Mountain Biking in Gunnison

These girls had their region mountain bike race in Gunnison last weekend. Where is Gunnison you ask? Well, it is a pretty remote town in central eastern Utah and the drive there (and the drive between the race course and our hotel in Richfield) was STUNNING!

I love the friendships that mountain biking has created for all my kids

These girls work and ride SO HARD!!!

Marian has raced varsity this year and I am sooo impressed! For most races she does 4 laps which is over an hour of racing!

Go Lucy go!!!

So much grit and determination is required of these kids.

There is so much beauty in the backdrop of these races.

It was a little cold during staging...but I think they would take that over excessive heat any day!

Lucy rode so hard and held her 5th place spot the entire race!!! Just before the finish line she got passed and it looked like she would come in 6th but she dug deep and gutted it out and pulled in ahead by 5 100ths of a second!!!! Way to go Lucy girl!!!! 

Making podiums is a BIG DEAL and Lucy has worked so hard and wanted this so bad so it was SOOO fun to celebrate her success and hard work!!!

 

We should do this every year

 

Yesterday Lucy drove (yes DROVE) the twins and I up Big Cottonwood Canyon to see the fall colors.

Are. You. Kidding me UTAH??

Well done.

It started to drizzle when we got towards the top so Lucy and Grace had the brilliant idea to have our picnic (Harmons sandwiches, sushi, watermelon, and the starbursts/graham crackers/marshmallows we found in the trunk) in the back seat with the trunk open. 

My children are genius and I love them.

As Lucy drove as back down, someone said we should do this every year. 

Random awesomeness lately

A lot of random awesomeness has been going on in the Pugh household lately.

Jack and Marian had their end of season Mountain Bike banquet!  I wish I had taken a picture of the entire crowd.  One of the banquet halls at the expo center was filled to the brim with amazing high schoolers and parents who are SO DEDICATED and know how to work hard and make good things happen in mountain biking and in the community.  There is so much love and camaraderie in this group and I feel sooo lucky to be a part of it!

Jack was one of the team captains this year.  Awesome kids!

I had my school choir concert and it was awesome!  The kids did amazing and I got such good feedback from parents, teachers, and kids.  I LOVE music!

Ummm can you tell I'm excited?

No surprise at all but Grace won the leadership award for her soccer team!

This girls is small but mighty!  She's such a smart player and does a great job talking to her team on the field to make good things happen in the games. So proud of her!

Jack is the most amazing math tutor.  He is wicked smart and incredibly patient and creative in the ways he helps his siblings understand math.  Good thing because I am NO help in this department.

Chad and I took Lucy, Grant, and Grace to see the Kalani Sitake show down at BYU

It was even more fun that I expected it to be and we a fun BYU experience...something that has been hard to come by lately.  Hang in there Cougs!

Serious BYU fans in this household...not that you didn't know.

School "Skate night" at Classic Skating.  Grant (not pictured because he was off with friends in the tramp/bounce house area getting sweaty and gross all night...and having the time of his life) and Grace loved it.  I used to work at Classic and know too much to let me kids go there ;) but I figured for school night I'd make an exception.  I assumed all the parents would be skating/roller blading too.  It wasn't until my 2nd or 3rd lap around the rink that I realized that was not the case.  I wasn't the ONLY parent out there...but pretty much.  I didn't let that discourage me and I actually had a ton of fun cruising around the rink.   Let's just say I've still got it...sort of.

We had everyone's least favorite (I have mixed feelings) fall activity...FAMILY PICTURES.  Yay or BOO depending on which Pugh you are talking to.  My photographer friend took the real pictures...these are just some of the ones I was able to sneak in.  Based on who is and who isn't in my shots, you can get a good idea as to people's level of enjoyment of this whole enterprise.

are you kidding me with those gorgeous GREEN eyes?!!!

Can't wait to get the real photos back from the photographer!

Being a twin has it's ups and down.  Sharing a room with your sister/brother at age 10 is not ideal (but the least un-ideal set up....believe me we've tried them ALL) but these two twinners have A LOT of fun together.

Grace was very excited to style Grant's hair the other day.

This is their "rock star pose"

Not sure what this pose is....

this is their "Grant is only 1 minute older but a FOOT TALLER" pose

Last but not least...Grace had hat day at school and couldn't decide which hat to pick so....she picked them all.

Like I said to begin with...a bunch of random awesomeness has been going on lately and I am so grateful I get to be a part of it all!

 

Thanks Kids!

Dear Jack, Marian, Lucy, Grant, and Gracie, Mother's Day  was awesome!  Thank you for helping dad make a delicious breakfast.  Thank you Jack for setting the table so nicely.  Thank you Marian for making the hot chocolate extra chocolatey...just the way I like it!  Thank you Lucy for the pile of pictures and cards!  Thank you Grant for not breaking anything or throwing food during breakfast!  Thank you Gracie for singing "Happy Mother's Day to Mary" to the tune of Happy Birthday all morning long.  (but feel free to go back to calling me mom any time now!)

You are great kids and I'm pretty sure I don't tell you often enough how much I appreciate all the things you do!

Jack- thank you for taking out the trash EVERY.SINGLE. DAY.  You are such a good sport about it...even when the bathroom trash is overflowing with pull-ups and diapers!  So gross- so glad I don't have to do that!  Thank you!  Thank you for being a cheerful cello practicer most days and thank you for playing my favorite songs "French Folk Song" and "Rigadoon" whenever I ask.  Thank you for always telling me you love be before you leave for school and thank you for wanting to tell me about your day when you get home.  Thank you for being my guinea pig child and loving me even when I am a total nutcase!  Thank you for mastering the art of Macaroni and Cheese and your newest specialty...waffles!  Thank you for always pushing the cart when we go to Costco and for telling me riddles and jokes you made up.  Thank you for being the first to ask how you can help when things get hectic and thank you for loving maps like I do!  Finally, thank you for making me a mom!

Marian- thank you for having the world's best giggle,  If I could bottle one sound and have it forever it would be your giggle!  Thank you for being the most cautious tooth puller ever.  You have provided me with many nights of entertainment watching you coax your loose teeth out ever so slowly and gently!  Thank you for being so organized and being a good example to your brothers and sisters for what a clean room really looks like!  Thank you for being so brave!  I love watching you do your round-off back handsprings and I am in total shock that you are brave enough to do that!  On that note..thank you for having the biggest biceps on the littlest arms I ever did see!  Thank you for putting on dance concerts at night after we finish dishes!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE watching you dance around with your sisters!  Thank you for being a book worm!  You remind me of myself when I was your age and it is so fun to see you devour a stack of books every week!  Thank you for helping me pick out what clothes to wear when I go out on dates with dad and thank you for having such great style and for being the most fun shopping partner ever! 

Lucy- thank you for making me laugh every day!  Thank you for being the best big sister Grant and Gracie could ever ask for.  Thank you for playing "puppies" with them and getting them to follow you around and do whatever you ask.  It's the cutest and makes them so happy! Thank you for being so silly and for making the "dumb face" whenever I need to laugh.  Thank you for loving lipstick! Even though I can't find my own lipstick half the time I love seeing how excited you are to wear it!  Thank you for writing love notes to everyone all the time!  Thank you for using your signature phrase "you are cool and awesome" on every note you write.  It makes me smile every time I read it.  Thank you for being so excited to read.  I love listening to you read your Kindergarten baggie books and now the library  books you are starting to read too!  Thank you for being such a big BYU fan, it makes your dad so happy!  Thank you for texting uncle Rich and other random people in my contacts.  It gives me a good giggle to see all the emoji's you use!  Thank you for changing your clothes 10 times a day then checking in the mirror for approval each time...ok actually I don't really like that you do that- it drives me crazy but it's cute and it's so you and I don't want to forget that about you.

Grant- Thank you for being a three year old version of Evel Knievel.  Every day I get a front row seat to your death defying and destructive antics!  Thank you for loving to cuddle!  You always ask for me to "hold you" when I put you to bed and I LOVE to sit on the couch in your room and hold you as long as I can.  Thank you for being my early morning buddy!  No one else seems to want to get up at 6:00 am (myself included really) but it is nice to feel so wanted!  Thank you for being so friendly.  You have more adult friends at church than I do and it's because you are so much fun to be around. Thank you for having to most amazing dance moves.  Our after dinner dance parties would not be the same without your hip shakes and somersaults. Finally thank you for miraculously having made it this far without any broken bones or even stitches.  You ride your scooter like an X-game competitor, launch yourself off of heights and into walls yet somehow you have managed to stay in one piece.  THANK YOU and keep it up!

Gracie- Thank you for being my little buddy. Whenever I am working on a project or cleaning the house you play quietly near me or just chat with me while I work.  Thank you for being a little mommy to Grant and keeping him in line...no easy task.  Thank you for being willing to drink out of cups that are not purple.  This is a recent development and has improved my quality of life drastically.  Thank you for sneaking off with my iphone to have your own private dance parties!  You have to sweetest little moves when you think no one is watching.  Thank you for being a rule follower when it comes to scooter rides.  I can always count on you to stay close by and not take off for the state border like other twins I know. Thank you for loving the gangster style Boston hat and insisting to wear it all the time.  Although I would prefer pigtails and bows, you look awesome in the hat and the fact that you love it SO much makes me smile. Thank you for singing the Daniel Tiger song about not losing your temper when your mom maybe...sometimes ...every once in a while ...might start to lose her cool.  Thank you for still falling asleep in my arms when I rock you in the rocking chair.  It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it is the happiest magic I know.

Thanks kids for being the five people most likely to make me LOSE MY MIND while still managing to be my five favorite little people on earth.  I am so grateful to have you in my life and am so glad I get to be your mom.

I don't want to forget...

There seemed to be an extra amount of cuteness and sweetness in our home this week.  Maybe I was just paying better attention or maybe the stars aligned.  Either way I want to capture it here because I don't want to forget the little things that happened like...

• Lucy, standing in the hallway doing the "hula" with her eyes crossed in an attempt to make me laugh while I was rocking Gracie to sleep.  (Lucy totally succeeded)

• Marian spending hours,  and I mean HOURS people in front of the mirror trying to extract her loose front tooth without inflicting any pain on herself.  She was adamant that no one could be in the bathroom with her while she was working on it.  I swear it was the loosest  still attached tooth ever.  She finally lured that tooth out and Marian's toothless smile is about the cutest thing ever.

• As I was cleaning up dinner this week I casually said to Grant, "ok buddy let's go take a bath".  He threw both arms into the air and yelled YES! with as much enthusiasm as a 2 year old can muster.  (for those of you who aren't familiar with 2 year olds...that's a lot of enthusiasm

• Jack has been cooking up a storm and for two days in a row has been  whipping up delicious fresh off the stove quesadillas for lunch.  He eats about 8 himself because apperently he is getting ready to grow about 2 feet.  The boy has been a bottomless pit lately!

• Grant came into his room this week just after I'd converted his crib into a toddler bed (being in the crib contained him for about 0.5 seconds then he'd spend the rest of the night crying on the floor because he couldn't get back into the crib...so it was time)  He immediately climbed into the bed, lay down on the pillow, pulled the blankets over himself and began to snore a very convincing snore.  (I think he's been listening to Chad.  Sorry babe it's true, you totally snore).

• Before heading to the BYU Blue and White game we stopped at Ripples in Provo for burgers and hot dogs Friday night.  Marian was completely devastated to find that they had put ketchup mustard AND relish on her hot dog.  Oh the humanity!  Without saying a word Jack took her hot dog, scraped off all the offending condiments, and sweetly coaxed her into eating the entire thing.

• Grace has become a bit of a parrot.  It's especially hilarious when she mimics Chad while he's on the phone with someone.  Grace does a great Chad impersonation

• Every week when we walk into our church's sacrament meeting Grant immediately starts yelling for his 10 year old cousin Abby who is in our same ward (congregation).  Grant loves Abby.  We all love Abby. If you knew Abby you'd love her too.  Just not as much as Grant does.  We quickly made it too our seats with only a few shouts of "Abby!!!" from Grant before he hurried up the aisle to where Abby was sitting.  When he got to her he couldnd't contain his excitement any longer and let out one last ABBY!!!  only this time it was so loud the entire congregation started laughing.  Including me.  It was awesome.

This is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you...

The time has come to deal with the binky crazed, sippy cup addict I have created.  Well...the time probably came and passed several months ago.  Lucy is on the verge of turning four and she can't bear to watch tv, pretend to take her naps, or deal with any type of unhappiness unless she has her "binkies, bobbies (blanket), and a sippy cup of milk".  Part of me thinks "what's wrong with having a few things that bring you comfort?"...but the other part of me answers back, "you spend half of your life searching for binkies, washing curdled milk out of sippy cups found under the back corners of Lucy's bed while my almost 4 year old yells impatiently for milk... and she doesn't even take naps any more... so really what's in it for me?"  Either way, it's time. Really this is taking away my comfort objects too because I can always get Lucy to be content and manageable as long as I have a sippy cup of milk and a binky.  That can really come in handy when the other 4 are having different melt downs of one kind or another.  Lucy could probably have been fine getting rid of the binkies and sippy cups a long time ago but I was really REALLY not ready to let them go...until now.  As I was getting ready to cut the tops off the binkies this morning (really fun moms have the binky fairy come and leave a present in exchange for all the binkies.  Less fun moms like me cut off the tops and tell the kids the binkies just got too old and don't work anymore...at least they can keep them for sentimental value right?) I honestly stood there with the scissors for a minute or two debating if this really was a good idea. But like I said, it's time.  Wish me...and Lucy luck.

so long...farewell

{not pictured} 

the binkies and sippy cups that are probably lurking in unseen corners of Lucy's room and under my bed

Hide and Sleep

It is rare that I wake up to find all my kids sleeping peacefully in their beds.  They are usually still asleep when I get up...they just aren't always in their beds. 

Lucy:  Favorite places to spend the night = rocking chair in her room, top of the bunk bed with Jack (even though it is forbidden), the couch in the babies room, but preferably the floor in my room (right next to my bed...I have to check twice when I get out of bed so I don't step on her)
p.s. pajamas were on her when she went to bed


Marian:  favorite places to sleep, on the floor...she's not picky, she'll sleep on the floor in her room, the hallway, the living room, the family room, even the babies room...under the crib is always a popular spot.

The funny thing is that they sleep in longer when they sleep somewhere besides their beds.

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