This Week

I began last Tuesday anxiously waiting for the A/C repairman to come. We had spent the previous 3 days a little warm. But my YW lesson on Sunday was all about being grateful in any circumstance - so I was determined to practice gratitude - even if I felt cranky. The guy was about an hour and a half late (another chance for me to practice gratitude) - and then (finally), just as he was about to arrive, I got a phone call from the school. Grace was on the line and informed me that Sully had fallen from the monkey bars at recess, hurt his wrist, and the teacher thought he should see a doctor.

Super bad timing.

I was stuck. Couldn't leave with the A/C guy just getting there. But what kind of a mother tells the office people to just hang tight with her injured son until she gets around to picking him up?

Priorities.

I told them I couldn't get there right away and that I would see what I could arrange. I called my sister Holly and asked if she could go check him out and at least bring him home so I could comfort him until we could get him to the doctor. She was awesome and came to the rescue.
Turns out, we were the one-in-a-million household annually to have their A/C compressor brought to a screeching halt by a hapless earwig taking refuge between connector points on the circuit. Not kidding. The repairman showed me the charred remains of our little earwig friend in the control panel. I was gobsmacked. Could anything more random have caused this? Brought to our knees by an earwig. With odds like that, I figured we should have won a prize or something. As it was, we had to pay him. He was nice and only charged us the $79 service evaluation charge. And I tell you I was thrilled to pay it. Only ten minutes and $79 (plus tax) to once again feel cold air flowing from the vents?  SOLD!

It was also fortunate that the A/C was so easily fixed so that I could get Sully to the doctor sooner. Although...from the moment he walked in the house with Holly he was downplaying the whole thing, saying in a matter-of-fact tone that he felt much better, that it didn't even hurt. Still, when I asked him to squeeze his hand into a fist for me he couldn't do it, so I decided we were definitely going to have it x-Ray'd.

Sully was the SWEETEST.  He talked and talked to the doctor and nurses, and x-Ray techs. He was so animated, telling them that it didn't hurt (until the doctor touched the one spot that did hurt, "Every place on me feels good, except RIGHT HERE", pointing to a spot on his wrist). After taking a look at the x-Ray the doctor walked in and announced, "It's broken", and then explained that they would splint it then and put a hard cast on after a few days. At the word "cast" Sully started to tear up. Sully had high hopes that he was just fine, and now the doctor said he was going to have to wear a cast for a month. (Later on he explained that he was crying because it meant he couldn't play on the playground for a month.) Waiting for them to come back to fit the splint, he paced back and forth repeating to himself over and over, "Having a broken arm isn't the worst thing. There are lots of things that are worse" - with tears just under the surface. I wish I had taken a video of it. It was so sweet to watch him pep-talking himself.

By contrast, when I took him to get his hard cast on yesterday he was beaming with pure JOY. With a few days of one-armed experience under his belt he was full of confidence in his ability to adapt (and to still have fun at recess). He was stoked to get the new cast (and to wash his hand again). Sully is like sunshine.

We treated ourselves to a mother/son lunch at Chick-fil-a afterward. Look at that happy face!

Later that day with a few signatures. I got first dibs...

On Friday Mike packed up the youngest three and headed to St. George to be there early enough to get a good night's sleep (sort of) before the marathon. I stayed behind with the older three until after Noble's race. 

This race was in Park City, and the coolest course they've done all year in my opinion. They ran all over the hills. Noble was taken out early on when a kid slipped on a rain-soaked hill and knocked down a bunch of runners. This loosened one of Noble's shoe laces, which later caused him to loose his shoe, forcing him to back track to get it and then he had to put it back on. He still finished with a decent time (17:26) - but finished last for Bingham in the varsity race - and was sure he'd lost his place on varsity. He was pretty upset after he crossed the finish line. The coach reassured him that he still held his place - and would run varsity at Region on the 13th. Adversity is good for the soul. It made Noble want to try harder. He told me he will be duct-taping his laces before his next race. He is learning a lot.

A pre-race prayer

As soon as we had finished talking to the coach we got in the car and headed south to St. George. It was a late night, past midnight, when we got in. But traveling with teenagers is a lot easier than traveling with little kids - we drove straight through, no stops.

Mike was up at 4:00 the next morning - and his dad drove him to catch the race bus for the marathon. He was trying to meet up with a guy from the neighborhood so they could run together, but they never found each other in that sea of people (they actually ended up running almost the exact same time - even though our neighbor finished about 5 minutes after Mike. If that doesn't make sense - let me know and I'll explain). He did, however, run into Sister Brewer (who's son is the "other freshman varsity kid" from my previous post) who walked right up to him and smiled and encouraged him (this was probably her 10th St. George marathon). It was a tender mercy for him and helped ease his nerves. (Thank you Diana!)

His goal was to match or beat his dad's time from 1984 (3:40). His splits until about mile 23 were more than fast enough, but he slowed up his last few miles. He ended up finishing 6 minutes slower than Howard (the speed demon) - still not too shabby for a first marathon at 40. Howard reminded Mike that he had been five years younger and two-kids less (they add mileage) when he ran it in '84. :)

The Melton men...

What an awesome experience! I am so impressed that Mike set himself a difficult challenge and went and did it -- without anyone else pushing him or even anyone training with him. He is amazing! He's also in phenomenal shape now. He told me he stopped by the health fair at work today and they told him his BMI was "desirable." Ha ha ha ha. Go Mike!

From an Overheated House in SOJO

...Our A/C decided to go on vacation for the weekend. Currently we're sitting pretty at 84 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hey everyone...I apologize for the "conversational hiatus" (reference: "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?"). It has been a very busy couple of months. A quick synopsis:

* The Melton family was all together in August for a camp out at Black Hawk.

*The start of school - Noble, Grace, Tillman and Sully at the Montessori School, Jessie at Bingham High School and Abner at Big Kids on the Block Preschool

Sully - 2nd grade, Tillman - 6th grade, Grace - 8th grade, Noble - 9th, Jessie - 11th (didn't get a picture of her first day because she spent that morning getting ready at a friend's house)

* Roger's Family Reunion & my Grandma Gertie's 90th Birthday - My siblings and I helped our Aunt and Uncle put together the festivities

Grandma on the kids' bounce house at her party. She's 90. :)

Rogers jam from Angie Melton on Vimeo.

* Noble has been having a killer season with the Bingham Cross Country team. Apparently he is only the 2nd freshman boy in Bingham history to make varsity. (The first was a kid - now on a mission in Canada - who's family lives across the street. There might be something in the water here. Incidentally, that kid has a full-ride scholarship to run at BYU when he gets home...we've mentioned that once or twice to Noble. $$$)

* Jessie finished the 4h season with a great performance at Team...

...also, she turned 17 and went to her second Homecoming dance

* Grace crafted this llama for a school assignment with Grandma

* Our tomato patch is too much for us to handle this year... we've given away a lot of tomatoes.

* Somehow between working two jobs, a calling, starting a business and being dad to 6 dudes, Mike has found time to train for the St. George Marathon. Here he is after running 20 miles before 8 AM and before going to work for the day. He is amazing.

...and just because he's so cute...here's another one of Mike - lounging after church.

*  Tillman and Sully have been playing soccer - and doing well. This year Sully is a total pacifist on the soccer pitch. It makes us all laugh. He is constantly telling me that the most important thing is NOT winning, and that we should cheer for everyone, not just the winners... or his team. A few games back he pulled a Scott Sterling, and caught a soccer ball to the face twice in one game. On the way home we were laughing about that, and I said, "Well, it's great that you won anyway...." to which he responded, "We WON?!!?"  ha ha ha ...We credit his peaceful nature to Hypnobirthing and the daily yoga practice at school. Oh Sully.

Crossing the Finish Line

Five years and six races later I am hanging it up as the official race planner / timer of the NPA 5k/1 mile fun run. It's been a lot of fun, and at times a lot of stress. I have gotten to know some great people better, and we've made some awesome memories.

 

**Sigh**

 

But life goes on.  Next year I plan to participate as a private citizen. :)

 

This year the kids put up some great times. Noble decided he was going to see how fast he could run the mile. He ran it in 6 minutes 11 seconds. He didn't beat his previous record of 5 minutes 46 seconds...so he was a little bummed, but he still won by quite a bit. 

 

 

 

The next runner was some awesome 2nd grade girl about a minute behind Noble. Then at around 7 min. 30 sec. this guy who had run the whole way CARRYING his baby, crossed the finish line.  That's hard core.

 

 

Tillman came in with his friend at about 8 minutes, Grace about 10 minutes.

Sully finishing strong with a time of 12:16.

 

Here he is with our old friend Michele Rosqvist who ran the mile with him so I could take care of business at the finish line and Mike could direct traffic out on the 5K route. She saved the day. I am so thankful for good friends.

 

Tillman, Sully and our neighborhood/carpool buddy at the finish line.

 

Jessie finishing strong in the 5k. I don't remember her time, but it's faster than I can run.

 

A good time was had by all.

It's a little sad to step away from something you've been a part of from the beginning. But in other ways, I am happy to let others take it on.

 

 

 

A Book Review: Born to Run

So... I finished reading the book I snatched from Mike.  I have to tell you, it is one of the best reads EVER. A true pleasure to read, just like running should be. The story was absolutely incredible. McDougall is a fantastic writer - his style is so conversational. I felt like I was sitting there casually with him while he wove this amazing story, interlaced with running science, philosophy, anthropology, etc., etc. True, it was also well stocked with swears and tough-talking crassness here and there ...but oh, what a story. He was probably a little overstated from time to time; characaturing real people/cultures to fill dramatic roles (villain, hero...). Just like a good story teller would.  :)
 I felt like the take-away matched up with my own running philosophy so well. I was totally uplifted and inspired. I LOVED it!  This one is staying on my shelf.

Mike and I joked last night about giving a second middle name to our baby boy -- Caballo Blanco -- an honorable reference to the main character in the book. Don't worry Mom, we aren't serious. (Still. Caballo is rad.)

Mike goes a little bit native and C.B.S. hits 40

A few months back Mike finally gave in and went for a Dr.'s check up. His cholesterol levels came back "borderline". With that, I began to do what many a loving wife before me has done: nag him about diet and fitness. He's been doing better about eating (his primary problem in the past has been NOT eating - because he gets busy, etc. It takes time and preparation to eat well) - but not so much in the exercise department. Then, out of the blue he came home with a pair of Vibram Five Fingers and he's been INSPIRED. He comes home from his nightly runs wanting to go back out for MORE. What in the...?
He says, "That felt SO good" every time he walks back in the door. I am kind of speechless. But I'm just going to go with it. I started reading the book that he's been glued to lately, Born to Run . It's a pretty entertaining read - and I can see why it might give you a different perspective on running. I've been known to accept crazy alternative stuff before, so it makes sense to me.
When Mike mentioned his new minimalist running hobby to a guy at work who has his own running club, the guy said, "That's kind of like that telemark skiing you do. Kind of cult-ish."     Ha ha ha - awesome.  Mike's response, and over-all life philosophy is just going to be: "Free the heel, man."
Go, Mitch-darling.

The C.B.S. referred to above is not the television network, but my brother, Casey. We celebrated his 40th tonight. Here he is modeling his gift from us - one of Noble's hand printed Nachrool t-shirts.

It's hard to believe that I have a 4o year-old sibling. It puts things into perspective. I really, really think that NO ONE ever had a better big brother than me. He has always been a person without guile, or pretense. Just real...and good. I followed him around most of the first 18 years of my life, looked up to him, trying to do whatever he did. He is one of those people that EVERYONE loves. I think it's because he makes everyone feel important. We love him and his little family so much. Happy 40th, Casey! I'm right behind you.

Any Weather is Good Enough

I'm just going to get this post out of the way now. I have a little time and as long as I keep brooding about how things went down this morning, I might as well write about it.

Just to sum up - the school 5k this year threw us for almost every imaginable loop, from city permits & surprise health department inspections to a race course fiasco AND...

Snow.

This was the race site as we arrived this morning for set up. 

More concerning than the snow though, we discovered that on the 5k route the river had risen since our course inspection two nights ago, covering the trail with 8 inches of water at .5 miles in. We did an emergency re-route 45 minutes before start time (thank goodness Roy brought his bike and I had the GPS with me). We also found out (the hard way) that the little 1 mile "Fun Run" loop trail that we ran two years ago has been completely reconstructed. Two years ago we used a little loop trail around the fish pond as our fun run. I ran it as part of the Utah Marathon Relay a few years ago as well...so I thought I knew the course down there. Since I'm 7 months pregnant, I didn't run the course in preparation this year. Oh man, I wish I'd taken the time to walk it.

Apparently, since the last time I ran it trails, underpasses and bridges connecting nearby neighborhoods have been added and the landscape totally reworked. So I sent out our little herd of young children and parents with strollers down the trail with, "It's really easy. The trail just goes around a little fish pond, and you loop back. You can't get lost. Ready, set...GO." 18 minutes later NO ONE had finished - and I started to freak out a little. I sent my bro-in-law out on bike to find out what was happening. About that time we had a few runners come up the trail, and I was informed that a lot of people had gotten lost...some of the kids were up in a neighborhood, one kid was yelling for help (turns out that kid was Noble). My heart totally froze. I began to envision lost children, a fast river...you can imagine. I got a little panicked. I spoke with a few other parents who came past - and they made me a little less anxious - that most runners were on the right path by then. Several parents had followed the front-runners (all kids) to turn them around, Mike went back, my bro-in-law on bike collected the stragglers, and my brother, Casey, went back to guide the approaching 5k-ers (who were to finish along the same route) around the fish pond. Everyone made it in. No one got permanently lost, no police involvement, no angry mob of parents... But still, it makes me sick to think what might have happened. How can a tiny little thing like a 1Mile fun run go so terribly wrong? I have learned my lesson: NEVER ASSUME YOU KNOW THE RACE COURSE WITHOUT DOUBLE-CHECKING.

The funny thing is, in previous years I've actually lost sleep the night before worrying about logistics and details and what-ifs. This year I was feeling pretty confident, thinking this was our third year - on a familiar course - nothing to sweat. That will teach me. Later, before awards, I apologized for the mix-up, my co-organizer blamed it on the snow and the high water on the trail earlier that day - and all the chaos and confusion that caused at the last minute. Most (not all) people seemed to be cool about the mistake (as long as every one's kid had made it back in one piece...*shudder* It scares me to death.)

Other than that - and a few other dramatic moments - we had a very successful event. I was totally surprised at how many people turned up to run, even with the snow. We auctioned off a LOT of stuff. The Jimmer Fredette signed ball alone brought in over $700!

Mr. C. won the first annual pancake eating contest. Our timing guys pulled off their job without a hitch. (I don't think I could have coped with a timing failure on top of everything else. Thanks Elevated Racing.) 

Zeke turned up to show solidarity.

So - definitely a net success. But I would be good with less drama next time.

In other news, Jessie is competing in her first horse show of the season today. I'm going to go watch her now.

Easter Week Goings-On and the Forcast for this Week

My antibiotics have worked their magic. (When I get to the next life I want to have a few words with the guy who discovered penicillin. I want to thank him personally. Seriously.) And so I am back in the game.
Last week was a busy one in preparation for the Easter holiday. There wasn't a lot of time to convalesce - because the show must go on when you have kids. I had previously made plans to observe Easter week by doing something everyday to commemorate that day from Jesus' last week. I was excited about it - so we went ahead with everything even though I was kind of dead weight for most of the week.
A summary:

Sunday - We had my family over for a lesson about Palm Sunday and the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Here, with a few of the cousins, I was barely audible from all the coughing. It's also nice to note that I was probably contagious with strep. Sorry guys. 

Monday - We did an Easter Egg scavenger hunt that led us ultimately up to the Oquirrh Mtn. Temple. This was the cleansing of the temple installment.

Tuesday - This is our busy day/evening so we just read through the references in the scriptures about teaching on the Mt. of Olives, Judas Iscariot's betrayal...

Wednesday - We surprised the kids and checked them out of school early and drove to the BYU MOA to see the Carl Bloch exhibit of altar pieces and sketches. It was not easy to get tickets, but I am so glad we were able to go. It was beautiful. The kids were a little disappointed that we didn't kidnap them to go on vacation to Disneyland or something...but it was still cool. They had fun. Especially browsing the bookstore/food court after.

Thursday - (Day 1 on antibiotics) We had Passover. The menu: matzo ball soup, bitter herbs (radishes, romaine), hard boiled eggs, sweet herbs (parsley, cucumbers), charoset (chopped apple and nut mixture meant to signify the mortar the Israelites used to build the pyramids of Egypt), marinated lamb, chicken, unleavened bread, berries in coconut cream with macaroons.

Ready with a vacant place for Elijah.

Grilling the pascal lamb and some chicken. I marinated the lamb for several hours, and I have to say Mike did a great job with it on the grill. I am not historically a fan of lamb, but this rib rack wasn't too shabby. (Which was good, since lamb is pretty expensive.)

Mmmm. Dessert was my favorite: berries in whipped coconut cream with homemade macaroons.



Friday - (Day 2 antibiotics) Good Friday. We invited Mike's parents over to dye Easter eggs - and talked about the symbolism of the egg / tomb.

Saturday - (Day 3 antibiotics) We got all my siblings together with their kids at my parents' house for an Easter egg hunt free-for-all. It was as exciting as ever. When Jack scored that last egg by riding down the zip line, knocking it to the ground...A capstone moment on a great morning. We love family.

Sunday - (Day 4 antibiotics) Talked about the resurrection, got Easter baskets, new clothes for church, Easter dinner at Meltons. It was a great day.

And by Sunday, I felt about 100% better - which was fitting, given the day. Easter is about rebirth & life beating out death. And that means something extra to me after the last week and a half.

Anyway, that was our week. If you need some ideas for Easter next year, hit me up - I kept my notes and recipes.

This coming weekend is our 3rd Annual NPA 5k. So, I'll be out of the office - so to speak - until that is wrapped up this next Saturday. We've already had some challenges pulling it off this year...but we're hoping for the best.  At least the weather looks to finally be clearing for our big event (we've had almost constant rain/snow for a long time now). Knock on wood.

Of Running and Philosophy

With the weather all crispy and lovely I've been really happy about running lately. The truth is, with the move, new neighborhood, etc. I've kind of let myself get out of the habit, only making it out a half-dozen times or so over the past few months. So it's been so nice getting back to it.

Yesterday while I was out THOROUGHLY enjoying my morning run I was thinking about stuff. I guess it was the meditative music I chose on the iPod to change things up, but ... (I started reading The Compleat Angler last night too. I must definitely be in a philosophical mood.)

A long time ago (check out my braces - ha ha ha...)

As some of you might know, I used to run my guts out in high school, seriously. (We can talk privately about some of the physical effects of that...) I dreaded racing like you wouldn't believe and I suffered a lot of anxiety all the way through Cross Country season every year. Anyway, after four years of that I was content to never race again. It's taken some years for me to find a new purpose in running.

I used to run to WIN.
I've learned how to run for meditation, renewal, endorphins,to be outside, to feel good...

I do a race here and there with friends and family (and when I do I have to watch myself to keep that competitive monster in me from rearing up), but running for me is mostly about what it adds to my life from day to day. I think it's cool when people train for something that really challenges them, we all need a challenge. But I'm not planning on the Wasatch 100 anytime soon (my brother did that a few times a few years ago, and it's pretty cool if you've got time for 40-50 mile training runs - that was when he was single). And I don't drive around with a 26.2 sticker on my car (no offense if you have one of those).
I may sound like an old lady in a Tai Chi class... these days I run for the joy of running.

A Good Day for a Race

Lone Peak in the morning sun. Could you ask for a more beautiful morning?

We had our 2nd annual NPA 5K /1 Mile Fun Run on Saturday. Overall, things turned out really well. Elevated Racing (Royson & Bendy) did a fantastic job timing our race, and everything on our end went pretty much according to plan. We ran into a few glitches including runners switching races without notice (messing up some of our results), & me misplacing my GPS just when I needed to measure out the mile course with our volunteer.... but other than that we had a great race. I think we had 260 (ish) runners this year, and well above that for breakfast. It looks like we raised over $10,000 again this year for the school - and that's cool. Thanks everyone who supported us / our kids. Noble wasn't able to repeat his Mile win of last year - (some teenager took it this year) but he was close. Tillman wasn't far behind Noble. Mike stayed with Grace - who spent the race repeating the word "PAIN" as she ran (ha ha ha). They finished in about 13 minutes. The awesome part is that a 13 minute mile earned Mike first place in his age division. We were laughing pretty hard about that. He was able to pull it off mostly because the other guys in the race his age were pushing strollers. Jess ran the 5k with her friends - and did pretty well. This was her second 5k ever.

We spent the rest of the day watching our little nephews (Mike hooked them up with a little something from the ice cream truck.)

AND we went out to see another home...we put an offer on it yesterday.

The News of the Day & Where do We Go From Here?

We've had a lot on our minds.
Our big race is this Saturday. Things seem to be in hand. But we had a near-miss this weekend. My brother-in-law (the one timing our race) survived his second car vs. bike accident in a year - with only a little road rash. His beloved bike (which rode in the ambulance and stayed in the hospital room with Roy) was also largely unscathed. He's very happy about that.

Mike's brother and his family are stuck in London with all those unfortunate travelers grounded by volcanic ash, waiting for a train to Hungary. Then they'll be coming back home to the States from their 4 month teaching stint in Vienna. Mike talked to them Sunday. They have it better than most, staying with friends in London, travel insurance covering the train, etc. All in all, I thought it sounded like a cool adventure. Enjoy the rest of your time Jim, Tami & boys!

Back on the home front...
We had our first house showing on Friday evening. (That's a funny story by itself.) I didn't think much of it until our realtor informed us this morning that they were making an offer. So....
We're hitting the pavement tomorrow to try and find a place.

That was unexpected.

Updates on Stuff

Last night: Easter Eggs

Can you believe it's snowing again today? And is supposed to continue till the weekend? I think it was almost 70 degrees yesterday (albeit windy like you wouldn't believe). I went out running this morning...tried to convince Mike-L to go with me, but he wimped out. Just kidding. Mainly it was because we have a 19 month-old who doesn't babysit himself. Couldn't find my iPod (Which of you kids horked my iPod!?)...but that's OK...sometimes I like to just hear what's happening around me (even if I go slower).

Things are gearing up for the second annual NPA (our kids' school) 5K in a few weeks. I'm in charge of finish line/race course again this year - which is fine with me. I think that's the funnest place to be at a race. The race raised a lot of cash for the school last year, and I think overall, was a big success. Anyway, my sister, Beth and her husband started up a race-timing business this year and have volunteered to donate their time, equipment and expertise for our race (woohoo!). We just had to buy the magnetic timing chips. This makes my job this year about 100 times easier. Still I've got some logistics to take care of - and that's been occupying some time lately.

I've also been working on garden planning for this season. I've got my seeds ordered and the garden mapped out...I just need to get out there one of these days.

In other news: we're talking a lot about whether to put the house back on the market this year.

*Big Exhale*

Every time we put this topic on the shelf for a while it seems to resurface. We've been out looking at houses here and there, but then we just can't bring ourselves to put the house up for sale. It was such an ordeal last summer, all for not. Do we really want to deal with that again? It gets harder to think about moving the longer we're here...but if we're ever going to make the change now might be best. In case you were wondering, law school appears to be on the back burner again. Mike took the LSAT again a while ago...and did better, but, in terms of feasibility right now, it would be really difficult.

Anyway, I'm kind of tired of trying to decide, so if anyone knows what we're supposed to do, let me know. :)