10k Mud Run aka The Dirty Dash

So this is a little old, but it has taken me a while to get around to posting the pictures. These aren't even all of them, but they will have to do for now (I don't want Katie to get any madder at me for my lack of posting).

A few months back my friend Missy called me up and asked if I wanted to do a 10k mud run. I told her that I would and asked her when we were going to run it. She said, I would have about a week to prepare. A WEEK!!!! Now as everyone knows, I am not the best runner in the world. I just don't really care for it. I would much rather burn off my calories doing something else, anything else really. So if I am going to sign up for a race, I need a little bit of time to get into running shape. Any by a little bit of time I mean more than a week.

Well a week is all I had, and I ran probably twice to prepare myself for the run. Now I had never run in the Dirty Dash before and so I didn't know what to expect. I went to www.thedirtydash.com to check things out and found this awesome video.



After watching the video I got really excited for our run. We got up early on Saturday and drove to Park City for the run. The weather had just turned a little cold, but you didn't really notice it during the run. We had to jump over hay stacks, jump over mud holes, swing across mud holes on a rope swing, wade through Deere Creek, walk across a balance beam, climb a rope ladder and crawl (army style) through barrels full of mud. It was so fun. Even though I hadn't been training, I felt good after the run. We had to stop so often and wait in order to proceed with the next opstical that we had time to catch our breath.
I don't know how long it took us, but we sure had fun. Afterwards they offer showers, but the water was so cold that I couldn't even stand to be in there very long. We went back to the car and I used baby wipes to get some of the mud off me. Three showers later, I was still finding mud! If anyone is looking for a fun little run, sign up for the Dirty Dash, you won't be sorry you did.

#4- Run a 5k with my dad

I have officially checked one of my 30x30 items off the list. On Saturday (Nov. 12) my dad and I ran in our first official 5k. Yep, that is right. I have run Ragnar and a 10k Mud Run, but I had never run a 5k. When I was looking for a 5k to sign up for, I remembered that the DATC had one. About a month ago I had to run to the DATC to meet with my instructor. While I was there I grabbed a brochure about the run and brought it home to my dad. That night we signed up for the run.

I hoped that by signing up for the race, it would help give me the motivation to come home after work and run. However, I was a little too optimistic. I wasn't able to train for it as much as I had hoped to. The morning of the race came and I was excited to go out and run with my dad. Imagine my surprise to come upstairs and see that it was raining! It was in the low 40's and raining hard. I wasn't worried about running in the cold, but I didn't want to have to be cold and wet! Luckily for us, the rain died off before the start of the race and it was perfect running weather.

My dad did a fabulous job. He is amazing! He kept pushing me and motivating me. We crossed the finish line together and I couldn't be more proud of him. We finished in 33 minutes. My dad came in 2nd in his age division. I still can't believe what a good job he did. We are going to turn this little run into our family tradition. So everyone can start preparing now, next year around this time...for the family 5k!

30 by 30 Update

I have been 29 for almost three months, so I should be pretty far into my 30 by 30 list. However, doing my clinicals have kept me pretty busy. So I thought that I would do an update on how my list is coming...kind of as a reminder to myself and to re-motivate myself.

1. Participate in a triathlon- I have been looking around for one to do, but with the weather turning bad I will have to wait until the spring or early summer to get this one checked off.

2. Participate in Ragnar 2012- I have signed up for Ragnar 2012 and am really excited to do it.

3. Visit every temple in Utah- Haven't started on this one yet, but once I am done with clinicals I will have more time to do this.

4. Run a 5K with my dad- I will pass this one off next Saturday. On Nov. 12 my dad and I will be running a 5K. I am excited to be able to do this with my dad.

5. Become a temple worker- Like I said, right now I don't have the time, but come the first of the year I will have more time.

6. Read all the standard works- I am almost finished with the Book of Mormon and then I will start on the D&C.

7. Read one new book a month- I have worked on this one. I have read the Secret Garden and am currently working on two other books Jane Eyre and The Lord of The Rings.

8. Learn the guitar- Charity is helping me on this one. She is giving me lessons, I don't feel like I am learning to quickly. But I will keep practicing.

9. Go on a monthly date with a niece/nephew/brother/sister- I have failed miserably on this one.

10. Finish my mission scrapbook- Nope, haven't even started.

11. Reduce my debt by 1/2- Just adding to it right now, until I have a paying job...I will only be adding to it.

12. Try one new recipe a month- check and check, I have been doing this one. It's nice having someone else cook for you.

13. Learn to scuba dive- A few months ago, my sister-in-law sent me a link to a deal that Groupon was having. It was a discount for the first lesson on how to scuba dive. So I bought one at the discounted rate. I haven't taken advantage of this deal yet, but I am well on my way to learning how to do this.

14. Go on a scuba diving trip- Can't really do this until I pass of #13

15. Learn to make my grandma's blanket- I will be posting pictures of this soon. I am almost done with the blanket. My grandma and I have been working really hard on it, and I believe that on Monday we will finish it. I'm so excited!

16. Learn to drive a manual car- I need someones help with this one. I don't have a manual or know anyone who has a manual car.

17. Visit a church history site- Probably won't do this for a little while. Need to have a job, so that I can travel.

18. Do something out of my comfort zone- Working in the OR has done this on a repeated bases. I will have to write about some of my experiences.

19. Buy dinner for a stranger- I haven't yet to do this. I don't eat out all that much.

20. Make children blankets with my mom for hospitals- Unfortunately we haven't been able to start on this project yet. I haven't been to my moms for a while, so I need to work on that too.

21. Visit Lori in New Orleans- Nope, not yet...but maybe come spring

22. Visit Missy in Kansas- She doesn't live there yet, so I can't really visit her until after the new year.

23. Do a complete temple name- Haven't done anything with this yet.

24. Learn to play the piano- I have been working on this one. Every so often I sit down with Faith and we go over some things and she helps me. But I can only do basic things as of right now.

25. Start a journal (and write in it often)- Nope, haven't done this once. I am going to start off small, maybe once a week.

26. Do a cross-stitch- I am going to go this weekend and find one. I have been thinking of it a lot lately and just need to find the time to go to the store and get one.

27. Go horseback riding- This will have to wait until the weather is warmer. Maybe I can get Shane to help me out with this.

28. Go skydiving- If only I can convince my dad to do it with me.

29. Make a budget and stick to it- Its not hard to stick to a budget when you aren't making any money. The true test will come once I have a job and have income coming in.

30. Go a whole month without eating out- I have done 3 weeks of this, I believe I will be able to accomplish this goal really soon.

So there you have it. I have started on many of them, just not accomplish them. Some of them will take all year to accomplish. But I am glad that I did this update, it was a good reminder that I have actually accomplished a lot. This way I am not discouraged!

Number 30...part 2

Well, I'm sorry to say it...but number 30 will have to wait. I am pretty sure that I am going to have to amend it. I have realized that it is kinda hard to do a whole month without eating out. So I might have to do a week at a time. Or maybe amend it down to two weeks. We will see. So for the time being I will have to hold off number 30.

Number 30

When I was in college I never ate out. Once I moved to Salt Lake, I started eating out every once in a while. Lately, it has been a lot more. The other week I counted that I had eaten out 5 of the 7 days. They were all for different occasions (with my grandma, with my mom, with my friends) and they were all fun times. I love getting together with people and sharing a meal and laughing together. Now doing get me wrong, I am not opposed to eating out, not at all. But 5 times in 7 days was a little over the top. So I wanted to set the goal to help me tone that down a little. And I am happy to report that I have gone a whole week without eating out. Now I know it isn't much, but I am happy about it. Now, only three more weeks to go and I have one of my 30 by 30s done. Wish me luck!

30 by 30

Friday was my birthday...and I turned 29. I thought about what I wanted to do to celebrate my birthday...and I thought...and thought...and thought. I finally decided that I would do a 30 by 30 list. 30 things I wanted to do before I turned 30. And let me tell you, it was a lot harder to think of 30 things than I thought it would be. Given my current situation (going to school and hardly working) I don't know how many of these are actually going to happen, I only have so much money after all, but I am going to try my hardest to get it done. So without further adieu, here is the list (not in any particular order):

1. Participate in a triathlon
2. Participate in Ragnar 2012
3. Visit every temple in Utah
4. Run a 5K with my dad
5. Become a temple worker
6. Read all the standard works
7. Read one new book a month
8. Learn the guitar
9. Go on a monthly date with a niece/nephew/brother/sister
10. Finish my mission scrapbook
11. Reduce my debt by 1/2
12. Try one new recipe a month
13. Learn to scuba dive
14. Go on a scuba diving trip
15. Learn to make my grandma's blanket
16. Learn to drive a manual car
17. Visit a church history site
18. Do something out of my comfort zone
19. Buy dinner for a stranger
20. Make children blankets with my mom for hospitals
21. Visit Lori in New Orleans
22. Visit Missy in Kansas
23. Do a complete temple name
24. Learn to play the piano
25. Start a journal (and write in it often)
26. Do a cross-stitch
27. Go horseback riding
28. Go skydiving
29. Make a budget and stick to it
30. Go a whole month without eating out

I know these are random and some of them I might not be able to accomplish due to lack of funds, they are all things I want to do. If anyone wants to help me accomplish these, just let me know. And I do plan on taking pictures so everyone can see my efforts :)

Redesign

I'm in the processes of redesigning the blog...so bare with me while I update it.

Recap

So I know I am a slacker and should try harder to update my blog. But I just feel like nothing of importance has happened lately. However, my little sister keeps harping on me to update...so here I go (this is for you Katie).

As most of you know I went back to school last September. Because the DATC is self-paced I set a goal for myself to be finished with my bookwork by July (making it 10 months since I started the program). I am happy to say that I finished all of my bookwork on June 30th, so just in the nick of time. Since finishing, I have had to play the waiting game until there was a clinical spot open for me. I just found out that come September 6th, I will be spending 300 hours at Ogden Regional. I am really excited about getting started and all the things that I will learn while I am there.Also of note, my little brother left for the MTC on July 6th. He was very excited to go. I wasn't able to go to the MTC with him, but I was able to spend all morning helping him pack and get the last minute things together. I was kinda shocked to find out that he still hadn't packed that morning. When I went to the MTC I think it took me a week to pack all my stuff. The morning I reported I didn't want to have to stress about anything. I guess that just goes to show you the difference between the two of us. I sure do love Forrest and miss him already! But I know he will do an amazing job.Every year my family gets together and goes to the Ute Stampede in Nephi. This year was no exception. We had the Hansen Family Reunion on July 16th in Lehi, and afterwards we drove to Nephi for the rodeo. I love going to the rodeo with my family and look forward to it every year. This year my dad, Faith, Christian, Charity, Katie, Jeff and Kayley came down as well. One of my favorite moments of the rodeo is right at the beginning. The highlights of the evening is when a skydiver jumps out of his plane with a giant American Flag strapped to his feet. I can only imagine how heavy the flag must be as the man soars through the air. It is quiet a sight to see. I was actually able to snap a picture this year of him coming down. So those are just some of the fun things that have been going on this summer. I promise to write more often and keep everyone in the loop about what is going on in my life.

Manti Temple

My little brother, Forrest, just got his mission call. He is heading to Eugene, OR and leaves July 6th. I am so excited for him. He is going to be a great missionary. Because he is going to school in Ephraim, he wanted to go through the Manti temple prior to school being over. On April 8, the family drove down to Manti to share in this experience. I had never been to the Manti temple and was excited to go.My dad and brother-in-law, Jeff, were able to be his escorts. It was so nice of Katie and Jeff to drive down from Rexburg to be there.It was a really neat opportunity. I love the temple and really enjoyed being there for Forrest. I sure do love him and think he will be a fabulous missionary.

WAC Tournament

Last month I had the privalege of going to Vegas to watch WAC Tournament. Utah State had won the WAC regular season title and were poised to win the WAC Tournament title as well. With a win, the Aggies would get an automatic birth to the NCAA tournament. It was fun to watch the Aggies play two games and be there to see them win it all!Missy and I were able to go down with Josh's parents and his sister. It was fun to spend time with them. They are really a generous family and they treated me like I was family.Missy and I really had a wonderful time. We were able to escape the cold weather in Utah and spend the afternoons laying out by the pool. Unfortunately even though the Aggies won the WAC tournament and made it to the NCAA tournament, they once again lost in the first round. But I had a fun time supporting the Aggies while I was in Vegas. Thanks to the Willis family for such a great trip.

KU/KSU

I know I am a slacker...my sister reminds me that I haven't posted in a while. So sorry about that :)

Growing up in Kansas I grew up a KU fan. I lived and breathed KU basketball. In fact, to this day I always pick the Jayhawks to win the tournament each year. I love college basketball, but I LOVE KU basketball. The real question is, how did I grow up in Kansas and NEVER make it a KU game? If I was to make a bucket list, going to a home KU game would be on there. There is something about hearing the crowd do their Rock Chalk chant that sends chills through your body.



Well my friend Missy heard of my desire to go to a KU game and made it happen. Her fiancee's parents live in Liberal Kansas and are big K-State fans. So she called them up and was able to get us tickets to the KU/K-State game. Now it wasn't a home KU game, but it was just as good. We went out to visit Josh's parents and was able to go to the game as well. it was a fun weekend. I wore a K-State shirt (since Josh's parents got the tickets from one of their friends), but I silently cheered for my team. I probably should have cheered for the Wildcats...after all they did win, and win big. But it was all really fun.

The New Year

2011! Wow, where did the time go? I feel like we were just celebrating the start of 2010 and all of a sudden it was over. When I was a little girl I would come out to Utah every summer to visit my mom. One summer the trip ended quicker than I wanted and I wasn't exhited about coming home. I was at my grandma's house just crying that I had to leave. My grandma took me by the hand and said, "Lexie, a year isn't that long. Before you know it you'll be back with us again." I looked at here and said, "Grandma, a year is FOREVER!". And you know what? To a little girl a year is FOREVER! But you know what, as I get older I realize my grandma was right, a year really isn't that long. The older I get the quicker the years go by. So enjoy 2011 while you can, because before you know it the year will fly by.