Superficial Joy

My birthday is at the end of August which means it is usually the first or second day of school. This year it was the weekend before school started. Both of the last two years I was also in Abu Dhabi for my birthday. And both of those years I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday then got upset when nobody remembered or gave my any presents (yes, I realize this is like a 5 year old), thus I walked around feeling resentful and angry and hurt on my birthday. This year I vowed to do differently. Instead of expecting people to "just know" that is was my birthday, I created a WhatsApp group and invited people to do something fun with me for my big day: Paintball. I've never done it before but have always wanted to try it. The plan was to meet at Marriott Al Forsan Sports Complex for paintball then to the Marriott Hotel for dinner at Appaloosa , a bar that has yummy food (including sweet potato fries). On the big day, only two of us showed for paintball so we quickly ...

One of my favorite parts of every summer is doing a Ragnar Trail Race with this bunch of other crazy people that invited me along one year and now can't get rid of me. The Ragnar trail races are 24 leg relays. There are 3 legs: red, yellow and green, red being the hardest and green the "easiest". Each team generally has 8 members + a volunteer. Each runner runs all three legs which gets us to 24. This is the basic set up for all the trail races. Here's the map for this one near the Tetons. Last year we did the race in Lake Tahoe and I just about died. I had a "Scarlett O'Hara moment" in which I vowed to never get that out of shape again. So I made sure to keep up running this year. I've done 4 half marathons this year. I was ready for this year's  Ragnar in the Tetons at Grand Targhee Resort. Look our, Grand Targhee, here we come! Me, Lauri, Sara, Wendy, Andrea, Brian. On our way to St. Anthony to pick up more members. Beautiful ...

The summer of 2019 is well underway. The brief itinerary has been, in order: Rest,  Amsterdam,  Ireland,  Dallas, Boise,  Tetons,  Boise,  Austin,  Dallas,  Abu Dhabi,  Zanzibar,  Abu Dhabi. Here's a pictorial overview of the Boise portion. Which was AMAZING! Welcome to Boise! My friend David and I with the Boise Foothills behind us. He has let me stay with him both this summer and last. The Natatorium. Capitol Blvd. Look at that blue sky!!! My daily horoscope courtesy of Java Downtown.  An evening "run" in Eagle. I was so sore from the Ragnar Relay that it became more of a crawl. Such a beautiful city. I wish the pictures did it justice. The skies in Boise make me reconsider calling Texas my home. On a real run in the Boise Foothills. BBQ with the Mountain Hosts (well, a few of them!) Another visit to the Natatorium After church lunch with Zena. Yet another v...