During a moment of what might be referred to as “incredible stupidity”, I agreed to take part in the annual Wasatch Front leg of the Ragnar Relay, otherwise known as the Wasatch Back. Upon first glance this may seem like an excellent way to get in shape for the summer, but after further inspection you’ll find that it’s most likely a death sentence for a lazy slug like myself. Considering the fact that the last real endurance training I’ve done was about 15 years ago, I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me. And as if that wasn’t enough, I had to go and drag my wife into this mess as well. I suppose this way we can at least die together though.

For those who are unfamiliar (don’t worry, I had no idea what this thing was when I agreed to it), it’s basically a race that makes you pray there will be someone waiting at the finish line with a gun for you to shoot yourself with. The race begins in Logan and then winds 190 miles up the backside of the Wasatch to end somewhere round about Park City (Course Map). The race takes the better part of 2 days and we’ll be running straight through the night. Each of the 12 team members gets 3 legs of the race for a total of around 15-20 miles and spends all of their non-running time packed into a couple minivans which follow whomever the current runner happens to be. Basically it’ll be 2 days of tired, cramped, smelly hell. Fun, huh?

This is a happy pre-death picture

Anyway, the main point of this post is to solicit support from our dear beloved readers. Emily and I have joined up with several friends from my new job to be on one of two “Cancer Teams” that will be running the race. The main difference between a regular team and a “Cancer Team” is that all of our entry fees will be going to the American Cancer Society. The only downside to this is that the entry fees/donations for the Cancer Teams are much steeper than are those of the regular teams and this is where you, my dear readers, come into the picture. Emily and I are humbly asking for your monetary support in the way of donations to the American Cancer Society as we train for this brutal ordeal. Please feel free to donate as much or as little as you can and be assured that all donations will go to the ACS in the form of one lump sum donation that will be put together by the members of our team. Emily and I will need to come up with $700 for our part of the donation so every little bit helps. The only thing we can offer in thanks is the hard work we’ll put into trying to survive this thing as well as a promise to have someone post pictures of our limp and lifeless bodies located wherever we happen to collapse between Logan and Park City. Thanks in advance for your support and prayers for our survival. We’ll need em.

Donate for Mike

Donate for Emily

Bus to Beelzebub Team Donation

Or you can donate via PayPal below and we will include your portion with our team donation.

Who would have thought that 11 years could go by so quickly? Just 11 short years ago I was a young kid of 21. I’d only been home from my mission for about 6 months and I had myself a brand new Valentine. I’d met her through a blind date and even though she lived half way to Reno (it seemed like it at the time) I was willing to make the long drive cause she was hot and she had a beautiful smile. I wasn’t too sure what her family thought of me, but they hadn’t tried to run me off yet so I figured I’d just keep hanging around until they did. Fortunately for me that never happened and now here we are 11 years, 7 or 8 moves (depending on how you count them), 3 jobs and 4 kids later. During that time we’ve had our ups and downs, but one thing has never changed… my Valentine is still hot and she still has a beautiful smile. Not to mention the fact that she’s a great mom, a great wife and my best friend. One thing that has changed over the years is that we’ve sort of gotten into the habit of being pretty low-key when it comes to celebrating holidays (and birthdays), but I hope she knows that even though I don’t always make a big deal about it, I would be utterly lost without her. She’s the yin to my yang and she provides balance to my universe. Many things have changed in the last 11 years but no matter what other changes might come our way in the future, I will always need her and love her with all my heart.

Thanks for being my eternal Valentine Em.

I suppose it’s technically 20 minutes after Mothers Day at this point, but I wanted to post a quick note about what an amazing mother Emily is. Now I know that lots of mothers out there have 4 or more kids to look after, but it takes a special kind of mother to handle twins plus 2. The demand they place on her time and patience is something that would drive any male insane in very short order (me included). And yet, Emily is able to give them both the time and love they need while still having enough patience to deal with all the trouble they get into, not to mention the trouble that Haily and Mallory get into on top of that. And if that weren’t enough, Emily still has time for her church calling and a part time job as well as the fact that she seems unable to tell anyone no when they ask her to help out. She helps at Haily’s school, tends the neighbor kids all the time, takes on PTA projects, is always there for her family, and the list goes on. She handles a schedule that would make most people cry and she does it with only the occasional meltdown. I just want Emily to know how much her family loves her and how much we couldn’t get along without her. Of course we’re a little biased, but we think she’s the all-time greatest mom ever!

So, just like last year, Emily and I had one night again this year where we got to get all dressed up for a night out on the town thanks to Omniture. Once again I went and got a tux and Emily found a fancy dress and we went uptown to the Grand America hotel for the annual Omniture holiday party. This years party was a bit more financially conscious (no more open bar), but it was still out of control. The food was pretty good and the atmosphere was fun and the entertainment was “uncomfortable” according to Emily. We had a good time seeing everyone all dressed up and listening to Josh James’ fairly comedic monologue. We played a gigantic game of rock/paper/scissors and didn’t win anything once again. It was a fun just to get out for the evening though. Thanks Omniture for a fun night out.

I know this is late but I just had to brag about how much Mike loves me. 

The night of the Breaking Dawn release I decided not to go get the waited for book because I was going to go to the Layers Clothing sale early the next morning.  So I was very surprised when I woke up at 12:40am to a huge thud on my chest. I opened my eyes and Mike was smiling at me and said "There’s your book!" It took me a second to realize what he was saying.  Then I had to wake up all the way to hear the story because Mike thinks that me and my books are silly. The thought of him standing in line waiting made no sense. 

He had a new part on his motorcycle and had to give it a test ride and decided that he should go drive by Barnes and Noble and see how long the line really was.  He said it was crazy. Girls in prom dresses, limos…..and a huge line.  So he drove away laughing.  Then he passed Walmart and thought he would give it a try.  So he walked in and saw a big pile on a table and no line.  So he walked over and bought it with no fan fare! 

And that is how I got my book.  So of course I couldn’t just leave it on the dresser waiting for tomorrow.  I was too curious.  And then on Monday when Mike came home and not much housework was done, I reminded him that it was his fault.  But I finished it that night and now life can go on.