Thanksgiving // 4 Year Anniversary

This year our 4 yr. Anniversary landed on Thanksgiving Day, so we decided to celebrate by ourselves in Salt Lake City. We ran a 4 mile Turkey Trot on Thursday Morning, and here are my results:

Congratulations on finishing the Earn Your Turkey Run Walk 2009 on November 26, 2009. For your records, the weather that day was mid 30's but sunny..
There were 35 finishers in the Male 25 to 29 age group and 569 finishers in the race.
Your overall finish place was 103 and your age group finish place was 5. Your overall finish percentile was 18 while your age group percentile was 14. Your time of 29:08.5 gave you a 7:17 pace per mile.

Then we had a great lunch at Mimi's Cafe. And it was a good thing we had reservations because the place was packed. After that we went to a park and Audrey tried out her new roller blades that we bought the day before for $4.00. Yep 4 bucks at a thrift store, basically brand new. Took some pictures and here they are:

After that we went to the Gateway Mall and watched "New Moon". It was pretty good, then back to our motel for a relaxing evening because we got up at like 5 a.m. for the race. It was a great day!

Simple Math

Busyness in life increases

Liesure in life decreases

Hence, I'm falling behind on my blogging goal

So, not everyday, but pretty good for november

I have slacked on my goal, but my blogging has become way more frequent than before. And one thing that was pretty cool this weekend was that I ran 2 miles in these shoes.I was inspired to do this by the book that I just finished, "Born To Run". In the book the author talks about how modern shoes have cushioned our feet so much that we get injuries from them, and if we didn't wear shoes then our arches and feet would be stronger allowing for better posture and faster running. So Audrey and I were going to take a little run, so I figured why not? I knew that I wasn't going to go barefoot, so I did the next best thing. And you know what? It didn't hurt at all. I could actually feel the muscles in my ankles and my feet adjusting and actually working while I ran. It was pretty cool to try and experience. I might have to continue on in experimenting with this and see if I can run barefoot or how far I could go in sandals.

New book and Sunday School

A few new things that are happening this week is that I have started a new book. It is called "Where Men Win Glory" by Jon Krakuer. This will be the third book that I have read by this author and I have really enjoyed reading his other works. This book is about an NFL player named Pat Tillman who left the NFL to join the Army and fight in the Afghan war. He was shot and killed by friendly fire, and the U.S. tried to cover it all up. I think it will be a very good book.

The other new thing that is starting this week is Sunday School. Here is a picture of what we are studying this Sunday.

The Israelites crossing the Red Sea.

Making up for yesterday

This is how I feel about Christmas sometimes... especially the whole decorating thing.

Born To Run: Book Review

16. Born To Run by Chris McDougall

This is an excellent book that I really enjoyed reading, and I just finished it today. Even if you are not that interested in running I think you will be captivated by this book. It focuses on ultrarunning and a tribe of Mexican/Indians called the Tarahumara. They are a running tribe, deep in the Copper Canyons. Using only sandals and other homemade meals they run like crazy. This book debunks many popular running ideas like the most expensive shoes are the best to buy, the shoes with the most cushion are the best for you, and some others. One of the coolest parts of the book is when he discusses "persistence hunting" the art of running your prey to death. This has been documented in Africa, and pretty much how it works is how it sounds. You consistently keep your prey say an Antelope on the run until it can't keep up anymore and dies.
I would recommend this book. It's a good one.

#2

Today we went to Rock Springs. Audrey had a chiropractor appointment and I met up with Rich to talk about Church things. We also got our oil changed in our sleek white grand marquis while we were there. Now we are at home, and we have a dance class tonight; getting us ready for the big ball that is going to take place on New Year's Eve.

Only missed one day so far

Well, I already missed one day blogging for the entire month of November. But I'm already making up for it today. So this one will actually be for yesterday. Church went really good, and Audrey and I had a nice afternoon and evening relaxing. The New York City Marathon was on TV so I watched that and really enjoyed it. The pro's are so fast. And it was the first time in over 20 years that an american male has won the NYC marathon.

Once a day blog for the month of November

I think that I am going to try again on the blogging everyday for a month. I was looking back through some of my past blogs and came across September of 2008 where I first decided to try and do a entire month of blogging everyday, and when I looked back on it, I remembered everything that we did for that month. So not only is it a good discipline, but it helps in recording down the things that happen in my life, and since I have been kind of slacking lately on blogging, I figured it might be good to try again.

So, starting Nov. 1, I will blog once each day. Now all I have to do is remember that I'm going to do this.

These always make me laugh... I'm glad we don't have a Church Sign

Sky Dive Video

First snow of the year! September 30th. Crazy.

Pinedale Half Marathon 2009 Pictures and Results

Another race in the books. Our second time to run the Pinedale Half Marathon was definitely better than the first! We had such a fun day taking everything in from the early morning drive, leaving at 5:30 a.m. to seeing two moose on our way there (a big bull probably the biggest one I have seen and a cow), to running the race, to posting our best half marathon times ever!, to the free post race meal (bbq pork sandwiches, baked beans, brownies & cookies), to all the free stuff we got!

It was a perfect morning, 46 degrees in Kemmerer when we left, which actually dropped down to about 32 degrees when we arrived in Pinedale, but the sun was starting to come up over the mountains warming things up quite a bit. Audrey and I started out at a good pace, and all the over zealous runners passed us at the beginning, but from mile 2 until the very very end, I never got passed again. And I got to pass all those people who started out too fast.

I finished in 1:52 minutes at 30 seconds, 2 minutes faster than I ran the Lander Half Marathon in July. And Audrey posted her fastest time as well, 1:46 minutes. You can check out all the official results by clicking the link below.
http://www.milliseconds.com/participants/detail/805763580

Here are some pictures!

Pinedale Half Marathon Coming Up

The Pinedale Half Marathon is this Saturday, it will be the 2nd time that Audrey and I have ran this race. Last year we did it as well here's my blog about that one http://jadonross.blogspot.com/2008/09/pinedale-half-marathon.html

Anyway, should be a fun race. It will be nice to get away for a little while and run in some beautiful country, especially with the leaves now changing.

I'll give you the whole story when we are done!

The Signal Book Review

15. The Signal By Ron Carlson

A few reasons I read this book and how I found it. It was in entertainment weekly which we are currently getting a year for free, and it is set in Wyoming in the Wind River Mountains which Audrey and I have backpacked in for the last 4 years and we now live 3 hours away from them.

The story is about a man trying to save a ranch that he has inherited from his father, and he is trying to save it by using some shady means. His now x-wife is meeting him at a trailhead in the mountains where they are going to have their last hike together and he is also trying to find something in the mountains that will make him a lot of money with these shady characters.

It is pretty slow moving, and really the only reason that I finished the book was because it did take place in Wyoming. Recommendation: Don't read it, you won't waste your time. Luckily for me it's pretty short and I read it while I was subbing at the H.S. So I got paid.

Rodeo Pictures

Scripture Passage For This Week

 ^1-2Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.

 ^3-5You've already put in your time in that God-ignorant way of life, partying night after night, a drunken and profligate life. Now it's time to be done with it for good. Of course, your old friends don't understand why you don't join in with the old gang anymore. But you don't have to give an account to them. They're the ones who will be called on the carpet—and before God himself.

 ⁶Listen to the Message. It was preached to those believers who are now dead, and yet even though they died (just as all people must), they will still get in on the life that God has given in Jesus. (1 Peter 4:1-6, The Message)

Fall

I don't think that Fall used to come as fast as it does now. Not just in Wyoming, but it seems like the summer always flies by and then before you know it the air starts to feel just a little bit more crisp. And it is September, so it makes sense that it would start to be Fall. Maybe Labor Day marks the beginning of Fall? I don't know. But what I do know is that I love Fall. Maybe it goes back to my days of playing football in Junior High and High School, being able to be outside a lot during that time, and my love of football.
But the first time I distinctly remember loving the Fall was my freshman year of college. I was driving home to Haviland with my windows down, and the crisp air was completely refreshing after a week of classes. Then I pulled onto the dirt road that I grew up on, and saw all the combines and graincarts and semi trucks lined up on the side of the road. They were in the middle of Corn Harvest. The smells, noises, and sights seemed to fill me up. And it hit me in that moment that I love the Fall.
Since then, I totally look forward to every Fall. There is just something about it, the leaves starting to change color, and the biggest thing is the air. It just feels more alive; makes me feel more alive.
So here's to Fall! You have finally been honored for all that you are!

My parents got to visit!

It was great having my parents come and visit us! we got to go to big spring, park city, and just hang out around kemmerer. it was a ton of fun! and we get to come to haviland for the barclay sale this year!

The Strain Book Review

14. The Strain Book Review

The first in a three book installment, another book about vampires, which seems to be the very relevant thing going on right now in american culture. or so says entertainment weekly who suggested this book. but this book is different than other books about vampires, looking at them more like a strain of a virus that is going to overtake the world if the few people involved don't figure out how to stop it. to me the best part of the book is that one of the main characters is an old grandpa dude, and he's the coolest guy in the book. one of the heroes, and he carries a silver sword inside his walking stick.
I'm looking forward to the other books coming out because this one kind of leaves you hanging at the end.

14 books though, pretty good so far. way more than one a month. and i'm currently on my 15th.

Boneman's Daughters Book

13. Boneman's Daughters By Ted Dekker

This is a good book. Full of suspense, kind of a thriller.
Written by a Christian author, with aspects of good vs. evil all the way through.
An enjoyable read if you don't get scared easily.

Tower Rock Run Results 09

10 3 49.56 Jadon Ross 20-29

I got 10th place overall, my bib number was 3, i finished in a time of 49 minutes 56 seconds, my name is jadon ross, and i am in the 20-29 age division.

Tower Rock Run 09 This Weekend

Audrey and I are getting ready to run the 10k Tower Rock Run again this year in Manila, UT. The course goes through Sheep Creek Canyon by the Flaming Gorge Resevoir. It is a very picturesque run, and we are looking forward to it. Last year Audrey won some money for being 1st in her age division, hopefully we can win some stuff again this year!

Funny Little Story

We had our small group last night, and whenever we have been gone lately we tie Maya and Mountie on our front porch. It has about 6 steps coming up to the porch that is covered and leads to our front door. Well last night when we got back we noticed a package that was kind of tossed half way up the stairs. And at first we thought that maybe the dogs had knocked it off or something. But upon further inspection we found 2 dog treats that were thrown as well. One reached the front door of the house where the dogs could not reach it. And the other one was tossed on the stairs about 3 stairs up from where the package was. So with my deductive reasoning skills I think that the UPS man came up the stairs, saw our 2 dogs, and tried to be nice so he could put the package by the door. Well, Mountie has a tendency to growl under his breath, so I'm guessing the UPS man went back to his truck got the dog treats and tried tossing them to the dogs so they would get out of the way, and by the looks of it this didn't work either. So he hucked the other treat up there and dropped the package and left. I thought it was pretty funny, and can totally picture all of this happening. Anyway, it made me laugh.

Mountie just ate a carrot. I think that is the first dog i have ever seen do that. It was pretty hilarious!

Downtown listening to free bluegrass concert as we speak. Definitely enjoying wyoming!

Date Night

Last night Audrey and I had a date night and decided to drive the Scenic Back way from Kemmerer to Cokeville. It's at least 45-50 miles on dirt roads through national forest north of Kemmerer. We took our off-roading vehicle (1996 Grand Marquis) and headed out. The roads for the most part were decent, but we were about 5 miles from Cokeville when there was a sign on the side of the road that said road closed. At this point we had driven about 2 hours because of the slow going, and we stopped along the way at a place called "Big Spring" which is a fresh water spring that comes flowing out of the side of a mountain. So turning back was our last choice, and we thought maybe the sign was old. Well it turns out that it wasn't old and we came upon this huge hole in the middle of the road. Off to the left side it was probably 4 or 5 feet deep and on the right side people had gone around, but there were HUGE dips where they had off-roaded. Definetely not a place for a Grand Marquis to go! We decided to try and go for it, and Audrey got out and guided me in the best possible place, and we only bottomed out once and almost got stuck... but we made it through! Then we were going to eat supper at the ONLY restaurant in Cokeville, and when we got there we found out that it had closed for good! So we got a few things at the Flying J Rest Stop and headed home to watch a movie that we rented. It was a total adventure and lots of fun, especially since we made it through the closed road and didn't have to turn around and go all the way back to Kemmerer on the dirt roads!

Got My Elk License!!!!

I got my first elk hunting license yesterday!!!!
Now all I have to do is shoot one!

Backpacking Trip

Audrey and I had a great time in the Wind River Mountains last weekend. We left early Friday morning about 6:00 a.m. and made it up to the trail head, and left there about 9:30 a.m. We hiked in 6 miles to a lake called Dad's Lake. This is a pretty popular lake on this section of trail because of the great view and it is the closest "Big" lake. We took Mountie and Maya with us and they did pretty well on the trip in, the trip out was a different story, but I'll get to that later. We set up our tent, made a fire ring, got fire wood, made sure the dogs had everything they needed, got lunch, and settled into our place.
We fished for a while, Audrey caught three and I didn't catch anything. So we decided to try and hike to another lake that neither one of us had ever been to before about a mile away. We started down the trail and the mosquitos were horrendous! They were really bad all day but it seemed like they just got worse. So we turned around and went back to get some supper and hang out by the fire where they were a little bit less.
We had a good hot supper, then relaxed by the fire until it was dark. I think Audrey slept better than I did, but I got some good sleep in the morning hours after 5 a.m.
We hung out in the morning. I tried fishing again and caught one, woo hoo... We had oatmeal for breakfast, broke down camp and headed out.
This is when the dogs became retarded. They decided that they wanted to pull like crazy the entire time back... and there were lots of horses and llamas on the trail that we had to go around. It wasn't the funnest hike out that I've ever had. The car never looked so good.
All in all the good completely outweighed the bad, and we are going again with a few other people the 2nd weekend in August!

Going Backpacking!

Tomorrow Audrey and I get to go backpacking. This is the first time that I have had the opportunity to go twice in a summer! Before we always had to take at least a weeks vacation to come to Wyoming to go backpacking, now I can do it in a weekend! I love it!

I'll put up some updates when we return!

"Worship In The Wilderness" Pictures

Updates

This past Monday and Tuesday I got to go backpacking in the Wind River Mountains with my dog Mountie. It was a kind of Spiritual Retreat/ Getaway that I have been wanting to do for a while now. Going by myself was a good experience, and the only horrible parts were some strong wind, millions of mosquitos, and freaking myself out at night when I was trying to go to sleep.

The good things were that I got to go into the mountains, fish, hike, sleep, eat, spend time with God, talk to myself, laugh at the stupid things Mountie did, and be refreshed!

This weekend we are "Worshipping In The Wilderness" as a Church. The entire congregation is invited to come about 45 minutes north of Kemmerer into the National Forest and campout Saturday night, and then we are going to have Church up there on Sunday morning with a cookout afterwards. Should be a total blast!

Diamond X Triathlon

After the race, showing off our muscles and team number

Just finished running. We got 3rd place overall!


Coming up the hill on the final stretch. We were in 6th place when I started.

Kevin coming in on his bike, he was the first guy with a mountain bike to finish.

Audrey was the first woman out of the water and 4th overall.

The Diamond X Triathlon was this past Saturday. We did a team with Audrey swimming, Kevin biking, and me running. It was a blast! Audrey rented a wetsuit from a scuba place in Rock Springs because the water was going to be so cold. The race took place on a Guest Ranch south of Evanston, WY and she had to swim in a resevoir! We finished 3rd overall, and 2nd in the team division. The first place winners were part of the family that put it on so we got the main prize: a two night stay at the guest ranch for free! We all had a lot of fun, and went out to eat with Heather, Kevin, Andrew, Caleb, Matthias, Micah, and Noah after the race. We want to do another one!