My Derby Car

The Elder's Quorum had a pinewood derby with two rules: (1) No open flames, (2) It has to fit on the track. There were various types of cars: some went for speed, others went for aerodynamics, and then there was me. I went for shear weight and some style. I was looking for ideas about derby cars and saw one for a humvee. The humvee they showed was way too lame and had no texture or fenders, but I like the idea and I decided to design my own. What's pictured is what I came up with. It was loaded as full as possible with fishing weights and weighed over two pounds. I cut out and painted pieces of milk jug for the doors, head lights, and grill. The bumper is actually a hanger that I cut-up, shaped, and later painted. The gun is from a army guy that Jacob had from a while back which was sitting around forever because Michelle didn't want small pieces around Jacob because of the potential for Lizzy getting it and choking on it. The guy is make from two fishing weights that I painted.

My humvee lost the first race, won the second, and lost the third. When I was dinking around afterwards with a friend, the humvee's front axle and gunner met their untimely demise as the car fell off the track. But that's okay--nothing a little hot glue can't fix. I had fun :)

10K Levee Run... Mission Complete

I came, I saw, I ran, I got a tee-shirt, woo-hoo!!
I finished the 10K in 45:51 (~7.5min mile pace). The fastest time was around 32 min which was too rich for my blood. It was so tempting to run fast at the beginning because most people were. They started the 5K and 10K race at the same time, so I had to ignore those faster runners doing the 5K at first because I was in it for the long haul and had to pace myself more than they did. My legs were really feeling the effects of the run after mile 3, then my left calf muscle began to cramp and hurt at mile 4. So, I accomplished my goal of finishing the race!!! Oh, and BTW, I did happen to get the 1st place trophy in my age division (25-29), so that was exciting as well.

Just Took the Plunge!

I just signed up for a 10K race (6.25mi) on Sept 20! It's the 12th Annual Riverside Riverfest Levee Run. Scary, I know. I don't quite know what I've just gotten myself into, but it's exciting. I ran a 5K (3.1mi) my senior year of college (2004). I haven't entered a running event like it since. I get into running off and on. I really like running and I would be more consistent with it, but I allow my schedule to get the better of me and it edges out the time for running. Just today, I was thinking that I would like to get entered into another running event-- something more than I did last time but within reason. I found a cool website that tracks all local and national running events (www.runningintheusa.com) and my eye caught onto this event. Then I thought, that's way too soon, I just won't have enough time to train for it, and I began to talk myself out of it. But I thought, there's never going to be a super-convenient time, I just have to set my mind to it and go for it. I ran an 8mi stint for PT one morning for ROTC during my junior year of college, so mentally I know I can run that far. I am by no means nearly as aerobically fit as I was in college so I won't be setting any records or winning any trophies or prizes, but my goal is to finish it no matter how slow. Wish me luck!!!

Rain, Sleet, Hail, and Snow...Something for everyone

As you may not have guessed, we are not back in Kansas City yet. We woke up so tired Sunday morning in Boise that we decided to stop in Logan, UT at Michelle's sister's place for the night. It was a welcome relief. Today (Monday), we traveled to Cheyenne, WY. Tomorrow, we will finish the journey to our humble abode in Missouri. We have had the worst travel weather so far. We ended traveling through a severe thunderstorm in northern Utah Sunday which had straight-line winds of 40-70mph. We found out later that area was under a tornado warning at the time that we were driving. Today, we continued to drive through rainy conditions which we assumed was part of the same ugly weather system. We drove through what started as a constant moderate rain, then an hour or two later added hail to that, then once we were in the mountain passes of western Wyoming, we were greeted by sleet. We then stopped for gas and food, during which time the sleet turned to snow. All the while, the wind was relentless. While pumping gas, I had to huddle behind the pump to avoid the wind blowing sleet and snow and cold into my face at a remarkable rate...so much for the roof over the gas pumps which doesn't work very well when the sleet is blowing sideways. I did not have my good winter coat with a hood (I didn't get the memo that winter in wyoming starts promptly on labor day!), so I suffered through the ordeal in my old fleece jacket. Once the receipt printed, the wind without missing a beat caught ahold of it and carried it away into oblivion...oh well, I guess I didn't really need that receipt :) As I type this, it continues to rain, lightning, and thunder. On the bright side, we saw a complete rainbow (the whole arch) and Michelle got pictures. We also got to go swimming as a family in the nice heated pool at the hotel here. We then soaked in the hot tub. It was nice. Jacob played with the foam. It would be our luck if this storm follows us all the way to Kansas City. Oh well, pray for us and wish us luck that the weather doesn't pick us up and carry us away...lol.