I did It!!!

Stake Capitol Half Marathon, May 31, 2010: (That's 13.1 miles) Well, I was dreading this race - probably mostly for the unknown. I had never run the route nor more than 11 miles so there was a lot unknown. Aimee had just started running this year, so I at least had a couple decades of running under my belt! It started out great (downhill :) and then we went off-road. A large middle section of the race was up steep, dirt bike terrain. A couple of real steep spots I walked because I wasn't making much progress "running."

All - in - all it was a good experience, but a lot harder route than I thought. I did reach my goal of getting under a 10 minute mile average (9:42) and actually came in 3rd for my division. I'm in the 35 - 39 age bracket and there were probably only three of us. ha ha

Aimee Belliston and I.

My cheering section.

Here is the whole fam after the race.

So BIG!

Rachel has always been a bit tenacious and so I thought it would be easy to teach her to ride a two-wheeler last summer when she was 4. She picked up on it real quick but kept freaking herself out and insisted I put the training wheels back on. When I did, I raised them up as high as I could so that she would be balancing on the two-wheels after she got going.

My method must have worked because yesterday she came home from her friends house and said that she didn't need training wheels any longer. You gotta love peer pressure!!!! Since her birthday is next week, we went and got her a princess bike with a water bottle. She said she needed it because she is a pretty serious biker now. She can get on and off all by herself and just flies around the neighborhood now!

Bubba tried to convince me he needed a Buzz Lightyear bike. He just doesn't understand why its not HIS birthday too. So, I gave in a little and got him a Batman t-shirt.

SNOW - AGAIN!!!!!!

Yes that is David in full winter garb shaking the snow off the trees! Can you believe it? I don't what I did to piss off the summer gods but it must have been big! We have only had one "warm" day in the whole month of May. This is the last week of school for my kids and most of the week they have outdoor activities like field day and dance festival. They wore they snow boots and winter coats to school. We even had to cancel our block "summer" party tonight because its hard to celebrate summer in the snow. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the veggies that are planted won't freeze and die. It will cost me A LOT of money to have to replant every thing.

Killer BEES!!!

We were out on the back porch enjoying the beautiful Sunday morning when we heard an increasingly louder buzzing sound. I looked behind and above my head and there were thousands of bees approaching our backyard. The buzzing was a black cloud of killer bees. They passed by our yard and landed on a tree branch behind my neighbors house. We ran into the house until they cleared out and then went to investigate.

A blob of bees!

After a couple of hours the buzzed off heading over the field.

Karate Kid II

Jakers tested for his blue belt and got it. He's awesome. He is one of the smallest guys in his sparring class and gets hammered on each week. He some how manages to take all the beatings without batting an eye. I think that is "good parenting" or maybe it is because he gets his butt kicked regularly at home. HA HA!

Air Jakers!Doesn't he look dangerous?

Soccer Champions

THE END OF AN ERA!
Goodbye Highland Sting.

Josh had his final game last night with the Highland Sting. His team was undefeated and came in first place in the tournament. He has played with this team for two years when Coach Terry and Coach Scott joined teams to create a competitive team. Previously he played for Terry for two years in the rec league. They have really come a long way. Part of his team will be going AAA state competition next year and joining the Arsenal club and so Josh will be trying out for a new team. I am so proud of Josh for working hard and playing hard. He has always had a good attitude and been a great sportsman. I'm sure that whatever team he joins will be better for it!

It is a bit sad (at least for me) to have this switch. I have watched these kids go from clumsy 6 year olds to very skilled soccer players. I have loved the families of these kids as we have all rooted together and supported each others kids successes. Who knows what the future will hold or whether the team will join up at a later date. Good luck to you all as I'm sure our paths will cross at a later time!

Coach Scott Mumford, Josh and Coach Terry Edwards.

Field Trip to Red Butte Gardens

I was so lucky today and go to go with Jake on his 2nd grade field trip to the Red Butte Gardens. We had a great time and saw many beautiful plants in bloom and learned about the anatomy of a flower and a seed.

Jane and Christi Segura and me and Jakey. Jane has a not-so-secret crush on Jake. Her mom says she has hearts with his name hidden in her room. I am training with her mom for a 1/2 marathon at the end of the month. They live in our neighborhood and ward.

Jake and his class learning about flowers.

Four Little Piggies in the Tub

My three nephews are staying for a couple of days and I couldn't resist getting this cute photo of the four "littles" in the tub. It won't be much longer until group bathes will not be allowed.

Cody (one) and Caden (six) love splashing and drinking in the tubby. YUCK - I had to keep reminding all four of them to STOP drinking the water. We are going to end up with worms over here if we are not careful!

Spring Is Here!!!

Yes, spring is here in Highland and were are enjoying the warm, sunshine ... SYKE. It HAILED on Saturday, May 1st while we diligently attended three soccer games freezing our booties off. Really? Do I have to leave the country again to get some warm weather here? I'm not asking for 100 degrees or anything, just a little SUNSHINE. Maybe next weekend. It is Mother's Day, right?