Monday, July 19, 2010
More Pictures at the Lake
Here are a few more pictures Alicia sent to me, since my camera battery died.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Riley Family - River
After we saw the state Capitol building, we were off to see the Riley's. They are in Texas for only a year and we haven't seen them since Nate was 3 and Doug was in law school! It was so fun catching up. They are a family we have admired for years!
Eliza and Madi were in Ryan's (Nate's friend) group at EFY. . . what a small world! It was fun seeing how much Isaac and the twins had grown. It was also fun meeting Rachel and Josh!
The kids had a blast swimming out in the lake. Alicia, Doug and I sat nervously as the kids swam further and further away. We were worried someone would get exhausted and there was no way to help them. Alicia sent Lyrad out to watch them. . whew!
Sadly. . . these are the only pictures I have because my camera battery died!
We got home that night just in time to get the boys off to the tri-stake dance. Needless to say we had some very tired kids in sacrament meeting the next day!
Austin - State Capitol
After we left San Antonio, we headed off for Austin to see the capitol ( a requirement for Cameron's Citizenship in the Nation merit badge). I really loved the tour. It was extra fun having two extra kids in tow!
San Antonio. . .
We loved the River Walk so much that after we picked Nathan, Jaron and Ryan up from EFY (7:00 am, Saturday morning) we wanted to take them there.
San Antonio!!
Nathan was off to EFY last week. We left on Friday to drive to San Antonio. We arrived and went to visit the Alamo. We live in Texas!! What can we say. . . we needed to see it.
I understood it wasn't anything much so my expectations were low. I ended up really loving it! A man who worked there gave an outstanding oral narrative.
We then walked across the street to the River Walk. Again, I was expecting a river with a regular running trail on it. I was surprised to find an Italy like place. We walked along the river, got a ride on one of the boat tours and ate on the river. Soooo fun!!!
I left my backpack at the restaurant. I didn't realize it until we were done with the boat tour. I had Doug run through the crowds. Luckily someone had just turned it in. I was sweating it! It had my credit cards, cash, license and my MP3 player. . . Sooo lucky!
As we walked along the river, Nathan sent a text to Doug letting him know that he had just met the Riley girls. They were at EFY too. He hadn't seen them since he was 3 years old. He only recognized them by t
heir last name. He also ran into Lizzie. Jeanette's sister!
I understood it wasn't anything much so my expectations were low. I ended up really loving it! A man who worked there gave an outstanding oral narrative.
We then walked across the street to the River Walk. Again, I was expecting a river with a regular running trail on it. I was surprised to find an Italy like place. We walked along the river, got a ride on one of the boat tours and ate on the river. Soooo fun!!!
I left my backpack at the restaurant. I didn't realize it until we were done with the boat tour. I had Doug run through the crowds. Luckily someone had just turned it in. I was sweating it! It had my credit cards, cash, license and my MP3 player. . . Sooo lucky!
As we walked along the river, Nathan sent a text to Doug letting him know that he had just met the Riley girls. They were at EFY too. He hadn't seen them since he was 3 years old. He only recognized them by t
heir last name. He also ran into Lizzie. Jeanette's sister! Sunday, July 11, 2010
More Pictures
Doug was happy to be done with the swim. He made it! There are a couple of good pictures of Jaron swimming and then finishing strong!
Our First Triathon
Dear Family,
I decided it would be good to send a letter once in awhile : ). I’m not the best at journaling and maybe this will help me. I sure enjoy dad’s updates.
This weekend we drove up to our friend’s home in Wimberly, TX about 3 hours away. Their son (Jaron), Nathan, Doug and I were going up for our first triathlon in San Marcos, TX.
I learned it is much easier to pack up for a ½ marathon. All you need is a little goo and some running shoes and you are good to go! I was very worried about forgetting something. . . like my swimming goggles, swim cap (yes. . . I look good in that!), helmet, bike shorts etc! I even bought an extra pair of goggles just in case. Well . . . wouldn’t you know, right as we were about to leave Sophi chewed up a pair I had out to pack.
Doug wasn’t sure if he would be able to go until the last minute, because of a case they received earlier in the week. He didn’t have any information from the attorneys until late in the week which made for a cramped situation. I drove up with our kids and a few of the Lundwall’s. We had a packed car with 3 bikes on the back! Doug drove up later that night.
On our drive, because we were chatting (Becky and I), we missed a turn that added 40 extra minutes! We arrived at their home, walked up to the porch, and wouldn’t you know my boys found a stick bug. Not a normal sized one you see around. This was huge! I had only ever seen one that big at the museum. One of the boys climbed up and got it down. I could have sworn I was in Africa! Yes Bryan. . . I was thinking of you. They had fun taking some pictures of it.
The next morning we got up early. I thought we had plenty of time, but when we arrived we realized we were late! Almost everyone was out of the transition area ready for the swim. Our packet had a later time on it which threw me off. We rushed with our bikes to set them up along with our clothes for the bike and run. Some other friends from our ward were there. She wrote my number on my arms and legs. Needless to say we got situated just in time.
To my happiness, the water was as smooth as glass as well as nice and warm! It was much better than our experience at Utah Lake : ). You couldn’t see through the water (which was fine with me), but at least I wasn’t worried I would drown because of cold or waves. They started us off two at a time. Doug and I entered the water together. Nathan started earlier than us because his swim time is much faster.
After the swim we ran to the transition area to get dressed and jump on our bikes. The ride was hilly, but beautiful. By the time I hit the run my legs were like jelly and it was likely around 90+ degrees, muggy and hot, hot, HOT! I plugged along singing in my head. . . “pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked. “ After singing that 3 or 4 times I changed to “the hills are alive. . . with the sound of music!” That seemed to help keep my mind off the fact that I couldn’t breathe and felt like I was going to die : ). I also thought about what a blessing it is to be doing this eight years after my bone marrow transplant. What a happy day. Thanks Matt for such great marrow! Maybe I wore the swim cap in rememberance of my good hair days!
Here are our times below. Notice how close Nathan and his friend Jaron are. They entered the swim at very different times because Nathan’s swim is so much faster, but ended up being so close! Just a few secons off. Nathan used Jaron’s mom’s bike, but he didn’t know how to use her gears so he didn’t switch them at all!
Cypress Ward Overall ------- Swim ------- T1 ------- Bike ------- T2 ------- Run ------- Total
Place Place Place Name Bib No Age Rnk Time Pace Time Rnk Time Rate Time Rnk Time Pace Time
1 5 63 Laura McKneely 286 33 3 09:55.2 24:48:00 0:51:55 6 26:50.1 8:39 1:28:40
2 17 107 Douglas Ellis 207 40 19 13:59.4 34:58:00 0:53:31 17 30:42.2 9:54 1:38:13
3 4 120 Nathan Ellis 185 16 4 10:37.3 26:33:00 02:11.1 0:58:19 2 29:31.6 9:31 1:40:39
4 14 121 Andrew McKneely 151 35 10 11:51.8 29:38:00 0:59:35 13 29:15.8 9:26 1:40:43
5 5 122 Jaron Lundwall 221 17 5 12:19.9 30:48:00 0:53:53 6 34:30.9 11:08 1:40:44
6 7 164 Catherine Ellis 214 37 10 12:46.5 31:55:00 02:11.6 1:00:11 8 34:18.2 11:04 1:49:28
Laura and Andrew McKneely are some friends from the ward. They signed up separately and we realized about a week before that we were in the same race. She works out very hard, as you can tell by her time! I was very happy she did so well.
Cameron and Megan cheered us on. Cameron took all of the pictures. It was neat seeing them cheer for us.
All in all we had a wonderful time! We are now back home to reality. Nate starts EFY tomorrow .
Love you all!
Catherine
I decided it would be good to send a letter once in awhile : ). I’m not the best at journaling and maybe this will help me. I sure enjoy dad’s updates.
This weekend we drove up to our friend’s home in Wimberly, TX about 3 hours away. Their son (Jaron), Nathan, Doug and I were going up for our first triathlon in San Marcos, TX.
I learned it is much easier to pack up for a ½ marathon. All you need is a little goo and some running shoes and you are good to go! I was very worried about forgetting something. . . like my swimming goggles, swim cap (yes. . . I look good in that!), helmet, bike shorts etc! I even bought an extra pair of goggles just in case. Well . . . wouldn’t you know, right as we were about to leave Sophi chewed up a pair I had out to pack.
Doug wasn’t sure if he would be able to go until the last minute, because of a case they received earlier in the week. He didn’t have any information from the attorneys until late in the week which made for a cramped situation. I drove up with our kids and a few of the Lundwall’s. We had a packed car with 3 bikes on the back! Doug drove up later that night.
On our drive, because we were chatting (Becky and I), we missed a turn that added 40 extra minutes! We arrived at their home, walked up to the porch, and wouldn’t you know my boys found a stick bug. Not a normal sized one you see around. This was huge! I had only ever seen one that big at the museum. One of the boys climbed up and got it down. I could have sworn I was in Africa! Yes Bryan. . . I was thinking of you. They had fun taking some pictures of it.
The next morning we got up early. I thought we had plenty of time, but when we arrived we realized we were late! Almost everyone was out of the transition area ready for the swim. Our packet had a later time on it which threw me off. We rushed with our bikes to set them up along with our clothes for the bike and run. Some other friends from our ward were there. She wrote my number on my arms and legs. Needless to say we got situated just in time.
To my happiness, the water was as smooth as glass as well as nice and warm! It was much better than our experience at Utah Lake : ). You couldn’t see through the water (which was fine with me), but at least I wasn’t worried I would drown because of cold or waves. They started us off two at a time. Doug and I entered the water together. Nathan started earlier than us because his swim time is much faster.
After the swim we ran to the transition area to get dressed and jump on our bikes. The ride was hilly, but beautiful. By the time I hit the run my legs were like jelly and it was likely around 90+ degrees, muggy and hot, hot, HOT! I plugged along singing in my head. . . “pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked. “ After singing that 3 or 4 times I changed to “the hills are alive. . . with the sound of music!” That seemed to help keep my mind off the fact that I couldn’t breathe and felt like I was going to die : ). I also thought about what a blessing it is to be doing this eight years after my bone marrow transplant. What a happy day. Thanks Matt for such great marrow! Maybe I wore the swim cap in rememberance of my good hair days!
Here are our times below. Notice how close Nathan and his friend Jaron are. They entered the swim at very different times because Nathan’s swim is so much faster, but ended up being so close! Just a few secons off. Nathan used Jaron’s mom’s bike, but he didn’t know how to use her gears so he didn’t switch them at all!
Cypress Ward Overall ------- Swim ------- T1 ------- Bike ------- T2 ------- Run ------- Total
Place Place Place Name Bib No Age Rnk Time Pace Time Rnk Time Rate Time Rnk Time Pace Time
1 5 63 Laura McKneely 286 33 3 09:55.2 24:48:00 0:51:55 6 26:50.1 8:39 1:28:40
2 17 107 Douglas Ellis 207 40 19 13:59.4 34:58:00 0:53:31 17 30:42.2 9:54 1:38:13
3 4 120 Nathan Ellis 185 16 4 10:37.3 26:33:00 02:11.1 0:58:19 2 29:31.6 9:31 1:40:39
4 14 121 Andrew McKneely 151 35 10 11:51.8 29:38:00 0:59:35 13 29:15.8 9:26 1:40:43
5 5 122 Jaron Lundwall 221 17 5 12:19.9 30:48:00 0:53:53 6 34:30.9 11:08 1:40:44
6 7 164 Catherine Ellis 214 37 10 12:46.5 31:55:00 02:11.6 1:00:11 8 34:18.2 11:04 1:49:28
Laura and Andrew McKneely are some friends from the ward. They signed up separately and we realized about a week before that we were in the same race. She works out very hard, as you can tell by her time! I was very happy she did so well.
Cameron and Megan cheered us on. Cameron took all of the pictures. It was neat seeing them cheer for us.
All in all we had a wonderful time! We are now back home to reality. Nate starts EFY tomorrow .
Love you all!
Catherine
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