Meeting My Nephew

This winter we met my nephew, Samuel, for the first time.  I think we're great buds already!

Hiking Superstitions

The Superstitions is a mountain area on the east side of Phoenix.  We often hike that area when we visit family in Phoenix.

While Phoenix is technically in a desert, it is an extremely lush desert especially in comparison with the Mojave desert where we live.  Notice all the "green".  I know, it is nothing compared to the green of the East coast, but still, it is much greener than our desert.



My niece, Naomi, and I have matching GPS running watches we both received for Christmas.





I thought it was cool how the cactus seemed to glow as the sunlight passed through it's needles.



We had some pretty good views and the mountains had some great rocks for scrambling.

New Microwave

Earlier this week our microwave stopped being radioactive and warming anything up.  So we did some research and ordered a new one.

Today we installed the new one.  It was not as easy as it should be.  You know what, it never is as easy as it should be around here.  The wood screw that held the old one up was completely stripped and bent, making for some exciting extraction efforts.  When trying to screw in the top mounting screws on the new microwave, we found that the part it was suppose to screw into had become detached from the microwave and fell inside of it.  Rachel then had to remove a billion screws to get inside the microwave so it could be reattached.  The vent doesn't line up, making for some rather creative workmanship to get the exhaust pipes to line up.  But it works!

Anyways, it is all done now!

Ragnar Training Schedule

Here is my Ragnar training schedule.

Week Date	Week #	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
22-Jan	1	rest	5M intvl	7M	5M	7M or rest	5M	12M
29-Jan	2	rest	5M	8M tmpo	5M	7M or rest	5M	10M
5-Feb	3	rest	5M intvl	8M	5M	8M or rest	5M	13M
12-Feb	4	rest	5M	6M tmpo	5M	8M or rest	5M	12M
19-Feb	5	rest	5M intvl	7M	5M or rest	3M/3M	5M	14M
26-Feb	6	rest	5M	8M tmpo	5M	9M or rest	5M	5M/5M/3M
4-Mar	7	rest	5M intvl	8M	5M or rest	4M/4M	5M	16M
11-Mar	8	rest	5M	8M tmpo	5M	9M or rest	5M	6M/4M/4M
18-Mar	9	rest	5M intvl	8M	5M or rest	5M/5M	5M	18M
25-Mar	10	rest	5M	8M tmpo	5M	9M or rest	5M	5M/5M/5M
1-Apr	11	rest	5M intvl	8M	5M or rest	3M/3M	5M	14M
8-Apr	12	rest	5M	6M tmpo	4M	8M or rest	4M	7M
15-Apr	13	rest	5M	4M	3M	4M	RACE	RACE

Visiting Uncle Justin & Aunt Kirsten

My brother Justin and his family recently moved to the Phoenix area this past summer.  That works out great as we will be able to see them more often and easier!

We drove out to Phoenix the day after Christmas and spent that evening and the next day with Justin and his family.  This was the first time we met my nephew, Lincoln.



We also hadn't seen Preston in a while.  He has grown a lot.  Preston reminds me a lot of Justin when we were little kids.  Henry and Preston had matching pajamas.  Henry is the one with the bink.



Our older kids, especially Emma, enjoyed playing with their cousin Naomi.





I realized I didn't get many pictures of Justin and Kirsten.  But they are in a few here and there.  Here are some fun moments around the house.



The next day we went to the zoo.  Henry very much enjoyed the petting zoo area and bonded with the goats.  It reminds me of when I was a kid.  We had a goat; her name was Suzie.  I learned to milk goats before I learned to milk cows.  My kids will probably never learn to milk goats or cows.



Here are a few photos of the most savage animals at the zoo:









The kids really enjoy spending time with their cousins!  It was something I unfortunately didn't get to do as a kid.  But we're definitely fixing that with the next generation!

Thoughts on Running

I've become a running addict.  I run 5 days a week almost without fail.  I normally cover over 20 miles each week.  I wear out a single pair of shoes in about 3 months.

I wear a GPS watch whenever I run.  It not only tracks where I go, but it also tracks my mileage, time, pace, speed, elevation, and calories.  This week I logged 27.65 miles, 3 hrs 48 minutes 24 seconds of running, an average pace of 8:16 minutes per mile (7.3 mph), and burned 3,486 calories.  In the last year I ran 904.32 miles, 127 hours 28 minutes 49 seconds of running, an average pace of 8:27 minutes per mile (7.1 mph), and burned 109,555 calories.  I find the stats interesting.

Since I've started running, I've lost nearly 20 lbs.  I didn't think I had 20 lbs to loose, but apparently I did and I lost it around my waist for sure.  Some of my older pants would fall down instantly if I don't cinch up with a belt.  What is a little more interesting to me is that most of that weight was lost in the first 6 months or so of running.  In the last nearly 18 months, I would guess I've lost no more than 5 or 6 lbs.  That's a pretty slow weight-loss rate.

For as much as I run, I should enter more races.  This past fall I ran a 10K race and reached my goal of running it at a 7 min/mile pace.  This coming spring I will be running a Ragnar Relay race with a team of 12.  This race won't be so much about pace or time, but running with a group of friends for fun.  Still, it will be a new challenge as I will have to cover nearly 20 miles myself in 3 different legs.  Never have I run so much in such a short amount of time!

Running has some interesting effects.  For example, recently I ran just over 10 miles.  I'm always surprised that in a long run like that I continue to feel like I could just keep going and going.  Sometimes after about 1 hour of running the "runner's high" kicks in.  It is like the run gets easier almost instantly, even if I happen to be going uphill.  I feel like I could just start sprinting.  After a long run like that, I find I need a large calorie boost.  And I crave orange juice.  Sometimes after a long run, I feel like I could just keep eating and eating.

In general, I also find that running increases my desire for more healthy foods, such as fresh fruit, oatmeal, nuts, and spinach.  I don't care so much for greasy foods.  I think my body needs more nutrients so it craves the foods that provides the increased nutrients required.

Running is also a great time to vent and clear my mind.  It is really the only time I'm guaranteed to have some time to myself.

Unfortunately, I've developed a running injury of some sort.  A doctor has told me I sprained my ankle.  It probably got twisted while running through the desert over some rocky/sandy terrain.  It really doesn't impede anything other than some mild random pain.  Still, I'll keep on running until I stop.

While I am oddly competitive with myself in running, no matter how much I improve there is always someone faster and better. The satisfaction comes from the progress.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning has always been a special family time.  Fortunately we sleep in at least a little bit.  When I was a kid, my brothers and I were always up no later than 5am.  I don't know how our kids manage to sleep in as long as they do.

Stockings are always first.





Then come the presents under the tree.



Emma received a very special gift this year:  An American Girl doll.  When a co-worker of mine, Denise from Maryland, found out that Emma really wanted an American Girl doll, Denise offered one up that her daughters had from when they were young.  We managed to get it sent over to Santa who delivered it on Christmas morning under the tree.  Emma adores her new doll, Samantha.



There were also lots of other great gifts, such as Legos, more Legos, Wii games, more Wii games, and many more toys.  I also received a new GPS watch to complement my running addiction.  The new watch is pretty slick and much smaller than my older one.  It is one of those gifts that gets used almost daily.  Those are the best kind.



After presents, we very quickly ate breakfast and got ready for Church.  Everyone had some special Christmas Sunday clothes.



Here is our whole family on Christmas ready for Church:



And off to Church we went to listen to the Choir sing some beautiful Christmas music!

Bracing For Times to Come

Bud got braces!  I'm sure he doesn't care for them now, but they should straighten his teeth slowly and make a long-term difference.  It is something that cannot be fixed overnight and inflicts a great deal of discomfort and annoyance.  It will be a growing experience.





Both Rachel and I were fortunate enough to have straight teeth.  But I sure hope he fares better than us when acne rears its ugly face!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we have a few traditions.  One of those traditions is to eat tamales for dinner.  This is a tradition that comes from Rachel's Arizona-based family (we definitely did NOT eat tamales in New York).  Still, they are very yummy.  This year we invited some friends over to enjoy the traditional Christmas Eve dinner with us.  Here we have some very happy kids:



Now here is a photo of the dinner buffet:



It makes me hungry just looking at the photo.

Henry is a little picky, so he just gets a quesadilla.



Our kitty Puma is also very into the Christmas presents this year.  From this photo we can see that he is enjoying the presents the best any kitty can.



I was also very excited for Christmas Eve because Rachel convinced me to upgrade my smartphone.  I've had an LG Ally for just over a year and it turned out that I was eligible for an upgrade.  Now I thought the Ally was a pretty good phone but I was having problems with it while on travel, namely problems with the phone OS "freezing" especially after turning it on after a plane flight.  Anyways, Emma and I went down to the Verizon store and I walked out with a new Droid Bionic.  It is a way awesome phone!  What a huge improvement this is over my old Ally!  It also has a front-facing camera so I can now Skype with the family anywhere and whenever.

Another tradition of Christmas Eve is viewing the Christmas lights in town.  After dinner we promptly drove to a neighborhood known as "Candy Cane Lane".  It is a short street that ends in a cul-de-sac  that is very much decked-out in Christmas lights at every house including lights strung between the houses over the street.  Very cool!

Back at the house, the kids put out milk and cookies for Santa, sprinkled some glitter on the driveway for the reindeer to better find our house, and we settled into the living room for the Christmas story.

Home Depot Workshop

Once again we took the kids to the Home Depot kids workshop.  This time they made coin banks.







These are always great activities for our family; just the right skill level for the kids and I.  Especially for me:)