Antelope by Moonlight

Paula and I decided to do the Antelope by Moonlight bike ride this year. This was actually our first organized ride for this year (cause we are both TOO DANG BUSY), and it was a lot of fun. When I think about it, we must be completely crazy. There were 2000 riders, it was 10:00 p.m. and very dark, this ride attracts an unusual amount of Boy Scouts, glow sticks are apparently prone to coming unhooked and falling onto the road where they become very hazardous to road bikes, and for whatever reason there really wasn't a bright moon that night (which I think is false advertising for a ride called Antelope by Moonlight). But you know Paula and I ... wherever we are, we're gonna HAVE FUN!!

Usually on rides like this, there is a staggered start time so everyone is spread out. This time, not so much, and that was NUTS! We all had headlights and reflectors on and glow sticks so at least we were all kinda visible, but all those bright lights made it hard to see and I ended up focusing on not crashing into people and hardly ever watched the road right in front of me which is somewhat dangerous ... especially for me.

Right off the bat, there was a bit of a climb and then a long downhill. I was reminded of my own recklessness and the dangers of riding at night in a big hurry when I realized I was FLYING (I'm not going to tell you how fast) down a hill in the dark on a 1.25 inch tire and I had lost Paula. Ooops. And once we got separated, it was hard to find each other, but we figured it out.

 It was harder than usual to navigate in the dark and keep from hitting people, and there were a lot of people missing the whole "slow on the right, pass on the left" thing. These must be the same people who drive on Utah roads. Weird. So it made for a kinda crazy ride. Did I mention it was at 10:00 at night?!

I had spent that day up at Deer Creek boating with my family for about five hours. While I LOVE going to the lake and we had a really fun day boating, it probably wasn't the best idea before a night ride. It was only 23.47 miles which is normally not a problem, but I was EXHAUSTED!! We had a long slow gradual climb at the very end of the ride, and it KICKED MY TRASH!  I knew I was struggling, but I looked down at my speedometer and realized how SLOW I was going ... 3.8 mph!! Really ?!?! I was honestly worried about starting to roll BACKWARDS!! But you know you me, I am NOT getting off that bike!! And then I looked at my watch ... 11:48 p.m. Well, that makes sense. Paula, because she is AMAZING, flew up the hill, and because she is a good friend, she waited for me at the top and said, "We always finish together." What a rockstar. Love that girl.

I guess maybe we look a little alike. Just a little.

This is our after-ride picture, and if I do say so myself, we don't look too bad. Of course, you can't really get the full effect of the helmet-hair in this pic. Too bad for you.The ride of course was around Antelope Island which is about 90 minutes from here, so we still had to drive home after we finished and got home around 1:45. Just a bit tired the next day.

And the shirts. Gotta have the shirts. I didn't get a very good picture, but it says "End of the World, Mayan Meltdown 2012" on it. Whatever that means.

Independence Day

For our Fourth of July this year, we skipped the big parade and headed up to the mountains to hike the G with the Olsens, and we had a great time. It wasn't too hot, and it's not too long of a hike, but it was pretty steep. I was a little baffled as to HOW I had hiked it so many times before at night with a flashlight. I was in high school, what can I say?

You can tell who the overachievers are in these two families. The rest of us were satisfied with arriving at the base of the G and sat down to rest. These two ran on up to the top. Apparently the view is "much better" from up there. Just ask Jackson and Kylee.

It's hard to see in this picture, but Dave and Bret both think they need goatees in order to be real men... or something ... blah, blah, blah. I lovingly refer to this phenomenon as a mid-life crisis. Problem is, they both feel obligated to shave them off before church on Sunday, so they only grow them out during the week and they never get soft. Whatever.

 
We stopped by the Purple Turtle for shakes and tater gems (yum) after our hike and then went over to Neptune Park. We actually had a big BBQ and went to a fabulous neighborhood fireworks show that night, but I apparently did not remember to take pictures. That kinda sounds like me.

Love this

I ran across this quote the other day, and I LOVE it. It explains EXACTLY how I feel about our country, and the people in it right now:

"We are living in a time of great crisis. The country is torn with scandal and with criticism, with faultfinding and condemnation. It is an easy thing to climb on the bandwagon and join the hotheads in condemnation, little realizing that when they do, they are not just tearing down a man, they are tearing down a nation, and they are striking at the underpinnings of one of the greatest of all nations of all the world--a nation that was founded upon an inspired declaration we call the Constitution of the United States. The Lord said it was written by men whom he raised up for that very purpose, and that Constitution stands today as a model to all the nations to pattern their lives...

Men may fail in this country. Earthquakes may come, seas may heave themselves beyond their bounds, there may be drought and disaster and hardship, as we may call it, but this nation, founded as it was a foundation of principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail!...

While it is true there are dangers and difficulties that lie ahead of us, we must not assume that we are going to lie down and watch the country go to ruin. We should not be heard to predict ills and calamities for the nation. On the contrary, we should be providing optimistic support of the nation...

It is the negative, pessimistic comments about the nation that do as much harm as anything to the country today...We should not be so concerned about finding out what is wrong with America, but we should be finding what is right about America and should be speaking optimistically and enthusiastically about America...

Yes, men may fail, but this nation won't fail. I have faith in America, and you and I must have faith in America if we understand the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ." - Harold B. Lee

That's just gross

 I can't recall where it originated, but the kids and I have a tradition that whenever we go to the dentist or orthodontist, we stop for a donut on the way home. I truly do not remember how this came about, and while it does defy some logic (especially regarding the dentist), I do enjoy a good donut, and so do they. Apparently I need to have a little talk to them about what constitutes a GOOD donut.

These little gems are maple bars sprinkled with BACON, and that is truly disgusting. Even if I ate bacon, I sure as heck would NOT put it on a donut. Austin has perfected the "died and gone to heaven" look pretty well. He saves it for things like bacon-sprinkled donuts.

Spring RECAP (Winter has been skipped)

We had an exciting and busy Spring around here. As usual, I have found it easier to just not think about Winter and move on with my life. I'm sure Winter was exciting too, but it was cold then, and I strongly prefer warm things. So, in May, Jackson turned 12 and was ordained a Deacon.

 Our family joined us for that day, and we had a nice time visiting and sharing Jackson's day with him.

 That suit looks kinda big on him, but he'll grow into it. He's been doing a great job passing the sacrament and helping to set up chairs (which he now understands is the most commonly called upon priesthood duty). So proud of you Jacks.

 For his birthday, Jackson had two requests: a flat-brimmed BYU hat and "cop" sunglasses. He's the pickiest of our kids BY FAR and NO we don't know where he gets his picky from. So he and I had a fun day shopping picking out some new clothes and sunglasses he wanted. We surprised him with a video game too. I can't believe he's 12 already. One more year, and I've got two teenagers in this house. BRING IT ON.

 London celebrated her birthday back in April and just HAD to have a Fijit friend which as far as I can tell does NOTHING useful, but she loves it. Clothes, girly stuff, and a new hat for my HAT-kind-of-girl.

I probably should have taken the ice cream cake all the way out of the box and at least pretended that I made it.

 She talked us into a friend party (no easy task considering I bribe heavily to avoid them). And we actually survived. She picked a movie party (courtesy of Alvin and the Chipmunks: Shipwrecked) complete  with popcicles, pizza, and soda.

 No fancy cakes around here. Cupcakes are the way to go.

 Jackson graduated from sixth grade. Way to go Jacks! The pictures from that night were so funny. In the one above, he got an award for academic excellence, and if you'll notice, he's the only boy up there. All girls and my boy (his father was so proud).

 Eventually another boy was called up there to receive his award. Of course, it HAD to be Landon, and does Landon go to the END of the line? Umm ... No. He buts right in there in the middle with Jackson and what do they do??? Same thing they ALWAYS do .... TALK!!!

      Even

 They denied it, but SEE .... I have EVIDENCE! And they wonder why Melanie and I devised a plan way back before they started kindergarten to keep them OUT of the same class .... EVER. They literally CANNOT keep quiet when they are together. But nice job boys on the award. We're so proud.

 Some lovely awards and a treat from a very generous person who made a bunch of cupcakes so each graduate could have their own special balloon name tag on their cupcake. Pretty cool.

 This is probably the only NICE picture we got of them all night without a bunch of retakes. See evidence below.

 And FINALLY. I hope the middle school is ready for these two.

 And in other exciting news: London takes after her dad when it comes to devouring the carcasses of dead animals. She was all over Buffalo Wild Wings. Loved it. Dave was beaming with pride. I refused to take a pic of that.

 Fun field trip to the zoo with T.J.

 Austin completed the Order of the Arrow with his friend Ammon for scouting. Don't mind his eyes, he hadn't slept very well and they worked them really hard. He was exhausted. Way to stick it out Aust!

 London was awarded Student of the Month, and I was awarded Employee of the Month on the same day in the same assembly. It's fun to be working at their school ... especially on days like that.

 Jackson had never received the Student of the Month award at Eagle Valley. He's a good student (sometimes talks too much in class) and a good leader but has never got this award. So, the last month of his last year at that school, he informs me that he started "trying" to get Student of the Month and sure enough, he was awarded Student of the Month in the final assembly of the year. Really Jackson? Wow.

 London did a fabulous report on Burkina Faso, Africa.

 Chillin with her friend Hayden on report day.

Royally THUMPING Jackson and the rest of the sixth graders at softball in the sixth grade/faculty game was definitely one of the highlights of my Spring. The score was 10-3. I wasn't planning on playing, but they needed a first base, and those kids were really talking some smack, so I pretty much HAD to play. So I played first base and got out a bunch of 12-year-olds, including some of my Young Women and several of Jackson's friends. Haha. It was AWESOME!! Nothing humbles sixth graders like getting caught out by ME.

 Dr. Suess day was fun.

Hiking the Y for the first time as a family. That is a steep hike! My calves were sore for days. We had a good time.

 And Easter. Love Easter. The one day of the year my kids don't understand what I mean by "Let's take a nice picture." Next time, I'm holding onto the candy til they DO IT!!