Indoor Track

Jac and Thomas have had a great time running indoors lately...
Their first meet (yes, Thomas is running with the high school boys!) was at BYU
they ran the MILE
Jac  got a PR with 5:29.7
Thomas got a PR of 5:29.1
Yes, Thomas was pretty excited to beat his big sis by .6 of a second :)

Here are photos of the Kearns meet

Jac ran the mile in 5:19!! another PR! 

The 2 mile was the last event and Jac was STRONG! She came in 3rd with an 11:39! 

Yep, another PR :)

Thomas had a goal of getting under a 5:20 mile. (hmm... did he want to beat his sister?)
He "barely" PR'd with a 5:11!
 He shocked EVERYONE by beating his best time by 19 seconds!

Thomas ran the 800 in 2:20....both his times are records for the junior high boys at Lehi!

It's been fun having both kids run in the same meets. Thomas LOVES the challenge of running with the "big" boys...no one knows he isn't one of them since he LOOKS just like them! He has amazing determination and doesn't let anything get in his way of reaching his goals.
Jac has been an amazing example and mentor for him!

Some people ask, "Is Jac happy that her little bro ran faster than her?" 
She is one of his BIGGEST CHEERLEADERS! Anyway, boys are SUPPOSED to be faster so it's OK. So in reality, in "girl standards" she's still faster :) hee hee

Saying goodbye...

It's official...

meet Elder and Sister Whiting!

After 2 months of packing up things and throwing away at least 20 garbage cans worth of STUFF; they were ready to go!

The essentials of packing for a 2 year mission:

LUNA BARS 180 to be exact! (who needs clothes?)

Zip Fiz &vitamin drinks

Compression socks for the plane ride

a FEW ties :)

We were lucky to spend the last few hours with them and travel to the MTC for them to catch their shuttle to the airport

Reality is setting in...

Hugs for everyone!

Grandma's last wave goodbye!

It was SO HARD to say goodbye. We stayed around as long as we possibly could! We even followed the shuttle out the MTC gates :) yep, we are stalkers!

We thought COSTCO would be the perfect place to go in honor of Grandma and Grandpa (thanks for the idea Beth and Justin!) Costco is going to miss them during these next 2 years! 

Hopefully they will be able to stay in business...hee hee!

Some favorites to remember!

I have to keep reminding myself that this IS a GOOD thing!

We LOVE you Elder and Sister Whiting!

She's 10!

Is it really here? Emily has been counting down the days since...Christmas!

She loved her presents, especially her oil pastels (Thanks Nicki for teaching her how to use them!)

Emily couldn't wait for her party at the FOAM PIT!

Emily, Kaori Mckinnon, Faith Merrill, Cambry and Mia Johnson

We loved hanging out watching the girls play!

It was a TOTAL BLAST!

The girls came back for some Oreo ice-cream cake decorated with a "Tangled" theme of course!

Next up, GAMES! Emily had the house decorated with streamers and knew exactly what games she wanted to play. The first game had to be "Sock Wrestling" like Jac did at her party :)

The fun couldn't stop there! Chicken Alfredo was Emily's dinner of choice...the ONE meal she will actually ask for seconds!

Emily felt so special to have Grandma and Grandpa with her on her birthday just 2 days before they go to the MTC!

It was a wonderful day for a WONDERFUL girl!
Here are 10 things about Emily that you may or may not know:

1. She LOVES to be with her friends, cousins, and Grandparents!
2. She is very DETERMINED and NEVER GIVES UP!
3. She is ALWAYS creating SOMETHING!
4. She always checks the garbage cans to see if there is something she NEEDS for her next project
5. She is excited to RUN track and cross country! 
6. She has the genealogy bug! She LOVES to research and learn about her ancestors
7. She LOVES to have the music on full blast!
8. She is always up for a party...Every. Single. Night! :)
9. She makes everyone feel loved and special!
10. She is BEAUTIFUL inside and out!

Happy Birthday Em...WE LOVE YOU!

First Date!

Jac received a very interesting phone call from a guy in her "Family Relations" class. He wanted to take her out on a date. Even though he seemed a little on the "ODD" side, she said YES! 
He wanted to take her to a BYU track meet...hmm he must know her well :)

Matt showed up only about 5 minutes late...not too shabby! I was a little worried to let my little girl go on her first date but he seemed like the perfect guy to go with!

Thomas kept counting the hours as they went by..."Mom, she has been gone for 4 hours...MOM, she has been gone 5 hours...MOM SHE HAS BEEN GONE FOR 6 HOURS! Are you going to let her stay out that long on ALL her dates? WHAT ARE THEY DOING?!" What a sweet brother!

I told him it was OK with this guy!

After watching the BYU track meet, getting a Jamba Juice (with coupons of course!), and a movie at the dollar theater Matt treated Jac to TAI FOOD! She was in HEAVEN!

It will be hard to beat this amazing date :) Jac said he was a PERFECT gentleman!
Good thing I don't have to share this guy all the time!

It's Official...

Jac is 16!!!

Jac and her friend Ian have the same birthday so we decided to throw a joint surprise birthday party!

As all surprise birthdays seem to go...we had a few detours; Jacs run took longer than expected, the church was being used already, another church was being used and ANOTHER church was being used! No need to fear, we finally found one and Ian and Jac were clueless! They thought they were just hanging out with friends trying to find a place to play basketball :) 

As the group was getting kicked out of this church (after just 10 minutes!) they found the kitchen open and ready for LUNCH. 

SURPRISE!

After eating lunch they played some fun games like:

SOCK WRESTLING!

good thing it's cool to have skinned, raw knees right?

The next day was Jacs official Birthday...time to get her LICENSE!

She was just a little excited :) Grandma came early to get Emily off to school so we could be at the DMV first thing!

Jac got her favorite dinner...Sweet Potato Curry and homemade mango yogurt for desert!

Thomas gave Jac a book (on loan from the library hee hee) titled,

 "What girls need to know about boys"

just in time for dating!

It actually has some very good stuff in it! Way to go Thomas :)

We can't let Jac's B-day go without telling you 16 things you may, or may not know about her:

1. LOVES to run
2. She reads her scriptures EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!
3. Air fresheners are her best friend :)
4. Tapes her homework on the wall in the shower...good study time!
5. Loves to listen, sing along with, and dance to EFY music
6. Loves to buy exercise clothes more than any other kind
7. Enjoys teasing her brother and sister
8. A great friend to everyone
9. Has a strong testimony
10. Wears her CTR ring every day
11. Actually looks forward to speed workouts!
12. Loves to cook 
13. The most healthy eater...she was born that way!
14. When she makes a promise, she keeps it!
15. She shares her Dad's love of nature
16. One of the most POSITIVE people around!

WE LOVE YOU 
HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Grandma and Grandpa's Farewell

Grandma and Grandpa spoke in church and did AMAZING! So many loved ones came to hear them. 

The youth speaker was Grandpa's Home Teaching companion and never usually comes to church...but today he did and he said some very heartfelt, sincere and kind things about Grandpa! 

It was a very inspiring meeting!

Elaine, Brent, Lanae, Linda, Blair, Grandma and Grandpa

Some of the Heaps crew came and Rose couldn't stay away either :) We LOVED having them! My parents felt so loved!

Dad and 3 of his siblings, Lanae, Brent and Blair

It took a few tries but Gracie finally kept her eyes open for one picture!

We can't get enough pictures of our Grandma and Grandpa!

Do you think they will be missed? hmm...