XTERRA Utah Off-Road Triathlon

This is Matt blogging, instead of Danielle. This past weekend I had the opportunity to hang out with my siblings and to help watch the kids while they all participated in the XTERRA Utah Off-Road Triathlon. Ryan ran the whole race by himself and Jon (swimming), Becky (mountain biking), and Kelly (running) ran the race as a relay. They all did really well and it was so fun to watch them compete.

The relay team before the Race. Jon's shirt is off because he had already gone for his warm up swim, not because he loves showing off his amazing abs :)

Cute couple before the race. Ryan put in a great effort and got a great time.

Tessa and I hung around together and watched everybody race. She was a great sport and had a lot of fun too. Jon coming out of the water. At the top of the boat ramp, he'll high 5 Becky and she'll start the bike ride. Tessa and I ran with him to try to get a good picture of the transition, but alas, there wasn't a good vantage point to get a shot. Ryan starting the run. Callie climbed up on this fence all by herself. As each biker came by she would clap her hands and cheer with the other spectators. It was quite cute. Becky finishing her leg of the race. And Kelly starting her leg of the race. And finally across the finish line. Our relay team finished ahead of at least one other relay team. The team after the race, sporting their Livestrong shirts. Throughout the day, all of us thought of Clint and the race he's running right now. And with Clint as her inspiration, Kelly exceeded her goal in the run by at least 10 minutes. Callie talking to her Grandma Walton in Portugal after the race. And this one has nothing to do with the race, but I couldn't resist posting it. Tessa in her Daddy's hospital room at the Huntsman. We love you Clint.

Cute little birdie outside my window...

I am sitting at the kitchen table, minding my own business and doing homework (like a good college student) when I saw little birds of unknown species flying up from the bushes outside. I see this all out the corner of my eye as I am trying to stay focused on the computer screen in front of me and then... 'Bonk' a bird hits the window, scaring me half to death and leaving a mark to prove he was there! How dare he disturb my concentration! ;) 

I thought it was hilarious and had to take a picture. You can even see where his wings hit and a white spot (a stuck on feather) where his beak was! That must have hurt!

I hope you got a laugh at this poor bird's expense. And kids, what can we learn from this? Don't run into windows!

Youth Etiquette Dinner

So as some of you know, I was called to be the Young Women's Secretary and Personal Progress Advisor this past February and I have had so much fun with the other women in the presidency and the girls in our ward! They are just so much fun! So we wanted to do a fun activity that was also educational after a long summer of not having everyone in town and what other way to eat and mingle than to have a diner! We sent out formal invitations to each one of the young men and young women and enclosed RSVP cards that they had to send back so that we would know exactly how many kids to plan for. We even code named the event so that more kids would come and not be scared of the name 'Etiquette Dinner.' We are sneaky leaders after all:) After lots of planning and preparation the night went off without a hitch and better yet... the youth LOVED IT! We got (and continue to get, 2 weeks later) complements on the food, the games, just the whole thing! We were so happy that so many youth came and that they had fun and hopefully a little etiquette knowledge slipped in there too. So here are the pictures from the event!

Table #1- eating yummy biscotti and sherbet for desert:)

Table #1 (from the other side) 

Table #2

Table #3 (have you noticed the boy-girl pattern yet?)

Rebecca and JR in the kitchen. They were the hands behind the scene that made sure we had enough silverware for desert and that my kitchen wasn't an overwhelming mess at the end of the night. Thank you!

We had Pictionary in one room after dinner where the youth had to draw the table manner/ rule and their team would have to guess what it was. 

There was a Jepordy type etiquette game in the other room. (Thanks to Candy's whit and cunning:)

Fall is in the air...

Today was the first day that it really felt like fall was on it's way (at least for me). Matt has said that it has felt like fall for a few days now but today with the overcast skies, wind and a few small water drops on the back porch, it feels like fall to me. Matt also took out the dead zucchini and cucumber plants on Saturday and cut the dry corn stalks from their roots for some fall decoration for the porch (pictures to come with the 9 pumpkins that are still growing). So with the garden slowing down and the clouds in the sky, I feel like cuddling up with Matt and watching a good movie or reading a good book. We are both looking forward to wearing long pants and sweatshirts again and I am looking forward to wearing sweaters and jackets to school and not worrying about having to carry it all home with me when it is 80 degrees outside after I get out of classes in the afternoon. Fall makes me think of Pumpkin Spice bread (Matt's contribution to dinner tonight), slippers, watching the wind and rain outside our windows as we are warm inside. Crinkly leaves and red, orange trees (just before all of the leaves fall off in winter). I love fall:) and I am glad that it is finally in it's way.