Memorial Day Weekend Fun

First off can I just say how proud I am of my Mother!?

Doing a small Triathlon is no small feat...even if its not the full deal. Getting up to swim in 56 degree water, doing a 13 mile bike and a 3.5 mile run- isnt something that I would just volunteer for- FOR FUN!

Well thats just the sort of thing that my mother does- on a regular occurrence. Have I said how much I admire her?( at least a few times I think) :) At 56 I shes rather remarkable.
She decided only a few short weeks prior to enter the race, other than running- she hasnt been training...nope not at all. She borrowed her friends bike and did the bike course twice before, and hasnt swam since last summer. Here is where my admiration comes in...she knows shes a strong competitor, and has endurance...so she just thinks..."okay this will be fun- havent trained for it, but lets do it!"
This is the cold water lake at Daybreak where the swim was to take place. I was in my jeans, hoodie, winter coat AND a cap- and still was shivering. YOU couldnt have paid me a million dollars to do that swim that morning!
Here mom is all ready to go- now see these folks in the wet suits...there was 1 woman that braved it in a regular old swimsuit, and a guy in his speedo. Seriously thought they would die.
In fact there were several folks that had to be pulled out of the water and many that once they completed the swim dropped out because they were too cold.

Here is moms swimming group- BRRRR!

I got a few pictures of mom coming out of the water- but because I told her I would only put flattering picts up- I will refrain from sharing them. She was very shaky, felt terrible, and honestly didnt look good. Whether it was the cold, or the fact that she said she had a hard time breathing in the water, she was very unsteady...

But she got her composure back and got right on the bike and off she went!

And here she is coming in from the bike....

Transitioning from the bike to the run...and she is still smiling...I think I would be close to passing out!

And at the end of the race- finishing strong!

Seriously I am supposed to be her daughter right? Where is my endurance? I did run 5.7 miles this weekend- and I thought I was going to fall over( doesnt bode well for Ragnar in a few weeks!)

ALL DONE- now without any training or real prep do you know what is remarkable. Her coming in 3rd place in her age group!

Way to go MOM so proud of YOU!!

*****

Later that night I had my Dad over to celebrate not only his Birthday- Happy 57th!
But an excuse to have them over for dinner and see my Grandma. Oh how I love her! She gets to Utah several times a year and its always so wonderful to see her.

Dad, Nancy, the boys, and Grandma.

What a great night! xo

Cory's latest pics

Just a shout out to my little brother. He is having tremendous success in sharing the Gospel. He still skates whenever possible, and keeps it real. :)

Only 5 short months till he is home.

Friday

Jonathan and I were sealed in the Mt. Timp Temple- July 08'- for all ETERNITY :)

“Let us not live a life … that would bring regret. … It is not going to matter very much how much money you made, what kind of a house you lived in, what kind of a car you drove, the size of your bank account—any of those things. What is going to matter is that dear woman who has walked with you side by side as your companion through all of the years of life and those children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and their faithfulness and their looking to you … with respect and love and deference and kindness.”
Gordon B. Hinckley

*Im so very glad I chose to be with Jonathan- as Noel said to me the other night.."Hows my daddy-o?, "He is good Noellie- busy but good" She replied" I hope I marry someone like him someday". I thought about this for a minute....for here is my daughter telling me she wants what I have..... I said "You will- be picky, date lots, and dont rush. You will find your own Jonathan I promise."

Thurs

'09- My oldest, my youngest

"No earthly authority can separate us from direct access to our Creator. There can never be a mechanical or electronic failure when we pray. There is no limit on the number of times or how long we can pray each day. There is no quota of how many needs we wish to pray for in each prayer. We do not need to go through secretaries or make an appointment to reach the throne of grace. He is reachable at any time and any place."--James E. Faust, "The Lifeline of Prayer," Ensign, May 2002

Wed

Elijiah- 4 yrs old

Elder M. Russell Ballard on mothering:
"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be “full-time moms,” at least during the most formative years of their children’s lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part-or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." “Daughters of God,” Ensign, May 2008

Tuesday

Hawaii Trip- 2007

"...the truer measure of sacrifice isn't so much what one gives to sacrifice as what one sacrifices to give. Faith isn't tested so much when the cupboard is full as when it is bare. In these defining moments, the crisis doesn't create one's character it reveals it."Lynn G. Robbins

A week of reflection.....

Jonathan and I '07

"Any task in life is easier if we approach it with the one at a time attitude. ... To cite a whimsical saying; 'If you chase two rabbits, both of them will escape.' No one is adequate to do everything all at once. We have to select what is important, what is possible, and begin where we are, with what we have. And if we begin and if we keep going the weight, the worry, the doubt, the depression will begin to lift .... We can't do everything always, but we can do something now, and doing something will help to lift the weight and lessen the worry, 'The beginning,' said Plato, 'is the most important part.'"
--Richard L. Evans, Thoughts for One Hundred Days