Hood to Coast Relay Race - 197 miles and still alive!

We ran in the Hood to Coast this weekend and had a great time. This was my fifth year! This is also the first year that Paul and I have been in the same car, and that was really cool. Normally, we each drive one of our cars and only see one another a couple of times during the race at exchanges between our cars, and talk on the phone a lot. This year we were together all the way through, and that was a fun change. Paul ran right after me, so it was fun to hand off to him at our exchanges. We did that one other year when I was the first runner in my car, and Paul was the last runner in his car, and our handing off to each other was the only time we saw one another until the end of the race. We would kiss as we handed off, and got lots of ooh's and aah's. We were pretty sore at the end of the race, but are doing good now. I was really pleasantly surprised that I didn't have more back problems during the race, yeah! Next year is going to be even better, my goal is to run 9 minute miles, so that is what I will be training for. I didn't take any pictures this year along the way, but these pictures were from the beach at the end of the race.

We had a great team this year, and a lot of fun cheering one another on. The three boys at the back on the right are only 14 and 15 years old! The three of them ran in the same car with their dad. They ran amazing paces-we thought they might fizzle out after the first or second times running, but they held strong, and actually ran quicker than they thought they would. This is the first year we have had anyone younger than 18 run with us, but we were pleasantly surprised.
Our team name is Numb because when you run for miles and miles you fall into a rhythm and feel like you can keep running forever because you become numb to it. (This is a theory, you do become numb to it to some degree, but hurt like crazy afterward!) We write on the car windows everyone's name, tally marks for roadkills (when you pass another runner it is called a roadkill), and other fun stuff. By the time I took this picture some of our writing had worn away, but the back window says Uncomfortably Numb. This race is so much fun, if any of you out there want to do it with us, let me know! It is hard, hot, stinky, tiring, and long, but an absolute blast! It is really rewarding to know that you can push your body to the limits and do something so extreme, I love it!

Summertime fun!

We went with my friend Tammy and her family to Bridal Veil Falls. It was a lot of fun, and really pretty. Tammy and Rob's oldest daughter is Rachel's age and they have two younger boys. Our kids get along great and really enjoy being together. We had a picnic (with a visiting racoon trying very hard to get some food!) and then walked up to the bottom of the falls and the kids played in the water. Thank you Tammy for the pictures!
Rachel and Kayla picking flowers
Tammy and Heather - we were inseparable in high school, and it's great to still be friends! Michael is king of the rock!
Rebekah, Josh and Michael built a dam, and Michael decided to lay in the FREEZING cold water. It was icy!

We started our vacation off by going to Idaho Falls. We used to live just a block from the Idaho Falls temple, so we went to see our old house, and walked around the temple grounds. It was beautiful, and HOT! We aren't at all used to 100 degree heat, and it killed us!
We went to visit Rexburg and BYU-Idaho. Everything has really changed in the last 15 years! We spent a couple of hours walking around campus and through the buildings. This is the bowling alley on campus where Paul and I first met.
I am really hoping my kids go to BYU-Idaho. I love that the school is so conservative in a world that is continually becoming more and more liberal. I love that each week there are devotionals, and that there is now a temple right next to campus. I love that classes begin with a prayer, and that there is a strict dress code. I love the atmosphere of the school - it is so different from the experiences Paul had at Portland State and Idaho State, and I hope that my kids will want that same experience. Here is the temple in Rexburg. If you have not seen it, it is one of the largest buildings in town, and you can see it from all around because it is up on a hill. It reminds me of the Nauvoo temple.
We are definately not acclimated to Idaho heat! This is what Rachel and Josh looked like after walking around campus for a couple of hours.

We took a great trip to Utah which included a lot of visiting with family and Lagoon. We asked the kids what they wanted to do during our trip and our answers were swim, go to lagoon, visit cousins, and go to the Peppermint Place store (an outlet store in Alpine for a candy factory). We finished everything on the list, so that was good! We were at Lagoon on a GREAT day, and waited only a minute or two for most rides. It was a lot of fun. We spent a couple of days at Tricia's house and enjoyed being with them. The kids love playing together, and Paul and I had fun playing games with Tricia and Byron. We enjoyed a BBQ with them, and mom and dad and Allyson and her kids came too. Unfortunately, I left my camera packed for most of our trip, so I don't have any pictures - just imagine lots of fun!