Onion Days 2023

We hit up Onion Days with the only child who will still hang out with us.

We did some rides, ate an entire bag of kettle corn, drank a Texas lemonade boot, Rand got a snow cone, he won a stuffed snake at the dart game, and we went home with tummy aches and feeling like we needed a bath. Exactly what you'd expect from the carnival.

 

Pirate Treasure!

It took about 6 weeks of mystery solve, code deciphering, calling a stranger who it turns out was trying to steal our clues, NOT help us find the treasure, but Rand did it!

He was so excited when the treasure box came. He refused to open it until his brothers could come watch. Inside he found gold doubloons, a pirate medallion, an octopus necklace, a bracelet with a ring that his his great great great great great grandfather Boggy Bottom Bott's initials on it, some cool sea shells, and a shark tooth necklace from the shark that took a bite out of Boggy Bottom's leg. 

Such a fun adventure. Thanks Yaya!

 

Summer Running 2023

Blackhawk

Bear Canyon

Rock Springs East

Albion Basin

Cecret Lake

Top of Santaquin Canyon

Soos, after our 13-miler down Santaquin Canyon

My feet after every run

Nebo Bench

Above Sundance

Things Rand Eats for Breakfast

Grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup

Quesadillas

Quesadillas with boiled eggs 

Fish sticks

Reheated KFC

Cheeseburgers

Shepherd's pie

Things Rand does not eat for breakfast:

Actual breakfast foods  

August 2023

Rand went to a birthday party where they had a bubble foam machine. He said it was the best party ever.

There was dog wrestling. There is always dog wrestling.

Grandpa Babe taught the kids the joys of the dump trailer.

Rand got mad about having to head home from Yaya's, climbed up on a storage crate, and pouted for a while. He sweetened up a bit when he realized he needed help climbing back down.

We saw a blue moon (the second full moon in the same month). 

Grandpa Kyle taught us about the joys of a mayo, jam, tomato, and tuna fish sandwich.

Grandpa also taught us the importance of Ranger safety. He teaches by example. 😳 We are so glad he didn't get hurt.

 

The Fastest 18 Years of My Life

Caulder turned 18! I still can't wrap my mind around it. I swear he was just barely this size: 

We came home from our trip to Brian Head and he'd cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed, mopped, cleaned his room, and cleaned both downstairs bathrooms. We told him thanks for doing so much work and he replied, "I'm just trying to make sure you don't kick me out when I turn 18."

Aliza and his friends planned a surprise party for him on his actual birthday, and he had a ton of fun. When he got home later that night we celebrated with his favorite chocolate cake, sang to him, and let him open one of his gifts.

He wanted an acoustic electric guitar. so then of course we made him play a few songs for us. I love listening to him play and sing! It made me all weepy. I can't believe he's already 18. 

We weren't able to celebrate his birthday with the fam until a few weeks later, but it was so fun to get (almost) everyone together. He got money, 3 bags of pretzels, a new pair of shoes, and $2 from Rand.

Caulder is so smart and funny. He has such a quick wit, he's always the peacemaker, he has a memory I would kill for, and he is always so kind. 

Handsome, talented, so much fun to be around, and a truly amazing human. We are so proud of him. This letting go business has been much harder on me than I thought it would, but man am I excited to see what he does next.  

Happy birthday Twist. Thanks for choosing us to be your family. ♥️ 

 

Brian Head Adventures

Rand was the only kid we could convince to come to Brian Head for my race. We missed Caulder and Tukk, but we had so much fun hanging out with this little dude. We haven't ever spent any time at Brian Head and it was really fun to explore a new place.

After my race Saturday we went on an emergency swimsuit/hoody run for Cole (he got home for a 4-day trip, had an hour to shower and repack, and then we were in the car heading down, soooo... he forgot a few things), went swimming, sat in the sauna, ate pizza for dinner, then went to a drive-in movie in the resort parking lot. 

We watched ET and nearly froze our butts off, but it was super fun! 

He was exhausted by the time we got back to our room.

Sunday we drove up to Brian Head Peak, saw the view of Cedar Breaks, got a delicious breakfast at a little cafe, and made sure to stop for ice cream in Beaver.

It was such a good weekend.

 

Cedar Breaks Half

My friend Melanie and I ran the Cedar Breaks half marathon. We started at 6 am and took a chairlift in the dark up to the trailhead.

The first 30 minutes or so was a little dicey - trail running in the dark is quite the adventure - but being out in the mountains for this sunrise was amazing.

The race tops out at 11,300 feet at Brian Head Peak with incredible views.

It was a beautiful course with lots of fun running sections. We won't talk about the last 3 miles (uphill right next to the main road), or about the time Mel and I stopped to refuel and had two older ladies pass us AND ask if we were okay. (Don't worry - once we'd had a handful of watermleon sour patch candies and a shot from my oxygen bottle we caught em and passed em... barely. 😂)

But mostly we really enjoyed this one!

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I loved having Cole and Rand at the finish line to cheer me on. This was a good one!