Top 10 reasons why the Historic Kirtland 5K might in fact be the happiest 5K on the planet.

1. It was free.

2. Macey ran with us!

3. Cast members from "This is Kirtland" were there to sing the National Anthem and cheer us on.

4. And then they actually said an opening prayer before the race started.

5. Stephen was in town and was willing to tag along to be our personal photographer.

6. This hill, although it looks harmless here, was a real killer.  But at the top we got to run around the Kirtland Temple.  And then we got to fly back down the hill.

7.  Emma and Leah won first and second place in their age division!

 

8. We did not, in fact, die from the extreme heat.

 

9. It inspired me to take the girls back out to Kirtland later to see the play.

10. We passed a McDonald's on the way there and a Burger King on the way home, which of course both had 50¢ cones, and of course we had to taste-test both.  

All because of the Historic Kirtland 5K.  Now THAT is happiness.

Bad, Bad News Bears

Once again, Andrew got the short end of the stick in the baseball team department.  It was like nothing I've ever seen.  The throwing, the fielding, the batting--or lack thereof--was mind-blowing.  And poor Andrew.  It was so frustrating for him.  He ended up playing catcher for most of the season.  He did a good job there, but wasn't his favorite.  Mostly it was a matter of endurance.  Enduring each play, each game, and the whole season.

We were grateful to have family and friends supporting Andrew.  His Primary teacher and her cute family came to see Andrew play and it ended up raining super hard.  Elyse loved cheering Andrew on!

Shockingly, there was no post-season for this team this year, but the boys still celebrated (that it was finally over?) at Mitchell's.

One of these days, I just know Andrew will get to play on a team that matches his skills.  Hopefully sooner than later...

I love to see the temple.

Glenn and I got to go down to the Columbus Temple with the youth in our ward.  This time was special because it was my first time going down with Brooke, my parents were there, and we had some family names.

When we were ready to leave, we discovered it was pouring down rain.  Inside the temple we had no idea the storm was raging outside.  I loved the symbolism--the temple can protect us from the storms of life as well.  We find peace and safety in temple attendance.

On the way home, we of course had to stop at HomeTown Buffet.  The kids all die over the orange chicken.  I keep telling myself this is NOT the real reason they like to go on temple trips...

Once again, it was such a privilege to be in the presence of these youth.  They never cease to amaze me.  Can't wait until Andrew gets to join us next time...

Fabulous 4th.

After an amazing barbeque with the family, we weren't sure if the weather was going to hold.  No one felt like sitting in the rain.  But since the Public Square concert earlier in the week was rained out, we all really wanted to see some fireworks.  So we decided to risk it.  The weather ended up being perfect, so different from the sweltering heat from last year.  The kids played football and frisbee, Callie kept us entertained with her dancing and then nearly got plowed over by some oblivious boys, and once the sun went down we broke out the glow sticks/necklaces/bracelets.  The city of Westlake always puts on a great fireworks show, and this year did not disappoint.  Another fun day celebrating our wonderful country!

Girls, girls, girls, that's all we see...

This year's girls camp was by far my favorite.  And it wasn't because we had perfect, cool, beautiful weather.  Because we didn't.  We had hot, humid, stormy weather.  It wasn't because the bugs completely left us alone.  Because they didn't.  They were everywhere, biting, stinging, nagging.

But there were so many reasons to love it.

I loved it because I saw someone with enormous obstacles in her life finally find a voice. 

I loved it because the girls all look so cute with their hair in braids.

 I loved it because I saw older girls setting examples for the younger ones. 

 I loved it because I saw new friendships form.  Fast.

I loved it because the girls got to make memories together.

 

I loved it because there were wonderful women there who helped nurture and teach my daughters.

I loved it because I gained a stronger testimony of the priesthood.

I loved it because I knew that, despite the huge storms and the texts from worried parents back home, we were safe.

 I loved it because the girls learned how to share their beliefs with others.

I loved it because the girls gained confidence in learning new skills.

I loved it because I got to be in a room where Joseph Smith received revelation from Jesus Christ, in a home he was dragged out of in the middle of the night, tarred and feathered, and then stood on the front step the next morning to preach a sermon. 

 

I loved it because Emma, Leah, and Becca were finally initiated as YCL's (youth camp leaders).

I loved it because I never tire of the beauty we see on the hike.

I loved it because all of my daughters were there with me.  And my sister.  And my sister-in-law.  And two of my nieces.  And my mom and other sister came up to visit.  We've never all been at girl's camp together.

I loved it because I saw beautiful, strong, virtuous young women learning, growing, working, laughing, and crying together.  There is such power in being with so many others who GET you, and I am so glad my daughters had that experience.  I know that we are daughters of God.  And at girl's camp, in spite (or maybe because) of the difficulties and trials, that's where you feel it most of all.

Age is only a number.

Grandma Franklin turned 70 this year.  (Hard to believe, isn't it?)  She had originally wanted us to all go up to Wisconsin together, which we were pretty excited to do, but unfortunately Grandpa Franklin broke something or other and was just not up for making the trip.  So (Glenn's sister) Amy and I decided we would throw her a party.

The best thing about this party, other than celebrating Grandma, was that the grandkids all got involved in helping.  The girls decided they would decorate two of the cakes!  Becca made the flowers and the other girls all helped pipe the borders, leaves, and the "70"s on.  They did it all by themselves and did a fantastic job.

The grandkids also came up with questions for a quiz all about Grandma for the guests to answer.  They were pretty tough questions and there might have been a cheater or two!

Amy made a beautiful picture display board with different pictures from Grandma's life.  I cut out a ton of different circles then stitched them together and the kids hung them up around the gym for decorations.  We also had little flowers as centerpieces and the girls painted the pots.  It was simple, but I think it turned out really nice and it was so wonderful to have such great grandkids being so helpful and so involved in the process.

It was so nice to have Cousin Bruce and his new wife Lisa come from Chicago to help celebrate.  I loved watching Grandma tell stories she remembered from growing up.

It was such a lovely evening to honor such a lovely person. Grandma has always been a wonderful example of faith, service, sacrifice, and love to her whole family. We are so blessed and grateful to have her.

The happiest 5K on the planet?

That happens to be what the Color Run is billed as...and these types of 5K's seem to be all the rage these days.  So when a Groupon for this event presented itself (they are quite pricey!), we thought we'd give it a try.

It was kind of crazy getting there.  We left super early that morning but of course since it was on the east side it seemed to take forever.  And we were not prepared for the sea of humanity that greeted us.  People.  Dressed in white.  For miles.  It was insane.

We heard a countdown for the starting line, but there were so many people that there ended up being several countdowns.  We finally got across and got moving.  It was actually a pretty hard, hilly course.  Emma and Leah of course zoomed on ahead, Melissa and I stuck together in the middle, and Brooke and Jill kept pace with each other behind us.

As we ran, there were four different "color stations" where people with those little ketchup-type squirt bottles threw colored powder at you.  You could kind of choose how much or how little color got on you.  I was kind of nervous at the first station, but for the rest I thought...what am I here for but to get all colored up?  Now, I didn't get down on the ground and roll around in it like some people were doing, but Melissa and I got into it.

The cool thing is that the Color Run people are out on the course taking pictures of everybody.  After the race is over you can look yourself up by your bib number to see if there are any pictures of you.  So it was fun to find these pics of us out running.

That's Melissa and me, right there in the center...

Once everyone had crossed the finish line we were all supposed to gather and toss the little packets of powder they had given us up in the air all at once.  There were so many people that we didn't go into the madness up by the stage, but we had our own little color toss.

But our friend got an awesome picture of the main one...

I would definitely say it was the FUNNEST 5K I've ever done.  Can a 5K ever truly be happy though?  All I know is that once we got in the car to drive home and the color all over us was out of the context of the race, I was really ready to get in the shower.  I could not get home fast enough.

BUT--I am happy we did it.  I'm happy that it was a fun girls' activity that we did together.  I'm happy Glenn came and took pictures for us.  I'm happy that Brooke and our preggo Jill hung in there.  I'm happy we saw some friends (even in that huge crowd).  I'm happy we got a good workout.  I'm happy that Andrew was barely out of bed when we got home and didn't have to worry about being by himself for long.

Hmm.  Maybe there's something to that "happiest" thing after all...