Changes

Over the course of life, people change. Sometimes the changes are minute and sometimes the changes are drastic. However, nobody can argue that sometimes people change and they don't even realize it until after the fact.

Wyet and I are still so young. You wouldn't think we could have gone through that many changes yet. {If you know me well enough, that last sentence is quite comical.} The changes we have experienced in our family lives, our relationship and our personal interests seems to be never ending. Even though sometimes these alterations happen just as quickly as the day passes, others are intentional and take time. Wyet's most recent change was dynamic. It involved sacrifice, determination, and without a doubt, blood, sweat and tears.

Wyet was so active in his younger years. Not only in the way that most young kids are active but beyond that. In high school, he was a very skilled and very competitive member of the wrestling team. He gave that team his all. He went to practice twice a day and even worked out on his own in between class, practice and personal time. He had such dedication. It definitely paid off when he became the regional champion {two years in a row} and took 2nd overall in the state competition. He was on fire. He was fit, active and he felt great.

Then life happened. He graduated, he went through some hard times, he moved away from home- and the working out thing just faded away. {Hasn't this happened to us all?} He went on living life and didn't spend a whole lot of time worrying about the physical aspect of his life. Until one day earlier this year, he decided he wanted to make some changes.

It was in early February that Wyet started talking about working out. It came out of nowhere and for no reason other than he just wanted to start feeling better. I agreed with him that it would probably be a good thing for us both to do, and I assumed that's where the conversation would end. I was so wrong. Within the next  four weeks, Wyet had quit smoking {with more ease than I knew possible}, had given up soda and had drastically changed his eating habits. We began eating protein and produce by the plate-fulls. Then, he began to run. Before I knew it, he was lifting weights and getting together with his aunt and uncle a few times a week for a cardio class. It was bizarre. Who was this guy?

As the months have passed and this change has stayed constant I can tell you exactly who this guy is. He is happy. He is motivated, and he feels good. The changes in his appearance became very noticeable that first month. His face slimmed down, his waist slimmed down and his legs and shoulders beefed up. Better than that, his attitude change became noticeable after a few days. He had a goal, and he was making progress. He was thrilled to be doing something so positive and meaningful.

In order to keep up with his goal, he wanted something to work towards. That is when he signed up for the Spartan Beast. The Spartan Beast race is anything but an ordinary half marathon. It's a half marathon for bad asses. It includes 26 obstacles scattered throughout a 13 mile run. And it is brutal. For four months, Wyet trained. He trained hard. He had no idea what to expect from this strenous race, but his only goal was to finish.

On June 29, we made our way up to Soldier Summit, Utah for the big event. The place was swarming with people. There were people pinning their numbers to their shorts getting ready to begin and others already covered in mud and crossing the finish line. Wyet was nervous, but he was ready. He took off at 10:45 a.m. and finished on the button at 2:00 p.m. He beat his anticipated finish time by an entire hour. He beat himself, and I've never seen him so proud.

Arriving at the big event!

Wyet and his Aunt Keti were able to train and compete together

Getting ready to take off!

Wyet and his Uncle Kyler

And they're off!

Just a small percentage of the competitors. This race brought in nearly 5000 participants.

One of the obstacels was swimming through 4 massive mud ponds

Wyet making it past his last obstacle

Crawling down a rocky hill with a barbed wire cover before being able to cross the finish line

The cheerleaders {and Whit}

Re-hydrating just after crossing the finish line{Wyet finished in the top 13%}

Wyet telling the tale!

Wyet with his super proud and supportive mama

I am so proud of this guy. I was lucky enough to witness the behind the scenes months leading up to this successful day!