St. George Marathon

Port-a-potties, our friends

Bill shows off his iv bag and medal. The medals looked like real sandstone.

Aw, cooling our tired feet in the gutters of St. George.

Well, looks like we survived.

Warming by the bonfires, waiting for the race to get underway.

Bill finished his 5th and I my first! We gave everything we had as temps in St. George climbed into the upper 80s. The course was scenic and mostly downhill, although there were a couple of significant uphill sections. Bill was on pace to run a 3:30 marathon, but with a half mile to go his body would not cooperate. Two police officers on bikes jumped into action and helped him nearly the rest of the way. He finished in 3:45:24. It took him over 15 minutes to go the last half mile. He was then carried to the medical tent where he was given 2 liters of fluid through an iv. I finished in 4:29:42, just under my goal of 4:30. The last 3 miles were a mental and physical struggle. Was it worth it? Absolutely! Will we run another one? Give us a couple weeks to recover and we'll think about it. http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com/ More pictures and results.

Keepin it funky fresh

Hola familia! Dave and I just started a blog. Maybe you guys can check it out every once in a while. :)

http://daveandwendy.wordpress.com/

Summer Part Deux

Here is our last adventure from back to front. We finally stopped on the "big hill" on our way home from Oregon and let the boys roll rocks down the hill. You know, "boy stuff".

James, contemplating jumping into Crater Lake. He did do it, twice. And it was cold, brrrrrr.

Posing at Crater Lake before the big hail storm.

The boys hiked down to Salt Creek Falls.

Using the ropes to hike down to "Secret Beach".

The famous view of Devil's Elbow.

Hangin' out at the river.

Awww! Oregon blackberries!

Can you just hear the heart thumping? James' first jump off Hayden Bridge.

Bill and Lisa in the land of giant trees.

Little Bill on big Redwood tree.

Beautiful sunset over ocean. Yes, there is an ocean under all those clouds.

Gabe learned to become a proficient swimmer in Oregon, even jumping off the high dive without a life jacket.

360 degree views of San Francisco. Enjoying our 25th wedding anniversary (almost).

Sour dough bread bowl with clam chowder at Fisherman's Wharf. Couldn't be better.

The "establishment" has taken over Haight Ashbury. The ice cream sure was tasty.

Famous view of the Painted Ladies (row homes) of S.F. Our hotel was just a couple of blocks from here.

Same beach we had our wedding announcement pictures taken on. Just another of our runs around S.F.

Fun at the Giants ballpark.

Hey, sushi's pretty good! Now it's time for school.

A Sweet Love Story

This story begins July 22, 1985, when driving down I80 just outside of Sacramento, we engage in a conversation about our possible future together. The conversation goes something like this: Bill: "What are we waiting for?" Lisa: "I don't know." Bill: "Let's go for it." Lisa: "Okay!"

Fast forward 25 years, give or take. I have occasionally brought up the fact that I was never proposed to properly, you know; boy kneels on one knee; boy nervously asks girl to become his eternal companion; girl thinks it over for....... not long; girl answers "Yes!".

August 10, 2010, we are flying down a very busy I80 just outside of Sacramento. Bill pulls over amid freeway construction onto the "V" of an off ramp. Cars are flying by and I'm thinking what in the world is going on? Does he actually want me to drive in this nightmare of traffic? He gets out of the car, comes over to my side, opens the door, gets down on one knee and bravely inquires something like this; "Would you be my wife?" Do you wonder what my answer is? I said, "Of course I would! Now get back in the car before it's the end of "us"."

Is that sweet or what?
More pictures to come of the end of summer.

Happy Anniversary!

Mom and Dad, you guys are so awesome and wonderful and we love you. Thanks for falling in love and getting married. :)

Iowa State Fair

We officially experienced our first Iowa State Fair.... and that's exactly what it was... an experience. Fair food: everything and anything on a stick. I felt like a cave man eating this turkey leg. This pumpkin was the first-place trophy winner. It weighed 1300 lbs! Check out the beard on the guy in the background. Epic! And as a finale, we got to see Pat Benatar and REO Speedwagon live!

Rocky Mountain NP and Field of Dreams

These are two really really rad places. In fact, almost as rad as Gabe, but not quite. but close. but not really