Ski Vacation

Bruce went skiing for the first time this week. He skipped the last day of school (or as Scott says, "He was not 'skipping.' He was absent.") and went skiing with Scott. Bruce told his class that he was going on a "ski vacation." That makes it sound very cool and official.
Bruce hung out on the bunny hills most of the day, but progressed to a longer beginner hill by the end of the day.
He is so proud of himself. On the way home, he kept asking if I was impressed with him. And I am impressed.
Scott has been wanting to teach Bruce to ski. The day was perfect.
Phoebe and I hung out in the lodge, played in the snow, and took lots of pictures.
I pulled her around in this sled and got lots of comments from people. We heard, "That's the life" lots of times.
And it is quite the life. Who wouldn't want to hang out with this squirt all day?!
I brought a few toys and things to pass the time in the lodge. Mostly she wanted to scoop up snow chunks off the floor and eat them. Gross.
Here's her serious face. She still has Scott's cute chin.
Here are the boys at the end of the day.
Bruce fell asleep in the car on the way home. He was so exhausted that he leaned over the toilet when we got home and said he felt like he was going to barf. He didn't. After a plate of rice and a few glasses of water, he got his appetite back and ate and ate and ate. I don't think I've ever seen a limit to Bruce's energy until that day; that was a rare moment.

BYU XC Reunion

While at Club Nationals, I saw two ladies I ran with at BYU: Nan Kennard (pictured above, cruising to 3rd place overall!) and Rena Chesser. Both of them kicked my booty in the race in classic Cougar style. I love meeting up with former teammates. There aren't many moms that still run competitively, but Rena has 2-year-old twins and Nan has a flock of three kids. On our "BYU XC Reunion Cooldown," Nan explained her Zen-Family-Running Theory. She claims that her running has matured and that having a family gives her a more balanced perspective on life that fuels her running. I need to work on that mentality: instead of whining about my lack of sleep and inability to run out the door any time I want, perhaps I should look for some advantages of being a momathlete.


Photos by Tom the Great.

Cross Country Nationals!

This was my weekend.

Scott finagled his way out of working this weekend so he could be with Bruce and Phoebe while I went to Charlotte, North Carolina and got my cross country on.

I flew to Charlotte on Friday night and got a full night's sleep (amazing!) followed by sleeping in and lounging about on Saturday morning. It felt luxurious. Then my teammates and I geared up and went to the race, which was held on a gorgeous wooded course with one big hill and one big mud-pit.

The race was very competitive. All of the fastest club runners came from around the country. My team was shooting for the top ten, but we ended up 16/29 teams. We aren't disappointed though: just about everyone ran her best, but the competition was just so good!

I love races like that - where there is always a pack to run with and plenty of runners to pick off. It keeps racing interesting.

The start was fast - there was a long straightaway that narrowed quickly. I got pushed and shoved to the back of the pack, and spent the rest of the race working my way up. This was perhaps the most physical race I've been in - some lady pushed me away from her while we were battling up the hill. I felt good about how I ran and even had a sprint at the end. My time wasn't my best - 22:55 over 6K - but I don't run that particular distance often and I am not in super-fab shape. I'll get there though.

Boston Marathon 2011 is the next Big Race.

Breakfast at the Raymond Residence

This was before 7 a.m.

The Conspirators

What are they planning?

Lovely Lipids

I got my cholesterol tested for the first time since Phoebe was born. The results are in:

217 total
161 LDL
41 HDL

My best ever!

But still a ways to go....