Mostly about Utah
A few photographs from the Kaysville and Fruit Heights Independence Day Parade. Click on the images to enlarge.
Command Chief Ogden Air Logistic Center Chief Master Sgt. David Nordel
Bryson and Sarah watch the parade
Rachel and Jake
Steve Hiatt, Kaysville City Mayor, throws candy
Fruit Heights City Mayor, Todd Stevenson
Bryson watches the parade
There was a helicopter candy drop immediately following the parade
Near the end of the parade the water fight began
Davis High School Flag
This morning was the Independence Day Kaysville Rotary 12th Annual 10K and 5K Run / 5K Walk “Run for Reading” at the Davis High School Stadium. In 2009 there were 873 participants who entered, beating the previous year by over 200 runners. The proceeds of the $15 race registration will go towards the purchase of “I Like Me” reading books for Kaysville area elementary school children.
I was there to take a few photographs. Click on the images to enlarge.
Before the race
Sarah's with her friend Jennifer and her husband
Sarah, Derek, Jill, and Bryson
Bryson was not too thrilled at the early morning start to the race
Start of the 5K segment
Jill at the finish (39:25:00)
Derek, Sarah, and Bryson at the finish
This year’s Kaysville South Stake 5K Family Fun Run participation was a little lower than usual, probably because of the weather. With rain, temperatures in the 40’s, and a 12 mph wind only the hearty ventured out. Here’s what the weather looked like from where I stood, nice and dry inside the bowery.
There were plenty of officials on hand. There were official officials — our stake president and one of his counselors.
Then there were race officials like Rachel and Matt, and Lisa Sagers to record the times.
I had family participating — Jake, Jill, and Paul on roller blades. I was asked if I was running. I said, “The Press doesn’t run — only the presses do.”
The bishop of my ward was there ready to run.
A bullhorn was used to get everyone lined up for the race. The athletes listened intently for the starting signal. Then they were off and into the rain, wind and cold. To record the times a laptop is used where the time of a runner is assigned a number which is written on the runners race label when they finish. The label is peeled off and placed on cardboard for the appropriate age group.
Preston Johnson, age 15, with a time of 18:33 was the first runner to finish. Jill was right behind him with a time of 38:12.
Below are thumbnails of a few runners. Click on them for a higher resolution picture (1200 x 900). If you want the original (4000 x 3000) email or call me. Alternatively, leave a comment and I will use your email entered in the form. I didn’t plan to take photographs of the runners, it was an afterthought once the race began.
There are two videos I will post. Check back later after the England v. USA soccer game.
My guest writer today is my wife Jill. In the last year she has lost 29 pounds.
Jill, on lap 2, is enjoying the race
Weight Watchers issued a Walk-It Challenge two months ago. Everyone was encouraged by our inspiring leader Lois to do something challenging even if that meant walking to the mail box and adding some more steps each day.
We decided to run and found the on-line training guide that started with walk 5 minutes, run for 2 minutes and then walk again. Four days a week the time running was gradually increased until we could actually run up to 20 minutes twice with a 1 minute walk in between. We all added MP3 music to make the running more enjoyable. I borrowed my niece’s player — sorry about washing your MP3 player, Shauna.
Each week there were reasons why we couldn’t go but there was always one of the four of us that wanted to meet the goal and encouraged the others. Mostly Shauna who is not a Weight Watchers member. We found it easiest to run when it was cool even if it rained. Some of the places we found to run were the Legacy Parkway Trail, the Lagoon Trail, Davis High School track, West Bountiful and Kaysville trails and Utah Botanical Center. We liked the paths with no hills the best.
The objective was for each Weight Watchers member to earn a charm by participating in a 5K. We were excited and ordered the T-Shirt and put the URL of our web site on the back.
Our Walk-It was held in Centerville at noon and consisted of going around the outskirts of the park 3 ½ times until the 3.1 miles was achieved. There was a good turnout even though it was hot. We were very excited to have Kent and Rick along as photographers and to write the captions. And check out the videos at the end of this post.
The participants met at the Ward's home before travelling to the race.
The athletes looked relaxed just prior to the start. No anxiety here.
Weight Watchers leader Lois instructs the runners for the start.
An unconventional confetti start sees Susan take an early lead just ten yards out.
Shauna has already moved ahead but Susan still leads the main pack.
"We have been running 4 times a week and the consistency pays off in weight loss and health benefits."
Shauna increases her lead.
Susan: "I was hoping to run the entire time but it was hot."
Susan: "I got a side ache the 2nd lap so I slowed down but it didn’t go away. I ended walking to get rid of it."
"Four laps around the park finishing the fourth lap down the middle through the trees."
"Today was more of a struggle than I had hoped for as I drank too much water before the run."
Melissa keeps up the pressure. She is going to give Jill the run of her life.
Shauna along the finishing stretch.
Shauna 33:29
Susan is next to enter the last tenth of a mile.
Susan 39:58
Melissa and Jill are urged on to the finish by Shauna.
Melissa 41:18 - Jill 41:21
Melissa: "Our times were a little slower than Monday’s 5K, but the temperature was a lot hotter so we’re all happy with what we got."
Good work, wife.
If you cannot see the videos click here.
I purchased a can of non-hybrid garden seeds. They are a good item to store for a time when seeds may be hard to obtain or become very expensive.
If you are trying to be self-sufficient, using hybrid seeds is not a good idea. The seed of hybrid vegetables does not grow true — you may not get taste, productivity, or even appearance. Only open pollinated, or “heirloom”, or “traditional” varieties will produce seed which, when saved and planted next year, will give you the same results as the parent plant.
Save your own seeds. This cuts gardening costs by 25% to 50%. Non-hybrids taste better. Many hybrids are now selling for high prices. When you save your own seeds, you only buy once.
There are enough seeds to plant more than 3/4 acres. The varieties have been recommended by Utah State University for short season climates; with excellent adaptability for most regions. Complete instructions for planting are included. There are 16 varieties:
The unopened seeds should store for four years or more depending on storage temperature. The seeds have been carefully dried to their optimum moisture content to increase their storage life. The cooler the storage temperature, the longer the storage life of your seeds.
This can of seeds is ideal for emergency and preparedness storage. The best place to store your seed would be in a cool, dry, dark location such as a basement. For best results store unopened can in a refrigerator or freezer. You can replant the seeds of these non-hybrid varieties for future harvests.
Now all I have to do is to figure out how to grow them. :)
Paul spends a portion of his time constructing arc-welders from microwaves and making green Jell-O treats. Jell-O pineapple rings are easy to make:
Jell-O is the official state snack food of Utah and Utahns have the highest per capita consumption of Jell-O in the world.
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Tell the readers what helped you lose weight. It can just be a simple tip or you can further describe how you personally used your tip to lose weight.
Mark and Connie hiking in Bryce Canyon last week
Judge Jake decided the winner of the latest caption competition. The competition was open to anyone but only the locals participated. Thank you everybody for the great captions. The first prize is a $100 trillion banknote.
Mark is this week’s caption winner.
Yesterday I reviewed the excellent new book It’s In the Bag by Michelle and Trent Snow. Everything you need for a meal comes from a bag out of your food storage. I figured I ought to try one of the simpler recipes so I went for the Uglier than Heck Soup. However, I didn’t have all the ingredients so I chose the Beefy Bean Casserole.
For tonight’s meal I grabbed my imaginary bag and emerged from my food storage with the items in the photograph above. The plants are for decoration, not for eating. The small sandwich bag contains 1/4 cup of dried onions.
Beefy Bean Casserole under construction
I emptied all the contents of the cans, except for the sliced green beans (heat in a separate pan), into a pan and stirred until hot. The recipe calls for the gravy to be drained from the meat but I like to use it in the mix for an extra beefy taste. By the time the meal is heated, the dried onions have reconstituted. Serve with bread. For more about the author and her books see Michelle Snow’s website.
The casserole was excellent — I was surprised at how well it tasted. All the men in the family ate while Jill was with her visiting teachers. We went back for seconds. There was only a morsel left for Jill when she came to eat. No worries, I am bound to cook some more soon. Makes a break from beans on toast.
