A Visit to Raymond

Well, it was the end of June, so where else would we be, but Raymond?  We got there just in time for me to run the 10k.  I think this is my fifth year in a row running it (?) and I'm happy to report that I ran my personal best although I did fall short of my goal by 30 seconds.  Next year, I will run it in less than 60 minutes, I was so close!

Here I am, making sure my iPod is all set (sadly the new running app I'd downloaded the day before didn't end up working, but at least I still had music to listen to)

After the national anthem, the runners all let off balloons, and then we were all set to go.

Here I am, running over the crest of Temple Hill, the halfway point of the race.  I'm thinking "I can NOT believe I'm only halfway..."

Here I am at about the 7k mark, thinking "why do I do this to myself every year???"

And here I am at the finish line (1:00:27), thinking "I think I'm going to die.  I'm so glad I finished!"

As hard as the actual race is, the feeling of finishing a race is amazing and that's what keeps me going back every year.

Later that day, we took the kids to Waterton to climb Bears Hump together.  Jess and I climbed Bears Hump on a date before we were engaged and I always think it's fun to take our kids there all these years later.  It's been a few years since we climbed Bears Hump - Maira was a little baby and Connor was a toddler and got carried by his Grandpa most of the way.

This time, all four kids walked most of the way. Hudson was so psyched to climb a real mountain that he climbed most of the way up all by himself.

Here we are starting at the beginning of the trail.

Most of the trail is made up of very steep steps like these:

Hudson did an amazing job for a 3-year old climbing these steps (and the other kids did great too!)

They're so excited because we're almost at the top!

And, we finally made it, and we get to enjoy the beautiful view.

The climb down was a little less exciting for Hudson and he got tired pretty quickly.  I'd say he got carried about 30% of the way down.

Our reward at the bottom was a delicious (and messy) ice cream cone in town.

Shae and Jess went and did some bouldering near Cameron Falls before we headed home.

What not to wear when bouldering (jeans and flip flops):