It's my blog and I'll lie if I want to

2010-08-07T23:56:00.007-06:00

On Pioneer Day I ran the Deseret News Marathon. Except for the two weeks right before the race, I trained pretty hard in preparation for it (dang school work seems to get in the way of all the important life events). Despite all my training I only cut about two and a half minutes off my previous time and finished in 5 hours 5 minutes, and 46.3 seconds. I was a little bit disappointed at first, but then I started thinking about the fact that in about 3 months time I changed my running form and my running shoes in a radical way. In April I wore conventional running shoes, but on Pioneer Day I wore my Vibram FiveFingers shoes. As you can see from the pictures, I wore the same red shirt and silky shorts. Seeing the picture with a higher resolution I can better understand why people are always making fun of my silky shorts. Even though they feel great, they don't leave much to the imagination.

Go Team Shorty Shorts!

2010-04-28T14:32:00.006-06:00

On Wednesday, April 14th I was reading the Salt Lake Tribune wherin I saw a map of the Salt Lake City Marathon. A gentle thought came into my head and said "I should run in the marathon". Well...it grew like a tumor until it became irresistible. Thursday after my classes I went and signed up, not for the 5k or the Half Marathon or the bike marathon (25 pansy miles) but for the full 26.2 miles.

I hadn't been training for a marathon, but I have been running about 3-5 miles twice a week for a few months, so I figured that even though I wouldn't be well prepared, at least I wouldn't be totally unprepared. Besides, if there's anything that I learned in the Marines, it is that running is all in the mind. I'm not going to let a little pain in my feet or legs or back keep me from being awesome!

I woke up early Saturday morning, put on some anti-chafing stick and my Marine Corps Silkies and ran the marathon. I finished in 5 hours 7 minutes and 55 seconds. I was sore for a few days, but it was worth it. I remember vividly telling myself many times between miles 18 and 25 that "I'm never going to do this again!", but I am...and I'm going to shave off at least 30 minutes, I mean...5 hours? I can totally beat that.

Nice Tomatoes!

2010-03-20T18:08:00.006-06:00

My roommate Darron and I have been planting a garden for the last few years and once again, it's time to start the garden. We've always been pleased with our tomatoes because they are the best. Last year we decided that we were going to get a really early start on growing our tomatoes and then we decided to see if we could grow some tomatoes in our living room over the winter. Here is a picture of our living room tomatoes (there are 8 plants).

So far, it hasn't produced very many tomatoes. Three red tomatoes fell off the vine a little bit early (Darron ate one and he said that it was "ok") Considering the cost of running a light (to supplement the light from the window), these are some expensive tomatoes. There are some more tomatoes on the vine and when it warms up outside we're going to transplant the vines outside in the garden, so hopefully it won't have been a total waste. We're looking forward to a delicious gardening season this year!

I'm a University Student!

2010-03-20T16:24:00.007-06:00

Back in January, I started classes at the University of Utah. I'm majoring in Behavioral Science and Health. I plan on graduating next spring, but I'll have to take a few summer classes if I don't want to have to take 18 credits at once. I am super excited to be at the University! I enjoy going to classes more now that I've finished at the Community College. After years of going to school off and on and sometimes without success, it's nice to finally feel like I'm making some progress.

The Old Tee-Pee

2009-11-19T16:15:00.005-07:00

I found this old picture and I thought a few of you might get a kick out of it. When I was a kid, we had this play Tee-Pee and we loved that thing. It was ripped and I think one of the poles was broken, but it was always fun to play with. In this picture is (l to r) Jeremy, John David Curry (I think?), Carrie, and Me (check out those awesome blue shorts I was wearing). This picture was taken at "The Yellow House" in Aberdeen. As a bonus you can even see the headlight of the old Chevette that our family had growing up. We had this car when my youngest sister Lillia was born and for a short time we fit our whole family in the car (Three kids in the back seat, each with another kid on a lap and Mom (with a car seat on her lap) and Dad in the front seat. Some have likened going to church in the chevette as sort of a clown car routine.

The Lowder Family...minus two

2009-09-15T15:17:00.004-06:00

For Labor Day weekend I went to Aberdeen to spend some time with Grandma & Grandpa and I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Aunt Peggy and Uncle Ronnie's house for Ronnie's birthday. In this picture is Chelsey, Ronnie, Peggy, and Celest (Cindrie and Chantae weren't born yet). I'm not sure exactly how long ago this photo was taken, but it has to be somewhere between two and three decades. That sure was a long time ago.

For Cammie

2009-09-03T09:25:00.002-06:00

My cousin Cammie just moved to Texas to go to school and so this one is for her. We miss you Cammie and hope you are doing well. These pictures were taken when Lillia was being blessed so this is around September of 1987 in Aberdeen Idaho. The first one is of Cammie and the second one is of Cammie and Kimberly.

Happy Birthday Lillia!

2009-08-20T10:27:00.000-06:00

Today is Lillia's birthday so today's pictures are from Lillia's baby blessing. In the second picture is Dad, Mom, Grandma & Grandpa Nash, Jeremy, and Lillia. This was taken in our old house in Aberdeen, Idaho.

Girly Photos

2009-08-18T01:59:00.000-06:00

Recently my sister and my cousin were talking about blogs and they agreed that when I posted some old family photos that I scanned from Dad's album, I neglected the girls in the family. I would argue that the best photos were of the boys, but I love my sisters and so I'm going to post some girl photos (don't worry Katherine I won't post any of the pictures where you're wearing nothing but a laundry basket). The first one I'm posting here is of... the girls, Mom, Grandma Pierce, Katherine, Laura, Lillia, Sharon, and Carrie. The picture was a little bit wrinkled, but I think it was pretty awesome; especially the matching dresses and Aunt Sharon's hair.

The Scenic Route

2009-07-22T14:46:00.000-06:00

For the last week I've been on vacation in Loveland, Colorado with my friend Abe and his family. We spent a lot of time on the lake and had a great time. Yesterday I left in the morning to go home. I left early so that I'd have enough time to go the scenic route (I'm tired of going through Wyoming...no offense to any Wyomingites, but I-80 Is a snoozer in WY) and end up in Salt Lake in time for work. I intended to take I-70 through Colorado and I goofed. I took a right when I should have taken a left and ended up going through Rocky Mountain National Park. Rocky Mountain National Park is beautiful, but I didn't want to have to pay $20 just to get through at a tourist's pace, but I figured that it would be faster than going another route. The sights were amazing and I enjoyed it, but I missed work (luckily the guys at work were able to cover my shift). Sometimes I feel like the scenic route is like a metaphor for my life. Eventually I get where I want to go, but it costs more money and takes more time. I sometimes hope for the days when I'm able to achieve my goals in a more direct and efficient way. I've had plenty of distractions. It's time for the main attraction.

Summer Travels

2009-06-14T18:54:00.000-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa said they were planing to drive to Oregon for my cousin Melanie's high school graduation and I decided to go along. I had a great time. I have the most awesome family! The day before Melanie's graduation Haden and Cynthia showed their lambs at the county fair. I was impressed. I hope to go visit again soon.

2009-02-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

For Christmas my sister Katie and I went to visit our family in Mesa, AZ and on our way back home on the 29th I decided to take a scenic detour/shortcut on Cottonwood Canyon Road, which is a dirt road that goes to Cannonville and eventually connects with Highway 89. At first we didn't have any problems on the snowy road, but after more than an hour we got stuck. To make a long story short, we ended up spending the night in the freezing cold (luckily we had warm clothes and blankets) and the next morning after a prayer I started walking and found a couple who helped us get turned around and then up a steep hill. This first picture is on the steep hill. By the way, my car is awesome in the snow and if I would have had two pairs of chains I would have been nearly unstoppable (or in deeper trouble). I'm really grateful for our rescuers Alex and Kathleen (I think that was her name but I can't remember for sure) and for the guy from California who just happened to come by after we got my car up the hill who supplied chains for Alex's truck so that they could get it up the hill. After we made it up the hill we were able to make it to 89 without any problems. When we finally got to the main road I didn't want to clean off my car because it looked so awesome covered in snow and mud, but the wheels were off balance with all the mud and slush in them. Almost exactly 24 hours after we turned off the highway we were turning back on the highway and on our way home. W

2008-11-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, here is a lovely picture of mom on the day that Darlene, her friend from work was baptized. Darlene and her kids Freddy and Paula were our good friends and we loved to go to the beach, or, as Darlene insisted on calling it, the lagoon (real beaches are in California).

2008-10-11T13:19:00.000-06:00

It's time for more pictures. First we have Jacob and the next one is Karl. They are playing on swings. It looks to me like it's at the sportsmans park in Aberdeen (we always called it the boat dock) By the way, those shorts that Jake is wearing were hand-me-downs from Jeremy and I. Those are some groovy looking shorts.

2008-10-06T22:05:00.000-06:00

Here we have a few pictures of Jeremy. Because he was the firstborn he has the most pictures.

Family Photos

2008-10-05T21:47:00.000-06:00

It has been requested that I make the photos of a certain album of Dad's available for others to see. I finally got up off my tush and scanned some of them today. I may perhaps scan some photos periodically and post them here for everyone to see. I hope you enjoy. First is Uncle Blake holding my older brother Jeremy. Next is Jeremy looking so darn adorable and playing with his dolly. I was a little bit impatient when I scanned the next few of Mom and Jeremy when JJ was learning to walk.
They look sooo happy!
Next is Grandma Pierce looking surprised. After that is Jeremy being held by Uncle Ted. Everybody sure loved to hold Jeremy. The last one is of Grandma Nash and my mom.

2008-09-18T20:05:00.000-06:00

A bunch of people have been telling me that I should update my blog, well here it is. A few weeks ago my ward had a campout and there was a lake with canoes and a zip line. It was a lot of fun. There, I did a new post. I'll make a new post next time I wear tights and someone takes a picture. In your comments you can thank me for wearing shorts over my tights.

Mt Timpanogos

2008-07-21T00:52:00.000-06:00

This weekend I hiked up Mt Timpanogos. We left late at night on Friday so that we could get to the top in time to see the sunrise. It was awesome. The hike down in the morning was gorgeous.

Toe Shoes

2008-07-09T00:49:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I bought these new shoes called Vibram Five Fingers Shoes. Every day that I've worn them since they arrived people that I meet (even complete strangers) make comments or ask questions about them. They're pretty cool. I really like them. They take a little bit of time to get used to, but they're comfortable. I especially like to walk across grass in them. I even took them on a hike and they did pretty well when it came to climbing rocks. I will have to warn you though, these shoes aren't for sissies...unless you never leave the grass. It takes a while for your feet to get tougher...like mine are. Also if you wear something larger than a 14 in mens than you might not be able to get them in your size. I ordered the largest size available. Oh, and they were 80 bucks. To some people that's a lot to pay for shoes that might turn out to be a novelty. I love them and wear them almost every day all day.

Howdy All

2008-06-08T01:18:00.000-06:00

Gosh, now I have a blog. I'm not sure what to put on it because I don't have any photos of kids to put up or exiting new things like a new boat or house. Maybe I'll think of something later.