Easter eggs....finally

Well ever since my AWESOME April Fool's Joke, I haven't taken the time to update my blog. Shame on me! Here are some great Easter egg dyeing photos for your viewing pleasure. The first one looks like Alex is trying to dip his pacifier in the dye!

Look at the concentration on this little girl's face. Precious.

Fake smile and Panda sticker egg.

Alex taking a ride on the child seat on daddy's bike. He's really too young, so they just rode around the parking area in our complex. But I love those chubby cheeks!!

You Guessed It...

If you have not read the previous post on my blog, I suggest doing so before continuing....

My story of auditinoing for The Amazing Race was an awesome

APRIL FOOL'S!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed all the comments generated by that post! So much enthusiasm out there! Thanks for cheering me on, guys! Maybe I actually WILL try out for it in the future, given how cool you all think it would be.

Watch me on TV!!

I just couldn't wait to share the good news:

I have been cast in the next season of The Amazing Race!!

If you didn't know, my family is kind of obsessed with this show, and we have often fantasized about creating winning teams with a combination of strong language skills and excellent fitness. Well, now that I live in Burbank, the home of CBS, (and ABC, NBC, Warner Brothers, Disney, Nickelodeon, etc.) I figured I should take the opportunity to audition. It was a pretty grueling process, with several rounds of interviews, but they just finalized the cast list yesterday!

I am teamed up with Claire Winters, another opera singer in my ward, which is I guess what the producers liked about us. I don't know if they'll call us "Mormon Opera Moms" or what, but I think it should be catchy.

I had some concerns about who would take care of the kids while we're away, but the producers said they're willing to work with us. They realize the strain this can be on families, so they got in touch with PJ's bosses at USC and came up with a reduced work schedule for him over the summer while we're shooting. It's the light season at work for him anyway, but now he gets a couple of half-days a week. Only in LA, right? Claire's husband works evenings, so the two dads will switch off taking care of the kids.

This has been one of the main reasons I've been working on my fitness too---I realize the toll the show will take on my body and I want to be up to the challenge. Both Claire and I have traveled internationally, which should help, I think. My language skills are all Western European based, but she has focused a lot of her studies on Russian and Slavic, so that should be a plus.

I can't believe I'm actually going to do this! I'm terrified and excited all at once. Do any of you have tips for my preparation? I could use any advice you can give!!! Thanks, and I'll let you know when the first episode airs. Wish me luck!

TRIATHLON REPORT

I did it.

I completed my first triathlon on Saturday.

I can't believe it.

So here's the story: PJ has done several sprint distance triathlons in the past few years. He really loves it and has suggested that I train for one. I was not sure about this because I've never considered myself to be an athlete. I had done three 5K's since Avery was born three years ago, which helped me have the confidence to do this. PJ made me a training schedule that began in January and lasted 10 weeks. It basically consisted of doing two of the three components (run, swim, bike) three times a week. I really enjoyed having three different areas to train for because it kept my exercise routine interesting. I actually exercised more like 5 days a week, and not always doing two sports each time, but the schedule was a good guideline.

The triathlon was a "reverse sprint triathlon" which means it was rather short distances in the reverse order of a normal triathlon. It began with a 5K run, followed by a 15K bike, then a 150m swim. The event took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Basically we ran one loop around the Rose Bowl, then 3 bike loops, then ran to the Aquatics Center and swam three 50m lengths in a serpentine fashion. I was glad that I did a "brick" (meaning two components back to back) to practice the Saturday before at the Rose Bowl, because I felt really psychologically and physically prepared on race day.

My brother Ryan was in town, so he took a couple of photos when he and PJ and the kiddos showed up about half way through the race. Here's me on the bike, waving to the kids as I FLY BY:

Here's me doing the breast stroke (I was way too tired to crawl) in the swimming pool with my awesome pink goggles.

I had a goal of completing in under two hours, but I thought that I could probably do it in 1 hour 45 minutes. I was totally thrilled with my time: 1 hour 33 minutes!!! It was really, really fun too! I was nowhere near the competitive times of right around an hour, but who cares!?! I did it, and I wasn't last, and I didn't take any walking breaks or anything.

This just goes to show that if I, the athletically challenged and frustratingly overweight girl, can do this, anyone who wants to can do it too!

Bouncing Baby Boy

I love watching Mr. Alex in his Jolly Jumper. He is too cute.

My brother ROCKS the ROTC

I've been meaning to post this for over a week. My brother Erik is in the Air Force ROTC at BYU. He just got his wings, which means he's officially accepted to pilot training (I'm not sure what the exact wording is....) and he plans to be a test pilot. Crazy, huh? Well, he got involved with the Rifle Drill Team last year, and is now the leader. He is extremely hard-core about this, with tons of training and practicing for competitions. His group came to Anaheim on March 7 to compete with other schools and BYU placed FIRST!

Here is a great news story about their win: http://marriottschool.byu.edu/news/release.cfm?article=447

It was amazing to watch the drill sargeants get in the cadets' faces and scream at them during the inspection part of the competition. If they didn't know the answer to questions, they were somewhat publicly humiliated. There was even one JROTC cadet who had to do continual about-faces while saying "This cadet does not know anything."

Then the second phase of competition involved a list of commands that the leader of the Rifle Drill Team had to call out and the group had to follow. Erik was a super-star during this part! I couldn't believe it was my baby brother yelling commands with perfect timing.




Then the group performed their routine they had been working on all year. They did complicated tricks that involved marching and throwing rifles and all sorts of things. My video of this didn't come out well, but the photo is ok. Imagine the rifles flying through the air in sequence and Erik fearlessly walking through them.

Here's my adorable brother holding my equally adorable son. See the family resemblance?

Here's his beautiful fiancee, Jessi. I'm so excited for their wedding in April!!!

PJ's Birthday Celebrations

Since we live practically next door to Hollywood now, I thought we should have the full Hollywood experience for PJ's birthday. So, I got us tickets to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

I was keeping my plans a secret from PJ, so he wasn't sure where we were going when we arrived at Hollywood and Highland (the famous touristy place in Hollywood where the Kodak theater --think Oscars,---and the Chinese theater---think hand and footprints, and walk of fame and all that is) and there were THRONGS of teenagers lining the streets, SCREAMING and FREAKING OUT. It turns out that night was the premiere of the Jonas Brothers new 3-D concert movie at the El Capitan theater, right next door to Kimmel. PJ looked at me and asked, "You got me tickets to the Jonas Brothers?" Right. Like he would really appreciate their music surrounded by a thousand teeny-bopper girls weeping with joy.

After we braved the crowds and got turned away at the door and told we needed to go around to the back ALLEY for Kimmel, we waited in line for nearly 90 minutes until they opened the doors to the theater and we were seated in the audience. It was a fun show: Don Rickles was there, as well as Regis Philbin. They also taped a segment with Rob Lowe for the next night's show and we all had to pretend it was Wednesday for about 15 minutes. Then after the show, we went to the lobby where they taped a band performing two songs and we were the concert audience---which will air in the next few weeks. I can't remember the band's name....sorry.

After the show, we went looking for a bite to eat. After trying a steak house that was too pricey, followed by this Mexican dive that looked promising but was closed, we settled on spring rolls and the Great Wall of Chocolate at P.F. Chang's. I know, I know, it's a chain, but the cake was DELISH! For gifts, PJ received two ties (he loves new ties, go figure!) and a cool Shutterfly photo book from me, as well as the As-Seen-On-TV IRON GYM from my parents.

Look at how ripped he is already!

I would definitely say the night was a success. Getting away from the children was a treat in and of itself....