Sunday January 23, 2011

Dear Scott,

Rubie and I were so excited to hear your voice.  We both squealed and wanted to talk to you first.  So I put you on speaker.  She has been asking to call you.  She finally knows you are at army and not at work.  Well, one week down.  And this week went fast.  I had a great weekend.  Friday Both Eric and Rubie got to go to the Kuhni's for preschool.  Kristine offered to have Rubie play so I could get ready for St. George.  That was great!  Then Bob came over and fixed the lock in the garage which took him probably 10 minutes.  Then he spent a few hours on my iPad downloading music and helping me learn how to get music and books.  He was great.  In the afternoon I took the kids to Brandee.  She is so awesome!  The kids had a great time with Dan and Brandee's family this weekend.  I drove down to St. George on my own listening to 127 Hours Between a Rock and a Hard Place.  The Aaron Ralston story read by him.  I'm half-way through and want so bad to be listening to the rest of it.  Just have not had the opportunity yet.  I stayed in a condo with Steve Gray (guy on John's Red Rock team that dressed up in the wacky costumes), another guy Tony, Sarah, Anne, and Missy and her husband Robert.  We had a great time.  The weather was beautiful.  It makes it so hard to come back up North when it was such nice running and biking weather.  The half marathon went so much better for me than I thought it would.  I was able to run in the 8 and 7 minute mile range.  I finished at 1:44.  But compared to other women, wow there are fast ladies out there.  Sarah set a PR with 1:29 finish.  Although she literally killed herself.  I don't know how she can push herself so hard.  She wasn't feeling that great when the morning started.  Her asthma was acting up with a cough and sore throat.  But of course that does not stop her.  After the race I couldn't find her and then a few people asked me if I had seen her.  I had a feeling I should really find her.  I thought she either on the grass stretching or she is back at the car.  I found her in the car hunched over--she was most likely asleep, she was shaking, she had all the layers of clothes on she could find and the heat was blasting.  She looked so sick.  She scared me so bad.  I ran to the paramedics but they didn't pay much attention to me, they already had a few people they were looking after so I just started searching for Heath.  I found him and he ran back to my vehicle with me.  He wanted her to get some sodium, I had a few tablets and she had her recovery drink.  As we got some electrolytes into her she started to get a little better.  But she was sick.  She couldn't even make it on the bike ride.  She tried, but after a few minutes realized that wouldn't be a good idea.  I wish I had more of her ability to push myself like that.  Although I think that I did last May for that 1/2 marathon.  Remember how I was kind of sick after that.  I don't want to make myself sick, but I do want to be able to push through pain and discomfort.  I just wasn't ready to do that yesterday.  But I was so happy with my run and felt really great.  We took and break, got some lunch and then meet up around 1:00 to bike a loop of the St. George Ironman bike course.  We biked from the highway at the top of Snow Canyon around to Gunlock, up to Veyo and back toward St. George.  I have done that ride a few times and love it.  I had a great ride!  It was a great workout day.  I was exhausted and famished (I ate pizza) and totally happy.  Only my calves are sore today and I'm sure that also has a lot to do with driving home right after all that activity. 

We are looking forward to a great week.  We learned at church today that some of our friends are moving out of the ward.  Kyle and Angie Farley bought a home in the Orchard 1st ward.  Ben and Michelle Arcinega are moving up to the Salt Lake Valley, and Mike and Kris Larsen are moving to Wyoming.

I have been thinking of you everyday.  You are in every single prayer of mine and the kids.  We hope you have had a great first week.

We love you so much!!

Jen, Eric, and Rubie