Headed to Portland...

I am headed to Portland...to see some very important people and to do some mini-shoots! I will only be there for a little over 24 hours, so sessions will go by fast. Let me know if you want a spot!

Family times...

A few weeks ago - all of my brothers came to town. That is kind of a big deal. We usually are only ALL together once - MAYBE twice - a year. We did so many things. Hiking...biking...swimming...BBQ's...and of course...TENNIS. I only took my camera on the hike. Which was dumb - cause that was probably the most difficult thing to haul my 40lb camerabag around doing. Anyways...here are the photos. We are missing Jason - he didn't fly in until later this night. A few things about this lake...it is about 2.5 miles round trip. It is a pretty steep and rocky climb. The kids did surprisingly well...I made them all carry a little backpack with their own water. Haley just went on shoulders a few times.



WE MADE IT! What do you do at the top of a hike except throw rocks in the lake and take a group picture?








We had a super fun weekend...this year we get to have everyone back for Christmas...can't wait!

KidsK

Two days after my triathlon, my friend decided she would do a KidsK. The kids basically ran around this park 3 times - which equaled just a little over a mile. After the run, the kids then did a relay. 3 kids to a team, each running once around the park, then exchanging a bandana...I really wanted my kids to do something like this - especially since they had just seen me finish my triathlon. Before we left we talked about how some things are hard - but that you should never give up. They didn't get up, and finished the race. The shocking part was that Haley ran a mile in 15 min. 32 seconds. She beat many a 9 year old! She had her sandals on and just kept running. I was so proud of her. The other kids her age stopped running after the first lap. It was a HUGE success. I want to orchestrate a bike/run race for the kids. Maybe in the spring. Parents helped out, brought fruit and popcicles. Thanks to Heidi for organizing this...here are some photos from the event...poor kids, it was literally 97 degrees at 7:30 pm when they raced...even more reason to be proud!On your marks...get set...GO!
I loved this photo...they were stretching before the race!

Everytime they would finish a lap, a parent would put a sticker on their bib number. That way we could keep track of how many times each kid had gone around.

Look at that girl...I am so proud of her! I still am so amazed at what she has accomplished. I will have to start taking her running with me!

Nice red face....
The handoff! Kyle's relay team got first place, and Jake and Kristin's team got second.

Until next year...

Kristin...

Meet Kristin...

so many things I can say about her...for one, she's a fashion diva...literally. She is VERY concerned with everything she wears, and for the most part, she's usually right...her clothes always match and look good together. I saw this outfit for her, and HAD to get it...she LOVES wearing it to school, and after her first time wearing it to school, came home and told me that everyone told her how cute she looked, and that some people told her she looked like Hannah Montana...Apparently that's a huge thing...Kristin is in a chinese immersion class. She speaks Chinese half the day. She has gone to school for 3 weeks, and has been off track for 3 weeks and is headed back to school on Tuesday. The girl would rather be speaking chinese than english. She is CONSTANTLY spouting things off in Chinese, and totally teaching Haley. Haley knows more chinese than I do. It helped that my brother David taught her a few things when he was home a few weeks ago. I absolutely LOVE the chinese immersion program, and would recommend it to anyone! I am excited for Haley to start it in first grade as well. We may have to start saving up for a trip to China when the girls are in high school.

A lady recently stated in the Deseret News in the Editorial section this: Are any other parents concerned about the "dual immersion" language program in elementary schools? Students can choose among Chinese, Spanish and French, or they may opt out. Apparently former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. thought it was a good idea because he knows Chinese.
Did he learn it in elementary school? Where are all the teachers who know these three languages well enough to teach them coming from? And how much precious time is taken up with it?
I think it would be enough to teach good English and reading skills. There are Hispanic students in many classes, and English for them and Spanish for the rest of the class would be good, but why Chinese or French? Laura Banks Salt Lake City

My dad came over flaming mad about a response he would like to provide, but he didn't want to do it online, he wanted it printed...I just had to laugh at the ignorance of this lady and her small-mindedness. The balls she had to have to even submit that, is amazing. This was my favorite comment I found on the reply board online (link above): Are you kidding me? No foreign languages? Maybe we should adopt a new state mascot: the hillbilly. My second favorite comment is this: What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks 2 languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks 1 language. American.

I am so proud of Kristin. She is so smart, and doing amazingly well. I am so excited she's in this program, I wish my boys would have had the opportunity as well!

My family....

The Korth Family from Heidi Adams on Vimeo.

We had our family pictures taken by Erin Fonnesbeck (who is one of my best friends) and this video was done by Heidi Adams (who I LOVE to work with - from weddings, to families, to seniors...) This video makes me happy. Oh...if you want on my Christmas Card list (Yes, I'm still one who actually MAILS one...leave me a comment)

BYU Datenight

A few years ago, Cherice and I went to BYU Football Women's Clinic. Well, they didn't do it last year, and this year BYU announced they were doing a DATE NIGHT this year...basically the same kind of thing...dinner (very nice and catered), Q&A with coaches and team, and drills on the field. The pricetag was pretty steep ($150) and we debated going. We figure we have spent the same amount on Broadway shows - and while BYU DATENIGHT is not a broadway show - it was something that Troy would enjoy just as much. They had this AWESOME musician playing bluesy music when we got there...I wish I knew who he was...I took his photo...if anyone knows....PLEASE comment... Anyways, we toured the lockerroom. It was Troy's first time in there, and it was pretty cool. A few members of the team sang and danced for us...it was VERY entertaining!
We had a good time out on the field...even in the pouring rain!
It was a great night...it got cut short from lightning hitting the poles in the stadium, but it was still worth every dime!

Youth Conference

Back in June, Troy and I had the opportunity to take the 14-18 year olds in our Church to Youth Conference. We stayed local, and visited historical sites in SLC. It was wonderful. We did a scavenger hunt around temple square, had John Bytheway speak to us, visited the SLC Cemetary and had someone show us around gravesites of pioneers who had suffered, perservered, and had incredible stories. We camped at This is the Place State Park at Brigham Youngs home for 3 nights, did a Pioneer Amazing Race, played gator ball, had a concert by Octapella, and hiked Ensign Peak. It was an amazing few days. I am so grateful I get to spend time with the Youth. We have about 100 young men and women ages 12 and up that live in our small little neighborhood. Only 14 and up go to Youth Conference, and I think there were about 50-60 there. Here they are..
Here we are at the top of Ensign Peak...it was a gorgeous view...