Just "running" around!

Due to a battery-less camera I have been unable to download pictures of this weekend's events. First, Teisha (Tim's little sister), Addy (Teisha's daughter), Tim, I, Gus & Tug drove down to Bryce Canyon this weekend. We had some difficulty getting down there due to our car overheating, and once we got into town (if you can call it a town--it's more like a half of a block of buildings) there were no restaurants or stores open to find something to eat. We walked down the street and finally this sweet lady that owned the local pizza shop offered to make us a pizza (even though their ovens were shut down for the night). So at 10:30pm we are eating greasy pizza--yumm! We then snuggled down in our cabins and rested for a whole 5 hours before we had to wake up for the half marathon. It was surprisingly cold down in Bryce and for the first 5 miles I was wearing a sweatshirt, but then it started to heat up. Once I was able to expel the extra bit of clothing I felt like new. I was feeling really good (despite being split up from Teisha--she had to wait in one of the porta-potty lines, so I kept going) until I hit mile 9. At this point, I was starting to feel my breakfast come up and I felt like crap. I kept telling myself that I only had a 5K left (but my mind knew otherwise). Despite the crappy feeling inside I kept running (but my pace slowed down quite a bit). Teisha caught up with me during the last half mile and we finished strong together. We finished in 2 hours and 14 minutes, which surprised us both because we were shooting for 2 and half hours. Soon after our cross of the finish line we jumped back into the Subaru and started our hellish ride home without air conditioning (Tim didn't allow us to turn the A/C on because he didnt' want the car to overheat again).

The rest of the weekend was shot because we didn't want to drive anywhere far due to our car's issues. We initially had some plans to meet up with some friends in Lake Powell, but alas we did not go. However, we had a fun weekend nonetheless. We went wakeboarding up at Echo Lake with the Aitken family (Teisha & Stokes) and we got to watch Aiden (Teisha's son) try wakeboarding for the first time. His first attempt was not a good one and it ruined the fun after that, but he was a good sport. On the other hand, Addy was awesome! For a 7 year old, that girl can rip! AND...how can I forget? Tim wakeboarded as well (although he denies that he touched such a contraption and made us all swear that they were skis). All in all it was fun on the boat. Then on Tuesday morning, Teish and I ran the Deseret Morning News 10K (unofficially--because we didn't register in time). Again, we finished stronger than we imagined with 6 miles in 56 minutes (averaging a little over 9 minutes/mile). All in all, we had a great weekend and if one thing came of it all, we've decided that we need a new car. We're not jumping on anything as of right now, but we're planning in the near future. As soon as I get the battery charged I will post some pictures of this weekend's events.

Dog Lake Hike

This past Saturday we hiked up to Dog Lake. People must have thought our crew was crazy because we were out-numbered by dogs (5 dogs:4 humans). The hike is about 6 miles round trip, but the best part is the murky, bug-infested "lake" at the top. However, the dogs love it! This is the first hike up to Dog Lake this year. In past summers we frequent this spot often. It's always fun to watch the dogs play in the water and with the other dogs up there.

Anytime Meg would get into the water Moku would swim out to her side. He is such a momma's boy. In fact, in almost every picture I have of Meghan on this hike, Moku was right next to her leg. All the other dogs were heading up the path and Moku trotted slowly and looked back every minute or so to make sure mom was coming along. This was Moku's first time swimming in a lake and he was such a trooper. However, if Meghan went out too far and Moku felt he couldn't swim out to her, he would sit on the shoreline and cry for her to come in.
This picture was taken right after Tim threw Gus into the lake. Soon after we found Gus rolling around in the dirt trying to dry off. He was a nasty dirt ball. Meg commented that he resembled Pigpen from Charlie Brown because everywhere he ran he kicked up a trail of dirt that covered him.
This is a good depiction of what we looked like when we were hiking. 5 dogs (Gus, Tug, Moku, Bear (Nate's dog), and Texas Ranger (Nate's roommate's dog)--what were we thinking? Not to mention that we all rode up in the same car (my Subaru).
Gus was pissed that he was wet. He wouldn't go near Tim after he threw him in. We always joke that he's such a pouty/bossy teenager.
Gus and Bear--freedom at last!
Texas Ranger (Nate's roommate's dog). Nate's roommate didn't go with us, but "TR" was happy to be there with us. He is such a sweet puppy--and he listens really well too!

The Missing Dollar

Tim and I were doing some mind puzzles the other day and we came across one that we couldn't put our brain around. We both sat there thinking for almost an hour. Of coarse we finally got it, but it took us a while. Give it a try for yourself and tell us what you think.... at a later date I'll post the answer.

Three students checked into a hotel and paid the clerk $30 for a room ($10 each). When the hotel manager returned, he noticed that the clerk had incorrectly charged $30 instead of $25 for the room. The manager told the clerk to return $5 to the students. The clerk, knowing that the students would not be able to divide $5 evenly, decided to keep $2 and to give them only $3.

The students were very happy because they paid only $27 for the room ($9 each). However, if they paid $27 and the clerk kept $2, that adds up to $29. What happened to the other Dollar?

A big scare! Or should I say scar?

K-Bug just got her appendix removed! It was quite the surprise and it all happened so quickly, but now that it is all over with her, she is feeling much better. Before Kailee received any drugs, she was in some excruciating pain (which was horrible to watch someone you love in such pain and feel completely helpless). Once she got a good dose of morphine she was out cold and woke up having all sorts of delusions--some of them were hilarious. I couldn't help but laugh at some of them. However, Kailee has been in high spirits and she was up and walking around the hospital just 6 hours after her surgery. All of the nurses have been complementing her on her stoic demeanor.

Tim and I got her a build-a-bear and then Tim decided that we should stitch in a little scar to help commemorate this momentous occassion. She thought that was the coolest thing ever and wouldn't put it down the entire time we were at the hospital with her. She decided to name the bear "Scarlett"--very appropriate I thought!

Demand! And I shall supply!

My little sister just recently demanded that I blog about a pasta recipe I made for her...so this one is for her. :)

Pasta Arriabata-this is a spicey version of traditional marinara sauce. We ate some of this at the Cheesecake Factory and had to get the recipe. After many tries of making it I think we finally got the recipe down. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, roughly chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can full of water
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 dried bay leafs

Directions:
Saute onion, green pepper in roughly 2 tablespoons of olive oil until clear and translusent. Add salt and pepper to taste and then add in garlic and saute for additional couple of minutes. Then add in tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 can of water, and red pepper flakes. Let it cook down and reduce for about 10 minutes. Then add basil, oregano, sugar and bay leafs. Simmer on medium heat until sauce is thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over your desired pasta.

TAGGED!

4 Jobs I've had:
*The Gap (Retail Slave)
*Camp Vega (Figure Skating Instructor)
*Valley Mental Health-Forensics Unit (Therapist)
*Utah Foster Care Foundation (Currently)

4 Movies I can watch over and over:
*Cinderella Man
*The Green Mile
*Best in Show
*Good Will Hunting

4 Places I've lived:
*El Paso, Texas
*Salt Lake City, Utah
*Kents Hill, Maine
*Bountiful, Utah

4 TV shows I love:
*Super Nanny
*Everyday Italian-Food Network
*Barefoot Contessa-Food Network
*Fox News

4 Favorite foods:
*Any type of fruit
*Pasta dishes
*Mashed potatoes (preferably Tim's homemade garlic mashed potatoes)
*Anything BBQ'd

4 Websites I visit daily:
*Email
*Friend's blogs
*Cheap airfares
*Bank account

4 Places I'd rather be right now:
*Homeless Beach in Kauai
*Topeka, Kansas (visiting family)
*Any place in Europe (preferably in Italy)
*On a hike with my hubby and dogs!

Friends I'd like to tag:
*Erika Hanks
*Viv
*Erika Helme
*Kim and Sam
*Mindy
*Nikki

Kayaking Trip Gone Bad

Tim recently returned from a kayaking trip to the Payette River outside of Boise, Idaho.
Unfortunately, upon arriving in Boise, the transmission in his friends Mike's 4-Runner started acting up, forcing Tim, Mike, and Stew to campout in a Albertson's parking lot:

The next day, after weighing their options, they decided to rent a Uhaul truck to finish the drive up to the river:

It was all worth it when they hit the river that afternoon:



The peeing was great also:


With the 4-Runner still parked at Albertsons the boys decided to cut their trip short and tow it back home. All in all, after 15 hours of driving, only 3 hours of kayaking was had, hopefully next years Payette trip will have a more favorable kayaking to driving ratio!