Quick Trip to Utah for Britten's Run and Family Time!

Lyle had some business in Salt Lake City and could fit it in around Britten's Run on Saturday, August 18th, 2012!  Perfect!  So he and I made a quick trip (except for the flight getting there which went roundabout from Columbus to Baltimore to Phoenix to Salt Lake City).  The short story is that we both set our alarms to wake up on Friday morning wrong.  We got to the airport an hour late.  Our flight had already left.  We caught a flight to Baltimore, standby, and then had to separate.  My flight left 5 hours later and went straight into Salt Lake City by 3:00 pm.  Lyle's flight left 10 hours later and took him to Phoenix, then 2 hours later he was on a flight to Salt Lake City arriving at 1:00 am!  To say the least, we will double and triple check our info from now on!
Friday evening Nic, Steff, Brooklyn, Camryn, Kendyl, Nixon, Ashley, Ryan, Hudson, and I drove to Logan to help set up for the race to be held on Saturday morning.  Nic and Steff then spent the night with Logan and Lora while Ryan, Ashley, and I checked into the Holiday Inn Express.  Grandpa and Grandma Clark, Kurt, and Patti were also staying at the motel, so we got to spend some fun time visiting with them and eating cake pops for Kurt's birthday!
Tanner drove from Denver, arriving in Salt Lake City around 2 am, and spent the night at Nic's with Lyle.  Then a few hours later, in the early morning hours, Matthew picked up Tanner and Lyle and drove to Logan for the race.
The 5K/Mile Run was well-supported to say the least.  I believe there were between 900 and 1000 runners/walkers.  Breakfast was served afterwards.  They had a silent auction as well as a live auction and several raffles.  I had an amazing time.  It was just so much fun to see so many members of my family and friends.  All for a great cause.  I had tears in my eyes a few times just from feeling overcome with the outpouring of love that I witnessed for Britten, Steven, Karla, and their family!  We even had friends from Zanesville there - Blake, Tara, and Mandy Pumphrey!  Matt had friends that he knew from OSU Dental School there, Brett and Jami Anderton!  Ashley had friends from her ward in Highland, Utah, there!  The money raised will go towards helping pay for Britten's therapy and medical costs.
Mom, Dad, Derris, Laurie, Karen, Lyle and I all worked the 'same-day registration' table.  Then all of my sisters, sisters-in-law, brothers, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, and children helped take care of the raffles and auctions in one way or another.  I am so blessed to be part of such an incredible family!
Enough said!  I'll post some pictures!

 Patti and Steff - Rock Stars

 Nixon and Nic

 Hudson, Ashley, Camryn, Kendyl, Brooklyn, Nic

 Kurt, Tom, Sheri, Michael, Patti

 Laurie, Matt, Melanie

 Angie, Tanner, Nichole, Steff, Kaitlyn, Kyle, Chris (with Paige)

 Grandpa Glenn, Kristen, and friend

 Hudson and Ashley

 I don't know 'Alabama'..., Britten, Tanner, ?, and Steven

 Britten and Steven

 Brooklyn and Ashley

 Steven, Jaxon, Canon, Britten, Karla, Lora, Taylee, Logan

 The Schenk family

 The Schenk family cheer

 Melanie, Karla, Sheri, Karen, Colleen, Laurie, Yvett, Yvonne, and JeNeal

(We miss you, Leslie!)

 Karla, Yvett, Sheri, Laurie, Melanie

Colleen, Britten, Sheri

 Me and Britten

Me, Britten, and Lyle

Sunday evening, feeding the ducks at Bountiful Lake!  (Did you know there was a Bountiful Lake bird refuge?)

Kendyl, Brooklyn, and Camryn

Steff, Camryn, Kendyl, Nixon, papa, and Brooklyn

Brooklyn and Kendyl luring the ducks out of the pond.

First Day of 1st Grade for Brooklyn and Camryn.

Monday night, miniature golf at Trafalga.  Who would have guessed that this was the perfect activity for our tiniest little guys, Hudson and Nixon.  They both LOVE balls and were totally happy to be chasing and picking up the golf balls.  It made things interesting.  In some instances they helped their nana's score!

 Camryn, Hudson, Ashley, Brooklyn, & Megan

 Kendyl, Papa, and Nixon

 Megan, Tanner, Steff, Ashley, Camryn, and Brooklyn

 Lyle and Nixon

Brooklyn, Camryn, and Kendyl

Tuesday, playing at Thanksgiving Point's Discovery Gardens!  Then we enjoyed dinner at LaCosta with Matt, Katie, Elle, Averi, Tanner, Ryan, Ashley, Hudson, Lyle, and me.

Absolutely Adorable Averi

 Averi, Ashley, Hudson

Averi climbing

 Elle and Hudson

 Melanie, Hudson, Elle, and Dr. Matt

 Elle and Hudson

Averi and Hudson

 Elle, Papa, Hudson, and Averi

 Nana and Hudson

 Averi

Hudson, Elle, and Averi

Playing around Noah's ark - Hudson, Elle, Katie, and Averi

And as a final note can I just say.... it was terribly hard to be 20 minutes away from Sean and unable to speak to him or stop in for a visit.  He knew the race for Britten was going on and said that he wished he could be there more than anything.  He certainly loves and admires Britten!

We flew home on Wednesday, August 22, 2012, with no problems!

Romney Rally in Zanesville, OHIO Today

 Senator Troy Balderson - Zanesville's own!

 Rob Portman, Governor Kasich, and Mitt Romney
See that pretty flag in the top of the picture.  It flies at a local business.  The flag pole cost $30,000.00 to install.  The flag is 60 feet in length.  It is great to see if you are driving along Interstate 70!

This picture is really of the motorcycle 'motorcade', the 'Follow Mitt' bus, and the security on the bridge.  Rob Portman is speaking.

The Romney bus arriving.  Mitt is sitting in the front passenger seat.

I worked at the Romney Rally today at the famous 'Tom's Ice Cream Bowl' in Zanesville, Ohio.  Lots and lots of people turned out for the event.  It was a fun experience.  A nice warm, humid day to be out enjoying beautiful Ohio and a cup of free ice cream!
Just as a side note, there were about 20 Obama enthusiasts with their signs and anti-Romney remarks/shouts going on.  The media spent more time covering those 20 rather than the 1200 or more there in support of Romney.  On the news tonight they interviewed 3 people who were noisily trashing Romney, and I think they interviewed one person in favor of Romney.  Go figure....