Wicked

FINALLY....after five months of listening to the Wicked soundtrack and owning tickets....we FINALLY got to see Wicked. I think in August, that was all I could think about was going to see Wicked... and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

We ate at PF Changes that night and went to the Buell Theater. We had balcony seats, but we were at the front of the balcony. We were so excited and took a few pictures. As we were taking pictures this crazy lady starts screaming to stop and put the camera away...apparently you are not supposed to take pictures in the theater and apparently it is written every time you turn around. whoops! We got a couple before we had to put the camera away.
Hollie was super excited.
During intermission Mary, Lucy and I went to the bathroom. No one yelled at me for taking pictures in there, which seems strange.



We gave this guy a dollar for some charity or something and then we got to take a picture with him. We had a great night. The cast was awesome and I tried not to sing all the songs too loud. I loved Wicked. I want to see it again and again.

Snow Days

Okay, all my posts are out of order, but, right before Halloween we had not one, not two, but THREE snow days. It was so awesome.

This is what happens when you take the Forrest Boys sledding.

Check out our Loot

Halloween was a success. Our dentist is going to be so happy. He will probably get to go on a winter cruise just on the money he brings in from my family alone. Hopefully, some of this will disappear while they are at school.

Trunk or Treat

Friday was our ward trunk or treat. Isabel was Laura Ingalls, Lucy was a cookie, which I did make myself...thank you very much. John was a dragon and Jack was Spider Man.

Mary and Lucy...the cupcake and the cookie.

Glory and Isabel..the troubled teen and Laura Ingalls....they balance each other out.

Gary has been dressing up for the last three years and I have had to keep up with him. This year, it all came together about twenty minutes before we left for the party. He was a rocker (Garth from Wayne's world type) and I was his rocker chic. Everyone said, "What are you?" and I said, "I really don't know." But, I felt cool wearing Isabel's Hannah Montana Wig. No one recognized Gary. I heard a lot of..."Who is that guy in the wig?" Here we are with Isabel's friend....the troubled teen....she wanted us to be her parents....so sweet.

Isabel..uh...I mean Laura Ingalls

Isabel is awesome. It just has to be said. Lately, Isabel has been watching all the little house tv episodes and reading the Little House in the Prairie Books. She is dying to read Little Town on the Prairie...so if anyone has that book, we would love to borrow it, because the library is so slow. Anyway, Isabel saved her money and bought material for this dress and pattern. She got her aunt Hollie to put it together for her (because her mom is challenged in that area) and this is the result. Have you ever seen anyone so happy?

Isabel told the girls at school that she wanted to be Laura Ingalls for Halloween and this one girl said, "I am sorry, do you want to borrow one of my costumes?" Isabel was like, "What the heck, Laura is so cool?" But, that didn't stop her from still liking what she likes, which is the coolest thing about Isabel among so many other cool things.

The 31st Annual Golden Leaf Half Marathon in Aspen, Colorado

Once again for the second year in a row, we traveled west in search of the hardest trail run in the world....to us....that is, but the coolest trail run ever. This year we welcomed an addition to the Run Forrest Run team....Chris Fortner. She was awesome. Here we are about to begin the race....the race starts in Snowmass and ends in Aspen.

Gary, Lindsey, and I barely got in this year. We called to register and the race was full. The nice man in Aspen opened up some spots for us and we were probably the last three people to get in the race. They had a waiting list of about 100 people that wanted to run and could not. Hollie and Chris were on top of things and registered early.

Since there were about two hundred more people this year than last year, we had to start in waves. Gary was in wave 3 because of his time last year and Hollie, Lindsey, Chris and I were in wave 4. Like the end of wave four, but that was cool. The gun shoots and we are off. It is about a mile and a half climb up a ski resort. It is nuts.

Lindsey and I were able to stay together for pretty much the whole race. We were determined to enjoy ourselves and have a good time, because last year it seemed like it all went by so fast. This year, I brought my camera on the trail. Sadly, this is the only shot that I got on the trail. But, Lindsey looks way cool running through this mountain.

Here I am with about 15 yards to go.

The girls ran with me to the finish line. They are a great support. We all were a lot slower this year, but we all wanted to look around and enjoy the scenery. It is amazing up there. When you run on a trail like this one, you have to look down the whole time. Because if you don't you will trip on a root, step wrong on a rock or step in a hole. It's not a relaxing run, I will tell you that much.

That night we had our victor's dinner at Boogies. The kids love this place because you get pins that say, "I picked Boogies".


Here we are in our shirts. I don't know if you noticed this by now, but Gary is the only guy running with us. We really could use some more guys stepping up and joining the fun. What? Are you scared of a bunch of girls?

It was sad to leave Aspen. It seemed like it all went by so fast.

When I tried to take some pictures before the race, I guess my video was on instead. Here are some bonus videos, that I thought Lindsey, especially would love....you might too.

First Day of School

What kind of Mom would I be if I didn't document the first day that ALL of my kids went to school? I'm a little late on this, but better late than never. This year Isabel is in 6th grade, Lucy is in 3rd grade and Jack and John are in kindergarten.


Isabel was very excited because she got to move up to the middle school wing in the school. She looked amazing and wore her fabulous green shoes.



Lucy was less excited, but carried on nonetheless.

Jack was very sad. He really did not want to go to kindergarten. Can you tell?

John was so excited that he couldn't stop clapping. He clapped all the way to school. I think he is enjoying being "big".


School update: Isabel--Change is never easy epically for a preteen. After a few weeks of ups and downs, Isabel has figured out her locker combination, joined the volleyball team and has a good group of friends. She loves school.

Lucy--Lucy loves mom more than school and finds going to school is harder on some days more than others. However, she has more friends than all of us combined.

Jack--Jack loves school. He has a different teacher than John and has made a ton of friends. He has brought home the class puppy twice and doing really well.

John--The other day when we were getting out of the car, all the kids were taking a while to get going. John got tired of waiting and said, "I'm taking myself to school". Then he took off running towards the front door. He absolutely loves school.

Summer Highlights

Here are some things that we did this summer...

A day or two after school let out, we headed to Chicago for Lily's Baptism. We stopped at Winter Quarters on the way and let the kids dress up as pioneers.
Aren't they precious?
Then once we got to Chicago, we were able to play with some very cool cousins.


After Chicago, we made a little jot down to St. Louis for a two day liaison with GG and Grandma and Grandpa Fortner.

We came home to Denver and checked out the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Here we are in front of Mammoth Bones...because....we are the mighty Mammoths (school mascot).

Of course, every year there is the Parker Family Fair, which I really could live with out, but have a feeling it is something the kids will always remember.

What is summer without the Train Park? Lame, that is what it is...can't pass up to ride that $1.00 train.

This summer took us up to Estes Park about three times. Here we are during our little hike around Bear Lake.

After Estes, we hung out at Aunt Hollie's pool because it is awesome and pretty much private.

We also went to Miller Farm's a couple of times because it is also awesome. How cool are these tractors?

Sadly, we will do anything for free food, you know, like dress up as cows. Moo. Seriously, it was so worth it.

Back up to Estes with a little hike around Mary's Lake. Our new find this summer.

Then down town Estes where we LOVE to throw rocks.

Taylor got to come and visit for her graduation (from junior high) present. So, we had to take her to WATER WORLD. (The Utah cousins were there too.)

We went back up to Rocky Mountain National Park, were we hiked to the very top of the mountain. So fun.


The best part of that trip was Aunt Hollie getting stuck in her camel pack and Aunt Wendy trying to get her unstuck. I could have watched that all day. But, the best part could have also been the crazy lady asking us how long would it take to get off the mountain because she was so sick from the altitude. Hollie said, "Well, how long did it take you to get up here?" Good times. It was a great summer and we are so sad it is over.

Parker Ward 2nd Annual Triathlon

I know this picture has been up awhile without much explanation. So let me explain. This is the second year that our Relief Society President has put together a make-shift triathlon. We go to the Aurora Reservoir and Swim, Bike, Run. We do a Sprint Triathlon distance. It is a lot of fun. Someday, I would love to do a real one with lots of people. I was inspired when I helped Gary set up for his Olympic Triathlon the week before and saw these older ladies (probably in their sixties) setting up, giggling and having a great time. I thought, I would love to keep active and do this kind of stuff as I get older. I am not the fastest and I don't really care to be, I just really enjoy being out there an doing something cool.


I think the coolest part about the Triathlon was having Isabel there, cheering me on and helping me in my transitions. See her back there.

Swimming is my weakest sport. But, I did improve my time by 4 mins from last year. So, that was awesome. If I improve 4 minutes every year for the next three years, I could almost be the fastest swimmer. It could happen.

After the swim, I made some time up on my bike. The biking is my favorite part. In fact, I like the bike so much that I am trying to talk Gary into getting me a road bike. I have been shopping. Anyway, a story for another time, but I have test driven about five in the last couple of months. Just need to try one more....but I digress....

The look on my face is a little weird in this next picture, but that is because some friends on the side lines were reminding me about last year when I fell off my bike because I couldn't clip out fast enough. (That was embarrassing.) They said, "Hey Kellie, gives us something to talk about this year." They are so cute. I just said, "No, thank you."



When I got off my bike, Isabel was there handing me water, strapping my illegal ipod to my arm and telling me to, "Go, go, go!" Love her.

Then I ran and I do love to run. It was seriously hot. But, it was a great time.


One of the best parts about the triathlon this year was having Raquel come out from Utah to do this with me. I am hoping she is hooked and comes out again next year. I was sad that Hollie couldn't do it, but glad she recovered from her month long illness.

The neatest part about this year's triathlon, I would have to say, was watching my friend, Chris, swim for one of the first times in years since she almost drowned at 16. She was only able to do two and half laps during the swim and we need to do four and a half. So, after the triathlon was over, Gary says to her..."Chris, let's go finish the race." Gary, Chris, Eric, Patty and I all got back in the water and swam that last two and a half laps with her. I am pretty sure that is one of the coolest things that I have ever done and I was so happy to be apart of that with her.

Check out what Jack learned this summer!

Jack is very proud of himself. He actually learned how to hold his nose and go under water. Then he got crazy and started jumping off the side. This may be small change to most people, but for us, it is big news. This is the same guy that got kicked out of swimming lessons when he was three because he cried the whole 1/2 hour straight. When the swim class session was over, they recommended that he and John not come back for a very very long time. So, Yay!! Jack!! You are awesome!!!

Happy 4th of July!!

Here are some random 4th of July pictures for your viewing pleasure.














Happy 4th of July!! The 4th of July is AWESOME!!!!

Party at Chuck E Cheese

I tried to get the boys to have a real birthday party with lots of kids, but they didn't want one. So, each got to pick two friends and go to Chuck E. Cheese which they decided would be so cool. So, since they have all of the same friends they both picked Spencer, Brig, Katey and of course, Mckenzie. They had lots O' fun!

Jack and John turn 5! YAY!!

So, after Lucy's baptism, Easter, the Salt Lake 1/2 , Lucy's birthday party, I remembered, "Oh snap, Jack's and John's birthday!" So, Jack and John turned 5 on May 4th. That is exciting for all of us, because that means they go to kindergarten this year. Well, it is exciting to all of us except for Jack. Jack is not a fan of change or kindergarten. I am sure he will love it once it starts.

Back to the birthday. We woke up Jack and John with a, "Hey, wake up it's your birthday! Come down stairs and see your presents!!" Well, that just opened up Jack's floodgates. You have to remember that this is the same guy that wouldn't go downstairs to open his Christmas Presents because he thought that big scary man dressed in red with a white beard was still in the house. He had pretty much the same reaction as seen here as he did for Christmas a couple of years ago:


One we got him settled down, he went and saw his presents and he perked up some.


John was happy. He went right down to the kitchen to get his presents.



Then we had name pancakes as inspired from my old buddy Darcy. I am not as good as it as she is though.


Then later that night we had dinner and some batman cupcakes. It was a good day. Except I had to run to the store to buy candles right after dinner because I forgot. I can't remember anything anymore. Happy Birthday, Boys!!

Lucy's Vet Party

For Lucy's 8th birthday party...we had a VET party. Everyone had to bring a stuffed animal to work on...but first, Lucy had a sleepover with two of her very good friends, Sarah and Aubrey.

We had to have a chocolate fountain, which the kids LOVED.


After the kids decorated their mats for their animals, they worked on their animals. They wrapped broken legs, put on band aids, cleaned ears, checked heart beats and put cones around their animals necks, so that the animals wouldn't bite at their wounds.


Then we had some cupcakes with dog treats (Scooby-doo graham crackers.)


One of Lucy's friend's, Olivia (who is moving to Chicago and we are very sad about that) decided that she wasn't feeling well either and needed some medical attention herself. She is a crack-up!

The party ended with Dancing!! OH YEAH!! Good times!

Salt Lake Trip Highlights

Well, these pictures are all out of order, but these are some of our highlights from our Utah trip back in April. The best part of going to Salt Lake for the 1/2 marathon is hanging out with family and friends.

The Adventures of the Crazy Forrest Family and the Salt Lake 1/2 Marathon

Okay, so this is the post you have all been waiting for...don't lie and stop making so many comments...it's embarrassing me. I guess that is what I get for getting addicted to Facebook and ignoring everyone's blogs. Stupid Scramble game. Anyway, the day arrived for us to trek out to Utah and run the SLC 1/2 Marathon. I am proud to say that this was my third 1/2 marathon in a year. I am not braggin' or anything. I am just saying cuz' really the only thing else that I have is that I waste too much time on facebook. It's okay though. I am getting a little bored of Facebook, so there is nothing to worry about. Lucky for me and short attention spans.

Here is how it all went down. We filled the van Thurdsay afternoon (April 17th). We heard it was going to snow all the way from here to Utah, so I picked the kids up from school, well I tried too, but I got there five minutes after three and I guess you have to be there before three or you have to wait unitl 3:20pm. I was not happy about that and it was not my proudest moment, but what are you going to do. I have seen worse. Finally, I get the kids, get stuck in traffic, get Gary from work, drive on to Longmont, and pick up Hollie. By now, it is raining some. We start driving down 287 from Fort Collins to Wyoming. The rain turns to snow. We can't really see what is in front of us. It takes thirty minutes to drive 10 miles. We think about heading back, but we keep going. We get to a point where the is a row of cars stopped on the highway. We decide to turn around. Hollie calls Ryan and he says that 287 has been closed. We don't really know what to do and we are hungry. So, we go to Culver's in Longmont, home of the famous butter burger...and when they say butter, they are not joking.....

Here is where the pictures start. Lucky you. After we eat our dinner, the nice lady gave the boys free icecream.

Jack totally loved his...can you tell? This sums up how we all felt...and oh no...this night got a little longer.


Yes, I am tired and Jack is completely gone. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to fall asleep anywhere like that?


So, after driving to Longmont, we talk to Brigham, who says, "Oh yeah, just try coming in the morning, the storm will be over by then." We then drive back to Fort Collins (40 minutes from Longmont...Hollie likes to talk about this one because she was 40 minutes from her bed) to a nice Day's Inn that takes dogs, lucky for Eddy. Doesn't Hollie look so comfortable?


Jack and John thought this was the next best thing to candy and Spiderman. They were bouncing off the walls. "We're in a motel! That's where I am sleeping! AHHHHHHH!" You know, stuff like that.



We get up the next morning only to find that I-80 is still closed. Completely bummed out, we start driving Hollie back to Longmont. While we are driving, we brainstorm....how about taking I-70?...Too snowy....How about renting an SUV and taking I-70?...no SUV's that fit seven in Denver...how about Gary and Isabel fly out?....Nothing seems to be going our way. But, I am determined. Have you every run in a race before? It is so awesome and we worked so hard. We feel the whole thing is a bust and drive home. In the meantime, the girls are devastated. Wailing and sobbing, Isabel declares that she is never going to run again...oh the horror. Lucy, just cries and wails and wants to go and see her cousins so bad. We videoed it. It is pretty funny. I am going to use it as blackmail one day.

We get home and James calls. He finds tickets to Utah for $88 round trip that is scheduled to leave for Utah at 9:00pm. We buy 7. Holy Cow! Is this really going to happen? About 4:00pm, the snow starts pounding. I tell Gary that we better get to the airport. While driving down E470, cars are sliding off the road, the snow is heavy, we are driving so slow, I say to everyone one, if we actually make it to Utah, it will be a miracle. I was having plenty of doubts about this thing really happening and I couldn't believe what we were doing.

This is what it looked like when we left the house.


We get to the airport and eat some really (not really) healthy dinner.

The boys at this point are SLAP-HAPpy. Awesome!!

We get ready to go through security and we happen upon this sign. Salt Lake? A piece of cake?...Riiiiiight. Classic. I felt like that sign was mocking me in some ways. Rude.

We did have cheap airline tickets, but we figured out the reason why that was....it was because you had to pay $15 for every bag you checked it. OH, the HUMANITY!! Notice, every kid must carry on. "I don't care if you are tired...just do it!!" Aren't they the cutest little troopers?

Here we are on the train going to our first gate. It is about 7:00pm and our flight was supposed to leave at 9:00pm.

Oh yes, this was fun...let's see, I think we rode on the ramps about ten times each way. What happened to my sleepy guys? At that moment, I wanted them back, so bad. uhhhh. Look at how much fun I am having.

Here we are at the second gate where our flight got moved too. It was about 9:00pm, the flight got moved to 10:21pm. Really, how do they figure out the one? Do you think that is an exact science or is someone trying to be funny? It didn't even board close to 10:21pm.

How are they not tired?
Well, the plane finally leaves around 12:00am. That is after we have boarded and then sat in line for the de-icer, then waited another 1/2 hour for all the planes in front of us to move. The whole time I am thinking that I can't even believe this actually happened. It was a 1/2 marathon miracle.

We land in Utah about 1:30am. By the time we get to bed it is 2:00am. Gary sets the alarm for 5:45am and guess what! We totally wake up.
Here we are leaving Grandpa Forrest's house.

The rest of the story goes like this...We get to the starting line seconds before the gun shoots off. Gary takes off because he is fast like that. I run the first three miles with Megan, Hollie, Lindsey and another really cute girl and I can't for the life of me remember her name. But, I liked her right away.

We get to aid Station 2, where the Forrest's and the Stapley's are volunteering. We stop, drink, take pictures, drop off long sleeved shirts, and take more pictures. I ask Wendy where Hollie is and she says that Hollie took off. So, I take off looking for her. I can't find her anywhere. So then it happens...I think to myself...I did not just go through the past couple of days and 3 hours of sleep for nothing...I am going for it. So, I do. I run my little heart out. I see Gary on a turn and then I see Mya (my old roommate). I stop at all the aid stations and stretch a little at every second or third one. Suddenly, I am at mile 10...I am like...no way....so I keep running....only a 5K left. So, I run as fast as I can which is not super fast when you are running up State Street...hello!!! Finally, we turn off of State and run down by the temple. It is so nice because it is more down hill. I run and run and run. I get to the Gateway Mall and start running down that little stretch to the finish line. I slow down a little, but this cute little old lady keeps passing me....so I think, oh no little old lady, you picked the wrong day to mess with me. I start hauling as fast as I can. I am wearing my heart rate monitor and my heart rate spikes up to 199. That has never happened in my Spinning class before....NEVER. So, I cross the finish line. My time was 2:14:47, which was about 16 minutes faster than my 2:30:? from last year. AWESOME!!

This is me and my old roommate and good buddy, Mya. Little disclaimer about my hair....it is a mess...I dyed it and redyed it and think that I will never get my old color back and will look like Ronald McDonald forever. Let this be a lesson to you young kids...just don't do it. Get highlights are something. Don't go crazy!

Isabel ran the 5K and Lucy ran the 1K. This is where I wish I had photoshop and could circle her and make an arrow pointing her out. I am not that cool, but someday...watch out.

Here are all the runners, plus Grandpa who is our devoted babysitter and just all around awesome guy. How awesome are we?



We did it and we lived to tell about it. Pretty cool adventure if you ask me....kind of makes me tired and kind of makes me want to go to bed right now. I sure love our little Forrest team. It makes things more fun when you have awesome friends and family that want to do cool things with you. You guys rock!!! RUN FORREST RUN!!!

Lily and Lucy: The Twin Counsins

Easter

The Big Day

We are so proud of Lucy for deciding to be baptized. She was very excited. Lucy got to wear the very same dress that I was baptized in. Isabel was also baptized in that dress along with both of her aunts on my side and all of her older cousins.

Lucy was baptized by her dad on April, 11th. Her Grandma Fortner gave a talk on Baptism
and her Grandpa Forrest gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Then she was confirmed by her dad.

Lucy's very best friend, Aubrey was able to come see her get baptized. Along, with her twin cousin,
Lily, who drove all the way from Chicago.

Here are all the kids that came to the baptism.
Taylor, Emma, Lily and Chris came from Chicago.

Of course, Aunt Hollie, Uncle Ryan and Mckenzie (the horse) came down from Longmont.

Grandpa Forrest came from Salt Lake City, Utah with Uncle Brigham and Aunt Raquel.

Grandma and Grandpa Fortner came from St. Louis.

It was a great day and we are so grateful for everyone that came to share this special day with Lucy, especially those who had to make a long trip just to get here. We had the best weekend and wished it lasted longer. It was hard for Lucy to go to school that Monday. She missed everyone so much. She said she even cried a little.