Nathan and Ryan

It's always a surprise when you find out half-way through your pregnancy that there are two in there!
Nathan and Ryan are now 8 and I always tell people that twins first is great--they always have someone to play with. They are learning to play to the piano and love to play with friends and go in the boat.

Nathan did the kids tri in Provo. Ryan is excited to do the next one after seeing Nathan have so much fun.

Joshua

Joshua is 5 and starting Kindergarten this year. He just lost his first tooth. He is our artist and humorist. He loves to do everything the twins do, but his best "buddy" is his cousin Jacob. Joshua and Jacob spend hours with the crayons. We laugh all day long with him.

Katelyn

Katelyn is...well she might just be our last. We are tired. We think she will grow up and do great things...At 2 (May 19) Katelyn just potty trained herself. This is the first time in 8 years we won't have a child in diapers. She loves to swim and to wear dresses. She can't wait to go to nursery every Sunday (and we can't wait either). The boys adore her (unless she is smacking them) and the cat tolerates her (unless she is poking her kittens’ eyes) and we love to make her laugh

Jason Swim Bike Run

Jason will be participating in the Florida Iron Man in 2009 after qualifying at the Oceanside Half Iron Man in April 2009. For those of you who don't know what that involves it is a 2.5 mile swim in the ocean, a 112 mile bike ride and then a marathon run (26 miles). You have 17 hours to complete it. Why would anyone do this to themselves? If you don't know Jason then here is a little insight to his story.

In our 12 years of marriage, Jason has averaged a 60 hour work week. There has never been any time for exercise. In 2007 Jason and Dave (brothers and business partners) had an employee that traded cabinet work for 2 bikes (he is, of course, no longer working for the company). One night at dinner with some friends, Jason was telling the story and our friend Mark suggested he trade it in for a road bike that was his size and start riding with the "group" in the mornings.

NOTE: Jason never does anything half-way.

Jason traded in the bike, and started riding. Within a few months had worked up to his first centaury ride (100 miles) and continued to ride hard every chance he got. He even created team Clydesdale (men over 200 lbs) jerseys. When winter hit, he decided that the spin class was just too boring so with the encouragement of his brother Dave (who had already done 1 triathlon) he started training for a triathlon. He has always placed in the top 4 in the Clydesdale category and took 1st at the Provo Tri. The rest is history. Of course refer to NOTE: Jason never does anything half-way. IRON MAN HERE HE COMES!

Natalie Swim Bike Run

I had no intention of doing triathlons let alone even exercise. I always have something better to do with my time. In the fall my friend Rachel convinced me that we should sign up for the Mrs. Utah pageant to motivate us into "great" bodies. I reluctantly went along, but after speaking with a friend, who had done it, decided that there was a better way to spend my money. I called Rachel and asked what she thought of doing a triathlon (this would kill two birds...Jason would stop asking me to join him and I would not have to do the Mrs. Utah thing). Rachel LOVED the idea, and so April of 2008 we started with the RAGE in Vegas and have continued to do one every month! *NOTE: I have yet to be last in my age group but won't be posting my rankings.
I have also have done a few Century bike rides and have really enjoyed doing those (after figuring out how to avoid falling when clipped in the bike).

FISH STORY

Our family enjoys going camping and boating. We love the boat-in camping at Yuba Lake. You can have a private beach with perfect sand--and it feels like a mini Lake Powell closer to home! We took the kids in early June so it was much too cold to swim or ski, so we brought the fishing poles. Jason set out his pole and the 3 boys poles (I enjoyed a book and Kate watched). Every 10 min. someone caught a fish and Jason couldn't keep up. He threw half of them back and kept the 6 best ones. Jason was sure they were walleye and put them in the cooler on ice to bring home to cook up.

When we arrived home, Jason looked up on the internet to verify the type of fish he had started to filet. He looked and then looked some more. Hmmm....what type of fish could this be? Noooooo it couldn't be. Yes, you may have guessed--carp. Now you may think that this is the end of the fish story, but there is more.

The fish had been on ice for about 5 hours. He dumped them on the grass and took a photo and then after the discovery, proceeded to throw them away (you can eat carp and there are a lot of recipes--but we couldn't get up the courage to eat a fish that will eat spit). He then thought it would be interesting to see what would happen to the fish that still had some muscle reflexes if he put it in water. Its A MIRICLE we said! He is alive.

We live behind the Bluffdale city park, and delivered him secretly to the city pond. You too may now visit "Floppy" the fish anytime you would like. He joined the other Koi (they are also carp) and is very happy.

This is a little more information about the amazing fish known as carp. Carp are hardy fish that inhabit water that is generally unsuitable for other types of fish. These rugged fish can survive in polluted, stagnant, muddy waters. They have even been known to survive for weeks, by burrowing into the mud, when their water supply has dried up. They generally feed on the bottom, eating insects and tiny plants. Uprooting these plants further muddies up the water, chasing off other types of fish.