Beat the New Year 2009!

In order to help myself start the new year out right, I decided to sign up for a 5k that would start at 11:30pm on December 31st. The purpose of the race was to finish before it became 2009. Jennie signed up with me and eventually we got Kevin and Jake to sign up too. Liz and her boyfriend David also came along for the ride even though they didn't get the chance to actually sign up.After checking in at the Garden Center in Sugar House Park, we walked down a long hill and up a smaller one to the start point. After walking down the big hill I thought for sure I could do it if it was all down hill like that. Then, they had us turn around and informed us we would be running UP the big hill 3 times before the race was over! Aaaaahh! Not exactly what I had in mind when I signed up to do 2 laps around a "park". Here we are at the start line.

Liz and David didn't sign up but they were still good sports and ran one lap around the park before stopping and waiting for the rest of us to finish.Kevin came in first at 20:30, Jake came in next at 25:30 and Jennie followed shortly after at 29:30! Then the fireworks went off and I was on the exact opposite of the park from the finish line! I was pretty discouraged but decided to at least run down the next hill before stopping to walk up the last big one. Just as I got to the bottom of the hill, Kevin came from the other direction and ran next to me so I wouldn't stop and walk. I made it through the finish line at 35:55! Just in time to get one of the last 3 plaques they had for people who actually beat the new year. I was pretty pleased with myself and can't wait for my next race where I hope to greatly improve my time!

"And in the end, having my freedom, boast of nothing else..."

Let me tell you of a tale . . . a wonderful tale.  It regards a certain day in my personal history I'm sure will be made into a national holiday.  It is the day I finished my last undergraduate university final EVER.  Ahh yes . . . a wonderful tale.

It began not unlike any other day.  I got up, ate some cereal, then did some last-minute studying.  Somewhere in there, Jake (who is also having a similar day, though he'll have more semesters of school and thus - more finals) and I managed to play around with Brooklyn a bit:  

But play time did have to end eventually, and I had to get going to school for my last final.  It was a scheduled test, to take place in the basement of the Clyde Building at 11:00 AM.  Now, on a normal day, it takes me just over an hour to get onto campus using the bus system . . . but this (as I previously mentioned) was no ordinary day.  We had some 6-8 inches of snow dumped on us that day, and I knew it would be tough making that 12 mile trek from Pleasant Grove to Provo.  I decided to leave a tad early, and got to the bus stop at 8:30, giving myself well over two hours to navigate the public transportation system to my destination.

 So at the bus stop I waited . . . and I waited . . . and I waited.  

 After 45 minutes of waiting I called UTA's customer service line to inquire as to the whereabouts of the bus, which was at this point 40 minutes late.  I was promised that the bus was enroute, and "just around the corner" from my location.  In fact, the lady on the phone said she was suprised that I "couldn't see it right now, it should be so close!" 

Well, with such a promise, I waited yet another 20 minutes before I realized that I was in serious trouble.  At that point I shook the near inch of snow that had accumulated on my shoulders, backpack, head, and shoes and jogged the few blocks back to my house.  I had no other choice . . . I had to drive myself.  Naomi was planning on using the car that day (since I had planned to take the bus) but unfortunately her plans had to be postponed, as my schedule was deemed a higher priority at the time.  It's not every day you have your last final ever.

 The drive itself (which normally takes 20 minutes) took me the next hour to make as I battled icy roads, 20 feet visibility, and dumb students from Southern California who don't know what snow is, let alone how to drive in it. 

 I parked at Jennie's house, ate some of Lydia's home-made fudge (Thanks Lydia!) and trekked up to campus, arriving at the appointed room with literally 90 seconds to spare. 

 The test itself (the ending of which gives this day its notoriety) lasted just a smidge over 4 hours, and was probably the most intense of my college career.  It was the final for my Hydrology class, and consisted of 100 multiple choice questions followed by an open book, 12 question monster.

 I did finish it though, but was so focused on the exam for the entire 4 hours that I did not realize a) how hungry I was, b) how thirsty I was, and c) how much I had to pee.

 After I took care of the aforementioned problems, I walked on back to Jennie’s house to grab the car (feeling so free I walked atop the snow like Legolas).  It took me just under an hour to finally get home, at which point I got to shovel the driveway to the view of a beautiful Sunset.  Have you ever noticed that the best sunsets occur just after storms . . . and final exams?!

 That night we had a little party with myself, Naomi, Jennie and Jake.  We vegged, watched a few episodes of The Office, then Jake, Jennie and I enjoyed a nice game of Risk, in the which Jake handily and decidedly defeated us. (Seriously, who rolls that many sixes?!) 

 All in all, it was a fabulous day, and I’m glad the finals have ceased.

 But don’t anyone tell Craig we played Risk that night . . . he was still taking a final, so we couldn’t invite him.  He might be a little miffed.  Oh . . . probably better not tell Nikki either, she got married the next day so we couldn’t exactly invite her either (she’s been bugging me for ever to play some Risk!)

Strange Addictions...

Most boys (and men) that I know have a tendency to get addicted to video games. As soon as they set eyes on one, their brains seem to liquefy and leak out of their ears. They can't hear you, understand you, and won't acknowledge you until they have sufficiently beat the next level or conquered the game. I thought I had a pretty good grip on the importance of video games in a man's life until I saw this:

As I was walking toward the basement door last week, I passed the bathroom and noticed that my three nephews were sitting there in the dark. I had to do a double take before I realized what was going on. Joseph had needed to go to the bathroom but didn't want to miss seeing Mason beat the next level. So, out of common courtesy, Mason and David moved into the bathroom with Joseph so he could watch while taking care of his "other" business at the same time! Life never ceases to surprise me! :)

Seriously... why do we even HAVE pinky toes?!

I'm sure that there's a good reason for having pinky toes.  A student of biology may be able to tell me something about how they help you keep your balance with a stiff wind at your side.  It's possible they have a good purpose.  But for me, all they seem to do is get hurt and cause me pain!

I still remember the day, back in October, over two years ago.  After my swimming workout in my PE class, I hopped out of the pool and headed to the shower.  It was in the shower when I noticed massive amounts of blood coming out of my foot.  Turns out I had sliced my right pinky toe from the toe nail all the way back into th

e foot.  I won't say anything about the caliber of the lifeguards at the pool, who wrapped it in gauze then told me to go walk to the health center.  I made the mile and a half hike (very slowly) and got some 15 stitches in my toe.  I won't say anything about the caliber of the health center employees, who when taking out those stitches a week or so later, accidentally left some in my toe!

Anyway, If you thought BYU PE classes were done attacking my poor defenseless toes, you'd be as wrong as I was.  With a mere 1 1/2 weeks left of classes ever in my undergraduate college experience, another PE class, this time gymnastics, took its final shot at injuring me, this time attacking my left pinky toe.  

After performing my vault for the instructor for my final, as I'm stepping off the pad, the sticky pad reaches up and grabs my left pinky toe, curling it under my foot as I stepped down - breaking it as easily as a boy scout steps on a branch to break firewood.  I didn't realize how much damage was done, as a pain took a while to settle in.  I managed to finish my other routines for the final test (a tumbling routine on the floor, and the high-bar as well) finish my school day, run to catch the bus home, then referee a laser-tag game with Craig later that night.  It wasn't until I got home and took off my sock did the thought entire my mind "something's not right here..." This is the sight that greeted me:

So yes, BYU got its final shot at me mere weeks before I graduate and move on! Oh did I mention I'm graduating! heck yeah! A dumb broken toe's not going to stop me! Bring it on PE! What else you got?! I've got eight more toes you haven't touched yet!

November According to Naomi...

A lot has happened this November that I haven't had the chance to blog about. So... I thought I would try to get it all into one blog to save some time! Here is November according to me: Brooklyn saw snow for the first time that she can remember. It didn't stick, but she enjoyed it while it lasted!

I voted in the 2008 elections and it was the first time that I ever actually studied everything out and knew what I was voting for. Hooray for ME!

I turned 26 and got to go on an awesome shopping spree with my cousin Jennie! Also, Kevin framed my diploma and spoiled me all day. He even cooked me dinner!

Brooklyn and I went to the mall with my sisters Rachel and Sarah and their kids!

It was the first time Brooklyn ever got to play in an arcade! She really liked it especially when Mason and Maile were around to play too.

Brooklyn snuggled me for an hour when she got sick...this has never happened before...in fact, it is unheard of for Brooklyn to even allow her body to be in contact with another person from the front! I liked it. :)

Jennie turned 26 and we partied and stayed up till all hours of the night! Woohoo! We love you Jennie!

Lots of visitors came into town for Thanksgiving. Brooklyn's favorites were her cousins Noa and Brinley who are 6 and 7 months younger than her. She also loved playing with Mason even though he wasn't technically visiting.

My sisters and I went out on several "sister dates" since we were all in town. It was nice to see each other and have our husbands babysit for a while!

We had an Uda Family Reunion where we were finally able to set the grave markers for my grandparents! (Thanks to Uncle Kelton and his mad skills!)

We had the biggest Thanksgiving spread in the history of Thanksgiving. It included the regular stuff as well as lau lau, lomi salmon, opihi...etc. and some apple pies that I made from scratch!

We started out Thanksgiving with a BANG by doing a 2 mile Turkey trot! It was my first official race and I did pretty good. I was 9th overall out of 80 runners and finished 7th for the women!

Becca and Taber brought the house down though coming in 5th for Becca and 2nd for Taber! ( He was beat by a 6o year old guy.) Kevin came in 3rd for men but that was because he was running with me and then going back and forth to take pictures of everyone else. Sarah and Noa also ran it and she came in 12th for the women which is totally awesome for her especially since she had a baby 3 months ago!!!

Anyway, its been a super awesome month with more to come! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Backpacking with a Baby!

For Kevin's Birthday (October 27, 2008) we decided to go backpacking up the street from my parent's house. So, when Kevin got home from school on Friday the 24th, we packed up our bags and headed up the street to the mouth of the canyon! It was one of the craziest and most fun things we have ever done together! The hike was only about a mile and a half up the canyon but with Brooklyn, my bedding, and all of Brooklyn's things on my back, and the tent and food on Kevin's, we were hauling quite a bit of weight up a very steep hill! After a while, Brooklyn even started mimicking my breathing pattern, which was both embarrassing and funny!

When we left the house in the first place, it was already dark, so...by the time we got to our campsite, Brooklyn was a little angry with us for keeping her up late in the cold! We parked as quickly as possible and thus, ended up smack-dab in the middle of a game trail! We found that out in the middle of the night when all the elk came strolling through our campsite to get some grub!

Brooklyn didn't sleep the best because she had to squeeze into Kevin's sleeping bag to stay warm. She has never slept with us before and is appalled at the idea of cuddling, so it was a bit torturous for her. Nevertheless, when we woke up in the morning she was the happiest baby in the world! She ate several leaves, licked some rocks and laughed at the waterfalls. We are lucky to have a baby born to be in the outdoors. She LOVED it!

On the hike down we took extra time to take pictures since the hike up was pitch black. Here is a picture of one of the bridges we crossed on our hike. As you can see, it was a VERY cold night!

Last but not least, the birthday boy was the one in charge of the camera, so naturally, we have about 100 pictures of him making faces while he was hiking behind me. I couldn't figure out what he was giggling about until we got home and looked at the pictures together. What a nut! Oh well...we're glad he was born and super glad that he has lived this long!

Halloween Humbug!

I have to admit...I don't really like Halloween...in fact...I might even hate it! But there is a reason for it. When I was a month short of turning 10, I went trick-or-treating with my siblings. We had almost made it all the way around the block when we came to an old widow's home on the corner. She had us in a line and was dropping candy into our bags one at a time. My older sister Becca was right in front of me. I was so excited when I saw the candy drop into her bag and realized it was my turn. But, lo-and-behold, as soon as I stepped to the door the old woman said, "No way honey, you are way to old to be trick-or-treating! Run on home now." OH MAN! I was so crushed. I thought she was the most evil person on earth and vowed never to trick-or-treat again...and I haven't.

Now in her defense, I was a rather large and juicy 10 year old. I was probably 2 or 3 inches taller than Becca and nearly double her weight! Looking back, I can see many reasons why that lady thought it best not to aid my growth with any more candy, but at the time it was quite a blow to the old self esteem.

So, there is a point to the story. Although I was devastated by that lady and have faithfully hated Halloween for the last 16 years, I have found a new reason to like the day of the dead. BROOKLYN! As I dressed her up this year and got ready to take her to the trunk-or-treat (alternative to showing up at creepy stranger's houses) I couldn't help but get caught up in all the buzz. She couldn't eat any candy (even though she did) and she didn't understand what was going on, but she sure had fun! And that of course, made me have fun as well. Here are some pictures of Brooklyn's first Halloween!
As you can see, her nose is crooked and her whiskers are a bit skiwompus because she strongly opposed being drawn on, but to me she still makes a darn cute kitty!

Here is Brooklyn with cousins Joseph, Mason, David, and Maile.

Brooklyn really loved her candy bag even though there was nothing in it.

A closer look at the costumes. Top left: China doll. Bottom left: Kitty. Middle: Missionary Companions. Top Right: Escaped Prisoner. Bottom Right: Gay Missionary Companions.