Getting Outdoors

Last week, we celebrated Labor Day in SG. We had breakfast at the Golden Corral, which the kids love, but this might be our last time for a while: after three plates of food, Andrew went back to the dessert bar and came back with a bowl of ice cream so full that it was dripping over the sides . . . and then he only ate a fraction of it. (Dan and I were both horrified).

Later, we went out into the sand dunes at Snow Canyon Park. We had a lovely hike past some lava tubes and petrified sand dunes (aside from the slightly scary bit about losing Andrew at the end because he didn't follow directions--i.e., stay where we can see you!--but we found him again shortly).

I enjoyed the hike; the kids preferred the sand.

This picture below, is, incidentally, where Andrew got lost. Dan had walked back up the road to get our car and I didn't want to go higher with Oliver. I told Evelyn and Andrew they could climb up as long as I could see them. Evelyn came back soon after I shot this picture, but Andrew kept inching higher. Finally, it was time to back to the parking lot to meet Dan, and I told Andrew to come down. He did--and then disappeared. I couldn't leave Oliver and Evelyn to go look for him, but as soon as Dan appeared, I climbed up to find Andrew, getting increasingly panicky when I couldn't see him and he didn't respond to my shouts. Finally, I heard Dan shouting back at the car--Andrew had climbed down a ravine, around the hill we were standing on, back to the parking lot, and we'd never seen him do it. But I'd been picturing him lying dead or unconscious, so I was pretty upset by the time I made it back to the car. (Relieved, too, of course.) Needless to say, Andrew got grounded from his iPod for not following the "stay where I can see you" instructions.

 Dan and the kids buried Andrew in the sand. (I was still calming down from the whole thinking Andrew-might-be-dead episode, so I just took pictures).

The intervening week passed pretty quietly. Evelyn continues to enjoy gymnastics, Andrew Tae Kwon Do, and Oliver his preschool.

Yesterday, I ran my first half-marathon. It was kind of intense. Dan and I both signed up in January (buy one get one free!), but then Dan decided he'd rather stay home with the kids (5:30 a.m.--the time we were supposed to be at the park--was a little early to ask anyone non-family to watch our kids, and I had been training more than Dan had. Which isn't saying much). I've been trying to run more regularly--but, um, mostly only about three miles. Thirteen miles is a LOT longer than that. I did pretty well the first bit: I ran the first four miles (all downhill, which helped early on with wind, but hurt later), walked just a bit for each of the subsequent 3-4 miles, and then started walking more. I walked most of the last two miles--to be fair, mile twelve was all *uphill.* But overall I was pretty happy--I'm not a great runner, but I still managed to run more than I walked, I wasn't last (not even in my category!), I finished faster than I expected, and I didn't die.

But I've spent the rest of the weekend recovering and I had NO IDEA my legs could be this stiff. The only other time in my life I've been this physically uncomfortable was right after having babies. So. If you see me walking like an old lady, you know why . . .

Pre-game picture on the bus with my writing friend Elaine (who finished a whole lot faster than I did!)

  View of the road early on.

This one was shot by one of the city's photographers--I'm in the back in the red SUU shirt.

 View toward the end (around mile 9 I think?)

And no pictures of me afterward because I was dying and then when I wasn't dying anymore I forgot.

But I do have a lovely purple toenail and blisters as souvenirs.