Heber Valley Century Ride

Chad and posse

(Chad, Steve, Craig, Casey)
Nice Hair!

This past weekend Chad did his 2nd 100 mile bike ride. I don't know how he does it. I would die sitting on that little seat for so long, we are talking six hours of being on your bike! When I talked to him right after he completed the ride he said it was awesome and he was ready to do it again. I think the man is crazy!! Chad I am really proud of you and so glad you have found ANOTHER hobby to keep you busy!

I Am In WAY Over My Head!

I did something on Sunday night that I think I am going to regret later. I did a pinkie swear with Kristi about running a half marathon with her in March. She tried to make it sound enjoyable by saying that it was ONLY 2 1/2 hours of running. Umm....lets see....I can't even do 2 mins of running so who knows how I am going to make it longer. I don't know why she thinks it is so darn funny to challenge me, probably because she knows that I can't say no to a challenge!

Here are just a few of things going on in my head about this:
1.Why do I already have a side ache thinking about doing this?
2. When am I going to find time to train for this? I'm a busy gal!
3. Shouldn't I start smaller...what happened to the 5k challenge?
4. Winter is coming and doesn't running in the cold hurt your lungs?
5. Why did I spent so much money on my new "walking" shoes, now I have to be a runner.

So if any of you have any tips for me about running or have any really good excuses that I can use to get out of this I would really appreciate it.

(p.s. Sister Walker--you are locked in for the Turkey Trot! No excuses!!)

He's a Cook!

This past weekend I was at my parents and was having such a good time going through old photos. Family portraits are the best. Even when you think you have just taken the best one and you think it will be timeless you always end up looking ridiculous a few years down the road.
So I give you the Cook Family 1980.....
And if you look close, or not so close, you can see Luke!!! I have a twin and had no idea. Take off that cute little curl on top and remove the dress and it's Luke. I always thought that Luke definitely looked more like the Cook side but I thought he looked like my brothers not me! Clearly I was wrong.


Well Luke....what can we say....we are pretty darn cute!!

A New Hobby??

So my friend Jamie has been coming to work with stories about her awesome finds at D.I. I had never really ventured out to D.I. before but with the stuff that Jamie was finding I thought maybe it was worth it. So yesterday was the big day and it was a success! We found this slide for $10 and last week Jamie found me this car that I have been wanting forever also for $10.

Things I learned:

• 1. Don't take your kids--or else you come home with someones junk for $.50.
• 2. Make sure your car trunk is empty or you'll have to decide between your kids or your new found treasure.
• 3. I saw A LOT of stuff there that I still own...is it time to get rid of mine too?

1st Day of School.

I can't believe that I am old enough to have a kid going to school. It seems a bit weird to me because we live in the same school boundaries that I lived as a kid. So Blake attends the same elementary I did and to top it off he is in the exact same class room. Luckily the teachers have changed, however the librarian has not. When I came around a corner and saw that it was her I thought there was no way that lady was still alive AND still looked the exact same. She was "old" when I was there and that was a good 20 yrs ago. (do you think she could be one of the three Nephites??) Excited and ready to go!
Watch out! BMOC
Highlight of the day the bus ride.

I did not let him ride the bus to school in the morning, and he was OK with that and didn't really want to. Then at the end of his day I met him at school and showed him which bus he would get on and where to go. So I sent him off on the bus and headed home to meet him at the bus stop. When he got off he said that was the funnest ride he ever had and asked if he could ride the bus everyday. So it looks like his first day of school was a success and if he doesn't care for school, at least he has the bus ride to look forward to!

Soccer

Soccer superstars!
Sprinting a head for the pass
Private coaching with Grandpa

Blake has started his first season of soccer. He loves it and is pretty good at it, but really does it surprise you?? Need I remind you that his mom played on the high school soccer team and oh, Chad played in elementary. So this is in his blood!

I think that he loves it so much because his cousin and best friend Savannah is on his team and so not only does he get to hang out with her more he gets to show off his sweet moves and impress her even more! And I am sure Savannah loves it because they get to wear matching outfits!

NYC Trip!

CAUTION: Really long post...sorry.

Our NYC trip was FANTASTIC! We had so much fun and were able to fit in everything we wanted to do and then some. A big thanks to Jenn for letting us move in and for hanging with us all week. Also, thanks to our moms for watching our kids. It made my trip worry free.

NYC Stock Exchange- we were staying just a few doors down from here with Jenn. It doesn't getting better then staying right on Wall St.
Ground Zero Experience-The church were the firemen stayed during 9/11. It is now turned into a little memorial museum. Very cool to see.
View of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Here at South Street Seaport it had the best street freaks, always entertaining!

You haven't visited NYC until you visit the bull. Everyone was standing around waiting for photos with the head. Clearly we got the better end and no line!
We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, and yes, it's as long as it looks a few photos above. So we had worked up a good appetite for some NYC pizza.
The hottest girls in NY!! This is a view of Jenn's neighborhood.
Ahh, Grimaldi's! Some of the best pizza ever! The 3 of us were able to down this in no time and then still have room for ice cream!
The famous ice cream house in Brooklyn. I recommend the double chocolate chunk on a cone but...

on a HOT day with crazy humidity watch your new kicks,

there was no way I was getting chocolate on these beauts!

The city from across the river.

Yankee Stadium. The real reason I finally got my NYC trip. Chad had to make it to the "house Ruth built" before it was too late. The game was fun and as always you get the rowdy crowd in the bleachers!

Lady Liberty!

Chad and I were not planning on going to Ellis Island. But glad we did, it was very interesting and who doesn't need a history lesson every now and again?

Radio City Music Hall

NBC Studios-this was really fun. We were able to do a studio tour and see how this joint works. We visited a few different sets including SNL-Chad's favorite.

Rockefeller Center- Chad really starting to feel like a tourist!

Chad and the Spam knights. We had to hit a Broadway show, so we ended up meeting Craig and saw SPAMALOT. I was not real excited about it at first but I loved it...HILARIOUS!

Times Square in the rain

Leaving our show in the down pour that came seconds after this photo was taken. The streets turned to rivers and the muggy subway stations got a whole new meaning!

Mr. Roker! The man is tiny, but does a fantastic weather segment. "And here's whats happening in your neck of the woods... " LOVE IT!
We were able to make it on the Today show. Nice job on our part for getting by the girl who was having her sweet 16. You know that is always a given!
Note the two happy people in the back! Hi mom!

Just in case you missed our television debut...no worries KRisti has amazing bootleg skills. I knew that girl learned something while living in Mexico City.

Wrapping up things at the Today show.

Central Park.
This is for my Dad- the ultimate Beatles fan.


Jenn and I enjoying huge bowls of rice pudding. Yum!

Little Italy- After this street and Chinatown I can say I am well traveled and will never pay full price for anything.

Holy Cannoli

Ghost busters Firehouse

This is how we knew we got the right one...our "tour guide" had been confused before and somehow missed the HUGE sidewalk mural.

We had a great time and ate great food. I'm just glad we made it safely after our cab ride from the airport to Jenn's place I thought we were going to die! Apparently traffic rules don't apply to cab drivers -traffic?? who cares that's what the shoulder is for right? No need to stop or slow down, if people are smart they'll get out of the way. But I guess one good thing is we made from JFK to Wall St. in record time...25 mins....amazing!!