Coolest Dad

1/2 My Life

This is a couple of days late, but on Sunday, February 1, 2009, I have officially been associated with my husband 1/2 my life. We met Friday, February 1, 1991 at his singles ward dance (sort of like the movie he was in) when I was 18 years old. You guessed it, I'm now 36 (hard to admit) and it's February 1st again so by my calculations I've been priviledged to know him 1/2 a lifetime (so far). As Dell would say, "Not long enough!" And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Dell has been a huge blessing in my life (& the lives of many others, too). He has never stopped "dating" me (ie. movies, dinner out, trips together all over the world), often compliments me, loves the Lord and our family as much as he loves me and shows it in his actions and example, works hard & has always provided for our needs and often our wants, plays hard and keeps me feeling young, is super smart and creative, he's the best dad on the planet to our four kids, etc, etc, etc. No question I'm a better person for the time we've spent together. I love him eternally & plan to be with him forever (thanks to our Savior, Jesus Christ). Let the next 18+ years together begin!! (:

Disneyworld's Goofy's Race & Half Challenge

I (Teresa) flew to Disneyworld with my sister Maren, brother Tom, and sister-in-law Teresa Steele (and her friend Jennifer) a couple of weeks ago. We had trained for a few months for the 39.3 miles we planned to run in the Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. We ran a half marathon (13.1 miles) on Saturday January 10th and a full marathon (26.2 miles) on Sunday January 11th. We've previously run 1/2 marathons and full marathons individually so we felt the next big challenge was to run them back to back (I know, glutten for punishment). And on top of that, we visited all four parks there, riding the rides as many times as possible (some 4 times each). Needless to say, we put in a lot of miles!! It was probably the most exhausting vacation I've ever been on. And I left the kids and husband at home, LOL! I'm not complaining, though. It was all well worth it and we had a wonderful time. I don't know if we'll ever be goofy enough to run it again (not to mention it was our most expensive race) but it was definitely worth doing once. Reaching such a big goal together and spending the week together was really fantastic. As adults, you don't get to hang out with your siblings much and just play. That's one thing I enjoy the most about running races with my family and friends--all the bonding we get to do together. I sure I couldn't have run as well as I did in any of my races without the support we give to each other during training and actually completing the races, etc. I'd love to run some more races with my family and friends. So who's ready for the next race? (email me)

I just want to say to all my family and friends (especially Dell & my kids) I love you all! Thanks to Dell and the kids for supporting me in my personal quests and for holding down the fort at home while I'm gone. What a great way to accomplish my new year's resolution for 2009! (Wow, that was faster than usual, LOL!)

Christmas 2008 in Wisconsin

We traveled to Wisconsin (a long drive) in our Toyota truck with the six of us for Christmas and New Years. Dell's mom Jeannie and stepdad Michael live there in Tomah. We really enjoyed eating together (Jeannie fed us well), tubing at the local ski resort (small compared to Utah), singing Christmas carols, opening gifts, attending church in the next town (boy are we spoiled with church one street over), and staying up until midnight to ring in the new year (well, 11pm in Utah), etc. I'm sure we were extremely busy and noisy and wore out Jeannie and Michael, but everyone seemed to have a great time!