Like Father, Like Sons

Garrett has now entered the Boy Scout program. He is currently working on four merit badges. I'll bet you can't bet what the first two merit badges earned will be... Yep, you guessed it... fly-fishing and fishing. He is also working on his nature and reading merit badges. Russ is using this whole merit badge/ Scout Master calling to his full advantage. Another excuse to go fishing.

Last weekend, Russ took the boys fishing on the Provo River. He had bought Garrett a new fly-rod and they took that with them. He gave Garrett the rod and told him where to fish. Garrett threw out a couple of casts to a fish they saw rising. On his fourth cast, he hooked a fish... a nice, BIG brown trout. Garrett did it all by himself, with no help from Russ. I think it was one of the happiest days of Russ' life.

It was a very successful day trip. They had left at 4:00 am and got home at 10:30 pm. It was at 10:30 pm upon returning to St. George, when Russ realized that Grant had left our camera (nice lens, polarized filter, flash, etc.) on the bank of the Provo River. Grant had set the camera down to dig a hole and forgot all about the camera. So, Russ and the kids (I had to work the next morning) got up again at 4:00 am and drove back to Provo. They found the camera right where Grant had left it. I am not sure what possessed Russ to put an 8 year old (with some form of A.D.D.- like his dad) in charge of camera equipment that cost more than my car (Well, we got a great deal on my car- but anyway)... I think he learned his lesson.

Kinda-Swifty 50

Yesterday, four of my friends (Tiffany Schmidt, Staci Guard, Dayna Player-Robinson, and Sierra Robinson) and I competed in the Lake-to-Lake relay in St. George. The race began at Gunlock Reservoir and ended at Sandhallow reservoir.

Dayna, our team captain, sent me a text the night before the race to inform me that we were competing in the Shorty Shorts contest. I said there was no way I was running in shorty shorts. First, I own no short shorts. Second, I didn't have enough time for a wax job that would be necessary to run in short shorts. Third, I have huge spider veins up the back of my legs, LOTS of cellulite, saggy and bright white skin, and a huge bruise on my inner thigh (Garrett threw a fast ball that missed my mitt and attacked my thigh- OUCH!). Fourth, it was supposed to be 30 degrees in the morning at Gunlock, with a chance of snow. And finally, my mom was coming to snap pictures that were sure to be posted on her blog.

Well, for anyone who knows Dayna...

she always has the final say :) You don't mess with Dayna!!! Yes, this was her answer to all of my arguments. Also, Dayna bought bright pink headbands for everyone to wear- for team unity. I got to my first hand-off, just before the previous runner got there because we were getting gas in Tiff's truck and air in one of the tires. I barely had time to go to the bathroom, throw on my gear, and off I went. Because I was rushed, I didn't take time to look in a mirror and realize that my bandanna was sticking out straight!

I ran 6 of my miles in this get up. And the worst part was Kami, who is the race director for St. George, must have snapped at least 20 pictures of me in this interesting running gear. There was a slide show after the race last night and (I kid you not) I was popping up on the screen every 4th or 5th picture- IN THIS OUTFIT!!! OK- done with the explanation and whining. I accidentally forgot to put the shorts on for my second leg (Dayna handed off to me- so she wasn't there to remind me and NO time to run and put them on) and I fixed my bandanna. Just a side note- one of the girls on our team did win the shorty shorts contest. It may be considered soft porn- so view at your own discretion.

The race was an absolute blast. Everyone ran two legs of the race that totaled 10 miles each. My first leg was just under 6 and my second leg was just over 4 (5.71 and 4.4 miles). As a team we averaged 9:05 minute miles. Now, my miles were on the slow side, but we had some fast runners on our team to make up the difference. We took 6th place in our division- All Female Team. Should I mention that there were only 7 teams in that category? We placed 26th overall. This was the first year of this race so there was only a total of 38 teams. Not the best, but NOT dead last. Heck we beat twelve other teams in. Yea us!

I had great support from all of my family. Kami was at the start and finish of my first leg. My parents were at the start and finish (and all along the middle) of my second leg. Russ and the kids came and found us just after I finished my second run. It was fun to have everyone come and support my big event. Thanks to all of you!

Picture this...

Russ dropped our camera on Garrett's birthday. It kinda still works if your hands are big enough to hold the battery in while snapping pictures... which my hands are not very big. So, who can blog without pictures?!!! I am so sad! Hopefully, we will be able to get it fixed soon. Anyway- that is why I haven't blogged in almost a month!