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!

February Happenings

February has been a great & full month for us. We've continued to have beautiful, sunny weather. So warm, that we've contemplated planting a few hardy vegetables in our garden bed. The weather makes me hopeful that when outdoor track season comes around in a couple weeks, we won't be coaching outside for hours on end in freezing cold, rainy weather! But maybe March will bring what we've been missing in January & February. 

We had a relaxing few days off over President's Day weekend. Todd & I were both off on Friday & Monday that week. Todd had parent/teacher conferences earlier in the week and was glad to have a day off after a rather tiring week. We coached our track team at an indoor track meet Friday afternoon/evening. For Valentine's Day, Todd came with me to the Bar Method Class in the morning (more like I dragged him there...). My friend Jessie Strike convinced me to come to some bar classes with her and it's been great. When she said she was bringing Brian on Valentine's Day, I decided to drag Todd along too. At least they could be miserable together. 

Todd & Brian's attendance was documented on their instagram page. Haha!

We went out for coffee & bread at Great Harvest after class

We tried out a new restaurant for dinner on Valentine's Day-Cafe Trio. It was delicious! We spent the rest of the long weekend in Capitol Reef National Park, which was the only remaining National Park in Utah that we hadn't visited yet. It was beautiful! We drove down Sunday morning and did some shorter hikes near the visitor's center that afternoon. We camped in a primitive campsite that night, and then got up early for a long hike on Monday. We hiked the Upper Muley Twist Trail, which ended up being 15 miles. It was a really beautiful hike with a little of everything--slot canyons, scrambling, great views, the thrill of never being sure where the trail was (at least we didn't get as lost as the group behind us), etc.

Our traditional park sign picture

We hiked to the arch across the way

Todd standing on top of the arch

Slot Canyon

Beautiful view!

We spent last weekend in Pocatello, Idaho for the Simplot Games with the track team. Idaho State University has a pretty neat indoor track with banked curves. 2,500 athletes from 30 states, Australia, Canada, & Mexico were competing there. Of the 23 athletes we took up with us, 6 made the finals! Everything went really smoothly and the kids had a lot of fun.

Our friends Mark & Jenna Moffatt (and their little girl, Harper) were in town this weekend. They moved to SLC on the same day as we did almost 4 years ago, but moved back to South Dakota last summer. It was wonderful to see them again! We really do miss them.

Tomorrow I leave for Point Clear, Alabama for the CPSDA (collegiate and professional sports dietetics association) Advanced Practice Workshop. I'm really excited about this opportunity! The workshop focuses on professional development for career advanced\ment, and attendees are nominated by veteran members and then selected by the board. 

We are really looking forward to my parents visiting in about 2 weeks! Always wonderful to have family in town!

Life Lately

We're enjoying a sunny Sunday in SLC! We're currently watching Michigan basketball, and are planning to watch the Super Bowl with the Spences tonight. A much needed relaxing day after spending the entire day at a track meet yesterday.

We had a wonderful holiday season with our families in the Midwest. It's hard to believe that it's only been a month since we were in Minnesota! We enjoyed unseasonably warm weather in Michigan...no white Christmas there.

Lily is growing so much! She's smiling a lot and making cute baby noises.

We love being all together!

Baby's first Christmas

4 Generations! It was good to see Grandma & Uncle Bruce on Christmas day.

We played lots of games. We gave Dad a carrom board for Christmas. Mom & Dad also got a new foos ball table, which got lots of use!

Since the weather was so nice, we spent an afternoon at Millenium park walking around. We also went downtown for dinner at One Trick Pony. We were able to see Jake & Alissa Baker and Kyle & Kristen Mast during our time in Michigan. Wishing we could see these wonderful people more often!

We spent the week after Christmas in Minnesota. We were spoiled to get time with both families!

Sibling pic

Todd's Grandma was in town from Iowa for part of our stay. It was great to see her, too!

Bowling at Pinstripes

We spent an evening at Pinstripes. Afterwards, we got to see Grant & Allison's new apartment in Edina.

We checked out the new outlets in Eagan (and walked very quickly from store to store...it was freezing!). We also rode the rides at Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. Since Todd & Grant's favorite childhood restaurant (Champs) was closing, we ate lunch there one last time. We watched a few of the bowl games with Todd's high school friends. 

Over the long holiday weekend in January, Todd & I rented cross country skate skis from REI for  a couple days. Todd taught me how to see on a trail in Park City, and then we went again the next day in Millcreek Canyon. We'll definitely go again sometime!

Park City

Millcreek Canyon

We went snowshoeing with Brian & Jessie Strike in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a steep hike up, but lots of fun bounding down in the deep snow.

We've had two indoor track meets already this season. So far we've set 4 new indoor school records and lots of kids have gotten new PRs. We're excited about what's in store this Spring!