The 43

Almost two weeks ago I ran in the Wasatch Back , a Ragnar relay here in Utah that covered 192 miles this year. This was the third year I've run this, and I only needed 11 days to blog about it! The Ragnar consists of 12-person teams (though some crazy teams just use six) split into two vans. For the third year in a row, I was in the second van, so I knew what to expect in terms of fatigue and sleep. Basically, I was always fatigued and barely slept. As runner No. 11, My first leg was a 3.2-mile leg halfway up to Snowbasin ski resort. I knew it would be arduous, but I was mostly pleased with how I slowly ran. My goal was to run more up the mountain than I walked, and that I achieved. I had been dreading this uphill for weeks, but it turned out I was in better shape than I thought. Our team (organized through my wife's work) stopped to try to sleep before our van went back on the course. For the third year in a row, I never fell asleep, even though I was tired. I did manage to sl...

We've been cramming plenty of fun into our days this summer, and at the end of the night, we've been asking Littlest what his favorite part of that day was. His answer: "Everything!" Today was one of those jam-packed days. While we were winding down, I asked him the same question: What was the best part of your day? In a tired but smiling voice, he replied "Everything." Was it reading camp, I asked him. "Everything." Soccer camp? "Everything." Swimming with his best friend? "Everything." Going to his brother's swim meet? "Everything." Going to his t-ball orientation, getting a new uniform and hat, and seeing his other best friend, who will be on his team? "Everything." Getting frozen yogurt to finish off the long day? "Everything." I am led to believe one of three things by Mr. Everything: 1. We are cramming so much into each summer day that it's too difficult to decide on one best thing. 2....

I'm out on our front porch typing tonight on a breezy, warm Utah evening. The temperature here generally cools off a little more at night during the summer than in the Midwest, but because today was so warm, it's settled into a comfortable dusk. Perfect blogging weather. The past two weeks have been incredibly busy. We added soccer camp this week on top of everything else. But I'm not complaining -- summer has definitely not been boring so far; in fact, it's been quite fun. The weather returned to normal for this time of year, with temps in the 80s (after a May of below-normal 50s), and there hasn't been much lazing around the house ... until this afternoon, when the boys and I somewhat needed it. Eldest has swim practice, soccer camp, his first diving meet and then a swim meet Wednesday, and I didn't want to wear him out before he gets worn out tomorrow. I thought about taking the boys to the water park (we got a good deal on season passes) but decided we neede...

(Transcribed from a notebook. Photos of the sun going down behind Antelope Island are taken from my Droid so they aren't the greatest, and hell, I had to pick a spot with power lines.) Tonight is the first day of summer, the longest day of the year. As I have done in past years ( 2007 , 2008 , 2009 and 2010 ), I drove myself to a hillside in Donner Park to watch the solstice sunset and reflect on the year that has passed. I almost drove to the H Rock to do this (the view is better), but came back to Donner -- I can actually sit here and enjoy a little solitude. I wish I had brought a sweatshirt or at least something with sleeves -- it's a little chilly for a tank top tonight. I'm about to put on "Sister Golden Hair" on my iPod -- the opening riff has always sounded like a sunset to me. I'm ready for that sunset. Except, I'm not sure what I'm going to write about The last year was a year. Nothing life-altering, nothing mind-shaterringly awesome,...

We bought waterpark passes this year and got a good deal on them, and a week into summer vacation, we went for the first time. The weather was warm but not too hot, the water in the wave pool was pleasant, and the park wasn't too crowded. We ran into one of Eldest's friends and his family (he has a younger brother who is Littlest's age) and hung out with them for a while. Littlest didn't like hanging on to a inner tube in the wave pool, but otherwise didn't mind, in fact, kind of enjoyed big waves crashing over him. He also rode a waterslide in a tube all by himself and declared "I did it!" as he emerged from the slide. The passes are great because we didn't feel the need to go on everything today. We spent a few hours there and left, and will come back again, maybe next week. I made one little miscalculation, however: sunscreen. When we got home, I noticed by left shoulder and some of my back were red. I got a small burn yesterday on that shoulder and...