We watched the opening and closing ceremonies while dining on Chinese take out. Oh we are so original! China, with her 1.3 billion people, sure did use their human resources, and the shows were, as Darth Vader would say: "Impressive. Most impressive!" I loved the 500 foot LCD screen across the stadium floor - WOW. I marveled at their use of technology. And I LOVED the fireworks.
Michael Phelps will be the name I remember. He was incredible. Elder Robert D. Hales even mentioned Phelps in the BYU Education Week Devotional. I remember watching Mark Spitz win 6 gold metals in 1972. His success was pretty amazing. Now look what Michael has done. Yes, I'll remember Michael. I’ll remember being with some of our own family athletes, (the day of the Lake Arrowhead Triathlon) and watching Phelps win on Tad’s big screen.
Every Olympics has stories that endure. One of my all time favorites is the story of John Stephen Akhwari, the Marathon runner representing Tanzania (1968). About an hour after the winner had crossed the finish line, Akhwari entered the stadium, the last man to complete the run. He was suffering from fatigue, leg cramps, dehydration, and disorientation, but a voice from within called him to go on, and so he went on. He finished what he set out to do. The quote that lives on: "My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; my country sent me to finish the race.” Akhwari's story is on many You Tube sites, and the Church even has his story on a DVD, emphasizing the importance of enduring to the end. This year in the opening ceremonies, as the athletes from Tanzania entered the Bird's Nest, Akhwari's story was again mentioned.
This year, Samuel Wanjiru, from Kenya, won the Marathon. And he did it in record time. But watching the young man from Ethiopia, who had led much of the race, "lose" , as he came in fourth place, was for me so sad.When Tad was young, he loved Shel Silverstein's book "Where the Sidewalk Ends." One of my favorite poems in the book is:
Hug O' War
I will not play at tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.
That's how it will be in heaven. We can all be winners. I like that. So, I am going to continue the race like Akhwari. But for now...
Bye Bye Beijing!
Sam is attending BYU Campus Education Week. 
I wish I was at Ed Week, but it just didn't work out this year. I have attended many times. It's a program I really enjoy. One year, when we were living in Virginia, Tad and I flew to Utah and attended the program. The next year, Tyson joined us, but we didn't fly. We took a road trip. We stopped at many Church History sites along the way. I had a great time, and the boys, who were anxious to go west, were kind to their church history enthusiast mother. I remember one site I really wanted to visit was the grave of Rebecca Winters. Her grave was harder to find than I thought it would be, but the brothers hung with me and we found it. It was out in the middle of nowhere. I am glad we found the grave. Maybe someday I'll be able to meet Rebecca, and tell her about our venture. On second thought, if I get to meet her, I'll just ask her to tell me more about her trek, because ours doesn't even hold a candle to her story.
The village was packed with people, and there was excitement in the air. As for me, when it was time for the awards ceremony, I was exhausted!!! It was not an easy feat to push that stroller up and down those hills, and keep our group of eight little people together. I was at the water's edge, as the swimmers dove into the lake. Our four athletes had three different wave start times. After they were all swimming, I ran over to the spot where they came out of the lake. I snapped some more photos, and from there, I hustled over to a spot on the bike trail to get some more shots as they whizzed by on their bikes. Then it was time to head over to help our "fun runners" get registered for their event. We pinned on their bibs, got them to their starting line, and they were off and running. When the fun run was over, we headed to the finish line so we could be there to cheer for our triathletes as they crossed the line. And cheer we did! The entire event was SO much fun. AND, I really wasn't exhausted. I had a blast!
Here's an article from the Mountain News
Here are the Race Results
Here we are at good ol' Paramount High.
A beautiful baby!
A good looking little guy! 
A handsome teenager!
Here are some modern-day warriors at the MTC.
I think Loren could pose for Arnold Friberg. It looks like these elders are walking a pretty straight line. But, to me Loren stands out in front of them all. He's a big guy, with a big heart.
Loren & Sonya
Happy Birthday Elizabeth .jpg)
For many years, taking Elizabeth to see the latest Disney 
This year Elizabeth & Adam ventured out with Megan to see the latest Disney/Pixar movie, WALL-E. Megan didn't even make it halfway through the movie. 
"Happy happy birthday, Elizabeth dear. 
It's time to say goodbye to August. Seems like time is just speeding along. Just one more birthday greeting going out, before moving on. This shout out goes to Tyler.
