Sneak Peak!

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The Dirty Dash

Another thing we have done to kick off our summer was run The Dirty Dash. It is easily my favorite race thus far. I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever been that dirty before. We trudged through multiple mud pits that had consistencies similar to soup, milk shakes, or just dirty water. There were sprinklers on at almost every obstacle, and if not sprinklers then snow makers. We climbed up a rope wall, went through tunnels, jumped over hurdles, army crawled through mud bombs, jumped in the reservoir, went through a lake that was at times waist/chest deep (easily the most disgusting part), and went down a slip 'n slide. Every step contributed to the final mud mess that we became. If you are looking to run a race and want something to break up the monotony of just running, I highly recommend participating in a Dirty Dash. Unless you absolutely abhor being dirty, I am fairly confident you will love every minute just like we did!

It is actually a really big event - there were 10,000 racers yesterday. There were heats that started every 20 minutes all day long. I didn't expect to see even a third of the people that were there yesterday. It was fun to see all the different ways people dressed up and there were some pretty funny costumes. 

Here are our numbers, pre-race obviously.

Before and after shots. I promise Hunter is every bit as dirty as I am, it's just harder to see the drastic change in his already mud colored shirt. 

Doesn't this picture just make you want to go run in the mud? Yes? I thought so.

Don't worry, they provide showers at the end so we were able to successfully drive home without making a complete mess of the car. But, my shower when I got home was still pretty dirt filled. 

This is definitely something we will be doing again - probably as early as September. If anyone wants to team up we could dress up crazy and make a really good time out of it!

The Graduate

My baby brother graduated from high school! It's crazy that he is that old. It feels like just yesterday that I was graduating high school, and college, and getting married - I guess a lot of time has actually passed. haha. This has been a big year for Kurt: not only did he graduate, he is finally taller than me. 

My Grandma, Aunt Pam and her two kiddos were all able to come out for the big event. It was really fun hanging out with them all weekend. We all felt a little old and I think the fact that my parents are about to be empty nester's really started to sink in. Are we really all that old!?!

Here is a picture of the whole fam, including Grandma. 

The siblings + Hunter because technically he is the brother - in - law.

Britt and I can't spend a weekend together without at least getting one picture together. We have to keep documenting the changing color, length, and style of our hair. 

My mom kept all of our high school graduation caps, which definitely makes for a fun picture now! We decided that my cap is overall the best. Not only is it the highest quality of cap, it also has the best dangle. Way to show 'em up class of 2005!

Congratulations Kurt! We are so proud of you and excited to see what the future has in store!

Angel's Landing

We started our summer off with a bang and there are only more exciting (not necessarily more exciting than what has already come to pass but a continuation of exciting) things to come! It is looking like a summer of checking things off the Bucket List. Count on multiple blog posts over the next few days, now that we have a little bit of downtime. 

First on our list: Angel's Landing in Zion National Park.

I have visited Zion's National Park before (seeing as I'm from Southern Utah) but Hunter never had. I couldn't feel good about myself if I allowed us to move out of Utah without Hunter experiencing this wonder at least once. Before my brother's graduation (post to come soon), we had a free day and jumped on the opportunity since we were already going south. Hunter did some research and decided that the hike for us was Angel's Landing. I said that sounded good and didn't really think much about it until right before we went. Little did I know that this is one of the hardest hikes in the park! The hike was definitely worth all the effort we put in and we both loved it. 

We even took pictures so you can get a little taste of the beauty:

There were little chipmunks all over the place. We tried multiple times to take a picture of one and eventually we were successful.

Where's Waldo?

The above picture was taken from the top of all the hikers that were soon going to join us. Can we say crazy incline? haha.

Acting on one of my friends suggestions, we decided to play a game on top. Our game of choice was Battleship. I cannot even tell you how many comments we got. People seemed to think it was quite hilarious that we thought the top of Angel's Landing was an appropriate place to play a game. After losing horribly the first round, I went on to win the best of 3. This game turned out to be a huuuuge hit over the weekend with my family as well (little Leo was a big fan).

I wasn't kidding about the crazy incline and here is my proof. Switchbacks anyone? haha. This picture doesn't even show all of them or the worst of them.

It was such a beautiful hike and I am happy we had the opportunity to go! If we can fit it into our busy summer schedule we are going to try and go hike The Narrows later this year. Angel's Landing was a perfect way to kick off our summer!

Vacation Planned!

Update: our vacation is planned! Plane tickets are bought, hotels are paid for, and transportation is taking care of. The official days are August 26 - September 2. In 3 short months we will be somewhere beyond exciting!

Stay tuned to find out where we are going!

Here's to hoping I can keep a secret for 3 months.

Vacation Planning

Not a lot is going on here in the Paddock household, thus my recent lack of posts. We are in the same old routine (not that it is a bad thing...) and patiently waiting for fall to come around when we will hopefully start hearing from PA schools aaaand if all goes well moving potentially clear across the country for the beginning of a whole new adventure.

In the mean time, I am trying to plan our last big hurrah of a vacation (until after PA school of course). We decided last year that it would be a lot of fun to have one of us plan a big vacation one year without telling the other anything except what days they needed off work and what to pack, then switching it up the next year. Sounds like a fun idea, right?

Well, it definitely is. I am the lucky one planning the vacation this year. The one thing I failed to foresee when we were making these elaborate plans was how hard it would be to not talk to Hunter about it! I just want to tell him all of the exciting things that I keep planning or seeing the potential to plan. Instead, everyone at work knows all about where we might be going and what we might be doing while there. I had to let it out somewhere that it wouldn't get back to him...haha.

I don't have a plan set in stone just yet, but I do have a pretty good idea of where we will be going. It is still up for debate though. I also have a pretty good idea of the days so at least we have an idea of what days we will need to get off - late August, early September.

The only thing I can say for certain is this: I had no idea how hard it would be to plan something this exciting with only minimal, vague input from Hunter. But, I'm definitely excited about it :)

Here are some of the possibilities, in no particular order, giving nothing away:

New Zealand (very small chance, as awesome as it would be, and Hunter is aware of that fact)

Oahu, Hawaii

Italy (Venice and Rome)

England

Thailand

Does anybody have a favorite among those options? I am certainly open to suggestions, although you should be aware that this will still remain my little secret until we board the plane :) Let me know what you think!

Lessons From a Dog

More often than not, we wonder just what our dog is thinking and wish that she could speak English. We can get a pretty good idea of how she feels by her body language - tail wagging or tucked under as far as it will go, happy shiba screaming vs. growling, ears up or pressed against her head, etc, etc.

A couple days ago, I came across a blog post on pinterest (I know...I am becoming one of those people that refers everything back to pinterest and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that). I loved it. And, while I didn't repin it (I don't have any interest in pinning quotes or stories - although, obviously, I don't mind when others do), but I did email a copy of the link to Hunter because I just loved it.

In quick summation, the post was written by a vet who was attending to a sick dog who needed to be euthenized and it's owners - mom, dad, and a 6 year old son. The son made the profound statement of, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long." Well put. The author then goes on to give a list of things that we could learn if dogs were our teachers. Here it is:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you’re not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

I literally was laughing out loud as I was reading the list because it is so true! Our dog regularly takes part in all of the above. How much more simple and happy would life be if we took some of that advice? Obviously, some of that is for humor's sake and only applies to a dog, but if we were to apply the gist of it to our own lives I think it would make us in general, happier people.

Here's to not letting the little things get you down and trying to live life to it's fullest - and happiest - potential.