Utah Half Ironman

I am so proud of James, he finished his first half ironman race! This is a huge accomplishment and one he has been training for since March. The half ironman consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run to finish it off. Pretty crazy huh? He finished in 6 hours 25 minutes. His swim and bike he did phenomenal and then got some stomach cramps during the run which slowed him down. He was a little disappointed with his run but finished it out strong!

We were waiting at the finish line of course and Carter ran with him across the finish. We are so proud of him and all that he has accomplished this past year.

T-ball

My neighborhood organized some t-ball teams for the month of August. The boys had a great time playing. It took Preston a few times to get the hang of it, but was doing great by the end. Carter was on the A's (Green team) and Preston played for the Pirates (Gold). Their favorite part was the snacks and drinks at the end! This is the only picture I got of them...not really playing t-ball but enjoying their reward. Can't wait till next summer when they can play again! Thanks to Cindy for organizing all the teams, we had fun!

Our little princess-3 months old

We got this cute dress in the mail from a family friend in England. I saw the sticker on the front and was reminded why I love being married to a Brit so much! Knickers is the best word ever!!

Claire is getting so big! She is finally sleeping through the night (around 7-8 pm to 7am). I am a much happier mommy! She can hold her neck up now and smiles all the time. I love this little tutu outfit. You can't see it very well but it has a sparkly crown on it too. Girls are so fun!

This little play gym has been the best investment! She loves to play with it, and it gives me some time to make dinner or take a shower without having her cry.

She officially has daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Her blue eyes haven't gone away-I'm hoping they stay. I finally have a child that looks like me!

Last but not least, we have another thumbsucker at our our house! She decided she hated the binky and found her thumb, just like Preston. She gags every time I try to put the binky in anymore, it's pretty hilarious. I think when she sucks her thumb it is adorable but I am not looking forward to breaking her of the habit later. Preston has gotten better about it, but still does it at night. I can't believe she is already 3 months old. I hate that she is getting bigger! I want to freeze time and have her stay this size for awhile--especially since I am getting some sleep now. haha She is such a sweetheart and we love her to pieces!

Stephenson Girls Trip 2010

Another fabulous girls trip under my belt! We had such a great time together. We stayed in St. George again at my cousin-in-law Tamara's mom's house. It is the nicest house ever and can actually fit all 23 of us. We only needed 2 blow up beds...pretty impressive! Here are the aunts and my mom. I have the best aunts ever!! L to R Mom, Aunt Chris, Aunt Jean, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Sharon
I did not take a picture the whole trip until the last 2 hours of the last night. I am hoping some other people will give me pictures of the other events of the 4 days. We lounged by the pool a lot and went down the waterslide! So fun. We also shopped, some got massages, went to eat, pray, love, and went out to eat. This picture is of our shuffleboard tournament. I of course was out in the first round losing to Aunt Jean. We have some competitive women in our family!

Amy was the winner winning a spongebob puzzle, and Shannon was the runner up (not sure what she won)

The rest of the pictures I just wanted to get photos of everyone there- These are my Vegas cousins-L to R Tori (a first timer to the girls trip), Aunt Jean, Jamie, and Chelsea (another first timer!)

out by the pool reading magazines-Shannon, Sarah, and Rebekah (first timer)

April flew out from Denver to be with us! It was her first year and hopefully not her last!! Love that girl!

Tamara and her mom Ginny (the owner of the house)

Jacque, Cathy, Courtnee (another first timer to the girls trip), and Julie

This picture of Cathy is my favorite!! haha

Me, Mom, and Shauna

April, Aunt Sharon, and Amy

all the pregnant girls...well sortof. Amy is not technically pregnant but thinks she might be, so we added her to the picture! We'll see if she was right in about a month. Amy, Rebekah, Tamara, and Melanie. Mel was such a trooper with only 3 weeks till she delivers Baby Chase. Although she isn't in any of my pictures, Claire was also with us on the trip. First baby to come on the trip after persuading them I didn't want to miss it. She was really good and I think everyone had fun holding her.

My mom bought some cute new capris and some Big Star Jeans. So stylish!

Bethany, Sarah, and Chelsea left late Saturday to surprise their husbands by coming home early.

Bekah, Mom, Mel, Me, and Bethany

We all bought the same sandals! Mel was pretty swollen so she was showing off her swollen toes. Me, Amy, Mel, and Bethany loved these blingy brown flip flops.

We always have so much fun together, I love my family. My mom was quite a hoot telling stories about how she can't do a cartwheel or hula hoop anymore. You need to see her demonstration, it is pretty hilarious. She also told about how she is "obese" and tried to convince the girl at the bodpod at BYU otherwise. So funny. April also had a great story of a conversation with a Rite Aid employee about how his brother was buried in Colorado. Awkward! We laughed til my face hurt. The last night we had a great conversation remembering all the great people that have passed away in our family in the last few years. Many tears were shed and it just reminded us that relationships are the most important thing we have. I am so glad we do this trip every year to make those relationships even stronger. Until next year...

Claire's Blessing Day

We had such a great day today! James blessed Claire at church and we had a luncheon afterward for our family. This was the best picture of us with her. Next time I won't get Rob to be the photographer! :)

Sweet baby girl

I love this picture of my mom with her. Claire is named after her so they have a special bond.

It also happened to be my niece Kate's birthday today. She turned 7. Claire was wearing Kate's blessing dress today. I can't believe how fast time keeps flying by! We are so grateful to have Claire in our family. She has been such a blessing and has brought so much joy. I am glad we got to celebrate her today. She is my sunshine!

Family Night

Monday night my family decided to all get together for dinner and a bike ride at Willow Park. We had a great time. They also had a fun playground to play on too. My boys were exhausted by the time we got home, which equals a successful summer day!
I didn't go on the bike ride since I had Claire to watch and no husband there (he's in Kansas for training). So I sat with my pregnant sister and chatted. It was great! My mom was so nice to watch out for Carter on his scooter and turned around early because she could see he was getting tired. She's the best. Carl took Preston with him in his bike trailer with his cousin Ryan. He loved watching the world go by.

Kevin brought his dogs who got completely disgusting in the river. The rest of the night we all played the game of trying to avoid Lady and Cooper. Wet dog smell really is the worst!

Mike Budge played a game of tag with the kids on the jungle gym. He is the biggest kid of them all! My mom joined in the fun at the end, and everyone was out to get Grammy.
It's things like this that kids remember. I love that it wasn't anything expensive or extravagent, but we all had a great time just being together. My kids are still asking when we are going back. Thanks for a great night family!

Summer Activities

This summer seems to be flying by! I can't believe that it is already July! We had a chilly June and now that it is warm, we are loving spending time out in the sunshine. We also bought tickets to the summer movie series at the Scera movie theater. We go every Tuesday and see a kids movie on the big screen. They also get a popcorn, drink, and treat for only $1.50. The funnest part is that I used to do the same thing every summer when I was a kid at the same theater. After the movie, we go over to our friends, the Whitehead's, house to go swim in their pool. The boys come home exhausted! That is my idea of a successful summer day. We have lots of hikes, popsicles, fireworks, smores, and waterslides on the agenda for the next couple of months. I can't wait!

Happy "5th" of July

It was another fun time up in Heber at my aunt Carolyn's house for our Independence Day celebration. Since the 4th fell on a Sunday, we decided to have the barbeque on the 5th instead. The boys were totally into the fireworks this year. Carter didn't like the ones that sounded like "screaming eagles." They had a blast with the sparklers or "sprinklers" as Preston calls them.

Megan, Peter, and baby Claire

Aunt Elaine, Linkin, Grandma Tenney, and Danielle

Kaitlyn, Katrina, and Jenna

Jacob, Noah, and Tim

The firework lighters-Lance, Nathan, and Mike

Tina came all the way from Sweden to be there-she was pretty exhausted after only arriving the night before! Tina, Uncle Richard, Mike, Peter, and Megan

Carter's taking a picture of his awesome parents

Why are boys such pyros?

Enjoying some sparklers

Mom, Shauna, and Dad

I love this picture! Uncle Lowell with his grandson Noah

Uncle Richard, Sean, and Tina's son (forgot his name)

Stephanie, Aunt Taffy, Mom, and Uncle Richard

Ann and Mary



We always enjoy spending time with the Tenney side of the family. This year's highlights were scones and clotted cream, Sean McDonald and Aunt Carolyn singing "You raise me up", homemade cherry pie, illegal fireworks, and Greg's midget story being retold for the 100th time and still being funny. I love my family, they are the best.