TOU HALF (Again)

So, I didn't have time to give you a commentary yesterday...and I'm sure someone was crying or screaming as I was posting pictures...but I knew that Jason's family would want them...so on with it now...

The Half was out of control this year--in that they had over 2000 people signed up to run it. This is in comparison to 700 in 2007 and around 1300 last year. But I always enjoy the atmosphere of these races. If you are there early enough to catch the winner...it is absolutely amazing. This years winner did it in 1.06 (that's 5 minute miles) and he was holding back for another race later in the day. And that is amazing! But also amazing is the variety of people that run. There are people who push their bodies to the very limits to accomplish this one goal. I saw one guy sprint across the finish line and then face plant it on the road. Another lady completely lost control of her body 10 feet from the finish line and was literally dragged across in order to finish. Then there are the people who seem to thrive on running. A 12 year old finished in 1.22-ish and looked great. One guy did a front hand spring across the finish line. Then there are those who you know just accomplished something that they never really thought possible--the smiles and tears and exhaustion all evident on their faces as they finally cross the 13.1 mile marker. It's all amazing to me.

Also amazing is the influence Jason has had on his family. He started running 2 years ago and in that time, and because of his example, several of them have began running too. And it is all so much fun. The emotions at any race are so strong! And the time you get to spend together before and after is always awesome.

Anyway...congratulations McKellar's! You are all amazing.

And good job Jason. You are the ever amazing, always improving, over-analyzing, I can do anything, genius.

Oh...and I listed times in the previous post's commentary...

TOU HALF

Entertaining Mialee

Since kindergarten doesn't start for another week, and Mialee is the queen of "When will it be?"... we decided that a little entertainment was in order. So today we grabbed a couple of friends and went to feed the ducks. And man are there a lot of ducks. The geese are a little scary and I kept having to chase them away from the kids, there were ten million "adolescent" ducks, including a few in-breds with some scary hair do's, and we even encountered one poor duck with a broken leg that managed to make it almost to shore by pushing himself along with his good leg (we fed him extra). After the food was gone the kids thought it was fun to chase the ducks and once they all swam away they went swimming. Good entertainment!

First Day of School...again

When It's a Bad Day

In thinking about the Liberty Jail and the time when Joseph was held there....

"Every one of us is going to spend a little time in Liberty Jail--spiritually speaking. We will face things we do not want to face for reasons that may not be our fault. We may face persecution, we may endure heartache and separation from loved ones, we may be hungry and cold and forlorn...

BUT...not only has the Savior suffered, in His case entirely innocently, but so have most of the prophets and other great men and women recorded in the scriptures. And the point is this: if you are having a bad day, you've got a lot of company--very, very good company. The best company that has ever lived.

AND..The Father and the Son live and They are close, perhaps even closest via the Holy Spirit, when we are experiencing difficult times. ...Heaven's kindness will never depart from you, regardless of what happens. ...Bad days come to an end, faith always triumphs, and heavenly promises are always kept."

Here is hoping that anyone having a bad day will have it end soon. And may you all remember the love of our Savior and feel His company in your darker moments. I love you all!

BoAtINg....

So, we made boats the other day. It was a lot of fun. And then we sailed them in the ditch.
"Cause having a ditch in your front yard is awesome!
Nikell saw Mialee posing (the "head tilt") and so decided it was the proper way to do a picture.
Mialee's person is my favorite...and the wheel to steer. She is so creative! Help her create something and she will play with it for the rest of the day! We had so much fun!

Is This Supposed to be a Game?

I can just see my father-in-law's mouth, with the corners twitching up, trying to hide the smile that is proof that he enjoys a good game as well as any McKellar. Or could it be that my mother-in-law, upon sending away the X-Rated vase to the other end of the earth, could not stand to be without a migrant token of her love for us all? Hmmmmm....part of me can see great potential in this vase. I could use this. I do have a new kitchen to decorate, ya know. Perhaps it was a heart-felt gift! Game on, I guess...but I may alter things a bit and penny-pinch the parts I want :).

In the life of Jason...

One night, not long ago, Mialee and Sierra were fighting (as usual, these days...new baby, ornery Mommy, time to go back to a token economy) about who owned a sweatshirt. So Jason, being the good Dad he is, decided to solve the problem by claiming the sweatshirt for himself. To verify his claim he even showed them how well it fit. Notice the blurriness of half of these pictures--I was laughing too hard to take a decent one. The hardest part for him was trying to push his belly out far enough to hold his shorts up high enough to hide his underwear.

More Pictures

My neighbor called and offered to take some pictures for me...Wooo Hooo!

Facebook Frenzy

You know, when you first jump on the bandwagon and join the rest of the world in the one thing you avoided for so long simply for the reason that everyone else is doing it...it's an interesting phenomenon. Your mind starts to warp and your day starts to consist of thoughts like, "Jeri Dawn is angry." or "Jeri Dawn just ran into a wall." Thankfully the novelty wears off and you can return to normal after a while, sort of. However, as a women I often find it difficult to post on Facebook simply because I cannot narrow my thoughts down to one little sentence. Here is what I want to post....

Jeri Dawn loves her little baby ball. The newness and the smells and the compactness and the sheer joy of holding your very own little baby ball. I love it, I do, I do.

Jeri Dawn supposes that throwing up does serve it's purposes, but it's seriously gross and not fun at all. Oh, and whose job was it to clean the toilet anyway?

Jeri Dawn is so appreciative of family and neighbors and wonders if she should suck it up a little more.

Jeri Dawn came up with the perfect nick-name for her husband. In fact, I might have it engraved on his tombstone....unsympathetic genius.

Jeri Dawn is enjoying taking it easy, but it also having a hard time being forced to take it easy. My floors need mopped, again.

Jeri Dawn is dreaming of the day when her kitchen is all the way done. Complete. Moved in. Beautiful.

Jeri Dawn is in awe at the spiritual wonders of having a baby. It is her strongest testimony that God places them in your arms and then wraps His arms around your both and gives you all His love.

Jeri Dawn listened to the thunder and lightning all night long and wondered how her husband and children were faring in the tent. Not that I checked or anything.