Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Coat- June

What a great show! We love going to the Fox. Thanks Mike for indulging me. Love you.

Emma Grace's Bedroom- June

When Savannah and Alyssa traded in the crib for a "Big Girl Bed" I had a hand made quilt ready for them to put on their new bed. I made the quilt myself and I must say they are very cute. When Gracie came along so did Logan and any time that I may have had to make a quilt was spent studying the backside of my eyelids. So, after a desperate call to my mom, "Granny" and a year and a half, Emma Grace has a super cute hand made quilt for her "Big Girl Bed" too. We decided to take pictures of her cute little room so that she could model the decor.

Thanks Mom! It's to die for cute.

If you want your kids to be intelligent, read them fairytales.

If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairytales.
-Albert Einstein What a poser. A cute poser, but a poser just the same.

3V3 soccer tournament- June

Alyssa is really enjoying soccer. She was sad to see the season end. So was her Daddy. So, when he heard that there was going to be a 3V3 tournament in June he volenteered to sponsor a team.

The "Grass Stains" were by far the cutest team on the field. They took 3rd in the tournament and had alot of fun playing.

Alyssa & AnsleyThe Grass Stains 2011

Father's Day- June

Because I was in Utah running on Father’s Day, I really leaned on my two big girls to make Mike’s day special. I think they did a really good job. They served him breakfast in front of the TV. Gave him presents & kisses. What more could a Daddy ask for? Maybe a wife that was there on Father’s Day?
My kids are the luckiest on earth. They have a Dad who thinks they are smart, funny, silly, enjoyable, a loveable. Mike loves being a Dad & I love being his wife.

Breakfast
Presents

Silly Faces

Super Soaker

Kisses

Cock it and Pull it

Miny Soakers for kids

Glow in the Dark

Ragnar- June

Last summer, 2010, my little brother Ben pitched the idea of a family team running the “Wasatch Back” ragnar. A ragnar is a 12 man relay race. The total distance is just around 200 miles. Everyone runs 3 times. The length and difficulty of each leg vary greatly.
Ben got a big positive response from the family. Everyone was excited. It would be a huge party.
I told Mike that I didn’t want to be left out. So, I made the commitment and Mike booked the airplane ticket.
However, as the time to run crept closer the excitement for some dwindled. Joan had knee surgery. Ben had a golf tournament. Karen had kids competing in the Summer Games and several others were not training and so they were happy and relieved when they got the call that Ben was going to sell the team!!!!
I was so disappointed. I hadn’t been training as hard as I should have been, but I knew I would be O.K. But I’m not going to lie when I say that I was a tiny bit mad. I was the only one that would be out any money. I had already bought a plane ticket.
I wasn’t really mad AT anyone just super disappointed in EVERYONE.
I had to decide what to do. It seemed like a “no brainer”, I would still go to Utah and spend the weekend with my family. Yeah, except it was Fathers Day weekend and I didn’t want to leave Mike just to go “hang out.”
This is the sob song I was singing when I called Amy Billing to vent. She told me about 2 possible vacancies on her team!! Yeah, maybe even more fun!! Running with Amy would be the best cure for my disappointment blues. She said she would keep me posted.
About a month before the race she called to tell me I was officially on the team!!! Yippee!!!
“You’ll be running FOR me.” “What?!? No, No, No. Why?” Amy had ruined her heel. She had all kinds of problems going on and she had to stay off it completely for 2 weeks and couldn’t run for at least 6. Ragnar was out for her.
Disappointment again! But at least this time I could still run. Their team is made up of couples so I would be hangin’ with Scottie Billings and their friends from Layton. A couple of days before my flight Amy called to give me the low down on what to pack and what to expect. Even with the heads up, I had no idea what would happen.
Paul picked me up from the airport and it was fun to hang out with his family for the night. Their home is beyond beautiful. Scottie picked me up in the morning to meet up with the rest of van 2. I must have been nervous because my tummy was gurgly. Everyone was very nice, but I could see right away that I was way out of my league. They had run Ragnar several times before and had it pretty much down to an art. Coolers were packed, sleeping bags stowed, tunes cranked.
I was the first runner in our van. I was running from Liberty Park through Eden. Paul has an office in Eden so I wore and Iverson Dental shirt. “Running for smiles & smiles.”
I was not smiling, however. I was struggling to breathe. The altitude was going to be an issue for me. My lungs stopped burning after about the first mile. My 2nd run was my night run, my most difficult run and my favorite run. It was cool and refreshing outside. I climbed a mountain and I got to wear a butt flasher! Awesome! By the time our van finished with our 2nd leg it was 4:00 AM. We drove to our next hand-off location and I paid $2 to “sleep” on the wrestling mat in the gym of the high school. I didn’t know or care where the rest of our van was. I didn’t, however, want to be late for hay hand-off so I laid down with my phone in my hand. I figured if the other van was supposed to be there at 8:30, I could lay down until 7:45. I’d have time to go potty, grab something to eat/drink, stretch and go. As I left the gym I saw Scott looking around in a panic. They were running faster than anticipated and I needed to GO. A sip of water and /2 a banana later and I was off. It was by far my hardest leg. On paper it looked like the easiest, but no sleep is a hard way to function. About 2 miles in I was ready to trade my team in for anyone else’s. They ditched me! They went to go get breakfast at McDonald’s and I was running with no “support”. Luckily, Team Jen, some friends of mine growing up, had a runner and they offered me some water. When I was about a mile from the hand-off I started thinking about how this was not how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be here with my family not a bunch of people I don’t know. Sure they were nice, nice enough to ditch me and go get breakfast! I was exhausted; sleep deprived, and boo-hooing. When I got to the hand-off no one was there! I stood there for about 20 minutes. People were offering to let me use their cell phones. No help. I didn’t know anyone’s number. Soon enough they came around the corner. Scott jogged up to me looking contrite. I slapped the bracelet on his wrist, called him and idiot, and walked away. (Not my most shiny moment) They rest of the team were afraid of me. I was crying and I told them that I needed to use the bathroom please. The van was silent. They drove me to a rest room and I disappeared to be alone for awhile. I calmed down after a while and the rest of the day was fine. The races final miles are straight up “Ragnar Hill”. It’s a huge incline. Nobody can run it. (Except the BYU cross country team the ran it in 18 minutes) They had to hire a sno0w removal company to come in and clear the road, because they had so much late snow this year. I was glad I wasn’t running that leg. When we got in to park City I was glad to see that my Mom was there to meet me. She was pretty proud of me for making a goal and keeping it. She texted a picture of me to all my siblings. It said, “I’m so proud of her and so disappointed in the rest of us.” I don’t care who you are, it feels great to know that your Mom is proud of you. I stayed in Park City with my Mom. We went to dinner and I couldn’t even hold a coherent conversation I was so exhausted. I flew out the next morning to be home again with my family.
All in all it was a fun, intense time. I definitely want to do it again. Hopefully, they won’t bug out on me next time.

Betsy & Scott

I got a tatoo!!!

New Friends, Beautiful Background

View on Ragnar Hill

Snowmobile Fun

View from the Top

Crossing the Finish Line

Our team name was “Swassnar”. Our T-shirts say, “You’ve been swassed”
Here are a few other funny ones we saw:
-11 runners and a bald guy named Dan
-Chocolate Chasers
-The team that must not be named
-Gru and his minions
-Team Jen
-One Hit wonders (they were all dressed as burnt out rock stars i.e. Tiffany)
-Suicide Pace
“The best Pace is a suicide Pace. Today is a great day to die.”
-Domestic Divas
-Mixed Nuts
T-shirts had coconut bras printed on them that said, “Quit looking at my nuts”
-Running…..Still?
-It seemed like a good idea at the time
-Killer Bee’s
-This is the Pace
-Ragnar runners do it 3 times a day
-2 fat guys and 4 hot mommas

16th wedding anniversary -(June)

Mike and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this year. I still love him and in this day and age that's a miracle. This is a picture of the poster I made him. Not sure how the Mombas got moved up, but you can figure out what it says.

Mike's 1st tri

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I think that I may have inspired my husband and his friends to try something new. Mike, Chuck, and Patrick decided to train and enter a sprint triathlon. (So, toot-toot) I'm not going to pretend that I thought he would really see it through to end. Mike talks alot about needing to get in shape. Talk is cheap. This time he really surprised me. He downloaded a schedule off the internet and followed it pretty close.
As the date of the race crept closer Esther, Jen and I decided that this was a really big deal for our boys and we wanted them to know how proud we were of them. So, We designed some T-shirts and had one made for each of us, all our kids, and our men. Are we not the cutest wives ever? If you think yes, you should tell our husbands often. If you think no, then just SHUSH!

Cute Wives Club
Supportive T-shirt
We drove up to Lake Lanier and just by chance saw a lady turn into a church parking lot. We followed her and asked if she knew something we didn't. She did! The bike route came right by the church, twice! We cheered for everyone that rode by. The kids were so cute with their words of encouragement. "You look great! You're almost there!" (they had no idea how much farther they had to go) "Have you seen my Dad? He looks just like Me?"
But the most enthusiastic cheering was held for our boys.
8 of the cutest kids ever conceived (1/2 our mine!)

4 excited and "spirited" daughters

Yeah, Daddy!

We then crossed the road and waited for them to ride by again.

Playing in the dirt is fun. Even if it is in the middle of a cemetery.
Patrick is excited to see us.

Chuck and Mike are too. Nan is "ready" for the high five.

Tired Daddy's always have smiles for their kids

I think we all got a little choked with emotion as all three of our boys made the final turn of the race together. They started the adventure together and that's how they wanted to end it.

Three Great Men

You can't tell me that we aren't the luckiest ladies alive
My Champion
Medal of Honor
Swimming 1/2 a mile and then biking 12 miles and then running 3.5 miles is no small task.

Proud of our Daddy Baugh's+Dalton's+Andrade's=Friends/Family

We have been so blessed to have such great friends. We live nowhere near our family and yet we truly feel that we have family right here in Georgia. All in all it was a great morning to celebrate the achievements of our Husbands and Fathers. Great Job Boys.