A Summer recap!

I thought I would take a moment and recap summer. I don't know that I have access to any pictures right now, but I will at least write down some memorable things.

June -Arts festival for my kiddos. Lot's of pool time. The 3 oldest went to swimming lessons at the Spanish Fork pool. Maile learned to swim on her own. Gavin officially does not need anymore swim lessons. He knows how to swim and swim well. Dallin may need one more summer of a couple of sessions to get stronger.

July- Lake Powell with our Wheatfill family. Oh my we had fun! It's always good to meet up with our Grandpa, Aunts Uncles and cousins in Page, AZ for some fun in the sun. However, this year it seems like we did a lot of driving around the first 2 days instead of beaching and swimming. I eat so much when we go. I came back like 6 lbs heavier (most of which was water weight but still). Our kids looks forward to it all year long. Our family also took many adventurous trips out on Utah Lake all summer long as well. We bought a wake board and our boys took turns learning to master it. They did well!

Shawn was unemployed all summer long. While we had plenty of money to live off of, it was still a rather scary experience trying to find new employment. We had no health insurance all summer clear until Sept. 30th. Scary! We did all those boating and capital reef national park trips without medical insurance.Living on the edge! We faired well though. Nothing happened to anyone. I think we had to take Brooks to the Dr. for an infection and that was it. I can spare 90$ out of pocket for that. One morning in August Shawn took our older boys fishing, and while at the dock he had a feeling to check his email and he did. He found a link to a new export manager job posting in Springville. -Just 5 minutes from our home. He was a little shocked! He texted me here at our house and asked me to jump on our desk top and email his resume. He then sent it from his phone right there at the Utah Lake fishing dock. About 3 loooong weeks later they finally interviewed him twice. And 1 1/2 weeks after that he was selected as the best candidate for the job. I believe they interviewed several hundred people and Shawn was the only one who was fully qualified. Simultaneously he had also interviewed at a semi-conductor Corporation in San Francisco, CA. Where he was also offered the position at that company. However, going off what his gut instinct told him, Shawn took the job near our home. I know the thought of moving to an extremely expensive area of the country weighed heavily in the decision. Also the fact that we live in a wonderful neighborhood and our kids are rooted here with friends and in school. We have a big beautiful yard and space for our kids to play. The homes in the CA area don't have much land. . I am grateful that my husband listens to promptings. He is better at it than I am sometimes. All is well now. It all worked out in the end almost perfectly. I can't forget that he was also able to keep his side business plugging along as well, that was something we were able to rely on too.

In August we took our kids to Capital Reef national park in Eastern Utah. Oh my, what a beautiful spot of land created so amazingly perfect. if you haven't been there, you must go. We took our kids on 2 hikes. One was a mini one, the other was about a mile and a half each way. There was a pioneer registry wall where some pioneer men in the area came through and scratched their names on the rock cliffs. There were also Indian hieroglyphs on the walls in another area. It was so cool to see. Our family had a great time together. We created some wonderful memories.

I ran all summer long, but after battling a nasty injury earlier in the Winter, it took me a great while to find my speed and my groove. I ran great times in my June and July races, but nothing spectacular. It wasn't until the end of July and August that I felt like I was back to my old self. I ran the Hobble Creek half marathon on August 20th. This is one of the biggest half marathons in Utah. It is stunningly beautiful running down this canyon! Words cannot describe the scenery and the feeling for me that day. I knew I was in top shape that week leading up to it. I was ready that morning as the race gun was fired in the canyon. I ran smart. I took it a tiny bit slower the first 7 miles. At mile 8, I downed a 5 hr energy and picked it up. I ran the rest of the distance in negative splits. All mile splits hovered near a 6:40 avg. My fastest mile being the last mile (13) A course volunteer rode by on a bike around mile 12 and shouted to me to keep it up! -That there was a female close on my tail. I didn't try to turn around or anything to look. I remember feeling so tired. I looked down at my Brooks shoes I was wearing, on the laces it says: DIG DEEP. I knew in that moment I wanted to dig deeper and race it to the very end. So I did. I found a 6:13 mile split and held my 6th female (of over 600) position. My best race of the summer! I ran a new half marathon record for me that day 1:25:04!

School started and my kiddos looked so cute! Maile started kindergarten and loves, loves, LOVES it! I am so proud of my kids and how well they all seem to do in school!

Brooks started preschool and he loves his teacher so much. He is doing so well and enjoys getting out of the house twice a week for school.

September- Shawn started his new job. There was a bit of an adjustment but he has settled in and we are grateful for his employment. Heavenly Father has truly watched over us during this year. It was very hard but we've grown closer and learned some things.

Oct. 1 -our family traveled down to St. George where I ran the 2011 St. George Marathon. This marathon is HUGE! 7000 runners! I was well prepared and so excited to have my parents and Sister and Brother in law there to cheer me on. Of course I was excited to see my own little family, as well as my friends who all got into it this year. I ended up running a 3:09 again. I was the 41st overall female of 2600 females. And 266th person overall of nearly 6000. I did fall into the top 5% of all combined marathon runners that day. It was amazing to me. The tremendous roar of the crowds in St. George truly made it an unforgettable experience. Can you imagine being loudly cheered for the last 4 miles to the finish line in a marathon? It was truly awe inspiring! Our racing bibs had our first names printed on them and so people were shouting my name as we raced into the heart of the city of St. George. Truly it buoyed me up in that time because I had become sick. I love running marathons now. There is nothing like it! The feeling of finding the courage and strength to keep running when you hurt, and the ultimate sense of accomplishment is unreal. I have learned so much about myself while running (everyday training) ....in ways I don't think I could have otherwise.