I. DIDN'T. STOP.

I ran an awesome race today! It was the Wasatch Back Marathon Relay and I ran it with 2 other amazing women- Darcy Haas and Sara Edwards.

I ran well! Overall I had an average pace of 8:43/mile over the 8.74 miles, and I climbed 1,333 feet up a mountain!!!!!!!!! WITHOUT STOPPING!!!!!!!
I am so proud of myself. I wanted to do this so bad when I ran Guardsman during the Ragnar, and I was so happy that I could redeem myself during this race.

I handed off to Sara- who killed it during her leg. Sara handed off to Darcy, and Darcy finished strong! We ended up taking 1st in the Women Relay! We ran the marathon in 3:52- which was incredible for such a difficult course. We were hoping to finish in under 4 hours, and we did it!

Me, Darcy and Sara- 1st place women!

To read the full race report, click HERE.

And the animal has been let out of its cage.

Island Park/ Yellowstone 2011

What can I say... you win some, you lose some. Not every family vacation can be perfect.

It seems like the majority of our trip involved this:
It was taxing. We contemplated coming home early, but decided we should stick it out. We were glad we did because we would have missed out on a lot.

A day of:

• Fishing
• Shooting guns
• Running in the pine trees
• Naps
• Big Springs
• Playtime with Kenny, Clay and Leslee
  

We wouldn't have:

• Lunched at West Yellowstone
• Visited Sam, Illie, Spirit and 101- Grizzlies at the Discovery Center
• Witnessed wolves picking on each other
• Smelled the sulfur of Yellowstone
• Marveled at Grand Prismatic Spring
  
• Watched Old Faithful- some of us for the hundredth time, and another for her first
  

There may have been crying, but what about:

• An unpredictable Steamboat
• A first trip to Mammoth for Dallas
  
• Eating dinner with 40 Elk- no exaggeration, we counted!
  
• A glimpse of a black bear, coyote, bison, moose and elk
  
• Waterfalls, waterfalls, waterfalls!
  

And finally, and this is most important, we would have missed spending time with Grammy and Grandpa Wilson- on tug boats or otherwise.

Bounceback

We spent a second day at Lagoon. Who cares, right? Right.

Well, except that a horrified Grandma Kaiserman rode Bombora.

Do you know a GREAT Grandma that will get on a rollercoaster? 'Cause I do!

Jeep! Jeep!

We went on a spontaneous cookout with our friends and neighbors the Perkins family last weekend. We ventured up Snake Creek (where I will be running a race in a few weeks, and where Dallas is planning on deer hunting this year) and it was beautiful! With this rainy whether we've been having, the mountains are so lush! After all the work to get the food ready for the cookout, we wish we would have thrown our tent in so we could camp, too. At least we have our site planned for next time.

The kids loved running around, eating dirt (Annie) and exploring. They wanted to wander away from the adults- until we warned them about hungry bears. Their expressions were priceless!
We packed up and did a little four wheeling through the creek beds and up a short road. The trail wasn't long enough and we just ended up being hungry for more! I'm sure we'll end up on the trails within the next week or so.

When we were getting ready for the dinner I said, "The Nicoll's and the Perkins' are having a cookout!" and Will said, "I get to go with you, Grace Aryn Nicoll!" They both laughed at his mistake, then I replied "That would only be Grace's name if you two got married." They both got really serious looks on their faces and Will told me, "We are going to get married one day, huh Grace? Because we are very best friends."
We all feel lucky to live next to the Perkins family!

When Jenn comes to town.

I have a very awesome Aunt-in-law. Her name is Jenn. Jenn is more often mistaken for my sister than my actual sister is. Here's photographic evidence:
We could totally be sisters, don't you think?!

Jenn lives in Logan and we don't get to see her as often as we'd like. She has three kids- James, Alli, and Miles- and a baby boy on the way! When Jenn comes to town, our lives are filled with utterly joyful chaos. It's go go go for 4-5 days straight, and by the the time she leaves, I am exhausted! On this last visit we:

Danced in the rain.

Acted like a bunch of kids at Lagoon.

Threw rocks off the Legacy Bridge in Midway.

Fed the ducks and the fish at Wasatch Mountain State Park.

And ate. And ate. And ate.

Jenn went home yesterday and I can safely say that I slept like a baby last night. She definitely knows how to play hard!

Houston, we have a problem.

Annie is really good at using the potty. And, bless her soul, she's also really really good at taking off her pants.

Trouble planning the Anniversary trip.

The following conversation occurred via text message while I was home and Dallas was at work:

Me: 1200 dollars for 6 days in New York. Me and you.

Dallas: Keep dreaming.

Me: It's not a dream. You can spank me later.

Dallas: You didn't book it.

Me: You heard me.

Dallas: What?

Me: You will love it.

Dallas: I'm going to pretend that you're pretending until I get home.

Me: If I text you at work then you can't swear. See how it works? And then after dinner we're going to the Haas' for cobbler.

Dallas: Did you really book a $1200 trip?

Me: You love me.

Dallas: I'm pissed.

Me: Okay. I'll stop teasing you. I'm laughing hysterically over here. This has been good fun. No trip to NYC.

Dallas: You're the worst. I'm fuming over here.

Me: I can't think of anything to say over here except writing HA HA HA to convey how hard I am laughing right now.

Dallas: You're still the worst.

Me: I LOVE YOU.

Dallas: I'm going to work now. And yes, I am going to spank you later.

God Bless America

This Fourth of July I took a quiet moment by myself and looked through some of my Mother-in-law's books on September 11th. They were picture books with small captions that showed not only the horror, but the quiet strength in humanity that was brought about because of that day.

We were shocked. Horrified. Humbled.

But we were also empowered. We helped each other. We held each other. We strengthened each other.

I'm proud to live in a country that I feel is the greatest on Earth. We are free. Free to live and worship however we feel is best. Free to get an education and pursue our dreams. Free to show our faces and to celebrate.

GOD. BLESS. AMERICA.

This year we celebrated in Afton, Wyoming. Our favorite activities included: Fireworks, hotdogs, cheesecake stuffed strawberries, oreo suckers, oreo truffles, badminton, water balloons, chickens, kittens, jumping on the trampoline, napping, talking, pedicures, target shooting, rooster shooting, artichoke dip, popsicles, riding in the ambulance in the parade, candy, secret shrimp bread, racing, winning, and being together.