Ragnar Trail Zion 2015

This past weekend I participated in Ragnar Trail Zion with some friends.  The weather was not awesome for trail running, but I made new friends and would do it all over again, so I call that a success!

Here are the two teams that camped together (top l to r: Loren, Jason, Sara, Gary, Casey, Bob, Brady; middle l to r: Sys, Jami, Tori, Anna, Lisa, Sha, Wendy; Front and center is Harish.  Not pictured is Steve who had already left.

The Lehi 3rd Ward crew minus Sara and Jason...

Not sure why I'm walking away...

Sha, Sara and I at the finish line

So grateful for my Nathan.  He is such a huge support to me!

So I only got to run one leg (the green loop) before they called the race for the off-and-on and then non-stop rain.  It was the shortest leg, but I am not afraid to say that it was tougher than I had prepared for.  The trail was super narrow, and way steeper (uphill and downhill) than I had anticipated.  But, I am happy with my performance.... even if I did trip and fall once.

A panoramic shot of Zion's Ponderosa Ranch

Nathan and I hanging out in our tent to avoid the rain.

Diane Affleck Harwood

Nathan's mother passed away on April 13, 2015.  I don't want to post a lot here about my feelings, but since this blog is sort of a family history/journal for me, I do want to post about her passing.

Born October 13, 1957, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with juvenile onset rheumatoid arthritis at the age of five.  In spite of this disease, the daily pain she felt, and the physical limitations the disease placed on her body, she lived a life of courage, optimism and strength.   

There are some things in life that you are never prepared to have happen.  

I am so grateful to know that physical separation from those we love in this life is not permanent. Nathan's mother will always be his mother, she will always be my mother-in-law - the loving mother who gave me an amazing and caring husband, and she will always be "Nana" to my kids.

I printed this quote and put it up in my living room to remind me of the truths I know.

image credit

I have also been pondering the words of President Uchtdorf from conference April 2014

In light of what we know about our eternal destiny, is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings of life, they seem unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings. 

Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless and who promises eternal blessings without number. Endings are not our destiny.

The more we learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we realize that endings here in mortality are not endings at all. They are merely interruptions--temporary pauses that one day will seem small compared to the eternal joy awaiting the faithful.

How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that in His plan there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings.

Isaac's 12 Days of Priesthood Begins

We started the 12 days of priesthood this morning for Isaac.  We had to adjust our schedule up a little bit to accommodate an earlier ordination date.  Due to Mother's Day being the Sunday after his birthday, we made arrangements for him to receive the priesthood on his actual birthday.

So I broke out the bag I had made for Jared's 12 days of priesthood and we put it out this morning.

This morning he received a letter from Grandpa Carter about the priesthood.  Isaac was so excited to start receiving the things he had watched Jared get almost 2 years ago.

Easter Sunday 2015

Easter is pretty low key at our house.  The Easter Bunny did hide a few eggs for the girls to find and then I gave all the kids a couple bags of candy I had bought for them.

After watching General Conference, we headed over to my parent's home for the annual Carter Easter Dinner.

After eating spiral ham, funeral potatoes, rolls and salad, we watched the movie "He Knows My Name".

Following the movie, we commenced with our Egg Bashing!  Sorry the pictures are a little blurry. They were taken by one of the grandkids...

Unfortunately, our family did not go home with the plaque this year.  That honor was had by Davis.

Then it was on to the Easter Egg hunt.

A picture of most of the boys.  We missed Eric and Lisa and the kids!

Man, I love my family!

Isaac's Artwork

A couple of week's ago, Isaac came home from school and told Nathan and I that he needed our signature to sell one of his art pieces.

I hadn't seen the artwork, so before it was gone, I ran up to the school to snap a picture.  Here it is:

And here's my boy posing with his art.

Here's another piece of art he created recently and brought home.

Think Pink 5K

On March 21, a few friends and I ran the Lehi Legacy Center Think Pink 5K.  The day was beautiful!

Here is our group getting ready to run.

Sara and I pre-race.

It was a great little local race benefiting Huntsman Center for Cancer Research.  I forgot to take a picture of the medal I received at the end of the race, but it looks just like this:

Daddy Daughter Dance 2015

Amelia and her daddy attended the school's Daddy Daughter Dance recently.  Amelia loves to get dressed up and spend one-on-one time with Nathan!  They went to dinner and then headed to the school to the dance.

Afterwards, Nathan told me that he danced the following dance with a bunch of other grown men. I think I need video evidence of this scene!!