Nicole Visits

Jill and Nicole had one night overlap, so we took advantage of it by eating cake and staying up really late. The next morning I took Jill to the airport and then took Nate to the airport (he was leaving on a business trip), and then felt like I had gone to the airport a whole lot in 24 hours.

On Sunday, Nicole and I decided to take advantage of the fact we weren't tied down by a school schedule. We headed to Washington. On our way we stopped at Great Falls. We admired the waterfalls, walked a bit, and then ate a picnic lunch.






Then we headed to Alexandria to see Nicole's sister-in-law and her family. It was fun for me to meet them, and the timing worked out pretty well. After our visit, we just had to take advantage of how close we were to Washington. So we drove over, parked, and pulled out the stroller and all the coats so that we could walk the monuments.


This was a big day for the kids, and I was really impressed with how well they did with all the different activities. They actually loved walking the monuments. We had come really prepared with extra coats and extra snacks and the double stroller, so the kids we pretty comfortable. (I just wish that I had also brought a blanket.) They would run for a while and then climb back into the stroller.

They also enjoyed all the stairs at the Lincoln Memorial and posing with the statues. Below Beckett and Felix climbed up on this pedestal so they could be statues with President Roosevelt and Fala.


 Evening is the best time to walk the monuments, and through excellent timing (I mean really good luck) we made it to the Lincoln for sunset. We then made our way up to the WWII Memorial and then back to the car.



On Monday we sent both the kids to school, and while Felix was at preschool, Nicole and I went on a hike in Patapsco.

Hey look, another waterfall! Here we are at Cascade Falls. We also hiked by several ruins. It was quite cool while Nicole was here, but we bundled up and enjoyed the brisk fall weather.




After Felix got home, we visited Fort McHenry. Nicole and Felix explored the lower levels, and Felix, in keeping with the statue posing tradition of the trip, posed with George Armistead.

On Tuesday, Nicole, Felix, and I went to Antietam. (Beckett was at school.) I was a little worried about the timing, but it worked out just fine. However, I don't know if I would have taken Nicole all the way out there if I had known that both the observation tower and Burnside Bridge were closed! Those are the best parts. We still enjoyed our visit. We visited the old cemetery and Nicole walked the Sunken Road.

I love my friends. I had just the best time with them. It would be best if we were all just next door neighbors, but I will settle for yearly reunions.

Jill Visits

In October a couple of my dearest friends came to visit. I love Runner Reunions. This is the second time that Jill has visited me in Maryland (first here) because she is just the best.

Jill arrived on a Wednesday. The next day we drove into Baltimore to meet her brother and his girlfriend at the Walters Art Museum. Felix was a really good sport with all the grownup activities that day (a museum and a long lunch). Luckily, it was a homeschool day at the museum, so he did get in a little playtime.

On Friday, the whole family went to Harpers Ferry. It's basically my favorite place on earth, and it's tradition for the Stephens to take a Harpers Ferry trip every fall. I really wanted Jill to experience the splendor that is Harpers Ferry.

We did all of my favorite things. We had ice cream and lunch at the crab cake place. We walked through the John Brown Museum and strolled along the river. We crossed over the train tracks and walked on the Appalachian Trail.

But I got to do one thing in Harpers Ferry that I had never done before. I finally got to hike up to the overlook.

After we crossed over the train tracks we took the trail down to the Maryland Heights Trail trailhead.

Along the way we found the perfect spot to throw rocks in the water. So Jill and I left the boys there and booked it up the trail.

On the hike:

And then we reached the top. Check out the great panoramic shot that Jill got. You can see the town, both rivers, and the surrounding hills. This is why I wanted to do this hike.


I'm pretty sure that Beckett will be ready to do this hike by our next visit to Harpers Ferry. I'm excited to do it again.

After lunch and ice cream with the whole crew, Jill and I split off on our own again to do some of the less kid-friendly things. We stopped in a couple of museums. Of course, I had to take Jill up the rock stairs to the church.



Meanwhile Beckett and Felix were back at the river with Nate.

This was our view as Jill and I caught up with them at Virginius Island.

 I think they had a pretty good day too.

On her last day in town, Jill and I went to Washington and museum hopped. Which is apparently what I like to do best in Washington. We started at the Native American Museum, which neither of us had ever been to. We saw a really interesting Inca Exhibition there. Then we went to the Hirshorn, which was not Jill's favorite. We hopped across the mall to go to the National Gallery and found out that it was closing in 30 minutes! Yikes! The other museums were open for another hour, so we were kind of blindsided by that. Time for a super speedy tour. I took Jill to see the Leonardo (the only one in the U.S.), the Cassatts and the Impressionists, the Rembrandts, and of course, the Vermeers. I think we did okay for only have 30 minutes. Afterwards we took a break on the mall, where I took this picture and then proceeded to break Jill's phone when I dropped it on the gravel. Sorry, Jill. I still feel embarrassed about that, but I am glad you had Apple Care.

We tried not to let the phone incident get us down. So we went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and looked at some of the paintings from my dissertation. Then we drove home, picked up some dinner and cake ingredients so that we could celebrate Jill and Nicole's birthdays after I picked Nicole up from the airport that night.

Up Next: Nicole Visits

Summer Trip Part 3: Utah

On to the next stop. The drive from Glenwood Springs to Lehi wasn't quite as nice as the drive from Colorado Springs to Glenwood Springs had been. Still, the boys were so easy. My parents have a dvd player in their van, and we stopped at Walmart in Glenwood Springs and picked up a few more movies. The boys have never been so entertained on a road trip before. We stopped in Green River at a park that my family stopped at many times before. We didn't linger too long because it was crazy hot, however. We also stopped at a rest stop near Tucker, Utah that had a train theme. Fitting.

So, I didn't take as many pictures in Utah as I did in Colorado. We still saw tons of people there and were super busy.

On Sunday we had lunch at Chuck-a-Rama with Gramma and Aunt Sharon. I was surprised how well the boys did there. They found lots of things they liked to eat. Beckett even ate peas. We also got some nice photos of Gramma Great with the grands.

Then we got my parents into the shot. I picked a great shot of my mom and the kids at the expense of my dad. Sorry dad. You're welcome mom?

That evening we went to Toby's house and played in his yard with its fabulous tree house, but we were too busy visiting, and I didn't take any pictures.

Back at Kristen's, Utah put on a light show of its own for us. Kristen and Corey kindly let us stay in their house while they were out of town. It was so nice to have a whole house to ourselves. Now we owe Kristen and Corey an empty house.

The next morning I went over to my friend Jen's house. Jen and I were pals in Kansas. Then I left for Maryland, and, earlier this year, she moved to Utah. She lives like 4 minutes from Kristen and 10 minutes from my sister so I see more reunions in our future.

That afternoon we went to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Beckett has not stopped talking about it since. He wishes it was closer. And I think I do too.

That evening we had a big Burt Family Reunion at Jenny's house, and I was too busy chatting with people to take pictures. I hope someone did take pictures and that they will post them somewhere where I can see them.

The next day we did a Gillespie Family excursion to the train museum in Ogden. Remember that Denver & Rio Grande train we saw in Colorado Springs? Well, we made it to the other end of the line. I love nerdy tourist stuff like that.

This gigantic beast is the Union Pacific Super Turbine Locomotive #26. It's one of the biggest engines ever built and can pull 735 fully loaded freight cars. That's seven miles worth of train! And yeah, like the name implies it uses a turbine engine like a jet plane. This is one of only two turbine locomotives on display in museums. The other is in Illinois, so I'm glad we took the time to see this one.

The inside of the museum was pretty fun too. I really liked how all the model train sets were designed to look like the landscape between California and Utah.

So, I had this idea that I could get a shot of all the cousins on this caboose, but no one really complied. Not surprising, I guess.

After our trip to the train museum we ate lunch in the park and got some ice cream. We battled the horrific construction on I-15 on the way home. (I can't believe we voluntarily drove through that mess so many times.)

The next day Nate had plans with Toby, and I met up with some old teammates at the park. Kristen was home from Hawaii (hooray!) and Liz and Nan both just recently moved back to Utah. It was so much fun to see them. I hadn't seen Liz in ages, and we enjoyed hearing all about living abroad. Beckett had a really great time at the park too. He got along really well with Walker, and he especially liked Simon, Liz's kindergartner. When we left Beckett asked if Simon could come over to our house. Anytime, kiddo. Anytime.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with Paige. We got Cafe Rio again (third time of the trip), and I have to say, it was really nice to go to a Cafe Rio where they really know what they are doing. The cousins played all afternoon, and I think it was their favorite day of the trip.

That evening we battled the construction again to go to Hire's with Brandon and Stephanie. I didn't really get to talk to them at all because I was dealing with kids in a restaurant. Grr. And then I had to say goodbye to everyone in the Hire's parking lot, which was a real bummer. The silver lining was that Kristen and Corey were home, and we all sat around chatting late into the night after the kids were in bed. The next day it was back to Maryland to prepare for a new school year.

All in all, it was a great trip. I would definitely do the Colorado to Utah plan again. We are already thinking about other cool places we could stop and see along the way. On the top of the list is a train museum in Cheyenne.

BYU Hall of Fame

Remember my ode to runner reunions? Well, last month I went to the biggest and best runner reunion of all time.

When I was a runner at BYU, I belonged to the best cross country team in the nation.

BYU Cross Country Meet, 1999 - I am on the far right.

In 1997 BYU won the NCAA Championship
In 1998 BYU finished 2nd at the NCAA Championship
In 1999 BYU won the NCAA Championship
In 2000 BYU finished 2nd at the NCAA Championship
In 2001 BYU won the NCAA Championship
In 2002 BYU won the NCAA Championship
In 2003 BYU finished 2nd at the NCAA Championship

It's pretty amazing to think about, even now, so many years later. I was on the team from 1997-2001. I was a member of three National Championship teams. In October BYU inducted those National Championship teams and all of their members into the Hall of Fame. There was no way I was missing this.

The official festivities began on Thursday night with a reception followed by a banquet in the Hinckley Center. We watched video clips from each championship and the team captains from each year gave a speech.

1997 Champions

1999 Champions

 

2001 Champions

I really was there for almost all of the domination. The best thing about that is that I knew almost everyone at the reunion. The only girls that I hadn't run with were those who joined the team in 2002.

My freshman year I was one of thirteen incoming freshman. 13! I'm pretty sure that's the biggest incoming class BYU cross country has ever had. You can even read an article about it here. Here we are sixteen years later (with adopted freshman Mel - she was a transfer from Ricks). We sure missed our missing teammates. We we thrilled to hear that some of the traditions these 13 freshman started are still going strong.  Nicole and I started the mandatory talent show at cross country camp. (Pleased but amazed that they are still doing that.) Sarah and Jill made up the team cheer: "How are we going to run? Fast as a cougar!" These are also the girls that began the first weekly red meat nights.

Jill, Nicole, Me, Sarah, Kristen, Shar, Lindsey, Mel, Tara, Emili

6 Freshman at Outdoor WAC in 1998

My table mates plus a couple extras: Jill, Sarah, Kristen, Maggie, Nicole, Katy, Me, Nan

Nate's parents were able to come to the banquet.

Fabulous Night.

 The next day we had a big, casual reunion in the Smith Field House with all the families and kids.

Coach giving a speech.

Coach Shane loved sweater vests. He wore them all of the time when I was running at BYU. We loved to give him a hard time about the sweater vests. One year all of the girls showed up for the plane flight to the WAC championship wearing sweater vests. Coach told them they all looked really sharp. We were SO excited to see Coach wearing this famous pink sweater vest.

So much of the reunion was put together through the legwork of the fabulous Caisa who gathered us all on facebook. We had so much fun in the weeks leading up to the reunion reminiscing. During this time we gathered all our favorite Coach Shane quotes so that we could display them at the reunion.

With Liz Jackson

Liz is just about the sweetest person on the planet. We actually met before my junior year of high school when we were both at the BYU Cross Country Summer Camp. We had so much fun together there, and I was so happy to see a familiar face when I came out for my recruiting trip my senior year of high school - Liz's freshman year at BYU. She put together an amazing photo book for Coach with photos she gathered from all of us. Here's one I submitted of me and Liz in our younger years:

Sweden in 1998 - Kara, Me, Kristen, Tara, Laurel, Liz

Courtney says she wants Coach's job. I think she'd be good at it.

Courtney, Nicole, Mel, Me

Jill will always be one of my very best friends.

With Jill at Outdoor WAC in 1999.

With Jill at the reunion 14 years later.

 Kristen, Nicole, and I were roommates in 1998.

15 years later under the National Champion banners!

My main event was the mile. (Sometimes cross country races seemed awfully long, and I was always excited to get back on the track for track season.)

NCAA Outdoor Track in 1999

During the track seasons we worked out in groups according to the distances we raced. I spent a lot of time with the ladies below, my fellow milers.

Sue, Me, Jaime, Lindsay, Mel - where were Anika and Kassi?

In 2001 I went to the NCAA Cross Country meet. This was my 5th and final year on the team (I took a redshirt year in 1998). That year we smashed the competition. 6 of the 7 runners were All-Americans.

Emily, Jill, Me, Katie, Misha, Jessie, Amy, Sarah, Tara, Nan, Lindsay, Kassi

Some of my 2001 teammates

Amy, Anika, Julia, Breanne, Me, Angie, Kristen

After the reunion it was time to go to the football game where we were all honored on the field at halftime. We lucked out with beautiful fall weather on this trip. I hadn't been to a college football game since I graduated from BYU, and it was fun to be back there surrounded by all of my friends.

Our only picture together. I have crazy eyes.

Nicole and her 3-week-old baby.

Waiting to go onto the field.

Devra, Nicole, Jill, Me, Tiffany

Jill, Marty, Emili, Tasha, Nicole, Lindsay

 Halftime Honors.

It was pretty awesome to be on the football field.

I was not ready to be done with the reunion, so I went to the team breakfast the next morning even though I couldn't go on the run.

Kristen, Nan, Breanne, Tiffany, Jamie, Anne

I took Felix with me to the breakfast while Nate and Beckett ran some errands. I'm glad I did because Felix loved Coach Shane. He went right up to him and asked him to pick him up and gave him a long hug. It made me kind of teary.

 More group shots:

Look who's sitting on Coach's lap

Hall of Fame Week was one of the best weeks of my life. I have been able to see lots of my running friends in the years since I graduated from BYU, but having everyone together again was just the most incredible feeling. It's like we all belong together. I can honestly say that I like every one of these girls. One of our traditions every cross country season was to write on a tarp at each meet. We all wrote on a tarp at  the reunion too. Here's what I wrote: "I made so many good memories and many of my very best friends on the track (and cross country course)." I'm never going to forget Hall of Fame Week.