We are the mundane
Supercategory to hold miscellaneous subject categories
Two weeks ago Steve’s 90 year old mother fell in the nursing home and broke her hip. Off to the hospital we were for surgery. Then, last Wednesday at 7:30 AMÂ Dawn called doubled over in pain. I went over to take care of the kids and after a mis-diagnosis at a clinic (sent home with pain-killers), Dawn went to the emergency room. By 11:00 PM she was having her appendix removed.
It’s been a crazy few weeks, but everyone is home and recuperating!
The “battle” was last weekend and I’ve waited a week for Ron or Steve F. to post this, but I guess they’re sore losers! Yes, Steve B. is the new “Fall Family Champ”! Can you believe that? Steve F. and Ron must have really had an off weekend!
Shannon has been nominated for Citizen of the Year in her hometown of Dover, NH. Attached is one of the letters written in her support. I couldn’t be more happy for her nor more proud of her. Keep your fingers crossed!Shannon_hill_LRec1[1]
MARILYN, THE UTAH FALLS HOPE YOU HAVE A FANTASTIC SIXTIETH.
IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY BEING THE SECOND SIBLING.
THE SECOND CHILD FOLLOWING SOMEONE AS CONFIDENT AS LARRY.
THE SECOND PRETTIEST CHILD (FOLLOWING GARY).
THE SECOND SMARTEST (FOLLOWING KENNY).
AND THE SECOND CLASSIEST (STEVE & RONNIE TIED FOR FIRST).
BUT MARILYN, YOU ARE SECOND TO NONE WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE AND DEVOTION TO THE FAMILY.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
KENNY, LISA, ELLIOT AND NATALIE
It happened on Monday at the park. I took Reid and Blake for a walk. I had decided the week before that I can’t handle Blake at the park while trying to keep an eye on Reid, so we walked in the opposite direction than we normally do. After a few blocks, Blake started pointing and saying “this, this” (meaning he wanted me to turn this way. Thinking I was no where near the park, I followed his directions. Well, before long, Blake had directed me to another park. It was much smaller, only a few kids. I thought, OK I can handle this and still keep Reid in sight while he sits in his stroller. Unfortunately, within two minutes Blake was bored with the baby swings and slides (keep in mind he’s only 20 months old). After picking him up four times and carrying him away from the older kids’ slides, I decided he could go down one of the slides as long as he sat on GrandMar’s lap. Big mistake! Halfway down, Blake stuck his foot out. Obviously our momentum coupled with my weight didn’t stop us and his tiny little leg just snapped. I won’t go into any more details, but it was pretty traumatic…for me as well as Blake. He’s OK now, with a cast from the tip of his toes to the middle of his thigh.
Gary, his recovery reminds me of you as a child after surgery…how we had to find ways to occupy you on your tummy. It’s amazing how resilient children are. You never seemed frustrated and neither does Blake. I haven’t taken any pictures yet…maybe I’ll get one this weekend when Uncle Gary visits!
I hope. For those of you who weren’t able to make Gary’s 50th birthday party, we gave him what may turn out to be just that gift. We gave him a $25 bet that the Yankees would win the World Series (oh well), and another $25 bet that the Giants would win the Super Bowl. What I don’t recall is the odds…I think either 30 to 1 or 40 to 1. Funny thing is, Gary isn’t sure where he put the ticket. At this point, he has decided not to look for it so as not to jinx them. I agree, but I certainly hope he’ll have to look for it after the game.
Five years ago I was in Arizona at a business conference. Archie Manning was the motivational speaker at one of our meetings. At the question and answer session, one of my co-workers asked Archie which son was a better quarterback. Surprisingly he said Eli! He stated that Eli had better control than Peyton. He certainly seems to be showing that control in his last few games. Hopefully it will continue.
Wish Gary and the Giants luck!
Big soccer news out of the state of Utah. While his Dad was helping lead the Judge Memorial Girl’s soccer team to a state title, Elliot scores a full-time gig with a Major League Soccer Club. Real (pronounced “ray-al”, like the Madrid club) Salt Lake has hired the boy to work in their Marketing/Communications Department. Hey that’s two Fall’s (Gary) working for a major league team…though the Yankees and oft-losing RSL exist on opposite ends of the sports spectrum.
RSL finished it’s third year here, and failed to make the playoffs again. Elliot had an internship this past season (April to Oct) and they loved having him…hired him first chance they got. His title is now Public Relations Coordinator – e-mail efall@realsaltlake.com He’ll stay in school and work part-time til the ’08 season starts. After he earns his degree (economics ) in May he starts full-time at the club.
He’s pictured here holding up the Rocky Mountain Cup trophy, making the trip to Colorado where RSL beat the Rapids to win their annual competition.
Meanwhile, the Judge Memorial Girl’s team (I’m still assistant coach) startled the Utah high school scene by going on a blistering run through the playoffs – giving up just one goal in four games – to capture the state title. The team had begun the season 1-6, but turned things around and beat three number one seeds to win State. It’s our third state championship in six years.
Over the past month or so, I’ve been trying to get back into shape by running on a regular basis. It was actually quite timely, because my first day of running was actually July 4th. It was the following day that Larry posted his entry about getting serious about doing something about his weight. BTW, Larry, let’s see some updated figures!
 I had decided I had to get serious too because a few weeks prior when I was packing for our Battle Creek golf trip I tried on some of my golf shorts, and most of them didn’t fit because I had gotten too fat. I didn’t start running at that time because back in mid-May, I was playing basketball in our driveway with Eric and was attempting to save a ball going out of bounds. I was right on the edge of the driveway and rolled my right ankle and went down like a pile of bricks. I was in maybe more pain then I’ve ever felt in my life. I didn’t see stars, but I did see one bright sun. Eric was to later say that that was probably the stupidest thing he’s ever seen me do. The kids are at the age where they show us no sympathy.
 It ends up that I not only sprained my ankle, but several days later I realized that I had strained my achilles. So due to that injury I wasn’t able to start running until it had healed significantly. It still is a little tender, but it actually gives me no problems when I’m running. It’s more bothersome in the morning when I wake up and everything has tightened up.
After a few weeks of running, I decided to start a log of my runs, so I’ve posted it here. Sorry, no time to make any graphs, but maybe on my next update.
| Date | Distance | Time | Min/Mile | Comment |
I usually run at Moraine Hills State Park a few miles from home. They’ve got 3 interconnected loops of cinder trails that are great for running. I usually do the 3.73 mile loop, but have occasionally added a second for a 6.2 mile run.
I haven’t lost much weight, maybe 4 pounds, but my clothes are fitting much better. My goal is to first run the 6.2 mile run in under an hour. I should be able to do that relatively soon. As soon as the weather cools down a bit, I’ll give it a go. My other goal is to see if I can do the 3.73 mile loop in under 30 minutes. That’s going to be the tough one, but hopefully with another couple of months of serious running and some 50 degree weather and low humidity (as opposed to the 80’s and high humidity I’ve been running in, I just may have a shot of doing it.
 I’ll work on getting my stats to publish a little better, but right now I’ve got to run. Not literally, I already ran today and it was tough. I hate running in the morning. My times are always slower because my body just isn’t ready to perform and I think it goes into shock.
…and wins the Fall Family Cup! Unfortunately, having the humble husband that I do, I have few other details. And I don’t think we’re going to get the usual blow-by-blow, hole-by-hole write up that Steve F. usually gives (for two reasons; he lost and his computer crashed)! I do know that Steve B. also came in 3rd for the entire Battle, apparently blowing his chances for 1st place on one hole (with a score of 15 on that hole).
I think there will be a challenge by Brian very shortly. Steve and he actually played golf two weeks ago and Brian beat the pants off Steve. He is very anxious to play his father again…especially if he can win the “Cup”…any interest Steve and Ron?
