Spudman Triathlete!!

On Friday we headed to Burley, Idaho with our friends Jeramy and Liz so that Matt and Jeramy could compete in the Spudman Triathlon.  Besides the fact that we drove to Idaho, watched a triathlon, then drove back to Utah in less than 24 hours, we had a great time.  There is just something about being around races that is just a cool feeling.  The girls loved watching their dad, and I did too!  There is just something about Matt running around in tight spandex that I love :).  

Congrats Matt and Jeramy!  You guys did great!

Randomness...

I ran across some older pictures today and they were so fun to see, so I will share...

Cute little Reese.  You forget that they used to be even littler than they are now.  

Me doing some sweet moves on the tramp.  Look at that air!

My sweet little Lauren.  I miss those little curls!

Mmmm, coconut milk in Kauai. 

Oh, how I want to be back at that secret little waterfall in Kauai!!  

Update...

Well, I went to the doctor yesterday for my first appointment and it didn't go all that well.  I had an ultrasound and unfortunately the doctor was unable to find a heartbeat.  I have what is called a molar pregnancy.  I had never heard of it before, and I guess it is pretty rare.  From what I have learned it is a growth of abnormal tissue.  Both normal pregnancies and molar pregnancies develop from a fertilized egg, though in a molar pregnancy the egg doesn't grow as it should.  So pretty much, my body thinks that it is pregnant.  My doctor felt the uterus earlier in the appointment and told me that my uterus was enlarged and soft, which meant that I was definitely pregnant.  So, if I were to take a pregnancy test right now it would be positive, so I have all the symptoms and hormones of being pregnant, just not the fetus.  I was in the process of deciding whether I should get a D&C or if I should just let it abort naturally, but my choice was made for me today when it passed naturally.  Definitely not a fun experience, but I'm glad that the process has started and will hopefully be finished soon.  

I am doing surprisingly well... much better than I thought I would.  Of course right when the doctor told us, we were in total shock and extremely saddened, and although it totally stinks I am feeling at peace about it now.  It's amazing how prayers and loved ones can really help in difficult times!  I have actually been quite impressed with myself :). Hopefully everything will be better in the next few days.  

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know what was going on and hopefully I explained it somewhat coherently ;).  I understand that things happen for reason, and I know that faith can show us amazing things if we are looking in the right places.    

Things that are COOL... in no particular order...

10 Cool People

John Adams (founding father/president)

Joseph Smith (prophet)

Nanon Record (my mama)

Matt Wren (my husband)

Johnny Depp (actor)

Abigail Adams (awesome lady, and wife to John Adams)

Jane Austin (wonderful writer)

Shirley Temple (actress)

Sherri Dew (Writer, business women)

Jeffrey Holland (apostle)

I'll have to add an 11th... Adam Record (brother)

10 Cool Movies

I Am David

Pride and Prejudice

Three Amigos

Star Wars

Little Women

Big Trouble In Little China

Lord Of The Rings

Nacho Libre

Count Of Monte Cristo

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory

10 Cool Places I've Been

Kauai, Hawaii

Anaconda, Montana

St. Petersburg, Russia

Tallinn, Estonia

Stockholm, Sweden

Helsinki, Finland

New York City

Puerto Rico

Gdansk, Poland

Oslo, Norway

10 Cool Books

The Secret Life Of Bees

Harry Potters

Twilight Series

No Doubt About It

Mutant Message Down Under

The Food Revolution

The Glass Castle

The Giver

Man's Search For Meaning

Chronicles Of Narnia

Cool, huh.

Yes, I know... I've been slacking a bit in the blogging department.  It's actually been a whole month since I last posted!  I think I will be doing a little better from now on, so I'll be trying. 

Well... I suppose I have some fun news... I'm pregnant!!!  Yay for me!  I'm really excited and I feel great.  I probably am at the stage where I shouldn't be telling people, but I just have such a hard time keeping it in!  I am almost 8 weeks along, so I've got a loooooong way to go.  I think my due date is February 16.  I have my first doctor appointment next week, so I'm super excited!  It feels like it's been forever since I've been pregnant, and I think I'm kind of weird because I seriously love being pregnant.  We'll see if I'm still saying that in a few more months ;).  

Happy Birthday to Me!!

So, I will start off by saying that I have a really cute husband.  I know a lot of people don't like to read when people brag about family and all, but hey,

 I'm gonna do it!  My birthday was on May 29, and Matt has made it the best "birthday week" ever.  He decided to throw me a big surprise party.  It was so much fun!  He blindfolded me and took me to Classic Fun Center in Layton.

There were a ton of people there, and we spent the night playing laser tag, roller skating, eating pizza and playing on the big blow up toys.  Those things are awesome!  We were cracking up playing on them.  Most of us ended up with a few injuries, but it was worth it.  I guess that's proof we are definitely getting older.  It totally felt like a high school date or something!  It was so fun to be with everybody.  I have GREAT friends!  Afterward, we headed to Pace's and ate an awesome rainbow float... mmm,mmm.

On my actual birthday, Matt and I got some lunch and saw "Speed Racer".  Say what you will, but I LOVED it!  The last part of my birthday week was yesterday.  Some of my cute friends took me to Tony's for lunch, then Matt and I headed to Salt Lake and ate at Ruth's Chris.  YUMMY!  Best steak ever!  We thoroughly enjoyed all of the food, especially the 2 desserts we got!  We finished the night off by playing Mario Kart on the Wii with some friends... so fun!  

This was a great week, and I really realized that I

 am surrounded by wonderful people.  I am a very lucky girl, and yes, I know that I am spoiled!!  Thanks everyone!

FEED ME!

Matt has been sick the last week and a half, and it seems to be getting worse, so we decided to make today a relaxing stay at home day... so fun!  The weird thing is I that I cannot get food off my mind today!  It started off with having apple streusel pancakes... lovely.  From that point on, I couldn't get enough food.  I would crave something like chips and salsa.  After having a few bites, I would feel satisfied, but then start fantasizing of the next food I was going to eat.  I'm not just talking about thinking that something sounds yummy, but thinking about how I am going to get it and where, going down the list of my favorite foods at restaurants, and imagining how good they are going to be.  Really weird, I know.  I seriously can't get it off my mind.  Of course, most the things I'm wanting are REALLY healthy and good for me, so that's great!!  I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else ever fantasizes about food... all day long!     

My Little Lauren

My friend Lacee tagged me to do a post about my little Lauren.  It's a great excuse for me to brag about my girls ;).  Hmmm... what to say...

1.  Lauren is really a sweet girl.  She's got a very tender and sensitive heart and likes to help people.  She doesn't like to do anything bad.  She has a real desire to do what's right and feels bad when she doesn't.  She loves to help me and is quite the little smarty!!  She loves learning and being in pre-school.  She loves her sister and they play so good together (thank goodness!!). She is a really good example.   
2.  She loves to dance.  She is in a ballet class and loves it.  This is a picture at her first recital.
3.  Lauren is one picky eater!!  If I let her she would just eat Pizza Factory breadsticks and candy all day long.  She is finally starting to try new things, but for a while she would literally only eat Cheerios, Mac n' Cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, and apples.  We would try everything to get her to try new things.  When she would finally give in and try it, she would usually throw it back up!  Lovely!  

4.  Lauren is a girly girl!!  She loves princesses, to dance, dress up (as you can see of her in Disneyland in front of her favorite ride "Tower of Terror"), pretend, and everything else a girl would do.  She has quite the imagination.  I love to listen to her play with her toys.  I'm not sure where she comes up with the stuff she does, but she loves to play in her little imagination world for hours.  

5.  She is freakishly good at playing the Wii!  Her favorite game is "Rayman: Raving Rabbids".  She seriously can beat us at some of them, and we're not even letting her.
6.  She loves to travel with us.  She's been able to go to some fun places.  Her favorites are San Diego and Puerto Rico.  This is her at Sea World about to pick up a star fish.  She also loves animals!  She takes after her mommy in that way!

I love my little Lauren.  She's at a fun age... it's fun to have actual conversations with her.  She's getting all grown up... CRAZY!  

I want to hear about Luke H., Andrew C., Kaleb Z., and Caden N.  

 

Race For The Cure

A little over a year ago, my very favorite aunt passed away from breast cancer.  She left behind her awesome husband Kelly and 4 awesome children Tara, Jenny, Shannon, and Casey.  To say the least, they are an exceptional family, and I love them all so much.  This year, I decided that I wanted to be a part of the "Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure" run/walk in Salt Lake.  A friend of mine has done it and told me it is a really neat and emotional experience.  So, my brother and I set up a team called "Forever Christine", named after my beautiful aunt and my cousins darling tutu business (foreverchristinetutus.blogspot.com).  If anyone is interested it is on May 10.  To register go to www.komenslc.org and look on the right hand side of the page and click on "Komen SLC Race for the Cure".  That will take you to the next page where you click on "Register for the race here".  Next, click on "Register Now".  If you don't have a MyActive account you'll have to register by filling out some info.  At some point you can choose to join a team, which is "Forever Christine".  I just think it would be so great if a bunch of people came.  For all of you who are using the excuse that you don't run, you're in luck.  You can either walk or run the 5k, or walk a mile.  You can also walk with strollers, so that's nice!  It starts at the Gateway, so it sounds like it will be great.  Let me know if you have any questions.     

And The Winner Is...

So, my brother did the drawing and the winner is... Jordan Frazier!!  Congrats Jordan!  Now all you need to do is go to his etsy store at falldowntree.etsy.com or his blog at falldowntree.blogspot.com and pick out which one is your very favorite, then e-mail Adam at adammrecord@gmail.com and let him know.  E-mail him if you have any questions.  Thank you all for participating... it was fun to hear the different opinions of what people liked, and my brother really appreciated it!!  

Pizza Runner

I have really been trying to eat better lately, and Matt is usually right there to help me out, but yesterday he came home for lunch and brought me some Pizza Runner breadsticks with sauce, of course!  I don't know how many of you have had these little bits of heaven, but they are oh so yummy!  Part of the reason I like these so much is because they are quite nostalgic for me.  Pizza Runner is pretty much across the street from the high school I went to, which means that before I could drive, my friends and I would walk over there for lunch almost every stinking day and eat a bag full of breadsticks.  Those were the days!!  They were something like a dollar for the breadsticks, and 50 cents for the sauce.  Ahhh, every high school students dream (at least for me!).  Anyway, I of course demolished the breadsticks and enjoyed every second of them!!  If you haven't had the opportunity to taste these little beauties, I highly recommend them!    

Fall Down Tree

I don't know if any of you guys have siblings that are so super talented, but it seems like my 3 brothers took all the talent that I would have had.  Seriously, my brothers can do some amazing things.  Today I'm going to spotlight my brother Adam.  He's a great musician, being able to play piano, guitar, banjo, etc. all by ear, he is a great photographer, he sings beautifully, and is really funny among other things.  He is also a great artist.  He has recently started making children's wall  art after searching for the perfect print to put into their little girl's room.  After looking for something creative and unique to hang on the wall, he decided to just make some himself.  That catapulted into him and his wife Jill starting a business together.  They call their company Fall Down Tree and they now have an etsy store that you can check out at falldowntree.etsy.com.  Some cute boutiques around Utah have also started to sell them, and they will be at an art and craft show called Oh, Sweet Sadie on May 2 and 3 and May 9 and 10 (www.ohsweetsadie.com).  To see his latest creations go to falldowntree.blogspot.com.  He updates it frequently.  What's great is that my other brother Chris has been custom framing each picture, so it's been a family affair.    

Here's the fun part... leave a comment and we will be doing a drawing for a free 10x10 framed print of your choice.  Contest ends Friday April 25.    

Big Ol' Ice Cream

Another fun day!! I just had to post a picture of the ice cream we ate tonight. So good, but pure evil! It was chocolate brownie batter ice cream on top of a big chocolate chip cookie, with hot fudge, whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, with, of course, a cherry on top!! So good, but I felt myself getting fatter with each bite, so I only a had a few bites.

Also, at the ice cream place, MooTime, they have a big statue of Elvis. So I took this picture in honor of my good friend Aleesha!! She loves that Elvis!

By the way, I need to say thanks to Ben and Nicole for watching Puppy! They always hook us up. Those are some good friends!

San Diego

Matt and I and the girls are in San Diego right now. AHHHH, I LOVE this weather! It really is perfect here. I heard it actually snowed today in Utah!! That stinks! Not to rub it in or anything, but I actually go sunburned today. We went to Sea World and had such a good time! I don't know what it is about these kinds of places (Disneyland, etc.), but I love them! I've decided that the next project I will work on is how to become a trainer at Sea World!!! Can you just imagine me riding around on Shamu's back. I can see it now! We did some fun stuff...saw all the shows, picked up star fish, took a behind the scene tour where we saw dolphins up close, pet some small sharks, and learned a ton of neat things.

If you haven't noticed Matt and I really like to travel. It seems like whenever we go to different places we usually end up wanting to live there. I think we've narrowed it down to a few definite places like Kauai, St. George, Puerto Rico, Estonia, and now San Diego! I've always loved San Diego, but for some reason this trip has solitified my love for it. And you all know that once we get all these places, you are all invited to travel with us, of course :)!!

Anyway, we are having a great time! It's fun to get away and we're enjoying the time with the family.

Awesome Hair Stuff!

I recently started using a shampoo and conditioner called Pureology.  I LOVE it!  As some of you might know, my hair is quite thick, curly, damaged, and a little out of control, so when I find a good hair product I get really excited.  My hair is feeling a lot healthier, it dries faster, smells good, and is so much easier to manage.  It also helps a lot with color fading.  It's a little on the pricey side, but you only need to use about half as much for some reason.  Also, it's earth friendly...what could be better!!  Anyway, for anyone out there looking for some good hair stuff, there you go! 

One Word Only Tag!

you're feeling: content

to your left: Puppy

on your mind: Matt

last meal included: grapes

you sometimes find it hard to: lose weight

the weather: sunny

something you have a collection of: salt and pepper shakers

a smell that cheers you up: Matt's cologne

a smell that ruins your mood: bad breath

how long since you last shaved: yesterday

the current state of your hair: done

the largest item on your desk right now (not computer): printer

your skill with chopsticks: trying

which section you head to first in the bookstore: non-fiction

... and after that? children's

something you're craving: chips and salsa 

your general thoughts on the presidential race: yikes!

how many times have you been to the hospital this year: 6 (don't worry, I was visiting friends and my ob/gyn and pediatrician are at the hospital :)

a favorite place to go for quiet time: my bedroom

you've always secretly thought you'd be good: at changing the world :) 

something that freaks you out a little: suffocating 

something you've eaten too much of lately: fiber one bars

you have never: fully skinny dipped

you never want to: get fat  

Some of those were hard to keep to one word!!  I tag Shannon, April, and my cousin Jenny :)  

Mutant Message Down Under

I just finished reading a book called "Mutant Message Down Under" for my book club.  Such a great book!!  I don't know how many of you read "Eat, Pray, Love", but although it was a decent book, it was definitely not my favorite.  This book has a similar feel to it, but I think it is sooooo much better.  It's a really easy read... you could probably read it in a few days.  The main idea of the book is an account of a woman's spiritual adventure/journey as she goes on a walk-about through the  Australia desert with a tribe of Aborigines.  She learns their way of life and how they think.  Although I don't personally believe everything that she believes, it was a great book to discuss, and really got my mind to thinking.  I really appreciate any book that actually helps your brain turn on and reflect on your own life and the reasons why you do the things you do.  Anyway, I really recommend it to all!!  

"Man Blog"

I don't know how many of you read the last post, but it was not from me.  I guess I need to keep constant supervision when our friends come over, especially if Jeramy Reed is at our home.  For those of you who have no idea what's going on, we have a friend who is completely obsessed with checking out all the blogs around here (blogstalker!).  I don't know what the appeal is, but I guess he is pretty fascinated with our lives (who can blame him ;).  Anyway, my friend and I thought since he was so interested in blogging, we would set up his very own blog for him (you can check it out at swmanblog.blogspot.com).  Anyway, he has now been going around leaving anonymous "manblog" comments on people's blogs, but not identifying himself.  I guess he decided to sneak away, without Matt or me knowing, and got onto my blog last night (I have no idea how he got my password), and do a little post.  Anyway, that was not me, and no, I would never post a big picture of myself that looked like that.  Thank you Jeramy for your fabulous comments, and we anxiously await more!      

ManBlog

My CRUSH!!!

Who is this "ManBlog"? Don't you all find him kind of secretly seductive and sexy? I do. I think he is witty, funny and he has to be very handsome. I just want to get all of your thoughts and feelings on ManBlog. I guess I can say TAG to all the ladies. I don't think we should be so hard on him though. We need this kind of person to mix it up a little and make this more fun. What do you all think? I give him 2 thumbs up and a wink. Don't get a big head though ManBlog, but do keep the posts coming. WE LOVE THEM (and you).

Happy Birthday Matt!!!

Wow, I've been a huge slacker!!  I'll be doing better.  

So Matt turned the big 28 on Thursday!!  We had a lot of fun!  We ate at Rickenbacher's (I think that's how you spell it), which was really good, and they gave us a really good creme brulee for Matt's birthday.  After that we saw the movie Vantage Point.  Pretty good flick, but intense!  My back and shoulders were all tight after the movie finished.  I got him a new Wii game, a shirt, and a tie (before his birthday, he also got himself a really nice backpack and a running jacket).  Then we went to Matt's parents and my parents and we watched that nights Lost...so good.  As we watched Lost, we ate some Ben and Jerry's birthday cake ice cream (mmm,mmm), and some chubby hubby.  Man, that ice cream is seriously evil!  Anyway, it was a great day, and we had so much fun hanging out.  

Husband Tag

I've been slacking a bit on my blogging, so when my friend Nicole did this, it was some good motivation for me.  

 

1. What is his name?   Matthew Robert Wren

2.  How long have you been together?  We've been married 5 1/2 years (August 2, 2002).

3.  How long did you date? We dated for 4 months total.  We got engaged 2 weeks after we started dating ;).  To our defense, we were best friends 8 months prior to dating and we hung out as friends all through high school. 

4.  Who eats more?  Matt does, but not by much!  I sometimes have to remind myself that I have way more on my plate, so maybe slow down a bit.

5.  Who said I love you first?  Although my memory of this is a little different than Matt's, I did say it first, which is totally not like me.  What can I say, I was completely smitten!

6.  Who is taller?  Matt is.  I'm 5'5 and he's 5'11.  

7.  Who is smarter?  I think we both are in different areas.  Stuff comes really easy to Matt.  His college experience was totally different than mine...he breezed right by, while I have to put in the effort.

8.  Who does the laundry?  I do, but he has no problem doing it if I ask him to.  He's had some laundry mess ups, so I prefer to do it.

9.  Who does the dishes?  I do more than he does, but he's pretty good about that.

10.  Who sleeps on the right?  If we are laying in bed, he's on the right side, but it's mostly because that is the side closest to our doors leading outside.

11.  Who pays the bills?  Automatic bill pay.  Matt is more involved in those issues than me, but he likes me to know what's going on.

12.  Who mows the lawn?  Matt does.  I wanted to try one time and he had me stop because my lines were crooked and he couldn't handle it.

13.  Who cooks dinner?  I do most of the time, but he can make a mean breakfast!

14.  Who drives when you are together?  80% him, 20% me.  

15.  Who is more stubborn?  Are you kidding me???  Totally me!  

16.  Who kissed who first?  Matt did it on our first date!  Oh yeah!!

17.  Who asked who out first?  While Matt and I were good friends, I was dating someone else, 

and he asked me out about 5 or 6 times.  I had to remind him that I was dating someone, so I couldn't go out with him.  That didn't seem to stop him, thank goodness.  He was very persistent!

18.  Who proposed?  He did.  It was in Montana.  We went on a little trip to meet his extended family (after a week and a half of dating), and he did it on a baseball field while we were playing catch.  I won't bore you with the details, but it was very sweet!

19.  Who has more siblings?  Same.  I have 3 older brothers and he has 2 younger sisters and a younger brother.

20.  Who wears the pants?  Me.  I think most people would agree with this, but I actually think it is pretty even.  

21.  What is his idea of a perfect date?  A fun dinner at a place like P.F. Chang's or Cheesecake Factory then going to a baseball game.    

22.  What is his favorite thing?  Besides me, he loves anything new and electronic.  He also loves to buy things for his sport stuff (new bikes, running shoes, wet suits, bike trainers, etc.).  

I lucked out with Matt.  I definitely married up... he's very patient and kind, and we have a lot of fun together.  I think when we get together, we are very immature, but I like it!   

May The Force Be With You

I know ladies, don't be jealous!  I've been doing some major ab workouts, and I think it's finally paying off!!!  Also, Matt worked on that feathered hair all morning in preparation for that picture.

We are having such a great time here.  We've been able to do some really fun stuff.  The girls were thrilled to wear their princess dresses to the park and we ate at Goofy's Kitchen, which was such a great way to see the characters.  It was a really good buffet, and it's great because the characters come to you while you eat... so much fun!  I'm thinking that The Tower of Terror is mine and Matt's favorite (and Lauren too!).  It's a good thing we are walking around so much, because we've been able to eat some dang good food!  Tonight we left the park a little early and ate at P.F. Chang's... mmm,mmm. 

Lucky Day!!!

What a great day at Disneyland.  I love it here!!  I literally ran to the front gate with Lauren and Reese.  After our second ride, Winnie the Pooh, as we were exiting the ride 2 Disneyland workers came up to us and said "Congratulations, here are your dream fast passes for being with us during our year of a million dreams!"  I guess they pick a few random people throughout the day and give them this pass with about 12 fast passes for all the big rides.  It worked out perfectly and we were able to get on a ton of rides in a matter of minutes!  After that, it seems like good things just kept happening... it must have been our lucky day.  Hopefully our luck keeps up throughout the week!

Slacker!!

Yes, I know I'm a big slacker.  I haven't posted in 2 days, so I'm blowing it with the 14 day marathon.  To my defense, the last couple of days were strangely busy and I don't think we got home before midnight the last few nights, but I will try to do better!  

On Friday night we had a little pre birthday celebration for Reese at Pizza Factory/Fat Cats. We had a lot of fun, but I must  admit the best part was when we went to play games with the girls.  Reese put a token into the game, and for some reason tickets started coming.  At first I didn't think it was a big deal, but they kept coming, so I went and told a worker.  They told me it wasn't a big deal and to just keep them.  I got all excited, but my excitement soon turned to guilt when 20 tickets became almost 4,000!!  I once again got a worker and they came over and stood by us and watched as they continued to come out.  For some reason all the workers that were helping us were totally fine with us receiving tickets that we did absolutely nothing for. Anyway, it was pretty cool.  We ended up giving most of them away to cute little kids passing by, but the girls were able to get a pretty cool wand that lit up. 

 

So, after church today we left for our trip to DISNEYLAND!  I am so excited!  We will be in Disneyland for 5 days.  I think most people would hate to be at Disneyland that long, but I am thrilled!  I seriously love it here!  Tomorrow will be our first day going to the park and I can't wait to see how the girl's will be react.  The plane ride was great and the girls did really good. Once we got to the hotel I was thrilled to see that Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang's, and California Pizza Kitchen (among others) are right across the street!!! So much for trying to eat healthy while we're here!  Hopefully I'll have some fun pics to post this next week.