Summer Lately

Hello All! Hope you're enjoying the last few weeks of summer! It feels mostly over here. At the University of Utah, I'm a week and a half into fall training camp for football, volleyball, and soccer. Todd has already started contract days for Olympus High, and the students start on Wednesday. Our cross country team has their first meet on Thursday of this week! And Todd starts graduate school tomorrow. He is pursuing a Masters in Coaching and Athletic Administration.

We crossed something off our bucket list in July...hiking Mount Timpanogos! Timp is the second highest mountain in the Wasatch Range at almost 12,000 feet. It's a 14 mile round-trip hike, so we camped near the trailhead the night before to get an early start. We saw a moose and 20+ mountain goats!

Snack break! Caleb and Amanda Rottman hiked up with us.

Emerald Lake. It doesn't look emerald from here, but it is from above!

Glisading down the glacier

Almost to the top!

Made it!

The wildflowers were beautiful!

Can you spot the mountain goats?

Looking back at the peak on the way down

Last month, we got to see both our families! We first flew to Iowa to join Todd's family for Grandpa & Grandma's 60th Anniversary at Lake Rathbun. We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary while we were there. Since our hotel was right on the lake, we spent a lot of time on the water...kayaking, canoeing, boating, and jetskiing. It was wonderful to be all together.

While the guys golfed, the ladies biked around the resort...

...and went kayaking

We had two pontoons on the morning of Grandpa & Grandma's Anniversary

The lovebirds!

Family pictures

Goofing off in the pool

Canoeing

"Minute to Win it" games

"Minute to Win it" games

From Iowa, we flew to Atlanta and drove up to Bryson City, North Carolina for a family reunion with the VanWyk's. It was wonderful to see all of my family - many of whom I hadn't seen since our wedding. We stayed in cabins near Smoky Mountain National Park. We enjoyed hiking, rafting, tubing, and exploring the Biltmore estate.

We went White Water Rafting on the Nantahala River

Storytime with Great Grandma

The sunset from our front porch

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Lily & Grandma

Bathtime!

Cousins vs. Uncles Football

Splish Splash

We spent a long weekend at Bear Lake for Olympus XC Team Camp. The kids had a great time running, boating, playing team-building games, and setting goals for our upcoming season. 

Team Trail Run at Tony Grove Lake

Team Building Games

Fun at Bear Lake

Team Run up Logan Canyon

We are really looking forward to a visit from Todd's parents in a couple weeks!

Hello Summer!

Hello friends & family! It's been awhile. We've really been enjoying life these last couple months--lots of trips, adventures, and things to celebrate!

One of the things we celebrated was a "new" job for me! I accepted a full-time Sports Nutrition position with the University of Utah athletic department. My first official day is tomorrow. We were really hoping I could stay at the University of Utah after my fellowship ended this summer since Todd is enjoying teaching and coaching at Olympus High School, so this is great news! We don't know how much longer we'll be in Utah, but we are enjoying it while it lasts :).

Another piece of good news is that is looks like Todd won't need surgery on his shin! After a very bad stress fracture last fall, Todd's shin was healing very slowly. X-rays were no longer showing a fracture, but he was still having a lot of pain when he'd try to ease into running again. The physical therapist said he thinks the bone is healed, but the fascia isn't healing properly. So he used the Graston Technique to break up scar tissue and encourage blood flow to the area of injury (which was very painful!). Now Todd is doing strengthening and flexibility exercises daily and started to run a bit again.

We ended the high school track season on a high note. Our team finished 3rd place overall at the Region meet, which is an improvement from 5th place last year. We had athletes qualify for state in 14 different events, and 18 athletes from Olympus got to compete at State. Our top finish was 4th place in the girls' 800 meter run. Our awards banquet had a great turnout...a fun ending to a fun season.

Team Picture at the Region Championships

Track Awards Banquet

Our Senior athletes...they will be missed!

In May, I attended the annual CPSDA (Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association) conference. This year it was in Point Clear, Alabama--the same place that I attended the Advanced Practice Workshop in January. The weather was beautiful and the conference schedule allowed for some pool and ocean time, as well as a bit of kayaking. As always, the networking was great and the speakers were informative. It's great to catch up with "colleagues" all around the USA. 

The Utah Sports Nutrition Family...past graduates, interns, etc.

Blue Heron

Beth (my boss) and I

From Alabama, I flew to Fort Myers, FL to visit Kyle, Kristen, and baby Benjamin Mast. Todd met me there. We had such a great time! Kyle and Kristen showed us the highlights of FL and we mostly enjoyed the chance to catch up and meet their adorable little boy. We went to a few different beaches, visited the Everglades, saw FL wildlife, and fished with Kyle.

Ben rolled over for the first time while we were visiting!

Fort Myers Beach at Sunset

Boat ride in the everglades!

Fort Myers Beach

A couple weeks ago, Todd flew to Pittsburgh to be an usher in Aaron Goodman's wedding. Several other Calvin XC alumni were there for the wedding, so Todd had a great time hanging out with friends. They explored downtown Pittsburgh, shot clay pigeons at the bachelor party, and celebrated with Aaron and Felecia at the wedding. 

Point State Park in Pittsburgh and a view of the Duquesne Incline

View of Pittsburgh from the top of the Duquesne Incline

The 2010 Calvin College Men's XC Class

Congrats Aaron & Felecia!

We've done a lot of hiking in the Wasatch mountains lately. It's a good way to escape the three digit heat in the valley. We also spent an afternoon paddleboarding at Jordanelle State Park. 

Neff's canyon

Donut Falls

SUP at Jordanelle

Backpacking at Lake Blanche

YUM! Chili in the backcountry

Watching the sunset from inside the tent...and trying to stay away from the mosquitos

Waterfall into Lake Florence

We can't wait to see both of our families in 2 weeks! We'll be celebrating Grandpa & Grandma Mitchell's 60th Anniversary in Iowa. Then, we'll fly to North Carolina for a VanWyk family reunion. 

Have a great 4th of July!

Springtime

It's been awhile! Spring has been flying by. There's only 1 more week of classes for the athletes I work with at the University of Utah, and Todd has about 6 more weeks before summer break!

I had a great time at the Advanced Practice Workshop in Point Clear, Alabama at the end of February. It was great to meet other sports dietitians in similar situations to mine around the country, and also to learn from veteran Sports RDs in the NCAA and NFL. I had some time to kill after the workshop ended before my flight so I stopped at Gulf Shores, which is where Calvin Track & Field spends Spring Break each year. I went for a long run on trails I've run on with my team, and took a walk on the beach.

Board of Directors and Attendees at the Advanced Practice Workshop

My parents came to visit in March during the University of Utah's Spring Break. We had a great time together! Todd was able to take one day off during their visit, so we spent a long weekend down in Southern Utah. We explored the Little Wild Horse Canyon, Goblin Valley State Park, and Arches National Park. We had never hiked through Little Wild Horse Canyon, and there was more scrambling than we had anticipated! It was worth it though--it was a very unique hike! While Todd worked, we visited Temple Square and Red Butte Garden.

Hiking through Little Wild Horse Canyon

Goblin Valley State Park

Arches National Park

Todd was chosen as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year out of 90 schools in this region! We attended an awards ceremony where he was honored. He received a folder with letters written by students, parents, his principal, the PTA, and other staff about why he deserved to win this award. We really enjoyed reading these! These letters, along with his resume, were sent to the committee that elects one teacher for the state of Utah.

Todd being recognized as Teacher of the Year

We spent Todd's Spring Break in Southwest Colorado. We visited two National Parks that we hadn't been to previously--Black Canyon of the Gunnison & Mesa Verde. We also spent a day each in Ouray and Telluride.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Along the Million Dollar Highway in Ouray, CO

Telluride, CO on Easter Morning

Riding the free gondola to Mountain Village

Cornet Creek Falls

Mesa Verde National Park

As always, we've been quite busy with Olympus High School Track & Field. Our team is getting bigger and better! We've had a number of kids qualify for state already. We have 3 weeks until the State Championships. We'll be happy to have Saturdays back to ourselves after that!

I did two races this spring--a 5K in March and a 1/2 marathon last weekend. Both races went well. I got a post-college PR in the 5K and a 5 1/2 minute PR in the 1/2 marathon! I thought about continuing to train and race again in a few weeks, but I think I'll take a break instead :).

About 5 miles into the race

We're looking forward to visiting Kyle & Kristen Mast (and baby Benjamin) in Cape Coral, FL in a month!