7 April 2024
VOLUME 12 – NUMBER 550
Braden running the Spartan Super
Over the last few months I've been training for a Spartan Super. This is a 10k race with 25 obstacles that a group of guys in my ward signed up for to run together. The event was this Saturday and it was a blast!
The race had us climbing over all kinds of walls, nets, monkey bars, mud hills, and carrying sandbags, buckets of rocks, huge stones etc. For anyone who's heard of this and is thinking about running one, I definitely recommend!
Lake Norman ward group at Spartan Super
April Fools! This year for April Fools’ Day, I was going to be up to my usual shenanigans, but then opportunity arose for something larger, and more sinister.
Turns out that Isaac was enjoying his precious time sleeping in after we had all been up for a while, so Caleb and I took it upon ourselves to do a diabolical prank. It involved a smoke machine, a fire alarm, and a panicked family (imagine an evil chuckle right there).
It was kind of hard getting everything ready without Isaac waking up, but eventually everything was in position. First I set off the smoke machine, and let it flow into Isaac's room.
Then after a second of letting the smoke sit for a second, I ran over to the fire alarm and set it off. We let that go for a few seconds, and then Caleb rang the bell rapidly, and started yelling at everyone to get out of the house.
Finally, I burst through Isaac's door and got him out of bed. The look on his face was priceless. Do I feel bad about it? No, not at all—heh, heh, heh.
Isaac was a little frustrated with us, so to make things better, Caleb and I took him to Panda Express, as a peace offering!
Panda Express after April Fools prank
This week was April Fools’. Caleb and Monte both pranked me into thinking that the house was on fire, and it worked. I remember hearing the fire alarm, but I didn't think much of it, and I just thought it was a drill, and then when Monte came into my room to wake me up, I still thought it was just Mom or Dad setting it off on purpose.
Then when I started to see the smoke, I started to realize that it actually might be a real fire. That's when I got straight out of bed and booked it down the stairs, and outside. Then when no one was moving or running either, I started to question whether or not it was real or not, and then it clicked and I felt so stupid.
It was pretty funny though, and I got Panda Express out of it, so I guess it was all worth it in the end.
Owen
On March 29, Caleb finished his sixth and final chemo treatment, and now that he’s had a week to recover, it’s exciting to think that he might be getting closer to being finished. He will need to do a couple weeks of radiation, but that should be much easier than chemo. Then he’ll wait three months and get a scan to make sure everything looks good.
After that he’ll still need checkups every six months or so, but Caleb is looking forward to hopefully getting back to a more normal life soon!
Caleb is truly my hero. He handles challenge and adversity with grace and poise and with a solid confidence in his Savior Jesus Christ. He is such an example to me.
Mom, Caleb, and Misha watching TV
On another note, it has taken several months, but Arkin finally finished the MyPack intro video. I think it turned out really well. The only way I would like it more is if I didn’t have to be in it!
With the video finished, Arkin can now make the changes to his sales materials and website. We are following some of the advice that Endia gave us after she researched some of our competitors. We hope that with this redesign of all our stuff, we will see an increase in business!
If you want to check out the video, you can find it here: MyPack Dog Training Intro Video.
Completed MyPack video
The rock wall was getting fixed. I was so excited to learn a lot in general conference! I learned a lot in general conference!
This week Caleb also took me and Troy geocaching. He used an app and we followed a map to find little treasures other people hid.
Caleb, Troy, and Quinn geocaching
So one day we let Mable out on the big side of the yard, but little did we know that our neighbor’s dog Cookie was also outside.
When we looked in the back yard, we noticed that Mable had destroyed part of the rock wall, which was already crumbling a little. Multiple big rocks fell, and it was a big mess to clean up. Then Dad hired someone to come patch it up.
Then on April Fools’, Monte and Caleb wanted to play a trick on Isaac because he was asleep. They got the fog machine out of the attic and placed it by the linen closet.
Next, our job was to run out and act like the house was on fire. They got him pretty good! Then they got Isaac Panda Express.
Gloria watching general conference
This week I have been going on runs. I try to run a mile a day. Next week I want to run two miles each time. I have been getting better at not stoping frequently, but when I have a dog and they get tired, I have to push them until we are close.
General conference this time was more enjoyable. I loved how it was youth centered and about temple attendance. This time I was paying more attention to what they have for us to hear. I'm grateful that we have general authorities here on earth that have God’s words.
Kai watching general conference
Tesla has been offering a beta version of their full self-driving software for several years, but it costs $12,000 for a one-time purchase, or $200 a month, so as interested as I am, I’ve never considered it before—too pricey.
I was pleasantly surprised this week when my children announced to me that there was a new message on the screen of our Tesla, announcing a free trial month of the first official full release of their full self-driving program.
Dad holding Sophia
We had a lot of fun on the first couple of drives. We would plug in a destination, and with very few mistakes, the car would drive us there. It was amazing to see all of the things the software had to take into account to safely get us from one place to another.
It was crazy for me to actually have the car drive me to work—from West Jordan all the way to Provo, and I didn’t have to help once!
The one “evil” thing that Tesla did after all this was to announce that full self driving will only be $100 a month from now on. So they get me addicted to the drug, and then they lower the price so it’s even easier to get?! That’s a sneaky trick!
Tessie driving itself home from work