CANYONLANDS 5 MILE & HALF MARATHON

March 21, 2009 in Moab, Utah

Steve and I participated in the Canyonlands 5 Mile & Half Marathon.

We signed up with a bunch of friends from our neighborhood back in November. We had a friend who was kind enough to arrange for hotel rooms to accommodate 16 runners and some of their families. Through his efforts we essentially had nothing to worry about other than training to complete our own races.
Steve signed on to run in the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) And when he crossed the finish line his time was 1 hour and 29 minutes. I was so very proud of him and was there to watch him cross. But I have finally come to the realization that I am unable to cheer him on and take photos of him. I did manage to get a picture of his shoulder (it is the blue shirt in between the two people with orange shirts on). I was so proud of him for doing such an awesome job. I just admire his ability to push himself. I chose to run in the 5 mile race and had a goal for completing it in 90 minutes. I managed to finish in 1 hour and 16 minutes.

BIKING in MOAB

A few months ago Steve signed up to run in the Moab Half Marathon and since our anniversary was a few days prior to the race we decided to make it a little anniversary trip without the children. Mom and Pop were kind enough to take all the children on Friday morning and Steve and I continued the rest of the drive to Moab. The first place we stopped was to Zax's Pizza . We knew that the restaurants would be pretty busy at dinner time, so we hit our favorite restaurant for lunch. I highly recommend stopping there and catching a bite if you are ever in Moab.

After lunch, Steve and I drove the course for the race. I got an idea of what my 5 mile course would be like and then we continued on to where the half marathon would begin. It is a neat course that mostly runs through a canyon along the Colorado River. We then continued down this road another 10 miles or so to a turn off for Onion Creek . The van splashed through little streams as we drove our way up this hill. Steve then pulled off the road and let out me and my bike and then he drove back down the hill and met me back at the start.

We then made our way down. It was so much fun splashing through each little stream that we came across. I did lose a little control as I entered one of the streams and went a little off the road, which was just as fun. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon with Steve.

BOOK of MORMON FEAST

Our ward has the coolest activity once a year. They get 10 couples to teach different sections out of the Book of Mormon. These people study that specific section for months leading up to the event. For a few days leading up to the event, volunteers decorate different rooms in the church building to represent each section and the cultural hall is like a market place. Many sisters volunteer to bring or make specific foods or even to work in the kitchen preparing specific snacks and meals.
This was Zack's 2nd year and he was so excited when the day finally arrived. The youth (ages 12-18) meet at the ward building at 7:00 am. Then they are put into groups of 8-10 children. Then go off with their specific teacher. They spend all day studying 1 specific section, in depth. The get a few breaks every 45 minutes to an hour. In which time they had a snack and shopped at the marketplaces, that are also manned by volunteers.

I am not sure what I am most impressed with:

all the volunteers that give of their time or resources to make this event a success

OR

the youth in being willing to spend the entire day studying the scriptures.

SCOUT RANK ADVANCEMENT

Wednesday night Zack's scout troop had a Court of Honor. He was quite excited as the night approached. Unfortunately Steve had to work, but I was so glad I was there. The honor guard led me to the front of the assembly. It was there that he was presented his badges for Tenderfoot, 2nd Class and 1st Class and then he did the thing I love the most. The scout then pins his mom. I loved this while he was in cub scouts and it had been a few years since he had done it.

While he was pinning it one me, I looked at my son and my heart swelled as I saw how he was "beaming". I as so proud of my little man. I sometimes can't believe how fast this ride is going by. He may not be growing very quickly in stature, but he is maturing so very much!!

ICE SKATING

Our neighbors went to an event an bid and then won an ice skating party a month or so ago. They were kind enough to invite my family and a bunch of other neighborhood families to come along. It was a neat place named Noah's. It was an event center. We went up to the 3rd floor to find a room with a table and chairs with an adjoining deck that had ice on the floor and lots of ice skates.
Steve, as usual, did great. He said it had been many years since he had been on ice, but all the rollerbladin he has done must have kept him on his game. He even skated backwards...what a show off!!!

It was Zach's firt time EVER ice skating, but he picked it up pretty quickly. He even seemed to have a good time doing it. At one point he joined some other boys his age in making a long train and then kind of "cracking the whip".

Katie seemed a little confused. I think she thought we were going to the rodeo. No, actually we had cleaned out the basement that morning and she found this old cowboy hat of mine and decided it was the perfect accessory for her outfit. She was too cute!!

Becky was quite cute and sassy with her leggings and skirt and the little scarf wrapped around her neck. The girls have been ice skating a few times with the Achievement Days group that the meet with each month. I was kind of impressed with how good they were.

Belle spent a lot of her time helping the little children that would fall down or would help them skate around. She is becoming quite the mother hen. I think many of the moms were glad that Belle was there to help entertain their little ones.

We are very blessed to live in such a great neighborhood and very grateful for the good friends that we have.

Be My Valentine

This is the book I made for Steve this year. We did our 14 DAYS of VALENTINES. Everyday I gave him another page for the book. Each page was about one of the songs that make me think of Steve...our PLAYLIST. Then on Valentines Day I gave him a CD with the 14 songs and then an additional 7 songs that I also liked. He seemed to appreciate this gift.

Curious what he did for me? Well my honey made me cards for each day that were maps that had landmarks with "romantic" names like FRIENDSHIP HILL or KISSING LAKE. It was quite creative and must of taken a lot of time and tons of map reading to find 14 different places.