Freedom?

The kids started school today. I enjoyed the silence, but I missed them. My newfound "freedom" consisted of riding my bike (I think I might ride in a Century Bike ride this fall), Primary Presidency meeting, lunch with friends, and cleaning the kitchen and living room.

Ryan is in 4th Grade!! Where did all of the time go?

Sydney is in 1st Grade

They had a great 1st day. I hope they continue to have fun.

The Reunion

Tuesday Night the kids and I went to the airport in SLC to pick up Brett. Delta Airlines has a great web site that allows you to track flights, and we saw that it was coming in 1/2 hour earlier than it was scheduled to come in. We hurried and got in the van and off we went.

As I pulled into the parking garage, I felt butterflies in my stomach. I felt like a little kid who couldn't wait for my birthday gifts. We entered the airport and Brett called and said they had landed. He asked where we were and I told him we were on the way. I didn't want him to know that we were there already. (He said he figured we were there though because I didn't tell him 'exactly' where we were).

The kids had made signs to welcome him home. Ryan wanted his to be simple, so he drew a yellow jersey, and had me draw a bike. Stupid me, I didn't take pictures of the event.

Ryan spotted Brett far before I did. I'm not sure what I was looking for, but both kids were jumping up and down telling me that they saw Brett on the escalator. I finally caught his eye about two steps before it hit the ground.

Brett hugged the kids and then hugged me. I didn't want to let go. Two weeks is a long time. TOO LONG!

The time away has caused me to reflect a lot on a lot of things.

First of all, I am SO grateful for my relationship with my husband. He is my friend, my confidant, my everything. My nights are not the same without him here. We are a partnership, an equal partnership. Sure, we have disagreements, but they have never been so bad that we couldn't get through it together.

I thought a lot about my brother-in-law Brian. While, I don't want to discount the relationship he has with his wife Ginger, I know he loves her, I thought of how hard it must be not to be able to talk to Azure. I know that I want to talk to her, but she wasn't my wife.

I talked to Brett every day while he was away. I am forever grateful for my iPhone. It is one of the best purchases we have made. Not only did I not get lost in Phoenix because of the GPS on it (that's a huge deal...just ask Brett), I was able to talk to him for FREE EVERY day thanks to Skype, and Vonage. I feel so blessed.

I am grateful that my reunion was only based on a 2 week stay away from the man I love. My heart hurts for those who will have to wait many more weeks, and even years to see those they love. I can only imagine the joy we will feel when the reunion comes. It will be heaven.

Black Canyon Lake

As a kid, I enjoyed going to Black Canyon Lake. It is only 13 miles or so from my mom's house. I really can't believe I didn't bike there, but I didn't.

I thought it would be fun to take the kids, so we took off one afternoon and let them swim in the water. I hadn't been up there since the forest fire had come through several years ago. I was surprised at the devastation. All of the dead trees were once beautiful pines.

Arizona, Week TWO

On Sunday we traveled up the mountain to my mom's house. We were happy to get out of the heat and just relax in the beautiful mountains. I often forget how beautiful it is where I grew up. I don't want to live there full time, but I do enjoy the occasional visit that we are able to make.

One of the reasons I didn't go to Europe with Brett was because I wanted to spend time with my family, more specifically my Grandma Bowers. She is getting up there in age, and we don't know how much longer she'll be around. She has a special place in my heart. I am so glad I was able to spend time with her.


I was able to run while at my mom's. I learned that 7am isn't early enough to get started as the sun is right on top of you at that time and it is hot. So, I started a little earlier the next time around.

Growing up I knew everyone in that small little town, but I quickly realized while I was out running, that I no longer knew anyone that passed by. A lot changes when you are away.

A Day or Two at Jessica's

On Friday, we went to Jessica's house. Kamden, her new baby was just a week old, and he is SO sweet. We really enjoyed being at her house. Ryan enjoyed playing Guitar Hero, and some car game, that had terrible cars that didn't maneuver well. At least that's what he said :).

We met Kati and Boston at the mall on Saturday for lunch. It was nice to see them again. After lunch we went to the Farmer's Market. I wish we had prices on produce at home that they had there. I paid 33 cents a lb for cherries.

I took the kids to Texas Roadhouse on Saturday night. Jessica was having dinner brought in so I didn't want to be in the way. Plus, I was able to see my brother Ben one last time as he is a server there.

Since Sydney's birthday was just a few days before, Ben had her sit on the 'Birthday' Saddle.
We all have her a big Birthday 'Yee Haw'.

We also got balloon animals for the kids. The man doing them was amazing. All around you could see incredible creations. One man had a hat that had a woman holding a microphone. My brother called it a stripper. Maybe she was...don't know. Anyway, whatever she was, she was amazing.

Sydney chose a butterfly, and Ryan chose a praying mantis.

By the way, the food there was amazing.

Beatin' the Heat

Sorry - no pictures...

On Wednesday we went to Queen Creek to spend time with Lori and Jessica. The kids were so excited as Lori has a pool in her back yard.

Since it was late when we got to Lori's, and a storm was coming in, we didn't let them swim. Ryan could hardly stand himself. He slept in Tucker's room, and as Lori was helping him to bed, he asked if he could swim in the morning. She laughed and told him yes.

Thursday morning came and both of my kids were up by 7am. We got them breakfast, and they were in the pool. They stayed in the pool all day. I made sandwiches at noon, by the pool. Ryan was so hungry that he ate TWO. I was SUCH a good mom that day, that I didn't get them a drink ALL day. It didn't even cross my mind to have them drinking.

Sydney ended up in the house by late afternoon, and she had a fever and chills, and her eyes were bright red by night. I felt terrible.

Happy Birthday Syd

For Sydney's birthday we had all of the family over to Kati's house for dinner. My brother Ben wasn't able to come, so the kids and I met him for lunch. We also met my mom and dad there too. It was a nice lunch together.

Ben also came with us to several stores. I looked and looked for a pinata. I couldn't find one that was less than $15. I am cheap, so I did what cheap people do. I bought a $2 gift bag and filled it with candy. I then wrapped it in packing tape and secured the edges with duct tape.

I got laughed at for my invention, but you know - the kids loved beating the heck out of the bag, and I think it lasted longer than a regular pinata. Plus, I saved $13 in the process. Go me. I don't have pictures of it, just video, and I don't know how to upload that, so you will all just have to visualize.

Kati made Sydney's cake. It turned out very cute.

I had someone take pictures, and this is literally one of the best ones. In the pic - Tre', Boston, Kati, Taya and Sydney

Taya and Syd had matching pajamas...too fun.

I can't believe my baby is 6!

A few things I love about her:

- She loves to dance. When music comes on, she can't contain herself. Her little body just moves.
- She loves singing.
- She loves helping me in the kitchen.
- She is very tender, and is very considerate. (She gets that from me - he he)
- She loves babies. She's going to be a great mother.
- She is a great sister, even though she LOVES to tease her brother. (She gets that from her dad)

Happy Birthday Sydney. We sure love you.

Are we there yet?

Today Brett took flight in the friendly skies and landed in Bristol, England. He is there for 2 weeks, so I decided that I didn't need to stay home with the kids by myself all that time.

What's a girl to do you ask? Well, I went home.

Today was a VERY long day. We took Brett to Salt Lake City to the airport, then we traveled to Phoenix where we stayed with my baby sister Kati. We ended up leaving the house (after the airport) at 10:30 am, and let me tell you - I don't want to ever do that again. Sydney asked me a bazillion times how long it was going to take us, and Ryan kept asking if I would just set a timer. Well, if I knew exactly how long it was from my house to Phoenix, I would have brought a timer. But I didn't. The way I time things on road trips is like this -

Kids: Mom, how much longer?
Me: 2 more movies - pick some good ones.

Winds of Change

For several years now we have been given Lagoon tickets, courtesy of Novell. To be honest, I'm not sure how many years we have gone, but this I do know - my life is changing.

We started going to Lagoon with diaper bag in hand, pushing a stroller, having to work around nap time, etc.

Yesterday I took the kids and our stay was MUCH different. We got there shortly after they opened at 11am, and left at 10pm last night. The kids had a blast!



Since Brett is at scout camp, we had an extra ticket. We decided to take our friend Evan. I am always amazed at how well Evan and Ryan get along. When Ryan was in the hospital going through chemotherapy, Evan's parents, our friends, Ben and Emily, shaved his head since Ryan was going to lose his hair. I'm not sure if this is what started the bond between these two, but I hope it last for a lifetime. Since we shaved Ryan's hair into a Mohawk for the summer, Ben shaved Evan's hair for this trip. I think they both love their hair.



Thank heaven we had Evan. The kids aren't quite as daring as he is, so they went on several rides that they probably wouldn't have gone on otherwise.



Speaking of rides they wouldn't have gone on, this one makes me laugh so hard.


I wouldn't go on it because I didn't want to puke, so I let them all go together. Ryan's wasn't quite sure of the ride once he got to the front of the line, but I assured him it would be ok. Well, a few minutes into the ride I got a little closer and Sydney caught my eye. She immediately started crying and telling me that she wanted off. I just started to laugh because when I was a teenager, I was on a ride called the Octopus. We got a little way into the ride and my sister Lori said "What if they stop us and we can't get down." Well, just then they stopped the ride. I started screaming, and continued to scream asking to be let off all the while the man operating the thing, along with my mom and sister, were laughing their heads off. I knew that it would be a while before Sydney would be able to get off.

Ryan was officially scared to death and so was Sydney. Ryan wanted the guy to lock his thing into position so that he didn't spin.

Not spinning would have been fine if it was similar to the ferris wheel that was at California Adventure. It wasn' t the same though, and Ryan got stuck in this position:

UPSIDE DOWN - for about 5 minutes - NO LIE

I took a picture of Sydney when she got off the ride...I'm pretty sure this is what I looked like. I got a nice slap on the arm from her, and she landed herself in Time Out, but that's beside the point.



After the drama was over, we rode a few more rides and saw these little guys inside Lagoon A Beach. I'm just glad they waited to come out AFTER we spent 3 hours in there! Beautiful, yet creepy animals.

Not the Same

Yesterday Brett left for scout camp.

He will be gone all week.

Our lives are not the same without him.

Life's Stories

CBS has a program where one of their news men opens up a phone book and points to a person. He then calls that person and gets to know them and tells their story on the air.

I have been thinking a lot about how everyone has a story. Experiences that are had during your early years very often shape the person you become. Sometimes your experiences drive you to change and overcome challenges in your life. Other times you might just succumb to those challenges and your path becomes a long winding road.

I often wonder what it is that I am supposed to learn through the experiences I have. More than this, I wonder who it is that I am supposed to touch through the lessons I have learned in life. Am I doing the right things? Do I reach out to those around me who could benefit from my life? Am I actually learning something and applying these lessons to my life, and shaping my very own character?

I have a story. Many details remain inside my own thoughts and return through memories.

Good

and

Bad.


It is easier that way.

Less judgment.

More empathy.

Tour de Donut

This year Brett rode in the Tour de Donut in American Fork. The race is a 'roughly' 21 mile course, consisting of 3 - 7 mile loops. The idea is that you ride a loop, eat as many donuts as you can, ride another loop, eat again, then finish strong. For every donut you eat, you get 3 minutes taken off of your time. Brett ended up eating 2 and 3/4 donuts (the 3/4th donut had a hair in it...mmm).

Before the Race

First Lap

Out for the 3rd Lap - riding with a friend from work

The man who won, ate 28 donuts!! SICK!! I had to take a picture of him because I've never seen anything like it.

While it sounds disgusting, and it actually can be, this was a very fun event, and one the whole family can enjoy.

Stadium of Fire

After a great day relaxing at the Berger's house, we took the kids to BYU to watch the fireworks outside of the Stadium of Fire. The performers this year were SheDaisy, and the Jonas Brothers, among other local dancers, etc.

We loaded our bikes onto the van and parked by the law building at BYU. As we were taking the bikes off of the van 4 Air Force jets flew by. We thought they would fly by at 8pm so we hung out at Brett's parents for a while so we could see them, but they didn't come so we went ahead and went on to Provo.

We took our blanket, and backpack with snacks, and rode to the stadium to find a seat on the lawn. We weren't there 10 minutes and a couple of women walked in front of us handing out tickets. One of the women said she was looking for a group of 4. I raised my hand and she walked over and handed me 4 tickets to get inside.

The kids were THRILLED!

We didn't plan on going inside, so everything we had with us had to be taken back to the car. Brett took a ticket, and our stuff, and I took the kids inside to find our seats. It took us several minutes to find our seats as the man in orange hadn't a clue where we needed to be. I finally found another woman that knew the stadium better and we found our seats. Once we got settled the man next to me told me that I would have to move. I asked him why and he said that I was in someone's seat that had gone to the restroom. I told him that my ticket said that I was supposed to be there and he said - well, then I guess they will have to move. Shortly after, the young men came back and they were a little peeved that we had showed up.

We enjoyed the rest of the show listening to the Jonas Brothers, and then seeing a spectacular firework display. We didn't have our camera with us, so I'm going to steal pictures off of a friend's blog (Thanks Keith :)



After part of the fireworks were displayed, we were able to participate in a ceremony that retired this flag. It was a very emotional ceremony, and I am very proud to be an American. So many have fought for our freedoms and I am so grateful. We have a friend that serves in the Army and he was able to help carry the flag in.


Once the flag was brought into the stadium, it was laid in this cauldron and burned. Sydney was so concerned that the flag was being burned. She worried that if the flag was being burned, then we wouldn't live in America anymore. She shed a few tears, and it really made me think about how important it is to recognize all that we have.


I am grateful to the woman that gave us those tickets. It made the kids' night and we had an unforgettable experience.

One Mile and Counting.

Ryan ran his 1st One Mile race on Saturday. I was SO proud of him. He will be 9 in August and I was thrilled that he had the desire to run at such a young age.



The course was not marked well and there were people running all over the place. Towards the end I could tell that Ryan was getting tired so I joined him for a few minutes.


Ryan finished the race in 11 minutes 30 seconds. He says that this isn't his last race. I will be supporting him in his next one too.

Life Isn't Fair

Sydney is at the stage where everything has to be fair. If I spend 2 minutes with Ryan, I am supposed to spend 2 minutes with her. She is getting quite technical with all of this 'fair' stuff.

For example, the other night we were driving to eat and we came to a red light. She made the comment that it wasn't fair that birds could fly right through red lights and we had to stop.

Last night we were camping and it was raining. We were sitting in the van waiting for the rain to let up so we could put up our tent and she said "It's not fair, trees don't have heads, so it doesn't matter if they get wet."

True my little duckling, true.

Utter and Complete Awesomeness

Last year in October, I committed to run in the Ragnar Relay with my cousins. I'll be honest, I did very little to prepare compared to the rest of my team, (I guess I feel that since I wasn't running as much as they were, I didn't do as much, but I did cross train so I suppose I should count that...) anyway, I was committed, and once I commit, I'm in.

Well, after a lot of negative on my part (I was scared, nervous, all of it), I caught a ride on the van at 10am on Friday to head to Paradise, UT to meet up with the rest of our team. I had never been to Paradise, UT and my nerves were absolutely out of control.

We arrived in Paradise, and sat around waiting for our runner, and the support vehicle to arrive at the next exchange. There were many teams waiting for their runners, and every team has a story. It was fun to write on the windows of our van, and just mingle. I think I liked the 3 visits to the port-a-potties the best.

Once our runner arrived, we picked up our race numbers and we were off to the first major exchange that I was going to be in. I was runner 7, the first runner in van 2 to run, and our projected time for me to start was 5:06pm. We were very close to that projected time so right at 5pm I went and stood in line in the 'shoot'. Looking back at that word I look like a cow, but hey - their words, not mine.

I received the hand off and off I went. I felt like my speed was ok, but it was hot VERY hot. Not too long into the run I started getting a side cramp, so I stopped for a time and walked to breathe it out. I was so determined to get a decent time that I started right back up running as hard as I knew how, still keeping a pace that wouldn't completely kill me before I passed the slap-on baton bracelet. I had told my van to go to the end as I didn't want them to see me at a turtle's pace (it's embarrassing).

At one mile left to go, our van pulled up along side and said good job and they would see me at the end. Those one mile to go markers are a little piece of heaven and hell. Heaven because you are almost done, and hell because it takes longer to get through that mile than it does getting through the rest of them.

I finished my 4 miles in 33 minutes and 50 seconds. Hardly the turtle that I had thought. I projected my runs to average a 9 minute mile, so coming in under that was a pleasant surprise.


In looking at the above image, it looks like I run downhill...it sure didn't feel anything down...just everything HOT.

After I passed off to my teammate Kandice, I jumped in the van, drank a lot of water, a recovery drink, and ate a banana and an orange, and we cheered the rest our team. We ladies were kickin' some butt. The highlight for me was seeing my friends Tami and Alison run. Don't get me wrong, I was proud to be a part of the other ladies' runs, but when you actually know someone, it is a little more personal. Tami ran her first run in a 7:49 mile, and Alison ran up a massive hill and kicked some major booty, passing all kinds of people and getting some serious stares from the men that she left on the road to rot. It was exhilarating. Melissa finished off our van topping another crappy hill and she passed people like they were standing still. I'm telling ya, we were kicking some butt.

Once we passed off again to Van 1, we were able to go to Kandice's house. Her house happened to be right by the route, and it was so nice of her to let us all shower there, and relax for our evening runs.

My second run began just after 1am. I don't know why I thought that all of my runs were flat, but my second run began as a slight incline, I went down about a 1/4 mile downhill slope, and then I climbed the rest of the way. The air was chilly, and it felt wonderful. My goal was to not stop, and that is just what I did. I was able to run 3.9 miles in 40 minutes, mostly uphill. I was actually pleased that I wasn't slower. I had anticipated a 12 minute mile going up that hill, so I was again pleasantly surprised...see the picture below.


After my hand off, I relaxed in the van and cheered our teammates on. My next scheduled run was at 10:30am, so I had hoped I would be able to get a little shut eye...I have since learned however that shut eye is only a figment of the imagination on this type of event.

At just after 5am, we lost a runner to dehydration. We had a scary hour and a half or so, making sure she was ok and didn't need to be rushed to the hospital. That's when my schedule changed. We knew that our runner wouldn't be able to run again. So, we all made changes to our legs. My cousin Sarah took on my leg, as she was the one who was going to hand off to me, and I took the last leg of our lost runner.

I think the interesting thing about this leg, is that for a few weeks, I had the impression that I was going to run the Ragnar leg. We had lost some runners earlier on, and I offered to take that leg, but we always found someone. In training I went with a friend up the Spanish Fork Reservoir hill, which is .8 miles up and very steep. She ran the hill twice in preparation for her Ragnar leg, and I ran it one and a half times. I also ran another hill that was 3.4 miles of gradual incline. Thanks to my friends who took me to these places, I actually made it through one of the hardest legs of this race.


I jogged the first mile and a half of the leg and then I ran walked the rest of the way. It was actually more like a walk, run as the hills were so steep and there were a billion switch backs. I couldn't decide whether I should just look down the whole time so I didn't know what I was up against, or to look up so I knew what to expect. I couldn't help but look up, and it absolutely sucked, I'm not going to lie. My legs were on fire. I would get to the top of a switch back and think I should run, but my mind didn't want to make the switch. I had a really nice man come up to me with about 1.5 miles to go and he paced me for a while. He was doing the leg just for 'fun'. He said his teammate was up ahead of him, but he wanted to say that he had done Ragnar....something I probably would have done, but at the moment thought he was an idiot for doing.

It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to make it the 4 miles. Easily the slowest leg of the race, but I finished and I conquered the RAGNAR. I was exhausted, I hadn't had sleep in over 24 hours, and I felt AWESOME! I did it! Again it was amazing to watch Alison climb and descend some of the most horrible hills. She ran 7 miles in less than an hour. Absolutely incredible. I aspire to be a competitor one day, just like she is.

We finished the race in 27 hours and 49 minutes. We took 8th place in the over all women's, and 5th place in the Women's Open division. I may not have done as well as I had liked on Ragnar hill, but I was a part of an amazing team, and hopefully I'll be tired again this time next year.

Love at Home

With summer in full swing, we have hardly seen the kids getting along like I would like them to.

I actually see the future here. - I'll take you there...

Brett will retire, he will be with me all day every day, and we will drive each other crazy.

...That's what's happening with the kids. They are with each other all day every day and they each have taken it upon themselves to be the parent. They're driving each other crazy.

Well, I had had enough, so I decided to do a little searching. I found an activity in the Friend Magazine that sad that you sit in a circle with your family and sing "Love at Home" while passing around an object. Each time you get to the word 'love', the game stops and the person holding the object has to say something nice about someone in the family. With only 4 people in our family, we all got plenty of opportunities to tell each family member what we love about them.

It was a great activity, and the kids wanted to play again. We had them laughing and I think they really thought about each other.

Life is too short - we need Love at Home.

Long Day ...but Worth Every Minute

Today I took Ryan to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City. The weather was very WET as we traveled the road this morning. I had Ryan say a prayer that we would make it there safely. We got to a point that we were traveling at 45 MPH because there was so much standing water on the freeway and the rain was continuing to pour.

As we entered PCMC, we were given directions to a Child Psychologist's office. We went there and they had moved, so we finally made it to where we needed to be at 9:15 (We were supposed to be there at 9am). I was introduced to the Psychologist and he took us back to his office. He told me he would need Ryan for about 4 hours, and I asked if I could leave. He said yes, so I went downstairs to visit someone in the PICU.

After visiting, I made my way back to the 4th floor and asked if I could go back to Ryan's evaluation and they told me they didn't want to interrupt, so I sat and waited, and waited, and waited. At about 1:15pm Ryan and the Dr came and found me. I was given such great information about Ryan.

Please allow myself to brag a bit...

Ryan has just finished the 3rd grade, and he is at an 8-9th grade reading level, and a 5-6th grade math level. The Dr said that normally children who are smart like Ryan are nerdy, but that Ryan was well rounded. I got a good laugh out of that. (On the way home Ryan told me he was glad he was not nerdy and liked being 'round')

I am proud of Ryan and his accomplishments. He works hard in school and he loves learning. I'm not sure where he gets it, but I'll take it.

We also got to see our friends Jill and Emily Heaps. They were there for clinic and we were so happy to meet up with them again.

After the update on Ryan's results, we went to the cafeteria and had lunch with some of the people we know who are up there with their child. I was surprised to see them there, but happy we were able to visit a little bit.

After lunch, we were back up to the 4th floor for the long term Bone Marrow follow-up. Ryan's counts are fantastic. He is still 100% donor (SUCH A MIRACLE), and everything has checked out just fine.

We are so lucky to have Ryan in our lives. He is a sweet boy, and very sensitive to others. I was told by Dr Weinberg this morning that since Ryan is 100% donor 8 years post transplant, that we have a 99+% chance of him staying that way through life.

Miracles are happing every day!

Oh What a Day

With all of the products on the market that offer to 'cleanse' your system, one can hardly know which one to choose!

Well, ladies and gents, I have the perfect cleanse! Here's what you do.

First, you sign up for a race. Any one will do.

Then you start training.

The night before the race comes, you gather all your gear, and put it out, ready for the following day.

Try to get a good night's rest. Don't worry - waking up every hour on the hour is NORMAL.

When morning comes - Wake up. Eat a wholesome breakfast. Oatmeal with honey and cinnamon is great, along with a banana, but not green ones - they don't open very well. If you're really hungry, have a piece of toast with peanut butter and honey.

Drink plenty of water.

Allow your nerves to go crazy - and the cleanse will naturally begin.

There you have it. It doesn't cost much, just your time, and there are no harmful chemicals.

Now that we have that settled...

Today was a great day! I woke up every hour on the hour last night, and then at 5am my eyes popped open and they were not interested in relaxing and going back to sleep.

At 5:30am I decided that I had just better get up. I took a nice warm bath, read my scriptures, said a few prayers, had breakfast, and by 7:13am I loaded my gear into the van and headed to Salem.

I got to Salem just before 7:30am and walked my bike to the transition area. I was actually surprised at how many people were there already. The bike racks looked fairly full, but I squeezed my bike in on a rack and started unloading.

I went and got my body marked - Number 61 on each arm, and then 31 on my calf (I guess they wanted to know how old I was.)

After body marking, I took my place in the restroom line. Hmm, 600+ participants and 9 restrooms, combined with lots of nerves (refer above to the cleanse steps) = a very long line. The race director actually apologized for not having enough restrooms - as he should have!

I saw a few people that I knew and chatted for a while, a long while, got a few pictures and put my wet suit on. Those things leave NOTHING to the imagination.

I entered the swim, and finished in 16:14 - an improvement from last year. Hey - not the fastest time, but progress is progress.

My bike time - 47:00 - You get to see this picture because it cuts out the blueberry (muffin).

My awesome husband wrote this in chalk on a killer hill, and someone spray painted it - COOL

I'm showing this photo because you see this girl on the left? Well, I passed her at the very end - Go me! She might be prettier, but today I was faster :). My 5k time - 27 minutes. Again, not the fastest, but it was better than I had expected. I have much to work on for sure, but my over all time was 1:34:03 (transitions included), and I got 16th in my age group out of 57. I'm pleased with my time.

Oh What a Day!

New Route, New Terms

This weekend I will participate in a triathlon. I don't know what it is about the sport, but I love it. Don't get me wrong, I complain about the training, second guess my decision to compete EVERY year and then it happens.

Race day gets closer and closer.

I get out on the course.

...and I fall in love again with the sport.

This year there have been course changes. First they changed the course to be different than previous years. Then this week, they changed the course to be different than the changed course.

I went out and rode my bike today and was surprised at the newer course, but enjoyed getting up to 30 MPH on my bike going down a hill. With that kind of speed, you really can increase your average MPH which is great for overall time.

So, to the new route - bring it on!

Now for the new terms. Even with padding in my bike shorts, I still feel a little of discomfort when getting down in an aerodynamic position. It goes back to the 'sitting on my package' deal. Anyway, I was doing a little research on new saddles for my bike and read an article on 'sit bones' and my new term 'soft tissue'.

That's it. My soft tissue hurts. Now you have it. A little anatomy lesson, and a new term that is less offensive than that 'V' word.

A Tribute

I believe that people are put into our lives for a reason. I just wanted to honor a man that our family loves.

He was put into our lives after much fasting and prayer, and we honestly believe that he was the answer to our family's prayers. Over the years I have relied on him to encourage me when I have feared the worst possible scenarios. He has educated me, and calmly given me strength as a mother.

He works endlessly to give his patients and their families light at the end of a sometimes VERY dark tunnel. Recently he lost his own wife to cancer. When this happened, my heart broke for him as he spends every day helping patients overcome their own battles with cancer. How do you even cope in such a situation?

So, to Dr. Ken Weinberg, we love you. Thank you for being a part of our lives.

Sweet Minutes of Prayer

Sydney was praying tonight and was thanking Heavenly Father for EVERYTHING.

She thanked Him that Ryan was learning at school and helping her to read.

She thanked Him that Brett works so hard for her family so we can get more money.

She even thanked Him that her mom is willing to lose some weight.

The Principle of Forever

Recently I was able to go to BYU's Women's Conference. I received a LOT of spiritual enlightenment that I will share, but since I wrote like 20 pages of notes, I thought I'd start with the Principle of Forever.

My first class was entitled "I love to see the temple."

Since I have stewardship over the little ones at church, I thought I would go to this class to hopefully gain an insight on how I can better serve the children in our ward, and my own children with regards to the temple.

Sister Elaine S. Dalton, Young Women General President, spoke. It is her remarks that inspire my writing tonight.

Whether or not you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, Sister Dalton said "Everyone wants the principle of forever."

Isn't that true?

We don't know when the time will come that we or someone we love will pass from this life.

When it does happen, the pain is real.

Sometimes unbearable.

It is a physical pain.

Sometimes it is hard to describe.

Some days it is a little bit duller than others, and then some days the event flashes before you and the feeling of loss is all encompassing.

As Latter Day Saint Members (Mormons), we have a belief that God wants our families to be together forever.

A love without end.

Not till death do us part....Eternity....Forever.

This principle is made possible through the temple.

Sister Dalton said "We become refined as we prepare to enter the temple."

This is also true.

The temple is a place for those who are striving to live a good life. While we are not perfect, we work to become perfect as we live the covenants that we make while in the temple.

Temples are not new. They existed in biblical times as well in our day.

Today as we drove home from St George, I began singing a song that Hilary Weeks sings called "If I Only Had Today". In this song she talks about what she would do if she knew that she only had one day left to live. Part of the chorus says "Then I'd remind you of Forever, and how our love would never change. Because I have today."

I looked up to the beautiful Azure blue sky and felt FOREVER.

Of course this may be crazy, but my sister is in heaven.

She is my sister FOREVER.

I am bound by sacred covenants to my family. We are a FOREVER family.

This my friends is the Principle of Forever.

It's Mother's Day. I can have my family FOREVER!