Kids Photos

On Thanksgiving my sister in-law took the kids pictures. I wanted to share just a couple. She did a great job! I am adding her photo blog to the blog list.

Pinchface.....

This morning after I dropped the kids off to school I stopped at to get a DP from a vending machine in town. I was waiting in my truck to get back on the highway to head home, and Pinchface drove by. She about broke her neck trying to turn around to see, well I guess me. I didn't even think---- I up and stuck my tongue out at her! I wonder if she saw my childish gesture! Oh well, it made me feel better.

My BFF

These are 2 pictures of my new exercise room. We are just waiting for the heater and air conditioner to come. It is really a hardship to exercise out there!!! (Ha-Ha)

I hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I had a really good Thanksgiving. I got sick with the stomach bug the Sat. after Thanksgiving. It has taken awhile to feel all the way better.

Shane and I rode our bikes on Sunday afternoon. I didn't feel very well but gave it a good effort. We rode up to High Creek (down by Richmond). It was a really pretty ride. I would like to do it another day when I feel better.

On Thurs. Shane will go back down to the Mount Ogden Eye Center to get his eyes touched up! He is pretty nervous.

The other day while driving a person who I call "pinchface" passed us and seemed to have a really hard time waving to me that day. So Arie asked me why Pinchface and myself do not like each other. I told Arie that Pinchface was my BFF ,that I totally liked her and that Pinchface just didn't like me. Well Arie believed that and thought that was a good answer, but the boys were snickering because they knew some of the really great things that my BFF has done to me. So at our house we have done some joking about how my BFF waves at me, and how I wish that she would just give me a 5 finger wave. Last Sunday in primary my BFF's daughter said a talk in Primary. Yes, that meant that my BFF came into Primary to listen. Arie saw her, hopped up out of her seat and ran up to me (in the front of the room) and announced "Mom, there is your BFF." I was just dying. I do not think that my BFF heard!

Lesson learned- be careful what you share with your kids even if you are kidding around!

Thankful

Three weeks ago Shane and I took the kids up the canyon to the four wheeler trail that we like to ride our MTB's on and we picked rocks off the trail for a couple of hours. We thought that it would really help us make up it up a really steep long section. On Sunday after church and before the Priesthood Preview we went up to give it a try. We thought that the removal of rocks will definitely help, but there was new complication that day! MUD! It made for some slick riding. I had a minor wreck and slid on my back down a hill with the Blur on top of me! (Just a few bruises.) The easy part was the climb. The hard part was going down a steep hill. It was muddy enough that we couldn't even pedal our bikes because there was mud jammed everywhere. After alot of work getting down the hill we stopped in the river and Shane put the bikes in the river and washed then off enough to get us home.

So I have been trying to be thankful. Sometimes that is a hard thing to do and maintain. I decided about 2 weeks ago that I would stop wishing for a new vehicle and just be thankful for what I have. I have discovered new things about my car. Such as that she has Secret Super Powers. You may not believe that, like my kids do not believe me. She can really fly when needed, she is invisible, she has an crash sensing system that keeps me safe, built in radar, and many more powers that I won't mention. So I was telling the kids about the cars powers and JT just sits there and rolls his eyes. As we near Preston in the car Jace says "There's a cop Mom."
I told him my cars Secret Super Power Radar System had already sensed it and had automatically slowed down. (He believes now!) If you do not believe me about the powers take a look at my dash and you will see that I have a light to let me know that the Secret Radar System is on! (The light says SRS in red!)

I have had 2 mechanics tell me that it is ok if I buy a new car, and my accountant. But I still wonder if I am just not being grateful that every time I turn the key she starts, and she can still fly over Sardine and down the freeway.

Caught the culprit!

As you can see by the picture we caught the one mouse who was reeking havic on my car. Now you may wonder how I can be sure that there was only one mouse. I am sure because Shane left FIVE set mouse traps in the car after we caught the one. The traps have been there for awhile.

I'm sure not as excited to drive my car!

The other pictures are of a ride on Nov. 1st up Logan Canyon. Shane, Jenny and I went up Spring Hollow for a ride it was sure alot of fun.

Shane has moved my treadmill and bike trainer up to my new exercise room. It is almost done. We just need to do the finish work like lights, electricity, and the baseboards. He hung the Blur up on the wall tonight. It will be soooo nice when totally completed! (Thanks Shane!)

Maple Creek Spring- Ride

Shane and I did a Sunday afternoon ride. We went up Maple Creek. The ride started out great. But soon it turned to walking up the river. It was more like hike a bike. It was beautiful! Towards the top we parked our bikes and finished hiking to the top of the spring. The really green photo is the top of the spring. Always an adventure when you go with Shane!

Pics of Friday Ride

Heidie and I rode the four-wheeler trail up to Willow Flats. It was a great ride!

Help-Help-They're Back!!!!!

If any of you recall a couple of years ago I had a problem with my car. It was infested with mice. So I asked Shane what to do about the problem. He told me wither use de-con or a mouse trap. I had de-con and used it. Well, that was most certainly a mistake. Soon I had dead mice in the car. Dead up in the dash of the car. And you can probably guess that the car began to stink. Shane and I took the dash out of the car to get some of the dead mice out.

Today I noticed little pieces of gray foam along the dash of my car (no, it was not mouse poo!) And then when I came out of tennis and swimming I found alot more foam on the floor of my car. (Party animals.)I told Shane that this makes me soooo mad. I just want to wreck the car into a telephone pole. Start it on fire, or drive it into a lake! I mean really! Couldn't they find a better home.

I might could try and sell the car. Great car lots of miles and mice. How many horses does the car have, you ask. Well it depends on how many mice are running that day! The smell? Not to worry there is a can of Lysol under the seat. Feeling sick? Don't worry I have had the mouse poop tested for the Hanta (sp) virus! Hungry? Just pop the hood and help yourself to the dog food that the mice have stashed there! But don't forget the special tool that you need to shut the hood. Lightweight seats. If you are lucky the mice might be awake and riding in the seat right under you. It can also be a self-cleaning car. Kids just drop a few crumbs on the floor or seat and poof! In the morning it will all be cleaned up.

You can see the donation tab on the left (jk). I am trying to raise money for the stick of dynamite that I am going to put in my car!

Green Canyon

Today I had a great ride! Heidie and I left the parking lot of Green Canyon around 10:15 am. The temperature said 35 degrees. We dressed pretty warmly. As we headed up the canyon we started to warm up. Heidie ditched some of her clothing off the track. The higher we climbed up in the canyon the more snow and ice there was. All of the single track was a ton of fun. When we got to the point where we were stopping we both decided that our feet were totally froze. We cruised down but, we went a little slower due to the fact that we were very cold. As we came to the lower section some of the snow had started melting. That made for a mud fest. It was great fun. Mud up the front and mud up the back. It was fine until it made my seat rather slick to sit on.

When we got back down to the trucks, we decided that we would go to lunch. We had hat hair and muddy clothes, but we thought that some hot food sounded better than looking good. I think I had a smile on my face the whole ride. These are a couple of the pictures I took today. I don't think that the bike picture quite shows how really muddy the bike was.

On another train of thought...... After my U11 soccer game on Sat. another one of the coaches was talking to the kids about practicing on their own because our season was over until we start indoor. He told them " It's the things that we do when no one is watching that makes us great." He related how this applies in life not just soccer. I have been really thinking how true this is with everything that you do in life.

I read another post a while ago that has caused me to do some thinking. The blogger wrote that she felt like a wannabe. I thought about that because there is a lot of things that I wanna do. I might run, bike, swim or play tennis but I never win the race or take 1st place. But I set goals for myself to try something new out of my comfort zone, or finish the next race a little bit faster or go a little longer. So, I was wondering if this made me a wannabe because I was not winning the race. I have thought for a few weeks about this and I have concluded that it is ok if I am a wannabe because I enjoy what I am doing. I like setting new goals and trying. Sure, sometimes it is really scary to stretch yourself, but wow when you accomplish it!! So, I don't think fellow blogger that you are a wannabe because I think that you can be whatever you want to be! I also think that you a extremely talented person! ( If this blogger person reads this I hope that you take this as a compliment.)

Beautiful Fall Day

On Monday on my way to Logan my car started making funny sounds. Hmmm, I thought to myself that sounds like it could be a loose tire. I pulled over by the La Tienda no loose lug nuts, but there was one missing lug nut. So off I went, excited to buy paint for my room! As I pulled into Cove the noise was very loud so I pulled off the road. I took my trusty lug nut wrench thing, that rides next to me and got out to check the tires again. Sure enough the rear tire was a little loose so I being the great mechanic that I am tightened ALL of the lug nuts on the car. I put quite a bit of weight into it. Off I go. Then as I enter Smithfield the noise starts again. I pull over in Smithfield, sure enough a loose front drivers side tire! My car is trained, kind of like Herbie. So what is really happening is that she is telling me that she is tired and just wants to rest in the nice warm garage sipping on her Vitamin "O". I'll just keep talking real sweet to her.

Skip on to Weds. I thought that after swimming and tennis I would run my car into Les Schwab to get the tires rotated and balanced, but after I was done with my swim, I saw what a great day it was. The Blur has been feeling a bit neglected so I thought that a ride up the canyon would be a great idea. I hopped on the Blur and headed up Cub River Canyon. It was a great ride. I took these pictures. The picture with the shoes is titles "The Lost Soles of Cub River". (HA HA HA)

What a great fall day!

Just as a little side note: I swam 40 laps today!!! My teacher (friend) Janet couldn't come today so I even got in the pool all by myself!

P.S.

Lately Arie has been really worried about Grandpa and Grandma Bergeson having enough money. The other day she asked if they had enough money to pay for lunch. She tells me that she will give them her five dollars so they will have some money. I keep telling her that they have plenty of money, but for some reason she is concerned.

Catching Up?

I just recently read Miles's blog. I took a good look at his new ride. I have to ask, I guess because I am not in the know how. But why a single speed? Is it about the challenge? It is a fun looking bike, but I would like to know why people buy them.

I have been so excited to ride my new mountain bike. So you would think that as a stay at home mom that I would have plenty of time to ride, but I have not had any time to ride. I have been so busy with soccer and other things. I guess I did make a couple of big batches of salsa, and froze a ton of corn.

Now that the goal of finishing LOTOJA is done I need to decide what is next. I have alot of thoughts. Marathon? LOTOJA? LOTOJA relay? Wasatch Back? STP? Washington, Oregon Coast Ride? Triatholon? Trail Running Series? All of them??????
After my tennis class on Weds. I have been taking a swimming lesson. I tell you, swimming is a struggle for me! I panic with my face in the water. But I do have to say that I have improved from the 1st time to the 2nd time. I hope that I keep improving and becoming more comfortable in the water.

I am still contemplating a trail run in Ogden on Sat. I really am not up to par for running 7 miles. But I figure that I can endure it and give it my best.

I drove to Pleasant View on Mon. morning. The drive up Sardine canyon was really beautiful! I hope that the drive next week will be as beautiful. Arie is worrying that is almost Halloween because that means time for the flu shot. It is interesting to me that she remembers that the shot always happens around Halloween.

I had the opportunity to attend my cousins funeral on Tues. It gave me a chance to think about how thankful I am for my family, friends, other blessings in my life and the gospel.

LOTOJA Report

First of all it should not be Logan to Jackson because you actually finish in Teton Village.

I have had people ask me if this was worse than having a baby, and I think that this was worse than having a baby. This was 13 hrs and 24 mins. of labor. It was a great experience! We learned so much just being a part of it.

Our start time was 7:01 am with all of the Cat women (real racers). We really should have been in the fun ride group. It was a great ride to Preston. We took a little long at the stop and lost the group of women that we were with. We then headed up Strawberry which was pretty ok. I started having some breathing problems. We met a girl named Elise from Phoenix,AZ who happened to be a brain surgeon. I took it a little slower at the top of Strawberry so that my breathing would be ok. The descent was awesome (of course).

We made it to Feed Zone #3 in Montpelier and took a really long time there (40 mins.). We didn't know we took so long. Heidie had a inhaler. I took a couple of puffs off of it and wow! Did that make all the difference! So up the next canyon we went. The climb was not bad. Another great descent. We were all by ourselves and started to climb Salt Pass where we hooked with a small group who we did a double pace line with. We stopped at the neutral feed zone and proceeded up the steep part of Salt Pass. There was alot of riders struggling with this climb. We had another great descent. We almost hit 50 mph.

The head wind had started picking up. A group of men hooked on the back of me and Heidie. I said "this is stupid let's drop behind them and let them break wind for us even if they are a little slower. " So we dropped and got on with them and as it turns out they were just waiting for the rest of their group to catch up. The rest of their group caught up and they had us do another double pace line with them. There was about 14-16 of us. It was a lifesaver in the wind. We stopped in Afton and this group of guys said that they would wait for us. So we started off with them again. But then some guys in the group needed to pee so they stopped and said that they would catch up to us. They never caught up. So Heidie and I were by ourselves against the wind. Heidie really started to hurt on this stretch. I offered to cut off her leg and let her finish with one leg. But she opted for keeping the leg.

We got to the Alpine stop and we knew that it would be tight, but we KNEW that there would be a tailwind because there ALWAYS is a tailwind. No tail, more like a head. I was out of steam. I told Heidie she could go on faster if she wanted, but she stuck with me. We stopped quick at the last feed zone to top off my water and eat some fruit snacks. The fruit snacks must have worked because I picked up a little.

I tell you they need to fix the descriptions for the race. I realize that I was getting tired but the hills just kept coming. The sun was starting to set and it was getting dark and cold. Neither of us had our lights with us. There was a guy in head of me with a light so we caught up to him and hooked on to him for a minute. He was totally pooped. He told me that he was sorry but he had to drop and not go as fast as us. So we rode on. A few minutes later was back, he said "all right I'll give it another try." So he hopped in front of me and we followed him in. He told me that had done this race 4 times by himself. I was really impressed that he dug a little deeper so that he could help us out. We crossed the finish line. I kept thanking the guy for helping. We turned in our timing chips and numbers. I saw Shane and Shad and gave them a yell. I got to the bike path and laid down by Heidie, she was crying & I started to cry a bit. It was a long walk back to the truck. We stopped and ate at Pizza Hut and drove home. We made it home at 2 am.

I was so happy that we made it!! I was really glad that Miles made it. I kept asking about him all day. I felt like we rode really good. Our slow time was due to our rest stops. But still it was an amazing feat to accomplish. On the hills nobody passed us. The ride home was quite painful, but I am feeling OK now. I was also glad to hear how well Tracen did.

Shane and Shad were a great "pit crew" and we met some really neat people along the way.

The question is will we do it again? Heidie says "no". I say we'll see. A relay might be alot of fun. But the most important part of all is that I can now place the sticker on my car!

It's the final COUNTDOWN!

Here it is the night before the eve of the race. I am starting to pack food and making lists. I put on new tires, tubes and brake pads today. As I read other blogs I wonder if I am prepared enough. I have come down with a hurt leg. I have had a stomach bug this week. So I think that by Sat. I should have everything worked out. Oh, and lest I forget the bag I ordered for my bike for the race will not arrive until Mon. I mean come on. I ordered the stinking thing on Aug.25th. So I placed another overnight order to get the bag by tomorrow.

Today JT asked me why I wanted to pay $300.00 (not really what it cost) to do this race. I and I asked him "why not?" He said you could just go do this ride alone without paying all of this money. I told him that I was just doing it for the sticker! (He offered to make me a sticker just like the LOTOJA sticker.) Thanks JT.

The next time that I will post will be after the race. I am hoping for good things to report.
Ride on!

Is this the race to Jackson?

Sat. morning Heidie and I started the Cache Valley Century Ride. We had just left the Rest stop in Preston and we were heading south out of Preston when a (heavy) lady in her bath robe on her front porch yells to us "Hey, is the the race to Jackson?" I was chuckling to myself, "sure it is I am just taking the long way." But I was nice and told her what the event was and that the race to Jackson was in 2 weeks. Anyway it was a good ride. Both Heidie and I have been plagued with knee pain. But the knees help up for the ride. We were definitely the minority on the 100 mile ride. It was interesting to be the only 2 women at the rest stops. Occasionally a lady would come in when we were leaving the rest step.

Last night was the Preston Demolition derby. What a treat. All of Preston's finest come out of the woodwork. The derby is the same, just different scary people that come. JT said he learned last night that you should stay in school and off of drugs!

It has been a crazy week. The kids started school on Thurs. I am now catching up on all that I got behind on in the past month. Shane is really busy with work, which we are very thankful for.

Ride, Hills, and Pain

We started out this morning about 6:45 am, and headed up Strawberry Canyon. It was cold and windy. Tracen was a good sport. He was really fast on the hills. We took off our jackets about 10-12 miles into to ride/climb. It was a really pretty morning. As it turns out the top of the canyon was about 3 miles further than where Heidie and I turned around last time. I was thinking to myself this morning "why am I doing this?"

So we dropped down the other side of Strawberry and went through Ovid and on to Montpieler. Tracen led the way and we made pretty good time. We stopped at Maverick for a pit stop and then headed for the Canyon (Geneva) as we started to head up we noticed the road closed signs. So we pulled up to talk to the flag girl. She told us that the canyon would be closed until tomorrow night. We had 2 options, 1- Ride back over Strawberry and home, or, 2- Head up to Soda Springs and then down to Grace. It was decided to ride back how we came. Tracen led the way again. Of course there was wind. The rollers heading back up to Strawberry were tough. My knee gave me total trouble, to the point I couldn't pedal. This passed after a minute. We stopped at Camp Bartlett and had a sandwich.

We then continued up the Canyon. It definitely had warmed up. It was HOT! We reached the top which was a good thing because I think that I might have got off my bike and pushed if we had to keep climbing. We started the descent. My bike decided to start making noises and the wind was strong enough that we had to pedal the whole way down. My knee still was giving me trouble. Heidie had foot pain. I need to figure out what the trouble is with my bike and fix the knee pain. I think that we can make the LOTOJA if our bodies will hold up to the aches and pains. Tracen was a rockin' rider. It was good to ride with him and push ourselves a little bit harder. Thanks to Teresa who was our support/bug lady.

I have had people say to me that they think that riding the LOTOJA will be fun. I tell you this- IT WILL NOT BE FUN! It will be hard and long, but a great goal to accomplish!

Bear Lake Week/Weekend

Heidie and I attempted our 100 mile ride on Weds morning. We ended up with only 90 miles. We had several mishaps. My bike had seat issues, so I ended riding with the seat all the way down for 20 miles. Heidie got a flat on the railroad tracks which also ruined her tire. So we rode to Al's and spent a hour there making repairs. On Weds. morning we are planning to ride 80 miles on the LOTOJA course.

Jace and Arie spent the week at our cabin with Grandma Ellen and Chalisa (& kids). I was back and forth for the week. I picked them up on Fri. afternoon and we went and met my family at the Ideal Beach Resort. Shane and JT came over late Fri. night. On Sat. morning we went out on Miles's new sweet boat! JT tried wake boarding and got up. Jace gave it a try and got up (kind of). I gave it a try and got up. It took alot of squealing and screaming for me to get up though. Zach and Shane thought that it was pretty funny to take pictures of me while I was trying. There was a airplane crash at the lake Sat. morning. Kris, Melanie and I ran the Raspberry Days 5K race. It was alot of fun to run and be with them. We had milk can dinner and played noodle soccer. We went swimming in the swimming pool. It was nice to spend time with the family.

On Monday morning on my way home from Bear Lake I stopped at 7-11 for a drink and to go to the bathroom. I was just about to walk into the restroom when a man stopped me and said " I wouldn't go in there for a couple of minutes." I stopped. He said "I just pooped in there." I said "oh", and turned and walked off (trying not to laugh). So I was thinking, would you stop somebody or would you just let them go in? I am pretty sure that I wouldn't stop anyone. I would just get out of Dodge.

Happy Birthday To ME!

Shane just bought me a early B-day present. I am now the proud owner of a Santa Cruz Blur LT with an anodized frame! It has been alot of fun to ride! I look forward to being able to get and hit some trails.

Car update- The Hondarooski is still at the car doctor undergoing more tests. Cross your fingers that it is a simple fix!

Heidie and I are planning to ride a 100 miles tomorrow morning. On Sat. morning I rode 52 miles. The bicyclists Sat. morning were very friendly. All of them waved or acknowledged me. Some of the time some cyclists don't acknowledge you. What's up with that? I don't need like a huge wave, just a little hey would be ok!

So Sat. I went to Logan to pick up a few things. There was a guy walking down the sidewalk with a Big Gulp in hand. It looked like he puked while he was walking. He didn't stop walking or bend over or anything. He just kept walking while he spewed stuff everywhere. I guess if it was me I wouldn't stop either (since he was on main street in Logan). Just act like nothin' ever happened!

We are gearing up for a Bear Lake week and also JT's B-Day. He will be turning 14. (WOW)

I was glad that Miles finally posted about his Sat. ride, because I was wondering how the ride went for him. Way to go Miles!

Over and out!

PS A question to ponder for the day: Have you ever received a food gift or item from someone, and wondered if they poisoned it or might have put ex-lax in it? Did you pitch it? Or did you try it?

Car Woes....

On Weds. morning Heidie and I headed for a ride up Strawberry Canyon. The old Hondarooski had other plans. She started sputtering. So I decided that it would be best to park the car at the golf course instead of the bottom of Riverdale where there is no cell phone coverage. The car doctor can't check her out until next Mon. or Tues., I am afraid of where the cancer has spread to now. But the positive is that I have been driving the new truck ( great air conditioning)! Back to riding. We dropped the Riverdale dugway and rode up the canyon. The canyon has just been chipped sealed. It is already getting packed down well. Due to mommy time constraints we only hit about 31 miles. But alot of that ride is uphill. The Hondarooski did make it back home. I have decided to keep her parked until I know the diagnosis.

My soccer team is in the middle of a soccer tournament we have lost 2 games, each 3-2. We have one more game tomorrow morning.

Shane and JT are very busy with work. (Out in the heat.)

Good Times

Nothing too exciting to report up here in potato land. No arrests or stories of interest.

I didn't get very much riding in this week. But Heidie and I did climb Strawberry Canyon again. We thought that we had made it to the top, but Shane tells us that we didn't quite make it to the top. This ride up the canyon was alot warmer this time. Although on the descent I did put on my long sleeve jersey. On Sat. morning I did ride from Garden City to Paris, ID. and back to Garden City. It was a good ride other than all of the tourist traffic.

Product review- Strawberry fruit snacks-- Thumbs up!

We stayed at the cabin this weekend. On Fri. we went to a cave up Paris Canyon. It is called the "Mud Cave". If you can not guess what is in the cave from the name, I will tell you. When you get down into the bottom (after a few tight squeezes) there is mud everywhere. The walls are mud and the floor is mud. The kids like to slide down the walls. They also like to throw mud at the ceiling of the cave and see if the mud ball would fall on someones head. It was fun, but the girls hands got cold. We headed straight from the cave down to Bear Lake. The Lake was not as busy as the 4th of July weekend. After a few hours at the lake and then dinner, we headed outside for a round of night games. We had alot of fun playing capture the flag, kick the can, and sardines. We came away from the games with only a few injuries.

It is good to be home (doing laundry). I hope to ride more this week. I had to buy a new pair of biking shorts to hopefully eliminate some bottom hurt. (I'll keep you posted) Jace has a soccer tournament this week. I sure hope that the coach has her crap together (that's me)! We are looking forward to heading back to Bear Lake a few more times this summer.

BUSTED

I know another post. But this is to good to let it pass.

Shane is doing a job on 10th west in Logan right now. For those of you that don't know 10th west is a pretty busy road. Every time the guys at work hear a siren they kid Luke that the cops are coming for him. Well today here come the sirens the 1st cop pulls into the job site and then 3 more. The guys were all looking at each other wondering what the heck was going on. Earlier when the guys were giving Luke a hard time about the sirens, Luke went to his car, got his handcuffs out and handcuffed JT. Some concerned citizen driving by called the cops when they saw JT being handcuffed by Luke. The cops had guns and it scared JT when they started questioning him, needless to say he started crying. The cop kept asking him "are you sure you are ok?" JT kept telling him that he was fine, and that it was a joke. Shane told the cop that JT has the same reaction when we ask him to take out the trash and that he was probably scared because of the guns. The cop didn't believe Shane that he was the father. Luke felt terrible. The cop told them how uncool it was for him to have to drive across town with his lights on. (I thought cops like to drive like that.)

JT is ok.

Farewell

I realize that I just posted yesterday...but something happened today that was sooooooo funny that I just had to share the laugh!

Today was Dustin's missionary farewell. It was a great sacrament meeting. There was so many people there to see him. We had to open the gym and it was filled all the way to the back. Anyway it was a great meeting. We were invited over Dustin's Uncle's new house for the "dinner" after. Dustin's Uncle Eddy's house was very nice. We went out around the back to the large covered deck for the dinner. After everything was set up and we had the prayer on the food everyone lined up and started through the food line and started sitting down and eating. I need to describe the deck just a little. It is a LARGE deck, but halfway out there is a step down that was hard to see and there is no railing around the deck or down the stairs. Dustin had tons of really cute girls over to the dinner. One of the girls had her plate and drink and went to sit down in her seat, but..... her chair was a little to close to the edge of the deck. Yep, you guessed it off she went backwards off the deck. Her dress went up over her head, but while still in the air she manged to pull it back down and she landed sprawled spread eagle out on the lawn. Everyone kept checking on her to see if she was hurt, she should have been hurt because the back of the chair was broke and because it was a quite a fall. Needless to say she was quite embarrassed.

Lesson learned today- Always look before you sit!

Sat. Morning Ride.....

Heidie and I left the Park and Ride (Preston) at 6:00 am. We rode to North Logan where we stopped and Don and Marilyn's house. We refilled our drinks and the four of us were off. As we dropped down the hill by the mouth of Logan Canyon there was terrible canyon head wind with gusts of crosswinds. One gust totally about did me in. We headed through Logan to River Heights, to Providence, to Millville, to Nibley and then started up Black Smith Fork Canyon. At the mouth of Black Smith Fork Canyon there was another terrible head wind and the road a just been chipped and sealed. We decided to give it a try up the canyon. When cars would pass you they would flip rocks on you (painful). It was about 15 miles up the canyon. It was a very pretty ride. We turned around at Hardware Ranch and headed back down. The wind had changed directions now and once again another head wind!! We followed the same route back to Don and Marilyn's. Once at Marilyn's we tried some of her chocolate Endurox (I didn't really like it). We ended up with about 80 miles.

My favorite treat of the ride was my "Payday". The swedish fish weren't so bad either. One thing for sure, Utah drivers can be awfully rude! I am not sure because of the MB ride but I ended up with about 146-150 miles this week.

On the way to North Logan we passed a couple of big groups heading north, it definetly looked like training for the LOTOJA! We will try to climb Strawberry Canyon on Tues.

Internet Woes

I have been wanting to make a new post, but my new fancy Internet has been down all weekend. So there is much to report! Last week I rode over 130 miles on my bike!!!! JT and Shane went to a long range shooting competition on Sat. They had a lot of fun. JT took 2nd place in the "B" flight. (Out shot Shane.) Arie had a cardiology appt. on Thurs.. Things are still looking good for her heart. We will need to do a echo in Feb. We will continually have to keep on eye on the mitral valve. Jace was able to go to a gymnastics class where he learned "circus" tricks. He is going again this week. Well poor Riley is not fairing so well in the heat. I shot this video of him licking his nose. He licks his nose all day because it is sore. We try and put medicine on it but he just licks it off. Enjoy! More biking updates to come. Maybe 100 miler on Sat.???

Review of Strawberry

Tues. morning Heidie and I started out about 6:20 to start climbing Strawberry Canyon. It was cold even with a long sleeve jersey. It definitely was not a fast climb. There is not much of a shoulder on the road the whole way. It is a very curvy road, so cars are a concern. Some lessons learned on this ride--
1. Watch for road kill. (mostly fox, a few skunks and raccoons.)
2. Wear warmer clothes- especially feet. We kept out jackets on the whole climb!
3. Bring more food.
4. Ride this canyon a lot more.

We climbed for over an hour, 15.4 miles, due to mommy time constraints we turned back. The descent was nice but still really cold. We braked a lot because of the cold and also worried that we might meet a deer at 40 mph. We rode again this morning, trying to use it as a recovery ride and also to help add up the miles. On Fri. morning I think that we will head out to Clarkston and ride the race course out there.

Heidie and Kara's product review. On the Tues.morning ride we tried the cherry flavored sports beans and we also tried the orange. We think that you should skip the cherry and stick with the orange.

Holiday Weekend

I think that I achieved a PR for my race on the 4th of July, but it was still not as good as I had hoped. I will have to do this race again next year to do better!!

We had a good holiday weekend. We went over to the cabin in Bear Lake. The kids had a great time. It always nice to go and have a break from the everyday stuff. Then on Sunday we traveled down to North Ogden to baby Trey's blessing. It was really nice to go down and see and visit with the family.

So as I have been talking to various people and reading different blogs, I am wondering what the heck I was thinking when I registered for LOTOJA. Miles has totally been training and it sounds like he is going to rock on the race! My friend Sara recently changed her entry in the race to a relay team due to an injury. I am excited for the challenge, but at the same time it scares me to death! On Sunday morning I did 51.5 miles with some hills. My legs were still pretty tired from the 4th race. Tomorrow morning Heidie and I are going to climb Strawberry Canyon. (Emmigration-part of the LOTOJA course)

I had a little oops at tennis today... I am in charge of using the ball picker upper, because I run while I pick up the balls. Today I got a little close to the fence. The ball thing stopped rather abruptly and I went over the handle landing flat on my face on the court. It was a way lot embarrassing to be laying face down on the court, with people watching. No injuries--just my feel bads.

Flat

It was 6:45 pm last night. Heidie and I were headed out for a great training ride. We decided to head down the highway to Smithfield. We were making great time. We thought that we would easily hit 50 miles before the sun set. As we entered Smithfield I blew a tire. I thought no big deal, I can change a flat. In the next few minutes I broke my tire tool, had the wrong co2 cartridge, gave my tube mouth to mouth & got grease on my new jersey. All the while this old man and his family sat on their porch watching us struggle with what should be a pretty easy fix. Heidie asked what she could do to help, I told her to stand right there on the side of the road looking really cute so that some man (preferably a prepared cyclist) might stop to help. No such luck! It didn't take too long for us to start calling around, and we found Mike and Chris home in Smithfield and they brought down their bike pump. I put my wheel back on the bike. Looked it over and found that the rock I hit had slit my not only my tube but the tire as well. Obviously we did not make 50 miles but we were able to at least ride 26.4 miles before we had to call Shane to get us because of the dark. So as you can probably guess I am heading to the bike shop today!

I am posting this video of Jace. It was my trial run with the video option on my camera!

Comings and Goings

I thought that I would post a picture of my exercise room that is being built. It won't be to much longer until it is ready to use. Shane is really tired of me stinking up his gun room. The best part is I don't even have to bug him about getting it done, he just wants me out of his room.

On Sat. afternoon Shane took all of us to work to set bolts. It was really hot. Jace was hovering in the shade. He had on black exercise pants and a navy shirt. I told him to take off his shirt so he wouldn't be so hot. He told me that it was his pants making him hot and asked if he could just take those off. He looked so miserable that I just said yes. Here we are just off of 10th West in Logan with Jace in his white boxer briefs. Boy, did he perk up when he got his clothes off and he cooled down. It didn't take too long for Shane to tell him to get his pants back on. (It was funny for a few minutes, wish that I had my camera!)

This week I am planning to run a 4th of July race. It is a 15k. My body has had a hard time recovering from the Wasatch Back Race. I am hoping to get a PR on this race. (We'll see.)

Race Weekend

Shay, Heidie & Jen. My fav shoes. Ben with snowball.

This weekend was race weekend for the Wasatch Back. Shane was good enough to watch the kids. He had a hard week at work so I left him a note telling him thank you for helping and thanks for being a such good dad. He called Fri. night to see how the race was going, after I gave him the race update he said "by the way I am not a very good dad", I asked him why he would say that. He said that he had forgotten the kids at Chalisa's house and had to drive back down to get them.

This year for the race I got to be in the 2nd vehicle. It was pretty cool to see the other legs of the race. It was fun to meet new people. I met a guy on our team who was so impressive. He was so humble and kind. Now we are talking that this guy was doing 5 min. miles. It was pretty funny, we had stopped at a exchange waiting for our other van. So of us tried to get some rest but Ben had gone and ate and was coming back with some hot chocolate. He saw a baby kitty and thought that he would call to it and try to help it. As Ben got closer the "kitty" lifted its tail and Ben quickly realized that this "kitty" did not need help. Luckily he did not get sprayed.

Our team this year finished in 27 hours and 30 min. We finished 190 out of 500. I am already starting to think about next year.

Kris (my sister) and her little family came to cheer me on in Hunstville. It was fun to have them come up.

JT is off to scout camp this week. He is not very excited about it. He would rather be going to work with his dad every day.

Hip Shot

Well, well, this is my first attempt at blogging. It is definitely a hip shot! I was inspired by my two brothers. Miles http://www.atomicmiles.com/ & Zach http://pitcherspost.blogspot.com/ Summer is under way and we are as busy as ever. We thought that we would post a picture of our bulldog Riley. He has very unique problems. He is scared of the dark and will cry if he is not in his kennel at night. Well, he has been disappearing in the evening around 7:30. This has been going on for about 3 weeks. We have to drive up the road every night and load him in the truck to bring him home. One night while we were up picking up Riley the neighbor lady was outside. I was totally apologizing for Riley coming up every night. ( Often people are very afraid of Riley.) She was really nice about it and said that she even puts out a bowl of water for him. I asked her if some of her dogs were in heat and she laughed and said that both of the dogs were males. I couldn't figure out why then Riley would make the trek every night up to their house. The neighbor said that they had decided to call him "Fred". She leaned in the window of my truck and kind of whispered to me (because the kids were in the truck)" he sure likes to hump a lot though". I looked in the bed of the truck where Shane had loaded Riley and sure enough he was collapsed in the truck totally exhausted from his extracurricular activities. The neighbor must not mind Riley to much because she even gave him a ride home the other night. I think if she knew Riley very well she would have not put him in her vehicle. He sort of has a problem with wiping himself very well!

I bought myself a new camera today and hope to take some great pictures to share. Riley was the test subject for today. I am going to be taking pictures of my race this weekend. I am on a team that is running the Wasatch Back. (Logan-Park City 178 miles)