RUN, DRIVE, SLEEP? REPEAT!

This is the annual Wasatch Back Relay! It was my first time! So basically you run on a team of 12 people (2 vans) from Logan to Park City through the Wasatch Back, which I am now convinced is the most beautiful parts of Utah! Each person runs 3 legs of the race from anywhere between 3 to 9 miles. There were 500 teams this year which is doubled from last year! I had the best legs of the race... shhhh don't tell anyone! They were each about 5-6 miles, and all were moderate run, meaning they were too hard! I ran at 2pm on Friday, 12:30 am on Saturday and 5:30 am again on Saturday. I averaged about 7:30 min miles which was good for me. AND I have decided that runners are the nicest people in the world! I guess I already knew that, but had forgotten. I was in a van with my friend Laura and 4 complete strangers, 3 of which were over the age of 50, and by the end of the trip I was sad to part with my new friends that we had bonded with so well.

Laura Taylor started the race for us as the first leg. She is an incredible runner, I was proud to be apart of her team!

This was my first leg 5.6 miles in the middle of the day and boy was it hot! I was lucky to have the van along side of me. This is my buddy Scott giving me water as I run.

The views along the Wasatch Back were almost too good to be real! It was the perfect time of year. Everything was green, wild flowers everywhere, green rolling hills, rocky mountains, goats, cows, and horses everywhere. It was great. I am truely a country girl at heart!

Between our legs we would sit in the shade and try to sleep, but it was almost impossible with so much going on at each exchange zone. They had free pasta, smoothies, home made granola, massages, showers!

This was my second leg, the night run around 12am. It was required to wear a head lamp and a reflector shirt. I felt really good on this run, it was cool outside, I didn't need any water, the stars and moon were soooo bright and I had passed about 14 people on this leg, we called them our milkshakes! I had about 34 milk shakes by the end of the race!

This is early in the morning around 5:30 am. We ran along the lake as the sun rose. Breathtaking!

As we stopped and waited for my friend Laura so we could cheer her on and give her water, I made friends with some horses. It started out slow but soon they all came swarming wanting attantion... or wanted to eat my clothes???

Each vehical decorated their cars in a theme according to their team name. This car was the Holy Mammoths I believe. Some vehicals really went all out!

This was my last leg around 8am 5.1 miles. beautiful weather, and autmosphere!

I enjoyed just looking around as

I ran, it took the focus off the pain.

As part of our theme "I drink Your Milkshake" which is a line from the movie "There will be blood" (a movie I had never seen, but we just went along with it) we all wore mustashes to run into the finish line as a team! It was a memerable thing!

WE WERE SORE, TIRED, AND IT HURT TO WALK BUT... WE DID IT!

Summer Visits To See My Man

I got to go visit John in Mission Viejo. He picked me up from the Long Beach Airport with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. And after dinner a movie, when we arrived at his home, I found a big gift basket with all sorts of goodies including INSTYLE magazines, lotions, gum, a tooth brush, sun screen, candles, a red biking sweater, first aid kit ha ha, and chocolates! Yes, he takes good care of me...... jeez! He goes over board!

John is a great volleyball player! Thats one of the things I really like that about him. We can play together really well too, and he helps me improve which is always a good thing!

John took me to the Brad Paisley concert in L.A. it was a blast for sure. John may not be the biggest country fan...but its beginning to grow in him I know it! :)

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT VIEW, I just love California, it was perfect weather, we played some volleyball, layed out, swam in the ocean, did some exercises on the bars, read, relaxed and just enjoyed one anothers company. Can't get much better than that!

DAY AT THE BEACH,

This California boy IS A KEEPER!

Tall Dark and Handsome: boyfriend addition!

Everybody Meet John Kupper (what a hotty). We met at Golds Gym (I was the one to talk to him because there is no way he would have hit on a girl at the gym, apparently you just don't do that). It's all still very new, but he is GREAT!

Hunington Beach

Camping in Diamond Fork Canyon

At Grandmas house

The Duathlon Race in Salt Lake City

John can't stand lasagna......well actually he would eat Pizza or lasagna everyday if he could.

Give Me Summer All Year Long

This is at Lake Mead with my Andersen cousins, they always show us a good time in Vegas. Sometimes I never want to leave.... look at that water!

Bowling with a dive at Fat Cats... I was trying to show the track and field recruits just how fun BYU can be.

I just got a new long board to add to my summer fun. My friend Jessica Kruger gets me excited to do different things, she also helps me shop around for the best deals, something I hate doing!



So, I borrowed a bike from my friend Pat for a Duathlon race that Jessica and I had signed up for in May. I completed the race in first place for the women which was awesome, but the next day I decided to take the bike out one more time before returning it. And I ended up over correcting and going off the bike trail when I was coming down Provo Canyon. Luckly the bike was easy to fix up, and I was also luck to be wearing pants or this cut would have been a lot worse!





Rock Climbing out doors rather than indoors, is actually very different. I like being out doors personally yet it can be harder and a little more risky. I'm lucky enough to have cool friends that do cool things, have all the right gear, and like to invite me along since they know I'll try just about anything.





This is 5 Days after getting hit in the head with a Wakeboard last summer. It was a simple fall, but I was wearing a board that was perhaps too big, and the boat may have been going a little too fast for wakeboarding.
It left me with two black eyes, a swollen nose bridge, and a funky scar between the eyes. But does that stop me? No no, now I'm just more careful about who I let drive the boat, and when I fall I find my self putting my hands up to guard my face.

I try hard to jump the wake, but mostly I get scared to really catch serious air... I'll keep working on that.

Summers are the best! And I would feel confident in saying that Utah summers are exceptionally AWESOME with the lakes, mountains, rivers, hot sun shine, and fun people. Only thing lacking is the beach! Let’s just imagine Utah Lake was the Ocean! WOW, Perfection! Utah would be the #1 place to live. Of course it wouldn’t be the same but still nice to think about.