TOUGH MUDDER!!!

Last Saturday, June 25th, Douglas and I did the Tough Mudder in Colorado!!  My Brother in law Tylor wanted to do it for his birthday, so we thought it'd be fun to join him, as well as his brother Robert, dad, and 2 other friends, and Oh My Gosh it was so awesome!!! Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done, but such an amazing accomplishment!! So here is what happened that day. We got to Beaver Creek at about 7am to sign in and get ready for our start at 9 am. The night before, I was so pumped and wide awake, so I only got about 2 hours of sleep, but was feeling great! The race was a 10 mile course up and down the mountains and consisted of about 25 obstacles. Many people go as teams and work together throughout the whole race to finish. It isn't a timed race, so just to finish it is what's important! The start of the race was on top of a hill where we had to run down the mountain, that was our first obstacle, The Braveheart Charge. I was a little careful of not going too fast since it was the beginning and knowing my knees aren't the greatest, I wanted to to be careful not to hurt myself right off! After that, we climbed up the first mountain. I was feeling good and pushed myself all the way to the top. The next obstacle were 2 berlin walls, which are 12 foot walls we had to climb over. It was definitely nice having people help on that one! The next obstacle was Boa Contstrictor. We had to climb down a tunnel into nice cold water and back up another tunnel. The water was a little cold, but nothing to what was coming our way! We jogged off and on for over a mile before we got to the next one. Some were struggling, so we made sure to stay back with everyone as a group. The next obstacle was Kiss Of Mud where we had to crawl under barbed wire about 12 inches off the ground. This is when we started getting nice and muddy!! It wasn't bad crawling under, but the ground was so dang hard that I could start feeling my knees hurting after that! Going uphill even more, we got to what is called Swamp Stomp. This is where the fun began! It was a lovely swamp we had to cross through. The water was nice and cold, but I can handle cold water ok, so it didn't do much of an affect on me. There was a huge freakin' rock in the center of the swamp where most people hit their shins on! Luckily I noticed it before hitting my leg on it! Douglas got it pretty bad on his shin though! Left a nice mark! Right after that though, we turned the corner and had to get into the water again, but all the way this time going under 3 different barrels. Going under the first one was COLD as heck!! It totally took your breath away!! Getting to the next barrel and the next really got me to have to brace myself and go under! 30 degree water really takes a toll on ya!! Getting out and continuing on made everything better for me though to where I warmed back up no problem. This was the hardest obstacle for Douglas though since he has like no fat on him! After the lovely water, we had to carry a piece of wood up and back down the mountain. Once we got done with that, we ran downhill about a mile to what was called Chernobyl Jacuzzi. There were 3 different colored tanks of cold ice water where we had to jump in again and go under to the other side. Douglas was not happy about that since he was just getting back to normal after the other water one! Luckily I could handle the water. What did it for me was the next mountain we had to climb which was the steepest of them all!! My butt, legs, and knees were starting to burn!!! In the middle of it was our next obstacle Devil's Beard where we had to climb under a cargo net. It was easy to get caught in it and you had to really work together to get through it. I was so happy to be done with that hill! It seriously sucked!! Oh ya, before the mountain was Turd's Nest. It was a huge net where we had to climb over the river. That one wasn't too bad. I rolled down to the center and then climbed up. Getting to and past the next obstacle was the longest incline in the race. In between was Sweaty Yeti. There were 2 big snow mountains they made for us. The first one, they had another net we had to climb under. That was quite fun (sarcasm there)... then we slid on our butts to the next one and so on! The next obstacle, still up hill, was running through the mud and over hay while people were spraying us with the fire hoses and tripping us with wire. At that point, I was getting very tired in my knees and legs! It was nice seeing my mother in law and Uncle Lon cheering us on though! Spectators could pretty much follow you and take pictures, but they had to take a lovely hike as well to get to certain obstacles! After that was yet another mountain that seemed to keep going forever. This is the only point I felt I was dragging behind. All I could think was put one foot in front of the other, put one foot in front of the other! I was hurting big time!! At least I never was the very last of the group thank goodness!! Next was Mud Mile, followed by Log Jammin, and to these huge barrels of hay we had to climb over. Then onto Spider's Web which was a big cargo net we had to climb up and over. It was pretty high too! Bill and I stayed together going FINALLY downhill to the next obstacle. Walking, my knees were killing me to where I could hardly walk. The only thing to keep them from hurting was to jog and keep myself moving. After running a while, we got to 3 more berlin walls we had to climb over. I was getting so tired, but pushed my way over them, thanks to Bill!! The next obsatcle was the mystery one which was a zig zagged tunnel thing we had to crawl through. At first I was kind of nervous seeing it, but there was actually more room than I thought to get through it easily. My knees were so hammered at that point though that I had to use all of my upper body stregnth to get through it! After that, Douglas, Tylor, and Robert caught up with us. (The one friend left us and went on ahead, and the other friend had to a see a medic, but ended up finishing.) Robert's leg kept cramping up really bad so they were trying to get him to continue without it hurting. At that point we were almost finished!! We came down the mountain doing The Super G Slalom which was a zig zag down the mountain, Mudslide, and Greased Lightning which were tons of fun sliding downhill on our stomachs. I guess I wasn't going fast enough though cause a guy rammed right into me!! Ooops!! Following that was the Funky Monkey. It was about a 30 monkey bar obstacle that inclined up, went across, and then back down. At that point, I wasn't feeling very confident about crossing it, but under if you fell in, it was icy cold water so I was determined not too, and Holy Heck, I did it!!! I was so proud of myself with how fatigued I was! Douglas was at the other end cheering me on, so that pushed me to keep going!! The second to last obstacle was Everest. It was part of a half pipe we had to run up and climb over. Douglas and Tylor went first so they could help us get to the top. I love that I had them to help me!! Bill had to try a few times due to not enough momentum, but by the 4th time, he got up!! Last, but not least, was the famous Electric Shock Therapy! This was the obstacle where you had to run through wires that has 10,000 volts of electricity! From the beginning I was nervous going through, but decided I just had to run through it and not think about it! Apparantly though some of the wires weren't working, but I did feel the shock twice! The second one must have shot right to my right calf cause once I made it through, I instantly cramped up and couldn't walk! Luckily, Bill was right behind me, tried helping me get it back to normal, but after realizing it wasn't doing any better, He carried me on his back through the finish line! What a great Father In Law!! Everyone was cheering us on!! Of course Out of all places in the race, it had to happen then, but it was a great way to finish I guess :) Overall, it was the most fun, challenging thing I have ever done! During the race I was thinking I never want to do another one, but after it was all over with, I am ready for more!! Tough Mudder is coming to SLC I believe next summer!!! I am so stoked to doing another one and get more of my family and friends to do it with me!! Such an experience you will never forget!!! Who is with me??

Ready to Rock It!!!

Our "Band"

And we're off!!

Enjoying the snow...

And the fire hoses!

Turd's Nest

Still going strong!!

Everest

Electric Shock Therapy!!

Across the Finish Line!!!

Proud Grandkids!!

Tylor and Blaine

Our Cheerleaders!!

We did it!!

Some of our lovely battlewounds!!

Thank You Tylor for including us in this awesome adventure with ya!! Great way to celebrate your Birthday!!!!

The Big 26!!

Wow!! Am I really that old?? I definitely don't feel it that's for sure!! Sunday was a great day!! We didn't do anything big for my birthday, but it was nice and relaxing to spend time with my family. I got to sing in sacrament which was cool. I usually have my Sister Trisha sing with me, but forever I have wanted to sing an arrangement of I Stand All Amazed. I finally got the music for it, so I sang!! It went well except for during the middle part I got emotional. Of course being a singer I got a little mad at myself letting my emotions take over my singing, but when the spirit is so strong, it's hard not to!! After church, Douglas made us a few of my favorite appetizers for lunch, mozerella sticks and edamame. For my birthday cake, he got me doughnuts which have always been my favorite too!! I worked only part of my shift and then we went to my cousin Megan's house and spent the rest of the night hanging out with them! She made brownies too, so I definitely got my sugar intake that day for the whole week :) It was simple, yet so nice!! Being with my family is the best thing I could ask for on my birthday!! And remember Douglas, I am 26 not 27!!! ;)

In Loving Memory...

Yesterday, Trisha and I sang at Chad Wade's funeral. He was one of the 4 men who died in the plane crash last week in Wendover. Our good friend Jenny is his sister and they asked us to sing. I met Chad a few times. He was a really sweet guy who was very driven in the things he did! He was also a successful businessman who was a huge influence to many people. The funeral was so good! All of the siblings spoke in which they shared stories and memories of Chad. One thing that was so neat was all the women in the family wore ties of Chad's and the men wore his suits and ties that were tailored to their sizes. You could tell just what an amazing person he was even if you hadn't met him. I don't think there was a single dry eye in the congregation. Trisha and I sang last. We were asked to sing Josh Groban's "You raise me up." We had a violinist play with us which turned out beautiful! I am so honored to have been a part of the funeral. May Chad's parents, siblings, 4 children, and other family feel peace and comfort knowing Chad is in a better place watching over them!

St. George

Last Sunday, I had a fireside in St. George with Jenny Phillips. I didn't want to have to drive down and back the same day, so the kids and I stayed the night at Steve and Brooke's house. The fireside went really good! I again just feel the spirit so strong when I sing with the choir. The next day, we played at a park and went swimming!! The weather was awesome!! Wish I could have spent more time down there!

6 Years and Counting!!

Wow!! Today is mine and Douglas' 6 year wedding anniversary!! It's so crazy to me how fast time has gone by, yet how many things have happened since then!!

 So going back to June 4th 2005, let me see how well I remember our special day! I got up early to get my hair done by my sister Trisha. As she was doing my hair, I stretched my arms back to where my right arm got scorched by the curling iron!! It blistered up pretty bad! I opted not to wear a bandaid since it would be really tacky to wear for my wedding. My sister did an awesome job with my hair though, so I kept joking with her it was worth the pain!! I now call it my wedding battle wound! You can still see it actually!! Quite funny! 

Our Sealing was at 11am in the Salt Lake Temple and it was so beautiful!! Sitting in the celestial room with Douglas before we went in, was very special! I remember being in awe with how amazing the room was and SO anxious to get married! There were quite a few others getting married as well and all of us were glowing!! As we walked into the sealing room, I instantly was overcome with the spirit and was so happy seeing all of my loved ones there to support us!! I vaguely remember everything that the sealer had talked about, but the key things I do remember was how important it was to have children and have an eternal family and to always keep and remember the covenants we made with each other in the temple. I actually was blessed to hear from the same sealer a year and a half later at my friends Bret and Katie's wedding. He said a lot of the same things, so it was nice to focus more on what he was saying then! 

After we got sealed, we went outside and got pictures taken around the temple and temple grounds. We had done the wedding dinner a few nights before, so we had a little more time before the reception. It was a lot more relaxing for me to not have to go from one thing to the other so quickly. A funny thing I remember was when Douglas and I were finished with our pictures, he had parked the car in the parking garage under the conference center and forgot where he parked it. Him in his tux and me in my dress, we were wandering around for a good half hour before we found the car! Other people around us were probably thinking what on earth we were doing as we were laughing and walking up and down the garage!! 

The reception was amazing!! My Uncle Golden let us have it in his back yard. They have a beautiful yard with a gazebo, pool, and basketball court where my brother's band played. My aunt Dorene decorated the gazebo beautifully with tool and roses. That was my maine theme for our wedding. I know, roses are practical, but I just love them so much that I wanted them everywhere!! It turned out perfect! For food we had a chocolate fountain, little sandwiches, veggies, and drinks. I unfortunately didn't eat any of it until once we got to our hotel room! We were just so busy talking and such that I forgot to eat! I swore I would at least eat some chocolate covered strawberries, but didn't!  The cake was unbelievable!! Douglas' aunt Nana made it for us. I had never met her before till then, but had told her what I wanted, and it turned out perfect!! I couldn't get over how exact it was on what I had described to her!! The carrot cake was yummy too! We had a fun time pushing the cake in each others faces!!

We had our line for I think an hour, took time to talk to people and then headed down to the basketball court for some dancing!! It was so fun! I just love that we had the live band playing and just the whole feel of it! I planned a little thing for Douglas and sang "My Guy" to him while teasing him with a boa! It was quite fun! Then he said a few special words to me. We danced to our song "Making Memories of Us," danced some more, and by the time we finished, we were ready to throw the bouquet, which Brooke caught :), and got ready to leave in our lovely decorated car!! 

  Overall, my wedding was simple, but it was exactly how I dreamed it to be!! I am so blessed to have met Douglas and now be his wife of 6 years!! We have gone through so much, but have become so much stronger individually and as a couple! He is my rock and I cherish every moment we have together!! Happy Anniversary Douglas!! Can't wait to see what lies ahead of us!!

Life is too short...

Yesterday, one of my friend's brother died in a plane crash. It's just crazy how life can be taken so quickly. Please, don't take life for granted. Life is too short. You never know when it'll be the last to see your loved ones. My thoughts and prayers are with Jenny and her family at this time! I can't imagine what they are going through.