STAYING FIT IS SO MUCH FUN Featured writer Mary Fran Jeppesen

I have sure been feeling a little OLD lately.  Yeah, I am 36 years OLD, and feeling every minute of it.  I wonder sometimes what it will be like when I turn 60?  What about 70?  Will I be feeling my age then?  I LOVE the smile on Mary Fran.  She is a true example of what life could be like approaching 70.  Young, vibrant attitude.  We can learn a lot from this amazing woman. 

 Mary Fran is on the left.  She fits right in with the young, fit crowd. 

Staying Fit is so Much Fun - Featured writer Mary Fran Jeppesen

It’s the Grandma again and staying fit makes it so much more fun to be a Grandma.  I really love being a grandma to 25 grandkids.  Since the weather has made biking or running or anything else we do outside very difficult this spring,  I am going back  to one of the funnest bike rides I have ever had.  It was with four little boys on a very rainy day in early Sept. of 2008  

I had promised four of my little grandsons I would take them for a bike ride  down the old rail road track at  Bear Gulch.  It had been a summer tradition and we were all looking forward to it.  The day we planned to ride turned out to be rainy with some thunder showers.   By the afternoon it had cleared a little and we decided to brave it anyway.  It was the funnest day ever!!   There was a good old fashioned thunder storm with a good old fashioned cloud burst.  Buckets full of rain!!!

Grandpa dropped us off about 6 or 7 miles up from Warm River to begin our ride.    I had taken them all rain ponchos to wear in case it rained.  And rain it did.  The rest of this article is being taken from my journal.

Whenever I remember today I’ll smile because I will remember four little boys on their bikes with their rain coats flying behind them like superman capes.  Mud flying behind them and up their backs.  They were laughing and not missing one puddle they could ride through.

 They had muddy pants, muddy shoes, and muddy faces.

I’ll remember the sound of the thunder, the feel of the rain, the smell of wet sage brush and the old rail road tunnel where we waited out the rain.

I’ll remember the four Captain Under Pants  (because they had removed their  pants )in the back seat of the pickup eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate.

I’ll remember when they were young and thought Grandma was fun.

I really hope they had a much fun as I did!

Another high light from my summer last year was climbing Table Mountain with three of my daughters, two of my son-in-laws and one granddaughter who was 18 months old.  We took turns carrying Kymry in a back pack.  I took my turn and kept up with the youngsters.  Since I had already climbed Table Mountain twice that year I stayed just at the bottom with the baby while the other went to the top.

It was a beautiful day.  It’s so much fun to share that kind of experience with my kids and grandkids.  That’s why I keep going.  I hope I can continue to have experience like that for a long time.

Mary Fran Jeppesen