Happy Birthday, Emmaline

Earlier this year, for New Beginnings, the girls were asked to submit pictures for a slide show. This was one of Emmaline's favorite baby pictures. Look at her giant eyes!

This summer we've really missed Emmaline. She was in Vermont with Tyler for a week and a half and now is at Girl's Camp. She comes back on Friday and will leave for Brighton Camp on Monday. I know she loves the independence and it's part of letting her grow up, but it's hard to have her gone that much. She has such a big personality, there is definitely a hole in the family when she's gone. Hopefully being a teenager won't change her personality too much. As Shelby commented on my FB status, "Let the hormones rage in the Huntzinger household. Sorry Oliver .......it'll be a long childhood" Heehee!

Quotes of the Day

Georgia was sweet enough to take care of the boys while I ran the race. The girls spent the night with Ryan and Kristine so they could run in the Junior Olympics State Track Meet on Saturday. Since I also taught Gospel Doctrine on Sunday and Tyler isn't back from Vermont yet, it made for a busy weekend.

When Tucker prayed the night I was gone he said, "Bless my Mama, because hers running, because hers running, because hers running and hers tired of it!" He's a regular mind reader! =)

I've been trying the "17 Day Diet" for the last couple of days. It is SO hard, so I've been trying out a few new things. Last night I tried baking kale chips (just kale cut in bite sized pieces with olive oil and salt). I really liked them, but Oliver said, "Wait, we're having burnt broccoli for dinner?" I guess it's back to the drawing board.

Ragnar 2011

I think I've pretty much told these stories to death... but I'll probably forget them by next year- and YES, I've been invited to join Elwood's Army again next year- yippeee.

So first of all, a few weeks ago I was invited to join a Ragnar Relay team that consists of lots of John's sister's husband's family. Clear as mud? They call themselves "Elwood's Army" because Elwood is the grandfather. I designed the logo- awesome, huh?!!




I hadn't been running much before this and I thought this would really get me motivated. After I realized that there was no way I could be prepared, I just decided to do my best and hope I didn't kill myself!

Basically this is about a 200 mile run from Logan to Park City with a relay team of 12. It was absolutely gorgeous and one of the hardest things I've done. Many said it was harder than a marathon- it was definitely not harder than the Deseret News Marathon, but it was hard. Absolutely one of the more fun races that I've done. People dress up in costumes and decorate their vans all as part of the race.

My first run was a short 3.2 easy miles. The only hard part about it was the heat since it was about noon and there was NO shade. It was easy, as promised, though and I finished right on time (don't know the time exactly, but I was supposed to be running a 9:30). When you pass someone, it is called a "kill." If you are fast, that is one of the fun things to keep track of. I had no kills on this run- AND I was passed up by a Santa who yelled, "Merry Christmas."

The second run was later that night- I can't remember how late. Time just kind of ran away from me, but it was very dark and when I should have been sleeping. =) It was 10 miles, and rated very hard. Everything seemed fine as I began the race, but pretty quickly it was dark and I could hardly see anyone. Sometimes I was running on a trail with waist high grass all around. I was pretty sure I was lost more than once. Really early in the run I was again passed by the Santa who yelled, "Merry Christmas"- arrrgghh! As I ran by a grassy hill, I could hear a lot of scurrying. I thought maybe someone had taken some cover to take a bathroom break, but suddenly I felt afraid. You know that feeling of, "I don't know why I'm scared, but I'm terrified?!" That was it, so I increased my speed a bit. After the first 3 miles, I started feeling a lot more secure about the run. Much of it was either on the road or path of the Echo triathlon I did last year, so although I couldn't see people, I felt pretty sure about my surroundings. As I came into the last part of the town, I really got my second wind and guess who I saw in front of me? The jolly old man himself. I was so excited!! I ran my hardest to get in front of him and yelled, "Merry Christmas to YOU! HA, HA!!" and then ran a circle around him before running ahead. In hind sight, I realize that he looked beat and I probably should have stopped to ask if he needed help. It sure did feel good, though!

The very last part of the leg was a brutal hill. I thought about walking, but I wanted my team to be proud of me running up to meet them. I ran as hard as I could, only to find them not there!! They didn't expect me that quick and it took 6 minutes for them to meet me. Oh well- the whole leg felt fantastic. I definitely wouldn't have rated it very hard, but long rolling hills are my best. After I met my team I learned that the scurrying on the hill was actually a bear. YIKES!

The last leg was the very hardest. It had a 46% increase in elevation. It's hard to picture just how hard it is, but let's just say every time there was a flat moment, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. Even walking was difficult, so I tried doing what my team called the "Oprah Walk." I don't know exactly what that is- just swinging your arms really hard as you take giant steps and running when I could. When I get tired, I find it helps to talk to people. Since we were all pretty spread apart, I decided yelling would be more appropriate. I was yelling things like, "Who hates their team as much as I do? and This is the walk of shame. and This is the longest mile of my life." Anything I could think of to laugh about and pass the time. Note to self- people that are having a hard time running don't have a sense of humor! The teams on the sidelines were cracking up, but the other runners were not laughing! Especially the guy I passed going uphill. Even though I said, "This is the hardest thing I've ever done, but I think we're almost finished"- didn't seem to make him feel better. I finished that leg 2 minutes slower than I should have, but seriously- I was just glad it was done!

(me close to the top in the middle of the two skinnies)

I'm excited for next year. I don't know which leg I will be doing, but I almost hope it is the same one. There are some legs that are MUCH easier, but I'd kind of like to see if I could do better if I were in better shape. This definitely has me excited and motivated- now to find my next race.

Go Ollie, it's your birthday

How can he already be 7 years old? I'm pretty sure it was just yesterday that we were bringing this little bundle home!!


We had a kind of laid back birthday since Tyler and Emmaline are gone. (I think he may have told Judy it was kind of a bummer birthday!) He chose to have Lamingtons instead of a traditional cake (it's a coconut and chocolate cake from Australia- we have this Children's World Cookbook that the kids love to cook out of) and roast, mashed potatoes and rolls for dinner.

I was cleaning out his backpack after the last day of school and found a "Most Creative Student Award." His teacher wrote: Oliver- You are a fun and interesting boy. Your fascination with certain non-fiction books that you learn from and examine for hours is amazing. Your artwork is so creative and has such thoughtful details. You have made remarkable progress in reading, writing, and math this year. You did a terrific job as the dog in our play, and I have enjoyed being your teacher immensely. Keep working hard!"

I was THRILLED!! Despite hours of homework and tutoring, my kids struggle in school. Some teachers just don't get them. I love that she "got" him and I felt like she celebrated with every success that we had this year just as much as we did. He's made amazing progress in reading and you should see his mad math skills! He's such a great kid and I'm so glad to be his mom.

Freshman Yearbook

Savannah was thrilled to see this picture of herself in the yearbook.  Although it wasn't her best race, she is improving at lot, and as the caption says- she finished with style.

I can almost guarantee...

when Tyler is gone, if something bad can happen- it will. And usually when you are doing something as mundane as getting kids to bed. When he was working on the Manhattan temple, I was upstairs laying down while the girls took a bath (I was working and pregnant with Oliver). Suddenly I hear Savannah yell that I probably need to come down. When I got there, the bath water was completely red. Emmaline had decided to go down and get a Barbie. At the time, their toys were stored in a room behind the laundry room. Since she was a little wet, somehow her foot slipped under the dryer and almost got cut off.

It was certainly a lesson for me in the power of prayer and the Holy Ghost, though. I was trying to figure out what to do quickly since I only had about 20 minutes until the InstaCare closed. At that time, Emmaline was still a bit of a handful and I knew she needed all my attention. Just as I was trying to decide whether to call Georgia to meet me at the InstaCare to get Savannah, I got a phone call from the Young Women's president that I was working with as a Beehive Counselor. She lived just down the street from me and said, "I have a feeling that I need to call you. Is everything alright?" I always heard about those stories in church, but never experience one. It was amazing!

But I digress...
Friday night we had just come home from Savannah's soccer tournament. I was in the laundry room and sent Oliver in his room to put on his pajamas. Suddenly I heard a THUMP, followed by a blood curdling scream. I ran into his room to see blood squirting everywhere. He was leaning over to take his underwear off and lost his balance. Since he didn't have his hands ready to stop himself, he slammed right into the edge of the trim around the closet. I grabbed a diaper just as Emmaline was coming in and she said, "Want me to go start the car? You see, "bring me a diaper" is Tyler's code for "I need something to stop all this blood and then we're on our way to the ER." It works great!

He was incredibly calm throughout the whole thing (11 stitches total- in and out). There was a discussion among the nurses as to whether whether the doctor was super skilled or he was just an amazing kid. I pled the latter.


As we finished up he said, "Now I feel just like I'm home in my bed." What a goof!

It's that time of year...

I have kind of a love-hate feeling about the end of school. It is so fun to see all the programs and festivities- but it's so hard to schedule them all! One day we got to go eat lunch with Emmaline. It was catered from a nearby restaurant called Guzzie's. It was yummy!

Oliver's school had a Carnival Day. Emmaline was so sweet, she spent her own money to make sure the boys had all the fun possible.


She has always been quite a climber!


Tucker was devastated that they said he was too small to try. Maybe they would have changed their mind if they could see this.


You can NEVER have enough swords.


Savannah didn't get to attend because she is helping coach a younger track team. See what I mean about scheduling?

You're never truly finished with a remodel...

While Tyler is gone, one of his employees that didn't go to Vermont is working on a few projects around the house. While I HATE having my house constantly looking like a construction site (and the dust that goes along with it!) it's nice to get a few things done.


We're training Tucker early. On the plaster, that is. We're also still working on the potty training. =)

Quotes of the Day

It's been harder for Tucker to have Tyler gone this time around. He just can't seem to get the concept that he isn't coming home every night. Every time we come home and he sees Tyler's car he shouts, "Daddy's home!" It got so bad, I even considered taking the car to the studio. Finally, one day I explained, "Remember how I took Daddy to the airport to go to Vermont? We have to pick him up from the airport when he comes home. So even though his car is here, he will never be here until we go get him from the airport. Does that make sense?"

He agreed that it did make sense. The following day, as we came home from his school and he saw Tyler's car he shouted, "Hey! Daddy's home. Wait- that doesn't make sense." I think he might understand this yet! =)