Day Two Summer Games Swim Meet

Swimming Sisters! Karen and I getting our potassium on day two of the Utah Summer Games.
Another day and more ridiculously crazy happenings for this wanna-be swimmer athlete! Like getting advice on diving off the block and going far under the water before breaking the surface with my head. The dolphin kick, strict rules with where the hands go for the push up, and on and on. I went over it in my mind over and over. Up on the blocks and BAM, I headed first into the water trying to push arms, dolphin kick, and still holding my breath. I popped up and everyone was ahead of me! What I realized is that this particular dive off the blocks is for the breast stroke. I was supposed to go long and lean on the free style. Then of course, when I got to the other end to turn around (mind you, I'm still in the free style) I missed touching two hands, so I stopped and turned to be sure both hands touched. This too, was the rule for breast stroke, not free style. So it was a crazy race! Then when I completed in the 50 meter back stroke, I took on water like a sinking ship! Somehow, I pulled through on both races to finish and won silver metals for all my efforts! What fun!

First Swim Meet!

Today I swam two races in the Utah Games. This is the first time I have ever participated in a swim race. In addition to a million odds against me (I've been practicing swimming on the 25 meter length thinking it was the 50 meter length lanes!) Today the pre-race training was a half hour of RULES! Good grief! I didn't know there were so many rules! Oh, and did I mention I have NEVER use the blocks to dive into the pool to race. The warm up time was when I thought I could practice diving in off the blocks. Well, they warm up for about 30 minutes and then let everyone dive for about 10 minutes. I was able to dive two time! The first time my goggles flew off! The second time I was advised to tuck my chin, which I did, but I went way deep! So when the race began it was my third time in all my life diving off the blocks. I made it without loosing my goggles and was "so-so" for depth. However, just before lining up for the race, this 82 year old man name Robert asked where I was from. When I told him I was from Las Vegas, Nevada, he asked if I spend the night. I told him I just arrived in town about 30 minutes before. He shook his head and asked the elavation. Did you know that if you move more than 1,000 feet in altitude, you should spend the night to climatize!
But I won one gold and one silver!

School is out!

School is out! Who is excited?
The teachers...yes sireee!
The students....have to be!
But in all the world, the MOST excited
Is the Principal who is plum delighted!

A Life Lesson for Everyone Driving!

I bit the dust for the first time on my bike! Except for a couple of bruises, I mainly hurt my pride. It all happened on that same Alta hill going over the 215 freeway. I was looking back to see what happened to Jim (he usually speeds out way before me!) Well, I accidentally turned right into the curb and flipped right onto the sidewalk (it was concrete more than dust I bit!)
It was then that I remembered my mother's advice. Never try to adjust any children in the backseat while driving the car--pull over and STOP first. I think I just forgot my mother's advice can apply to many varied situations. So, do you want to see my "owie?"

PS Lesson to remember: Don't fix children in the back seat while driving. Pull over and stop first. Remembering this could save more than a little "boo-boo" on the knee!

Time and A Season

There is a time and a season for everything. It's my season to be an Grandma athlete! My 70 year old sister ran 3 miles and I rode my bike 13 miles in our first ever Duathlon and we WON 1st in our age catagory! What a great new adventure in life! Yesterday Jim and I road our bikes on the Red Rock Loop (15 miles--the first five miles straight up!) and our two sons Eric and Rob did it twice in almost the same time we did it once! (Youth is over rated!) lol

A Time and A Season....

Time is flying by so fast...there is hardly time for everything!
Thank goodness for a daughter like Jamie Braithwaite! She helped us print all the invitations for Troy and Trisha's celebration of their wedding! (Yes, if you haven't heard, they were married December 23, 2009, and we think Trisha was sent from heaven to our family!)

Jamie's such a wiz at the computer she also helped me make invitations to our Ward Lula, designed an email invite, too, created some things for her Relief Society Presidency, and all while Gracie and Ainsley were running around looking darling as ever. Unfortunately, I didn't think about taking any pictures until now---so nothing is documented. Just a post with words. How boring is that? Time...it's flying and I think somewhere in time and space someone must be recording things for me! Grandma J. would roll over in her grave to think I don't even take pictues, let alone write the names and dates on the backs of all the pictures! :)

Fire in the Hole! But all not lost for Christmas Dinner!

The oven element started to burn like a blow torch! We turned off the oven, poured baking soda on it, still it burnt bright! FIRE IN THE HOLE!....so's to speak!
We cut the main power switch and the fire fizzled out, but not before the element broke into pieces. How would we ever cook Christmas Dinner???
Madison and Afton wrapped the potatoes to bar-b-q in the back yard...since the oven caught fire! (That was Jimmy's idea!)
Jimmy worked on the quilt for Troy (Shauna did a LOT of the sewing...where was she when we were taking pictures??!!) He monitored the potatoes cooking on the bar-b-q!
And then we pulled out the Turkey Roasting Pan (That's all we use it for is cooking turkeys!)
It worked like a charm on the Prime Rib Roast!!!! Delicious Dinner!

A new dinner tradition for the FamLea! What an amazing "save" by the boy scouts of the family!