logan's ad campaign

logan is getting into everything these days. he finds stuff that i didn't even remember we had. it makes me realize how much junk we have sitting on the floor (i feel like i am saying no constantly) and i am feeling motivated to de-clutter and organize.

the other day i found him with this skull candy decal stuck to him (it stuck thanks to the drool running down his chest). it was perfectly placed/aligned. i think he could be the new face for skull candy. they definitely couldn't find a cuter face!

summer time fun

we have been enjoying summer so far and have been spending lots of time at the splash park (3 times in the last week to be exact) and swimming. logan is a little water baby and loves it! and i think he is the cutest in his little swimming trunks! plus it totally wears him out and he takes great afternoon naps, which i love!

in action

i just got sent a link to a few professional pictures that were taken during the marathon. of course they are ridiculously expensive to purchase so i used my limited computer skills to try and save them to my computer for free.

just getting started...garbage bag and all.
sooo many hours of running ahead of me!

still smiling!
most of the race was through provo canyon. it was beautiful and i had to remind myself more than once to look up from the pavement at the beautiful green mountains around me.

crossing the finish line!
hallelujah!

finished!
hurting.
relieved.
proud.

CTEM reunion

the night of my race was my mission reunion (the canada toronto east mission aka the CTEM) and the timing couldn't have been more perfect since i was actually in town for it! i loved catching up with everyone and reminiscing about such a wonderful time of my life.

with kimber (my old companion) and chris

a few outtakes. i'm not sure what i was laughing at, but it must have been funny

a stunning picture of emily, the sister of an elder from my mission and my new friend. she was hilarious and kept me laughing and informed on mission gossip (which somehow she knew and i didn't. i'm so out of the loop). she also laughed at me as i did "laps" around the gym visiting with people and shuffling like a 90 year old since my body hurt.

i love this kid! he did so good the whole trip even though his schedule was out of whack and i never got him to bed on time (for example this night he went to bed 3 hours later than usual. yikes!)

(left) liz and melanie. a couple of my closest friends from my mission. i love these girls!
(right) president and sister taylor. they are amazing and i was SO happy to see them. sister taylor was even nice enough to let logan take her name tag

not from the reunion, but i wanted to include these pictures with my sister-in-law erin. she and her husband john were nice enough to come down from ogden and meet me in slc for dinner. it was so great to see them and congratulate them in person since they are expecting a baby in december!! we're so excited for logan to have another cousin.

i also got to visit with my old roommate kristen and meet her 3 beautiful girls (the last time i saw her she didn't have any kids). she is as fun, incredible and talented as ever. i wish i had taken a picture. all in all, it was a fantastic trip to utah!

26.2

visualizing this moment kept me going during the marathon. i would imagine myself at the end, all done, with a medal around my neck. and if i would have known they would be serving little caesar's pizza and creamies, that would have kept me going too! there were moments that i didn't think i could make it (those times when i would see the mile marker and think, "are you serious?! how many more miles do i have to run?!"), but of course that really wasn't an option. one way or the other, i was finishing.

as if running 26.2 miles isn't bad enough on its' own, 2 other things made this event tough: the start time and the weather. the morning started off early, and i mean early. i got up at 3:20 am and caught a bus at 4:00 am to take me to the top of provo canyon where the race would start. the race started at 5:50 am (it started 20 minutes late) and it was rainy! a flukey storm hit utah and it was unseasonably cool. it rained for the first 10 or 11 miles and i wore a garbage bag for the first 13 miles. too bad i don't have a picture of that! once the rain cleared up the weather was perfect for running.

my friend kimber and her husband chris (above) were not only nice enough to let me stay with them and watch logan while i ran, but they even came and met me along the route just before mile 24. i needed it. they were the push i needed to the end (especially since there was an up and downhill between mile 25 and 26. the downhill was harder at that point).

i was listening to 1 of my 2 favorite running songs at this moment (both by fall out boy) and i was so excited to see logan, kimber and chris. seriously, they'll never know how much it meant to have them there.

i was so excited to see logan! i don't know if the feeling was mutual. he seemed pretty oblivious to me.

the blessed finish line! they even announced your name when you crossed, which pretty much made me feel like a star!

logan testing out my medal

this was such a hard, but incredible experience. i love the feeling of accomplishing a goal i have had for years! i even think i might attempt it again. just give me a few years!

11 months

every month when i do my update on logan i can hardly believe another month has passed (and how are we already halfway through 2010?!). he keeps getting cuter and cuter and while i know i am biased because i am his mom, i'm pretty sure others would agree with me.

these days logan:

• is feeding himself his bottle
  
• is waving
  
• loves kids. he stares at them, smiles at them and they can usually always make him laugh. he also always tries to reach out and grab them. we are working on teaching him to be gentle.
  
• knows what a dog is. he says "da" whenever he sees one and will try and touch it
• still loves baths. he splashes so much that dave and i both always end up soaked. he also has started folding himself in half and putting his face in the water. he definitely doesn't mind getting his face wet.
  
• has 5 teeth
• drinks from his straw sippy cup
• does "high 5"
• loves to dump out/push over buckets or containers of toys
  
• loves to touch and grab faces (which can be deadly since his nails grow soo fast. i can't seem to keep them trimmed)
• still loves his lovey (blanket). it makes him giddy when we give it to him. he starts to giggle and burrows his face in it.
• talks constantly and loudly. he may look like his dad, but he is loud and talkative like his mom.
• is constantly reaching toward people and things
• loves to be held upside down
  
• loves to watch the ceiling fan spin around and reaches up to try and grab the fan strings
  
• loves to bang toys together and against whatever is around him
• likes playing with and rolling balls
• likes playing with newspaper and whatever other paper or magazine he can get his hands on
• loves to throw things. he actually has a pretty good arm! after he throws his toys he will go and "fetch" them
  
• likes putting his fingers in people's mouths
• says "duh" for duck and "ba" for bottle
• sticks out his tongue and knows what his tongue is
  

• is pulling up on tables, chairs, people, whatever
• is pulling things off the coffee table
• any time we say "good job" he claps
  
• is sitting up in bed (which as of this morning was the perfect excuse to delay his nap...twice)

• CRAWLING! he loves his new found freedom and is taking full advantage of getting into everything (especially since we have yet to baby proof the house). he has also started to learn the word "no" as we try to teach him what is off limits. apparently one (or both) of us shakes our head when we say no because now he shakes his head when we say no. he is a big fan of touching and banging on the dvd player. he will often check to see if we are looking (and if he will get in trouble) before he touches it.

i can't get enough of seeing this little guy crawl around (especially in just a diaper)

he started crawling on june 8 and this was the 2nd or 3rd time he did it (i can't get it to turn, but it's only 14 seconds). i'm glad to see that food motivates him. he is definitely a wessler/todd. he's really cruising now.

• loves cords. it is a full time job keeping him away from all the electronics.
  

looking a little guilty. it has to do with the cords behind him that he was trying to play with.

utah valley marathon - pain you enjoy

i hope the slogan for the utah valley marathon is true. because there is no doubt i will be in pain, both during and after. so let's hope i enjoy it! i leave tomorrow for utah and the big day is saturday. so no matter what time you wake up on saturday, please include me in your morning prayers! i don't even think it will matter what time zone you are in. when you get up, i will most likely be running! wish me luck!

memorial day at the sand dunes

we headed with some of our best friends, cole and mindy smith, down to the sand dunes (the tallest dunes in north america) for memorial day weekend. it was beautiful and logan did awesome (it was his first time camping)! even with ridiculous winds the first night (there were a few times during the night i was sure our tent was going to blow down) he slept like a champ. ironically, dave and i didn't sleep very well that night because we were worried about logan.

(left ) packed into our very full car (middle) dave & logan enjoying a veggie straw. like father like son! (right) mindy, the master fire starter

the view of the dunes from our campground

logan got LOTS of attention from lincoln and payton. they were so cute with him.

payton wandered off and we found him chilling in our tent, just chowing on his hot dog. he is hilarious!

(left) logan in the backpack, sporting his safari hat. i think he's the cutest! (right) some impressive butt crack. keep in mind i was pretty far away. he must have had some sand in some uncomfortable places.

we spent a couple of mornings playing in the "river" at the base of the dunes

the water was a little chilly since it's runoff and logan wasn't the biggest fan. i love the picture in the middle where he is climbing up dave to try and get out of the water.

mindy and i being our spazy selves

about 20 minutes away from where we were staying was an alligator farm. we were able to hold a little alligator and see all sorts of big ones. it was pretty cool, but seriously a trashy and rundown place. and it was expensive! we're still wondering what they are doing with all the money because it definitely isn't being used to keep up the place (i think the owners are living the high life there in mosca colorado :) it was still a fun and different place to visit though.

doesn't the sign on the right instill confidence?!

holding the little gator and getting our "certificate of bravery" signed (or teethed) by the gator

on saturday night we hiked up "high dune." it took us an hour and a half to get up and it was hard! there were so many ridges and ups and downs that you can't see before you start. i think at some point every one of us wanted to give up. thank goodness for positive peer pressure. it was really incredible! i must say there's something cool about doing a major hike in bare feet! everyone was carrying a kid except for me (every once in a while cole was even carrying 2), so i tried to pull my weight by taking lots of pictures (i think i had the better deal)! lincoln, who is 4 years old was amazing and hiked almost the entire thing by himself! logan did pretty good in the backpack considering we were hiking after his bedtime and it got chilly. thank goodness for snacks and his lovey that kept him content.

almost there

it was cold and getting dark, so we only spent about 2 minutes at the top. it was totally worth it though!

sunday after church we went on a 1/2 mile hike to zapata falls. it seemed especially easy after our hike from the night before.

(left) dave showing off his good looking hair (you always have good) hair after camping! (right) logan LOVES his dad (and chewing on the camelbak
if this seemed like a lot of pictures just know it could have been worse. we took 199.