My first half marathon!

This weekend I ran my first half marathon! The place - Moab, UT. The trail - down the canyon. My running buddy - my sister Lindsay! The trail and the run were great until about mile eleven. Thanks you Gatorade and power gel for helping me through to the end. Lindsay and I are pictured below after the race. The rest of the family came out from Colorado to cheer us on. They are also pictured with us.





After the race we had a picnic and toured Arches National Park. We made the rounds to delicate arch and many other sights.



Kristen is pictured here trying to hold up balanced rock. Check out those muscles!

This weekend I went down to St. George with a friend, Heather, for a little rest and relaxation. Our itinerary was the following:

1. Arrive in St. George.

2. Drove straight to Nielsen's Custard Shop. Best custard I have had in a long while. I recommend the classic vanilla with brownie bits. Delicious!

3. Watched the Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets game. What a great comeback from the Jazz!

4. Slept in.

5. Went for a long trail run in the surrounding bluffs. It was nice to run in warm weather again and to burn a few calories- see numbers 2, 6, and 10. This sign was posted along the road and I couldn't resist taking a picture of it.



And I thought I was obsessive about cleaning!

6. Ate a delicious hamburger, fries, and strawberry shake at In-N-Out. I had no idea In-N-Out came to Utah! Heather and I are pictured below.



7. Went shopping at the outlets. However, neither of us are big shoppers so it didn't last very long.

8. Read outside in the sun next to a golf course for a few hours.

9. Visited sights around the city such as the tabernacle and the temple.

10. Made dinner and sampled many flavors of ice-cream. Yumm!

Believe it or not, this was my first trip to St. George. I love it and am already looking forward for the time I can relax in the beauty of the red rocks and warm sun.

To An Unnamed Hero

Since becoming a gym regular, I have found a new hero. No, no, it's not the body builders or the class instructors, but a fit old woman! Not only does this woman come to the gym regularly every morning (very early at that) but she is really fit. With incredible energy and spunk, this woman works the machines and weights like anyone else there. Maybe one day I will personally thank this woman, but for now, thank you to my unnamed hero for the inspiration to work hard so I can still be fit at age 70!

My New Love

Here are pictures from the latest snowshoeing adventure up American Fork Canyon. Pictured with me here are my two roommates, Jessie and Kristy. The movie includes our other friend Nick who also came along. Just watch the short movie with the pristine scenery and you will understand why snowshoeing has become my new love. I'm addicted. Not only does it provide a great cross training workout for running but I also get to spend time in the mountains I love. Any suggestions for the next snowshoeing trip?

100's Day!

So in my first grade class we are always having a good time. One of my favorite days during the year is dedicated to celebrating the 100th day of school. The festivities include activities like reading with 100 shaped glasses; writing about what they will look like at age 100; counting, sorting, and graphing 100 items they brought from home; taking 100 licks of a tootsie pop; and making pictures with 100 pennies. My 21 students are pictured below. I promised them they could be silly for the second picture if they give me one good picture.

Another Adventure

This past weekend the snow was too inviting to sit at home. It was time for a snowshoeing trip! Destination: The Abajo Mountains in Monticello, Utah. Driving down to Monticello, we stopped by Wilson's Arch. Dustin, Marianne, and I are pictured here.



My friends Jessie, Morgan, and Dustin showed another friend, Marianne, and I around the small town of Monticello (we saw the whole city in five minutes) before heading up to the Abajo mountains. Here we are getting ready for the trip.





The mountains were so serene and beautiful! Our group snowshoed all afternoon and evening on untouched terrain. Once it got dark, the woods looked exactly like the pictures from the children's book Owl Moon. We almost didn't need our headlamps because of the thousands of bright stars in the sky. I could have kept going all night!



As there is no road leading to the cabin, we got a little lost. This picture is in front of the cabin after arriving about 9:00 at night.



What a great trip!

A New Hobby?

I have just recently learned that curling is an olympic sport. Some friends and I decided to try it out as a possible new hobby. We all drove to the Olympic Oval on Friday and tried it! Here is the group.



In this picture, Jessie (my roommate) and I are sweeping. You pretty much shuffle your feet while sweeping the ice to create a thin layer of water for the stones to go farther. What a crazy sport! One I will definitely watch next time the winter olympics roll around.