McDonalds

We love getting out and doing things. So we are more than happy to get out and take Hatsuki to see as much as we can while she is here. My neighbors sent a text Tuesday and asked if we wanted to swim in her pool. It was perfect because we were looking for something to do that afternoon. I told my neighbor that we had an exchange student so going to her pool was the perfect way to spend our afternoon.

Katie’s family is in town!! It was fun for Hatsuki to meet them and we all enjoyed the Provo Pool together.

After swimming I asked Hatsuki what American food she wanted for dinner. She said a hamburger. I asked her where she wanted to go and she said McDonalds. So that is where we went for dinner. It’s funny because I don’t really like McDonalds. My younger kids do but I’ve been getting my older kids to like Costa Vida, Cafe Rio, Chick-Fil-A, prettt much anything else. We went to McDonalds though so Hatsuki could experience the American McDonalds. They have McDonalds in Osaka and she likes it. 

Kade had to leave the pool early to go to a soccer scrimmage so that’s why he didn’t get to be in the picture at dinner.

For the Record

Let it be recorded and documented that I qualified for something. I may never qualify for Boston but I qualified for USA Triathlon Nationals.

I got this email after I raced the Brinemam half. I felt very flattered. I won’t be racing in Milwaukee but it’s definitely a boost to know I’ve earned it.

I get reminders every few weeks.

Utah Life

Our first few days with Hatsuki have been so fun! It’s really amazing to me how much she fits in with our family. She is kind to everyone and genuinely seems to have fun with each kid no matter what they are doing together.

James was gone to youth conference and Lynnlee has been at a cooking class each morning and so I was worried Hatsuki would be bored without them. That was not the case. She played with the boys making paper airplanes, origami, and played in the court. 

We took her to get snow cones since she hasn’t had one before.

  

I had plans to take Betsy out for her birthday. With Hatsuki coming last minute I brought her along with for the night. We are at Zao which is sort of funny when you think about her being here to have an American experience. Then we take her to American version of Japanese food. She’s here for three weeks though so there is plenty of time for her to try American food.

Then we saw Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. Marshall took Kade, Taggart, and Sienna to see Paws of Fury.

We went to the Butterfly Museum the next day. She seemed to enjoy it. When we left she thanked me for taking her. I asked her if she enjoyed it and she said yes. 

Communication is limited but I feel like I can ask her simple questions slowly and clearly and she answers. 

Japanese Exchange Student

Sunday a friend posted that host families were needed for Japanese exchange students ASAP. A couple of hosts families dropped out and there was an immediate need. It peaked my interest since Marshall served in Japan, we’ve been to Japan and we had foreign exchange students growing up. They were positive experiences so even though I’ve never thought about hosting, I’ve also not been opposed to it.

I asked Marshall if he thought hosting was a good idea and he was game. My kids were excited, especially Lynnlee. 

We went back and forth if we should get a boy James’s age or a girl for Lynnlee. The exchange program requires you to have a child the same gender and same age or close in age. Since James is gone a lot, we decided to host a girl.

We spent Monday getting the guest room completed. We needed to put stuff on the walls, hang curtains, and clean the bedding. I love how it turned out. Nice to have motivation to get projects done.

Tuesday morning the girls and I drove to South Jordan and picked up our exchange student. I was really nervous and worried and questioning it all. What if she didn't like us, what would I make for meals, how would I entertain or would she be bored with us? Once we met her my nerves calmed and I relaxed a lot.

She is super sweet and nice. The language barrier is tricky but we are figuring it out and slowly getting to know her.

Training

I haven't been able to do speed running drills for about two years. I feel like I've gotten so slow. I decided to do a speed workout two weeks ago and ever since then my left hamstring and glute have been so tight. It seems like it's just getting worse but I'm totally in denial about it. Like most runners when I get injured I just keep running through it. 

This meme is pretty accurate! 

With that said, I have been training and am still trying to figure out if I will keep training or if I need to stop training and let my muscles heal. Yesterday I decided to go for a long swim and long ride because my hamstring and glute don't hurt when I swim and bike. 

When I got to 800 N in Orem I couldn't clip my right shoe out. Then when I stopped to see Ali, she helped me figure out that I lost a screw in my shoe. My clip was twisted so it was impossible to clip out. Thankfully at least my left shoe could still get out so I made it home without falling over. I haven't fallen over yet but I've been told by other cyclist that everyone has at least one time when they forget to clip out before stopping and then tip over.

I felt really good by the end of the ride. I had minimal feet numbness, my neck and back weren't too sore. Nice to see that I can handle a longer ride.

 

It has been such a different summer of training. I only have last summer to compare it to. Last summer I felt strong, confident, and well prepared. This summer I feel behind, slow, less confident on my bike, and so tired. We are always up late which makes getting up early to train very difficult. 

I spent time looking up the Bear Lake Brawl from previous years and in 2020 the weather was really cold and windy. The race is late in the year and up in a colder elevation so I think it's just a cold race on average. So hopefully I can figure out in the next few weeks if I will do the race or not.

Saturday

I swam Saturday morning and then went for a long ride on the Murdock. I was riding through Lindon and passed by Ali running. I was not expecting to see anyone I knew. We had to take a picture of course!

 

 

That afternoon I took Kade to mow a lawn for Janine. James usually mows at her rentals but since he was gone Kade was really happy to fill in. He was stopping for snails, a praying mantis, butterflies, and I thought we would be there all afternoon.

We went to the rec center again. They had so much fun Friday that they wanted to go again. I got some more reading time.

Sewing Camp

Lynnlee has been going to sewing camp for three years. This year she attended the advanced class. She had a lot more independence and sewed with zippers, plastics and made a huge variety of projects. She made a laundry hamper, seatbelt pad, sunglasses holder, eye spy bag, toiletry bag, hoodie and stuffed animal frog.

She took it with her friend Katelyn and made a new friend.

We went to the open house on the last day of camp and saw all of her projects.

Thursday and Friday

In some ways the week has been really long and in other ways it has been really short. It’s been packed full of fun things but also exhausting. 

Lynnlee had sewing camp Thursday and so while she was gone everyone played with friends. Then when Lynnlee finished for the day we all went to Heber. We met up with my parents, Andrea, Taylor and Ivy at the pool.

Kade brought his best friend Hayden. We love the Heber pool because they have a Wibit obstacle course set up usually. Unfortunately they didn’t have it set up this time because there weren’t enough lifeguards. The kids enjoyed playing on the floating lily pads and other shapes. 

After swimming we had dinner with my parents and loved hearing jokes from my dad. 

Friday I needed a day to catch up, like grocery shopping, laundry, and cleaning. So everyone had a friend over. It was very productive for me and a nice to be home. Lynnlee had sewing camp and then had a friend come over after.

After dinner we were all going crazy so we decided to go to the rec center with friends. We stayed until it closed and practically had the whole place to ourselves. I enjoyed sitting on the side getting some reading in.

Moriah Elizabeth’s Pizza

Lynnlee loves the YouTuber Moriah Elizabeth. In her last video Moriah made a dessert pizza based off a painting she did. Lynnlee really wanted to make one too. So we gathered all of the ingredients and Lynnlee made it all by herself.

I think she nailed it!

 

Tuesday and Wednesday

We spent Tuesday at the water park. I’m sad I didn’t take any pictures. Lynnlee took her friend Hannah and Sienna took Ava so everyone had a buddy. It was a really fun day!

That night we took Chewie for a walk and the sky was beautiful!

Wednesday we went to Lagoon. Sienna’s friend Claire came with to give us even numbers. She was happy to ride every ride so that was awesome!

It was so hot but we all stayed hydrated, took a Zeppe’s break and went to the water park so we survived the heat. I could not get anyone to smile for the picture except  Lynnlee.

Monday

Marshall and James are backpacking this week. I'm super jealous they are on a trip, even though it's camping, it's still getting away. I have not been anywhere since our trip to Jamaica and I'm starting to get antsy. Seeing everyone post about the fun places they have been or are going to is torture! I debated taking everyone somewhere this week while Marshall and James are gone but I didn't get anything planned. So we are making the most of stuff around here. 

Day 1- Museum of Natural Curiosity with friends for the first part of the day. That place was madness! I was Sienna's buddy so I went wherever she went and the time flew by.

Lehi Outdoor Pool for the rest of the day. Lynnlee was babysitting and so it was just me and the three musketeers.

La Roca Cup

James’s team played in the La Roca Cup. They won their first two games with a shut out for each. The third game was not so easy. The teams were evenly matched. It was neck and neck but we ended up losing. James scored a PK though so that was really exciting. He has been practicing every morning so it was fun seeing his practice pay off.

We played the same team, Avalanche, in the final game. It was evenly matched again. Went the whole game with no score. James missed a PK during the game and that was super sad. Then the game went to overtime and still no score. Then on to PKs and we lost. It was heartbreaking. James missed his PK again. Ugh, I kept thinking if only he had practiced that morning.

It’s hard leaving a game when you feel like you didn’t give it your best. I felt very grateful when his coach told him after the game that it was ok. I really appreciated that! I’m hoping this motivates James to keep practicing on his own time everyday. 

2nd place is still worth celebrating!