondant recipe so I will be doing that sometime this week. It is very messy but very easy. I guess depending on how you look at messy being something easy!

The Funny Farm!

Usually Big extended Family Reunions get a bad name and I am one who tends to put them in this category, but this year I was proven wrong. Matt's family has this big reunion every other year and I have to admit each year the family oever it puts forth alot of work and time and they always pull off some pretty fun activities. This year Was Uncle Tom and Aunt Joyce's turn and since I have been part of the Snow family the reunion Tom and Joyce pulled off years ago has been one hot topic. So I have been very excited to be a part of the reunion this year. And let me tell you, they did not let me down. It was awesome! So here is a breif outline. The was supposedly almost 180 people. I am sure that counted the babies and toddlers. So we camped out on their land on the farm. Every morning when we stepped out of our tent we were welcomed by dry cow pies. YuM! Some of our activites included horse back riding, a large water slide, pig chasing (for the kids), Mud football, and my favorite the pig race. So here is some pics and video.

Water Monkey

So I am not one to push my child to do something they are just not ready to do. For example crawling, walking, and potty training. Sometimes kids just know when they are ready more then we do and all of them are on their own schedules. But when it comes to swimming I am a strong believer in teaching them ASAP. Especially if you plan on being around water allot during summer time and if your child is determined to be independent and is good at disappearing at a blink of an eye. It is so hard to teach a 3 year old water safety and I would be much more relaxed if I knew Tate was aware of what needed to be done just in case he fell into water and got out of my sight. So I was determined to find him a great swimming instructor. I learned in group lessons there were just to many kids to focus on and most likely it wouldn't be until next year or later when Tate learned to swim. At a community pool they had to be very easy going and wouldn't push the kids to hard. It was more about fun. So I heard of this lady who did privates in her backyard pool in Pleasant Grove. I admit the first lesson freaked me out a bit and Tate wasn't that happy about it either. They definitely pushed the kids to swim. He was in excellent hands though and they constantly were there for him. Anyway he LOVES his swim lessons now and he can float on his back and can swim on his belly. The belly needs some work because he won't use his arms and won't take a breath, which helps. But I am just so glad he has learned these important water skills. He has really improved. I hope he never has to practice these skills during an emergency but I am so comforted that he can do these things. Plus it makes swimming that much more fun. So if anyone lives near P.G. let me know and I will give you the info. For private swim lessons the cost is VERY REASONABLE and during the winter months they have a bubble so the child can continue lessons as often as you would like so they won't forget what they learned. So enough already I am just so excited for Tate.

Catch up!

So way back around the 4th of July we went to freedom festival. It was a lot of fun. The had all these free crafts and activities for the kids. Tate's favorite was the large Python. I hope this isn't the start of some fascination with snakes. There is no way i will allow a snake to stay in the same house with me. My brother would always bring hope creepy things and keep them as pets. I still remember the snake he caught and when it got out of the cage. I was the one who found it and I also was the one who picked it up and threw it out side. Surprisingly it was never seen again! Sorry Nate if I never told you, I think I did though because I was so happy to get rid of that thing.