So…this is Nate. Now, I know I rarely [if ever, I think] post on this blog, but I’m making a special guest appearance to post about Luisa’s SECOND and my first triathlon. She’s amazing! I do have to apologize in advance, however, because this won’t be quite as witty and clever as Luisa’s posts are….
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I remember being a little girl and being slightly opposed to my mom buying beer for the strawberries in our garden. [Apparently it scares away slugs or something]. Since then, I have always been intrigued to know the secrets of botany, specifically pertaining to a family garden. Nate and I are renting the house we…
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Luisa, I am so proud of you! You are following in your grandfather's steps as well as your mom and dads. Grampy had a share in a community garden when we lived in Amesbury as well. As you know he was an avid gardener. I have been wanting to have a garden for a while, but I haven't had anyone standing there teaching me like you have. What a great opportunity that was for you. Now you can do as the Prophets have counseled and grow your own food. I love you so much. It was great to see you and Nate as we were passing through Boise on July 26th. I was impressed with the life you and Nate have made for yourselves. You are a beautiful couple! Keep it up! Learn as much as you can. Who knows when the little ones will come and then you will be very busy.
I look forward to your next blog!
Love Auntie Bindy
P.S. I LOVED the garden tour! I heard it mixed with "Dream Big." It was the perfect background music!
These last three posts say it all: LUISA YOU ARE A WONDER WOMAN!!! You ambitious lady!!!
I love your garden; it's beautiful.
Save a tomato for us in September!!! . . . or sneak one on the plane in August . . .
Can't wait to see you guys!
–Dad
Most married couples can sympathesize with having an empty house at the beginning of their marriage. They’ll understand the echo that happens in most rooms of their house. They’ll understand having picnics for all meals or eating at their Grandmother’s card table or sleeping on an air mattress in the living room. Piece by piece,…
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Luisa you are an inspiration! It really is beautiful. I felt honored to be able to sit at your table with such good company when we visited. I'm just sorry that we couldn't have stayed longer, although I don't know if you could have taken anymore of us! Especially witht the dogs barking the whole time. Sorry about that. Thankyou for your hospitality and the sandwhiches to go! You are very thoughtful. I know what you mean about starting out with very little! Paris and I had to sleep on the floor in our second apartment in SLC(the first one was furnished). We didn't have room for a table like yours. It was a little tiny apartment. But we could dream. I told Paris that I wished we could have a fireplace so we could snuggle by it. So he made a fireplace out of paper and taped it to our old fashioned steam heater that would go clunk clunk all night.
I am so glad you explained what you did because I'm planning to do the exact same thing to our table and you saved me a lot of time researching. Not to mention – it looks amazing!!
Luisa–I LOOOOVE it!! It turned out so great. You are such a Renaissance woman!
It's more beautiful in person! I can't believe you actually went through with it. I would sit and stare at it telling myself, I need to work on it, then 5 years would go by and I would just end up buying a new table, never to have finished the first! =) Way to go girl!
And she runs triathlons in her spare time . . .
I LOVE the table, Luisa! When Mom and I were at your stage, I made our table out of a wine barrel and a round piece of plywood. Not even close to as cool as your table–which I guarantee you will keep. It is a classic!!! [You will notice we don't still have the wine barrel.]
GREAT JOB!!!
–Dad
AHHHHHHH! I'm stunned! It looks GORGEOUS Luisa! I'm SO jealous we don't live here, because I totally would have had a bidding war with you when we picked up the thing! HAHA! Way to go girl! You are SO talented! What a DEAL in the end! I would pay like over a 1000 for this with the chairs and stools included! Awesome!
Luisa doesnt quite do herself justice. She worked on this SO stinkin hard. And it turned out amazing!!! She did all the research, talked to so many different people, and busted her bum off to finish this project. In short…you're amazing baby. Great job!
Luisa~
That table is BEAUTIFUL! You did a great job. Congrats!
Never in my life, would I ever have imagined that yesterday, on July 18th, I was going to run a Triathlon. I’ve never been an athlete. I’ve never really been ‘in shape.’ I didn’t even like running until this summer. I always used ‘bad knees’ as an excuse; come to find out, that ailment is…
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Wow! I just can't believe you did that. How amazing. I take it this is just the beginning. At least you are starting young. I have a friend who is 45 years old and ran her first Marathon. She just wanted to prove to herself that she could do it! And she did it! And you did it! Congrats!
P.S. Nice calf muscles!
miRA.. ahora eres una atleta..nadadora y ciclista..ejale..! como cambia la vida.. ja jaja!.me gustan las fotos… y tu premio.. ja un helado eso es perfecto.! ja ja ja!.. te echo de menos amiga 
te amo mucho!.. y espero poder saber pronto de ti!.. !
chau besitos…y un abrazo de oso
..Juntas para Siempre!…
That is amazing. I am so proud of how much work you put into the triathlon, and I'm sure you are proud of the rewards. It's true. You have never been an athletic one, but with determination and hard work look at how far you have come. What an inspiration!!!! Love you so much.
PS. How did you not chafe wearing a wet bathing suit while biking. lolol
Luisa!
Congratulations… what an accomplishment! Under the the circumstances for which you trained in such short notice, I was worried about you, but never once doubted you. I new you could do it, thats the kind of person you are, you get something in your mind and no matter how hard, you will do it. Despite the hardness of the race, you had some very memorable moments… I LOVE the Cow pie part.. that was so funny, I could imagine the whole thing. Anywho, what a great thing you have done, and now the addiction has started for you too… you'll never be the same.. There is something so amazing about finishing something so hard, and pushing your body farther then you ever thought it could go. There are no limits now, anything is possible. We have so many athletes in the family now! We need to do a family race, and a vacation afterwards…wouldn't that be so cool?
Can't wait for the next race..
Love Ya!
Wowzerowzers!!! You are awesome. What an amazing accomplishment. Having completed two much shorter (whimpy in comparison) triathlons, I can only say I am so impressed. I know too well the absolute exhaustion that comes from multiple events in the same race and in addition, your terrain certainly didn't sound all that level. Since when do boulders, bridges, and stairs belong in a triathlon? Us Midwesterners really like our flat courses…oh wait, that's all we have available. Regardless, we are so impressed. You rock!
Like I said earlier…you are AWESOME!!!!!! What an accomplishment…and I still can't believe you'll be doing another one next month! So impressive Miss Luisa!! And so funny about the tractor with manure…way to overcome the poo! haha!! See you soon! 
I smiled, then I LAUGHED, then I just sat there in AWE! Luisa, you are truly worthy of being called a hero on so many levels!!!
Since reading this blog entry, I have marvelled again at how blessed you and Nate are to have found each other. You both have this amazing ability to draw SO much more out of life than most of us do.
You are truly an inspiration to me!
With great love and admiration,
–Dad
P.S. I ALWAYS love your statistics! You are a delightful writer.
Luisa! Oh my goodness, I am SO proud of you! You are amazing! I KNEW you could do this, but I was scared about that heat! I'm never complaining again:) You know, a lot of people in the world just won't get off their butts and be healthy, but you've inspired me to keep going with my workouts and MAYBE I'll do a marathon some day too:) It looks like SO much fun! What an accomplishment! I love you sista! Love-M
#1 you are my hero
#2 HOLY MAJOLLY you're awesome!!!
#3 i MISS YOU like crazy
woman you are soo cool! that's so amazing that you were in a triathlon! i've always wanted to do one…but like you, i have the "knees issue". but i WILL do it!! how are you? we need to talk and catch up on things. I LOVE YOU!! have a beautiful day!
WOW!!!! I am so PROUD of you!! My goodness. The pictures of you at the end of your race reminded me of when Dad and Katie ran the marathon a couple of years ago…I actually teared up as I remembered the amazing flood of emotions that hit the runners as they finished the race. It was so humbling to witness. I can't even imagine all that it takes out of you to do something like that. I stand in awe! What a woman!!
Hugs and love,
Mom
So. I’ve miss my husband. Ever since he shot his first wedding, I haven’t seen much of him. Once he had that under his belt, he decided he had to have a place to show off these beautiful shots he had taken. He needed a website to launch his official career, and then it began….
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Nate, Hey! Try calling Taylor back. He got your voicemail but erased it before he wrote your new number down!
Congrats you guys! I love that pic of Avri! SOOO adorable! You should print that for Bree!
Hey I totally tried to call you yesterday and I don't have your number anymore!!!! I saw on ken and jen's blog nates new website address and bob and I checked it out, HOLY COW! SO nice! I wish we were there we would hire him in a second to take our family pics! Can you believe we have never had a family photo taken and we already have 2 kids?! Bad mom, very bad. Anyways we just wanted to sau great job to nate and you for being so patient with him while he was getting it all done! Congrats on the new business!
Some people call it: ‘Simple minds, simple pleasures.’ When I think of Nate, I call it: ‘Finding the joy in the little things.’ One morning a couple months ago, I got the urge to do just that. I took Nate’s camera early in the morning and took a drive around the neighborhood down to the…
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Some tender mercies that make me smile and feel grateful are:
Having a family who loves me, gaining forgiveness for something that I've done wrong, hearing a beautiful song that touches my heart, getting a much needed hug from someone unexpected, feeling the unconditional love from my dogs, receiveing flowers from my husband, and hearing him whisper my name and look at me with tender loving eyes! I have many tender mercies in my life! Thanks for inviting me to write some of them down. I love you!
Luisa, you are such a beautiful person! [Something Mom and I have known for quite some time.] And now we learn that you are also a gifted photographer.
Beautiful photos! You just prove the point that the first principle to being a great photographer is to be able to SEE the beauty! It is always a joy to see the world through eyes such as yours and Nathan's!
HUGS and LOVE,
–Dad
great shots! i thought nate was the picture taker…apparently not.
well I've never had the simple pleasure of having a new recipe turn out better then expected but I'd have to add- a sleeping baby in your arms, the sound of laughter, and summer mornings.
I happen to think my husband is one of the most handsome men EVER! But this picture proves it. Haha! Just teasing. I love the picture, but I hate that he’s wearing his work shirt. Blah. So I figured I’d use the shirt to my advantage. Maybe Pinnacle will give me some money for my…
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Hey stranger! You hot scooter woman! Loooove it! How are things? We miss you tons and hope things are going good!
Just found your blog. You two are such a darling couple. I'm lovin' the pictures and the way you write makes me smile – it's just the way you talk… so sweet and full of life
We agree: he is certainly out . . . standing in his field!
Love you both!
–Dad
Look at my sexy new ride!! When Nate and I moved to the Boise area and I started looking for work, we quickly realized that we wouldn’t be able to get along with just one car as we had in the past. We considered getting a second car, but that was unrealistic. We found our…
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Nice Ride Luisa, very sexy? Where was that bike when I visited? Paris has a scooter as well. It is great on milage isn't it! But be careful going around corners when there is loose gravel. Paris layed it down one time! Not very fun! He was ok though. He wasn't going very fast.
haha–I was totally thinking the same thing as Kate–love that you're sporting heels while you ride your scooter! Lookin good!:)
Your the only women I know that could pull off riding a scooter in heels!
P.S. Where's your helmet… (thats what Jake would say) =)
Wowzers! Does Batman know you have his scooter?
BE CAREFUL!!!!
–Dad
While Nate and I were sitting outside this morning, I saw these two tiny birds chasing each other around. One flew right in front of us and then straight up in the air, about 20 feet and then coasted the wind back down again. He was making the most cheerful little chirps ever. Moments later,…
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Wowzers! How cool is that. You guys have a knack for attracting all the coolest creatures of the world.
Wow, that is wonderful. I've always wanted to hold a hummingbird. I love your random facts. Especially about the one that says, hummingbirds are the only ones that can fly backwards. I guess it's like a helicopter.
Cool beans, keep it coming. Love You!
. . . And who knew that I had so much in common with hummingbirds . . . only an hour or two away from starving!
; )
Wow! I think that is a sign of incredible good luck! [Perhaps in contrast to what Mom would think of the bat that comes into our house!] In any case, it is incredibly cool.
I love coming to your blog; there is always something wonderful going on!
–Dad
Actually, first of all, Happy Father’s Day!! On Mother’s Day, I REALLY wanted to do a post about our Mothers. It didn’t happen. For Father’s Day, I determined to do a post about our Fathers… but I couldn’t say much about our Dad’s without saying something about our Mom’s. So… THIS is a Happy Parent’s…
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Nice message… and beautiful see "Tia Olga" and bernardo…
ah! me encantaron tus fotos!:.tan lindas..hace mucho tiempo q no se nada de ti!:.pucha.. y te echo tanto de menos!… hay algunas cosas que necesito contarte!.. te amo mucho amiga..y saludos a "PAPI"…
That was such a sweet post, Luisa!! It's easy to see how you and Nate are so great…you have amazing parents!!
Luisa: You are the sweetest! And Nate too. What a thoughtful and kind tribute to all your loving parents. I just want to say that being a father is a DELIGHT with a daughter and son like you and Nate. I love you so much!
–Dad
My Dearest Luisa and Nate, It was wonderful to read this last blog and to see the pictures of "the parents and Grandparents" for "Parents Day". Family is so important. I know you both will make great parents. I look forward to the day when our family will grow even more. I'm looking forward to seeing both of you and introducing you to our exchange student Yasina when she flies here from Germany. Have a wonderful Day!
Keep writing and putting pictures up. It's wonderful. Luisa, if you don't have pictures of Grampy I can email some to you. Or I can just put them on my blog.
This is CUTE Luisa! Yes, Nate will be an amazing and FUN dad! Hope you guys had a good day:)
I felt like I was in National Geographic!! It took everything I had not to warn that oblivious little squirrel. I was also thinking… what’s so wrong with duck? They are so plentiful, as you can see in the picture. Apparently, that cat is picky when it comes to lunch. That’s one lucky squirrel. **P.S….
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You guys are just too cool!
–Dad
P.S. Great new picture
hahaha! I like the pic of you guys in the air! Your hair looks awesome! Where is that?
It all started with my least favorite item of our landscape. It quickly turned into an obsession. On May 14th, we discovered: From then on, every single day I’d venture outside to monitor the progress.Unfortunately, we lost one in gestation. But, FORTUNATELY, on May 27th, we were blessed with Moe, Larry & Curly!!! May 29th…
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My kids loved this story. They think you are very lucky to have that in your front yard. And seeing what great parents you are to baby birds, I have no worries about leaving Kaia with you. I hope you are still up for it! See you soon!
hahaha! What a cute post! I want baby birds too!!!
Nate and I are just flat out lucky sometimes. When we arrived here to Star, we were SO grateful to be welcomed with such warmth like you can only find within the church. A big part of that came from Kyle and Brittany. Wake Surfing is only one such example of their benevolence. Who even…
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How FUN!! That is so awesome you guys got to go do this!! And I'm glad you still hang out with your office friends when you have WAY cooler friends with hookups!! haha! JK! The pictures look amazing, glad you had a blast!!
WOW! Wake surfing looks like SOOO much fun! I can't even wake board, so maybe I could do this! I've got to tell Trav! Awesome job you guys! You're pros!!!
I’ve had the same music playing on my Blog FOREVER! You all can tell a lot about my musical preferences based on my song choices. A lot of John Mayer, Jason Mraz. Ingrid Michaelson was there a while back. Amos Lee is a recent new addition. I LOVE P!nk. Yael Naim. David Cook. Lenka. Gabriella…
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I haven't watched American Idol. I want to, but I didn't want to start in the middle of a season. Maybe this next season I can. I love to hear people sing.
You picked my three favorite songs from the show! Mad World being my favorite.
But I loved your old playlist too. Sometimes I would visit just for the music . . . . just kidding . . . but I've always enjoyed your music selection. You guys are just cool no matter what you are doing. Mom and I just watch and learn.
–Dad
Recently I’ve been determined to learn the very basic tricks of Nate’s trade. His super-duper camera takes some commandeering and his photo editing software is pretty intense as well. But, I would be foolish not to take advantage of Nate’s Nikon. So. I had my first photo shoot the other day with the NEWEST ADDITION…
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Hey you Love the pictures! (wink, wink) You need to take advantage of a good camera thats for sure! Hey I have "Falling Slowly" on my play list and it works, you should try it again. I down loaded it when I did my last blog. Let me no if you need a hand! Love ya!
HEEEEY!!! I kept checking your blog and you hadn't updated…now I check and there's a million new ones! I'm so glad we can be blog buddies!! LOVE these pictures–you can practice on our new baby when she comes if you want! 
It's been fun getting to know you and Nate better and we look forward to the rest of the summer!Keep the posts coming!!
Soooooo cute! Good job Luisa. You are very talented. Keep it up! I'd love to see more from you.
Jake and his wife live near you right? Paris and I would love to come visit all of you. We are getting an exchange student in August. She is from Germany. We would like to show her different places.
Love You,
Auntie Bindy
Luisa: Nate needs to share his camera with you more often! You are wonderful! And so funny. I loved this post. Little Julia is adorable . . . and so are you! Great job!
Very cute pics Luisa! I’m glad you’re picking up the camera! It’s SO much fun! I’m trying to get Trav to go explore and shoot as well:) I think learning new things is so important…and FUN! Awesome work!
I know. It HAS been forever. I apologize profusely for not having posted in over a month. The truth is… I was waiting for something perfectly fantastic to happen. And it did. Meet Herbert. I had a date with him Friday night. One look at his perfect complexion, dreamy eyes and luscious lips and I…
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Reminds of the trip to Thendara when we caught like a hundred of those little frogs and we had to name and kiss every single one before releasing them. Oh, the good ole days!!!! How is it that without older brothers you and I are as fearless as the boys?! You more so than me, but it works!! LOVE YOU
I love the Story of Herbert, even though I sort of heard it already told, I loved the story board version! You definitely gave that frog something to tell the other frogs! Poor guy, non of them are going to believe him! Rescued, kissed, and danced till the sun came up. It is quite unbelievable! =)
I love it! The adventure sounds like many other Perkes moments. I’m thinking of Racoons and Snapping Turtles and even Sugar Gliders. You guys are awesome!
HILARIOUS!!! I loved the “Sweet Little Buttercup” serenade. And the frantic get-away . . . NOT [I think he was sort of attached to you guys]. I have to admit he is one beautiful frog!
I laughed as I scrolled down through the pictures, saw the kiss and then . . . SHAZAM! . . . . there was Nathan. Made me laugh.
You guys are too fun!
–Dad
you are crazy girl! i cant believe you could hold him!!! ewww.. i give ya props, you handled that a LOT better than i ever could. how are you?? i feel like we keep missing eachother! what have you guys been up to?? MISS YOU TONS!!! love ya babe,
queenie
I came upon this ‘List of Accomplishments’ on the blog of a dear friend. Karen, thanks for the fun idea! She added a few additions to the bottom and we will do the same. Highlighted in red, are the items that either one of us has completed, together or separately. Upon seeing the finished product…
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Luisa,
I want to talk to you about our Washington trip (via Boise) in July. I don't have a phone number or e-mail for you. So if you would please e-mail me or call me, I would love it! Thanks Linda & Dolan (dolanlinda@q.com (435-563-0557). I'm assuming you must be busy. I have missed your posts.
How fun!
The two of you have had some amazing and unique experiences–and you’ve only just begun! We love watching that list grow with adventures and accomplishments. You are living extraordinary lives!
–Dad
Love it. Especially the pictures you added as proof, especially the karaoke one (Rockin Nate) How many babies have you been able to stop crying while you have held them?
… we thought we’d mention one of our favorite winter activities. This winter, and the bitter cold that insued, was one of A pleasant surprise. Nate and I LOVE to ice skate! Before we left Utah, we were the MASTER match-makers. We decided to organize a group blind date with four of our ex- mission…
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For good reason Nate has never let me cut his hair before. For all you gardeners, don’t laugh. This was my first time.
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Hi Luisa,
I just wanted to Thank You for visiting my crazy Baking Blog…Get Off Your Butt & Bake. I think that hair cut is amazing! That is coming from a Hair & Nail Salon owner! Besides Baking, that is what I do for a career. My daughter Danielle Hone…also lives in Logan with her husband Brian. They will be moving in July to go to Dental School. She is probably your age (23). I also looked at the photography blog…What talent! My daughter Chantri is also a photographer…I'm a wish I was photographer. I loved the picture with you in High Heels amongst the cattle. We have a ranch in Jackson Hole, WY….so I can appreciate the hard work that goes into that operation. Well..it's fun making new friends. Visit Often.
Jonna
First of all . . . you have blossoms on your tree!
And secondly, Luisa, you did well! It may look funny to you now, but your really did well. That bush will grow out more uniformly and denser. I think you will like the effect.
What a cool yard you have. I love that you are gardening!
–Dad
Turns out that Nate and I will be celebrating our anniversary on Easter about once every decade! That’s right! Nate and I just had our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! It was a magical day. After breakfasts in bed [to our surprise, we both planned on doing that for each other! Haha! We worked it out!], serenading…
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Sounds PERFECT, you young lovers! Now keep that romance going; it’s still appreciated even when you become our age.
–Dad
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Shannon - Oh my goodness. Way proud of you both!! Natey, I told you the day you got married that you would never have the upper hand again. LOL! Here goes Luisa, still proving it.
***Wisa, I had a Mom moment. I was totally tearing up when I read about the 69 year old woman.
Smooches to you!!
The Perkes Family - You guys are awesome, I love hearing about everyones experiences as they accomplish their goals, and prove to themselves that they can exceed all expectations of themselves. Its the best feeling, Way to go you Two!
Ken and Jen Perkes - Nate: Guess you really are an ATHLETE!!! We are very proud of you. Now let's see what you can do when you train! Just try and keep up with your amazing wifey!
Luisa: YOU ARE AN UBER-ATHLETE!!! I don't even know anyone who has completed an Olympic Triathlon! And it is so you to feature another inspiring woman–quickly diverting the spotlight off of you. Luisa, there is no doubt that you will be sucking the marrow from life well into your sixties and beyond! I am so incredibly proud of you!!!
Wish I could crown your head with a wreath of laurel leaves. You deserve it, you mighty Olympian!
Hugs with deep admiration!
–Dad
Mandy - WAY TO GO you guys! You are awesome for doing that! I love the grandma story…how awesome is that!!?? We should all be that motivated.
Bree - Wow wow wow!!!! You two are so awesome!! Nate–you didn't even train?? You're crazy, but way to go!!!!
Sounds like you've got "the fever". Luisa–how are you smiling thru it all?? I love how happy and positive you are! I'm proud of you!! I have no doubt you'll be doing this in your 60s. 
Brooke - I AM AMAZED! Way to go Nate…that's exactly how I feel, too…why on earth am I doing this! And then the minute it's over I can't wait to do it again. I'm really impressed! And Luisa–you are Wonderwoman. I really am blown away that you completed those distances. YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL. I actually can't wait to get back into tri's. First things first, though…I'm still working on having the strength to vaccuum. During our date last Friday, Josh and I spent a few hours at Scheels. I bought some Zoot tri shorts in anticipation of the day I can compete again. We should pick a race next summer, maybe when we come visit in Boise, that we could all do together. I would love do one with you. Great job, both of you!