Genealogy

Today Brian and I went to the family history class during Sunday School.  I thought going to the class would inspire me to work on the line Dad sent me and also help me get involved other family history things, like checking the duplicate names on New Family Search.  Our first assignment is to find a gap in our pedigree chart to work on.  I already have the line Dad wants me to work on, so I got on New Family Search to look around at some of my family history.  I found that I am  a descendant of Charlemagne, Mary Queen of Scots, Old King Cole, Tiberius the Emperor of Rome, Joseph of Arimathea, and from that point on, I got to this pretty easily:

(click on it to read it)

I have concluded the following from my dabbling in family history:

1. I am a princess.

2. Brian and I are related (quite distantly--he found a line going back to Julius Ceaser).

3. There was a lot of intermarrying in my family tree.

4.  Genealogy gets pretty confusing when you click on the parents of someone, and you end up going in a circle.

I'm sure I will learn a lot more as I go through the class.  Probably the next lesson will be along the lines of "Don't trust everything that is put on New Family Search."

Ragnar

A month or two ago Janet ran the Ragnar in Arizona.  I thought she was crazy.  Now, she invited us to put a family team together to run the Ragnar Relay Great River.  I must be crazy.  I decided to do it.  Not only is it a good chance to visit home, but since Joseph and Tracy are planning on coming, it will be a good time to get together, plus as Shannon pointed out, we will get to see their new baby, and maybe be there for her blessing.  Anyway, who doesn't want to run a 200 mile relay through Minnesota and Wisconsin?  A team consists of 12 runners, each running 3 legs of varying lengths and difficulties.  I thought I would help us out by deciding who should run each leg.

Here are the confirmed runners:

Dad-he called the easiest leg, and (probably to Ben's chagrin) he will get it
Joseph
Ben
Sarah
Janet

I am guessing that Preston will run, and maybe Emily.  I don't know about Joanna and Ben J., but I'll include them in the analysis in case they join in.

Volunteers:
Tracy- confirmed
Brian- I'm volunteering him

Here are the legs:

And if you are wondering why some shorter ones are moderate or hard, here is the accompanying course overview, including elevation:

You can get a description and map of each leg on Ragnar's website.

Here is the runner breakdown:

Runner 1- Sarah. I like this set because it starts hard and ends easy. Plus I would be in a van with Janet.     

Runner 2

Runner 3- Emily.  Actually, Emily could probably do a harder set if she wanted.

Runner 4

Runner 5- Janet.  This set is the most miles and the most difficult, perfect for Janet

Runner 6- Preston.  Along with runner 5's set, this one is one of the hardest.  I think Preston can do it

Runner 7- Joseph.  This set is moderately difficult.  Runners 7-12 are in van 2.  

Runner 8

Runner 9- Ben.  Second easiest set.

Runner 10- Joanna.  I ran a 10k with Joanna, so I know she can do it.

Runner 11- Ben J.  Joanna can hand off to him!

Runner 12- Dad.  This one is the easiest and shortest, although the last leg is almost 6 miles and uphill. 

Since they don't assign a starting time until later, I couldn't include time of day in the analysis, but I'm sure you would all be happy to be running in the middle of the night.  Ragnar provides training schedules for beginners and intermediates.  The training starts in April, so get running!

If you are reading this blog and would like to run with us, we still have spots open!

It's been awhile

I haven't blogged in awhile, and although I don't have a job, we've been keeping busy.  Remember this post? (It's one of my all-time favorite blog posts.)  Well, our rental contract is up soon, and we're in the market again to buy a house.  So here is episode two of House Hunters Utah County, short sale edition.

After deciding to rent after getting married, Brian and Sarah have been saving for a space all their own.  Now that their lease is almost up, they are looking for a home in the Provo-Springville-Orem area.  But will they be able to find something they both like and can afford?  Aiding them on their house hunt is their ever-so-patient real estate agent, Dale.
 

Their first option is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in Springville, UT.  The home was built in 2002, and is 1500 square feet.  It is a short sale listed at $129,900.  "The house has a great office area upstairs and lots of closet space, and the price is great," says Sarah, "but the yard is tiny."  "Yes," agrees Brian.  "We would need all that closet space because the downstairs is cramped.  But most of the short sale work is done, so it would take much less time to hear back from the bank.  And there is already a fence for when we get a dog!"




The second home is only two blocks away from the first, and very similar in price and size.  It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home built in 2010, short sale price listed at $129,900.  "Ooh, I like the stucco much more than those boards [Um, do you mean siding?] on the other houses," says Brian.  "And look, it's on a much bigger lot.  But we would have to put in the yard, and that could be pretty expensive."  "I like the layout of this house much better," comments Sarah.  "It feels much more open, and look at the size of that walk-in-closet!  But there isn't even a patio out back.  We would have a lot of work to do."   "Remember that this house already has an offer in with the bank.  But you could still put a back up offer in," Dale reminds the couple.


The third house is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath short sale home in Provo, UT.  It is the most expensive of the three at $150,000.  It is also the biggest at 1750 square feet.  "I really like the neighborhood, and the house has a lot of curb appeal,"  Sarah says as they walk up to the home.  "I've never seen anything quite like this," says Dale as they step inside.  "It looks like they went through and pulled out all the padding under the carpet, and then layed the carpet back down."  "That means we would have to replace all the carpet," adds Brian.  "And we would need to paint the upstairs.  But the house has a nice guest bedroom on the first floor, and four bedrooms would be nice."  "The layout of the house is really nice.  And the backyard has a beautiful view of the mountains, but how do you get out to the backyard?" Sarah asks.  "There is no sliding door."

Which one (if any) will they choose: the small move-in ready Springville home,  the new home that already has an offer in, or the Provo house in need of updates?  Or do we need to do a third episode of Wood family House Hunters?