Wasatch Back Relay

Our first legs that were up in the Valley, by my parents house.

Cody and I got talked into doing a relay called the Wasatch Back that starts in Logan, and ends up in Park City. It is 180 miles total, and 12 people to a team. Each person has to run 3 legs that range anywhere from 3.5 -7 miles, and rated either EASY, MODERATE, HARD, OR VERY HARD. We were both very nervous for it, as it grew closer and closer to the day. My legs were...3.5 miles EASY, 6.2 MODERATE, and 3.5 VERY HARD. You have about 6-8 hrs inbetween each leg. It was surprisingly a lot of fun, and we both did a lot better than we thought! We both ran in the middle of the night, and that was our favorite part! It was so peaceful, and there was a great crisp chill to the air. To finish off our last legs, I started first in Midway, and ran up the backside of the mountain to Deer Valley Resort. It was 80° out, and I climbed 1600 ft in 3.5 miles. I had to walk/run, but was still very pleased, because I passed 8 people (6 were men) and only got passesd by 2 people! I was so hot, and had only slept 1 hour in the past 30 hrs, but was able to finish strong w/ the help of my team! Cody took the last 4 miles up to the top, and didn't stop to walk at all!! Keep in mind, he is NOT a runner, and has only run outside (for fun) 5 times in his whole life!! Our team finished in 25 hrs 37 min and placed 71st out of 577 teams! We can't wait for next year!!

More Cake

For Jaken's 2nd birthday, we celebrated in Liberty with the parentals and the Bundys. Jaken enjoyed the bunnies, Sugar & Spice, and riding the 4-wheelers to the river. Dad made 3 little wooden boats and after placing Hostess Cupcakes and candles on them, the kids floated them down the river. We also had a little party with the Petersens up in Logan at Willow Park. The kids loved playing with all their cousins, and going to the little zoo they have there. We LOVE Jaken so much, and cannot imagine not having him in our family! He is a major daddy's boy!! He also LOVES his big brother, and copies everything he does ( sometimes a bad thing!) The funniest/sickest thing is that he has a blanket that gets carried everywhere he goes. He calls it BEETN', and he has actually slowly been eating it over the past month! When we were in Mexico 2 months ago, Jamie fixed it up for him, with fresh stuffing and new ties. Well, he chewed all those off within a week. Beetn' is pretty much disinegrating before our eyes! The crazy thing is the kid does not eat hardly any food, but yet he will eat a blanket....go figure!!

JAKEN'S FAVORITE THINGS:

1. boxing w/ Caleb
2. pretend hunting
3. the swimming pool
4. the park
5. Monster House (the movie)
6. popcicles
7. all animals

tHe BuNny wHo bLeATs

Of the two lambs that went to Annie's house, only one made it. Caleb named them Logan and Hinkley, but when we realized they were girls, the names were changed to Kate and Ashley.


Cody has been docking lambs every spring with his best friend Nick, since they were both in high school. Nick's dad owns 10,000 sheep. Docking means cutting off the tails of any sheep with black on it, branding them, giving shots and castrating the males. Rubber bands are placed on the tails of the more desirable lambs....the ones who are all white.




My mom has been taking a few of the bummer lambs home for three years now and the grandkids help her bottle feed them until they are pasture ready. She also has bunnies and for some odd reason, Jaken can't separate the sheep from the bunnies. He always says, "i feEd BOtTle tO ThE bUNniE."
I think I could be a ranch wife...NOT!

Caleb's Birthday and Graduation

Caleb went to Wee Wonders pre-school for 2 years. He had a great teacher named Miss Lori, and also got to go there with one of his best friends Annastin Jensen. He was a Valadictorian, because he had learned to read, and got one of his favorite toys, a Transformer, from Miss Lori. I can't believe I will have a kindergartner in just a couple months!!!

We celebrated Caleb's 5th birthday when the Lakes were here for the marathon. I brought a pinata that Cody hung from a tree at the Brigham City park where we met. The kids really enjoyed taking a whack. Caleb was thrilled with his new bike. He has SO outgrown his first one that came with training wheels.

Ogden Marathon

This past Saturday was the Ogden Marathon. Cody and I ran it in a relay team with 2 of my other friends and one other husband. It was the first time either Cody or I had ran in it, and it was so much fun! I ran the first leg so I got to start up at the top with my sister Stacey who came down from Portland to run the whole marathon. Cody drove us up to the top at about 6:30am. It was pretty chilly, but we found a nice warm fire to hang out by until the start. We ran together for about the first 1/4 mile, and then she was off!! My leg was 7 miles, and Cody's was 5 miles. He is fast and only got passed by one person!! We took the bus to the finish and were able to see Stace finish! Lots of people looked like they were going to die, but she was hardly sweating!! Our team's overall time was 3:39. It's the 2nd fastest time a Gold's Gym team has ever done, so that made us happy! I was also so proud of my dad, and my brother-in-law Todd who both did awesome in the half-marathon!! We can't wait until next year!!

Staying Healthy

I go back and forth with eating really healthy, and eating like crap. This past 6 months, I've been trying really hard to only put healthy things inside my body. This is the diet I usually stick to and feel & look the best when I do. Just thought I would share a few of my favorite things. Please feel free to let me know of any of your favorites!!





BREAKFAST -- I absolutely love KASHI GO LEAN. All of their products are great!! I either have 1 pkg of oatmeal or 1 cup cereal with 1/2 cup LIGHT VANILLA SOY MILK (I like 8th Continent or SILK) I have this in the morning before I workout.





LUNCH-- I like to call this SARA'S SMOOTHIE DELIGHT:
1/2 apple (w/ skin)
1 sm banana (or 1/2 large banana)
1/4 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 handful spinach leaves
1/2 c. vanilla protein powder (my favorite is EVOLVE)
1 c. light plain or vanilla soy milk (can use regular skim milk)
1/2 c. water
1 c. ice
*optional 1/2 c. fat free yogurt

BLEND VERY WELL!! MAKES 2 LG OR 4 SM SERVINGS...MY BOYS LOVE IT!!

DINNER-- I love the frozen Tilapia from COSTCO. There is a great recipe on the back of the bag. I usually just cook it with lemon juice, lemon pepper & garlic salt. It is fat & carb free, and has a ton of protein and hardly any calories. Also, it is a very mild tasting fish, so don't worry if you aren't a fish person, you will still love this!

Another dinner staple of mine is SALAD. I absolutely LOVE salads...especially huge ones w/ chicken. My sister Stacey loves them too, and when we are together, we can go thru a giant bag of Costco spinach in 2 days!! My everyday spinach salad is:

3 c. spinach
1 diced apple (pink ladies are my favorite)
a little thinly sliced red onion
1 grilled chicken breast
2 T. fresh parmasan cheese
DRESSING: light or fat-free Raspberry Vinagrette

SNACKS:
VIVA cottage cheese

PINK LADY apples
TWISTED protein bars (from Costco)
yogurt
almonds
WEIGHT WATCHERS popcicles
BOLTHOUSE FARMS juices (Green Goodness, Blue Goodness, Perfectly Protein Vanilla Chai, Vedge, or C-Boost)

Also 2 wks ago, I started taking Green TeaHP. It comes in a little pixie and you add it to 16 oz of water 20-30 min. before breakfast and lunch. It is a known fat burner, and has tons of vitamins and anti-oxidents. Only has as much caffine as a cup of hot chocolate. Also, it is known for anti-aging...that is what sold me!!! It doesn't list this in benefits, but it is a great appetite suppressant for me as well!! I forgot to take it to Mexico, ate like crap, and gained 5 lbs!! I took this and the 5lbs was off in 3 days! Coincidence....??? For more info on it, go to greenteahp.com

And last but not least, twice a week I do a colon cleanse. It sounds worse than it is! I use SUPER DIETER'S TEA. You start out brewing one bag for 5 minutes. It doesn't say this on the box, but the more you use it, you have to make it stronger. I'm up to brewing 2 bags for one hour!!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

Modeling my new pink jacket from FOREVER 21. Also, the short-sleeved white one is from there too & the yellow top...thanks for the giftcard Stace!!
HOT new spandex!!!

My mom made this darling HAPPY B-DAY centerpiece!


Also modeling my new ROXY purse & pants. My mom sponsored me in buying this new LIVESTRONG top...I love it!

My sister Stacey had these shirts made when she turned 30, and she loaned them to us. Jaken is so excited!

So the day is finally here...my 30th birthday!!! I have been dreading this day, since I was probably 20 years old. I was sure I would be in tears, and need anti-depressants! Well, luckily I'm feeling GREAT!! It definately helps that I'm not big & pregnant! Also, Cody and I are doing really good. Our marriage is the best it has been, we are out of debt, and building a new home....life is GOOD!! As Cody keeps saying "30 is SEXY"!! Caleb is saying it to me now too....great!! So for the last few years, I've been telling Cody that I really wanted to be on vacation, somewhere tropical for my 30th. He said we could, but then we had our big trip to Thailand 5 months ago, I was sure that another vacation this soon wouldn't be happening:( Luckily, our friends invited us to Cabo, and we couldn't pass it up, since it was free room & board! Even tho I wasn't there on my actual birthday, it was just 2 wks before, so it was good enough for me!

For my actual b-day today, I taught Spin this morning. Cody took the day off, and we came home and layed out for an hour! It was so nice to have warm weather! Then we went for a good 5 mile run to get ready for the Ogden Marathon relay that we are doing next Saturday. Luckily some clouds came out, so it wasn't too hot. It was also a bit windy, which was nice for a breeze, but no good for a headwind! Later, we went out to dinner in Eden at Harley & Buck's, with the Bundy's, my mom, and our boys. Then we came back to my parents house for presents, cake & ice cream. Lindsey got me a SEPHORA gift card, that I'm really excited to use! My parents gave me cash, which I used for some new MEK jeans from the BUCKLE. Cody got me some sexy new spandex biking shorts, and of course the trip to Mexico!! I'm so glad that I have such a wonderful, and supportive family!

Womans Conference

Last week my dad & mom sent me, and my 2 sisters (Jamie & Lindsey) to Womans Conference @ BYU. It was all of our first time going, and it was such a neat experience! We all picked what classes we wanted to go to, and were split up for most of the time. I ended up at a couple with both of my sisters. My mom missed the first day, but met up with us afterwards that night at the Marriott in SLC. We saw a movie, shopped, and ate at one of our favorite places THAIFOON @ the Gateway. On Friday morning we got up early and drove back down to BYU for the 2nd day of the classes. We went to a total of 6 classes between the 2 days. There were 2 that I enjoyed the most; one was on our Gifts & Talents, and the other was on Honesty. The best part was at the end on the 2nd day, President Monson spoke for an hour. That was the first time I have gotten to hear a prophet talk in person, so it was very neat! It was almost the first time that I have even been in the same room of a prophet, except for that a month ago I sat 4 seats away from President Monson at the JAZZ game!! My sister Jamie was very upset, because she had wanted to start the song WE THANK THEE OH GOD FOR A PROPHET, but some other woman beat her to it. It was so neat to hear that song sung and feel the spirit that filled the whole Marriott Center. It was sad to not have my other sister Stacey there, but she will come next year!!