innovators

Several months ago Jayson got a call to be in a short film for byutv. He's done a few pieces before, but they've never turned out just right. There was always something off, or they didn't quite capture who we are or what we do.

This video, however, is so different. We love it. We really feel like they captured who Jayson is and the essence of J Dawgs. It's 3.5 minutes long, but it's perfect.

Because of changes at byutv, it won't ever air on tv. But they sent us the disc a few weeks ago and told us we could use it once they put it on their website. It went live tonight, so I'm so happy to share it now.



Words don't quite describe how proud I am or how much I love Jayson.

favorite resolution

(photo only somewhat related to this post, but i love the picture so whatever)

i was visiting my oldest friend today (not as in age, as in length of friendship), and she asked if i was ever going to blog again.

oh boy, it's true. ever since i had penny, i feel like i have less time to blog. and my parents came home from their mission, so i don't have to blog for them anymore. the best time for me to blog is after the kids are in bed, and by that time of day i'd rather poke my eyes out than put together a cohesive sentence. in the end, these are all excuses. and i like blogging. so maybe i'll try to be better. maybe.

we've been doing some fun things, and eventually maybe i'll post them here. but now i want to talk about what we have NOT been doing.

when i was making resolutions, i had lots of ideas of going new places. having new friends over. parties. time out with each child. date night with j--once a month (i tried to be realistic). family vacations.

after looking at all of the resolutions, i started getting overwhelmed. i had a lot of places to go and things to do. and i like being out...if i'm home too much i go crazy. but if i'm gone too much, i'm also crazy.

so my favorite resolution was born: one day a week, don't leave the house. stay at home all day. clean. snuggle. no media--no t.v., no computer, no iphone. laundry. crafts. forts. naps.

i rotate between my rooms--always cleaning the bedrooms, toilets, and living room every week, and then focusing one week on the kitchen and one week in each of my bathrooms. i've cleaned deeper in my house than i have in a long time. my house loves me. my kids get great rest and wonderful play time together. and when i got out the rest of the week, i don't feel guilty because my house is nice and clean.

i think this was one of my greatest ideas. tuesday is now my favorite day.

christmas card

jayson

Life continues to pick up speed. The family is keeping him busier and happier than he ever thought possible. Best part of his day is coming through the door after work to the various forms of ‘dad’ that the two girls can muster. Feels very fortunate to have weathered the economic downturn while managing to still see steady growth with the business. The new J Dawgs space has been a blessing and is working out brilliantly. While catering, met incredible people including: M. Russell Ballard, Robert D. Hales, Steve Young, and Jim McMahon (who is even cooler than he seems). Jayson still enjoys his outlets of medium-format photography, tinkering with the never-ending ’53 Chevrolet truck project, and reading great historical books.

heidi

Stretched her lazy bone and finished a sprint triathlon in May, and a riotous 188 mile relay race with eleven of her siblings and friends in September. She didn’t finish last--and that was all she really cared about. Found her groove with two kids and therefore decided to spice things up and add a third child. Her favorite week this year was our family vacation in June. Her least favorite week was trying to get ready to sell our house. Thankfully or unthankfully, it didn’t sell so we’re staying put for at least a few more months.

mae

Started preschool on a great little farm with sheep, pigs, goats, llamas, and kangaroos. Played soccer this year and ran around the ball a lot, but also managed to score a couple goals. Took swim lessons and made incredible progress in only a few lessons. We think she has a career in cosmetology since she cut her own hair twice this year. She is incredible kind, sometimes a touch bossy, very tall, incredibly smart, and most of all an amazing daughter and a very loving older sister.

penny

Grew up very fast and celebrated her first birthday in October. Is now walking everywhere, with a spring in her step. Is shaping up to be a daddy’s girl and will yell for and run to Jayson whenever he is near--including church where Jayson sits on the stand and she sits in the congregation (much to the amusement of those around us). She is a dog lover, has a hearty giggle, and thinks she is the comedian in the family.

we hope this holiday season finds you happy and healthy. we are deeply grateful for our associations and friendship with you.

baby #3

we had our ob appointment on wednesday. because my doctor rocks and because the nurses take extraordinary care of me they took a little look-sie at my baby. i was only 14 weeks, but they thought they'd see what they could see anyway (most doctors/clinics say you must be at least 16 weeks).

this little sweetie was not shy or difficult. it was quite easy to see that it's a ...

(no immodesties are shown in this pic. like you want to see that!)

boy! a BOY! a Boy! a boy! a BOY!

the genetic trend in my family is we never have more than two of the same sex in a row. so i thought we would probably have a boy...but then again i have so many friends who have 3, 4, and 5 in a row of the same sex. so i had to consider having another girl. jayson had thought multiple times that he'd be the father of all girls. and for the record, he was happy about this. many times when people heard i was pregnant, they would tell jayson they'd be praying that he'd get a boy, or they hoped he got it right this time, etc. i say to you: blah blah blah. girls kick butt. either way we would be ecstatic.

and we are thrilled that we will have a boy in the family. this brings with it several new experiences and aspects of being a parent. we welcome these experiences and are sure it will bring more dimension and love into our house.

jayson has already pulled out all of his signed jerseys and footballs and is telling me where he is going to hang them in the nursery. he keeps telling me all of the things he is going to need now that he will be the father of a boy. and how old he will be when junior goes to scout camp.

oh, and he keeps asking me what i think of the name lavell.

...because...

...because I was constantly looking for my third child...that I didn't yet have...

...because I love feeling sick...

...because I think kids rule...

...because I think sleep is overrated...

...because we felt like it was what we should do...but also what we wanted to do...

...because being a parent is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to us...

...we decided to do this...

...for a third time...

Baby coming our way May 30, 2011...

Team Deadrock

Once upon a time I had a really crazy idea. I wanted to get a team together to run the Red Rock Relay. It is a 186 mile race through Southern Utah. Each team has 12 members who run 3 legs each. I thought my family would dig it, so I pitched the idea to them: Team Deadrock runs the Red Rock. Most seemed up to it.

Then I realized it meant I had to run. A lot. And I decided that maybe it wasn't a good idea. So I didn't say anything else about it. I hoped they'd forget. Really really hoped.

But my sister-in-law (SIL) Amy thought it was a great idea. And she saw what a neat experience it would be. She picked up where I had left off. She pulled a team together and got everything set up. She is a rock star.

The race was last weekend, Sept 10-11th. I'm not sure I can adequately explain how amazing the weekend was.

Did you play sports in high school? Do you know what it's like to cheer for your team? To scream your guts out? To be happy for everyone who plays? To hope that everyone plays their best? To be crammed into a small space where everyone reeks? To share the exhaustion, heat, cold, mediocre food, porta-potties, and lac of sleep? To have the total support of people you might not have known before?

There were a few times I was at my end. The last uphill mile of my first leg. The pitch black stillness on my second leg. And this out-of-nowhere hill on my third leg. Each time, someone showed up to help me finish. A couple times it was one of my brothers, Kirk or Kevin (who came to cheer on their wives). They ran with me step for step and made sure I made it to the finish. It was incredible to have them there. On that out-of-nowhere hill, my entire team (who had all finished their legs and were super sore and tired) jumped out of the van and ran me up the hill. My van was there every mile of my runs, screaming my name and making sure I had water. I can't tell you what that feels like. I was so deeply touched by everyone on my team--some who had known me my whole life and some I'd just met. It's something I'll never forget. It makes me never want to compete in an individual sport or race again. How would I do it without my team?

Here's a race breakdown:

There are two vans, the Snow Van and the Sun Van. The Snow Van had my sister Shannon, my SIL Tricia, two of my SIL Amy's siblings--Justin and Hanna, and Amy's BIL Art. The Sun Van had my SIL Amy, her brother Vaikko, two of her coworkers Doug and Mikael, a friend Jenny, and Tricia's nephew Jaron (who volunteered four days before the race when another one of our racers couldn't make it).

Our team started at 9:05 a.m. at Brian Head Resort. 10,500 feet above sea level. 34 degrees outside. Not a lot of oxygen in the air. You ride up the chairlift and send your first runner off (Tricia!).

The Snow Van waiting for us to load up.

The first legs of our race ran by Bryce Canyon

and through Dixie National Forrest.



Could you have a more picturesque area?

Shannon handing the baton (slap bracelet) off to Justin.


Our first legs took us from 9:05 a.m. until about 2:00 p.m. My first leg was 5.8 miles with almost 700 feet of elevation gain (pretty constant the whole 5.8 miles), running at 8,000 feet above sea level. I ran the entire way and sprinted to the finish which was all I had really hoped. But I did put our team behind seven minutes because I ran so slow. I was pretty bummed about this for awhile. Then we went to Cedar City to wait for the Sun Van to finish their legs. We showered and tried to sleep a bit. This was completely unsuccessful.

The Sun Van finished around 7:30 and we started our second legs.

The evening legs took us through Cedar City and out west. We had dirt roads and mostly deserted roads. It was pretty late. We were tired. I was the last leg again. This run was 5.5 miles with about 500 feet in elevation loss (over the first 4 miles, last 1.5 miles were flat). It was really dark, I didn't have all the time I thought I would to prepare. I started out a bit frazzled. It was 12:30 a.m. and I was beat. But I ran and ran my heart out. Kirk showed up and ran the last 1.5 miles with me. I could have kissed him, I was so grateful to have him there. After I finished, I checked out my time. I had come in seven minutes ahead of schedule. I had made up my time! I had run my butt off! I was so happy with myself.

It was 1:30 a.m. I crashed. Dead to the world.

Only to be woken up at 4:00 a.m.

Our next legs took us through Snow Canyon and Washington. We hit Snow Canyon at sunrise. It was so incredibly beautiful.



Me mucho sleepy.




My last leg was supposed to be a cake walk--2.1 miles. But total exhaustion and extremely sore muscles had set in. I wasn't sure I'd even make it .1 miles. But my team, MY TEAM! They helped me through it. Shannon grabbed my hand and pulled me up the out-of-nowhere (curse under my breath) hill. Everyone ran with me until I reached the top. My brother Kevin ran with me my last half mile. What a sweet feeling to be done with my legs! And, I came in right on time. Yes! Each stripe on my arm represents one of my legs.


I was so inspired by everyone on my team. Tricia had never run in a race before. Actually, I'm not really sure Tricia had run at all before three months ago. She has fasciitis. She probably shouldn't have run, but she didn't want to let her team down. She ran her butt off and never complained one. Her last run had a monster hill.


Shannon was a more seasoned runner. She made her runs look easy. She was the toughest girl in our van. Doesn't she look it? She ran 14.5 miles.


Art (middle) ran the toughest legs of the course. He made them look like a walk in the park. It was unreal. Then when Jaron was injured, he ran Jaron's last leg for him. Oh, and he was sick. We chanted his name a lot. He was our hero.

Hannah (right) had only ran her first 5k a few weeks ago. She kicked butt. Her first run had this ginormous hill. We saw another girl puking on it. Hannah boogied right up it.


Justin (left) is running an ultra marathon (50 plus miles) soon to qualify for the Western States 100 (as in 100 miles). He ran like a maniac.


And me. The chubbiest member of the team. I inspired myself. 13.4 miles in 24 hours. I hate to admit it, but I hadn't run the three weeks before the race. Something about selling my house, a puppy, and the flu happening at my house. But I did it! And maybe someday soon I should be able to walk normally again.

We all met up at Zions and ran to the finish line together.


Doug led the way. Did I mention he runs barefoot?


I was praying that no one wanted to sprint to the finish. God answers prayers.

I can't squelch that enthusiasm! Yeah Team Deadrock!


I wish we could have spent more time with the Sun Van. They seemed to be amazing.



Here we all are, showing off our stripes.

Here are the Deadrocks (Livingstones) of Team Deadrock. Shannon, me, Tricia, Amy. All girls? Yes, I think so. I know, we're tougher than tough.


If you ever get the chance participate in something like this--the Wasatch Back, Red Rock Relay, etc--I would strongly encourage you to do it. It's an experience you'll never forget. And the sore muscles, I hear they go away eventually.

Go Team Deadrock!

for sale

Today is a very bittersweet day.

Today we put our house up for sale.

We are devastated.

And so excited.

About two weeks ago, we found a spot for lease by the University of Utah. A spot for J Dawgs. Great location, cool building, great price. We found the owner, told him who we were, and he said he wanted us.

Amazing.

We love Springville and never wanted to leave. We have the best neighbors. Our house is one of a kind. We love the location, the charm, and the smaller town feel. We love the mix of people we've met here.

But the construction on the freeway is harsh. And I want to see my husband. And the girls need to see their dad. And opening a new store is going to require many many hours.

We are so sad to go. We probably won't go too far--possibly American Fork? We still have a Provo store to watch over. But we know once we leave, we won't come back. And that is just about enough to crush us.

We really hope we can find someone who loves this house as much as we do. Someone who will enjoy our brand new patio, the soon-to-open 40,000 square foot library across the street, the 12 foot ceilings, hardwood floors, air conditioning, and mature trees.

And, we especially hope to find someone who will love our neighbors. We will miss them.