Randomness abides

So I don't know that I've posted a "real" blog for a bit. I've been busy. And I've been having fun. We loved having family in town for about 1 1/2 weeks, and we're sad Paul's bro and sis don't live closer. (His bro's family came from Arizona and his sister's family from Washington -- we're smack dab in the middle for them. :) Our kids LOVED playing w/their cousins and were sad when they had to leave. I'm glad they have cousins on both sides they love playing with.

Today I had a mini mission reunion at my house. One sister was in town from Brazil, so another flew in from Georgia (where she is living after having served there), and other sisters from nearby came for a visit. My only comp who came was one who lives in Springville, and still we don't see each other nearly enough. So sad to lose touch with people you had such wonderful experiences with!

This week I also completed the first week of the "Couch to 5k Running Plan." I thought I did pretty good. :) I outpaced my buddy a little bit, but I think it's because she started a juice diet the same week. (She's lost 10 pounds so far ... but I'm still not convinced to do it myself quite yet.) In any case, we're very excited and we're going to run our first 5K on Sat., Sept. 11. I'll have to miss part of our Relief Society annual retreat for this, but I think it'll be worth it. I've had a goal to run a 5k for a bit, but I'm finally using this plan to put it into action. Now if only I could get my eating to improve a bit ...

And the best news is that I get my parents back this week!!! I am thrilled! They finished their mission a week ago and then drove to South Carolina to pick up my nieces. They'll leave SC tomorrow to drive across country to return home. We're so excited to see them -- and my nieces whom I haven't seen for four years. I have barely scrapbooked while my mom's been away, and she'll kick me back into gear. We're also thrilled to have my baby sister Rebecca join us (although we haven't talked her into scrapbooking yet) since she's joining the ranks of the SAHMs. I'm so glad -- I don't see my sisters nearly enough since they're all busy working! :)

And with that randomness I'll include a random pic. My bro and sis-in-law gave us some pretty nice banana chairs, and I'm surprised at who loves them the most: