Friends

This is one of those posts that's probably just for me.  Feel free to skip it.  I suppose it might be interesting if I scan a few old photos, so we'll see if I get around to that.

I think I've been really fortunate in my life to have had great friends.  Many of them I've stayed close to through the years, different schools, cities, spouses, kids, divorces, just about everything.

My first best friend was Brent.  It was in Provo (we moved when I was 4 from there), but I remember him. I remember how much I liked him and how sad (I'd almost say devastated) I felt when we moved away.  It kind of makes me think about Hyrum.  He was truly sad when I realized that he wouldn't see Joshua again, and when we talk about getting a new house, he get's really sad that Max won't live by us anymore.  I remember years later drawing pictures of my 'future family' with Brent.  It included 8 kids, so not very realistic!

When we moved to Roy I became friends with Kristin.  She was in our ward and we went to school together.  It was a typical little girl friendship, we probably spent as many days and hours hating each other as we did playing with each other, but we hung in there long enough to create a real friendship that has lasted  even until today.  I took my kids over to see her new house last month and even if we got a year or two without seeing each other we still have a lot to talk about.

Then comes high school.  I had a few friends that were really important to me, in more ways than one, that were older and didn't go to school with me.  Cindy and Brandon come to mind.  We haven't kept in contact much (I suppose I have contact with Cindy on social media) but it doesn't mean they were less influential in my life at the time.  Cindy for the good (she served a mission) and Brandon... well, for different reasons.

 I was also friends with a bunch of student government type of guys too; Aaron, Bryon, Matt that were all year older than me.  I seemed to be closer to a few of those guys right after their missions though.  Aaron helped me realize that I wanted to serve a mission and really helped me see that I had received an answer to my prayers, but was too scared to admit it.  He also taught me out to geek out on jets and all things military, something that has come in handy later in life.  Matt... well, Matt introduced me to a fun way to spend your time late at night.  And, although he wasn't the best, I have to admit, he was my first.  And Bryon... well, we'll get to Bryon later.

In high school I hung out with a pretty big group of friends, especially my senior year.  We were all from  different walks of life; choir, seminary council, sport teams, student government.  But for some reason, a bunch of us really clicked and I had so much fun and lost so much sleep with that group that I'll always remember them.  Andrea was definitely my closest girl friend during that time.  She moved with her family to Germany a couple weeks after we graduated and I was sure that I'd never recover from losing her as a close friend.   We've stayed close over the years.  Spending more time with each other at different times.  Mostly, after we both moved to Salt Lake.  Always a good time, and always fun to be around.  We still talk via social media and the occasional text about strange dreams and whatnot.

I had a lot of close guy friends too; Rick, Ben, Jason, Shane, Tyson, Brian, and Taft.  I was definitely closer to Taft at least near the end of high school and through college and his mission.  He was one that we could sit and say nothing and be comfortable in the silence, or talk for hours about nothing.  He taught me how to play the guitar and to not ride my brakes going down a hill.  I learned how to rock climb with him and Ben, and how to stick up for myself when friends tried to walk all over me.  I hung out with his family a lot and Aunt LeeAnn loved giving him all the weekend leftovers when he went back up to school the month or two before I left for New Zealand.

Kathy, Bryon and I were quite a threesome for a long time.  Friends in high school, we started hanging out a lot after we graduated and Bryon returned from Portugal.  Kathy and I just happened to be in the same college apartment building (although different apartments) and for the next 2 years after that, we shared an apartment, and a room our third year.  After my mission and graduation from Utah State I moved in with her in Salt Lake while she finished grad school.  When she got her first 'real job' in Yuma, AZ, Bryon and I couldn't wait to go down and see her.  I've been down 2 or 3 times since, and we always make time for the three of us when she's up in Utah during the summer and Christmas breaks.  I'm not sure a bunch of 30 year olds could have been through more together (unless you are the characters of FRIENDS -a show we all loved and had an awesome finale party for).  High school, college, grad school, living in different states, marriages, (one for me and one for Byron -depending on the legal mood of the state of Utah), coming out, crazy families, first drinking experiences, I could go on.  We've gone through a few awkward moments where our friendship has felt strained or coerced, but so far, we've always come out on top.  I think it's safe to say we can all go weeks or months without talking and easily fall into familiar territory and old jokes quite easily.

Since those days I think my friends are a little different.  I made a lot of good friends at work, and I still manage to see quite a bit, or as often as we can all get together for lunch; April, Vicki, Jen, Emily.  Book club girls; Megan, Vicki (again), and Heather. And a roommate, Yvette.  I see her sister, Yvonne more often now, since she cuts my hair, but we were all quite close during those years.

It seems like family takes a lot of time, and I've had to make do with a different kind of relationship with a lot of people.  My sister, who we NEVER got along and couldn't have been more opposite during high school and college talk nearly ever day, same as my mom, another woman I never thought I'd see eye to eye on during my teenage years.  Most of my free time (when spent with another person) is spent with Justin, and that's the way it should be.

I remember talking to my mom on two different occasions.  Once was in junior high, when one of my friends was a boy.  I told her that we'd always be friends, no matter what.  She may have been a little insensitive, but spoke with wisdom when she told me that we wouldn't.  I had the same conversation with her about my guy friends in high school.  I was certain that we'd always be friends, regardless of where life took us and our spouses and everything.  She told me we wouldn't, that things would change when we started dating seriously and got married.  I guess she was only half right.  It's not the same, but thanks to the ease that social media and the internet allows, you can keep in contact with a lot of people that we wouldn't normally be able to.  One private message on facebook led to a dinner with Taft and his wife in Denver a week later.  Of course it was different, we hadn't really seen and spent time together fore more than a decade, but I was surprised at how much we got along and had plenty of things to talk about.  It was an added bonus that our spouses didn't seem to mind much and even seemed to enjoy themselves as well.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm aware of the good friends I've had.  I chose good friends that were good influences on me early on.  They might not all still live and think the same way we all did a few years back, but I'm glad that I'm the type of person (and they are) that looks for they blessings of diversity and the importance of maintaining those friendships. Forgive the cheesy thought/poem, but it's been in my mind a lot lately.

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same.


PS It took me a bit longer than it should have, but I (obviously) uploaded some old photo's.  There's probably only one person (maybe) who reads this blog, that is in these pics.  Don't worry, Andrea, I won't be posting any of these anywhere else any time soon!  (Even though that close up of us before Junior Prom is pretty hot!)

Denver

So, Justin has a new billet (job) with the Navy.  It's with a unit that supports Africa and drills from the Buckely Air Force Base in Denver, CO.  Which means, he'll be traveling to Denver every month for his drill weekends.  This weekend was his first time, and between the Navy and Oracle (he also has a new job back in Sales with Oracle) he was there all week and I joined him Friday night.

Thanks to the Lafeens for taking the kids for the whole weekend, and the kids had a blast and I didn't worry about them at all!

I have a good friend, Taft, from high school that moved to the area a few years ago and when I contacted him for good places to eat and do in the area we decided to try and have dinner together on Friday.  I think we were all glad that we did, because we had a fun time at dinner.  I felt a little bad because they just had a baby three weeks ago, but Lesha even managed to get a break for a few minutes because some (slightly crazy?) lady at another table asked to hold her for a while.  Seriously?  Who asks a stranger to hold their baby at a restaurant?

Anyway, good food and good company Friday night and we headed back to the hotel, about 15 minutes away from the base.

Justin had to be on base by 6:30, so we drove over there and I went to the gym right after.  It was a really nice facility and I decided to try and find a Farmers Market close by to get breakfast from.  Easier said then done. The short version is, I got to see a lot of downtown Denver and a couple of the suburbs and it was a nice drive.  The long version includes lots of turns, beautiful tree-lined streets, and a stop at Target to get a phone charger because using your map app for 3 hours straight can really drain a battery.

I was determined to get something delicious for breakfast, even though it was closer to lunch, so I made one more out of the way drive to a place Taft had told me about, Snooze.  I asked for a spot at the bar and was fully prepared to eat by myself and bring a to-go order for Justin's lunch.  However, they grossly misjudged the wait time.  I waited for about 30 minutes and by the time they seated me I started to worry about getting back to the base during Justin's lunch.  I sat there another 20-30 minutes before asking for both orders to be to-go and I ate my OMG French Toast with Justin.  It was worth the wait!

I finally made it back to the hotel, showered for the day, and we got ready for the Rockies game with Justin's new unit.  It was a fun night, we had another great meal at the park, and got to talk of guys from his unit.  We were a little away from all the action, which made it hard to follow much of the game.  But, I'm happy to report my major league track record remains intact.  Every single major league game I've ever attended, the home team has won.  All three of them.

Sunday morning was a lot of the same.  Took Justin on base, went and worked out.  This time I hurried back to the hotel and back to base to get a new military ID.  My previous ID picture was taken about 2 weeks after having Kate.  If anyone thinks their drivers license picture is bad, I can say, without a doubt, my photo was worse.  Seriously, it was REALLY bad.  I was happy to get another one.

When I mentioned my failure at finding a Farmers Market Taft suggested one and he and his family met me there for lunch.  It was a cute market, with a bunch of food trucks and produce.  I was a little sad that I couldn't take any home with me.  And dogs.  There were so many dogs!  Taft and Lesha warned me that their kids had to pet every dog they saw.  They weren't kidding.  Those kids (asked permission and) played with every single dog there.  It was adorable.  Made me want a dog even more than I do (which is a lot).

I had a couple of hours before Justin was done and found a movie that worked with the time I had.  It was pretty bad.  Some high school football movie.  How do you screw up a high school football movie?  The fact that no one was in the theatre when I got there (and only 2 other people showed up) should have been a clue on how bad it was going to be.

That's it.  I picked up Justin and we went to the airport.  Hung out in the USO for a while (Leather recliners, free snacks and computers, toys for the kids) and came home.

I noticed a few things about Denver:
*Every one goes the speed limit.  It was weird.
*Lots of construction on the freeways.  Just like home a few years ago.
*I thought I'd see more prius' and Subaru's.  (I was assured that they had their fair share)
*I saw 2 Whole Foods, a Trader Joes, and a Sprouts before I saw a Wal Mart.  Awesome.
*The Rockies have a great stadium.  But, it's no Fenway!

A few 5 Star Reviews

The last time I wrote down a few (more than a few) quotes from books I had read was nearly a year ago.  So, this might be a long list (for those of you who read posts without pictures -it's okay, I won't judge).  

The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida 

I really wanted to like this one.  And, I did.  I just am not sure how true it is, but it seems true.  It's 'written' or transcribed from an Autistic boy.  I've worked with dozens of people with autism, and it all seemed to make sense, it just surprises me how verbal this young man is.  

14

You must be thinking: "is he never going to learn?" We know we're making you sad and upset, but it's as if we don't have any say in it.  I'm afraid, and that's the way it is.  But please, whatever you do, don't give up on us.  We need your help.  

15 

True compassion is about not bruising the other person's self respect.  

29

A person who's looking at a mountain far away doesn't notice the prettiness of a dandelion in front of them.  A person who's looking at a dandelion in front of them doesn't see the beauty of a mountain far away. 

45

...I've learned that every human being, with or without disabilities, needs to strive to do their best, and by striving for happiness you will arrive at happiness.  

47

But when I'm jumping, it's as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.  Really, my urge to be swallowed up by the sky is enough to make my heart quiver.  

56

Normal people think we're highly dependent and can't live without ongoing support, but in fact there are times when we're stoic heroes.  

90

All human beings have their hardships to bear, so never swerve away from the path you're on (Buddha?) Everybody has a heart that can be touched by something.

Conversations with myself by Nelson Mandela

 

This one was a little hard to get though, only because it didn't follow a narrative or anything.  It's a compilation of interviews, journals, other published articles from his life.  It was, not surprisingly, full of quotes I wanted to remember though

 xi Mandela made it clear that we did not have to accept the world as it is -that we could do our part to seek the world as it should be (President Obama)

xiii

...I am reminded that underneath the history that has been made, there is a human being who chose hope over fear -progress over the prisons of the past. (President Obama)

24

Don't run away from your problems; face them! Because if you don't deal with them, they will always be with you.  Deal with a problem which arises; face it courageously.

35

Only armchair politicians are immune from committing mistakes.  Errors are inherent in political action. 

61

Home is home even for those who aspire to serve wider interests and who have established their home of choice in distant regions.  

62

I have often wondered whether a person is justified in neglecting his own family to fight for the opportunities of others. 

81

Whether you have to use peaceful methods or violent methods...is determined purely by the conditions ...Christ used force because in that situation it is the only language that he could use.  

142

We would prefer that the community should convey its disapproval of his policies without using methods like assassination.  Because that can leave scars which we would find it difficult to remove for generations to remove for generations to come.  

182

Spiritual weapons can be dynamic and often have an impact difficult to appreciate except in the light of actual experience in given situations.  In a way they make prisoners free men, turn commoners into monarchs and dirt into pure gold... It is only my flesh and blood that are shut up behind these tight walls... In my thoughts I am free as a falcon.

183

Physical suffering is nothing compared to the trampling down of those tender bonds of affection that from the basis of the institution of marriage and the family that unite man and wife.

184

 There will always be good men on the earth, in all countries, and even here at home.  

192

Let us forget the past, and think of the present. 

212

Never forget that a saint is a sinner who keeps trying. 

231

But a good pen can also remind us of the happiest moments in our lives, bring noble ideas into our dens, our blood and our souls.  It can turn tragedy into hope and victory.  

262

You have to recognize that people are produced by the mud in the society in which you live and that therefore they are human beings.  They have got good points, they have got weak points.  Your duty is to work with human beings as human beings, not because you think they are angels.  

402

...there are good men and women in all communities... a true leader must work hard to ease tensions, especially when dealing with sensitive and complicated issues.  Extremists normally thrive when there is tension, and pure emotion tends to super cede rational thinking.  A real leader uses every issue, not matter how serious and sensitive, to ensure that at the end of the debate we should emerge stronger and more united than ever before... compromise is the only alternative for those who seriously want peace and stability.  

406

There is universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.  

410

On issue that deeply worried me in prison was the false image that i unwittingly projected to the outside world; of being regarded as a saint.  I never was one, even in the basis of an earthly definition of a saint as a sinner who keeps trying.  

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

I liked this one, I don't remember too many specifics about it.  But, I like reading about different cultures, this one is set mostly in Calcutta.  

43

War will bring the revolution; revolution will stop the war 

127

But even as she was going through with it she knew that it was useless. just as it was useless to save a single earing when the other half of the pair was lost. 

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

This is book #2 in a dystopian trilogy that is ever so popular these days.  I liked the series, took an interesting turn near the end and I actually liked how it ended.  

107

Noise and activity are the refuges of the bereaved and the guilty. 

377

Grief is not as heavy as guilt, but it takes more away from you.  

518

Sometimes the people you oppress become mightier than you would like.  

Allegiant by Veronica Roth 

This was my least favorite of the three, not because of how it ended but the story get's a little complicated and convoluted.  

372

I used to think that when people fell in love, they just landed where they landed. and they had no choice in the matter afterward... I fell in love with him.  But I don't just stay with him by default as if there's no one else available to me.  I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other.  I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me.  

 

446

Or maybe forgiveness is just the continual pushing aside of bitter memories, until time dulls the hurt and the anger, and the wrong is forgotten.  

Looking for Alaska by John Green  

I LOVED this one!!! It's by the same author as The Fault in our Stars, which I also liked, but I prefer this one.  It's a coming of age, kids in love, boarding school tale.  But, it's just... I don't know.  I'm surprised I didn't write more down from this one, but I think I was just enjoying reading it too much.  Because I remember thinking I could have written down half the book.  

7

"I love you", they both blurted out simultaneously.  It needed to be said, but the words made the whole thing horribly uncomfortable, like watching your grandparents kiss.  

22

You can say a lot of bad things about Alabama, but you can't say that Alabamians as a people are unduly afraid of deep fryers.  

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This one was mentioned a few times during our Returning Warriors workshop and it sounded familiar to me.  It's kind of one of those books that you should just read at least once in your life.  Viktor Frankl was a Nazi camp survivor.  But he was also a psychoanalyst of sorts, so his book and theories about people were quite interesting and unique, and I've read a lot about Holocaust survivors.  

We have come to know Man as he really is.  After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lords Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips.  

Don't aim at success-the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it.  For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued, it must ensue.  

18

Yes a man can get used to anything, but don't ask us how. 

20

An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior.  

37

The salvation of man is through love and in love.  

43

Humor was another of the souls weapons in the fight for self preservation.  It is well known that humor, more than anything else in the human make-up, can afford an aloofness and an ability to rise above any situation, even if only for a few seconds  

44

The attempt to develop a sense of humor and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of trick learned while mastering the art of living.  Yet it is possible to practice the art of living even in a concentration camp, although suffering is omnipresent.  

[Analogy of suffering behaving like a gas, filling whatever chamber is present] Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious of mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little.  Therefore the 'size' of human suffering is absolutely relative.  It also follows that a very trifling thing can cause the greatest of joys.  

66

...everything can be taken from a man but on thing; the last of the human freedoms -to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.  

67

If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering.  Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death.  Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.  

70

With the end of uncertainty there came the uncertainty of the end... the Latin word finis has two meanings: the end or the finish, and a goal to reach.  A man who could not see the end of his 'provisional existence' (life in a concentration camp) was not able to see an ultimate goal in life.  

76

Nietzsche's words, "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how"

77

It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.  Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to full the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.  

78

But there was not need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.  

79

[Talking about preventing suicides of men who felt they had nothing more to expect from life] It was a question of getting them to realize that life was still expecting something from them; something in the future was expected of them.  

86

Human kindness can be found in all groups, even those which as a whole it would be easy to condemn. ...From this we may learn there are two races of men in the world. but only these two -the 'race' of the decent man and the 'race' of the indecent man.  Both are found everywhere; they penetrate into all groups of society.  No group consists entirely of decent or indecent people.  In this sense, no group is of 'pure race' -and therefore one occasionally found a decent fellow among the camp guards.  

113

In some ways, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.  

146

Even the helpless victim of a hopeless situation, facing a fate he cannot change, may rise above himself, may grow beyond himself and by so doing change himself.  

154

Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of.  And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.  

164

The world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best. 

165

The meaning of life is to help others find the meaning of theirs.  

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides 

This one was... a bit strange and really long.  I'm not sure if I'd recommend it to anyone.  It was interesting and I didn't not like it, it just took a while to get through.  

173

Is there anything as incredible as the love story of your own parents? Anything as hard to grasp as the fact that those two over-the-hill players. permanently on the disabled list, were once in the starting lineup?

298

All of the sudden America wasn't about hamburgers and hot rods anymore.  It was about the mayflower and Plymouth Rock.  It was about something that had happened for two minutes four hundred years ago, instead of everything since.  Instead of everything that was happening now!

418

...the tiniest bit of truth made credible the greatest lies.   

Inferno by Dan Brown 

I don't love his books as much as the masses, and this one wasn't one of his best, in my opinion either.  As usual, if you know anything about art history (or Italy in this case) it might appeal to you a bit more than it did to me.  

214

Denial is a critical part of the human coping mechanism.  Without it, we would all wake up terrified every morning about all the ways we could die.  

218

Robert, what do you think soldiers do when they go to war? They kill innocent people and risk their death.  Anything is possible when people believe in a cause.

382

The masses are made up of individuals. 

386

In the sixties, the Russians built an entire fake spy network that dead-dropped bad intel that the British accepted for years.  In 1947, the US Air Force manufactured an elaborate UFO hoax to divert attention from a classified plane crash in Roswell, New Mexico.  And more recently. the world had been led to believe that weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq. 

  

Me Before You  by Jojo Moyes

Okay... I LOVED this one.  It was a book club pick and it turns out a lady in my ward had told me about it a while ago too.  This one was so real, and funny, (and sad).  It was just a tad predictable near the end, but you still hung on a sliver of hope it might turn out different than it did.  Raised some interesting questions, but mostly it was just a really fun read.  The main character is written so well, and her family are just as witty as she is.  

25

In our street 'posh' could mean anyone who didn't have a family member is possession of an antisocial behavior disorder. 

110

It's just that the thing you never understand about being a mother, until you are one, is that is not the grown man -the galumphing, unshaven, stinking, opinionated offspring -you see before you, with his parking tickets and unpolished shoes and complicated love life.  You see all the people he has ever been all rolled up into one.  

194

You only get one life.  It's actually your duty to live it has fully as possible.  

205

I will never, ever regret the things I've done.  Because most days, if you're stuck in one of these, all you have are the places in your memory that you can go to.  

325

I can't be the kind of man who just... accepts.  

355

It's not my choice.  It's not the choice of most of us on this board.  I love my life, even if I wish it was different.  But I understand why your friend might well have had enough.  It's tiring, leading this life, tiring in a way the AB [Able Bodied] can never truly understand.  If he is determined, if he really can't see a way of things being better for him, then I guess the best thing you can do is just be there.  You don't have to think he's right.  But you do have to be there. 

The Martian by Andy Weir

I was quite surprised at how much I liked this one too.  It's sort of sci fi, but really about one guy trying to stay alive and fix stuff.  And it's funny.  Justin kept asking me what was so funny when I was laughing.  

Last page

But really, the did it because every human being has a basic instinct to help each other out.  It might not seem that way sometimes, but it's true.  If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search.  If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood.  If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies.  This is so fundamentally human that it's found in every culture without exception.  Yes, there are assholes who don't care, but they're massively outnumbered by the people who do.  

A day at the Lake

Technically, it was a reservoir, Deer Creek reservoir.

Scott has only had his boat out once this summer, and we managed to get invited along for the second trip.  It was warm and sunny, not very windy (but a little choppy on the water) and a really fun (and long) day.  The kids loved it.  I mean, Milo loved falling asleep on Grandma Lafeen on his one and only trip out.  Hyrum even got on the tube with Justin.  I think I should have volunteered to go out with him, it was the slowest and smoothest ride Grandpa Lafeen managed all day.

Justin did get me to go out with him once, on the tube.  I didn't mind it.  And I didn't even mind falling off, after Justin let go and I lost my center of gravity on the thing.  I did wonder if I was going to break my jaw during my short ride though.  I may have made it out for a second go (I wasn't planning on it) but on the my second attempt to get back on the boat later on in the day I slipped and ended up banging every single inch of both of my shins on the boat and getting a fairly nasty cut on one of them.  I still have two bumps on one of my shins, 3 weeks later.  That, and we stalled out in the middle of the reservoir and had to be towed by some very nice (and non english speaking) guys who luckily got us away from the rocks and back to shore.  We're pretty sure we just ran out of gas.  It's a new boat for Scott and we're pretty sure once the fuel gage goes past 1/4 tank it's not very accurate.

The best part of the day was most definitely watching Justin and Tom try and get on the water weenie was one of the funniest things I've seen in my life.  I took a video with Tom's phone, but I've yet to get a copy... that might not be a coincidence.

Too much sugar

A friend in the ward asked me a couple of months ago if I could/would come up with a cake decorating class for her two daughters.  I came up with 4 classes worth and we baked two cakes, one from a box, the other from scratch.  We made a LOT of frosting.  Decorating sugar cookies with color flow icing and made our own marshmallow fondant and covered a cake with royal icing flowers.

Running

My sister in law Jessica is in charge (or least one of the ones in charge) of a 5k every year for Davis County Health Department.  I'm pretty sure we've been there every year she's done it, even if I didn't run a time or two (I'll blame it on pregnancies).  The kids get to run a Mud Run too, which seems to get muddier each year too.  This year I'm pretty sure Milo could have easily drowned in some parts.  If he had stuck around long enough, which he didn't.

First, the adults.  Justin did the run as well, although you'll have to take my word for it, because no one managed to get a photo of it.  Serves you right for coming in first (out of the 5 family members).  Last year I ran a lot faster than I expected to (31 min and some seconds) and just hoped that I could come in close to the same time or a minute earlier, since I had more practice running outside this past year.

I started my app that tracks my pace and distance, then my music app with my playlist that keeps me on pace, and then my heart rate monitor.  Yep, all of that.  And then I started running.  Justin, Wade, and Gordon all passed me, along with a lot of other people.  And I assumed I wasn't doing too hot, but I kept running at my pace.  On the way back (its a run to the half way mark and then start running back) I really was tired.  And I wanted to walk.  Just for a minute.  But I didn't.  I kept going and wondering why I wanted to stop running.  When I run outside, which is once a week or so, I've been doing 3-4 miles and even made it to 6 miles a couple weeks ago (That's the furthest I've ever made it before).

Then I crossed the finished line and looked at my phone and figured out I had run it in under 30 minutes. 26:46 to be exact. Which sort of explains why I was so tired.  And, I guess I'll have to up my game this year, because I'm not sure I can beat that time, but it'll be interesting to see if I can.  And if I'll have any feeling left in my hips, knees and now ankles.  The ankle pain while running has been a more recent development.  Yay.

I took no pictures of the kids this year. I didn't have my case and Justin didn't want to risk his phone either, so here's a recap.  Hryum was the youngest in his age group this year, but still did a great job.  He tried really hard to not get his face splashed with mud, so it made for funny expressions.  Justin drew the short straw and held Kate and Milo's hand during their race.  Until Milo had enough and got handed over to me to save him from the muddy water and large group of kids.  Many of them also crying in that age group.  Kate did better than last year, and didn't yell that her feet were getting dirty the entire time.  And they all go clappers.  Plastic clappers that were in stereo on the entire ride back home.

Thanks, Jess!  See you next year!