Pre-Ironman

Today there was a lot to do to get ready for the race. everything that you needed on the race had to be dropped off at the swim/bike/run venues. it was really good because we got an idea of how to follow him and what we needed along the way! there will be thousands of people though and i am sure it is going to be a crazy day!

we went to the sand hollow reservoir to drop off the bike. Matt and his sister kelly taking the bike to the "corral".
he has a number spray painted on his arm and a number on his leg, the leg num. is your age so it is really fun to see people all over the place and see how old they are!
these are all the bags that are for the transition from the swim to the bike!
this is the place he will swim. it was so cold and so windy today that we went to old navy and bought clothes or jackets to wear. we have to stay there 2 hours, no cars in or out during the transition time so we will be quite cold!
it is a really beautiful setting though! matt's parents and sister kelly
a little bit of home. these will be in the water for rescue.
matt said we all had to put our feet in the water so we would know how cold it was. kelly was the only brave one of us to do it, i stuck my hand in. it wasn't ice cold but not what you want to swim in. he will have a full wetsuit but your face, hands and feet are still exposed.

he wasn't sure if he wanted to know how cold it was or not but he decided to see. he was talking to ki on the phone who was wishing her dad good luck!
me and my ironman!
there are 2100 bikes ready to go!

matt is nervous and not feeling the greatest. he has been traveling for over a week including D.C., vegas and a 2 hr. drive to st. george. you don't sleep as well or eat as well and your system doesn't feel normal and he really wishes he felt better but i know adrenaline will kick in tomorrow and he will be ready to go. it is a lot of build up and he is just ready for it to be over already, i just want him to enjoy the challenge.

you have all sent such sweet wishes of luck that i know all that positive energy will help.

it's like the night before your wedding or something, a lot of butterflies!!

the weather is supposed to get up to 70 which is not that high, it will be cold at 5 a.m. when he has to be there and at 6 a.m. when we have to be there so you will see us bundled up!

i will post after the race or sun. depends on how late we get home. they have until midnight!

quick update

we have been too busy to sit down and post but just a few things, YES the bike made it! thanks for all the concern! it was a little crazy getting it into a car at the vegas airport and i paid more than i should have but someone with a car service was willing to help and i took him up on it! matt has been to ironman training camp which was a great experience. he has registered and gone to an informative meeting that was mandatory for all contestants. it scared him a little when they told them the good, bad and ugly of the race! he is up for it though and if he has to take the whole 17 hours alloted he will to finish!

the weather the first day was beautiful in the high 70's, it was very windy but warm. today was freezing! low 50's and very cold wind. we did not bring clothes for cold weather! hopefully the temp will rise especially by sat. and we want no or very low wind! matt's sister got her today and she had to drive through snow. matt's parents drove to provo yesterday and had to drive through a snowstorm both ways! what is with this spring?!

i was able to see my sister in law's mother mary lou. she is doing great. she is home, she just has to do rehab to gain movement back in her right side. thanks for your prayers and remember to be mindful when you are texting!

i will post on sat. and for sure on sun!

Race P.S.

just as a full credit to matt and what he's getting into i thought i should post what an ironman triathalon is:

2 mile swim in a freezing reservoir with full wetsuit

112 mile bike ride

26.2 mile marathon run

you have 12 hours to complete the race~ sounds fun doesn't it?!

i have seen people go into cramping so bad they could not control their bodies, i have seen people crawl, or roll across the finish line. people throw up and get dehydrated.

i guess it is just about a challenge to push your body to the limit. i don't see why but i am not that kind of person!

maybe we should add prayers to our well wishes:)

i am going to take as many pictures as possible but i am wondering how i am going to find him in a sea of racers at each leg of the race. i know he has a lot of plans and jobs for each of his family! stay tuned!

The time has come!

Time for the Ironman! Matt left for a work trip to D.C. i will leave on Mon. to meet him in Vegas, drive to st. george and matt will start getting ready for the race on sat. May 1st. I am excited for him. mostly i am excited to have my husband back. this is most of what i have seen for the last many many months:

many hours riding on the trainer, long bike rides, lots of swimming laps, running and working out!! he has been gone a lot!

my special duty for this race is to get his bike to vegas! this special picture below is the bike all packed up in a special container that is huge but lucky for me rolls on wheels! i get to take it on the plane, pick it up in vegas, find a cab to take me to a hotel with it, get it in the hotel room and as soon as i see matt it is HIS baby!
very late in the game, ie, this last wed. i had an idea to make tshirts for the race, wed. was too late. no one could get them done in time. i decided to try and make them myself, or at least a few.
these are for the little girls, skylar and harper! front and back this one is for me, front and back.
i really wish i had thought about this earlier and that i was more creative, any ideas?!

If i have internet access i will post after the race. This is one of matt's lifetime dreams, i hope it is all he has dreamt of. his goal is just to finish. i will be proud of him no matter what happens, he is my ironman!

boys are different than girls!

Caleb had his senior prom on sat. this is the extent of what i saw!

they were not very organized to go somewhere and take pictures and i had to be somewhere at 5. he didn't really care about taking the pictures anyway so i said at least let me get one of you!

luckily they got the pictures they take at prom so i can at least see nicole!

now the outfit: caleb put a lot of thought into this outfit. yes most boys would go rent a tux for their senior prom but caleb is not most boys! he bought the blazer in utah at DI. (their goodwill) he got the tie out of matt's closet out of the "that tie is 20 yrs. old " section. the shirt was on clearance and the pants and the shoes were bought to match the outfit. he loved it all. he did the burgundy to match nicole's dress~ i have no idea what it looked like.

it was nice not to have to spend a 100$ on a tux for one night but i did miss seeing him in one. oh my boy, he is one unique kid!

she's 21~ that's an adult right?!

Happy Birthday Ki! today, april 13,th 2010 my child turns 21! i guess i have to say my daughter now. she is not a child. she's an adult. i know they say 18 but you are still very much in their life at 18. by 21 they are heading out on their own. creating their own life and possibly... getting married! i am so proud of my daughter. she is an independent, strong, responsible woman. she will graduate from college soon and will be getting married. she has had many adventures and takes something from each one. marriage will be the best one of all!

Happy birthday ki. we love you so much. i wish you a happy day! see you this weekend!

these are just some pictures from the last year or so!

spain
home
seattle

idaho
hawaii

the love

texting revolution

i just posted about jamie oliver's food revolution. this is about another very serious revolution. of course oprah is in charge but the law is on her side (not the other way around). she is trying to get everyone to sign a no phone zone pledge for their car. in a lot of states, like hawaii, it is illegal to talk on your phone or text and drive but you know people do it anyway. i am trying really hard to stop and to stop my family from doing it. on oprah they did studies and found out your brain cannot multitask that way, it is equivalent to drinking and driving. today she has a big thing on it on her show. the real reason i am posting about this is because of my sister in law richelle's mother mary lou.

this past weekend she was walking through walmarts parking lot in hurricane,utah (close to st. george) and although i haven't gotten all of the details, she was hit by a teenager in her truck texting on her phone. she did not see her and slammed into her. she had to be life flighted to salt lake city. she has a bleed in her brain and cannot move her head or her right leg. she was just moved out of ICU which is a good sign. our prayers are with her.

how many times do you just think, it's just a short text or i am in a parking lot! i need to do better, i need to stop.

say a prayer for mary lou.

update, i guess oprah's big announcement was that april 30th is no phone zone day, thought it would be much more.

happy easter

we had a nice easter. usually we get together with the mozo's but since we just did that last sat. we decided to all do our own thing. i rarely fix a holiday meal on my own. i think i have done it a total of 4 times in my married life. of course i always bring many dishes when we get together but i never have to do it all. i found out it is a little bit of a labor of love (peeling 5 lbs of potatoes is not very fun!)

i was a little excited to have ki and scotty and maggie come over for easter dinner. i started yesterday with the potato salad and finished up the rest this morning. we had spiral sliced, glazed ham ( from costco, fully cooked, really good) fresh green beans with garlic and shallots, potato salad, deviled eggs and spinach salad with bacon, mushrooms and red onion and poppy seed dressing. with strawberry shortcake for dessert. i tried to make ki and i a shortcake but it got really hard and dense as it sat and was pretty gross so we just ate another piece of chocolate!

this is my favorite holiday. it is a feeling of renewal and wonderful to reflect on the ressurection of Jesus Christ. i am so grateful for the atonement in my life and the easter story.

kiley was due right around easter and i ate chocolate marshmallow bunnies and eggs like crazy while i was pregnant, that didn't help the weight gain! there were no marshmallow eggs to be found this year!

when the kids were little it was so fun to dress them up in coordinating outfits and to hide eggs for them to find. i really wish i could post pictures but my scanner is not working and i do not have digitals from that far back.

anyway just a little reflection, times have changed but it is always nice to get together with family for holidays~ for as long as you can get it!!

happy easter!