Friday night Sydney was up for most of the night. She was really warm and upon taking her temperature, we found she was at 103. We gave her some tylenol, and spent the rest of the night taking turns with her, as she would not sleep. I think we each accumulated about 2 hours of sleep. (That was worrisome for me because that night I would be leading about 250 people--choir and orchestra--in our first performance of From Cumorah's Hill.) By morning, Sydney was still really warm, and completely lethargic. You could just see in her eyes that she was absolutely miserable. Dallin said, "Mom, all the happiness is out of her eyes."
So as soon as it was open, I took her down to MD Urgent Care where she was burning up with a temperature of 104.2. They quickly got me into the doctor and she was tested for influenza. They told me that's what she had, and that her oxygen level was a bit low. She was flushed and breathing rapidly, and if her oxygen level went down, they would recommend taking her to the hospital to receive oxygen and be monitored. When they re-checked her oxygen before leaving, it was looking a little better, so they sent me home, instructed me to keep her temperature down, keep her hydrated and to watch her breathing carefully, as it could develop into RSV or a number of other horrible things.
Julianne and Eric were over to watch the BYU-San Diego Game when I got back from Urgent Care, so we had Arthur and Eric give her a blessing. As I watched their grown hands placed on her tiny little head, I felt so grateful for these men who have lived worthy to hold the priesthood, and grateful to have that priesthood power present in my home. I felt a peace that she would be alright.
She spent the rest of the day just lying on people. She didn't want to be alone ever and wouldn't nap in her crib. She would doze on and off if she was snuggling with a person, but as soon as we laid her down, she'd cry. That continued through the night, but I'm happy to report that she has perked up this morning, and is moving around and even smiling! We're so grateful she's on the mend--it's scary to have someone so small get that sick.
Also, I had a lot of heavenly help in directing the performance of "From Cumorah's Hill." Even though I am one who does not function well on little sleep, during the performance, my mind felt clear, alert, and peaceful. I felt truly sustained by the hand of the Lord. More on that whole experience soon.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Mt Taylor Quadrathalon...Hardest thing I've ever done!
by Arthur:
What's the hardest thing you've ever done in your life? Well, I just discovered my answer to that question...the Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathalon.
Quad-a-who-uh...you ask? Think triathalon but with 4 events instead of 3, held during the winter time, and at high altitide. The race starts in Grants, NM at the base of Mt. Taylor at an altitude of 6500 ft. You race 21 miles to the top of Mt. Taylor reaching an altitude of 11,300 ft. (For you math majors thats a climb of 4,800 ft!) The 21 mile climb is split between biking, running, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Once you reach the top, you turn around doing all the events in reverse back to the start/finish line. It's a round trip of 42 miles. Here's how the race breaks down:
Bike:
Racers begin at an elevation of 6,500 ft. with a 13 mile road race through the streets of Grants and then begin the 1,700 foot climb from desert cactus to ponderosa pine.
Run:
At the end of the paved road, bikes are parked and racers must run the next five miles on gravel roads. The road generally starts out dry but usually turns to snow pack. This part of the course will climb 1,250 feet in elevation.
Cross County Ski:
Runners then turn to cross-country skis to challenge the next 1,200 foot climb of the mountaineering ski course that covers two miles. During the final yards of this course you must face the notorious "Heart Break Hill" that lies waiting for weary racers.
Snowshoe:
The remaining one mile climb on snowshoes gains 600 feet to reach the 11,301 foot summit of Mt. Taylor where a person can see for over one hundred miles on a clear day.
I'm not really sure why I wanted to do it...but for some reason I was driven to accomplish this. My time diddn't break any records...wait, maybe I broke the longest time record...my goal was simply to be able to finish the race. So if I were to sum up the race in one word...BRUTAL! But now here I am one day later thinking of what I need to do for next year to improve my time. What kind of wack-job am I anyway? I should add that this race is very professional, well organized and had many, many helpful and freindly volunteers. So a big thanks out to all who put on this amazing and affordable "race"
Only the very interested reader needs to read on. But here's my thoughts on each leg so I can remember next year what my fresh impressions were.
Bike Up: I knew I was with some serious athletes in this race when I hit the 3 mile mark of the bike portion and I noticed that people were no longer passing me. So I peeked behind me and noticed only the police escort...great, I was in dead last! It was at that point that I cemented in my brain to forget about everyone else, that I was racing against myself, and to simply finish the race...which was my real goal in the first place. The road kept getting steadily steeper and steeper until the 13 mile mark. I did actually pass two people on the climb which restored a little dignity. But, by the time I hit the bike/run transition I was ready to stop peddling. (Note to self: the closest preparation ride is probably Sandia Casino to La Luz trailhead in Albuquerque since it is a steady continuous climb with a very steep ending)
Run Up: Wow! What a gruel. This was my weakest event of the four. The gravel road here was even steeper than the end of the bike run. I ran as much as I could, but had to alternate running with walking until I could catch my breath. The 8000 ft altitude affected me more than I thought. It was at this time that I noticed the race leaders running the opposite way down hill. They had already reached the summit and were coming down on their 7th of 8 events, while I was still on my 2nd of 8 events. I was very impressed with these athletes. The last mile up was very steep and I quickly realized that I was wasting energy trying to run (it seemed like running in place), so I ended up walking the last mile focusing on taking long, efficient, hiking-like strides.
Cross Country Ski Up
This was my strength event in the race as I cross country ski on my own for fun. I even passed several people. The ski was a nice steady uphill through the forest that got slightly steeper near the end...but then I hit heartbreak hill. The uphill slope doubled for the last 200 yards just as I thought I was as tired as I could be. I had to rest at several points up this hill (Note to self: My homemade rope ski "skins" worked well. There was only one small downhill area in the ascent where sliding would have been useful but even those in skins weren't sliding anyway. The rope even worked well on heartbreak hill. But if REI rents skins it might be worth trying that next time.)
Snowshoe Up:
The first half of the snoeshoe was on a nice wooded trail with a gradual uphill. Then you hit the fully exposed ridgeline where you climb to the summit on a much steeper slope. I felt like I was climbing Mt. Everest. I would take 20 steps, then have to stop to take 10 breaths. Near the top it was more like 10 steps and 20 breaths, Add to that the temperature was below freezing, and the winds were howling at a steady 40mph with heavier wind gusts. It was quite the experiance. At this point I was about 5 1/2 hours into the race.
Snowshoe Down:
...or should I call it chaos down. The separate trail down was steeper than the climb with softer snow. It felt more like jumping down while semi-skiing on snowshoes. I fell once and found it difficult to get back up in the powder snow. When we merged down to the main snowshoe train the aid station not only had water, but were offering shots of hard liquor. I saw several half empty bottles on their tables. I wish I had my camera as that would have made an awsome photo. It was definitely un-expected. And yes...I did have a single shot of...water!
Ski Down:
Now I could fly. The ski down was actually 3 miles using a different route than the climb up for safety reasons. The first and last quarter of this section were a nice gentle down slope where it was easy to stay in control. The middle half was another story as it got very steep by XC standards. My XC skis do not have metal edges and doing a very wide awkard snow plow on a narrow trail for 1.5 miles can make you cramp quickly in awkard places. But I was happy with how fast I did it given my equipment. I even passed several people on the way down. If I ever do this again, metal edges are a must and I could ski even faster while in better control. (Note to self: XC ski up and then down the Sandia Peak ski area is very good preparation for the climb and the speed of the downhill)
Run Down:
I actually got a nice second wind at the start of this section. What was the steepest section on the way up became a breeze on the way down. I only seldom had to walk to catch my breath. But by the time I hit the halfway mark, the road flattened out and I really had to dig deep to keep going. This section is a very lonely road because the race is so spread out at this point. I didn't see a single other racer during this 5 miles. And who put those uphill sections near the end of the 5 mile downhill anyway? Funny how I didn't remember them on the run up. It did start to rain a bit in the last mile but didn't get me too wet.
Bike Down:
I was so happy when I hit this last transisition. I could nearly taste my victory of finishing the race since I thought gravity would do the rest from here. I was in for a surprise. The first 3 miles were the steepest and I really could have a nice rest here as I came flying down the mountain. It then got to be a bit more rolling in spots and I had to work a bit to get up hills. Then I realized that some idiot put a half mile STEEP uphill in the middle of the way down. I had to gear down as far as I could and even had to stop 2 or 3 times to simply catch my breath. I didn't eat much after I passed the summit. Next time I'll have to focus on eating more during the ski and run so I have more energy to end the race. Once past this uphill there was a nice downhill again until you hit the outskirts of Grants. Then the road got very flat with a wicked, sustained headwind. So the last 3 miles became a gruel as I tried to find the energy to finish. Sharee and the kids along with Julianne and Eric were there to cheer me on as I crossed the finish line at the 8 hr. 57 min. mark.
Final Thoughts to self:
If you ever do this again, don't carry around a 40 lb backpack during the entire race. (i.e. lose 40 lbs before attempting this race again)
What's the hardest thing you've ever done in your life? Well, I just discovered my answer to that question...the Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathalon.
Quad-a-who-uh...you ask? Think triathalon but with 4 events instead of 3, held during the winter time, and at high altitide. The race starts in Grants, NM at the base of Mt. Taylor at an altitude of 6500 ft. You race 21 miles to the top of Mt. Taylor reaching an altitude of 11,300 ft. (For you math majors thats a climb of 4,800 ft!) The 21 mile climb is split between biking, running, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Once you reach the top, you turn around doing all the events in reverse back to the start/finish line. It's a round trip of 42 miles. Here's how the race breaks down:
Bike:
Racers begin at an elevation of 6,500 ft. with a 13 mile road race through the streets of Grants and then begin the 1,700 foot climb from desert cactus to ponderosa pine.
Run:
At the end of the paved road, bikes are parked and racers must run the next five miles on gravel roads. The road generally starts out dry but usually turns to snow pack. This part of the course will climb 1,250 feet in elevation.
Cross County Ski:
Runners then turn to cross-country skis to challenge the next 1,200 foot climb of the mountaineering ski course that covers two miles. During the final yards of this course you must face the notorious "Heart Break Hill" that lies waiting for weary racers.
Snowshoe:
The remaining one mile climb on snowshoes gains 600 feet to reach the 11,301 foot summit of Mt. Taylor where a person can see for over one hundred miles on a clear day.
and then...
The race is only half over. You must reverse the four events and race the 21 miles back to the Start/Finish line.
The race is only half over. You must reverse the four events and race the 21 miles back to the Start/Finish line.
I'm not really sure why I wanted to do it...but for some reason I was driven to accomplish this. My time diddn't break any records...wait, maybe I broke the longest time record...my goal was simply to be able to finish the race. So if I were to sum up the race in one word...BRUTAL! But now here I am one day later thinking of what I need to do for next year to improve my time. What kind of wack-job am I anyway? I should add that this race is very professional, well organized and had many, many helpful and freindly volunteers. So a big thanks out to all who put on this amazing and affordable "race"
 |
| Unloading the equipment |
 |
| Getting ready to start |
 |
| #271 |
 |
| At the Starting Line |
 |
| The cheering crew |
 |
| The last few yards! |
 |
| Under 9 hours, baby! |
 |
| So glad to be done |
 |
| Time to head home! |
Bike Up: I knew I was with some serious athletes in this race when I hit the 3 mile mark of the bike portion and I noticed that people were no longer passing me. So I peeked behind me and noticed only the police escort...great, I was in dead last! It was at that point that I cemented in my brain to forget about everyone else, that I was racing against myself, and to simply finish the race...which was my real goal in the first place. The road kept getting steadily steeper and steeper until the 13 mile mark. I did actually pass two people on the climb which restored a little dignity. But, by the time I hit the bike/run transition I was ready to stop peddling. (Note to self: the closest preparation ride is probably Sandia Casino to La Luz trailhead in Albuquerque since it is a steady continuous climb with a very steep ending)
Run Up: Wow! What a gruel. This was my weakest event of the four. The gravel road here was even steeper than the end of the bike run. I ran as much as I could, but had to alternate running with walking until I could catch my breath. The 8000 ft altitude affected me more than I thought. It was at this time that I noticed the race leaders running the opposite way down hill. They had already reached the summit and were coming down on their 7th of 8 events, while I was still on my 2nd of 8 events. I was very impressed with these athletes. The last mile up was very steep and I quickly realized that I was wasting energy trying to run (it seemed like running in place), so I ended up walking the last mile focusing on taking long, efficient, hiking-like strides.
Cross Country Ski Up
This was my strength event in the race as I cross country ski on my own for fun. I even passed several people. The ski was a nice steady uphill through the forest that got slightly steeper near the end...but then I hit heartbreak hill. The uphill slope doubled for the last 200 yards just as I thought I was as tired as I could be. I had to rest at several points up this hill (Note to self: My homemade rope ski "skins" worked well. There was only one small downhill area in the ascent where sliding would have been useful but even those in skins weren't sliding anyway. The rope even worked well on heartbreak hill. But if REI rents skins it might be worth trying that next time.)
Snowshoe Up:
The first half of the snoeshoe was on a nice wooded trail with a gradual uphill. Then you hit the fully exposed ridgeline where you climb to the summit on a much steeper slope. I felt like I was climbing Mt. Everest. I would take 20 steps, then have to stop to take 10 breaths. Near the top it was more like 10 steps and 20 breaths, Add to that the temperature was below freezing, and the winds were howling at a steady 40mph with heavier wind gusts. It was quite the experiance. At this point I was about 5 1/2 hours into the race.
Snowshoe Down:
...or should I call it chaos down. The separate trail down was steeper than the climb with softer snow. It felt more like jumping down while semi-skiing on snowshoes. I fell once and found it difficult to get back up in the powder snow. When we merged down to the main snowshoe train the aid station not only had water, but were offering shots of hard liquor. I saw several half empty bottles on their tables. I wish I had my camera as that would have made an awsome photo. It was definitely un-expected. And yes...I did have a single shot of...water!
Ski Down:
Now I could fly. The ski down was actually 3 miles using a different route than the climb up for safety reasons. The first and last quarter of this section were a nice gentle down slope where it was easy to stay in control. The middle half was another story as it got very steep by XC standards. My XC skis do not have metal edges and doing a very wide awkard snow plow on a narrow trail for 1.5 miles can make you cramp quickly in awkard places. But I was happy with how fast I did it given my equipment. I even passed several people on the way down. If I ever do this again, metal edges are a must and I could ski even faster while in better control. (Note to self: XC ski up and then down the Sandia Peak ski area is very good preparation for the climb and the speed of the downhill)
Run Down:
I actually got a nice second wind at the start of this section. What was the steepest section on the way up became a breeze on the way down. I only seldom had to walk to catch my breath. But by the time I hit the halfway mark, the road flattened out and I really had to dig deep to keep going. This section is a very lonely road because the race is so spread out at this point. I didn't see a single other racer during this 5 miles. And who put those uphill sections near the end of the 5 mile downhill anyway? Funny how I didn't remember them on the run up. It did start to rain a bit in the last mile but didn't get me too wet.
Bike Down:
I was so happy when I hit this last transisition. I could nearly taste my victory of finishing the race since I thought gravity would do the rest from here. I was in for a surprise. The first 3 miles were the steepest and I really could have a nice rest here as I came flying down the mountain. It then got to be a bit more rolling in spots and I had to work a bit to get up hills. Then I realized that some idiot put a half mile STEEP uphill in the middle of the way down. I had to gear down as far as I could and even had to stop 2 or 3 times to simply catch my breath. I didn't eat much after I passed the summit. Next time I'll have to focus on eating more during the ski and run so I have more energy to end the race. Once past this uphill there was a nice downhill again until you hit the outskirts of Grants. Then the road got very flat with a wicked, sustained headwind. So the last 3 miles became a gruel as I tried to find the energy to finish. Sharee and the kids along with Julianne and Eric were there to cheer me on as I crossed the finish line at the 8 hr. 57 min. mark.
Final Thoughts to self:
If you ever do this again, don't carry around a 40 lb backpack during the entire race. (i.e. lose 40 lbs before attempting this race again)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sisters & Spangles
Since I've been married, I've never lived close to any of my immediate family. And since my sisters are my best friends in the world, you can imagine how spoiled I feel to have TWO of them living here right now. On Thursday, we had ourselves a nice girly time and went clothes shopping--(something I hardly EVER do) and got haircuts. Wahoo! Melanie has been pestering me to post the pictures, so to appease her, I'm taking time out of my busy schedule just to make her happy. :)
Before:
And after!
(mine isn't a very dramatic change, but it still made me feel better.)
being silly
And here is a picture of Emma in her new dress, and I think she looks darling!
This is a necklace that I paid too much for. I got it on our girls outting.
It looks much better in person, actually.
Funny story about this necklace. I was wearing it on Friday because I love it. I had nowhere special to go or any particular reason to wear a necklace except that I just felt like wearing it. And at one point in the day, I found myself myself cleaning up a nasty potty-training mess wearing my spangly necklace, feeling pretty ridiculous and thinking, "And this is why I hardly ever buy stuff like this." I guess it does serve one useful purpose:
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Pinewood Derby
Since our church building is out of commission for awhile due to extensive flooding, we had the pinewood derby pack meeting at our house. It wasn't bad except that having a brand new very expensive pinewood derby track in my house made me very nervous that the little boys who live here would find a way to break it. They kept racing old cars on it while waiting for everyone to show up for the pack meeting and at one point the starting line was having some problems. I almost had a heart attack after Arthur told me how much it cost. But being married to an engineer has it's perks, and Arthur fixed it. Anyway, here's the brand new high-tech track that tells you which car came in first, and by how much.
Working on the car with Dad.
The finished product: Dallin's "Jimmer Mobile."
There were a lot of great cars this year. It's a good thing we had such a high-tech track because many of the races were so close, you couldn't tell which car came in first if it weren't for the electronic finish line.
Here are the boys checking out their standings. Dallin was 4th going in the finals.
Dallin & Charles placing their cars for to determine 1st & 2nd place.
And to our amazement, Dallin won first place. (It was VERY close!) He told me he couldn't believe that he actually won. (Good thing, since we put "You Got Jimmered" on the side of his car. )
Dallin's report on the pinewood derby:
So first off it was the pine wood derby. So I made a pine wood derby car. It was a Jimmer Fredette car. My dad (Arthur ) said it was the Jimmer mobile. I guess he has a point. Oh yeah! I almost forgot! I won
the race by..............................
1 THOUSANTH! 1 THOUSANTH OF A SECOND!
And then we ate cake!
Happy Heart Day
Aren't these cookies amazing?
We thought it would be fun for the kids to make some sugar cookies.
But, what happened was that Emma, Jewels and I had a lot of fun decorating these.
Don't worry, we saved some for the kids to decorate too.
I think they did about one per plate. Okay, probably more than that, but theirs got eaten pretty soon after they were decorated.
Also, it was Sean's brilliant idea to cut a smaller heart out of a bigger heart, which I thought looked very cool.
On Sunday night, Jewels & Eric came over for dinner,
These pictures are from Hayden's playgroup which was at our house this week. I thought we would try out this new idea I got from a friend and make Oreo lollipops. The idea is that you insert a white lollipop stick into the oreo filling, and then dip it in chocolate (we did white chocolate) and then dip it again in sprinkles and let it solidify. Then you have these darling little Oreo Lollipops.
Besides, half of them got eaten before anyone had a chance to see them anyway.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
More snow days
Well, that first snow day was followed by three more. There wasn't any more snow. School was cancelled on Wednesday because it was too cold, and then Thursday, the buses wouldn't start, and by Friday, there was a state-wide natural gas shortage, so they had the kids stay home again to reduce the use of natural gas for heating. As a result of the cold temperatures and people turning the heat down, pipes all over town have been bursting. Our church building was among them, which is another story entirely . . .
So with four days off school, the kids did lots of playing with friends and with each other. We made cinnamon rolls one day, and valentines another day, watched movies and just enjoyed the slower pace. Here are some pictures of the fun.
Jen's Delicious Cinnamon Rolls
Making Valentines
 |
| Okay, I'm including a picture of this, but I have to warn you, it's a little disturbing. See that dark red spot on Hayden's picture? He painstakingly created that red spot with a red marker that is pretty much out of ink now. And he told me that it was a picture of him "with lots of blood at his head." Hmm. I'll admit it made me laugh, especially since Hayden thought it was hilarious. Maybe he has a twisted sense of humor. Or maybe I should look into therapy? |
I'm grateful for my friend Amber who thinks of such fun and creative things for these girls to do together. Daphne had a blast making this cute conversation heart wreath and frosting Valentine cupcakes.
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