Easter

We had such a nice Easter! As you all know, the Easter Bunny makes his rounds to all the good boys and girls. I guess my kids were good because the Easter Bunny came. Ryan knew that it was the real Easter Bunny too because there was jelly beans on the floor by all the baskets. And we all know that the REAL Easter Bunny poops jelly beans!

So Jared and I decided to take the kids to an organized Easter Egg hunt at a park near our house. It lasted all of 20 seconds. Ryan got all of ONE egg. She couldn't get any freaking eggs because the parents were going crazy on the ground hogging all the eggs! What a mess! I wanted to punch a bunch of parents in the face! It was just embarrassing!!

Here are a few pictures of dying Easter Eggs this year! Ryan thought that was pretty fun!

Another Sectional WOD

So after last weeks WOD I landed in 150th place. Not too bad, even though I don't feel like I did very well on that last WOD. Now I am feeling a little defeated after doing this weeks workout. Here's how it went.

20 mins. AMRAP of:
5 power cleans at 100#
10 Toes to Bar
15 Wall ball with 14# ball and a 9' target

In the end I would have liked to get closer to 10 rounds, but there was just nothing in the tank! I have been sick this week, so that's what I'm blaming it on! I am thinking about doing it over, but I'm not sure that my mind is strong enough to get through it again! It was just too grueling!!

Sectionals Update

Last week we did another grueling workout! I can't believe these people who put the games together... they are honestly sick in the head. The workout was only 5 minuets long, but killed me! You had 5 minuets to Squat clean and Jerk 110 pounds. As you can guess, 110 pounds is really heavy to Jerk above head!! In the end I Squat Cleaned 110 pounds 13 Times with an additional Squat Clean. This placed me in 147th place in the region! I was lucky! I did my best and didn't land too far from where I wanted to be!

Today I did the fourth WOD! Also KILLER!! We had 10 minuets to get through as many rounds as possible of:

60 Burpees (facing the bar and jumping over it each time)
30 Over Head Squats at 90#
10 Muscle ups

I got zero full rounds! I complete the burpees and 23 of the Over Head Squats. But that was the best I could do! 90 #'s is a lot of weight to lock out over head!! We will see where I land. So far I am in 18th place but there are another 500 people who still need to submit their scores!

Forever Family

We finally were able to take McCallum to the Temple on April 9. It was so foggy out that you couldn't even see the temple till you were standing out in front of it! It was cold and snowy, but it still managed to be a wonderful day!!!

Ryan was so excited to get up and finally get to wear her white dress and white flowers!! McCallum was pretty happy too. I was worried that he wouldn't fit into his little white outfit because we had planned to go through almost an entire month ago. However, due to complications with court, we had to change our date. Regardless, he fit! He was such a little doll face!!

When they brought the kids into the Sealing room, I almost died! The kids looked like little angels in white. For the first time it really hit me that we were really there in the Temple about to seal Mac to us for all Eternity. McCallum was so cute. He was so excited about all the light and sparkle in the room from the chandelier. When we knelt at the alter with him he just looked at Jared the ENTIRE time. His mouth was gaping open and just staring at Jared--no smile, no real expression. I think that he was just wondering what was going on. Everyone was just looking at him and he was loving being there!

McCallum's Special Blanket and Ryan's 3 Year Photo's

I just have to take a moment and thant McCallum's birth mother for making him these wonderful blankets. She took the time to find all the fabric and make the blanket as well as this little tag-a-long blanket for him. I hope Nithra knows how much that is going to mean to him some day!! There will be days that he misses her and wants her, and he will find comfort in these blankets! She also included the sweetest letter! In the letter she tells him how much he means to her as well as her reasons for deciding to place him in our home. Nithra, if you are reading this, THANK YOU! You have no idea how special that is! THANK YOU! We love you more than you know!!

Also, I have finally gone and tried to get some pictures of Ryan for her 3 year. It was really windy, and I gave up on trying to keep her hair nice! I almost think that it is more like Ryan not to have her hair done nice though. This girl is a free spirit and I love her for it!!

Sectionals: WOD #2

This past week I did not do as well as I had hoped to have done on my workout. I was hoping to get 9 full rounds, but pooped out right before I got it! Oh well though... I still stayed in a pretty good ranking. I ended up ranked 141 of 541 in my region. That also means that in bigger picture, the USA and Canada, I am ranked 1537 of 6161! Wow!! Any how, I think that they are having a lot of trouble with the website, so it's hard to tell exactly where you will land and how many total competitors will make it through each week. So if my numbers don't make sense from week to week it is the website.

This was the workout.
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 15 minuets of:
9 deadlifts (100 pounds)
12 push ups (all the way down and lift your hands at the bottom)
15 box jumps (20")

I got through 8 full rounds plus 9 dead lifts and 12 push ups. I am mad I pooped out and didn't get 9 rounds though!! Oh well!

Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth

Yesterday was a really great day. Although it was April fools, it is no joke that we went to court and got parental rights for McCallum! Many people have asked me what it is like to go to court for an adoption... so here's our story...

We had an appointment with Judge Kate Toomey at 9:30 am. So we got up early, got in our Sunday best, and drove to the SLC court house. We were there early in hopes of getting in front of the judge before other cases--adoptions are very short so often times they will take care of them before everything else. When we got to the court room, there was a note on the door stating that our judge was not in. We were reassigned to a new judge, Judge Dever. We had to wait for another hearing to finish before we could enter the court. When we entered, an officer said, "all rise." Just like judge Judy:) Judge Dever took his bench and we were seated. From there our attorney, Mike, began introducing the case as well as us by full legal name. He introduced our case worker and her title. He told the judge the steps that we took to prove that we were fit to be parents. Presented him with the home studies. and explained that everything was done legally by the case worker.

Next they had Jared and I stand and be sworn in. Just like the movies, we raised our right hands and "swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God." Then we were seated and questioned.

Jared went first... "when were you married?"
"Do you love McCall?"
"Do you plan on remaining married?"
"Do you accept McCallum as your own natural born child?"
"God forbid you should ever be divorced, but if you should ever, do you accept responsibility for McCallum as if he were your natural born child?"

Then they had Jared sign a paper stating these same things. Next, it was my turn...
"Do you love Jared?"
"Do you love McCallum"
"What do you think about this adoption?"
"in case of a divorce do you accept the responsibility of McCallum as if he were your natural child?"
"What is the name you have chosen for the child?"
"Is this the name you wish to have printed on the birth certificate?" Then I signed a paper confirming my testimony as well as a document stating all of the financial costs of the adoption.

Next, the judge said a lot of mumbo-jumbo and signed a paper confirming that he accepted what was presented. He granted us Parental Custody, and congratulated us!! We asked if we could take a picture with him. He was so sweet. You could tell that he is a grandpa!! He said, "I would be offended if you didn't take one." He came down from his bench and took McCallum from Jared without question, wiped the drool from his chin and took a few pictures with us. He was so AWESOME!!

So that's what it is like to be pregnant for me. It starts when we pick up the child at the hospital and ends when a judge names us as parents and has our names put on a birth certificate. We jump through a number of hoops in between. We have to go through extensive background checks, home check, and doctor visits. We submit all of our personal information from finances to height and weight. Then we have to wait a minimum of 6 months before going to court. In the end we pay an insane amount for a paper with a blue stamp on it! Crazy!! It's worth it though! There is no other way that I know! To be honest, I think enduring several hours of intense labor is harder! I'm not sure I would trade even if I could! My hat's off to all of you who do that! That's CRAZY!!