In My Wife's Shoes: July

I couldn't really choose a specific theme for this post because there has been so much going on. I could have named it 4th of July/Nikki's birthday/did you hear the news I went to Lagoon/Spudman, but then there wouldn't be much to write about. Well there would be but then all you would be reading is my endless and witty remarks about life. But that's what you read the blog for, so let's press on.

So July was a crazy busy month, so crazy that I haven't been able to blog anything until now, and even now I can barely keep my eyes open I am so tired. The reason being is that Kara does not have school and my work is a little slower. So Kara drags me and the kids off to some activity or other at every spare moment. It's like summer is going to get away from us without us doing all the things you are supposed to do in summer, like Fishing (haven't done that yet, but I think it's planned). So here is a brief overview of the month of July (and if I forget something it is not because I don't think it's important, it's just there has been so much that I can't remember it all).

4th of July and Klc Family Reunion- These two were rolled into one weekend, and I think there was something else that happened that weekend but I can't quite remember. 4th of July was pretty standard, wake up, watch parade, encourage our children to run out into the street to get candy from perfect strangers in cars. Sounds like fun. Family reunion: When Klc's get together it gets loud. For all you people who know me, you know that I can't whisper. I'm constantly being told this by my wife when in church I am trying to whisper something funny and they can hear me at the pulpit. Put 8 boys who have the same difficulty, plus no waiting room, and you have the Klc family reunion. Add in camping in the backyard of my parents house and a freak thunderstorm in the middle of the night and you have comedic genius. Very exhausting yet very fun weekend, especially watching my brother Philip spin around 10 times with a baseball bat and try and run in a straight line. Youtube funny!

Nikki's Birthday- 5 Girls in the mini-van singing "Call Me Maybe!" When did Nikki get into Music? Seriously she is growing up too fast. The good thing though is that she still doesn't like boys (but I think she has crushes, at least that's what Kara tells me). Now I am not one of those dad's who threatens kids with a shotgun when they take my daughter out. Nope, I'm going to do the old cheaper by the dozen thing, where I ride in the backseat the whole time during the date (of course the guy has to pay for me too). I'm just kidding. When Nikki does get married I just hope she marries a guy who loves her with all of his heart, has a testimony of the gospel, and a deep passion for college football.

Nikki's birthday was at Color Me Mine, and I made a mug.

Kara made a plate.

Lagoon! You know when you are baking something and you open up the oven and you get hit with all that hot air? Now add rides and you have our day at Lagoon! We went on Harmon's Lagoon Day (Kara's sister works for Harmon's, so we tagged along and got some cheap food and free drinks). Nikki on this day was a little bit cautious. She didn't want to go on as many rides as we thought she would. Lukas on the other hand went on everything at least once, and usually once was enough. I was proud of him for only going on Bulgy the Whale once. After his first time he was done. Mollie surprised me as well, and she got to go on more rides than normal, like The dragon which is a very fast spinning ride. Speaking of spinning rides, I am not as young as I used to be, and even when I was young I still got sick on the screamer. This time I got sick on the bumper cars (the little ones, I got dizzy watching Mollie go in circles). I guess I am just getting old..... er. I'm still not old. I won't be old until .... well I'll keep you updated. Once I get old, I'll tell ya. It'll probably be when I have to order those special purple pills.

Deer Creek. This was another whirlwind vacation. Let's call this the Rytting family reunion. Where the Klc family reunion was crazy, the Rytting family reunion was low key and chill. Except for the part where I made Philip swim across the reservoir with me to get an open water swim in before our big triathlon. And when I say across the reservoir, I am taking the shortest route possible across, which happened to be a Bay, where no boats were going anyway, and I think you could stand up in the middle. It was good though, it got the freak out impulse out of the way. After our children were sufficiently dirty from playing in the sand/mud we loaded them up in the car and headed to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express in Heber. There we swam some more, ate some more, and didn't sleep at all, because we all know that when children and grow-ups are in the same hotel room, no one sleeps.

Johnson Mill: This is a continuation of an earlier post about Kara's ruined birthday, which was a trip to our favorite Bed and Breakfast, Johnson Mill (Heber City). We were finally able to get away for the night, and it was too short. I think you need at least two days away from the kids before you feel truly relaxed. I must say I am proud of my wife for not waking up the next day at 7 am and trying to get the day going (she used to do this a lot on vacation, especially on days when we could sleep in). Thankfully we slept in until Breakfast time.

The Spudman: That was today. Like really it was. This was planned WAYYYY back in January when registration for this race opened up. My brother Thomas signed up, posted it on facebook. Then my sis in law Corinne registered. Then I did, then Matt, and Philip, and Alex (not necessarily in that order). Corinne ended up not doing it because she got pregnant and figured that was a good enough excuse not to. I've never been pregnant so I can't say one way or the other, but I'm going to err on the side of caution and say it's legitimate. So we trained, and trained, and I hurt my ankle at a trampoline park, I stopped training (when I say we trained, I'm really saying me, because I never saw anyone train, except Philip and that was two days before the race. I'm just assuming everyone trained because they all finished, and finished well). We travelled to Burley for yet another overnighter, and this night the children slept, and slept well, unlike their dad who kept having dreams of being in the hunger games (the new trailer makes the games look an awful lot like a triathlon), evil mermaids (thanks for that image Philip and Alex) and overall list making to make sure I didn't forget my bike back in Provo.

We arrive at the race, and by the way, our van broke down and needed new brakes while we were in Burley. So thank you to Corinne and Thomas for being our taxis this weekend. Don't know what we would have done without you. The swim starts, 2nd wave is Philip, Matt and Alex. For some reason they are at the very front of the horde as the wave begins. Thrashing and panic begin, while Thomas and I enjoy a good chuckle, but they eventually get their bearings and move on. Next is mine and Thomas's wave (ten minutes after the previous). We are ready to rock n roll, the gun goes off and we are gone. I somehow manage to get out of the water first (when I say first I mean ahead of Thomas, not FIRST. Freak that would be awesome if I were first. But you probably can't do that when you backstroke most of the swim). I'm out of the water, and I get to transition and see Matt and Phil just about to leave on their bikes. I say hi, strip off my wetsuit, grab some GU (basically a gallon of ice cream reduced down to a 3 oz packet), put on my helmet and head out on the bike just as Thomas arrives. I'm feeling pretty good. I catch Alex first, pass him. Then Matt and eventually Philip. At this point I am "in the lead" and I start getting a little bit cocky, when I hear behind me "Hey Andrew!" and my hopes are dashed. Crap. It's Thomas and he has caught up with me. We chat for a wee bit before he books it in front of me. Well, there goes my goal of beating everyone. The bike finishes and I head out on the run, and I feel pretty good. I have new shoes and everyone knows new shoes make you faster (every pre-schooler knows that. Just ask Lukas he'll tell you). At this point the rain starts, which is a welcome sight because I would rather have rain than bright sunshine on race day.

Anyway, I finish my race, 5 minutes behind Thomas, and before Philip, Matt and Alex. We all feel good, and Kara and the kids were there to see me at every transition. That's what I loved about this whole thing, and that is the fact that this was a family event. It was great to see my family at the finish line, and my brothers in the race.

So that was July. We also went to a ward barbecue right after the Spudman. July was great, and it was a lot of fun, but I sure hope that August is a little more low key. I do need some suggestions for what race to do next. I'm pretty sure I am going to do the Aquathon at Seven Peaks Resort. My good friend Jimmy is running it and it would be fun to do it together.