July summer fun

Summer is cruising by. Lots of fun with the kids between band camp, cross country, track, basketball, sports camps, and more. 

I ran a few trail races up in the mountains. Right before the first race, they sent us a warning about an aggressive bear sighting in the area (i.e., on the trail we were to be running). Like a Utahn, I went in the garage and found our bear spray to bring just in case. That did not stop the race and thankfully there were no bear sightings. Though the race was painful. 1200 feet elevation gain over a mile. 

Park basketball

Swimming and sunning and popsicles 

Sun Valley Idaho

Jeff had a conference in Idaho this summer so we tagged along for some summer fun.

While Jeff had meetings, the kids and I went on a long bike ride along the Salmon River. And of course we stopped for ice cream because you have to do that in new cities. We all went white water rafting the following day which was pretty amazing. Sun Valley is beautiful.

Jazz game

The Jazz made the playoffs again this year so Jeff and I were lucky enough to get the company seats for a game. Was good fun, even if the Jazz didn't do so well. 

April ski and bike day

So after a morning of warm spring skiing with Kyle, I decided I would see how far up Big Cottonwood I could get on my bike. Well, with how stubborn I am, after getting 4 miles of the 12 up the mountain (nevermind the 4 or 6 it took to get to the base from home), I decided I was going to make it to the top. Afterall, the first 6 miles of the climb up Cottonwood seemed to be the steepest and most difficult. Trouble is, it was mid-60s when I left the house, but at the top it was freezing. I was dressed for 60s. On the descent, my arms and fingers went numb. Thankfully there was a little lodge restaurant on the way down. Cheese fries with fry sauce never tasted so good. The fireplace was helpful as well. They didn't have any warmer clothes I could buy, but had a lost and found with someone's discarded fleece that I happily put on to try and get warm. Thankfully I made it home in one piece having made it to the top.

Anniversary

This year marks 15 years married. Hard to believe we are those kids in this picture so long ago. Happy anniversary Jeff! And to many more! I love you! 

Moab trip

One thing we failed to take advantage of when we lived in Raleigh was all the great parks and places nearby. Utah has so many national parks within driving distance, we are making a concerted effort to visit these amazing places. So this weekend we went down to Moab and it sure did not disappoint.

Pretty awesome hotel pool. The kids were thrilled. And it was nice to cool off in given it was 100+ outside. The water was nice and warm, but still cooling from the desert heat. 

Hike to Arches

The famous Arch

This was a great picture that someone else captured. They were trying to take a pano of the Delicate Arch and Kyle ran across his screen. Kyle's photobomb turned out to be a pretty amazing picture so he emailed it to us. 

Jeff's favorite part - ATV adventure