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At Saguaro Lake in Arizona with some friends that would include my future, genius husband. Yep, you guessed it! I’m 18 years old in this picture too. |
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A priceless moment: Emma reading “Ten Little Ladybugs” with her Great Nana. Only a 90 year difference but the best of friends! |
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Zachary on the day he learned how to ride his big 2-wheeler bicycle. |
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My two little party animals Summer of 2002 |
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My darling angel 3 months old |
Young Family Fun Pages |
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So I really liked being 18, who didn’t? :) |
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All you ever wanted to know about Karen… & more! |
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I grew up in the beautiful desert of Tucson, Arizona. I have three brothers who have all grown taller than me. I graduated from Sabino High school as Karen McCown. I attended Pima Community College for awhile, lived in Mesa for 6 months attending Mesa Community College then got married to Troy in the Mesa Arizona Temple in March of 1997. We have two boys, one spoiled little princess, and another boy who I can’t put down cuz he’s so cute. What I like: I truly LOVE my parents, my in-laws, and my own family. Sadly, not everyone can say that. I love to see snow on Christmas Day and smell blooming flowers in the spring. I feel I’m a religious person and try hard to become closer to my Heavenly Father. To learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a.k.a. the Mormons please visit www.lds.org or www.mormon.org. I enjoy sewing fun things for the kids and making memory quilts (see the Quilt Scrapbook page). I also enjoy reading and love to visit the library almost every week, kids in tow of course (scroll down for book list). I did my first 5K at the SLC Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer run in May 2005 with 12,000 other people. It was a blast so now I do it every year. I ran my first Half-Marathon in St. George in January 2006 with my cousin Amelia. My parents drove up to encourage me and take pictures. Thanks Mom and Dad! :) I also ran the Inaugural SLC Half Marathon while 4 months pregnant. My only goal was to finish and I did. I ran up until the day I delivered my fourth, Nathan. It made the delivery and recovery much easier. In November 2005 my mom, cousin’s husband and I road in El Tour de Tucson on my gorgeous new road bike. We did the 67 miler. I would’ve tried to do the whole thing (109 miles) but it was hard to train for my first Half Marathon run and the bike race at the same time. The training schedules overlapped a bit. It was so much fun and very well-organized and of course, the weather was perfect. I plan on riding the whole 109 miles with my husband and dad November 2007. My other goal for 2007 is to do my first triathlon. I’m working on my swimming right now. In February I kind of did one on my own: swam for 30 minutes, biked for 30 minutes and then ran for 30 minutes. It was fun so I think I can easily do a Sprint this year and an Olympic next year when I’m not nursing. 2007 Update: I did my first Duathlon on Antelope Island and my second one end of May. (Duathlon’s are bike/run races). I did my first sprint triathlon in the fall. Jeremy did the kids one and got a medal. And the last thing I like... digital cameras! |
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My Favorite Things to Do in “Mormonland” If you ever have a chance to visit, here are some things you won’t want to miss! Liberty Park—if only I had known about this sooner… Tracy Aviary, a famous bird park, is great. They have a bald eagle and every other bird you can imagine there. Also at the park, a huge all-abilities playground and a carnival area open during the warmer months and what’s really fun is the water area, it’s made to look like the Salt Lake Valley. It’s knee-deep water allows the kids to float balls down from the different canyons and into the Great Salt Lake with downtown blocks and State street running all the way thru. Pretty cool! They also have a wide running path all the way around, only 1 mile, but the park feels much larger. 900 South and 600 East is the north entrance. Temple Square—There’s always something going on downtown. We usually take TRAX, the electric train, and the gardens are always outstanding and the mirror pool in front of the temple is beautiful. You have to go during Christmas just to see the lights. Family History Library, Church Art History Museum, Conference Center (awesome tour info), Joseph Smith Memorial Building (great views and two delicious restaurants) and the Lion House restaurant (to die-for rolls) are all right there as well. Church Art History Museum—They always have great exhibits and their Children’s section is fun to play in and educational. The Gateway—Just to play in the Olympic Plaza and see the water shoot up to the music. Great for summertime play. Discovery Gateway formerly known as the Children’s Museum Utah. The kids absolutely love it and it’s interesting for adults. Hogle Zoo—this will give you a little workout if you’re pushing a stroller. It’s a big zoo with awesome bird shows, has a newly remodeled playground area and a mini train you can ride on for a nominal fee. On the far east side of Salt Lake City near the mouth of Emigration Canyon. *And that’s just Salt Lake City!!!! :) Can you tell I love it here? I have yet to snow ski/board, float in the Great Salt Lake, and go to Lagoon. I think once I do, we’ll have to move and I’m afraid to jinx myself. I will do them though before I leave. :) |
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My Favorite Running Music List:
Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband—”Banjo Boy” and “Hey Hey Hey” Erick “More” Morillo – “I Like to Move it!” from Madagascar UB40 – “Can’t help falling in love” Vangelis – “Chariots of Fire” Van Halen – “Why can’t this be love?”, “5150”, “Jump”, “Can’t stop loving you” U2 – “Where the streets have no name”, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” Depeche Mode – “Enjoy the silence” and “Just can’t get enough” Cure – “Friday I’m in love”, “Why can’t I be you?”, “Pictures of You” Modern English – “I Melt With You” Murphy Brown vs. Captain Hollywood – “Axel F” 2 Unlimited – “Get Ready for this” Smiles after 13.1 miles! The Knack – “My Sharona” Real Life – “Send Me an Angel” Escape Club – “Wild, Wild West” Sting – “Every breath you take” Beach Boys – “I get around”, “Good Vibrations”, “Surfin’ USA” Queen – “Another one bites the dust” and “We will rock you” Aerosmith – “Dream On”, “Sweet Emotion”, “Walk This Way” Smash Mouth – “I’m a Believer” and “All Star” Boston – “More than a feeling” Billy Joel – “We didn’t start the fire” Bruce Springsteen – “Born to Run” Hootie and the Blowfish – “Hold my hand” REM – “It’s the End of the world” Cheap Trick – “I want you to want me” Lindsay Lohan – “Ultimate” from Freaky Friday Melissa Etheridge - “I run for life” (song for Race for the Cure 5K) Kenny Loggins – “Footloose” and “Danger Zone” Joe Satriani – “Always With Me, Always With You” Rascal Flats “Life is a highway” Sheryl Crow “Real gone” and “everyday is a winding road” John Mayer “Route 66” Erasure “I love to hate you” Rihanna “SOS” - heard it in a spin class and now I like it No Secret “Kids in America” Savage Garden “I want you” and “Truly madly deeply” Bon Jovi “Have a nice day” “Eye of the Tiger” techno version The Best of the Gypsy Kings 1994 album (Latin)
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What I like to do with my kids: Babies When they were infants, I nursed them almost constantly (except for Zachary - we both didn’t know what we were doing then) and loved being close to them, . I support discreet nursing but don’t have anything against bottle-feeding since I did both with my children. There’s pros and cons to each. If you know someone who needs help, get in contact with a lactation specialist, usually at your nearby hospital. We also have loved Baby Einstein books and movies. And we love to go for walks in the stroller and point out all the one or two syllable objects we can find. Toddlers We go to the library at least once a week and Barnes and Noble for free story times. We go to the parks (there are so many in Utah) We also go sightseeing and catch the $1 movie if it’s a Disney one. We read books (Sandra Boynton is my favorite for this age group, “Snuggle Puppy” is the best) and we play outside in the yard finding bugs and seeing who can find the longest weed. **My newest thing is finding when the local museums offer free days! Search it out in your area! Big Kids We ride bikes to the “faraway park” (a hefty 1 mile away) or ride to the grocery store for a cookie. We go to the Children’s Museum and the zoo. In the summer we go through workbooks, I really like Summer Bridge Activities. Read, read, read! Here’s a list of my favorite series for young readers: * Scripture Readers; these are so great!!! We read them every night. You can order these online through www.lds.org * Amery’s Usborne books (all different levels) * Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne * Bearenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Bearenstain * Magic School Bus— educational! * Little Bear by Minarik |