A Peek at the Poulsens

Once upon a time, I thought it would be a great idea to run a half marathon. We signed up for it three and a half months prior and started training. Then we stopped. Then the date of the race came and we had clocked maaaaybe 12 miles each. In one-two mile increments. BUT! We showed up bright and early and did our determined, albeit wimpy, best, and finished! Our goals: 1) finish. 2) bonus if we finish in under the mandatory 6 hours. And we succeeded! I think our time was like 3 hours 20 minutes or something hilariously bad like that (16 minute miles, y'all) and we were dead, but we were so proud of ourselves! Actually Austin was mostly just super ticked haha, he was sore and charlie-horsing and so done that he was just scowling for the next hour, ha! It was extra funny because he's normally so mild-mannered. The rest of us (Austin's mom, my dad, and our friends the Birdsalls) were feeling accomplished and satisfied but Austin was uncharacteristically crabby. Love y...

September flew by (I feel like I say that every post, with a different month. But it's true!) I've really enjoyed walking group with the other friends in our ward - we go every Monday/Thursday in the mornings and walk to the park. I always feel boosted and enjoy spending time with everyone. The kids love it too, and get nice and tired for their naps! A note about naps: aren't they sacred? I guard the two hours of actual nap time and the hour before/after like my life depends on it. Sometimes, it does. You can't be in the car too close to nap time because then they fall asleep en route, potentially earning you a shorter nap. You can't plan anything too close to wake up time because waking up a sleeping child is an international infraction, plus the children (at least mine) need some nap recovery time. You can't have anyone over during nap time - you need that for YOU time, and you definitely can't schedule any appointments or activities during nap time. S...

We've taken quite the break from the blog sphere the past month or two - I've missed it! I am ready to get rid of the nagging guilt of my accumulating pictures and events. It's always frustrating to fall behind on the blog because I never feel like you can quite catch up and do it justice.  BIG HAPPENINGS:  ~we said goodbye to apartment living and are now happy residents of 331 S 54th Street - notice the lack of apartment number! first time in our marriage! it was a relatively easy move and we are very content with our new situation. more on that later.  ~Stockton turned ONE! what!? more on that later. ~Natalie started stringing words together first into phrases and now into sentences. She's such a big girl! ~Austin and I ran a half marathon together! I use the word "ran" loosely - more like "gently jogged and walked." more on that later.  ~my dad started his new job as the JROTC instructor at Lincoln Northeast High School, and he live...

Fact: Every important man in history has had a beard. Evidence: Qui-Gon Jinn Obi-Wan Kenobi Gandalf Dumbledore Uncle Si Fact: Evil men are more likely to be clean-shaven. Evidence: Emperor Palpatine Sauron Voldemort Conclusion: Heroes have beards, and sadistic psychopathic murderers shave everyday. So, after reaching this conclusion a little over a month ago, I decided I needed a beard. It was the only obvious choice I could make after uncovering such overwhelming evidence. So I grew a beard. Pretty heroic, right? But, alas, it grew uncomfortable, and itchy, and Jessie wasn't fond of kissing me anymore, so I decided that it was time to chop it. I wanted to have a little fun doing it, though. I have wanted to do the sideburns-to-mustache combo since eighth grade when we learned about General Ambrose Burnside in the Civil War. I'd say the resemblance is pretty striking. The Hulk Hogan I think I pull it off a litt...

For Family Home Evening this week we made one of our favorite dishes, chicken filo, and our friends brought a favorite dessert, pavlova. Teamwork is the best, people! Our lesson was on Noah's Ark, which was really fun. We sang a song and told the story and then had Natalie and Will pile all the animals we could find in our apartment into the "ark." Then we shut them in and it "rained" until Olaf the "dove" brought news of land and the flood was over and they took turns hiding in the box. The next day Natalie saw the box and said, "boat! aminals."  we rocked the box to make it seem like it was on water...croc didn't make the cut for the ark  If you noticed that their shirts looked wet, they definitely were, because we had had a water gun fight previously (which is SO FUN with two-year-olds, haha!). We calmed down with dessert and a movie. It is so fun sharing family night with awesome friends!