Nannyish

I'm employed!
This week I started a nanny position with two different families.  M-F I work in the mornings with a 3yo boy and a 5yo girl.  The girl really likes art projects and playing make believe games. The boy goes with what his sister wants to do, but if it's just the two of us we play on the swing set and throw balls for the dog.
I'm with the other family just once or twice a week in the afternoons.  They have four kids, but I just stay with the younger two while the older brothers are in school and mom runs errands.  I can see why mom prefers to have someone stay with them at home while she goes out.  They're 2.5yo twin boys and they have boundless energy and mischief going on.  They totally egg each other on and seem to plan their trouble together.  They're pretty easygoing, though.  One boy was born without one ear and the other has partial hearing loss, so their mom said that she thinks half the time they can't hear you and the other half of the time they ignore you, haha.  I play with them for an hour, then they go down for a nap and I just read and watch TV for the rest of the time. Pretty easy gig! They also have a dog who keeps me company and plays fetch/naps with his head on my lap.

Not going to lie, I was really excited when I found out that both families have big dogs I can play with, too.  The moms were both saying "oh, I hope they don't both you- just put them outside if they do".  Actually, I'm pretty sure being able to have vicarious dog ownership is the biggest perk of the job.

Two grand years.

I've been married to this guy:

...for two years!

For our anniversary, Sam worked all day and I ran errands all day. Yippee! But right after Sam was done work we went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple to do a sealing session.  This is the temple that we were sealed in 2 years ago, so it was just perfect. For those who don't know, we did sealings for other couples who were married civally but had not been sealed for time and all eternity before dying.  We act in proxy for them, and then they are able to accept or reject the ordinance as they wish.  But I must say- the spirit was so strong as we worked in the temple that day.  I think there are a few more happy families who have been reunited. 

Sam's pretty darn awesome.
I like being his pillow for naps, and vice versa.

I love that he takes care of me.

This EXACT thing went down when I threw out my back.

Artistic rendition courtesy of Megan

I enjoy the fact that he appreciates the weird stuff I do. For example,  I hid under a nearby desk for over 30 minutes waiting to see if he would find me.  He didn't. Even with the text picture I sent him.

 

I love that he is such a hard worker. Not only at WORK, but at home and church too. This boy is going places.

A great deal of credit also goes to him for getting me done with school. I had some really hard semesters that crossed over with some really hard times, and he completely got me through it and made me believe in myself.

I love this wonderful family that I now get to be a part of.  My family sure loves him too (Uncle Sam-I-am)

He HATES costumes, but he will even humor me so long as I look sillier than he does. Which I always do.

He is so supportive me me and my goals and interests.  Him coming and supporting me with my races means the world to me.  Sometimes the exact thing you need to push through the last mile of a marathon is knowing that somebody is expecting you at the finish line (and will hold you up when you're pretty sure you're about to die). 

We sometimes go do fun awesome things:

And sometimes we just act like hobos:

But pretty much, he's my best friend, and he's awesomesauce.

Bryce Canyon Half Marathon

Back near the end of June I got to pace a half marathon down in southern Utah.  Sam came with me and we camped out in our tent for the night. The next day was very, very rainy so we didn't end up going hiking or anything like we had planned, but it was still a fun little weekend trip.

 

This race could have been really hot, so I'm glad for the rain.  It was quite a lot of steep downhill, which made pacing a lot slower than usual hard on the knees, though.

I think that this lovely lady portrays pretty well how soggy it was:

The views were really great. I carried my camera with me and tried to take pictures, but they came out very blurry from rain on the lens + bouncy running.  Here's what it looks like when it's sunny and you're standing still:

Overall, it was a fun little race in a great location.