Ragnar Wasatch Back

June 18, was the beginning of what ranks amongst the best months of my life. The six weeks leading up to my 30th Birthday were a wonderful series of events that made me feel totally confident, powerful, and loved.

To kick it all off was the Wasatch Back Ragnar race, an 190-mile relay race from Logan to Park City. Our day started with Rachel blasting Black-Eyed Peas, "I Got a Feeling." I was the first runner from our van, and even though my first leg was only 4 miles, I was SO HOT. I don't know whether it was the heat (my last leg was longer, in the same heat, and with a sore knee), but this was by far my least favorite leg. It was on a fairly busy highway. To distract myself, I tried to wave at all the passing cars (we were running against traffic), but less than half waved back. During the run, the team leap frogged me so that just when I was ready to drop, a van full of screaming girls drove past to cheer me on and bring me water.

Even though I had been training much slower than my goal pace due to some pre-race injuries, I still managed to run at my goal pace. :) Our team, Billing Time for Firm Asses ("BTFFA"), was made up of two suburbans full of really cool girls. The other girls in my van were Joanna, the team captain; Rachel M., Joanna's sister; Rachel O.; Cristina, our ringer; and Jan. Megan, Van 1 captain; Allison, Lauren, Sarah, Noella, and Cristina were in the other van.
Joanna, our fearless leader, was the first to rock our butt custume.

We got a lot of attention. While she was running, the rest of us decorated our suburban with "Run Your Asses Off."

After our van's first round, we met up with van 1 briefly in the parking lot of Snow Basin. We grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading out to East Canyon, where we had planned on sleeping. The drive to East Canyon was so backed up, though--it was seriously absurd the number of cars parked on a highway in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night--that we made it there with only enough time to sleep for about 1 1/2 hours. We were directed by one of the volunteers to sleep behind our suburban, which didn't sound like a smart idea, but we were all so tired we listened. About forty minutes later, just as we were about to fall asleep--it was SO loud in the parking lot--another volunteer started yelling at us. He threatened to disqualify us if we didn't move our sleeping bags immediately. Apparently the first volunteer was misinformed, and there was some requirement that all sleeping take place only on the grass. Well, there was no grass to be found. Joanna and I eventually found a median next to the bathrooms. I closed my eyes for another forty minutes, but didn't sleep a wink.

I was the first runner for our night shift. As strange as it may sound, I was really looking forward to this leg and it mostly met my expectations. It was my favorite leg. It was marked on the description as easy. So when my leg started as a straight up hill climb, I fully expected to be at the top of the hill soon and spend the rest of my leg running downhill. Well, that didn't happen. Other than a very short downhill, the whole four miles were uphill. The stars were beautiful and it was a nice, cool night, though. I was pumping my new playlist. If running at night wasn't so dangerous, I would do it all of the time. The race rules required us to be lit up like Christmas trees. All the bugs zipping at my headlamp looked like a warp speed scene from Star Wars.

After all of the adrenaline, it was hard to sleep in the car. We all just drove around cheering on our runners and pondering the meaning of life. At one point, we forgot to turn the car off while we were chatting. The car died. We had to get jump-started. :) It didn't take too long to find someone to help us, but we still missed Joanna at the hand off.

The next morning, when we finished our overnight leg, we slept in the park. It was loud, but we were exhausted. At the hand off, I was sore. My knee killed from the straight uphill leg of the race. It was hot too, perhaps even hotter than the previous day. But it was my last leg and I knew the end was in sight.

Here are our Ragnar princesses. They had the toughest legs of the race, and totally rocked it.

We all met near the finish line to run over it together.

It felt awesome to finish. Before I actually ran the race, I was excited to be done so that I never had to run again. I am not a runner. Afterwards, though, I was so siked, I was ready to sign up for the next Ragnar. I may be crazy, but I loved it! I loved spending that much time with so many inspiring women. I loved pushing my physical and mental boundaries and proving to myself that I am capable of so much more than I think I am.





After the race, we went to Parr Brown's VIP suite for a few drinks and to bask in our accomplishment.



Despite the fact that I was dead tired, Rod and I went to our friend Dave's 30th Birthday party in his super posh pad in Park City. His girlfriend sure knows how to put on a great party!

The next day, I slept, hobbled around (though less than I thought he would), and went to Megan and Dashe's place for a very yummy, relaxing BBQ. It was an inspiring weekend!

Although we did a lot in the second and third weeks in June, I didn't take any pictures. There was the Salt Lake County Bar dinner, one of the best lawyer parties of the year. I love seeing all my work and school friends in one place. The open bar and dancing don't hurt either. I managed to win a massive scrapbooking basket at the silent auction.

The next night was book club at Alisha's. The book was Born to Run, another book I've been meaning to read, but haven't. I have been on a reading boycott ever since I got sucked into the Hunger Games series. I really miss reading, but I just don't have time for it with everything on my to do list. I guess I'll make up for it in Africa.

Somewhere in there was the YLD Closing social at Estes.

Rod also treated me to a couple of really nice home-cooked meals. I love mussels!


It was nice having this piece of quiet before the next few crazy months.

June: Family and Friends

Although we were ready for a break when we got back from Lewiston, that was not in our plans. Instead, the next night was the last official event of Kimmie Palooza: drinks at Z'tejas and Sex in the City 2. Even with the excess amounts of tequila and great company, there was no saving that movie. It was truly horrible. I wish I had stopped watching after the season finale. I liked being able to write the characters' future in my head instead of having the much sadder details spelled out for me.

Later that week, I had my first Ragnar team meeting, which consisted of G&Ts at Ally B's house. You got to love the mid-week cocktail hours with the girls. We have such a cool team.

My weekend started with a work party at Dan Jenson's. It was the opening event for Parr's summer associates. We have a really great class this year. I'm excited to get to know them better. Melinda, Dan's wife, really outdid herself with all the food. There were enought leftovers to feed an army. I left straight from dinner to Idaho.

Rod didn't come with me this time. He had a lot to catch up on at home. It was nice, though, to spend time with my family just like old times. My Grandma's health has improved so much. She was walking all over the place. We spent the moring going through her "basement", going through all of the clothes and toys that I had stored there. It was so fun to look at all my old barbie furniture and baby blankets. After that walk down memory lane, we went to out to the farm. Zach is getting so big! And he is such a Grandpa's boy.

Later that night, I took Mom Dena and the kids out for a belated birthday/Mother's Day dinner. Afterwards, Jayde and Ryan introduced me to their new pet. Lupa is too cute! I couldn't help but foot her in my purse. :)

When I went out to the house to bring Lupa back, they had to show me how "well" Lupa got along with Kitty.


Kitty looks so vicious when she yawns.
The next morning, before heading out of town, I met my dad at my Grandma Sauer's. Her health has not been so great lately, but she seemed to be in better spirits.

I spent the trip home catching up with old friends. I made it home just in time for dinner with Susan, Kevin, Patrick, and Sam. Susan and Kevin made us a great Paella. We sat outside eating and talking until a huge storm chased us inside. That didn't stop us from visiting though. I love my friends!

Min & Aaron

We spent the last weekend in May in Lewiston, ID. Why, you may wonder, would we drive 12+ hours to spend the weekend in Lewiston? Well, there is one, and only one, reason . . . my best friend got married!

Rod and I tried to break up the drive by staying overnight in Boise on Thursday night. By the time we got to Boise, though, we didn't have time to do anything except sleep. The next morning, we spent some time shopping and exploring Boise. We stopped at one of my favorite stores of all time, the Boise Co-op. It has great food and even better clothes, dishes, gifts, etc. We also stopped at Idaho River Sports to get info on the kayaking situation and to the Sierra Trading Post outlet to get deals on gear.

On the drive up, we stopped at Horseshoe Bend so that Rod could do some kayaking. The location was not especially picturesque and it started raining, but we still had fun. It reminded me of the early days of our courtship, when I would spend hours watching Rod play in his boat.


The drive to Lewiston was beautiful, but slow, long, and without cell phone reception. When we got in, we immediately went to visit Alex, Carley, and the adorable Baby J. I swear J is the cutest baby I've ever seen. When I'm around her, I'm a one-woman paparazzi. I think she liked her belated birthday present.
Carley and Alex directed us to the best Indian food I've ever eaten. Who would have thunk it in Lewiston? Afterwards, we met up with Aaron and Mindy at a gaming place, where I tried (against my better judgment) the bouncy castle. I survived

The next morning, Min and I went for a run. I took advantage of what I knew would be the only time I had alone with her to give her our wedding present and the vows book I had made for her. After our run, she invited us to breakfast. More pics of J.



I love this picture of CarleyAnne and J both chewing on their fingers.




While we were eating, we started talking about what was left to do before the wedding and rehearsal. To save money, Min and Aaron were doing everything themselves. We quickly (at about the time that Rod asked, "Do we have the ingredients for potato salad?" and got the response, "I don't know. What goes in potato salad?") that we had our work cut out for us. Rod soon became the defacto caterer. At one point in the weekend, Aaron's family commented that it was great that Rod got to do what he loves for a living. They thought he was a professional chef! :) We did food prep and created centerpieces until it was time to get ready for the rehearsal dinner, which Min and Aaron were also catering themselves.

For those of you who haven't heard, I've added a new title to my name: Reverend. Min and Aaron asked me to be their officiant so I clicked "Ordain Me" on the Universal Life Church website. :) My favorite moment of the whole weekend was after we had rehearsed the processional and recessional, Min and Aaron dismissed the wedding party and the three of us went over the ceremony. Min started crying and Aaron was getting choked up. It was an incredibly intimate moment, and I was there to share it with them. You could feel the emotions and all of the stress of the day/weekend just melt away.

The rehearsal dinner itself was fun. We had veggie chilli and my new favorite campfire dessert: s'mores made with reeses peanut butter cups. Try it. You will never go back to regular s'mores. Afterwards, we went out with Min, Aaron, our friends from high school, and their friends from NYC. Despite the truly heinous karaoke, I was falling asleep at the table. We called it an early night at around 11 (10 our time).

The next day, the wedding, was another full day of cooking. We started with a cupcake brunch. My candied bacon went fast. In between rounds of bacon, we frosted cupcakes, assembled pies and kebabs, put together centerpieces, and, of course, prepped/cooked the rest of the menu. Min made us cute matching aprons to wear while we baked. We finished just in time to run into town to grab a late lunch at a cute riverside restaurant. We tried to go to the Indian place, but it was closed. :(

By the time I made it back to where Min was staying, Min had locked herself in the bathroom. She let me in and we chatted while she made herself the most bubbly bath I have ever seen. Sorry Min! I just could not help myself. I loved having these few minutes alone with her. CarleyAnne and Alicia showed up shortly thereafter and we all frantically put the finishing touches on our makeup and Min's hair. Min made us really adorable earrings and I bought us all matching hair barretts to match Min's theme. We all looked smoking hot!

The ceremony was beautiful, even if I do say so myself. :) Min and Aaron looked so happy. Rod eventually completed his grilling duties, and I eventually got to sneak in a few dances with him.






Here are some fun pics from the "photo booth".




On Monday, we drove all the way home. The drive was SO excruciating. But we did break it up with lunch with Carl, Alex, Baby J, and Ms. Courtney at an incredibly cool restaurant that was featured on Diners, Dives, and Drive-ins and a stop at the falls in Twin Falls.

By the time we got home from our holiday weekend, we were ready for a holiday. :)

Congrats Min and Aaron!

Three Decades

In . . . one . . . week . . . I will be 30. 3-0.

I remember when my dad turned 30. I thought he was SOOO OLD! At ten, 30 was three times my entire lifetime. He had a mini-mid-life crisis and got his ear pierced. It lasted a week. :) Then, after so many people have said things like "high school are the best years of your life" or "your body just starts to fall apart after 25," I thought I would have a really hard time with 30.

As shocked as I am to say this, I'm not. I'm actually looking forward to it. The last few months have some of the best of my life. I'm happier and more comfortable in my own skin than I've ever been. My body may not be as strong as in my twenties, but last month I ran the Ragnar Wasatch Back and felt like I could conquer the world.

And as much as I loved my self-indulgent twenties (focused on building my career, traveling the world, and just having a good time), I truly believe that the best years are yet to come! 30 . . . BRING IT ON!

P.S. Although I'm not having a mid-life crisis, I am going on a mid-life adventure, starting next weekend with skydiving and ending with three months in Africa. Anyone want to join me?