Halloween Party

I don't know what happened to the last month but I have to post a picture of our halloween costumes, cause they were sweet!

Mary Poppins, Bert and Bert Jr. with his chimney sweep (a toilet brush spray painted black).

The sun is shining in Phoenix

My "Aunt Yvonne," really my great aunt died a few weeks ago. When I heard about the funeral, in Phoenix, I thought it would be really great to be there. I had the weekend off, my parents were going down, Trisha has lots of family and a really good friend that live down there. It could not have worked out more perfectly. We briefly looked at airline tickets before we decided that $450.00 per person was not gonna work. So, a road trip it was. Scary to take a 1 year old on a 13 hour drive, but he ended up doing really well.

We left friday morning at 6:00am. We hoped that leaving that early would allow Sam to sleep more while we drove. That certainly didn't happen. He actually only slept for about an hour of the entire drive. We drove out of town and in to Colorado. Through Rangley and down in to Grand Junction. It was an absolutely beautiful drive when we arrived at Douglas Pass. Once we got to Grand Junction, we headed back into Utah and down through Moab, Monticello and Blanding. Our first stop was in Blanding, 5 hours into the drive, where we had lunch and got back on the road. Trisha drove us down through Bluff and past the 4 corners region, into Arizona and onto the res. For this stretch of road I tried to sit in the back of the car next to Sam in order to entertain him. I tried to watch a movie with him on Trisha's iphone but it didn't work out that well. He was only interested for a couple minutes and then he just wanted to eat the phone. I played with him and we had lots of fun but I think I distracted him from sleeping. My bad.

Our second stop was in Tuba City, Arizona. On the reservation. BIG mistake. That place is beyond crazy. It was a friday and I swear the entire Indian population was uniting in the "city." The traffic was terrible, the place was trashed. We pulled in to a gas station for a bathroom break and some water. I went into the bathroom and Trisha changed Sams diaper in the car. I waited in line in gas station, which was packed. I was looking around when all of a sudden my eye caught hold of a hand written note posted on the bulletin board. I couldn't believe my eyes, so I took a picture of the sign. Here it is:

Written: "TCRHCC Navajo's T/C Want to run their own hospital, out with the Whites, in with the Navajos. Self Determination"

Once I was done, I walked out to the car. Trisha hurried and went into the bathroom. She was gone forever and when she finally came back to the car, she said, "hurry let's get out of this place." As we were driving away, two gentlemen tried to approach our car and ask us for money. I just waved at them and hurried and got out of town. Apparently they had already approached Trisha while I was in the bathroom and they wouldn't leave her alone. While she was in waiting for the bathroom, 3 teenage girls were giving her death stares. She was afraid for her life. Point of this story is that if you are ever driving through Northern Arizona, DO NOT STOP in Tuba City!!

We continued our drive down through Arizona. Flagstaff and then on into the greater Phoenix area. Sam did so good until the last 45 minutes. By then he had had enough and he cried the remainder of the time in the car. Once we got to Phoenix, we went immediately to Vicki's (Yvonnes daughter, my moms cousin) house where the family was gathered for dinner. Sam was so happy to see grandma and papa. He was even saying "papa" on our drive there. We had a great dinner, talked with family and watched a video that was put together to honor Yvonne and her life. Then it was off to see Trishas uncle and aunt, Bob and Christi, where we would be staying for the weekend.

Saturday started off early with the viewing and then the funeral. It was a really good funeral. There are a few things that stick out to me, that I will remember about the funeral. One is that Aunt Yvonne was loved by everyone that knew her. She had a way to make people feel special, like they were the most special person. Second is when two great-granddaughters stood up on the stand and sang, "Families can be together forever." They tried so hard to make it through without crying, but there was not a dry eye in the crowd. As they looked around, the younger girl just started to loose it, then pulled it together, then lost it completely. It was so sad and so touching. Third was the other great granddaughter (age 3 or 4) that stood up and gave a memorized speech about Jesus and how he loves us and died for us so that we can be ressurected like her grandma. It was a really good service. We had a police escort to the gravesite and then returned to the church for a luncheon put on by the ward. We got to hang out more with family and got to see some of my cousins, the Downs'. Although a sad occasion, it was a really good opportunity to see and talk to family.

Aunt Yvonne's obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/azcentral/obituary.aspx?n=emily-yvonne-dahl&pid=154037372

Near the end of the luncheon, Sam decided to poop (diarrhea) his pants and get it all over his pants and then decided to vomit all over his shirt. So, we left the church with Sam only in his diaper. We ran to Target, and looked like the biggest white trash family ever, as we pushed Sam around naked in his stroller trying to buy him a pair of clothes to put him into. Then it was off to Schnepf Farm with Chelsee (Trishas cousin) and her husband, Ben, and their son, Brayden and some friends of theirs. It was so much fun. A fall carnival. We watched bikers in a stunt show, went to the petting zoo, ate really good food, rode a roller coaster, ate more good food and had a great time! Sam was scared to death of the little goats that I tried to make him pet but he warmed up to them after a minute and laughed when he petted them. It was fun.

Sam stripped down to his diaper at the lunchean

Sam smiling at Schnepf Farms

Sam scared to death by the baby goat

Finally warmed up to them enough to pat them down

Our family at Schnepf Farms

Sunday we went to church with Trisha's cousins, then went to visit Trisha's life-long friend, Ashley, and then back to Bob and Christi's for Sunday dinner with the family. The whole family in the Phoenix area came and it was a blast. I loved meeting all of the family and Trisha loved seeing them all again. After dinner we sat around talking and singing and just enjoying one another. Then we stayed up really late talking with Bob and Christi, an event that happened several days in a row.

All the little boys gathered 'round Sam to eat his food

Monday was a little more laid back. We drove around Phoenix seeing the sights. We visited the Mesa temple, went to South Mountain Park, tried to see Mystery castle, went to a shopping center and took a stroll through an aquarium.

Trisha and Sam at the Mesa Temple

A view of the city from South Mountain Park

What is more Arizona than a cactus?

Mystery Castle

Sam smiling at the fishies

Sam touching the star fish

What a cheese ball!

Sam giving kisses to the crabs

Blow fish?

Monday night was the last hoorah. We had Family Home Evening at Brad (Trishas cousin) and Lael's house with their kids and Chelsee and Ben. They live on an orchard and they started a bon fire in their backyard where they cooked tin foil dinners for all of us. We ate outside under the stars in the light of their garage. After dinner we all pulled our chairs over to the fire where we had FHE and roasted marshmallows and ate 'smores. We used Reese's instead of chocolate and it was delicious!! Then we went inside and laughed ourselves silly as they reminisced of their days growing up and the funny things that have happened in the Worsley family. It was seriously so much fun. We are so glad that we got to go down there and that we got to hang out with family. They were so good to us. Thanks to all the Worsley's for letting us stay at their house and be a part of their family for the weekend, it was extremely fun for us!

The family gathered around the fire

Tuesday we headed back as early as we could get out of bed. The trip back was an adventure in its self. We stopped at Montezuma Castle, which is ruins built into the mountain by the ancient Indians. We drove through Monument Valley. We did not stop in Tuba City. We stopped at the temple in Monticello and walked around the grounds. And then it was straight home, through Price and Indian Canyon and on into Duchesne. Sam was sick the entire drive. He started to get sick on Monday, but during some points in the drive, he was wheezing so bad we were scared we would have to find a hospital in the middle of nowhere, or even worse on the res. Luckily he made it through the drive and he slept quite a bit, which also seemed to help with his breathing. I think he liked the noise of the wheezing so he would push it out while he was awake and then when he slept he would just breathe normal and it wasn't so bad. Crazy kid.

Montezuma Castle

Monument Valley

Mexican Hat

Trisha and Sam at the Monticello Temple

Sam spent 2 whole days in the car seat, he is the best little boy!

We were all extremely exhausted when we got home but it was a great little trip to Phoenix. I did't mention that my favorite part of the trip was that it was nearly 100 degrees the entire time we were there, fantastic.

Another day, another marathon

I have wanted to run the St George marathon for a while because I have heard so many good things about it and it is a nationally known marathon. The down side is that you can't get in without either being a veteran runner of it or entering a lottery. I always hated the idea of paying money up front to enter the lottery, so I never did it. However, this year I decided that it was worth it so I signed myself and my brother up for the lottery. A few days later, the lottery was done and we got in! I was really excited. I started training for it soon after running the Ragnar relay in June. I decided that I wanted to really work on my speed and try to get the fastest marathon time of my career, since my training time was improving a little and I felt like I had a little momentum after the Ragnar. That is until I went to Lake Powell for a week. I lost all momentum and when I started to run again (ended up being 12 days after my last run), I felt like I was starting my training all over again. It was slow and steady but it started to feel good again after a few weeks.

About 6 weeks before the marathon I started to have terrible shin pain and had to start resting more during the week. It ended up forcing me to do only 2, sometimes 3 runs each weeks so that I had ample time after each run to recover. My left shin hurt so bad somedays that I could barely walk on it without limping around. I tried stretching (which I generally never do), I tried icing it frequently and taking ibuprofen on a scheduled basis to keep up with the inflammation and pain. I was afraid that I was going to have to stop running completely. I had to rest the entire week leading up to the half marathon in Logan. I was scared to run it but I think the week of resting really helped and I was able to run the half in great time. After the half I tried to get right back into training but that was harder than it had ever been. I just kept getting more and more nervous about it and dreading my runs more and more because they hurt so much. I looked up lots of information on shin splints and have even tried to change my running style/technique, all in an effort to eliminate the problem. Although I still have no idea what the problem actually is.

Two weeks leading up to the marathon, I had to cut out all mid week runs and shorten my long runs. I was struggling physically and mentally with running. I had already paid for the marathon so there was no way I was gonna back out, and I knew that I could finish it, it was just a matter of time.

Friday, September 30 we headed down to St George with Shayne and Chalise. Once we got there we picked up our packets, ate dinner and headed to the hotel for some shut eye, very little shut eye. We had to wake up at 4:30am to get ready and leave. A van picked us up at the hotel and drove us to the finish line. When we got into the van, it said that it was 81 degrees! At 5:00am! Can you imagine? We loaded onto buses at the finish line and they took us up to the starting line.

There were so many people! I have never run a race that has this many people running it, it was crazy. There was lots of flashing lights, spot lights, enormous lines to an endless line of toilets, etc... We headed right for the toilets and it's a good thing we did because we barely made it. I finally got into a toilet and realized that the one that I got in to didn't have a lock on it. So, I had to hold the door closed while I did my business. Then the tricky part came when I realized there was no toilet paper on the roll, just a roll of toilet paper sitting near the toilet. So, with one hand still holding the door closed, I had to try to unroll toilet paper with the other hand and use it. All while trying to keep the door closed. It was rough but I got it all done and out of there just as the gun went off for the start of the race.

We aligned ourselves with the pacer to finish in 4:15. The first part of the race was really good, we made really good time. I was thinking it was going to be a really good race. At mile 6 we started heading down into Veyo and could see the dreaded Volcano and it's climb that comes just after mile 7. We had caught up to the pacer for 4:00 at this time and we decided that if we could keep ahead of this guy past the top of the hill we would be in good shape. That hill was rough and I am pretty sure Shayne paced us up most of the hill. It was like climbing a really steep mountain. It felt like everyone was going at a snails pace and even though we were running, we didn't seem to be moving up the hill at all. Finally at the peak it starts to level out a little bit and gets much easier, but you realize how much energy you have just expended to get up that blasted hill. We were able to stay ahead of the 4:00 pacer so I thought we were in great shape. But by mile 10 we had slowed down quite a bit, and the 4:00 pacer paced us. I also had to stop for the bathroom so I told Shayne to keep going and I would just try to catch up with him. Luckily I was able to catch up with him about a 1/2 mile later and we continued to run together. I never thought I liked running with other people but sometimes it is really good to have a partner that can pull you along at times and vice versa. It seems easier to keep going when someone else is with you.

Around the half way mark I looked at Shayne and said, "Come on, we're losing a lot of speed. We have to pick it up." And he replied, "This is my pace!" I started to pull ahead a little, thinking that he would stay with me, but he didn't. So I moved forward alone. I didn't want to but I felt like if I didn't keep up a certain pace then I was going to lose it all and just start walking. In the time that I have been trying to improve my time, I have also adopted a new theory: No matter how bad it hurts, if you run faster, the pain is over faster. If you run slower, it just drags out the pain. So I continued. I still had quite a bit of momentum and the course was generally nice to me. I was trying my hardest to stay ahead of that 4:15 pacer since that was my goal time. But I also knew that there was one last hill to conquer at mile 18 and then 8 more miles after that. I got to mile 17 and started losing the mental game. Although my body felt pretty good, my mind just wanted to be done already. It was a battle for the rest of the race.

By mile 18, it felt like it was 9,000 degrees outside and no matter how much water and gatorade I would drink at each aid station (I was literally downing 2 glasses of gatorade and 1 glass of water at each station. Along with a banana and several orange slices for the road), a half-mile later, I was thirsty and had cotton mouth. They also had misters/showers set up which were absolutely glorious to run through, but nothing relieved me from the heat that was blaring down on the pavement. By the last few miles, not only was I running through the showers, running next to all the kids that were squirting me with water bottles, and drinking like a camel, I was also dumping buckets of water on myself and eating free popsicles and ice cubes whenever I could get them. It was the crazy hot!

At mile 21, after walking almost all of the way up the hill at mile 18 and stopping to walk for a few minutes after every aid station, the 4:15 pacer caught up to me and passed me. I was disappointed because I knew there was no way that I was going to be able to keep up with him. Believe me, I thought about it for a minute after I saw him pass me. It just wasn't going to happen. Then I thought to myself, as I always do near the end of the race, "I am going to finish the marathon and it doesn't really matter how long it takes me because I AM RUNNING 26 FREAKING MILES!" After that it was just about finishing for me. I still wanted to get a decent time, but it didn't really matter. I struggled the rest of the race, switching between running and walking. It was awesome to reach the last few miles and have so many spectators along the route, it helped me run a little more than I think I would have otherwise.

At mile 24, there was a live band playing from the high school. The song, "Sweet Caroline." The mood, amazing! It made me shout, "So good, so good" at the top of my lungs and gave me the energy to make it to the finish line!

I have never seen a finish line like this before. It was a solid wall of people for the last 1/2 mile and I didn't think there was any way that I was going to see or hear Trisha in the crowd as I passed her. But I did and she cheered me on and I crossed the line!

Me about a 1/4 mile from the finish line

Me with the finish line in the background

Shayne nearing the finish line

Once I crossed the finish line, I stayed under the water sprayer for a minute and it felt so good. I proceeded to the runners area, where I ate an ice cream sandwhich, a rocket popsicle, had a few glasses of cold water, a large glass of soda, some more glasses of gatorade and a second popsicle! I had to keep sitting down on the grass because I was gonna vomit and pass out. I watched as lots of people were carried into the first aid station. I listened as many people talked about how HOT it was and how it was the hardest St. George marathon that they have ever run. It took me a while to find Shayne and when I did we got a few more drinks and a slice of bread with butter. I only point out all of this food, because it was ridiculous how much I ate that morning. I never eat/drink that much during or after a marathon.

I went to pick up my packet and passed a booth that was collecting shoes. I decided to retire my shoes and donate them right there on the spot. These shoes have been awesome to me but it was way past time to retire them. They have run me through training for and completing 3 marathons, 1 half-marathon and the Ragnar. I do realize that you should not wear a pair of running shoes that long, and that they were probably contributing to my shin splints, but in all the running it never seemed like a good time to break in a new pair. Anyways, I walked to the car in my socks and it felt so good. The gravel and loose rocks rolling along my feet felt like a personal massage.

My finish time was: 4 hours 28 minutes

Here I am two weeks out from the race. I really think I need a small break to allow my leg to heal and allow me to find new shoes but I am already thinking about what is next for me and running...

And...

The Sorenson family is happy to announce that baby #2 and member #4 in our family is coming March 24, 2012!!

So far Trisha has been feeling pretty good and we haven't had a complication, so that's already better than last time. Hopefully it will stay that way. We are so excited!!

Moon Lake and Sushi

I had the day off, and what better way to spend the day off than in the great outdoors. It seemed like a good day to say goodbye to Summer. So we got in the car, picked up Subway and headed to Moon Lake in the Uintahs. It's about a 2 hour drive from Vernal. Once you get to the Lake and pass from the desert of the Basin to the high country of the Uintah Mountains it is beautiful! We parked the car by the beach and put a blanket out to eat lunch. It was peaceful and serene and we enjoyed the scenery while we ate.

After we finished up lunch, we drove a ways to the Lake Fork trailhead and started hiking.

We didn't make it very far but it was a really pretty hike around part of the lake. I loved the smell and the lack of noice while hiking around. Sam was in a carrier, riding on my belly and he did pretty good until the very end when he was done and just wanted to get out.

On a side note, when we got home we made a lot of sushi and it was delicious!

and we found this in my car. It scared Trisha spitless.

September 11

September 11, 2001

Ten years ago on September 11, I was quietly doing my laundry early in the morning at the MTC. We started to hear rumblings of the attacks but very little was known of what was going on. My companion and I asked one of the maintenance guys what had happened and he talked to us for a few shorts moments and told us that the two towers had fallen and that there could be as many as 30,000 plus dead. My companion was allowed to go to the mall that day to buy new shoes so he saw some footage on TV in a few stores and shared what he saw when he got back from the shopping trip. There was utter silence as a girl was called out of a large group meeting, followed by chattering that her dad was at the pentagon. There was an announcement that all the missionaries that had left for the airport that morning would be coming back to the MTC for the night. I don't remember much more than that. I remember knowing that something huge had happened and I know that had I been anywhere else in my life I would have been glued to the news coverage of the unfolding events. We were all a little frustrated that nobody would talk about it and tell us what happened and what was going on in the world around us. We asked teachers, but I assume they had been instructed not to talk about it, so the topic was deflected. The mission president came over the loud speaker that evening and read a few passages out of the scriptures, all speaking around the same theme that America would not falter. That was the end of that.

I have no recollection of the timeline, but I believe it was a few days later when we had finally pushed on the topic enough, we got one teacher to explain to us what had happened that day. He drew a few pictures on the chalkboard, probably spent a half hour or so explaining things and we talked for a minute about it. By that time news articles had started to trickle in through the mail system so we started to see some of the images of that dreadfull day. It was probably around that same time that the Church had a special fireside/memorial that we watched as a whole MTC. I saw some of the same images again and began to kind of understand what September 11th was.

Very little was discussed or seen after that.

I left the country for Belgium three weeks later at the height of security. We didn't have any issues with traveling, but upon arriving in Belgium, it was clear that whatever had happened the previous month, it had changed the world completely, forever. Some of our first meetings after arriving at the mission office were talking about security and the measures the mission had taken to keep its members safe. My first area of assignment was Strasbourg, a big city in the North East of France. It was like many French cities, in that it had a large population of Muslim people. My first apartment happened to be right in the middle of one of "their" neighborhoods. So, I never got to sleep in that apartment. Every night, either us or the other Elders in that city would have to go meet the Sister missionaries at their last appointment and accompany them to their apartment. Then we would return to our apartment, get our pajamas and head to the other Elders apartment a few blocks down the road. We traded off sleeping on the floor and a couch in their apartment. In the morning we would walk back to our apartment in our pajamas and get ready there for the day. Several times on the way to church or various other appointments, we would pass by cars that were completely burned and blown up. Every time we passed by "them" (we had a special term for them so they could not understand it) they would yell the worst swear words at us or throw things in our direction or threaten us. There were many neighborhoods that we were not allowed to go in even in the daylight. One Elders hair was lit on fire by one of "them" in a bus, many Elders had been chased, harrased and threatened by "them." It was chaotic and uneasy times to be an American. I didn't really understand why.  

A few months and a few cities down the road, the tension started to build again. This time I was in a small city in the North of France, with very few muslim inhabitants. President Bush declared war on Iraq and the chaos that had died down a little kicked in to high gear once again. We recieved death threats on our phone message machines, we were back to escorting people home at night, not being out after dark. One night we got a call from the Elder of the neighboring city telling us that they had been followed by a man for a long time before they decided to take a detour to the police station. The police escorted them home and when they arrived at their apartment building the guy that had followed them was inside their building waiting in front of their apartment door for them. We made the hour drive to pick them up and they were forced to hide out in our apartment for the next week until we felt it was safe for them to return to their apartment. It is all people wanted to talk about. We weren't like by the Muslims and we weren't really like by the French either. Everyone wanted to pick a fight with the missionaries, even if they weren't American.

By the time I got home from my mission, September 11th was in the past and only the remnants of it and the subsequent wars were televised and discussed. Each year there was a celebration/memorial. I visited ground zero a few times while in NYC. I occasionally read some articles about the events of September 11th. You see, I have always felt this huge lack of understanding and knowledge. I felt as if I had been in a bomb shelter, protected from everything, and missed one of the most compelling, influential, and memorable events that will happen in my lifetime. I missed it. And yet I felt all the effects of it, but never understood why the effects even existed.

This year marked the ten year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and the crash in the Pennsylvania field. So what did I do? I read articles every chance I got to get a better glimpse of what I had missed. They were both troubling and inspiring. I watched every program I could find that discussed the attacks. Sunday, September 11, 2011, I sat in front of my TV from 12:30pm until 10:30pm and I watched 10 hours of 9/11 coverage. Never before seen (by me) footage of the attacks. Stories of survival. Stories of anger and hatred. Stories of freedom and liberation. Stories of lives ten years later that are still wounded by the tragic events but not paralyzed by them. I could not believe my eyes. I could not believe my ears. And now I feel like I can fully understand the feelings and the effects that were caused when America was attacked that day. I know that some may think it is awful to want to relive that day, but I just wanted to live it for the first time. I can imagine how awful it must have been to live it in the moment and have so many unknowns. It was extremely inspiring to look at it from ten years later because time has eliminated most of those unknowns, and out of the tragedy has come strength and faith and courage.

Top of Utah Half Marathon

Last weekend, we headed off to Logan to race the race. I was really excited for the half marathon because it was a nice break in my training schedule for the St. George Marathon coming up soon. And I have been having shin issues so I took the entire week off and prepared myself for the race. By the time of the race I was afraid the week off would not turn out to be a good decision, but it turned out good.

We met up with Shayne and Chalise and went to dinner at a Pizza buffet, where I ate more pizza than one should ever eat in one sitting. We spent the night at their house too and it was really fun to hang out with them. Thanks for letting us stay at your house!!

Four thirty was wake up time and five o'clock was time to leave for the finish line. We got bussed up to the starting line and got to wait there for over an hour before the race began. Once the race gun went off, Shayne and I stayed back at the end of the line so that we wouldn't have to fight the crowd. It didn't really work, because we ended up weaving in and out and all over the road. It was the exact same route as the marathon (just shorter) so I kept thinking back to last year and it helped motivate me and push me. I ran as fast as I could as long as I could. I know I slowed down toward the last 3 miles of the race, but I kept on pushing.

I crossed the finish line with my best half marathon time! 1:50:32.2! It makes me really excited for the St. George marathon and hopefully I can continue my pace to beat my best marathon time as well.

Besides being tired and sore for a few days I am fully recovered and moving on to my training schedule.