Okay, okay

Well, on a much more superficial note than the last post, I have decided to finally grace all of you lovely readers with an actual update on my life.  So.

I'll start off with my birthday, because Tess has been bugging me about that :)  The night before my birthday Heidi and I went to BYU Spectacular, which was, in a word, spectacular.  Great singing, cool dancing, dresses that made me want to join the Young Ambassadors...  Awesome.  On my actual birthday, I went to the dentist's, the opthamologist's, Divine Comedy, and swimming.  It was fantastic.  Then I got the stuff for Muddy Buddies and substituted that for an actual birthday cake.  It was delicious.

Now, the birthday package from the fam didn't come until 5 days later, but it was no less appreciated!  I ate all of the chocolate in about three days, am working on the rest of the deliciousness, and love the laptop case and earbuds.  (Note to Levi: Nice job on picking out the earbuds!  They conduct sound so well that I can run with only on in my ear and still hear the music, which is a lot safer and more comfortable. Thanks :)  All of you who helped to put that together are wonderful and amazing in every way, and I love you ever so much.

In other news, I am running a half-marathon next Saturday, the same event I ran last year.  It should be great. I've been training for it a little more intensely, and I'm trying to go running at least 5 times a week.  I was kind of proud of myself today for running 2.4 miles in 20.5 minutes, with a significant uphill slope for about half the way.  We'll see if that translates into an improved time for the actual run...

Also, and this is just a comment as my birthday has passed and Christmas is too long to wait... I love these boots, and I may buy them:


http://www.callitspring.com/us/women/boots/booties/85441891-trousdale/37

Aren't they cute?  Oh, and one final note.  Heidi and I had an afternoon of photo shoot/zucchini bread madness on Saturday.  The photo at the top of this post is my favorite picture of me, albeit on a strange prop.  Heidi hasn't posted any of her pics, or I would put some of her as well.  That girl is photogenic.


Anyways, I'm off to study now, so remember that I love you all!

<3
Eliza

Dear Dad

Dear Dad,

I was thinking about Ivy League colleges, and that led me to think about you, and all the sacrifices you’ve made for me.  I don’t believe you’ve ever told me much about living in Chicago and going to school there, but I’m sure it was hard.  I just wanted to say thank you, after all these years, for taking the less prestigious university and staying home to take care of me.  There were probably other considerations involved in your choice, but it makes me feel really blessed that you chose to stay with me instead of sending me to daycare 24/7.  The times I did have a babysitter were offset by time with you.  And I’m glad that things have turned out the way they have.  I’m happy with our moves and with the decisions you made about work and schools and houses.  I’m humbled by the sacrifices you’ve made for my well-being, and I’m grateful for your patience in dealing with the bureaucratic stuff you have to do at work to keep our family going and to allow mom to be home with us.  In short, you are amazing.  I am inspired by you, and I hope I can be half as good a parent as you have been.  I was listening to a career lecture in my topics in politics class a couple weeks ago where the speaker told us that his career success had come at the expense of his family, and he warned us not to do the same.  I remembered the David O. McKay quote you told me about a few weeks ago, the one that you’ve striven to live up to: “No success can compensate for failure in the home.”  I just wanted you to know that I think you’ve made home a success.  I don’t think there is a better dad anywhere.  You’ve made home my favorite place to be, and my family my favorite people in the whole wide world.  Thank you, dad, for all you’ve done for me.    I love you.

<3

Eliza