Day at the park

Last week Alene and I decided to dust off the bikes and bike trailer and take Bailey for a little ride over to the park. It was nice to get out, although my head was burning like crazy (hot day).



Bailey has been wearing her princess dress every day since her easter pictures (hope to have those up soon)



She loves hanging and swinging from things



She likes climbing too



Ice cream truck came



Bailey and mommy were running away from the monster (Daddy)

San Rafael Reef March 2011

Day 1

Day 2

Building a play house

I built a play house and swing set for Bailey (and Caiden, even though he may be growing too old for these things). I drew up the plans myself. It's not quite done (still need to paint, add some paneling inside to cover the bare studs, paint, and get some furniture for the inside), but it's usable. I'm also probably going to re-do the ramp leading up to the deck.

Started off by measuring out placement for the posts



Cemented in the post holders and mounted the posts and joists



Started adding the sub floor



Added some cross bracing on the bottom so Bailey could dance on the top



Framing (note, for all of you contractors out there, I realize this is not to building code :-), no king plates or proper framing for windows and door ways, but this is just a playhouse).







Roof going on (I've never built my own pitched roof before)







Added T1-11 to the front and decided to just eventually paint over the OSB on the other sides. Also added cedar to the framing and made a fancy front door





Made sky lights on each side before I roofed it and covered the wood with galvanized metal



Started making the swing set (note the door I added to the play house in the background and the shutters)







Bailey loves her play house



Side note: My neighbor is building a TALL playhouse behind us. We both started building at the same time (almost on the same day) without knowing what each of us were up to. We eventually started to help each other out. His has some SERIOUS creativity (he built that slide out of 50 gallon drums). He's still working on it (this picture shows it without the stairs or railing), but he's worked his tail off on this one.

In case anyone missed it

We're expecting a Baby this Fall. So excited.

Music project

http://c.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZConnections.woa/wa/viewIMixes?iMixesPageType=1&id=415108150

(You'll have to copy and paste the link since for whatever reason it doesn't show up when I add link brackets)

If anyone has iTunes and cares to follow, I'm working on creating a "favorites" playlist from every year, starting with the 1950's. Since there wasn't a TON of Rock and Roll in the 50's (compared to the 60's until the present), I created a "1950's" category, then starting with 1960, I did a category from every year. I've compiled a list up until 1998 so far.

I think it's fascinating to me to see what songs I like from certain years. It's my goal to really listen to each year and even thin out my lists more. It also makes me wonder what I'm missing from each of those years.

In order for a song to make the list, it has to be a song that I personally like, it's not on the list just because it was a "hit" during that era.

Let me know if the link works and if you have iTunes, become my "ping" friend and maybe we can share playlist ideas.

My list is comprised of Rock and Roll, Soul, Pop, R&B, and Hip Hop/Rap. I think all of these genres pretty much define what I listen to. I do like Country too, but not enough to create a favorites list for every year. I'll likely just create a Country favorites from each decade.

If the link does not work, go to iTunes, then "Ping" in the tool bar on the left hand, then search my name "John Root" and I'll come right up. On the upper right corner you can sort the music by "name" and it will put the playlists in order from 1950's to present.

Oh how the mighty have fallen

I suck at blogging. I was just looking at my blogging history:

2004: 47 Posts
2005: 115 Posts
2006: 88 Posts
2007: 89 Posts
2008: 131 Posts
2009: 74 Posts
2010: 12 Posts

I blame that stupid website facebook. Now I think I'll link this blog post on facebook.....I suck.

The best Ginger Beer out there

I've been drinking this "Bundaberg" Australian Ginger Beer. By far the best, but it's also expensive. It leaves an awesome ginger after-taste, almost a burning sensation (good burn, not bad).

My favorite part of all though is the old styled cap.

The Dirty Dash

Alene and I participated in a team 10k run this past weekend called The Dirty Dash. It consisted of us, her sister April, fellow running mate Kris, and our friend Matt. The last race I had run was the Salt Lake Marathon's 5k and after that race I had stopped running due to lack of time.

Alene told me about this race and asked if I would do it. At first I wasn't sure because I had started to get out of shape, but I really wanted to do something with Alene, so I committed to it. Alene was so good about keeping me on a training schedule and at times we were able to run together in order to keep to the schedule.

The day of the race came quicker than I thought it would. Saturday was hectic as it was because I had to be back home by noon to coach a football game. We all met up at Solider Hollow in Midway about an hour or so before our start time and just took in the atmosphere.

Group portrait before we started (Note: All pictures are credited to my brother in-law, William Church)



This race was not a relay, so we, as a team, were supposed to all run together and finish together. We started off going up a hill which was heavily watered, but really thick with weeds and mud. There had already been 3 heats that took off before us, so as you can imagine, it was pretty nasty by now. After that we worked our way mostly up hill into a back canyon, and then started working our way toward deer creek reservoir.

Our first major obstacle was various rows of hay bales that we had to either jump or climb over. Matt was pretty slick at being able to clear them completely with both legs tucked. I attempted a cartwheel, but it was more like a ball wheel as I wasn't really extending my legs.

After the hay bales, we hit the tough obstacles, which were 3 different sets of walls to climb over. Normally they would not be that difficult, but combined with being tired from having ran 3 miles, having a lot of people around, the wall being slick with mud, and the thick mud that existed 20' in front of the wall, it was much more difficult than it looked.

Tyler going over



Volunteers making sure it was plenty muddy



April going over



After we made it over the last wall, I took the opportunity to give Alene a little present on her neck



Kris with his game face on



From here we ventured down toward Deer Creek reservoir. On the 2nd half of the race we encountered about 100 various-sized tires to high-knee our way through. Everyone expected me to be able to teach proper form since I've coached football for so many years. What they didn't know is that I've never done the tires nor coached it in my life that that those drills are dramatized for movies and TV :-). After that we had a steep hill to slide down, then on through the swampy section of Deer Creek, which was disgusting. About a good 1/4 mile of swamp and black sludge to run through.

After that we hit our last mile and worked our way back to the water slides, which was a blast. There was 5 rows, so as a team we all ran and dove on, sliding down and dumping out into a big mud pit.

Alene and I getting out of the slide



April and Matt working their way up from the slide



The end was by far the dirtiest and nastiest, but so much fun. They had a large mud pit with about 3' deep of water. We had to crawl through the pit (could not stand up as they placed low-lieing ropes across it) to the other side, which was about 30' long. Plenty of great pictures.

The water was really cold for April and Alene, but I think my adrenaline kicked in and I didn't even feel it. I was doing the back stroke during this picture



Kris working his way through the mud



Alene and April half-way through



Alene and I toward the end



Coming out of the pit about to cross the finish line



Victory faces











Group shot





Muddy lovers





The race is a lot of fun and I'm definitely considering doing the shorter version this spring and possibly the 10k again next fall. It was fun just running along with great people, seeing all the hilarious costumes people wore, and carrying on conversation while running a race. Plus, I love getting dirty.

My trip to California

Check out my other blog, which has pictures of my trip to Nor Cal last week.

Day 1/2

Day 3

Day 4/5

Book Review: Into Thin Air

In last month's Outside magazine I read an article about a 13 year old boy from Southern California who was preparing to climb Mount Everest with his dad and step mother. I thought it was a fascinating article about a very motivated kid. His parents were heavily involved with his training, but they made it very clear that they were doing it to support him. Prior to his interest in summiting large mountains (which started at age 9), he was interested in being the next Steve Irwin, so they were fully supportive of him in that regard by surrounding him with opportunities to interact with all kinds of reptiles and animals. They said if tomorrow he wanted to be an NBA basketball player, they would be at the gym that day helping him train to attain that goal as well.

I'm getting off point, but I had to kind of give an idea of what prompted me to read this book.

I was talking to Alene about the article and how the author mentioned that Everest does so much damage to both your mind and body, that he wasn't sure it was a good idea for a kid to be doing it. Alene then started talking to me about reading "Into thin air" years ago and how she thought I would like it. She ordered it for me the next day and once I got it, I could not stop reading.

To summarize the book, it's about a group of 3 summit teams that got lost and stranded on the mountain during their descent in 1996. 8 people died and a few others suffered serious injuries.

The book took me on a journey that fascinated me and pulled me in much like the book "Lone Survivor" did. I don't read as much as I would like to, so when I read a book I make sure it's going to be a good book. I loved the accounts and history of those that had attempted to summit and those that did. I also felt like I gained more of an appreciation for anyone that attempts to summit Everest. The toll it takes on your body is so harsh. I thought we lived at a decent altitude, but knowing that the closest city from their basecamp was at the same level as the highest peak in Utah, it just blew me away.

I remember hiking to the summit of Timpanogos and while I was out of shape, I also noticed feeling a bit light-headed at the top at 11,749 feet. I wasn't sure if it was from being out of shape, or from the altitude. I can't imagine being almost twice as high in the air, which is where Everest is. I do remember the small joy of being up on that mountain and feeling like I had accomplished something against myself. Then I turned around and saw two younger kids and their parents and I didn't feel as special. It was still tough and I'm anxious to do Timp this year and maybe fit in Nebo, then attempt Kings Peak the next summer.

The author was very brutally honest about most of the situations that happened and about those he climbed with. He himself was a mountaineer and had spent a lot of his life on high mountain expeditions, but nothing close to the magnitude of Everest.

The book made me want to climb something higher. I'm not sure why though. Is it the macho man in me that wants to do it? Is it for bragging rights? I think ultimately its my competitive spirit. I've always been competitive in things I do, whether its arguing a point or playing a sport, but I've never been one of those that are so competitive that I whine or get in fights about things not going my way. Lately, with the running I've been doing, I've found a more challenging aspect of competition for me is competing against myself and I've been doing that with running. How scary and nuts it would be to see what you could do on a mountain like that.

I'm confident I would never do Everest because it costs a lot of money (about $40-$60k) and because it's too dangerous and I have people that depend on me. However, this book definitely motivated me to push myself a bit more and get out and see what I can do. It also taught me about not judging people for their actions in tough times. Some of the deaths could have easily been avoided, but it's not my place to point out faults and weaknesses of others. Nobody knows how they'll respond at that altitude (they say often times that your thought process diminishes to that of a 4-5 year old) and in those deathly circumstances.

It's a great book and a fast read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Oh, by the way, I found out 2 days ago that the 13 year old boy made it to the summit and back safely.