For Adrie...

So a few people have informed me that I've been slacking on my blog lately. No, I didn't die. No, I'm not in the hospital with the swine flu. No, I'm not pregnant (unfortunately). No, I'm not laying on the beach on a tropical island. No, I'm not off cleaning my house. No, I'm not doing a million things that I should be doing.

But...Yes, my girls have been off track for an entire month. Yes, this "break" messed with our schedule a little. Yes, I'm extremely grateful to all of you who helped us out during our time of need :) Yes, Dan and I did stay at the office until 11pm every night while our girls were gone. Yes, we are crazy busy at the office. Yes, that's a good thing. Yes, I did get called as YW second counselor. Yes, this is going to be a time consuming calling. Yes, I am willing to serve wherever the Lord wants me. Yes, time has been flying by at warp speed and I'm not doing very good at keeping up at that pace.

So...I've repented and hopefully we'll be seeing a little bit more of each other :) The kids going back to school tomorrow should help right?!?

We just got back from a visit to Utah for Thanksgiving. We conned KayLynn into snapping a few photos of our little family, bless her heart (in a mother-in-law voice). The REAL photo is going to be mailed in a Christmas card (I'm determined to do one this year). But, I thought I would share a few of the "bloopers" with you...

You remember being grossed out when your parents kissed...

Syd's face made me laugh in this one...

Hold that pose...

This one's not really a blooper...thought it was kinda cute actually!

He must have had stinky breath or something :)

Now...in the last year or so, many of you have moved (like us), and I've gotten back in touch with some old friends. Needless to say my address book needs serious updating and I would love to add you to my X-Mas list. If you are at all interested in getting a Christmas card from us...please leave me your address or email it to me at norrisbunch@yahoo.com. Even if you think I should have your address, have mercy on this crazy lady and send it to me again!!! Thanks!

Be afraid...be very afraid!

Cheetah Girl (gone a little wrong) costume and hair both courtesy of Diane. Truthfully, it was a little alarming how easily my hair got this big (yes I'm having jr. high flashbacks). Sorry if this picture frightens your small innocent children.

More photos of Halloween (and the entire month of October) coming soon!!!

RAGNAR BABY!!!

Yay! We did it! And not only did we do it...we took 3rd place in the female division!!! I hope we get another medal for that one! Here are a few pictures I stole from a team members facebook album. There will be more coming but I thought I post a few for starters...

THE RAGNAR ROOKIES!!!


Crossing the finish line all together. You can't see me because I'm behind in the back, but just looking at this picture makes me happy!

Team mate, Jill, running through the celebration tunnel at the end of her last leg! Hallelujah!

Just so you know...I ran with a smile on my face for my entire 11 miles :) ha, ha!

A few of us before Kalli took off on her night run (notice the reflective vest and head lamp).

Our van...VAN 1! I had such a blast with these girls! Staying up until all hours of the night (literally) laughing, driving, running, telling secrets, discussing boys, cheering & enjoying the team spirit that comes with a race like this. These girls are awesome. (me, Amy, Megan, Betsy, Kalli & Jill)
Unfortunately there was a terrible tragedy during the race and one of the runners was hit and killed by a drunk driver. Here is a link to the news story if you're interested. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Decision...

I'm sure you've all been on pins and needles since my last post...

My decision is (for now)...

Keep it long!

Main reason: see Jamey J. comment about being able to pull it back into a pony tail while I run. Very important, thanks for sharing your "no hair touching my face while I run" quirk Jamey. Thank you all for your vote :)

PS- tomorrow is "the race". pray for me, pray for me hard! I'm taking the 'don't think about it or you'll freak yourself out' approach. Good thing Diane is on her way as we speak.

What do you think?

Holy macro...I've been neglecting my blog lately! Honestly and truly there hasn't been anything exciting or noteworthy going on around here. The girls are both loving school, which I am THRILLED about. They love their teachers and they both have friends to play with at recess and eat lunch with. It is amazing how much more I can get done at the office since I don't have to drive Syd back and forth in the middle of the day. It's definitely a win/win situation. They're happy and I'm happy.

On a different note...I've been feeling like I'm in a little bit of a "hair rut" lately. My hair is probably almost as long as it was when Dan and I got married. I like having it long, except for the fact that it takes me forever to blow-dry (but I don't do it every day) and now that we're running in the morning I'm not able to go 3 days between washings. So, I would like your opinion please. Should I keep it long and maybe get some sort of an "edgy" long cut and spend half my life blow-drying it :) Or should I get it cut shorter and find a cut/style that works with the natural curl that I have only on the underneath side of my hair?

Here are some hair style ideas that Dan and I both liked. Please cast your vote...

#1- Keep it long


#2-
#3-
#4-

Or...make a different suggestion. Nothing you can say will hurt my feelings and there are a few very talented hair dressers out there (you know who you are) who should be full of good suggestions for me!

Totally doing it...

I've mentioned before about my fabulous running partner (my hubby that I love a lot) and our early morning jogging (shuffling) excursions. The other morning we passed a girl from our ward who yelled as she ran by..."Carrie, we need you to run in a race with us. I'll call ya!"

So here's the scoop straight from the Ragnar website (just in case you've never heard of it):

You and 11 of your closest friends running relay-style day and night. Starting in the red rock oasis of VALLEY OF FIRE State Park, your team of 12 maniacs will be embarking on a 180 MILE ADVENTURE-FEST sure to fill all of your desires.

RAGNAR: 101

**Each team consists of 12 runners.

**Each team member runs 3 legs, each ranging from 3-8 miles and varying in difficulty.

**Runners maintain the same order throughout the relay, thus running every 12th leg.

**The relay usually runs about 24 hours and doesn't stop for nightfall.

**You will never forget the experience.

So there you have it...in October I will run the first race of my entire life (except for those forced upon you in Jr. High PE). I owe it all to Diane who said, "You should totally do this! I will come watch & cheer you on." As opposed to my awesome running partner's comment of, "Um...I probably would tell them no."

True I am doing the easiest leg of the race (but who's counting). I'm doing the three 3 mile legs of easy to moderate terrain. Sounds perfect huh! Now the running in the middle of the night thing I'm not so sure of. We Coombs' girls are not known for our coordination, and I really hope I don't happen upon any rattlers while I'm out.

I feel like I'm kinda catching a bug. One that feels kind of refreshing and one that is a welcome distraction from all the stress of this new office. See...there are good things about Vegas. You can jog year round in the great outdoors!

Now...(and I'm totally dead serious) who wants to run a half marathon with me in St. George in January??? I know of a few of you out there who are training/capable of doing this...just leave me a comment and I'll sign us up!

Kallie's Club...

Hey all you mamas out there...I wanted to fill you in on a little "club" Kallie wanted to start. Sometimes her club ideas are fun & interesting but maybe a little unrealistic (if ya know what I mean). However, I thought this one was a great idea and I'd love a little support from you as well. Heck...join the club if you want (I of course am going to). Go to Kallie's blog HERE and leave a comment to have you or your kids join. I'm hoping this turns into a REALLY FUN thing and will get this kiddos totally pumped about reading with their friends. If you have any thoughts/comments/ideas let me know! JOIN TODAY! (do I sound like a commercial:)

13 Rules

Yes...I am just about to post 26 pictures. Is that a new record? Considering the fact that I took 103 pictures over our Labor Day campout...I'd say limiting it to 26 is pretty darn good!

Camping Rule #1: You can never eat enough smores!

Camping Rule #2: Men who never (ok almost never) cook at home, must take over any and all cooking because it involves FIRE! And fire is fun to play in!

Rule #3: You must run in the bushes and let your imaginations run wild for 3 days straight. Star Wars, Indians, Red Light Green Light...just watch out for Dave's surprise while you're out there.

Rule #4: You must stop, take a breath, and really enjoy the beauty that God has created all around us.

(can you see Dan & Syd?)

Rule #5: You must stop and strike a pose even if the person taking the picture wants a more candid shot. A well trained child will always stop what they're doing and smile at the camera :)

Rule #6: Absolutely no make-up allowed! You know you're with the right crowd when you know you aren't looking your very best and you don't even care- love that!

Rule #7: You must get dirty! And if you can mix the dirt with water that's even better! (I love Joslynn's face in the background)

Rule #8: You must have a few activities up your sleeves just in case the natives get restless.

Rule #9: It is required to have a good game of Bingo at all family functions. While camping use rocks as markers...they are everywhere and they don't blow away.

Rule #10: Never forget your toothbrush. (This one is for you Diane..."do I have anything on my teeth?")

Rule #11: If a little glue is good, a LOT of glue is better...especially when securing rocks to paper!

(Cedar Breaks)

Rule #12: You must stop and enjoy the sunset. (photo courtesy of KayLynn)

Rule #13: You must reserve your campsite early so you can do it all over again next year!!!

$50 well spent...

Yesterday while driving home from school, Syd tells me from the back seat "Mom...my ear was really itchy during school so I scratched it with my pencil and the lead fell down, down, down inside my ear." My response..."Are you serious???" I made her call Dan on his cell phone to see what he thought of her 'second day of school adventure'. He said he would bring his 'look inside the ear' tool home from the office and check it out.

Here is Dan taking a peak in Syd's ear, which was followed by a very poor attempt to retrieve the lead with tweezers. Luckily Dan told me that pencil lead is not actually lead, it's graphite. Thank goodness for that :) We will give Dan a gold star for trying, but that lead was staying put...glued in nicely by a bunch of ear wax.

Here is Syd entertaining herself while waiting at the ENT's office for over an hour since they were kind enough to slip us into their already packed schedule. First thing they said when we walked in..."Oh you're the little girl who stuck a pencil in your ear." Yup...this is her!

Last but not least...the very waxy piece of pencil lead measuring in at just under half and inch. I'm serious when I say I almost hugged the ENT for getting it out in the office for our $50 specialist copay. I was truly afraid of an out patient surgical center visit where we would have to meet our very large deductible.

Definitely $50 well spent!!!

Summer Vacation...

While most of your summer vacations are wrapping up and kids are heading back to school, ours here in Las Vegas is just beginning. All two weeks of it that is! The last day of school was Friday, August 7th and the first day of school is Monday, August 24th. I do have pictures of my girlies last day...which I intend to post sometime soon :).

So as part of my girls two week long summer break we headed off to Flagstaff to visit Diane and family. We can't tell you how excited we are that they live 3 1/2 hrs away now(give or take depending on the traffic at Hoover Dam). We also have some Iowa friends that we are excited to go visit there too!

One thing is for sure...I can't get over how BEEEEEAUTIFUL Flagstaff is! Maybe because Vegas is, shall we say, not so much. We took the kids down by the creek at West Fork one night and they had a blast! They said they wanted to live there forever, to tell you the truth I did too.

I told Spencer to show me his muscles and this is the pose he came up with :)

All the kids were having tons of fun hunting down blackberries that were ripe. I learned two things about blackberries that night: #1- just because they're black doesn't mean they're ripe #2- those are some seriously mean bushes, they will grab you and rip you to shreds if you let them!

The loot!

Looks like Vegas (just kiddin')...

Spencer worked long and hard at this TeePee to use for fires and cooking. He thought they might need something since they all were seriously planning on living down by the creek permanently.

Oh how we all love those little twins (crazy hair and all)!

Perfectly lovely!

My girls stayed with Diane for a few extra days so they didn't have to spend any more time at the office than necessary (bless you Diane). I'm still trying to decide if I'm glad I went, because I am really having some Flagstaff depression. It's always hard to come home back to real life reality after spending a few days relaxing. If the Norris family comes up missing...look down by the creek and you might just find us cooking up some dinner on Spencer's tee-pee.