Camping at Strawberry Reservoir

A couple of weeks ago we went with some friends to Strawberry Reservoir for a weekend camping trip. Both boys were so excited to get to pack their bags and get to sleep in a tent all weekend and hang out with friends. I love how our truck ends up looking like the Beverly Hillbillies. We weren't even half way to our destination before both boys fell fast asleep. Knowing it would be a late night we went ahead and let them sleep.We were the first family to arrive and were a little sad to see that our camping spot did not have any shade at all. Out of the four other families that joined us that weekend - none of us ended up with shaded areas so we all went home a little browner than we planned and it wasn't all from the dirt.Here Landon managed to find a little shade from the picnic table...... All the kids who joined us really enjoyed the construction site.Saturday we went out on the boat with Mia, Angi, Bart and Deja. We all had such a great time even though Lucas did not like when the boat went too fast. He did really enjoy catching his first fish and was very intrigued when we got back to our camp spot and watched his dad clean and gut the fish. I thought it would make him sick but nope! He wanted to see the brains.Saturday evening we all went down to the docks where we put hot dogs on a fish line and caught craw dads. The kids really enjoyed this and so did some of the adults.....;) Thanks again to Bart and Angi for taking us out on the boat and to all the other families for such a fun weekend.

(OK so I wrote this blog a while back and just forgot to publish it.................)

Wasatch Back RAGNAR 2010

FRANKS & BEANS AND KRISPY KREMES

Back in January when I first heard about the Wasatch Back RAGNAR Relay I was intrigued. I spoke with Abril from my MOPS group regarding some of the details and it really sounded like a new and exciting challenge for me to take on. Abril and her husband TJ took on the exceptional challenge of being the team captains and organized a team of 12 runners, 2 volunteer drivers and 3 volunteers to help out along the course. I am so thankful to the two of them for all the time and commitment they put into organizing our team, reserving hotel rooms, securing vans, collecting funds, scheduling team meetings, and all the other time consuming details that went into allowing our team to have such a fun and successful weekend - all while training for the RAGNAR themselves and raising a family with four precious kids. Talk about commitment!!The runners in Van 1 (legs 1 through 6), along with Abril's cousins Jason and Stacie, drove down to Logan on Thursday June 17 where we had a carb loaded dinner then headed to our hotel where we decorated our van before trying to catch at least a couple of hours of shut-eye. Our teams starting time was 5 am so we all had to be up at 3 am in order to get ready and get to the race start in order to complete our safety check-in and safety training. I was runner 3 and my first leg started around 7:15 am on Friday and went 5 1/2 miles from Hyrum to Paradise. After all the runners in Van 1 finished their runs we had a couple of hours to get to Jessie's Aunts House in Huntsville to shower and try to nap before we had to be at our next exchange around 3 pm. Unfortunately our van did not have time to enjoy the amenities offered at the Aunt's House but we all surely enjoyed a nice shower.

My second leg, or leg 15, started about 4:45 in the afternoon on Friday with the sun beating down on me all the way. I ran 5 miles from Peterson to Milton in the heat and was so thankful for the families that sat in their front yards cheering us on and spraying us down with the garden hose. After everyone from Van 1 had finished their second run we headed to North Summit High School for a nice cold, $2, community shower. We had about 4 hours before we had to start running again so Shelley, Bree, Jeanette and I all slept in the van while Abril, TJ and Zac slept under the stars.
My third run, leg 27, started around 4:15 am on Saturday morning from the hills in Francis and went along the Jordanelle Reservoir. It was still pretty dark and chilly and I could hear the Provo River off to the side. For the first 4 miles or so I listened to the sounds of nature rather than my music. Although I could scarcely see the scenery, even with the mandatory head lamp, it was one of my most beautiful runs yet. I was feeling great for the first 4 miles and then came a never ending hill that I ended up having to partially walk up. I had been so nervous about having an 8 mile run for my last leg and running on very little sleep but in the end I was pretty proud of myself. Stacie & Jason rode in our van for the first 6 legs of the race before they switched over to van 2 for the remainder of the race. The major exchanges where both vans, with all 12 runners, came together were always so much fun because we got to see the other half of our team.
The last run for Van 1 at Exchange 30 where TJ handed off the bracelet to Stacie took place in Heber. From there we headed to Park City to Bree's family cabin for another shower and a little bit of down time before we had to head out to The Canyons where we would watch our final runner come into view and where we all ran across the finish line as a team.
Van 1: Bree holding one of our flags that we had to use when crossing the street, Jeanette, Shelley, Agnes, Abril and TJ. Van 2 leaving Exchange 30.

Awww.......the finish line.
Along with Abril and TJ I made many other life-long friends during our two day journey across Northern Utah and can't wait to do it all again next year. (Who knows I just might agree to repeat the madness in October for the Vegas RAGNAR.)

What Lazy Days of Summer??

What started out as a nice Sunday afternoon drive to allow Landon to continue his little nappy poo poo ended up with a nice little leisure hike. We were originally driving around different parts of the valley to see if we could spot any of the damage some flooding (due to rapid snow melt and rain) had caused. We ended up driving up Little Cottonwood Canyon and when I got out of the truck to take some pictures both of the boys wanted to get out. None of us had on good hiking shoes and the path we took was not really a trail so it was definitely slow going. The boys really enjoyed themselves and the hike almost ended injury free until I slipped on a rock and fell on my butt. All I could think about was please don't let me get hurt bad enough that I will be unable to run. I did get a little bruise but fortunately was able to run the RAGNAR the next weekend. Due to rain and cooler temperatures we took advantage of one of our favorite summer hangouts - Classic Skating. We buy summer passes and usually just go to the pool but this particular day we stayed indoors playing video games and playing in all the bounce houses.

Not So Fun......

Just had to throw in these cute pics of the boys doing everyday sort of things. Even just a simple trip to the laundry mat to wash the bedding is filled with so much joy when the the Mischievous McCormack Boys are around. Luckily this day there were games to play and vending machines to raid.

One of my favorite parks to visit in the valley (Hidden Valley) is at the base of the mountains and the base of the Bell Canyon hiking trail. There is also a nice trail that goes around the park that I like to walk but on this particularly warm June afternoon the boys were not big fans. They were so happy to see a nice place to rest on this bench in the shade. Needless to say I was unable to persuade them to venture onto the hiking trail.

Landon and Lucas got all dressed up for my friend Sarah's wedding. Lucas has not been to a wedding for a couple of years and was so curious as to what was going on. The whole time he kept asking questions: "Why is everyone so quiet?", "When can I go and play?", "Why are they (bride & groom) just standing up there?". We did make it through the wedding without disrupting the whole thing and have since explained a couple of times the process and purpose of getting married.

Thomas the Train

A couple of weeks ago we took the boys up to the Heber Valley Railroad to ride Thomas the Train. We took Lucas about 3 years ago to ride Thomas and he really enjoyed it so we figured Landon would also enjoy going for a ride. The boys both packed their back packs full of things they would need for the journey: their cameras, water bottles, hand sanitizer, some cars & trucks, paper & markers and of course Lucas had to bring his music player his dad handed down to him.

Landon of course enjoyed seeing some cows on the ride and Lucas was full of 10,000 questions as always. Not only did the boys get to ride Thomas but they also got to get Thomas tattoos, meet Sir Topham Hatt, go through a maze and pick out a special treat at the gift shop.

On our way home we took a scenic drive down Provo Canyon and both of the boys were able to get in a much needed nap and mom and dad got some much needed quit time.