Giving the Tri a Try

 As part of our summer trip this year we went to Coeur d'Alene to support Jared, Cheryl, and Kyle in their desire to participate in the Hayden Triathlon.  This was the first time any of them had done a triathlon so they were treading new ground with this.  I have to say, we had a great time watching them and cheering them on.  These first two pictures were taken right before the swim, which is the first leg of the event.  Cheryl and Kyle were in the same wave (orange caps) and Jared's wave (yellow caps) started 3 minutes later.

  This is Cheryl as she emerged from the water and ran to her bike. As I helped her remove her wet suit she said the swim was the worst experience of her life and that she was about ready to throw up.  She thought she was one of the last in her wave to finish the swim, but I informed her that she was actually one of the first and that Kyle was still in the water.  She couldn't believe it. 

Kyle was not far behind. Here he is running to his bike while removing his wet suit. Doesn't Emily have a cute little prenant tummy?

Jared fresh out of the swim said "I'm not as tired as I thought I would be."  Evidently, he found it hard to breathe while doing the crawl, so he did the breast stroke most of the way (1/2 mile).

Here Jared is getting ready to start the bike ride.

Kyle returning from the bike portion of the race.

The next three pics are of Cheryl, Kyle, and Jared heading out for the 3 mile run.

Next three pics - returning from the run. All three look pretty spry for having just spent over 90 minutes competing. I would have been dead by then.

All three were very happy to have completed the race.  What a great feeling of accomplishment! Cheryl took 4th place in her division - just missing the opportunity to stand on the platform where they recognize the first three finishers.  She also has bragging rights by having the overall best time of our three children, with Kyle in second place and Jared third.

4th of JulyTuacahn Theater Style

 Alan and I celebrated Independence Day this year by going to the Tuacahn Theater in St. George Utah to see their production of Aladdin on our way up to Salt Lake City. It was an amazing show - well worth the time, effort, and money.  This was our third time to see a production there.  We just don't grow tired of it.

For those of you who have never been there, this photo gives you an idea of what the outdoor theater looks like.  It has the beautiful red rocks in the background.  This particular night was overcast and we even had a few sprinkles, but it didn't ruin the show.

Waiting for the show to start.  The show starts pretty late (8:45) because it needs to be dark before they can begin. The show was sold out that night and every other night that they had performed it. The sad thing for me was that Aladdin was played by the understudy that night. The actor did a good job, but I am sure that the real Aladdin would have been better.

Our self photography didn't turn out so well.  This was taken during the intermission. I would love to post pictures from the actual show, but no photography was allowed.  They had real camels, 3D video footage, and a carpet ride over the audience as part of the show, which was awesome. 

At the conclusion of Aladdin, everyone stayed in their seats to watch a special 4th of July fireworks show to the music of Lee Greenwood's "Proud To Be An American".  It was amazing.  That is my favorite patriotic song so I really loved it. 

This was a great start to our summer vacation.  We had a wonderful time.  I'm sure we will find ourselves in St. George again with the opportunity to see another one of their fine productions.

Reagan Library

On June 29th Alan and I were able to go to the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley.  I thought it would be a short visit, but one could spend the whole day there, or even two days seeing all there is to see.  This first photo is of the entrance.

Just inside, there is a statue of Ron and Nancy (and me).

At one point, we could pretend to be the president giving a speach. There were even telepromptors for us to use. See the ipod around our necks?  This was what they called the "Personal Guide Cam".  It was very useful to us as we went around the different areas of the Library.  The extra information was great.  There were many things included that we could't have picked up on by simply reading the placards.

One thing Pres. Reagan really liked was horses and horseback riding.  I even got to go on a horseback ride with him.

Air Force One

 Inside Air Force One.
  This was state-of-the-art for the 1980's, but I am sure that today's Air Force One is a lot fancier.

One thing President Reagan was known for was his love of Jelly Bellies.  This picture of Pres. Reagan was made out of them.

Alan and I had a great time remembering things that took place during the Reagan Administration like the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, getting the economy back on track, the rebuilding of the U.S. military, how the U.S. prestige in the world was improved, and the assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr. of Pres. Reagan.  This is a photo of a replica of the Berlin Wall.

Of all the Presidents of the United States during my lifetime, I admire Ronald Reagan the most.  I believe he has done more for the good of the country and the world than any recent president and I hope that America can get back to the beliefs and standards that Pres. Reagan had.  I am proud to be an American.  How about you?

Still Experimenting

To finish up our experimentation with emergency cooking methods, Alan and I decided to break out our dutch ovens this weekend and give it a try.  I bought these dutch ovens years ago but have never used them.  I think one reason I had never tried using them is because I had listened to so many people say how hard they are to clean once you have used them.  Just the care of dutch ovens is quite prohibitive, but I put all that aside and decided to give it a shot.

I decided to make a main dish plus a dessert.

For our main disn, I made chicken pot pie.  Truthfully, I think it turned out pretty good even though I used a pre-made pie cruse that wasn't quite large enough.  If I make this again, I will make my own crust.  I think it will turn out better that way.

I don't know why this photo uploaded sideways, but this is a photo of the pot pie on a plate ready to eat.

For dessert we made peach cobbler.  Alan, who is not a cook in the least degree, actually made the cobbler for me because I was tied up making the chicken pot pie.  I think he did a great job.  I might be able to make a cook out of him yet.

Here is the cobbler on the plate ready to eat.

Now that our experimention with emergency cooking methods has come to an end for now, I can say that it has been a very educational experience.  I am hopeful that we won't have to use them in the near future out of necessity, but out of desire if we so choose.  Having an emergency or disaster is not our desire, but at least we feel like we will be better prepared to comfortably feed ourselves if that should be the case.  Just this weekend there was a huge storm that affected many eastern states, killing some and affecting millions because of power outages.  These no-power cooking methods will really come in handy for us if for some reason we find ourselves without electricity.