New Blogspot

So I couldn't figure out how to move this blog to my new email address so I'm starting a new blog. You can find it at:

http://ammonmandy.blogspot.com/

100 Mile Club

May 28, 2010
This is a post from our wellness blog: http://100mileclubtalbot.blogspot.com/

I finished my first 100 miles!! We got off to a good start but slowed down for awhile. Ammon and I were sick 2 times since we started which took it's toll on our running. Many of our middle miles were nice walks around Big League Dreams or at the Gilbert Riparian Reserve. I loved every minute of those walks, enjoying the beautiful valley summer, my new husband and sometimes Liz and my family. I ran a few times on my own at the gym and outside.

For the last two weeks Liz, Ammon and I have been running 2 miles in the evening. It's getting easier to run and next week we'll take it up to 3 miles. My last two miles were on my last day of work... My goal was to finish before school got out! Monday we start our next 100!

Here are our plans for the summer:

*75 miles RUNNING/WALKING by the time school starts in August

*100 miles BIKING by the end of the calendar year

*100 miles HIKING by the end of the calendar year

Liz
*2500 sit-ups this summer

Ammon
*2500 sit-ups this summer

*Ammon is going to catch 100 FISH... He caught 16 this weekend on Christmas Tree Lake

Mandy
*I'm also planning to incorporate WORK_OUT hours, 100 blocks of 15 min.

*100 laps SWIMMING by the time school starts





It's a GET-FIT-SUMMER! Tomorrow Ammon, Liz and I will add our first 6 hiking miles hiking Escudilla. We'll let you know how things go. Here is the link to our log sheet. Anyone is welcome to join us!

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Av83vhmjKgMNdGJEVEVqd3VDcTJWVU1tUW9DckxmVWc&hl=en

Adventures Around Mount Lemmon

May 2010



Ammon, Liz and I drove down to Tucson to check out a few spots we’ve heard are pretty great. As we drove into town we gave Tom a call to go with us to BK’s Carne Asada & Hot Dogs to try their famous Sonoran Hot Dog. Turns out it was right around the corner from his apartment.

BK’s was tasty, but we think Liz’s Sonoran dogs from our bar-b-que with Marth and Ben were better. It was fun hangin’ with Tom and catching up on all his happenings. Tom, we hope you can get out of there soon and good luck with the ladies!
Next stop, Mount Lemon. Tom gave us directions and we headed up the mountain. Mount Lemmon is known for having the major biomes fund between Mexico and Canada and you can drive through them all in about half an hour or so. It was pretty cool to watch the terrain change from arid desert, to brush, and to high desert.
As we neared the top the ski lift caught our eye. We bought a ticket and before I knew it we were about 30 feet off the ground in a little metal chair on our way up the mountain. At the top the guy told us we could hike around so we did a little exploring. We went by the outside of Stewart observatory on the top of the mountain, chatted with the guy on the watchtower and then headed back. Wouldn’t you know they shut down the ski life in the meantime. I was a little disappointed as I had been looking forward to the ride back, but running down the green grass on the ski slopes quickly cured my angst. You can see the lift at http://www.skithelemmon.com/page2.html
Who’d have guessed what we saw halfway down Gobbler’s Way… Two turkey hens! After we followed and watched them awhile, Ammon ran up the hill to get a closer look. When Liz and I heard a gobble we knew Ammon was into something better than hens and we set out up the hill. We followed him from about 20 yards for about 20 minutes watching him strut. Ammon “gobbled” and got him to gobble back several times. Who knew my husband speaks TURKEY!



On the way home we stopped at the Cookie Cabin for a nice little snack, then headed to one of the top 20 Legendary places to eat in the country, El Charro Cafe to taste their famous cuisine. Mhh. http://www.elcharrocafe.com/
What a great day!

Gila Valley Temple Dedication

May 23, 2010

Today Ammon and I attended the dedication of the Gila Valley Temple broadcasted in our stake center. We learned that Ammon’s Great-Grandpa, John W. Taylor, had prophesied that there would be a temple in the Gila Valley.
I felt a strong desire to attend the temple more, to immerse myself in the Book of Mormon and the words of the prophets, and to be clean. I also thought of Grandma Bernice as I imagined making our house like the temple.
While I was on my mission, Elder Jensen of the seventy came. He said when he was called to be a General Authority, the man interviewing him asked if his testimony burned within him as it did on his mission. I have thought of that phrase several times since then and wondered if my testimony is burning as it has in the moments it burned brightest in my life. Today it does.
I am so grateful for the truths of the gospel! Dad always said enthusiasm means God within us. What a beautiful time to be alive, with so much to be enthusiastic about.
As I held tight to Ammon’s hand, I was so grateful for the temple and the sealing power so that I can be with him and with our future children forever.
I am grateful for living prophets like President Monson and President Eyring to inspired, lead, warn, and remind us of the things the Lord. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to pray and to talk with my Heavenly Father and to feel Him near. He listens, He cares, and He knows me.
I am grateful for my family and my new family, a job I love, a place to live, a healthy body, the opportunity to learn and grow continually, and mostly the opportunity to change and improve thanks to the atonement of our dear Savior.

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/gilavalley/gallery/images/gila-valley-mormon-temple1.jpg