Finally

So I have been waiting to post because I wanted to post this together with Joseph because he is the funny one and I add what I like to call the "realistic aspect...." He informed me today that he wanted us to do separate posts because we had different experiences......anyway here goes my REALISTIC TRIATHLON EXPERIENCE

After our last small triathlon, I all of a sudden had a new sense of the sport and a new mental toughness. I felt like I CAN do this!! AND I will do this!! I only missed like 2 days working out and I really kicked it up a gear. I actually started LIKING working out and even became really anxious (shocking that something makes ME anxious. HA!) if I didn't make it to the gym......kinda annoying, but working out is good for me mentally. I have struggled a lot since mommyhood has blessed my life, but working out and having "Melinda time" has helped more than any medication or diet or scrap booking ever could:) AND I even lost a few inches in the process. I may be able to do this mommy thing and maybe more than once now that I have found my balance:)

(don't worry we aren't announcing anything)

First, can we talk about our outfits?.......Really people. I would have rather shown up in a potato sack, than have to wear what we did! OH MY they were BAD!! AND we MATCHED!! How tacky and embarrassing. So the story goes like this.....we signed up to be on a triathlon team. They had outfits. We wanted "FREE" outfits so we signed up. The president of the club talked on and on about how good looking the outfits were and how his wife helped to design them.......well, without further ado, here you go:
WOW.........argyle......really.....are we in the circus, as we sweat like crazy? I HATED them. I was talking to some ladies in line as we were waiting for the swim and was complaining about my unfortunate shorts. They tried to be polite, but we all know what they were thinking, "Did you sew those yourself?"

Anyway-triathlons are interesting because you see all kinds of people there. I talked to one lady who hadn't been on a bike since she was 12 and couldn't swim........I couldn't help thinking "this lady is going to die." Then she tells me she had a cup of coffee for breakfast. Lady—listen, I realize you are 5 foot nothing and weigh 53 pounds. but you are going to die! While you have been working on your tan, I have been working my butt off for 3 and a half MONTHS and I still might die. I ate breakfast during which I counted ALL the carbs and calories, put an alarm on my phone reminding me when I should stop drinking water and when to take my nasty gel pack......I bought a really expensive bike AND have to wear THESE SHORTS, so move over and let me at least get ahead of you in the pool.

I never saw that lady again-I bet she died, really.

Then you see people who you can tell this triathlon was there "new years resolution." You see the skin sagging off their bodies because they have lost so much weight....their family is all there taking pictures and have balloons and flowers at the end—these types inspire me.


While in line I become friends with some other novice triathloners. They tell me about the course since Joseph and I were late and didn't get to drive it (surprise, surprise!) And I don' t know if you know this, but there are hills in Utah AND the course has many of them....one in particular is during the run and is a killer I guess. My new friends decided they were going to walk it because it would save energy—Heck, you don't have to tell me twice! An excuse to walk instead of run?.....DUH!!

Ok. Time for the swim. Joseph is much farther ahead of me in line and so I get to cheer him on as he is in the pool. Do I have ANY trouble finding him? No. Remember, he has the shorts too!! I cut in front of coffee/fake tan lady and am in. I felt good. I felt ready and not too anxious anymore (probably because I had taken Xanex...but that is beside the point). This is always the hardest part for me because I tend to freak out when people get close to me in the water and I'm still not a confident swimmer. But I go and keep going and keep going. For some reason it felt long

Swim? Done.

On to the bike course.....Oh, and did I mention that I don't know how to shift gears?.....That's right. Not even one bit. I have 4 shifters on my bike and have no idea what each one does. This was not a problem at the previous triathlon because it was a very flat course. Joseph was going to give me a lesson before, but did I mention we were late??? So I get going and realize that shifting a bike is a little different then shifting in spin class at the gym.....Yeah, I was struggling. Who's the coffee-drinking, non-swimming, 53-pound lady now????
As I am struggling up the hill on my bike trying to figure out how to shift, I see Joseph running down the same hill on his last leg-he is almost done! Seeing him gave me such a boost I almost forgot my shifting dillema. I love this man!

Though by the end I am SO glad I did my spin classes because they super prepared me and my
legs to make it, BUT.....should have learned a tad bit more about shifting.......maybe 12-year-old mountain bike riders wouldn't have passed me so much if I had :(







One of the rules of Triathlon is no iPods........I guess that they have found that iPods make people go faster so they decided to outlaw them. UUUUUUMMMMMM EXCUSE ME BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS A RACE????? This rule for me almost caused me not to even compete! (There may also be something about safety involved but whatever) How in the world do people run without listening to anything? This lack of music became a problem for me at the end of the bike portion. I had sung "One Step at a Time," by Jordan Sparks like a thousand times and was ready for someone else to pump me up. I see Joseph cheering me on as I dismount and I breathlessly explain my problem. He quickly jumps into action and grabs his brand new still in the plastic 3GS and shoves it into the armband explaining that if I just turn the volume up a lot then I would be ok because I didn't have earphones in. BRILLIANT!!! Joseph mumbles something about how he had programed my training playlist and so there was no need to take the phone out of the pouch and I am off with what feels like a new set of legs.
When all of a sudden this dude was next to me


not just like "next to me," but was so close that his arm was like brushing my arm......kinda awkward because he was sweaty and old and just well it was weird!! It's not like the course was too small or something we were on a MAIN ROAD. He stayed there for at least the next 15 seconds before saying out of breath "Can I listen for a minute?" Ummmm, sure dude. You seem to need a little Linkin Park as much as me and we are already mixing sweat! We turn the corner now a "team" attached at the arm.

Oh. Here comes the hill....YES! Time for me to walk and the sweaty dude can be on his way (crossing fingers)
And the hill again-it was a loop.

I get to the top of this hill for the second time and I needed a new song! Bleeding Love was just too slow for how fast I needed to go to pass this running pink mom in front of me. I try and fail to change the song. Ok time to actually take the phone out- Fall Out Boy you always do the trick! A little too well, actually. Oh crash......yep iPhone is now gone......out of my hands onto the pavement.... and I was running so it bounced LAME!!!

Joseph is going to KILL ME, really!

I hurry and assess the dammage, ok just a few scraches and nothing is totally broken.....at least that I can see. Perfect, I just keep running. Maybe he won't notice.....

Then THE SHORTS I see them....Joseph is there!! Crap, did he see???? As I hear him cheering me on I decide he must have missed my little acident and of course I blab what I did. Then he takes the phone!! WHAT?? WHY??? Well, I get why, but I have like 500 yards to go and 3 more ladies to pass and my "kick it song" ("Wasted" by Carrie Underwood) has JUST started!! Can I do this on my own????

The visions begin:
I've given birth
I've done hard things
I've trained like mad
I am a strong person
I am a mom
I am a wife
I am a capable of WHATEVER I set my mind to do

I Can do this and I will do this. I begin to sing and run fast. Goodbye three ladies I am going to finish this and finish strong!!



The end. For now... ;-)

The Flood

Joseph and I recently added a new member to our family. A 2004 Chrysler Pacifica. We just got it on Thursday and are super excited about it! We have been saving for a long time to get a new car and finally the day has come!


Joseph's sister Kim and her husband Jeff were in town so we decided to have a family BBQ/get together to celebrate. We were in charge of water, dessert, and our own meat-no big deal. I won't bore you with the details but let's just say it was one of those things that ended up taking A LOT more effort to get accomplished then normal and by the time we were actually in the car ready to go I was already pretty done with the BBQ idea and wished eating wasn't something essential for my body.

On our way a lady pulled right in front of us so Joseph SLAMMED on the breaks and what do you suppose happened???? Yep, 5 gallon water cooler FULL of ice water came flying into the front of the car and spilled everywhere!! AAAAHHHH our NEW car!!!!! We were SUPER ticked off at the stupid lady and at ourselves for not securing the cooler better. Anyway after our nerves had calmed down and we could think straight, we pulled into the carwash and sucked as much water up as we could. By this time I just kinda was laughing about the whole thing because what else could I do????? So I snapped some photos:) enjoy:) Oh and we did end up making it to the BBQ and had a blast-we always do with Joseph's family! Pics of that too


Stupid jug with a pop on lid!






PS the long awaited triathlon post is coming....we are still recovering:)

I was skeptical

So I grew a garden this summer and it has really been a lot of fun! In the past I have managed to kill EVERY plant/herb I've planted. But I wanted to try. Joseph and I have decided that the key is to get manure from Steve Young's horses-he must feed them the good stuff:) Anyway- as a result we have more zucchini then we can even begin to eat. I have cooked, sauted, baked, stuffed, and thrown away so much I'm surprised we haven't turned green. I have done a few recipes I thought I would share (not all of them mind you...)

Vegetables your kids and husband will actually eat

If you have ever eaten at Tucano's and tasted their yummy vegetables -this is my version EASY EASY and I am sure you have everything you need in your fridge right now! (mind kind of recipe)

Ingredients:
Vegetables ( I use tomatoes, onions, carrots, squash, mushrooms, zucchini. Whatever I have at the moment)
1/2c. Italian Dressing
1/3c. Parmesan cheese (the cheep stuff works great!)

Directions:
1) Cut veggies into large pieces
2) Put them in a ziplock with the dressing and shake to coat.
3) Put them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle on cheese-use as much as you want! The more cheese the better I say)
4) Bake on top rack of oven at 450 for about 15-20 min.
5) Eat!

Zucchini Cobbler (Tastes like apple cobbler.... really!!)

This one I wasn't sure about....but trust me it has enough butter and sugar to kill someone so it is good! And you get more then a serving of veggetables with a serving (not to mention your fat and sugar for the week:)-again my kind of recipe. It makes a ton so you can even have it for breakfast...like Bree and I did this morning...:) Oh and if you are like me and have made a katrillion cobblers in your life so you don't read the directions-don't worry it will still turn out.

Ingredients:
(Pastry)
4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
½ tsp salt
1 ½ c. cold butter, margarine or shortening
1 tsp. Cinnamon

(Filling)
8-10 cups cubed, seeded, peeled zucchini (4-5 lbs)
2/3 c. lemon juice
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg

*Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cut in the butter till crumbly; reserve 3 cups. Gently pat remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of a greased 13x9x2 baking pan.
*Bake at 275 for 12 minutes.
*Place zucchini and lemon juice in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 6-8 minutes or until zucchini starts to get tender..
*Stir in sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. (Mixture will be watery.)
*Spoon mixture over baked crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
*Bake @ 375 for 40-45 minutes.
(You can also bottle the filling in a boiling water canner to use later. Just make an extra big batch!)

I love missions.....

So my brother rolled his truck. And all I have to say is that I am glad he is a missionary and I am glad that it wasn't his time to go yet because really, he should have been killed. He had a few scratches on his writs from the airbag....that is all.

This totally freaks me out. Life is so short and can be taken in an instant. I know that is cliche but I have been thinking a lot about it since I got the pictures. Enjoy the moments......even if they are crappy moments- even when life is hard-enjoy! Love you Brett!!! Glad you are serving the Lord.
(for those of you wondering about his companion-he doesn't have one because of his specific rules on his church service mission. If he did have one in the car with him on this, day from the looks of things, he would have been crushed)

Layton Super Sprint (Joseph's Take)

It all started back in early May when our ward hosted a 5K run through the Provo River Parkway trail, followed by breakfast. My only insight into 5Ks were memories of some oxymoronic "Fun Run" my elementary forced students to do every year. It mostly consisted of full-out sprinting from the starting line like it was a 40-yard dash and nearing exhaustion after the first 2 blocks (kids have no concept of pacing), then realizing that I had no idea how long 5 kilometers was and for all I knew the next turn around the corner would reveal the finish line—better keep sprinting.

Year after year, it always ended the same way—running down the final stretch and wondering 3 things:

1- Why Heather Sandberg was standing at the finish line, looking like she had finished the race 15-20 minutes earlier (Note: Because she had).

2- Whether the searing flames running through my upper body were the "burning of the bosom" I had oft heard about in Sunday School, or just that my heart and lungs were about to explode (Note: My lung did explode later on my mission in Russia, but not as a result of running or spiritual sensitivity...)

3- Why I had once again forgotten that I shouldn't try spitting toward the end of a 3.2-mile-dash (Note: 5th grade girls are not impressed by poofy-sweat-hair boys with streaks of spit running extending from their mouth to their ear).

Melinda was a self-proclaimed "non-athlete" who had literally never ran a mile (but had grudgingly walked several in elementary). A few days before the ward 5K she decided we should do it. And we did. Congratulating ourselves for having done a 5K, we loaded up our ward breakfast bagels with tons of cream cheese.

Later that month some good friends of ours, Shane and Lauren Dyer, asked if we'd like to join them for a picnic/bike ride up Provo Canyon.

"Yeah, we're up for it. I don't know if you know this, but we recently ran a 5K, so... we're kind of a big deal."

On the trip Shane mentions he's done a few triathlons and Lauren has even done one. Apparently, there are smaller triathlons than the Ironman Triathlon, and you don't even have to look like this guy to run them:



He explains that a "sprint" triathlon consists of swimming half a mile, biking 12 miles, and running a 5K.

"Pssshh! That's all? I could do that in my sleep. 'Cause we just ran a 5K, and we're pretty big time. That's how we roll nowadays..."

One month later Melinda and I do the one thing that we know will fully commit us to doing this, no turning back. We bought a book.

Yes, we literally bought The Complete Idiot's Guide to Triathlon Training.

It was later that day after we'd stopped by the swimming store, the running store, and the gym, that the biking store sales associate sums it up by saying, "Welcome to one of the most expensive sports out there." He followed that up by grabbing several hundred dollar bills and lighting them on fire.

Flash forward another month to Friday, July 31st. We've worked, sweated, sacrificed, and pushed through when we thought we had nothing left (...and that was just trying to hook up the bike hitch to Melinda's car). My 11-year old niece, Katy, comes with us on the hour-and-a-half drive to Layton to babysit Brielle at the hotel while we attempt our first triathlon the next morning. We've got the jitters, but we're excited too. Bree apparently has the jitters, as well, because she does a little pre-race vomiting at the sushi restaurant that night.

RACE DAY 6:45 AM
Feeling well rested after a night full of waking every half hour thinking we'd slept in, we head off to the Layton Surf-N-Swim where the race is being held. Since this is our first triathlon, Melinda and I are in the super sprint triathlon, which is basically half of a normal sprint distance: 300 meter swim, 5.5 mile bike, 2.5K run. I'm not worried, though, because after a month of training I now look like this guy:



We get body-marked (our numbers written on our shoulders and calves in permanent marker) and set up our bikes in the transition area (the place you come back to after each leg of the race to transition to the next leg).

SWIM
As it turns out, my race (Men's super sprint) is first. To avoid jams in the swimming lane, they send someone in every 15 seconds, and they pick me to go first into the water. Not only am I totally nervous anyway, but now all 200 participants are gathered around the pool's edge to watch. They start my clock and I jump in, board shorts and all.

Melinda is standing somewhere farther down the pool's edge, thinking "That first guy sure looks a lot like Joseph." She hears people around her talking excitedly. "Wow. He's really hauling... Is he wearing swimming trunks?" Most triathletes use special triathlon jerseys and shorts that you wear in all three events without needing to change clothes. Our order didn't come in on time, so we had to improvise.

I was so nervous swimming in front of the entire crowd of participants and volunteers that I was really going hard. I apparently learned nothing from my early Fun Run experiences. I was so tired after my first lap and a half that I had to stop freestyle swimming to sidestroke for a few strokes. My rule was, though, that no one would pass me on that swim. Some deacon-looking kid was making serious headway on me so I had to turn it all on again for the last two laps. I had imagined running from the pool to the transition area, jumping on my bike and flying out of there. Instead, as I emerged first from the pool I was completely exhausted and basically walked to the bikes. As a result, the kid was out on the bike leg before I was.

BIKE
Luckily, I had an ace up my sleeve. This kid was on a mountain bike and I was on a Fezzari road bike. I was totally going to fly past him to eat my dust.

Oh, wait.

Yeah, I was still totally drained from the swim and had no energy. Still, I did have the faster bike and so was able to take the lead by a small margin. Hey, maybe I was going to finish first after all. Enter deacon-kid #2. He was full of energy, because he hadn't killed himself on the swim, AND he had a road bike, too. Uh-oh. He pulls ahead. Since we're literally the first two participants to ride the not-always-clearly-marked bike course, we're having to slow a bit as we figure out which way to go. We even end up dead-ended at a busy city street wondering where we're supposed to go. After losing at least 60 to 90 seconds, we bike back to where a confused police officer volunteer was parked and realized we'd missed the turn right next to him because he didn't know where we were supposed to go ourselves.

I'm still drained from the swim and am not recovering any energy since it's used up as soon as it is produced. By the end of the race leg, deacon #2 and some older guy are leading going back into the transition area for the run.

RUN
"Hey, I've got an idea. I need energy, so I'd better take one of these energy gel packs with me on the run. That will help." I dump my bike and helmet and run through the rest of the bikes to start the run course. Emerging from the transition area, I am just a few feet behind deacon #2. The old guy must still be back in the transition area and deacon #1 is probably still on his mountain bike. Towards the beginning of the run course there were volunteers with outreached cups full of Gatorade.

"Awesome. This is just like in the movies."

But I was still totally wasted from the swim, and had ridden my hardest on the bike as well. I was having a hard time. So as I tried to drink from the cup while still running, what was supposed to look cool and smooth like this ...



ended up looking more like this ...




I was in a solid second, but even 100 yards into the run, deacon #2 seemed like a tiny dot on the horizon. I needed more energy, and since not a drop of the Gatorade made it down my throat, I turned to my trusty gel pack.

1. Rip open the top.
2. Place the plastic tab in my pocket (don't wanna litter).
3. Squeeze a little bit of the gel in my mouth.
4. Stop breathing.
5. Panic.
6. Try to spit out the very thick, very sticky gel from my moisture-less mouth so that I can breath again.
7. Realize that is lesson number two that I failed to learn from Fun Run as I wipe off citrus-flavored gel from the side of my face.

I'm hot, sweaty, emaciated, and sticky orange gel is coating my mouth and now hands. I wanna throw the gel pack, but again, don't wanna litter. I realize I'm never gonna catch up to deacon #2, and buckle down for the rest of the longest 2.5K of my life. Somehow I keep going and by the end of the race, Deacon and I finish within a couple seconds of each other, after having endured another poorly-marked course problem. I did it! I'm a triathlete!

Melinda's race started right after mine, so i didn't get to see any of hers except for the last part of the run when I found her and started taking pictures (Don't be fooled—the pictures make it look like she was walking, but she definitely was not).

We had to wait around till the end of all the races for the announcement of the winners of each race. I came in 3rd behind Deacon #2 and Old Guy, whom I had finished before, but whose overall time was better since he started the swim after I did.

We went back to the hotel, took showers, and then headed to Golden Corral for our celebration meal. Just before we went in, we took a picture in our Layton Triathlon shirts. If you look closely, you can almost see what I'm thinking:

"Yeah. I don't know if you know this, but we recently ran a super sprint triathlon, so... we're kind of a big deal."

;-)

Doing a little thinking...

After my Harry Potter obsession came to an end, after I read all seven books in three months (this is a miracle because I hate to read almost as much as I hate to run,) I realized I needed a new series to keep me....well.....reading. Yes, I've done the Twilight thing-I was a middle school teacher for heavens sake I had to find out what all the gossip was about. Anyway, Joseph and I went to the bookstore and I found the best book! There was a lot in the series and I was excited about it. The cover looked a little Harry Potterish and that made me even more excited. We asked the employees and they gave the series two thumbs up and told us it was the "new" thing and that "everyone was reading them."

I got home and got to reading. To my disappointment and horror the book was extremely vulgar. And it made me really mad! I know we live in this world of nastyness but WHY does it need to be in my book that I was totally excited for??? I kinda wish books had ratings like movies do-then I would have known. Dont get me wrong I'm usually not one of these people that freaks out about these types of unfortuate events but for some reason this time really bugged me. Maybe it is because I have a daughter now and she will be reading books where the covers look innocent and "Harry Potterish" and then filth will fill her head and she doesn't need that-none of us do.

So I was determined to find another book that would lift my spirits and remind myself that there are books out there that will not make my toes curl. I stubbled upon this book: DISCLAIMER I have not read it yet.....but it looked like it would lift me:) I have been feeling a lot of pressure to go back to work lately. And honestly "It was a job that I loved and looked forward to everyday. I loved the people I worked with, getting to be with kids, and getting to fulfill my passion in life. Our house renovating may take 3 years longer, we may not get to go on vacation every summer, and my trips to Target may be put to a halt, but [Bree] will never be a baby again." (from the blog of a person I have yet to meet) So to all you stay at home moms out there: PRAISE to you! and PRAISE to your husbands for supporting you in going the best job in the world one day at a time! (why am I tearing up writing this?)

Chicken Pox Baby

Bree got her one year shots and got a small case of chicken pox......but honestly it really wasn't bad. I think she just got the pox part:) No itching or fever or anything :)

Well we survived..... (Melinda's Take)

Me after the Layton Mini-Sprint Triathlon.
300yd Swim, 5.5mi Bike, 1.55mi Run. May not seen long or hard but it was for me.

I don't even know what to say really. (I know you're all shocked by this :), but

it was hard.

Was it worth it??? I still haven't really decided yet actually. Am I glad I did it??? Well, yes, just because I can say that I did it. I am still wondering why I chose to do this HARD thing. I mean, in life we are given challenges that we HAVE to get through, but WHY did I actually CHOOSE to do this hard thing when I could very well have NOT done it and been completely fine—in fact my salvation was not affected by my decision to TRI or not to TRI :) ???

I guess I wanted to prove to myself that I COULD do something that was totally out of my zone. I tend to do things that I am good at, or at least kind of good at. I stay away from things I don't know how I'd do at and things I very well know I stink at (running is one of these for me STILL).

I finished pretty much dead last but I never stopped (I did slow to a walk twice to walk up a hill...did I mention I hate running :) ?) My time was around an hour. Joseph finished THIRD out of his group and got a cool medal and everything :) He's amazing!!

It was hard. But in another month I will CHOOSE to do another! This time for a fresh water Triathlon Full Sprint! (more than double what we did) All in all it wasn't fun......and I really didn't feel like it was THAT rewarding.......but then again I am going to push myself for another longer and harder triathlon in a month........

Joseph putting his number (11) on his bike in the "transition area" before the race. Notice that he's wearing blue swim trunks....everyone commented on the fact that he was the first out of the pool and he was wearing swim trunks! (most people are the spandex/speedo type)—our triathlon clothes order didn't show up in time.

Joseph going through last minute preparation before the race started. Good morning 6:30am- haven't been up that early since Bree was a crazy head!

Joseph and I looking real HOT after the race.

This mini-sprint triathlon took place at and around the Layton Surf-N-Swim-oh and did I mention that we are looking good.....

After the race-I am kinda surprised I look so happy for how sore my knees were. I think our body marking numbers make us look tough and athletic:) something I am not accustomed to:)

Stay tuned for Joseph's Take, including more details ...

July!

We had a wonderful fourth of July! Afton and Matson blessed their new baby so my family was out here and we had a blast. Bree even got a tattoo at the parade:) She is so cute these days! When she sees something she likes she says "OOOOO" it is super cute! Here is a video of her doing it.




Some of the nieces and nephews set up a little stand where they sold food. It was super cute and they made like $200!







Joseph and I had a wonderful anniversary! We went to dinner at the Tree Room up at Sundance and had a wonderful dinner without the constant moving Bree! I am proud to say that after four years we still love each other :) Joseph is the best husband and father and I am lucky that he choose me:)



We went to Joseph's family reunion up in Idaho and it was an experience! Joseph's mom passed away right before we got married so I never had the chance to meet her in person. It was her families reunion we were at. It was really fun to spend time with all these people I had never met and get to know a different side of Joseph!
We kinda got "distracted" cara-vaning (is that a how you spell it) home in twin falls! Super fun! Of course Joseph, Katie, and Nate had to go cliff diving.....I used to be all brave and stuff and I used to like scary movies and haunted houses!! I had no fear. NOW-I am the biggest wimp....so I stayed on the ground and took pictures:)



Bree had a really bad diaper rash while we were there so she and we spent a lot of time in the sink at the church. It was the only thing that would make her happy......poor girl! Notice the RED MATCHING shirts WITH our names on them-gotta love family reunions.



Then we went down to Manassa Colorado for my family "reunion." My brother Brett is there serving a church service mission and my dad grew up there. It is an itty bitty town 8 blocks by 5 blocks. They have a huge party for the 24th of July every year and my family always goes. Last year if you all remember I was having a baby......so I wasn't able to attend. This year we made it happen and had a blast! They have a parade, carnival, rodeo, demolition derby and some awesome food choices! Brett got to walk in the parade with the missionaries-they sang Call to Serve and Army of Helaman-brought tears to my eyes! We are so glad he is able and willing to serve the Lord.



Bree had an awesome first Birthday and we loved watching her enjoy cake and her new dolly:)



Yeah for July! What a month!
Oh and did I mention that no weight has been lost to date...............awesome. AND I still LOATH running............