Color Me Rad

In the midst of hike planning I came accross this Color Me Rad 5K (more like fun run).  I talked Farrah and my little sister into coming with me.  Heidi invited a few of her friends too and Ella got to do it for free so I figured WHY NOT?  There were about 4000 ish people there.  Here we are pre-race in our white clothes.

We each got a color packet full of colored corn starch.  I bought an extra 6 packets to make the 3 miles more fun and I'm glad I did.  Ella had a great time throwing them on security guards, random people and herself. :)  We started getting messy before the race even started.

There were 4 "color stations" where the staff was standing and would throw tons of powder on you as you walked by and had those backpacks that hold round up or fertilizer for your grass full of colored liquid.  They would squirt you.  Ella didn't like getting wet so she avoided the other color stations, but I was all about getting messy.  The first color station had a big line we waited in.

Ella did awesome!  She stopped to pick dandilions and look over the small hill.  She walked and ran and skipped.  She had a good time.  There were suprisingly quite a few little kids and even babies in backpacks or strollers.

Here we are almost to the finish line.

Heidi and friends waited so we could cross the finish line together. :)

I ran and gave the camera to Dustin.  We are finishing the race.

Every 10 minutes as people came through the finish line they would gather and do a countdown to throw a color packet in the air.  This is a picture Dustin caught.  I thought it was pretty awesome.  We were in the midst of that colored powder.

Thankfully it all came off really easily.  Even our clothes came sparkly clean.  I would do it again in a heart beat.  It was so much fun!  I hope it was a good memory Ella will cherish.  She is my little buddy.  Sure grateful for good husbands who supported us while we had some silly fun.

Hogle Zoo

My friend Farrah Hansen and I decided while our husband were planning their hike to the Grand Canyon that we would plan a little trip to Utah.  The weekend after the boys got home we went to Utah.  Farrah and I and the kids left Friday morning and met her sister in Ogden for lunch and stopped at the Quilted Bear.  Then we headed to Hogle Zoo.

I think I have just as much or more fun than the kids.   I just love these big animals.

Cute kids riding the carousel.

That giraffe was so close we could almost pet him.

And the much anticipated train ride...

Oh so fun!  We checked into our motel and took the kids swimming in the freezing cold 3ft 6 swimming pool.  Ya, super fun with all 3 of my kids under the height of the swimming pool.  I didn't even bring life jackets either.  Our husbands had to work and met up with us at the motel Friday night.  We were happy to see them after a long day with the kids.

Grand Canyon Adventures

Dustin along with 3 friends Mike Hansen (from our ward), Jed Peters and Eric ? from work have been planning the annual summer/spring hiking trip.  This year they chose from a magazine to hike the Grand Canyon.  They planned and shopped and exercised and packed and got ready to head out. 

I made Dustin weigh his pack before he left and it weighed in at 57 lbs!  I had to remind myself many times that he does this for fun.

They left Tuesday April 27th immediatly after work and came home Sunday night.  They drove to Utah that night and stayed with one of Mike's realtives.  The next day they drove through Zions National Park and saw some pretty scenery on their 1 mile hike around.

They arrived at the top of the Grand Canyon on Wednesday night and ate over a campfire which I am sure they enjoyed because they didn't get to have fires any other time on their hike. 

Slightly nervous, anxious, excited smiles.

My super cute hubby.

Dustin says they had no idea what was ahead of them.  It ended up being a really long, hard, super hot hike.  He said the first two days were the worst because they hiked through the heat of the day.  The last 2 days they got smart and woke up at 5 or 6am and then found a tree or rock to shelter them while they rested for the middle part of the day and then hiked again in the evening when it was less hot. 

He loves to do these crazy poses.  I won't tell you what they thought those rocks looked like.  And no, it's not a ripple in the water because that's what I guessed.

I am sure it was always exciting to see some water.  They showered in the waterfalls.

And played in the creek.

At last!  Sunday morning arrived and Dustin said Mike acted like it was Christmas morning.  He was up by 5 ready to hike out and get home. :)  I dare say I'd be the same way.

I'm glad they did it.  What an opportunity!  We were so glad to have them home though.  Maybe one day I can get Dustin to sit down and write out some details.