The Many Faces of Rachel

You gotta love this little girl.

I've been collecting photos over the last little bit (when I've remembered) to document Rachel and the food she eats. I don't necessarily take these photos while she's eating, rather, I take them after the fact. It's not difficult to deduct what she's been eating - all you have to do is take a look at her mug and you've got a good idea. You guys are novices, but I'm betting that most of you can tell whether Rachel last ate a dessert or main course just by looking at these photos (you may need to click on a photo to get a better idea of what's stuck to her face; the smaller thumbnails don't do justice):

Bob's First Triathlon

I completed my first triathlon last weekend (October 17, 2009). I competed alongside two of my brothers-in-law, Casey and Dustin, and about another 1500 people. The race consisted of a .75 KM swim followed by a 20 KM bike ride and finishing with a 5 KM run. I am happy to report that I survived the swim, rose to the challenge of a ride that started at 1200' and finished at 2520' (most of that climb coming the last 4 miles) and somehow managed the 3 miles at the end.

Here's an image of the elevation profile for the bike ride:







A link to my event photos

Casey's photos

Dustin's photos

Click here for the race results

My times: 2:14:30 (swim 24:16, transition 1: 4:01, bike: 1:11:53, transition 2: 2:19, run: 32:03)
Casey's: 2:13:20 (swim 18:52, transition 1: 4:10, bike: 1:15:29, transition 2: 1:22, run: 33:28)
Dustin's: 2:58:40 (swim 23:54, transition 1: 4:48, bike: 2:01:08*, transition 2: 1:12, run: 27:40)

* Dustin had some technical difficulties with his bike, hence the lengthy bike time.

Aaron is 4

Aaron is 4 today. He had a party over the weekend with his Grandma and Grandpa and Uncles and Aunts, who were all in town to celebrate with us. He had a Monster Truck cake and a football pinata. And at night we went to a UNLV football game.

Aaron is our bundle of energy. I'm always getting comments from neighbors and friends about how they are impressed with how fast Aaron can run. He's turning into quite the athlete with Danny's tutoring. Aaron is a wonderful big brother; he loves to play with Seth and give him hugs and kisses. He's very focused when he recognizes something he wants. He started preschool this year and he loves it. His teacher says he is always very excited to learn and participate in whatever they are doing. We love you Aaron!

Visalia and the Zoo

Last weekend we went to Visalia. Grandma Monte and Grandaddy Gene were visiting my mom since the Seattle Temple was closed. So, we decided to join them. It was a great weekend, other than the sickness we brought with us. Rachel was getting over Pneumonia, Aaron was getting over his cold, Seth was in the middle of his ear infection and I was at the beginning of Bronchitis. Sorry Mom for bringing all that to your house!

We did enjoy the great company while we were there, though. We spent most of the weekend listening to conference, but we also went to the Fresno Zoo on Friday. The kids had a great time.

BYU Football

Bob had to get his annual BYU Football fix last weekend. We went up to Utah for the game against Florida State. Bob and I went to the game with Casey and Kami. Casey won 4 tickets to the game plus VIP parking and food before the game and at half time. BYU lost big, but it was still fun.

Waterskiing

A couple weekends ago we went waterskiing with the Deans. We love the Deans. They have kids the same ages and sexes as our kids (except their baby is a girl, but Seth doesn't mind yet) so everyone has a great time when we get together. We went to Lake Mead for the day. The lake was so warm. I always associate waterskiing with getting cold in the water. But the water was perfect. The kids loved it and loved being with their friends. They all really liked swimming with life jackets on. Rachel and Aaron weren't sure about it at first, but once they realized they really wouldn't go under, they had a great time.

Casey and Kami

I told mom I'd send her these pictures from last weekend, but then I thought maybe everyone would like to see them. The BYU bookstore has this huge trailer they take to games to sell cougar gear from. Casey and Kami are featured largely on it. Here they are with their huge likenesses. It looked really good. When we visited Casey's work he was also making a commercial for the bookstore with Kami in it. I wonder if he'll be at the bookstore long enough that he'll start doing commercials and ads with his kids in them too.