This and That!

The Elwell household has been very busy lately. Here is just a little bit of what's been going on:

Brooke got her very own Book of Mormon at church on Sunday. She was very proud to have it. She is also giving a talk in primary this coming up Sunday. Her talk is on "The scriptures teach of Heavenly Father's plan." She amazes me. She is learning so much at church and school. She is starting to read words and it is fun to see her get so excited when she can sound something out.


Kaylee is as crazy as ever. She is forever stealing my camera and taking pictures of herself. She is very in to the way she looks and spends a good amount of the day looking in the mirror. She gets up at 4:45 EVERY morning to get ready for school. (That is 2 hours before she has to leave!) She will soon learn that sleep is precious and you should get every possible minute you can.

I volunteer in Brooke's classroom and this week I got to help with her Valentines Party. It was so much fun to see her in class with her friends. She is very friendly and kind to her class mates and that makes me proud. We frosted sugar cookies, played games and handed out Valentine cards.

(A fun Day but tortuous for me since I am still on my "no sweets" kick, and I love sugar cookies. It has been 54 days and I am going strong. I feel so good. My running has improved and I just over all feel like I have more energy. I am trying to continue it until I get to April 16th-my marathon day, but we will see. I take one day at a time!)

Cierra had a concert on Tuesday of this week and it was fun to see her sing and play her recorder. She was very excited for this day and has been counting down for weeks. She sang"Wet me down in Washington", which is appropriate since we have been seeing alot of rain!:) I'm use to it, Sean on the other hand is going crazy.

Kaylee has been through a few different hair colors in the last few months. She went from her natural color of light brown to red and then to dark brown. It's been fun for her but we aren't going to make a habit out of coloring her hair too often.(This is her with her BFF, Ashley!)

This is the time of year I hate the most in the school year! SCIENCE FAIR!!! I despise the science fair. It's more work for the parents than the kids and it is just not fun. Luckily, I bribed Sean a few time into doing most of the work with the kids. He is awesome and is always happy to help with school work. Me on the other hand, would rather poke my eyes out with dull pencils and that is no exaggeration! Connor's was due a few weeks ago and he did pretty good and Cierra's was due today. We(or should I say Cierra and Sean) finished late last night.

Brooke is still falling asleep everywhere. She will get tired and decide to take a nap. She is sleeping on the chairs of our kitchen table wearing her dress up leopard leotard in this picture. And yes, she still sucks her thumb. Only when she is tired but hopefully she will stop one of these years!

Kaylee is staying busy with homework, Young Women's and her social life. Basketball just got over and she had fun doing that. She even made a few baskets. She is improving.

Connor is always making something with duct tape or paper. He loves to play outside with his friends and he is involved in scouts. He is playing indoor soccer and loves it even though they aren't winning too many. Baseball starts up again so and he can't wait for that.

Cierra is busy playing with friends, reading, keeping up with homework, going to Activity Days and doing her run club. She doesn't complain about going and is able to run 2 miles with only a few little walking breaks. She says she wants to run a marathon when she gets older. I know she can do it, she has my determination.

Brooke is always playing in her room with her barbies, legos or dress up. She loves to jump on the trampoline and loves to play with her friends Isaac and Baylie. She is in a daisy troop and is currently selling girl scout cookies.

I love these kiddos of mine and I am so grateful for them in my life.

Sean is very busy with work. He is working way more than he used to but I guess that's what happens when you get a promotion and have more responsible. He is such a hard worker, he amazes me! He is working with the Young Men in our ward and enjoying that. He goes to the Y often to work out and even goes on a run a few days a week.

As for me, I am ALWAYS busy. I don't know which end is up at time but I wouldn't have it any other way. I work part-time with two elderly people helping them with things at their home. I babysit 3 days a week for Isaac.(brooke's best friend) I am currently playing basketball once a week which is very exhausting and stressful and times but I enjoy it. I am currently training for a marathon that is in April and I feel like I am running constantly. In reality it is only about 40 miles a week. I think that's about it beside running the kids around and taking care of them and occasionally seeing Sean for a date night or two. I am truly blessed!

DC/New York Trip!

What a awesome opportunity I had to make a trip to DC and New York with Anna to visit Michelle. We had 5 days to see a ton of stuff and we managed to see most of what we wanted to. We had amazing girl bonding time and saw sight after sight after sight! We left on February 3rd and came back late on the 7th. The flight there was a lot of fun, Anna and I got in trouble from a flight attendant for being too loud. That started the weekend off right and we didn't stop laughing the whole time. We landed in DC in the evening. Michelle got caught up at work(Do you know who she works for? me neither but it's someone very important and their kids go to school with the Obama kids) So we ventured out into a cab in hopes to find her apartment. We did, but barely. Those taxi drivers are CRAZY. We took many while we were there and I feared for my life every time.

We got to her apartment unloaded and then walked down to Georgetown. It was fun but we were so tired we went back and waited for Michelle. We talked for hours and then hit the hay so we could be ready for our 18 mile adventure run in the morning. Michelle had to work for a little bit so we took that opportunity to do our long run. We ran over the whole town of DC. We saw all the monuments(we went back later to take pictures),the White House, the Supreme Court, Botanical Gardens, air and flight museum and much more that I can't even think of right now. It was the best run I have ever been on. Didn't seem like 18 miles since we were seeing so much. We had one cliff bar to split the whole time and we were starving when we got back.

We walked up to the National Cathedral Church to see it but it was closed so we didn't go inside. It was beautiful on the outside though. Earlier when we were running by we heard children singing from it and it sounded amazing!

The night we went contra dancing. Have you heard of it? Probably not! I hadn't either but it was so much fun. A little scary, but fun. You have a partner and sometimes they get a little into it and the stare you down.(supposedly if you look your partner in the eye, you won't get dizzy-it just freaked me out) This is Michelle and Anna showing off some of the partners they had when we got home.

This was the only slightly rainy day and this is the Supreme Court. When Anna and I were on our run we stopped by and went inside. We were all sweaty and gross but they were letting people come in and look around and we didn't want to miss our chance. We used the bathroom and looked around and continued on.

The White House. Funny, I thought it was much bigger. So many police officers, it was crazy. At one point during our run I rounded a corner and came face to face with a police officer wearing a mask and holding a big machine gun. I screamed.

Went to the Smithsonian and looked at everything there. I loved looking at all the First Ladies dresses. This is Michelle Obamas.

Ruby Red Slippers from the Wizard of OZ:)

This was at the Museum of natural History. Very impressive!

We went to a restaurant called The Hook and it was so delicious. Loved it!

The Korean War memorial

Amazing monuments!

This was us waiting for the bus to go to New York. This is Mike and we got to know him quite well on the 4 hour bus ride. We are friends now and we can't wait for an invitation to his wedding someday!(thank godness for facebook to keep us connected!)

Took a walk in Central Park! It was amazing and beautiful with all the snow on the ground.

I bought some nuts in Central Park from this guy. He was excited to get his picture taken!:)

Went in to FAO Schwartz and played on the big piano. Kids kept getting in our way though. How rude! Didn't they know I have always wanted to do this since I watched the movie Big.

Went in to buy myself a bracelet but then decided not to!(hehe)

Saw Wicked which was the most awesome thing I have ever seen. It was so well done, I loved it. Probably the highlight of the trip.

Went into the M and M store and danced to "Everybody Dance now!"

I hailed a cab and it started to slow down and then sped up right as he got to me. I guess I didn't get in fast enough. Another one came 2 seconds later and we jumped in quickly!

The famous"bull" that I had never heard of. Oh well, still took a picture of it!

Coming home on the bus. We arrived back in DC about 3:30am. It was a busy and fun day. Needless to say we slept all the way home. Well, I guess Anna didn't because she was snapping pictures of us. Don't ask what is on Michelle's head. I'm not quite sure.

World War II memorial.

We also went to the "money store".(where they make all the paper money) I really wanted to do this so I was excited to do the tour. I bought the kids $2 bills. We also went to the Holocaust museum. It was very depressing for me. But I was glad I went.

I'm sure I am missing a few things but that is mostly it. I had a blast and I am so grateful to Michelle for taking us in and showing us the sights. It was great to see her again and we can't wait to visit again. Anna was so much fun and it was nice to hang out without kids and the business of life. I love you girls and I will always remember this trip!

Running

I feel like I need to write about running because it has become my life. The video attached explains me to a T. I never thought I would call myself a runner but it has happened. When I'm not taking care of my family, I am running, thinking about running, washing my running clothes so they will be ready for my next run, looking up ways to run faster, wondering what to eat so that it doesn't affect my running, and going to bed early so I can run the next day.
I must say I'm officially addicted. I admit it is a good addiction, as long as my body can take it but it is still funny to me. I hated running when I was younger. I hated that feeling of being out of breath. I now love to get to that point where I can barely breathe. It is a feeling of accomplishment.
I am in the middle of training for a marathon and look forward to my runs. I ran 16 miles last week and it felt awesome. I wasn't sore the next day and I went faster than I ever had before with that many miles. I have set a goal to run 5 marathons before I turn 40. I have a feeling I will do more than that. I think 2 a year is a good goal, along with a few half marathons added in. Anna, my neighbor and friend has motivated me to run and I hope that I can do that too.
My sister is now running and I know she will get to the point when she wants to run a half marathon. She is doing the 10k in Wenatchee when I do my marathon. I am so proud of her. She has come along way. It is fun to see my great friend Amy running. She has lost over 50 pounds and is running all the time. You both rock and I love that you have the determination to keep going! The sky is the limit!
I'm passionate about running and it feels good. I love just running and feeling the fresh air in my face. I love having so many friends that I can run with. They help and inspire me to keep going!
If you have ever thought you couldn't do something, think again. This was the farthest thing from my mind even 5 years ago. I would have said you were crazy to be running a marathon. Well, I guess the joke is on me and I am the crazy one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw5MHsO-JI8