Riding Front Runner with a Twist

We went to ride on the Front Runner on the last night they were offering free rides and had an unexpected thing happen. We all (the three kids, my family and me) got there and we were standing around freezing (facing east to avoid the wind) when we heard a loud bang, that a lot of us thought was thunder at first but, when we turned around we found that it was not thunder it was the refinery on fire. It was really quite amazing to watch the fire balls go up in the air and then the black smoke that just kept coming. Now at this point we should have been smart and left but instead we stood around watching and waiting for the train that was going to go north bound. The train finally arrived and we got on welcoming the warmth but then we waited and then we waited….. after setting for about 5 minutes the train conductor came on and said that the police had blocked the tracks and that we were not going anywhere for a bit. So we waited but after several intercom messages they finally said that they were brining buses to bus people to the next station, so we got off and went and had ice cream instead. Austin was quite disappointed that the train never moved but the ice cream made up for it.

Brooklynn & Caitlyn

Brooklynn and Caitlyn can have so
much fun together if they just get along.

Ryan’s Blessing

My brother Kevin blessed my nephew Ryan Kevin Everson
Sunday, April 27, 2008. Kevin was so nervous before
the blessing but, he did a great job. I am so proud
to call him my brother. Ryan was so cute in his
blessing outfit, my mom made for him.

Ashlynn Meets Great Grandpa and Grandma Everson

My Grandparents came down and meet Ashlynn for the first
time. It was fun to see them. We don't see them very often
because they live in Idaho.

In honor of my awesome husband and his first marathon

Saturday, April 19, 2008 Brian handbiked the Salt Lake marathon. He hasn’t been training real regularly and was not going to enter the race when I told him he should just go for it. So two days before the race he signed up and then the craziness began. The Friday night before the race we did not go to bed until 2:00 am trying to get things ready. We then got up Saturday morning at 4:30 am to get him out the door in time. Brian then left and I slept for an hour and then had to get the kids up to go see him finish at the Gateway. The kids and I ran out of here at 8:45 am hopeing to make it in time to see him finishing. I tried my hardest to obey all the traffic laws but I have to admit it wasn’t very easy. We then arrived at the gateway parking garage to drive around wondering if we were going to find a spot to park. I did not have any idea how large of a scale this race was. (I should have thought things through a little better but hey things happened really fast and there was not much time for thinking). So after 5 minutes of driving around we found a spot and began to run through the parking garage. We then reached the door and walked outside and saw all the hundreds of hundreds of people everywhere and that is when it hit me and I was not sure what I was going to do. I had no idea where the start or the finish line was and where I was suppose to meet Brian. We really didn’t talk about it. I was trying to carry a carrier with Ashlynn in it and keep Austin and Brooklynn with me, to say the least it was nuts. I think people at least thought I was nuts, because I had to keep yelling at my kids to stay with me because it was so noisy they couldn’t hear me. We then made it to the end of the race where there was actually a way to see the people coming in through the gate and then I realized that the wind was blowing so hard that it was blowing Brooklynn over. It was quite funny. I was glad at this point that my dad was going to be meeting up with us and we found my dad fairly easily with all the people, noise, and wind. And then the wait began. And we waited and we waited and we waited. The longer we were in the wind the more agitated the kids became, lucky for me Ashlynn went to sleep and I began to wonder when this all was going to end for the kids sake. I began checking my phone every five minutes for the time. And then it hit me and I started to worry that I might have killed my husband by pushing him to do this. (Brian played Wheelchair Rugby for years but not recently and has been hand biking on and off for the last few months but he has never done anything like a marathon). Brian thought he could finish the race in 2 to 2 ½ hours and it had almost been 3 hours. So now what to do? There was really nothing I could do, I figured if Brian could not make it he had his cell phone so he should have been able to call. I was just praying he would come in soon because there was not much else I could do. Then a little after 3 hours he finally came in to view, I don’t think I have been that happy to see him I was so relived. And amazingly he looked great; he had come home in the past from handbike workouts looking more warn out than he did. After a few seconds of talking to him we found out that the hand grips that he wears to help him turn the crank on the bike had busted (one at the half way mark and the other just before he crossed the finish line. I am not really sure how he did it. He had to push and pull the crank at times because that was all he could do. Because this happened it added almost another hour to his time and that was why he was later than he had expected. When I thought about it afterward I was glad that he added an extra hour to his time or we might not have been able to see him finish, we probably would have been too late. Unfortunately, this has now started Brian thinking that he needs to enter as many marathons as he can. What did I do to myself? Oh well it is good for him and it will be fun to see how he does in the next few marathons. So I guess we will be spending some time this summer doing marathons. He is planning on the Ogden Marathon in a few weeks (if he can get his hand grips fixed in time) and the St. George Marathon in October and I am sure he will add a few more in there along the way. We are so proud of you! Way to go Dad!

Blanket & P.J.'s from Grandpa and Grandma Horne

Grandpa and Grandma Horne,
Thanks so much for the cute pajamas
and the very special blanket.
I can't wait to meet you.
Ashlynn

Brooklynn's Family Party

Brooklynn had so much fun at her family party. She just
loved all the attention she got and the presents were just an
added bonus. She really loved the cake that her Aunt Trisha made for her.

Thanks Trish

Trish, Thanks so much for Drawing paw prints on the driveway
for my Birthday! I just loved to jump from one paw print
to the next. I am still wondering where they all came from.
Brooklynn

Brooklynn Jane

My beautiful Brooklynn Jane, I cannot believe
that you are already three. You have grown up so fast.
I love that you are very strong willed but
also very girlly at the same time.
You are such a little princess.
Happy Third Birthday!

Brooklynn's Friend Party

Brooklynn's friend party was a blast. Every party is a lot of
work but it always pays off in the end when I see how much
fun the kids have

Preperation for the big day

Trisha drew paw prints in the drive way for Brooklynn's Birthday!
As people drove by while she was drawing they gave her the funniest
looks. Ashlynn even got in on the fun for a few minutes.

Austin helped make the cookies for the party.
He had so much fun, maybe a little to much. :)

Brooklynn Helped me get the party bags and balloons together
for the party and during all of this she tired to figure out how to hold up
three fingers and not just two. It was so cute. She is
definitely a little princess.

Trisha's Senior Pictures Take Two

Well, session two went pretty good. Only one more session to go.
I am not sure when we will do that one but hopefully soon.
I think she is glad that she let me try before she spent hundreds of
dollars elsewhere. This has been a lot of fun.

Ashlynn & Ryan

We found these cute outfits and wanted to take pictures
of the two cousins together. It was a lot of fun. It is amazing
how similar and different they are at the same time. I think
they will have a lot of fun growing up together because they
are so close in age (only three days apart).

Playing in the Dirt

I don't know what Austin is going to do
when we finish our yard completely.
He just loves to play in the dirt.

Ashlynn is ready for the Beach!

Ashlynn is so sweet and innocent! It is so fun to have her

Trisha's Senior Pictures Take One

Trisha wanted to go to a professional to have her senior pictures
taken and I asked her if I could try my new camera out on her
before she spent hundreds of dollars somewhere else. I was pretty
proud of how good these turned out considering that it was only
the third day that we had owned the camera and only the second time I had ever taken pictures with it. We are going to go to another location this weekend to take more. She wants some variety to chose from.

My Life :)

I thought it would be fun to post some pictures of
my pride and joy!



Austin is my amazing little guy that gets bigger and bigger
every day. I can not believe he is going to start kindergarten
this year. Time has gone by so fast. He is generally a happy
kid but he is way to smart for his own good. He seems
to know how to do just about anything or so he thinks.
He also loves to learn and remember everything.

My Princess Brooklynn Jane that is sometime referred to as "biscuit Jane"
is all girl with a twist. She loves her dolls and to dress up but
has a mind of her own and will let you know with out thinking
twice. I love how strong and opinionated she is, I am told she is
so much like I was when I was younger. She will go far in life
because no one will be able to tell her other wise. :)

My Beautiful Baby Ashlynn is growing up so fast. I can not
believe she is already 5 months old. She is generally happy but
can be a little cranky if she doesn’t have her mom. She is learning
so fast and just loves to interact with her brother and sister.