Every letter makes a sound!

My girls LOVE this video. (Did I just say video? What is a video? I don't think those even exist anymore. LOL) In case the picture is too small, it's the Leap Frog DVD called "Letter Factory." It's a great teaching tool for little ones to learn the letters of the alphabet and their sounds.

Hannah and Brooklyn have watched this about a gazillion times, but they are learning so much from it. They can usually tell you the sound that every letter of the alphabet makes. And, now they're even starting to recognize the letters and point them out. Tonight, Greg had a shirt on that says "Maine" on it. Hannah pointed to the letter "A" and said, "The A says aah." I am totally blown away by what sponges young kids are. You go to teach them something new and they soak it up like crazy. If only our brains would work so well as adults. (hehehehe) Because of their new-found interest in the alphabet, I went and bought some alphabet posters to put on the walls of their playroom so we can start helping them recognize all the letters better.

Oh, on another note, my girls really do love each other. Tonight, Brooklyn went over to Hannah and said, "I love you!" and gave her a big old hug. Aw, how sweet! Then they wrestled around on the ground and giggled at each other. I love to watch the interaction and friendship between the two of them. Wherever one goes, the other is sure to follow. Most of the time when one of them asks for a snack, she asks for a snack for her sister, too. They really look out for each other.

I'll post later on about Lotoja. We had a good weekend up in Jackson. Let me just say that I'm so proud of Greg for finishing the 206-mile bike ride for the second year in a row. What a champ!

A rainy day 5K

Well, this is about what we looked like running the Hooper 5K yesterday. (All except for the fact that I'm not a middle-aged balding man.) :)

So, the 5K was set to start at 8 AM. When we got there around 7:30, the weather was pretty clear. I thought that we would be just fine. The weather stayed clear for the start of the race. Yay!!

Well, I started off pretty well. I did my first mile in 8 minutes, so I was ahead of schedule. About halfway through the race, I was running against a fierce head wind, which I hated. About 2/3 through the race, it started raining. Hard. I kept pushing and pushing to get through the race. I finished in 27:23, which ironically is my best time ever. (lol) Thankfully, I was safely in my car before the hail started. Yikes! Funny enough, I actually finished in 3rd place for my age division. It was a pretty fun race all around.

After the race, we went to the Hipwells for a waffle party. They were super yummy! (Thanks, Jamie.)

Now, the rest of this week will be focused on getting Greg ready for Lotoja which is on Saturday. I'm trying to carb-load him up for the big race. A biker burns approximately 40 calories per mile on average. So, I figure that Greg will be burning about 8,000 calories on Saturday alone!! We need to bulk that boy up with some major carbs before the race. I'm pretty excited to go up and follow along with Jenn again. At least this year we have a better idea of what we're doing as their support crew. Plus, we get a little weekend getaway in Jackson Hole. Shopping, here I come!!

My blogging goal for the day:

I'm going to visit friends' blogs and post comments on everyone's. Everyone likes a good comment, right? I'll try to leave something witty or entertaining for you all.

Oh, and I'm signed up for the Hooper 5K on Monday. Monday is supposed to be super craptastic weather! Yay! I can only hope and pray that the rain won't be falling during the 5K, or at least that I run fast enough that the raindrops aren't hitting me. (LOL)

All right. I'll see you all on your blogs!

Oh, and I've decided that my music on my blog is getting annoying, so if anyone has any suggestions for some cool new tunes, let me know.

It's a little scary, I know.

Yeah, I got a new church calling. Last week, I was called out of sharing time along with Greg from Elder's Quorum. The bishopric member took me in first, and I was thinking, "Good, I'm off the hook." I thought that right up until the moment he said, "Is there any reason that you couldn't fulfill a calling? Is there anything you need to talk to the Bishop about?" Since there wasn't (phew), I started sweating just a little. Greg came in, and I was asked to be the first counselor in the primary presidency.

So, that's pretty scary, right? I'm really excited, though. It's kinda crazy because I have only been in primary for about 1 year of my adult life. I'm still one of those teachers who has to use their own little songbook so I get the words to the songs right. (lol)

On Sunday, we were sustained and set apart. We had to take over on Sunday. It was a really neat experience. We had the outgoing presidency come in and share their testimonies and love for the children. Many tears were shed by teachers, kids, and us. The spirit was so strong in there. The primary kids are truly amazing little people, and I can see great things in store for them. You can just feel how much Heavenly Father loves each of them.

The scariest part is that the primary program is in about 8 1/2 weeks. So, we have that much time to write, practice, and put on the show. I'm hoping we can get it written soon! (yikes!) We've found a few ideas on Sugardoodle.com, but if anyone has any other good resources, please let me know.

The other part that scares me is that we'll most likely have to speak in church at some point. You know, they make the new presidencies speak in church. Gaaaah!! I really hope it doesn't come to that. If it does, I hope I get to go first or second so I don't feel obligated to take up very much time. (hahahahaha!) If we do have to speak in church, I'd pay someone to take my place. ;)

I'm done!

With the Twilight series, that is.

I love, love, LOVE it! I am a big Harry Potter fan, but I'd have to say that these books pulled me in way more than Harry Potter ever did. I am now huge Stephenie Meyer fan! And, after reading all 4 books, I am still in love with Edward. (Don't worry, I already told Greg I was in love with a vampire. He just rolled his eyes. LOL!)

Now that I've read this series, I am stoked for the movie Twilight to come out. I will definitely be going to see it, but I know it's nothing Greg would ever go to, so I'll probably see if my SIL and niece will go with me.

I think my next book I'll be starting is "The Host," which is also by Stephenie Meyer. I've heard it's also a good one.

Aside from that, there's not a whole lot of new stuff going on with us. Last week, I ran 5 miles for the first time ever. I was super excited. I ran another 5 on Saturday and took about 2.5 minutes off my time. Greg asked me if I wanted to run a marathon with him next spring. I'm not sure whether I want to do that or not. I've never had the desire to do a full marathon. I would like to possibly do a half marathon, but I'm not really excited about the idea of running 26 miles in one day. Who knows... Maybe I'll just train for it and see how I feel about it.

Right now I'm also trying to decide what to make for dinner. Any ideas? I really don't like cooking too much in the summer; it's just too hot. If I'm ever really rich, I think I'll hire someone to do my cooking for me. I'll make sure her name is Flo.

Okay, I'll admit it,

I'm in love with a vampire. Did I just blog that out loud?

So, I hadn't read any of these books about a week ago. I had heard of them, and thought about reading them, but I never got around to it. Then, when the fourth book in the series came out the other day, I thought I'd go ahead and see what all the hype was about.

Well, I am now an official "Twilight" fan. I'm not ashamed to say it. I got the book about a week or so ago, and I just finished the second book today. After finishing the second book, I just had to schlep on over to Wal-Mart with the twins to get the last two books. I have to say that Stephenie Meyer is a fantastic writer. I was totally mesmerised throughout the first book. That, my friends, is where I fell in love with a vampire. Now, I know that some of you out there are big Jacob fans, but I have to say that Edward is my pick.

If you haven't read the books, I highly recommend them. They are very quick reads, and very addictive. They don't, however, help get your housework done. Any takers on that?

I think we'll have to wait. :(

It's sad, but true. My girls are NOT into potty training right now. Brooklyn can stay dry for hours, but she has a hard time actually going. Hannah just pees and pees all day. (Sorry, TMI) The first day, I could get them to sit on the potty pretty well. By the second day, I was almost having to force them to sit. They were resisting going to sit on the potty, and I don't want to make them regress by forcing them to do it. Then, they would sit for about 20 seconds and tell me they were done. In two days, Hannah peed once on the potty. Brooklyn peed about 3 times, and she can hold it forever.

Anyway, I just don't think they're getting it, and I'm not so sure that they're ready right now. :( Plus, it was stressing me out so much I could hardly stand myself. I don't want to force them into it and cause issues later for them, so I guess I'll wait another week or so and try again.

Greg is borrowing a book from a co-worker about how to potty train your kid in 3 days. I will read it religiously and see if we can make it work for us. I can only hope and pray it can work for us.

I hope I'm doing the right thing. I'm really discouraged right now, and really disappointed in myself for not sticking with it, but I just don't think they're quite ready yet. :(

Somebody please hold me. (lol)