my first marathon!

On September 20 I ran my very first marathon! It was the Top of Utah Marathon in the Logan, Utah area. The first 14 miles were beautiful and so easy because they were in a canyon. The fall foilage was beautiful, and there is a stream right next to the road. The last miles were a lot harder, but then people can come and watch once you get of the canyon. There were some really cute people that cheered for everyone, and some that played music from their yards. There was even one family that had a water table set up for the runners. That helped a lot.
Thank you to all the friends and family that supported me, even if you weren't able to come watch the race. Thank you to Kaylyn for coming to watch, and for cheering for me at some of my toughest places. Thank you to my family for coming to watch also. It was good to see ya! Thank you to Justin's family for all your support.

These pictures are not my favorite, but I have to remember that I just ran a long ways. Notice they are smaller than the ones I usually post. The running ones are right before the 21 mile mark. I was so happy to see my family right here!



Right after the race. I could barely stand! They had free massages and a place to take a shower after the race. That helped me feel a lot better, but I still couldn't walk normally for 2 or 3 days after!

Logan Temple, it was near the finish line, and where Justin parked.

Just a video of the finish.

Meet Princess

This Ken doll is one of Sophia's favorite toys. For some reason, (I think its her Barbie as the Island Princess movie,) she calls it Princess. It is really funny! Also mommy and daddy's bed is "couch."

sunday dress

So the pictures are of Sophia in her cute dress before going to church this last Sunday. Cute! Cute! On Sunday we were "that" family that their kid falls off their chair at church and hits their head really hard. She was being sooooo good. She was just sitting nicely on her chair, and reading her book, but it was one of those metal folding chairs. I looked over and she just slipped right through the hole in the back, and landed on the back of her head. Justin grabbed her really quickly, and took her out, and then I followed. When we had her calmed down, two of the ladies in our ward came out to check on her, just to make sure she was okay. One of the ladies was retired from working in pediatrics. She told us to watch her pupils, and if she throws up more than once... stuff like that. Anyway, Sophia turned out to be fine. I really appreciated them coming to check on her. I'm sure, since it happened in church, that people were praying that she would be okay. After church was over, more people came to check on her, and I really appreciated that.

MTC Baby!

About a week ago, Justin, Sophia and I went with my parents to drop my younger bro, Neil off at the MTC. He is going to Hamburg, Germany. It is really sad to see him go. I will miss seeing him playing with his nieces and nephews at our family get-togethers. At the same time he was sooooo excited to go. He didn't even cry. He just said good bye to us quickly, the whole time with a smile on his face. Props to my parents for not losing it while we there. It was really peaceful at the MTC. I know my bro made a very good decision.
After we dropped him off, my parents took us to lunch, and we took them for icecream. Then we walked around the temple grounds at the Provo Temple.

Vermont trip

Here it is...finally. Holy Cow it took forever. There are 15 days, so look through all of them if you get time. Ha! It was a good trip to see family and friends, and it went by way to fast.
Thanks to all our friends and family for making it a good visit!

Day 1

Flying in- The flight there went super. Sophia slept the whole time after crying a little bit before we found our seats. To bad Justin and I couldn't sleep...

We went to Evan's Birthday party at Justin's aunt Wanda's and Nana's house. Evan would be Sophia's second cousin, I think. The party was really fun, and of course they had lots of good foods and things to do for the kids. We had a good time at the party. We left a little early because Sophia needed a nap. I wish I had pics.

We also met Jessica's (Justin's sister's) fiance, Jonny.

It was great to get to G&G's house. They had it set up so nice for us. Especially for Sophia. She even had a castle to play in in the backyard.

Sleeping on the plane



Sophia in her crib at G&G's house.
Opening one of her presents from Grandma and Grandpa.

Day 2

On this day we went to church. Justin's parents are in a branch. They share a building with an Episcopal Church, I think. The building is way cool, but it has no air conditioner or heat. There are tons of church buildings and religions in Vermont.

After church we took some pics. The camera batteries were dieing, but Justin kept forcing one more pic out. Its a good thing.

Grass paths at Grandma and Grandpa's. We explored the back yard and woods with Sophia a little. Justin even found us some wild black berries.

Day 3

Justin and I hiked to the top of Mount Mansfield. This is the highest spot in Vermont. It was really tough. What a workout! As you can see it was very beautiful.


At the top. It was cold, windy and we couldn't see anything.

It cleared up as we hiked down a little. We had a great view on the way down.

This one is from the beginning. Yikes I got these pics all mixed up!

This was on the way up near the top. It was getting very foggy.



Top, top.

This marks the highest spot.

This is Justin near the bottom after hiking up and down.

Great view! I think thats New York on the skyline.

These two are at the top. As you can see, couldn't see a thing.

Day 4

There is a horse about a mile down the road from Grandma and Grandpa's house. They took Sophia to see it a lot while we were there.







We went to the fair on this day. I put more info about the fair on a different day because we went again.

A picture with the governer of Vermont. Justin recognized him and asked for a pic.

Day 5

Justin took me to visit a very old cemetery. There were graves from the 1700's. There were also lots of mosquitos, so we didn't spend long there. It was really cool to see though.





That night we went with Jonny and Jessica to look for hermit houses. Justin found them once, but we didn't end up finding them that night. Spooky for sure. We did hear an owl, and some coyotes.

Day 6

Sand bar on Lake Champlain-We met up with Mark, a family friend. He brought us kyaks, and salmon burgers, and yogurt brownies. It was a fun day. Sophia enjoyed riding in the kyak, and playing in the water. This was probably for sure one of her favorite days. Justin and I had a good time taking the kyaks out on the lake. The day was perfect, and the water was calm. Lake Champlain is huge. It could be a great Lake. Have you ever heard of Champ?