I ran 12 miles today.

That's all I wanted to say.  Cause I'm a pretty big wimp.  So 12 miles is a lot for me. And I've never done that before.  Well not all at one time anyway.  And that's all.

White Sands

Man I love Saturdays.  Especially Saturdays when we just get to hang out and do something fun.  So we headed out to one of our favorite places out here.  White Sands. 

It's easy to see why we love this place. 

And the weather was perfect this Saturday.  Not too hot, not too windy.  

And the fact that Dad plays like a kid doesn't hurt either. 

It almost makes the endless amounts of sand in the van, house, bathtub, and washing machine worth it. 

 Ok fine.  We'll go back.  Probably next month.  Until next time...............

The Whettens and the not bummer summer

The only bummer about summer is that it is over.................and here we are..........back at school. BOO! (1st, 3rd and 4th grade)

But BEFORE that, we had a very busy/fun summer.

In a nutshell:

Sienna turned one:

Macy turned 3:

Who knew that a 3 year old would be afraid of Rapunzel hair that lights up?????

Hailey was baptized in Utah with her cousin Jamison:

How nice was it that the Farnes drove all the way down to the baptism to have to turn right around and go back. Thank you Farnes!

We went to the Whetten Family reunion in Bear Lake.

And many many more things that aren't pictured............because some forgot to take pictures.................that person will remain nameless (ME!)

Not pictured:
2 trips to Lagoon
Planet Play
The Mayan
Hollywood Connection
A couple of birthday parties
Bowling
The Lemonade stand
Numerous family parties/dinners
The nasty Diet Shasta Rootbeer drinking game
Miniture golfing
Cousin sleepover
Swimming
Trips to the park
Tons of cousin time
"Spy school"
"A Taste of the Past" theater night
Wow, what did I forget????

Man I love summer!!!!!

ONE

Really? Has it been a year since this................

Wow. That went fast. Can't say I'd like to rewind. Nosiree. I'm plenty glad to be on this side.

You see.....this here Whetten clan has turned a corner.

No more being sick for 9 months. No more nursing. No more painful recoveries.

No more baby blues.......and no more worrying about the next one getting here safely. We are just enjoying the little one. The 6th one sure is a lot of fun. The older 5 love everything she does.

For instance, I didn't know that sitting in the little lion camping chair could be so entertaining. It sure kept Garrison, Hailey, Jackson and Macy entertained for a while. Maybe I ought to try sitting in this chair when I need everyone to pay attention to what I am saying.

And there is nothing like a sleeping baby.......especially when she falls asleep in her high chair.....holding her bottle straight out.

So the next question is "What will it be like to have a toddler without a brand new baby?????" I don't personally know. But I'm about to find out. =)

Happy First Birthday Sienna! And Happy First Birthday to the Mama too!

Back it up..............

I finally got SOME of the pictures off of my memory card that is messed up. I can't get anything from our long trip from Illinois to west Texas. Sad! These pictures are some of the last. These are from our house hunting trip in February. This is where we spent the majority of our trip.

It's a wonder we found a house at all.

WHY????

You KNOW why!
Actually I really don't know why. Why won't blogger let me get rid of these huge spaces in my posts? I've tried everything I can think of numerous times. Blogger is really giving me fits as of late!

Chicago, Chicago, Chicago

All roads lead to Chicago. At least that is what it seems like lately. Everywhere I turn there is something about Chicago. I turned on the news.....Chicago (Thanks Blago!). I turned on a movie..........its in Chicago. My kids turned on some dumb Disney show.......Chicago. Two of my friends are going on vacation this week and where are they going??? You guessed it Chicago.

So I decided to finish a project that I've been working on FOREVER. Again.....Chicago. My sis sent me some pictures of Chicago in the 1920's. They are awesome! The problem is that I wanted them "just so" and I was having a hard time figuring out exactly what I was going to do to make that happen. For the record, photo texture rocks!

I finally finished my "Chicago wall" yesterday. Doubt these pictures will do it justice.

The top is our family name spelled out with photos of objects from downtown Chicago.

And the rest are pictures of Chicago from the 1920's. Even though the pictures are old I can still recognize Chicago. And I can't lie, it makes me a little homesick.

So is Chicago really the center of the universe or am I just feeling a tad homesick? Probably a little bit of both. But can ya blame me? I left behind the most fantastic ward EVER. Seriously. I mean it! Here are the ladies at my goodbye dinner. Sorry about the surprise pictures ladies. Just too hard to say goodbye. sniff sniff. And then there are my Young Women. Cutest, nicest, smartest, girls ever. Really. They are.

So I felt a little nostalgia, and I went with it for a few minutes.

Then for some reason I checked the weather in Chicago. Cold and rainy. So I grabbed my new lawn chair and my book and went out and sat in the sun for a few minutes.

Wow. The sun sure can cure a lot of ailments.