The Choice

The weekend was good. Saturday my Dad, Karen and I did a nice bike ride. The weather was perfect. We did 29 miles and I felt exhausted after. After a week of battling a cold, the ride just took it out of me. I only wanted to kill myself twice while on the ride, so that is a good thing. Poor Karen who was behind me on several occasions probably thought I was going to cough up a lung several times. Oh and can I mention that my parents live way to far on the east side (not trying to sound snobbish). It is a pain to climb back up to their house after a ride (I guess it makes me stronger in the end).

Today I had a wonderful day. The day was beautiful and I soaked up the sun outside and read almost an entire book. I finished The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. I always enjoy reading his books. They are easy reads and I usually enjoy the stories. If you are looking for a book to read it is pretty good.

I came home from St. George and got a nasty cold... I have had a cough, achy body, and congestion like I have never had before. Then to make the week all the better I had surgery on my ear. So I got to add stitches to my fun week. (don't worry it was my opposite ear from last years accident).

Moving on to better things. My mom always does the most beautiful flowers for weddings. She has amazing talent and I love seeing the fun new things she does for various weddings. A good family friend Nick Orton got married and their reception was beautiful. It was at the Highland Gardens and these are the pictures.

St. George Day 2 and 3

ZIONS
Saturday in George was rainy. We decided to head out to Zion thinking there would be some great photo opportunities. We met up with some of Andy and Emily's friends. After a nice lunch, we went up into the park. Can't say that I have ever taken the bus up into Zion, but it was really nice. We went to Court of Patriarchs. We hiked up to get some great photo's. The guys were out on the ledge and I was surprised to see my Dad (who is afraid of heights) sitting out there. He is the one in the yellow jacket.

This is the view from the bottom of the guys

Court of Patriarchs

Kennedy running around waiting for the shuttle

Kennedy and Kate holding hands (it was so cute)

Emily and Kennedy on the hike

The girls and most the kids got separated from the guys... So we headed to the lodge for some sitting and ice cream.


It was a lot of fun and we had a wonderful steak dinner at home when we got back.

EASTER SUNDAY AT SAND COVE

We four wheeled out to Sand Cove for a nice Easter egg hung. Kennedy is know for falling asleep while on the four wheelers. It amazes me how she can do that.


It was a beautiful day with clear skies and warm weather.


Cooper and Jenna before the egg hung


Kennedy collecting eggs


Kennedy and Grammy with her basket


Cooper and Jenna running around


It was a perfect place to have an Easter egg hung and the Kennedy and Kate loved it


Andy and Kennedy


Andy and Cooper


After the egg hunt Kennedy sat up on the rocks and the picture was so cool. The sky was so blue and she was such a babe.


Andy and Em


Cooper and Grammy


After the egg hunt we had a nice lunch and sat around and relaxed. Then we climbed the huge Sand hill and decided to run down a few times. It was really hard to climb and made me feel so out of shape. We all had to take a break at the top we were so tired.




My first time down I was getting ready to start running and Andy grabbed my arm and started pulling me as he ran down. I wasn't moving fast enough and just face planted it in the sand and was dragged a few feet. I had sand everywhere and it was sticking to me.


Cooper and I raced down and I stepped on his jeans and took us both out. I felt bad.

It was a beautiful day and I even got some sun.

HANGING OUT AT THE HOUSE
One night while hanging out at the house Kennedy put on her Dad's socks. She was so proud and thought it was so cool.

Grandpa reading to Kennedy

Someone had a pack of gum from decades ago.. No really they still make it. Anyway I got a kick out of it. Very colorful gum that looses it's flavor so fast. I mean like minutes fast. As we were reminiscing about this gum I was telling them how it used to have tattoo's on the gum sleeves. Low and behold it still does. Somethings never change.

The birds made the trip with us. My mom put them on my Dad's hat and we had a few laughs at the birds standing on the rim poking his head under to see my dad.

St George Day 1

I headed down to St. George to spend Easter with the family. It is supposed to be rainy, but today was beautiful. The weather was perfect for a nice bike ride. My dad, Emily and I went out for a nice ride. We headed out toward Hurricane down the big hill, but ran into a nasty car accident. It was really tragic and sad to see. The accident had just happened (the were no police or ambulances on the scene yet) and there was debris everywhere. We had to get off our bikes and walk through it. Anyway a fertilizer truck was all smashed in, the driver we think was sitting in the middle of the road dazed and confused (likely by the looks of it with a broken arm). The passenger of the fertilizer truck, was smashed and pinned in the truck still. He was talking to a lot of people that had stopped to help with the crash. He was pretty bloody, but still trapped none the less. The other car (a green truck) involved in the accident was on it's side, off the side of the road. It was not a pretty sight. The guy was hanging out the window. As we walked past, trying to get past the accident and on to the other side of the road, I asked a lady standing by the guy if he was ok. She looked over and said he was dead. It was so sad! We were in shock about the whole situation and were trying really hard to get past the accident and cross the road. After we saw the extent of the situation we decided it would be best to turn around and go back the other directions away from the scene. We all had a really hard time seeing the extent of everything.

After the scary accident we saw, we continued on for nice ride. The weather was perfect, the wind was pretty calm. After we headed home, my dad and I decided to continue on. We put on a few extra miles, which felt good. We did some nice steady climbs. On the way home we had to climb a huge hill into the subdivision where my parents house is. It is pretty rough. Anyway it was a nice way to finish the ride. I can't complain about a nice 26 mile ride. I burned 1506 calories, which feels good.

I am beat tonight, but overall the day was good. Andy and Kennedy took the little dirt bike out for a nice ride. Got a few laughs and pics of it. Kennedy just kept telling him to not pop a wheel.




Cooper hanging out with the birds in Kennedy's camping chair.


On the way down to St. George Andy's bike fell off the back of the bike rack. His bike dragged on the road for a few minutes before a lady drove up to let them know. Anyway this is what happens..... (the frame and tires are perfectly fine, but the handle bars are a different story).

Living for Eden Benefit Concert

I started the week out on Monday attending a benefit concert for Paul Cardall. It was so amazing. Kurt Bestor, Peter Brienholt, Ryan Shrupe and the Rubberband, and Colors performed. Paul's story is so amazing. If you would like to read his blog go to http://www.paulcardall.com/
There was so much talent in the room, and the whole story just made me sob. Words cannot express the feelings that took place on that stage, but it truly was wonderful. Of course it is always fun to watch all these guys perform and that night was no exception.

Drove past this and glad someone saw it. Couldn't resist stopping and taking a picture. I was dying to go up to the people and ask if I could go in their backyard to take a picture. Chickened out...

Heart Rate Monitor

I purchased Polar F11 heart rate monitor for biking. The last several rides I have noticed that I have let my heart rate get a little to high. So to help me better track it I took the plunge and bought one. They can be price, but I found that is pretty reasonable. I opened it earlier in the week, but hadn't really had the chance to play around with it. So today got it all set up. You wear a strap around your chest, and it is really comfortable believe it or not. I put it on and did a fitness test to see when I am completely calm and resting what my aerobic fitness measures at.
Since then I have had it on. Nifty little toy. It tells me my heart rate monitor, the calories I have burned, how long I am in my target heart rate zone. Anyway it is really cool.

I took Millie to the park and did some running. I wore her right out, and about half way through my running she just stopped and layed down at one end of the field. Poor dog is passed out now on the couch. Anyway it was fun to do sprints and run and watch my heart rate. Excited to get on the bike and try it out.