Vegas, Baby!

This is to all the cool girls in my neighborhood! Maybe next year we'll have to rent a bus so more can come and party with us. Sometimes peer pressure really is a GOOD thing!
Here are pictures taken by our resident super-awesome photographer, Wendy. Next year we'll be taking pics of you, too!

So, that's me...the tall one with the blue on my wetsuit in the middle of the pic. You can't tell, but I was totally in freak-out mode for my first "real" Olympic-length triathlon (1-mile swim, 20 mile bike, and 6.2 mile run).
Can you see me? I'm just about to take a huge breath and dive right into Lake Las Vegas. I was pretty stoked about not having a panic attack this time. The only beef I had with the swim was that they stuck a big yellow buoy at the turn-around point, but it was directly in front of the sun so I couldn't see it for anything. One of the kayakers, bless his soul, had to stop me and tell me I was going the wrong way.
I finally got my wetsuit off and got on my bike without falling or ANYTHING!
After a crazy hilly bike ride through the desert, I got on my running shoes and took off...
This is the embarrassing part of the whole race, but I'm gonna go public with it anyway. Many of you know that there are a few bodily casualties to child birth (besides the boobs and belly, of course). Ever since Lucy came into my life, my bladder just hasn't been the same. Running hasn't been the same. I had encountered a little bit of a problem with urinary incontinence before, but never like this. At mile four, there was this huge hill. I got up it without too much drama, but on the downhill I just lost it, and by "it" I mean all the pee in my body. No way to stop it. I tried. Really. I was just so grateful that I was relatively by myself with no one near enough to splash. I know, gross! And worse yet, I've been taking vitamins, and well, the color of vitamin-urine can be especially bright. Double gross! I was SO grateful for the remaining water stations to pour cups of water down my back to try and rinse a little of the embarrassment away.

As it turns out, I was doing better than I thought, and ended up in third place in my age group. I passed up two girls right at the end and, had I stopped to pee, I wouldn't have done as well. Pathetically competitive, I know. So, the life lesson I learned this weekend was to JUST LET IT ALL GO, BUT TRY NOT TO SPLASH YOUR NEIGHBOR IN THE PROCESS. Hey, maybe I could turn that into a parable to teach in Sunday School...yea, maybe not!:)
I am SO VERY HAPPY for EVERYONE!!!! We all did so well, and yet the very best part was hanging out and having that girl-time that is so energizing for the soul. Thanks to all for making it a weekend to remember! Big love to all you hot babes!

The Swell is swell

Rosanne went to party in Vegas with all of her girlfriends so the kids decided to take Daddy camping in the San Rafel Swell and Goblin Valley. She says "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" but the woman needs to give us a little something for our efforts. The kids and I met up with our friends Page and Annie Perkins (and their parents Bryce and Corey).

We got there a little late and after sleeping in the car everyone was really excited to play. Our camp-neighbors weren't as excited about finding a toad at 12:30 in the morning as we were but it was still a lot of fun!
The next morning we found out that Lizards want to stay in their own homes.
What a bummer! "If the lizard loves us and wants to come home with us, he'll wait right on this rock for us to come back and get him...."
Then we went hiking in Little Wild Horse, a slot canyon a few miles from Goblin Valley. Mom should be so proud of her excellent hikers!

After lunch, we decided it would be a good for driving to the Muddy River and maybe catnap a little. (One hand on the wheel and another preventing whiplash)

There are all these 'painted desert' hills of Morrison Formation.
The creek was surprisingly warm and shallow. Much Happiness ensued.
The next morning we packed up and went to Goblin Valley.

We had some fun before we hit the wall and it was time to go and find Mommy so we could wish her a Happy Mother's Day!

Africa, Yo!

Crosspost to a TR of my Africa trip. Many thanks to Rosanne for letting me go. And to my kids for welcoming me back with so much love.

www.claywatson.blogspot.com

LDS Humanitarian Services is the coolest organization I've ever seen. So glad to be a small part of their efforts.

Chick-fil-ugh

As many of you know, Clay is in Liberia. So, since I banned all cooking while he's gone, tonight we went down to Sandy to Chick-fil-a. I had a hankering for a chicken sandwich and a little time in the car with all the kids strapped in their seat belts sounded like a good idea.

Little did I know that Wednesdays are "family night" and so all of the south valley was there with their families to get the free kids meals. (For future reference, it's one free kids meal per value meal.) It was quite the spectical, though. Not only did they get their kids meals, but they also got ice cream cones, played in the play room, and then got balloons as we went out the door. There was also a lady in charge of a "craft table". Crazy. There was also a guy handing out mints all night (Lucy's favorite), and not to forget...the cow was there in all his glory to give the kids high-fives. Gross. I wouldn't give that nasty dirty cow a high five for anything, but Nate and Pete were all over him! And I guess the germs from the cow's hands are probably nothing compared to the fact that Peter's ice-cream cone fell on the floor and he didn't think twice when he picked it up and kept on licking....and then there was Will who was licking the glass on the inside of the play place...N-A-S-T-Y. My children are nasty!

So, for future reference, "family night" at Chick-fil-a is a good time, just bring your anti-bacterial wipes and make sure your kids are on pre-emptive antibiotics. Or, jyou can always go through the drive-thru...ALWAYS a good option!

Lucy's turned 8!

You only turn eight once in your life, and of course, Lucy wanted to celebrate it at the "Mayan". Over priced food and scantily-clad entertainment...my kind of place!

Lucy had her baptism on the Sunday after her birthday, and was the only one being baptized at the Stake baptism. It was awesome to not have to "share"!

Friends and family were there to support our girl and we were thrilled with her decision to "take the plunge".The water was FREEZING. I guess that's one way to make the experience memorable. Afterwards, grandma and I were helping her get dressed. I asked her how she felt. Her teeth were chattering and her white-skinned body was blue, but she said she felt "SO GOOOOOD!". Uncle Scott gave the talk on the Holy Ghost, and he talked about how the Holy Ghost can be compared to the dove that was seen at Jesus' baptism, specifically how doves can quietly coo to you as they sit on your shoulder, just as the Holy Ghost can speak quietly to your heart, but you have to be still and quiet to hear it. Hopefully, the Holy Ghost won't poop on your head. I guess that's the job of another turkey! (Was that sacrilegious?) Sorry.

What a wonderful day!

Happy 5k 2009!

So, what do you do when you just ran a 5k at midnight and can't go to sleep because you're too wound-up? Blog...My friend Jess, my sister-in-law Jan, and I ran in the Sugar House 5k. It started at 11:30 p.m. and supposedly you were to finish before the new year...
If you actually did finish before midnight, you got these stupid plaques...
If you didn't, you got to get kissed by this handsome dude instead... (Picture of post-kiss...damn the stupid delay!) I think next year I'll opt-out for the kiss by my brother. Wanting to puke for half-an-hour to ring in the new year just isn't what I'd call FUN, but thanks for dragging me into it, anyway. Maybe by next year I'll forget all the pain and pukiness and try it again.

I'll tell ya, though, that sure is ONE way to get rid of all the fondue from Jen's party. I'm thinkin' next time I'll let it simmer on my ass for a while instead. Happy new year everyone, (and may all our butts be big ones!)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We hope your Christmas is full of joy!