Brent has been off on Furlough with the government making it so he can't work.  I have been keeping him busy.  He shampooed the carpets for me and has been fixing things with my music programs on the computer. We also had a nice hike and bike ride.  We like Just Serve as it has helped us get involved in service for the community. 

Saturday was a fun day, I love working together with my family anytime but it was especially neat as we got to help at the disaster relief center.  I’m glad that Brent got to have the experience too. It is amazing how many people have lost so much.   Afterwards we were very hungry so we went to Golden Corral. I really ate too much!.  It had been forever since we had been there since we now have to go to Loveland to go there.  They now have Chinese that was very good.  They had Sesame Chicken that was almost as good or better than my other favorite thing that I get there.  It worked out good to go to the swim pool in Loveland too as Ellaina had wanted to go swimming there anyway.  We had a day in Loveland as that is where the disaster relief center is too.

Visit to see family & do the St. George Marathon Written by Brent

Monday at work as the day went on it became clear the government was going to shut down over the Republicans linking the funding of Obamacare with passing the spending bill for the new fiscal year.  We had a meeting in the afternoon and were told to pack up and take our stuff home.  We were scheduled to have our office remodeled starting next week and were going to work from home during the remodel.  The thought was if the government didn’t shut down we would just start working from home a few days earlier.  If the government did shut down, we would be set to work from home when the situation was resolved.  Consequently, I stayed late at work and packed up.  As expected the government shut down, so I am now on furlough.  We are forbidden from doing any work until the shutdown ends.

I kept busy the rest of the week even though I wasn’t working.  Tuesday I set up Cory’s room to be my work office.  Wednesday I cleaned the pond and worked on setting up our new computer.  Thursday I did the bills and packed for our weekend marathon trip.

We have had a great marathon trip.  We flew to St. George on Friday.  A storm came through Thursday night and Friday morning, but it was mostly rain and we made it to the airport without incident.  Our plane needed to be de-iced which took a little time but we made it to St. George safely.  My sister Diane and her husband Scott picked us up at the airport and we went out to eat at Red Lobster.  We had a real good visit.  Then we met up with my sister, Jan, and we picked up our race packets and shopped at the runner’s fair.  After that we went to the St. George temple.  The St. George temple is beautiful.  It is bigger than I thought it would be.  It is incredibly white which enhances its beauty.

We (Jan, Diane, Tina and I) got up at 4:00 AM Saturday morning and headed to the bus pick-up to take us to the St. George Marathon start. It was cold and windy waiting for the marathon to start.  I had to keep going to the bathroom.  The porta potty lines were long, but fortunately there were trees strategically placed which helped relieve the situation.  The race started at 6:45 AM, but there were so many people that we didn’t actually start until 7:00 AM.  The cooler weather really helped me to stay hydrated and not cramp up during the race.  I felt like I managed the race well.  Jan and her friend left us around six miles into the race.  Diane, Tina and I stayed together until mile 21.  At that point I slowed down a bit to keep from cramping up.  I was able to run the whole way and finish strong.  Jan finished around 4 hours 50 minutes.  Diane and Tina finished together around 5 hours 7 minutes.  I finished just under 5 hours 15 minutes.  That was the fastest time Jan had finished in years.  Diane and Tina set Personal Records (PR’s).  I also set a PR by about 12 minutes I think.

After the race Tina and I took a shuttle to Las Vegas.  We had a nice visit with the shuttle driver and the other passenger.  Arlee and Tuawana picked us up at the airport and we went out to dinner at the Cheese Cake Factory.  It was really good.  When we got to their apartment we got in the hot tub.  I was really stiff, but the hot tub loosened me up, and I feel pretty good now.  I do have a bit of sore throat and some tender toes, but otherwise am in good shape.  Today we are going to watch General Conference with Arlee and Tuawana and then fly home to Colorado.