Christmas Update!

Well, the week flew by in a hurry, much to our dismay!

It all started a week ago. On Monday Jake went duck hunting with his friend Jarold. He had a blas. He was stoked becuase he got his first drake pintail ever!!! They also had quite the story becuase they got 12 birds with only 6 shots! That night we drove up to Logan to be with Jake's family.

Tuesday was my 22nd birthday and I was SPOILED ROTTEN! Thanks to everyone who made it special! We went out to lunch at Costa Vida. I was also able to visit some of my friends up there. That night Susan made us a YUMMY dinner that we later finished up with these AWESOME brownies with hot fudge sauce! It was delicious! It was my first birthday away from my twin brother...I did NOT like being the only one becuase that meant I had to be the center of attention and there was nobody to share it with. I tried to avoid as much attention as possible, but they didn't let me get away with too much!

On Wednesday, Christmas Eve, I went to visit my Grandma Elwood for a few hours in the morning. I really do just love her to death. She makes the BEST homemade dill pickles in the world. For Christmas she gave Jake and I her typed and bound history of her childhood to finish off the complete set that she created of her and my grandpa. What a great gift that we will be able to enjoy for generations!

That night we went to the Balls family party and enjoyed some yummy food, talents, and a gift exchange. Then we went home and zonked, waiting for Santa to come visit!

On Christmas Jake and I were SPOILED again!!!! We woke up to open presents with Jake's family. Carter, our 2 year old nephew, made the morning very entertaining! Susan made her traditional homemade orange rolls for breakfast...to DIE FOR! Each of Jake's grandparents even paid us all a visit!

After we got things wrapped up we decided it was time to brace the storm and get on our way. We drove down to Brigham to visit and have lunch with my dad and stepmom and her family. Afterwards we again hit the road and headed down to Centerville to visit the rest of my family. Although it was a lot of driving, we were lucky that we were able to see everyone! We spent the night at my mom's house and were able to spend the whole next day with them!

Friday, we had family pictures taken. Afterward, we celebrated mine and Court's birthday! We went to the movie Marley and Me, which we all loved! Afterwards we went to eat at Firehouse Pizzaria! Should I mention again that this was a week of SPOILAGE!

Thanks to all our family who made our week special! It was a great break away from everything! We feel so lucky to have such great friends and family that we are blessed with and want you all to know we love you!!!

NOT a pleasant experience!

Well, I thought I would share our few x-mas decorations in our humble basement apartment! It's definitely not very fancy but we love our warm fireplace! It doesn't look like much, but it is just right for us!

It has been snowing like CRAZY today! Jake is off hunting (I will post updates on that later) but I thought I would go into Riverdale to get a few things. That was a HUGE mistake! I still had a few more things to do but I decided it would be best to head home. It took me forever and then I realized when I was almost home that I was going to have to climb the big hill by our house!!! I was scared to death! There were cars and trucks off the road everywhere! I was just praying to make it home safe. Somehow I made it up the hill without sliding off the road or getting stuck. I already hate driving in the snow, and this experience only made that hate worse! Never again will I go out in this kind of weather...especially if it isn't a necessity! Everyone PLEASE be safe in all this snow!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

We have been loving the time we have had off of school!!!! Last Tuesday night we were able to go to the Bar J Wranglers Christmas Concert at Roy highschool (tickets courtesty of my grandma!). Some of you may not even know who they are but they are some cowboys from Jackson Hole and we love to listen to them!!! On the way home we saw some lights that really caught our eye. They were amazing...2-toned and on EVERY branch! These pictures just really do NOT do them justice!

The next day on Wednesday we went down to SLC and met Jake's parents. We went to the Body Worlds exhibit. It was amazing! Susan and I enjoyed it the most, but Alan and Jake were both really good sports about it (even after being there for 2.5 hours!) Afterwards we went to walk around temple square for a few minutes. They had a cool new display on the reflection pool. IT was really cold, but worth it! Then we headed up to Jake's brother's house to enjoy some pizza from The Pie!!!

Today Jake had the opportunity to go speak at a rehab center by our house. He did an AMAZING job (like always!) It was really a good experience and we felt the spirit really strong. The example of the residents really had an impact on me. You knew that it had taken some effort for them to get up and get ready and be there to take the sacrament.

I love this time of year!!! May we all remember the true meaning of CHRISTmas!

BIG PROJECT!

Here is a little bit of what we have been up to the last little bit:

We've really been trying to take the prophets counsel to get a food storage built up. It is quite the overwhelming job!!! We are nowhere near where we need to be, but it does feel good to be getting a start on it at least!

It doesn't look like much of a short-term food storage, but it's getting there. If only we could find some more space to put it all!!!

I went to do dry pack canning with our ward last week for the first time ever. It was a good experience and I really enjoyed myself!

We even bought some 72-hour kits and put them together!

This is actually our Christmas gift from my mom and Woody. Isn't it great!? We are so excited for our new fireproof safe to keep all of our important things safe!

Hopefully we will be ready if anything ever does happen...or I guess I should say WHEN it does, since the prophets have been telling us to do it for years!!! I think our whole motivation behind this all is one day I was thinking...If something did happen and we didn't put forth any effort to try to be prepared, I know I would think to myself...I was soooo dumb! I knew all along we were supposed to be getting ready and I just never did. Hopefully as we continue on with this ONGOING project my conciousness can rest a little bit!

If anybody has any good ideas for us to add or any good suggestions, please let us know!

Finals are finally over!

Yeah!!! The semester is finally over...although it actually went by pretty quick! Jake survived his 5 finals and his hardest semester ever. I officially have only 1 more semester left! We are really going to enjoy the short break from homework!

Jake went down to St. George to take a group of guys biking this last weekend. They had a lot of fun. I'm glad they made it home safe because they got stuck in a blizzard in Beaver! That darn snow made him an hour and a half later than expected getting home!

My little sister, Kylie, had her Christmas dance this weekend. My mom and I did her hair, and for amateurs I think it turned out pretty good! I must say, she looked pretty dang cute!

THANKSGIVING!

We had an awesome thanksgiving and we hope you all did the same! We went up to Logan Wednesday morning after Jake got out of class. It was so good to get away and have a break from school and work, plus get to hang out with the fam!

Wednesday night we went bowling. It was a lot of fun because we haven't been bowling in forever! Jake and I got schooled by everyone else, but that's okay!

Although I would like ot say this was a common occurance througout the night, it only happenend twice and Jake was lucky enough to get one of them on video!

There is a lot of work that goes into Thanksgiving dinner, and I got to learn from the best this year! Cooking is definitely NOT my greatest skill, but something I'm working on! Jake's mom is an amazing cook! Even though I was probably in the way a lot, she was good to have patience with me and teach me the tricks to making breadsticks, pies and sweet potato souffle.

Jake also had some exciting news for us when they came home from hunting. He got his 2nd goose ever and he was stoked about it! On friday they were also able to get 5 ducks! Hunting with Connor (his brother) and his dad is one of his most favorite things to do!

My Friday, however, consisted of much different activities! I went shopping with Tammie (my sister-in-law) and Jake's mom, aunts and grandma. They are pretty entertaining to hang out with and we saw some pretty interesting things! It was nice to get some Christmas shopping done and get some good deals while we were at it! It was also fun to run into some old friends!

We LOVE Thanksgiving time! We are grateful all the time, but its nice to have a specific day to reflect on all that we are thankful for. We are so blessed and have absolutely nothing to complain about!

Saturday night after a long day at work (it's hard to go back when you've had such a nice break like we did!) we went with our friends Nate and Karly to dinner and the long awaited Twilight! Jake and Nate didn't enjoy it quite as much as Karly and I did, but I think they still had a good time! They were good sports about it at least! The deal was that if they went to the movie with us, we would let them have a Nintendo night. It was worth it to have them there with us!

Jake did it AGAIN!!!

This past Saturday Jake did another cyclocross race, this time at the Weber County Fairgrounds. He of course made me so proud AGAIN!!! His family is amazing and they even came down from Logan to show their support. I wasn't able to get very good pictures, but here are my attempts at catching the moment! I'm going to hopefully get some good ones from my sister-in-law, Eden (she has a fancy-pantsy camera and got some pretty sweet pictures!) that I can post later. I decided that video is the way to go with my camera that seems like it is from the stone ages compared to new technology! Jake makes it look so easy! I don't know how he does it! Even though he wasn't feeling very well, he did fantastic!

(You can hear the announcer talking about Jen Hanks, he really isn't talking about Jake, but he's talking about a lady on the other side of the course! I just wanted to clarify so you wouldn't be confused!)

Today, Jake and I have been married for a year and a half! I cannot believe how fast time flies! I had to put a picture on here to honor my "Prince Charming!" He has so many wonderful qualities, I couldn't even begin to list them! Just being with him makes me happy, and honestly I couldn't be happier!

We both love the country song by Trace Adkins "You're Going to Miss this."

The lyrics go like this:

You're going to miss this

You're going to want this back

You're going to wish these days

Hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you are gonna to miss this

At times we think "oh, we can't wait until we are done with school" or "we can't wait until we can have a house of our own." Although those things will be sooo nice when the time comes, we are loving life and appreciate the way it is now! Thanks to Jake for being there when I need him and always making me laugh! You are the BEST!!!

Big Day

Last Saturday, November 1st, may not have had a lot of significance to some people. However, in our house it was a big day. Can you guess what it was??? Of course, the opening day of the pheasant hunt! (obviously it's not too big of a deal to me, but it is one of Jake's FAVORITE days of the entire year!...I figured I better give a report of how the day went.) Why anyone would get up at 5:15 am because they WANTED to is beyond me!!! He took the day off so he could go up to Logan and hunt with his family. He said they haven't seen that many pheasants for several years, so that's a good thing! Maybe the pheasant population isn't going extinct after all! Jake's dad also raises a few pheasants each year so that helps out as well. Between the seven of them they got eleven pheasants! Way to go guys!

Happy Halloween!!!!

This is my family's cute dog Daisy in her halloween costume! She is the cutest dog ever and puts up with everything we like to dress her up in. She just looks at us like "Are you seriously making me wear this?! I'm embarrassed, take it off!" In past years she has also been been a pumpkin, Santa, and a superstar to name a few! Hope everyone has a great day and gets lots of candy!

Cyclocross Fan!!!

Well, I'm officially now a cyclocross fan....especially when it comes to watching Jake! He did his 2nd cyclocross race today at Fort Buenaventura, but it was my first time being able to watch him. I loved it and he did so amazing! Here are a few clips and pictures so you can get a little taste of what it is like:

There are some pretty intense spots on the course! These obstacles being one of them. I just know if I was to even attempt to walk over those things I would probably fall on my face and they were able to do it running and carrying their bikes!

He had so much fun doing it he even did an extra lap after riding for 45 minutes! No, the extra lap really was just on accident becuase they didn't announce he was done and it was kind of confusing! That's okay I guess, I was able to get more pictures!!!

Jake ended up 4th overall! I was so proud of him! He's just a natural! It's amazing how good he still looks after riding so hard for almost an hour!!! (the race was 45 mins, but with his extra lap it was closer to 55 minutes!) Way to go Babe, you did awesome!

Fall Break!!!

Friday was our Fall Break at school. One day isn't much, but that's okay...we'll take what we can get!

Thursday night we went to my mom's house becuase my cousins AJ and Crystal were up from St. George visiting. They have the cutest kids! This was mine and Jake's first time meeting Maycie, who is just 2 months old. She is such a doll!

Friday morning we went to the Ogden temple to do a session, but when we walked in they asked us if we wanted to do sealings. I was really excited becuase we had never done sealings before! It was really neat. One of the neatest things is one certain guy we met while we were there who was one of the witnesses. He was 101 years old! When the sealer told us he comes to the temple 4 days a week, Brother Newey responded "It's because I have nothing else to do!" He was such a cute old man and I want to be just as willing to serve when I get old (hopefully not that old...unless I can get around that good!)

Afterwards, Jake had some fieldtrips we needed to do for his geography of Utah class. We decided to go out out the Bear River Bird Refuge and Golden Spike at Promontory Point. I had never been to the bird refuge, so it was pretty cool. One of my favorite displays they had were some different bird eggs. The smallest is a humming bird, and the largest is a pelican. Jake also got to see how his wingspan measured up!

Although Golden Spike is out in the middle of nowhere, it was still cool to see. I hadn't been there since elementary school. It was fun to see the trains in the engine house and learn the history behind it all! It's pretty amazing what they were able to accomplish. The best part about the day by far is that we got to spend the whole day together!

Saturday Jake did a cycle-cross bike race at the Weber fairgrounds. He has never done a race of this type before. It's on a dirt track that you ride around for 45 mins. It has obstacles on the course where you have to get off your bike and carry it. He did awesome. I am so proud of him. He took 9th place out of about 30 riders, which is AMAZING considering it is his first race and many of the riders are usually in a faster category than Jake (they combined the 3 groups for this race). I tell ya, that kid is unstoppable! I was so bummed out that I couldn't be there because I was working, but hopefully I'll be able to make the next one.

Saturday night we went to feed the ducks and geese, an activity that we thoroughly enjoy this time of year. We first made a stop by Beus pond and then to the pond at Weber State. This goose was immediately Jake's favorite becuase it has a banded leg...his goal is to someday shoot a banded goose!!! My favorite was the goose that was eating right out of my hand! We even saw a swan up close and personal!

We also had a fun time hanging out with Nate and Karly this weekend Karly, your lasagna was delectable! We also got to go to dinner with Jake's mom, aunts and grandma on saturday night. They were down shopping becuase it was the opening day of the deer hunt. It was so fun to visit with you!

Busy but Boring

Well, I haven't had much to write about lately. Life has been busy, but nothing exciting going on. We had a really fun time this last weekend with Stacy and Jeremy. Stacy: your taco soup was amzing! The perfect meal for a snowy night! It's so good to stay in touch with friends!

I was disgusted to wake up Sunday morning to 4 inches of snow! Outrageous...it is the middle of October. The neighbors down the street must have been thrilled about it because we came home from church and they had a big snowman built already!

Today was a big day at school for me. I gave my first shots to a real patient! (We practiced on each other twice). She was nervous, but not as nervous as she would have been if she would have known it was my first time (I decided to keep that piece of information to myself!) It went well and luckily there was no complications or bruises that showed up!

Amy tagged me last week, so I figured I'd feel them out to help you get to know a little bit about me and give me something to write about....

~8~

8 Obsessions of mine:
1. Jacob
2. Having the least clutter as possible
3. Lists...I'm so much more efficient with them
4. Having good grades
5. Trying to be organized
6. Balancing the checkbook and having it match the amount in the account
7. Making the bed each morning
8. Making Jake happy

8 goals for the future:
1. Graduate and pass my dental hygiene boards
2. Raise a righteous family
3. Buy a home
4. Build a home with at least 3 acres of land and a pond for Jake to train his dogs...definitely NOT in the city!
5. Learn to speak spanish fluently
6. Learn to play the guitar well
7. Serve a mission
8. Have horses for our family to ride and enjoy

8 vacation want to's
1. Sandiego CA...Jake has never been to DisneyLand, so someday I'm talking him and doing a session through my favorite temple!
2. A cruise anywhere!
3. Alaska (this would be Jake's #1 choice)
4. Florida
5. A church historical tour
6. Washington D.C.
7. Back to Hawaii!!! (but spend 2 weeks there this time!)
8. Somewhere out of the country (I've never been!)

8 of the best words...sorry, not creative enough to come up with this one

8 things I'm doing tonight
1. Make dinner...we're having personal pizza's (I think we're going to try them in our pazookie skillets, so hopefully they turn out ok!)
2. Laundry...darks
3. Practice my guitar
4. Do homework
5. Help Jake study for his test
6. Balance the checkbook
7. Call the HP people to see if they have any clue what is wrong with our computer
8. Hopefully squeezing in some time to ready my book...Breaking Dawn

If you would like to continue with the tag, feel free to!

Conference Weekend

This weekend flew by, but it was great! It was so nice not to have to go to work! On Friday after I got done with school we went up to Logan for the weekend.

Jake's favorite part of the weekend was the opening of the duck hunt. Connar and him look forward to that day the whole year long! They're crazy about it! They day went well for them they shot 8 total and got drenched...the perfect weather for duck hunting!

Jake got a kick teaching Carter (who's only 2) all about hunting. Carter loved seeing the duck decoys and the ducks they brought home. Jake can't wait to have a hunting buddy. I'm really going to have to set an age limit on when our kids can go hunting with him!

Conference was amazing. It's so great to have a living prophet on this earth today to guide us! While the guys were at the priesthood session, the girls went out to eat at Firehouse Pizzaria and then played some fun games afterward.

On Sunday we took family pictures with Jake's family between sessions and then went and had a YUMMY ham dinner. After this we went to my mom's house in Centerville to see my family. We were celebrating my Grandma's birthday and my cousin Keith was up from Arizona. I was stoked to see him because I haven't seen him for 3 years!!! (Partly due to his time in Japan serving his mission). It was great to be able to catch up with him. We had turkey dinner here, which was DELICIOUS! We were fed way to good this weekend...it will probably show when we get on the scales!

It was disappointing to have to start the week and go back to work and school. Maybe some day somebody will invent something to make the weekends pass slower and the weeks faster!

The news of the week

Jake's contribution to this post: This past week I went to Las Vegas for Interbike with the guys from the shop. We stopped in St. George to do a little biking. Wednesday night we went "street" riding and I smashed my shin on my pedal...no that is not my knee, that is a large bump on my shin!

We then woke up and went for a mt ride that was awsome, called Jem Trail just outside of Hurricane. we drove to Vegas, which by the way was my first time ever in Vegas. We went to the bike show and looked around before going to the Tropocana to spend the night. We checked in and went to eat at a buffet, after dinner we watched a crit bike race at Madalay Bay which was amazing. Nate Mess. won 40 $ it would have been 60$ if he would not have played his 20$ on the way out of town. We drove a lot and had a good time. Thanks to Matt for everything!

Here is a clip from the crit race. They are pretty intense to watch. It's amazing how they come flying by! If anybody knows how to switch the video so it is right die up, please let me know becuase I couldn't figure it out!

Kristin's contribution to thist post: I REALLY missed Jake while he was gone! This was the longest we had been apart (from Wed. morning to Fri. night), but luckily I had lots of homework to keep me busy! It was sure good to see him when he got home, but I'm glad that he was able to go and have a good time. By the way...this injury if proof of why I won't let him "street" ride very often!

On Saturday Jake rode in a crit in downtown Ogden. He is still determined to stay in shape...you'd think by now I'd have had some of his determination rub off on me! He was riding really strong and riding really well until he started to have trouble with the computer sensor on his bike rubbing. Although he had some bad luck and was really frustrated with the referee, I was really proud of him. I love to watch him race and doing the things he loves!

After Jake's race we hurried to Centerville (Jake actually rode his bike, but I knew I'd never make it on a bike so I drove!) to help my little sister get ready for Homecoming. It was her first formal dance. I just wanted to tell her how cute she looked!

Recap of Some Important Summer Events

I decided I needed to blog about some of the events that happened this summer BEFORE I started blogging!

1.)The biggest event: Our trip to HAWAII!!!! It was awesome! We went with my brother, Court, and Jake's parents. This is where Jake served his mission so it was way fun getting to meet some of the people he worked with and served. We did so many fun things!

We saw lots of pretty sunsets, tropical flowers and palm trees!

We ate at The Famous Giovanni's Shrimp Truck! (I was feeling kind of sick so I didn't get to eat much! It looks pretty sketchy to eat anything that came from anywhere this van, but it really was delicious!) We also had the BEST shaved ices ever at Motsumoto's. They were so good we had to go twice!

Of course we had to go through the temple while we were there! It was amazing!

We went to Honu beach and got to see 2 sea turtles! They were so big! We had to stop by several times before we found some that had come up on the beach to bask.

We also went to the Polynesian cultural center, went on a few hikes: 1 up diamond head and the other to a really whimpy waterfall...but they were both gorgeous! We also went to Pearl Harbor, The Dole Plantation and the swap meet. One of our favorite things we did was snorkeling...we got to swim with the turtles and see lots of pretty fish! We packed so many fun things onto the vacation, we wish we could have stayed for another week!

While we were there we actually discovered some of Jake's favorite foods from his mission. One of which being chocolate Halpea pie. Another was Li Hi Muing...not my favorite, but its good on pineapple! We loved their coconut syrup and Hawaiian sun drinks!

Unfortunately on the way home we got stuck in the airport (we flew stand by with buddy passes from Court). We had planned to get home around 8:00 in the morning, but didn't get home till about 6:00 pm. It was still worth it though!

2.) This summer I had my summer work party at Lagoon. As always, Jake's favorite ride was the ride home :) but that wasn't the best part for me! They had a drawing with all the employees and I ended up winning a 4 GB ipod nano! I NEVER win anything so I was stoked!

3.) We also went on a really pretty hike up waterfall canyon (in Ogden) with our friends Nate and Karly. (They do a really good job keeping us entertained!) Jaked packed subway sandwiches up for us and we were able to really enjoy ourselves!

Ode to Jake

This past weekend was the Lotoja bike race. If any of you don't know what this is, its a bike race that starts in Logan and ends in Teton Village at Jackson Hole. It's incredible to see 1,000 bikers ride 206 miles and can be pretty emotional to watch. This was Jakes 4th year attempting such an enormous accomplishment...He finished the past 3 years and did VERY well!

Saturay morning Jake was ready at the start line with his game face on. He'd been carb loading, drinking lots of water and trying to get the sleep he needed. I knew how much hard work and motivation he had put into his training throughout the summer. Preparing for such a long ride takes many hours of sweat and pain. I knew he was ready, I just couldn't help getting butterflies in my stomach for him because I knew the enormous task that he was about to take on.

I was part of Jake's support crew, along with his family, to meet him at the feedzones and provide him with the water and nutrients he needed, along with lots of cheering. His family is such a great support and we really appreciate them! We first met him in Montpelier and he was looking strong, things were going well.

Our next stop was Afton. We finally got there and were anxiously awaiting his arrival. We knew he should be coming any minute. Then I got a phone call from a lady..."is this Kristin, I need you to come back to the neutral feed zone 4, your rider is dropping out of the race." My heart immediately dropped into my stomach. I've never been so worried in my life. You have to understand that Jake is NOT a quitter. He has more motivation, determination and mental toughness than anybody I've ever met in my entire life. He can keep pushing through the pain when it is too much for everyone else. I admire him soooo much for these attributes and have always looked up to him for these qualities. Needless to say, I was very worried about him because I knew something must be really wrong. We immediately headed back to the neutral feed zone, which by the way was the LONGEST drive of my life, even though it was only like 30 minutes! We pulled up and I saw Jake sitting there wrapped up in a blanket. I was relieved to see that he hadn't been in a crash and injured that way, but still very worried. It was hard to see the disappointment and heart break in his face. He then explained to us how he'd been puking for the past hour and a half and still couldn't keep even a sip of water down. It all started with some bad, nasty water I guess. He was in rough shape being extremely dehydrated with nothing in him while exerting that much energy (he'd ridden about 100 miles). I just wished so bad that I could take it from him! We went to the motel to try to help Jake recover and regain his strength.

The neat thing about this year is that Jake's Uncle Mike also entered to ride Lotoja. This is amazing in and of itself becuase Mike had his hip replaced just a few years ago. We were excited to get to see him ride his first Lotoja after spending so much time training.

When Mike came into Montpelier he reported he had been in a crash just out of Preston, but that he didn't remember much about it. He and his helmet were pretty beat up which made us worried. He kept pushing on even though he was hurting from the injuries. About 8 miles from the finish line Mike couldn't see anything. His vision had slowly been decreasing since Afton, so he had been riding with limited vision for quite some time. He wanted to finish so bad and was so determined to do so. He was requesting somebody to ride with him to get him across the finish line, but he couldn't even see the road in front of him. Everyone was really concerned for his safety (but of course Mike was more concerned about the safety of those trying to help him and the other riders) and so he decided he better go to the hospital. It was such a blessing to find out (after an I.V., blood tests and catscan) that everything was okay, and that he would regain his vision, he was just experiencing symptoms from his earlier crash. Mike's message to everyone..."Thats why you wear a helmet!"

You can tell Mike is related to Jake because they both have this motivation and drive that I don't know where it comes from! We are so proud of Mike for working so hard. He is definitely a Lotoja finisher in our book, even if the records don't show it... And for the record, he rode from his house in Providence that morning to the start line in Logan, so he most likely rode over and beyond the 206 miles! Way to go Mike, you are amazing and we hope you recover quickly!

This is a great picture of our 2 hero's! Way to go you guys! We couldn't be prouder of you!

Jake: I just want you to know that you are my all-time hero and the love of my life. I'm so proud of you for your many accomplishments and hard work in EVERYTHING you do! I could never put into words how amazing you are. I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I want you to know I will always be here supporting you and cheering you on in anything you decide to do. You will always be #1 to me no matter what the race results show. You are the best husband ever. I love you more than you will ever know!

Grey's River

Jake's family has had a tradition since his mom was a little girl to go camping at Grey's River in Wyoming every Labor Day weekend. This is my 3rd year going with the family and it has become something that I absolutely love! It is so much fun to get away and spend time with the fam. We left Friday afternoon and arrived after driving for about 4 hours. That night Carter (our 2-yr-old nephew) tripped on the fire pit and his hand landed on the hot coals. Although it was pretty blistered and he had to have it wrapped for the rest of the trip we were lucky that it was as minor as it was...I hate to think what could have happened!

Saturday morning Jake woke up early to ride from Alpine to Teton Village with his uncle Mike to prepare for Lotoja next weekend. Afterwards we had a blast playing at Murphy's lake. Believe it or not they actually talked me into going off the rope swing!

I got a great picture of Eden!

Unfortunately Sunday afternoon it started raining. We of course still had to make the famous dutch oven donuts in the rain. Jake was pretty stoked when he found a salomander right under his feet when we were making the donuts...kind of a wierd place for one! Luckily our tent held up and we stayed dry throughout the night! The only bad part is that it didn't clear up enough for the tent to dry off before we left so we had to come home and set it up again!

When we got home we had a fun little friend sitting on the picnic table outside our door...Check him out!