Provo 10K

A 10K is my favorite length to run. Only 6.2 miles so minimal training required and you can still function the rest of the day afterwards (unless you only get 2 hours of sleep the night before but hey it all works out right?)

My sister-in-law Sarah and I were dropped off at the starting line at about 5:45 in the morning (you can't take jogging strollers on the bus). And we thought it was pretty hilarious that we were just chilling there all alone with the porta potties for a good half an hour.

OH Hey.

 

But seriously once I got these baby exercise clothes at one of my baby showers from a couple of cousins, I knew I had to run a race with Amberly Faith.

 Oh don't miss her little Nikes!!

The beginning of the race is always my favorite part, when everyone crosses the starting line and starts running together. I am so passionate about health and fitness, I get a little emotional every time. This is only my fourth race, but seeing so many people care for their bodies simultaneously is so inspirational to me.

 

 

Crossing that finish line is a pretty great feeling too!



 

Also, you get all kinds of extra sympathy and support if you run with a baby. There were lots of comments from the sidelines (as well as passerby, yes that stroller definitely slows me down) and everyone made Sarah and I feel awesome  about being running mamas. :) I finished in 58 minutes (can't remember the seconds) pushing the stroller for all but one mile. Hey I'll take it.

 

 

Oh best thing ever - they had free massages afterwards so we definitely hit that up! Brilliant, I have never seen that at a race before. They were in that white tent behind us.

 

 Jon had to stop because he got a crazy charlie horse in his shin. I stopped with him but he urged me to go on, he was afraid he'd have to walk most of it and he knows my crazy adrenaline well enough. Turns out I should have waited for him before I crossed, he was only two minutes behind me! It was fun to be there when he crossed the finish line though.

My cute sister-in-law and my brother, Anthony. Champions!!

 

 

Showing off our sweet medals. We joked about how we should just wear them to church the next day. What?



Isn't life like a running a race, in a lot of ways? I couldn't help but think of the analogy, seeing as the finish line for our course was directly in front of the Provo Temple on Center Street. It was a powerful experience as I saw the temple about 2.5 miles in the distance. That majestic tower pushed me to pick up my feet a little more, to push my daughter forward, and  to"bear with ease the [temporary] affliction" and discomfort of running.  (Alma 31:33) My ultimate goal in life is the temple, my covenants, my family.

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." - 2 Timothy 4:7-8

Alma 26:12

For Jonathan and I, one of the major stressors of law school these past 3 years has been landing his first job afterwards. Obtaining a legal education is empowering knowledge, but it is also a rough job market in our current economy. I may have even questioned a time or two if it is worth the investment of school loans, arbitrary grading, stress, time apart from each other, more stress, and questioning whether he'd find a job right away? (Maybe I murmured once or twice as Sariah did 1Nephi 5:2-3)

So we prayed, and we fasted, and prayed, and fasted. A lot. Not just recently, but throughout this entire journey of his education. And opportunities came like Simpson Grierson in New Zealand, and a fabulous firm called Stoel Rives in Salt Lake, and then Jon's clerkship for the BYU General Counsel. And they were wonderful resume builders for Jon, but none of these places were hiring. And various interviews came and went without offers, and my husband continued to stress about his grades.

You see, law school is a rather humbling process. And for 90% of the class, an identity crisis. Group together about 150 overachieving academic intellectuals into one class, and those who are not in the top 10% will question the one aspect of their identity they were always certain about - their scholastic prowess. My husband particularly pressured himself these past three years because knowing that he was admitted to BYU very last - being moved from the waiting list the weekend before classes started - pushed him to prove to himself that he was not at the bottom of his class. His goal was to graduate cum laude.

Cum Laude - obtaining at least a 3.45 grade point average overall. Everything graded on a curve, and your entire grade based on the final at the end of the semester. By the time our Amberly was born, Jon's dream of graduating cum laude was a bit of a stretch. The highest grade he had ever obtained in law school was a 3.7, and he'd have to get at least two 3.8's his last semester to graduate cum laude. Remember how he finished his last assignment of law school literally two hours before he walked for graduation? He nearly killed himself this past semester, he was determined to give 110%, just so he knew he did everything he possibly could do and more to reach his goal. I pleaded with my Heavenly Father to help him get the grades he worked so hard for, because I couldn't bare to see that look of disappointment on Jon's face one last time.

Enter Blessings.

Two weeks ago today Jonathan interviewed with the Second District Court for Bountiful/Ogden. Two days later, he was offered the clerkship! Full benefits, salary, family friendly hours, National holidays off. But even more importantly, a clerkship is like a fourth year of law school in that Jon will have accelerated education being exposed to so many areas of law. And he is the clerk for nine judges throughout Davis County, which is pretty wonderful when Jon wants to find his first firm to work for after one or two years of clerking. Nine judges as references isn't too shabby! This has lifted a major weight off our shoulders, especially Jon's. He has a job! Not to mention a mighty confidence boost with what he can accomplish with his profession.

 "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

And one week ago last Friday, Jon's grades were posted online. The first thing he said when he called me was "You, Me, and the Lord make a good team." Jon got two 4.0's his last semester of law school, and graduated cum laude.

We truly feel humbled with this outpouring of major blessings these past few days. And we know there is no such thing as too many prayers of gratitude! Looks like we'll be sticking around Utah for a few years, more like for life most likely. And we are just fine with that, we want to live close to both our families. It's just kind of crazy how things can change so fast: suddenly we are brought out of the unknown and we can see a lighted pathway ahead.

Now adjusting to a busy life these next couple of months. I will only see my husband at dinner time and on Sundays, because he obviously must pass the bar exam at the end of July and he'll have to study whenever he is not clerking. We know it will pay off in the end though. I love watching our story unfold, and as always I feel my Heavenly Father guiding my life to where He wants my little family to be. And I am so grateful for a husband who is prayerful and so willing to include the Lord in everything he does.

My husband has a job!!!!

First Family Vacate

The man had never been to delicate arch before, can you believe it?

 

A majestic symbol for Utah, so breathtaking at sunset.

 

So I planned our first little family getaway to Moab with this daughter of ours.

 Luckily we make friends wherever we go, because she stops people in their tracks.

 This hike is only 3.2 miles roundtrip, so we thought it would be a breeze with Amberly on my back. However, she did fuss a bit on the way up because she absolutely despises being too hot. Jon had to just hold her in his arms for the last bit of the hike.

 

Overall we were proud of our girl for making it to the top with us! She smiled at any stranger who stopped to give her some attention. Finally, she is becoming less of a poker face and showing off her melt-my-heart smiles!

 

Little granola girl, loving the outdoors.

 

SIMBA......

This one got a lot of random people stealing a photo.

 

 

 

The next day we pushed our luck again, hoping she'd take her morning nap on me while we hiked around Devil's Garden. Well, we made it to Landscape Arch at least.

 

They say it's the longest natural arch in the world. I really wanted to continue to explore Devil's Garden, but baby was all done.

 

 So we snagged a quick photo at Balanced Rock and then began the 5 hour drive to Zion's National Park for Jon's annual family reunion.

 

It was colder this year at Zion's! Glad I brought her jacket and hat.

Too cute too cute too cute

 And I had to get a photo of Amberly's Great Grandma Davis holding her. It was the sweetest. Grandma Davis is an angel, 94 years old, and sharp as a tack! She's got all the secrets to living life to the fullest. I just adore this woman and love being around her.

 

 

A very small handful of some of the Davis clan in the pool.

There were a LOT more of us. And I can never remember all of Jon's cousins names for the life of me. To make things even more confusing, about half of his relatives have the same name. No joke. There is more than one Daniel, Nathan, Laura, Jonathan, Matthew, Ben, Andrew, Chris, Rachel, James, Josh, and Joe. Bless me.

 

Doesn't it remind you of that scene from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"?

'This is Nick. And here we have Nick, Nick, uh Nicholas, Nick Nick, Nikki, Nick...and I am Gus.'

 

 

Our first little family getaway was such a blast! The only partially miserable duration of the trip was the drive back home - Jon had the stomach flu, baby was super upset  with spending so many hours in her car seat, and of course we got stuck in traffic right around Nephi. So...that was an adventure for this mama!

 

We made it home safe and sound, and I think we all just may use this day to recover from vacation. Ironic how necessary that is, isn't it?