SLC Half Marathon

Joe and Lori ran the Salt Lake City Half Marathon this morning – what a glorious day for a run!!!. The temperature at the starting line was a little brisk but it was perfect to wake us up and get us going. The race was delightful and we finished at about 70 degrees.

The course begins with a stiff uphill for the first 4 miles and we ran it very strong. The next 9 miles are pretty much downhill and take a toll on the quads. We ran the race together and our final time was 2 hours and 11 minutes.

Back to School…Where Did the Time Go?

After a whirlwind summer, we realized that it was time for school to begin. We don’t recall a shorter summer…it seems that is was just a few weeks ago that we were discussing what we were going to do to keep everyone busy during the summer. Wow!!!

As quickly as summer ended, the school year kicked into high gear at much the same speed. Here is a little summary of each of the kids and what they are up to.



Charlie is in the 3rd grade at Dilworth Elementary and is anxious and excited in the morning to go to school. He loves his teacher and has many good friends in his class. In typical fashion, he attacks every day with tons of energy. In fact, he literally falls into bed at the end of the day, but not before he milks every bit of fun out of the day. He is doing really well in his studies. In particular, he has become a great reader.

Tim is in the 6th grade – also at Dilworth. His teachers are gems and a real tribute to our school and to their profession. All the 6th graders at Dilworth have an extra assignment to help the school run smoothly. None of us were surprised when Tim reported that he was on the Technical Crew and that it was his responsibility to setup the technology for assemblies and such. He is also loving his football this year and the team seems to be shaping up very nicely.



Maddie is a sophomore at Highland High School and is also doing extremely well in her academics. Even though school has just started, the soccer season started several weeks ago. Maddie has been selected as a Capitan on her team and is showing a lot of leadership. The team has a record of 1 win, 2 losses, and 2 ties, but they are really improving with each game and we expect a good season.



Jaime is in her second year at the U of U and continues to work on her degree in Piano Performance. She has increased the amount of practice she is doing and as such the competition for time on the piano has increased. She is also teaching piano lessons and has a full schedule of students. In addition to all that, she is the Historian for her LDSSA Sorority – Beta. Between all that and her part time job, and a little time for fun, she is a busy girl.

Jessica is also at the U of U but with any luck she will finish here degree in Communication Technology at the end of this academic year. She is excited about accomplishing this goal but also a little anxious about the prospect of beginning her career. She is serving as the President of her LDSSA Sorority – Upsilon. She has attacked this position with all of her energy. She has also just started a job at Carden School teaching computer skills.

We are looking forward to another busy and exciting year!!!

A Splash at Cherry Hill

Cherry Hill, in Fruit Heights, was the sight of the first ever family reunion for Lori’s immediate family. We missed Carl & Karli and Mike & Shawna and their families, but the rest of us had a great time at the overstuffed campground. Among the sea of tents and campers, we were able to carve our little slice of real estate that served as our home for a few days.

We had such a great time swimming in the pools and sliding down the water slides. The water felt so good during the hot afternoons. In addition to the water attractions, we had a great time on the climbing wall, batting cages, and ball pits. Although friendly in nature, a serious competition began to brew around the mini-golf course. John and Barb even coaxed Glenn and DeNeise to hit the links and try their hand at mini-golf. With a little more practice, some of us should be ready for the pro tour.




As is usually the case, the food was wonderful and of course plentiful. We were treated to dutch oven meals, foil dinners, and a wonderful lumberjack breakfast, complete with sausage, eggs, and pancakes – not to mention the loads, and loads of treats that we had to enjoy.

Of course the best thing about these reunions is spending time with each other and catching up on the things going on in our lives. It is especially rewarding to watch the kids as they interact with each other. They have so much fun and rarely are there disagreements. While none of us parents are getting any older, we did find ourselves waxing a little nostalgic and recalling the days of babes in arms and toddlers scurrying here and there. Those days don’t seem so far in the past.

What a great time we had!!! We love our Balli aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents!!!

A Wild Hike into the Uintas

What do you get when you take a group of 12-16 year old boys, 40 pound backpacks, and a 13 mile trail? You get a long. long day. This past week, Joe and a group of other scout leaders took the scouts from our neighborhood on a backpacking trip into the Red Castle Mountain in the High Uintas. It was absolutely stunning!!!

Take a look at the photos by clicking below:

Red Castle