One Step at a Time

There are some things that need to be mentioned. I would like to share that I ran a mile tonight for the first time in 20 years. The last time I ran was at BYU in the Spring of 1990.

This was not an easy task for me to accomplish.

You see, I am not into exercising.

I have been preparing by walking three miles at the park since early last summer. The first time I walked with my sister, I could barely keep up, and I knew that I was going to faint as I practically crawled up some of those hills.

But I kept at it.

Then there were weeks at a time when I did not go walking.

Getting back into the habit of walking is not easy.

One day I attempted to run.

It was not very far but it was a start.

Then I became strong enough to run up those monster hills.

And I noticed my endurance was lasting longer and longer.

Friends motivated me to run with them at the track.

I love tracks.

It's easy for me to measure my distance.

I was able to run one time around the track. (Three times around is a mile).

Then two times.

And tonight a mile.

I did it one step at a time.

It feels great!

Get Down On It

We went to a Disco Party last night.

I was a dancing queen.

Posing with Betsy.

Goin' to Gammaw's House

If you're in the mood for some good barbecue and sweet potato fries,
just drop by this little place.
John McCain even campaigned here!

For the rest of my life, I will remember this trip to South Carolina as the one that Cozette had absolutely nothing to do with me.

Seriously.

Whenever I tried to hold, love, help, console, or feed her, Cozette would say, "No Daddy do it."

There wasn't anything I could do.

I told Shirley that it was "almost" embarrassing. Shirley laughed. We both agreed that there could be worse things in life than having a little girl who loves and adores her Daddy so much.

On the way to Bill and Shirley's, Cozette must have said 821 times, "I wanna go to Gammaw's and Granpaw's house!"

When she was not repeating that little phrase, she was crying and saying over and over that she wanted her Daddy.

Nikki was the lucky person to sit by Cozette for the entire three and a half hour drive.

I really shouldn't talk about the girl this way.

Please forgive me.

When Brad left to go work this morning, we instantly became best friends again.

Until he returned home tonight!

A view of the Congaree River.

We love going to Congaree Park.
This was Nikki's first trip with us.

Cozette loves her Grandma and Grandpa!

Kayleigh said the best part of our trip was going to the Columbia temple with her Grandparents.
"I loved the ride in the car with Grandma and Grandpa. They are so nice. I will always remember this special experience I had with them. We love going to their house and we are already counting down to spending a week with them at Christmas.
It is always a big party at their house."

Everett said that he really enjoyed spending time with his Grandma and Grandpa.
"Grandpa always buys me Doritos when I come to visit. He knows this is my favorite food. Grandma and Grandpa are special. They are so nice to me."

I asked Cozette to give me a big smile.
She sure did give her very best.

It's always so sad when we have to leave.

Let me tell you something:
These two are very special people.

See you in about 48 days!

Do You Like Tricks or Treats?

I would like to eat this treat.

This little Piglet is a treat.

Having a WWII bomber pilot and a hippie in the family is a treat.

Creating a center piece for the Halloween party was a trick and not a treat!

A fairy godmother granting wishes is a treat.

The Coach smiling at me is a treat.

Being with my Mom and my daughter is a treat.

Playing tricks on Nikki is a real treat!

I like treats.

Not tricks!

Just Call Us Book Worms

The Coach said this is an excellent book.
It is being made into a movie.
It's next on my list.

Pleasing the Coach makes me happy. Our interests, however, are on opposite ends of the spectrum. He is always on the go and gets jittery if he sits for too long. There's baseball, basketball, football, tennis; he's a pro at it all. He has the energy of a two year old. He never takes a nap and gets by on very little sleep.

Are you getting tired yet?

I am the extreme opposite. I love to be at home. I like going and doing, but I have my limits. I have endured many outdoor activities--all in the name of love.

A true love of mine is reading. I especially love reading both fiction and non-fiction books about World War II. There have been many nights when Brad has come home, and I am happily reading my latest novel.

"Are you still reading that book? " or "Do you have to read tonight?" are frequently asked questions in our home.

Inevitably, my answer is always, "Yes."

The old adage states: If you can't beat 'em, then join 'em!

That is exactly what the Coach has done. He recently announced that he was going to start reading with me. It was one of the most pleasant surprises. Usually, he only reads The Book of Mormon and USA Today. His newest love is non-fiction.

We were recently at Barnes and Noble purchasing books. The Coach was beaming when he finally found one.

"Look what I found, and I think you will enjoy it, too. I was hoping to find a book that you would also want to read."

Its title is Playing with the Enemy.

Well, I just wanted to cry right there on the spot.

Next time he asks me to go play sports with him, I surely won't complain.

A book is like a recipe. When it's good, you want to share it.

The Coach likes to give me trivia from the books he reads.

Here are some facts I have learned:


Lou Gehrig believed he was going to beat his illness up until the day he died. The record Gehrig cherished most was the most consecutive games played which was broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. on September 6, 1995. Lou Gehrig was a very shy person and never went out womanizing with his teammates. He had only been married for eight years when he passed away. Lou Gehrig made his famous speech at Yankee Stadium upon his retirement. He considered himself to be the luckiest man alive because of his wonderful career in baseball. The most interesting fact about Lou Gehrig is that many neurologists still hang pictures of him in their offices and examination rooms. The author ends the book by stating, "ALS is a disease of weakness but Lou Gehrig's disease is associated with strength--the strength of a stricken man who said he felt lucky."





The Coach enjoyed this book immensely. I found this unknown fact amazing. In 1936, Jessie Owens won the Olympic Gold Medal for the 200 meter in Berlin, Germany. What is so interesting is the man who won the silver for this event was also African-American. His name is Mack Robinson--who just happens to be the older and beloved brother of Jackie Robinson.

On April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball. He is the only player to have his uniform number "42" retired by every team in Major League Baseball.








This is the book the Coach is currently reading. I am sure you have noticed that he enjoys reading anything sports related. However, he recently dropped me a little hint that he wants the biographies for Truitt Cathy and George Washington.

The Coach just informed me that he would like for me to share something from this book:

Roberto Clemente and Lou Gehrig are the only MLB players to have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame before the five year waiting period.

Thanks Coach.

We are enlightened.




Nikki gets the credit for finding this little treasure. We are always on the hunt for a good book to read. We feel inspired to start our own literary group. Because we are Southerners, we would call ours "The Lawrenceville Literary and Sweet Potato Fries Society."

If you want to laugh out loud and shed a few tears, then this is the book for you.

I will never forget Isola and Elizabeth.


Please read it.







A high school English teacher over heard my conversation with an employee at the book store asking her if she had any great selections to suggest about WWII. The teacher later approached me with this recommendation. I told her that I had come across The Book Thief on the Guernsey Literary website but had forgotten about it. She said her students were reading it in a day, which is amazing because it is almost 600 pages.

I read it in about five days.

It was hard to put down.

There is some language in it.







Sarah's Key is another book about WWII and the tragedy that happened when the French Jews were rounded up for deportation.

I liked it because it was written from two different perspectives; a woman from the present and a little girl who survived.

There are impressions you get from reading this book that do not leave you.











Nikki shared this one with me, too.

It was a quick and clean read.

It's getting harder and harder to find wholesome books.

I would also like to mention that I recently read Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.

It is a clincher from the start but the ending is anti-climatic.

I won't read his next one.

Well, maybe I won't.






This is my current book.

I have only three little words to say about this one:

Captain Jack Elliot.

Please share if you know of any great books I can read!

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet

It's a bird. It's a plane. No. It's Mr. Baseball!

Baseball season has finally come to an end. We have received so much rain that we actually had to schedule make-up games for the make-up games. Everett's little team struggled this year. The Coach and I secretly called them the "Bad News Bears." Everett was the third youngest player in the entire league. It was rewarding to see him excel in the sport and hold his own against the boys who were bigger than him.

There was one particular pitcher that we will always remember. He was a big boy. He looked like a miniature Babe Ruth. We spoke to his mother once to tell her how impressed we were. She told us that she called him her "little Babe." The most intimidating thing about Babe Ruth was the speed of his pitches. I did not know that a boy could pitch so fast. At the beginning of the season, he struck Everett out-- but even Everett appreciated his pitching skill.

We played Babe's team for a tournament game at the end of the season. Even though our Bulldogs lost the game, we were just excited that Everett hit a single off of Babe Ruth. It was a great accomplishment.

Everett told us recently that he wants to play at BYU. I told him to keep playing and to make good grades and he just might land himself a position!

It really would not surprise me.

The cheering committee!

I want to tell Kayleigh how thankful I am that she helped so much with Cozette. She is always willing to help me. We had lots of games at night in the freezing cold. I'm not sure what I would have done with out her!


We are already looking forward to Spring ball!

Purple Pony

Please do not think that Cozette was left behind with a babysitter when we went to Six Flags.

No way!

She spent the day with Mommom and Papa. In addition to receiving the royal treatment, she also went on a grand adventure to the mall.

I thought my little heart was going to skip a beat when I received a phone call from Cozette.

"Mommy, I wode a purple pony!"

"You rode a purple pony, my darling?" I responded like she had just told me she had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Bye-bye Mommy."

She was too busy having fun to talk very long.

Cozette is able to express pretty much anything she wants to now. There is nothing sweeter than little babies talking. Cozette is famous for walking around the house saying, " I'm precious and darling." Sometimes, she will say this to me after she has created a mess. Ir's hard to get upset even if she has mascara all over her face when she says those words to me.

Our favorite phrase she says is, "hold you."

When she wants us to pick her up she says, "hold you...hold you."

We always respond, "I want to hold you!"

She quickly says back to us, "No, I want to hold you!"

Sometimes she will gets in a frenzy saying over and over, "hold you, hold you, hold you, I want to hold you, Mommy!"

Brad mentioned the other day that we should teach her to say, "hold me."

I said no way!

Cozette with Mommom.

Cozette loves to call Mommom and Papa on the phone. The conversation usually goes something like this:

Mommom answers the phone.

Cozette: Hey Mommom.

Mommom: Hey little darling.

Cozette: Where's Papa?

Mommom: He's right here.

Cozette: I wanna talk to him.

Papa then comes to the phone.

Cozette: Hey Papa. Where's Mommom?

Cozette loves to goes back and forth with them!

Then they proceed to talk about important thing things like what they ate for breakfast and whether or not Mommom is painting.

Who knew talking on the phone could be so much fun!

Cozette and Papa.