Some random shots and some random thoughts...

to show what we've been up to lately!

My thumbs look like: big toes, they belong on a little person, they've been cut off.

I've heard all three of those things my whole life. I used to be kind of self-conscious about them. Now I love how unique they are. But the other day I was clipping Max's toenails and I suddenly realized that his big toe bears a striking resemblance to my thumb. What do you think? And can you tell which is the toe and which is the thumb? :) *Not fair to look to the side of the subjects in question which will totally give it away*

Nothin' better than cuddling with my little bud on a Sunday afternoon. And what is it about Sunday that makes me want to take posed pictures of my kids? Well, this particular day was because I love this particular dress on Kelly and I love Max in a tie.

I finally got around to decorating Kelly's room!

I've had a few projects in mind for a long time now, but haven't had/made the time. For Kelly's baby shower, my friend Tristalene did this cute banner with Kelly's name cut out on polka-dot paper. I liked it lots, so I decided to hold onto it and frame each letter of her name on a different background. I priced out frames I liked and realized this could be more of a do-it-yourself project that would make it cheaper. I purchased the frames from Michael's ($4.99 ea.); bought 2 bottles of paint - brown base and then added some purple to give it more of a cherry look ($.79 ea.); 5 pieces of scrapbook paper ($.50 ea.). Pretty cheap and a pretty great result! The other wall is a bit of a work in progress, but for that wall I had 4 white frames that I got from someone at some point and for some reason had held onto. I painted them to match the others and then painted each of the mattes a different color to match the room. The clock in the picture was silver, but that got the same paint job to match. Here's the final product...I felt really proud of myself! *The letters show up better in person...actually the whole room looks cuter in person*

For play group last week we went to this great park where they have five fountains that the kids can play in. The water is only about 6 in.-1 ft. deep. Perfect. Every few minutes, the top of the fountain "bursts" and you can soak yourself if you so choose (which Max did not). Kelly even loved sticking her feet in. We topped off the afternoon with a visit to Cold Stone. Yum. It wore the kids out...Max was asleep within two minutes of our drive home.

Last week we had a scorcher - 90 degrees! I know that doesn't sound like a hot day for a former Las Vegan, but when you don't have air conditioning...it's H-O-T! Hot enough to put Max's swimming pool to its intended use. We ALL got in our suits (minus Ty who was out of town) and we ALL sat in that tiny pool for the better part of an hour. It felt so good to get in that freezing water. Then we hit the mall where the air conditioning kept us cool the rest of the evening.


Look who thinks she gets to be big! I sat Kelly up between my legs and she stayed steady on her own for a bit...long enough for me to take a few pictures. That afternoon Ty came home from a 4-day trip with the Young Men (we missed him SO much!) and I wanted to show him the new trick. I thought she would just do what she had done that morning, but I guess she wanted to show off for her dad because she just sat and played with toys for a LONG time. Wasn't she JUST born?! (I LOVE the picture in the center...it makes me laugh. Do you think the flash was a little bit bright for her? :) )
Today we went to a cool (new to us) park about 15 minutes from here for our play group. Lots of grass to play on, a fun pirate play area, and it 's right next to the water. What more could a little man ask for?! On the rocky beach we found tons of little crabs (Max is showing you one in the 1st picture) and something I haven't seen at the other beaches we've been to around here....jellyfish! (in the bottom center picture) The last picture is the view from the beach of the Hood Canal Bridge. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful view. I love where I live!

26 reasons....

that my sister, Beha (or Bethany as the rest of the world knows her) so totally rocks!

1. She has the most beautiful smile and she uses it often
2. She has 4 kids ages 5 and under and she is amazing at keeping up on their scrapbooking
3. She has 4 kids ages 5 and under and she has not lost her sanity :)
4. Bethany is the best listener, a quality that I've realized recently is rare and precious
5. She is so thoughtful and puts others needs/emotions/happiness before her own
6. Beth loves her family and would do anything for them...which is awesome for me since I'm part of said family
7. Bethany is always there with a good, sincere compliment
8. She has such a talent for doing crafty things
9. She is a beautiful sleeper (like a poser in her sleep - like in the movies)
10. She has an infectious laugh and she laughs a lot
11. Beth can laugh at herself - a great quality!
12. She has great faith and turns to the Lord for help and answers constantly
13. She is a great cook
14. Beth has always been a great help to our dad in the kitchen, which is probably part of the reason for #13
15. She's planning the reunion for next year :)
16. She has awesome hair
17. Bethany has amazing eyes and lashes...my favorite thing to do when we were growing up was to put make-up on Beth's eyes
18. She always let me pluck her eyebrows
19. Beth is a super faithful friend
20. She has been to Hawai'i twice and loves it almost as much as I do
21. She is a SUPER mom - if you need proof, just spend a few minutes with her adorable kids
22. Beha is a great record-keeper, which will benefit her posterity forever
23. She thinks I'm funny (or at least pretends) :)
24. She is a fabulous example of bearing trials with grace and patience
25. She gets a really cute "bull ring" under her nose when she cries
26. Beth is the greatest sister and I am so thankful that we are ETERNALLY linked

HAPPY, HAPPY 26th BIRTHDAY, BEHA-HA!

My name is Danalin....

and I'm a guilt-aholic. Seriously. I am addicted to feeling guilty. I'll explain, but let me start with a story:

Several years ago I was taking one of those color personality tests. You know what I'm talking about? There are about 100 multiple choice questions, some of the questions have positive attributes and some have negative. With each question, you choose the one that best describes you and by taking the bad and the good, they give you a score which tells you your 'type' of personality. Well, I was stumped by one question. I read it many times and then finally continued, tagging it to come back to at the end. I finished the rest of the questions and then came back to the question that had me stumped. I'll explain my confusion. It was one of the questions with a grouping of negative attributes. I don't remember what the other ones were, but there was one that just didn't seem to belong in the negative category. I voiced that to my mom who was doing something in the kitchen. I commented about it a couple of times out loud while I was trying to resolve it in my mind. "I just can't understand why they have one positive attribute grouped with negative." Seriously perplexed. Finally my mom had me read the question. I read them all and then said, "and they put 'demanding' in there with those!" I heard nothing but laughter for the next 5 minutes, followed by an "Oh, sweetie" when she realized that I was serious and had tears in my eyes. It had never occurred to me that being demanding wasn't a desirable attribute. I was a very demanding young lady and I felt like that was the way to get things done. By being demanding, others knew what I wanted/expected and I was rarely disappointed because I had so much control over what happened. (I remember even telling my mom when to tell me that I was wonderful and beautiful and a great person...and I seriously felt good when she said it even though I had just told her what to say) BUT I felt that I was demanding in the nicest possible way. It was one of those moments that makes you really step back and look closely at how you want to act and interact with others. It was a life-changing aha! moment. I'm probably still demanding, but at least now I know that it's not such a desirable attribute. :)

Okay, now for my most recent aha! moment...

Lately I have been striving to draw closer to Heavenly Father and I feel like I am getting that relationship back on track. I love the feeling. There's something about drawing closer to His light that shows the dirt and grime a little bit better. "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them" Ether 12:27 in the Book of Mormon (I don't know how to do that tricky thing where you can click on 'Book of Mormon' and it will take you to lds.org or mormon.org to find out more...so please visit either of those sites should you want to know more). As I have felt closer to Heavenly Father recently, the fact that I often lay the guilt on VERY thick has been weighing on my mind. I've never, until the past few weeks, considered that to be a weakness. I always felt like I was being sensitive and that the guilt helped me to be better. That would be true if I were only allowing a healthy amount of guilt to be heaped upon my heart. But I take it to the extreme. My mom and Tyler have been the only people in my life to point it out, although I am sure that others have noticed. My mom always called me the "hair shirt girl" - I guess people used to wear hair shirts as punishment (?) and she pointed out that I would take it out and put it on myself often. Tyler is constantly telling me to "let the guilt go!" He has also told me several times that I must love feeling guilty, otherwise I wouldn't have the feeling so often. I have always laughed it off or adamantly disagreed. No longer! It's true. I must like it. I think it's an addiction, a terrible kind of addiction because it has kept me from feeling about myself the way that Heavenly Father would want me to feel. I barely remember the last time I didn't have a huge pit in my stomach about something...I let Max watch more than an hour of TV; George, Clifford AND Super Why! - I got lazy and didn't make a dinner that would have leftovers for Tyler to take to work - I didn't get the bathrooms done today even though I DID do all of the laundry and the floors and took Max and Kelly to the library and the park - I stopped for a few steps during my run because I was tired. I am even battling a huge feeling of guilt about the fact that I have allowed guilt to rule so much of my life!

I realize that this sounds ridiculous and you may even be having a chuckle right now. Rightly so. But I am really serious about this being a serious inner struggle. It is a debilitating weakness. I've shed many tears over this the past few days. I feel so frustrated. I've had an epiphany that I don't think I can adequately explain here. I feel that this weakness has prevented me from becoming the best version of myself. When I am overcome with feelings of guilt, I can feel myself withdrawing from my Father in Heaven. I have so many negative thoughts about who I am and what I can accomplish because NOTHING I do is good enough; there is always something that I could have done better. I am praying and working to get rid of this terrible addiction. It is so true that I actually look for things to feel guilty about. My husband has been right all along. As I am praying and working to get rid of this, I feel a great battle going on inside. It's almost physical - a struggle between my spirit and my 'natural man'. This has been so much a part of me for so long that I feel myself fighting to keep it. Why?! Why would I want to hold onto something so negative? Because Satan has tricked me for so long, making me think that my feelings of guilt were actually helping me to become a better person. I don't know how to overcome this, but thankfully I don't have to do it alone. I am very grateful for prayer. I am grateful for the scriptures and for the incredible gift and power of the Holy Ghost. I felt that I needed to do this post to get some of these feelings and thoughts out of me. My next step is my journal where I'll be able to go a little deeper. Any advice would be appreciated from you, my dear friends and fellow bloggers. I know that I can't be alone. And it's okay if your first response is laughter or an eye roll...I forgave my mom. Just be sure to follow it up with an "Oh sweetie." :)

I'm committed!

Or maybe I need to BE committed. I just signed up to run my first half-marathon. Leavenworth, Washington - October 4th - 13.1 miles. The farthest I've run thus far? 5 miles. My hope is to love it and train for a full marathon to be run in the spring. Let's just see how this goes...

Whaling Days

I love Silverdale! It's a smallish town with a community feel, but we also have all of the box stores that I "need" in close proximity to our home. Plus, it's GORGEOUS here. Oh, how I love the green. Whaling Days (a town festival held each year the last weekend of July) brings out my Silverdale pride!

The festivities start with a fireworks display at our favorite place - Waterfront Park. They have a carnival set up all weekend with all sorts of unsafe-looking rides. Max and Ty went on this big green slide just before the fireworks began. It was a total hit for the little dude...pure excitement. You would have thought that was the coolest - and only - ride there. Ahhh, I love this age.

Flash was MUCH too bright...

The next morning is the 4-mile and 1-mile runs and Kids Dashes. I ran the 4-mile last year and Ty joined me this year. Okay, so we saw each other at the start and finish. His time was a whole lot better than mine...but I have shorter legs! My dear friend Tristalene ran with me again this year. I felt awesome about my time. I beat last year's time by about 4 minutes. It was $2 to sign Max up for a kid's dash so we figured that even if he froze (which he did) the $2 would be worth the picture and the memory. Little did we know that he would get a stuffed whale and a finisher's ribbon to boot!

The race meltdown..."Mom, carrrryyyy meeee!" Poor little fella.

The big pay-off! Totally worth the trauma. A stuffed whale to be treasured forever.

After the run we stayed for the parade. The highlight for Max, of course, were the fire trucks. It should be noted that this year (a first according to our friends, the Morgensens, who grew up here) we had a huge balloon float. It was a large whale held down by strings, floating above the Harrison Medical parade people. We were thoroughly impressed.
Until next year, Silverdale, carry on as the best little place to live. We hope to run your streets, watch fireworks over your water, and enjoy a quality parade with you again next year.

Summer Rocks!

I love summer! Isn't there just something about summer that makes the days seem extra happy?! I love that we are having warm (but not TOO warm, my Vegas Family and friends, feel free to come visit), sunny days where it's best to be outside. We're having lots of simple fun this summer (picnic outside, otter pops...errr, Hawaiian Punch pops which are way better, runs around the track combined with Max running like a mad man after a football or soccer ball, and a nap in the swimming pool)...here are some pictures to document the outdoor and indoor fun that we're having.

*Actually, first you really need to watch this video. It's not super long, but you do have to be a little patient to get to the really good part. It will so be worth it - your day will be a little brighter. Kelly laughs when Tyler or I tickle her, but Max has been the only one to elicit a spontaneous laugh just by doing something she finds funny. Okay, now you can watch...*

Some pictures of my beauty during our front-yard picnic yesterday...
Oh my!


Like any anal mother, I made Max take off his shirt to eat cherries during our picnic. Like any adorable two-year-old, Max loved it! The picture to the left was taken after Max said, "Mom, take a picture of my back" and the picture to the right is him turning around to make sure that I got the picture of his back.





During her nap Kelly had worked off her pants, which made me laugh...but the real joy here is the smile I get (see right) every time I go to get the little lady out of her crib. Oh, and also those rolly thighs. Love 'em.

"Mom, this is a campsite!" Nice handiwork, Max. But my favorite part? When I could tell from the next room that toilet paper was being dispensed at a furious rate I said, "Maaaxx...what are you doing?" I hear it being rolled like crazy again and when I went in to inspect I expected to find it all over the floor. Not so! My little boy rolled it back up!

*Please don't be grossed out that I let my son play around the toilet, or I guess if you are that's your business. :) I just cleaned it, though*

The Mom and the Maxster
(check out my little man's baby blues to the left! Handsome fella.)



My photo shoot with Max. Best result: my son thinks I'm hilarious!

I love his little crossed ankles...totally kicked back, enjoying a simple childhood pleasure. Okay, so it's not just a childhood pleasure; I usually eat two to Max's one.

I love this little shirt I just scored at the GAP for $3.97...made me want to take even MORE pictures of my babe! Okay, I always want to take pictures of her. I can't help myself.

We finally found a little plastic swimming pool! Everyone has been sold out and last night I found out Toys R Us had a bunch so we went this morning and bought it. It's a little chilly today so we've had fun just playing in it and under it. Then I thought, "Why not take a nap in it?" That's where Max is right now...

In the interest of full disclosure....

I love being able to put all of the cool things we do as a family on my blog. I love writing and bragging about my achievements. I love all of the comments I get about how great I look after having a baby and how awesome I am for doing triathlons. I love how I feel about myself after reading said comments. However, tonight I'm feeling sad/frustrated and even my own blog annoyed me. Recently my friend, Ann, put up a post that left me inspired. It was nice to read something so real. Sometimes I want to get on and read that someone I know has had a bad day so that I know I'm not alone (not that I want you to have a bad day!) I think the blogging world can leave us with the sense that everything is so good in everyone else's lives and that our lives do not match up. Heck, I think life in general is that way. I heard somewhere that often when we're measuring ourselves against another person, we are measuring our worst against their best. I think that's so true. I hate when someone says to me that they don't think I have bad days or stressful times with my kids. I am so like everyone else - ups and downs, irrational emotions, major weaknesses. I don't want to be one of those people that you measure yourself against. S00000...in the interest of full disclosure:

• I only post the pictures I look good in. There are plenty of pictures that show that my stomach still has serious rolls or that my hips are really wide...but I either delete them before they can be downloaded from my camera or I just choose not to post those ones for the world to see. Mostly, though, they've all been deleted. Otherwise I would post one here.
  
• My last triathlon time was super slow. ANY of you could have gotten out there and done as well - or MUCH better - than I did. I loved that it kicked me in the pants to get on a better workout routine, but let's be honest - I really stunk!
• I LOVE being a mom, BUT there are days that it is really hard and really draining. Today has been just such a day. My son is VERY two and my sweet little baby girl needs me a lot still. I feel like I need a mom vacation. I don't want to give up the job for more than an evening or two, but I would like a break. I am feeling drained tonight. Here's a story: on the second to last day of our recent trip we were on the road for about 15 hours. Toward the end of the drive, I was sitting between Max and Kelly. Kelly was sad and so over being in the car. Max was too, but he was just getting annoying. He kept touching my arm and making loud noises and "hammering" me with his toys. The boy loves to hammer. He said in a really whiny voice, "Mom, I want to hammer your head" My response? "I'm going to hammer your head in a minute!" I was only half joking. It made Tyler and I laugh, though. How disturbed are we? I'm glad my little man didn't really understand.
  
• I feel lonely often. Girlfriend lonely. I wish that I had a good group of girlfriends to hang out with. I do, but we just don't get together very often. I know that's partly my fault and so I need to make more effort. But sometimes I wish that it didn't take effort, you know? Like the kind of friends that you feel comfortable popping in on and looking like junk in front of. Or just one.
• Lately I can't keep up on housework the way I normally like to. Tomorrow is laundry day, but it seems like I just had laundry day. I'm dreading it for some reason.
  

Now, it's really hard for me to just leave it at that. I know I should. But I feel better for having vented a bit and I'm going to climb in bed and need to end on a better note. And this is my blog, so I can do what I want. I really love my husband and my kids! Tyler is teaching me how to swim freestyle (at my request) so that I can be more competitive in our next tri. He's a patient man. Even though Max is so two, he is also so cute. The other day he gave me a "Good job, mom!" when I made him breakfast. Love it. Kelly has started a new smile that I find even cuter than her full-body smile.

Ups and downs, just like everyone else. You knew that I had them, I just wanted to lay them out there for you. Full disclosure.