Hiking

 Almost every Saturday for the past year my sister Cassie and I have either been going on long runs or we go Hiking. Lately and throughout most of the summer it has been Hiking. I love it. I find myself really looking forward to Saturdays.

 For the past 4 years I have either been pregnant or nursing so Hiking and long runs don't exactly work. I am sure Cassie probably gets sick of me saying "I can't believe these trails have been in my backyard my entire life!" I love that we get a great work out, we get to enjoy SO much Beauty, and we get to spend sister time together!

I sure do love this Sister of mine.We were meant to be Sisters. Cassie is just about as tough as you can get. She is physically strong, mentally strong, and spiritually strong. I learn so much from her and I enjoy being with her, she is a good teacher.

                        This was our hike to Cedar Point. The leaves were just barely starting to change.

                                                                My Favorite Temple

                Cassie and her friend Tracey. She has great friends and they are a lot of fun to be around.

All of my friends are family. I really need to get out more... I know. Not too many girls can say their mother in-law is their friend, but I can honestly say MINE IS! Cheryl has been through just about everything and she still manages to stay positive and happy.
Sometimes I feel like she is my age, she can do everything and is in the greatest shape.

 

She is a lot of fun to hike with, I love a girl that can take a Snickers break.

The blue skies are quickly fading, hopefully we will be able to get a couple more hikes in before the winter.

4th of July 2013

I started my 4th of July doing a 10 mile run down Provo Canyon with these girls. I loved it! My sister, her best friend Jana, Jana's daughter Brittany, and my Sis in-law Sara from California. It was a lot of fun, I need to either make some friends or join a running group because it is so much more fun to run with someone other than by myself. 

Afterwards we went to the Hughes pool. It was Awesome, unfortunately I didn't get any pics cause I was too busy cooling off in the pool, it was perfect after a long run!

        We attempted a Beetle & Mindy Smart Fam pic at Roman and Michelle's fun 4th of July Barbecue.

The Fearsome Foursome were all together again! Grandpa and Grandma Smart had their hands full with them, literally.

Cutest Outfit Award goes to Pearl Ann Elder

                                               The Older Generation of Smart Grand kids.

Couldn't believe I got the Pearl Girl to kind of sit long enough for this pic.

       I thought this pic was funny mainly because every person in it is looking in a different direction.

Livi taught Annabelle how to finger knit while she was here, she was working on a scarf for Ruben the rest of the night....

PG Fireworks were Awesome, I took the three older kids so Beetle could get packed and rested for his guys trip the next morning.

                                             We met up with my family. It was a lot of fun.

My Sister Jamie can do this cool trick, she can blow fireworks out of her nose...... but ONLY on the fourth of July and ONLY when she is pregnant with her fourth child. Pretty Amazing.

                                                                        Happy Fourth!

Race Day

My Sister and I ran the Provo City Half Marathon on May 5.  Let me just boast a bit about my Sister Cassie. She is crazy athletic, she is a cross-fitter and extremely motivated to always stay fit and be healthy. She is a full time Mom, full time student and still manages to work out everyday and even train for a race. No excuses for this Girl! I have always looked up to her and it is because of her that I even started running. She should be a trainer one day because she is very motivating. We had fun running this race but had even more fun going on Saturday runs together, we would run 7-10 miles rain or snow and not even feel like it because we had some awesome talks, great laughs and even some good cries(;  I love her. 

My goal was to finish in 2 hours and we crossed the finish line together at 1:59:57.6! So close but we did it! Cassie pushed me to the end, it was so fun to run the entire race with her.

It was fun to run the race with Danny too, well..... for a little while, he kind of smoked us.

 Beetle was so nice to bring all the kids to the finish line, I know what it takes to get all five dressed and out the door by 9:00 am.

 We drove straight from the race to my Dad's Graduation. He earned his Masters Degree in Business. We are all so proud of him! My Dad is the hardest worker I know, and he really worked hard to earn his bachelors degree and MBA. One night I was helping him with his final project and he was telling me that out of seven years of his schooling, he only missed one night of school. The one night of school that he missed was when he went to Ohio to see Tate's baby blessing. That is dedication! My Dad never gives up, and always gives it his best. I am so grateful for his example.

                                                                     
  After Graduation my Mom and Dad treated us all to Brick Oven, Cassie and I were in Heaven....everything tasted so good! We were lovin' our race shirts ALL day long!

I picked up Maxwell on the way home from B.O., he went to his first friend party. It was a "wolf party" a little girl from his preschool invited him and he was pretty excited about it all week long. This mask received lots of love before he left it at Grandma Phyl-Phyl's house. He has been missing IT.

                                                                      What a Fun Day!