Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

So I promised this year that I would journal more so I have decided to do some of that journaling here so that I can keep my family and friends caught up as well. We had a great Christmas in East Wenatchee, WA this year and were spoiled by the LuBean's and the King's when we got back. Santa was very kind this year! Henry loves his easy-bake oven (hey, it looks very man-like in blue and silver), tech decks (little skateboards), transformers, paperoni, and he inherited Jeff's DS (with over 30 new games, thanks to Shae and David's ingenuity!). Elijah was spoiled with Thomas the train tracks, trains, books, bedding, and clothes. He also loves his cars (thanks to Wendy's family and Grandma and Grandpa). Trevor recieved a bunch of cute cars he still carries with him everywhere he goes. He loves his vacuum, MP3 Player, blocks, puzzles, and books. Jeff's Aunt Lucy and Uncle Mike found great soft blankets for the kids. Along with the ones Grandma and Grandpa LuBean bought them, the kids should be sleeping very well soon (if we could only keep Elijah and Henry in their beds at night!). Jeff and I got spoiled as well. Jeff recieved a PS3 which he is excited about games and Bluerays already. He also got clothes, books, and movies. I got some great books, the Bullet blender, pans, lotions, games, and some boots!

Family Portrait in December 2009

Robin at Temple Square with the Young Women

Our plans this year are to have more family time and one-on-one time (husband/wife time and mommy/son & father/son dates). I am super excited to get one-on-one time with everyone in the family. We are excited about our LuBean Family Reunion in June this year in Idaho. We miss the seeing Wendy & James and Whitney & Adri's families. I can't wait!

This year has lots in store for us and I hope to be able to keep you all in loop!

The King Clan on Halloween

Two power rangers, 2 cowboys, and a pink lady - oh, the joys of Halloween!

I am really trying to keep up!

Ok, so I haven't written much lately. But, in my defense, I have been posting on facebook a lot and many of our newer pictures are in albums there too. So to give an update on our random lives, here's the goods on what's up with the King's:

~Jeff started a new job on Tuesday. He is doing the same thing as before (security system sales), but with a company that has more potential and compensates the employees for their hard work. He also recently helped me finish building our garden boxes and we are so excited to have a full blown garden this year for the first time!

~Henry finishes his Kindergarten year tomorrow. He has grown so much the past few months. He is energetic, feisty, and a little too smart for his own good. He is reading fairly well now and knows how to operate our iPhones, computers, and theatre room. His summer plans include spending a lot of time with his "block buddies" (there are so many fun kids that live on our block). We also will be at Seven Peaks Water Park at least twice a week since we got a season pass there. Oh, and he just lost his first front tooth this week!

~Elijah is now a 3 year old. He loves being the boss of everyone. After almost 9 months of being potty trained, he now will go to the potty by himself (without someone helping him with pulling his pants up and down). Hooray! He still puts himself down for naps when he's tired (I know, I'm lucky). But he is a super picky eater and prefers all his meals in bags or packages . . .

~Trevor is still the smiley baby he has always been, but he will be 16 months tomorrow. So I guess I should say he isn't much a baby anymore. He can talk a little more than most his age - his repertoire includes: Amen, thank you, down, eat, food, Momma, Dadda, juice, uh oh, ow, shoe, and hi (I am sure I am forgetting some). When he's not trying to find a way into the bathroom to play in the toilet, he is finding my iPhone to play with . . .

~And then there's me . . . the only new stuff is that I did the American Fork Women of Steel Triathlon on May 16th. It was really fun, though, I wished I had trained a little harder and practiced transitioning from swimming to biking a little more quickly. I still would love to do one more this summer, but can't decide which one to do. I also joined this nutrition and fitness group (started by a friend from my last ward). It is called "Live the Life" Kristi Approved. It is a nutrition plan that teaches you to eat to maximize your metabolism's power. The fitness side of things includes weight lifting everyday, which I never have done consistentely before, so I am excited about results. But I will not post my "before" picture, unless my after picture is spectactular. I have 9.5 weeks to go and so far I have lost 6 pounds, 3 3/4 inches off my waist, and 1 inch off my hips. More importantly, I am learning to eat super healthy foods and expanding my horizons with organic and raw foods (I ground my own wheat and oatmeal this week to make oatmeal flour and cream of wheat. I am going to try whole wheat pita bread tomorrow - fun!)

Saving money.

So I was really excited about the deals I got this morning at Albertson's, that I had to post it here too. I went after my run in the morning because I was worried everything would be gone. I ended up spending $29.08. And are you ready for my savings . . . $183.79!! Whoo hooo!

Couponing Fun!

Ok, so I don't really need another thing to do, but since I have been on this couponing kick the last month, I have saved a lot of money. Normally I am a generic brand, Wal-mart shopping gal so I feel like I normally save a lot of money. But Claudia Griffith and a few other girls in the ward talked about spending only $100-200/month on groceries (not just food too). I had to get in on this craze! So we usually spend more than twice that per month, at least, when you throw in diapers, baby wipes, deodorant, toothpaste, lotion, personal hygiene items, etc. My goals this year (besides losing 20 pounds and becoming a secret agent) are continuing my 3 months supply of everyday eating foods and getting my year supply of other foods. Since I have started couponing, I almost have my 3 months supply of everything (except perishables) and about 2 months of wheat, flour, sugar, oil, beans, oats, powdered milk, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cornmeal and rice. I hope I can accomplish my year supply in the next few months with the amount I am trying to save grocery shopping.

So to get me excited about this endeavor, I am going to post my good deals for shopping to keep me pumped. So this week I went to K-Mart (where I rarely shop) who has double coupons this week. I needed cereal and http://www.savvyshopperdeals.com/ told me about some other deals with coupons. Anyway, I got 5 boxes of Special K (I love the cereal, but rarely buy it because it is super expensive), Juicy Juice for the kids, and some soup meals. And my grand total was $3.03 (and .54 was tax)!

I made it!

Yep - it's over. I am glad, but kind of sad too. It was a hard race - it rained the whole time and I ran the last 16 miles by myself. After mile 12-13, I felt pretty great the rest of the race. My time was 4hours 9minutes. I was really happy with that time since I beat my PR by almost 22 minutes. Will I run another marathon? I thought I wouldn't and this was my last, but I am considering another. Why would I put myself through that torture again? I don't know, but maybe the look on my face after completing the race says it all -- it is the look of accomplishment and relief. How many times do you get to see that with 3 kids under 5, a hubby who works a lot, and sometimes too many responsibilities? A marathon isn't just about the run, it is about all the things you have accomplished in your life up until that point . . .

Marathon Jitters

Yep, the marathon is in 3 days. I still can't believe I am doing it. I also can't believe that my prayers were answered and I think my knee will be fine. I am also thankful that I got mastitis a few weeks ago because even though it was horrible, it made me stop running for a week - which saved my knee. I am happy when Heavenly Father answers my prayers, even when the answers come in strange ways. It reminded me of when I prayed that Elijah wouldn't be born early like Henry because I didn't want to bring a new baby home while living at the in-laws. And my prayer was answered because that day he turned breech and I had to have a c-section. But I really think he would have come early had he not been breech - so I get my answers in crazy ways!

Anyway, back to the marathon, I am documenting this now so that I can't give up while running. I want to finish the race and run the whole thing. That is goal #1. Goal #2 is to finish in under 4 hours. I know for some people this would be a sinch, but I know it will be hard for me. I know I can do it. I keep picturing in my head that female gold medalist marathon runner and how she looked as she ran that race. I remember seeing her at mile 18 and I had to keep watching. Anyone who can run that fast and make it look so easy should get more than a gold medal. So I cheered for her. I even was almost at tears as she reached mile 23 and I started yelling for her. She was so close. As she got so you could see the finish line, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. So she will be my inspiration during the race. When things get hard, I will picture her with her 0% body fat and her ab muscles moving in sync with her swinging arms. ANd when that isn't enough, I will think of my 4 boys waiting for me at the finish line - I know that will get me through this. . .