Workin' the Mohawk

You have to look a little harder for Isaiah's hawk, and Mason's had collapsed a bit under the harsh environs of the humid car. But they've got the look, no doubt.

More of Ruby

Boycott May!

Well, it's Family night here in the Tallahassee mansion. I'm enjoying it with myself. I sang a song ("I'm not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" - Britney Spears), activity (cooked some noodles for dinner), lesson (watched Oprah's "Legend's Ball" - there were tears), treat (aforementioned noodles), and a prayer will be a part of it all at some time. Not my best attempt at a Family Home Evening, but I'm blogging. That's definately family. Although I think it may be a bit embarrasing to have 3 in a row.

I've got some great pictures of time with the Guymon kids ready to post, but on the wrong computer. I'll put those up tomorrow morning.

Let's just say this about sweet Ruby: she's mellow and chill, she's observant but not passive, and an adventurer. And she had really good neck control for her age. Less than 2 weeks old and she goes on and 8 hour roadtrip and hangs out with her cousins. Nanci and I ran out of gas in the Arizona desert and she remained more calm than any of us for a couple of stranded hours. Isaiah and Mason are goodies and went for the mohawks a couple of times - making their mother and aunt proud. Clint and Nanci are just pure goodness to hang around with. Enough of the gushing. I'm going to end my computer time for the week. It will be good to hear from everybody again. Being around the family makes me more homesick for a couple of weeks than I typically am. So what's up? Why is no one writing? Is there a boycott on May?

Cheer Squad!

Try - A - Thlon

A little photo from my Office Tour with the Medal on. You know how things like that happen to Olympians when they get home... all the school children want to hold the medal and see you with your uniform on. Well, it's the same with my staff.

Well, I'm back from the vacation to the West and it was glorious. I've got some fun pictures to share of the family, but right now the accessible ones on my computer are triathlon ones that have been shared with me. So, for now this will just be a triathlon report.

I was scared. In fact, my hands still go a bit numb thinking about it. The gravity of this athletic endeavor did not sink in until a pre-race meeting when 100 athletes were gathered in a room and talking specifics. By this time, it was known by the Mudhoneys that out of the 8 of us present 3 would be cheering, 3 would be doing the sprint distance and only Sarah Sutherland and I the Olympic distance. And I was only hanging on to that distance out of sheer allegiance to a long friendship with Sarah - who does not bend in the fact of fear. And she now has chisled arms and abs that scare me.

We had a Mudhoneys team dinner, filled with nervous banter. I like the team a lot - funny, good, people. I know Jill, Sarah, and Kim, but it was my first meeting of Anne and Heather and ultimately Jed and Vegas Ann. We also distributed the traditional tatoos at this meeting. The choices were a girl riding a bike emblazoned with "Team Estrogen" and a koala bear emblazoned with "Hogle Zoo". We split 50/50.

Back in my room, Jill and Kim helped me to try on my wetsuit. I started off solo, but then got stuck in my "second skin". Those things are crazy tight, and I had put it on backwards and begun to put on my sleeves way too early. I was exhasted, sweating, and choking by the end. In the spirit of solidarity, so were Kim and Jill. It was bedtime after that, and from reports no one slept really well. I had extraordinarily vivid dreams.

Up at 5:20 to meet in the parking lot and get to the 8 am race. There was a huge line to get into the state Park where this was happening. It was really beautiful to see the sunrise on the desert and hundreds of triathletes preparing. The spirit of community at these races is really unique and fun. That was my favorite part of the marathon last year. We set up our transition area and then kind of walked around to see where to enter/exit on each leg of the race. There was also an attempt to pace your eating and bathroom time, so that you did each in time enough to have energy and not have your wetsuit on.

Sarah and I's wave was first out of the mudhoneys - all women doing Olympic. Out of the 1300 racers, 500 were doing Olympic so it was a big crowd. We put on the wetsuits (easier this time) and stood in our group. Sarah kept reassuring us with the mantra: "We are just going for a swim with some friends. Then a nice bike ride with some friends. Then we'll run a bit and be done!" The swim was really the fear peak, due to the newness of swimming a mile in open water. None of us had done it, let alone with a crowd. We waded down to the starting line, laughed a bit at where this friendship has taken us, and then the gun went off.

Green water and bubbles. That is my memory of those next 40 minutes. I immediately couldn't breathe really well, due to the suit or excitement or high altitude I know not. But it took me awhile to get into a rhythm. When I did, it ended up being about 30-50 freestyle strokes, then orienting myself to the buoys with 10-20 breast strokes, mixed in with a few legs of backstroke when I was really needing air. Sarah and I lost each other immediately, but discovered at team dinner after the race that Sarah had yelled to a backstroker to stay left and heard a shout back of "thanks". It was me. We finished pretty close to each other and shared some game face moments in the transition area, which you ran 200 meters to get to in your bare feet after exiting the swim. Most people just looked happy to have survived that leg.

Off with the wetsuit, goggles, and cap - on with the helmet and clip shoes. A jog to the transition exit and then on to the bikes for the 25 mile "ride with friends". It was at first, as Sarah and I were within site of each other. Her chain came off at one point, which allowed me to catch her for a minute. But she just destroyed people on the hills. It was a marvel to see. It was a beautiful ride - some good challenging hills and then some straight plateau where you could just look forever into the desert. Really fun ride - which I owe much to the glory of the great rode bike that Matt donated to my life last year. It is a dream.

Finished the bike and again clopped to the transition area to leave the helmet behind and put on running shoes. I forgot my bib. Began the run and immediately knew how hot it was when you don't have the benefit of biking wind and sweat working together. Hot, hot, hot. It was an off-road run, so pretty sandy. I found a friend in 60 year old Debbie, who had done 10 of these. She was fun to run next to for awhile. By the time we were on the second loop and half way done with the run, bitterness had set in. I was walking at the water stops and using any ounce of willpower to not walk the rest of the run. Tired and hot. But, eventually the finish line showed up and there were all the mudhoneys, as well as Cheer Team Piacitelli/Guymon/Pace to greet a weary soul.



We stuck around to relax together and see a mudhoney victory - Jill Adams won the sprint Athena division. And then it was off to the showers.

So, I finished in the middle of the 500 person pack, 13th in my division, and in about 3 1/2 hours. Again, met the goals of survival and doing it under 4 hours. Overall, I do believe I am much more interested in this sport than marathons. And I say that just to proclaim that maybe, maybe, I'll do one of these again.

Life with Ruby

Shes a sweet sweet little thing. I wanted to post this picture of her with the boys. They are being very good brothers to her. It has been nice to have Clint at home the past few days to help with everything, he will head back to work on Monday, and I will be on my own. I have felt really good though, Ruby was nice to me in labor. Clint is right, I was amazing, the nurses and doctors would have to agree. I am sure they have never heard anyone moan so loud in their careers. I say whatever it takes to get them moving, even if that means creating a bit of drama. Clint did a great job of urging me on, "Go ahead scream" I liked that better than the "think of beautiful places" line he pulled when I was in labor with Isaiah. Here is a picture of how he reacted when I actually went ahead and did it.
Well we are excited for some of you to meet her next week and for those of you who can't we will take lots of pictures.

Ruby's here!

Nanci is amazing. The picture you see here is right after she gave birth. Doesn't she look good! I seriously don't know how that women is driven to such heights.

We arrived at the hospital at about 8:00 am with Nanci smiling as she told the nurse's station that she was having contractions. About 45 minutes later the nurse finally came in for the first time and rushed her out of the room to labor and delivery. They hadn't even filled out all the paper work. Nanci was in serious pain and was given an epidural about 15 minutes before the baby was born. Ruby was born at 9:52am and weighed 7lbs 14oz.

She's doing well and Nanci and Ruby came home today. The pictures don't do justice to the wonderful people I have around me. I was so amazed at witnessing Ruby's birth. Best wishes to all. Give us a call.

My D.A.R.E. Report

Jairus won the DARE essay contest at his school. They had a ceremony and Jairus read his report to everyone. Here is his report and a photo.

My D.A.R.E. Report
By: Jairus Pace Teacher: Mr. Loreen

Hi, my name is Jairus Pace and my class was asked to write a report on “What I Learned in D.A.R.E.” My D.A.R.E. instructor was Officer Zack Adams and he made it very fun to do the D.A.R.E. program and to learn why it is bad to do drugs and to give into peer pressure. During my time in D.A.R.E. I found that the D.A.R.E decision making model really helped me think ahead so I can choose better decisions when I am in tough situations. I also learned some of the many bad health effects of cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco and how they can be addictive. I have learned that the laws limiting and prohibiting the use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs are for the safety of everyone.

In Utah it is illegal to sell tobacco to any one that is under the age of 19 but 10% of Eighth graders said they had smoked in the last 30 days. Most people who use tobacco started using it before they were 19 years old. Tobacco can effect your bodies development because your body is still changing when you are young. It can be hard to play sports when you smoke or chew tobacco. Cigarettes have over 200 known chemicals; one of them is rat poisoning. Cigarettes are the number one cause of lung cancer in the United States. Over 400,000 people in the United States die every year from the effects of cigarettes.

Marijuana can also do many bad things to your body. It can turn your tongue green. It makes your breath stink. It can cause burning and stinging in the mouth and throat. It can increase your risk for a heart attack. It is illegal and Marijuana kills brain cells!

Something I learned was that alcohol advertisements are in stores, on commercials, on cars, and even on baby bibs. These ads must be working because 19% of Eighth graders reported that they had drunk alcohol in the last 30 days. It is illegal to drink when you are under the age of 21 in Utah. Alcohol can damage every organ in your body. It can give you high blood pressure. Alcohol effects your brain and fogs clear thinking. This can be very dangerous in person’s actions... especially when driving.

Peer pressure can be good or it can be bad. One way to have good peer pressure is to choose good friends. A good friends is someone who is kind, caring, makes good choices and is positive. These friends will help you choose better choices because they won’t try to persuade you to do something wrong, but rather, help you make good choices. Bad peer pressure is when someone tries to get you choose the wrong choice, or makes fun of you when you don’t choose the what they want you to choose. Bad peer pressure happens when you choose friends that are rude, uncaring, make bad choices, and are negative.

I had a great time in D.A.R.E. Program and I learned a lot too. Thank you for teaching all about resisting drugs and violence, Officer Adams. I promise that I will never use drugs and alcohol and I will try to be a good friend to those around me.

Xakoi's Softball Uniform & Zander

Here is a photo of Xakoi in her Softball Uniform. They are the Leopards. Also here is Zander and his HUGE muscles.

No news

Ruby is still contained. She was served her eviction notice today though. They plan to schedule me for induction next Tuesday, good timing Jill, you may be able to see the trama twice. Also scheduled are fetal stess tests every 3 days from now until the induction, those are the tests that I had with both Isaiah and Mason the days they induced me, so if those come back with a problem they will induce me that day. That is the low down. They told me today that she weighs about 7lbs 5 oz. I want to deliver soon just to see how off they are. Anyhow this summary is a reward to those of you who actually check in on the blog, a good lesson to those less involved in it. So congrats Jill and Jeff you are in the loop. I don't plan to really talk to anyone about it all until its really going down, it draws it out too much. Love you, nanci.