Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Adventure

Pre-hikes

I wasn't sure even a 12-mile, 3-hour hike would help me train for what would be a 23-mile, 16-hour hike Rim to Rim, but turned out every bit helped 😅

Beautiful but steep Tuacahn hike with 2 days to go

Lookee the cabin we got to stay in 
the night before on the North Rim 😃

Megan and Scott got the Queen bed, 

and Rob and I got the bunks!

We left the North Rim at 6:30 a.m. with 50 degree temp.

Every time I looked up, I thought WOW. It was just so beautiful and surprisingly varied.

And this is where we should've taken a nap under a tree by the river to bypass the heat of the day....

Phantom Ranch

Sitting out the heat for a few hours would've prevented what happened next... Rob got serious heat exhaustion...

... and heat rash all over his legs

(big baby... it was only 112 degrees at the base of the canyon 😱)

So, we told Megan and Scott to go ahead while Rob and I took a long 1 1/2 hour break in the shade of a pavilion. Scott wore Rob's backpack on his front and his own backpack on his back for the last 2 hours uphill to the South Rim.  

At one point, Rob just laid down on the ground and begged me to leave him under a rest stop pavilion for the night. Not an option in my mind. So I prayed for him, and he prayed for him, and then we prayed together. Pretty soon, he realized if he took slow small steps, he could go a lot further between breaks, so we just turtled it to the top of South Rim, 2 hours after Scott and Megan, at 10:15 p.m.

We had been planning to hike back another 23 miles to the North Rim the next day, but ha! that was not going to happen. Instead, we took the 5-hour shuttle back to the North Rim the next morning and called it a win 👍 Rob was amazing. In spite of what he suffered, he said he was happy we'd done it. And now we're basically pros, next level, yup 😂

Memorial Day, 2019, and Summer Kick-off

It's been 7 years since Elle's death. She would have been 11-years-old and in Young Women's by now. At this point, I do everything I can to avoid thinking too much about her. I've gone down that road so many times, and I just end up in the same place... missing her desperately and waiting for her endlessly. Not a good feeling. Mostly I try to keep things at a high level—having an eternal perspective, knowing this is temporary and that Elle is in the best place possible. That's what keeps me happy.

That, and our other kiddos, who do a good job at keeping us busy and full of suspense for what's next 😜

Bike ride and shave ice

(... minus Getty 😥)

After our foster care training class, Rob and I caught up with the kids at a company swimming/ Flo-rider party 

Getty's crew👇 Danny, Getty, Cam, Lexie, MK, Matt

Getty wanted a pic just with his GF, awww

This is from last year's Flo-rider... enjoy 😂

In other news...

retribution for a break up with Cy 😜

Summer is in gear—full speed ahead!

MK's 25th

Saturday morning breakfast out

She worked all that day 😅 Then Rob and I, Cy and Emma (his date) watched her play soccer that night with REAL Women's team in the rain.

MK = top scorer for the team this season 😲🏆 (Moms are allowed to brag, right?)

Sunday her friends came over to watch World Cup and celebrate her birthday.

But first, gifts. She was in love with the Nike Pegasus Mia told me to get for her, but then THIS...

 😂😂😂

MK's a staunch supporter of Cy's basketball... and any other activity the kids are involved in. She always brings the fun. (Rob's face cracks me up.)

In other news, MK's best friend for her college years plus, Besser, just got married. 

So cute—you put $ in a jar to dance with the bride or groom. 

MK teaching Oveth her moves

You could say it was their last dance. After 3 years, 

they broke things off for good. 

MK pretty much deserves this every month...


And she's still appearing on various morning news shows representing TOSH and their exercise programs, and she kills it 💪

Her boss measured her VO2 Max at a 60. He said 53 and above means you're in the 99th percentile and says she's built to be a professional distance runner. Something for her to think about....

Until then, she's off to yet another soccer game...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our firstborn!! 
SO proud of you, Kenz!