Blast from the Past: 2003

So Rychen went to bed early (he needs his sleep...that guy is gonna run his third 50 miler on Saturday! wow!!) and here I am by my lonesome reading my old journals! I found some GOLD here, I tell you. So I thought I would share it with you all.

December 5, 2003 (my birthday)

I was doing OK until I paid for graduation today. And then all at once I felt like crying! I couldn't figure out why I'm not happy to graduate. Then I realized it--I don't feel smart enough, I don't feel educated, there are still so many things I don't know and I want to learn! I have these yearnings within me, but I know they'll be there for eternity, literally. There is always more to learn and so I'll never be satisfied. 

Then I realized that if I marry Rychen...well then life just got totally predictable. I am no longer the restless wanderer. I need to settle down and live righteously, raise a family, serve in the ward and neighborhood, support a husband, and build the kingdom... Of course there will be little events and surprises along the way, but its mostly outlined, just how its going to be from here on out! But following that will bring immense happiness and fulfillment (especially if its with Rychen :) )

hahaha ... I love my old journals. I just think I was the kookiest person ever. And here I am TEN YEARS LATER living a most predictable Mormon life.  But is it boring? Wow, there are a lot of words to describe my daily life, but boring is NOT one of them!! And there have been tons of surprises--who would have thought that we'd be running marathons!? and doing all the other crazy stuff we do??

Here's another good part. Get ready for some ROMANCE, people!

November 8, 2003

The other day, Antonina was on the phone and she wanted to talk to Rychen. So she starts firing questions and she asked him if he loves me! (He didn't know I could hear her) He told her something like "I can't say..." Well later on, he told me a few times to remind him to tell me what she asked but I already knew what she asked, and I didn't want to talk about it!! But in the car on the way to Salt Lake, he told me she asked that and said he couldn't answer because he thought I should be the first to know! But the topic changed before he said it... until tonight, when we said goodnight and he said, "You can tell your friend that I think I do love you."  and I just said "awww" and gave him a big hug. I'm happy he said that, and I do love him back but I like that expression more when it doesn't have to be given on the condition that its returned. So one of these days I'll get around to telling him! 

[It actually took a while for me to tell him. It was hard for me to say it. He understood this. One day when we were cuddling I was telling him "I admire you, and I appreciate you, and I enjoy you..." etc. and he just looked me in the eye and said "I love you too" --- and that just touched me so deeply, that he knew exactly what I was trying to say!]

Okay here's the best part.

Dec. 14, 03

So last night we're sitting on my couch and he feels my ring finger and says "So, for future reference, what size would you say this is?" and I said I don't know, but I was honestly freaked out!! So overnight and this morning I was really thinking about what needs to happen here and where we're going. I was wondering if its time for me, or what the Lord wants me to do in the next year. Then through church, my fears were replaced with PEACE. I felt such a peace through church and my concerns were all answered through the spirit. It was so comforting. I knew I didn't have to worry, that it would all be okay. Then in R.S., impressions just came to me and I felt so good about Rychen, and trusting him, seeing us be together and grow, knowing that through Christ and His love, I would be able to make the commitment. So in that moment I had thought it all out and felt so right about us so I just said a prayer and told Heavenly Father, and asked if it was OK with Him. Then I got the most unique answer! I felt the edges of my mouth going up into a huge smile and I just felt such PEACE. No explosion, no fire--but I was totally at ease and I knew it would be fine with the Lord [to marry Rychen].

So after church we took a walk and went on the pathway up the mountain. It was beautiful and totally peaceful. I told him I felt peace at church and he held me--I just felt it more!! So I told him, "by the way, it's a 5-1/2" (I tried on Sarah's ring today) So 3 times I told him something about how I felt good about us, and each time I just felt really re-confirmed by the spirit, an increase of peace. I wanted to stand there hugging him forever. I love him today so much more than ever. My prayers are being answered. The Lord is at the helm! I love His plan so much, the whole idea of companions is awesome! I love it.

State Fair

The kids have been asking about rides all year. We tried to catch them various places but never worked out, so we were excited to go to the State Fair and do rides!! (holy $$) So Rychen P. and I rode the ferris wheel. Elisabeth unfortunately wasn't tall enough for the regular rides, but she enjoyed a few kiddy rides! I am surprised and thrilled that Rychen P. enjoys the "scary" rides. Next year we'll take him on some even better ones. Although the Magic Carpet - I gotta hand it to you. That was pretty awesome.

Taylor LOVES driving.... so of course we had to make a stop at this cute tractor.

I was so happy to see the performing dogs that won America's Got Talent last year! Yes I actually watch that show and I recognized them!! The Chilean man who does this has an incredible story and just the most wonderful fun-loving spirit. I just enjoy seeing him interact with his dogs, you can really tell he loves them like family.

Poodles riding a scooter. You don't see that every day.

We also saw a tiger, lion, wallaby, and just tons of zoo and farm animals, and reptiles. It's always fun to do that with a child who hasn't seen them before. But the best part was the petting zoo. I know, I know, petting zoos are dirty and boring. But this one was AWESOME. You just hang out in the pen with all these animals with no time limit! You can play with them all you want! There were BABY goats and pigs, llamas, donkey, sheep, a wallaby, and so much more! I could go for a pet goat. Seriously.

That was the day after our vacation to Utah! and next week we are going to Las Vegas/Kingman to see my family and do the St. George marathon. Busy busy!! After that we seriously need to rest and focus on schoolwork. :)

Dude Room Weekend

Dude Room Reunion Weekend Recap

The first weekend in September marked the first time the five of us had all been together since the 2003-2004 school year ended, when four of us moved out and got married. What had started as Greg's wife surprising him with a trip to hang out with us had taken nearly two years to plan and had fallen apart last year because of late scheduling conflicts. But with non-refundable plane tickets and football tickets for all of us (and with the blessings of our good wives), we were on our way back to where we had had some of our best times.

Thursday Night

Trevor's plan was running an hour or so late but it didn't matter as he arrived just minutes after Carter. Awkward man hugs were exchange at the rental car counter and we left the airport in search of Trevor's parent's house. Before we go any further here, a huge thanks to the Weeds for their hospitality. Each of us had our own room with a queen size bed, memory foam pillows and a view that you pay big money for in a nice hotel. Oh, and a minivan gassed and ready to go to take us wherever we needed to. Then there was the fridge and cupboards full of dude room staples like Tootie Fruities, ice cream and various other goodies. This weekend doesn't go off as smoothly as comfortably as it did without the Mom and Dad Weed.

We got to the house around 11:45 and sat around the kitchen talking for a while, catching up on things. Trevor and I learned about the dental industry and the differences between a private office and a corporate-run office, Trevor introduced us to So. Cal terms like "skeezy jerk-bag" and we began to catch each other up on our various families, kids and other friends. Some of it discussion was of a spiritual/religious nature, some humorous and some it dealing with real-life, working-class, we're-not-22-year-old-single-college-students-anymore stuff. It kept going until about 2:30am, at which point we had to call it a night. Carter was meeting his grandpa for breakfast at 7 the next morning and then picking Greg up at the airport and Trevor and I were going to go for a run.

Friday Morning Run

My original plan had been to run 15 miles on Friday morning. As Carter, Trevor and I were up hanging out later and later into early Friday morning though, that number dropped to 10 miles at about 1am. At 2am it dropped to 8 miles. And after 4 hours of sleep and 3 miles of hills, the number dropped again to 6 miles. It was a good run though. We ran east towards the mountains and at the end of the road continued on the trails for a bit before turning around. I will give Utah this: running in the morning sun is awesome. The mountains to the east, the valley to the west and a crispness to the air that you don't get in more humid places. Even after stopping at the top of a hill to compose myself (and determine if everything inside my stomach wanted to be on the outside or not), we made it back to the house in time to get ready to go meet Carter and Greg at the golf course.

Golf

Carter had picked Greg up at the airport Friday morning and were already at the course in a golf cart by the time Trevor and I arrived. We hustled to the first tee and before allowing Greg to tee off, presented a few non-awards for the day. For the 4th place finisher (read: last), a Han Solo t-shirt which the recipient would be required to wear the remainder of the day. Also, instead of a Closest to the Pin contest on the Par-3 7th hole, we held a Furthest from the Pin contest. The winner (read: loser) would wear a pair of University of Utah flip flops in shame the rest of the day. Trevor and I had bought these items on the way over and as we were discussing which size of flip flops to buy, we decided we should have Greg in mind (sorry, Greg). More on these contests in a minute. 

 The first hole was pretty ugly. If I remember correctly two of us put our tee shots in the water. And after one hole 4 or 5 balls had been lost. Not a good pace, given that we had only (only) brought 36 balls total. For four of us. For 9 holes. This is how awesome we are at golf.

Golfing was great. The weather was perfect (though Greg, Carter and I would be lathering sunblock and aloe on ourselves the rest of the weekend), the course was nice, green and challenging for our level and it wasn't very busy so we could take our time and have fun with it. Greg hit some really good drives (but the balls always seemed to disappear by the time we got up to where we thought they were) but had some tough luck on some putts that lipped out. Trevor didn't seem to like us on a few holes and decided to play adjacent fairways instead. Carter was perhaps our most consistent putter.

And then came the Par-3 7th hole. 

We pulled the flip flops out of the cart, reminded everyone of the shame that would come to them and their posterity should they wear anything with UofU on them and made sure everyone understood the rules. I was up first. with a 7-iron in my hand and a slight downhill to the green 157 yards away I took a whack at the ball. And dribbled it about 30 yards, just past the red tees. Crap.

Greg, Trevor and Carter all needed a minute to change strategy and all three were VERY careful just to get the club on the ball and knock it down towards the hole. Greg may have had the 2nd best shot of the day with his drive and ran it onto the green past the hold by 15 or 20 feet. Trevor played last, and after talking some trash about me having to wear the UofU flip flops, dribbled his own ball down the hill...about 35 yards. So close. But the UofU sandals were mine and I tried to wear them with pride. I managed to do so, but not with any pride.

Before teeing off on the 9th and final hole we tallied the scores. Carter trailed Trevor by 3 strokes for 3rd place. It didn't look good for Carter. But funny things happen. Like Trevor promptly hitting his drive to the right and into the same water he put his tee shot in on the first hole. Rather than take a drop, he decided to tee off again...and hit it in the water a second time. Another one stroke penalty. Taking a drop this time, he prepared to hit his 5th shot while Carter teed off. Carter hit a good approach shot that got him on the green, maybe 30 feet away. Meanwhile, Trevor was off the green on the fringe. His first put was woefully short, leaving him a 2nd put that was just too long to make. Carter's put meanwhile, stopped about 8 feet from the cup. Trevor putted out on his 3rd attempt and that left Carter with the final shot of the day. Make the putt and beat Trevor by 1 stroke. Miss the putt and he'd be forced to make the next one just to tie. Pressure, for sure. This is how it unfolded...

Pizza Pie Cafe

After golf it was off to the Pizza Pie Cafe, where we captured post-game analysis of Carter's putt and presented Trevor with his non-award. We also may have binged on pizza and pasta, but let the record reflect that we each ate at least one large plate of salad. I think Trevor even had some broccoli on his plate.




 

Boating

After a much needed hour or so of nap time we headed off to meet Greg's cousin who was willing to take us out on a boat to do some water skiing and wake boarding at Utah Lake. On the way Greg went way back into his playlist to find some gems, including Aaron Carter's "Internet Girl." Pre-Facebook and social media, this song sounds like something on the Disney Channel. 10 years later? Kind of creepy.

The water was fairly warm, though there were pockets of cold water here and there. Carter seemed to find every one of them. After getting out away from the docks Garrett killed the motor and asked what we wanted to do first. Feeling the thrill of being back in Utah Lake after swimming my half-ironman swim leg in it two weeks prior, I jumped out of my seat and dove off of the back of the boat into the water. I think it took everyone else by surprise a little bit, but the water felt great and being out in the middle of a lake swimming freely is somewhat liberating.

After swimming around for a few minutes I was the first one up on the water skis. I was a little hesitant because my last attempt two summers ago did not go so well. But the skis were much wider than pairs I have previously tried and getting up on the water was no problem.

Trevor, Carter and Greg also then took a turn on the skis and everyone got up on the water and did their thing without any trouble.

Wake boarding was next and Trevor made it look easy. He bounced around on the water, jumping over wake as he swung from side to side. Unfortunately on one of these passes the front of the board hit the water...which was followed by Trevor's face hitting the water.

Carter did well on the wake board also, as did Greg. Getting Greg up on the water took some time and effort though. For what seemed like and extended time there was a wall of water in front of Greg as he was being pulled up. We couldn't see him, but we assumed he was still on his feet and not being dragged.

About this time the wind really started to pick up. There was a storm off to the west of us that we had been watching and though we never got the rain, the wind created some choppy water. I put the surfboard in the water take a try at that, but because of the choppiness was never able to get up on it.

We started in towards the docks after a few hours but before getting there Garrett asked if we wanted to blow up the tube and let him punish us in it for a bit. I think all of us were feeling our age in our muscles already so we politely declined and returned to shore.

It was great to have Garrett take us out. It's not an activity that we otherwise would have been able to do because of the costs involved but it was a good time relaxing out on the water.

Cafe Rio

We left the lake and headed back to the Weed's. As we pulled up we saw Rich waiting for us. Rich had some family events arise earlier in the week that he needed to attend to, so he joined us as soon as he could Friday night. Awkward man hugs were again exchanged and we decided that Cafe Rio would be our choice of dinner. We got the food to go and headed back to the house, where Greg and Trevor had been eying the guitars.

Friday Night Hangout

It's one thing to rehash a funny story or experience with people who were there and already know it. We pull this off well. But give us an audience who hasn't heard the stories? Shock and awe, as Trevor would say. Back at the house we were joined by Carter's sister who was in town visiting) and she made for a perfect audience: she listened, laughed at the appropriate times and didn't give off any "you-guys-know-these-things-happened-10-years-ago-right?" vibes. The infamous talent show (the one that nearly got me fired from my job in the locker room) was the star of the evening as it tends to be. But there were others.

Greg and Trevor eventually gravitated toward the guitars in the family room and started into a rendition of Cannon Center Girl. If you don't know what that is, here's the quick rundown: 2001-Trevor eyes pretty girl in cafeteria (Cannon Center). Trevor (and Greg?) writes song for pretty girl. Trevor and Greg perform song for pretty girl at ward talent show. Trevor goes on date with pretty girl. And that's pretty much how the story ends, with the song being the best and longest-lasting legacy of the whole thing. We all agreed that if the one and only public performance of this song would have been in the days of YouTube and Facebook, it would have gone viral. As it was, there were hundreds of downloads of the song on Napster (back when Napster was Napster) by BYU students and it was not uncommon to hear people talk about it while walking around campus. 

After so much time, the rendition here is a little rough, but who hasn't forgotten the words to a classic every so often. It's not like it was in front of tens of thousands and broadcast over the airwaves to tens of millions, right?
 

Later in the evening we broke out the Tootie Fruities and ice cream as we watched BYU women's soccer team beat Utah in the final minutes on TV (though, still wearing the flip flops, I was a little confused as to who I was supposed to be cheering for) before calling it a night at a respectable 1am.

Cannon Center Breakfast

While there were a few activities on our agenda that were scrapped along the way, breakfast at the Cannon Center was not one of them. Even if we walked in three minutes before breakfast closed. A few of us wondered if we should come back in an hour for lunch. Trevor's response? "We've got three minutes. Plenty of time." So we paid, ran in, swiped a tray and a bunch of plates and enjoyed awesome biscuits and gravy, semi-cold scrambled eggs, rubbery ham, and a sausage/blueberry/pancake on a stick thing made to resemble a corn dog. And Cereal. Lots and lots of cereal. Let the record also reflect that we each served ourselves a bowl of fresh fruit. 

Once we had our food Carter and I looked for somewhere to sit. It wasn't hard, the place wasn't that full, but as we walked towards a table on the outskirts near a big window Trevor called us back and said we had to sit where all the action was. And so we sat at the middle table in an area surrounded by (mostly) 18 year-old girls who had probably been at BYU less than a week. Awkward perhaps. For them. We didn't care. I mentioned to Greg that I was expecting Trevor to get up on a chair and make a declaration of some sort and that we should be ready to duck under the table. Greg didn't disagree. 

Marriott Center Visit

After breakfast we walked up to the Marriott Center. Greg had gotten a call the previous evening about some pickup games that were going to take place with current BYU players as well as some former players and a few recruits.

As we walked around the building looking for an unlocked door, out walks Greg uncle, Dave...or Coach Rose as he is known to many, the men's basketball coach. He apparently didn't know we were coming, but Greg introduced us all, told him we had been roommates 10 years prior and that we were in town for the weekend. He talked to us for a minute as another guy walked up and shook his hand.

"This guy went to school here too, but never graduated," Coach Rose said as he put his arm around this guy. Coach Rose briefly told him who we all were, after which this guy says, putting out his hand, "Hi, I'm Jimmer."

Yeah, we know who you are. I applaud Greg for not fainting on the spot. 

Pretty cool. Seems like a solid guy. The most striking thing about him though is that he could be one of us. While you can certainly see he's in pretty good shape and keeps himself fit, he's not a very big guy. He looks like one of us. Except that none of us are former NCAA players of the year who are currently under contract as an NBA player.

We went in, still not sure where to go or if we would be asked any questions. But once in the arena we just walked in like we were supposed to be there and sat courtside watching these pickup games go one for a few hours while relaxing, talking to each other, Greg's parents who were there and various people who were also there to watch. 

After watching basketball we hit the Wilkensen Center, including a new hangout spot called The Wall, and the bookstore where we got our official game day shirts. Trevor was disappointed to see they had taken down the pictures of Miss BYU from the 70's and 80's and replaced them with random student pictures with cliché quotes. Greg ran into someone he knew seemingly every 10 feet. 

Return to Park Place

Another activity that would not be scrapped for any reason was a trip back to a place where it all started: The Park Place. Rich was again waiting for us there, standing by the sign, waving us in. We weren't quite sure what we were going to do when we got to the door with an "8" on it, but we had talked about knocking on the door and introducing ourselves. While the rest of us looked around, Trevor went up to the door and knocked. Here's how it went:

T: Hi, my name's Trevor. My dudes here and I lived in this apartment 10 years ago and are back for the first time since then.

Park Place #8 Tenant: Come on in. 

And so like that we were let in. And it looked exactly the same. And it smelled exactly the same. And there were even two girls sitting on the couch, like there were pretty much all times of the day when we were there. The current tenants of Park Place #8 played it way cool. They let us tell our story of when we refused a clean check by barricading our door with all of the construction garbage they had left in front of our places for months. And about how three of us had met our future wives in three of the other Park Place units.

And then I saw it. Hanging in the far corner of the room. Right where I had left it 10 years ago...

Yes. My mini-disco ball remains. Seemingly untouched and unmoved. Legacy. 

They were kind enough to take a picture of us inside and then another outside on the bench, where we had taken the same picture 10 years and 1 week ago. I'd say we're still a pretty good looking bunch. 

South Campus Tour

Not wanting to overstay our welcome, we moved along and drove around the south campus area recalling old apartments and houses of friends, girls dated, where Trevor lit a pumpkin on fire and anything else that jumped out at us. We eventually made our way down to the old Provo Tabernacle/New Provo Temple to see its progress. It's pretty impressive to see a brick shell sitting atop stilts with a bit of newly poured concrete foundation.

After a bit it was time to head up to BYU's cathedral, Lavell Edwards Stadium, for the football game against Texas.

It had been an awesome weekend to that point. We had laughed, had fun, ran into various friends and relatives along the way and were now headed to the premier event of the weekend. It had been a great weekend to that point. But the Dude Room has always measured itself in terms of how epic something is. The weekend was about to become epic.

Football Game

We wanted to be inside the stadium by around 4pm for a 5pm kickoff so we could watch some of the warmups. After parking north of the stadium and beginning to walk back we could see some threatening clouds over the lake where we had been the previous day. We didn't think much of it as the storm had passed us the day before. It was a warm and sunny day and we were clad in our shorts, t-shirts and sandles (and Trevor in his TOMS). We passed a fruit stand, bought a bag of fruit and continued on our way into the stadium. We got up to our seats right about 4pm, at which point we snapped a picture and then looked south again, over the top of the stadium. The clouds that were visible looked like something out of an end-of-the-world movie. And they were moving quickly in our direction.

A few minutes later the first gust of wind hit and it was a big one. The sun disappeared, the wind got stronger and then the rain started. We all started back down the stairs back to the covered (sort of) concourse area, but I had to stay out in the storm. I had to see it and experience it. The winds got so strong that I had to grab a railing in order to keep from falling over and the rain, horizontal at this point as incredible. I figured it will be the closest I ever get to feeling what it's like to be in a hurricane and I wasn't going to go run for cover so fast.

Also not running for cover, or even leaving their seats, were those in the BYU student section. A new policy this year grants student section seating as first come first serve, so those in the first few rows had been standing in line for who knows how long before even being let into the stadium and they were not about to leave their seats because of a little (a lot) of rain and wind. Their enthusiasm was awesome. As the storm started they started cheering. And every time the violence of the storm increased, when there was a new, stronger wind gust or microburst of rain they got louder or the crack of thunder overhead, they got louder. After a few minutes of this the few BYU players who were on the field retreated to the locker room, prompting even louder yelling and screaming as they passed by the students. At that point I retreated to the concourse also, having had a goosebump experience. Here's a video shot by someone near where I was standing. The students start to really get excited around the 1:45 mark and go until about the 3:55 mark. The video is edited, they were yelling and screaming for the better part of 25 minutes or so, but it gives a good idea of how quickly the storm came in and how strong it was. It was later reported that approximately 3/4" of rain had fallen in 15 minutes. But the rain continued for an hour or more. 

The problem with the storm was not the rain or wind but the lightening. It was right on top of the stadium and it lasted a long time. Per some NCAA rule, there can't be any lightening within a certain distance for something like a half hour before resuming the game (or warm-ups) in the same spot. There was still 55 minutes left on the pre-game clock when things were suspended, so as long as there was lightening going on, we were at least 90 minutes or more from the game starting.

Needless to say, the concourse area was crazy. The fan shop was one big mass of humanity, as seemingly no one had come dressed for a downpour. That said, only on BYU's campus would people have been so friendly and accommodating to one another. I can't imagine the chaos that would have ensued had people been tailgating and drinking alcohol for multiple hours beforehand. Cheerleaders and the Cougarette's dance squad was deployed to the concourse to lead people in the fight song. Where we were standing there wasn't much support for that sort of thing...well, except from the 5 of us. Eventually I found ponchos on sale, bought 5 of them and we all met back up, wet, hungry and still with no timetable for the game to start. So we decided to head back down towards campus to find some food.

After eating at Costa Vida, and hearing that the kickoff was scheduled in 20 minutes we "game-walked" back to the stadium, our pace getting quicker as we approached. After crossing the last street and being behind a police barricade we broke into a run and got to our seats just as Texas kicked off, 3 hours and one freak storm later.

The game itself was great. We pounded Texas. Just dominated them. Punched them in the face. Beat them down. Whatever you want to use to describe how bad it was, that was it. We had said throughout the day that we just wanted to see a good game. We just wanted something to cheer about. We got plenty of that. A dominant 40-21 win where nearly everything went right (except for when BYU's quarterback tried to throw the ball).

Coming to an End

With the conclusion of the game came the conclusion of the weekend. We snapped a final picture and said goodbye to Greg who was staying in town to see his grandparents.

The other four of us made our way back to the Weeds where we indulged in more ice cream and Tootie Fruities while watching a replay of the game we had just been at.

Carter and I left early the next morning to catch our flights, Trevor left later Sunday night and Rich headed home on Tuesday. And that was that.

It was a full 48 hours for sure. I, for one, could not keep up the pace of busy days, late nights, little sleep and lots of sugary, greasy, oily, fatty processed food for much longer than that. But it was worth it. As we gathered together again after 10 years it was as if no time had passed at all. We're a little older, we don't recover from slamming into the water quite as quickly, we don't operate as well on four hours of sleep, we have responsibilities as husbands, fathers and employees and we've grown up a little. But I think what makes our bond special is that we know each other so well that we can just be ourselves when we hang out together. The experiences that we had together as 18 year-old freshmen living in the dorms and as 21 year-olds returning home from missions in search of direction, the highs as well as the lows, the spiritual and (at times) the irreverent, created a support and a trust among us that is lasting. For all of the other humorous, fun and silly things we have done, that is the true legacy of the Dude Room.

Pocatello Marathon recap

I once asked my mom if she was less nervous for her subsequent childbirth deliveries after her first. Her response was, "No, I was MORE nervous, because I knew what it would be like!" And so that explains why I was naively excited and not a bit nervous for my first marathon a year ago, and then the next two I experienced major gastric distress before and/or during the event.

Thursday during our road trip to Pocatello, Taylor threw up twice in the car. I didn't think much of it--he was still happy. It looked like he just didn't chew his food well. But that night I woke up feeling very sick and miserable, throwing up my "carb load" dinner. On Friday I did not feel too sick except that I was having a hard time eating, and just felt gross. I wasn't excited for the marathon--actually felt pretty indifferent, maybe even obligated-- and was considering dropping out. During this time of introspection and prayer, my thoughts turned to my failed marathon earlier this year and the grave disappointment I was still carrying, subconsciously. I became emotional and resolved that darn it, I did indeed want to run this race, and however things went, I just needed to finish and it would be a success. I asked for a blessing of comfort, which stated several things but that I would do the race and look back on a good experience having learned about myself and about my abilities. After the blessing my nausea dissipated enough for me to have a big carb dinner and keep it down.

Sleep did not come easily but I kept praying and visualizing, just trying to keep my thoughts off the marathon. But we had a good night sleep and come 4:45 am, I was ready and raring to go! I caught the bus at 5:15 and we drove up into the hills for a 6:15 start time. I ran with the 4:10 pace group and held steady 9:30 splits for the first ten miles or so, getting to the halfway point in 2 hrs, 5 minutes. Right on track, but I doubted I could keep my pace up, so I was predicting a 4:15 finish. (My time last year was 4:16) that first half was fairly I eventful except for some stomach cramping and bladder issues which I experience every now and then...which led to some nice chaffing where the sun don't shine.

After that things got tricky. My gels were making me nauseas (or the stomach bug from Taylor?) and my gut was in knots. So over the following 2.5 hours, I let loose on the side of the road THREE times! And whenever I would run I would get really nauseated, so I had to keep walking. Other than that I felt okay. My legs and feet felt fine. I wasn't discouraged really, although I had a stretch where I was just bored and didn't want to be there, questioning why I even do this to myself. Once when someone asked me why I was there (trying to motivate me) my reply was "because it was only 40 bucks and I can't turn that down, so now I am obligated!"

When it was clear that I was not going to P.R. that day, I decided to kick back a bit. One reason I do enjoy marathoning is being out there with so many like-minded runners who all have an interesting story to tell about how they got there, etc. and I just love chatting it up! What I like to do is run faster to catch up with a walker in front of me, them walk with them and talk. So I did a lot of walking and talking. Twice I was in the specific situation of being ready to run again, but was more interested in the conversation so I just kept walking!

So during that low time, I ended up jogging and chatting with a couple old guys. These are your classic old runners who have done about a hundred marathons, and do little training in between, just event after event. They get away with it because they do it so recreationally. So I was getting all sorts of tips and stuff. But this old guy, he was just a total hoot! I didn't even catch his name, it sounded like Lol which I think is fitting because he had me laughing out loud over and over. He really lifted my spirits, and got me back in touch with my spunky self. He did some crazy things like pouring water on me and teasing the aid staff! At one point I said I couldn't keep up with him. He said "you gotta ditch your water bottle! It's slowing you down!" And he grabbed it away from me, poured it over my head, and threw it into the bushes!! But seriously this just delighted me. I love people like this. I really, really appreciated this guy (who I will never see again, but I will never forget!)

I ran with Lol for at least an hour. I ended up going on ahead of him actually. He got me in a really fun, spunky mood so I was dancing to my music, waving my arms around. marathons are one of those times when your inhibitions disappear and you can do what you want! After my third bowel movement (!!) I felt really good and was able go faster. So the last few miles I felt so much better than ever before, but what do you expect after 2 hours of 11-12 min splits? Of course I was still fresh. So I was in a great mood. Nothing hurt on my body, and I felt like I could go ten more miles. I ran a strong 10'30 26th mile, my best split in probably 15 miles. I had no trouble running the final half mile and finished grinning and fully alert. Rychen did the half and so was done long before me. He jogged back over a mile to wait for me and bring me in. We planned this so I kept looking for him. It was hard for me to do those middle miles without him. Finally I saw him and shouted out. He could see I was having a good time. I was 30 minutes behind my predicted time so I had to explain about all the fun potty fun I had been having! After finishing I couldn't eat much. The old guy "Lol" finished five minutes behind me and I went to give him a hug and introduce him to my husband. He was so funny, calling me weird names still. Lol was the highlight of my race! So looking back on my blessing, here's what I learned about myself and my abilities. (1) that I LOVE people. I could listen to their stories all day. I love meeting new people. I learned that I love socializing more than I care about competition (and that's saying something because I am pretty competitive!) In a short race I have no problem turning inward, focusing on my form, and leaving people in the dust. But in a marathon it's totally different. It's a community. Everybody is just holding on with all they've got. I simply can not just pass them by without asking how they feel and what brought them here today. (2) I learned that I could go longer than 26.2. I learned my endurance is sufficient. The up and coming methods of topping long runs out at 2.5 hours (15 miles) worked for me. The key to going longer than 26.2 is just slowing down and enjoying yourself. They key to repeating 26.2, the same. Running and training, and the resulting stress, is totally dependent upon how easy or intense it is. I got into trouble earlier this year because I was over zealous, running too many races without recovery in between, then doing marathon training with too many hard miles and insufficient recovery. I have another marathon in five weeks so I'm going to see what I can do with the old fashioned method--running a lot of miles, but 100% aerobic (nothing harder than marathon pace). My time was 4:44. A half hour slower than it should have been. But I am SO THANKFUL I went slow, because I let go of expectations and had an awesome time. It was a run to remember and I would do another marathon next week if I could!

Rychen Parker's Baptism

Congratulations, Rychen! 

He chose to be baptized, which means entering into a covenant to follow Jesus and accept his atonement. It was a great day with lots of family and all of us participated in one way or another. It was really nice that we got to make our own program and plan some really nice musical numbers. I'm so thankful for the testimonies and great examples of all four grandparents (and several great grandparents)--really we are pretty lucky to have that! Thank you grandparents for all you do, and for raising Rychen and me the way you did.

Here's the program, for the family members who couldn't be there.

Conducting - David Winegardner

Chorister - Annalise Jones

Pianist - Connie Snyder

Opening Hymn - Our Savior's Love

Opening Prayer - Grandma Catherine Huxford

Musical Number - I am a Child of God

   by Rychen and Elisabeth Jones, cousins Amelia and Rebecca Nyman.

Talk - Baptism - Grandpa Randy Gremlich

Baptism of Rychen Parker Jones, 

         by Rychen A. Jones

Musical Numbers - Baptism - Courtney & Madison Jones

                            I Know That My Redeemer Lives - Courtney Jones, acc. by Catherine Huxford

Talk - Gift of the Holy Ghost - Grandpa Andrew Jones

Confirmation 

Musical Number - Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer (p.103)  by parents and grandparents

Testimonies - Grandmas Carol Jones and Diane Gremlich

Closing Hymn - Praise to the Lord (p.72)

Closing Prayer - Grandpa Gary Huxford

2013 Independence Day Parade

 Taylor had an awesome time at his first parade!! He quickly caught onto the candy game. Whenever somebody would pass and throw candy, Taylor would be the first kid running after to get it!! Except he didn't know what it was for, so he would come back and hand it to this random boy next to us. Over and over, Taylor would go retrieve the goods and come back and hand off to this boy for his own stockpile. Meanwhile, Elisabeth was doing the same and chowing down on piece after piece!! Rychen P. was luckily wearing his cargo shorts and packed his pockets full. We came home and had a little candy confrontation and confiscation. :)  Now we are stocked real good for either Halloween or our daily school incentives.

This year the kids took part in the Kids Parade. Rychen rode his bike after decorating it all up in red, white, and blue. Elisabeth went with Ella and Olivia West (and ZuZu the dog), led by Aunt Janice and Tali.

Gettin' Wet

Last week we had our annual heat wave. Too hot to play outside unless there was some gettin' wet involved! Taylor sure loves it. He would go right up to the sprinkler and put his face in, trying to drink water (I think).

Elisabeth's new shoes quickly became mud shoes... *sigh*

We made our own water slide

 Taylor plays right along with the older two. Lately he has really "arrived" as a little boy. He follows the other two and tries to do whatever they're playing, although unfortunately they rarely let him! But we truly have three children now, and all 3 duo combinations have their own sibling rivalries!! It's funny to see Taylor now, arguing and throwing his own little fits.