We are back!

We are finally back in Omaha and I can't believe that the summer is over and time for a new school year. Fall and winter are just around the corner. Crazy! I spent all morning going through Jantsen and Kambryn's old summer clothes and getting out their new fall clothes. It went by way too fast. Anyways, now that I am back in Omaha I am determined to catch up gradually on the last month and a half, while still writing about the present time. This should be fun! Well after I go through my pictures, I will be posting alot, hopefully each day.

One update that I want to put on here is about the Provo Canyon Trail Half Marathon that Natalie and I ran on August 9th. It was a great race and I had a lot of fun training for it with Natalie and running down the Provo Canyon trail with her almost every morning! We made some fabulous memories. One time we decided to run to the MTC from the mouth of the canyon. It was about 2 months after Dustin left on his mission and he was getting ready to leave to Argentina. We were missing our brother and so we decided to run up there to see him...maybe. Unfortunately we didn't ever see him that morning but it was still fun to get the "what if" feeling as we got closer to the MTC. In the middle of our training Natalie started dating Chris and it was alot of fun each morning to hear something cute or exciting in their new relationship. I remember the morning she told me she knew he was the one for her...running along state street in Orem. One of the most fun thing was when we would try to synchronize our IPOD's with each other so we could listen to the same song and sing together! haha that was fun!! Anyways, it was so much fun training for my 2nd and Natalie's 1st half marathon.

Race morning we met at the Shops of Riverwoods at 5:00am to catch the bus to drive13 miles up the canyon. The race started up above South Fork Park. Our cousin Heidi Mahaffey ran the first few miles with us. At about the half-way mark, Natalie and I separated because she had to stop to use the restroom. The rest of the race was long without my running partner. But we both finished.

My time was unofficially 1:46. Natalie came in right around that same time (subtracting her stop to use the bathroom). I was so glad to be finished and to accomplish this race. I actually felt really good for the whole race. I was really proud of my time (about a 8:20 mile pace). My goal was to come in before 2 hours and I trained at a 9:00 mile pace. So I was extremely happy for my time. I was so proud of Natalie also, first half marathon and she flew!! It was a great day to run. There were hundreds of people at the finish line and we had our own little cheering section that met us at the end. Kyle and the kids were there, my Dad, Mom, Curt, and Chris (he was on crutches because he broke his leg at Lake Powell) were all so wonderful to come and cheer us on.
Of course I was tired but I really felt great. The next day my quads and hips were sore and it lasted for a few days, but it was well worth it! I can't wait for our next race. It was a great day and I was so happy.