It feels like summer just kind of evaporated into thin air after August. It was a busy month but a fun way to wrap up the summer. A few things we did:
- Dan rode in the ULCER-a 100 mile bike ride around Utah lake. I had toyed with the idea of doing the sixty mile ride earlier in the summer but then didn't want to pay the entrance fee for a ride that was only ten miles longer than the one I did in Bear lake. For about two hours three weeks before I thought about doing the 100 mile distance but didn't feel I could be ready in time. The day of the event I definitely wished I would have just pushed myself to train and go for it. I may not have made it to the finish but trying would have been more satisfying than standing there on the road wishing I was on my bike. Oh well, maybe next year, or the year after that, or possibly the one after that. Being female, married, of child-bearing age makes those things hard to predict sometimes. ( NO! that is NOT a hint at an announcement-not a possibility so don't get excited mother!)
- We spent a week visiting Dan's brothers in St. George and Vegas. Shad began teething on the ride there--fever, diarrhea, runny nose, crying etc. which meant he wasn't a whole lot of fun away from home and his routine but luckily he perked up the last day at Dan's older brothers house and was a bit happier in St. George. We had a great time swimming, relaxing as a family and going to a demolition derby. This included a rock crawl won by a 16 year old GIRL, my brother would have fallen head over heels if he had been there.
- Dan and I celebrated our SEVENTH wedding anniversary! So hard to believe that much time has passed. Harder to believe that among all of the stupid mistakes and choices I made when I was younger that I managed to make such a good choice to marry Dan. I am so lucky to be married to an honest, loyal, hard-working, trustworthy man who works so hard for Shad and I. I may be a little biased, but I LOVE my husband.
- Dan finished his first Triathlon. We had a great time with our friends staying in Park City the night before and the guys got up early and headed off to the race. In grand tradition I missed seeing Dan at the finish line. Having our friend come in later (He did a longer distance so it took longer) and grab his daughter to run her through the finish certainly didn't make me feel any less guilty since Dan probably would have liked the chance to do the same. In my defense-neither of the guys gave us directions to where we were going and we are both a little directionally challenged. Considering this, us girls with three kids made pretty good time.
- We started our last year of this degree, I have learned to never say "our last year of school," because Dan might be going after a degree when we are eighty. Hope we save enough somehow that our retirement can pay off our student loans, Dan might still be a student then. We are fortunate Dan is passionate about school and willing to work so hard to give us a better life. But I am grateful to see a light at the end of this tunnel. The next year should bring some exciting change following graduation. More school or not, bigger and better things await.
