Happy Holidays! This year has surely been a year of change!
Ruth started out with
a goal to run at least one 5k (3.1 miles) race each month in 2015 after working
with a new Physical Therapist, the amazing Ashton Therapies, for shoulder/hip
injuries. With doc approval, (and nearly full range of motion!) I ran my first 5k of the year on Jan 31
st, 2015 to ring in the New Year – and have
completely
blown my original goal out of the water. I’ve run The Color Run, The Great
Inflatable Race, and The Mustache Dache, just to name a few. I have dressed up
as Darth Vader for the Star Wars Race, as Bellatrix Lestrange for the Harry
PotterRrun, Cat Woman for a Superheroes Race, and a Fire Fairy for the Midsummer
Night’s Run. I’ve been coated in colored dust, bubbles, and mud. My running
total has well exceeded even my *updated* goal of 100 miles raced (not just
training runs, but actual races; either virtual or not!) I came in as top 5 in my
division in many races this year, including 5
th OVERALL for Woman of
Steel, and was awarded my medal across the finish line by my amazing husband! I
also joined a group called “Moon Joggers”, ran a whole slew of races for
various charities, and even talked my friend Tyler into joining a few! My
family pitched in for an early birthday present and bought me a FitBit Surge
(with GPS tracking!) and I’ve accrued over 525 lifetime miles
(walking/running/daily activities) since May 21
st! HUZZAH! I’ve even completed some virtual races for
even longer distances such as half marathons, a 52-mile “Escape from the Shire”
Middle-Earth themed run, and most recently, the 88-mile Race to the Future!
(Over several days, obviously.) Yay for running and better health (and hips!)
James and I had an
additional goal of training for and completing the Spartan Super, an 8-10 mile
obstacle race held here in Utah. We trained for a year starting in June of
2014, and with his help (and many boosts over 6, 7 and 8-foot walls!) we
completed our first ever SPARTAN race on June 27
th, 2015! I believed
that was the hardest thing that I had ever done. Climbing through mud bogs, hurling
spears, hanging from ropes, scaling cargo nets, and hauling heavy atlas stones
were just a few of the obstacles we faced. In 102 degree heat. Over 8.8 miles
of rugged terrain. (This ain’t road racing here folks!) I was so lucky to
finish leaping through the fire hand-in-hand with my husband! WE ARE SPARTANS!
I thought that running the SPARTAN was the hardest thing I’d
ever done in my life… until four days later when James, his brother Russell,
and I backpacked up The Grand Teton in Wyoming! WHEW! Hard in a totally
different way! We camped on the saddle
under a full moon in the shadow of a
glacier, and I thought how amazing my life has been! The next day we attempted
to summit, but due to snow/ice and lack of technical gear for me, we had to
turn around at about 12,000 feet. Safety first! Still, it was an amazing and
literally life-long dream! I hope one day to reach the peak!
Also, in April of
this year, Ruth changed jobs and went to work as an Implementation Specialist
at
AdvancedMD, a medical billing software company. She works as a trainer and
coordinates with multiple other departments to facilitate the client’s success
in doing their medical billing. The company has been a great learning
experience, and while the job can be incredibly demanding, she LOVES her
co-workers (if not the commute to & from South Jordan twice daily!) And it
has great perks – like swag, paid vacation, benefits, and company-sponsored
movie premiers, which is always nice!) James continues to work at the family medical billing business and works hard at it.
And, after a 2-year
hiatus from the competition arena, Ruth stepped back into the Taekwondo ring
(for Sport Poomsae and Weapons) at the Wasatch Exhibition on Oct. 10
th.
After injuring my hip while training for black belt testing, I have been unable
to actively participate in Taekwondo, but it’s always been in my heart, and
training in forms is my zen. So I was able to compete again, and took a gold in
Sport Poomsae and a silver in weapons performing a sais form that my brother
Mark taught me. I also was immensely grateful that I was able to attend a Sport
Poomsae Seminar taught by the amazing Master Elva Adams, a world-renowned Sport
Poomsae Champion. (Yes, I’m STILL working on my sidekicks!)
And for fun, James
and I have been enjoying what Salt Lake City has to offer with a date at the
Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, saw “The Book of Mormon Musical” for our 6
th
Anniversary present (didn’t quite top last year’s “WICKED” in my mind…) and I
got him a Lamborghini to drive for his birthday through Gotham Dream Cars. (Too
bad he couldn’t keep it!) I also completed two 30-day drawing challenges for
August and September, took a fun impromptu trip to Arches National Park with
Tyler, and was able to visit my family in Montana to surprise my Mom for her
birthday last February, over Labor Day weekend in September, and for Christmas…
JUST IN TIME TO REVEAL THE SURPRISE!
We are expecting!
Just the day after setting my fastest 5k time for this year at a Geek’d
Out Events run, The Gamer Dash, I found out that we are expecting the next
Bartholomew! (No WONDER I felt so queasy sprinting to the finish! HAHA!) We are
so very excited to be welcoming this new adventure in our lives! We had a big scare
at the beginning, but thankfully the rest of the pregnancy has progressed
without much ado. We had a second ultrasound on 11/11/15, and were able to hear
the baby’s heartbeat at our last appointment on Dec 10
th! How
amazing! It’s a little too early to know gender yet, but we’re taking bets!
Birthday, time, weight, length, hair & eye color! Whoever gets the most
right wins! Place yer bets! So the horses are getting more turnout and less
riding, but they don’t mind! That’s all our news!
With all our love,
Ruth, James & baby!
Ruth started out with
a goal to run at least one 5k (3.1 miles) race each month in 2015 after working
with a new Physical Therapist, the amazing Ashton Therapies, for shoulder/hip
injuries. With doc approval, (and nearly full range of motion!) I ran my first 5k of the year on Jan 31st, 2015 to ring in the New Year – and have completely
blown my original goal out of the water. I’ve run The Color Run, The Great
Inflatable Race, and The Mustache Dache, just to name a few. I have dressed up
as Darth Vader for the Star Wars Race, as Bellatrix Lestrange for the Harry
PotterRrun, Cat Woman for a Superheroes Race, and a Fire Fairy for the Midsummer
Night’s Run. I’ve been coated in colored dust, bubbles, and mud. My running
total has well exceeded even my *updated* goal of 100 miles raced (not just
training runs, but actual races; either virtual or not!) I came in as top 5 in my
division in many races this year, including 5th OVERALL for Woman of
Steel, and was awarded my medal across the finish line by my amazing husband! I
also joined a group called “Moon Joggers”, ran a whole slew of races for
various charities, and even talked my friend Tyler into joining a few! My
family pitched in for an early birthday present and bought me a FitBit Surge
(with GPS tracking!) and I’ve accrued over 525 lifetime miles
(walking/running/daily activities) since May 21st! HUZZAH! I’ve even completed some virtual races for
even longer distances such as half marathons, a 52-mile “Escape from the Shire”
Middle-Earth themed run, and most recently, the 88-mile Race to the Future!
(Over several days, obviously.) Yay for running and better health (and hips!)
James and I had an
additional goal of training for and completing the Spartan Super, an 8-10 mile
obstacle race held here in Utah. We trained for a year starting in June of
2014, and with his help (and many boosts over 6, 7 and 8-foot walls!) we
completed our first ever SPARTAN race on June 27th, 2015! I believed
that was the hardest thing that I had ever done. Climbing through mud bogs, hurling
spears, hanging from ropes, scaling cargo nets, and hauling heavy atlas stones
were just a few of the obstacles we faced. In 102 degree heat. Over 8.8 miles
of rugged terrain. (This ain’t road racing here folks!) I was so lucky to
finish leaping through the fire hand-in-hand with my husband! WE ARE SPARTANS!
I thought that running the SPARTAN was the hardest thing I’d
ever done in my life… until four days later when James, his brother Russell,
and I backpacked up The Grand Teton in Wyoming! WHEW! Hard in a totally
different way! We camped on the saddle 
Also, in April of
this year, Ruth changed jobs and went to work as an Implementation Specialist
at 
And, after a 2-year
hiatus from the competition arena, Ruth stepped back into the Taekwondo ring
(for Sport Poomsae and Weapons) at the Wasatch Exhibition on Oct. 10th.
After injuring my hip while training for black belt testing, I have been unable
to actively participate in Taekwondo, but it’s always been in my heart, and
training in forms is my zen. So I was able to compete again, and took a gold in
Sport Poomsae and a silver in weapons performing a sais form that my brother
Mark taught me. I also was immensely grateful that I was able to attend a Sport
Poomsae Seminar taught by the amazing Master Elva Adams, a world-renowned Sport
Poomsae Champion. (Yes, I’m STILL working on my sidekicks!)
And for fun, James
and I have been enjoying what Salt Lake City has to offer with a date at the
Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, saw “The Book of Mormon Musical” for our 6th
Anniversary present (didn’t quite top last year’s “WICKED” in my mind…) and I
got him a Lamborghini to drive for his birthday through Gotham Dream Cars. (Too
bad he couldn’t keep it!) I also completed two 30-day drawing challenges for
August and September, took a fun impromptu trip to Arches National Park with
Tyler, and was able to visit my family in Montana to surprise my Mom for her
birthday last February, over Labor Day weekend in September, and for Christmas…
JUST IN TIME TO REVEAL THE SURPRISE!
We are expecting!
Just the day after setting my fastest 5k time for this year at a Geek’d
Out Events run, The Gamer Dash, I found out that we are expecting the next
Bartholomew! (No WONDER I felt so queasy sprinting to the finish! HAHA!) We are
so very excited to be welcoming this new adventure in our lives! We had a big scare
at the beginning, but thankfully the rest of the pregnancy has progressed
without much ado. We had a second ultrasound on 11/11/15, and were able to hear
the baby’s heartbeat at our last appointment on Dec 10th! How
amazing! It’s a little too early to know gender yet, but we’re taking bets!
Birthday, time, weight, length, hair & eye color! Whoever gets the most
right wins! Place yer bets! So the horses are getting more turnout and less
riding, but they don’t mind! That’s all our news! 
Remember! Keep the secret from Facebook for just a FEW more days! Sorry about the formatting. I cannot get it to line up and the more I tinker the WORSE it gets....
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