Missing You

I am missing my blog. 

I haven't been writing as much because life has been busy-- that's my excuse.  But it makes me sad because I truly enjoy writing this blog.  It helps me process my life and my brain gets feeling rather muddled when I'm not writing frequently.  

Perhaps it seems that I am posting a lot of pictures of myself running.

That is true.  I am.  But I am running a lot and Abe likes to take pictures of me running, so there you have it.  
This was this past Saturday as the girls ran the last little bit of an 18 mile training run with me.  EIGHTEEN MILES!!! Can you believe it?  It is still shocking to me.  After the disastrous half marathon the previous Saturday I was very nervous for this run.  Actually, of all the training runs I've had to do this is the one I feared the most.  I'll do a 20 in a couple of weeks, but that doesn't scare me as much as this one did.  But miraculously, this was not so bad.  I mean, I was tired but not dead-tired.  I hurt, but not any acute alarming pain.  This gave me hope that a marathon was possible when last weekend I felt utter and complete dread.

And then look what my little Faith drew for me.  I tell you, she is an angel, an absolute angel

And then as if to prove to myself that I still had something left in the tank we decided to take the kids to the zoo.
 I've been meaning to buy a membership all summer.  In fact that was my plan for fun this summer-- buy a zoo membership and go a lot.  That's it.  That was the whole plan and I never did it.  Hmmm, maybe we should have had more fun this summer.

 I guess I just needed Abe there to finally do it.  It was hot, but WOW!!-the Hogle Zoo has come a long way.  In the past when family came from out of town they would ask about the zoo and I'd tell them, "Don't waste your time."  It is so much improved.  And I guess the word is out because it was also way more crowded than I have ever seen it before.  We homeschoolers should know better than to go to the zoo on Saturday.  You go during the week when all the kiddos are in school.

We loved the sea lions.  If I could pick an animal to be I think I'd like to be a sea lion.  Or maybe a sea otter.  They are cute.

Do you notice that Clark is missing?  He spent the day at a friend's house and told us we could do any family activity without him except go to Lagoon.
As it turns out he meant to put the zoo on that list as well.  He was bummed and it does seem very wrong to take the family to the zoo without Clark.  Good thing we have a membership now.  Anyone want to go to the zoo with us?

The days activities weren't over yet-- Saturday night we had our family book club in the park.  By this point I was feeling pretty wiped out, but it was relaxing to sit and talk with friends.  The chasing George around the park was not so relaxing but there were lots of helpers to keep tabs on him.

Bethany brought Zeus the bunny to the park to play and nibble on grass.  I was impressed that they didn't lose him, but he was on his leash.  The kids ran around non-stop playing games.
I did not join in any running games.

If you look really close you can see three figures standing on the rocks.  It's Clark and two friends.

There's a little closer up.

And there be the victorious hikers.  And I didn't even get too nervous while they were gone-- even though there were signs saying mountain lions had been reported in the area.  But even as I write this I'm thinking that maybe I should have been more nervous.  Oh well, all was well.

I suppose Abe did go on a Lagoon ride of sorts that evening.  David Flynn (in the Hawaiian shirt) recently got himself an impressive new car and took the menfolk for a joy ride at the end of book club. 
When questioned by the kids afterwards about the car and the ride Abe said he really liked our minivan because it could seat our whole family.  Really, what else could he say? 

I don't know if it can get much better than this.

Or this.

Catch the Vision - Encampment

Abe here.  Late Saturday, August 4th, Clark and I returned from a massive LDS Scout Encampment near Spokane, Washington.  My father, Jim Fox, was the General Chairman of the entire week-long event and had been planning this 18 stake, Aaronic Priesthood "Jamboree" for 2 and a 1/2 years.  It was a COMPLETE success on every level.  My dad was inspired to give the encampment the title "Catch the Vision".  Much more than a large scouting event, this encampment was a grand gathering of the priesthood - learning from and serving one another, growing towards God and catching the vision of who we are and what we can become.  Here are some pictures from this once in a lifetime event.

Fox men from left to right: Jesse, Baden Stuart, Abe, Adam & Clark.

There were TONS of awesome activities - providing for a very, VERY exciting week.

My nephew Adam, who was Clark's tent-mate for the week, enjoys a dip.

My youngest brother Baden makes a daring leap on the C.O.P.E course (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience).

It was the ULTIMATE Father and Son's camp-out!

Grandpa Fox (my dad) with his three priesthood-holding grandsons (Ford, Clark & Adam).

Shooting - Lots of shooting guns!!

Hatchet Throwing!!

Cousins enjoying the water.

Adam and Clark with the Young Men's General President, David L. Beck.

Clark having a blast on the zip-line.

Clark and I going for a new record at the log cutting activity.

My dad on the big screen just before the closing ceremonies.

4 of the 7 Fox Brothers.

Congratulations James Russell Fox on an incredibly, fantastic event that will never be forgotten by those who were there, and more importantly helped thousands of young men "Catch the Vision" of what the Lord expects of them.  Thanks Dad!!

Here is a link to a 4-page article about the encampamnet in the LDS Church News:

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/62645/Camp-Sunrise-Catch-the-vision.html

Nightmare up Hobblecreek Canyon

What is love?

Love is Abe getting up with me at 3:45 AM to see me off on race day.

On Saturday I ran the Hobblecreek Half Marathon with my good friend, Kim and her husband, who is now also our bishop.  It was an early morning and I had high hopes for the day.

The course was breathtakingly beautiful, but it was not a good race for me and I felt very disappointed at the end.  I have done this distance several times and felt very prepared, but I was afflicted with a viciously upset stomach for 8 of the 13 miles and the pounding of the downhill made matters even worse.  It was rather a nightmare to tell you the truth.  My time was slightly better than my first half marathon but no where near what it could have been without all the bathroom breaks and necessary gentler running to prevent a truly heinous incident.  I never thought I'd be someone who could dodge off behind some bushes to take care of business but nature called pretty loudly and I had to answer.

So there it is.  No doubt, way more information than you wanted.
Let's see-- what good can be said about the experience?
I got a nice shirt out of it.  I learned that I must take the immodium the night before the race.  I don't like running downhill and am glad the marathon (next month) is a fairly flat course.  I learned to always pack some toilet paper in my running pack.  A few days ago my left knee was giving me trouble but it felt great for the whole race.  A messed up knee is harder to fix than an upset tummy.

And I did finish and was so happy so see my family and hear Abe and the kids cheering for me.  That was actually very good.

Aliyah... Pretty

Can you even believe how delicious this little thing is??
My niece, Aliyah (not the rabbit) who lives in Washington state.  She is Matt and Misty's daughter and my family is so taken with her.

Notice how my girls aren't looking at the camera-- rather they're looking at Aliyah.  They're obsessed with her.  She might be the smartest little girl I've ever seen.

And such a little sweetie giving kisses to everyone.  We enjoyed them so much for the very brief time we had with them that they have inspired a Christmas trip to visit them this year.

George is about 6 months older than Aliyah and he was rather jealous, but I'm teaching him to say "pretty" when we say "Aliyah".

Well I guess that is enough bragging on other people's children.  Back to my own:)

Faith is a now a solid bike rider and has earned the right to go with Abe on a bike ride to the library and Petersons-- the local grocery store.  Faith was so happy to bring along her good friend, Katelyn.

They feasted on Mike and Ikes and rootbeer and they returned home with no mishaps.  They didn't have bike locks for when they went into the store but Abe assured them the bikes would be safe since they parked them right in front of the security cameras.  Thank goodness!

Isn't this dress fabulous!!!
Too bad it isn't mine.
Our Naomi from London is staying with us and let me wear her dress to church.  I was twice accused of being unpatriotic, but I said I was simply showing my enthusiasm for the Olympics and all things English.

Utah Reunion 2012

Here is a picture of much, but no where near all, of the Fox family as we gathered for a family reunion this past week and weekend.

It was exciting!  It's always exciting when the Fox family gathers.  It's exciting and it's loud.  Abe grew up in Spokane where four of the nine siblings and their families live.  Abe's parents have a marvelous house that is a kid's paradise and is perfect for big family gatherings so that is where we usually have the reunions. This year we had a Utah reunion and without a central location that could comfortably handle a group this size it was a challenge for Abe who planned and organized the 5 day affair.
The whole event had an "organized chaos" theme.  We're several days out from the reunion and to be honest with you my mind is still reeling a bit from the whole event.  As it turns out I'm a little more of a control freak than I thought I was.  I don't go with the flow as well as I would have hoped.  So since I haven't quite processed the whole reunion yet, I will put up pictures in no particular order with just a bit of commentary.

Bethany and Julia--cousins born one day apart.

The discovery of a new cousin for me.  Melissa also happens to be my sister-in-law, but we're 3rd cousins as well descended through the artist, C.C.A. Christensen.

George and Cannon with cousin Will playing in the sand volley ball court at the park during the first gathering of the reunion.

Some of the teen and preteen gang bowling at the Wilkinson Center at BYU.

Bethany, Elinor, and cousin Talitha on a golf cart tour of BYU.  Yikes-- it made me feel quite old to see how much has changed on campus since Abe and I were there.  Even still, I quite enjoyed the tour.

Lunch at the Cougareat before bowling.

Faith vs. Jessica going head to head in a round of the Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament.

Elinor's paper covered Caitlyn's rock.

Geez, some people take games too seriously.  Get a grip, Lady!

Lindsey won the whole thing.  The competition was fierce, but she was the best!

Alison and Elinor sleeping in a tent in the backyard.  Including our family of 8 we had 16 people staying at our house over the course of the reunion.  That's a few too many to house comfortably inside the house, so we resorted to tent city in the backyard.

Except that the last night there was rain in the forecast so the girls bedded down on the living room floor.

Celebrating cousin Megan's 16th birthday at Classic Fun Center with roller skating, bounce houses, and laser tag.  Crazy, but fun.  

The youth went to the Oquirrh Mountain temple Saturday morning.  Bethany, Julia, and Talitha weren't 12 yet , but they sat in the waiting room for the group to finish up at the temple and joined them for a testimony meeting afterwards.

The family at a church house for breakfast and a great game of Fox Jeopardy.  The night before was the family talent show.  

My favorite picture of my little charmer-- eating his 5th cup of ice cream.

Lunch at the Lion House in Salt Lake.

We did a lot during this reunion and it was wonderful to see so much family, but I am very happy to be with just my people this week.  This size of crowd is a little easier to manage:)

A Sigh of Relief

Last Saturday Abe and Clark left early in the morning and drove up to Spokane Washington for a HUGE Boy Scout Encampment that Abe's dad was heading up.  Several of Abe's brothers and a couple of Clark's cousins participated as well.  They had a great time and I'll post more pictures from the Encampment later.  

When they left I didn't really think too much of it.  Clark has gone away for several different week-long outings this summer and I've missed him and the house isn't nearly as exciting when he's gone, but it wasn't really that big of a deal.  Abe too has gone away for a night or two here and there so I wasn't too concerned about his absence.  Please don't think me heartless, it's just that I figured I'd be so busy taking care of kids and house that I wouldn't have much time to miss him.  And truth be told, I figured I was the one usually home taking care of things here at the house, so no big deal.

I have a different perspective now that they are home.  Rather than smooth sailing we had several mishaps this week that ruined my peace of mind.  Here was the least of things--

George got stung by a bee in his mouth and his lip really swelled up.

On another day he tipped his kitchen chair over while in his booster seat and conked his head pretty good.  

The worst of things was my accidentally killing Clark's pet snake, Ledge, that he caught in the wild three years ago.  It involved my moving the stinky cage into the backyard and the sprinklers going off during the night and it's a very unfortunate story from there.  You want to talk about mom guilt?  Oh, I know mom guilt.

Our English friend Naomi has come to visit this month and that has been very nice, and I did enjoy the Olympics, but that's about all that I can say went well this week.  And even the Olympics are a two edged sword because I love them so much that I kind of lose my mind when they are on.  I don't want to do anything else.  I got a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle to do while I watched.  That compounded my problem because puzzles really have a mind numbing effect on me.  Even when I'm not working on the puzzle my mind starts to see puzzle shapes in the grass and in the carpet.  Put the Olympics and a puzzle together and I'm completely useless.

But I found that I was really missing Abe and Clark.  I realized that while it is true that I do a lot of the day to day work around the house, Abe takes care of a lot of things that I never have to think about or worry about.  He locks up and secures the house at night.  He takes care of sprinklers and watering the lawn.  He regularly and happily picks up a few things at the grocery store on his way home from work.  He backs me up when the kiddos whine or complain.  He does a little more than I realized and those things he does take a great deal of weight off my mind.  When he was gone and I had to do my work plus carry the mental weight of all the things he usually thinks about-- it was no fun! 

 

Last night when going to bed I felt I could relax for the first time in a week.  It was lovely and there was a HUGE sigh of relief.

And I missed Clark because he has such fantastic ideas that entertain the girls to no end.  When he's gone they pester and hound me for ideas of what they can do. Even as I write this he is entertaining them with a D&D type adventure so that I have some time to think and write.  Ahhh... welcome home, Clark! 

And I would like to publicly thank Clark for his very quick and generous forgiveness when he found out what I'd done to his snake.  He's a good boy.