Our Big Adventures: Marathon, Sand Dunes, and Southern Utah
Before we get to the tales of our big adventure, here's a few of the happenings before we left. I built the girls a sandbox in the backyard which they love.
They also took swimming lessons at the new Rec Center. Anne was a bit hesitant about going under the water but loved to play with her teacher. Rachel had a hard time staying above the water and loved her teacher and classmates as well.
Warmup time after the lessons.
Trying to entertain Sarah and keep her out of the water for 30 minutes by the side of the pool was a bit of a challenge, but we made it through thanks to cheerios and fruit snacks. Next year babe.
Annual Thatcher Family Backyard Campout 2014
Checking out the new (I know it's the 2nd year it's been opened, but this is the first time we have gone) Provo splash pad. The girls loved it.
Our new fire pit in the garden in the backyard. What better way to test it out than with hotdogs and smores?
Back to backyard campout.
This is the summer of hiking! I am trying to go hiking at least once a week and luckily I have good buddies and family that are down with that. My buddy Carlie and her kids took us to a hike near their home in Mapleton up Maple Canyon. It was rather adventurous. Part way through the hike we heard a noise in the bushes. I thought it was a bug and then Carlie yelled "Snake!" So I ran past it, picked up Rachel and shooed the other kids out of the way. Carlie, Katelyn, and Anne were on the path behind the snake, but the snake was less than a foot away from the road. Luckily Anne had backed way up the path, bless her little heart and didn't try to follow me. And I'm not talking about any snake, a rattle snake. We couldn't decide what to do because there was no way around the path. Some women came up to us on horseback and tried to scare the snake away with a rock, but that only made it cling to the tree roots tighter. So I took Sarah, Rachel, Timothy, and Spencer and we hiked to the road and Carlie hiked back to the car with the other two and came and picked us up. It was a crazy way to start our hiking season.
Playdough time!
My little cleaning helpers. They insist on helping and doing it themselves.
Slurpee rewards for Anne jumping in the water at swim class.
Uncle Loren and Grandpa Russell came for a visit before they headed down to the sand dunes, before we joined them. :)
Family night at UVU making worms in the dirt, painting, and giant candyland.
Jamming with Uncle Loren.
Hiking Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon
The water was freezing!
Carlie and her kids
Me and the kids
Girl loves her fruit snacks.
The Springville Art City Days Children's Festival. It was awesome! You paid $5 up front and then could ride or do anything you want as many times as you want. We all had a blast.
Magic show
Of course we are with our best buddies!
Reward for completing their swim class.
Playing go fish with Grandpa.
I did it! I ran a MARATHON! After five months of insane training. I'm talking about running four days a week: week workouts between 3-9 miles each, Saturday runs between 5-18 miles. Very limited fast food, junk food, and desserts cause it would just make me feel sick on my runs. I ended up losing 20 pounds and went from a size 10 to a 2. But more importantly I ran the entire marathon, all 26 dang miles. The race started in Wallsburg, past Deer Creek Reservoir, down through Provo canyon, and then back on University Ave to Center Street in Provo. The first 15 miles felt amazing. I was running splits about a minute faster than I usually did on my runs. Mostly because it was slightly downhill, but also because the excitement of the race. There was a point as I was running down the canyon, looking at all the beauty, and thinking about what I was doing, that I got teary. I was so grateful to my Heavenly Father that He gave me this incredible body that I was able to be doing this, and what a better place to do it. From mile 15-20 I started getting sore and tired. Coming out of the canyon at mile 21 I started to hurt. My left calf cramped up really bad but I didn't want to stop long to stretch it so I tried to run without straining it which placed more weight on my right foot. The tendons connecting my ankle to the bottom of my foot hurt like crazy. It was just pain. But I just wanted to be done with it so bad and I wanted to run the whole thing, so I just kept going. A company was putting personal messages from loved ones up on this huge digital board and Zac had put on a picture of the girls with the words "We love you Mom! Keep going! Hugs at the finish line!" Of course I got teary again but I also got a surge of energy and ran a couple miles pretty fast. At about 25 miles I came to the top of the hill and could see the finish line and got teary again. I was almost there! I saw a group of firefighters that ran the marathon in their full gear and finished with them. My Dad, Zac, and the girls were there yards before the finish line cheering me on and taking pictures. When I stopped it felt so good to not be running!! I kept feeling that for the next couple days. I kept telling Zac, "It feels so good to just not be running!" I finished with a 4:40:00 time which I am proud of. I didn't have any fast times I wanted to break, I just wanted to run the whole thing which I did. After we made it home I slept for a few hours and then went out for a steak dinner with everybody. I was hobbling and it hurt to put any weight on my ankle. Every part of my body from my bum down was incredibly sore. The soreness lasted for about 2 days and the pain in my foot lasted for about 3. I tried to jog after the girls a couple days later and my knee said "I don't think so". So I decided to not try running till after all our big adventures in another two weeks. After those two weeks I went out for an easy two mile jog and everything was completely back to normal and pain free. Our bodies truly are amazing gifts. I am grateful I was able to do this, but I am about 99% sure that I don't want to do it again. I see some 5k's and possibly a longer triathlon in my future though ;)
The two marathoners, my Dad and I. Thanks for inspiring me Dad! I don't think I would have done it otherwise.
The day after the marathon we headed south to join up with my Dad and Loren down in southern Utah at the Coral Pink sand dunes for some 4-wheeling and camping. It was amazing!!
Dad whooped us all in horshoes...of course.
Grandpa on the 4-wheeler. Not bad for a sixty-somethin year old :)
The girls were asking us every five minutes, "Can we go for a ride on the 4-wheelers, pleeeeeease?"
One biiiiiig giant sand box. They were well occupied in between rides.
Trying to get Sarah to take a nap in the tent was a little trickly however.
Going for a ride with the big boys.
Bachi ball fun.
Saggy britches Sarah.
We saw these huge beetles everywhere. The girls were fascinated.
Our pretty bikes :)
Cool Uncle Loren selfie :)
Currently one of my favorite pics.
Thanks for letting us tag along Loren and Grandpa! I'm sure we'll be back next year.
Southern Utah...and a little bit of Arizona Trip 2014
My Mom and little brother Gordon were coming out to Utah to be a part of my Aunt Lorna's sealing to her husband Howdy down at the St. George temple. So the girls and I asked if we could tag along. They graciously agreed and so two days after the sand dunes we all headed down to St. George. We made a big trip out of it and saw all the sites we could starting with Kolob canyon, which is part of Zion National Park.
I let the girls take some pictures on the trip.
We'll see some more pics of Zion's later on in the pictures from Mom's camera.
In St. George there was an awesome children's museum that the girls could have played in all day.
I love Rachel's grocery choices. The place had ice cream, ceral, chips...tons of other stuff. But this is what she picked. That's my girl.
On the steps of the St. George temple waiting for everyone to come out. What a truly beautiful experience to be a part of. I am honored that I was able to be there with my Mom and all my aunts and uncles. I am so grateful for the blessings of the temple and the happiness and joy that it brings to families.
One of the girls' favorite parts of the trip, staying in a hotel!!
Hippo was happy to be there too :)
...and Kitty.
Another of my favs from the trip.
After Church on Sunday we headed down to Aunt Lorna and Uncle Howdy's ranch in Fredonia, Arizona and spent the day and night with them. The girls loved all the animals.
The goats...
the dogs...
and especially the horses.
More pics of us riding the horses below. Another check on my bucket list, I got to ride a horse! I had only ridden a little pony at a state fair and have always wanted to ride a horse. Thanks Aunt Lorna!
The bear on the right is wearing the dress that my Mom and her sisters were all blessed in.
Catching up.
Rachel taking pictures...
The next day we headed down to see the Grand Canyon with Aunt Lorna. On the way we saw some buffalo.
The Grand Canyon was breathtaking. Pictures or movies do not do it justice. Once again (I sound like a big softy), the magnificence of it all got me choked up. Heavenly Father made all this for me. To give variety and beauty to the Earth. How amazing is that? The girls loved the canyon, though I was not a fan of the great heights and the possibility of them falling. We kept good grips on their little hands and Sarah was strapped into my backpack.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Arches National Park
Delicate Arch (on the left)
Sand Dune Arch
Between the fins.
Double Arch
The girls were incredible hikers and loved to climb on the big rocks.
On this particular hike, Anne just started climbing up after Uncle
Gordon and wanted to climb to the very top. So I helped her first and
then came back and got Rachel.
Even Sarah climbed a boulder, by
herself, in pursuit of her sisters.
Breakfast at Denny's! They have some dang good pecan pancakes.
Our only real car malfunction, a dead headlight which we learned how to replace with the aid of Uncle Loren over the phone and the nice NAPA salesman.
Canyonlands
Sarah loved all the pretty rocks and stopped to say hi to most of them :)
Grandma!
The last night we stopped in Manti to see one of Gordon's friends and also watch the pageant. Set on the side grounds of the temple, it was beautiful.
Spending some well wanted time with Daddy.
Storytime with Grandma.
Now some supplimentary footage from Grandma's camera.
Enjoying the ride. The girls actually did really good in the van. They mostly slept, watched a couple movies, colored, and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
Kolob Canyon
The tiny little flies were a tad itchy. They basically gobbled Sarah up.
Zion National Park
On the tram through the park.
The wildlife.
Weeping rock.
Swimming pool at the hotel in St. George. We were all big fans.
Sarah's favorite place to be in the hotel.
...and this was Gordon's.
At Aunt Lorna's and Uncle Howdy's.
Sarah loved the ride as well. She kept saying hi to the horse and laughing.
Arches National Park
They are not kidding when they say you need to drink A LOT of water on the hikes down there. We were camels.
Sand dune arch.
Me at the top of a big climb.
We did the short hike to a better view of Delicate Arch. It's wayyyy over there on the right.
I love her expresion. It say "I can do it! All by myself!"
Balancing Rock on the left. Looks like a golfball on a tee.
The Three Gossips.
Our cabin in Moab.
Man it was hot in Moab. The Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion were all surprisingly cooler than we expected. I'm talking in the 80's. Not Moab, it was a scorching 100+. On this hike we made it unknowingly to the .9 of the mile hike and decided to turn back. We realized where we were about halfway back. Oh well.
These are my favorite rocks. :) Vesicular Basalt
Gorgeous view through...I can't remember, but it was beautiful.
In honor of my nephew :)
Our campsite in Kodachrome Basin.
Gordon and I on our hike up "Simba's Peak" as we called it.
Bryce
Bathtime at the KOA
Coral Sand Dunes .... again.
Pizza!
Grand Canyon
Yes Gordon is smelling the tree. Yellow pines smell like butterscotch. Cool bit of info from Aunt Lorna. She made the best tour guide.
Camping out in Aunt Lorna's front room.
My cowgirls :)
And that about concludes our trip. It was fantastic! I hope our girls will be able to remember some of it when they grow up. Thanks Loren, Grandpa, Grandma, and Gordon for two great adventures!
Dad after his marathon a few years ago ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment