Whiting Reunion

We had the R.E. Whiting family reunion over the weekend of July 24. This year the reunion took place at the Homestead near Springerville, Ariz. The year 1988 was the last time I was there, myself, and the place didn't even seem familiar. But, it was the area my great-great grandfather homesteaded at the turn of the century. My own grandparents used to have a cabin there and my mom and her sisters spent many summers rolling tires down the Sierra Trigo mountain.

On the way to the Homestead, we passed through Holbrook, Ariz. What a cool town! OK, so it's a little rundown now, but back in the 1950s I'm sure it was in its heyday. The main road into town is dotted with faded hotel signs that are reminiscent of the days of traveling Route 66 to see America. My Grandma and Grandpa Whiting actually ran a Whiting Brothers hotel and service station right on this road back in the mid-50s, and my Grandpa, living in Holbrook as a young boy, remembers the travelers coming through town during the 1930s Dust Bowl. Before he passed away in 1993, he said the scene looked just like it did in the movie "Grapes of Wrath."

The picture of the motel above is the famous "teepee hotel." If you have kids, Radiator Springs = Holbrook, Ariz.

Jason had to cook pancakes on the old Homestead grill.

Kassie playing with the ducks my Aunt Allison made for all the kids.

Tent City: these tents were huge!

Sierra Trigo

In a tiny little dot on the left side of the mountain is Matt and Emily climbing to the top.

From the tire rolling days, we found this tree that just grew up in the middle.

The Fourth

We spent the Fourth in Kanab at my Grandma's other house. My Aunt Laura got a pinata for the kids, Grandma terrorized Cooper by popping his balloon, and my kids were amazed at the fireworks!

Bryce Canyon 1/2 Marathon

I ran (and finished) the Bryce Canyon 1/2 Marathon this last weekend. I ran with my friend, Katie, and we maintained a 9:42 minute mile through 13.1 miles. It was a nice reminder about how hard the SG Marathon can be at points. The race goes from Ruby's Inn to Cannonville. The first four miles are great - downhill with a Bryce Canyon backdrop. And then you come to the bottom of the hill - pretty much flat, with slight hills, and really ugly terrain (kind of reminiscent of Whitewater, Colo.)

Katie and I stuck together. I love running with her - it's been so good for me to get to know her and some other ladies we do daily runs with in our ward. You always get to know someone better when you see each other as early as 4 am, endure good smells (essential oils) and bad smells (sweat), push each other to keep going through tears, and praise the man when you're done.

Anyway, it was a good run - I'm glad I'm taking the time to run and train for myself...or else I'd be an even more uptight wife/mom!

Lake Powell

Cousins: Milo, Savanah, Kylie, Avrie, Asia, Jemma

I have to say the highlight of the 4-day trip was the Jumbo Dog. Myself, along with my MIL, Mary, and three SsIL, Shaquel, Tiesha, and Kristen, jumped aboard. It was a blast (and I don't say that about stuff very often)! We totally felt like kids again - squealing, yelling, laughing, gulping water, and unintentionally trying to drown one other when the Dog would flip. When you become a wife/mom you kind of forget that you can still have those kid/teenage moments. Good times!

When we "do" Lake Powell, we always camp at Lone Rock Beach on the south end of the lake. And I'm proud to say that this year, my little family pretty much outlasted everyone! While everyone, at some point or another, got a hotel room, we stayed there through the dust storms, rain storms, wind, no wind, sun, and chill.

We've been camping the Po Man's way lately, though. When we were first married, in our young, foolish, and (mostly) debt-free days, we had a 37' toy-hauler fifth-wheel. That was downgraded to a 24' trailer, and now we just use a cargo trailer. Nobody, however, was complaining about our cargo trailer when we fit all 26 of us in there for dinner during a dust storm.

Cooper's favorite position on the boat

Our boat - isn't she a beauty?! (no, no, the little one on the left)

Sam

Kristen and Jimmy

We took turns fixing the meals.

Tiesha and Mary - the one time you'll see Mary in anything sleeveless. I was impressed, though, to see my father-in-law, Jim, in actual swim trunks instead of his usual slacks on the boat. I had to laugh, though: Jim, who owns a trucking company, suggested we bring a reefer (a refrigerated trailer) down to the lake to keep ourselves and our food cool....not a bad idea, except trying to navigate through two foot deep sand.

Cousins Connor and Rudy

Matt getting in position to water ski. Sam held him steady while Matt held tight to the ski rope hooked to a 4-wheeler on the beach. One of his uncles gave the 4-wheeler some gas and Matt was....

....up, and then down shortly after. He said he didn't want to try it again.

Annoying Observation of the Day

Yesterday was "weigh-in" day at Weight Watchers. Yes, I didn't make it the last two weeks because I wasn't going to take the time to go there, and fight with my kids in the process, so I could stand on the scale and have them tell me I'd gained weight. Nah, didn't sound fun to me. After Lagoon and my trip to Colorado, I just knew it would not bode well for my psychie.



No, instead my renewed motivation led me this week to a loss of a whopping 1.4 lbs.! Yes, quite the overachiever I am. After I weighed myself at home, before I went (you know, to actually see if I'd lost anything - I will not be humiliated with a gain!) and decided that I hadn't yet seen that number on the scale (which is a good thing) I did try my hardest to get rid of any extra bodily fluids that might be lingering (and no, not throwing up).



When I pulled up at WW, there was a sign on the door that read to use the back door because construction was going on up front. Not a problem - a simple walk to back was maybe 50 feet. But that must've been too hard because from the time I parked and walked to the back, two different cars pulled up to the front, paused to read the sign, then took the time to drive all the way around the building to the back to get, maybe, 5 spots closer to where the could have easily pulled in up front.



Yes, this was my Annoying Observation of the Day: come on (and I'm just going to say it) fat people, walk a few steps...especially as you enter WW!

Beginning Again

I'm beginning again Anew.

It's time once again where I've been reevaluating my life and I've decided to incorporate some actual goals. No, I'm not talking about the goal of merely surviving three boys everyday, or the goal of getting the laundry actually folded, or even my latest goal of fulfilling my Cubmaster calling with enthusiasm - no, I need something bigger.

So, I signed up for a half-marathon in July and saw that my friend, Katie, who is also in my ward, was also running. I'm now running four days a week with her and some other ladies in the ward and I've also been talked into doing three additional races, one being a 20-miler. So, this is becoming bigger than I had originally intended it to be.

We did our first race, a 10K, on Saturday. I really do enjoy running. I'm not super-fit, nor do I have lean, muscular legs that indicate I can actually run some long distances. But, I love that exercise can clear my mind and I've really enjoyed getting to become better friends and getting to know these ladies I run with.

That being said, I've put it out there now that I'm doing these races and I'm just going to put this out there too, (for motivation so I don't come across as all bark and no bite), be it hell or high water I will lose 15 pounds by the middle of July...or the middle of August! I've joined Weight Watchers multiple times and I know all the tricks...it's just....food...is...so...good!

So, maybe by writing down my goals/plans I'll get there. After all, I do have this pet peeve about people who threaten to make their blogs private and then never carry through. So, I gotta do this now.