Monday, July 21, 2014

Father's Day

We had a special treat for Father's Day.  Seth and Ali came for dinner.  Dad had his dinner all planned out.  He wanted brats, fries and cheesecake for dessert.


 
He received a jar of Jam that Ali had made herself.  He also got a new shirt for the temple in July.



 
Not a bad Father's Day at all.
 

Provo Valley Marathon

Laura and Gracie have been training for a full-fledge marathon on June 14.  Will agreed to come over and run with them and with that being the case, we decided to go to Provo and cheer them on.  I made posters for us to hold.



 
And then we packed our bags and loaded up for Provo.  We stayed with Kristi and Haini and early the next morning I drove Dan to the finish line where he set up a chair and waited patiently for the runners to cross.  I then went to the mouth of the canyon (about 20 miles into the run) where I met up with Kristi and the kids.  We held the posters and cheered on the runners and waited for our team.  We were both thinking "where could they be" when all of a sudden; there was Laura and Mark running the last 6 with her.  She came on so fast that we didn't really even get a good picture of her till she'd passed us right by. 

 
Now we were on guard and watching closer.  I saw a couple who I thought looked familiar but Kristi didn't think it was Gracie and Will until....


 
Will was almost dancing in the street.  Of course, you have to remember that this guy runs every day and finishes 100 mile adventure races almost regularly.  20-26 miles is just a morning jog for him.
Now, look at Gracie's face.  This is after 20 miles and she's still smiling!!!  Can't believe the energy she's putting off.  I'm so proud of her and I sure love Will for running with her. 
 
When they passed us up, we loaded the cars and headed to the finish line.  We we even lucky to get there before they came running in.


 
Look at Laura's stride.  Mind you, she's finishing 26.2 miles and she's still reaching out for that next step.   This is something I struggle with after 8 miles.  How she can do it after 3x that much is amazing to me.  She kept up her pace through the full 26 and I'm so proud of her.  She truly can do anything she sets her mind to, to quote Mark.  Amazing!!!
 

 
Will, graciously stepped back a few so that Grace to finish on her own.  He's such a gentleman and so thoughtful of others.  I love him so much!!!
 
Happy faces!! Tired feet!!  Medals all around!!



I call him my "Medal-man".  I can't even imagine how many of them he's collected. so far.
 
As the marathon was closing up another run was started for the kids.  Sitani, Marley, Elijah, Jace and Annie were all in the fold. 
 

 
Sitani sneaked by close to the beginning and I totally missed him but he was really moving.  Look at Jace's nice stride.  He looks like a natural runer.  Also, check out sweet Marley running with Annie so they could do it together.  Yeah Girls!!
 
Will provided so pre-race and early race pictures for us. 
They really do look like they're having a good time. 




 
Remember, Will is dancing around them taking these pictures.  :-)
 
The big surprise came after the race at Gracie's apt.  I was taking some of the reunion things to her place to save for later when she told me she had a surprise for me.  We went into her room and she told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands.  I did as I was told and she put something in my hands that felt soft and silky.  I said it felt like a nightgown but she said to open my eyes.  That's when I realized I was holding a shirt and a decal.
She explained that she and Laura had researched and found a half-marathon that they thought I would enjoy.  After all, it ends at Lake Mead (where our family used to go skiing all the time).  It's called the Saints and Sinners Half Marathon and it starts near
Hoover Dam and ends on a beach at Lake Mead. 

 
She said, "No pressure  but if you want to try to do it, we'll do it with you."  We invited Elizabeth and are all going to Vegas in September. 
YEAH!!
Thanks Laura and Gracie!!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Clean Curtains

When I got back from Portland I realized I needed to do some deep cleaning here at home and I began with the curtains in my bedroom.  I love washing and hanging out my bedroom curtains.  They are so fresh, clean and white when I put them back up. 





Since we installed a central air system this year we've been able to keep our windows closed and the dust doesn't just flow in.  I've not had to dust near as much this year as I usually do.  I love it!!!
I also washed, hung out and rehung the living room curtains.  Can you tell, I'm excited to have clean curtains knowing that they'll stay cleaner a lot longer. 

A Week with Tessha

The Monday after school was out I drove to Laura's house on my way to the airport.  We talked about her driving me to the airport but with traffic and all we decided it would be best for me to take the Frontrunner.  She helped me with the schedule and lines going into the airport and then we threw my suitcase in the back of her truck and hurried down to catch the train.  We were so excited to get the ticket and send me on my way. 
I was probably half way there before I realized I didn't have my suitcase with me.  We had forgotten to take it out of the back of the truck.  Of course, I called Laura and she said she'd see what she could do but traffic was still thick and she didn't know if she could make it to the airport before my plane was scheduled to leave.  I went in and got my security pass and got to the gate.  The flight was wide open so I even got a seat assignment.  Then I rushed back downstairs and waited outside the airport.  Before long, Laura drove up with my case and I took it back in through security again.  I even made the flight.  Thank you Laura!!!
Tessha and Patrick were getting ready to move into their new home so I went over to help with the move.  We packed a lot of boxes and loaded them into the cars, moving a little at a time.  Guys from their ward were coming on Saturday to move all the big, heavy furniture so it was our goal to have everything else moved before then. 

 
 
It all went so smoothly and we actually got it done.  It was also fun to see their new home in the process.  Here are some pictures before the furniture got there.






It's a 2 story Town House. 
I think that's what they call it, but regardless, it's beautiful
and I'm sure they will enjoy it for years to come.
 
Here are some pictures of the backyard.  It's small but very nice.


 
I didn't get any pictures of the front but it is also very nice.
I left Saturday afternoon and flew back into SL and caught the train back to Levi.
Because it was Saturday, the train was on a different schedule and I had an hour wait on the platform.  I loved looking around and
 

 
 just relaxing, reading my book.  I have to say I love the train.
 
 
 

 
 

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Alisha's New Room June 27, 2014

After the window work, the painting walls the clean up began.  Alisha had left to go to Utaho with Elizabeth for a few days and I got busy and put the downstairs rooms together.  I wanted it to be a surprise for her when we got home from the reunion in July.  Here are a few pictures of the work and the finished product. 
 

 

Elizabeth helped me move all the furniture before she left.
Thanks so much!!!
 




The Guest Bedroom

 
It's so good to both these room ready to be used again.