Apple Hill Blossom Trail Run

Sarah and Alex ran a trail 5k today in Camino, CA (also known as Apple Hill).  The trail ran through an apple orchard and grape vineyard.  It was really beautiful.  They ran with their running club the Buffalo Chips.  They both had a lot of fun.  This was Alex's first 5k race.  He told Dad during the race he was dreaming of the pancakes he was going to eat afterward (we told him we were going to get pancakes after).  Dad thought that was pretty cute.  Lily and Mommy walked around the farm while the others were running and took some pictures and explored.  We all had a fun time and enjoyed a nice pancake breakfast afterward!

 

 

Sarah Turns 12!

Sarah turned twelve years old!  She had a very special birthday.  The youth had a Temple trip planned for many months on Sarah's birthday.  Sarah was so excited to go!  Oma was visiting us the week before her birthday and printed out new family names for her to take with her.  Sarah was interviewed by the Bishop the night before her birthday.  The Bishop kept telling Mom what a wonderful daughter she had.  Mom agreed.  We love Sarah a lot. 


We took some pictures of Sarah right before her Bishop's interview for her birthday.

We told Sarah we would celebrate her birthday the next morning, but really we secretly were planning a suprise party for when she got home from the Temple.  Alex and Lily loved getting balloons and planning out the party.

We are so proud of Sarah and the person she is becoming. 

American River 50 Adventures

Saturday, David ran the American River 50. It is a famous ultra-marathon race (in certain circles) and it goes through our back yard here in Folsom. The race is limited to 850 people each year, so it is a good sized race. It starts about 20 miles down river from us at Sac State and follows the bike trail up river, past Folsom, and around the northwest shore of Folsom Lake. Just past Folsom, the course turns into single track horse trail and follows the lake shore and American River Canyon to Auburn, CA. The race is mostly flat during the first half of the race, but gets hilly around the lake in the second half. The final three and a half miles are a 900 foot climb out of the canyon to an overlook in Auburn.

Here is David at the start, looking sleepy. The race starts at 6AM, about 45 minutes before sunrise.

David was running ahead of pace, so we missed him at all but the last aid station. Here are the kids running on the trails around Rattlesnake Bar, about 10 miles from the finish.

More kids running. It is beautifully green here right now with the rain and spring weather.

Here is a pretty purple flower along the trail while we waited for David. There were lots of black butterflies with little blue and white spots fluttering in the grass and flowers.

And of course, the California Poppies were out!

Sarah and Lily at Rattlesnake Bar.

David came in to Rattlesnake Bar aid station at about 11:50am, ten minutes ahead of his plan. He said afterward he was trying to bank minutes for the big climb the last three miles.

At all the aid stations, a voluneer grabs your water bottle and fills it up while you stop by the food table.

David's friend, Rich Christensen paced the last ten miles. Rich has run the St. George marathon a couple of times. Their kids also do the running club with Sarah and Alex.

Here is Alex, in desperate need of an aid station himself!

We found a good restaurant in Auburn that had something for everyone. Lily liked her fries, and Alex cheered up once he got some food in his tummy.

Here is David "sprinting" into the finish. There's a big party atmosphere at the finish, with music on loud speakers and balloons. It makes it tempting for all the spectators to run it the next year (if you are someone who is easily tempted).

David's chip time was 7:30:55. Which is right on pace. He was glad he saved up some time for the last hill.

Alex and Lily ran along to meet David after the finish.

Here is Dave with Rich, his pacer, just after the finish.

There is a talk from President Uchtdorf about a man that went on a cruise, but because he didn't have much money, he didn't go to any of the banquets, or dances, or parties on the cruise. He spent most of his time in has small room, eating food out of cans and looking out his small window. At the end of the cruise, he learned that all of these things were complimentary and he had missed out on a good portion of the cruise. Well, similarly, David came to the realization at the end of the AR50 the that massages are complimentary! Here he is, finally relaxing!

Easter

It rained on Easter Morning this year, so we had our annual Easter Egg hunt indoors in the front room.  The kids didn't seem to mind at all.  The kids each got a new book in their baskets.  They had fun looking at them in the morning.  We ate yummy eggs the kids had colored for breakfast. 

 Ready for the hunt!

Spring Break - New Brighton State Beach

 We went for Spring Break down to New Brighton State Beach.  It is southeast of Santa Cruz on the Monterey Bay.  We were there for 3 days, most of which was spent at on the beach playing and having fun.  Our campsite was perfect.  No one was around us and we had lots of green grass.  The bathrooms were a little bit of a walk, but not too bad.  We had lots of fun exploring and telling Wampus Cat stories each night around the campfire while roasting marshmallows.  Everyone had a good time.  The kids are all at an age where we can enjoy camping much more.  No more crying babies at 2 am, which is a big relief for mom and dad.

 Walking down to the beach on our first day.

 We had great weather for all 3 days.  In the morning of the last day we woke up in a low cloud with a little bit of mist, but that cleared up and it was perfect again.  

 Alex was the first one in the water. 

 Alex and Lily going back out.

 On our second day we walked after breakfast down the beach about a mile and a half to the neighboring beach where there is a sunken ship called the Palo Alto.  It was built of cement and sunk on purpose to become a restaurant, but the investors when bankrupt in the Great Depression and sold it to the State of California for 1$.  It was nice to look at from a distance, but up close there were lots of flies. So we took some quick pictures and then kept our distance. 

 

 

 We went to the nearby visitors center.  They had pretty California poppies growing out front.  Inside they had some neat information on all of the fish and wildlife at the beach.  Each kid got to pick out a souvenir.  Lily picked a butterfly necklace and wore it "to remember the pretty butterflies" .  Alex picked a humming bird puppet that he had seen in the visitor center at Mount Diablo and really liked.  Sarah couldn't decide what to pick and so we ended up going to Santa Cruz surf shop later and found a cute shirt for her.

 

We spent the rest of the day at the beach playing in the water and flying kites.

 After a full day at the beach, everyone was tired and hungry.  We went back to camp, took showers, and cleaned up for dinner.  There was sand EVERYWHERE.  Then we drove to the best restaurant we have been to in a long time.  It was called La Perla del Pacifico (The Pearl of the Pacific) and we were the only gringos in the whole place.  After we were seated we noticed the line for dinner kept building up until it went out the door and down the street.  That is a good sign when you want good Mexican seafood.  We decided to go there every time we are in the area.  It was so good.

We had a wonderful family vacation.  It was a nice break and fun for everyone.  We love living close to so many beautiful places.  We LOVE California.