Kate's Family Party "7"

We always have a big family party for Kolten and Kate's birthdays, so twice a year we have both families over for dinner. It usually is about 30 people. My kids can pick out what ever cake they want and it is my personal challenge to create it into a cake. Luckily, with the Internet, it is easier to get ideas. This was my easiest fondant cake, I guess I have figured out how to make it a little better. A class probably would have been nice. We had barbecued pork sandwiches, beans, and chips to eat. Kate had a good time, it is always a little chaotic, but that is expected.

Happy 7th Birthday Kate!

Kate has always had huge birthday parties averaging about 25 kids, usually combined with Erich Heim's birthday{one day apart}. She decided that she just wanted a small girl party this year, and invited just enough girls to fit at her table. It was much easier for me, even though the big parties are fun. She wanted panda bears, so I made little individual cakes, which I already had the molds and had never used. They turned out cute for as much work as they took. It was a fun party, I just can't believe how old she is getting!

Boston! Here Bart comes.

Bart has been training very diligently to attempt to qualify for Boston in the marathon. He needed to get a 3:15.59 to qualify. This was his sixth marathon. His first marathon was the PF Changs race in Phoenix which he got a 3:50. He ran Ogden in May hoping to qualify and got 3:19, which was very disappointing. He put in for St. George, and luckily drew out, I didn't share the enthusiasm, but I drew out too. He has lost weight, and has trained very hard for this. I have had to look at the elevation drawing on the fridge with his goal time since the day of Ogden's race. He did qualify in St. George with a 3:09.21. It rained the entire race (only the 2nd time to rain in the 30 year history of the race- not a sprinkle either!) The rain wasn't so bad, it was just the sloshy shoes. There were people who ran the entire race wearing garbage bags, but it didn't seem to slow anyone down. I finished in 4:04, my first marathon. It actually wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, the miles seem to go a little faster when you are running 26 of them. Sarah and Jonathan were there to cheer us on, which was helpful. Good job Bart, I am really proud of him and I am excited to go cheer him on in Boston, glad to be on the other side.

Utah Half Ironman

I'm sure Bart was sick of me asking him if I should really do this race or not. I wanted to, but I was definitely under trained. I trained in each sport individually, but not combined. I mostly wanted to see what it was like. I finished the Utah Half Ironman, and that was my goal. I did it in 6:08. The swim was good, 1.2 miles in Utah boat harbor. The bike was pretty flat 56 miles out to West Mountain and back and I did better than I planned. I was fine until mile 6 of 13.1 run, then it was just survival. The run was 3 different out and backs, which was the hardest part for me. I didn't start running until about 10:30 so it was pretty hot. They had race support at each mile of the run, so I thought they did a good job overall. I am just happy to have finished, and lived to tell about it. I definitely know some things to work on now. If you ever do this race, be sure and take a lot of mosquito repellent. I don't know which was worse, the mosquitoes or the run. Thanks Ana for cheering me on.

First day of school

Summer is over, and the day has arrived that I have dreaded since Kate was born. She started 1st grade and is gone all day now. She goes everywhere with me, so it will be a hard adjustment for me. So far, she had enjoyed school, saying it is a long day, but she gets in the car and all she cares about is who she can play with. She is just fine. I really miss her being gone all day! Kolten seemed excited to start school, I think he was getting bored. I just can't believe he is in 9th grade!

Cardinals at state

The PG Cardinals went to the state tournament. They did well, but ending up losing the game going into the top 4 places. It was a hard loss, but they all did really well. Kolten did a great job mostly pitching and catching, and got some great hits. It was sad to see the season end.

Welcome Max

A new cousin! Max was born May 30th and weighed 8lb 13oz. We got to go and visit him for the first time in Grand Junction. Congratulations Tanya and Shane. He is very cute, we all obviously love the hair!