This training stuff is seriously interfering with my blogability...I can't think of too much I'd rather have interfere. I am really enjoying being able to see myself get stronger! Today I only got dropped on 1 hill over the course of a 40 mile ride full of hills, that is quite a switch. Okay, it was a "leisurely" paced ride in theory and I am willing to concede that may have contributed in small measure to me keeping up, but it isn't the WHOLE reason...some of the reason is the push, pull pedaling method I have been focusing on and some of it is the hundreds of miles I've ridden in the last month or so...
All of this training is due to the fact that next Saturday I will be riding in the Little Red Riding Hood Century! It is in Logan, it is an all girls ride, I will be riding among some of my favorite people and I will be riding for 100 miles in one day! Can you believe I am excited to do that? Weird, huh?

On another happy note Kelsie [our niece] graduated from High School on Thursday! Way to go Kels! We are super proud of her. We also got to meet her friend who will be accompanying her to our happy home to start attending Dixie College in the fall- they will be sharing the spare room that has now been mostly empty for two whole months [that may be a new record]. We look forward to the maid service that will be coming along with these 2 teenage girls!

Hmmm

Hmmm, as I was walking Herc tonight I had all types of brainstorms about blogging about this week. Now however it is somewhat muddled....Hmmm do you think JK Rowling got muggles out of muddled? You know Mud blood, somehow messed up...interesting? Or is it just that as I walked through the dayroom today Harry Potter was meeting Draco Malfoy on the TV screen?

So I made crock pot spaghetti today for the first time. A swing and a miss. Although dinner was ready quite quickly after I got home tonight. I must say that I wonder where the adage (definition according to Webster.com=a saying often in metaphorical form that embodies a common observation) Oh am I glad that I have used that correctly for years and years...I could use it in a sentence but wasn't completely sure of the definition, good to know...anyway the adage about "a watched pot never boils" came from. I know when it originated in the 1500s that Rachel Ray's Orange pans were not in existence, so it couldn't actually be the frustration originating from only being able to heat water on medium heat (I read the instructions, I LOVE these pans...)...so did the saying somehow originate from the switch from Pagan religions to Christianity, or what? Hmmm.

Anyway I went to a community education class today after work that was extremely interesting. IT was a speech pathologist, neuro scientist, homeopathic allergist, etc. talking about actually reversing autism, ADD and ADHD using integrated medicine and sound therapy. Apparently there is emerging research and technology using prescriptive sound and other wholistic treatments that has actually reversed these conditions. It was an absolutely entrancing presentation, this woman has a clinic in St. George, I will be following up to see what kind of relationship we can establish to help the youth I work with who have autism...
Very Exciting!

I'll have to blog more about the week tomorrow because we had some excellent days this week! Friends Rock!

We had a fantastic weekend! We rode 65 miles on our bikes on Saturday morning, then on Sunday we went to the lake with Darb and rode the Blaster...It was running AWESOME!

Then we went to a BBQ at the Hathaways for more sun and fun!

This would be Jason's attempt to cover up his sunburned feet...he forgot to sunscreen the feet!

When is the last time you played "Chicken"? I had forgotten how much fun can be had in the pool, and how sore my muscles could be...if the long ride wasn't enough (and it was), the evening of swimming and frolicking made for some serious muscle pain today!

So Harli likes to dig...she had some serious fun helping dad with the yard work...Jas was going to have to pull those weeds anyway so she really did help out!

Did You Know Tami is a Great Aunt?

Ryker Braxton was born on May 7, 2009

He weighed in at 7 lbs 6 oz and was 21 inches long

I got to meet Ryker this week on Monday and saw him again before heading home on Thursday. He is adorable!

He is surrounded by LOVE!!

Someone was making fun of Chris (my brother, the Grandpa at age 37) and tried teasing me too, saying something like what about being a Great Aunt? I just laughed and said that I have always been a Great Aunt, so it is no big thing for me...

Congratulations to Braxton and Kelsey!

What a magnificent morning! We saw the fox again on our walk. We were on the same trail that goes near the hobo hut (where we saw it last time) and I thought I saw something dart around a rock, then figured it was a lizard (they are everywhere, and now Harli is jumping and leaping at them, trying to catch them) because I couldn't see anything when I looked closer. We walked on about 100 yards or so and the dogs stopped in the shade of a rock. I turned around to call them and there was the fox. Sitting against a rock, watching us. I watched him for at least a minute. I got out my phone and tried to take picture, but I don't know if I was close enough to see him, he blends in really well! I tried to walk closer but when I took about 5 steps toward him he jumped off the rock and ran around the edge. I didn't want to bother him so we went on down the hill. The dogs were lollygagging (actually probably trying to cool off in the shade) and I was quite a ways in front of them whistling at them and all of the sudden a hummingbird flew right around me and hovered in front of my face about 8 inches away! It was amazing! I love hummingbirds, they are so magical and joyful!

Fantastic Bike Ride today- 25 miles around the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, it doesn't get much more beautiful as far as scenery goes! It was so much fun to think that the road from Highway 89 to the Dunes was mostly downhill and then learn that it is actually very much up hill, the whole way, with a head wind. But I wasn't even that tired when we got done!!! Yee Haw, it feels good to be back on the bike! Plus we were able to catch up with our good friend Aaron, it has been way too long and was great to spend the day with him, only wish Stace Ma Tace could have been with us too.

I spent the last half of the week up at Snowbird at the Troubled Youth Conference. It is always a good one, and didn't disappoint this year. Thanks so much to Carol Anderson at the Office of Education for the opportunity to attend. Weird to go from 95 degrees at home Wed. up to where the ski lifts are still open with hundreds of inches of snow! The weather was actually beautiful, not quite shorts weather, but nice. I especially enjoyed Michael Nerney's sessions talking about the adolescent brain and the effects of drugs on brain development. I also learned that it is possible to be a professional storyteller! Did you know that? People actually have that as a job! Dylan Pritchard was there from VA. and I thoroughly enjoyed his sessions as well. There was a story about a girl who fell in love with a fish, it was a good one, and Dylan was so funny and entertaining...maybe I want to be a storyteller when I grow up : )

Last but certainly not least Braxton and Kelsey had their baby on the 7th! Here is what Braxton texted to me: "Baby is here! Ryker Braxton Fullmer is 7 lbs 6 oz. 21 inches long and the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!" Awesome! I went to see them all at the hospital but was not able to meet Ryker because he had to go back to the nursery just before I got there to have UV therapy for a bit of jaundice...bummer for me, but I did get to see some pics, what a precious little one! I am super excited to be going back up North Monday and I will meet him then!

The Hobo Hut

We take the dogs hiking on a hill near our house quite often. We "discovered" this "hobo hut", as we call it several years ago. It is fun to just go check it out again sometimes. Yesterday me and the dogs checked it out and since I had my camera I took some pics. You can barely see the top of the rock wall to the left from the trail...the first time I saw it I thought "That looks man made" so went over to check it out and low and behold....

The view from the top of the rock wall, this is how I climb in.

And once you are down in side this is what you see....a stone fireplace/stove and nice fire pit.

and then hiking around the outside you can see this chimney, it comes out from above the stove! Cool, cool, cool! Oh to be an archaeologist and discover stuff like this all the time!

To top off this hiking trip we saw the fox again! As we climbed back toward the trail from the hobo hut I saw his little head peeking around a rock, watching us curiously. As soon as he saw that I was seeing him seeing me he took off. The dogs didn't even seem to notice him! I thought maybe they would be able to smell him, but he probably stayed down wind or something stealthy like that!