HobbleCreek Half 2010

neal my dad, kim and kaylee ran the hobble creek half marathon this year. i was SOOO jealous to not be running with them. you would think (and hope) that this jealously would be a motivation for me to get my butt running again but alas that has not happened yet. hopefully soon ;) anyways, they all did great. neal's goal was to do it in 2 hours or less and he did it in one hour fifty seven minutes! that is a GREAT time. my best time is 2:08---i want and NEED to beat the two hour mark and neal was able to do it his FIRST time! it was fun to be at the finish line waiting rather then running thru it! maybe next year i will be ready to run again, one can hope right?! my dad, kim and kaylee all did great too! way to go--13.1 miles is a L.O.N.G distance!

Vacations...

we took a bunch of little mini-vacations this year. big pregnant moms and newborns don't make for good travel times, so we stuck around the state. in august we went to bryce canyon with neal's family and in september we went to lake powell with my fam. we also took the camper out a few times and just went camping around the state. it was fun and makes me not so regrettful of purchasing a trailer three years ago and using it less than a dozen times since. oh well, two babies in two years will do that to your travel schedule. here are a few pics to document our summer travels.

It's time to come out of the closet...

We (Neal and I) are leaving for CANCUN tomorrow! Can't wait to get out of this nasty weather. When we return, I am going to be making my blog private. Sooooo, if you would like to still view our blog, please leave me your email address...EVEN if you are a blurker, I myself am a blurker and I am totally fine granting access to blurkers, I just want to know WHO is looking at my blog, hence why I am going private. Hope you all have a lovely week and I'll see you when we return...

Public Service Announcement...

Soooo, when we bought this house, there was a major misunderstanding with the stove. Suffice it to say, I didn't want their old nasty stove, but apparently it was listed as being "included" on the MLS and we paid them what they were asking for the house and then some, so legally, they either had to "buy" the stove from us or leave it. They left it. Since then, I have been conveting other, beautiful new stoves, so much so that I haven't really taken the time to properly care for and maintain this stove.

This is strange in that I am a total CLEAN FREAK. Obsessively so, but when it has come to this stove, I just felt bitter. Anyways, last week, I'd had enough. I bought some "EASY OFF" industrial strength stuff and went to work...well, let me let these pictures speak for themselves...I followed all the instructions. I wore those cute plastic yellow gloves that I remember my mom wearing when she'd clean the toilets, I was very careful to not get any on my skin etc. As I was cleaning out the gunk, Boe spilled his milk (ofcourse he did, this is a multipletimesadayoccurance at our house :) and I took the gloves off to clean up the milk. When I was finished, I put them back on.

APPARENTLY a small speck of cleaner made it's way on the INSIDE of my glove...this is the result...I am not kidding. Holy cow people, this stuff BURNED off the first layer of my skin AND the worst thing about it is that I didn't EVEN feel it until it was already burning through the skin. It felt like I had just gotten bit by a mesquito of something. CRAZY!
I called Poison Control and they told me that they have tried for years to get this stuff taken off the market. She told me that if she were me and had small children in her home, she'd THROW the stuff away and only buy it when needed. She also said that if this crap is ingested, it is EXTREMELY serious and can and has in fact been lethal. LETHAL. So, I am doing just that. It's not worth $4 to keep this stuff in my house. Bye Bye Easy Off.
The one bright spot of the event is that my oven looks BRAND NEW! I may even be able to stand it for a bit longer until I can get my beautiful stainless steel DOUBLE OVEN that I am drooling over :)

Going Private...

I have thought about this LONG and HARD...I am going to be making my blog private on April 1st. If you would like to still view it send me your email address. It just freaks me out that anyone can google my name and my blog pulls up w/my kids names, birthdays, the city we live in etc. Just too much information out there. I only want the people I approve to be able to see into the lives of me and my family. Soooo, I am sorry for the hassle, but let me know if you'd like an invite. You can either leave a message here or email me at amgatherum29@gmail.com. Thanks!

Catching up and Prayers for Austin...

Whew!!! It's been forever. I am getting bad at updating my blog. We are FINALLY getting over lots of sickness that we have been sharing between us! Luckily, it's been such nice weather that I have been spending a lot of time outside with the kiddos and working on our yard. The people we bought our house from a year and a half ago let the back yard go pretty bad and it has taken us all of last year and into this year to get it looking better. We are doing some major cement work and it's going to look awesome, IF it ever gets done! Neal has been working really hard on the inside and outside and come May 6th, we will have all of our current inside projects wrapped up!!! Then we get started on the continuing list that seems to keep on growing and never seems to get smaller! Such is the life of home ownership I suppose.

On a sad note, our little nephew Austin was recently diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy. He is seven years old and has had a rough go at it since he was little. His parents have been trying to get a firm diagnosis for him for the last little while and were finally able to pinpoint what the problem was. MD is a terminal, genetic disease passed on from mother to son. The similarities of it to the disease my little brother passed away from are eerily alike. It definitely wasn't the news we wanted to hear, but we believe in the prayers and strength of many and I would ask each of you to keep him and his family in your prayers over the next few weeks as he undergoes lots of scary tests and procedures.

Playing Catch-Up...

Wow!!! It has been a while. I feel as though I have been walking around in the clouds or something. I have never felt more overwhelmed, busy, irritable, tired, grumpy and unorganized as I have the last few weeks. But, after a great, relaxing vacation, I am back, I think ;) So, to get back into things, I first need to post about our Easter Holiday.

We at the Gatherum house recently purchased a new camper trailer. We are so excited and can't wait to put it to good use. Because of the aforementioned business that has been our lives lately, we haven't had the chance to put it to use so we had a sleepover on our R.V. pad the Friday before Easter which was fun, sort-of! On Easter Saturday we went to the Riverton City Easter Egg hunt which lasted all of 30 seconds and then that evening we dyed Easter Eggs and decorated Sugar Cookies with our good friends the Gee family.

The Easter Bunny visited us that night and left 101 Dalmatians and all of the necessary supplies for two little boys who are starting to play baseball and t-ball! The kids were really excited and that in turn made Neal and I feel better about how much money we have had to invest in this sport thus far! We then went to church and had Easter Dinner at my Dad and Kim's house.

It was a great weekend and holiday, one whose true meaning is often overshadowed by the commercial side of Easter, though I have to admit I do enjoy that aspect of the holiday as well. However, as the years progress and I acquire more wisdom and experience in my life, I am so thankful for the birth, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Though it should hit home for each of us, I personally cling to the fact and the hope that we will be reunited with those we have lost and that all things can be made right and whole. Hope your Easter Holiday was wonderful!

Politics...

So I know this is a hot-topic-not trying to ruffle any feathers-but I have a lot on my mind and need an outlet to sort it all out. Recently I was looking up pictures of 20 week old babies, just curious to see what my baby looked like. I found a lot more than I bargained for. I was taken to a whole bunch of anti-abortion sites and what I saw on some of these sites was astounding to me. I try really hard to be open-minded and tolerant. I have thus far refused to register as either a democrat OR a republican and I have always tried to educate myself on the candidates and vote for who I believe to be the best person for the job. I believe that both parties have good and bad attributes to them and I truthfully feel that our country would be better served if we could take all of the positives from both parties and incorporate them into how the country is run. Anyways, back to abortion. Have any of you ever heard of partial birth abortion? I had heard the term but have never really researched it until now. Wow. To think that this sort of thing is still going on in this country appalls me. I realize that women have rights, I am a woman and I take those rights very seriously and I don't want someone telling me what I can and cannot do, but what about the rights of my 21 week old fetus who is a living, breathing and very much-ALIVE human being? This little baby inside of me can hear, see, move, has a very real and pronounced heart beat, can feel pain and reacts to the sound of mine and Neal's voices. Does it not have any rights? So as I was absorbed in these various web sites, it came to my attention that several of the candidates running for the presidency, actually voted AGAINST outlawing partial birth abortion. What? Whether one is a democrat or a republican or an independent or a member of the green party or WHATEVER, isn't there a basic sense of humanity and decency that should be followed? Obviously you know my view point on this subject. I'd like to hear yours.

Random Ramblings...

So yesterday my kids had dentist appointments. I loaded them up and we made the trek to see our good friend Dr. Vargo. Both of my kids were awesome, let them do the cleaning, x-rays, fluoride, the whole nine yards-no cavities which is also a plus. As we were leaving, Boe somehow managed to run straight into the corner of the big, HEAVY glass door, resulting in a gash above his eyebrow. I didn't even notice it at first, Boe falls and runs into things CONSTANTLY-the child is just klutzy! But then all of a sudden he started screaming that there was "Lot's of BLOOD" and that he "Hates Bleeding." I looked back and sure enough, there was blood running down his face. After we all calmed down I could see that it wasn't very long, but it was still a good size gash. I made the executive decision to watch it and see if I needed to take him in. Keep in mind that this child has had 5 sets of stitches and he's only 3!

After averting crisis, we made our way over to McDonalds so the kids could cash in on my bribe to them that if they were good, we could go out to lunch. We walked into the restaurant and first thing Boe rammed his head into the counter. (I think I need to get his eyes checked :) Then as I was taking the food back to the booth, he grabbed his drink and blue powerade spilled ALL over the floor, him and me-nice. We finally made it to our seats, sat down and within 30 seconds, Gage dumped his entire lunch onto the floor. At this point, I really just wanted to go home and crawl back into bed. Let' s just call the day a loss and start over eh?

After finishing lunch without any other major disasters, we made our way into the restroom to wash faces and hands. Boe was really tired so I was holding him, balancing my purse (which is huge) and trying to direct Gage in his hand washing. There was the NICEST lady in the bathroom with us. She had a bag of 3 cookies that she set on top of the hand dryer. As Gage went to use it, he bumped it and the cookies went flying onto the nasty McDonalds bathroom floor. I felt awful and was blubbering and apologizing left and right. I told her I'd go get her some more. She grabbed my arm and told me that she'd been where I was and understood and to have a great day, and left. I was so grateful that she was so kind. Just a simple gesture, but it made my whole day. She could have been mad about her ruined cookies, she could have said that I was the most disorganized, harried and un-put-together mom on the planet (which I am) she could have asked me WHY in the WORLD I was continuing to multiply and replenish the earth :) instead she was kind and I am thankful for that. A simple story but it made a difference to me. Thank heaven's for nice people in the McDonald's restroom!

You've GOTTA read this...

As many of you know, I love to read. I will try anything-except scifi-I just finished this gem of a book and if you haven't already, go get it and read it! It is a great book, a really easy read and completely unbelievable. It made me so grateful for modern luxuries and I realized how much I take for granted. Honestly, one of the best books I have read in a long time!

I HATE WINDEX

Okay, I have tried EVERY product under the sun to try to ensure that my mirrors and windows are not streaked and I can't find ANYTHING that works. So, I am coming to all of you, my blogging friends and buddies and asking you, what in the world do you use that works? Any suggestions would be wonderful...

The Battle of The BULGE...

So Neal took me to the Ballet last night for a surprise night out. I love the Ballet. The music, the costumes, the graceful lines of the dancers, all of it. We had excellent seats and I was totally consumed by the beauty of it all, except for one bulging problem. Now, I don't mean to be crude or rude or offensive and I have gone to the ballet dozens of times so I should be immune to it, but for some reason last night, I could not get over it. The BULGE. The big, conspicuous BULGE. You ALL know what I am talking about. If I didn't know better, I would think that the tights are SUPPOSED to accentuate it. The dancers tops I swear are CUT to land just above it thus making it all the more noticeable. I really was completely distracted by it. I can't believe that I am admitting this to all of you, but I just wanted to get it out there. Does it make me a dirty, perverted girl? I don't know, I don't think so, I feel that it is something that is not in my control. Something that is just BAM there, following me around the entire performance. Just as I would start to lean back and enjoy, another AMAZING dancer would enter the stage with even TIGHTER tights and I would be back where I started. So, after much deliberation and yes, discussion with Neal, I am still just as puzzled as I was from the start. I don't understand it, don't get it and I really REALLY wish that with all the technology and knowledge that we have today that someone, SOMEWHERE could figure out a way to eliminate this problem. That being said, it was a great night and I loved the performance!