Ready or Not...

Here I come!

The St George Marathon is Saturday.  While I plan on finishing the marathon again this year, I am also hoping for a first.  I want to run it this time!  I think I can...but really I'm not certain of it.

Last year I felt like I was READY! I had my coach/ training partner/ sunrise buddy/ drill seargent/ sister Tara training with me.  I got out of bed at 0 dark thirty because I knew she was counting on me.  I didn't know what I was getting into and went for over prepared rather than under.  I climbed stairs and did hill repeats.  I was pretty fit and I felt strong. The problem was that it was all a bit much for my left knee. My hobble to the finish line continued through the winter months, and I wasn't able to run again til April.

This year I am NOT ready!  I have trained on my own, wich translates to many mornings of sleeping in past the hours safe for running long distances outside.  Worried about injuring my knee or getting back into things too quickly, I stayed away from the hills and the stairs.  What I didn't stay away from was the wakeboard and the desire for a little jumping.  I am almost recovered from my sprained knee, and I have also recovered from the foot injury that was a result of running after the knee sprain. This year rather than feeling fit, I feel lumpy (that translates into almost 10 lbs on the scale).

My knees don't feel fabulous, but they are not injured like I was last year, and I have a little experience under my belt.  If nothing else, sheer determination will get me across the finish line, but I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to run it, and kinda fast too!  Here's for hopin', beacuse ready or not, here I come!  

Gringos on the American River

What happens when you get a few families, seemingly normal folks, out of bed a little too early on a Saturday, and send them off to the American River?

It may appear that all is well when you see the grins on their faces, but really the delerium is just settling in.

The next thing you know they'll start bouncing off the walls...or each other.  (Oh, and keep an eye on that fellow in the upper right corner.  Jim Book is a sketchy ol' fellow,  and he's money with a super soaker!)

The truth of the matter, is that the kids in this group are actually much better behaved that the adults!

 These guys were a spicy crew, changing their names to Salsa, Pepito, Chalupa, and Taco Head.   Accents from south of the border were used as frequently as their paddles which doubled as a means for moving forward and drenching friends in and outside of the boat.  

Which included their children who were left to fend for themselves in another boat, with a daring guide.    Except for the time when Cortney was clobbered in the face with a paddle, or when the men climbed onto their boat to toss them all out into the river,  they were pretty mellow.

The gringos in this boat however made quick enemies with a few other boats as we collided and engaged in fierce water battles with everyone we passed.  The battles were not limited to those in the other boats though.  We were each tossed out of the boat more than once by one of our amigos paddling along side of us!

 We had enough thrills to keep the smiles on our faces.  We had enough sunshine to warm us from the icy river water that was constantly splashed, shot, or submerging us throughout the day.  We had enough laughs to make our tummies ache.  We had just enough sleep to make everything seem silly, all day long.    And when we were done, we had just enough sense to drive just a little ways down the road to the only real possible place to eat dinner.  A little Mexican restaurant called GRINGOS of course!

Labor Day Play

What to do when the weather is hot and everyone is given the day off work and school?  That decision has been an easy one as of late...The lake of course!  We spread the word of our plans at the Stake Vineyard as work was done cutting the grapes, and encouraged anyone who could to join us.  We brought our friends the Greenlaws out with us and several other families from our ward ended up coming out.

The kids had a blast bouncing around from boat to boat with the other kids their age.

They had fun jumping off the rocks at the edge of the lake.

Wild rides on the tube.

On one of the other boats both of my younger boys got up for the first time on a wakeboard, and I even got a pull from a boat with a tower like I had been wanting all summer long.  It was a perfect day of a little labor and a lot of play!

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

The fall sports season has officially started at the Bohn Household.  Drew's very first cross country race marked the start of a busy and fun time of year for us.  There were 154 kids that ran at this meet in Drew's age group.

Drew was so excited, and a little nervous.

Before the race started I talked to Drew and a few of his buddies about pacing.  I told him not to go his very fastest right at the start and not to worry about how many kids were in front of him at the very beginning, just to pick them off one at a time until the very end.  

It was craziness as the race started but Drew listened well to my directions, and paced himself perfectly.

He came in 52 place out of all those kids, and I was so proud of how well he ran.  

When he finished I asked him how he felt.  "Like I'm gonna puke!" was his response.  "Then you ran it exactly like you should have...You gave it everything you've got."  The nausea wore of quickly and was replaced by pride in finishing at his personal best.

Dancing Diva

 All the girls at Miss Brittney’s dance studio were all dolled up and ready to perform at thier recent showcase. Brynne had given me specific instructions on her hair and insisted on wearing one of her little necklaces.  She was totally in her element!

I shouldn’t have been surprised at how comfortable she was at being in the limelight, but still, somehow I was.  She stood out front wearing the cutest grin and stole everyones hearts.

Their little class of dancers wasn’t perfectly in sync and they weren’t doing the most complicated moves, but they were the most fun to watch!  

Just when you thought Brynne’s smile couldn’t have been any bigger, Jeff presented her with flowers for a job well done.  She was over the moon!  

She told me the flowers were so beautiful she wanted to save them and give them to her husband when she got married someday.  

I am certain we have many years of dance performances ahead of us, this is definitely one of her new loves!

Silent Treatment

These guys

Are giving this one

The silent treatment

And it's all on account of these guys!

Devilish little tarts!

Take Me Out...To The Pool?

This summer some friends invited us to join them for a Fresno Grizzly baseball game...poolside.  I totally didn't get how that would work.  I hadn't been to a game before and just couldn't wrap my head around watching a baseball game by a pool, in my swimsuit, but I am always up for a new adventure.

We met some new friends there and looked on with anticipation at what a $20 bill will motivate some to do...

We walked over to the concessions and got an ice cream cone and swam in the pool.  I knew there was a game going on somewhere in the background of all of this, but really none of us had a clue what was happening in it.

As I look back on the evening what I really remember are the FIREWORKS...talk about some serious sparks!