By the Way

I haven't had a chance to post it yet, but I did run in the Speedy Spaniard on Thursday, and... I made it! I finished my first 10k which was also my first race, ever.

So, 6.2 miles is a lot further than I thought. I am so grateful for my running buddy Emily who kept my mind off of how bad my shins hurt and how long we were taking. It was fun to run with her and enjoy the beautiful morning. She had never run farther than 4 miles and I had never run more than 5 so when we got to those milestones we cheered for each other. Just as we came up on the last mile the children's race started. Her son was running in it and she really wanted to see him so we picked up the pace. He ended up finishing just a few people before us. Sorry Emily, I'll try to go faster next time. Next time?

Ryan also ran the race, along with some friends from the neighborhood and a few hundred other people. I had no idea it was such a big race. I felt a little silly being so far in the back but Emily and I managed to keep a steady pace and run the whole way. I can't really call myself "Speedy" but I'm proud to say I'm not a quitter either.

I feel a real sense of accomplishment at finishing a goal. It was a challenge and I did it!

Happy Birthday Austin!

It finally came! Austin's birthday, yeah! After swimming at the new Payson pool we had a BBQ at our house. It was a great party with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and even a fiance.

The best part was when Austin opened his presents which had been taunting him on top of the fridge all day. Of course the gift that stole the show was the vacuum that Dallin spent hours looking for on line. Austin is pretty attatched to that vacuum, no pun intended. He got some other great gifts too, that he may discover in the coming weeks if he can ever set that vacuum aside to look at them.

New Music

Yesterday I took the kids to see Speed Racer and during the credits this song was playing. I loved it! So I bought it today and wanted to share it with all of you. Lucky you. I'm not always a fan of the playlists but this song just makes me smile. Maybe it helps that I saw the movie and loved it. Anyway, feel free to turn down the volume if you don't like it.

I love getting music from movies that I enjoy like Transformers. So that song is on the playlist too. There is also another one from a movie called Step Up. It might be a little strong but it's great to work out to. I may keep adding songs that I like to work out too like New Soul, cause they make me smile and I've decided running is a lot easier if you're smiling.

Someone's Excited!

Austin's birthday isn't until next week but he's already super excited. We were driving the other day and I heard him say something about "Happy Birthday Austin." I think it may be a result of several older siblings getting excited and singing Happy Birthday to him every day for the past couple weeks. Dallin decided almost a month ago what to get him after spending a couple of hours on Amazon looking for toy vacuums. My job is definitely getting easier.

Happy 2nd Birthday Austin. We love you.

Day 6 Home Again

First stop, Arches National Park. C'mon guys, just one more, you can do it.

"Mom, why did Jesus put these stairs here?"

"I don't think Jesus made these stairs Eden, probably a man did."

"Oh, so Superman made these stairs?"

"Yeah, he probably did."

(A little hot, a little tired, but still thinkin'. )

This is what the kids were doing while we drove through Canyonlands. The last National Park we tried to squeeze in before a mad dash home. This is what they missed.

Day 5 Mesa Verde, Spruce Tree House and Cliff Palace

So, you have to buy tickets to see the more difficult cliff dwellings. They are guided tours at specific times. We had tickets to see The Balcony House at 1:30 and then The Cliff Palace at 3:30. We figured we had enough time in between to see this Spruce Tree House that was only a mile round trip. Well, we were running a little short on time so I put Austin on my shoulders and Ryan put Eden on his and we hoofed it back up the trail. At 7,000 feet elevation my lungs were screaming and so were my calves. But we made it, barely.


By the time we were done with the tour of Cliff Palace Eden was a master of these wood ladders. She says, "take my picture mom, these ladders aren't so hard anymore."

Our opinion of Mesa Verde. Cool. A must see, but be prepared for some death defying climbs and impressive views.

Day 5 Mesa Verde, The Balcony House

We had to climb this 35 foot ladder, and it didn't start on ground level! It started on a cliff ledge that was already a couple hundred feet up.

Ranger Paul. He was just funny.

Look real close. No Wall! Yes, we are still several hundred feet up. And yes, I have all four of my beautiful children with me. And no, they didn't get anywhere near that ledge!

Austin finally gets out of the backpack to crawl through this tunnel. The highlight of his confined afternoon.

We made it. This was the most terrifying climb of all. Especially since I had to half push, half carry Eden up a sheer rock face. Nope, not fun. But worth it, somehow.

Day 4 Part 2 Everything Else

Fishing. Even in a stocked pond in Bayfield, we had no luck. I don't think the kids really cared though. Eden's been talking like she's the fishing expert ever since.

Everyone needs a little Dora time in their day and these two were about 4 days overdue.

I think it took Dallin about 2 hours to finally get this picture. And that was only after Cameron had tried for a few herself. There was quite the obsession with chipmunks on our trip. But it was all worth it in the end when Dallin got this photo.

This was the best we could do since Austin was too young to go for an actual ride.

Day 4 Part 1 Canoeing

Our Cabin at Lake Vallecito. It wasn't much, but it was home, and we liked it.

Thursday morning we rented canoes for an hour. We won't talk about how Dallin felt about the whole thing but he did loosen up a little towards the end. I'm sure it helped that Cameron and Eden thought it was fun to stand up and rock their boat back and forth just to show Dallin there was no way it was going to tip over. Even Austin had his turn helping with the paddling, 'course he was a little reluctant to give it back when it was time to head in and had to be distracted by the geese gathering on shore.

Despite Dallin's hesitations this was a highlight of our trip.

Day 3 the Cabin at Lake Vallecito

We did a little exploring around the Lake on Wednesday. It's surrounded by pine trees and so much cooler than Spanish Fork, temperature wise. We took a little time in the afternoon to swim in the indoor pool where we were staying and then let Dallin run the grill and make hot dogs. Then we went for a drive to see if the grass really was greener on the other side. It wasn't. But it was beautiful.

Time for Smores! Who wants some chocolate?

Day 2 Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Ouray

First thing Tuesday morning we headed south to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, dun dun dunnn. My dad has been telling me for years that this was a cool place to see but I had no idea it would take my breath away. Literally. I almost got Vertigo trying to look down into the bottom of this canyon. So cool. I wish we had planned more time to explore. But we had so much more we wanted to see.

Like Ouray. This little town is nestled at the beginning of a huge mountain range in South Western Colorado. They call it the Swiss Alps of America. It was so beautiful.

We made sure to plan time for this cool public swimming pool. It is a natural hot spring that they turned into a great pool. It's divided into sections that are different temperatures. Eden and mom preferred the warm part but Austin was insistent on conquering the slides. As he slid down he would cry "fun!" and as soon as they were down Ryan said he would scream, "slide again, again."

I don't know whether it was a good thing or not but the pool totally wiped out Eden and Austin and they slept for most of the drive to Durango. I have to say it was one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on and one of the most terrifying. There are some points where you can't go more than 10 - 15 miles an hour because of the steep drops. It got my heart racing at times. But it was green with pine trees,there was snow nestled in ravines, and tons of mining ruins hanging precariously off cliffs.

What a day. We finally made it to Durango around 5:30, had dinner, got groceries, and then headed up to Lake Vallecito. It was another 40 min. drive in beautiful forest. We got to the cabin later than expected but with enough daylight to unload and play at the park for a few minutes before bedtime.

Day 1 Grand Junction

Our family vacation has begun. We loaded the van, scoured the house (in case someone wanted to come see it, which they did Monday night, whew), and headed to Grand Junction to see Jim and Lori. It was great to see their new home and our kids were super excited to get to spend some time with their kids. We took everyone to a place called Banana's so the kids could ride the paddle boats and soak their dads, then left them with a babysitter so we could enjoy a delicious dinner out. Thanks, Jim and Lori, for the great hospitality.

The kids were all asleep within minutes of getting settled in our hotel room which was great because we had alot planned for Day 2.

One Year Down

Ryan has officially completed his first year of grad school with only one left to go. Whoopie! I am so proud of how well he's done. I can't believe he was able to stay on top of all his homework while working a full time job (which was sometimes more than a full time job). And he got really good grades too. Somehow he also managed to still have time for me and the kids. I've learned that Ryan has no limits to what he can accomplish and I am simply in awe. I also appreciate all the sacrifices he has made to do this. I know it hasn't been easy and he's missed some big events in the kids' lives. But there is only one year left. I'm sure, now that we're used to the schedule of things, it will fly by.

But for the next week we get him all to ourselves. :)

Who's Runnin' the Show?

I think it's pretty obvious, don't you?

Fireworks

My new camera has some awesome settings. This one is just for fireworks. Cool!

We were all a little too close for that last one.

Fourth of July Family Fun

For the Fourth of July we decided to lay low and avoid long drives since we'll be going on our big family vacation soon. So instead we went for a family bike ride. We rode from 800 North in Orem to Vivian park and back along the Provo River trail, about 12 miles. We stopped at Bridal Veil falls and then played at the park.

The ride up was a little challenging for Cameron but the ride back made it all worth it, going downhill the whole way. Still, I was proud of her for hanging in there. Austin, on the other hand, didn't quite make it back to the car. Awake, that is.