Guess where I am? Lompoc, California! It is so beautiful here. It's in the seventies. My grandma just had surgery so my mom and I are here to help her. We got here Monday. Yesterday I helped my aunt set up her classroom, and today I ran six miles. 'Twas quite an accomplishment for me. I can no longer do the triathlon I was going to do, so instead I am going to do my first half marathon. It's going to be hard, but now that I am in an environment where I can actually exercise outside, I am going to be training every day for it. I really want to push myself and become good at running. Throughout my life, I participated in lots of activities and sports. I never did any of them for very long, but I think that was good for me. It made me well-rounded. I would get good at something and then decide I was ready to try something new, develop a new skill. Well now I feel I am ready to try something new, and that is a half-marathon. So a good portion of my time here in California is going to be training, utilizing the good weather while I can. I will be in Cali for three weeks. Two weeks in Lompoc, and one week in San Diego.
Last Thursday, my friend Lexi and I drove up to St. George and we spent a day in Zion on Friday. We did three different short hikes, and then on Saturday we drove up to Provo to see some friends. We stayed at our old roommate Alicia's house. It was so nice to see her. We had so much fun. I am sad that we won't be rooming together again in the Fall, but we fully plan to see each other all the time. We also saw another friend Daniel and then went to a missionary farewell for our friend Michael. It was great to see them and just hang out and eat good food. Lexi and I were very sad to say goodbye.
I am excited for the Fall because I now know people at college that I can go visit when I want a break from studying. It will be very different from last year, as I am staying in a real apartment and with all new people, and I will probably be super busy again with 16 1/2 credits and a job, but I am very excited to go to King Henry. I am even ready to start classes again. Not ready for the homework load, but I always enjoyed going to my classes. I like learning.
Well I am going to go outside and enjoy more of this beautiful weather. Ciao!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Summer Days
Days go by pretty slowly in Vegas. It is so dang hot out. I don't know what temperature it is today, but for a couple days it was 115 degrees out. We don't dare venture outside during the day because of the heat. I teach swim lessons in the morning and the rest of the day is spent indoors, cleaning, watching movies, scrapbooking, or reading, until it's dark and I can go on a walk or run. Yesterday my sisters, mom, and I went ice skating. I got a real good work out then. I used to ice skate back in high school, and I was getting pretty advanced, but I haven't skated in years, so it was really nice to push myself to go faster and faster and to practice my jumps and spins. I was never very good at spins, but I used to be really good at jumps so it made me sad when I could only remember how to do two different jumps. My arms are all scratched up, my knees are bruised, and I've got a blister on my toe, but I don't care. It was so much fun to get back on the ice.
I've gotten used to being home. I miss BYU and my friends, but it's definitely nice to not have a busy schedule and lots of homework. Next Thursday, my friend Lexi and I are going up to St. George and spending a couple days in Zion national park and then we are going to go up to Provo to see some friends and a missionary farewell. Then the day after we get back, my mom and I are driving to Lompoc, California to see my grandma. I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the car. But my mom and I are thinking about taking a detour to San Diego and maybe Los Angeles on the way. That will be fun.
Well I have been trying to train for my triathlon. Occasionally I will wake up early to go running or bike riding. But unless you want to wake up at 5 am, you really can't do anything outside in this heat.By 8am we are already in the 100s. It's a good thing my triathlon is a short one, because I am not getting very much practice in. I'm debating whether or not to go running tonight. I don't like the idea of running in the dark, especially in Las Vegas, but I can't go during the day. Hmmm...
I got an infection where they took out one of my wisdom teeth. Lucky me. Everything was going great. After two weeks of intense pain, I no longer had chipmunk cheeks, I could eat normally, and the pain had been reduced to a dull ache. Then I woke up one morning and my left side of my jaw looked like I had a golf ball in it and I was in intense pain. The dentist ordered me some more Loratabs, but unfortunately, they upped the prescription, and so when I took a whole one like I usually did (instead of half of one which I was meant to have taken) I got extremely sick. When I finally went into the dentist office, I must have looked either really sick or really loopy. They said I had an infection and gave me antibiotics. On the way home though, the Loratabs were making me feel even more sick. I almost passed out as I came in the house. My brother helped me lie down on the couch and I slept for a long time. My mom gave me my antibiotics and then I slept some more. That night I only took half of a Loratab.
Since I have been taking the antibiotics though, the pain and swelling has gone significantly down, to which I am very grateful. In a way its a shame that that bottle of Loratabs went to waste as after the first day I didn't need them any more, but I am also glad that I no longer have to experience that horrible nauseous feeling nor the pain I had in my jaw.
Well, that's all I have to write about. My days really just haven't been that interesting. But maybe soon I will have more to share.
I've gotten used to being home. I miss BYU and my friends, but it's definitely nice to not have a busy schedule and lots of homework. Next Thursday, my friend Lexi and I are going up to St. George and spending a couple days in Zion national park and then we are going to go up to Provo to see some friends and a missionary farewell. Then the day after we get back, my mom and I are driving to Lompoc, California to see my grandma. I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the car. But my mom and I are thinking about taking a detour to San Diego and maybe Los Angeles on the way. That will be fun.
Well I have been trying to train for my triathlon. Occasionally I will wake up early to go running or bike riding. But unless you want to wake up at 5 am, you really can't do anything outside in this heat.By 8am we are already in the 100s. It's a good thing my triathlon is a short one, because I am not getting very much practice in. I'm debating whether or not to go running tonight. I don't like the idea of running in the dark, especially in Las Vegas, but I can't go during the day. Hmmm...
I got an infection where they took out one of my wisdom teeth. Lucky me. Everything was going great. After two weeks of intense pain, I no longer had chipmunk cheeks, I could eat normally, and the pain had been reduced to a dull ache. Then I woke up one morning and my left side of my jaw looked like I had a golf ball in it and I was in intense pain. The dentist ordered me some more Loratabs, but unfortunately, they upped the prescription, and so when I took a whole one like I usually did (instead of half of one which I was meant to have taken) I got extremely sick. When I finally went into the dentist office, I must have looked either really sick or really loopy. They said I had an infection and gave me antibiotics. On the way home though, the Loratabs were making me feel even more sick. I almost passed out as I came in the house. My brother helped me lie down on the couch and I slept for a long time. My mom gave me my antibiotics and then I slept some more. That night I only took half of a Loratab.
Since I have been taking the antibiotics though, the pain and swelling has gone significantly down, to which I am very grateful. In a way its a shame that that bottle of Loratabs went to waste as after the first day I didn't need them any more, but I am also glad that I no longer have to experience that horrible nauseous feeling nor the pain I had in my jaw.
Well, that's all I have to write about. My days really just haven't been that interesting. But maybe soon I will have more to share.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Hurray for the Red White and Blue!
Happy Fourth of July! This was a really great Fourth of July. It is one of my favorite holidays. I have so many great memories of Fourth of July's. There is the memory of lighting sparklers on my nana's trampoline. The summer my mom made a bunch of fourth of July crowns and we went around door to door selling them. The Fourth of July in Lompoc with my extended family, watching the fireworks display and playing at the carnival. And then the many Fourth of July's where I like to ride my bike, no matter how hot it gets. Here in Vegas, July is the hottest month, and so it is usually blistering hot outside. But no matter how hot it is, I realized that it has kind of become a tradition for me to ride my bike of the Fourth of July. I haven't done it every year, but I have several memories of doing it when I was younger. I liked to ride my bike around my neighborhood, just smelling the barbecue and other smells of summer.
Today I realized that I kind of picked up that tradition again. Our stake was having a Fourth of July 5K run/bike ride early this morning. My mom, dad, and me were planning on riding our bikes for the 10K. So we headed out at 6:30 following all the other bikers. Little did we realize that we weren't in the race for the 10K, we were doing the 25 miles. I got ahead of my parents and was by myself, so I didn't have anybody to ask, but I kept thinking, surely we should be turning around soon. And then I passed the turn-off to Mt. Charleston. That's when I realized I had to have gone more than 10 miles and I STILL wasn't to the half-way point yet. And I hadn't eaten breakfast that morning...or drunken any water...and I didn't have any water with me...
I prayed that I would stay hydrated and I would reach the half-way point soon. I stayed in good spirits though. I kept giving myself a pep-talk the entire time and felt really great when I finally reached the half-way point. Thank goodness some other kids had stopped there too and so they gave me some Gatorade and water. Took a breather, and then I was on my way back. I met up with my dad and then he led me through a short-cut so I ended up only riding a little less than 23 1/2 miles instead of the full 25. It was the best work out ever! I really felt great afterwords. Sore, but so energized.
And then we went on a hike. Haha I sure got in my exercise today. We hiked big falls, but we didn't make it to the top because a boulder had fallen in the path. But it looked like the river and waterfall were dried up anyways, or at least only trickling, so it didn't matter and we had already had a pretty good hike, so we headed down. It was perfect timing too, because it started sprinkling on us, and just as we reached the bottom and got in our car was when it really started to rain. It's a shame it's raining here and not in Utah or Colorado where they really need it. The rain water will just sit on top of the ground and then evaporate and do us no good here.
Anyways, we got home and it was raining at home too, so I decided to go swimming in the rain. It was such a magical feeling. Then my family barbecued and ate lots of good food and then watched fireworks in the park. My nephew Hyrum was so cute running around flapping his arms in excitement at the fireworks. Later, we did sparklers, and my brother and I ran around in the park grass with the sparklers, spinning and jumping and yelling "Hurray for the Red, White, and Blue! Hurray for the Fourth of July!" just like little kids. I probably looked so silly, but I didn't care what people thought of me. We had fun and it's the Fourth of July so you are supposed to celebrate.
So basically, this was an awesome Fourth of July. Much better than last years which I spent at work as a lifeguard, wondering why in the world anybody would want to go swimming at night in an indoor pool when they could be watching fireworks outside. This year's was spent with family, fireworks, good food, good exercise, swimming in the rain, cool air, and overall just a magical feeling in the air.
And now I'm off to bed because I teach swim lessons in the morning. Happy Independence Day!
Today I realized that I kind of picked up that tradition again. Our stake was having a Fourth of July 5K run/bike ride early this morning. My mom, dad, and me were planning on riding our bikes for the 10K. So we headed out at 6:30 following all the other bikers. Little did we realize that we weren't in the race for the 10K, we were doing the 25 miles. I got ahead of my parents and was by myself, so I didn't have anybody to ask, but I kept thinking, surely we should be turning around soon. And then I passed the turn-off to Mt. Charleston. That's when I realized I had to have gone more than 10 miles and I STILL wasn't to the half-way point yet. And I hadn't eaten breakfast that morning...or drunken any water...and I didn't have any water with me...
I prayed that I would stay hydrated and I would reach the half-way point soon. I stayed in good spirits though. I kept giving myself a pep-talk the entire time and felt really great when I finally reached the half-way point. Thank goodness some other kids had stopped there too and so they gave me some Gatorade and water. Took a breather, and then I was on my way back. I met up with my dad and then he led me through a short-cut so I ended up only riding a little less than 23 1/2 miles instead of the full 25. It was the best work out ever! I really felt great afterwords. Sore, but so energized.
And then we went on a hike. Haha I sure got in my exercise today. We hiked big falls, but we didn't make it to the top because a boulder had fallen in the path. But it looked like the river and waterfall were dried up anyways, or at least only trickling, so it didn't matter and we had already had a pretty good hike, so we headed down. It was perfect timing too, because it started sprinkling on us, and just as we reached the bottom and got in our car was when it really started to rain. It's a shame it's raining here and not in Utah or Colorado where they really need it. The rain water will just sit on top of the ground and then evaporate and do us no good here.
Anyways, we got home and it was raining at home too, so I decided to go swimming in the rain. It was such a magical feeling. Then my family barbecued and ate lots of good food and then watched fireworks in the park. My nephew Hyrum was so cute running around flapping his arms in excitement at the fireworks. Later, we did sparklers, and my brother and I ran around in the park grass with the sparklers, spinning and jumping and yelling "Hurray for the Red, White, and Blue! Hurray for the Fourth of July!" just like little kids. I probably looked so silly, but I didn't care what people thought of me. We had fun and it's the Fourth of July so you are supposed to celebrate.
So basically, this was an awesome Fourth of July. Much better than last years which I spent at work as a lifeguard, wondering why in the world anybody would want to go swimming at night in an indoor pool when they could be watching fireworks outside. This year's was spent with family, fireworks, good food, good exercise, swimming in the rain, cool air, and overall just a magical feeling in the air.
And now I'm off to bed because I teach swim lessons in the morning. Happy Independence Day!
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