New Running Shoes

So a couple of months ago Katie got all excited about a race she wanted to run in Central Park. She spread the word around the ward, and got others excited. Promises were made, "I'll do it if Ian does it," I said, to which Ian replied "I'll do it if Charles does it," to which Charles replied... You get the idea. So with my guys backing me, I told Katie I would run in her 4 mile race. Perfect excuse for new shoes, right? So I ran a few times before the race to break them in and to get my fat butt into shape.

Race day comes, and what's this? Ian & Charles didn't register? What? I'm the only guy in our ward running it? Thanks a lot. In Charles' defense, he came and watched all the kids. Anyway, long story short, I totally amazed myself. I ran a 9 minute mile pace, and was not even tired after the race. Not the greatest time, but hey, it far exceeded my expectations. Katie finished a couple minutes after, followed shortly by Jamie & Rachel. All in all it was a good experience. We'll see if this continues. Katie told me that if I run a marathon before I graduate, she'll move to Germany with me. Hmmm.



In other news, Josh is a true New Yorker. I find the NY accent so difficult to imitate. He sure seems to do well with it. I'm truly amazed that he's picked it up. Where in the world would he hear it? None of his little friends have the accent, nor does anyone else that he spends 99% of his time with. Here's the proof:

Our little Carter is getting so big. I guess I should say he is still big. But he is such a sweet little guy. He's always happy, and is so much fun:

Josh loves his little brother and always wants to be with him. Likewise Carter loves Josh.

Modest is hottest

So this past week in Young Womens we had a chastity lesson. In the adult session of our stake conference, our stake president said that we aren't teaching our children enough about chastity and said because there's so much going on now in the world, that we need to have frank talks with our children about what is okay and what isn't. (Luckily we can wait for a while before having the talk with Josh). Anyway, this led to a lesson coming from the stake that we taught last week and today. Part of the lesson focused on modesty, so I had Ryan and my counselors' husbands come in to talk to the girls about what modesty means to a guy. I thought what Ryan said was really telling of what great girls he hung out with in high school. He told the young women that he didn't really hang out with immodest girls because all of his girl-friends (is that how you write non girlfriend girlfriends?) were modest. He said that because they were modest, he was able to get to know their personalities, like who they were as individuals (the guys were explaining that a lot of boys don't care about anything but looks and kissing in high school), and appreciate their intellect. He also said that he respected his friends because of their modesty. I can't repeat it like he said it, but it was neat to hear how important his girl-friends were to him and what a positive impact they made on his life. Thanks for your examples!

Late night picture of the new -do. See, Ryan respects me too because I throw random shirts over my shoulders to be modest. Besides the fact that it does wonders for my complexion.Carter pooped all over his one outfit at my friend Rachel's house, so he got to sport a lady's onesie for a while. He didn't seem to mind....although I have to admit, there's no way he could pass for a girl--he's too manly!My real-to-life photo shoot. Josh has entered the stage where nothing is safe from his curiosity. Today when he was supposed to be napping, I found his clothes all over his bed with him sitting in the top drawer of his dresser....