Taylor Swift

My, what a concert!! Thursday, we had 3 concert tickets for this concert and the 3rd ticket was for Jenny. She called that afternoon, saying that she wasn't feeling well. So I, graciously, went in her place. Of course, I'm not as fun as Jenny, but Jacque and Aly didn't mind too much. We were close to the floor, near the back tho, so most of the pictures are fuzzy.

Her concert was quite amazing. For an 18-yr. old, she is quite the entertainer and actually sings quite well in person. The audience, packed as it was, practically sang every song with her. She sang all the favorites, had multiple costume changes, sang IN the audience and ended her concert singing in a waterfall! Here are some fun pictures we tried to take:

Triathalon Lessons

1. Make sure you know how to get there. If not, make sure you can call someone (preferably one who can access a computer and be a great source of help)
2. Have all equipment ready to go and "state of the art" equipment - or at least, have a bike that is comparable in weight and function to the race and the athlete.
3. Know the terrain BEFORE you sign up, or BEFORE you start the course
4. Make adjustments if #3 is "out of your training capabilities"
5. No matter what, have fun
6. Finish and be proud of your accomplishments.

SO

I'm sure you can guess that SOME of the above lessons were learned this past weekend as Jacque attempted her first "MAXI-triathlon". That entailed a 300 meter swim (about 1/4 mile), a 21-mile bike ride (they were told on semi-flat terrain.....NOT!) and a 2 mile run. Sounds easy, right?? We forgot that we were in Prescott, or Chino Valley. Either one is NOT flat and had many hills.
We arrived nice and early. The night before, we got a little lost coming into Chino Valley at night. Good thing we had cell service and Dad was able to guide us right to the beautiful aquatic center.
In each lane, 2 laps are done. So, a total of 12 laps.

Here, we pulled up around 6:00 a.m. and got her bike out. We start looking around and notice that she is one of the ONLY mountain bikes around. Everyone else, and I mean everyone else are on sleek, thin-tired bikes. It would be like an older, bigger car racing against the newest, fastest sports car. We really didn't think anything about it, just made a few comments and got her space all ready.
(Notice the bike differences!!! OH MY!!) Yes, she is riding the nice blue mountain bike!
They are given the route and we realize that there are some major hills in the bike ride. It was actually a 7 mile ride, that would be done 3 times. So literally, she would be going uphill both ways. We just didn't realize HOW UP hill, it was...especially on that nice mountain bike. Her race started about 8:40 a.m. and she was off to a great swim. In fact, she took about 90 seconds off her best time for 300 meters! The laps look slow, but it is all in a good pace. Each racer is started in 20-second intervals.

OK...now on to the lovely bike ride. Chloe and I sit out in the car and wait....and wait....and wait. HMMMM....where is Jacque?? Chloe is Jacque's wonderful friend who went with us to cheer her on.
We look at the stopwatch we had and time is slippin' by. There she is...it's quite later than we thought so we ask: "Are you OK?"

"NO!! This bike is NOT going to make it 2 more laps."

Meaning....it's a lot harder than we thought, she has the wrong type of bike for this race and her body type and it's going to be a LONG bike ride. After 2 laps and 75 minutes later, Jacque resigns herself to just doing 2 laps (which is 14 miles). She then heads out for her 2 mile run.

They inform the runners before the race, that even tho it was announced as a flat run, they thought it would be "fun" to take the runners on a little hill at the end of the run. Mind you, they said little!
And at last, about 1 hour and 40 minutes later, she is near the finish line! We are so proud of her. Even tho she didn't technically finish the race, she gave it her best shot. Now, she just has to decide if biking is something she really likes or if she is just going to stay with the running type of races. Either way... we will be there to cheer her on!

To My Mom

I just wanted to share why I think my Mom is amazing. I went to hear her play for her Stake Conference last week and it was so beautiful. They sang "Come Thou Font", the arrangement by Mack Wilberg. Have you ever played one of his arrangements??? They are not easy, change keys as many times as he feels inspired and many of them are played with 4 hands. My mom pulled this off as if she were playing with angels. She has shared this talent of hers for all her life. She keeps telling us that it "will be the last time" and yet, her desire to serve and share always wins out. Thru her music, she has shared her life and touched many lives as she bears her own testimony when she plays. It's not just notes to her, it's words, it's praising her Savior thru her music.


But that's not all....

I started to think of all the things she does to make our lives happier. Our birthdays are celebrated with lunch, Sunday dinner and presents and cards from all. (And we have to count the underlines to see how much we are loved!) Holidays are always remembered with her house decorated, goodies for all the kids, advent calendars for Christmas, Easter treats, Halloween cupcakes....there is something for each holiday to make it a bit more special.


How many times has she gone to a concert, a soccer/baseball/football/wrestling/cheer leading/dancing/music activity that one of her grandkids is participating in?? Too many and many more to come. She is always there. She is the one who remembers all the little details, the flowers, the praise, the love. She gives it all.

But that is not the best reason why I love my mom. She is a best friend, one who is there when struggles are faced. She shares her faith, her love and her compassion and makes each of us a little stronger because she is there. Each of us has faced trials, and it is our Mom who is there to buoy us up, get us thru, encourage us, pray for us, and love us unconditionally. Her selflessness to all her family is felt daily and I am grateful I am privileged to call her Mom. When I grow up....I want to be just like her!!

I love you Mom....Happy Mother's Day!!