Are We Being Tested or Is it Just Bad Luck?

Summer is just flying by. I am really enjoying having the kids home and getting a break from work. Things have really settled down from how they were going this past spring. Spring 2009 was a very busy and challenging time for our family. I was working almost every day, including the days Lloyd had off. Besides being busy with work and our kids, one challenge after another kept coming our way. As we experienced one setback after another, we had to wonder...Are we Being Tested or Is it Just Bad Luck? If we were being tested, I don't think we were passing because we were being tested over and over again. I think this is how challenges in life come, when it rains it pours. Here's just a few of the challenges we experienced in the last few months. To stay positive and optimistic, I'm going to mention the "Good News" about each of these challenges.

• Lloyd's car engine died. We thought about buying a new car because his is a '98 and in poor condition inside and out. It's so bad, both the door handles have fallen off. You have to roll down the window and carefully grip under the broken handle just to get out of the car. The ceiling lining is hanging down from the top of the car. It's never had hub caps and the exterior paint is peeling off. Nonetheless, we determined that we could not afford a new car. We still have two more years to pay off our van. We took a gamble and had the engine rebuilt. It cost almost $3000. We pray it lasts. After all, he drives that car about 200 miles a day to and from work. The Good News: When they rebuilt the engine they gave us a new door handle so we don't have to roll down the window to get out.
• Lloyd accidentally left his cell phone and wallet on top of the van and drove away. He was able to track down his cell phone to a teenager living in Concord - she said her dad works in Modesto. After a few conversations, we decided to have the phone shut off and get a new one. As for the wallet, we never found it. Lloyd had to order all new cards and get a new license. The Good News: My sister gave Lloyd one of her old cell phones and no one used our credit cards before we reported them lost.
• I had my third car accident in six months on April 30. I was rear ended while waiting to turn right into an intersection. The guy who hit me was really nice and immediately admitted he was at fault. I had two other accidents previous to this one. In January, a guy ran a stop sign and hit us on the side. In October, I was parked with all the kids in the car and we were hit from behind. I can't believe 3 accidents in less than six months and none of them were my fault. We had the hassle of having to have multiple rental cars. We should put AAA on speed dial! The Good News: No one was hurt in any of the accidents and my insurance rates didn't go up a cent (the accidents weren't my fault, but I still wondered).
• Our computer was having a lot of problems. Lloyd tried taking it to the shop where we had it custom built, but then we found out they are out of business now. He found someone else to work on it. This guy said our computer had 7 viruses and wasn't put together very well in the first place. Maybe that's why that place is out of business now. We had to pay a couple hundred to get our computer working again. The Good News: We actually got a great deal for all the work he did on it and it doesn't "hum" any more.
• Conner had to get three staples put in his head at the ER. I came home from work and Lloyd told me he had fallen on the tile floor and hit his head. Lloyd had bandaged it up, but I knew immediately when I saw it he would need stitches (or staples). He didn't love it, but he survived his ER visit. The Good News: Because we went to Oakdale, we were only in the ER for two hours. We paid $50 for the visit and our insurance company paid $1,665 - for three staples!
• We dropped my Canon Rebel camera and broke the lens. We had to buy a new one for a couple hundred dollars. The Good News: The new lens has a stabilizer and the lens cap doesn't fall off.
• The battery in our van died and we had to buy a new one. The Good News: The van starts when we want it to.
• I lost two of my two Pampered Chef ice cream scoops at a class party at Katelyn's school. The Good News: We've been eating less ice cream (I think).
• Our garage door opener is broken and we still have not fixed it. The Good News: We have lots of extra room in our garage for the kids to play in or for Lloyd to store all the food for the YM encampment.
• Our Bosch blender is broken and still is. I use it a lot to make protein shakes. The Good News: We have an old blender we using until the other one is fixed.

So there you go. Life is full of challenges, but you can always find something good about them. I am glad things are settling down a bit for now. Either our luck is changing or we are finally learning our lesson.

My Second Triathlon

I mentioned in my first triathlon post that I think I have been bitten by the triathlon bug. Yes, I am planning to do five triathlons this year and two Half Ironmans next year. I love having a new challenge. Here are the pictures from my second triathlon on July 11. It was three weeks after my first one. This one was a bit different. Both the swim (half a mile) and the bike (16 miles) were longer on this one. The run (3.1 miles) was about the same, but no headphones were allowed. This was an adjustment for me because I love running with my music. This triathlon actually recorded your time; the first one I did was just a Tri for Fun. I was curious to see how I would compare to others in my age group. It was held at Rancho Seco, south of Sacramento to the east of Galt. We actually stayed in a hotel in Lodi the night before. My whole family was able to come, except Courtney who was at EFY. I got to the race early so I would have plenty of time to set up in the transition area. I was excited and nervous. I remember perspiring a lot because I was so anxious. At this triathlon, they gave us matching swim caps to indicate what wave we were to begin with. Here I am with all the 30-39 year old women. Lloyd and the kids arrived right before I began the swim. I was getting worried that something had happened to them so I was glad when they showed up. I am smiling for them here. The swim waves begin every five minutes. While my group was waiting to begin, a girl from the previous wave had to be rescued from the water. We all got a little nervous when we saw her being rescued, but we tried to think positively about our own swims. The swim was half a mile or 800 yards, which is twice as long as the swim on my first tri. I knew I could do it, but I also didn't want to be the last yellow cap out of the water. Thankfully, the water was very warm and clean. As I began the swim, I got a little panicky because they were a lot of weeds in the water and I felt like they might trap me. I felt kind of like Harry Potter when he's underwater with all the weeds in the Goblet of fire. Once I got away from the weeds, I focused on getting to the first buoy. It seemed like it took forever. I kept swimming and swimming and the buoy still seemed so far away. It really is different swimming in open water. I did wear a waterproof watch so I could know how long the swim took. I felt like I had been out there for about 12-15 minutes, but when I looked at my watch it had only been 7 minutes. I had to float on my back a couple times to get my bearings, but I did freestyle during the rest of the swim. Although this swim was longer than my first tri, it was so much better because they were a lot less people in the water. We could spread out and not hit each other the whole time! Here I am getting out of the water. The swim took me 16 minutes.
Lloyd got this picture of me when I was transitioning from the swim to the bike. No one but the participants are suppose to be in the transition area, but he didn't care. I loved sitting on my laundry detergent bucket as I put my shoes on. Lloyd didn't get any pictures of me on the bike because he was too busy watching the kids. The 16-mile bike ride took me just over an hour. Hardly anyone else had a mountain bike; they all had road bikes. I wasn't fast on my mountain bike, but I did okay. Unfortunately, my chain did come off again. I was able to quickly get it back on - only two bikers passed me in the time it took me to put it back on. The bike ride had rolling hills. The hills were a bit challenging, but not bad. This is what my kids did while I was on the bike. My transition to the run was very fast, after all, I couldn't put my headphones on. I did okay on the run. It wasn't my fastest run - maybe because I had no music or maybe because I was a bit tired from the swim and bike. The run was on dirt and had some rolling hills. When you do triathlons, they write your age on the back of your leg. As I was running, I would note the age of the other participants. I made an effort to try to pass up any women in my age group. I know I passed up at least three on the run.

Here I am sprinting to the finish line. My finish time was 1:49:21

(I started the swim 20 minutes after the clock). Here I am after the race. Yes, I loved it. No, I didn't win anything. I actually come in 20th out of the 35 women in my age group. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't in the top half. I was proud though especially since I did it on a mountain bike. I am excited to improve at doing triathlons. And when I get my road bike, watch out!

I was so grateful that my family could be there to cheer me on! I am looking forward to my next one on August 15. Yes, I may be addicted to these.

Returning to the Temple 15 Years Later

Lloyd and I had the most wonderful 15 year anniversary. We returned to the temple on July 9, 2009 - 15 years to the day that we were married. It was such a sweet and spiritual experience. We did an endowment session and then did some sealings. It was so wonderful to be in the sealing room and kneel across the altar again. I felt the Lord's spirit so strongly. I loved hearing again the blessings the Lord gives to us as we are sealed for all eternity. During these moments, I felt so grateful for Lloyd and our temple marriage.

After 15 years of marriage, we are still so in love. Yes, we have learned that marriage can be challenging. Like life, it has it ups and downs. But we are on this path together forever. Thank goodness we have each other.After our date at the temple, we celebrated by eating out at one of our very favorite restaurants, The Claim Jumper. We love that place and try to never miss a chance to go there because they don't have one in Modesto. We really appreciated my mom and Jay watching the kids for us. July 9, 1994

We may have more wrinkles and not be as skinny as the day that we got married, but our love for each other hasn't changed.

Thank you, Lloyd, for the last 15 years. I can't wait to experience the next 15 and more with you. You truly are the love of my life!

Santa Barbara Vacation

While Courtney was at EFY in Santa Barbara, we enjoyed a mini vacation there. We were sad that we had to leave Katelyn behind because we didn't have enough room in our van (we had to take Jurnee to EFY). We tried to spoil Katelyn in other ways since she missed the trip. First we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo. We saw lots of animals. Here's Lloyd and the kids with the macaws. We also saw...

elephantspenguins

flamingos

giraffes
anteaters and many more.

Of course, Cameron was thrilled about the train ride.

We all loved the train ride that went all around the zoo.

The kids had fun playing in the children's area.

We also fed the goats.

After the zoo, we rode the Santa Barbara shuttle through downtown. It is a gorgeous town!

Here we are on the Santa Barbara pier. It's the only part of the California coastline that faces south instead of west. We explored the Santa Barbara harbor on this boat called Lil' Toot.

Cameron got to drive the boat.

And so did Kylie. The weather was absolutely perfect. I never remember experiencing a more perfect day. It wasn't too hot or too cold. It felt heavenly!

We ate pizza at Rusty's right across from the beach. I got to visit one of my close friends from high school, Beth, who lives in Santa Barbara. I think we talked for over three hours. It was so fun to catch up and laugh about old times. We can't believe we graduated from high school over 18 years ago.

We spent some time swimming at the pool at our hotel and playing at the Goleta Beach. I guess I was relaxing so much I didn't get any photos. On our way home we stopped in the Danish town of Solvang. It's such a cute village.
I remember going there as a kid and my mom took my picture in front of this shoe. For fun, I had my kids take a picture with it too.

The kids enjoyed seeing all the windmills. I enjoyed eating the aebleskivers, a round Danish pancake that is deep fried. So yummy! We also had shave ice with ice cream. I don't think that's a Danish treat, but it was really delicious.

We had a great mini vacation and look forward to returning to Santa Barbara. It is such a beautiful place!

Courtney's EFY in Santa Barbara

We were so excited for Courtney to go to Especially For Youth this year. She actually doesn't turn 14 until August 29, but she was still eligible to go. I went to EFY three times when I was a teenager. I absolutely LOVED it and still consider it one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. EFY is not cheap, it costs $450, but I knew it would be worth it. I told Courtney to consider it her 8th grade graduation gift. We decided to have her go to EFY in Santa Barbara the week of July 6-10. We didn't really want to drive all the way to Utah and we thought we could spend a few days in Santa Barbara. Her roommate for EFY was Jurnee Walker, a cute girl from our neighboring ward. Jurnee was a real trooper traveling in our full minivan with lots of little kids. She was very patient and understanding. Here's a picture of Courtney and Jurnee in front of their dorm room at UC Santa Barbara. Here's the inside of their room.
Cute girls!
Here's Courtney with some of the girls from her group. They got very close and had a lot of fun together.They still keep in touch via facebook.
This is Courtney with her counselor, Ann. Courtney said she was lots of fun and made all the girls feel included.

Here's all the girls before the big dance on Friday night. They all look so pretty.
Here they are with the guys.

Courtney's favorite things about EFY were:

1- dances

2- pizza party

3- spiritual classes with awesome speakers

4- friends

5- variety show

She's already looking forward to next year!

Fourth of July - Karen's 30th Birthday

Fourth of July is my sister's birthday. We've always tried to make it a special day for her along with the birthday celebration of the USA. Since my sister, Karen, moved to Arizona, we haven't been able to be with her on your birthday every year. One year we did visit her in Mesa, and July in Arizona is very HOT! Well, this year Karen was turning the big 30! Her husband decided to surprise her with a trip to California for her entire family. We were so excited about seeing her, her husband, Matt, her son, Ethan, and her baby girl, Addie. Here's my entire family (minus my brother Brad's family) at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on July 3. It was very crowded and pretty cool, but we still had a fun day. Lloyd had fun making sand castles with the kids.
Ethan and Conner - 2 two-year old boys having fun in the sand Courtney with her buddy, Ethan

Katelyn and Baby Addie - snuggling to keep warm

Conner got very dirty at the beach. Tons of sand to dig in - a boy's paradise.

Me and Addie. I'll never have a baby girl of my own again so at least I can cuddle with my sister's little girl.

On the 4th of July, we went swimming and had a great barbecue in my mom's backyard. My mom always does a fabulous job decorating for holidays. Her backyard looked very festive. Here are 7 of my mom's 9 grandkids.

Here's my family - we reused last year's matching shirts.

Little kid's table

Matt, Bryce, Chareen, Karen, and Katelyn

Lloyd, Me, Mom, Jay, Kylie, and Addie (in the shade)

Kylie and Addie - cousins, but look like they could be sisters.

It was a great celebration for Karen and Lloyd too (6 days early). The homemade ice cream was so yummy. I wish I could eat that stuff every day. We are so glad Karen and her family could come visit. We love them so much and wish they didn't love so far away.