4th of July 10K

Well, since last year's race, Jayton has been worried that some old dude was going to beat him in the 10K. In fact, he waited for me to go for a bike ride then had some lady hit me with her car. Joking, of course. We have had a fun year of training for the 4th of July race. Fun maybe is not be the right word. OK, it has been hellish.
The shirts for the race this year were worse than last year's! Obviously the people who design the images for the front of the shirt have never run or they would realize that a thick painted flag is going to do nothing but rip your nipples off!
We arrived at Kiawanis Park for the race at 6:45 AM and saw that there were huge lines at the Port-O-Johns. So we excused ourselves up to the school area. Thank you, Port-O-Bush! Waiting and waiting and, hey, was that the gun?!? We're off! Nothing like feeling like a herd of cattle to get started. I'll tell you, that first mile going up 900 East is a doozy. We stayed together for that and then going by the stadium I let go a little- you know, it is down hill. The run all through the parade route is great, especially when you have your iPod cranked up and can't hear a word people are saying. Well, Jayton caught up to me at the turn around by the State Hospital. Running back up 900 East is hard enough, but throw all the 5K people into the mix and suddenly you have to weave and move and avoid hitting kids and people walking and pushing strollers, etc. By the time we turned off 900 and were in the homestretch, it got real congested with people and a guy in a racing wheelchair almost took me out! Jayton started to sprint and I stayed with him. Again we were trying to avoid as many people as possible. I was feeling pretty good until a big guy walked off the sideline to hi-five a little kid trotting with his parents. I thought he would just go back to the side but then he turns and starts running along side of the boy! I had to do a major sidestep and it threw off my stride a little. But we kept going right to the end. The funny thing is our official time was the same 43:44 though Jayton beat me by a half step. I was really surprised to see our time since last year I was at 46:52.
Teresa managed to get a photo of our backs as we ran past. That's me in the gray shirt and Jaton in the white shirt and baseball hat. Lot's of fun, but glad it's done!
We hit the French toast breakfast at Macey's afterwards. Oooh, love their frothy syrup!
And was it just me or were the fireworks at the Stadium of Fire not quite what they've been in the past? I guess the recession has hit everyone hard. Chantel was there and loved the Jonas Brothers show. Wow, they're dreamy.

But Dear... It's Father's Day

One of my favorite Warner Bros. Looney Tunes are of those 3 bears with the baby bear, Junior, age 7 1/2 who is huge, the extremely timid mother bear and the psycho, hot headed papa bear who freaks out at everything. Very politically incorrect nowadays, but we love the cartoon here. And our favorite is the Father's Day episode. So we had to watch it to celebrate the day.
Anyway, since I am unemployed, still, we wanted to make sure that expenditures for any type of gift were very low. All I need is some cake and love. I did receive a new shirt to run in! And some Boston Baked Beans (as T. Grove would say "Don't like 'em, LOVE ''em!")and some Peanut M&M's! Feel the fatness. Ooh ya. My girls rock.
I guess it has been a good/bad thing of being at home. The bad is that I am driving my wife nuts by being here all the time, the good is that I get to hang out with the girls a bit more. We even went to the SCERA Pool the other day (when we had an actual warm Summer's Day). Too hard on the shoulder to try and swim. You know, just because everyone else is wearing a bikini doesn't mean you should wear one, too. Ugh. And tattoos are still meant for guys in the Navy... from WWII.
Jayton is trying to fatten me up and slow me down for the race next week by continually hitting the Snow Cone place. The best place to get snow cones is that little shack in front of the SCERA pool. Get your snow cone with an "avalanche" (ice cream) in it. We are particular to the Silver Fox and Tiger's Blood. Delicious.
So, if you know of any jobs, give me a call!

Thinking Back

I went riding my bike up the canyon. Now you need to know, it has been since last August with the bike accident and all that I was on my bike. So, I put it in the trunk of my car and drove it to Will's Pit Stop then rode it up to Vivian Park and back to the car and drove it home. Trying to avoid automobiles and traffic, and rides in ambulances!
While riding I decided to turn off the iPod and just let the mind wander as the shadows of the trees and shrubs flashed around me. My mind went to my childhood and I started thinking of different experiences and fond memories. I guess being unemployed made me think of days when the only responsibilities I had was to make sure I was home for dinner and to wash my hands before we ate! With the smell of the outdoors I also thought of how much time we spent in the creek by our house, and all the bike rides up to Stevens Creek Dam. Before I knew it I was back from my ride and ready to jump back to reality, and looking for work. Ugh.
A picture of Carl, me and David when life easy!

Mutha's Day

With the distraction of May 11th (going to work for a couple hours, having a meeting, and, oh, I guess you're laid off!) I didn't write about Mothers Day. We cancelled early morning meetings and stayed home only to have everyone up and showering to see one of our friends speak at church- he is off to the MTC. We came home and took some pictures out front. Usually mom isn't the one causing problems... usually. But look how cute the Snyder Girls are! We gave gifts to honor our mom and we made a delicious dinner for her as well. As we all know, when Mom is happy, EVERYONE is happy!

The Situation

Nuff said, eh!

Prom Time

Chelsea went to Prom with Matt last Saturday. She looked so beautiful! Of course Teresa had to take a boatload of shots. Thank heavens the Clegg's yard is so nice! Chelsea went to Bon Losee to get her hair and make-up done. Beth Wakefield had had a baby just a few days before and Chelsea didn't want to bother her (though I think she missed not being able to do it). Anyway, I thought I would throw on some pictures. Obviously there is the shot of me telling Matt that I will wring the life-blood right out of his body if anything happens. And my favorite is Teresa fixing the boutonniere and Chelsea's little face! Fun stuff.

Chelsea in Charcoal

Over the last week and a bit I have been working on this picture of Chelsea. I liked the photo of her so I decided to do a little charcoal portrait. What a smile! She is off to Prom tonight! We'll have to see how those pictures turn out.