September sum up

Quick pics update:

We have a new lawn mowing kid in the family.  Can you tell?

Moki still looks like one of the boys' stuffed animals.  He loves sleeping in the piles of fluff.

It's funny to watch Moki and Bob play.  Even though they started out pretty hesitantly, they've learned that they aren't going to attack one another and now they're friends.

Jeremy and the kids were wondering just how high they could get their human tower.  Daxton almost made it up, so the answer is 3.5 people.

Moki pretending he's a lion!  (Or just yawning.)

More sentimental, but I won't have little ones much longer who like to perch on the counter like this.

 

McKenzie now has glasses!  

Believe me or not, but this photo was not staged.  Daxton literally fell into a pile of cupcakes with his face!  

Kelton needed his monkeys for support as we playing cards one night.  They actually made great shields as he sorted his cards.

The boys are actually motivated to do their reading homework.  It's fabulous.

Cambrie was introducing Daxton to the joys of a periscope.  It's so fun watching them play.

Lost Rock Farm

Kelton's class took a walking field trip to Lost Rock Farm and I was lucky enough to go.  I love going on these fields trips.  This was was incredibly low-key as we walked to the farm from the school.  At the farm we listened to the farmers talk about how they are so excited to start this new adventure in their lives and all of the techniques they're using to keep the soil healthy for their vegetables.  Kelton and I got to taste fresh arugula and since it was an older plant we were surprised by just how spicy it was!  Kelton loved it and couldn't stop eating leaves directly off the plant!  The fresh tomatoes they offered us were pretty tasty too.  Who knew we had such a great little farm so close to us?

  

Vail Classic

McKenzie was able to experience just how fun team trips can be with a trip up to Vail.  Since we didn't know exactly when her session would be, we booked a two night stay for the two of us and planned on making a weekend of it.  As it turned out she didn't compete until Saturday night which meant we had all day Saturday to play.  While she slept, I was able to squeeze in a long run.  It was so much colder in the mountains than I was used to, but I couldn't even complain about that because of just how beautiful my run was.  I simply ran down and up the canyon along a trail that parallels a river.  It was a perfect way to spend my morning.  

After McKenzie woke up the two of us went to breakfast.  We celebrated with hot cocoa and crepes!  It was well worth the wait.  

At that point McKenna was already at the top of the mountain and wanted us to come up and join the fun.  We hopped aboard the gondola and went to the peak.  Up top they had summer festivities in full swing: ropes course, miniature golf, and a roller coaster.  She and McKenna couldn't wait to get aboard that.  The two of them rode while I chatted with McKenna's parents.  Luckily for me McKenzie had two tickets so I was able to ride with her the second time.  It was fast enough to make my tummy squirm and I was smiling as big as she was.  

It was so gorgeous up at the summit!  

After all of that play however these girls needed to rest a bit before their meet.  So McKenzie and I headed back to our room to watch some Marvel movies and take a nap.  It was pretty sweet being able to walk from our room to the arena.  

Jet has traditionally done very well at this meet so expectations were high.  As the girls were warming up I was able to visit with our old gym friends from GU.  It was nice to catch up and see how things were going for them.  Finally it was time to compete.  I watched McKenzie have the prettiest bar routine I have ever seen from her.  Since the memories from GU were now fresh in my mind after talking with those parents, it was rewarding to see McKenzie doing so much better than last year.  The gym change was a really good move for her.  She was a little flat on her vault.  And she had some serious nerves on the floor.  It was a pretty routine nonetheless.  I don't like to see her stress herself out so much, so I started dancing.  It was a small enough meet that McKenzie could see exactly what I was doing.  The other parents joined in and now we had seven embarrassed girls down there on the floor pretending they didn't know who the crazy people were up in the stands.  It was amazing!  Onto beam she only needed a 7.1 to finally score out of level 5, and an 8.1 to get her state qualifying score.  As long as she didn't fall off she had that.  Her beam routine was so pretty and she scored a 8.775.  Watching her celebrate as soon as she saw that score totally made me cry.  During awards she did well, placing in bars, floor, and AA.  But the medal that brought her the most joy was her 1st place on beam!  She didn't know where she placed, so watching her slowly get more nervous with each name they called up, to the pure joy that erupted over her face as they called her name as beam champion was incredible.  

She finally had a meet where she was one of the "clinking" girls, those girls with so many medals around their neck that they clink with each step they take away from the gym.  

Jet took 2nd in the team competition.  

The girls were still celebrating as we walked back to our condos.  

Jen was kind enough to host the girls that night and they had a party.  It was such a fabulous weekend.

Party at the McKay Lake marathon

The training volume has been high these last couple weeks as I prepare for Kona.  I was still surprised though to see a 26.2 mile training run on my schedule.  The instructions from Dan were "I want you eating and drinking like it's a picnic."  So I set up an aid station at the pavilion around McKay Lake and prepared for a long morning and a lot of 1.5 mile laps around that lake.  I really didn't want to do it alone, so I sent out a text message to every runner friend in the ward that I know.  I basically pled with them to come join me, one lap, two laps, I didn't care.  I bribed them with food and even said I'd go at their pace if they would simply come to keep me company.  I found it hilarious that I've never hosted a girls night or planned a girls day out.  However, here I was, planning my first day of fun and it happened to be a crazy long run around the lake.  Even more hilarious was the fact that my friends actually came!  Lindsay showed up first.  Jen and Aimee popped in and then left.  I had about six miles on my own in the middle, but then Afton and Heather showed up.  As I had one lap left Aimee and Jen came back.  It was perfect.  

Every lap we stopped for a drink and for a quick bite of fuel before taking off again.  I felt incredible and was able to hold a steady 8:20 pace without any problems at all.  I didn't think I was going to enjoy the long day, but these ladies make it so much fun!  It felt more like a party than a training session.

Lotoja

I wish I had all of the words to describe Jeremy's Lotoja experience.  I didn't get to go out with him because I needed to be here for one of McKenzie's meets.  My mom took care of him while he was out there and it sounds like it was so much fun.  Jeremy drove out to stay with her before the race.  She and Ashley Shontz acted as the team's support crew the next day.  Jeremy was planning on riding as long as he could with Anthony.  Chuck was out there too, but opted to ride at his pace instead of chasing these two crazy guys.  

A race report that is over 200 miles long is pretty intense.  Jeremy said that there were times he was riding with great groups and stuck with Anthony for the majority of it.  Jeremy's weakness was actually his strength.  Since he didn't want to be the weak link in the pack he pulled longer and harder than necessary giving all those guys free rides.  It came back to haunt him at the end of the race, but the only way to learn is by doing.  He definitely learned.  He told me that the ride was beautiful and he loved the course.  There were a couple of awkward sections through a construction zone, but otherwise it ended up being easier and harder than he anticipated.  The elevation gain wasn't as bad as he'd feared, but nine hours on the bike simply takes it toll.  He said that my mom and Ashley ran their aid stations to perfection and it was nice seeing a familiar face along the way.  He was so grateful to see the finish line and get off his bike.  It didn't have nearly the pomp and ceremony that an Ironman finish line has which was a little of a let down.  But mostly he wanted finisher's food that simply wasn't there!  He and the guys were starving.  

Anthony headed back to Salt Lake to fly home with Ashley, but Chuck and Jeremy drove home bringing all of the bikes.  He said it was a great experience and now he's trying to figure out how to get me to ride it with him next time!  I think the relay option sounds much more appealing.  Awesome job hun!

A Boyd Lake kind of Labor Day

Rachel invited us to spend Labor Day with her and the kids up at Boyd Lake State Park.  None of us have ever been up there, but the website promised paddle boarding, a swim beach, and allowed dogs to come.  We thought we'd take the chance to check it out.  We set up camp up in the trees to take advantage of the cooling shade.  We were close enough to the shore that the kids could come and go from the water to camp easily and we could watch it all.  

It was a warm day which meant that playing in the sand and water was the best way to spend our time.  The kids got right to work building sand creations and making mud puddles.  

As soon as we pumped up the paddle boards those were out on the water too.

  This was our first family activity bringing Moki and I didn't know exactly how to manage that.  We tied him up at camp and let him roam while we played.  Cambrie took him swimming and it was pretty apparent that it wasn't his favorite thing.  The poor dog came dashing back to camp and and proceeded to give himself a wild dirt bath.  Later that day Jeremy and I took Moki out on the paddleboard.  He did pretty well staying put between my knees while I paddled.  We decided to give him another shot at swimming and tossed him in the water between the paddleboards.  He made it just fine, so at least we know he can swim.  He was shaking so hard every time we pulled him out of the water.  Apparently he is not a natural water dog. In all fairness it is his first time swimming in his entire life.  

We played hard all day, some of us needing to squeeze in a quick afternoon nap on the drive home.

Maroon Bells

I have always wanted to hike Maroon Bells.  It's one of those iconic Colorado mountain scenes you see on postcards in gift shops.  We tried to hike it as a family back in 2020, but a mud slide washed out I-70 that weekend and we couldn't access it.  We haven't scheduled a trip down again because it requires a good chunk of driving time to get to Aspen, but it's still been on my list.  On Saturday Jeremy needed to drive down to Grand Junction to pick up a bike.  He had a great idea to make a day of the journey.  We picked up his bike, drove to the mouth of the canyon, rode our bikes up to the trailhead, and hiked from there.  Just the two of us.  It was simple, fast and so pretty.  I expected the hike to be longer and harder than it was, so when we were to the top in a little over an hour it was a nice surprise.  The trail was rocky, but shaded by my favorite aspen trees.  

Crater Lake was sadly more of Crater puddle.  It looks like the drought has hit it hard, but the mountains were still glorious.  

We stayed up there admiring the view until the sun started to set and we made our way back down.  

I'm grateful for a husband who has fun spontaneous ideas like this.