Love

Today our hometeacher came and shared this month's message from Pres. Monson entitled Love At Home. During the lesson B.J. asked what love at home includes. Ashley answered, "A fridge." Yes. Love with family is eating together. Emily answered, "A house." Yes. A home to keep us safe; to play in. I answered, "Love for God and for each other." To me that would look like praying and praising together. Showing respect and courtesy to each other.

I just read an entry on my friend (who I've never met) Michelle Perry's blog about love. Michelle is a single woman from the midwest who gave her heart to God to be his missionary. She currently lives in Sudan Africa where she lives in an orphanage with 120+ kids helping share God's love in that part of the world. I was introduced to her through her book Love Has a Face. She wrote a post about the same topic.

I am feeling the love of God more in the last week than I have. It feels good.

"Love looks like...

safe boundaries.

not being left to cry alone.

bandaging open wounds until they heal.

someone to color with.

seeing beyond what is visible to what is true.

being willing to be chalk covered and so tired you mix three languages and speak nonsense.

making time and space for each others special needs (we ALL have them).

grace for those who fear what they do not understand.

rainbows on paper and cement and us.

patience in the waiting.

taking time to guard a gate to a world that might bring harm.

hugs and smiles when you feel more like a good cry.

like laying aside the necessary and the pressing for the eternal that outweighs them all.

trusting Jesus really does have a plan for getting done that which needs getting done. He really, really does.

those who have been forgiven much, rescued from life's deepest pits coming tenderly to the rescue of this one still struggling to find the light.

sitting on a mat on a hot July afternoon with some of heaven's greatest treasures.

Love looks like lessons in Mercy."

Lagoon Fun

July 19th Tuesday we went to Lagoon for Emily's family birthday celebration. The kids loved all the kiddie land rides.

Our favorite part was Lagoona beach. The giant water park in the middle of all the roller coaster stuff. The girls really got into the fast dark tube water slide rides with daddy. Aaron and I mostly hung out in the toddler area.

We finished up our day with Emily and Bryan on a fast zoom skyward and fall down fast ride. We all went home tired and happy. Aaron fell asleep in the car in less than 2 minutes.

We had planned to do this trip on Emily's actual birthday but Bryan was leaving town the next day for a house hunting trip to Tucson.

Happy 7th Emily

Emily turned 7 on July 20th and we celebrated! Birthday morning we did breakfast waffles in bed with pink milk. After that, she and her dad went to the store and picked out her birthday cake: patriotic with her name inscribed in pink.

We did cake and singing mid-morning before Bryan left for Tucson. The rest of the day Emily spent enjoying family phone calls (and one from Geoffrey the Giraffe who lives at Toys R Us), opening some presents (including a new pizza baker barbie from Ashley), and jumping on the trampoline.

The only sad part on her birthday was dad accidentally took our only mail key and so we couldn't get to the birthday cards and packages in the mailbox until a couple days later.

Pioneer Days

The girls ran a 1K in the Handcart Days Race on Saturday, July 23rd. Bryan was in Tucson looking at homes. I woke up at 5:45 a.m. to get myself and 3 kids out the door by 6:55 for a 7:45 a.m. start time. I was feeling very pioneerish in my endeavors to get to my destination. I also persevered as I stayed after the race in the long line for breakfast and then an hour wait time until the carnival rides started. Shout out to the real pioneers!

Pioneer Pete's 1K: Ashley Hanks got 1st place in her age group! Start time- 7:45:00 Finish- 7:51:14. Total running time- 6:14.

So obviously it was a short race. Emily's bib didn't register but she came in around 7 or 7.5 minutes.

Ashley's Talk for Primary on June 24th-

I have been asked to give a talk about pioneers. The pioneers worked hard and sacrificed to build the temples.

Pioneers were people who walked a long ways to come to Salt Lake City. They lived in a time before cars and TVs.

The pioneers worked hard to build the Salt Lake temple. Sacrifice means to give up things to other people who might need them. Some pioneers sacrificed their beautiful china dishes. They built the temple walls by using smashed up plates to make it sparkly and shimmery.

I am going to tell a story about a little boy who didn’t play while he sacrificed to build the temple. He helped bringing lunches to the dads who worked at the temple. His name was Brigham Thomas but his nickname was B.T. He lived close to the temple and he was nine-years-old.

We want to keep temples holy and God had the idea to build them. People can sometimes get married in them. No running inside temples. God wants us to have temples so we could have a place to be reverent in.

I like the statue of Moroni on the top of the temple. I feel that I will get to go inside someday. In Jesus Christ name, amen.

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.