Anything that can go wrong...

You know the saying.

This is a grump-fest post.  Please don't feel like you need to cheer me up or anything.  Sometimes I just need to write down some of the stuff banging around in my head to make it stop bothering me.  Believe me, once I finish this post, I will feel lots better and I'll be able to move on cheerfully.  First, though, a rant.

Why is it that bad stuff all happens a once?  I mean, really?!

• You already know my new car is in the body shop getting plastic surgery after an unfortunate incident that messed up its tail end.  Still not back.
• You also already know I hate my weenie-mobile rental car.  Now more than ever for reasons about to be revealed.
• Monday, Will drove to school and accidentally left the parking lights on in the Expedition, which killed the battery.  Dead as a doornail (what a weird phrase!).  Do you know how long it takes to use a weenie-mobile battery to jump start a big beastly Expedition battery?  A little over 40 minutes.  Since we were in the mostly empty school parking lot... no sweat.
• This morning, while Will was driving to school, the Expedition suddenly lost power everything (steering and electrics), then died on him when he managed to get it pulled mostly onto the side of the road.  He was blocking the right turn lane, but at least he was out of the middle of the road, right?
• Automotive gymnastics was not on my to-do list today, but I still managed to get the weenie-mobile nose to nose with the Expedition despite all the other drivers on the road looking at me like I'd lost my mind.  Oh, and to get the full visual, be sure to put me in pajamas!
• Trying to jump start an elephant like the Expedition with a mouse like the weenie-mobile in the middle of traffic during morning rush hour?  Not on my list of fun activities for the day.  It didn't work, of course, because we didn't have 40 minutes to sit around and wait for a big enough charge to build up.
• Don't you think tow companies are in the business of coming to the rescue of stranded motorists?  If you thought so, you'd be as wrong as I was.  I was told by two different companies that they "didn't have time to come out to tow my car".
• I can feel more expenses coming on with these new car troubles.
• Helena's phone is on the blink (it only works sporadically at this point), so she missed the text from her boss telling her that the shifts had been changed and why wasn't she at work today?  
• Helena also managed to fall on the stairs today while home alone and is now sporting wicked scabs and bruises all over her legs and feet. (I am truly glad it wasn't worse!  What if she'd broken a leg while all alone at home!  Poor girl.)
• Will's friend, Dallan, actually DID break his leg yesterday.  He'll require surgery that sidelines him for the entire skiing season.  Poor boy!  Dallan is Will's best skiing buddy, so I know Will's bummed, too.
• Will has been given an "Unexcused Absence" by his English teacher for leaving class early.  That freezes his grade until he goes to Attendance School TWICE.  An unexcused absence is considered a sluff and carries double penalty.  Each attendance school session costs $5.
• I've had a dead toe nail ever since the half Ironman back in August.  Could it just fall off already?!?
• And to top it all of?  I HAVE A STUPID COLD SORE!  Gah!  

See.  I feel better already.

PS:  I do need to say this...

As Will and I were stuck on the side of the road, desperately trying to figure out how to get out of the way of traffic and get the dumb Expedition back home, Liz M (Bill's niece) happened to drive by in her (nicer, newer, better-er) Expedition and asked if we needed a tow!

!!!!

Hooray for Liz!!!!

I sent Will home in the rental while I rode in our Expedition as Liz towed it back home.  She was my life saver this morning and completely turned a disastrous situation around!!!  (Note to self:  I was very impressed that Liz just happened to have a tow rope in her car.  I should get one and put it in my car, just in case...... whenever I get my car back, that is)

PPS:  I also need to say this...

When Bill got home from work this evening, he used his gargantuan work truck to jump start the Expedition and then left them hooked up charging the battery for a couple of hours.  That should keep the Expedition running until Saturday, when he can take it in to have the battery and alternator checked.

PPPS:  Really, I'm just about done...

Can you tell that some of my rants are just silly?  Those are my way of humorizing my life.  If you can't laugh at yourself, life is pretty grim.

The Longest Day

This has been a LONG week!  I swear, each day seemed to be stretched out into two days.

I think that is pretty normal when you have a regular work week immediately after a long weekend.  We had fall break last week, so I only worked two days last week.  It made this week seem quite long.

However, add in a bit of under the weather yuckiness?  This week was tough!

Early in the week I thought I was coming down with a cold.  I felt achy and sort of feverish, but I plowed on with my work week because the only thing worse than being sick is having to arrange sub plans.  You never see teachers abusing sick days like you do in other professions, because staying home sick only adds to the workload.  Writing sub plans is enough added work that if I'm actually contemplating doing it, I'm practically ready for hospitalization.  So, all week long I dragged myself out of bed, aches and all, and dragged myself into work, always a little off sync and slightly behind schedule.

It turns out, it wasn't a cold.

It was a bladder infection.

It became obvious that I'd have to go to the doctor about mid way through the day today.  I scheduled the appointment, and then slogged through the rest of my classes.  MAN!  I think time slowed down as the afternoon dragged on!  I couldn't wait to get home, pull on some sweats, and curl up on my bed.

The work day did finally end, and my boss even let me duck out early and skip my prep period.  The doctor's office verified the diagnosis, and now I am curled up in said sweats waiting for Bill to bring home some Rubio's for me.

I have a scrip now for antibiotics to get rid of the infection.  Antibiotics are really one of the greatest inventions of mankind!  Think off all the lives saved by antibiotics!  Not that my life is in jeopardy, of course.  But, man!  I was actually happy for the positive test results because it meant that I could take antibiotics to make it go away.  I remember going in to the doctor's office not to long ago hoping that I had strep throat, because then I could take antibiotics and the pain would go away quickly.  At that time I wasn't lucky.  That time it was something viral, so I had to just sweat it out.  No antibiotics.

Good timing with the meds, too.  I have a weekend for them to take effect and I should be feeling just fine when it is time to go back to work next week.

The Weenie-Mobile Syndrome

I got a rental car when I took my Explorer into the shop for repairs.  

It would be nice if they gave me something comparable to what I drive.  Some small to mid-sized SUV, like that awesome Jeep Grand Cherokee the rental company gave me for a week after the Alero got totaled.  That thing was NICE!  But, of course, the only reason they gave me such a nice rental that time around is that they made a mistake and upgraded me as an apology.  This time, since there were no mistakes, I got the cheap "weenie-mobile" rental that is covered by insurance.

Harrumph.

It is a Mazda2.  When Bill got home on the first night we had it, he laughingly pointed out that he'd had no idea that Mazda made anything smaller than the Mazda3.  He jokingly asked why I didn't just get the Mazda1.5?  Ha ha, funny man.

This car is seriously small.  It is rather ridiculous that it actually has 4 doors.  Looking at it, it doesn't look like there is enough room under the hood to actually house a motor, and the "boot" is nearly non-existent.  But it gets me from point A to point B, so I guess it will have to do until my car comes back home.

I have noticed an interesting phenomenon while driving it, however.  I call it "The Weenie-Mobile Syndrome".

I drive the same roads to and from work every day.  I drive the same speeds that I have been accustomed to driving in my Explorer, except now I am in a little fluff of a car.  The difference is, now everyone is blasting past me like I am some annoying little bug in their way!  When I am in my Explorer (going the exact same speeds on the exact same roads, mind you), no one tries to pass me... in fact, I am the one passing others right and left!  (I may have forgotten to mention that I drive on the fast side of the speed limit; just under the cop's "Holy Crap!  I've got to stop that maniac!" tolerance levels)

Since I have not changed my driving habits, I can only conclude that people react differently around "Weenie-Mobiles" than they do around SUVs.  I told Bill about this, and he said "Now you know how I feel!"

He drives a LARGE work truck.  Something in between a large dually and a semi tractor in size.

Think about your driving habits around large work trucks.  Don't you hustle to get in front of them in order to avoid having to stop behind them at a light?  I admit, I am guilty of it.  Bill says people cut him off ALL THE TIME.  But, I hadn't realized that people are contemptuous of little "weenie-mobiles" and it shows up in their driving.

It's a good thing this is temporary.  I can't wait to get my own car back!

...and Now He Drives!

I briefly mentioned in the post titled "First Accident" that Will has his driver's license.  He took driver's ed over the summer (early June, in fact), but only finished up the road portion of the class in early October because the school got backlogged and didn't get around to scheduling him until then.  Yeah.  I signed him up for SUMMER driver's ed so I could have a full week of early morning road tests done DURING our busy school schedule.  Thanks for that!

Anyways, he completed it just fine and was able to get his driver's license over the weekend.  Today was the first day there was a car available for him to drive himself to school.  We have two cars.  I drive one to work (which is currently a 'weenie-mobile' rental car while my damaged car gets repaired), and the other is for whomever in the family needs it at the time.  Sometimes Bill takes it off into the mountains for adventuring, but usually it is used by Helena to get to and from work.  Now, it is also for Will to get himself to and from school.  So, we have to plan out the week in advance to see where everyone needs to be, and when.  If Helena doesn't work until afternoon/evening shift, then Will can take the car to school.  If Helena works morning shift, Will is out of luck and I drive him to school.

This is not an easy thing for me; letting my youngest son drive.

Fourteen and a half years ago, my youngest brother was 16 years old, and just 3 months into having his driver's license when he was killed in a car accident.  That was a dark and difficult time for everyone in our family and I hesitate to even bring it up, for fear of bringing my mother pain.  I know she reads this blog.

A tragedy like that is something you never truly 'get over'.  Will was only 2 years old at the time, so he never got to know the uncle of whom he reminds me.

Because he does.

There is much in Will's personality that is similar to my little brother, Kris.  Will has a sensitive soul.  He is empathetic in a way that is rare in someone so young.  Kris was the same way.  Sometimes, I even thought his features were similar.  So, I have seen echoes of my little brother within my son as he has grown.

And now he is driving.

It makes me extra nervous, beyond the norm.  Last weekend's car accident didn't help, either.  I wish I knew how long it will take me to become okay with him driving.  Three months?  Six?  A year?  Until he is 18?

Never?!  Gah!  I hope not!

I am grateful for the probationary nature of new driver's licenses here.  Besides night-time restrictions (no driving from midnight to 5 am), he is also not allowed to have ANY passengers other than family members for the first 6 months.  This is supposed to eliminate showboating for peers during the first months of building driving experience.  The woman who issued him his license was also kind enough to remind him that, until he is 18, his driver's license belongs to his parents, who can take it away from him at any time and for any reason.

He drove to school for the first time, today.  He left 30 minutes early to avoid the "rush hour" parking situation at the high school parking lot and texted me upon his safe arrival.  After school, he went to see teachers about improving his grades... and to allow the parking lot to empty out before he drove home.  That will be the routine until further notice.

I can't and won't stop him from driving.  It is part of growing up and I can't deny him an important part of that transition from childhood to adulthood.

But, oh!  It is hard.

By the Numbers

It is absolutely amazing how awesome I feel after working out.  No, really!

I feel taller.  Sexier.  Stronger.  Happier.  Prettier.  Skinnier.  And just all around GOOD.

There is no drug better than endorphins.  You wanna get high?  EXERCISE!

I still have 20 lbs to lose.  The numbers on the scale are stubborn little buggers.  But I don't let them get me down, because I have some other really awesome numbers for you...

I can sustain 155+ bpm (heart Beats Per Minute) for well over an hour on a daily basis.

My resting heart rate fluctuates between 45-55 bpm.  That is rockstar!  An average healthy person's resting heart rate is 60-90 bpm.  45-55 bpm is endurance athlete level.  That makes me feel amazing!

My blood pressure is consistently below 120/80.  Usually about 116/75.  That is also rockstar!

I can run a flat 5K (3.1 miles) in under 28 minutes and a 10K with light hills in one hour.

I'm at about 16.5-17.5 mph on my bike training.

I can get a short lane 100m swim done in under 2 min. and my longest swim to date is 3000m.

So, if the numbers on the scale are getting you down, start paying attention to other numbers in your life.  You'll soon find something to cheer about!

And, by all means, get out there and get high...

... on exercise!

First Accident

If you think about it, we are all a little crazy.  We all strap ourselves into moving metal boxes and travel around KNOWING that eventually the odds are that we will crash.  Someone will do something stupid - maybe you, maybe me - and two cars will collide.  We wouldn't bother throwing our money at car insurance, otherwise.

Accidents happen.  They are a fact of life.  A fact that we all acknowledge subconsciously as we go about our lives.

Late Friday night (okay, it was actually early Saturday morning according to the clock), Will was hungry.  He wanted to fix some food, but the kitchen is right next to the master bedroom and my husband, Bill, was asleep.  I suggested that Helena drive him to Wendy's late night drive through and chucked a $10 bill at them.  Will actually just got his driver's license that very day, but a brand new under 18 license in the state of Utah comes with restrictions.  One of those restrictions is no driving from midnight to 5 am. So, if he wanted to go, he had to have Helena drive him.  They left around 12:15 am.

At approximately 12:45 am, Bill's phone started to ring... loudly!  I had been in the bathroom scrubbing my face.  I don't usually answer Bill's phone, but it was so loud and it was so late, I decided to look at the caller ID.

It was Helena.

I quickly answered it to receive the phone call that every parent dreads.

Helena and Will had been in a car accident.

My heart sunk to the floor!  I quickly got from her reassurances that both she and Will were not hurt.  Then I found out that she had decided to take my car.  My NEW car.  I asked her if it was her fault.  She told me in a shaky voice that she didn't know, but she thought it might be.

Oh!  I was MAD!  She told me where she was and I told her to hold tight, that I'd be right there.

It was a dark and stormy night.  When I got to the scene of the accident, I could see the damage to my car, but I couldn't see any other vehicle.  That confused me.  I pulled up behind the kids so my headlights could shine on the damage and I set my hazard blinkers.

All my anger bled away when I got to Helena.  She was crying and saying "I'm so sorry!" over and over.  My poor baby!  I just stood there in the rain, holding and comforting her while she cried.

She pointed out where the other car was, about 2 blocks away on the other side of the street and told me her story.  She was pulling left out of Wendy's drive through when the tail of the car was hit by another car in the closest lane to the curb.  She pulled over right away and immediately started panicking, saying "Mom's gonna kill me!"  She didn't know what to do.  She started trying to call me right away.  She tried 7 times.  Because I was in the bathroom, I didn't hear my phone (which is habitually set to vibrate) in the living room.  That's when she decided to try her Dad's phone number.

As Helena was standing around looking at the damage to the car and wondering what to do, two young  gentlemen in a pickup truck stopped and asked her if she needed help.  She briefly told them what happened and they drove over to the other vehicle to check on its occupant(s).  When they returned to Helena, they told her that NO ONE WAS IN THE OTHER CAR!  They advised her to call the cops.  Once they knew her mom was on the way, they took their leave.

I got on the scene about 10-15 minutes after the accident.  Once I calmed Helena down and told her it would be alright, I called 911.  By the time the local police arrived, it had been over 20 minutes since the crash.

The police confirmed that the other car was vacant.  So weird!  The police were as puzzled as we were.  After having Helena fill out an accident report, the officer sent us home, telling me I could call her during the next graveyard shift to find out if they had located the other driver.

We had all sorts of theories about why the other driver would bail like that.

1. Avoiding a DUI.
2. Underage/No license/joyriding with Mom's car.
3. A combo of 1 & 2.
4. A freshly "hot" car.
5. A warrant out for his/her arrest.

Okay, so that last one was a stretch.  I have a hard time picturing a warrant dodging Nissan Cube owner.  

It turned out, none of them were the case.  The driver/owner of the other car was just an odd duck.  She claims that she sat in her car for 10 minutes, but never saw the driver of the other vehicle, so she got out and started walking for home.  Really?  She has a 2010 Cube, but no cell phone?  And walking for home one town over is somehow a better alternative than asking the workers at the convenience store (or the McD's, or the Wendy's) RIGHT THERE to call the police for her?  She earned a citation for leaving the scene of an accident for that stunt.

Anyways, once I got everybody back home, I woke Bill up and told him the news, mostly so he wouldn't be shocked by the damage to the car when he stepped out to go to work the next morning.  Then I spent another hour talking to Helena about how lucky they'd been that the hit was to the back of the car and not where they were sitting...

... and to reassure her that, yes, this is a huge deal right now, and we'll get through it.

That's just it.  We will get through this.   It was scary, she needs to be more careful, and it is a big hassle with insurance and repairs and rental cars...

... but there will come a day a year from now when we can look back on this and realize that we did get through it and we did move on.  And there will be a day 5 years from now when we will realize that this accident wasn't even a very big deal in the whole scope of a lifetime.

She and Will are both home safe and sound, and that is really all that matters.

Fall

I'm sorry.  I've slacked off in my journaling.  I've had several post ideas, but I was never at a computer when the thought came, and I forgot my awesome ideas once I was sitting at a computer.

And so it goes.

I thought I'd write about fall, today.

I had a hard time letting go of summer this year.  It was really such an awesome summer!  The best one I've had in many years!  I'm already looking forward to next summer... it was that good.

Still, autumn is nice, too.  In fact, I can now go running in early afternoon without giving myself heat stroke.  But it is starting to get too chilly for biking because I am a wimp.  I don't like being cold.  Bill will put on extra layers and go out there even when it is fre-jeezing.  Not me.  No thanks.  I'll go to a spin class, instead.  Fortunately, there is a 6 pm spinning class every M-Th.

Same thing goes for running.  Once it drops below 45 degrees outside, I'm an indoor girl!  I was going to go trail running this morning, but it was 34 degrees.  So I ran on a treadmill, instead.  Then I swam laps in the pool, which is now indoors, too!  Our local pool is convertible.  In the summer it is outdoor, the rest of the year, there is a bubble over it.  Not very attractive, but very effective!

I packed up my gym bag this morning with everything I thought I'd need.  Plastic bag for sweaty running clothes, swim "toys", swimsuit & towel, and clothes to wear home.  The one thing I forgot?  Sandals for the walk home.  Call me crazy, but I don't want to put my sweaty running shoes back on my damp feet after swimming!  So I walked home barefoot.  I did that all the time over the summer, and today was nice enough that it was fine, but I better start getting in the habit of packing them before winter sets in!  I do NOT want to hoof it home barefoot in the snow!  Sandals?  Sure!  Barefoot? No.

*****

The leaves in the canyons are starting to fade already.  Their colorful display is nearly over and the trees down here in the valley are just starting to turn.

Bill and I went on a road bike ride together last Monday up Provo canyon and South Fork canyon.  The Provo canyon portion was on the Provo River Parkway Trail (PRPT).  It is a beautiful trail!  I really think I'm going to go run it sometime this coming week.  However, it is a little frustrating on a bike because of all the runners on it... and all the "Freds" who use the trail.

I learned recently that mountain bikers have a lingo for road bikers and recreational bikers, in other words, all cyclists who aren't cool enough to be mountain bikers.  Road cyclists are "roadies".  Bill tells me I'm one of those.  Recreational riders are "Fred".  You can tell them apart by the coolness level of their bike, their cycling etiquette, and by what they wear when riding.  A "roadie" has a respectable bike, follows the rules of the road, and is wearing cycling gear.  "Freds" are on heavy WalMart-esque bikes, often ride on the wrong side of the street &/or on the sidewalk, and usually wear a cotton t-shirt and cargo shorts.  Helmets with "Freds" are about 50/50.  All other bikers are hard core enough to always wear a helmet.

Anyways, back to the PRPT.  We had to slow down every time we passed a runner.  And the "Freds" had a hard time following the paint designated lanes on the trail and would often come coasting down the hill at us in our lane, causing some consternation.

Still, it was a beautiful ride!

You might wonder why we even took the trail instead of riding on the road like true "roadies".

The Provo Canyon highway is under construction and has signs up prohibiting cycling in the construction zone.  So the trail was the only option going up.

Once we reached Vivian Park and the end of the PRPT, we turned into a side canyon (South Fork) and rode up it to the top.  Or, at least, until we ran out of public road.  That side canyon had a lot of hill climbing!  At first I was not happy about that, but after a while, I started enjoying it!  Sure, it was really hard, but I was so proud of myself for being able to do it!  Just a year ago I would not have been able to climb it!  We climbed 1,200+ feet in just over 10 miles of riding.  2/3 of that in the second 5 miles.

Yes, it was beautiful!  And, yes, the downhill 10+ miles were exceptionally fun!  Round trip we traveled 21 miles.

To Remember, or Not

I am pleased and proud that the school where I teach chose to take a moment and honor the day by having all the students stand and salute the flag while the National Anthem played throughout the school.  It is an elementary school, so none of the students have an actual memory of the events that transpired 11 years ago today.  In fact, of all the students, only the 6th graders and maybe a few 5th graders were even alive when tragedy struck and the world as we knew it changed forever.  However, I think that fact alone is strong reason to perform an act of remembrance.

My son's high school did NOT do anything to mark the significance of this day.  What an utter failure!  They missed an important opportunity to teach recent history, patriotism, and civic honor and pride to our young adults.  These are not tender young minds that need to be sheltered from the horrors of the world.  They should have been given a special media dense lesson on modern history at the very least in their history classes.  My son is in US History right now!  Yet no mention was made, probably because it isn't 'in the curriculum' and won't be featured on end of year tests.  How can we claim to always remember, never forget if we don't take the time to memorialize and reflect on what was lost that day?

I imagine my grandparents feel the same way about December 7th.  Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  But how many really remember the day?  For most of us, the events of Pearl Harbor are just some dry facts in a history book, read once and not remembered again.  But the events are similar in scope and national/historical significance.  December 7th should be remembered.  So should September 11th.

So, again, well done Harvest Elementary.  Shame on you, American Fork High School.

Cancer Free Diagnosis!

Some of you may recall that my first ever mammogram turned up less than rosy results.  I had to go back in for additional screenings.  More mammograms and ultrasounds on both of my breasts.  What they found are called Fibroadenoma, and is not usually cancerous, but can become so over time.  Essentially, it got me flagged as 'at risk'.  Over the past year and a half it has always been there, in the back of my mind as a possibility.

Today I am happy to report that I had another ultrasound in which the doctor found absolutely no change in the tissue!  So I have 'graduated' (his term, not mine) from his care and can return to just getting my regular annual mammogram like the rest of the 40+ ladies out there!

Woot, woot!  I need to celebrate!

Park City Point 2 Point

This past weekend (Labor Day weekend, to be precise), Bill and I went up to Park City for a few days so he could compete in an endurance mountain bike race called the Park City Point 2 Point (PCP2P).  It was an approximately 80 mile race with a 14,000 foot elevation gain!  In other words, it is wicked hard!

Bill decided he wanted to be able to stay in Park City so we wouldn't have to get up so terribly early on the morning of the race, and so that we could relax and enjoy our after race celebrations.  He booked a hotel in town, and we left the kids at home.  This was the first time we have left them to their own devices, with no one checking up on them.  They did great, and I didn't even worry about them... even though I knew Helena and her best friend, Megan, were planning an adventure filled day in Salt Lake City that included City Creek Center and culminated in their first ever concert, Sugarland!

You'll have to ask Helena all about her big adventures, though I know the concert was at an outdoor venue and they got rained on.  Still, I think she had a blast.  I hope so, anyways.

Will also hung out with a friend, Braxton, while we were gone, but they stayed closer to home, just rattling around Walmart and watching movies at the house.

So,  back to the race!

On Friday night we drove up to Canyons Resort to get Bill's race packet and swag bag.  Also to pick up the jersey I had secretly ordered for him!

I had never been to the Canyons Resort before.  Man, that place is nice!  Bill and I both want to take the kids there for a Christmas Ski vacation... we just can't afford it.  That place is really high end.

I should actually back up and amend that statement.  Bill and I went there for a Sting concert years ago, before it was called Canyons.  It has gone through such an overhaul with all new buildings that I didn't recognize it as the same place!  Bill is the one that made the connection for me.

There was a lot more (and cooler) swag for this race than for any race I have ever done.  Apparently, mountain bikers know how to get the goods!  Bill came home with tons of treasures to share with the kids, both from the swag bag, and from winning raffle prizes at the end.  Bill also saw several other racers that he knows from the many group rides he's gone on.

Once we were done at Canyons, we checked into our hotel and decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant.  Bad Idea.  The service was slow, the water tasted TERRIBLE (really, ugh!), and the food was mediocre, at best.  By the time we were done with dinner, it was getting late, so we called it a night and went to bed.

We got up super early (or at least, super early for me) on Saturday morning.  It was still dark out and very overcast.  I walked over to the grocery store next door, hoping to pick up something for Bill, when the rain began.  It was too early (4:30 am), the store was not open 24 hours like I had hoped, so I went back to the hotel room to finish getting ready to go.  By the time we got in the car and headed out to the start of the race, there was lightning and thunder and heavy rain.  We were nearly the first ones there.  Only the guy putting out the signage for the race beat us to the start.

We sat in the car for an hour as other people arrived and the rain continued to pour down.

We were both certain they were going to put off the race until the next day, at the very least.  The trails were all turning to mud!  However, after that hour, the rain let up and a pre-race meeting was held to decide what to do.  Most of the racers were willing to go for it, despite the mud, so, after clearing it with the various resorts that the race cut through (to make sure they didn't object to their trails being thoroughly trashed by mud racing), the race was on!  The start was just shifted to 8 am instead of 7.

Here is a picture of Bill with a couple of his mountain bike buddies, Josh and Ryan.  After the race started, I ended up spending the rest of the day with their wives, Kelly and Marion.  Both ladies were very nice to me.  They had been good friends for years, ever since their husbands started mountain biking together.

Here is a shot of Bill at the beginning of the race, before all the mud.

After seeing them off, I followed Kelly and Marion over to Deer Valley Resort, so we could cheer them on and so Kelly and Marion could be the support personnel for their husbands at the first checkpoint.  The race provided special needs bag service, so Bill packed his needed stuff into bags that the race support delivered to the checkpoint for him.  In other words, Bill didn't need me as support staff, just as his own personal cheerleader.  I was happy to do that!  So we cheered at the base of the Silver Lake Express lift, then rode to the top (holy cold, batman!) to meet them at the checkpoint.  Bill was significantly ahead of his friends, so by the time we got to the top, he was already in checkpoint!  I ran over to him quickly and gave him my love (oh. my. gosh.  he was coated in mud!) and saw him off.  There was another checkpoint at Park City Mountain Resort, but he told me not to worry about going there (since we didn't have a time frame for when he'd be there) and that he'd see me at the finish.

We waited around for Josh and Ryan before going back down the lift.  I swear their husbands told Kelly and Marion not to bother coming to Mountain Resort, but apparently that wasn't the case.  They were both peeved that their wives weren't waiting for them at the next checkpoint.  What did the ladies do instead?  They went shopping at the outlet mall with me.  Oops.  Sorry, boys.  I can't help thinking that is partially my fault.  It was my idea to go the mall.  After all, it was my weekend getaway, too.  However, both ladies swore they heard their husbands say 'see you at the finish', so I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

After a fun time at the outlet mall shopping and people watching, some misadventures in traffic (man!  Park City motorists are RUDE!), and a delicious pizza/salad lunch at a place called Maxwell's, we headed back to Canyons Resort and the finish line.

The weather ranged all over the map.  It went from blustery with lightning and rain, to sunny enough to strip off all the layers.  Bill came across the finish line in the sun at just over 8 hours 11 seconds!  The sign says 8'14" because of the staggered start.  You have to subtract 3 minutes from that time to get his actual time.  His friend, Josh, came across the finish just under 2 hours later.  Ryan did not finish.  Marion drove over to Park City Mountain Resort to pick him up.  Both guys got stuck in a hail storm that Bill missed, being ahead of them.  Josh said he's never doing this race again, but Bill hopes to sign up for it again next year.

We hung out for a little while longer there at the resort, giving Bill a chance to score a raffle prize goody bag and a jar of pickles.  Then we said good-bye to his friends and went back to the hotel to get cleaned up for a celebratory dinner at the Blue Iguana in the upscale part of Park City.

Sunday morning, we had a hard time searching out a decent place for breakfast, since many places were closed and we weren't willing to chance it with our hotel's restaurant again.  We finally found a pancake house down at Kimball Junction (next to the outlet mall) attached to the Best Western.

When they say 'pan'cake, they aren't kidding!  That thing was disgustingly huge!  I only ended up eating two bites of it and took the rest of it, along with some of my eggs and hashbrowns, home for Will to eat.

I have to say this, and pardon me for being rude, HOLY FAT PEOPLE!!!  We had just spent the entire weekend surrounded by over 1,000 extremely fit and healthy people.  Racers and spouses alike seemed trim and athletic.  So it was a bit of a shock to walk into the pancake house and see the majority of the clientele were obese.  To watch overweight people load their plates at the breakfast buffet again, and again... and again.  (We ordered off the menu.  No thank you, buffet.)  I was also disturbed to see the family at the table next to ours let their small children run around the restaurant in nothing more than a one-sie!  Ugh, people!  Find some class.

Sorry.  Rude and judgemental of me.  I know.

Still, breakfast was delicious and our waitress was very nice.  On our way back to the hotel to get checked out, we were about to drive past the Olympic Ski jump from the 2002 winter Olympics.  Bill made the comment that a friend had posted on facebook about seeing the ski team practicing just the other day.  So, we decided to detour and take a look.  They were!

There is a practice ski jump that ends in a giant pool of water!  The athletes ski down wet ramps, do flips in the air, then land in the pool of water below.  There is someone at the controls watching them do it, because right before they land in it, the water suddenly froths with aeration to soften the landing for them.  It was truly awesome to watch!

So, there's our weekend.  After that, we checked out of the hotel and headed home to spend Labor Day Monday with the kids, doing not much of anything.  Huge congratulations to Bill for such a monumental race!

Snail Mail

My child of the technology age has recently had to learn the ins and outs of an old fashioned means of communicating...

Sending and waiting for letters in the mail.

With her boyfriend, Dagen, off on his mission, there will be no more phone calls, text messages, Skype video chats, or other forms of modern communication between them.  In order to keep in touch, they have to resort to the old postage paid, sit and wait for a reply version of long distance communication that previous generations lived with their whole lives.

It has been fun for me to watch her learn.

For instance, for the first several weeks of his mission, Dagen has been at the Missionary Training Center (MTC), but this past Monday he flew to his assigned mission field.  Before he left the MTC, he had sent Helena a letter asking for some pictures of her in order to show his roommates his beautiful girlfriend.  So, this past Friday, she planned to put a memory card full of pictures into an envelope and mail it to him, fully expecting that he'd get it that day or the next.

Remember, he was scheduled to fly out the following Monday.

I had to explain to her that the mail system simply is not that fast.  If she mailed it on Friday, it was very unlikely that he would receive it before his flight left on Monday morning.  She was quite dismayed.

Fortunately, there was another solution.  There is a local UPS store that will do a Friday only same day delivery of (small) boxes to the MTC for free!  They do not advertise this, it is a word of mouth sort of perk.  I heard about it from an old friend from our 'ballet mom' days.  If you can get the box to them before 3:00 pm, they deliver it that day.  Helena already had a box prepped and packed, so she just slipped the memory card envelope into the box to ensure that he got it.

The memory card thing is a modern-tech generation's version of sending pictures to each other, only they can also record video to send one another, as well.  That memory card is about to rack up a whole lot of travel miles, since it will go back and forth between them, enclosed in their letters.

It is fun to watch Helena anticipate the mail delivery each day, and extra fun to see her reaction when there is a letter from Dagen in the mail box!  Apparently, our mailman has already clued in on the special correspondence going on, because he makes sure to carefully arrange Dagen's letter on the top,  prominently displayed and oriented so it is the first thing to be seen when the mailbox opens.  So the letter from Dagen is always laying carefully in the front, not crammed in the back with the ads and circulars.  It probably makes the mailman's day to actually deliver REAL mail that is eagerly awaited, instead of the normal garbage that chokes the mail system these days!

I feel like this is one of those circle of life moments.  I know that sounds corny, but when I see Helena get excited or dejected about the mail, I can't help but think of all the generations before her who had the same experience waiting for news from a loved one far away... in the mission field, off to school, or serving on some far off battle front.  It is an experience that many of this next generation will probably never have.  So I am glad for her that she gets to experience it.

I'm not sure she is glad to experience it, though.

Maybe with time she will come to realize the value of owning and cherishing these real artifacts of her relationship with Dagen.  There is something so satisfying about holding a tangible letter that was hand written by the sender, instead of an electronically typed and sent missive.  The personality contained in the choice of ink color, the penmanship itself, and the care and consideration that went into writing it by hand are immeasurable.

Maybe she already feels that way?

At any rate, snail mail... the new/old way to communicate!

"Wanna Go To The Pool?"

I am asked this question often throughout the summer.  The actual activity du jour varies wildly, depending on who actually asked the question.

"Wanna go to the pool?"

Coming from my youngest son, Will, this is an invite to go put in some laps and work out together.  Sharing a lane is probable. Wetsuits may or may not be involved, depending on the time of day and/or weather.  An actual workout swimsuit is a must.  My gym bag must come, because it has my caps, goggles, and ear plugs.  He is definitely hoping I'll bring my pool 'toys'... hand paddles, pull buoy, kick board, fins... so he can use them, too.  Some time relaxing in the hot tub after the workout is done is a given.  He may or may not abandon me, depending on whether or not one of his friends also happens to be at the pool at that moment.

If I had to describe Will's pool self, it would be a fish.  Warm water, cold water... he is happy in it.  Living in and loving the water.

"Wanna go to the pool?"

This question from my daughter, Helena, is not actually an invite to SWIM.  This is an invite to go lounge next to the pool and bake in the sun.  A lounging suit is a must.  My phone for music and entertainment, ear buds, possibly reading material, and a wallet for the snack shack should all be included in the pool bag.  Now, I can't really tolerate just baking in the sun, so I go dunk myself in the pool every 10-15 minutes and return to my chaise pleasantly cooled off so I can lounge on.  I may even abandon my post at her side and just lay right in the water for a while.  Helena, however, is the all-time-family-record-holder-queen-bee of sun baking.  She is really quite the master at it.

If I had to describe Helena's pool self, it would be a lizard.  Basking and dozing in the sun.  Collecting its warmth to hopefully last her through the cold winter.

Bill never asks this question.  Or rather, I should say, I have no recollection of Bill ever asking me, "wanna go to the pool?"  It is just not in his nature to want to go to the pool.  He'd rather be on a bike.

So, which version of the question do I prefer, you ask?

I like them both.  I am happy to do both.  Usually not at the same time.  The three of us occasionally go to the pool together, but usually it is a one on one kind of deal.  Any which way you look at it, it is a win-win for me.

Time at/in the pool + time with my kids = a very happy me!