No news isn't always good news sometimes it is frustrating as is the case while we wait for the delivery of the baby. I had yesterday down as the due date in my Palm Pilot the doctor's date is Tuesday Lexie is resigning herself to the idea of a September baby as she is not experiencing the contractions she has in the past leading up to the delivery of a baby. I'm not sure I am the best support but I do the best I can. Lexie made the comment of "I don't know why it seems we get so nervous at the time of delivery". I wasn't very restrained in pointing out that the reason was that delivery was the part where moms and babies often died. We don't have any reason to expect complications but on the other hand I really do get nervous through a delivery. It is very difficult to see Lexie in that much pain.
On Monday for the family home evening activity we played "Mother May I" a game in which a person designated as mother stands away from the other players and then takes requests from the players to make advancements. For example "Mother may I take 3 steps forward." The player who reaches the "mother" first gets to be the next "mother" or "father" depending on the gender of the successful player. David is kind of a wild card in that he is just old enough to almost understand what is going on. It is hard to tell how much he is actually getting at any time. We got a good laugh when he asked Natalyn "Mother may I take one soccer ball kick forward?" and then when told yes proceeded forward and kicked Natalyn squarely in the butt.
David and Natalyn show off shot Band-Aids
Tuesday was school shopping and school shots day. My sister Naomi was ready to give Lexie a Mom of the year award when she found out that Natalyn was jumping around telling everyone "If we are lucky today we get shots!" Natalyn had been completely sold on the merits of receiving Band-Aids and a sticker. Even after she got home Natalyn was still bubbling and excited happy to show off her five Band-Aids in what had proved to be her lucky day.
A small but sure victory of the week was that I got out running again. I haven't run since I was in Juneau. I decided then to stop for a while because I was getting some knee pain. My 3-4 days off somehow turned into 3 or 4 weeks. One of my inhibitors to running in Thornton was that I was worried about getting run over on the 45 mph roads which surround the house. I was very pleased to find that even though the car speeds are high the traffic flow is low and the drivers were very courteous, often giving me a full lane berth as they passed. At least I assume it was courtesy and not fear of having too close an encounter with what ever the big sweaty thing coming down the road at them was. I am going to put a little more about sweat in this entry than may be polite or pleasant but in as much as I have the freedom of authorship and find the point interesting I am going push it. You may discontinue reading at this point and pick up on the next paragraph or so if you find yourself adverse to the discussion of body fluids. Thursday I decided that I would take on what we call the 4 mile block for the creative reason that it is four miles around the block. I knew that four miles was a bit above my running distances of the recent past but was feeling motivated to test myself a little and in particular have a good hard sweat. The second leg of the block goes directly east and I was delighted to have a view of the summit of the Grand Teton off in the distance. Even though the summit was impossibly far away moving toward the summit felt good and felt right. I hit my first "wall" about the time I expected around the end of the second mile. I think most of my Juneau runs were somewhere in the 2 to 3 mile range. Turning north having a little head wind to cool me off I found I enjoyed the challenge of running against my wall and into the wind. Now onto a part about the body fluids, up until now everything was going according to my picture perfect plan of the middle aged fat boy going out to give his body a certificate of ownership and hard nudge back in the direction of good health and fitness. The part I didn't anticipate was that my first "wall" didn't ever let up. It seemed like I was running with a load of bricks strapped to my back. In the middle of the third mile I dried up. I noticed my energy level dropping even more and my tongue started sticking to the top of my mouth. The last mile was physical misery, I kept myself going by thinking about how happy I would be at finishing. When I finally got back to the trailer I was too drained for much of a celebration but was feeling very satisfied at passing my self imposed test of will. Finally getting a drink of water was the strange experience I have been building up to, in as much as I have never experienced anything quite like it. I came in from my run dry as opposed to the sweaty mess I expected to be given the heat of the day. As I drank water at the end of the run even though I was drinking the water it felt like it was pouring on the outside of me. By the time I had my fifth glass of water I looked like I had been under a hose. People who studied bodies in college instead of computers probably wouldn't be surprised at all by this but I found it quite odd. The good news is despite my stupidity I can't tell that I have done myself any long term or even short term damage. The next time I go out on a run of any distance I will of course carry water or make sure it is a little cooler before I go.
In defense of myself to Lexie I did tell her that as I was running I was keeping an eye on the horizon and was glad to see that it didn't start to wobble on me. I did however fail the cross examination when Lexie asked what I would have done if it did start to wobble. I honestly told her that I would have continued running until I passed out or finished. I have it on my to do list to be a bit more prudent in the future and take a more rational pace toward what is a long term goal. I find it extremely frustrating that such a little run would put me through such and ordeal but I suppose that is part of the welcome to your 30's party. With that said I was pleased with the victory of mind over body in that I did finish my run. There is a great charge in pursuing a goal with undeterable resolution. In general I think I do well in point challenges, the place where I fall short is in consistency. I need to find a mind set that converts consistency into a point challenge. I am going to make a more responsible running schedule for myself that centers around 2-3 mile work outs with cross training, stretching and rest days generously sprinkled in. It is encouraging that I am running better now than I was a year ago but I will need to be more consistent if I want to achieve my goals.
Saturday was the local dairy's family day. A day in which they invite families to come for plant tours, horse rides and of course ice cream. In the context of my late obsession with farm animals The dairy tour was something I didn't want to miss. I was very impressed with the efficiency of the way things were handled at the dairy. A couple of weeks ago we got goat milk from some neighbors and I was quite pleased with their operation there but having seen a commercial dairy I have my sights raised as to what I eventually want if I get milk animals. The item I found the most impressive was that when the milk leaves the cow at 98 degree body temperature the milk is piped directly into a cooling chamber where it is cooled to 38 degrees in about five seconds. The pasteurization and homogenization processes are also similarly impressive. The process also avoids open air and completes in 17 seconds. After the tour I couldn't stop my mind from designing and redesigning a home version of the milk processing system I saw at the plant that would be self cleaning and sized for two or three goats. Unfortunately right now there isn't room for a goat in the trailer.
David enjoying an ice cream cone at the Reed's Dairy Day.
A nice simple moment in life when only one thing matters.
Dallin supervising David and Natalyn in a milking contest.
Notice my little cowboy's left hand. He kept his hand up for the entire ride.
After Grandpa mowed the field Ty made himself a nest.
Grandpa can be accused of babying his new toy, note the blanket.
Ty enjoying a game of cards with Grandma Marler.
Natalyn is a great help with the chickens.
My garden is sprouting. There is at least one sprout from everything I have planted, radishes, lettuce, swiss chard, beets and carrots.
On Saturday Dad and I did some more work on what will become the new chicken pen and then a green house once we are in frost season.
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