Yard work fun....

Back when we were young and dumb (aka, the year 2000) we put in a yard. I swore I would never be young and dumb enough again to do another yard.  And then I went and bought a new house that needed a yard.

What was I thinking????

Ok, so there are advantages.  If I do say so myself, I know my way around a sprinkler system.  I want nothing to do with the sprinkler heads or funny pipe, but everything that precedes it is my territory.  I can put together a manifold. I know how to connect into the main sprinkler line to the house.  Between us, Shane and I make a really good team where sprinklers are concerned.

So this is what we've been doing lately.

The front yard:

Another view. The sprinklers are done (thank heaven! I may know what to do, but it is exhausting actually doing it!)  We bought the rocks from another neighbor.  They turned out so awesome.  I can't wait to see grass growing up against them; they are so colorful and varied.

 

This is a view from the porch.  I like the little path we added on the side of the driveway.

Saturday we worked like house elves all day.  We tunneled under the front sidewalk so we could run the electrical wire to the sprinklers.  I dug out high places in the yard and used a landscape rake to even it out. Shane evened out the annoyingly slopey side yard.  And, we accomplished this fabulous little spot next to the porch.  We hadn't intended on doing this, but a stroke of inspiration on Friday night got us to buy some paver stones.  So, you take an area that looks like this:

add a hard working man:

and you get this:

Isn't it gorgeous?  I love it.  We need to buy a few more skinny bricks to fill in the edges.  But it looks so good!  Here's another view:

I want to put a statue or a potted plant or something to dress it up.  I almost bought a fountain, but I don't know when we would ever use it.

I think my kids are happy here.  I took these one night last week on the porch and loved how they turned out.

Thomas. His cowboy look kills me.  So handsome!

Benny is so happy...sometimes.

They love each other. Mostly, I mean. I don't know what Ben is doing with his leg, but whatever.

Slouching through life...

I am a sloucher.

There. I said it.  I am not proud of it.  Not proud at all. In fact, I am horribly embarrassed at how I'm slouching through life, looking frumpy and old and hunched over.  Ugh.  Double ugh.

On Wednesday, Ragnar sent out a link to the course photos.  I found our team's pictures and moments later wanted to delete every single one that had me in it.  I looked terrible.  The running shirt that I thought was cute looked shiny and showed off every last bulge.  I was all hunched over and....blech.  All the other runners on our team look tough.  I just looked pathetic.  Even thinking of them makes me want to crawl in a hole. 

So I have a new goal.  I'm not going to slouch anymore.  I think I'll put signs everywhere (my car, my mirror, my wall, my microwave) to remind myself.  I notice myself doing it everywhere.  So if you know me in real life and you see me slouching, slap me.  Eventually I'll learn.

That long post about Ragnar...

When I was in college at Virginia Tech, I didn't go home for spring break. It just wasn't in the cards for me to be able to fly home and back for a week's vacation.  Ironically, it was much less expensive for me to take a week long road trip to Florida with a bunch of kids.  We drove all night, stayed in KOA's all along the way, ate when we could, talked like people only can when on a long trip and are only vaguely acquainted and had a blast.

This weekend was a little like that.

It isn't often that you get to feel that freedom of a road trip.  Sure, we had to be somewhere all the time, but we were just a bunch of people, driving around some pretty scenic areas in the back country of Utah, and every now and then jumping out of a van and starting to run for awhile.  It was one of the best things I've ever done, and I can't wait until I do it again next year.

Our van had the requisite 6 people.  Dave was our driver.  He was one of Shane's roommates before we got married.  Chad was a friend of Shane's from high school.  Andrew knew Dave through another one of Shane's old roommates, and Jessie was his wife.  Shane was there, and then you had me.  I had never met Jessie or Andrew, but by the time we left they seemed like old friends.  I had a lot of fun chatting with Dave and Chad; we've known each other for years and years, but I haven't had the opportunity to hang with them in this way.

We also had a van 2 made up of another of Shane's friends/old roommates, Matt.  Matt was our team captain.  He took one for the team by being captain (after all, I originally asked Matt and Chad to be on our team, but then didn't want the responsibility of being in charge. Thanks, Walker!).  Also in that van were Matt's friends: Callista, Jake, Jason, Melissa, and Nicole.  I wish that the exchanges had been longer so that I could have spent more time with the rest of our team.  Here they are at exchange 30 (their last leg, since they finished the race for us. You guys rocked!)

Matt, Callista, Jake, Nicole, Jason, Melissa

These are some of my favorite memories, leg by leg:

Legs 1-6, taking us from Logan to Eden Park, near the Pineview Reservoir:

• Cheering Chad on as he started for our team (which, by the way, was named A Twelve Pack of Chafing Tail.)

Chad (in the orange hat) getting us started.
• Realizing how on top of giving aid we would have to be for our teammates.  They really are brilliant, those Ragnar people.  At any other race you have great big aid stations. Not Ragnar. You get water from your team, who drop you off, drive a few miles, stop and wait until you come along, and then give you some water. We leap-frogged each other for each of our 18 legs.  It sounds like it would suck, but it doesn't.  You don't have anywhere else to be, so you watch for your runner to come along.  It is fun, especially during the middle of the night while you are sitting in the car, talking about ducks and chickens and laughing deliriously.  Awesome.
• My first leg was terrible.  Terrible.  I had psyched myself up for it for months, ever since I planned to do leg two.  It was 6.7 miles, and it was hard.  I wasn't ready to run when Chad reached the exchange and I took off and never really reached my stride until after mile 4.  It was hot and I wasn't expecting heat.  I wanted to stop so much until I reached a giant hill that I had to climb.  It was awesome; I love running hills, and it was a direction change which meant the wind was blowing against me so I wasn't so hot.  For the last mile, I was running down a tree lined street.  I wanted to kiss the pioneers who planted trees along their road 150 years ago.  Those trees were the best thing that happened to me that day.  I said a little prayer of gratitude that their labor was blessing me so long after they had died.
• Shane gave me water for the first time during my leg and I about bit his head off which is typical.  Shane knows better than to talk to me during races or runs. I am drawn to him and I feel like I should be running faster and then I get defensive so I get mean. He knows about this, so he let the others take care of me after that.  Poor Shaney.  I'm not a very nice wife while running!
• Meeting up with our other van at the exchange.  It was fun to see them finally.  Our van had been together since noon, but we didn't see them until 8pm.
• Going to Snowbasin and eating real food for the first time that day.  Even though I knew I had to run at midnight, I still went for the cheeseburger and fries for dinner.  Mmm.  After we ate our dinner in the cushy lounge of the Snowbasin lounge, I pulled two chairs together, kicked off my flip flops and went to sleep for a few minutes.  People were sacked out all over, laying on the benches and floors and couches all throughout the lodge.  Awesome.
• Heading out to the car to start our next legs and finding that Arikka, our team captain's wife, had caught up to us.  She was supposed to run with us but broke her foot 1 month ago.  She was bubbly and excited.  It was fun to see her.

Some random pictures of legs 1-6:

Dave and his lovely wristbands.

Meadow about 1 mile the crest of Avon Pass.

Same meadow.  So beautiful and remote.  This leg was all on a dirt road and was run in two parts by Shane and Andrew.

Looking over the valley above Pineview Reservoir on the other side of Avon Pass.  This was the canyon Shane had to run down.

So, after all of 45 minutes of sleep, we headed into our second set of legs. It was 11pm. The stars were out and bright and gorgeous. We started at 11 and ended at 5.

Me at Snow Basin after I bought a new Ragnar hoodie and moments after being told van 2 was ready for us.  I had no idea who was taking my picture (thanks, Arikka!) This was after my 45 minute cat nap.  I am a hoodie slut.  I'm always looking for a good hoodie.

Van 1 before pulling our all nighter.  Aren't you jealous of our reflective vests?

Things I want to remember from legs 13-18 which took us out of Snowbasin along and through small unknown towns to the East Canyon Reservoir:

• Running in the pitch black night.  There weren't many teams that started with us on our oringial start time of 1pm. This meant that we had a lot of space between us and other teams pretty much the entire way.  I liked it because I didn't want this event to feel like a regular race. I wanted solitude (and I got it!) 
• I passed 3 people early in the run and then didn't see another soul until I finished my leg. 
• Our van stopped for me at each mile and offered water, but I didn't want any.  They just wanted to make sure I hadn't disappeared along the way.  Shane might have had something to do with this.  He keeps me safe, that husband of mine.  I love him for it.
• I ran without my headphones most of that run.  It was so quiet and peaceful with the only sound being my feet on the pavement and my breathing.  I maintained a 10 minute pace for the 3 miles, which was what I was hoping for.  My first leg was so disappointing, so I really wanted to make up with myself.  I did that, and then some.
• Having the dumbest conversation ever about ducks and chickens with the van while Dave was running.  It was 2am, and we were tired and a little slap happy.  Fun fun times.
• Fighting to stay awake while Shane ran his monster 8.4 miles uphill at 4am (a struggle I pretty much failed.) He was struggling so hard (his first leg was a steep downhill 6.9 miler that left his legs trashed) to keep running. We stopped every mile to mile and a half just to check on him. I was so proud and relieved for him to finish that leg.

(That blur is Shane finishing his brutal hill)

Another blur of Shane being glad he's done.  Don't die over my awesome night photography, ok?
  

After Shane's second leg, we went to a high school Coalville to sleep.  We paid $2 to shower (there weren't any towels, I had to use my t-shirt to dry off.  The water was cold and I didn't have any shampoo or soap so had to borrow both from other people.  Lovely.)  Then Shane and I tried to sleep on the floor of the music room.  I was freezing and we only had 1 blanket.  When we first laid down at 6am, the room was totally full.  When we woke up, it was only our team left in the room.  Well, everyone but Chad, who had somehow gotten lost from us.  He toured the high school's gym, which was full of sleeping people, looking for me and Shane's Steeler blanket.  He said it was like going through the morgue with bodies laying everywhere (it kind of complimented the shower, which felt a little like the holocaust, no disrespect intended!)  The only way he knew he hadn't been left was because the car was still in the parking lot.  Poor Chad.

Memories from legs 25-30, which took us from Kamas to Heber City:

• Once we were all awake and fed, we drove to the next major exchange which would lead us all into our last leg of the race.  We saw our friends from van 2 who had gotten us to Kamas.  Chad set off into the sun and lovely headwind which plagued us the whole day.

Waiting to start legs 25-30.
• My last run was awesome.  I didn't mind the wind (I'd rather be tired than hot).  I had 3.3 miles and I wanted to make the most of it. 
• Along the way I saw all sorts of cows and horses and sheep along the road. I said hi to a man unloading his horse trailer on the side of the road.
• At one point, I turned off my radio and listened to thousands of crickets chirping on the side of a hill covered in wild flowers.  I was at the top of a small hill and to my right was the back side of Timpanogas.  Timp is my favorite mountain, and it made me incredibly happy to look up and see it smiling at me in the distance.

Back side of Timp.
          
• I turned a corner with less than a mile to go and saw the exchange.  I kicked it up as much as I could, trying to live up my very last leg of Ragnar.  I didn't want to look back and think, I could have tried harder.  I felt feeling amazingly good.
• I handed off to Dave who had an 8+ mile leg that climbed to the top of the highway that links Kamas and Heber.  It was brutal.  Because the highway is so busy we couldn't give him any aid, so we sat on the side of the road and looked at the beautiful Jordanelle Reservoir.  I ate two cheese and turkey bagel sandwiches, which were heaven.  We waited anxiously for Dave because we heard another girl saying everyone she passed was crying as they ran up the hill.  It must have been everyone but Dave, because he came up the hill smiling and asking, "Hey, did you guys know there was a hill back there?"

Dave smiling at the end of his run.

• We cycled through Andrew and Jessie's leg to Shane's final leg.  He rocked his 3 miles and then we were done.  We passed the baton to Van 2 and we headed off to Park City.
• We had hoped to hang out at the finish line until our team finished, but our hunger and fatigue got the best of us.  With at least 3 hours to wait, we opted to leave The Canyons and head to Red Rock brewing company for some real food.  It was nice to wash my hands for reals for the first time all day (the other times were hand sanitizer from the porta-potties. Lovely.)

This is the end.  My only friend, the end. From left to right: Andrew, Jessie, Dave, Me, Shane, Chad.
 
• And the most important detail of all: I found out that Honey Buckets are the cleanest porta-potties in the whole world. Seriously. Two days of relying on them exclusively for potty breaks taught me that.  Don't be scared to go into a Honey Bucket.  They are your friend, just remember to close the lid.

It was hard to say good-bye to our team.  But it was 8pm, I had left my children almost 36 hours before in the capable hands of their grandmother, and I was ready to be home.  Ragnar will be something I will always remember. 

Tired and dirty but back home and ready to sign up for next year.

Thanks for sticking with me if you are still around.  I know it's kind of boring.  But I didn't want to forget anything from this amazing time.  I'll be back next year for sure.  Can't wait!

Thoughts right now...

Right now:

• I'm worried about Shane's toe. He stubbed it this morning and I'm hoping he didn't break it.  Wouldn't that be our luck?
• I am eating a pb & j. Like I do every day.
• I am excited for Ragnar.  Our start time is 1:00 pm, which I don't love, but will be fine. I will do my first leg around 2:20, my second around midnight, and my third around noon on Saturday.  I think our van will be done around 4, but we will wait for the other van to get done around 9.  Maybe we can find somewhere in Park City that sells showers....
• I need to buy some unscented baby wipes tonight. I can't remember the last time I had to buy baby wipes (which is kind of good and kind of sad. My kids are big!!)
• I'm thinking about packing for Ragnar. We've had to buy all our stuff like headlamps and reflective vests TWICE because the ones we bought online didn't ship in time.  So now, instead of wearing cool reflective vests that have LED lights on the front and back, we are wearing one-size-fits-all from Lowes. Yep, we are going to be looking like construction workers.  Awesome! 
• Also, did I mention that we tried to get cooler reflective vests from Sports Chalet but they were SOLD OUT???  As were both of the REI's in the valley?  Who sells out of reflective vests?  Well, thank heavens Lowes doesn't.  (Again, gonna be rocking the construction worker look!)
• Last night as we were walking through Sam's, there were 2 reflective vests on a fork lift. My husband encouraged me to take them.  They were really gross and dirty. I never would have even thought about it until I had to search the valley to buy some (see previous bullet.)  We of course didn't take them, but if Lowes hadn't come through, I might have considered it.
• I want to start planting something other than PVC in my yard.  I hope to plant the following sometime soon:
• Japanese Maple (I have the perfect spot right next to my back stairs!)
• Clematis vines (my old one is blooming right now and looks so pretty. I wish I could have taken it from my yard!!)
• Lilies: day lilies, Asiatic lilies, oriental lilies, tiger lilies, you get the picture.  They are my favorites!
• Either lavender or Russian sage
• Snow fountain cherry tree
• 2 quaking aspen trees
• A rose of Sharon that we took from the old yard (don't anyone tell!)
• And I could go on and on and on...can't wait to start planting.

So what are your favorite plants?  And what are you thinking right now?

Don't be jealous....please.

This was my morning.

I figured it would take me, oh, a half-hour or so.

Two and a half hours later, this was the result.  But I did it all myself.

See that little pipe sticking out of the sidewalk?

Here's a closer look, before I had the neighbor cut the pipe down for me.  This is the pipe going in...

...and this is the pipe coming out.

I actually cheered when I realized that I had made it to the other side. 

I know, I know...I get to have all the fun!!  So what did you do today?

Sunday night thoughts

I love how I go weeks without coming up with anything to say, and then write every day for a while.  I guess my writing bug is a feast-or-famine type situation.

So Thomas gets to go to scout day camp this year.  He will be hiking to Timpanogas Cave and also spending an afternoon at Wheeler Farm.  I had to pay for the camps and I was already past due tonight when I decided to walk the check over to his scout leader's house.  I grabbed the boys and my new flip flops (thanks, Vonnay!) and walked over.

I also got a ward list today. You wouldn't think that taking a check over to a leaders house and having a ward list would be connected, but they are.  You see, I've walked these streets for a long time, but like I've said before, they were always a means to an end, and not the end.  As I headed out, I finally knew that the streets behind and in front of me are in my ward, thanks to my handy ward list.  I knew that if I so desired, I could go home and identify the houses along the route. It was comforting.

I found the scout leader (who is also married to our new bishop) on the corner talking with a bunch of other neighbors. One I recognized (and subsequently called the wrong name, but at least I tried, right?) and another I didn't, but we chatted all the same.  After some blah-blah-blah (because that's really all it is, right?) my kids and I turned around and came back home.  It was a feeling I can identify; the meeting of neighbors on a street corner, kids scurrying to pet dogs and talk with friends and grown ups clamboring to talk to each other and say all the right things.  I did this before, just up a few streets.  We walked home and I saw the neighbors who sold us our rocks for our rock wall.  Even though I don't know them well, I walked over and chatted.  It's what I would have done on my old street, and if I want to have a friendly street, I have to be myself.

On another note, I made a friend today.  A nice retired couple moved in a few houses away yesterday and I met the wife today on her way to church.  When I found out she wouldn't have anyone joining her, I invited her to sit with us.  It was incredibly comfortable, sitting with a complete stranger.  But we got each other. She has been going to church by herself for years and years.  She is on the opposite spectrum of me.  But she has not become bitter. She is open.  She loves her husband for who he is (as do I).  She does what she needs to do and goes home.  We had so much in common.  It made my Sunday to make a friend.  It was exactly what I needed.

So, between feeling understood at church and friendly with the neighborhood, I had a great Sunday.  How about you?

Reminiscence....

Every now and then, you can feel it. That feeling from Before.  Before kids. Before mortgages. Before responsibilities. Before I had to edit my words (and my husband's) because little ears were listening.

Tonight was one of those nights.  We left the kids with the grandparents, made something to share, and showed up at the house where the party was.  Some people we have known for years and years (Shane's old roommates).  Others we've met socially, and some never before. 

I enjoyed the feeling of sitting with a bunch of tipsy girls and not being tipsy but remembering what tipsy felt like.  And liking both feelings.  Of knowing that I get to go home to people who call me mom, and being glad for it, but also being glad for the break. 

Ah, I used to be young. I used to show up at parties like tonight's every weekend until they were the norm. Until I was slightly blase about them.  But now, when they come like sudden gifts that remind me what it was like Before, they mean so much more.

One of the girls I knew would be there tonight has intimidated me for almost a year now. We've only met a few times, but both times I thought, "She would have nothing to say to me.  Nor would she want to."  I went away with a totally different impression of her.  I found out that she thought the same of me.  Wow, we are all the same.  Just people.  How cool to be reminded of that every now and then.  To see yourself through someone else.  I need to be stretched like that every now and again.

I also like remembering how it felt to be that Becky.  I don't have to drink to be that Becky.  She reminds me of being young, of genuinely having fun.  It's all the good parts of partying without any of the bad stuff. Because I get to go home to my semi-mundane life that makes me incredibly happy.  I'm not searching for my life to start anymore.  It's here and I'm living it and I'm happy with the choices I've made.

It is a good feeling to know she's in there, somewhere.

(I know this post is really random.  But I had to get it out.  You know how that is, right?)

More adventures of Becky, the sleep freak.

Remember this post?  The one that explained my nighttime adventures?  Well, they continue in my new house.

Except now, I REALLY can't figure out where I am.

The other night, I woke Shane up insisting that he look at something. I have no idea what that something was, but apparently I was pretty adamant that he look at it. Then I fell promptly asleep. Shane thought, "Oh no you don't!" So he decided to mess with me.


I would fall asleep, and he would get his best teasing voice and say, "Hey! Wake up! Don't go to sleep!" and I would get mad at him. He repeated the process about 100 times while I kept getting more and more angry. I might have called him a mean name. I wanted to pummel the living lights out of him (but I kept falling asleep). After a while, he said to me, "Yeah, it sucks to have someone wake you up in the middle of the night, doesn't it?"

Touché.

So, knowing that my temper is short while I am asleep and not wanting to get attacked, he chose his method carefully on Wednesday night when he woke up to see me standing in the bedroom. I had no idea where I was. None. He could see me looking left to right, trying to find...something. So, instead of trying to piss me off, he decided he would give me a mission (and in so doing, he could a - enjoy teasing me while I was asleep, and b - see if he could get me to figure out where I was. He said to me, "I'm hot. Will you go turn on the air conditioner?"

I was more than happy to oblige. The only problem was I didn't know where to find the thermostat. I went in the hall and came back. I looked in his closet. Then I just stood there for a long time and tried to figure out where the thermostat was. Finally he gave me a clue: "Hey Becky, the thermostat is downstairs on the wall."

Oh yeah. I'm in THAT house. You know, the one that we've lived in for a month.

So, I went down and turned the air conditioner on then went back to bed. I felt a little stupid for getting lost in my house but was too tired to really care. I went right back to sleep, my mission fulfilled, and my husband greatly gratified that he was now much cooler and had teased his wife yet a little more.

Fun, fun times, I tell you!

Rules, shmules.

So last week I found out that the folks at Ragnar (who are sponsoring the relay race I'm doing in 15 days!!) has banned headphones.

Crickets chirping. 

Seriously, no headphones?  I'm running 3 different legs.  While it's true I don't listen every moment of a run, I do like the choice to listen if I want to.  But, where there's a will, there's a way, and one of our group members found a way.

I just bought these.  Take that, stupid no-headphone-rule.  Now everyone on the trail will know what lame music I listen to.  But, I'll be able to listen to it.  Yay!!!

Our life of crime begins...

Since Shane changed jobs, I've been driving our Xterra.  Until 2 years ago, this was "my" car (I say "my" because Shane just really wanted it, and so he let me drive it for 4 years until we finally got a car and he admitted that it was always really his.) Well, it isn't very economical to drive so I won't let him drive it to work 5 days a week. Instead, I take it on the days I work.  So I guess now it's mine again.

However, the air conditioning has been going out for a while.  So we took it down to the auto repair shop tonight. As an added bonus (because who doesn't love taking a vehicle to the repair shop? Whee!) we took Shane's jeep as our means to get home.  We had already dropped the Xterra off and put the keys in the little door at the repair shop.  I thought to myself, Wow, I hope Shane threw the keys in a good way because it wouldn't be that hard to reach in the little door and grab the keys and take our Xterra.

We were most of the way home and were discussing dropping me off at Walmart to shop.  Shane all of a sudden stops talking and says, "Did you get the garage door opener?"

Oh snap.  I didn't get the garage door opener.

Nor do we have a key.

We are locked out of our house.  All the doors are locked.  There is literally no way into our house.

Unless: our one glimmer of hope is if we can get the key from off the floor of the repair shop, we can get the door opener from the Xterra.

So, praying all the while, we drive back to the repair shop.  Where I once was hoping Shane had thrown the key in a good way, I was now praying he hadn't. As we pull up, I hope that no one driving by wonders why we are sticking our arms (and our children's arms, because not only are they excited, but are fighting about who gets to try to get the keys) through the slot in the repair shop's door.  My arm can't reach. Shane's arm doesn't fit.  Thomas' isn't long enough.

So we get a pipe.  The pipe works nicely to scoot the keys over enough for Thomas to grab them.  We quickly unlock the car, get the door opener, and lock it back up.  I threw the keys in a good long way, having realized how easy it would have been for someone to steal my car.

Or break into it, just like me and my kids just did.  Awesome.