Peter jumped in on the Run for Rwanda 5K with his friend Josh to support their cross- country coach who hosts this run every year.  Peter didn't plan on racing it but used it as a hard tempo effort run.  There was a pretty good turn out for this relatively flat 5K through Cottonwood Creek Park.  He ended up running it around 21 min.  

It is not uncommon for us to see Andrew playing games on his new laptop all situated in the dining room.  To my dismay, he plays online games with his friends quite a bit. Having too much free time can sometimes not be a good thing for a new 18 year old.  

As Mike and I were on our way up to Denver to see the Billy Joel concert we got a FaceTime call from our kids who informed us that there was a tornado in the area.  We had passed through some heavy rain on our way through Larkspur, but we didn't think anything of it.  We were so glad my parents were staying with the kids.  It passed quickly but the kids were pretty scared.  

Since Mike and I were already up in Denver from watching the Billy Joel concert the night before, we decided to take advantage of a shorter drive to Ft. Collins so that we could go to the temple since the Denver temple was still closed.  The session was packed.  It was a bit longer than we had anticipated but hopefully we will be blessed for our efforts.  

We were so lucky to have my parents stay with us for a few short days before heading to Greg and Ruby's house in Texas.  My kids always love it when they can spend time with their grandparents. 

These evenings have been so pleasant, and the girls have enjoyed spending time on the porch in the early evening just hanging out or reading their books.  It was so cute watching Emma read to Madeline.  Oh, how I wish these summer nights would not end.

I took Peter and Emma to look for new glasses to use as a backup to their contacts.  Peter had quite a fun time trying on all sorts of crazy glasses.  It was hard to not laugh.  

I took the girls shopping for some new school clothes and we found this adorable sweater shawl for Abby and a cute pink dress for Madeline.  They were both so excited to wear them when they got home.  

Andrew picked out frames totally different than what he has been wearing his whole life and they finally arrived.  He was so surprised at how much better he saw through a really good quality lens.  I must say he looks pretty good in his new glasses.  

Emma spent the summer working through both semesters of 8th grade math through BYU Independent Study so that she could move up to Algebra 1 as an 8th grader.  She relied on Peter a little bit at first to help tutor her but by the time she got to the second semester she did it completely on her own.  She finished the course and passed her final the day before school started.  In only 7 weeks Emma finished an entire year's worth of math.  Way to go girl!

Abby and her friends call themselves the A-team because their names all start with the letter A.  There are 5 of them and they have become the best of friends over the last 2 years. This year they have a new addition, Olivia, who doesn't start with A but nevertheless a great addition to their friend group. On the first day of school they all met up and got popsicles at the snack shack after school.

Madeline just LOVES riding the moped and will usually ask Emma or Abby to take her for a ride.  Now that the girls are back in school, I am the one she asks.  It's a good thing I also love riding the moped because it's so easy to say yes to her.  We always have a great time.  

Peter has been working hard this summer to get the rest of his 50 hrs of driving completed so that he can get his driver's license.  He only has 8 hrs left and we are just starting school.  It's so much work to go out driving with these teenagers but the rewards of having them drive themselves is totally worth it.  

I went out for my first run after taking a solid 4 weeks off of exercise.  It was a great time to let my body heal and recover.  It was a super slow and short run, but I was proud of myself for the effort. 

Andrew Instagram's about Peter
August 22, 2019
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Sometimes brothers don't always get along but every once in a while, one of them will do something pretty great for the other.  Andrew instagramed about Peter and how fast he is becoming in his running.  It was pretty great.

Andrew spent 2 weeks in Phoenix as an intern for Kelvin who works for a biomedical engineering company.  He spent the first week moving some of their new biomedical equipment specs onto a new software program.  It was supposed to take him the entire two weeks, but it only took him 4-5 days.  He spent the rest of the time helping them get ready for an upcoming project.  He had a great time spending time learning the biomedical world, eating at In-n-Out, and hanging out with Kelvin and his family.  

I am so excited to be teaching the adult Sunday school class again this year.  This year we are studying the New Testament.  I found this amazing study guide that really helps me understand the different gospels.  I have learned so much already.

It's very rare in the winter time to get some warmer days on the weekends.  Today was the perfect running weather.  I met Dionne and Harley at Red Rocks and we did a big loop all the way around Red Rocks with a little jet into Section 16.  It was a fabulous run.  So grateful for great friends to run with.

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I knew the good weather was too good to be true.  It snowed a ton today.  I really do like how peaceful the snow makes everything.  I even like going for a run in it.  The only thing I don't like is the mess it makes on my car and in my garage when everything finally starts to melt.  Oh winter...

Andrew and I went to Flying Horse to go for a swim.  I convinced him to come with me so that he could help me with my swimming form.  He had some great pointers to give me.  It was just fun to be in the pool with Andrew.  Afterwards we treated ourselves by going out to lunch at the new Ramen restaurant at the Promenade Shops.  It did not disappoint!  We were both transported back to the time we lived in Japan.  It brought back such great memories for both of us.

Mike and I both got new bike trainers for each other for Christmas and we finally set them up in the garage.  Now we can bike together on Zwift during the week.  I can't wait...I'm so excited to spend some time with Mike working out together!

It has been so much fun to help Mike set up his new office for his private practice.  I dusted off my mat cutter and cut mats for his medical posters so that we could hang them up in his clinic rooms.  They really make the room look professional and nice.

Madeline has lots of favorite things but one of those is probably bath time.  She is ALWAYS excited to take a bath after dinner.  She loves to play with her foam letters, plastic cups and animals.  She really loves it when we put bubbles in the bath.  

Another one of Madeline's favorite things is her pretend camera.  She loves to tell me to sit in the chair and smile.  Then she pretends to take my picture.  After she is satisfied then she makes me take her picture.  It is adorable.

Every once in awhile my running group runs with the CRUD (Colorado Runners Ultra Distance) group and does the Cheyenne Canyon run.  Today the Sunrise Striders were actually doing a different workout but some of us decided it would be more fun to do the CRUD run.  It is 4.5 miles completely uphill and then we take the trails on the way back down.  The total mileage is 9 miles.  It is such a great run but you have to be prepared for a long uphill climb.  Today the road going up wasn't that clear.  There was still plenty of snow patches and ice.  It made for a tricky climb.  The trails were mostly clear and very runeable on the way back down.  Caryn, Harley, Dionne and I ran into Dave near the top and ran down with him.  The sunrise was spectacular as we made our way back down.  Even though the road conditions weren't ideal....it was still a really fun run.

Both of the boys actually went in to get their braces off today.  Andrew had the bottom 6 braces put back on to fix a popped out tooth.  He only had to wear them for 5 months.  Peter was finally get his full set of braces off.  With 2 rounds of braces, once at 12 years old and this last time, he was ready to be done with it all.  Oh happy day!

Madeline loves books.  She especially likes it when someone reads to her but today she loved looking at and reading her small board books to herself.  It was so fun to watch her recite what she remembered from each book.