August Adventures

Fun At The Splash Park

The Planetarium

Basketball and Bike Rides

Stake Fun Day

 A Bit of Heaven on Earth at The Ranch

Library Time

More Hiking

Fun at Lagoon for Mark's Work Party

Afternoon free Concert from a Taiwanese Performing Group

We have had so much fun this month and we have had even more great adventures that I didn't document in pictures.  We had a sleepover at Mark's parent's one night, went to a BBQ where only people owning land cruisers came, attended my nephew Joey's baby blessing, and welcomed Mark's brother home from his mission!  I'll document the last one in another post.  I got called as Primary Music Leader this month and I seem to spend all my spare time trying to figure out what in the world I am doing and learning all the songs for the program.  We've also been busy with preparations for school which will start for Brian this week!  Mark rebuilt an amazing motorcycle (also more to come in another post) and he bought a road bike and signed up for a triathlon next month.  August has been a fantastic month and I'm excited to see what September will bring!

Timpanogos Half Marathon

I did it! I survived a 13.1 mile race!  I am so grateful that Vivian and Jake invited/convinced me to do this race with them.  Running a half marathon has actually never been a goal of mine and I really just never thought it was something I would ever do.  It ended up being one of the greatest and most challenging experiences of my life.  The challenge for me was not only the race itself, but the discipline and time it took to prepare myself for it.  Before I started training I had never run in my life.  There were so many times when I just wasn't sure I was cut out to even slowly jog that long of a distance.  I also was a real slacker in my training.  I didn't even come close to completing the miles I had on my training schedule.  I did give it a good shot though and I'm proud of what I did accomplish.


Here we at the starting line.  I only got 1 1/2 hours of sleep that night.  The race started at the top of American Fork Canyon and went down the canyon and ended at Lone Peak High School.

There were a lot of runners.  I think there were almost 1,000 overall.

 Here I am coming down the canyon looking pretty strong.

Vivian's family and friends were waiting for her and Jake at the finish.  They were so nice to snap a few pictures of me as well.  Here I am coming into the finish with my just-keep-breathing-I-can-do-this face.

Then I noticed Vivian's family and I mustered up a little smile and a half wave, because all I could really think about was crossing that finish line.  The man in the blue shirt, who is half in this picture, became my running buddy.  I never even got his name and I wish I got a picture with him at the end.  We ran exactly the same pace the entire race.  Whenever I saw him ahead of me I would focus on that blue shirt and catch up.  Then I would pass him and he would do the same with my pink shirt. Finally we started chatting a little (as much as you can chat in a 13 mile race) and he said I was his pacer.  We decided to finish strong and raced through the finish line together.  He got me through a little faster than I think I would have gone on my own.  Thank you nice old man in the blue shirt.

I finished with an official time of 2.30.00.8.  Two and a half hours.  That was what I was shooting for.  No it is not fast in comparison to most of the other runners.  It is running about 12 minute miles.  For me it was awesome.

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." 

-John Bingham

Liu Family Reunion

Last week all of Mark's mom's siblings and some of their spouses and children came to Utah to be together as a family.  It was so fun to spend several days visiting with them, eating delicious food and enjoying time together.



 Mark's cousin who visits every year came with her kids.  Brian loves her daughter and they are just like first cousins rather than second cousins.  A few days was not enough time for these cousins to get their fill of playing with each other.  They played so well together and just like last year, Brian was full of tears when it was time to say goodbye.

We had a fancy delicious dinner with everyone to celebrate Mark's Grandmother's and Mother's Birthdays.  The food was amazing and the company even better.

I think Mark's Grandmother is so beautiful.  She is so amazing and we are lucky to spend time with her.  She will be staying with Mark's parents for a few months.

 One of the favorite activities was breaking the pinatas.

Even the adults had their own pinata to break.  It was pretty entertaining.

We love cousins!

The time went fast with the family, but the memories will be there forever!