Ascent to Mount Olympus - 2010

This hike has special meaning to our family because my Grandpa was one of the original mountain men who helped mark this trail back in the old days. If you're ever driving along Wasatch Blvd, right in the parking lot at the base of Mt. Olympus is Pete's rock, which climbers from around the valley use as a practice bouldering rock. It's named after my Grandpa Petersen.

That said - the last time I hiked Mt. Olympus I was 10 - yes TEN years old. We hiked it as a family, and I just remember how HOT it was, so I was anxious to have a do-over and not start in the heat of the day.

SO - on July 5, 2010 4:00am - I met up w/ my brothers Steve & Dave and my niece & nephew (Britt & Ben) to begin our hike. It was still rather dark, though there were lovely stars in the sky and a bit of moon, so we needed our headlamps as we began. We took a few refueling stops but mostly kept on treking until we made it to the top. We made it to the summit at 6:30 am, and it was absolutely beautiful!!

Here's Ben, Britt & I taking a brief break.

Me, Dave, Britt, Ben
Me, Britt & Steve

On the way back down, had to hit up the pic w/ the Mount Olympus sign.

Brittanie & I making our way up the last scramble. The last part is all boulders that you have to manuever your way around to make it up to the top. But the top has the most beautiful views, and the old school mail-box that hikers put little notes in. It's really cool.

Twin Peaks in the background on the Southeast side of the mountain

Ben, Britt, Steve & I enjoying our hike well done.

For any of you hikers out there who have not made this hike - I recommend! Your quads will kill (especially if you opt to run down instead of hike/walk) - but it's absolutely beautiful. About 5 or so miles round trip - it's a beauty! Start early though :)

Phoenix Trip

Blogging catch up...
The end of June, Jenna & I flew down to Phoenix to visit my friend Natalie & her cute family. Originally our plan was to hang out for a few days, then drive back up to Salt Lake with her & her two little ones.

Natalie planned some fun activities for us while we were down there... We hit up Saguaro lake and I had my first venture at wake boarding. It was fun until my foot slipped out & the board hit me in the back of the head -- lol, no major injuries though.

Here's Jenna loving the sunshine!

Here's me & Nat on the boat

All our fun plans changed... Thursday when we were literally loaded in the car & ready to go, we took the kids to get in one more swim so they'd be nice & tuckered out before the drive began... and sneaky Jenna got off of the cool deck area and stepped on a super hot stone. Her little feet blistered up instantly, so we headed to Gilbert hospital. Poor little Jenna was screaming the whole drive, but the hospital staff were SUPER FAST! I was so grateful. They gauzed up her feet and poured lots of sterile water over them, and gave her a shot of morphine. They told me it would take effect right away, but 10 minutes later when they came back in to check on her, she was still crying. I mentioned how I wished the pain meds would kick in faster -- and they said they already had, but that she was probably just in that much pain. :( That broke my heart for her... poor girl!

SO - the Dr's there recommended we go to Maricopa hospital in Phoenix to the burn unit just to be on the safe side. When we got there - they burst her big blisters (more crying), and got her all wrapped up. After picking up her pain Rx, I talked to Dave & could hardly handle the whole ordeal... so, instead of us driving home as was planned, we flew home. I didn't have any idea how Jenna would react to the pain etc, so we opted to fly.

The next day we hit up the burn unit at University hospital, and they were great there as well. I will say, that Jenna is a little trooper, and she did so good! The scrubbing of the feet was- I think - more traumatizing for me than it was for Jenna. I will be scarred a little for life from all this! I am VERY glad that she has been recovering so well. It's been a couple weeks since this happened, and although her little feet are still a little pink & raw, they are by far better!!!

Here's me & Jenna in the first hospital

This was a day later at University hospital. Left foot

Right foot

Saratoga Tri - 2010

A week ago, I was able to participate in the first Saratoga Springs Triathlon -- it was so fun!! We started out the swim in Utah Lake. I tried not to think too much about the fact that I was swimming in that questionnable water, and just kept kicking. I was in the first wave of swimmers, and I was out of the water pretty early on -- maybe in top 7 or so. It was fun to hop on the bike for the hilly ride down Redwood Road. Amber cruised past me a couple miles into the bike -- little speedster. :) The run was pretty brutal for me as my leg kept cramping. So, my run was slower than I would have like. However, I still ended in a reasonable time -- around 1:27. I ended third in my category and won a whopping prize of 15$ :) Can't beat that!
It was a gorgeous day for a great race w/ friends :)

Kudos to the folks who put it on -- it was SO organized (especially for a first time race), and they had TONS of yummy fruit (and Paradise cookies, lol) at the end. I will definitely make this an annual tradition. Here's some photos...

Do we look HARD-CORE or what? (LOL!)

Comin' into the finish! Getting ready to give high-5's to the kiddos

We started our swim just on the other side of the dock. The kids had fun dangling off the dock after the race. Can you believe how calm that water is?! It was great!

More of St. George

On our trip to St. George last weekend, we really had a fun time with the kiddos! We played in the pool (mostly Derek & Hailey did), and we went on some hikes with the Fosters. We got to hang out with our friends, Tearsa & Jose while we were down there.

Here's me & the kids on one of our hikes. -- and, Can I just say that I LOVE the weather in St. George? It's so divine!

Amber & I & Jenna in tote (we are totally matching which is funny because it wasn't even planned) :)
Double Trouble

Derek & Hailey taking pictures underneath the blankets, instead of going to bed.

Hailey wearing my bra - LOL!

SPLITS!

@ Tearsa & Jose's they have a huge sand area, Jenna was in HEAVEN! She played so happily in it, making a mess everywhere! (Doesn't she look like a total rag-a-muffin??!)

Me & Tearsa!

Derek preferred the "hot pool" to the regular pool at our hotel. :) Hailey tried everything to bribe him to get into the big pool to play games with her. He would get out for a minute, but always went back.

Hailey & Jenna... Jenna didn't like the water -- it was too chilly for her.

SG Tri 2010

This past weekend we loaded up the fam, and headed south to St. George for our very first Sprint Triathlon. The weather was absolutely HEAVENLY!! Here's the recap:

Me, outside of the car, getting ready to walk up our gear.

Dave, toting his stuff up to the main area.

Dave & I met up with Amber & Dave to head over to get everything set up. There is quite the art to getting everything set up properly so you can have speedy transitions. Here I am at my little spot (I snagged a great spot on the end of a row).

Amber & I pre-race, feeling the nerves & debating on how many immodiums to take before the race started (laugh if you like, but it's a NECESSITY!) :D

This is one of my favorite pictures... while I was watching Amber's group get ready for the water, there was this old guy in front of me, in his wetsuit with his crack all puckered & hangin out. Crude, I know, but I couldn't resist snapping the shot, so I could bring it home and share it with all of you on my blog - LOL!

Dave - just after crossing the finish line!! I was so proud of him!

Look - they gave us medals & everything, it's official, we really DID IT!! It felt like such an accomplishment. There is such a satisfaction that comes from putting in a lot of time, effort & training to prepare, and be able to meet a goal.

I'm anxious to do another tri in the near future... I've got my sights set on a few. It was fun to do with people I know -- thanks everybody for making it a fun race!!! :)

Would you like a side of sandwich with your mayo??

When Derek got home from school today, he asked if he could make his own sandwich. I'm always happy to let him make his own food, so I let him.

I got busy making Jenna something to eat, and looked over to behold this...

I'm pretty sure he was double-dipping too.... Now my mayonaise is questionnable... ugh!

What is the deal with kids eating random condiments and such? Derek LOVES mayo. Hailey used to try and sneak finger-fulls of butter or margerine. Thank goodness I have things in my cupboards/kitchen pretty locked down, or there's no telling what Jenna would go after.

Please tell me it is not just my kids that do this.

Am I the only parent of condiment-eating children?

Happenings & Happiness

Last night Hailey participated in the Hope of America performance down at the Marriott Center in Provo. Her 5th grade -- along with 5th graders from multiple other schools, put on a great showcase! They had very cool musical numbers, and hand movements that really looked AWESOME!! It was hard to believe they only had one day as a dress rehearsal to put it all together with all the kids.

Hailey is in the center section, top red row :) Can you see her? LOL!

I really enjoyed their performance, I love programs that help me reflect on what a GREAT NATION we live in. I am so THANKFUL that despite my agreements/disagreements about our current government, that I am part of a country where I enjoy (and often take for granted) so many freedoms!!

Now -- onto part II. When you were growing up, did your mom or someone in your family make something that was particularly yummy, and that you still have fondness towards as an adult?

WELL -- my mom is/was a master muffin maker. She always was making DELICIOUS muffins. One of my favorites that is SO simple, and so good (especially with some yummy homemade strawberry jam), are the Brown Sugar Muffins.

Here's the recipe, so you can enjoy them too...
1 c. Brown Sugar
1/2 c. margerine (I use the spread kind)
--cream together--
Add in 1 beaten egg
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
--Dissolve 1 tsp baking soda into 1 T of water --
--Mix all in--
Bake 375 for 15 minutes (press center of muffin to make sure they're done)
makes 24 muffins