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!

Back to School....

Well, School is officially in session again. It will be good for us to get back into a routine of doing things, but boy are we going to miss our summer playing! It has been an amazing summer with lots of great memories!!!

This last weekend we went to my great-grandma's 95th birthday party! She is such an amazing woman! It was so good to get everyone together to celebrate her and her posterity! If you ask her how old she is turning she will tell you 39...and she just about looks it! I really look up to her and hope I can be just like her when I get her age!

(Top: Jake, me, my mom, my sister; Bottom: Great Grandma Lou, Grandpa Halverson)

This weekend we also went out to my dad's house to celebrate his birthday and my step-mom Linda's birthday! (Lots of birthdays in 1 week!) We went shooting Saturday night and my dad and Jake tried to teach me how to shoot...to No avail!

We had a barbeque on Sunday with the fam as well. It was good to see everyone and visit, we don't get to do it as often as we would like. It was a good last weekend to finish off the summer! Luckily all went well the first day of school and we're off to a good start!

We LOVE Summer!!!

Wow!!! This summer is going way to fast! It blows me away! We've been staying busy the past few weeks with lots of fun things, so we'll try to catch you up.

The first weekend of August Jake rode his bike from Ogden to Heber City with the guys from the Bike Shoppe for their annual "Oger". Although Jake got a flat tire and I had to take him a new tire he still made it about 75 miles! Here is a picture of all of these dedicated souls...thanks to Karly! Jake is the one in the back on the left. Two days later Jake turned around and did another ride that was 125 miles, basically all climbing, which is just one example of his motivation!!! He is training hard to ride in Lotoja on Sept 6th.

Two weekends ago we went up to Cache Valley for the Cache County PRCA Rodeo with some of our friends and Jake's family which was a LOT of fun... one of our favorite things about summer time!

We were lucky enough to be able to spend the weekend up there and then go camping up at Tony Grove Monday to Tuesday because we had those days off (we thought we were in heaven becuase that NEVER happens!) It was gorgeous up there! We had a blast canoing in the lake and hiking to search for a cave Jake and Connor had gone to several years ago. We finally found it and it was pretty cool! I even saw some sparrows feeding their itty-bitty baby birds in a nest at eye level in the top of the cave.

Another big event that occurred while we were up in Cache Valley is I cut my hair to donate it, which was kind of a big deal to me! I cut off 8 inches to donate and then a little bit more to style it, but it is definitely the shortest I have ever had it. I don't regret it, but it is definitely going to take some getting used to!!!

BEFORE AFTER

This last weekend was also packed full of adventure. Friday night we went down to Salt Lake to watch a portion of the Tour of Utah bike race. It was pretty amazing how fast they are! Afterwards we went to Toscano's, a really yummy Brazillian restaruant. We even tried chicken hearts! My step dad, Woody, explained the texture very well by saying it feels like you are eating erasers, but the taste really wasn't too bad.

Saturday night we had a barbeque with our friends from high school at our place. It was so good to see everyone. We cooked hotdogs and then had a tournament of badminton, boys against girls of course. The boys seem to think they beat us, but us girls think they are crazy! It was so much fun to visit and catch up on what is going on in everyone's lives!

Happy Birthday Carter!

On August 1st, Carter (our nephew) turned 2! He is definitely the smartest 2-yr-old we know! Tammie and Jeff put together a fun birthday party for him and barbequed hotdogs and hamburgers. Carter had a yummy Elmo cake and then we also made shaved ices!
One of the most exciting times of the night was when they gathered everyone around and Carter said "Thank you everyone for coming" and then after a little encouragement he yelled to everyone that his mommy was going to be having a new baby! We are really excited...congrats Tammie and Jeff!

Carter had a blast opening his presents. He kept asking "What's inside?" as he was ripping open the paper. He was definitely spoiled...but then again how can you not spoil a kid as cute as he is!? One of his favorite gifts was his Harley Davidson Trike. As Jake was taking the parts out of the box to put it together, Eden had a blonde moment and said "oh look it even comes with a helmet!" referring to the windshield. After this Carter kept trying to wear it as a helmet and even wanted to wear it after it was already assembled onto the bike! Way to go Eden!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Carter. It was taken last Christmas at Jake's parents house. Jake had gotten some earmuffs to protect his ears when we goes shooting. However, carter had his own idea of what they were and he wore them around like he was a DJ rapping. It is amazing how much he has grown up even since this time!