4 Years

On March 11, Phil and I celebrated 4 wonderful years of marriage! It is hard for us to think that we've been married already for 4 years. Yet, at the same time, it seems like, only 4 years?

I've truly enjoyed my life but I don't think I have ever been so happy as I have been these last few years. I didn't know that being married to my best friend could ever be so fun. I thought I'd write down a few things that I absolutely love about Phil.
1) He is so thoughtful. He is always asking before he leaves the house in the morning if there is anything he can do for me throughout the day. He helps me at home a lot. Last night I had to go to mutual and phil was supposed to put James to bed and then study. Instead, I came home to a clean kitchen (and a child that was soundly sleeping).
2) He makes me laugh...all the time. Most people don't know the "weird" side of phil which is truly unfortunate. It is so fun to have someone to laugh with...even when it is kind of weird!




(This is a video we took with our new camera a year ago. It gives you a little insight into the "secret/weird" Phil.)

3) He is smart. And not only that, he loves to learn. I love that he loves school!

4) He RARELY gets upset or offended. What a quality! I'm trying to be more and more like that but it is a work in progress which leads me to the next quality...

5) He is patient. He deals with my madness!...and clutteryness, and quirks, and when I'm frustrated, etc. When I do get upset, he knows how to deal with me and he patiently waits for me to calm down.

6) He loves to be a dad. It is so fun to watch him with James. When I'm getting frustrated in the evening when I'm trying to make dinner and James just needs my attention, Phil will get home, take James, and play, play, play until James is just laughing his heart out! He loves his little boy!

7) He loves me, appreciates me, and values my opinion. This really means a lot to me. It is truly wonderful to be loved.

Phil is a wonderful example to me and I appreciate him so much. I love him and look forward to many more wonderful years ahead!


To journal what we did for our anniversary:

Phil took off school on the 11th (due to my blunder in double planning the weekend). We drove down to Tucson on Wednesday night and stayed with Brian and Janette (thank you so much for the accomodations!). The next morning we drove to the Desert Museum and spent all morning and the early afternoon there. The weather was beautiful (even a little on the chilly side) and we had such a wonderful time. We went to the free flight demonstration and also to a lecture on desert animals which we really enjoyed. It was so nice to be together in the beautiful desert and to forget about our everyday responsibilities (besides being parents as James had come with us). We then drove home that afternoon, enjoying our time in the car and returned to our busy life here at home. And for some pictures:

Ragnar Relay

I participated in the Ragnar Relay this past weekend with some friends that I knew from Tucson. It was so much fun! It was one of those experiences which in the middle of it, you are thinking "why did I do this again?" but was very rewarding afterwards. Here is my account followed by most of the pictures taken with my camera.

My team consisted of 12 people. Van #1 was: Tyler and Becky Goodrich, Camry Tucker, Dani Clark, Sam Jarvis (Spencer's brother), and Chad Ensign. Van #2: Spencer and Sharon Jarvis, Camille Degomez, Ilkka Aura (Eevi's dad), Eevi Grossarth, and me. Van #1 left early Friday morning to get to the start line in Prescott and I met my van around 7:30. We drove up to the start line to see our team begin the long journey! Because our van didn't have to begin our run for a few hours, we stopped in downtown Prescott to eat lunch in a park and then walked around town for a little bit. We then drove to exchange 6 to meet our team and begin our run. We originally were assigned a set run (I was runner 11) so although my team was just beginning and I was anticipating and excited to do my run, I didn't run until a few hours after my van started. Throughout the race we would drive half way through a leg to cheer on our current runner and then drive on to the next exchange point for the hand off. My first run which was 8.5 miles didn't start until 6:45pm on Friday which was disappointing since it was getting dark and I missed the gorgeous desert view during my run. It was also on a dirt road which the darkness didn't help. My runs just didn't "feel good" like I was hoping but I did okay and was able to run faster than my predicted 10 minute mile pace.

After our my van's first leg was completed we drove to Exchange 18 to await our teams arrival so we could start leg 2. While waiting we could pay $2 to go into an elementary school to sleep if we wanted. It was well worth the money. Although I didn't sleep well or very much, it was just nice to have a place where we could be warm, lie down and rest, and have real bathrooms and sinks to use. Unfortunately, the race took an unexpected turn at this point. Ahead of us in the race a boy was hit by a car which put a delay and a damper to the excitement of the race. Because of this, they re-routed us to exchange 24 to continue from there. That took away my van's second leg which was disappointing. I think that the relay administrators just wanted to get the race over with and so they became a little more lax which was actually nice. All of our team wanted to have an opportunity to run 3 times so we just mixed it up completely. Because of this we doubled up on some of the legs and I ended up running legs 11, 28, and 31 which totaled to about 15 miles.

My favorite leg was my last. I was actually dreading it because my quads were already so sore and it was 3.7 miles in Fountain hills which included 2 really steep hills. As I was running 5 minutes into the race, a very tall man had been keeping about the same pace as me so I started to talk with him. We stayed with each other for the rest of the leg which totally helped me complete it without hating it! In fact, I even liked it. His name was Jim and he saved me! It was really rewarding.

Overall, and looking back, it was tons of fun and completely exhausting (especially since we didn't get hardly any sleep). Thanks to my fellow teammates, our van drivers (Becky and Spencer's dads- couldn't have done it without them!), my mom and dad for watching James during the race, and to Phil for supporting me through all the training. What an experience! If an opportunity to run a relay were to arise again in the future, I think I would definitely consider.

Our team right before the race started

Tyler off to a good start

Van #2 at starting line with Ragnar shirts

Lunch in Prescott

Ilkka's first(and tough) leg with Eevi giving water

Right before my first leg

Before my leg with Spencer, Sharon and Ilkka

Eevi before her first leg

Handing off to Eevi




Eevi glad to be done with leg one

Before leg 2 with Becky, Dani, Camille, and Camry

Camille and Eevi

Running with Jim on my last leg

Glad to be done with my portion! Jim in background with his "sumo wrestler" teammate!

Ilkka posing in front of beautiful desert!

Spencer completing last leg and being welcomed by teammates!

Ilkka handing off to Sharon

Sharon handing off to Camille

Camille off to a good start

Eevi anxiously awaiting her last leg

And Eevi is off! We are almost there!

Eevi coming in to the finish line

Most of our team at finish line! Congrats to everyone! A job well done!