When I was 15, I could hardly wait to turn 16.  I was excited to drive and date.  Our youngest son turned 16 this last week and I think he was equally excited. At his birthday dinner, we talked about some great things about Talmage: 1.  He loves trying new things--like riding a unicycle, doing magic tricks, juggling, etc. I wish I had a picture of him on his unicycle but I'm not sure where they are... 2.  He's adventurous--like doing the Dirty Dash and shaving his head and going on pioneer trek. 3.  He's diligent about practicing the piano. 4.  He's a popular uncle. 5.  He has a nice smile. After many years of orthodontia... 6.  He was a really cute little boy. This is from one summer day when I couldn't find him anywhere until we finally looked in the front closet where he had curled up to take a nap. 7.  He likes to learn and does well in school. On the first day of 9th grade right before his brother left on his mission.

Last Saturday our family participated in "The Dirty Dash".  We had never done anything like this so we really didn't know what to expect. We drove up to Soldier Hollow where it took place.  On the way, the traffic was a little heavy because the Utah Valley Marathon was taking place so one half of the road was blocked off.  There were a lot of really tired and hot-looking people walking and running down the road as we drove past. After our 4 participants got their race packets with their T-shirts, they went to the starting line for their starting time of 10:40--when you sign up, you pick the time you start.  We could see a lot of the race course from the observation point which was on a ridge above the start and finish lines.  There were a lot more obstacles than we had realized there would be.  The whole race was a 5K and there were maybe 15 or more obstacles scattered throughout. Obviously, the main point was to get really dirty.  Immediately after starting t