Facebook.....It's what makes a normally boring day fantastic!

Facebook can be so handy! It made a collage of 2009 photos for me!

I thought this was funny, you can create a collage of some of your Facebook status posts from 2009. It just reminds me that I may have too much free time....

Aftermath!

Last Tuesday Caleb and his band Aftermath got to play their first live show..... well okay, 1 song, but it was awesome! They wrote the song and performed it a week later. Caleb is on the right playing the bass, his best friend Jake is in the middle playing the drums, and their other friend Matt is on the left playing the electric guitar. Enjoy! ( I just noticed that the video is off from the music. I don't know why....)

Colorado, Clark's 40th Birthday, Halloween and another triathlon!

I keep thinking I will do better and post more often, but life just gets so crazy sometimes!


We were able to get away for a few days and go back to Colorado. It was a great get away and we can't wait to do it again. We got to see a lot of things we don't normally take the time to see. We drove over to Telluride and rode the gondolas up the mountain, 3 of us had fun, 1 of us kept asking what the point of this was..... (his names starts with C and ends with aleb).


Here is Clark with that certain someone just as we started up the mountain:



And here are me and Aryn:



We stayed a couple of nights in Ouray and found out it has tons of waterfalls that are fairly easy to hike to. Clark and I had a great time hiking around, and eventually Caleb got out of the car once in awhile to check things out, Aryn, however, preferred her Ipod and the car......


I guess we can always photo shop the kids in later :)



As some of you may know, Clark is lucky enough to have been born on Halloween. And this year was THE BIG ONE for him. He turned 40, although he will be the first to tell you he still gets ID'd when buying beer. I think he looks great for an old dude :)


The girls at work and I always have a good time making sure EVERYONE in the office knows it's his birthday:





This year since it was THE BIG ONE, the kids and I decided to throw him a surprise birthday party. It was so much fun planning it, and with the help of Facebook, we were able to track down some old friends he hadn't seen in years. We had a great turnout, and he was really surprised! I really appreciate everyone who helped plan the party, and helped get him out of the house so we could get it ready. We hope every one had as much fun as we did.
This is Clark, Chris, and Greg. They were high school buddies. I'm sure there are teachers and staff at Springville high who would break down in tears if they saw these 3 together again.....


Hopefully it won't be another 10 to 15 years before we get together with old friends again!


Halloween was a good time too, here is Caleb dressed up as Jim from the Office dressed up as Facebook.

This is where the picture of Aryn dressed up as Madonna would be if they hadn't all been deleted off my camera some how..... I'm hoping I will get her to dress up again, so I can get some pictures. It was a great costume!

We had a fun Halloween party at work on Friday, this is some of us who dressed up in our "action" photo:

Lastly, today I completed my 3rd triathlon! Sadly it was the last one of the season, and now I am back in marathon training getting ready for the Salt Lake Marathon next April.

Here are me and Tatum after the race:

Caleb's Poem!!

Here it is, Caleb's first published poem!

http://www.galleryofwriting.org/writing/93094

I am a HORRIBLE mother!!

I can't believe I didn't create a post for Caleb's birthday. His 16th birthday no less! My only excuse is that I was taking care of him since he decided to get the swine flu for his birthday. Seriously, that had to be the worst birthday ever. No one could even stop and see him, but everyone called him, which made him feel slightly better. I can't believe he is 16!! We are so lucky to have such a great kid. He is amazingly smart, and handsome, and so polite. And he even lets me and Clark be his friends on facebook :). I got to talk to most of his teachers last week when I went to pick up the homework he had missed, and every one of them that I talked to told me what an awesome kid he is. We are so proud of him, and all he has accomplished at such a young age. Speaking of, the poem that he got published is coming out on the 20th of this month, so I will be sure to post a link to it as soon as I get it.

Happy (late) Birthday Caleb! We love you!

H1N1 vs. the McClellans

We've heard about it on the news, and in the papers but we hadn't paid much attention to it until yesterday. Caleb woke up complaining that he was dizzy when he stoop up and had some back pain. As the morning continued the back pain got worse and he had a fever and nausea. So I decided to take him to the doctor thinking he had a kidney infection or something like that. We were both so surprised when he said swine flu. There isn't really anything they can do for him, so we brought him home and put him to bed. I am amazed how hard it hits a healthy teenage boy. The doctor warned us that it would get worse before it gets better, and this morning he seems to be worse already. He also said we should all expect to get it, but the good news is once you have it you are immune to it. We can't decide if we want to get it and have it done with or avoid it!

Caleb will be out of school for the week, which is not very good news for him. And according to our work policy, we are not allowed to go to work until he is no longer contagious, which is 24 hours after all his symptoms are gone. So I'm off work for the week, but Clark gets to work as long as he doesn't go to the office.

The worse part is his 16th birthday is tomorrow! Guess this won't be the best birthday ever, but I think he will remember it. For his birthday we got him concert tickets. The concert is Sunday night, so we all have our fingers crossed that he will be well enough to go.

Daybreak Triathlon

What started off as just crossing another goal off my list almost turned into a nightmare....

I signed up for this triathlon kind of last minute thinking I would finally complete my first open water swim tri. The swim was scheduled for the Oquirrh Lake in Daybreak. If you are from Utah, I'm sure you've heard that there were 3 cases of roundworm that are linked to the lake. This information was released the Wednesday before the tri, what a close call! So what was supposed to be a 750 meter open water swim turned into a 75 meter swim in the clubhouse pool, and then a mile run to transition. All in all, it was the perfect day for a race, and tons of fun. I guess I'll figure the open water swim thing out next year.....

Here are some photos from after the race:

This is Lee (a friend of Sarah's), and Sarah, who I owe all my weight loss and accomplishments too, and me

I love going to races, and since I'll talk to anyone who listens, sometimes I end up making new friends!

This is me and Tatum. A true inspiration, it was her first tri AND she's lost 90 pounds!! She is amazing!



This is Tatum, me, and Joe. We all met before the race waiting to get on the bus that would take us to the pool. We started the race around the same time, and finished close together! We are hoping to meet up for another tri and a 5k in November.

A little behind......

I'm finally going to get these pictures posted. It's only been a month since vacation, and school started a few weeks ago, I guess it's time.

Last month we went to Colorado for our year trip and for some odd reason, I didn't take many photos! I'll try harder next time.

Here is Caleb, Clark and Aryn on the train. I love this picture because I think it really shows Caleb's true personality.
This is the Animas River from the highline during the train ride.

Clark on the train......

And the family at the Bar D Chuckwagon. I wish I could remember what the person taking the photo said that was so funny......

We are planning a trip back next month, so maybe I will be a little better with the picture taking!

And here are the kids on their first day of school. Aryn started Jr High, and is loving, and so far her grades are excellent! And I'm mostly impressed that she is wearing a dress. I never thought I'd see the day!

And Caleb Started highschool at UCAS. It was a rough couple of weeks at first, but once he realized he is still the smartest kid, things have been looking up! :)

Caleb also got news that a poem he wrote is being published next month in a literary magazine. I will try to pry it out of his hands and post it on the blog.

Root Canals.

They really really suck.

The "Bishop's" Office

Last Sunday we were lucky enough to have been invited to spend the day with some friends (the Bishop's) on their boat (The Bishop's Office, very clever name, right?). I was very excited because it's probably been 15 years since I was on a boat, and my kids never have been. Sadly, since it is irrigation season, Clark was not able to go, he had to stay home and work.......

We were sad he couldn't go, but didn't want to pass up the opportunity, so we spent a few hours on the very merky waters of Utah Lake. We all had a blast, and hope they invite us again soon!

Me & the kids
Caleb kneeboarding:
Aryn kneeboarding:
Me attempting to wakeboard, I never got up, maybe next time.....

Me & Kippy on the tube:

Caleb & Aryn on the tube:

On the boat...

Me & Kippy

I can't believe I forgot!!

We also bought a new car about 3 weeks ago. It's a brand new Dodge Journey and we love it!

So it's been awhile.......

Since summer is half over, I decided it was probably time for a new post. It's been a busy summer so far with camping, 4-wheeling, softball and work and now the kids are getting anxious to start school!


We have been able to go camping once so far, we are hoping to get out more before the snow flies! Here are some photos of our camping trip to Payson Lakes:


Clark & Ozzy by the campfire:






I was very excited because while the boys were fishing, I built my first campfire, and no one even got hurt!






Clark getting the pole ready for some fishing. The caught quite a few fish that day!








Aryn hanging out by the fire







And Caleb, always with a book or two....








Aryn played softball on a team called the Voodoo Dolls. They were quite good, and made it to tourniment, but were sadly beat out in the 4th game. They played hard, and had fun!



Aryn plays catcher for her team


And batting, wearing her "lucky" socks, pink and black stripes with skulls!

A couple of weekends ago, we got the 4-wheelers out and rode from the left hand fork of Hobblecreek to Daniels summit lodge for breakfast.

One Sunday, we decided to take a tour of one of Clark's offices (aka Diamond Fork canyon) and we discovered what he does all day at work!

I got asked to play softball with Heather from work, their team was short of players, yes, they were desperate! But I had forgotton how much fun softball is!

This picture cracked me up. A typical dinner time at our house....... At least I'm reading the instructions for the frozen dinners to them! :)

So that's our summer so far, and my goal is to be better about updating the blog!

I ran a marathon!!

Finally. After 6 months of training and preparation!

If you want the short version, here it is: I finished! My time was 4:34:47, which was almost 30 minutes quicker than I had anticipated! I finished 4th in my category, and 662 out of 1067.

In case you are really bored, or have a lot of free time, here is the longer version:

I was born March 20, 1975 in Payson Utah....... JUST KIDDING!!

So, the race started at the Olympic Bridge up by the University of Utah, and it was the coolest starting line I have ever seen! They had a gospel choir singing up on the bridge while we were getting ready to start and there were TONS of people. The route was awesome, I would never have seen those parts of Salt Lake any other way. There were people along the whole route, and music at about every other mile marker. I couldn't believe the people who came just to watch, and cheer, and give encouragement! I was feeling pretty darn good until about mile 13 when I realized I had started off a bit too fast and was getting worn out already. My quads were really starting to tighten up, and I have been having some issues with my Achilles for a couple of weeks, but over all, I felt like I was still in it. Until mile 20. Somewhere in here there was a house with a bunch of people and signs that said "Temptation Station" and "If this were the finish line, you'd be done" and "Runners Drink Free" and "Why run when you could drink rum!". They had a huge bar set up right on the front lawn. I have to say I was more than slightly tempted! My feet were so sore at this point, I didn't know how I was going to finish the last 6 miles and I wondered if just one shot of rum would numb the pain :)

By mile 24 or so my pace had slowed down quite a bit and we were heading up State Street towards the capitol. There was what would be considered a slight incline on any other day, but Saturday it seemed like the biggest hill I have ever seen! But when I finally reached the top, and turned towards the Energy Solutions Arena, I checked my Garmin and realized I only had .6 miles to go, and that was the first time I realized I was actually going to finish. The route took us past the Energy Solutions Arena and down the street to the Gateway. We turned into the Gateway and I could see the finish line! But there was one last obstacle. In the sidewalk ever few feet are these cobblestone or brick looking things. My feet were so sore, and running over these was the same as running bare foot over broken glass!! But finally, I was across the finish line and done!

There were so many people, and photographers, it was crazy and awesome! I picked up my bag and was figuring out where to go to get back to my hotel when I heard some one screaming my name. I hadn't expected any one at the finish line, Clark and the kids had stayed home to cheer me on from there, so when I looked up and saw Linda (my friend from work) who has also run a marathon. I lost it! I started crying and laughing..... well, I was a mess! It was so great to have some one there who had experienced the same thing and understood the pain and the feelings of accomplishment. I can't tell her enough how much I appreciated her being there, it was the best surprise!

Clark and the kids had decided to stay home for the weekend, so when I got home, I had a dozen roses and an awesome banner hanging up on the garage! I appreciate them being so patient and supportive with all of my training.

At around mile 20, I had decided that would be my first, and last marathon, but as the days go by, and the memories of the pain fade, I'm re-thinking that decision. Some friends have asked me to sign up for the St George Marathon which is in October, but I'm trying to very nicely say no. I plan on running some shorter races this summer, and then a half marathon in August, but I have my eye on Salt Lake again next year!

This is before the race, at the most popular pre-marathon hangout:

Crossing the finish line! (I'm in the black and white)

After the race, when I finally had the energy to smile again

And here's what your toes look like after running 26.2 miles

Roses from Clark:

The Banner the kids made: