I must be doing something right...

Yesterday morning at the gym I was swimming laps. I've been trying to focus on my kicking to propel my body rather than relying on my arms so much to pull my body through the water. I got into a really good rhythm and found myself concentrating on my kicking really well for about 800 yards. I swam 200 yards for a warm-up and after the 800 I stopped to stretch before a short warm down.

At this point, a lady who was wearing a wrap around floatation device and was doing a semi-side stroke/doggy paddle, came to me and said, "Can I ask you a favor? When you swim could you not kick so hard? You almost drowned me 3 times!"

I couldn't believe it! I told her I had finished my workout and would be doing a short warm down, and that I wouldn't be kicking hard at that point. Anyway, I really couldn't believe that I was being asked to "not kick so hard." Isn't that like asking a runner to not swing their arms when they run? Or, asking a biker to not pedal so fast? Consider where I was... AT THE GYM. It was lap swim time. If you don't want to get wet... stay out of the pool.

I'm certain that I am over-reacting, however the more I think about it the more excited I get about her honest request to have me "not kick so hard."

Please tell me, am I off base here?

Pictures of Shanda

Miranda and Shanda pre-race

Shanda pre-race

Shanda & Miranda after all the action

My Wife the Biker Babe!

(Here is a link for a picture http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/157011619)

OK so I don't have any pictures to post yet because Shanda didn't bring her camera. However I'll get some from our Sister-In-Law Miranda soon and add them to this post.

I am so proud of my woman! She road the ULCER in Utah County yesterday... the 67 mile leg. Keep in mind that this race comes less than 3 months from the birth of our newest baby Brooklyn.

Shanda and Miranda, (partners in crime) got up early Saturday morning and drove to Thanksgiving Point to begin a 67 mile ride. Shanda and Miranda have been training very consistently over the last few months with a ramp up in their training over the last two weeks.

The kids and I spent the night at Brent and Shelli's home Friday night. After getting up and having breakfast we spent the next few hours wandering the vast Cabela's store in Lehi. We scored a free lunch from a local radio station, and then went down to watch the women cross the finish line.

It was great to see her come across the line and I was impressed by the fact that she looked like she could have gone another 40 miles! I'm really happy that she has found something that she really enjoys and am glad she can get a break from the kids from time to time and ride.

Kudos Shanda! I love you!

A Whole Lot of Hair

ANDREW BEFORE AND AFTER


JOSEPH BEFORE AND AFTER


MATTHEW WE DIDN'T GET A BEFORE SHOT, SO HERE ARE THE AFTER SHOTS


THREE GOOD LOOKING BOYS; PETE, REPETE, AND DITTO

Hurricane in Utah

OK, not really. But last night and this morning were very reminiscent of hurricane season in Puerto Rico. The gusts of wind, the trees swaying, the smell fresh air forced through the house, the sound of the rustling leaves, large objects being hurled through the streets without regard... oh wait, that last one only happened in Puerto Rico.

Anyway, Shanda was mentioning how much she didn't like the wind and I found it interesting that while she dislikes the wind, how much I love it. There is something very soothing about the wind, I find it really relaxes me. By morning I feel I've had the best nights sleep I've had in a very long time. I love to sit and watch the trees sway and move by the wind. Imagine the strength of the wind, to move these massive tree limbs about.

Matthew's Condition has taken a turn for the worse

After the swelling went down in his face and ear, he seemed normal for a day or two. Then this evening his eyeballs and tounge have swollen beyond anything we have ever seen! If anyone has any suggestions, the doctors are baffled. Please let us know... a picture of the swelling can be seen below.



As you can see in the background, Maleah is clearly frightened.

Winward Family Reunion

The treasured "get away" up at Aspen Circle was the site of this year's Blair Larsen Winward family reunion. We had 100% attendance at the reunion and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We spent the time visiting, shooting BB guns, canoeing, hiking and eating.

Grandpa and Grandma entertained the children with a dancing wooden puppet, singing and lollipops as the reunion ended. Grandpa shared some geneology stories with the group and I was pleased to see Grandma spend time alone reading, and I REALLY hoped that she had a good vacation/break.

Shelli and Brent weren't able to join us the first night, but came up on Day 2 to join in with the group. We are all impressed with how their kids lead the grandkids in growing up. I just can't imagine seeing Joseph and Matthew as big as Siliva and Gabriella. It was fun to hear about their experiences as they are growing up. The entire Smith clan is a very good looking group and enjoyable to be around.

Sam and Aleena joined us the morning of Day 2 as they were also unable to break away on the first day. Their twins, which were recently found to be identical, really are growing fast. Bridger was a real treat to be around. He is very smart and very polite.

Spencer and Miranda were admirable in their efforts to keep the meals; preparation and clean-up moving forward. Spencer is a real talent on the dutch oven, and Miranda has a special knack for keeping babies happy and resolving disputes. Spencer's girls were very fun to be around, even though Leini is still in that "how come this?" or "how come that?" stage.

Shae and Nate were able to be there the entire time. We were pleased that Nate was able to join us as he spent the last few weeks in Texas which was obvoiusly difficult on Shae. Nobody will ever forget Micah was at the reunion, to his credit he is very persistant and is really very intelligent. It was fun to watch him think through different situations. Poor Mariah found herself below the dog on the pecking order, as Katie quickly established herself above Mariah by barking and charging her, making her cry. I'm not very happy about this behavior and will try to correct it in the days to come.

All in all, we had a good time and were mostly safe. We had a small medical issue that we hope doesn't balloon into anything more serious. Matthew woke up Saturday morning with the right side of his face and head swollen. We took him to the doctor and they are running some tests to rule out Lyme's Disease. Chances are he had an allergic reaction, though there is a slight possibility that he may need additional treatment.

Micah, Joseph and Logan

Leini and Andrew with the BB Guns

Maleah with "this one" or "that one"

Lots of Grandkids

Cliff Jumping

Winward Reunion at the Richey cabin we made a few trips down to the dam. The first trip Shae, Nate, Micah, Maleah and Andrew. The second trip featured, Sam, Aleena, Bridger, Leini and Matthew.

We had fun jumping from lower distances and slowly worked up to higher heights. I finally worked up the courage to jump approximately 35 ft. I went up with Shae and Nate the first time, and made a couple 20 - 25 ft jumps, but didn't attempt this one till later. Returning to the same site with Sam and Aleena a couple of hours later and I was brave (or dumb) enough to try it again... two times. The landing was pretty painful, and I think that deterred Sam enough that he went with the lower jump. Still he went off a 25 ft jump. I actually have some pretty impressive bruises today as evidence of my bravery... uh, er... lack of forethought.

New Family Member

I'm at work on Monday and I get a call from Joseph, "Dad, you won't believe it! We saw a dog today and Mom actually wants to get it! Can we get it? Please, please, please, please..." For those of you who know Shanda you know that she isn't much of a dog lover, especially an indoor dog. You could say that Shanda tolerates Ginger to certain extent, which I think is really saying something. Ginger is a good dog, but just to big for our house (and Ginger is a mid-size dog). Anyway, I figured this had to be some dog for Shanda to actually want to get the dog. I wasn't able to break away from work to go look at the dog, so Shanda and the kids brought the little pooch to me.

When they got to my office, I mentioned how the markings reminded me of my Dad's dog Katie from when I was a kid. Apparently the kids took that as my naming the dog, and have begun calling her Katie.

Katie is a Cocker Spaniel, Poodle, Shitzu. Just don't try to abreviate it an you'll be ok. She is unbelievably patient and good with the kids. We aren't sure if she knows how to walk at this point as she is constantly being held by one of the kids. Ginger seems to accept her though last night as I was working with Katie, Ginger seemed to say with her glances "how about some attention over here?"

Speaking of last night, I found it interesting that while I was up with the crying puppy everyone else slept peacefully. Ahh... the joys of training a new puppy. It is probably more about training the people than it is about training the puppy.

Sisters being silly

The other night we were taking pictures of Maleah and Brooklyn. All of a sudden Maleah thought it would be funny to start pulling faces...

Joseph the Ballplayer

Joseph is in his element here dressed in his Angel's uniform. During his league play this year he has really shown improvement. He and I can now go out and have a catch and I don't have to worry too much about throwing softly to him. He has developed his swing and can crank the ball regularly now.


Here Joseph is with his team prior to a game Wednesday, May 21, 2008 (5th from the left)

Yesterday the Salt Lake Bees invited the members of the "Knothole Club" down to the park for a free baseball clinic. Joseph and I were especially excited to interact with some great ball-players; David Austen, Coby Smith, Freddy Sandoval, Bobby Wilson, Gary Patchett, and Adam Pavkovich.

The clinic gave the kids the chance to pitch in the bull-pen, take some grounders on the infield, catch a fly ball, hit in the batting cages, and tour the locker room and home team facilities. They were able to ask the players questions and take a glimpse into the life of a professional baseball player. It was really fun to watch Joseph and be able to experience a little window of what the ballplayers do each day.


Finally, each kid was given a new baseball and the players stayed after to autograph the balls. Here Joseph stands with his new Bees baseball and his A-Rod ball from a few years back.

Andrew Graduates from Preschool

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Andrew is now done with Pre-School. He is so excited to start regular school with his brothers. We are so proud of the little guy. It was fun to see him in "his" element during the graduation. We always thought he was so shy, but he was a little ham on the stage.