Utah Happenings

For those of you who have been keeping up with my sister-in-law Amanda and her mother, I wanted to inform you that her mother did pass away on Sunday morning. Once again cancer has taken another life- way too soon!

Right after I got home from Colorado Springs I hurried and unloaded the car, rearranged my schedule for the week and my sister and I drove to Utah. We are here for 3 days trying to help Amanda with her kids and household things so she and her family can have the time they need to get everything in order for the funeral. Amanda is doing pretty well, all things considered. I am continually amazed at the out pouring of love that is being shown to my brother and his family. His neighbors and church members have babysat their children without any notice, mowed their lawn, bought over meals and homemade bread, etc. The list can just keep going, going. Since they live in Utah and we in Colorado I have felt like there is almost nothing I can do for them, so I was very happy when Ashley said that she make the trip with me. In the midst of complete despair the Lord's hand is being shown through great loving people.

We love you Amanda and are constantly praying for your family. I pray that God will comfort and bless you and your family in this time of need.

Colorado Springs

Jamey took the day off work on Friday, and we headed to Colorado Springs for the weekend. We camped for 3 days- our boys LOVE the dirt! After Jamey sold his motorcycle, I asked him if we could spend some of the money on new camping gear. I had a lot of fun shopping. We got a brand new tent and screen house. They worked so nice considering right after we got camp set up we had the worst down pour, with little tiny pieces of hail.

The main reason for trip was the 10K that Kris and I ran on Saturday morning. We both did so good. I had some of my best times yet and finished 13 minutes faster than I ran the Bolder Boulder 3 months ago. While running I was thinking- who would have thought I would be running 6 miles when in high school I complained about having to run the mile. I hated running. Not that I especially enjoy it a ton now, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of the accomplishments I have achieved in the last 6 months.

After the race Jamey and Robb took the boys swimming so we could rest for a bit. After they came back we headed to the Garden of the Gods. In the beginning our kids did very well, considering they both fell asleep on the drive, but after seeing the Balancing Rock and the Kissing Camels they were done. The last stop Jamey stayed with the boys in the car while I hiked to the Siamese Twins. The neat things about this rock formation is that through the opening at the top you can see Pikes Peak.

On Sunday morning we got up and packed up camp. There is a TON of things that have to be taken to camp, even for a short weekend. Once we finished and had all the cars packed up we went for another short walk to a very pretty waterfall. It was hot and the kids were so tired, so the stop was very short lived. We got back in the car and headed for home. The weekend was lots of fun and the kids came home sufficiently dirty.

10 Years Gone By

Last night I went to my 10 year high school reunion. I was surprised at how low the turn out was. I graduated with 96 people and only 24 showed up. I was severely disappointed. The ones that were there I think had a good time catching up. I was also surprised how many people not only live in the same town but close surrounding towns too. Also I realized that I am out of the norm- by not keeping in touch with anyone. Most of the people there last night either work together, live together, or live near each other. The have done a great job maintaining their friendships. Although I don't feel like I have changed very much I was the only one that almost no one recognized. They kept asking- who is the girl in the white shirt. One girl said that as soon as I started talking she figured out who I was, but before then had no idea. I was so glad that they all thought I had changed, I don't think anyone wants to look the same as they did 10 years ago.

What do you think?

Our 4th of July Weekend

The early morning of the 4th, we went to Greeley and ran in the Race for the Cure- with my sister, her husband, my dad and mom and good friend Shannon. It was a 5 K race down the parade route and I think I did fairly well. I finished right at 33 minutes. After that we met Jamey and the boys to enjoy the big parade that the Greeley Stampede does. It was a big thing for me growing up, but I have never taken my kids to it, so I decided that they needed to see a parade. If it wasn't for the stinking hot sun we would have stayed longer, but after just running I could hardly take the heat. Maybe next year Jamey could stake us out a really good shady spot. I took lots of pictures of the race and the parade- but after we left I threw our camera in my bag with all the stuff from the race and... well I ruined it! I had some Joint Juice stuff that the race was handing out and apparently it spilled in my bag ruining our camera. I worried the rest of the day about it until we got home and for once paying for the warranty paid off. Hopefully we can get it sent in and returned before too long. So sorry no pictures of that.

(This isn't all the kids there- just the ones standing around when I took the picture)

On Saturday the 5th, we went up to Rocky Mountain National Park to meet up with some friends who had spent the weekend camping. We had breakfast with them and then we were off for what we thought was a short hike. Well short it was not. I guess 1.6 miles to a lake hiking, is a long way! Although the boys did AWESOME. It wasn't without some complaining at the end and then on the way back, but they were troopers. We bought a pass, so I hope that we can go on a few more hikes before the end of the summer. Maybe next time we might want to do a little research and find a bit of an easier hike for the kids too.

Jamison got out of the backpack and walked a bit of the way. It was so cute when Spencer grabbed his hand to help him walk. I'm so glad that they have each other.