More Summer Fun

We have had such a fun summer!! I ran the Timpanogas Half Marathon with a couple good friends, Stacie and Laura. My brother also ran it that morning. It was fun to see my Dad and Crystal at the finish line.

I really wanted to break 1:30 on this half marathon and felt that this race I could do it. My goal was to stay within my goal heart rate zones. I have trained with a lot of speed work this year and wanted to put it to the test. My only half marathon runs this year have been in half ironmans which can't compare!! I ended up finishing in 1:25 and placed 3rd in my age group and 5th overall! I was so excited about my finish. And I couldn't believe how sore I was afterwards....I pushed it to the limit on the run.

Later that day we went boating with my Dad and Ann, and Crystal and Ryan. Jon has basically been homebound this summer since crashing his paraglider.

Cambrie has a birthday!

I can't believe Cambrie is 6 years old...I really have no idea where the last 6 years have gone. I told her the week leading up to her birthday that I was going to come up with a time freeze machine because I couldn't let her get older then 5...my 6 year old just seems to be growing up and it makes this mama sad!

I love my sweet girl so much! She is such a determined personality and I hope she continues to challenge it in the direction for good. When Cambrie gets something in her head that she wants to learn or do...she will try and try until she does it! She is also my snuggle bug and I hope that she will always come snuggle with me and let me ready her stories.

Things I love about this girl:
1. She makes friends wherever she goes.
2. She is always concerned about others.
3. Cambrie is strong willed and wants to accomplish goals.
4. She is the best big sister to her brother.
5. She loves a good adventure like her mom and dad. She is willing to try just about anything. She wanted a paraglider ride for her birthday!!
6. Cambrie loves to read...I hope that this always continues.
7. Cambrie loves everyone...she can be a little bossy at times and we have to set her straight..but her love for her others is great!

Cambrie wanted her party at Chuckee Cheese...I HATE Chuckee Cheese. I finally came up with a solution...a birthday party at Gymcats where she does gymnastics. This ended up being so much fun! She invited 15 kids and they had open gym and had full reign of the gym. I think everyone had a blast! And Cambrie got to have her two favorite things...gymnastics and a room full of friends!

We celebrated Cambrie's birthday by having a bag of her favorite things to start off her morning. (My friend does this and I loved the idea!!) Cambrie's bag had a new gymnastics outfit and swimsuit, flip flops, Reeses Peanut Butter cups, bracelets, and crayons. We took her to breakfast...she chose Chick Fil-A. Making cupcakes for her party, having her party, and ending the evening with dinner at the Spaghetti Factory and going to spend her money at Build a Bear and Claire's. We had never been to Build a Bear and it was so fun to watch Cambrie's little personality unfold in the bear she chose. Her bear said Cambrie all over it!

Our little California trip

The end of July I decided I would be a brave mama and take my kids to California by myself. Jon had just got called into Young Men and was going on High Adventure the weekend we had planned to do a little mini vacation with the kids. My mom and Dave happened to be in California that same weekend...and since it is Cambrie's favorite place I decided I could take them by myself! That morning I have to admit I was nervous about flying them by myself, and then doing the whole mama thing by myself! But, it ended up being great! We had such a great time while we were there. We spent the entire time at the beach and Grandma Cox's pool.

We hit up our favorite things:
1. Swim at Bay Shore...I love to swim there!!
2. La Creme for breakfast!
3. Taco Surf for lunch!
4. Swimming at Grandma Cox's pool
5. Boogie boarding at Seal Beach
6. Playing on the beach at Bay Shore
7. Running at sea level...my fav!
8. Lots of good food and BBQ's at Grandma Cox's pool
9. Second Avenue
10. Open water swimming in the ocean through the waves
11. Building sand castles in the sand and collecting sea shells

Cambrie and Ethan were so much fun and they were perfect. We all had such a great weekend with grandma and grandpa. And I loved meeting Dave's sister, Ruth. She is probably one of the nicest people I have ever met! And I also met Amelia who was great!

I have the best kids and I loved the weekend in Cali with them!

Our weekend in Scofield

The weekend of July 16th we went and stayed at Jon's uncle's cabin in Scofield with my mom, Dave, and the Anderson family. Dave, Laura, and I participated in the Scofield triathlon that Saturday and we decided to make a weekend of it. I love Leon and MaryLynn's cabin. It has beautiful views, an awesome deck, and a zipline outside for the kids! We ate lots of good food, watched movies, went to the park that is on the mountaintop...the kids had such a great time, and I think the adults did too!

The race was so much fun..minus how cold it was that morning. We were driving down to the start line and Laura noticed the steam coming off the water. I glanced down at the temperature reader in the car..it read 37 degrees!! WHAT!! Did I mention it was July?? Laura and I quickly set up our transitions, slipped on our running shoes and headed towards some warmth...we were freezing! Luckily as the sun came up to shine on us it warmed up quickly. The swim was awesome, the bike was beautiful, and the run...well, as tough as always! I always forget that a 10K in the triathlon is different then a fresh 10K. My goal was to beat my time last year and to have a good of race as last year. I was so excited when I beat my goal by 13 minutes coming in at 2:27. I placed 4th overall and 1st in my age group! It was so much fun and I love this race!

Cambrie was so excited to do her first triathlon. She was so cute about it. She didn't want me to help with anything...she said she wanted to do it by herself. She swam so well and she ended up letting me help her in transition. I asked her again if I could run next to her on the bike and she said no. I waited and waited, but she didn't come back. I had a distinct feeling something wasn't right. As I looked for her all along the bike course I couldn't find her. I asked a volunteer and he informed me she was OK, but in the ambulance. She had fallen on her bike. She was so upset...not about getting hurt...but about not being able to finish her race. She wanted so badly to finish and get a medal. She sobbed for 30 minutes...it was the saddest thing! She has informed me she wants to do another one...and once again, I can't help! She is such a tough girl.

We enjoyed the afternoon eating, relaxing, and letting the kids play.