Figure 8's at the racetrack

Jon and I went to the racetrack last Saturday night (9/20) to see a friend race. We used to go ALL of the time, usually every other week for several months, but we haven't been in years. Actually Tyaan moved in about 4 1/2 years ago and she had only been once before, so it had been a while. It was a fun night and I got to see some friends that I don't see very often anymore.

I remember when we first started going I was all excited about seeing a demolition derby because I thought it would be really entertaining. I soon found out that demolition derby's are boring compared to figure 8's. If you haven't seen a figure 8 race before it can be pretty exciting. They did a figure 8 race that night and I got a few minutes of video.

Enjoy!

Cross Country Meet at Red Hill

Tyaan had a cross country meet on 9/18 at Red Hill Park. She was feeling a bit better than the previous meet but was still kind of stuffy which slowed her down. This park has a long uphill portion that they ran 3 times. Her time was 25:03 which isn't her best, but I thought was great considering the heat and having a head cold.

Cross Country-Home vs Duarte

On 9/15 Tyaan had a cross country meet at their home course. She had a cold making it hard to breathe which led to cramps. She didn't finish as quickly as she would have liked, but she finished. They did win the meet though. Her time was about 25 minutes for the 3 mile course. The goal is 21:45 (I think) to get her varsity letter. I could tell the 3rd mile was hurting her. She had a really great time when she finished the 2nd mile but slowed down and was holding her side for a little while after that. She finished running and looking pretty good although she didn't start sprinting quite as early as she usually does. I was so impressed that she ran in spite of the cold and finished in spite of the pain. She's quite a girl!

I wasn't able to get many pictures because I was helping 'police' a part of the course to make sure they didn't cut one of the corners, but I got a few seconds of video. This is the start of the race and it gives you an idea of how quick they take off. Keep in mind it's a 3 mile course and they try to increase their speed as the miles go by.

Tyaan with Brava

Tyaan and I went homecoming dress shopping last Saturday. When we got home Jon had just returned from a YM overnighter and boating trip. They were cleaning up the boat and had the dog out front. I got a couple cute pictures of them.

The dress shopping was successful. We found a dress on our 3rd stop and believe it or not it has sleeves on it. No looking for a jacket to put over it so she can be modest. We probably looked at 100 dresses, easily, throughout the day and there were probably only 1 or 2 that had sleeves. The fact we found one with sleeves, that wasn't too short or open all the way down her back and that we liked is pretty amazing. It's nice to know it's done. Now we just have to get her some shoes, which is easy. The hard part will be narrowing it down to 1 pair!

Jon's overnighter went well. They had 5 boys go (which for our small ward is pretty good) and it sounds like they all had a good time. They camped at a lake not too far from our house and got to go boating the next day. My dad was nice enough to let them use his boat which was great. It's good to have Jon working in the YM program again. (He's the advisor to the deacons)

Cross Country-Red Hill Invitational

Tyaan had her first cross country event last Thursday. They didn't have all of their varsity runners there so he put the few of them that were there in other races. Tyaan ran in the junior varsity race which was a 2 mile run. She had a fever that day and was coming down with a head cold. She was all stuffed up making it hard to breath when she was running. I gave her an advil as soon as I got there which had dropped the fever down quite a bit by the time she had to run. Luckily the weather was pretty nice that day so it wasn't super hot.


She ran pretty well. She was in 3rd place here, which was the first time I saw her after the main group all took off. She's about to turn left and run up that field, up the hill and around some tennis courts that are beyond the trees. She's probably coming up on the half way point about here.

The following picture is after she ran the upper portion of the park for the second time and is going into the last part of the course. She was still in 3rd at this point but had gained a bit of ground on the girl ahead of her.



This last picture is on the last stretch of the course and she's sprinting. The 2nd place girl is not too far ahead of her and she's sprinting to catch her. Unfortunately she stepped in some mud and finished just a few feet behind her. But she finished 3rd out of all of the schools that were at this invitational. She was the first girl from her school to finish in this race and got a medal which was nice.

And cross country season has begun!

My 'Princess' Birthday

I am, as of yesterday September 10th 2008, 30 years old. I celebrated my birthday like any hardworking, responsible adult would. I went to work. But while I was at work I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my mom and dad.


After work I got to go to my mom's house because she offered to cook me my favorite dinner. (Which is pot roast, because I know you were all wondering.) Once my family was all home we headed over for dinner. I walked in to a house decorated just for my birthday dinner! It was great. There was a princess tablecloth with decorations, chocolate cake and some wrapped presents, there was another princess tablecloth on the dining room table and decorations hanging from the chandelier, and there were balloons and a princess "Happy Birthday" banner in the living room. It was great! I felt pretty special.



We had dinner, which was delicious. Brandon wasn't able to make it due to work, but he called and left me a message which was nice of him. Jeff's girlfriend, Briana (i don't know if I spelled it right) was there also.

After dinner we played some cards and talked (mostly about Big Brother) and then we had cake and ice cream. 2 of my favorite things. I got all of the candles out except 1! What a bummer!


This is what my mom got me for my birthday. 2 Precious Moments figurines. The one where she's holding a star plays Silent Night. They are really pretty.


Tyaan gave me the first season of The Big Bang Theory, which is a really funny show. I'm hoping to start watching it tonight before I go to bed.

I also got a couple phone calls from family and friends that I don't get to talk to very often which was really great. It was a great birthday and I think my 30's are going to be fabulous!

A Varsity Runner

Tyaan's cross country team had a run yesterday to place varsity and jr. varsity runners since their first meet is this week. She made the varsity team. We weren't really surprised she had, but we were happy.

She got her uniform and is ready to run Thursday. It's a league meet and it's some sort of relay which is something new. From what I understand it will still be a 3 mile course but will be split between 2 runners on a team that will each run a half mile and a mile stretch. So I think one will be running, pass a baton to the other, then get it back for their second run, and pass back to the other girl for their second and last run. So they will each run 1.5 miles but in two increments. We'll see how it actually turns out, but it should be fun. And as a league meet there will be runners from all of the schools in their league. There's probably 5 or 6 schools so there will be quite a few. It will be a good start to the season because they will see all of their competition and where they are at as individuals and as a team.

I'm looking forward to it. It's been months since I've gotten to see her compete at something!!