road tripping

This past weekend I took a quick trip down to St. George (ok, actually Hurricane) My friend Natalie and I decided to do the Kokopelli triathlon at Sand Hollow Reservoir (more to come on that later). My older sister lives down in Hurricane and it was a great opportunity to see her and her new house (ok, they've lived there for 2 years). I decided it might be fun to take 2 of the munchkins along so they could see their cousins. Here are a few things I learned about traveling with kids (age 10 and 8):

1. When there is silence coming from the back seat, you should be concerned. My niece wanted to play with my iPhone (what did we do before such devices?!) Well, I should have realized that there was no longer sound coming from the phone alerting me to whatever game she was playing. Apparently, she had figured out how to move the icons around and proceeded to move every single one of them. At least she was entertained and I got to spend an hour getting things back how I like them.
2. A 10 year old boy will completely forget that you told him multiple times "we will be there for less than 24 hours." Once he sees his BFF cousin. It was actually quite humorous that both of them asked multiple times if we could stay longer. I'm certain in their minds it was a completely logical request and there was no way they could be denied. I think they forgot for a brief moment that the adults were in charge.
3. How can an 8 year old eat her weight in Cheetos and candy and still be able to eat dinner? Seriously, I cannot believe how much that girl can consume (and yes, I'm a little jealous because how great would it be to eat like that and not gain an ounce)
4. Even though I traveled with little more than a coloring book and mad libs and survived long family car trips there is no reason to make these kids endure such hardship. I was advised to take both the portable DVD player and a computer so there could be no fighting over movies. Although both devices were not constantly in use, it was nice that one could watch a movie while the other played pinball or something else on the computer.
5. Fast food, root beer and lots of candy makes for very hyper (and very entertaining) kids. It was actually quite fun to hear the laughter coming from the back seat over some silly comment. They did have fun launching a grape out the window and a gummy bear against the window with the catapult built in Hurricane. I, however, drew the line when they wanted to use said catapult to launch gummy bears into each others mouths.

This was also the first road trip I've taken with Natalie and we had a great time talking and laughing at all the craziness in the back seat. It was a great trip and we had a lot of fun. And, not once did I utter, "Don't make me pull this car over" and in my book that makes it a success!

a little boat time

A couple weekends ago, Amy and Scott invited me out on their new cool boat. So, early one Saturday morning Josh and I headed out to Utah Lake for a morning of wake boarding, surfing and tubing. Unfortunately, the weather was awful - cold, windy, choppy water. The company was great and that always equals a great time. I do love those cute girls. Thanks for inviting us for a fun morning on the lake. *photo from here

reading time

I finally got around to reading "Three Cups of Tea" after it was recommended to me almost a year ago. I can't believe I've waited this long to read this book. What an amazing story about how one man truly can change the world. Greg Mortenson is making a difference through the education of women in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His initial struggle to raise funds to build one school has turned into a foundation that has built over 100 schools to date and supports many others. I was thrilled to learn that Greg Mortenson will be speaking at the BYU forum on Tuesday, October 27th. I can't wait to go hear his story in person and learn what has happened since the book was published in 2007. If you're looking for a truly inspiring story, I highly recommend reading "Three Cups of Tea." And, you can learn more about the Central Asia Institute here.

I did a triathlon......

Here's the only proof. Its blurry - not because the photographer didn't see me coming, but because I'm so fast (no really, I'm so fast I was just a blur)

when you move to provo..........

you deserve an "I can't believe I live in Utah County" gift.