Fall Break

A few weeks ago the kids and I headed up to ID

First stop: Grandma Ramona's

We enjoyed a nice autumn day at the Boise Zoo.


And had fun hanging out at Grandma's

climbing trees . . . .

taking time to smell the rose petals


spending time with grandma

St. George MARATHON Weekend

Last spring I signed up for the St. George Marathon. It's a lottery system so I figured if I got in then I'd have to train and run. Well I got in, trained and last weekend completed my second full marathon. I felt pretty good about my training and despite the heat (they say it was one of the hottest days they have had for this marathon) was happy to finish under 4 hours. Official chip time was 3:53:28.

I felt pretty strong until mile 18 when it was nice and hot. By mile 23 the course was in town and even the energy of the crowd was not very motivating until I saw my sweet little family . . . .


I had just enough extra energy to blow them a kiss

It was a fun experience, much bigger than any race I have run before. There was close to 8,000 runners so I felt pretty lucky when I ran into my principal at the bus loading area and didn't have to ride alone to the starting line. Having someone to talk to helped to calm the nerves. Well except for arriving at the start line about 3 minutes before the race started with barely enough time to go find a tree (porta potties were on the other side of the shoulder to shoulder people already lining the road, thank goodness it was dark. A benefit of running with SO many people is that it was hard to feel lonely at any point. There were lot's of friendly people along the way; I even saw someone running barefoot . . .which I think is crazy considering the hot asphalt road. All in all I had a good race.

One of the best things about running the race is that it took our family to a place we had never been. . . .even if it was a lllloooonnnnggg drive.


While in St. George we explored a little of the area. Ethan enjoyed the the Dinosaur Track Musuem. Ellie was happy to get a new little dinosaur friend whom she named "DeeDee".


On the way home we took a scenic detour to Kolob Canyons and snapped a few shots of the beautiful area.




Ethan did a little rock climbing.



Once again our kids did unbelievably well on the long road trip. Our family enjoyed Southern Utah and plan to visit there again as soon as we can.

Fall Soccer 2010

This fall Ethan has moved up a division in soccer and now plays in the 8 and under boys league. It's fun to watch the games move from all the players congregated around the ball to an actual somewhat organized soccer game. Ethan knows the positions and has an understanding of his responsibility when playing each position. There has been a regular weekly practice as well as soccer homework. Ethan has a lot of fun playing; his favorite position to play is forward. He continues to get more aggressive (this has been an area he's always been a little shy with since starting soccer a few years ago). It's been a great fall season with only a few games left. Ethan loved getting to show off for Grandma Terri and Granpa Kent a few weeks ago.









Ellie enjoys going to the games, but sometimes gets a little impatient. This was her attempt at throwing a fit because I wouldn't take her to the playground equipment.

2 - 12 - 2

A few weeks ago Kelly completed his first duathalon; run 2 miles, bike 12 miles and then run another 2 miles.
The "Duathlete"



We were able to catch the start and then Kelly's transition to the the bike before heading to Ethan's soccer game


Kelly and Scott both placed in the top 3 of their age groups. Way to go guys!