Quiltin' Gabby

All that quilting has paid off! I now have my very own quilting protoge. Gabby asked me to teach her to quilt last year. We decided to make a doll blanket out of squares. She finished it just after Christmas and was ready for something bigger. We went through my stash and found some fabric she liked and the results are seen in this picture.

I don't know which is brighter - the gree in this quilt or the smile of accomplishment on Gabby's face. This pattern was fairly easy. Gabby pinned and sewed each block. I helped to pin the rows together and she sewed them. I put the boards on because the quilt got bulky and Gabby was unsure of her sewing. I also machine quilted it for her.

I think she did a fabulous job! She has a really good eye for a 1/4 inch seam and pays close attention to detail. We are now going go through my stash to look for the next project. I will keep you all updated.

Here's a cute picture of the girls. Sammy looks marvelous!

Dance Festival

Dance Fesitval is the best event during the last week of elementary school. I love watching all the kids totally enjoy themselves.


This year Gabby's class did "Footloose" which is a new addition to the schools dance repertory.

All the kids were asked to wear crazy socks. Check them out!

Nate was hanging with some of his friends before the dance festival started. Here is Nate with Dawson, Nick and River.


Nate's class did "The Hussle" all dressed up in their tye dye shirts. It's a classic!

I was the room mom for Nate's class this year. I got a chance to to take a picture of the class after all was done. Great kids!

Just a note: I loved the 6th grade rendition of "Thriller." I hope they keep it for next year because Nate would love to do it!

Sunday, May 16th, 2:20 p.m.

I was told by Carp this week that when he is on the road he checks out my blog to see if I've updated it yet. It never occured to me that he looked for my blog as a way to see us. So, when I saw Nathan lounging in Carps kayak a few minutes ago, I decided to take a picture of where everyone was at that specific moment. Here's what I got:

Nathan had crawled into Carps kayak to relax a bit and take in the nice weather. Notice the Lehi Roller Mills Christmas bag on Nates right foot. Nice touch!

When I was done taking the picture of Nathan, Carson walked into the yard having just finished some home teaching. I told him I wanted to take a picture and he struck a pose.


I found the girls in the backyard playing with Maggie. My sister is on vacation and we are dog sitting. This poor doggie is probably looking forward to Aunt Katie coming home so she gets a little more "alone time." The kids just love being with her.

I tracked down Seth in his bedroom taking in a movie. Of course, true to form, Seth would not let me take a picture of his face. So, we got some hands here.

I knew right where to find Carp. He was finishing up some repairs on his kayak. He has been working on the two kayaks he has for Carson and Brian to float them down the Green River next month. Carp and Seth will also be on that trip, but in different flotation devices (o.k. - boats).

And here's me. Yikes! Thanks for making that picture look a whole lot better Nathan!

So, there we were. Sunday, May 16th, at 2:20 p.m.

What are the Chances?

Nathan is in 5th grade. It's a right of passage to participate in the annual science fair when you reach the ripe old grade of five. Yep. Right. Of. Passage. Actually, it's an assignment, but I think kids kind of look forward to it because it makes them feel older.

Carp helped out this year with Nathan's project. It was a thing of beauty. I love that man. After much deliberation, Nathan decided to do a project on the probability of dice rolling. He decided to roll the dice 1,000 times to see what number was the most common roll. He used a white die and a brown die. After 1,000 rolls he added up how many times each number was rolled.

Conclusion - I will always bet on 7. It's the most common number rolled. Though, I am more impressed with snake eyes than I ever have been. It's the least common number rolled. So, I'm going with 7 because it comfortable, but I'm more taken with 2 because it's a surprise when it shows itself.

Great job Nathan!

Hypocrite - NOT

I got a phone call yesterday to help out with our, um, well I don't really know what we call it anymore BUT it use to be "Enrichment Night" at my church. This great gal asked if I would talk a couple minutes about blogging as a form of journaling.

The first thing that went through my mind was . . . now, when was the last time I blogged? Needless to say, I totally felt like a hypocrite knowing I haven't been real consistent the last few months with blogging.

On a whim I looked up the word "hypocrisy" on Wikipedia to see what they have to say about the subject. If you haven't played around on Wikipedia, I urge you to go and do. It makes your time wasting net surfing feel enlightening. Anyways, here is what I found:

Hypocrisy is the act of persistently pretending to hold beliefs, opinions, virture, feelings, qualities or standards that one does not actually hold. Hypocrisy is thus a kind of lie.

I got to thinking about that definition. I really don't pretend to blog. I do it. Inconsistently, yes . . . but I do it. I believe it's good. I think it's a great way to keep in touch with friends and family and, HOLY COW, I love that other people comment on it!

Here is some more of what Wiki had to say:

Hypocrisy may come from a desire to hide from others actual motives or feelings. Hypocrisy is not simply an inconsistency between what is advocated and what is done.

Ok. I don't hide the fact that I have some flaky loser qualities. I might limit my time with other people so they don't pick up on them. If you have noticed them in me, well, I've probably noticed them to. Some things are just hard to shake. According to the above definition my inconsistency at blogging or being on time isn't that I don't have the desire. It's that I am still working on that one. Right?

When I read the next part I felt vindicated.

Samuel Johnson made this point when he wrote about the misuse of the charge of "hypocrisy" in Rambler No. 14:

"Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practice; since he may be sincerely convinced of the advantages of conquering his passions, without having yet obtained the victory, as a man may be confident of the advantages of a voyage, or a journey, without having courage or industry to undertake it, and may honestly recommend to others, those attempts which he neglects himself."

So, to all those who will hear me praise the virtues of blogging as a kind of journaling tonight, know that I am expressing my desire for and further action of some good ol' fashion blogging. Maybe I need more courage. Maybe I need to conquer my time mismanagement issue. Maybe I need to store that stinkin' cord for my camera in a more convienent place! Maybe I need to answer this . . .

Does a hypocrite ever think they're really a hypocrite?

Thanksgiving

Sometimes life feels like the funnies.

Ragnar: Run. Drive. Sleep. Repeat.

What an experience it was to run in the Ragnar Relay from the Valley of Fire to Las Vegas in the warm state of Nevada. I now get the phrase, "Run. Drive. Sleep. Repeat." that is on all Ragnar logo stuff. There was plenty of all of that (except sleep) during the whole experience. And it was totally worth it!

When I told people I was running in this relay race I got a lot of funny faces and remarks. A lot of people seem to think they could never do something like this. Well, yes, you can. Running is only part of the experience and if your team is there for fun and not to be the first across the finish line, GO! DO IT! You will never regret the experience. Here is what you get if you run a Ragnar:

1. An opportunity to make friends.

The only people on my team I knew at all were Wendy, Melanie and Lisa. At that, I knew Wendy the best. Through our training runs and the race itself I got to know Melanie and Lisa better and made lots of new friends.

Van #1 - Yolanda, Laura, Melanie, Me, Christine, and Cheryl.

I spent the next two days with these awesome women racing around the Valley of Fire, Lake Mead, Henderson and into Las Vegas. We shared food, laughter and lack of sleep. I will always remember our choice of conversations and topics. The honesty of it all! Wow!

The hand off from Melanie to Yolanda. Everyone of you ran a great run!

2. In a race like this your teammates give you lots of support.

Cheryl handed off to Melanie but Melanie forgot her gum. Christine set her right.

We were always supportive of the girl on the run and did our best to offer them whatever they needed to make their run good. Everyone had different preferences. Thanks for spraying me down with water, the drinks and lots of cheering. Cheryl was an amazing sprayer. She was always on top of that with everyone. I hope we didn't let you down when you were out on the road! You all rock!

This was my favorite run - into the Valley of Fire. It was beautiful. The moon and the sun where out. The rocks were a beautiful red. We also got to talk with the gals from van 2 at the exchange. I was the last to run from my van everytime and got to hand off to Tiffany in their van. It was just nice to see them there.

3. The scenery you encounter on a Ragnar is varied.

Dusty straight roads. Winding sandy roads. Mountains, desserts and city scapes. We got some of all of this during the race. Early morning sunrise, late afternoon heat and moonlight trails. For an area as "out there" as Nevada, there was actually a lot to see. This is one of the reason I prefer to run outside instead of on a track or treadmill. The view outside is so different from riding in a car.

In the city - Yolanda offers Laura a drink.

A long straight road outside of Las Vegas. Tiffany is greeted with a drink from Rachel and a cooling spray from Libby.

One of my favorite pictures. Lisa is running out of a canyon and into Las Vegas. This was the last leg of the race. It was a beautiful area. Can you see how the experience would be different from driving it?

4. Running makes you feel good.

Whether you feel good because you get the runners rush of adrenaline or because you have done something you didn't think you could do, running will make you feel good in one way or another.

Rachel hands off to Libby. Check out Libby's smile. She's feelin' good!

Here is our team captain Wendy with Jamie. Wendy. I hardly know the words to describe the admiration I have for Wendy. She organized the whole experience. I would never in my wildest dreams take something like this on. BUT - I will happily take part in anything she plans in the future. I told her she make my dreams come true. I apparently have a hard time nailing down what those dreams are, but she gives me a heads up when she finds one for me.

Here's a hightlight - Carp drove down to Las Vegas and cheered me on for my last run. Then we road around together to cheer on the ladies from Van 2. It was really fun to have him there!

Wendy's family also drove down to give her support during her last run. I love this picture of Carp and Jeff. They are so GQ, aren't they?

Back: Libby, Tiffany, Wendy, Jamie,Laura and Lisa. Front: Melanie, Kellie, Yolanda, Christine, Cheryl, and Rachel.

After we were done, with medals in hand we checked in our hotel, showered, dressed, and headed off to the Rio for a buffet. We were all tired but were still able to enjoy ourselves.

The entire experience was great. I am grateful I had this opportunity and that we all arrived safely home. Not everyone made it home from the race. One runner was hit and killed in Henderson - the first in a Ragnar. His family and friends have been in my prayers and will continue to be.

Thank you to all you fabulous women I ran with. Thank you.