Eden's Camera

These are some pictures Eden took with her camera on May 16.

Eden and her best friend Halley.

I love peeking into her world.

T Ball

Austin started T Ball on May 15. We practiced hitting and catching in the backyard for an hour before this game.

Hitting

Austin sitting on first base.

running to third

I've been dreading baseball season but it actually turned out to be a lot of fun to watch.

Cameron's Hershey Track Meet

Cameron's track meet was on May 15. She ran the 100 and the 200 and did the standing long jump. She still enjoys running but wasn't too keen on the track meet this year.

running the 100

I think she did great and am always so proud of how hard she tries with everything!

First Grade Program

Eden's First Grade Program was May 10, 2012. They told a cute story about a shark who just wanted to make friends with the other fish. Eden sat on the front row and with six first grade classes she was pretty hard to see.

We got to see her very clearly when she told a couple of jokes during one song with her friend Kate. They both did a great job!

She also had a little speaking part of the story.

And they all sang lots of cute songs. It was a great program!

Eden's best friend Halle.

Her sweet teacher Mrs. Blackhurst.

More of her great friends, Addie, Abigail and Brighton. She really enjoyed first grade and she learned so much this year. I'm really proud of her!

Band Concert

On May 8th Dallin had his last band concert. He's been learning percussion all year and got to play several instruments in this final concert including the glockenspiel, snare drum, congas, and xylophone. I'm really proud of how hard he's been practicing and how well he's done.

Cameron's A Terrific Kid

We got a letter in the mail a few weeks ago inviting us to an Awards Night to celebrate students from the elementary schools in our district who were receiving a Terrific Kids Award from the Spanish Fork chamber of the Kiwanis Club. Cameron was selected as one of six winners from her school, two from each sixth grade class. The awards night was May 2. We were all so proud of her.

All of the winners from the twelve schools in our district.

Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon

Saturday morning, April 28th Ryan, Adam, my friends Kelly and Kim, and I ran the Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon. It was a whopping 36 degrees when the race started but we dressed right and I felt really comfortable. It helps when you've been running in cold weather all winter to know what to wear.

I started with Ryan and Adam but they left me pretty quickly. I was amazed how many people were running the race, about 1200! I caught up with Adam around mile 2 and we ran down into the gardens together. The garden path wound and twisted but it was really pretty. There were tulips and tunnels and a waterfall and all sorts of interesting things to look at. I stayed with Adam off and on through the gardens, mostly I stayed behind him, but at least I was ahead of the 2:10 pacer! That made me feel really good. The pacer finally caught up to me after mile 5. I said, "no, don't do it!" And he laughed. But he told me I was doing 9:58 going up the hill out of the gardens so I was really happy. He passed me but I stayed behind him for the next two miles. 

I felt really good for the first six miles but then we hit the golf course. It was some kind of evil. It was just uphill and downhill over and over again for the next five miles with no breaks. Just when I thought it would level out I found myself going up again. Oh my. At mile 10 I just wanted it to be over. I tried to look around and enjoy the view and not think about all the nightmare hills but there was a little voice inside of me that was weeping. I was really tired. I ignored the voice because there was another voice that said, "I think you're going pretty fast". The 2:10 pacer was well ahead of me and out of sight but the 2:20 pacer hadn't caught me yet so I just kept telling myself to relax, watch my stride, breath and keep moving as fast as I could. 

When I got to mile 11 I told myself I only had about 20 minutes left so I gave it everything I had (which wasn't much). The last mile was the hardest, though. I couldn't see the finish line and I felt like the run was never going to end. When I finally saw Ryan I asked him how much farther and he looked at me like I was crazy. He said, "it's right there." I turned the corner and ran the shoot to the finish. 

The most amazing thing is that I finished in 2:15 (a 10:22 pace) which is 6 min. faster than my last half marathon and that one was all downhill! This one was definitely tougher. I've been on some kind of high all weekend just thinking about it. All of that training this winter with my super great running partner has totally paid off. Amazing!

Ryan and Adam did great too. Ryan finished in 1:59 (a 9:06 pace!) and it was his first ever half marathon! Adam got his best half marathon time of 2:22 (a 10:50 pace)! It was a great day for everyone!

I took a picture at the race with my phone but lost it somehow so I had Dallin take another picture when we got home.

I do have to add one note about the race. It was the best supported race I've ever seen. They had aid stations every 2-3 miles and they were stocked with Gu, Powerade, Water, oranges and bananas. There were also plenty of porta potties but the regular public restrooms in the garden were also open. I'm not usually one to stop at aid stations or even use the restroom (I wear a running belt) but I know people who really depend on them and I appreciated how prepared everything was. I've been in races before where they've run out of water or had long lines for the bathrooms. Whoever planned this race really took the runners needs into consideration. And I loved the 2:10 pacer. He was super friendly and helpful. I could see him always talking to everyone around him. Ryan said his pacer was also super nice and offered a lot of encouragement. Overall there was a wonderfully positive atmosphere which really helped everyone get through such a demanding course.

With our race packets we received two tickets each to all the venues at Thanksgiving Point. Unfortunately they were only good for that day. My mom was having a dinner for Adam for his birthday so while I went to the dinner Ryan took the kids back to Thanksgiving Point. They went through the dinosaur museum, saw the baby animals, and rode on the ponies. Dallin took some great pictures.

It stayed pretty cold all day so I told the kids to take jackets. Dallin forgot his so Cameron lent him hers. Hee hee hee.

You can see Evelyn squealing at this totally cute baby Shetland pony. The kids all said they had a super great time, even though it was still pretty chilly.

It was a great day but Ryan and I were both so glad when we finally dropped into bed that night.