San Diego SUPER CHARGERS!

First of all, a little history about my experience with football:

Once upon a time, I was cheerleader (in high school). The only thing I understood about football was that touchdowns were good. After high school, I forgot about football until I married James. The first year we were married I would get so bothered that James "had" to watch the game every week. I mean, really, he was supposed to be paying attention to me ALL of the time, right? Well, I learned quickly that James was not going to stop watching football, so the second football season into our marriage I sat down and learned to like it. Now, I LOVE it. I am still learning, and the more I learn about it, the more I like it. But mostly, I love spending time with my hubby. He's always teaching me more about the game, and every great play is a reason to celebrate. Basically, I love James, and that is why I love football.

Anyway, I bought tickets to the Monday night game a while ago for Father's day (I know, I'm the best). Needless to say, it was awesome.


We're so excited!

Don't you just love the home-made jersey James is wearing? Yep, I made it.


Dennis Quaid!


We got to the stadium about an hour and a half before the game started. It was pretty cool to watch the players warm up. Chris Chambers walked by right below us and threw his gloves to some kids in the stands, who were of course pretty stoked about it.

Good friends, good game. What more could you ask for?


Check out the view behind us. The Stadium was packed!



Notice the Jets fan behind us. We sat on the Jets side, so there were of course a few of them. There was one Jets fan that I found particularly amusing, though. He would be super loud and in-your-face when the Jets had the ball, and then sit down and sulk when we had it.


James "hanging out on the field"

You have GOT to be kidding me.

Chargers. I think that says it all. Today was an incredibly stressful game for me to watch. It's funny that I care about football so much when I used to not care at all, but at any rate, I do care. And today we got robbed. Whoever the ref was today sucked. There were 2 plays that he called soooo wrong, and because of it we lost by 1 point. 1 freaking point! I don't want to go into to it too much, but I just had to have my voice heard. We should have won, no question about it. Stupid ref.

Ode to running

I love running. Granted, I don't always stick with it like I should, but never the less, I love it. I have a handful of races that I am going to be running in this fall and I have officially started my training program for them. Why do I love running so much you ask? Well, here are a few reasons.

1. A true sense of accomplishment.

At the beginning of this year running a half mile was extremely difficult. I would huff and puff and give up pretty darn fast. After a couple months of perservernce, I can now run at least 6 miles without stopping... granted I don't run 6 miles at a time often, but... Even now, running gets to be tough, but I KNOW that I can do it. After every run I think back to the parts of that run that I wanted to stop but didn't, and it makes me realize that I can accomplish just about anything if I truly want to.

2. I don't think any work out can kick your butt as much as running can.

When I finish a run, I feel tired, but good tired. Like my body is saying "Thank you!"

3. Running is therapy.

I get to just think without having anything to distract me. Even when I'm by myself at home, I get distracted easily. But when I'm running, there is no escaping my thoughts and I really am able to sort things out... it keeps me grounded.

These are just a few reasons, but there are many, many more.

I'm telling you, if you are not a runner, you should be. Even if you think you can't or you won't like it, you're wrong. You just take it slow, and before you know it, you'll be running farther than you ever thought you could!

This picture keeps me motivated.

A couple of weeks ago James' parents celebrated their 40th anniversary and we had a big ol' party to help them celebrate. It was a surprise for them down at the Hotel Del Coronado with family and some of their very best friends. Good thing there are people in our family who take pictures, because we of course forgot our camera... thanks Nicole!

40 years... wow!

One day our kids will be throwing us an anniversary party:)

James giving a toast

The LaLanne boys... plus a Hammond and a Hansen (son-in-laws)

The LaLanne girls


Now a days, lasting marriages are hard to come by and I am so grateful that James and I have two wonderful examples of healthy, happy marriages to follow. Not that either of our parents read this blog, but thank you SO much to James' parents and my parents:)

The HUSBAND Tag

So, I didn't actually get tagged, but I liked this one so I just decided to do it:)

What is his name? James Scott LaLanne

How long did we date? 2 years, with a couple breakups and one move out of state mixed in there. Yeah, I was totally afraid of falling for him... so I went crazy a few times, sorry honey! How long have we been together? 4 years, and it just keeps getting better.



How old is he? 28 Who eats more? I could eat more than him if I let myself, but I don't. So, him.



Who said "I love you" first? James. To which my response was "really? thanks!" Then I broke up with him a week later and another week later called him to say "I love you, take me back!" I told you I was crazy.

Who is taller? He is.
Who can sing better? I sing MORE than James, but he's actually got a pretty good voice.
Who's smarter? I'm not afraid to say that I am. When we were dating James told me that he wanted to marry someone smarter than himself. I may not always apply my smarts, but I've got them.
Who does the laundry? Mostly me, and even when James occasionally does a load, I'm the one who does the folding.
Dishes? Both of us, but mostly me. Then again, we don't get very many dishes dirty because I rarely cook.
Mows the lawn? Mostly James, but sometimes me... I actually enjoy mowing the lawn.

Who cooks dinner? The kitchen staff at whichever restaurant we're at:)
Who drives? James, always.
Who kissed who first? Ummm, I think we kissed eachother. And it was precious.
Who proposed? He did... I totally knew it was coming.



Who is more stubborn? Me, for sure. Sensitive? Again, me.
Who wears the pants? Hmmmm.... James, I suppose.
What's the one thing you didn't know about your husband before you got married? I don't think I knew how lucky I was to be marrying him... I had no idea then that he was as awesome as he is.

Lake Powell #2

Love

Camp Fire Mania! It was so hot next to the fire--we all pulled our chairs way back to escape the heat and tried to talk the kids into making treats for us:)

Fun times washing our hair.

Not really the cutest look on my face, but do you see that air?! I'm now addicted to wakeboarding--if only I got to go more than once a year!

Austin was a fish, as usual. He loved it.


Yeah, I know, James is better than me. He's so cool:)

Lake Powell: post #1

Sorry, but no pics in this post. Oh but don't you worry, they will be here soon! Lake Powell was awesome. I am always amazed by the beauty of Lake Powell. Sometimes when I am there I can just imagine a scene in which my Father in Heaven decides to do some artwork. Kind of like if I were looking for something to do one day and just wanted to paint (except that Heavenly Father is a MUCH better artist than myself!). I can imagine him looking down on the earth and using it as his canvas--with a vibrant blue sky, a touch of puffy white clouds, and some streaming sunlight all above a landscape of deep blue water and red rock cliffs. I am so grateful for this life and for all of the many beautiful creations our Father in Heaven has put here for us:)