The Blommers

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Catching Up (aka, largest blog post in the history of the world)

Well, my last post was in June, and it's now January, so here's what's been going on with the Blommers

July:

1. The annual Blommer Family 4th of July Backpacking Trip

There was hiking, playing, rock climbing, stick eating, singing, snowing, and much more!

2. Ice Cream Making & Raspberry Eating

3. Echo Triathlon

4. Sonoma/Napa Wine Country Vacation

Towards the end of July I went on amazing vacation to stay at my friend Dennis' new place he just built in the wine country. It's a beautiful home overlooking the vineyards of the Sonoma Valley.

My good friend Shera and I flew out to San Francisco to meet Dennis, Jenn, & Ryan. Jenn & Ryan are our good friends from NYC.

We stayed the first night at Dennis' apartment, which is in Pacific Heights, one of the most beautiful parts of San Francisco. We walked around the city and had an amazing dinner.

The next morning we were off to the wine country to see Dennis' new place. It was AMAZING. The view is incredible, and he had everything all decked out for us like a spa. Shera and I had robes laying on our bed waiting for us, and we used them all weekend! Dennis also has a hot tub made out of an old wine barrel that we spent a lot of time in.

For most of the trip we just relaxed and hung out and ate Dennis' amazing cooking. We also went wine tasting in both the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Shera and I don't drink, but we had a blast tasting all the different cheeses and chocolates. Don't think that Napa is not a fun vacation for non-drinkers, because it is amazing, and you should definitely go!

For Shera and me this was a great opportunity to relax and have some time for ourselves with no husbands or kids. It was my first vacation away from Sam, and it was WONDERFUL. Don't get me wrong, I thought about him, and I missed him, but it was a much needed break!

Thanks so much Dennis for such an incredible vacation!

Unfortunately, I don't have pics because I'm so used to Mike being prepared with a camera that I forgot mine. Shera, I'll have to get some from you.

August:

1. Maui, Hawaii for Becky & Nate's Wedding

Mike's sister Becky got married on a beautiful beach in Maui on 8/11/10. We were lucky enough to go! We stayed for 10 days, and it was an amazing family vacation. The wedding and wedding day were so beautiful, and the rest of the vacation was a blast too! Sam LOVED playing in the ocean, as you'll see from the million pics below...

2. Mike's trip to Mt. Owen with Jeff, Todd, and Dave

3. Bear Lake Camping Trip & Triathlon

Unfortunately, no pics of the triathlon because Mike stayed back at camp with Sam. It was beautiful weather though, which was a surprise because the weather all night the night before was terrible. It rained all night and the wind pounded our tent. We lent our nice tent out to Mike's cousin, so we borrowed my parent's cheap tent, which was a mistake because it puddled up with water inside during the night. Luckily it wasn't too cold though. All in all we had a great trip!

September: The Wasatch 100

Mike accomplished the unthinkable by completing one of the toughest 100 mile races in the country, which happens to be held right in our backyard, the Wasatch mountains. The race begins in Kaysville, and winds 100 miles Southeast through the mountains to Midway, where it
ends at The Homestead.

He trained for months, but had to stop altogether about 6 weeks before the race due to a knee injury. Despite his injury, he finished the race in 35 hours 28 mins, just 32 minutes before the 36 hour cutoff.

He had 4 pacers who were amazing, and he couldn't have finished the race without them. A big thank you to Max, Tony, Andy, and Todd. Also, a huge thank you to Ryan for being the official pacer shuttle man!

He was way too uncomfortable to take many pics, but here a few:

October:

1. Moab

2. Pumpkin Patch with Erin & Marley

3. Sailing in the San Juan Islands in Washington with Todd and Jeff

Here's what happens when you choose to sail in Washington in the middle of October... and of course they loved it!

4. Halloween

November:

Thanksgiving: We are very thankful for many things, but we didn't take any pictures of us being thankful this year.

December:

1. Virgin Islands sailing trip:

2. Christmas:

January: Happy New Year!

2011 Resolution: Keep blog current!

Also, my brother is working in Antarctica on a temporary job as an electrician. He's been able to do and see some amazing things. Check out his blog at http://lifeontheice-antarctica.blogspot.com/

Friday, June 25, 2010

I'm Back!

Wow, it's been way too long! Things have been a bit busy around here, and I haven't had any time to blog, so I'll try and start from the beginning and give the highlights of the last 3 months in the Blommer family.

Marathon

Mike and I both finished the Salt Lake Marathon!!

This was not anything special for Mike because he's a machine, and he can run marathons in his sleep, but for me this was a HUGE deal!! I made my goal of finishing before they closed the course and not coming in last place. That said, boy was I SLOW!! Now, for all of you who've done a marathon slower than my time please do not be offended. I'm not saying you are slow. Finishing a marathon is a huge accomplishment for anyone, so congrats to you for finishing regardless of your time, but for ME, my time of 5 hours was butt slow because I've been an athlete my entire life and I expect more of myself. Despite my time, I'm still proud of myself for finishing.

I enjoyed the race through about mile 13 (which is why I should stick to half marathons & triathlons I think), and after that it was pure hell. Really, it was awful. My lowest point was in mile 23 when a man who was WELL over 80 years old, who was speed walking the marathon passed me (yes, I was "running"). I'll defend myself by saying that he was about 6'4" and obviously an Olympic speed walker, but I just don't know how one can really excuse being passed by an 80 year old walker while running. Whatev. At least I finished. Plus, technically I ran an ultra-marathon because I went off course by at least .1 miles in mile 3 to a McDonald's to pee, so I was over 26.2. I didn't get a special award or anything, but I know what I've done and that's all that matters.

Marathon day was a BLAST. We had the entire Blommer and Merrell families in attendance plus Mike's aunt Camille flew in from the east coast. Max ran the full marathon too, and Glen ran the half. My mom, my dad, Mike's mom, Amy, and Camille ran the 5k. Congrats to everyone, but especially Camille because this was race # 20ish in her quest to run 50 5k's in 50 states before she turns 50. She is my hero. She's actually going to rune a NUDE 5k this weekend too, which I can't get over. To me that is scarier than death hands down, but I LOVE her for doing it. Check out her blog for more of her amazing story: http://www.camilles5k.blogspot.com/

CHS 10 Year Reunion

The reunion was a huge success!! After months of planning and stressing, we pulled it off. We had around 150 attendees, and everyone had a blast. Thanks to Mike for setting up an awesome photo booth!! Pics are posted online on the Cottonwood High facebook page. Here are a few of my favorites:

4th of July Backpacking Trip - You're Invited

Come one, come all to the annual Blommer Family 4th of July Backpacking Trip.

This year we're headed to Ruth Lake in the Uintas. It's a kid-friendly, 1 mile hike in. We're spending 2 nights. Please email me for details if you're interested. Here are some pic's from last year's trip to get you in the mood: