Wasatch Back Relay Take Two

Last year after I ran the Wasatch Back relay, my team and i decided that we wanted to run it again the next year. But life happened and a majority of the team couldn't run in the race and so I assumed I wouldn't be running it this year. I was wrong. My sister called me right before I left for Hawaii and told me that they needed to fill a spot (you have 12 runners on your team) and asked if I would do it. I was a little hesitant because I hadn't been training for the race, but knew I would regret it if I didn't do it. So that was how I joined team Estrogen Overload (I think the name makes it sound like a bunch of 50-year-old women running). Each team runs a total of 181 miles (from Logan to Park City) and each person runs three times during the race-I ran almost 16 miles. My quads are sore-my legs felt like bricks on my last run-but i am really glad that I did it-especially being able to run it with my oldest sister made the experience really fun. She is an amazing runner and their team inspired me to want to run more and to run faster than I ever have before.

With my older sister, Catherine, before my first leg of the race



It was hot and I think I poured more water on myself than what I drank


Right after my night run-i know you are jealous of my outfit-this was my best run of the race


After our van of 6 had all finished our runs-we were exhausted


At the finish line-the 12 of us were reunited


I am still exhausted-we only slept an hour during the whole process-but I would totally do it again. It is an amazing feeling finishing something you didn't think you could do.

While Mom was at Work...

Today Pete watched Ryan while I worked a 12-hour shift and apparently they had a REALLY good time while I was gone.

They let the neighbor's kitty come in and play in the house...


Ryan got to enjoy some chocolate pudding and so did the floor...


This picture was from a couple of days ago. It was so funny to me because I had just gotten on my friend Sarah's blog and she had posted pictures of her little boy Mckay wearing his winter snow boots in the summer. I thought it was so cute and wondered if Ryan would ever do that. Well, he answered my question a little bit later when he asked to have his boots put on. It was so random since they had sat in the same place for months and he just barely showed interest in them. He doesn't look white trash at all.

...Playing Catch Up...

I took a little hiatus from the world of blogging-Life got a little crazy and it was the first thing to go. So I thought since things are starting to somewhat calm down that I would catch up. Pete graduated back in April and the day after went straight back into his cave called the library and studied every minute until he took the MCAT on May 10th. He had very mixed feelings about it because he thought he would feel more relieved after taking it-I think part of it is that you don't find your scores out for a month after taking the test. It got a little lonely around here and I actually started looking forward to going to work to get out of the house. It has been so nice to have him around more lately even though he is still so busy.


We just got home from a trip to Hawaii with his family-they were so nice to take the entire family-and are trying to get over our jet lag. We had a wonderful time playing at the beach and relaxing in the sun. Ryan didn't quite understand how to play very well at the beach, but he sure enjoyed covering himself and his fishy crackers with sand. The trip was great until the flight home. It was an overnight flight and I didn't sleep a single second of it. Pete had started to feel sick during the day and then once we got on the plane started throwing up and threw up the entire six hour flight-at one point he even fell asleep in bathroom because he had been in there so long. Ryan slept the first hour and a half and then woke up and started kicking the seat in front of him and freaking out. I hurried and got him out of his seat and then had to hold him for two and a half hours-most of the time standing up. My arms were killing me and it was a little difficult with all the turbulence. Needless to say I was grateful when we landed-it was a rough flight in more than one way.

Playing with cousins




Even blankie got to play at the beach



Covered in sand and eating my crackers!

AAAAHHHH!!!!

I need some help-I love my little boy more than I can say-but he is a little wild and church is becoming more and more difficult. I thought it got easier the older they got, but I have been wrong. I was all excited for him to get into nursery to be able to at least have two meetings to listen to, but Ryan (who has never had a problem with this) suddenly developed separation anxiety recently and won't let us leave him in there alone. Sacrament meeting is totally out of the question. We last about five minutes before we have to go out in the hall. I try to bring special treats that he doesn't normally get, but then he tries to dump them on the floor and if I take them away he screams and we have to leave. It is hard because the other kids his age seem to be able to handle sacrament meeting. I know he is still really little, but I don't know how to teach him the concept of "no". I really want church to be a positive experience for all of us. So I need some suggestions-what do you do to get the most out of your church experience? What kind of activities do you do with your kids to distract them and help them to stay in sacrament? How do you teach a child that he can't yell in church? Any suggestions would be helpful-thanks!

A night out with the Girls....and my Father-in-law

My father-in-law had a patient give him four front row tickets to Monday night's Jazz game and my mother-in-law very kindly suggested that he take me and my two sister-in-laws to the game since he had taken the boys helicopter skiing the Saturday before. So that was just what he did! The four of us got to go up and have dinner before the game and then watch the players warm up. We got to go down on the court and take pictures of the players until one of the ushers, not so kindly, told my sister-in-law Katie and I that we had taken enough and it was time to go back to our seats! We laughed that we got kicked off the court-she has a little crush on Kyle Korver and I was there to take pictures for my nephews. It was a great night and I think we yelled loud enough at the game that my father-in-law wasn't even sad he had to go with 'just the girls'.



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Life is NEVER boring with Ryan around....

I am apologizing now that you see Ryan's bare bum-but I thought this picture was so funny I had to post it. After the second session of Sunday conference, we were up at my in-laws for dinner and Ryan made a huge mess and had to have a bath. He absolutely HATES getting dressed and with Guitar Hero being played it made things even more difficult. He had to play a few songs with his uncle Stain before we even attempted to get his clothes back on. He definitely makes life more exciting for us.

...ThE FeSTiVaL oF CoLORs...

Last night Pete and I went with some friends to the Hare Krishna Festival of Colors. It is a religious ceremony that symbolizes the coming of Spring and the conquering of good over evil, but for us it just translated into a lot (literally thousands) of BYU students dumping powdered chalk all over each other. Pete and I missed the initial throwing of chalk because we were stuck in the terrible traffic trying to get to their temple, but we saw the giant pink cloud over the temple from all the chalk being thrown. As you can see, people definitely made sure that we didn't stay clean. It was so much fun and I am still cleaning the powder out of my nose, ears, and hair. The best part was going to dinner afterward while we looked so pretty.

My Thursday Night Shirt and Ryan's Fat Lip

I know you are all jealous that you don't get to wear this really attractive bright yellow scout shirt-it even has patches on it-luckily for me I get to wear it every Thursday night from 7-8 pm. That is when we meet for cub scouts each week-I am the wolf den leader (that translates into having eight-year-old boys). I have had that calling for a year and am still clueless as to what I am supposed to be doing. I grew up in a family of all girls and so when they asked me to accept this calling I literally laughed out loud. I have 8 boys, but usually only have 5-6 come and last night only had three. They are a very energetic bunch and usually channel their energy into kicking and wrestling each other-it gets a little crazy and I am having to enforce some rules to actually get something done. I make sure we have lots of active events to keep their attention. Last week we learned about recycling and did relay races and last night we learned how to fold the flag and had an Easter egg hunt-thrilling isn't it! I just lost my companion and so Pete has come with me the last two weeks-it is funny to watch his face when they get crazy, esp when one of the wild ones tried to run away last night. Things are never boring at cub scouts!


This other picture happened just a little bit ago, Ryan came in from playing outside screaming with blood all over his face and within a matter of minutes he had this nice fat lip. To console him we let him watch his favorite movie-Hairspray-he loves the singing and loves to dance. He is so funny....

Some Future Plans....

Many of you know that is has been a little bit difficult for Pete to decide what he wants to be when he grows up-I had the same trouble and didn't choose nursing until my senior year of college. Well, he still hasn't completely decided-he is taking the DAT and the MCAT this summer-but one thing he did decide was that he wanted to apply to the Master's of Public Health program at BYU. He graduates this April and will have a year off of school before he starts med or dental school and he was worried that he would never want to go back to school if he stopped going. He also thought that this program would be GREAT for his organization Vaccines for the Philippines. About a week and a half ago, he found out that he had been accepted to start this fall!!! He also got offered a research position with one of his professors. So while much of our future is still unknown, it is so nice to know a little piece of the near future.

I had to include this other picture. After I took the first picture, we told Ryan it was time to get ready for bed and this was what he did-he ran away from us, pulled out his highchair and hid behind it. Apparently he wasn't ready for bed.