Mark it on your calendars!

One of the things that I love about being in Utah is watching runners. No matter what time of day, I always see a runner. It's inspiring to see so many people dedicated to fitness and their mental and physical well-being. One of my inspirations is my mom. I don't think I would enjoy running if it wasn't for my mom. She is the one who has helped me to enjoy the personal challenge of running races. This past week we did two races together, that runners in Utah need to take advantage of!

Over the weekend I went with the parents to Bryce Canyon for the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon. The course was absolutely breath-taking. It was our first year running this race and I think we are committed to running it again and again. It was well organized, the weather was perfect, and the course was fantastic. Be sure to sign up for it next July. You won't regret it!

My mom is so awesome! Look at her go! I always get emotional watching my mom finish her races. I'm such a nerd.

I'm glad to be back in Utah where I can run with my mom again.

My mom and I have run the Deseret News 10k for years. I always look forward to this race. It's fun to run along the parade route and a great way to start off the holiday. This year was especially great because one of my greatest friends ran it with me. My friend Megan is a super star. She totally rocked the race without doing much training! She pushed me the entire time. Thanks Megan for running it with us!

Be sure to sign up early for next year's races!

PS** Slight rip off: I was looking at my time for the 10k and it only gives the clock time, not the chip time. Megan and I finished 3 minutes faster according to our watches and garmin than the clock time! We started so far back in the beginning it took us close to 3 minutes just to get to the starting line. What's the point of wearing a chip on your shoe, if it's not going to accurately give you your time? I know I'm being a little OCD. Sorry I just had to vent.

CONNECT-I-CUT

Last week I went to visit my sister Mandy who lives in Connecticut with her family. The other times I have gone to visit her the weather has been crappy and cold, so I was excited to see Connecticut in the summer. The weather, scenery and of course the company did not disappoint! Although I wished I could have stayed longer, we made the most out of our time and had a few jam packed days of sight seeing and East Coast activities.

My first day there we went and picked blueberries. Picking blueberries reminded me of this darling picture book, except bears and a lost child. The blueberries were delicious and we couldn't get enough of them!
Ian was so proud of all of the berries he picked. This container was claimed as his special blueberries for him and only him! I called him the King of Sillies while I was there. He is growing up so fast. He is silly, witty and the most compassionate sibling. He would do anything for his "Pose" and Everett.

One of the many things I admire about my sister Mandy is her desire to live like a pioneer. I can't tell you how many times I heard her say she wished she lived on a farm. Well she is on her way to becoming a pioneer because they have this lush garden, full of cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, carrots, all sorts of spices and beautiful hydrangea. One of the highlights of the trip was having Terry make homemade pesto sauce using basil from their very own garden.

We spent an entire day at the beach in Rhode Island. It was the perfect day. We played in the water, sat on the beach and enjoyed fresh fruit!

I loved spending time with Mandy. She is the greatest.

Everett especially enjoyed eating sand and cherries.

Post eating cherries.

Posey and Ian dug this huge hole. (With the help of Terry and me).

They were so proud of their big accomplishment.

We also went swimming in their pool at home. Posey had to wear goggles at all times.

Being in the pool was the only way to escape the suffocating heat/humidity.

The time went too quickly. I was back home before I knew it.

Next time I schedule my visit it will have to be at least a week long!

Uh where did June go? Part 3..It's a long one

So about 12 hours after finishing the Wasatch Back with my friends, I got on a plane to Buffalo, New York where I met up with 47 other members of my extended family. My Grandma and Grandpa Wynn have taken all of the extended family on vacations every summer, every summer, not kidding. This year's trip consisted mostly of LDS church history sites in the Eastern United States. They have been planning this trip for years and were so excited because 48 out of the 50 members of the family could be there. Unfortunately Mike was one of the 2 who couldn't go because of starting residency and my cousin Tommy couldn't go because of dental school.
Let me tell you this trip was quite the extravaganza.

These are a few highlights from the week long trip.
All of the family met in Buffalo, New York where we loaded:

a beautiful bus like this and made our way to Niagara Falls.

It was breath taking. All of the family went on a boat tour of the falls and we got to wear these:

Emily, Myself and our cute cousin Danielle looking great in our blue ponchos.

We visited the Sacred Grove. Serene, calm and beautiful.

Most of the adult family members went to the Palmyra temple together.

Went to the top of the Hill Cumorah.

Our bus got stuck on the side of the road while we were visiting a cemetery. You have no idea how far down into the ground the tire is. Truly it was a miracle our bus got out of the mud. (Thanks to Katherine for letting me use this amazing picture she took of the bus!)

Went to Kirtland and visited the N.K. Whitney store.

(FIND IT: My funny brother in law Lance in the background waving.)

We went to an Indians Baseball game in Cleveland.

There's nothing better than a hot dog at a baseball game.

Our trip was from Sunday to Sunday so by Friday we were going slightly crazy after being on the bus for so long.

When telling people about the kind of trip I was doing, people were shocked that a family would actually want to travel together for a week on a bus. But I have to tell you this was one of the most memorable trips I have ever been on.

I missed Mike greatly but I was so grateful to be able to see those sites and it was wonderful to spend time with all of my cousins, aunts, uncles, and Grandparents.

Most of the family waiting to take a family picture.

I feel fortunate to have such generous, thoughtful, patient, loving grandparents.

Thanks for a wonderful trip.

Uh Where Did June Go? PART 2

Once graduation was over for Mike, and I finished teaching school we left for Utah. (Seriously the last day of school for me, we started driving to Utah, let's just say it was one emotional car ride!) It was so sad to say goodbye to all of my school friends, but it was nice to know we were headed to a place where we had family and friends waiting our arrival!

Mike and I had been in Utah for less than a week when it came time to run:

180.5 miles from Logan to Park City! You run the distance with a team made up of 12 people. The race is split up into 36 different sections, so each runner on each team runs 3 different sections. Make sense? I ran it with 11 of my most favorite people! Although it was extremely difficult because of terrain and lack of sleep, I would do it again in a heart beat!

The scenery was absolutely amazing!


This was taken towards the end of the first day: (We are missing about half of our team)

Love these girls.

These are pictures of me running. I had so much fun with the people in my car, but unfortunately our car had some injured people. Poor Amanda, Lacey and Kate. You guys were troopers. I ended up running 18.5 miles of the distance. After running I was amazed at what a person's body can do.

Mikey came to watch our team finish together. He's the greatest.



My favorite part of the race was when we met up with the rest of the team to run in the last hundred yards together. This was most of the team. We missed the other girls who had to go home early!

Thanks girls for the adventurous 2 days! Let's do again next year!