Men, Mud, Teamwork, Survival.....

Russ, Tony and Jeff all decided to run the Volkslauf 10K.

They began training a few months ago. As you will see in the pictures, the race consisted of first running 6 miles, followed by some pretty difficult obstacles.
All smiles as the race began....
Now that Russ is exhausted from running 6 miles in 90 degree heat, he gets to walk through a 1/4 mile mud pit.
Out of the mud, (at least there was deep water to trudge through at the end to clean your shoes before hitting the next phase) now it is time to climb a wall...
no problem. That one seemed easy for Russ. Next came a trench of water followed by crawling up a hill.
Then you had to crawl down on your stomach.
Followed by yet another trench....
and another wall. This one was brutal. Thank goodness someone was there to give Russ a boost.
Then came the pole wall.
Up and over!!
Guess what..another trench, but this time you had to pull yourself through on your back.
The water was a nice relief from the heat and dust. Russ took his time crossing the log so he wouldn't fall in and have to start over.
At this point Russ caught up with his friends and they all helped each other over the big walls.
One final wall. Thank goodness!
Russ was glad to have his gloves on.
The final swim. These guys are so tired!!
One final hill to climb
And were off to a victory!!!
Three tired, muddy men who should be very proud of themselves!! They completed the Volkslauf 10K!!!!!!
When do we start training for next year?

Where do the years go?

Wasn't it just yesterday that you were playing in the leaves at a park in Philadelphia?
Or swimming in Grandma Sullivan's pool?
Or starting Junior High?
Or going to see Wicked at the Pantages?
Or being a bridesmaid at your sister's wedding?
Or getting your drivers license?
Well look at you now....17!!! You're a wonderful daughter and we love you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! September 25, 2010

Dinnertime....

So it's Friday night. Russ has been gone all week. I'm tired. I decide to make a delicious frozen pizza for dinner, along with various fresh fruits and vegetables all arranged beautifully on the plate. Looks good to me, and Haley and Hannah. Ben comes in, takes one look and says, " Ughh, Cardboard Pizza". I had to laugh. Where did he learn that phrase? What a funny boy!

School is in Session!!!

Allison is in Provo teaching third grade at Bennion Elementary. I got to drive to Provo with her and stay for a few days to help her get things organized in her new classroom. She has 31 students. I know that Mrs. Whitezell will be a fabulous teacher. I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. Grandma Judd took this picture of Allison on her first day teaching.
Here is Emily, ready for her junior year. She is busy on the tennis team and is President of the ACHIEVE club. She goes to early morning seminary at 5:25am. She is a remarkable young woman!
Haley is totally ready to rock sixth grade. She loves the idea of being in the oldest grade at her school. She enjoys playing the flute in band. Outside of school she is really progressing in dance. She is a beautiful ballerina! Go Haley!!
Hannah is a very happy fourth grader. She loves school, and told me over the summer that she wished school was year-round. Hannah has been busy reading several books in order to be prepared for the "Battle of the Books" competition later in the year. She is looking forward to making it into GATE.
Ben started a new school this year. He is now in the ABLE program. He was quite nervous the first day since he had never seen the school, nor had he met his teacher. I told him that I would take him the first day. When we walked into the school we were greeted very warmly. Ben was shown to his desk. He was seated next to a boy that is about 6'3, weighing 230lbs. Ben looked so small next to him. I'm sure though that they will become friends. This year in school Ben will learn some job skills and be able to use them at a few different job sights.

His first day he went to Dollar Tree and stocked shelves.

A camping we will go....

We had a fabulous weekend in Kings Canyon National Park. We have decided that this is our favorite campground. It is the azalea campsite in Grant's Grove. We were lucky to have Allison, Tyler, and my brother Brian join us for the adventure.
Roasting marshmallows is a favorite activity in the woods. We play a game to see who can make the blackest marshmallow without ever letting it catch on fire. It is not as easy as it seems.
Burning sticks and writing smoke letters in the air is also a fun activity...
We set out on the trail to see huge sequoia trees.
Along the trail we had some fun with Allison's camera. You have to click on this picture. Notice anything interesting at the cabin? There are two Haley's and two Hannah's. How'd we do that? (Ancient chinese secret!!)
Here's Uncle Brian looking like such a rugged mountain man.

There were so many fun trees to explore. We love this one tree that you can actually climb inside.

We climbed to the top of Moro Rock. The hike is fairly simple, about 480 steps along the edge of the cliff. There are guardrails along the way, otherwise it could be a bit scary. Once at the top we took a few minutes to enjoy the view. AWESOME!
It was such a great trip. Having an air mattress really makes tent camping enjoyable. We look forward to more camping next summer!

"Oh what do you do in the summertime...."

You go to the beach of course, along with everyone else who lives in Southern California when the temperature gets up to 100 degrees. We had a lot of fun, but I have never seen the beach so crowded in my life!!
You just can't go wrong with a boogie board at the beach!!!
Dad + shovel = FUN!!!!!! The children love to get buried in the sand and dig holes to China.

4th of July

The Freedom Run....This was the best 5K because we ran much of it along a parade route where thousands of people were lined up for the parade that would be happening later that day. As we ran by, people cheered us on. It was great!!! At the starting line before the bullhorn sounded, the racers were treated to a hot air balloon extravaganza. Twelve to fifteen hot air balloons rose up into the sky as we gathered for the race. What an awesome sight. Russ and I had so much fun running this race together. The tough part came at the end. The last half mile provided a gradual incline that was pretty challenging. I had to start walking. Then to my surprise my friend Carrie Kinghorn came running up next to me saying, "You can do it"... so that was just the encouragement that I needed to get running again. You can see Carrie to my left in the picture as we are coming to the final turn. We did it!!! Russ and I finished the race and received our medals.
After the race we joined the other millions of people in Provo to watch the annual 4th of July parade. Craig got up extra early to save us a prime spot. There was such a patriotic feeling everywhere. I was so proud to be an American. I loved it how the whole crowd would stand up and cheer when veterans would pass by. We decided that Provo is a great place to spend the 4th of July!!