Thrill of a Lifetime...Skydiving!

So due to recent events I have ultimately come to the conclusion that life's too short to let opportunites pass you by. I think life's a gift that is meant to be unwrapped and enjoyed. I want to be optimistic about outcomes and taking chances rather than let fear dictate my choices. I want to take risks and I've also determined that I'd much rather live with the pain that comes from being hurt than the pain of regret (at least that means I'm living life). Skydiving has been on my "to-do" list for a long time and this just seemed like the right moment in my life to just go for it. I want to be a "yes" girl and live life to the fullest. I am so glad that my family supported me in this crazy endevour...what would I do without them. We decided to make it a fun road trip for everyone by riding to the Ogden Skydiving Center in the RV. Brooke and Travis were so cute to come with--especially since it was their anniversary. This whole experience would not have been possible without the help of my mom and step-dad. This was their early birthday present for me, and it's something I will never forget. Hayden was such a good sport to come along. Even though I had explained to him earlier what I was going to do, it didn't sink in until he saw the airport hanger and some of the other people leaving on the plane. Then he cried because he was so worried about me coming back. Eventually we got him calmed down and I convinced him that I needed him to be happy and to cheer me on.

Hanging in the motorhome

The Ogden Skydiving Center

Getting on my gear

Getting some instructions before getting on the plane

Posing with Hayden who really did try to smile through his tears

This is one of the instructors/experienced divers that I was going tandem with

Halfway up in the air (about 6,000 feet at this point)

Jumping out at 12,000 feet off the ground...aaaaaahhhhhh

This is the point where I think the "Free Falling" song was going through my head. Also, I realized how challenging breathing was and how exhilerating it was to feel like I was flying.

I tried so many times to give a thumbs-up--this was the least sideways looking thumb.

We were free falling for about a minute before opening the chutte

Yes, I was relieved when the parachutte opened. It took about 5 minutes to get to the ground after that.

Landing safely with no injuries (another sigh of relief)

Letting Hayden know that everything's okay

Afterwards, we went to an early dinner/late lunch at TGIFridays--the same one I ate at before the Ogden Marathon

So who knows what's next...hotair ballooning, indoor surfing, taking up skiing again, triathalons, and possibly more skydiving. I guess the possibilities are endless.

Last Days of Summer, First Day of School, and Other Thoughts

During our final days of summer we visited Gardner Village where Hayden got to venture around the petting zoo. I think I counted close to 20 goats in there...crazy!

There's a bunch of the goats behind him. They also had ponies, dogs, rabbits, llamas, cows, chickens, and sheep. Shortly afterwards, we visited the Bakery for a snack, checked out some of the sales, and I even came prepared with bread for Hayden to feed the ducks.

I just wanted to get a close-up of his cute profile...ya, it's a mom thing.

Thanksgiving Point

On one of the $2 Tuesdays, we along with some of our friends (Jenny with Graci, Sophia, Marcello, and Annie and Amy with Kelton, Braden, and Ryder) visited Thanksgiving Point's gardens. The kids loved playing in the Noah's Ark water feature and exploring the entire Children's Garden.

Playing in the sand

Rolling down the big grass hill near the waterfalls. Hayden is the kid at the very bottom still rolling along.

After lunch, we strolled along the path above the bigger waterfalls.

Lagoon

Here are Dan and me at Lagoon. Hayden got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Jaco and his Aunt Bethany at a rodeo/fair while we went to Lagoon.

Dinner

Here we are at Texas Roadhouse with Grandma and Grandpa B. Hayden enjoyed his food so much that he felt like he had to use two utinsels to eat (he had steak and mac & cheese).

The First Day of School

This year Hayden is doing the Pre-K class (again) 3 afternoons a week and Kindergaren Enrichment the other 2 afternoons.

Having snack in his Pre-K class. I did spy on him a couple of times this week, and one of the times I did I caught him being so cute. Hayden leaned over to the kid next to him and said, "Will you be my friend?" How sweet is that! Luckily, the other boy said "yes" to him.

So it has been a crazy time with starting school, keeping my job at Treehouse, still training for some upcoming races, and trying to make sense of my personal life (oh, and keeping up with Hayden, too). My last blog pretty much depicted how I was feeling at the time, and since then, things have changed just a bit. First of all, after talking things out in regards to my "personal life," I discovered that both of us came away from our last talk with completely different interpretations of what was going on. It was good to be able to clear up some misunderstandings and for me to realize how much the other person does care and wants what's best for us and our relationship. Right now we are taking a break and trying to talk things out, and think on our own about where to go from here. Hopefully he knows how I really feel about him and how much I care for him.

As far as what I'm doing now, I feel like life has to continue moving on and I just keep on going. Once you fall, you just have to pick yourself up, and I must admit that I've had some wonderful family members and friends who have helped me, too. I know that we all have our own set of challenges and obstacles--I hope to overcome mine so that I can come away victorious and stronger than before. However, victory doesn't always mean "winning" and getting what you want, but by getting through these challenges and figuring out the best long-term fit for all involved will have to be enough of a "win" for me. I won't let fear rule my life (thank you Candice from Phineas and Ferb for that reminder--it's playing in the background) because the biggest risks can come with the biggest rewards. Although I've had a lot of "learning experiences" along my life's journey so far, I don't regret anything and I hope to grow and become a better person.

Sorry for all this crazy blogging about personal stuff--I just feel like it's my therapy. Speaking of which, I have signed up for some other races to kind of help me deal with my emotions and cheer me up. I guess I'm a girl who just needs to coast on some extra endorphins for awhile. I'm way excited to do the Red Rock Relay in a couple of weeks--I'm so glad that my friend, Geri, had an open spot on her team. Also, I decided to do the South Jordan half marathon at the end of September followed by the St. George Marathon the next weekend and then the Layton half marathon the weekend after that. I'm still contemplating the Provo Halloween half marathon, but I'm not sure I can afford to do any more races--we'll see.

Park City Marathon 2010

Prerace photo (obviously). It was just a little chilly at 6:00ish in the morning in Park City.

Coming through the finish--finally!

Got my finishers medal--yes, it's worth it.

Hugging my little cutie! What a great supporter he is.

Trying to pose for a picture and drink chocolate milk at the same time.

So my friend Michelle suggested that I just blog about today's experience while it's fresh--so here I am taking you up on it, Michelle. The thing that really sets this marathon apart from the others is the week I've had leading up to it--not to mention that I've been pretty nervouse because I knew the course would be hard. I'll kind of explain a bit about what happened as I journal the race experience.

To start this morning off, my mom and Bob picked up Hayden and I around 4:30. I have an awesome family, and I really appreciated their support and willingness to pick me up, hang with Hayden, and cheer me on. We got up to the start line with plenty of time to spare, and I tried eating some breakfast beforehand. I did do a good job eating the day before, but the days prior to that I didn't have much of an appetite so nutrionally I wasn't where I should have been. After hitting the bathrooms a couple of times (I swear that being 30 somehow means I have to pee all the time), my cute mom walked me over to the start line, took some pics, and stayed to watch me start the race. Everything started on time (yay!), and I felt pretty decent in the beginning too. The start and finish of this race was in the same spot--something different from the canyon marathons I had done in the past. It took me a few miles to warm up, but then I got in a pattern for a few miles (about miles 4-10ish) where I was lost in my thoughts and it helped distract me from the run. I listened to a few applicable songs such as Taylor Swift's "White Horse" and Kelly Clarkson's "Break Away" (not sure if the that's the title of the Swift song). Somehow running brings a lot of clarity, and both songs although slow, I usually skip the slow ones when racing, just seemed to describe and reinforce what I've currently been feeling. I recently did something I have never ever done in my life--I completely put my wants and my heart out there only to have it rejected. I say that this is a first because I spoke my true desires hoping that the other person maybe wanted the same thing. I realize this was a gamble, but I felt like I needed to make a change and speak my mind. Sadly, I was left heartbroken and completely crushed. I would never say anything bad about the other person because there isn't anything bad to say--that's the problem. I love him, care about him, and just really wanted to move forward in our relationship. Now before some of you jump to conclusions, I wasn't proposing marriage or even saying let's get engaged. All I really wanted was more of a commitment from him--I really wanted him to want to let down his barriers and want to be happy just being with me. I wanted to have conversations about the future, begin to created a picture of what "could be," but of course, I know that I can't ask someone to want the same things I want. I have been very hopeful in seeing the potential of our relationship if we both just broke down the walls that have unfortunately been constructed from past relationships. However, seeing as I seem to have the worst luck or outcomes in relationships, that's not what he wanted. I am not saying in anyway that anything is right or wrong, but it just hurts to have someone walk away after a year and a half of dating. I feel incredibly hurt, frustrated, and my self-worth has come into question (I mean how much could I mean to him if could just walk away). Now that I've said all that, I'm a fair and reasonable person (I like to sometimes think I am), and I realize that every story has two sides. However, this has been my experience, my perspective, and what I ultimately come away with. Don't get me wrong, I've had some amazing times with him, and incredible memories--that's why this is so hard! I don't want to have to let go of him because of that and because I still think he's an amazing person. However, I guess the saying about if you love something set it free applies here. Everyone deserves to be happy and to find whatever that is in life that brings them the greatest joy. So of course, I've contemplated the same thing for me. I have come to the obvious conclusion that the relationships I have with other people is what brings me joy. I can run all the races in the world, travel and visit as many places as possible, see all the movies I want, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is who did I share these experiences with and my life with. I am a big fan of "family" and I wouldn't trade mine for anything. I also don't ever, ever, ever feel like I've I had to sacrifice hobbies and other things to be a mom. The thing is, even if I did have to compromise and supposedly give up any of my freedoms, being a mom has filled and enriched my life tenfold. I hope to one day expand our little family, but for now, I am happy and incredibly thankful for what I've got. Also, I do have an awesome immediate and extended family as well.

So I'm going to leave my tangent alone and get back to the race. I have to say, during all this contemplating I wasn't so lost in my thoughts to realize that I was running next to water and on a dirt trail with lots of little critter holes. I just kept hoping that nothing was going to come crawling out of them and attack me (yes, I can get a little paranoid). Now I knew going into this that the first half was going to be uphill (actual hills and gradual upgrades). I really thought by mile 14 I would get a little break and experience some downhill running. Nope, it didn't happen till mile 16. Things were going great and then I hit mile 18 which was accompanied by a steep hill that was impossible for me to run up. Just walking up it I felt like my knees were hitting my chest. Oh well, I thought, I'm sure there aren't going to be any more hills. Oh silly me for thinking such things because I was wrong, again! I'll do anyone reading this a courtesy and not put into writing the words that went through my mind everytime I approached a hill after that. Now by mile 20 I just wanted to cry. Not only had I endured lots of hills (mostly up), and the wind blowing against me for the majority of the time, but I really started to feel my cramps. Did I forget to mention that my lovely time of the month decided to start the day before...how could I forget that complication. Yes, on top of feeling weak and tired, I was cramping, too. The final 6 miles did include a bit of walking, but I really had to give myself a break. I went into this just hoping to finish and I did--in just a little over 4 hours. Coming through the finish felt wonderful, and seeing my fam there to support me made me feel amazing. After I got my medal, I kissed my little guy, then met my fam outside the the runners' area. The line for a free massage was way too long, so we went back to the Tahoe, and Bob helped rub and stretch out my legs--what a great stepdad, right. I am so glad that I did this marathon, and it's just amazing what we can do when we keep pushing ourselves. I am trying to be strong everyday of my life, but I'm not going to tell you that I'm not ever going to cry either. I have been blessed with the best support system, and I hope that I can come away from challenges/obstacles stronger than before. I also hope to inspire my little guy, Hayden, to do the same thing in his life, too. Yes, I'm still a heartbroken mess and I still cry everyday (even right now because I can be a bit of girl and get all emotional). However, I just hope to live life to the fullest, remember the important things (really should replace "things" with "people"), and set a good example for my son. I'll stop blogging so that I can now go be a good mom to my favorite kiddo.

Park City and Incredible Pizza

Last weekend ended up being date weekend. Friday night (July 30) we went with some friends to a comedy show at the new Draper Amphitheater. Hayden got to play with Abbi and Ty while we went out with the adults. It was a fun show--there was a local guy who was pretty funny and the main comedian was John Moyer (sp?). He wrote the Singles Ward which was based on his life story--to that point of his life anyway.
The next night, while Hayden was at his cousin's birthday party, Dan and I went up to Park City for the free concert at the Canyons Resort. The band playing that night was Langhorne Slim, and they put on a pretty good show. We did get a little bit of rain, hence the flat hair in the picture above. It was nice to get out and away for a bit even if it was only for about a 24 hour time period. The next day we even got massages--it's always nice to incorporate a little relaxation into what is supposed to be a relaxing weekend.

INCREDIBLE PIZZA

Tuesday, August 3, we finally made it to Incredible Pizza here in Draper. We went with some of our friends from school (my co-workers Jenny and Kristen along with their kids). Above is a pic of Hayden with Sophia.

Hayden and Sophia enjoying mini bowling. Guess who just got a strike?

It was Hayden! Here he is doing is happy dance.

The kids loved riding in the bumper cars. Hayden did this ride with Graci and Paige.

The kids and I played laser tag. It was us versus the guys that worked there--I'm sure y'all can guess who won (apparently the memory of me with a gun turned me southern for a second). The kids had a blast and I'm glad that Hayden didn't get freaked out by being in the dark.

Hayden loved the Fast Track. I had to drive, but he still thought it was the coolest thing ever. We also did glow-in-the-dark mini golf, arcade games, and ate at the all-you-can-eat buffet. It was a lot of fun and I still can't believe we spent over five hours there.