Antelope Island Buffalo Run (25K)

Good news! I not only survived my trail run, but I loved every minute of it! I really surprised myself. I got up at 6:00 Saturday morning as nervous as could be. I was pretty sure that I would not do well or enjoy this race AT ALL. AND I was pretty nervous that one of these guys (see above photo) would come after me as they run wild all over the island. YIKES. Anyway, Sarah's husband, Karl (who is of the trail running persuasion) gave me some of the best advice I could have gotten: it's OK to walk up the hills. Pretty much all trail runners do because you don't go much faster than if you were walking, and you burn twice the amount of energy. What is this you say???? I can walk if I need to? Let me tell you, that made all of the difference in this race because there were some MONSTER hills, and I'm pretty sure that was the mistake I made last weekend. I ran up hill after hill after hill and exhausted myself. THIS time, I took my time, paced myself, carried a water bottle, and had a ridiculous amount of fun! I highly recommend a trail run to anyone. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed and people are so FRIENDLY. Every time I passed someone or they passed me they cheered me on. It was so motivating. I ended up running it in 3 hours and came in 60th (EDIT: I checked again, and it was 63rd, sorry) place, which was right in the middle. I was pretty proud of that considering it was my first trail run ever. What a wonderful experience!

(me, Sarah, Jen)

Don't be fooled my these girl's cute smiles they are SERIOUS competitors, and I'm not saying that to be nice. I was way out of my league showing up with these two. Sarah WON the race. Like 1st place for the women, and Jen got 4th for the women. What?! I knew Sarah was a top triathlete in Utah, and that Jen was a great runner, but I had NO idea they would WIN this race. Sarah kept saying that she was a triathlete, and not a trail runner. Uh, whatever crazy lady. Does this make me cool by association?

Evidence that the buffalo were after us. Sarah's car stepped in a big pile of poo. Ha!

Sarah with her first place buffalo trophy. She will probably be annoyed that I am posting this because she felt a little crummy after the race was over, but come on people, she won! I had to get a picture of her with her prize! Amazing!

This was our view of the Great Salt Lake. I wish I had had my camera while I was running because the view was amazing. It was so beautiful. My snap shots at the start/finish line just don't do it justice.

Here is the first hill we climbed. It looks a little ominous, but it was tons of fun!

I had such a great time doing this race, and hope to do another trail run in the future. Anyone want to join me?

Weekend of Fun (and pain)!

So, I started this post on Saturday night, and I guess time got away from me. Oh well, here we are! Anyway, as I had mentioned before, I am running a 15 mile trail run this Saturday (2 days away!) and I have been really excited. Unfortunately, I came across a couple of big problems. Problem #1: because I was so sick I didn't run for almost two weeks! Problem #2: I have never really run on a trail before. I didn't think this would really be a problem, but as I found out on Saturday, it is. It really, really is. Don't get me wrong, I was warned. My friend, Sarah (who is an amazing runner/triathlete) was the one who invited me to run the race with her, (and by "with her" I mean an hour or so behind her) told me I should at least do one or two trail runs before the race. I didn't really think too much of it because running is running, right? Wrong! Saturday I decided to to a 12 mile run on the Bonneville Shoreline trail (pictured above) from Provo to Springville, and I. Almost. Died. I really did shed a few tears when I got back to my car. I felt like I had run an entire marathon. This, of course, makes me VERY nervous for a 15 mile run this weekend. I have NEVER felt this unprepared for a race, and I think I might die. So, again my goal is this: survive. My time goals are out the window, and all I want to do is cross the finish line. Well played, Sarah. You were right, and I was wrong. Why didn't I listen to you in the first place? It's not like you win races or anything. You couldn't possibly know what you're talking about... Sigh. If you all don't hear from me after Saturday, it was nice knowing you.

My weekend DID get better though. When I came home I told Reid to go into the dryer and get some pants, and this is what I found. Reid is very obedient. (P.S. doesn't Link look EXACTLY like Nate here? We think so.)

Then Reid and daddy cleaned up the back yard to prepare for spring! I am so excited for grass and play dates in the sand box!


Then that night Katrina (bless her!) came over so we could go watch a movie (in 3D no less!), and finally get to spend a little time together as my birthday plans LAST weekend were canceled. Also, what is up with 3D glasses these days? I felt like I needed to put on a white oxford shirt and tube socks a la Tom Cruise in "Risky Business."

Sunday was a great day too. I made a special birthday dinner for Katrina, and then we went to a friend's house where Reid had the time of his life playing and carrying on.

All in all, a great weekend. So great that it has taken me until Thursday to write about it. Stay tuned for a report on THIS weekend. I have a feeling it may not be so great...

Happy Birthday to Me!

For my birthday Nate got us tickets to see Brian Regan! He is one of our favorites, and we were so excited to go. Sadly, Reid, Link and I got PINK EYE!!!, (I am still feeling under the weather by the way) and because it's so contagious we didn't want to leave the kiddos with anyone, so Nate took one for the team and stayed home with the kiddos while I went to the show with my great friend Maci. But wait, didn't I have PINK EYE!? Yes. Bwahahahaha! Pink eye for ALL Brian Regan fans! Actually, Maci seemed willing to take the risk, I brought lots of hand sanitizer, and I didn't touch anything. And it's my Birthday people! I had been looking forward to this since January! He was hilarious, and it was so fun to catch up with a great friend!

Also, for those of you who have NOT experienced Brian Regan, or would like a hilarious refresher, here are a couple of links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9em-ZCddWk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89frRi8GgGA

(Hey, I did it! I found the "link" button! Ar you proud of me?!)

Here's what we did today (besides wiping our noses!):

Reid and I had a mommy-son date! Three of our friends and their sons and Reid and I all went to see "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" at the Scera theater in Orem. The play was super cute, but Reid kept saying that it was sad. I'm not sure why exactly. It was the perfect way to spend my birthday. I love plays so much more than movies, and the best part was watching all of the boys' faces!

Eric, Reid, Dylan (the only cutie who would look at the camera!) & Noah

Eric and Reid

Sooooo excited!

So, all in all it was an OK birthday. I absolutely HATE being sick, but my sweet hubby took care of all of us without managing to get sick himself, and we are planning on doing something just Nate and I next weekend, so all is not lost.

KEEP

(Director Kathy Porter and me)

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet, but for the last two years I have been volunteering for KEEP (Kidney Early Evaluation Program). These pictures are from a screening I did on Wednesday. Way back when I had a real job I used to be a phlebotomist (blood draws), and I loved it! So, naturally when I saw that they needed phlebotomists (or as my friend Andrea used to call me "flow-bot") I jumped at the opportunity to keep up on my skill and help my community. I have done maybe 10 or 12 screenings in the Wasatch front area, and have really enjoyed it. Anyway, they do free kidney screenings (and several other tests), they let you talk to an actual doctor about your results, and they also send you your blood test results in the mail. So, if any of you in the area would like to host one for a community service project (this also counts as an Eagle Scout project by the way) let me know! They need a certain amount of participants to make it worth it, but it's free and a great way to serve the community!

(Paul, another phleb that I work with a lot)

(Stephanie, a nurse who can get just about any vein. Seriously, she is a rock star.)

Sledding

We had a snowstorm here last weekend, and so while I went running last Saturday morning, Nate tagged along with the Jarvis family to try out the slopes. Apparently Reid was an animal and kept going down head first. The he would haul the sled back up himself and fly down backwards. What a crazy kid! I'm glad they were having fun while I was in so much pain!

I guess Link hated it, but no wonder. Where are his gloves Dad?!

* Thanks for sending me the pics, Sarah. I love the cool collage!

It's March aleady?!

(Heather, me, Sarah)

So, we have been up to no good lately. No good. Not really. The last few weeks have actually been super fun! I guess we are going to work our way back from yesterday. Yesterday my great friend Sarah and her friend Heather invited me to go snowshoeing. It was so much fun! I had never been before, and I love trying new things, so this was right up my alley. We hiked around for about two hours or so, and just chatted WHILE burning calories! It was a beautiful day, and I even got some sun! Woot!

Also, I ran a 15K a couple of weeks ago and it. was. awesome. (The picture above is from snowshoeing, but use your imagination, OK?) I ran just over an 8:30 min. mile the WHOLE race. That is super slow for many, (like the winner clocked in somewhere in the low fives. Holy inner thigh chaffing, Batman!) but for me it was pretty good. The kicker was that I ended up running the whole race with this girl who was doing the same pace as me, and we pushed each other quite a bit. This is fierce competition here people. We were fighting for like 120th place, so there was a lot on the line. Anyway, I usually have a petty good kick at the end of my races so I managed to pull away in the last mile or so and WIN our little competition. Ha! Oh, and this 6 month pregnant girl totally smoked me. Seriously, she came in like 10 minutes ahead of me. So, I guess that took some wind out of my sails. But all in all a GREAT race.

Next up, I put Reid in swim lessons again this year. He does so well in the water, and really has no fear, so I would really like to get him to be able to swim on his own. He is pretty close, so maybe by the end of the summer? They have a "swim team" here for 3-5 year-olds, and maybe I just really want to see Reid in a little speedo and a swim cap trying to do the back stroke because that would just be ridiculous.

His cute little class and excellent instructor

Reid does not enjoy foam noodles. I have no idea why, but they kind of freak him out. This picture was from his first lesson, but by the second he refused to touch them and just sat on the steps while every one else happily did the "train". I don't really get it because he is more than willing to wander off into the deep end where he can't touch, but foam noodles? forget it, lady.

Mr. Linkers being a ham while waiting for big brother.

A couple of weeks ago my lovely sister-in-law, Andrea and my niece, Audrey drove up from California to visit her parents, and because Nate petty much lives at BYU, Reid, Link, Katrina and I headed up to Downy, Idaho (where Andrea's parents live) to get a taste of the farm life. Also, the above picture is the only one I took, (stupid) of Reid, Audrey and Audrey's OTHER cousins (My sister-in-law's sister's kids. Are you with me? Good.) We all had tons of fun, and I saw/did the following activities without taking pictures (stupid):

1.) Ran 10 miles in the middle of nowhere dirt road loose dog mountain lion Dodge truck rancher freezing cold back roads of lovely southern Idaho...alone. Yipes.

2.) Andrea's dad (Nate's brother's wife's dad. Are you still with me? Excellent.) is a retired large animal vet, and now breeds and sells cattle, and you can't sell cattle while retaining cattle without ....BABIES. Yes, all of the cows were "calving," and I got to see a live birth. It was amazing, miraculous, and not gross at all. I loved it.

3.) We all went to a pool heated by natural hot springs when it was like 4 degrees outside. It was like a nice hot bath, and my kids love water, so it was a winner with us. And Bonus: because it was a public facility there were no gross naked people, (or any naked people for that matter) which is more than I can say for my last trip to the hot springs (this is where a computer savvy person would make the word "last" a link to that previous post of which I speak, but because that is not me I will just tell you that it was sometime around July 2008ish. Happy hunting! Because I know you are just DYING to know all about it!)

4.) Played a crazy card game called "wacky sixes" where I got my butt handed to me by some serious competitors. Well played Bloxhams/Johnsons.

5.) Spent some time with a sweet family that I have enjoyed getting to know during my Utah adventure.

Last but certainly not least, my adorable niece, Crystal (pictured above) just got accepted to BYU for the fall! Yay for more family! I can't even tell you how excited we are to have her here. Here's to Sunday night BBQ chicken and laundry parties at the Tulett's abode!

Sorry I got so chatty with you all, I'm usually in it for the pictures myself, but here we are.

That is all.

The Loves of My Life!

Saturday Nate and I had some fun! In the morning Nate took the kiddos, and I ran my 10K up in SLC. It didn't go great. It was OK, but still WAY slower than I was hoping. There was a pretty strong wind that day, and I wasn't feeling so great, but all those are are excuses. I just ran slow. I will do better next time! The day got much better after that though. Katrina came over and Nate and I hiked to the Y. It was so much fun. There was snow on the trail, so we kind of tried to "ski" down.


Nate bringing the winter Olympics back to Utah. (annoying note: when we lived in Bellingham the Olympics came to Utah, and when we come to Utah the Olympics go to Bellingham (well, just north of Bellingham. Holy super-unlucky Batman) After the hike we ate and went bowling. I am the worst bowler ever. I officially hate it. I may have gotten a 44. There I said it.

Because Nate and I are not eating sugar, (Nate hasn't had a treat since August, and me since October!) I found a great recipe for a sugar-free (no artificial sweeteners because they are worse than a sardine wrapped in a slice of wonder bread) apple pie. It looked a little weird, but it tasted pretty good, and made a great V-day treat!

Also, I swear that despite Link's hair Nate is his father, and NOT Conan O'brien.

Reid sure is a character. He has been saying some awesome things lately. Here are just a few:

ME: Reid please go blow your nose.
REID: (loud sigh as he slowly makes his way to the bathroom with his hands on his head) Mom You're driving me crazy.

ME: Reid it's time to take a bath.
REID: Yea, because I stink. My bum bum stinks!!! (loud laugh)

There were so many more that I wanted to write, but I forget them now. I guess I need to be better about writing them down when he says them...he cracks me up just about every day.


Little Linkers has also learned how to crawl up the stairs. Time to bust out the baby gate and work on doing some high stepping!

My three loves!