Every now and then I get in a little reading spurt, but then I fall out of it and don't read for like, years. But this summer I got some good reading in, took FULL advantage of the library we have down the road. I thought I would post some of them.
I decided I would finally read a Jane Austen novel, since every I know loves and reads them and I was just curious. So I read Pride and Prejudice...and LOVED it as well! At first it was hard to get into because the language was so flowery, there were so many characters and all the women were Miss, it seemed. But as I got deeper into it, I really liked it. I liked it even more when my good friend let me borrow the 5 hour BBC movie version. It helped smooth everything out in the book. Colin Firth is so dang GOOD as Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth is now my girl-crush! I could totally see myself re-reading that one.
I read The Hunger Games. Just the first one. This book was so addicting, but I really felt like at times I was watching a scary movie with my hands over my eyes. It left haunting images in my head of people getting their throats slit and stuff. Really gory. But the book was so intriguing at the same time. I just love Katniss and Peeta's relationship. I have yet to read the next 2 in the series because honestly....I am afraid! I know the basic premise of both Catching Fire and Mockingjay and I even know how the series ends (I am a sucker for spoilers and reading the end before I finish!), HOWEVER, I don't want to be up at night thinking of what a depressing world they live in. Yikes. Eventually I know I will cave, probably during my next reading fix.
My mother-in-law lent me a book that I am currently reading called Intuitive Eating. I am a firm believer in most of the concepts outlined in the book. I think we live in a diet-obsessed society, but why are people just getting fatter when there are more and more dieters all the time? If we weren't so obsessed with food, whether it is what we eat or choose not to eat, then maybe things would be different. I related to this book because I fell into the category of being an unconscious eater, I totally eat without any thought to it. That is a habit I need to change. When you diet, it doesn't matter what kind of diet, you are thinking of food, like ALL day! When you deprive yourself of something, it only makes you want it more. Anyways, still reading it, but totally digging it.
I just finished another ya book called Matched. It is sort of a cross between Twilight series and Hunger Games series, minus the gore. It is a love story set in a dystopian society (lots of books out there with this theme...). The first half of the book was good, but I could still put it down. The last half completely intrigued me and now I am wanting more, since the first one left me hanging on the last page. It is a new book, so most people haven't read it, I assume, so I won't put spoilers, but it was really really good. It is also a trilogy, with the second coming out this November and the third November 2012. I am sure they will put it to a movie and I am already thinking of who I want to play Cassia, Ky and Xander. Yes......there is a love triangle. Don't most books have one these days??
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The end of summer is nigh...
Did I forget to mention that we got a trampoline? It was a birthday present to the kids from Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen as well as mom and dad! My kids love it, they are on it every single day. Here are some shots of us the day Matt set it up. Matt and I got some good aerial shots, yes?
A few months ago I painted my table black and I keep promising my mom that I will post a pic. Well, here it is! I am pretty happy with how it turned out, how it looks. It was a lot of work, but it was good prep for painting my kitchen cabinets white. If I can find the time and motivation to do so.
Having a yard this year has been so much better than last summer. It is nice to just turn on the sprinklers or let the kids play in water when the afternoon gets toasty. Sometimes Matt joins in :)
I have to watch this kid! He will get all lazy in the pool and then start to fall asleep.
Even though my birthday was at camp this year, we had cake the night before I left.
This last Thursday my good friends Laura and Nanci held a birthday celebration for me. We had a really great time, and stayed up way too late chatting, eating treats and talking about some really....interesting stuff :) I got some fun gifts, including this one below:
Nolan got some random weird infection on his little toe and so Matt turned into a surgeon and tore it up. At first, it seemed worse, but then it got better and now he is happy and running around again :)
Our garden did well this year! If you want cherry tomatoes, come on by. We have tons and tons and no one in my family will eat them :) But boy, the kids like to pick stuff! We got some squash, green beans, and now tons of red peppers....my favorite. We have 2 pumpkins growing that should be ready next month for some early carving, maybe?
Proud parent moment that I was not here to see: Reagan had her first soccer game ever while I was on my way home from camp. She really loves it and is outside practicing all the time. It does make my soccer heart go pitter patter. And she looks adorable in her uniform with the gear that grandma and grandpa got her! Their team name is Blue Dolphins.
This summer I participated in an art class co-op with 3 other moms. The older kids (aka Reagan, not Nolan) got to attend 4 different art classes. Each one had a different theme, such as color, texture or shape. I hosted the last one and it was on lines. It was messy. The kids did splatter paint outside and this was it. By the end, they were covered in paint and I tried hosing it off best I could, but some went home with legs and arms full of paint. I felt really bad about that! But the kids had so much fun, all was not lost.
A quick trip to the mall with my kids and no Matt is never fun. But we went and my kids were awesome! I let them play in Disney store as a reward and then they each got to pick out a sweet treat from Sweet Factory. Luckily, the chose 30 cent suckers :)
Monday was our last running club for the summer. The kids had so much fun doing this!! They had a little potluck of treats afterwards and then presented the kids with medals in a ceremony. Here is Reagan getting her last punch, with her grand summer total of 25 miles!!! YAY REAGAN!
Nolan was a running star the last couple of weeks. He really got into it and completed 10 1/2 miles this summer! GO BUBS!!!
Reagan with Coach Amy, the brilliant mind behind running club.
Nolan with Coach Amy:
Here are all the running club kids, posing for a last picture on the bridge. 
Laura and I took our kids to Brentwood to pick peaches. It took about 5 minutes, so we decided to make the trip feel more like an outing by stopping at Rubios for lunch, then HomeGoods across the street :)
I had to retire my running shoes after I wore them to girls camp! They came back with holes, no cushioning and quite smelly :) I really really wanted a nice pair because I am running Ragnar next month. Well, yesterday we happened into Marshalls and I found me a pair of Asics Gel Kayanos for 70 dollars!! YOWZA! I had picked these exact shoes out at Sports Authority for 150 dollars the week before, but Matt said umm.....no way Lacy. Glad he did, because we got a steal yesterday! Happy Running to me!
A few months ago I painted my table black and I keep promising my mom that I will post a pic. Well, here it is! I am pretty happy with how it turned out, how it looks. It was a lot of work, but it was good prep for painting my kitchen cabinets white. If I can find the time and motivation to do so.
Having a yard this year has been so much better than last summer. It is nice to just turn on the sprinklers or let the kids play in water when the afternoon gets toasty. Sometimes Matt joins in :)
I have to watch this kid! He will get all lazy in the pool and then start to fall asleep.
Even though my birthday was at camp this year, we had cake the night before I left.
This last Thursday my good friends Laura and Nanci held a birthday celebration for me. We had a really great time, and stayed up way too late chatting, eating treats and talking about some really....interesting stuff :) I got some fun gifts, including this one below:
Nolan got some random weird infection on his little toe and so Matt turned into a surgeon and tore it up. At first, it seemed worse, but then it got better and now he is happy and running around again :)
Our garden did well this year! If you want cherry tomatoes, come on by. We have tons and tons and no one in my family will eat them :) But boy, the kids like to pick stuff! We got some squash, green beans, and now tons of red peppers....my favorite. We have 2 pumpkins growing that should be ready next month for some early carving, maybe?
Proud parent moment that I was not here to see: Reagan had her first soccer game ever while I was on my way home from camp. She really loves it and is outside practicing all the time. It does make my soccer heart go pitter patter. And she looks adorable in her uniform with the gear that grandma and grandpa got her! Their team name is Blue Dolphins.
This summer I participated in an art class co-op with 3 other moms. The older kids (aka Reagan, not Nolan) got to attend 4 different art classes. Each one had a different theme, such as color, texture or shape. I hosted the last one and it was on lines. It was messy. The kids did splatter paint outside and this was it. By the end, they were covered in paint and I tried hosing it off best I could, but some went home with legs and arms full of paint. I felt really bad about that! But the kids had so much fun, all was not lost.
A quick trip to the mall with my kids and no Matt is never fun. But we went and my kids were awesome! I let them play in Disney store as a reward and then they each got to pick out a sweet treat from Sweet Factory. Luckily, the chose 30 cent suckers :)
Monday was our last running club for the summer. The kids had so much fun doing this!! They had a little potluck of treats afterwards and then presented the kids with medals in a ceremony. Here is Reagan getting her last punch, with her grand summer total of 25 miles!!! YAY REAGAN!
Nolan was a running star the last couple of weeks. He really got into it and completed 10 1/2 miles this summer! GO BUBS!!!
Reagan with Coach Amy, the brilliant mind behind running club.
Nolan with Coach Amy:
Here are all the running club kids, posing for a last picture on the bridge. 
Laura and I took our kids to Brentwood to pick peaches. It took about 5 minutes, so we decided to make the trip feel more like an outing by stopping at Rubios for lunch, then HomeGoods across the street :)
I had to retire my running shoes after I wore them to girls camp! They came back with holes, no cushioning and quite smelly :) I really really wanted a nice pair because I am running Ragnar next month. Well, yesterday we happened into Marshalls and I found me a pair of Asics Gel Kayanos for 70 dollars!! YOWZA! I had picked these exact shoes out at Sports Authority for 150 dollars the week before, but Matt said umm.....no way Lacy. Glad he did, because we got a steal yesterday! Happy Running to me!
Girls Camp 2011
I was fortunate enough this year to be able to return to Rucker Lake for my second year in a row as a leader at girls camp. I was even more fortunate to have the same group of girls as last year. I went as a second year leader last year and this year I was the level leader for 3rd years. It was a lot of preparation ahead of time. We did 3 prehikes, a pizza party and pack check the weekend before camp. The girls were certified in certain things (safety, CPR, dutch oven cooking, etc) prior to camp and then certified in more stuff while at camp. There is lots of meetings and planning menus and equipment for our 3 day/2 night hike, and I won't lie: I complained a LOT! I am not really comfortable being the leader over things, I much prefer to just have assignments given to me. Plus, it was just a lot of work...did I say that already? :)
But then the week of camp came and I was suddenly so glad that I committed to this. Those of you who have been can attest that there is an excitement that is in the air like never felt before. I was the recipient of a few tender mercies on this journey. The Saturday before camp, I was jumping on our trampoline with my kids and I did something to my back. Not sure what, but all I know is that by that night, I was in PAIN! It felt impossible that in two days I was leaving for camp, and would be hiking 9 miles uphill with a 20 lb pack on my back. I spent all day Sunday icing it and made a few frantic phone calls just to give the directors a heads up that I possible might be too injured to go. A good friend in our ward is a chiropractor and he was so kind as to let me stop by his home for a little adjustment late Sunday. He did some stretches that really helped the pain.
To make matters worse, as I was getting things ready for camp the next day, I started feeling a sore throat come on. I honestly thought, "You have GOT to be kidding me!" Was I not supposed to go to camp or something? Bad timing to let me know this now (this was of of course, me speaking to the man upstairs, but I promise I was a little kinder in my prayers :)). Matt gave me a blessing that night and I had the overwhelming feeling that yes, I was supposed to go to camp and that it all would be right.
We met at the Oak Grove building the next morning and we were off. I, however, wasn't feeling great. My throat still hurt and I was feeling a bit of a fever come on. I pounded the tylenol like mad, alternating it with ibuprofen so that my back would get some relief. The 3 hour drive up to camp, I had thoughts of how crazy this was for me to feel this way on to camp and how much I envied my normally healthy self.
We laid low Monday, getting camp set up and getting ourselves acclimated. Our hike was to begin early the next morning. I went to bed that night still unsure what my status would be the next day. Like most people the first night in camp, I slept horribly. I was smarter this year and borrowed a cot from a friend, but it was still rough.
Somewhere in the night, a miracle occurred. I woke up Tuesday morning and I.felt.fine!!! My back, although slightly stiff from the nights sleep (or lack thereof) was pain-free. My throat felt fine. I didn't feel achy. I felt good! Some serious prayers of gratitude were said that morning.
We hiked all day that day. I had 13 girls, 3 other women leaders and 4 men leaders. We were awesome. This was a difficult hike. Most of the 7 miles were uphill and because of the water levels so high, we had to cross some rivers, waterfalls, streams. It was a gorgeous hike, with greenery and wildflowers everywhere. Despite the difficulty of the terrain, no one complained! Everyone kept on, encouraging each other, lightening the mood when needed and there was a spirit felt on our hike that was awesome. They bonded and we bonded with them and we were united as a team. Such a great day! We arrived to our destination around 5pm, Beyers Lake! Everyone was tired and worn out, but as only a united team can, we got dinner ready, water pumped from the lake and all was good. Needless to say, we slept REALLY well that night and well into the morning!
Wednesday at Beyers Lake was our day "off" hiking. It was so fun, we got to play, swim in the lake (with water snakes....which I did....unbelievable!), the girls did some certification. Just a fun day of bonding and enjoying each others company. Wednesday was also my 30th birthday! I really wasn't caring whether we did anything or not, my birthdays don't feel like much to celebrate anymore. I guess getting old isn't as fun! Our group had other plans, though. We had swam out to this rock in the lake and on our way back, I was one of the last to arrive back where we had set up camp. Suddenly, everyone is singing happy birthday and there is a cake made from ding dongs and everyone got some princess goody bags. A few birthday banners and balloons had been strung up between trees. I was presented with a t-shirt that said, "This Princess is 30" (the theme of camp this year was a princess/royalty theme). Matt and the kids had made a card for me and I had to put it away quickly because the waterworks started almost immediately. It was a fabulous day and certainly one I will never forget!
We hiked home the next morning and arrived blistered, sore and tired...but we did it! Everyone made it in one piece, carrying our own stuff and it was seriously so awesome. I don't have a single pic from the hike or camp since I didn't take my camera this year. Just this one I stole from the Merrill's blog. I am supposed to get a cd full of pics, so maybe I will have to update with those when I get it. But this is our group on the hike up.
The kids had a blast at home with Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen, who flew out to be with them the entire week. I came home to a happy family and I am so grateful to them for sacrificing! My sore throat returned the day I got home from camp and persisted for a full week. Talk about tender mercies. What a blessing not to have the keep me from my hike. And now I am signing off for a while, as one grateful and happy mama and hiker! Love to you all :)
But then the week of camp came and I was suddenly so glad that I committed to this. Those of you who have been can attest that there is an excitement that is in the air like never felt before. I was the recipient of a few tender mercies on this journey. The Saturday before camp, I was jumping on our trampoline with my kids and I did something to my back. Not sure what, but all I know is that by that night, I was in PAIN! It felt impossible that in two days I was leaving for camp, and would be hiking 9 miles uphill with a 20 lb pack on my back. I spent all day Sunday icing it and made a few frantic phone calls just to give the directors a heads up that I possible might be too injured to go. A good friend in our ward is a chiropractor and he was so kind as to let me stop by his home for a little adjustment late Sunday. He did some stretches that really helped the pain.
To make matters worse, as I was getting things ready for camp the next day, I started feeling a sore throat come on. I honestly thought, "You have GOT to be kidding me!" Was I not supposed to go to camp or something? Bad timing to let me know this now (this was of of course, me speaking to the man upstairs, but I promise I was a little kinder in my prayers :)). Matt gave me a blessing that night and I had the overwhelming feeling that yes, I was supposed to go to camp and that it all would be right.
We met at the Oak Grove building the next morning and we were off. I, however, wasn't feeling great. My throat still hurt and I was feeling a bit of a fever come on. I pounded the tylenol like mad, alternating it with ibuprofen so that my back would get some relief. The 3 hour drive up to camp, I had thoughts of how crazy this was for me to feel this way on to camp and how much I envied my normally healthy self.
We laid low Monday, getting camp set up and getting ourselves acclimated. Our hike was to begin early the next morning. I went to bed that night still unsure what my status would be the next day. Like most people the first night in camp, I slept horribly. I was smarter this year and borrowed a cot from a friend, but it was still rough.
Somewhere in the night, a miracle occurred. I woke up Tuesday morning and I.felt.fine!!! My back, although slightly stiff from the nights sleep (or lack thereof) was pain-free. My throat felt fine. I didn't feel achy. I felt good! Some serious prayers of gratitude were said that morning.
We hiked all day that day. I had 13 girls, 3 other women leaders and 4 men leaders. We were awesome. This was a difficult hike. Most of the 7 miles were uphill and because of the water levels so high, we had to cross some rivers, waterfalls, streams. It was a gorgeous hike, with greenery and wildflowers everywhere. Despite the difficulty of the terrain, no one complained! Everyone kept on, encouraging each other, lightening the mood when needed and there was a spirit felt on our hike that was awesome. They bonded and we bonded with them and we were united as a team. Such a great day! We arrived to our destination around 5pm, Beyers Lake! Everyone was tired and worn out, but as only a united team can, we got dinner ready, water pumped from the lake and all was good. Needless to say, we slept REALLY well that night and well into the morning!
Wednesday at Beyers Lake was our day "off" hiking. It was so fun, we got to play, swim in the lake (with water snakes....which I did....unbelievable!), the girls did some certification. Just a fun day of bonding and enjoying each others company. Wednesday was also my 30th birthday! I really wasn't caring whether we did anything or not, my birthdays don't feel like much to celebrate anymore. I guess getting old isn't as fun! Our group had other plans, though. We had swam out to this rock in the lake and on our way back, I was one of the last to arrive back where we had set up camp. Suddenly, everyone is singing happy birthday and there is a cake made from ding dongs and everyone got some princess goody bags. A few birthday banners and balloons had been strung up between trees. I was presented with a t-shirt that said, "This Princess is 30" (the theme of camp this year was a princess/royalty theme). Matt and the kids had made a card for me and I had to put it away quickly because the waterworks started almost immediately. It was a fabulous day and certainly one I will never forget!
We hiked home the next morning and arrived blistered, sore and tired...but we did it! Everyone made it in one piece, carrying our own stuff and it was seriously so awesome. I don't have a single pic from the hike or camp since I didn't take my camera this year. Just this one I stole from the Merrill's blog. I am supposed to get a cd full of pics, so maybe I will have to update with those when I get it. But this is our group on the hike up.
The kids had a blast at home with Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen, who flew out to be with them the entire week. I came home to a happy family and I am so grateful to them for sacrificing! My sore throat returned the day I got home from camp and persisted for a full week. Talk about tender mercies. What a blessing not to have the keep me from my hike. And now I am signing off for a while, as one grateful and happy mama and hiker! Love to you all :)
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