About a week and a half ago, I had something cool and special happen to me. Little Eli cuddled with me in bed. He always pushes me away at night and says he wants his mama. But, he and I had just been wrestling together earlier in the evening with his big sister, Ava. We just played for a pretty long time. Amongst the wrestling, well, we bonded. I went to bed with him, and he just totally let me stay in bed with him and then he even put his arm over my chest and then started tickling and caressing my cheeks. It was so cute. There's nothing like having your cheeks caressed and tickled by some little baby fingers. He was tired, but he wanted to just cuddle with his daddy. This was the first time he let me cuddle with him. He has always been so sassy and just wanted mom. I guess it made me realize I just need to do more with them.
So, then a few nights later, I went to the Legacy Center with both Eli and Ava. We played basketball together. We also had some races. I showed them some workout moves and exercises but one game we played that was fun was the 4-legged races. We started on the sideline of the basketball court with our hands and feet on the ground then raced to the other side. We did this both forward and backwards. We also did our defensive moves around the basketball court, short sprints and races. Ava loves to try and compete and beat her daddy. We run together, We do sit ups together. We do push ups together. She is going to be a pretty athletic girl. I sure do love her more than life itself
A couple Sundays ago was Fast and Testimony Sunday. Half way through the meeting, I realized that this was going to be the last Fast and testimony meeting with Ethan here before he goes on his mission. So, I got up and bore my testimony. Soon after me, Ethan got up and bore his. He made me get all choked up when he said that he loved his daddy and respected me for honoring his priesthood and being a good example. I can't believe I only have two and a half weeks with him before he is gone to Arizona!! He'll be a great Ambassador for the Lord
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Tibble Fork
Yesterday, I took the family up to Tibble Fork. Unfortunately, Ava got strep throat on Friday and could not come, being sick just right before we were to go. That sucked! So, Nichole had to stay home with her. That was a major bummer. I'd been looking forward to going with them for a couple weeks. We took our canoe and rented a kayak and paddleboard. It is so fun to just relax and stay out under the sun on a float or raft. And, on top of that, just to be up in the mountains in a beautiful setting. Jake always asks me if I'd rather live on the beach in a beach house or live on the lake in a lake house. To me, it is a toss up, but I love being on a lake with beautiful trees around. Maybe, someday we can just have the best of both worlds and have both a beach house and a lake house
At one point, we decided to have a race. Brad was on the paddleboard, Jake was on the kayak, and Ethan, Eli and I were on the canoe. We raced from one side of the lake to the other. Jake won on the kayak. Ethan, Eli and I finished a close second with Brad pulling up the rear on the paddleboard. We had a good time. Eli loved playing on the beach and sinking his feet into the mud. Eli loves playing with his big brothers and thinks he is just as big as they are
Frontrunner Century 2015
The first paid event of 2015 was the Frontrunner Century Ride. A few from my neighborhood entered and did it together. This was a Metric Century ride from Salt Lake to Ogden
Matt Tryon - Jake Carlile - myself
Don hooked up with us right after the start. He was pretty funny and did not want to have to pay for this event this year. Hence, the reason for no medal around his neck. Regardless, it was just good to ride together
Ragnar 2015
Don and I ended up doing Ragnar again together this year. We went with his neighborhood friends again. So, it was a 12-man team, but we decided to do our two legs together to get some more miles in. So, we ended up running about 32 miles or so together. Basically, it turned into an ultra for us. But, it was just fun to run side by side and push each other.
Don - me - Pat - Ira
Me and Don, Rochelle and Ira Bryce, Pat and Julie Richards
This was a good group. Everyone just had fun, but were also pretty athletic and fast. The group gave me the Ragnar Hill. This was the first time Ragnar had done this in combining both halves of the Hill into one leg. I had the pleasure of doing it this year for the team. I felt I did pretty well running the whole time. But, their were some amazing people who just were cruising up the hill like it was nothing. I remember one really young girl who was going so fast that she looked like she was not even sweating and had a huge smile on her face. I'm sure she had a huge smile because she saw how I was struggling. One thing I like to do when running in the middle of the day under extreme heat is to keep the shirt soaked in cold water and an ice towel underneath my hat. This totally keeps the body temperature down and allows the body to stay fresh. I see so many people who run without their shirts on, but this is stupid. The sun drains you so fast and zaps your energy. The key, at least for me in endurance running, is to keep the body cool, fresh and energized.
DOXA 2015
On Friday, July 31st, I was able to be a part of the Doxa Triathlon Relay. This event is set up just like a Ragnar with 36 legs and a team consisting of up to 12 people. It was 285 miles of triathlon. I was able to go with David Oliveros and his family and friends. I wish I could remember all their names, but I don't. Our team name was "You Are Never Too Old". The team let me participate in 6 of the last 16 events. I tagged along, because all of these people came from Texas and I was invited by David. I did not want to impose or take anything away from them, especially for having come so far. I told them I would do as little or as much as they'd like me to do. I was able to swim 435 meters, run 16 miles and bike just under 34 miles. My first leg was 8 miles which I did at a 7:15 pace. Then, I did a 4 mile mountain run climb in 40 minutes. I felt I could have gone faster, but I spent 5 minutes re-doing part of the course because there was no one around and I thought I missed a turn. The funnest leg was the 23.25 mile downhill at 4:30 in the morning. This was soooo fun! I had never been able to go on a ride for so long downhill. I mean, when do you get 23 miles of straight downhill?! I thought surely that part of the ride would flatten out or at least have some rollers. The whole leg went down. I could not believe that the guy on the right end of the picture did not want to do this leg. It was so fun. I told him afterwards when I confronted him, that I was going to give him a kiss. That was awesome. I counted that I did the 23.25 miles in just under 53 minutes. Riding in the dark is a little bit more scary. If you're older, like me, then you are more cautious. You slow down and don't take as many risks. I'd rather show up alive than not at all. That downhill, as you can tell, was a blast!!
After the event, I was able to go out on a date with my cute wife, and her friend Chrissy with her husband, David. We went to Olive Garden. We caught up on old times. I found out how Chrissy and Dave met which was at college in class. It's definitely hard to keep in touch when we live so far away from each other, and I don't use social media. Nichole and Chrissy were always so cute together. They were crazy, always full of jokes, pulling practical jokes on other people as well as themselves, and full of adventure. In fact, one time, they went to Zion's and left me behind.
Monte Cristo
Last weekend, Don and I rode from Pineview Reservoir up to Monte Cristo and back, then around the reservoir. It was a beautiful day. We've been wanting to head somewhere together for a while. So, when we did, we had to look like twins. Are we twins or what?! Don had the kit, so I obliged
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