Mt Timpanogos

I got to run Mt Timpanogos in Utah today. It was supposed to be 105 Degrees today so I was up at 5, on the Timpooneke trail (which is my favorite) by 6:30. Despite the early start the parking lot was completely full with people parked all over the place. Someone must have just left and luckily there was an open spot.

I had to pass several large groups of boyscouts and others but it was worth it to be out on the trail and running hard. The trailhead is near 7000 feet and the peak tops out at 11,750 so it is just under 5000 feet of climb over the 7.5 miles to the top.

I got lots of comments as I ran by, some nice and encouraging, others less thoughtfull. But how can you get mad at anyone while enjoying trail like this. Despite the occasional bottlenecks (the ranger told me when I finished there were nearly 200 people on the mountain) I still set a personal record for the run up to the top and back to the parking lot.
It was a fantastic day and beautiful at the top.

Late Night Excitement

I know, the title may be a bit misleading. Shame you for thinking such things. The other night Keelyn was not tired but Ricki was. So I sat out in the living room with her so Ricki could sleep until the next feeding shift. Since I had already watched the day's Tour de France coverage and my eyes were not reading very well I decided to flip through my favorite channels (Discover Channel, Food Network) when I happend across one of my favorites, Mythbusters.
In this particular episode they were doing demolition myths. One myth was that if a car was sandwhiched between two large trucks in a head on collision the resulting carnage would leave the car pancaked and all the metal fused. They failed to prove it in the "realistic" portion of the show so they decided to kick it up a notch. Below is a portion of the show, be sure to watch the whole thing, it is great. I had a hard time not laughing out loud. (note-You will have to turn off the music from the slideshow below to hear.)

Kiddie kandids

So we went to get Keelyn's newborn pictures the other day and this is what we ended up with after trying for over an hour. I think that babies can feel the change in their enviroment. She is the easiest baby and rarely cries, but not this day. She wanted nothing to do with being put on her belly or having pictures taken. I finally tapped out and Bard took over and Keelyn instantly fell asleep in his hand's. Hmmm maybe a early start on being a daddies girl huh! Anyways I think we got some good ones after all that work!

"Kiwi"

Okay so my sister pointed out to me that some people may be wondering where the nickname "kiwi" came from. So here is the story. (It's very short) Brigen was asking me one day what I thought we were going to name the baby. So I told him that we were thinking of naming her Keelyn. So he sat there for a minute thinking. Then he replied that if we named her that we should call he Kiwi for a nickname. So that's where it came from. I thought that it was so cute that he really thought about it and came up with it on his own. I'm not sure how long it will stay so we do have other nicknames that will work when she's older but you never know it may stick forever!

Birthday present to me!

Ok so I gave myself a birthday present by dressing Keelyn up and taking pictures!

Our little Kiwi

Ok so every picture we take of Keelyn makes her like kind of chubby and she is so not chubby. I think it's her very round face and checks that make her look this way. So here is a video and hopefully it shows how small she actually is. Everyone that has seen her after seeing a picture can't believe what a difference there is!

Keelyn Photos Phase 2

All smiles

Getting love from her older brother

Keelyn meets the boys

Hover......hover.....

Our little girl

Tired dad

Momma and her little girl

Keelyn Lynette Parnell

The newest addition to our family, tenatively named Keelyn Lynette Parnell was born at 6:53 AM on Saturday, June 13th. She was 7 lbs 3 oz and 19 and 1/4 long. Details to come, know that we are all healthy happy and very tired. I'll do my best to refresh the page with more pictures and details as I have the time to do so.

"Enjoy the sleep while you can"

With only a few days left before our newest child joins the family (note counter to the right) people tend to think it is funny to rib us about getting all the sleep we can. What people fail to realize is the humor of that comment hinges seriously on the current state of sleep in the house. Something that should be investigated or at least considered before making such a hilarious comment. Note the bags under the eyes, the sluggish responses, the heavy sigh that overtakes our bodies as we settle into our seats. Get all the sleep while we can? Right. Because Ricki is just as comfortable as can be and sleeping soundly as it is right now. I'm free of any stress, my insomnia is not acting up and my bed is so comfortable that I look forward to getting into bed at night. And because Krevan isn't anything like me and sleeps like the dead from dusk to dawn......... And if you believe all of that....

Krevan, as many of you may know has picked up a few of my bad habits. For one, he doesn't really like to sleep at night. In the past this meant that we would be visited several times throughout the night. I usually hear him shuffling into the room, but after a turning him instantly around and putting him back in bed, he now walks to Ricki's side of the bed. It's worse than a newborn because even if you do feed him, there is no guarantee he will go back to bed.

On a side note, and in the spirit of relevant additional information pertaining to the story, Krevan is getting big. Both the boys are. And in anticipation of having a new child hanging around, we are trying to enable the boys to to take care of things themselves. Get their own cereal, make their own bed, and if they wake up in the middle of the night just go to the bathroom without us. I mean come on, you have to pass the bathroom to get to us so they might as well cut the whole experience short. I thought the nightlight in the bathroom would work.... something like a bug zapper. The kid wakes up, stumbles into the hallway bleary eyed and half asleep, but instead of walking to our room gets hypnotized by the glowing blue light and bbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzz (insert tracterbeam sound effect) they get sucked into the bathroom with no need of parental supervision. etc. I think the boys find it empowering.

So last night Ricki and I are unjustly ripped from our sleep by a strange noise....... (Pause for dramatic affect).

And there is a light on in the house. I look at the clock 2:30 am. We both get up, (sigh), and walk to the boys room. Feeling empowered Krevan decided he wasn't tired and woke Brig up. The lights were on, and they were both sitting comfortably on the top bunk, blankets in hand watching a movie.

This is not what I had in mind when I took the whole "empowerment" route.
I think this is something along the lines of the "I hope your kids are exactly like you" curse that our parents place on our heads. Get all the sleep that we can? Uh-huh. Then there was Kre's 4AM escapade to get snacks, and several other events for which I remember no details because I was delirious. Now, where did I put those Ambien pills?

Lasts

I love taking the last sip of a cold Mt Dew. I love the last mile of any race because I know I'll be done soon. I love reading the last few chapters of a book. Taking the last piece of watermelon at BBQs. The last set of a workout. These are excellent "last" things. They mean the end, finality, or the depletion of an excellent resource. They put a smile on my face.

The last week of pregnancy - you can have it. This is a "last" that I don't care fore. More pain, more anticipation, more discomfort, more time to second guess the names you have picked. More time to hope the kid comes safely and is healthy. More time to think about all the things you still haven't done.

Now I recognize that I am not the one actually experiencing the discomfort or pain, but it isn't the pain that actually bothers me. It's not knowing how much longer it will continue. In a hard race you know how many miles you have completed and how many you have to complete. During a hard workout you know how many sets you have left. Christmas kills you with anticipation but you know with confidence, that December 25th you get to open presents. I think the last week of pregnancy is like working out with a really hard core trainer. You are working so hard that you've lost track of time. You don't know how many more sets of torturous exercise they will put you through. All you can do is keep going and hope that you pass out.

No reprieve from the last week. Ricki is more uncomfortable than ever but she never complains. Instead I'm the one sitting around complaining. I'm usually the one racing so I don't know how it feels to sit for hours and wait. I imagine this is what it is like. You know they are out there on the course. You want to help them, to give them aid. But all you can do is sit and wait. Then, suddenly you will see them and it will be over. Here's to the finish line - may it be here soon.