CANOE TRIP

On Memorial Day, after a few years of twarted plans, Zack and Steve finally got to canoe the San Raphael River. The 20 mile stretch passes through what's called Utah's "Little Grand Canyon". With the exception of late May and early June, there usually isn't enough water flow to avoid a lot of walking.
By 9am My mom and I dropped off my guys at Fuller Bottom, then drove to the take-out at the Swinging Bridge and dropped off Steve's truck. It had rained the previous couple days but the muddy roads were still in relatively good shape.
Before long on the river, the sun came out and things warmed up nicely. The canyon narrowed and the river sometimes passed right up against the cliff walls. The steady current kept them moving along with ease. Along the river banks, the lush, green vegetation stood in stark contrast to the dry, red desert surrounding. Birds and beaver made their presence known as they drifted along.
About noon they stopped at a grove of cottonwood trees and had lunch. Steve scouted around and was impressed by the many color varieties of the prickly-pear cacti in the area.
Surprisingly, they only saw one other group of boaters (camping along the river) and only 2 hikers the whole time.
After 5 hours on the water, they made it to the bridge and loaded up the canoe again. It had been a while since Zack and Steve had spent the day together and they both really enjoyed joking and singing together as they cruised through the beautiful gorge.

SPRING CONCERT

This school year Zack decided to try playing a new musical instrument. He had taken piano lesson since he was in 1st grade, but he began to lose interest with it. I was not sure how he would take to another instrument. And neither Steve nor I had ever taken band, so I was not sure how I would be able to help him.
It has been fun to listening to the progress in Zack's mastering the Oboe. he spent most school afternoons up in his bedroom practicing various pieces and much to mine and Steve surprise we could recognize the songs. And even better was how happy he seemed with himself and his accomplishment.

All his hard work culminated in the Spring Concert. His beginning band group played 3 pieces

AMERICAN FOLK TRILOGY #2

THEMES from HARRY POTTER

AFTER BURN

It was wonderful to listen to them all play and I am so stinkin' proud of my big guy!!!

Ogden Half Marathon

Saturday, May 16th was the Ogden Marathon.

This was my 2nd half marathon and I was blessed to have one of my good friends, Stacey, running it with. She was so sweet to stay with me at my "slow" pace.

We boarded the bus that took us up into the canyon about 4:45 am. Once at the starting area, there were barrels that had fires blazing in them...thank heavens because it was stinkin' cold up there. I ate my bagel that I had brought with me and drank some of my Gatorade. We ran into our friend Wendy's husband as we were warming our selves and enjoying visiting with him as the start approached. Before we knew it, 7:00 was there and the race had begun. We walked the first mile at a speedy pace to get up the hill.
The rest of the course we tackled with intervals of walking and running. Once we crossed the dam for Pineview Reservoir there were more down hills that were fun to run down. Not long after we got back into the city, Steve met us on the trail. It was perfect timing because I was getting a little achy at that point and he was just the "shot in the arm" to get me moving again.
Once we turned the corner I knew I had a GREAT chance to meet my goal. Last year I had completed the course with a time of 3:44:58. And my goal for this year was 3:30. So we made our way down Washington Ave. and the finish gate did not seem to be getting any closer (so frustrating)
Before I knew it we were crossing the finish line and the time on the clock said
3:23:51

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all my fellow Mommies out there!!!