TOP OF UTAH Half Marathon

Today was the Top of Utah Half Marathon. I have been running with Amy, my neighbor most of the summer. She and my sisters talked me into running the half marathon. It didn't sound that fun to me, but at least it was a goal to train towards. We trained about 3-6 days a week. On Saturdays we did long runs. I ran the 13.1 miles 2 weeks ago by myself and last week the four of us did 10 miles of the race course. It was a relief to know I had already done it and knew what to expect and feel afterwards.

This morning, Jeremy dropped us up at the finish line so we could be bused up to the starting line. We could not believe how many people were there tho run. At least 3 thousand. Bus after bus after bus left to haul the runners up the mountain.

The course route was a scenic one, starting up BlackSmith's Fork Canyon and ending at Zollinger Park here in Providence. The Canyon was beautiful and the canyon wind's felt really nice as we ran. My goal was to beat my time that I has set on the 1st day I ran the distance. I beat it by 20 mins, coming in about 2:11.

Amy and I ran the whole thing together. I was grateful for her encouragement, she really set the pace. Between the miles of 9-10 I started to get worn down, but we didn't stop or walk. The weather couldn't have been nicer, overcast and slightly cooler than normal.

The people on the side lines cheered us on and that really helped. We sprinted through to the finish line and were happy at the time we made. Jeremy, my parents, Grandma and my brother were there to see us finish.

We all did it! Way to go girls!

4th Grade

Hayden's first day of 4th grade was today. She said she wasn't, but you could tell how excited she and her friends were. She got another great teacher, Mrs. Dattage.
As I drove away from the school this morning, I remembered how nice it is to have her back in school and know exactly where she is and how long she will be there. Summers are kinda rough like that.

We had fun going school shopping this year. Hayden has always been good with fashion and loves the skinny jean style. I don't know how large families afford it. It was tough enough to go school shopping for one kid and do all the sign-ups for sports and dancing and dancing shoes and morning babysitters hired, but we made it.

It was also her first day of dancing. She is taking from Tueller School of Dance and taking a break from gymnastic. She also decided to try out volleyball for the season.
We have a fun and eventful school year ahead.

Scared Hitless

This summer we played on a COED softball team. The team was put together by Abbey and Todd and consisted mainly of my family. We weren't the best team but we sure had a great time playing every Thursday night.

We were in a lower division league and it was a good thing. We only won two games :-(

Abbey was the 2nd baseman. Look at her catch that ball.

Cannon hadn't play ball since he was younger, but you couldn't tell by the way he hit.

Justine played Catcher and made some nice plays

Tommy was the pitcher and he did a pretty awesome job. Becky is over on 1st, she made some amazing stretches to be able to catch some of our throws.

Here Cannon is out in Right Center, Jeremy at Shortstop, and Todd on 3rd.

Britany had to fill in for us a couple times while other players were out of town. We were sure glad she could help us.

Our parents and Jen came to watch and cheer for us each week.

Hayden was the team babysitter, watching Devyn and Cache, keeping them happy and out of the dugout.
Even though we might have lived up to our name a few times we still had fun and got better each week.

Go Scared Hitless!

Top row L-R= Darcie, Britany, Abbey, Justine, Becky

Bottom row L-R= Todd, Lance, Tommy, Jeremy, Cannon

missing: Harmony and Ellen

Happy 90th Birthday Grandma Welling

August 1st was my Grandma's 90th birthday. We had a huge party with all her family. We celebrated at "This is the Place State Park" in SLC.

My Grandma is very special to me and has always been like my 2nd mother. I grew up next door to her and saw her everyday. She taught me many lessons in life and has always been my friend.

Harmony and my Mom planned this party. It was not an easy thing to do with there being 62 people in the family now. They did a great job and the party went off without a hitch.
Friday night, most of the cousin's met at the Cheesecake Factory to eat and catch up on life. My family then stayed at the University Guest House. The next morning we headed to the park. We had our own house reserved just for the party.

The park is old fashion and fun. Here the girls are making their own candles

Abbey, Todd and Cache on the mini train. Abbey currently lives and takes care of my Grandma. She does such a great job and we all appreciate all her hard work.

Here the girls are in a tee pee where they got to make arrowhead necklaces.

A large train drove around the park and gave a tour of the area.

The school house was fun. Hayden was suppose to read a book for the class, but she was unable to read the Brigham Young phonetic alphabet. She was punished by the teacher for not doing her homework and..........

She had to sit in front of the class with a "DUNCE" hat on. It was fun for the girls to imagine they were pioneers.

At 5 p.m. all of the family arrived to the house. We took a big group photo & ate a fabulous dinner. It was so fun to visit with all my cousins, a few I hadn't seen since my Grandma's 80th birthday.

After dinner we had a program for my Grandma. Britany, Halli and Hayden played a piano duet that my Grandma had taught Britany as a young girl.

The a few sang favorite songs of my Grandma. I was so cute to see my Grandma sing and remember all the words. Cannon sang a song.

Layna sang and actually got an on core. She is amazing. There is real musical talent in this family. Then we watched a video slideshow of my Grandma's life.

We all had a great time and couldn't believe it was really coming to an end. We may be having another party in about ten years. My Grandma is the youngest of 8 children. She has an older brother 92 yrs and a sister 101 yrs still alive.

We love you Grandma and are so thankful for you in our lives.