Blueberries

You'd think with this much of an area to cover, we could have found a few more blueberries for Ryan to take home to his pregnant wife...  We would definitely not survive living off the land. 

Karsten, however, would be just fine...

3 1/2 weeks of happiness

We just got to spend 3 1/2 weeks with our favorite friends!!!  It was 25 days of happiness.

Fight it Like Jack

Fight It Like Jack!

There are some races I run where I push myself to new limits.  Some where I was able to run faster than I had before.  Some for fun.  And then there was the Lost Lake run.  This race touched me on so many levels.   The first being I was able to fund raise for the Huntsman Cancer Institute where my dad is doing the clinical trials for his cancer.  Together with friends and family, we raised $2000!!!  I felt their love and support and it pushed me through the hard parts of the race.  And with it being a 16 mile trail run, believe me, there were hard parts.

I loved doing this for my Dad.  I love him so much!  He is fighting his cancer every single day and I just can't imagine how hard physically and emotionally that is for him.  I had some wonderful friends I was running with (see the part below), but half of the race I ran by myself.  And I thought about him.  And the things he's taught me.  And the incredible man that he is.  I was glad to have that quiet moment on the trail where it was just me and him.

I got to run a race with Marianna again.  Enough said about why this one was so amazing.  Not only did she run with me, but she added a little magic to my race jersey by adding a picture of me and my dad on it.  I didn't even know you could do that!  She came up with the slogan that defined this race for me.  "Fight it Like Jack."  How could I not run my hardest with a picture of my Dad on my back. Thank you Marianna for being here and getting me up that mountain at all costs - including your earphones. I have such good friends.  Add to that running with Brenda and Carolyn (who convinced me that this was a race I needed to do) and that took it up a whole notch on the fun factor.  And Mary who ran up Flattop every week with me for training.  And Ann who hiked the trail to give moral support and gu.  And every one who donated!  I knew at the end of the day I would be reporting to so many people about how the race went so I had to stay strong. That made this race so amazing. 

Survivors of 16 miles of trail running.  Phew!

Part of the beautiful Lost Lake Run trail

At one point in the race I had gotten behind a group of people.  It's a single person trail so it's practically impossible to pass others while running.  Not having done this race before I thought maybe you just had to run behind them until there was a wider spot in the trail.  I slowed down my pace and accepted the pace that others were setting.  That was until this old grandpa came up, yelled that he was passing, and passed.  Just like that.  I passed with him and suddenly the trail was mine and I could go whatever pace I wanted - the pace I had trained for.  Why had I just accepted the crowd's pace without a fight?  This little grandpa taught me quite the lesson!  I passed people the rest of the way.  I never caught up to him though.

I was the one who was physically running the race, but it was all the different people that made this race the most amazing racing experience I have ever had.  That and the most amazing scenery I've ever run in.   Could I say "amazing" enough while trying to describe this experience?!  I don't think so. 

It was amazing.

Gone fishin'

This is the first time in over 13 years (maybe more) since these guys have all been together.  They were all college buddies and roommates of David back in the day - starting massive pillow fights, fighting over video games, streaking, taking random scooter rides, trash can rides, ski trips, emergency trips, etc. are just a few of the many hilarious stories coming from their BYU chapter of life.  Don't let their current fancy titles of accountant, therapist, lawyer, pharmacist, and director of electronic marketing deceive you.  Seeing them all together as they got ready to embark on a 5 day canoe trip into the middle of nowhere Alaska was a brief reminder of the mischievous potential of these guys together.  Only scarier because now instead of water balloon launchers, they are playing with shotguns.  Maybe it's a GOOD thing they're headed into the middle of nowhere... 

Craziness

Since my last post dated July 18th, so much has happened it's hard to begin to blog again not wanting to leave anything out yet not knowing where to start.  My camera was returned, my kids started school, we've had 6 weeks worth of wonderful and fun visitors (including a bear in our garage), we've lived through 31 straight days of rain, we've basked in the glorious Alaskan sun, I raised money for cancer research and ran the most amazing race, we've gone to violin concerts, movies, restaurants, tops of mountains, sand dunes, Denali National Park, etc. and NOT in that order and I'm leaving out so much!  So bear with me as I attempt to document our "little moments" in a very sporadic way over the next couple of weeks...

Fourth Grade

Sixth Grade

First Day

 

I know I embarrass them to no end, but I just can't help myself! 

P is for Picnic

Back to school means our annual ABC picnic

From cupcakes

to X shaped jello

a fun time was had by all!

**I love that this tradition has spread and is now being done in Texas as well as in two locations in California.  It makes me so happy!!

Go Bananas!

B.A.N.A.N.A.    S.P.L.I.T.S

The one-night-a-year 

where there is no holding back 

on ice cream and toppings and 

this year we got to have our friends with us.  

Pure Joy!!

Freakin' mountain goat trail

Pioneer Peak at a distance

Our fake summit. 

David graciously took all six kids one Saturday so Marianna and I had the day to ourselves.  Shopping?  Spa Day?  Nah, we decided to go on an adventure.  We chose a "challenging" hike and went for it.  We should have known that a "challenging" Alaska hike was going to be a bit different than a "challenging" California hike.  This hike kicked our butts!  We headed straight up this beastly mountain, just like mountain goats. In fact, we were higher than mountain goats because we could see them as tiny little dots down below us!  It was six hours of straight uphill.  It was so hard.  We got to what we thought must be the top because the next peak looked impossible to climb.  We congratulated ourselves, took some pictures, and started heading down until we saw some people on that impossible peak!  We turned around and went to check it out.  Two hours later we were 45 minutes from summitting.  We got nervous about the time and didn't want to get caught in the dark.  That and the fact that Marianna's hair was standing straight out on end - a sign of electricity (lightening...)  So, in an effort to try and prevent David's mountain rescue buddies from having to search for us, we responsibly headed back down.  We have NO pictures from where we had stopped because we were both too afraid to take our hands off of the rock.  It was so steep.  (From 0" to 6400".)   

Our impossible peak

 

We're so high up I can barely look at Marianna to take her picture!

We made it back safe and sound.  It was one incredible day and I am so happy to have a girlfriend like Marianna who would rather do crazy adventures than anything else.  

I love that we tackled this huge, impossible mountain together.  

Unwelcome visitor

 Can you see the footprints? 

X

Bears make a very big mess when searching for a midnight snack.  Things consumed?  A bag of powdered sugar, 2 bags of Hersey's kisses, corn nuts and some very moldy left-overs.  Thank you Mr. Bear for making our summer guests truly feel like they are living on the wild side while staying at the Hymas house!  (There was a total of 5 adults, 6 kids, and one dog sleeping in the house while this happened and no one heard a thing!  We may be in need of a new watchdog...  Or maybe we could just get David to close the garage door when he's done.  :)  )