The Kokopelli Tri

Well...it was a BIG day for my Daddy and my Grandpa. They both competed in the Kokopelli Triathlon! Grandpa did the sprint distance and this was his second time doing the Kokopelli. Daddy has never done it before and he did the OLYMPIC length...crazy man.

Grandpa's race consisted of a 750 m swim, 10.25 mi bike ride, and a 5k run. He did awesome. And he definitely ended with a smile on his face.



Daddy's race was double that. 1500 m swim, 20.5 mi bike ride, and a 10k run. He did AMAZING. And ended with a smile on his face. WE ARE SO PROUD OF THEM BOTH!



And this is what we did. We waited a lot and then stole our Daddy's food because he was a little too dizzy to actually eat.

My totally awesome Grandma

So check out how tough my Grandma is:





That's right. My grandma just taught her first ever Group Power class and ROCKED IT. She even did most of the push ups on her toes (and there were A LOT of push ups...my Mommy can't even do more than two on her toes.) She was amazing. Group Power is a strength training class that has great music and shows off your muscles. In fact, my Mommy says that right now as she's trying to type this while kneeling next to the desk, her "glutes" are starting "charly horse". Whatever that means.

We're proud of you, Grandma!

A Day In Zion

Today, Mommy and Daddy took us over for a quick jaunt into Zion! We went and hiked to some green pools and then over to the crying rock. I LOVED it. I hiked most of the way. Cara rode most of the way. Except at the crying rock. Both of us ran up to where it dripped on us and then we RAN back down. So much fun. We were even lucky to get sprinkled on by actual rain. It was such a beautiful day.

And check out the pictures Mommy took on her sweet new Iphone. That's right. My mommy is finally in the club. She's had it for just under a week and LOVES IT!

Heart

Guest post by Mommy:

I kind of don't know where to begin or how to properly organize my thoughts. To say my heart is full would be somewhat of an understatement. Yesterday was a GREAT day. I bought fabulous new shoes that were supposed to be for my mom but look too good on my feet! My little girls shrieked and giggled and said "Again! Again!" with huge grins on their faces and I felt like I didn't stop smiling. We had a wonderful day at the pool and finished it off with dinner at my favorite restaurant with my littlest er youngest brother, Eric, who can be an amazingly engaging teenage boy. Simply terrific.

And yet, that's not exactly why my heart is full. My heart is full because of all the emotions I have been experiencing lately. Happiness was a big one yesterday. And gratitude. But also sorrow and heartache. If you'll notice on my so aptly titled "Blogs we stalk" links we had to add a blog. Together For Taleah. Taleah is my high school friends' little 2 and a half year old. She was just diagnosed with cancer a week ago. Her mom was my sister Angie's best friend through high school and I grew up down the street from her dad. They have another little boy who is not even a year old yet and life just handed them this card. My heart broke for them. She has cancer with a very high cure rate (ALL which is a form of leukemia) but their lives have been forever altered. They have to be germaphobic and overly cautious and endure watching their daughter handle poison being forced into her body. My worst nightmare.

And that's not all. I also recently found out that one of my very best friends from middle school has her only son battling his own tumors in his brain. He hasn't even hit his 2nd birthday! He's been undergoing chemo just to keep from going blind from the two NF1 (neurofibromatosis) tumors on his optic nerves and has already had one debulking procedure done on the main tumor which doesn't have a treatment that makes it so he almost can't open his eye! GAAAA! This isn't supposed to be happening to MY friends. And I mean that in I don't feel old enough to have to deal with very real issues of this magnitude.

I have been on dozens of blogs in the last week of families with little cancer cuties as they call them. All young families who's lives have been flipped upside down. Some have lost their little fighters. Others have had to endure unimaginable setbacks over and over but do eventually come out on top. Some have no answers and no way of knowing which treatment will work. And yet all of them speak so optimistically and have plenty of good to say.

So since September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month I thought I would take the time to post about my new found sense of gratitude for my healthy girls and give a shout out to all those little families of fighters. My girls try my patience daily and sometimes I am just so dang excited for bedtime and I don't say the nicest things to them or in the kindest tone. But right now, I am acutely aware of how that can change in an instant. (As I sit here typing, I can hear Siena singing "There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly" to Cara and has now moved on to singing "I Am A Child of God". They are supposed to be sleeping. Heart melting.)

Girls, I love you and your healthy little bodies. May you continue to squirm and wiggle your way onto my lap for a long time.

How did you usher in September?

(We were simply going to post the videos but it just needs to be said because it sounds like I'm screaming with terror...really it was screaming with joy. Cara LOVED the big green slide too.)

Status Quo

Not much has been going on here. We're pretty much doing our thing. Mommy works. Daddy works. And we get to play with Miss Michelle two days a week and Grandma one day a week. Uncle Eric has started playing football and so now we get to go play on bleachers and say Go Uncle Eric! and I see number 6! Oh and the first Utah football game is on TV right now. GO UTES!

Lava Point Camping Trip

Well I don't expect you to remember this but last August, Mommy and Daddy took us car camping for the very first time up at the top of Zion National Park (near Kolob Reservoir) at a great site called Lava Point. We didn't last through the night. Well I went on a back trip in March and LOVED sleeping in the tent with Mommy. So they decided to give it a go again. We considered trying another camping spot since this one is pretty far away if you are afraid you are going to have to pack up in the night but turns out, this is the only spot they could remember how to get to!

Unfortunately, we got off to a late start yesterday evening. We didn't pull out of town until almost 6 pm. And the sky was pretty murky over Zion. We pushed on. We arrived to a nearly empty campsite and ended up with two neighbors before the night was through! There was lightening in the distance and the occasional thunder. Mommy started setting up the giant tent borrowed from Grandpa while Daddy lit our fire. (Good thing we ended up with neighbors, Mommy hadn't packed ANYTHING to start a fire..oh except we bought firewood just in case it was all damp up on the plateau.) Cara and I played around on the rocks and helped Daddy with the fire. I was so EXCITED to go camping. I talked non stop about roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and sleeping in a tent.

We managed to eat some hot dogs and roast a couple marshmallows when the thunder storms came directly overhead and started raining. We all scrambled in to our cozy tent and read stories and sang songs and then laid down together listening to the rain. It took Cara and I a little while to settle down enough to zonk out but eventually we were OUT. Mommy and Daddy had fairly uncomfortable night because of odd sleeping positions and Mommy constantly worrying about the rain leaking in to the tent. The rain stopped about midnight and it really was a pleasant evening. It felt good to be up where you needed a jacket. We packed up really early and were headed down the mountain by about 7:30 am. We dropped Daddy and his bike off in Hurricane and then went home and cleaned up. All in all, a successful first family overnighter in the woods!

Here are the highlights (our battery died on the camera and I think the low battery effected the quality of these pictures..grrrr):