Mueller Park

Our family campout on July 14th. It was decided the sleeping outdoors part takes a lot of work and that the other parts of camping are way more fun. So we went to the state park by our house (~15 minute drive) and did our "camping."

We brought blankets, steaks, lighter, carrots, apples, firewood, drinks and frisbees. And that's it! No tent, pillows, undies, toothbrush, etc. It was beautiful. I only forgot the charcoal which was easily remedied as we drove by Dicks supermarket. The bug spray I didn't remember at all until we needed some, but luckily there were other friendly "campers" who shared.

The kids had a blast throwing rocks in the river. There is something entertaining about finding a rock and choosing carefully how you are going to reach it without falling in the water (which was freezing!) and then watching it make a splash.

Aaron especially loved running around everywhere. Nothing like open spaces, rocks, and dirt to get a guy excited. He is a tricky kid because he doesn't have a sense of how far is too far to run ahead and likes to keep us all on our toes.

Ashley loved wandering around. She liked using the handkerchief as a hat style and trying soccer. She is the one who makes sure Aaron didn't get into too much trouble.

Emily loved looking at a small snake (found by another group) and collecting river rocks. Also, she and Bryan bravely crossed the river via fallen log.

Bryan was an excellent fire starter, protector of Aaron falling in the river, steak cooker, and kid helper.

I caught the photography bug that night and loved watching my family do their things. We watched a squirrel for a little bit, ate a yummy dinner, built a bonfire for desserts-smores and banana smores. We had lots of crying for falling down, sand/water in shoes, or sister being a pest; but that is nothing new.

Being in the woods was a wonderful experience and we were very glad we got to go. We collected river rocks to put in a vase displayed in our kitchen as a memory for the day. Check it out next time you are around.

Why Tri?

Race day sat June 25th. South Davis Rec. Center. Me in my swimsuit and goggles with my 4 cuties cheering me on.

start time 8:52 a.m.

swim 150m 4:16 mins

transition 1:39 mins

bike 2.4 miles 10:13 mins

transition 13 secs

run 1.5 miles 11:44 mins

total time 28:05 mins

I did better than my first tri i did last year. (See blog on Sept 6, 2010)

Since I hadn't trained for my race last year and yet got first place, I had nowhere to go except down from there as Bryan so thoughtfully pointed out. Last year I did the same race in 31:06 mins so I improved in my time by 3 minutes overall and came in second place.

Ragnar Relay 2011

The Storybookers, team 198. Total time 30 hrs, 58 minutes.

Starting Line in Logan at the university track. 4:05 a.m. alarm went off, check-in 4:45, start time 6:15 a.m. Temps were low 40's. Frost was on the roof of the car- brrr.

Van 1: Allie, John, Mike, Brent, Maegan, Garrett

Sleeping attempted in high school gymnasiums along the course. Allie snuck this picture- men and women sprawled every which way, snoring surround sound, everybody hyped up since we're in the middle of a race yet too tired to care much, showers and happy eating sounds in the background, with occasional cell phone wake up calls.

Finishing my second leg ready to pass headphones to Garrett. At this exchange a fellow runner caught up to me for the last half mile and we battled it out to the end. I beat him. Check the calf muscles. And with bells on my toes I had music wherever I goes.

VAN 2: Elasha, Cameron, Bill, Bryan, Cherry, Chris

Cherry rocking the downhill. Yes that's snow on the side of the road. I heard later that Cherry had a major side stitch while doing this leg, and the downhill running was making it worse. Yet instead of walking or slowing, Cherry instead runs uphill for a while until her stomach pain subsides and then turns around and runs back downhill towards the finish. That is hardcore. That is Ragnar.

A pleasant surprise of natural hot springs along the way. Chris and Cherry enjoying a soak.

There was big contrast between the green lush farmlands all around us and the white mountains in the background. It made for some beautiful scenery and some crazy running stories.

Bryan was Mr. Ragnar on our team. He stepped into the challenge to complete the hardest hill the day before the race and he did amazing. He trained hard and did great. I am so proud of him. I only wish I could have been there to see it. Instead, our van 1 was at an all you could eat breakfast buffet having our own pre-finish line party.

Yes we are crazy for doing this and yes we signed up to do it again in 2012. Bryan has taken the team captain reins and I gladly handed them over.

Santa Claus Melon

While sitting around the dinner table we had this discussion.

Me: Why is this called a Santa Claus melon? Make some good guesses.

Emily: Santa grows it

David: It grows on Christmas Eve. Santa was the first one to grow it. Bubblegum is inside it.

Jonathan: The nickname of the man who first ate it was Santa and it was Christmas time. It grows where it's really cold and reindeer eat it.

Ashley: It grows on Christmas trees at Santa's house.

Wickipedia says: Grown in California and Arizona, this melon was named in recognition of its long keeping qualities...until Christmas. Even though it is a very good keeper, this holiday melon was actually named because its peak season is in December.

I like the kids' ideas better.

Birthday Boy

My baby boy turned two on Sunday June 5th. Hard to believe time has gone by so fast.

We celebrated the day with a birthday banner hung up and a blue balloon on the back of his chair.

He was kind of sick with goop in his eyes so he stayed home from church with Bry.

His cake was made by my friend Nicole who brought it over around noon.

We took some pics and then Aaron took the trains off to play with. Bryan made crepes for lunch. Aaron had a birthday nap which was good for everyone since he was being a crabby boy.

We went to the park for his birthday party around 4 or 5. We invited Cam and Spence to join us and we went to Liberty Park (1300 South, 700 East) to party.

We brought sandwiches and watermelon for dinner and stayed until 7:30ish. We played on slides and swings. It brought back memories from Emily's first b-day which we celebrated at a park. The weather was great and there were tons of people outside enjoying the day.

His present this year was a train set from Toys R Us. The whole fam went on Friday to buy it. We opted not to get the Thomas brand set since it was pricey but got generic and I drew on faces. Bryan, Aaron and I set up the train table on his birthday eve. On his birthday the girls helped assemble the rest of the parts and thus began trainfest. It hasn't stopped. He loves trains! He knows their names and loves to make the noises and make them crash.

He vocabulary is awesome and makes us laugh every day from what he says. He is not sleeping in his crib anymore and every nap and bedtime is a game of will. His best friends are our next door neighbors David and Jonathan and their parents Rob and Kaylynn. Whenever our front door is open, his first move is to head over and knock on their door. They love to have him come over and play with their oodles of fun boy toys. He has learned some exceptional yelling and pouting skills from his big sisters, which includes the word 'stupid.' Not my fav. He is a great snuggler and loves to suck his fingers on one hand while holding hair from the top of his head with his other hand.

We love you Aaron boy!

End of School= Start of Summer

The girls had a piano recital on May 31st. Ashley started playing in Oct. 2010, Emily in Jan. 2011. Both have worked hard and have come a long ways. Their teacher is Kristi Lee, our friend and neighbor.

Ashley played Wish I Were a Fish as a duet with me. It was fun to practice with her and we finally got it memorized. We tried to remember our dynamics and our song turned out great at the recital. I used the petal and it sounded underwaterish. Emily performed Little Rabbit Hopping, a song she made up herself. The song has four different sounds, each of which is a different part in a corresponding story. 1st- a bunny hopping to the garden, 2nd- bunny pulling carrot out of ground, 3rd- bunny hopping away with carrot, 4th- angry people come out of the house. She also played Lightly Row, a song she's played for a while. It sounded good for the recital, but she played it better in April.

The girls also did a duet of Frere Jacques, also called Are You Sleeping? When the idea was presented to me I loved the idea of seeing my girls playing a duet, yet I was a little concerned for the process. Them learning the music wasn't hard. It was the practicing it together that about drove us all nuts. I will be brief in retelling one of a hundred conversations that took place at the piano:

Emily: One, two, ready go. (starts playing)

Ash: (starts playing)

E: Ashley! You don't start playing yet.

A: Oh.

E: Start again. One two, ready go (starts playing)

A: (waiting until her turn. Em messes up and then starts again)

A: (starts playing)

E: Ashley! You don't start playing yet!

A: How am I supposed to know where to start if you keep messing up? (elbows Emily)

E: Start at measure 5, one, two, ready, go (starts playing)

A: (starts playing, knows her part well so she stares at the ceiling while playing)

E: (messes up) You have to look at your hands!

A: No I don't. You keep messing up on purpose.

E: (Feelings hurt) No I don't! (shove Ashley)

Battle ensues. It ends with Ashley crying and calling for me b/c she's hurt. Or Emily running away with Ashley in close pursuit while screaming "Stupid!"

The sweetness and happy tears I envisioned at the recital while watching their duet, was actually more like a prayer that it wouldn't end in blood or tears in front of the audience.

I think I am glad we had a duet. The performance itself was excellent. They each know how to change their part to accommodate for the others' mistake which was very cool to watch.

I think this duet may reflect on how they live their lives as sisters. They know when each other

so well and can either exploit and get mad at their differences. Or they can recognize the weaknesses and be so sweet to each other.

We bought a new bike for Ashley.

She loves it because she can go fast without having to worry about the falling down part. It hooks to a grown-ups bike, and she can pedal or not as desired. Very fun and exciting for a family biking summer.

We also bought a bike seat for Aaron that attaches at the handlebars. He loves it and looks adorable in his helmet while cruising around going "super fast."

Hottie Hubby

Bryan is the man. My manly man. He has been working hard on some stuff around the house and I am taking this opportunity to show him off.

He got inspired about trees. In April we went and picked out a dwarf cherry tree and a gala apple. Recently he added a red maple. Here you see our new cherry on the left side, the new red maple right by the driveway, the apple is in the back.

Next he got inspired about planting. He took out a stick-ish, purple flower bush by our front door. Replanted it with an azalea and lots of new flowers. Also planted a blueberry and a blackberry bush. Then he covered the area with a dark bark. Our front area is looking the best it's ever looked.

Last but not least is our new entertainment center he's built. He began by using a software program to design the whole thing. He went to several lumber yards to find the wood he wanted (poplar) and then started buying the tools: router, leveler, miter saw. He leveled all the boards (which was a lot of work) and then cut them each to the right size. Our new entertainment center comes apart in the middle for easy mobility. The molding across the top was the last addition and it's looking good. Still to do: paint it black, build shelves for the bottom and add three glass doors to the bottom.

We got rid of our old entertainment center hutch and TV in prep for this to be done. I think it's been 3 weeks without a TV, which I missed for the first week, now I like it gone.