SUPER GIRL

Jessie competed in her first Triathlon and she freek'n killed it!

She was something like 30th out of the water even though there were 170 in front of her 120 of which had a 5 minute head start AND she had to stop and open her wet suit because it was to small. She could have shaved another minute off easily i'm sure. I added some pictures from the race that I hope Jessie is OK with.

Smiling, that's a good sign

She wasn't sure about how the timing worked so she waited until everyone took off before she started. I think she was toying with people. :)

Not sure where she is now.

When she came out of the water it was still mainly guys coming out so most of our group didn't see or cheer for her. She was the fourth girl out.

Transition 1 - 3 min 10 seconds. That can use some work. I'm guessing next time it'll be 87 seconds.

Her 5th time on a road bike... not bad.

We didn't see her 2nd transition - 1 min 8 seconds, better but room for improvement. :)

She got dominated on the run so she is determined to focus on running for the next one.

The second this picture was taken Jessie started celebrating and slowed up so she could wave her hands in the air and you can see that snake coming up in the back ground that sprinted ahead and beat her by a 10th of a second so Jessie got third in her age group. (Take your victory lap after your victory) 3rd is not bad! She did great. We were really surprised that she did as well as she did for her first. She learned a lot so the other athletes better watch out for her.

You did amazing on the swim. You're awesome Jessie!

-Cole

on returning

why is that we have the need to anticipate something in the future?

something to look forward to.

& why is it that once that something comes to an end we are left feeling gloomy?

post trip depression if you will.

a few highlights from our recent trip to st. george with my hubs family:

Random tidbits.

Excited over here that we are finally feeling the warm sun on our backs.

Enjoying watching our kids learn how to swim.

Only 7 days until my first Tri.

Thankful daily for a great husband. Really. He gets better every day!

Recovering from a Spring/Summer cold is never fun.

Now that it's warm out, and the inside of this place was attacked during those long cold months... we are busy working outside.

A few before & afters for fun.

She's spunky and she knows it.

She's proud of it. I'm proud of it.

I love this little peanut.

The other day she was trying to get Coles attention.

It went like this:

"Hey Dad! Hey Cole! Hey Cool! Hey Boy! Hey Boyfriend!!!!"

& in case you are wondering YES - Molly is having a great summer as well!

This is his don't take pictures of me face.

I got this face today when I wanted to bring the camera along.

In fact, when I tried to walk him in for his last day of class I got the "don't come in with me Mom" talk.

He even ran away from me.

Whaaaaaaat!?!

Since when am I not cool!?

He's only five and I will tell you what - today I think I'm holding him back.

He can do kindergarten all over again next year, thank you very much! ;)

On a side note, we made this for his teacher as a thank you.

(the fish one.)

Ella wanted to make one for her teacher too.

She isn't in school.

So we made one for her swim teacher - SO appropriate.

Happy Summer Breaking!

Let the fun begin Mom's.

Forgive me for a minute while I brag about my son here.

I just have to say he is such a great baseball player.

Totally natural talent that boy has - really, absolutely no fear! ;)

He must take after his ol' Dad:

(black eye from his soccer game last week)

I read this blog and got to thinking... AMEN!

Not the I hate Mothers Day part... I actually LOVE Mothers Day.

Give me a day to put everything off onto my husband any day! ;)

Just the part about Motherhood being full of passion and vulnerability. "It's letting another human being carry a piece of your heart around" and "Don't buy me a corsage. Get me a sword and shield to fight a safe path to lead my kids through this life."

I spoke in Church on Sunday. Mother's Day Sunday none the less.

It was the toughest talk I've ever put together.

Knowing the different feelings Women have regarding this day made it difficult to find the right words to say. I ended up speaking more on personal revelation - and relating it to women. How with inspiration we can strengthen our own faith, our families, and serve others.

All in all it went well. BUT I was left thinking "I should have said this instead, or should I have not said that?" I worried about it for awhile and then realized this isn't worth exhausting any energy over. I was the speaker and I spoke from my heart. Who cares what people think. End of story.

If there is one thing that I can give my children it would be confidence.

No question about it. Perfect sword and shield to fight their way through life with.

I found this article years ago in a magazine and have hung onto it.

Maybe it's time to share:

Ten rules to help children develop healthy, positive self-images:

1. Teach your child to be competent in something he or she really enjoys. Children need objective proof they're capable people. Introduce them to experiences they can succeed in.

2. Be your child's special friend. Take time to have fun together. Play games, share athletic activities, go to the movies, hike through the woods, go shopping with your child.

3. Provide many sources of praise. Your praise means more than anyone else's, but if it comes only from you, your children will conclude you're the only person who thinks they're worth anything. When they get a job as a teenager, it might be better if they work for someone else. Youths need to gain confidence in interacting with others successfully.

4. Help battle their personal dragons. If your child has an irrational fear of something, don't help him avoid facing it. At the same time, son't keep throwing him back in to frightening situations where he's unprepared to succeed. If your son's afraid of presenting oral reports to his class, role-play with him. Let him give his report to you, over and over again.

5. Provide opportunities to make decisions. Don't put children in situations they aren't yet prepared to handle alone. As they gradually mature, insist they do certain things on their own. Each successfully completed task or challenge will build self-respect.

6. Don't be overly critical of honest mistakes. The child who spills a glass of water isn't a clumsy oaf, but if you call her that, she they may become one. When children spill something, hand them a towel. They know they made a mistake, so don't abuse them for it. The best teacher is the natural consequence - enough messes cleaned up, and they'll be careful to avoid making them.

7. Don't make impossible demands. Don't make life a bed of roses - but don't make it a bed of nails, either. Give your children experiences to challenge them and help them grow. Make sure they don't have too many that lead to failure. Otherwise, they may begin to believe they can't do anything right. Better to achieve a little less, and get them used to success.

8. Have regular times alone. Give children time alone with you they can count on. Parents can become so involved with older kids younger children may feel like they're unimportant. Also, babies or younger children can take so much of mother's time that older children may feel they just don't matter anymore. Set aside special time alone for each child.

9. Create a climate of encouragement. It isn't enough for your children to receive praise. They should also learn praise from each other. Make sure the whole family knows about each others' achievements. Each week in our Monday family night, one child has a turn in the spotlight. We talk about something good the child did that week, or something about his personality that's important to us.

10. Give them many reasons to think of themselves as good people. Parents often encourage their kids to be good in sports or develop their talents, but forget to teach them skills in moral behavior. There is pleasure in doing good for other people, and children should learn to experience that pleasure so they'll want to feel it again and again.

The best way to raise children to become responsible, competent, confident adults with a good self-image is to repeatedly allow and encourage them to be responsible, competent, and good while they're young. Reinforce and compliment them when they exhibit these behaviors.

-LDS LIVING November/December 2002

Told you I've hung onto to it. 2002. I wasn't even married yet.