More Ty Pics!

Here are some more pics! I couldn't resist showing off our cute kid some more.

Tyson and Brianna and Tyson. They make us proud of the name we chose for him.

Uncle Brandon

Uncle Chris

Just before he's about to doze off

Papa with Cousin Conor

He loves his mommy.

Tyson!!

Ok, time for some baby pictures. I havent updated much on this blog, but I still want to post some pics of our new baby! Tyson John Skouson was born on July 12th and 7:01 am. He weighed 9 lbs and 1.3 ounces and was 22 inches long. We love him so much! He is the cutest baby.

Here is baby Ty with Nana Cluff

Here he is with Nana Skouson

We were so excited to leave the hospital after being there for almost 3 days. It was nice to get home and be with our little guy there.

We just want to make sure he grows up right, so we have plenty of outfits such as this one for him :)

Finally, we resume our blog

So Cortney and I havent done anything with this blog since we were engaged, but we are going to start updating it a little more often. This past year has been amazing and we are coming up on our one year anniversary in a month and a half. Pretty crazy. School and work have pretty much taken up most of our lives, but we have fit in some fun trips and stuff in between here and there. Here are some pictures:

This was on our first date. We went to the zoo and got to ride on a camel.

This was in Cabo San Lucas when we were on our honeymoon. We went on a cruise!

At the beach in Cabo


This is when we were riding back to our ship in the background.

This is me on a banana

This is Cortney on a banana, she looks much better.

We went to Las Vegas to visit my older sister, Nicci, and her family. Here is a picture of where we stayed, the Bellagio. Just kidding.

Cortney and I with Nicci and Austin in Vegas.

Me and Cortney in Vegas

This is a picture of the ocean in San Diego when we visited my parents there.

We went to the San Diego temple, but it was closed so we couldn't go in. But it is beautiful from from the outside.

Our first halloween together as a married couple. We carved the best pumpkin I have ever seen. GO DEVILS

This set of pictures wouldnt be complete without this one.

Here we are in our halloween costumes. I think Cortney needed CPR later.

Engagement Pictures

So I haven't updated this for a long time now and a lot of things have happened. But the most important thing that happened was that I got engaged to the most wonderful person ever, Cortney Cluff.

Here are some pics.

Duhhhhh

Life is amazing, just like sneegs.

I've noticed now being home for about 10 months from my mission, that it is hard to stay focused all the time. It seems that as time goes by, there are times when I begin to forget the most important things in life and begin to let pride take over. It is harder than being on a mission because on a mission, your main focus is always serving others, while when you get back, you begin to do a lot more things for yourself. I have found that I need to read through my missionary letters, journals, and experiences every so often so that I can remember what is important. I did that this past Sunday, and was reminded of the wonderful feeling of being a missionary. I remembered how little some people had, yet how much they gave to the Lord. I was talking with my mom about this, but sometimes in life, I get carried away into thinking that my grade on my next test is the most important thing ever, or doing better at something than someone else becomes my motive; but really, my motive should be that i need to do well on the test in order to get into graduate school to support a family; or I need to do well at something, while helping others do the best they can do. I love my mission experience and how it helps smack me in the face when I need it.

Since then, I have had an amazing week.

I got a new job this week as a success coach at the learning resource center at ASU. I'm pretty excited about it. I will be able to work a reasonably amount of hours a week around my schedule and it is on campus, so I won't have to drive anywhere.

I've also started training again. I decided that I want to run a marathon. There us one in February that I would like to do, but if that isn't enough time, then I will probably do St. George in October. I'm really excited, because I have never done one before.

My dating life has never been better. Cortney and I have been able to spend a lot of time together. We have been dating for about 2 months now. I have been able to meet her family a lot more and she has been able to somewhat meet mine, even though they are on the other side of the world, because of skype. I am always so happy when I'm with her. She is a fun girl to be around and puts up with my weird sounds and faces. It is definitely worth getting beat in nertz and egyptian rat screw every once in a while to be in a relationship with her.

My family is doing great right now. They are the best. Trials have come of course, but it seems that everyone is taking Elder Wirthlin's advice and just laughing about it and putting their trust in the Lord. I must of been a bad person to be put with such an amazing family to keep me in line. I feel so blessed.

So that is life, geevs and sneevs.

oh yeah, and colin, my good friend got home from his mission this past week and we have had the chance to smack the bags with skadges.

Life is hard, but life is simple

A lot of things have changed.

Last week I had a strong confirmation that I should quit running Cross Country. After thinking and praying hard about it, I talked to my coach and have officially quit. I didn't necessarily want to. I loved running and running in college was a wonderful experience; however, I guess sometimes the answer you get isn't always the one you want. But I know that there is a reason for it. The hardest part for sure has been seeing my teammates on campus. I have a hard time explaining why I quit, because I never really wanted to. But change happens, and life has still been great. I will still be able to run on my own, but it is going to be weird being in school and not being on a cross country or track team.

I thought that after quitting I would have more free time, but since I have quit, school has gotten a lot harder and I have spent a lot of time studying. My one physics class is very time consuming. I don't how I will do physics and organic chemistry next year, but I need to focus on finishing this semester first anyway. I'm still trying to decide what I want to do in the future, but I am still leaning towards medical school. I'll admit though, school isnt the only thing I have spent a lot of my extra time on. I've been able to be with Cortney more and have loved it; however, this week we probably won't get to see each other much...

General Conference was amazing. There were some great talks. I still havent seen the last session on Sunday, but will when I get a chance. I really liked Elder Lawrence Corbridge's talk. It was amazing. I loved the part when he said the Life is hard, but simple. Experiences and opposition in life make it hard, but it is simple, because we have one choice to make: to follow the Savior, or not. Great talk.

I'm trying to get better at the little things that I should be doing all the time like more effective scripture study, attending the temple, and even little things like service. I've found that when I start getting lazy with some of this stuff, life just isnt as enjoyable. I'm doing okay, but I could be doing better.

I'm trying really hard to find a job, but so far have not had any luck. I would like to work close to ASU, but its starting to get to the point that I'm caring less about the location. I'm sure I'll find something.

So that is what is going on. A lot of changes, but I feel good about it, and that is all that matters.

awwww, look how happy we are!

เครียด

Sometimes life is just overwhelming. My brain seems like its going to explode. Its hard trying to do everything including school, cross country, callings, and missionary work, and then stay caught up with social life.. There are so many little things I could be doing. I wish I could do all of them, but there is only so much time in one day. It is hard to determine which things are most important. Like Elder Oaks has said, there are good things, better things, and then the best things. What's hard is that when I finally think I should stop something because its just 'good,' I get a strong feeling that I shouldn't stop. Its times like these that I have to go back and read Alma 26.

4 weeks in

Life is great! Nicci and Keith and Austin came down to AZ yesterday and I got to see them over at Todd and Jacy's house. That was tons of fun. I wish I could see my parents and Tirb here too. I miss them a lot. Skype is awesome though.

School is going. Things are starting to pile up more than before. Everytime I want to go get a job, I get a ton of assignments that take over, so I stop wanting to get a job. I think so far though, I've been keeping up. Last week was crazy, and because I had some tests, I started falling behind a little on homework, but this week I should be able to get caught up where I'm supposed to be.

Cross Country has been fun. I had my first meet last week down in Tucson. The team did well, we won both mens and womens. Personally, I felt I could have done better, but I feel that I will be more prepared now for my next race. Its hard to get used to it again. It was a lot harder than I remembered, so I'm gonna have to step it up. I feel good about my next race though. Now that I remember what its like, I think I will be more mentally and strategically prepared.

It has been great hanging around Cortney. Last week we had really busy weeks, but we were still able to hang out every day. She is awesome. She helps me a lot when things get stressful. Things are going great.

Teaching with the missionaries has also been a huge blessing lately. I have been able to help translate for a lady from thailand this past week as she is learning with the missionaries. I love beginning my day with institute and finishing it teaching with the missionaries. It is such an awesome feeling. Lynn is an awesome lady. She reminds me a lot of being around the Thai members. The Thai people are amazing.

That's whats been going on. Life is awesome.

Spits and Swiffs

So finally, I am updating my blog.

School has started and so far everything is going as expected. I have a good schedule that keeps me busy. Classes have started off well. Physics is crazy, difficult, and intellectually fulfilling all at the same time. Most of my days include study sessions that last for hours with some friends in my class, where we try to imagine that we understand what is going on. It is fun.

Cross Country has been good. I've been doing workouts with the team finally. When I got back from my mission, I was just running base milage to get back into things, but now I am working out with the team nand participating in Tempo Runs and speed work. It has been fun trying to get my speed back to where I was. I am way excited for the Georgia vs ASU football game though. It will be an awesome matchup, but also, I get to go out on the field at half time because they are recognizing the track team for winning the national championship last season. That should be sweet.

There are other things going on in my life along with school and cross country though. I am lucky to have started dating an amazing person. It has been a blast. Despite our busy schedules, we find time to get together and do stuff fairly often. I'm so happy right now. The end.

One more week

I am really excited for today. Sundays are always nice. What I love about Sundays is that even though it might be one of the busiest days of the week, it is definately the most rewarding day of the week.

I feel that I have lost some of my focus the past couple days. Maybe its due to the fact that I already miss my family a lot. Its only been 2 days, but the fact that I wont see them for a while is what is hard. Also another factor contributing to my lack of focus is my attitude toward my upcoming schedule. Jet-lag doesnt help either. But today is Sunday and a great day to change my attitude and begin the week off right.

I've had the chance to talk with some Thai members this past week that I served with on my mission and I loved it. The members in Thailand are awesome. They are such an inspiration. Of course we all have different trials, but I cant imagine going through what some of them go through. I am really looking forward to going back in December and seeing my mission again. I can't wait!

So while I was gone to Japan, we got a new roommate. I never know what to expect with roommates. They just come and go. Its fun meeting with new people though.

The Cross Country season is right around the corner and I got our schedule.

CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE
September 6 - George Kyte Invitational - Flagstaff, AZ (There will only be a few guys from the team running in this race)
September 19 - Dave Murray Invitational - Tucson, AZ (4K)
September 27 - Roy Griak Invitational - Minneapolis, MN - (6K)
October 3 - ASU Invitational - Kiwanis Park, Tempe, AZ (5K)
October 18 - Pre Nats - Terre Haute, IN (6K)
November 1 - PAC 10s - Eugene, OR (6k)
November 15 - NCAA West Regionals - Stanford (6k)
November 24 - NCAA Championhips - Terre Haute, IN (6k)

Im still not postive whether I will be red-shirting or not this year, but chances are that I will. If I do, then I will only compete in a few of the races. I'll just have to see what happens. It will be good to finally get out and compete again and see where I am at. I am excited.

Back from Japan

So I got back to AZ today. It was a long flight, and the airline sent my bag on the wrong flight, but hopefully i get it sometime soon. We'll see...

I had such a fun time in Japan. My family is the greatest. It was so nice to be able to spend time with them 24/7 and just be together. I will miss them a lot, but I will get to see them again in December when I go back. It is nice to be back home too and to see friends one last time before they take off for school.

This next week is gonna be pretty crazy. It is pretty much jam packed with ASU Cross Country. On Monday, I have a compliance meeting with the rest of the team. Afterwards I am going to walk around the campus and find out where my classes are. Then on Tuesday, I go in to get all my ASU equipment and gear for the year. I'm actually really excited for that. It will be nice to have some new clothes to run in and wear around rather than use the ones from before my mission. After that, I will go and buy my books. Then on Wednesday, I take off with the team to Pine-Top for our team camp. We will stay there until sometime Saturday afternoon. It should be fun to get to know the guys more since I havent run with them much. I think its also pretty awesome that coach changed the dates so that we come back on Saturday instead of Sunday.

Then on Monday, school starts. And then I will pretty much be gone all the time.

JAPAN trip!

So I thought that I would finally update my blog so I could let my family/friends know how my trip to Japan with my parents and little sister has been. So far, if I had to choose one word to describe it, it would be AWESOME.

So I arrived last week on Monday evening. We were a little jet lagged, but it was cool seeing where my parents and Brittany lived. The next day took easy since we were all still a little jet lagged. My mom and sister biked over to a park near the house where I ran, and that has been where I have done most of my runs since I have been here. It's a really pretty park in the middle of Tokyo. One thing I have noticed about Tokyo is that it is ridiculously crowded, but then all of the sudden there are these large open garden areas around shrines or parks that make you feel like you are in the middle of no where. Its pretty cool.

Since then my trip has been jam packed with all kinds of fun stuff. We have done some shopping in the crowded areas of Tokyo and there are tons of people! Also, I had the chance to hike Mt Fuji with my dad. That was an awesome experience. It was probably one of the hardest hikes I have done because so much of it is uphill and its really rugged. It was cool at the top though to look over the top of the clouds. You don't get to do that very often. When we were near the top, it hailed on us a couple times, but luckily we had ponchos with us to help cover our heads. Right when we reached the bottom, a huge thunderstorm came in and was crashing lightning everywhere as we got into the car, so we made pretty good timing. The following Monday after Fuji, I went with my mom and little sister to this mini-city type place right outside of Tokyo. It was awesome. We got body and foot massages and then put our feet in this water while fishes ate the dead skin off of our feet. It was way nice especially after hiking Mt Fuji. We got to wear japanese robes too, so that was a definate plus. At nightime, we have spent our time playing card games such as nertz, Egyptian Rat Screw, and extreme nertz . Extreme nertz is amazing by the way. Brittany and I also spend some time playing Mario Kart on the Wii. Oh, and I guess I should mention that Brittany beat me twice in a row at Egyptian Rat Screw, ending my undefeated summer streak. She has quite the reflexes. Good job Tirb. I also had a chance to go to church on Sunday and meet a lot of the people in my family's ward. The church is cool because it is right next to the Tokyo Temple.

I am here until Friday. We still have some fun stuff planned for the rest of the week, so I will post pictures and talk about it in another post. I also have to say that I am impressed with my mom and sister and their ability to speak japanese. It's cool to see them ask directions and get around by using another language.

ps. also, just an update on my sister-in-laws status: we talked to them earlier today and found out that after 3 weeks in the hospital, Jacy has returned home! I guess they are monitoring her status now at her house and she has to take a shot every 5 days while there. Its awesome to know she is back home and still healthy. All the prayers and fasting paid off!

Runner's Den Experience

Yesterday at work I had an awesome experience. A lady came in to get some shoes that she could workout in. So I had her sit down and we began talking about what kind of workouts and things that she would be doing. While we were talking, somehow my mission was brought up. I thought she said mission, and I asked her about it, then she said she never said it, but then we started talking about it. It was weird how was it was brought up, but anyways, so I mentioned to her that I went on a mission to Thailand and talked about how I felt about it and all of the sudden the Spirit was there. She looked at me and said that she had been praying the whole night before to find the truth. She said that maybe her trip to the Runner's Den was her answer because the way she felt. Her children were baptized members of the church when they were young, but she was not. It had been a while since then, and none of them had been to church for a long time. She said she had met the missionaries before, but just didnt want to be baptized then. She then said that she was going to try again, and really pray about it. It was amazing. The Lord uses different methods to help His children, we just need to be ready anytime so that He can use us.

It is almost August, and that means....

College Football is just around the corner! Im so excited.

Update

So far things with Jacy are going well. She hasnt had the baby yet, which is good because the hospital is trying to keep her pregnant as long as they can. However, she started reacting to so much magnesium, so they took her off that now, so chances of her having Jack (her little boy) have increased a lot. It is kind of a waiting game right now. Prayers are working though and tomorrow our family is doing a special fast for her. Todd quit his internship and is here for good now. My dad has already gone back to Japan for work and Brittany and my mom are going to Canada tomorrow and going to Japan straight after. I will meet them there next week. My sister and bro in law are leaving too to work in Vegas.

August is pretty much shot for me. I go to Japan, then when I return on the 15th, the rest of my schedule is full with appointments, physicals, and complaince meetings for cross country, then on Aug 20th, I take off with the team to Pine Top for our team camp. It should be fun. We return on Saturday the 23rd, and then school starts including official practice on the following Monday, and once that happens, time will be gone. It has been fun spending time with my family, but that window is closing soon and it will be sad to say goodbye again. It's okay though, I'm looking forward to a great semester at school, then I will see them again in december and go to Thailand! Im so excited.

Prayers work

Jacy (my brother, Todd's wife) went into premature labor yesterday. She's only 29 weeks along at this point. She woke up and had some discharge, so called the doctor. She went in to the doctor's office, he checked her, and she was dilated to a 2. He sent her immediately to the hospital and at some point last night she was having contractions 3 minutes apart and was dilated to a 3. NOT GOOD. So they put her on the highest does of magnesium possible to slow things down, and everything I've heard about that stuff is that it's NASTY. Before putting her on it, the doctor said she was going to feel like she just ran 29 miles in 100 degree heat without any water and was hit by a truck afterwards. Today she agreed with the doctor. But it did slow down her contractions. She's having about 2 an hour, but she's still in labor so at this point she has to stay in the hospital until she has Jack and just try to keep that baby in as long as possible. Thankfully, they did an ultrasound to check on baby Jack and he's as healthy as ever. They estimate he weighs about 3 lbs. 4 oz. and we're just praying that if things turn for the worse he will be okay. We've heard of lots of babies surviving birth at 29 weeks and living normal lives, but there are also lots that don't. Todd flew in from CA (where he has been all summer doing an internship while Jacy stayed here to work and has been staying with her parents) and is here to stay at this point. Lots of things are up in the air for them right now with all of this, so please keep Jacy, Todd, and baby Jack in your prayers.

Thank you everyone. I know prayers work, and there is strength in numbers. I also have Faith that whatever happens, God is in control. I feel very comforted that Jacy has received a priesthood blessing and I trust in God at this point. Everything will be fine.

Gearing up for Tokyo

Time for another blog update.

This summer has been a blast. Next up is my trip to Tokyo in August to visit my family. It is gonna be sweet. I'm excited to go see their house and go to the sites and hike Fuji mountain!

This past week or so has been a good one. I've had the chance to serve a lot in the church, therefore I have been reading a lot about my mission experiences so that I could conitnue to draw from them. I could read through my journal/letters forever. I had so many great experiences in Thailand. The Thai people are amazing with all they sacrifice to stay strong in the church. We all have different trials, but I've never seen people sacrifice so much to be a member of the church. I love reading my letters and reflecting back on the attitude I had while I was there. I was the happiest I have ever been in my life. I miss those times and will always remember them. I cant wait to go back in December and visit the places and members I served.

It is great to be back though and to meet friends and family again and to meet new friends as well. It also feels great being back in shape. I am not all that excited about this upcoming school year though. I was looking at my schedule and got really depressed. I have practice every morning from 5-9 am, Mon-Fri. Then I have school till the afternoon each day. Then I will be working until 7pm. Then I will do my homework, and go to sleep probably around 11pm or midnight and wake up at 4:30 and do it all again. My Saturdays will consist of work, cross country meets, running, and homework. It will be crazy, but I guess its good that I stay busy.

Snins

Summer is flying by

Life is awesome. When I got home from Disneyland last week, I went to the airport and picked up my parents and little sister who flew in from Japan! It was has been a wonderful week spending time with them again. I have only seen them for like 2 weeks in the past 2 and half years, so it was fun to hang out and catch up. We went to snowflake last weekend to visit grandma and grandpa Skouson for the 4th of July. It was fun being up there and just relaxing. There was a 10k on Saturday morning that I did with my dad. The elevation was definately something Im not used to yet, but it was fun to run it. We also took my nephew, Austin, with us and had fun making faces and teaching him how to say weird words. Every time he sees me he says mmmm, which means phone, and then says bahbby, which means sparky because there is a picture of sparky on my phone. You just know a kid is gonna turn out great when he learns the name of ASU's mascot when he is 17 months old. What a stud. he loves to yell out Sparky's name whenver I wear an ASU shirt. Now I just have to teach him how to say "boo" whenever he sees a BYU or U of A logo and he will be set for life.

Work has been great. I love to work at the Runner's Den. I cant believe how much I have learned about running, shoes, and body mechanics. It has been fun to work with other runners and help people find the right shoes that will help them run fast without getting injured. Speaking of running, my milage is up to 55 miles a week and next week I will get to start working on speed for the first time since I have been home from my mission. Next week will be the first of my weekly fartlek runs where I will warm up 15 mins and then do 25 mins of 2 mins on race pace and 2 mins of 6:30 mile pace jog. I will also increase my weekly milage to 60 that week and then the following week I will add one more weekly workout: a tempo run of starting out at 6:10 mile pace and dropping 10 seconds each mile for 6 miles until I run 5:20 for the last mile. I am really excited and feel great. I feel great fit-wise and am excited to race at 100 percent. I havent done that for 3 years.

Church has been great. I havent been to my home ward for a while because of trips to Cali and snowflake, but I will be there this week. There are only a few more weeks left before the big change happens in the Tempe University Stake. I have been so blessed lately and am greatful for the health, family, and happiness that the Lord has given me lately.

Well, I just got home at 3 in the morning from Disneyland and it was a blast. I went with Ben and Jeff, two of my friends. Thanks to my older bro, we got in free, and had a place to stay sunday night, so all we had to pay for is gas...... and then i had to pay for tires too, since one popped, but it was a blast. It was fun to hang out with Todd and make weird noises and faces ( as you can see in the picture).

Running has been good. I will finally start doing some speed stuff this month for the first time since I returned from my mission. Im really excited. I feel that I am back in shape fit-wise, but my speed isnt there yet, so this month will be a good one to start working on speed. ASU is the best place to run. I love its program. I am excited to watch a lot of our athletes compete at the trials this upcoming week.

My parents and Tirb will get here Thursday. It is gonna be awesome. I am excited to go with them to Snowflake to see grandma and grandpa skouson. And I cant wait to go back with them to Japan in August. It is gonna be so fun.

Work is good. I love my job. What more could ask for than getting paid to talk to people about running and work with other runners. It has been awesome.

Things are going just grand, almost like the snivins in the snatches.