Because I could not fall asleep

I stayed up watching the White Sox beat the Astros- sorry Shar. Now I have this stupid adrenaline rush at midnight so I made a link box for all of us to use. I have four links but would love more, so email me or post or something and let me know if you have a personal site.

Also there are people out there with news that I have found searching some links on the right, so you might want to go check them out...


Congrats to Mel!

Anyone one heard from Liz Thayer? Has she had her baby? Her site is really cool, when I am rich I am going to have her paint pics of my kids.

We've expanded...

Hi gals,

Just a note to announce the arrival of Caleb Jex Steere, born October 7, 2005 at 8 lbs, 6 oz, and 20 inches. Yeah, he was pretty much huge. So, we're enjoying him, trying to get used to this two kid thing. Halle seems to like him, but has definitely had some moments this week. Thank goodness for moms, mine has been a huge help. Caleb's favorite thing to do is wait until I've just removed his dirty diaper and wiped his little bum, then he either hoses me down or poops all over whatever he's laying on (I've learned quickly not to change him on anything I value--sofa, bed, etc.) Other than that he's a really great baby..doesn't cry nearly as much as Halle did (or does now for that matter!)

We're still in Las Vegas, technically Henderson. Jared is enjoying work as a Sale Manager at the Lake Las Vegas Hyatt Resort. I'm enjoying the weather now that the highs are only high 80's instead of 110-115's. I did my last "jog" the Monday before I delivered Caleb, and it definitely wasn't as fast as Laura or Emily's run, but I was happy to still be moving. So now I'm taking the required 4-6 week hiatus, and we'll see if I have any time for running after that.

Anyway, keep up the posts--it's fun to hear what everyone's up to!

Melanie

Mars Raymond Cheese Castle Update

Here's Bruce on May 19, when he was born. You can see the newborn diaper beneath him could swallow him up. Just the diaper clasp is about the size of his head. And here's another pic of Bruce now - at five months. He went from 3 lb 3 oz to 11 lb, so he's tanked up quite a bit. I ran a 10k on Monday and saw Laura Turner and Jessica Heiner there. Laura is almost sponsored by Reebok. She's in some sort of signing process, so she was still wearing New Balance shoes. Her little sis, Jessica, lives in Boston and runs a bit too. Laura ran just under 34 minutes for this 10k; I was a few minutes back in 39:22. Yippee. Kassi Andersen sent out a mass email; she's on her mission in my home state of Ohio. Her address is 14433 Triskett Rd. Apt. 103 W., Cleveland, OH 44111.

I'm sure she would love a note or something. In other team news, Tia (Babbel) Hejny is working as a public relations associate for a software development firm. She and Seth are living in Lindon. I haven't heard from Anika in a few weeks, but Mooner said she's thinking about moving. Mooner is working on a master's at BYU. Anika, Tia, and I are all rooting for her life-long love, Anthony, to just go on and marry her. The guy loves her and is crazy about her, but Mooner says they're just friends. Sherida called me last week and said her Seattle high school xc team is undefeated. That's all I know on everyone right now.

Man, everyone is getting all nostalgic about our time on the team - way back in the day. I don't miss travelling every weekend and crunching for tests, but I do miss my posse.

Poopy diapers

Hi Girls,

I haven't checked this blog in forever, but I'm so glad I did tonight. Kristen-I loved your last blog. This morning I met up with the team for a long run. I hardly know any of them, but since Jill is still out of town, I was desperate for a running partner. Just listening to them chat and get so excited over boys, what they did last night, etc made me miss the days when we were all on the team. I definitely miss having my girls around to talk about everything under the sun.
Some days when I'm changing diapers and wiping snot off of Soren's nose I wish for one of you guys to drop by and beg me to go on a run for just a little while.
Life is good. I guess I should do a quick update. Soren Vance was born on April 27, 2005. I don't think it was as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I strongly believe in epidurals. He's such a cute little guy and so full of energy that I'm exhausted by the end of every day.
I'm working just two days a week for a few hours. Pete is still in law school, teaching American Heritage, working in a small claims court, and taking care of Soren while I work. Life is pretty crazy, but it's good. We love having Soren. He definitely makes our day a lot brighter (and a lot more exhausting).
We spent the summer in Colorado while Pete worked. We actually moved when Soren was 3 days old-not something I would recommend to anyone in the right mind.
I chickened out on the marathon. Maybe someday if someone wants to live close by and do those really boring long runs with me, I may reconsider.
Since Kristen and Nicole mentioned good books, I'll recommend a few. I actually ended up reading 14 books this last summer. (newborns sleep a lot). I loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...I just re-read Peace Like a River. I think it's one of my favorites. So Big is another good one. Just in case people need some good reading.
I love reading the blog and seeing how you guys are doing. If any of you are ever in Provo, look me up. I would love to see you. Nicole-we better run while you're here!!!

Missing you all

Kristen, what a nice post. You are a wonderful lady and we all wish we were your neighbor so we could take part in your life. I am sitting at the computer getting ahead for next weeks nursery lesson "I can be kind to animals." The nice thing about nursery is that as long as you have plenty of pictures, your lesson will go well. I had to do a lesson on forgiveness a few weeks back and that definitely was the most tricky I have done. Teaching little 1 1/2 years old who can't barely talk is hard but the three year olds are so fun.

Since it is conference weekend I have been missing BYU and Utah. Hyrum figured out how to play KBYU on the internet though so now at least we can watch it at home like we used to. For any of you in the area, I am hoping to come out at the end of this month to Utah, maybe the 22nd through the 26th so an early Monday morning run would be fun.

Kristen, your cooking classes sound like a lot of fun. That is a hobby that I wish I would develop. I have been taking a Spanish class though and it is so fun. Hyrum is taking a night class at MIT on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I started this class on Thursday nights. It is really fun. I am picking it up pretty quickly because of my Portuguese background. The nice thing about it is that my work is paying for it since I have so many Spanish speaking patients that don't speak any English. My patients are pretty good about listening to my poor Spanish so I get a lot of chances to practice and there are several staff members who help me out too.

If you are interested in more books about the middle east my two favorites are Blood Brothers that gives you a little perspective on the Palestinian side of the Israel issue. I am also just finishing up the book "Leap of Faith" by Queen Noor of Jordan. If you don't know her story, she was born in the US and later married the King of Jordan. Her life is really interesting and it really provides a lot of history as well to the area.

Well, please keep in touch everybody. I miss you all like crazy. Come to Boston and visit. Leaf peeping is about to start and the fall in New England is really the time to come and see. Plus, maybe you could commemorate Joseph Smith's 200th birthday by coming to his birth place, Sharon Vermont, a measly 3 hour drive from Boston.

Love to you all,
Nicole