Monday, December 10, 2012

November MauldenNews 2012

We had a good November. Lots to be grateful for.

The Halloween photo didn't make into last month's news, so I'll include it here. The cat and Red Power Ranger did well for themselves and traded happily for a half hour or so afterward. A couple days later I offered to buy their candy back since they had so much and Sam just got his first cavity. Alle sold me quite a bit. I took it to work and shared it around, but alas, I also ate some. Hard to resist Twix and M&Ms.



The school had a Social Studies Fair called Night at the Living Museum in which they dressed up as historical characters. Sam was a race car driver and mechanic (not historical, but kindergartners get more slack). Alle did a great job as Betsy Ross.



We drove to Reno for Thanksgiving and enjoyed a very nice weekend with Mom and Dad and the Billharz crew. Took advantage of the nice weather (sunny! 60s!) to walk with Uncle Pete, Thomas, and Truckee. (Our kids were off chasing geese and thus not in this picture.)



And apparently we had some silly mustaches at some point.



Grateful for all of the people who make my life so interesting and colorful.

See you in December!

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

September-October MauldenNews

I love the beauty this time of year. I managed to throw off my work- and mommy-chains for a couple glorious afternoons. What's the good of living here if I can't get away to the mountains once in a while?




I finished my third marathon in September, but the planned location (Salmon, ID) was very smoky from wildfires so I elected to do my own marathon on a road/trail loop here in Utah. It went great, but I didn't get a medal. I hope to get to Salmon next year since my race entry fee is still good - and the medals (a salmon for the full, trout for the half) would complement my moose and mountain medals.

The kids and I also finished our first "family marathon" - 26.2 cumulative miles walked over about 6 weeks this fall. I was very proud of them! We took them out to celebrate. Alle also said she wanted to stay up "all night" to celebrate. We said sure, go ahead. She read books in her room until about 9-something and then she was gone for the night.

We enjoyed a day at the Aviary.







 Had a GREAT time with friends at the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco. At the finish we got Tiffany necklaces as medals, handed out by firefighters in tuxedos. Plus Ghirardelli chocolate! Can't beat that.





Last but not least - school portraits happened again. I will treasure these as the year of the lost tooth and the forehead notch from Sam's do-it-yourself haircut.


Trick-or-treating tonight! Stay safe and warm, everyone.

Peace

Sarah

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

MauldenNews - July/August 2012

Here we are again. Summer is almost over and we are already back to school. Sam - my baby- started kindergarten.

 It might look as if Papa had to drag him in, but no. They're just having fun.
 Sam with his teacher. He's not crying, just bashful about having his picture taken. Really!



Alle declined to be photographed on her first day of second grade, but this morning she gave me a most beautiful pose:

She was proud of the way she fixed her hair. :-)

The year started a little bit rough around the edges as both of them adjusted back to the routine. Sam was sent to the principal's office within the first week for losing his temper and disobeying the teacher. Luckily this past week was better and we just hope things go well. We are really grateful for Sam's small class size (12) and for the loving and patient people at this school.

Backing up a bit...Labor Day weekend was spent with church friends at our all church camp in the mountains. Loved it...sorry I didn't take any pictures, (totally loafing and neglecting my mom-role) but it was fun and relaxing. :-) We had a huge thunderstorm and the kids were excited to get to really use their umbrellas (hard rain and umbrellas are kind of a novelty in Utah). Sam told everyone he got to sleep "on the top shelf" (top bunk). Alle completed a challenging hike to the top of a mountain with me and friends. This girl is not afraid of heights!


Speaking of hiking, we also made it up to Cecret Lake (that is the correct spelling, I'm afraid) for the kids' first time. 



 Detour from the trail - this log was made for balancing on!

 Paintbrushes in bloom.

 Alle being a mountain goat.



Cecret Lake.

We also celebrated Alle's 8th birthday. Her birthday wish list included

  • scotch tape 
  • wax paper 
  • a Nook 
  • a baby squid
  • wrapping paper
  • Skittles
  • shaving cream
and a few other odds and ends. She did not get the baby squid, but did not seem too disappointed. The look on her friends' faces when she unwrapped the wax paper was priceless. She was delighted and has used it to make several creations, as well as to display her stickers which she can then peel off and re-use. 

One of her friends asked why she wanted shaving cream, and Alle told her it's fun to play with in the bathtub. She used the entire can of shaving cream in one super-fun bath and declared it "the most FUN bath I ever had!" I heard later from the friend's mom that she had also requested shaving cream for the bathtub and had a very giggly bath herself. :-) 

The party would not have been complete without a seahorse pinata...





(at this point, Alle noticed me with the camera and wouldn't let me take anymore, but we did sing to her and enjoyed her excellent taste in birthday cake: cheesecake with raspberry topping.)

Other news...I finished my third marathon and it was fantastic! I got lucky with the weather and took the pace slower than my first two. Guess what-- it hurt less at the end. I ran the last mile without walk breaks and finished strong. Happy!

Last but not least, on going to bed a few nights ago I noticed a pair of toenail scissors and a bunch of short black hairs on my bathroom counter. I deduced that Sam had cut his hair and was very curious to know what it looked like, but since he was asleep I had to wait until morning to find out. It wasn't disastrous, but he did make a notch in the front. You can look for it in his school pictures coming up next week. 

Hope all is well with everyone. 

With Love,
Sarah





Wednesday, June 20, 2012

MauldenNews May-June 2012

News bites from May and June...


Alle finished first grade and Sam graduated from preschool. His teacher is retiring after 30+ years (hopefully not because Sam pushed her over the edge???)  Alle managed to earn her "Master's Certificate" in reading just one day prior to the end of school. (Luckily I remembered to e-mail those last 85 reading minutes on time - we scored a free ice cream cone!) She is really a fantastic reader and we're so very proud of her. She likes reading chapter books to me, and I am reading the Little House books to her. We also read the Indian in the Cupboard and watched the movie together. It's fun discovering "new" (old) children's books and revisiting some of my favorites. The kids also finished another round of swimming lessons and are very proficient little fishies in the water. We got them scooters so now they have some wheels that fit in our car for rides to the park.


We greatly enjoyed a visit over Memorial Day weekend with mom, dad, and Tim. Tim inspired us with tales of geocaching; not having a GPS, we tried letterboxing for the first time (see AtlasQuest.com) and it was a great success - we found 3 of 4 boxes and had a great time exploring Memory Grove Park. 


Training with the Salt Lake Galloway group is going well and I'm LOVING it! My latest race was a 10K Wounded Warrior run benefiting those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two of our group members had lost their sons there so it was an especially meaningful run. I also must brag about hitting a new PR in my mile time - 8:14. Some people run a 4-minute mile, but I'd be thrilled to run one in 8!   I'm looking forward to the Timpanogos Half Marathon in July and the Nike Women's Half in San Francisco in October. 






Alle kindly made this sign warning passersby about the potential for bees in our yard.


We had a fantastic week with family in the vicinity of the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. This was not our cabin, but ours was similar. I loved the views on my daily run-walk workouts. The terrain was steep and challenging but did not stop me. :-)



Rafting the lower Pigeon River - class 2 rapids were just perfect for us. 



A 2.5-mile round-trip hike to Grotto Falls in Smoky  Mountains National Park. It was green and cool and beautiful. No bears, but we saw lots of cool insects and Alle made friends with a snail. I saw something like a little salamander or newt but it quickly retreated under a rock.








The Clan.



The last morning there, Sam got up before anyone else, got cookies from the kitchen (of course!) and while climbing up to turn on cartoons (?) fell against a sharp table edge and sliced his ear open. Here is the wound bathing in topical anesthetic...




The doctors, PA, nurses and Child Life specialists were very kind. Sam bravely played games on an iPad while getting 10 stitches. "5-0 vicryl please."



Recovering from an exhausting battle with Versed withdrawal. The remainder  of the dino kerlix made for good entertainment on the way home.



I love the Knoxville airport. The waterfall is soothing and you get to relax in the rocking chairs while awaiting your plane. 




That's all for now. Shalom...

Monday, April 30, 2012

MauldenNews April 2012

This April was warmer than usual and quite beautiful, with many blue-sky days and flowers. We've even had some warm evenings. 

I really liked this picture by my friend Tammy.


Had a WONDERFUL weekend with 2 of my sisters...here we are in order, by age and inversely by height...aren't we gorgeous???






We went to an Easter egg hunt at Sugarhouse Park with friends...love the expressions here...





and we made our own colorful eggs with good old Pabst tablets and vinegar. 



Sam turned SIX with a swimming pool party...





and then we had 2 totally awesome weeks with Nana (Bryan's mom). She is wonderful beyond words. 



Finally...even though April may be over...as you can see...

...the fun never stops around here.

See you next month! Love you all,
Sarah