Wasatch Back 2009

A little over a week ago, Collin and I participated in the Ragnar Wasatch Back. This was a unreal experience...so much fun! What made it so much fun was NOT the running (that too was pretty fun) but we had an AWESOME team. We had a blast! The Wasatch Back is a relay race from Logan to Park City, it is about 189 miles. You have a team with 12 people and the team is split up into 2 vans, we were van #2. Van #1 started in Logan and their first leg ended in Eden and that is where we picked up. Eden is beautiful...the whole race is beautiful. I wasn't aware of how beautiful Utah really is...breathtaking! I was runner 7 in our van so I started off the race for van #2.

Back at the beginning of May, I got a IT band injury that would not heal. I rested it and did everything I was suppose to and it did not heal. I thought for sure I wasn't going to be able to run this. I was really upset because we had been planning this since October! Anyway it came closer and there was still no way that I could do it on my leg, and that was when Lo-and-behold Ja-Ja Myers pulled through and switched me legs (not actual legs, but running legs). It was great that my team didn't care that I was slow as molasses if my IT band pain kicked in...which it would. :(

My first leg went great, I made it with just a little pain. Collin's first leg was awesome too. He had to run straight up a mountain up to Snow Basin. He rocked it! He also had a injury, which now we have found out that he was pretty much running on a stress fracture...ooops! Everyone did awesome on their first legs, we whipped right through them.

After our first legs it was van 1's turn to conquer their 2nd legs. They did great! While they were running we went and found some grub, grub at the good ole' Chuck-a-Rama...yes the Chuck-a-rama. We then headed back to the route and just hung out and Pineview Reservoir where the next exchange was taking place. We tried to get a little shut eye, but their was this crazy smell that kept us all awake...;) About 11:30 p.m. we stared our 2nd legs. We went until about 5:30 in the morning.

After our 2nd legs we made our way to Heber where Rachel's parents were letting is get some shut-eye at their house. We took showers and were able to sleep for a couple of hours...it was awesome! We started back up again about 10:30ish. By this time my IT band was killing me! I couldn't even bend my knee without a shooting pain, I really felt like my knee was experiencing labor...really! It hurt so bad, so of coarse I made a fool of myself and cried for half of my leg and I was limping along. It hurt and I was so frustrated that I just couldn't run, I have been running forever and now this, very discouraging. Anyway, I was able to finish with a limping walk, and a supporting team. Some of my family was even there to cheer me on. Everyone else continued to do great. Collin was doing awesome even with all of his pain.

Justin Myers, Trisha Paddock, Rachel Olson, Gareth Nash, Collin Richards, Natalie Richards, Ryan Paddock, Allison Strang, Chad Strang, Leslie Myers, Keysha Peck, Chad Peck.

Saturday was a crazy, rainy day. The temperature was perfect to run in though. I think we were all ready to get done and get out of the car. I saw how amazing Keysha was running the "RAGNAR" hill...she is one tough cookie! Everyone was super tough and did a great job. Thanks Ja-ja for switching me legs so I didn't miss out on all the crazy fun. Thanks Allison for putting this all together and being a awesome captain. I wish that we were able to see Van 1 more often, we had such a fun group!

Until next year...Monarch Maniacs!

Little Buddies

These two crack me up. Bode and Peiton can be best buddies one minute and then the next they are pulling each others hair out. Literally. But when they are being best buddies they are way cute. Peiton seems to want to be doing pretty much what Bode is doing (and that goes for speaking too, she has pretty much mastered the "uhhhh" sound that Bode makes all the time). She has learned all of Bode's made-up sign language for certain things and does them when she wants the same thing. When Bode is in an extra, friendly mood, they seem to get along great.

Here they are before bedtime watching a show on Cooper's bed. Peiton thinks it is pretty fun to get up on the tall bed and watch shows with Coop and Bode.

Bode loves to push the stroller and now he has a little mimic on his tail. Peiton loves to do the same thing. She will just follow him around and they both have a blast doing it.

Thanks Bode for being a great older brother and taking care of your little sis. I love ya both!

"I don't know how to discipline my kids.."

On Tuesday night I had quite the experience ( I think it was quite the experience). Collin had a softball game and I was actually going to venture out with the kids to watch it, this is pretty daring on my behalf, it is really hard to handle Bode and Peiton in public, at the same time. Before the game I took them to Iceberg ( I was by myself) I thought we would grab something to eat before and then head to the game. We they were great in Iceberg, Bode only tried to run away once, which is pretty good for him. We were finished and we were walking out to the door I had to pick Peiton up because we were going outside in the parking lot. Well she lets out her high-pitched scream...which is very high pitch, and really bratty sounding.

As she is screaming there is a lady walking to the same door as us and this is what happens...

Lady: Walking towards us says "Ahhhh SHUT-UP!" Very rude like.

Me: Not sure if she was serious or not says. "Are you serious?"

Lady: "Yes, discipline your children."

Me: "What?? She is not even 2 yet?" (What do you think I was doing picking her up so she couldn't run like crazy through the parking lot, when she screamed I kept her in my arms so she didn't get her way...she is learning).

Now we will call her Raunchy lady: "Well is starts in the home." (saying it very rude).

Ticked off me: "Don't tell me how to raise my kids."

Raunchy lady: Mumbling..."stupid Mormons" ( I don't know why me having 3 kids makes me a Mormon, I am, but why would she think that. I know many people that are not LDS and they have more kids than 3. I am sure she had more than 3 sad, lonely, no friends because there mom was so mean, scared kids.)

By this time I was super mad, but had to kind of walk away from it. Thankfully there were 2 girls there that stuck up for me and starting reaming her out, they went at it pretty good. This scared Cooper, he didn't understand why she was being so mean, especially to Peiton. He kept asking me questions about it..."is it cause she was old?" I just had to reassure him that she wasn't very nice and probably had a bad day and just had to take it out on cute little Peiton." But inside myself I was so angry and wanted to drop kick the lady. But I do know what she drives and the where abouts of where she lives, so beware "Raunchy Lady" I am watching for you....

(I really wish my sister Stacy or my friend Alicia were there with me, they would have really put her in her spot. I am glad I stuck up though, usually I would just walk away, which would have been the Christ-like thing to do, but I wasn't feeling that way at all).

Birthday bash

Alright it has been quite a while since I have posted anything. I am finally finding the time, well not time, I have had that, let's say motivation to get something posted. So here we begin...

A couple weeks ago we celebrated my dad's 60th birthday. They took the whole family up to the Zermatt resort in Midway. I really love going to that place, it is beautiful, the accommodations are nice, the food is great (although we didn't enjoy some of their food on this trip) and it is just a fin place. We started the day off with a little swimming before we had to meet for dinner. For dinner my mom had planned on us all going to Chick's cafe, this place is something else. It was actually fun to go there because my mom used to work there (my parents both grew up in Heber) and my parents probably had a lot of fun memories there. We had the whole backroom, thankfully, it got a little crazy towards the end and the kids were ready to get out of there (at least mine were).

Next we headed back to the Zermatt where my mom had rented a conference room and invited some extended family members. This was a surprise for my dad. It was great to have everyone there. My mom put me in charge of playing Bunco. It was CRAZY! You can't teach 40 people how to play bunco. It is kind of a game that you just have to learn by playing, so I was going to table to table to explain everything and by the time we were on the last round I think everyone picked it up (we only played 2 rounds).

It was a bummer because nobody got pictures of the party...what??? No party pics!

The next day we spent the morning swimming and just enjoying some relaxing (what you can do chasing around 2 kids). We rode the carousel, saw the goats and just hung around. After checkout we went to my grandparents house where my mom had planned a road rally for us to participate it. She had taken all of the memorable spots that my dad had growing up and incorporated them into the road rally. And guess who won?? Yeah my team, we were the fastest, probably because we didn't get the directions and rules down and kind of messed the whole thing up, but hey we won...:) Sorry mom. It was fun to see the spots that we did go to and see where my dad use to work, go to school, etc...

After the road rally we all pretty much made our way home. It was a fun celebration and a great time to be with the whole family. I love when we get to spend time with each other and everyone is there. Collin had to leave Friday night to go out of town so it was a bummer that he had to miss all the fun. Thanks mom and dad!