Crimson Knight Baseball

Crimson Knight Baseball

Saturday, December 10th

Tommy is playing baseball on his middle school team.  He has never played baseball before, so he is learning a lot and having a lot of fun.  Since he started, he has improved drastically.  He still has a lot of work to do but he is driven to do his best.

Batter up!

The left fielder - nothing gets through.

Zach & Tommy

"Yeah, I'm tough."  

He just needs some eye black under his eyes.

Tommy christmas song 2011

The next 3 posts are from the piano recital on Saturday, December 17th.  Tommy and Austin have both spent a lot of time practicing the past few years and we really enjoy listening to them play. 

Warning:  Sammy was our videographer so the video is a little shaky at times and a few times Tommy and Austin are headless or sideways or both. 


Tommy at his piano recital playing Oh Come All Ye Faithful. He is getting pretty good at the hymns.

Christmas piano recital 2011

Tommy's playing Tarantella, Etude in E Minor.

Austin piano recital 2011

Austin playing Ballade by Friedrich Burgmuller (Op. 100, No. 15)

Merry Christmas

For those that are scared to give me their mailing address, below is our Christmas card.  This year we took our own pictures (which is why Jim and I are absent, we were busy encouraging/threatening behind the scenes).  Jim took most of the pics and I edited.  I think we make a good team!

The kids - Austin, Sarah, Tommy, Sammy

2011 By Numbers

1- new school for the boys. 5- days Jim & Jenny spent in New York. 9- Austin's age. 6- Sammy's age. 11- Tommy's age. 4- Sarah's age. 2- Faith in God awards, Tommy & Austin. 1- MLB Allstar game attended by Jim. 3- lakes swam in by Jenny. 2- new appliances. 12- goals scored by Sammy in soccer. 11- Tooth Fairy visits. 2- Tommy's jersey number playing QB on middle school football team. 0- rounds of golf. 1- MLB game in Yankee Stadium. 1- MLB game in Fenway Park. 2- Broadway plays in NY - Chicago & Wicked. 14- years married. 1- wetsuit for Jenny. 20+ - hymns Tommy can play on piano. 5- oil changes done by mechanic Jim. 13- Articles of Faith memorized by family. 2- new callings in church - Young Men's president (Jim) & 1st counselor in Young Women's (Jenny). 8- years in our home. 1- dance recital by Sarah. 6- Arrowpoints earned by Austin. 1- Arrow of Light earned by Tommy. 8- races participated in by Jenny. 393- piles of doggie poop picked up. 1- trip to Las Vegas. 14,410- runner (Jenny) to cross the finish line at Boston Marathon out of 26,907. 1- washing machine fixed by mechanic Jim. 2- sports played by Austin (flag football & baseball) and Sammy (soccer & basketball). 3- sports played by Tommy (football, baseball, basketball). 4- states visited in one day (Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona). 2- deceased pets - Rocky the hamster and Venom II the snake. 838- miles ran by Jenny. 1- family trip to Jump Street. 2- trips to St. George, UT. 1- oral surgery. 4- campouts Jim went on. 1- dishwasher installed by handyman Jim. 6- books lost 1st semester of school (1 still missing). 29- socks with holes in them. 4-days Jim & Jenny spent in Boston. 2- Christmas trees. 103,956+ - miles on minivan. 1- boy (Austin) out of braces. 1- boy (Tommy) in braces. 2- morning runs in Central Park, one of which we met the oldest finisher of the 2010 NYC Marathon. 1 - Civil War history buff (Tommy). 1- preschooler going on teenager (Sarah). 3- boys participated on swim team over the summer. Countless prayers answered! 1- Very Good Year!!

 

Tommy 

Austin

Sammy

Sarah

 

Thanksgiving Day Triathlon

Thanksgiving Day Triathlon

November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving morning, a few brave souls participated in the Thanksgiving Sprint Triathlon at the YMCA. The group from the La Loma Ward included:

Marlene, Tiffany, Allyson (and her son, Tyler), Jacy, Diana & Marty, Me, Gayla, and Adrienne.

Jim and Sarah were there to cheer us on.

BEST CHEERLEADERS EVER!!!

Becca & Dawn

They surprised us with signs!  They were wonderful and they cheered all 345 participants in not leaving until the last one was done.  I missed having my partner in crime (Becca) racing with me, but it was nice not being beat by her...although if she would have raced I think it would have been able to shave a few more seconds off my run & bike times cause I would have been trying to keep up with her. 

Adrienne & I right before race was about to start. 

Ready, set, go... 

2 mile run - 13:55 (1st in division - PB)

12 mile bike ride - 36:24 (1st in division - PB)

400 meter swim - 11:53 (11th in division - PB)

PERSONAL BEST

TOTAL TIME:  1:02:11 (1st in division)

Me, Adrienne, Jacy

My two heroes - Gayla & Diana

Gayla, you rock!  She took 5th in her division.

Diana took 1st in her division.  Sweet!

Ultimate Proudness for these two, who made the goal to participate in this triathlon.  They worked so hard and they did great!  Both beat their goals.  Woohoo!

Marlene & Tiffany

Breakdown of numbers

Overall (men & women):  84th out of 345

Overall (women):  25th out of 193

Age division* (30-34):  2 out of 17 

Athena division:  1 out of 21

*had i raced in my age division I would have taken 2nd.  I choose to race in the Athena division for those of us who weigh more than 150 lbs.  

The Kings Basketball

Last Game of the Season

Saturday, November 12

Saturday marked the end of the King's basketball season.  Zane and I coached this awesome bunch of kids.  They did an outstanding job and showed amazing progress and development in a number of basketball skills.  By far, our team was the best passing team in the league.  We were the "fastbreak kings" always looking up the court for a teammate.

The Kings

Giovanni, Zach, Liam, Connor, Ava, Coach Zane, Me, Devin, Antonio, Luke, Sammy

Sammy did pretty darn good all season.  He stepped up his aggressiveness another notch and played great defense.

He also was pretty consistent on scoring one or two baskets a game.

He is a good dribbler.

Fastbreak time!

Me & Sammy

Sidenote - Sammy had me hold his trophy as we were getting in the car and I dropped it.  It broke into about 5 pieces.  He was so cute about it.  He was like, oh that's okay mom.  I asked him if he wanted another one and he said it was okay, but then I convinced him that it was okay for me to get him another one.  Sweet Sammy, good job! 

Halloween Mania

Once again I'm playing catch up.  It all started with the night we carved pumpkins -

Friday, October 28th

Austin, Sammy, Sarah, and I carved pumpkins tonight.  Tommy and Jim are on a boy scout campout (Tommy's first campout with the boy scouts). 

Initially, Sarah wanted to paint her pumpkin.  I thought, "Why not?" So out came the paint.

Sammy made quick work of his pumpkin (I may have helped a little).  He wanted it to be a "friendly scary" pumpkin???

Austin stresses me out with the knife, but he likes to do things himself.

Austin was going for the "crazy scary" look.

So after Sarah painted the pumpkin, she decided she wanted to carve it.  After letting the paint dry a little, we cut into it.  She really liked digging out the pumpkin guts.

Sammy decided his "friendly scary" pumpkin needed a paint job.  

Sarah wanted a "nice" pumpkin.  We gave it a missing tooth, because Sammy had just lost a tooth a couple of days earlier.

Saturday, October 29th

Today was a busy day.  Jim and Tommy were still on their campout.  Sammy had a basketball game that morning at 9:00; Austin had a flag football game later in the day at 1:00pm.  Followed by those awesome games, Sammy's school was having a 1st grade social at a park with costumes and trick-or-treating.

Tommy had homework to do so he didn't get to come (I don't think he wanted to anyway).  Austin and Sammy wore our family costume theme for 2011 - White Trash.  For some reason, Sarah refused.  A few people asked why Sammy and Sarah had pink hair...I think they were wondering what pink hair had to do with white trash...the only reason was because we had some...that's what white trash does...

Part of the line of kids.

It was pretty hot today so the boys were pretty miserable in the trash bags. They had them on for about 5 minutes at the beginning, then put them back on when it was time for CANDY!!

5:00 PM - Ward Trunk or Treat

Immediately following, the 1st grade social our ward was having its annual Trunk or Treat.  I put my foot down and made everyone wear White Trash for the pictures.  I thought we would win the "Trashiest Award" or something, but it was not to be...for some reason there was no such award.

Doesn't Tommy look thrilled? 

Sammy and the rest of the youth performing Thriller.  They did an awesome job.

Tommy got his dream costume for Halloween.  He wanted to be a Union officer from the Civil War.  We have definitely gotten our money's worth - he has worn it a lot as he re-enacts Civil War battles.

Monday, October 31

Finally, Halloween is here. We went trick-or-treating with our neighbors.  Tommy's first day of baseball practice was today, so he still had homework to get done when the younger kids headed out.

Austin, Sammy, and Sarah at our neighbor's house.  Austin decided to be a vampire again, Sammy wore a knight costume that I bought on clearance last year, and Sarah was Princess Belle again.

Sammy, Tommy, Sarah, and Austin

Austin and Amber

Amber and I had a good time handing out candy together.  My back was out of whack so I didn't walk around with the kids. Thank goodness for Kodi taking my kiddos around.

End of the night - Sammy, Austin, Sarah

Scary faces!

Pumpkinman - Race Day!

Pumpkinman

Lake Mead/Boulder City 

October 15, 2011

1500 meter swim - 24 mile bike - 6.2 mile run

SUPER STARS!!!

Me, Brooke, Becca, Laurel

We have been training for this race since May.

Becca and I - ready to go!

I am so blessed!!!  My dad came down from SLC for the race.  I just realized that I never got a picture of him...I really wish I had a picture with him.  He helped so much.  He drove me to the house Becca was staying at so Jim could stay at the hotel with the kids rather than get to the race over an hour before start time.  He also took pictures.  He is amazing!!!  I love my dad!!! 

Getting T1 (transition 1) ready

Me, Laurel, Becca, and Brooke

These ladies rock!  

Laurel, Brooke, and I waiting for the "purple caps" turn. We were the last group to start.

I'm trying to stay relaxed.  The water really freaks me out.

Almost done!  

To me swimming is a constant struggle.  I am never swimming the right direction, I'm always out of breath, I'm always on the verge of panic, but each time I finish I feel amazing because I know I did something that to me is really hard.

So excited to move onto the next stage...

Becca - this girl is a rock star!!!

This is a picture of Brooke.  She is in the front....I'm the middle person in the group behind her (in the pink shirt).  

Laurel - I love this lady!

Feeling pretty good...the big hill is coming.

#653

The bike course was a tough course, but I was really happy because I passed 53 people on my bike.  It was mostly uphill and the last 4-5 miles were steep.

I was so happy when I pulled into T2.  My legs were pretty fried because I pushed it really hard on the bike.  I had a lot of ground to make up since I was like the last one out of the lake.  As I was leaving T2, Brooke and Laurel came in.  

My run was not going well.  Brooke caught up with me and she helped me a ton!  My back and legs were cramping up.  I was feeling discouraged and she just was there and she encouraged me, kept me going.  So I'm totally tearing up thinking about it...Brooke, you are my hero!  Thank you for your help!  

Once we hit the 3 mile mark I had my legs back.  I was feeling really good.  With about 2 miles left I decided to push it....a decision I'm still regretting.  I wish I would have finished with Brooke, helped her like she helped me.  I'm a loser - as Brooke would say, "lame."

The finish line is in sight.

My biggest fans - Tommy, Sammy, Sarah, and Austin.  

Their cheers helped me so much.  After I finished the swim, they were cheering me on and it helped me to run quickly through the transition.  Then on the bike just when my legs were feeling it they start cheering - "Go Mom!  Go Mom!"  Totally gave me a burst of energy.

Me & Brooke

We ended up taking 1st & 2nd in the under 40 Athena Division.

Our times...

Laurel took 1st place in the over 40 Athena Division

Photo Op! 

So after all the awards were handed out we decided we needed to get some pictures on the podium. 

Brooke, me, and Laurel.

We decided to let Becca join in on the podium fun.  She smoked all of us with a time of 3:08, which was good enough for 5th place in her division.  She needs to gain 10 or 20 more pounds to race with us Athenas (150+ lbs).  I've been wanting to lose 10 pounds for a couple of years (seems to be an impossible feat...I mean how much more can I exercise?!?!? and let's face it, the my eating probably won't change).  Besides I'm rethinking that...if I lost 10 pounds I would have to race in Becca's division.  I think I will be happy just losing 5 pounds.  LOL

Brooke, Me, Laurel, and Becca.

\

Jenny Roberts #653

My splits
Overall:  236 out of 364

Female:  64 out of 125

Athena under 40 Division:  1 out of 5

30-24 Female Division:  8 out of 16*

1500 meter swim - 40:28 (Personal Best)

T1 - 2:42

24.8 mile bike - 1:43:10, 14.4 mph

T2 - 1:57

6.2 mile run - 59:22, 9:35 mile pace 

TOTAL - 3:27:07

*If I had raced in the 30-34 division, I probably would have taken 8th.

Extremely pleased with my swim time.  Way better than I thought I did.  Very happy with my bike, especially for being the first time I have competed on the bike for a long distance. My run was not very good, but I wasn't feeling very good at the beginning.  For my first Olympic Triathlon, I'm very happy. I have lots to work on. Triathlons are definitely a different beast.  In my opinion "race day" was more difficult than a marathon, but training was a lot more fun because there is more variety. I'm looking forward to the next race....hmmmm, any suggestions?