So sorry that I didn't post a blog last week. Things just got busy. There was a lot of things to do for Cub Scouts. I feel like I was kind of thrown into this without any preparation, but I'm learning and figuring things out...slowly. There was a food drive planned and I had to get the Cub Scouts together to pass out flyers about it within our ward boundaries. It was a little difficult because I hadn't been able to contact all of the leaders before. But I did it, and passing out flyers went great. That was a Tuesday night. The rest of the week was focused on preparing for the Pinewood Derby that weekend. Mom and I made trophies for the boys and printed out certificates. I contacted the other two wards we were joining with for the derby and found out details. And on Saturday the Pinewood Derby was wonderful! An awesome turnout of twenty-six boys with really cool looking cars. One dad with two boys racing told me, "They want you to know that their cars glow in the dark"! There was a car with Baymax driving, a purely silver car, and even a car that was painted like bacon! Everything turned out great and everyone had a lot of fun.
This current week has been a fun one. It was Orientation week for my crossfit challenge and, man, was it difficult. Each week we have challenges to complete. Every time we complete a challenge our name is added to a drawing to see who will "win the bootcamp". Winning the bootcamp means you win your money back. While the bootcamp is definitely worth what we paid for it, it would be awesome to win the money back! So I am hoping to complete all the challenges we're given. Challenge number one was to attend three crossfit classes this week in preparation for our own classes to begin. The classes we were asked to attend are not catered towards beginners and so they were difficult. But the coaches we understanding and very willing to work with us. And the other people in the classes were so supportive. Everyone cheers each other on, a lot! It is a great community to be a part of and I am enjoying it fully! So I attended classes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. As a result, some part of my body has been sore all week. But it is a good sore. A sore that tells me I've been moving and working and making myself stronger. It feels good. The workouts have also helped me feel really good about myself. In the workout I went to on Friday we did Thrusters. Thrusters consist of squatting with a barbell on your shoulders and then standing and pushing the barbell up above your head. I had a barbell that weighed thirty-five pounds, but that was a lot for me (I've never really done any lifting like this). Within the whole workout we were expected to do 90 thrusters and about three sets I was seriously considering lessening the weight I was lifting. But I decided to tell myself I could do it and think positively about it. It worked! I finished the 90 thrusters and my arms hadn't fallen off! I was really proud of myself. I'm so excited for the actual bootcamp classes to begin.
Along with the crossfit classes I've been working on hiking and walking longer distances in preparation for hiking the Grand Canyon mid-May. I'm going with a group of friends as a reunion and to celebrate one of their birthdays. We all worked at Jacob Lake Inn together and have hiked the canyon before. I am looking forward to it, it will be a blast! In preparing for the hike I've found some really great places to walk. In Spanish Fork there is a trail that goes along the river, and in Lehi a similar trail. I really enjoy walking in nature. It gives me time to really appreciate the beauty all around. I don't listen to music while I walk, I just love the sounds of the water rushing by, birds in the trees, and the breeze rustling the blossoms on the trees. I've taken Swede with me the past few times and she is a great walking/hiking buddy. She stays right by me and is just so happy to be exploring somewhere new with me. She sure is a cutey.
Today we had planned to go to the color festival at the Indian Lotus Temple. It is supposed to be a celebration of spring where you throw colored chalk. I've been before and it was really fun. We decided to go with Jessica and Cody in the late afternoon. At noon it started raining....It didn't stop until six. We drove past the Lotus Temple to see if they were still holding the festival and they were, but let me just point out that powdered chalk and rain just doesn't really mix. Or maybe it mixes too well. One of the fun things about the festival is going in a white shirt and having fun patches of different colored chalk on you. Well, with the rain people looked a little more like they mixed all of the colors together, added a little water to form a paste and then put it on a slip'n slide. So instead we just took a drive all over Payson, Benjamin, and Spanish Fork. I love having Jessica and Cody so close so we can see them often.
It rained a few times this week. Usually rain isn't my most favorite thing. You often have to stay inside or else you'll get cold and wet. But when seasons are changing from winter to spring, rain is a very pleasant thing. Rain means green. Every year when things start to green up I realize just how much I love the color green. Fields of green grass, green leaves appearing on trees, little tulip leaves popping out of the ground. Green means spring is coming. Winter doesn't last forever. Green is an amazing color!
