isaiah's race

Zac's brother Isaiah did the Squaw Peak 50 again this year... 50 miles of mountain trail running with 11,000 feet of elevation gain.  It took him 10 hours and 21 minutes which is 13 minutes faster than what he did last year.  He placed 3rd in his age group and 21st overall out of 288 people.  We had fun spending the afternoon at the park where the race finished so that we could be there to cheer him on when he crossed the finish line.

mother's day weekend

Zac decided we should do something special and spend the weekend in Salt Lake for Mother's day weekend.  He got home from work around 2:00 on Friday and we went straight up.  We spent a couple hours shopping at City Creek and then we met up with my sister Cyd and her friend Mack for a few hours of laughter, ice cream and catching up.  I loved getting to spend time with Cyd.  Even though she only lives in Salt Lake, it still feels like I never get to see her because she works evenings and weekends, so when we do get up that way she's usually working.  Saturday morning we woke up, browsed Gateway and went to lunch while we waited for it to warm up a little, and then we went back to the hotel to play in the pool with Zion for a few hours.  He loves the water!  The rest of the day was filled with naps, relaxing and a delicious dinner at Market Street.  Cyd worked a double shift on Sunday so she wasn't able to come home and see my mom for Mother's Day, but because she didn't have to be there until 11:00, we had the great idea of inviting my parents up to Salt Lake to have breakfast with us.  We met them at Little America and had the Grand Mother's Day Brunch.  It was amazing!  I have never seen such a spread of gourmet food.  Everything from crepes and pastries to king crab legs and prime rib.  We decided that it has to be a tradition and I am already looking forward to next year.  After brunch we headed home to unpack really quick and then we spent the rest of the day over at my parents house hanging out and having a bbq.  I'm surprised how just spending a couple nights in Salt Lake can feel like such a ginormous getaway.

Zac and Zion gave me some new jewelry for Mother's Day, and my favorite couple of pieces were these cute pendants that have the letter's Z and K engraved on them.  Z and K of course stand for Zac and Kami, but also Zion and Kasen, so now I have a cute little reminder of my whole family with me every time I wear them.

Thanks Zac for making me feel so special all weekend.  I truly love being a mom and couldn't ask for a better calling in life.  It's amazing how one little person has completely changed my whole life.  Every morning I wake up so excited just to see Zion's face beaming with that cute gigantic smile.  I love that he's such a cuddly mommy's boy and that he runs up to me at least 10 times a day and gives me a huge hug and tells me that I'm his best friend and that he loves me.  I love that he is such a gentle and kind spirit and never misses a chance to say "bless you" when someone sneezes or "please" and "thank you".  I love that he gets a little jealous when he sees Zac give me a hug, or kiss, or hold my hand and that he immediately runs over and says "Zion's turn" and copies whatever Zac just did.  I know that all to quickly he will grow out of this stage and it will no longer be cool to be so affectionate with his mommy, so I'm soaking it up while I can.  Being a mommy has changed my perspective on everything.  It's funny how, as a mom, the things that truly bring me joy, are the things that make Zion's face light up.  I never thought it would be so much fun to pretend I'm a race car (Zion always gives us names from the movie Cars) and race around the house, but it is.  Every little goofy thing that he does melts my heart and makes me realize that it's those small moments of laughing, learning and spending time as a family that's what life is all about.

Being a mom also makes me so grateful for everything my mom has done and continues to do for me and my family.  She is such a great grandma to Zion and it makes me so happy.  She's always thinking of things that he would love... either a new Thomas the Train book that she surprises him with when we go out to dinner, or a fun new recipe for homemade gigantic bubbles that she has ready for when we go over to her house to visit... whatever it is, she's always thinking of fun things to do with him.  Thanks for everything you do mom.  I love you!