Monthly Archives: April 2008

Jeana in Texas Round-up

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Scott| 4 Comments

Jeana ran the Texas Round-up 10k this morning and ran better than she ever has before. The girls and I were waiting at the finish line watching for her. Kate was on my shoulders, and I was helping Audrey balance on the fence. Minutes before we saw Jeana, Kate decided she wanted to fold in half and do a nose-dive toward the sidewalk. Somehow I managed to catch her without Audrey falling off the fence and get back up in time to see Jeana turn the last corner of the race.

Finish clock from Texas Round-up 2008
Distance 10K
Clock Time 56:04
Chip Time 55:39
Overall Place 392 / 827
Gender Place 119 / 404
Division Place 19 / 58
Total Pace 8:58/

Jeana finishing Texas Round-up 2008Jeana and Jamie after the Texas Round-upThe family after the Texas Round-up 10k

There’s something mysterious about Jeana and Jamie registering for a race. The night before the race is always stormy and some races, or portions of races have been canceled in the past. Last night was no different. We knelt at our closet window watching the rain and thunderstorm because it was chucking buckets outside. The whole sky was constantly lit up by lightning. I was skeptical the race would happen this morning, but of course I didn’t vocalize my skepticism in order to not dampen the pre-race spirits. When we woke up today, the roads and sidewalks were dry, there was no wind, and the temperature was great!

Audrey and Kate getting ready to start the Family Mile run/walkKate running in the Texas Round-upJeana and Audrey running in the Texas Round-up

Kate got to participate in her first race with bib 5596. Audrey now has her second bib, number 5597 (she now has as many as me). The family walk/mile started up by the capitol and went down hill for a half-mile, then we turned around and climbed back up the hill. Luckily, I was with Kate, and had her on my shoulders for three-fourths of the mile. She ran the first block by herself – I was so proud. Then the whining began. For an incentive I offered a fruit snack, singular. Bad idea. Not letting her hold the bag of snacks resulted in a meltdown on the side of the road (yes, she’s still two years old), but we recovered when I gave her the bag and put her on my shoulders. The only negative effects of that action were an occasional fruit snack falling down my sweaty back.

Audrey and Kate with their Texas Round-up MedalsKate earns her first race medalAudrey and Kate at the Capitol after the Texas Round-up

Audrey and Kate loved getting their medals. Jeana and I were talking today about how exciting it is to involve the girls in events like races. I hope we’ll have many more days like today – we got to spend the whole day together as a family with no other obligations taking us away from each other. We went up to Firehouse Subs for lunch (a new favorite dining establishment) and went slacklining after Kate’s nap.

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Posted in Audrey, Family, Jeana, Kate, Running, Slackline

Grandma and Grandpa Baldwin visit Texas!

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Scott| 2 Comments

My parents were finally able to make their trip to visit Texas. The planets aligned in some not so good ways which presented some challenges for the week of their visit. Kate recently switched from a crib to a bed, but not just a bed, the bottom of bunk beds. Hence, we introduced two variables into a life changing event: 1) sleeping in a bed with no walls/boundaries and 2) having her sister sleeping in the same room. Those were variables we could control, but didn’t, we just pushed through it. Another variable out of our hands was that Kate got sick right about the time my parents arrived. The sick factor made for some screaming and restless nights for many of us.

Grandpa was also a bit sick and one day he slept more than he was awake. Poor grandpa. Grandma had her fair share of naps too. I’m sure it was nice for them to get out of their normal environment and catch up on some rest.

Even though we had some challenges, we still got to have fun. Of course we went to Rudy’s and indulged in a little too much brisket. Brad recommended going to Salt Lick, but that place is like driving to Louisiana to get there. Rudy’s is just over on Research Blvd so we settled on it.

Everyone at Mt Bonnell almost.JPGMt Bonnell.JPG

Jeana showed Grandma and Grandpa the exceeding heights of Mount Bonnell. That’s almost embarassing to show them that “mount” when they live next to Mount Timpanogos and the rest of the Wasatch Front.

Chuy’s.JPGSwinging in the back yard.JPGGrandpa horsie.JPG

We ended the week with a trip to San Antonio. I took Grandma and Grandpa to see the Alamo early in the morning. Since Jeana was meeting us later with the girls, I took advantage of an opportunity to read plaques and learn about the history. Now, when I “Remember the Alamo!” I will have an idea of what I am supposed to remember. Grandma cracked me up because she kept singing things like “Davy, Davy Crocket, king of the wild frontier” and “deep in the heart of Texas” and she wanted to find a music store to find the music to the songs of Texas. I shouldn’t take too much humor from it because I love to sit at the piano and play “Here We Have Idaho.”

As I said, Jeana was meeting us later in San Antonio. We spent the afternoon at SeaWorld. Happy Birthday Grandma and Grandpa! I got to see the show at the Beluga for the first time – WOW! Those dolphins were so awesome, although when I watched “Finding Nemo” the other day and the sharks were referring to dolphins thinking they’re so cute, I could understand why.

The Beluga Show.JPGdscn4759.JPG

After seeing the trainers in the Shamu show and seeing the statue of Shamu, Jeana wanted to get a shot of the girls kissing the whale.

Audrey’s kiss.JPGKate’s Kiss.JPG

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for coming to see us! We can’t wait until you can come again, especially once we’ve mastered the new sleeping arrangments.

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Posted in Family, Grandparents

How does your garden grow?

Posted on April 25, 2008 by Jeana| 10 Comments

This is for Magan.  She asked me to put pictures of my garden on our blog and since I love my garden and talking about it and showing it off, here it is:

 Garden A.JPG                    

In “Garden A,” we’re growing corn (which has not been successful in the past – so we’ll keep our fingers crossed), green onions, carrots, bell peppers, and eggplant!

Garden B.JPG

In “Garden B” we’re growing tomatoes, artichokes (an experiment), New Zealand Spinach (normal spinach doesn’t do so well in Texas),  and soy beans.  We’ve never grown soy beans (or “poppy beans” as we like to call them) before, but they are doing great so far and our family loves them.  Maybe if they work out well enough, we’ll plant enough next time to manufacture our own soy milk, since cow’s milk is over $4 a gallon! 

Garden C

And in “Garden C,” we’re growing cantelope, watermelon, cucumbers, squash, onions, and romaine lettuce. 

I’m also growing some herbs in a separate pot: oregano, basil, parsley, and rosemary. 

And…that’s how my garden grows.

p.s. Scott commented that you can’t tell how much I love gardening from this post, so I’m adding more.  I LOVE IT!   The method I use is called Square Foot Gardening.   There is virtually no weeding, hardly any thinning, and it’s all so easy to reach. When I was little I really wasn’t excited about gardening.  We had a huge part of our side lawn that was full of rows of raspberries that we had to bundle up (remember, this was Rexburg, Idaho) early in the morning and go out to pick, getting all scratched up along the way.  Then, when I was a little older, we had a garden (almost as big as my back yard now) that was full of corn.  At the end of the summer we would spend a whole day picking, shucking, washing, boiling, cutting, and freezing the corn.  We had another garden the same size full of all the other usual vegetables.  There was constant weeding to do.  I like my gardening much more now!

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Posted in Garden