We have been looking forward to last week since January. Kelly, Jerry, and their kids made plans last winter to come and spend time in Vernal during the Dino Tri. We were so happy they were coming to Utah! Chuck and Carol decided to come along too. They arrived Thursday afternoon and we had an awesome evening catching up. Unfortunately, Jerry had hurt his back so he knew he wouldn't be able to do the triathlon. I was also nervous about me being able to compete because our area was under red flag warning conditions due to dry lightning, hot temperatures, and gusty winds. Horrible weather for a fire. I was asked Wednesday if I could plan on being on an engine in the case of fire over the weekend. Of course, I said yes. I was put with Blaine and Bertagnolli (who also had Dino Tri plans), and so I knew we would try our hardest to be able to make it to the race. I was on pins and needles all day Friday. The family all went and visited the museum, the kids played, and Stac, Jake, Jerry, and Kelly hit up Red Fleet with the paddle boards. At 2:30 I left work to go get my little triathlete ready for her big race! She was so excited, and I kept boasting it up!! We got to the Rec Center and she got all checked in, fixed her bike up, and started stretching. SO CUTE! Elly and Jaylie showed up, and it was go time. Brilee and Jaylie got to start the race together. I wanted Jaylie to be there with Brilee for moral support, and I also wanted to prove to Jaylie she was more than ready to swim without a life jacket. They both did so well in the swim. I knew the bike would be hard for Brilee. She is still using training wheels. Jake rode the course with her. I got nervous and called him after a while. He said she was having a hard time, but still trying to have fun. He said she had wrecked because she doesn't watch where she was going. It was 100 degrees outside, and I started getting nervous she would get too hot. Luckily, Jake was prepared. He had water for her. I was so relieved when I saw them coming, and sooooo happy when I saw she was still smiling. We told her to hop off her bike and start running. I had her cut most of the run off, but she didn't know or care. She crossed the line and was given a medal. She has not stopped talking about how she took first place. I love her! Elly and Jaylie both did really well. I was so proud of all of them. After Bri's race we took her home, and my Dad, Stac, and I went to packet pick-up for the Dino Tri. We got our packets, got all marked up, and headed home. I parked my car and put my awesome Dino Tri sticker on it. I went inside and my phone rang. Caller ID said "Bert". My heart dropped. I confirmed this wasn't a joke and we really had a fire. Hopped in my fire clothes, kissed my babies bye, and headed to the Book Cliffs. We got to our fire around 7, and had it out pretty fast. We could see another column of smoke so we went looking for it. Blaine got out to hike to a ridge top, and he found a completely different fire. I got to IC it, and I was super excited about that. I named it the TriB fire. (Tri-B... Bert/Birchell/Blaine and we didn't get to do our tri. Creative!) Dathan and Bassett were still looking for the other column, we got our fire out, and met up with everyone. Decided where we would camp, ate some Mountain House, and made our beds. I slept right in the middle of the campground. As we were getting ready for bed everyone was laughing at how sad it looked that I was all marked up for my triathlon. We woke up around 5 to NASTY NATS all over us. I knew then the bugs would be bad ALL DAY, and they were. We drove to the ridge Bassett thought the fire was on and started hiking. After hiking for awhile we decided we needed a better guess on where the fire was. We went back to the trucks, ate MRE's, and made a new plan. Blaine had put together a good theory on where the fire was so we headed in his direction. We took GPS coordinates close to where we thought it would be, and then called fire center asking them to give us all the lightning strike coordinates that were close to us. We had the GPS lead us to each strike, and hiked for a long time. IT WAS HOT, and I figured probably as hard as the tri would have been. We could occasionally smell the fire, but it was such dense fuels that we never found it. It started raining and lightning so we had to hike back out. Scott said we better head to Vernal due to the fact we had gotten two fires on the North end of our district. I was THRILLED to head back! We stopped at Pelican Lake on our way in for a decent meal. I really love fighting fire, but I'm glad I don't have to do it all the time. I was sad I missed the tri, but next year I'm going to hope to be there. I got home just after the kids had fallen asleep so I just watched them sleep for awhile. Then I fell asleep and slept for like 10 hours. Totally awesome. Bronson and I headed to the grocery store, then Jake and I mowed the lawn, and waited for everyone to come to our house. We let the kids play and ride Goldie. We cooked lunch and then went to the cabin. We went to Ice Cave Peak and Paradise Lake and just spent time with one another. It was a perfect Sunday. We left the cabin late yesterday evening with dirty and exhausted children. They were bathed and in bed by 8. Today was just a normal quiet day. It was so hot though. Jake decided at lunch we needed to jump in the lake. He arranged the afternoon with Stac, and so after work we went to Steinaker with the paddle boards. It was so fun. The kids loved swimming and playing in the water. Jake and I love the paddle boards. We got home and Granny had the pool set up at her house. Brilee and Bronson both hopped right in. Again, they got home tired and dirty. They both will sleep good tonight!!!
Loved that smile!
