August 2019

Aug 3, 2019:

Did some exploring at the base of Santaquin Canyon—it was nice to just sort of meander, rather than having a predetermined mileage/elevation/pace run while I’m in training mode. 

Here is my formal apology to any campers I may have awoken when I ran through your camping spot and spooked your dogs 😬

Aug 6, 2019:

We have a house guest from Spain for a few days. My wife and I both had the day off work and drug our guest down to Moab. It was 103F on the hike up to the delicate arch 🥵, but we all survived. We told our Spaniard guest this is the best thing about Utah and it’s all downhill after this 😂

Some more Moab fun...the boys were not impressed with the hike to the Arch. It was hot, exposed, we kept squirting them with water to keep them cool, and there were straight up cliffs at the top. They refused to even look at the arch and go over there with David and me for a photo. This family shot with very long (and red) faces is the best we got! 😂

Aug 9, 2019:

David took the boys and Kayla to the Hogle Zoo.  It is much smaller than the San Diego zoo we went to on vacation, but David said the bird show is the best animal show he's ever seen!

Aug 9, 2019:

You know you have a great job when your team agrees to your suggestion to spend your faculty development time hiking to Stewart Falls. Love what you do and love who you do it with, and work isn’t work. How about that for team building?!

Aug 12, 2019:

Pace grew 1” over the summer, Max grew ½”. Neither of them turned around or looked back after locking up their bikes. These boys are getting so big, and they are such good boys.

*First week of school report: 

Max came home every day saying school was “Awesome!”, and he is so excited to accrue bonus points to win the ultimate prize: sitting at the teacher’s desk for the afternoon!

Pace said his first day was awful and Ms. Lambson scared him because she was so strict. By the end of the week, he said school was better because he knows what to expect now, and he likes Ms. Lambson more than Ms. Becker because she has them “doing so many things and they are hard so you have to really work, and Ms. Becker is like a break—you could fall asleep!”

Aug 13, 2019:

4 am alarm to meet up with Lorri for a run!  

From Lorri: I love running with Michal Markanich Coombs.

I love that our whole friendship can be summed up by the phrase: That’s a horrible idea, what time?⁣

I love the conversations we have that make the hours fly by. I love that she humors me by taking a selfie of a selfie... I love the trails we’ve explored and the trails we will continue to play on.

We are just two moms with very little sleep and a whole lot of fun! ⁣

Aug 15, 2019:

I always get a little anxious the night before I am going to do a run by myself in the dark because I hate running by myself in the dark. I’ve talked myself out of some early morning solo runs even though it’s my only window. 

But then I get moving {tightly grasping my mace and my running knife easily accessible}, and it’s the quiet stillness of the early morning, the cool fresh air, watching the morning slowly rise and the moon slip away, feeling the silhouettes wake up, and I always think, this is so good, and I wouldn’t miss this for the world.

Aug 17, 2019:

Run happy.

Aug 18, 2019:

How have the charms of the Demolition Derby escaped us for the past 4 years we’ve lived here??!! From cars being pushed over the wall to the Grudge Match to the chicken dance, worth every penny! 🤠😂

Aug 22, 2019:

We had a little piano recital when Max’s piano teacher was in town. (Ms. Andersen moved, and our good friend Jessica’s sister teaches via Skype.). She was visiting Jessica and their family and since Stephanie teaches all of Jessica’s kids, too, we thought we’d get together for an informal recital. 

Max, our little guy who melts down if anyone pays him special attention, required some coaching to play when it was his turn. Once he got playing, you could see his mind shift to focus on the music and his whole body relaxed. When he was done, though, he gripped the piano in a death grip, not wanting to turn around and look at all of us.

Aug 22, 2019:

As quiet and shy as Max is in front of people, he is quite the character at home. He picks out the craziest things—the most colorful shoes and backpack, a crazy Mohawk bike helmet. He’s really proud of the fact that his new bike matches the red and black theme. Pace wanted a photo, too, of his stand up trick.

Aug 24, 2019:

A great run up Diamond Fork today—I love that trail, and it was great sharing it with two strong Spartans! Mace, you ate that trail for breakfast!—next time I think you need to stop every 50 yards or so and do some burpees or plank jacks, and then maybe I can keep up with you! 😂

Aug 24, 2019:

One of my favorite childhood memories is visiting my grandparents and aunt and cousins every summer, and walking up and down the rows and rows of blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry bushes, eating right off the vine.  We're on our way to our own rows and rows of memories!

Aug 25, 2019:

Scripture reading with the boys...

Aug 27, 2019:

And the night shall be filled with music,

And the cares, that infest the day,

Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,

And as silently slip away. 

— The Day is Done

Longfellow

This stanza frequently comes to mind when I’m running in the early morning hours, except instead of peace happening when the day is done, meeting the dawn helps quiet my cares, and I start my day feeling a little more balanced.

Aug 31, 2019:

David had a day off work and brought the boys to have lunch with me at work.  We had a fun picnic outside, played pictionary, and gave some great squishes!

Aug 31, 2019:

Pace had fun at Ben's birthday party--swimming and playing at the park!

Aug 31, 2019:

West Mountain burned this summer, started on one end and went up and over the top to the other end.  It was crazy to watch, and so sad, right after the huge mountain fires we had last summer on the other side of the valley.