Where Does The Time GO...

September 11, 2012

Today marks the Eleventh anniversary of one of the most significant days in history. The day that the Twin Towers fell in New York City. I believe that the event of the towers falling changed each one of us in some way. For the very young, they simply my remember that it happened and may have adopted that attitude of their family's view. For those of us who were old enough to be impacted by the event, we have experienced changes in many of the things we do and how we view life. For myself, I appreciate the efforts of our service men and women so much more for their help in keeping the conflict of war off American soil. For leaders of the nation who sent a quick, clear and decisive message that the actions of 9-11 would not be tolerated on any level. For local citizens in Ramsey, NJ (where I lived at the time) who rallied around those who needed help at Ground Zero and how there was a feeling of empowerment to defend our Nation at ALL cost. I am grateful for our children who recognized the efforts of good men and women around the world of other countries and still hope and work toward world peace and mutual understanding and kindness for all people. 

There have been a lot of things change in my life since that day and I am grateful for the love of my family and friends who have gone through hard times and have chosen, like our nation, to rebuild, fight for truth, goodness and compassion. The foundation is sure. God will protect and defend those that honor Him. We still are ONE Nation, under God! He is our foundation and when built upon the principles of righteousness, He will not fail us, nor this Country. 

It is my hope now to keep a better journal through this blog for my family, so they can see how great life is, and how much they are loved and appreciated. How grateful I am for each one of them! My hope is that they always know how valued they are to me, that they recognize their person worth and how completely they are loved by their Father in Heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ; who loves all of us enough to atone for ALL the pains, (physically, emotionally or spiritually), heartache and sins of this world and made possible the resurrection of our mortal bodies. 

Everything and every mortal on this earth falls. It's part of living the human experience. There is no room for judgement because we are all learning from our own life experiences that God blesses us with.. And... we can rebuild. 

We don't walk....We Run!

These are Pictures of a few of Dave's Milage

Wasatch Back Relay 2010

The 189 mile run from Logan to Park City Utah was awesome. Twelve people in a single 12 Passenger van...plus all the bags and food. What a blast! Runner included only family this time and it was a crazy 33 hours. Ours legs ranged anywhere from 3 to 9 miles and each person ran three legs. Dave had 17 miles total and I came in at just about 14. The temperature went from 48 degrees at night and 89 degrees during the day on the top of the mountains above Park City. Look at the wasatch back relay home page for more info http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/wasatchback.

The amazing thing about this years run over last years was the NO ONE was sore. Crazy huh! I guess we are all in better shape. Alyssa even went on to run a ultra the following week. Dave and his nieces will be running the Ragner Teton Relay in August. The same we I am scheduled to go climb Devils Tower. We'll see how that all works out.

I think next year we're talking about doing some different runs. We really liked the RedRock in St. George.

Here are some pictures from last year's run. It was less crowded and well organized for there first year. Dave will be running the St. George Marathon in October. I was planning on being there to support him, but I have a first granddaughter being born and will be with her mother during that time.

Next event for me?...Climbing Timp the end of July and Bike ride from Utah Lake to Vivian Park which is 28 miles round trip the first week in August....HOT HOT HOT!

June Brought a Ton of Fun

You see how silly they are...now you know where my kids get it.

My dear mother, my sister and I went to San Diego for the first ever Mother-Daughter get away. We had a week of fun... just the three of us. It was an amazing experience and we have declared this a possible annual event, supported by our husbands (of course). All three of our men stated in one form or another that,"We three girls should get away for an annual girls retreat." We spent a day at Sea World, went for walks and runs on the boardwalk, ate breakfast at Kona's (a family favorite), shopped at the best thrift stores, read at least one or more books and took a ton of amazing pictures. I love my mom and sister so much. They both have an amazing sense of humor and are continuously lighthearted. There is nothing that is pretentious or complicated with our relationship. It is just fun! I am so blessed to have them in my life!

These are the first of the Strawberries for this year. I was so excited to see that they were so big!

THE WASATCH BACK...RAGNAR RELAY 189.7 MILES FROM LOGAN TO PARK CITY

Dave got into the Logan Paper for his stunning attire in these first two pics. On Dave's third leg of the Wasatch Back Relay it was cold and raining the whole day. Here he is waiting in the wee hours of the morning for Brent to come into the shoot to pass the baton.

The Boom Shakalaka Wasatch Back Team #446 High Five after Dave's last of three legs. (19 miles long total.)

The Team came in at 31 hours. The total relay was 189.7 miles. Next up...The Red Rock Relay in Cedar City, Utah in September and then the St. George Marathon. Are we crazy....yes. Are we loving the craziness...you betcha!!

I'm still learning how to get everything on this site correctly. Thanks so much to my daughter Diane for her help today. I still have more to add, but thought this was a good start.

February is Here

January was a big success as well as being a lot of fun. Dave and Shelly are preparing for the Ragnar Relay that will be held in June 2009. It is a run from Logan to Park City with a distance of 180 miles. There are 12 runners per team that each run a distance of between 5 to 9 miles per leg and between 12 to 18 miles total distance for each runner. (I hope I explained that well enough you can understand how the Relay works.) Dave and Shelly are also taking Watercolor classes on Saturdays. They have both been painting now for sometimes and have collected some great books on painting but have been wanting to take a class to get some expert help.

Scott is involved in the Diamond Fork Junior High production of Mulan and will be performing as a Hun and a village father. He frequently performs parts of the play and songs he find funny for anyone who is around. We all get entertained with dance and song. He really is very good! Scott has also started guitar lessons and is having his guitar restrung for a left handed player. Shelly is letting Scott resting her favorite guitar. Ahh, the love of a mother.

Abby our dog is now 82lbs of all muscle. She is 1 1/2 and is finally starting to calm down a little so we can pet her. She still gets very excited about new people coming, but stays on her blanket and doesn't jump on anyone. Our understanding is that most Labs don't calm down until about age 3 so we feel she's doing awesome for the amount of energy she has. We frequently take her down to the river to run and play in and wear her out a little. Yesterday Dave and Shelly went up Diamond Fork Canyon with her to play in the snow and the river there. She hardly seemed tired at all after runner constantly for about 2 hours, but she did seem happy.



Shelly still has not got any travel time with work but has been told that there is non-stop work that will be starting the end of February. She has loved being home with the family and has benefited during that last few month by getting to know many of her neighbors and making new friends in the ward. She is looking forward to getting back to work now and keeping up with her professional skills. She also plans to start an EMT course this summer.



Dave has finally got to do some ice fishing and had some great success this past Friday. He went fishing at Scofield Reservior and caught his limit of four fish plus three additional fish, which he threw back (alive of course). He is really enjoying working out and training for the Ragnar Relay as well.




Becky just had a ballroom dance compatition with 12 local Elementary schools in Utah County. She loves performing with Scera Theater. She had a solo song in her Christmas program there and will be playing an Ophan in the upcoming musical of Oliver this Spring.

Bryce is involved in Cub Scouts and will be starting soccer this spring. He loves riding his ripstick has recovered almost completely from his contact with the sidewalk (when he flew off a half pipe on his scooter). He has lost his front teeth three times.

We hope all of you are happy and healthy. We know life is busy and we are so grateful for the time you take to call and come visit us. Our home is always open to our loved ones and friends and we hope you will come visit us.

Review of 2008

It is in fact true that the older you get, the faster the days and years seem to pass by as well. It has been a very exciting and eventful year for all of us.

Alan Graduated from BYU in April, and Alan and Princess moved to Florida the first week in May and are enjoying their home in Tampa. Princess spend the better part of the year doing everything but stopping while Alan was in training and had a very painful shoulder surgery that still didn't seem to stop her much.

Diane and Mike moved to Virginia after Mike Graduated from BYU, were Mike is going to Virginia Tech getting his Masters in Engineering. Diane proudly passed her Physical Therapy Assistants License test and is working with a great group as a PTA that doesn't take her too far from home.

David L. left for the Morristown New Jersey Mission the end of May and is currently serving in Union City. He is serving as a Spanish speaking missionary and loves the people and the area. He has got to see a different side of the work and it's people. He is a great missionary and just got his first junior companion not too long ago.

Tiffany graduated High School and is now attending Utah Valley University and is on the Touring Ballroom Dance Team. Tiffany is working at Zales and really enjoys it. Tiffany and Elenia got to go on a Caribbean cruise as their graduation presents.

Elenia will graduate High School this coming May, but we thought the girls would have more fun together. Elenia got most of her generals for school done last year, so she spends some of her time with her dad at court and has worked for the last 8 months at Journeys. She spends much of her time taking care of Becky and Bryce with homework, after school activities and much more then most sisters would ever do.

Scott is in 7th grade and had his first play on January 13, 2009. It's called Wicked Cindy and Scott played the kings guard. He got a ton of laughs. He also is going to be an extra in the Spring Musical of Mulan where he will play a father a soldier and will help as stage crew. His love for legos has not died but has only grown stronger. He is much like his Uncle David in that area. He also loves anything to do with Star Wars. He got a Gold's Gym membership with Dave and Shelly actually really enjoys going to the gym. He had a brave moment a couple months ago when he had to get his Hepatitis Vaccine and Flu Shot at the same time. He said he wasn't going to watch and then he did. Scott is now a towering 5'9 and only 13. He just grew out of his size 10 shoes.

Becky is in 5th grade and does after school ballroom and was in her first drama group and sang a solo. She has the most beautiful voice for a ten year old and sings everywhere she goes. (Something Tiffany and Diane did as well and are still doing to my knowledge).

Bryce's big event happened in October just after his dad's birthday, when he flew off a skate ramp and onto the pavement, teeth first. He had emergency surgery and a number of painful weeks to save his teeth - for the second time- but is boarding again. Nothing really stops this kid. If it's challenging, he'll try it.

Dave got an ice fishing tent for Christmas and wishing he could get out and go fishing more. He has only gone once since it's snowed. Unfortunately for his but fortunately for his family, he puts his family first and so there is not a lot of time for fishing. Shelly keeps trying to get him out there though and has her own ice fishing boots and pole so she can go along as moral support. Dave also is continuing is love for music with guitar lessons and is trying to encourage Shelly to go, even though she's realized she doesn't have the benefit of pose able thumbs. (Ask for more detail if you don't get it.) Dave and Shelly both love painting and have been trying to do more then just collect and refer to watercolor books. They are actually doing some painting.
For New Years Eve, Dave, Shelly, Scott, Becky and Bryce went to First night in Provo. What great fun!