March Adventures

 Women's Runs:

It's been nice starting to have a little more daylight on the women's runs. We kicked off March with our annual taco run. We run along the greenbelt, and stop at Jaliscos on our way by and pick up lots of pre ordered tacos. We run the tacos back to Tap n Fill and have a yummy dinner together. It's definitely one of the favorite runs of the year, and best attended.

We run for tacos!

So pretty!

Tacos are in hand!

So fun!

You can see why this run is always so well attended!

The next Monday was windy as heck! I met Steph at her work and we tried to run a few miles on the greenbelt before we drove to the women's run. It was pure nuts! The wind was insane! We were literally running in place and people in the cars were cheering for us. 😂

The women's run along the canal path was a little more sheltered, but as you can see, still not great. We're a dedicated group of ladies, that's for sure!

Crazy wind!

The next run was butter making! We ran down the Sunnyside canal with the cream in our packs. It got shaken up on the run, and turned into butter. There was a reel about doing it, so we gave it a try. It totally worked! Ania brought bread, and at the end of our run we got to enjoy our efforts.

Getting ready to make butter!

It turned out so good!

Yummy!

The next Monday night was on Trail Hollow. I went early and ran 5 miles by myself, and then met up with the ladies for another five. Trail Hollow always has the best sunsets.

Hello Tetons!

We were a smaller group on this night, and sometimes that's great because you can get to know the ladies a little better.

We ended with a gorgeous sunset.

Our final Monday night run in March was circuit training put together by Nora. I met Steph early, and we did some miles around Freeman, and then I finished up with some fun circuit training with the ladies.

Spring circuits!

Cider Bend Farm Run Preview:

I ran around our country block and farm to map out the exact course for our Cider Bend Farm Run.

Little cuties!

Antelope Canyon 55K:

Ashlee, her husband Mat, Joyce, Mark, and I drove to Page, Arizona to run the Antelope Canyon 55K. It was one of the coolest races we've ever done. So many amazing slot canyons to run through, and cliffs to climb up and down.We loved it!

I made a reel, but it wouldn't let me download it with the sound. That takes all the fun away, but enjoy my silent summary of the race.

The morning after the race, we took a detour on our way home so Joyce could see Horseshoe Bend.

Ski Hill Road:

Joyce and I did steady state hills up ski hill road. This ones always a favorite of mine. Even with some snow, I felt like I did really good.

Cougar Hill Loop:

I met Cris early one morning to do the Cougar Hill Loop. We saw a moose across the river as the sun was coming up.

Cougar Hill Loop #2:

We did the Cougar Hill Loop again with a group this time. It was crazy windy, but except for the top stretch, we were pretty protected from it. Along the top, I was pretty sure I was going to get lifted right off the ground though!

The Butte:

A group of us ladies did a run at the Butte. A hadn't run there in a while, so it was a fun one for me!

Jennifer-Tricia-Joyce-Ashlee-Ashley-Becky
Jodi was there too, just not in the picture.

Cider Bend Farm 50K:

We hosted our first Cider Bend Farm Run on a Saturday in March. It was so much fun! People could come anytime throughout the day to run a 4.4 mile loop around our country block and around the perimeter of our farm. We had 47 runners on the course, completed a total of 116 loops, and 516 combined miles! It was amazing! We had whole families out running together, and the teens and kids showed up big! Our youngest runner was 3 years old! Four runners (Me, Jenn, Steph, and Mat) completed 7 laps for a full 50K distance, and earned ourselves a dozen Cider Bend farm fresh eggs. Three people (Mason, Steve, and James) completed a full marathon. The animals loved having friends over all day. This may have to be an annual event. My legs are tired and my bucket is full!

Clayton, Lindsay, and Cooper came up from Utah to run!

The Heart Loop:

I finished off the month with the Heart Loop.

Ashlee-Tricia-Casey-Ashley

The trees are starting to get their leaves!

I'm so glad the mountain trails are starting to melt off and dry out. I can't wait for sumer!

The Cannons Visit

 Mason, Bailey, Nora, and Charlie came for a quick visit so that Mason could run a marathon at our first annual Cider Bend Farm Run. It was a crazy, busy weekend, because I was running a 50k on Saturday, followed by an hour and a half Barnyard Bookclub. I didn't get to spend as much time with the girls as I wanted to, but it was fun having Nora cheer for me on every lap of my 50k. On my second of seven laps, she was yelling to me asking if we could collect the chicken eggs. 😂 Nora also got to attend my Barnyard Bookclub, and she did really good! I wish she could be here for all of them!

Floof is the best cat! He loves people so much, including kids, and is such a good sport. He was really interested in Charlie this time, and loved all over her. She thought he was pretty fun too! He's so sweet and patient with little people.

Nora got to help Pops make sourdough bread. She helped him once before, and remembered a lot of it.

Making bread!

😍😍😍

Charlie is the happiest baby! Her and Pops really hit it off this trip.

I love when these guys come to visit. I wish I would have gotten pictures of Nora helping me do all the farm chores. Her favorite job is collecting the eggs. She also likes to throw the scratch to the chickens. 

Happy Birthday Amanda!

 Happy birthday to our very own NooNoo! We celebrated her at Fujis for dinner, and then back at their house for the yummiest chocolate raspberry cake. We got her a fake tree and some shelves so she could start decorating her home office.

Aevelyn's Blessing

 Noah and Jonnae had Aevelyn's blessing the same weekend that family was visiting for the Cider Bend Farm run. It worked out perfectly for everyone to see each other, and for all the babies to meet. Clayton and Lindsay were here with Cooper, and Bailey and Mason were here with the girls. It's so fun watching the family grow.

Noah gave Aevelyn a beautiful blessing!

We tried to get a picture of all the second cousins at the luncheon, and it was a total circus! 😂

This picture makes me want to do another big Varvel family reunion. It would be so dang fun now that the family is growing so much!

St. Patrick's Day

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with our usual corned beef and cabbage meal, and Amanda's amazing mint cookies. I love this meal, and I look forward to the one time a year we eat it.

 

These are seriously so dang good!

Cooking Through The States: Oklahoma

Our March state was Oklahoma. It was all comfort food. We had chicken fried steak, corn bread, fried okra, salad, watermelon juice, and pecan pie. There were mixed reviews on the chicken fried steak, but everything else was a big success!  Kim and Russ were here visiting, so it was fun having them here for one of our state dinners.

Oklahoma comfort food!

Watermelon juice!

This was Amanda's first time making a pecan pie, and it was really yummy!