Pre-Christmas Update

It's been quite a while since our last update, so here is an obligatory post with a few pre-Christmas pics. I am sure there will be many more forthcoming after the holiday festivities.

Garrett is almost 9 months old and changes a little bit every day. He loves to yell, has two teeth and counting, and "scoots" around the house at warp speed. It's amazing how fast he can get around when he's motivated.

Basement Christmas tree that Jordie and Patti surprised me with. Notice all of the blue lights and ornaments...Go Cougars!!!
The main Christmas tree upstairs that I'm not allowed to help decorate. Probably wise since I would just mess it up with Mountain Dew cans or something stupid anyway.

I am in charge of the exterior illumination. I couldn't quite fit the whole house in the pic, but you get the point. I know, I know, the little lights aren't twinkling...

Happy Halloween!

Hope you all had a fun Halloween weekend. This was Garretts first (obviously), and I'm not sure how much fun he really had. A big thanks to Grandma Val for the fantastic Slimer costume.

Slimer

Not just a costume my friends...he actually slimes
Garrett (Slimer) and Ty (Dragon)...no wonder kids hate their parents. I think this might constitute child abuse...

Jordie and her Slimer Jordie and I had to do a little ghost bustin'

We all had a great time at the Kartchners party and then trick-or-treating on Halloween. I can't say that Garrett really enjoyed his first Halloween. He had to do all the work but didn't end up with any of the candy.

We also took a lovely day-trip down to Cedar City on Halloween to watch Troy and SUU play UC Davis.

Garrett, Jordie, and Grandma Val

Garrett went in disguise
Troy (#46 in black) setting the defense

Puerto Vallarta

The view from the balcony outside our room
Fishing at Mismaloya

Palapas at Punta de Mita

Just before we went surfing (and had the crap beat out of us). Apparantly, there was a hurricane not far from here

Beach at San Pancho
Jordan makes friends so easily

Jordie at Mismaloya
We took our lives in our hands riding the buses...this is the bus stop by our hotel

One of our favorite restaurants...Cafe de Ollo

Jordie and I just spent a week in Puerto Vallarta and had a great time. Good food, great weather, and a lot of relaxing. I made Jordan go to a time-share presentation with me and she didn't enjoy it very much. It made it a little better when they gave us about $600 worth of stuff for listening...

We laid on the beach, played on ziplines in the jungle, did some repelling, and went surfing with an awesome lady we met at the airport. We had a lot of good food and made some pretty interesting friends. All in all, it was a great trip and we're looking forward to going back.

Marathon Success!

Well, no gutter-naps this time around. Aside from some pretty painful cramps starting at mile 20, the St. George Marathon was a success. I finished in 4:11 (actual time) and had a great time. I was a little bummed that I didn't break the 4-hour mark, but also happy that I didn't end up in the gutter. My sister and brother-in-law both ran with me...congrats to all. In addition to the marathon, we had a great weekend in the sunshine. Thanks for all the words of support and encouragement, especially from those at the finish line and those running with me.

Marathon Week

With only 4 days left until the St. George Marathon, I thought it was appropriate to re-visit the debacle that was the Top of Utah Marathon last year. As many of you know, I had a little bit of an issue finishing my first marathon last fall (body shutting down at mile 14, passing out, concussion, etc.). However, I still managed to finish the race (with some help from Heather and my brother-in-law Paul), and in a respectable time given the fact that I took a lovely hour-long nap/break at mile 26. Here are a few pics of the event...

Yeah for the paramedics (wanted me to take an ambulance ride)
Thanks Heather and Paul Finish line...apparantly the last .2 miles will get ya'

Chad's not with us right now
This is the most normal picture from my marathon experience. Hopefully, St. George will yield a little better result.

We Love to Eat

Garrett has recently moved on to eating rice cereal. He had a bit of a tough time initially, but has started to get the hang of it and now, he really enjoys it. He'll be eating tacos in no time.

Labor Day Weekend

Garrett with Grandma and Grandpa at the SUU football game
Troy, Garrett, and Chad after the game
Mom and Garrett in the pool in St. George

Garrett and Dad enjoying a Dew after Ty's blessing

Catching a ball game on Labor Day

We had a very eventful Labor Day weekend that started out with a trip to Cedar City/St. George for Troy's football game, golfing, and a little pool time. Saturday was low-key with some friends coming over to watch the BYU game (absolutely fantastic!!!). Sunday, we headed up to Farmington for Tyler Kartchners blessing and Monday, we all went to the Bees game. Not a bad weekend. Garretts first live football game, first BYU football game, and his first baseball game.

Busy Saturday Part Two

Not sure what Garrett and I are looking at, but it must have been good!
Garrett is going to drive monster truck when he gets older

The second part of our fun filled day was spent at a white trash festival a.k.a. the monster truck rally at Rio Tinto Stadium. Thanks to the Robertsons for inviting us along. It was a lot nicer being able to view the festivities from a quiet suite. Garrett had a fantastic time and the "people watching" was just as much fun as watching the trucks.

Busy Saturday Part One

Jordie and I went up to the Crater at The Homestead last Saturday so she could finish her SCUBA certification. She had done all the pool work and tests last year but right before we were supposed to do our open water dives last year, she found out she had been impregnated...

Lake Powell...Part 3

Just a few more pics from our Lake Powell trip...