HHH Century Ride

Yes, we did it! Jared and I rode in our first century ride, "Hotter 'N Hell Hundred", in Witchita Falls, TX. We rode 100 miles in 6 hours and 20 minutes. I was SO SO nervous. Picture this.....14,200 riders, wall to wall bikers and bikes....and then me, the first time rider. Once we got through the starting gate my nerves eased. It was a perfect day, 64-85 degrees, and dry. We did get a strong head wind the last 30 miles, but thanks to a paceline, with Jared in front, I survived. Jared was nice enough to stay with me the whole time, and I only had to ask him once to slow down (my heart rate was a little to high). Can I also say that west Texas is NOT flat. We had hill after hill. We train in Louisiana where we have one hill that we ride, so this was a little different for us. My friend Kaye rode the ride with us. She was actually the one who talked us into this, thanks Kaye! We are now planning our next big ride.

Taken before the race started (phone camera quality), can you see how nervous I was......
After the race, back at the car (we didn't carry the camera with us)

We just crossed the finish line....sigh of relief...happy thoughts!

From Boy to Man!

Nathan is no longer a Cub Scout, he is officially a Boy Scout! Eagle here we come! He will be presented with his Weblows badge and Arrow of Light next month at Pack Night. Way to go Nate!

*I know the shirt is a little big...but gosh dang-it, I refuse to buy another one and this boy is growing like a weed!

Cardon Cowboys

Another Utah catch up.... the boys really wanted to go on a horse ride. One night Jared and Grandpa took the horses up Payson canyon and let the boys come ride for a minute before they went on a longer ride. The boys had fun, although we found out that Nathan is still allergic, dang it! Don't you love Jared's boots?

Flaming Gorge

When we were in Utah this summer, my family went on a week vacation to Flaming Gorge. I remember doing this as a kid, and I was so excited to take my boys. Here are a few of the highlights.....

We all had SO much fun boating....here we are all trying to knee board. Jared was really the only one who mastered this (including 360 turns), but the rest of us had fun trying!

We went white water rafting down the Green River. The water was so cold, but we still had a great time. The kids thought they were so cool paddling through the rapids!

Who knew there were otters in the river?

This is why I really miss Utah....hiking in the mountains, in warm, dry weather....awesome!

Jared was in heaven....need I say anymore?

My brother brought all his repelling gear and the boys and some girls (not me) had a great time repelling down the cliffs.

Nathan made a squirrel trap with a tote, rope, and muffin. He spent hours waiting patiently to catch one, and never did!

I had SO much fun hanging out with all my nieces and nephews!

And what is camping without roasting hot dogs....and roasting we did!

What a great family vacation!

First Day of School

YEAH! School has started....a little early, but I am not complaining. Nathan is in 5th grade and Joshua is in 2nd.

School uniforms aren't that exciting....but they sure make things easy!

Nathan's Birthday

Nathan turned 11 years old!

The celebration actually started the night before. We ate dinner at the Olive Garden. Nathan chose this restaurant, because there kid menu is for 10 years and younger. He was so happy to order off of the adult menu. He had seafood alfredo and ate almost the whole thing.

At his request, he had a great birthday breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit, and monkey bread!



Later that day, we went to the movie "G-Force" (hilarious, a must see!), with his side kick and best friends Nathan Otis and Josh.In July Nathan decided that he wanted a Nintendo DSI. He took a lot of the money he has been saving over the years and bought one. For his birthday, he opted to get money rather than presents and a party, to replenish what he had spent. So that is what he got. He did have a couple of gifts to open, but the money was what he was smiling about!Nathan's favorite cake is German Chocolate, so that was what he wanted. Since my birthday is so close to his, we decided to count it as a birthday cake for both of us. Two birthday cakes in one week is a bit much for Mom!

Happy Birthday Bud! We love you and are so proud of you!

Summer Vacation

First off, can I just say I HATE BLOGGING! It takes so long and I have had it with my blog. Tell me why my blog is the only blog that you cannot click on the pictures and have them enlarge so you can actually see them! I NEED HELP! I am having a blog melt down!

Okay, enough of that, but seriously, if any of you know how to help me, please leave a comment and let me know! I'll pay you money!!!!!

Yes, I am alive, we have just been vacationing in our yearly vacation hot spot....UTAH!!!!
We had so much fun and I took so many pictures, I don't even know where to begin.


Here is some of what we did....


*FAMILY: gatherings, shopping, eating, vacations, and reunions. We had so much fun and it was really hard to leave. Nathan made the comment that there is so much more to do in Utah. I agree, but what can I do?


*STRINGHAM FAMILY (minus Riley): we got to visit and hang out with Jen, Lauren, Izzie, and Clayton, our best friends from Iowa. One day, Jen and I drug the kids around BYU our old stomping. Boy had it changed. We stopped by the bookstore and got all of us some BYU t-shirts!

* BYU SOCCER CAMP: The boys attended a week long camp at BYU and loved it.

*BOATING: Grandpa bought a new pontoon boat and we spent a lot of time on it. The boys had a great time fishing one day and actually caught a ton of fish.

*HIKING: It was so nice to be back by the mountains. We spent a lot of time enjoying the fresh mountain air. It is kind of hard to "truly" hike in Louisiana.

*BEAR LAKE: Jared's family has a cabin at Bear Lake. We spent a few days up there with his family. They played on the beach, went boating, made a zip line, went four wheeling, and even went to church and saw and shook hands with Elder Quinton L. Cook (of the 12 Apostles).

*TIMP CAVES: We hiked to Timp Caves in American Fork canyon and had a great time. The boys were amazed at what it was like inside.

* SICK, SICK, SICK: And lastly, Nathan and I both got horrible chest colds while we were there. It made the last 2 weeks pretty miserable. Why is it when ever you go on vacation, someone gets sick! Thanks to my Dad for keeping me well with all the meds (he is a pharmacist for those who don't know.)

We did so much more, but I would have to write a book to tell you about all of it. Now we are home and trying to get back into our routine!