Mother Racer

My Running: I decided very last minute to run the St. George marathon the 1st weekend in October. It is one of my favorite courses! Corom was already planning on it even though he has only run once every other week the months leading up to the race. 🙂 So I knew that I would regret not running it come race day… We left around 5:30 p.m Friday night (with Mike Fullmer) to make the 3 hour drive. We did the whole packet pick up/expo thing, then drove up to the starting line to sleep in our van. 😊 Yes as you can see… I am not racing this one! I went into this hoping to just to come close to a 3 hour time. (Mike and Corom did sleep in the back of the van while I slept on one of the benches up front.) Not the most comfortable but it was cheap and we were at the starting line. 😊 I began the race a little more conservative. Going into it, I had no expectations. About half way in, I felt great so I picked up my pace. I could tell I was out of shape, especially the last 5 miles but I was able to finish with a 2:56. I was pleasantly surprised with that time. I ran back up to mile 24 to meet up with Corom and Mike. They ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut and had them deliver it to them at mile 24. It was so funny! They came in around 5:30-5:40. After I ran them in my mother in law called and said she wasn’t doing to well. I met her at mile 24 and walked in with her the last 2 miles. I will have to say that I have been trying RunGum out and absolutely love it!! I didn’t take any gu’s, shot blocks or anything except for the gum. It worked great! I contacted Nick Symmonds (the 800 Olympic Runner) and wanted to become a Rep/Ambassador for the product. So starting in 2017, I will be an Ambassador for RunGum! I’m super excited. 

2nd Daughter’s Birthday: My 2nd child turned 9 (September 6th). She is one of the funniest, corkiest people I know. She is so amazing, beautiful, and a very thoughtful young lady. She is growing up so fast and such a joy to be around. We invited the entire 3 grade over for a birthday party…. We pretty much let the kids run around and play. 😊

3rd Daughter’s Birthday & Baptism: My 3rd daughter turned 8 November 5th. 8 is a big birthday. She was able to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She was so excited and so beautiful! She is one of my best helpers around the house, is the best cleaner, always worried about others and so very thoughtful! Our family wouldn’t be complete without her! A week later she had a bday party. We never go all out but we do invite everyone in their grade so no one is left out. And we always put on the invitation (for all of my girls’ parties)… no gifts! That would be way too many presents! 🙂 There were about 25 kids that showed (out of the 60). It was a house full. 😳 But the kids had fun. Corom and Mike (our pediatrician) dressed up as clowns and took care of all the games. That was nice for me. 
Teaching Moments: A few weeks ago as I was picking up the girls from school, I noticed my oldest was on the verge of tears. Before the other girls came out I pulled her aside and asked what was wrong. She just burst into tears and started crying. For the record… My oldest really never opens up to me. She said someone said something mean to her. I just hugged her and said, “I want you to remember this moment! I want you to remember how you feel right now, so you know to never make anyone feel the way you do right now. You make sure you are always nice to people no matter what.” We talked for another minute about the situation. Inside The mama bear in me wanted to find the kid and yell or something, but I suppressed those feelings and didn’t make it a big deal for my daughter’s sake. Once all the kids were loaded in the car, we drove home and everyone started to walk into the house. I noticed my oldest daughter bypassed our front door and went straight to the rake. She picked it up, walked across the street and raked our neighbor’s lawn (an elderly couple) for 45 min to an hour.  I watched her for a while and knew that she would be ok! Not just at that moment but in life. She is learning that if you do service when you are feeling low, your low feelings will change immediately! When she came back, I asked her how she was feeling. She had a big smile and said she feels good. 

Halloween: Halloween is always a blast! I love it… so therefore my kids have to love it. Trick or treating, school parties, etc…so fun! 

Japanese Student: We had a Japanese student stay with us for a little while. His stay was cut short due to a tragic accident that happened with another host family and their exchange student. It was so fun to have him and we were saddened by the accident that took place. 

Thanksgiving Week: We drove to my parent’s house in Hollister, California for Thanksgiving week. My sister and her family (and my Aunt) also came for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be there with family. 

Corom’s Birthday: We celebrated Corom’s birthday the day after Thanksgiving (the 25th because the 26th, which is his bday, we were driving home from California). We went to the beach, then to Denis the Menis park, then Corom, my sister and bro-in-law (Missy & Mike) went out to dinner for Coroms bday. My parents and Aunt Georgia took all the kids home. They decorated the house and made a cake for him. 

Our jobs: Well Corom just got a new job the week of Thansgiving. Yes many jobs since the jail job but this job fits Corom! He was hired on as a social worker for the school district. He works at the Jr. High right next to our house and a neighboring HS. He is really good with the youth! And now he has his summers off, all the days off the school is out for holidays and he is home by 3:30. Totally fits for him. I’ve been subbing a lot at the girls’ school and catering at the Clarion Gardens a lot. I enjoy doing it while the kids are in school. And my 2 older girls have been helping at the Clarion as well. It has been so good for them! They love it. 

Cross Country: The high school kids ended a good season. Our boys went into Region not expecting to make it to State. They all stepped up and made State by 3 1/2 points. It was an exciting race to watch. The girls were on the bubble to qualify and they, too, ran exactly how they were supposed to. State was an awesome experience and the kids raced well. We just finished our season with our last race in California. It was Footlocker. We had a blast in California… The beach, running, Disneyland ,the race, etc. 

School Pictures: As I said before… I’m at the school a lot with PTO (PTA) stuff and subbing. Red Ribbon Week was awesome and my oldest was Cleopatra for Night At The Museum. She was so great!!  

Random Pictures: 

Running Pictures: Chicago Marathon just emailed me these pictures a little bit ago. I ran my PR on that course (2:48) but that was the course that I thought I had it for the Olympic Trials. Bitter-Sweet. I absolutely loved this race/course. 

Running: I’ve been going strong with my running. I’m not putting as many miles in but I’ve been feeling good. I have paced a few races this summer and have loved it. One being Big Cottonwood Canyon marathon. They called about 4 weeks before the race asking if I would pace. I was a little nervous because I have only been running 6-9 miles a day, 5 sometimes 6 days a week. But of course I said yes… What’s a marathon. I ended up pacing the men’s Boston qualifier time of 3:05. I loved it and it felt good. I had a large group and many of them did pull ahead the last mile or 2. I accidentally came in at exactly 3:05.00.2. It was a blast. 

Bulgaria-Folkfest: We hosted 9 musicians and dancers at our house during the Folkfest. We had them for 10 days and stayed very busy with them. They were a great group of young men. They were so fascinated by American football! They loved it. 

It is always so fun having people from all over the World stay with us. We have had great experiences. 

Family Reunion: Every year we have our Fairbank’s family reunion at “This Is The Place”. My mom was adopted from Greece when she was 11 years old into the Fairbank family. My Fairbank grandparents had 9 boys and then adopted my mom and my aunt. The reunions are huge. 

Salem Days: I love Salem Days. All week long our little city does activities for the families. We attended the Boat Regatta, Fair, 5k race, parade, little buckaroo, outdoor movie night, pageant, auction, firefighters dinner, fireworks and more. On a side note… My oldest placed 1st in her age group with a time of 24:32, my 2nd placed 1st in her age group with 26 something, my 3rd 1st in her age group with a 24:34 and my youngest placed 2nd (behind my 3rd daughter) with a 26 something. It was so fun for them. Oh and Corom was in the city’s pageant (a skit before the firework show). He played a pirate. So hot! 

During the parade, our friends the Ritchie’s, decided to get us back with returning our chair that we gave to them as a gift. (One of the pictures above.) They decorated it “The Helping Hands” service chair and walked it through the parade. They passed out different services that we would do for others. We began to get so many random texts from people about the service we they picked. Later that day we pieced everything together. It was a clever prank and they got us good. 

Boating & Hiking: We went boating with my sister, Missy and my brother-in-law. The girls loved it! My 2nd daughter did so well on the knee board with my sister’s son. So fun to watch! More hikes! Love hiking to Stewart Falls, Sundance. 

Triathlon: The girls competed in their 1st triathlon. They swam 5 laps (the 2 younger ones had life jackets on), biked 4 miles, then ran 1 mile. They did so well!! And they actually enjoyed it. 

Girl’s Running: I coach for the city youth cross country (a new program)… So of course my girls do it. They don’t really enjoy it like I was hoping they would. I told them once I am done coaching for this season, I won’t do the city youth CC anymore. We will see if they want to do it next year. They are so good at it, too. Oh well. Wishful thinking! 

Girls Soccer: The girls are loving soccer, though. They play through the city and we coach 2 of their teams. The younger 2 are on a team together and our friend coaches them. It is so fun to watch them play. They are not afraid to get in there and go for the ball. My youngest, though, is still in the hand stand faze. 

Fair and Derby: I took the girls to the local fair… There was a K9 cop show, monkey show, face painting, etc. There was a long line for face painting so my oldest stepped in and started painting faces. She actually earned a birthday party job because of this. She is so excited! Corom and I went to the Derby with 2 other couples. Always entertaining. 

1st Day Of School: This may sound bad, but I was so excited for the 1st day of school (well do were my girls). All my girls are in school all day… Fun times! 

Soldier Coming Home & Honoring Fallen Soldiers: We had a neighbor come home from Afghanistan after serving there for a year. The neighbors came together and lined his road with flags (and people). The police and firemen brought him home. So amazing!!! My sister and I (with our kids) went to a service on September 11 honoring all the fallen soldiers and service men/women. My sister was poising while a couple of guys photo bombed her. It was quite funny! 

Catered For VP Pence: I had the opportunity to cater for Mike Pence (Trump’s Vice President pick) with Rebecca at the Clarion Event Center. Lots of security, bomb sniffing dogs and secret service and somehow they still let me in. 🙂 We were able to get a quick picture with Mike Pence and our Governor as they were leaving. It really was a great experience. 

Cross Country With The High School: We have had a fun summer and school year with the cross country team. They are a great group of kids! We’ve practiced all summer long, had cross country camp, quite a few races, team parties/dinners, trail runs, service work, etc. So much fun!! We (our school) just hosted an invitational (September 23rd). We had 38 schools come with a little over 2000 runners. It went really well! I do love coaching these HS kids. They are a great example to me. 

My Oldest’s B-day: My oldest turned 10 on May 17th. Yes that was a while ago. Things have been so busy that I didn’t take the time to sit down. But I am coming back to this point because I just wanted to share to my oldest daughter, that I love her so much! She is one of a kind and such a joy to our family. 

She wanted breakfast in bed (which her bedroom is in the closet…. By choice not for punishment). We went out to dinner as a family and the Barney’s made her a sorting hat chocolate cake (we all laughed because it looks like a pile of poop). 🙂 It was awesome. 

Service:  There are 2 separate incidents that I want to write about! First one… Selling Rocks: On the last day of school my youngest daughter (just finished kindergarten) went out to sell rocks to the Jr high kids as they walked by our house. I have never witnessed something so amazing and kind from many different groups of Jr High aged kids. 90% of the kids would stop and acknowledge my daughter. They would engage in conversation. They would give her the change they had on them in exchange for a rock and if they didn’t have money, they would give her something from their backpacks or just talk with her. There was one group of girls that came by and they said they had no money. So my youngest just gave them each a “free” rock.  We left shortly after to pick up my other girls and when we came home, there was a note on the doorstep with a dollar or two in change from the darling group of girls. 

I have always been one to talk negatively of Jr. High but as I sat and watched this from my porch (without the kids knowing I was there), I realized that we are surrounded by so much good. There are so many good kids out there that do make a difference. Thank you to those older kids that took the time to pay attention to a 6 year old…and then there was Trash Day: One morning (about 7ish) a week or 2 ago, I was just lounging around in the family room with the girls. Next thing I heard was someone honking their horn but the honking kept going. I went outside and realized the man that picks up our trash was letting me and my next door neighbor know that he was there and our trash cans were not out. My neighbors left for work already so I quickly ran over and grabbed their trash, too. He waited for me to take both of our over flowing cans to the curb. He will never know that that small act of kindness will never be forgotten. The smallest things make the biggest difference. There is so much good around.

HS Track/State: We had a great track season! So much hard work, sweat, tears and happiness has been poured into this season. The girls and boys ended up winning region this year. Many made it to State and many more PR’d by a lot!  It was bitter/sweet to having the season end. Many seniors graduated that we as coaches will dearly miss. But it is exciting to see these young men and women grow up and move on to better things. 

It was fun for my girls to come and be a part of it! 

End Of The School Year: The last month of school is so busy! Many school projects, activities, classroom help, carnivals, parties, graduations, programs, etc. I love volunteering my time in the girls’ classrooms. I love serving in the PTO. I love being there to help and I love going to all their programs. 

Work: Corom found a job but he doesn’t start until July 26th. He has been doing side jobs in California (doing landscaping work at his brothers), up at a detox center in Midway, therapy on the side, etc. The place in Midway wanted him to stay but the job he starts in July was a better fit for family life. Both great jobs but decided to go with the other one. I’ve been working at the Clarion Gardens, substituting a lot (of course until school got out), coaching, doing a speed and agility class and I finished up with cleaning the doctor’s office. 

Beach Camping: Ahh… What can I say about beach camping. We absolutely love this vacation!! We had 4 other families come… It took us a little while to get there but we got there. (Corom did drive with a plastic bag over half his face just so he could spit his sunflower seeds into it.)

It has been such a fun family tradition and having the other families there with us. 

We hung out at the beach, explored around, rode scooters, played games, hiked, ate, enjoyed the fire and much much more! 

The week went by too fast. After the fun, we returned home. We had most the camping stuff on our lawn. I lost count of how many people stopped by thinking we were having a garage sale. So embarrassing! 

City Youth Track: The youth track program started in mid-April and we finished up the 2nd week in June. I love coaching all the little kids that join track. It is mostly elementary age kids that come out. I receive so much help from the HS kids. They come out and volunteer their time to help coach the young kids. My most favorite part of it all, is seeing all my girls do it. They do complain a lot of having to go to track but once they get there they don’t seem to mind. 🙂 My 2 younger ones made it State in the 800 (which is next week). All of them ran well at the meets. I am hoping they grow up wanting to run and I guess it would be ok if they didn’t. 😉 

Father’s Day: Today was a little rough with all the fighting between the girls. Corom was lucky that it was Father’s Day because I dealt with all the fighting the entire day. They were super sweet and thoughtful when it came to giving him his gifts. The girls rode their bikes to the local grocery store (by themselves) and picked out little things for him a few days before Father’s Day. They didn’t want me to go so it was fun to see what they wrapped up. 

Cross Country: Cross Country for HS started the 2nd week in June. We will be meeting up in the mornings as a team and getting everyone back in shape or going out for the 1st time. We have a young team this year. It will be a fun building year! 

We did have the opportunity to run with Jared Ward on one of the mornings. He is running in Rio, Brazil for the Olympics in the marathon this coming August. He took 3rd at the Olympic trials in L.A., California and is now going to race for the U.S. He spoke very encouraging and powerful words to the HS kids and it was felt with all of us coaches, too. We had 4 different high school cross country teams meet up for a fun trail run and then listen to Jared talk. It was fun to see the kids interact with different teams and to be out on the trail encouraging each other on. It was a great morning! Thanks Brett Andrus (Maple Mountain’s coach) for hosting our 1st trail run of the season and for getting Jared to join us in the middle of his training. Fun times!

My Running: My running has had its ups and downs. I have been running every day. I’ve been able to meet up with some friends but just on a few occasions. Running with the HS kids has been good for me (with breakfasts after practices) and I’ve paced a couple of half marathons. Running is what keeps me going. I love it. 

Every Day Life & Summer: I love when school is out but oh how I forget How much the girls fight!!! Getting them to do chores first thing in the morning is a nightmare and We are trying to stay busy. But we are also having fun! The circus: We surprised the girls with tickets to the circus. They loved it! 

The lake: Taking the kayaks out has been so fun for the girls (well and for us)! Booth’s… Thanks for always inviting us or letting us take the kayaks out. 

My youngest (my 6 year old) jumped off the salem pond bridge … A couple 20 something year old girls were up there for awhile and she being her had to show them how to do it. She jumped out of the kayak (of Coroms) swam to the bridge, climbed over the top and jumped off (without any hesitation). I realized what she was doing and was able to catch her on video (then I had to give her the talk). But it was hilarious… The other group of people loved it.

Hiking: We have been on many different hikes this summer. Sometimes with no complaining and sometimes with too much complaining! But for the most part it has been so much fun! Hiking to the Hot Springs with Yolanda and her kids (5 miles round trip… The girls did excellent)! 

Hiking up the Grotto with grandma Sarah and Gary…

Hiking near Spanish Fork cross with the Bayles’s and walking around the pond for a little fishing with neighbor kids…

Digging for geods with the Carlos’s and hiking to the Dripping Rock with the Thompson’s and Walkers. 

Stitches: My 3rd daughter split the back of her heal 

Weddings: Well… My youngest got married. She married her imaginary friend, Luke. All his imaginary friends sat on the left side while her family and friends sat on the right. It was quite the celebration! I wish I could post the video. It was super cute! 

My good friend Rachelle got married and our friend Tori (Fullmer’s niece got married). 

Pictures: As you can see, I get tired of Corom sometimes… 😉 

A fun summer… My Parents came to visit, Real soccer games, Corom going on “Treasur Hunts”, The Tetons, swimming, playing, etc. We did give our Alpacas to our vet. Our dog got to them and the vet was able to stitch them up. He has an alpaca farm so we told him he could take them. Love those animals! 

There is so much more but I’ve been lazy with keeping up with my “journal” blog.