Ryan Amy Jack

Racing

2011-08-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

I raced in the South Davis Handcart Days Half Marathon on July 23. It was a great race, I felt really strong, and nailed my splits to hit my goal time of sub 1:50. I finished with a 1:48:25 and managed to get 1st place in my age group and 5th female overall. Definitely not PR but this course was mostly flat with the last 3 miles uphill.

Is this not the most handsome kid ever?

Of course my Dad raced with me but did the 5K. He just rocked a Full Marathon in May so he deserved to relax and run the 5K. Of course he landed 1st place in his age group and first place out of all the 50 year old dudes! He never let's me down!

As for next weekend, I'm off to run the Epic Relay from Logan to Jackson, 190 miles and 12 team members. September 3 will be Grand Targhee Trail Run 10k, then September 17 will be Top of Utah Marathon, I WILL kill the 26.2..... I hope.

July Happenings

2011-07-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

We took Jack to ride the frontrunner and see the trains at Union Station. We went with my sister and her family had an awesome time, Jack loved it. We also ate at the Union Grill, we hadn't been there since our 3rd date!

One Sunday we sent to Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Hiking is so fun with a 2 year old....not! It's a slow walk picking up every rock and stepping in every puddle. We try to be patient because at least were teaching him to love outside like his Momma and Daddy do.

First race since my stupid stress fracture, soooooooo nervous here. Tin Cup Half Marathon you kicked my butt! Ryan beat me this year, he raced well. It's a super hard course, with the first 5.3 miles uphill, and then rolling hills for 5 more miles, the last 3 slightly downhill with a head wind. But it doesn't get any better than those Teton views. I was dead and came in 2 minutes slower than I did last year, but at least my leg didn't hurt. Overall, a very disappointing race, I felt crappy from the very beginning, it just wasn't my day, I don't know how else to explain it. I'm running another Half this Saturday to redeem myself.

We managed to place in our age groups, Ryan got 3rd and I got 2nd. We won non-profit bucks, and then we picked the charity/organization where our money went. Keep in mind this was a small town race, so pretty easy to place.

Afterwards they had a carnival for the kids, and Jack loved the pony.

We took it easy the next day and went and played around in this bike park. It was so fun, little Jack was riding all the hills, he's going to be a mountain biker/bmx boy I just know it!

I love July!

Just a little trip to Sin City

2011-06-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yep, we went to Las Vegas with Ryan's family to play for the weekend. Ryan's sister owns a house down there, so we stayed there for 2 nights and at the Mandalay Bay for 2 nights. We pretty much just hung out at the pool the whole time. We ate lots and lots of food, did little shopping, and of course rode the New York, New York roller coaster. Me and Amy BG are the only people that did it and it was sooooo fun! She even got a free ticket from some lady in line and of course I didn't take a camera.

At the pool at the Mandalay Bay we rented a Cabana for the day, it was awesome shade for the kids, it had a flat screen tv and free drinks. Although Jack wouldn't even hang out in the cabana, all he wanted to do was play in the water. And 3 full days in the sun, we didn't even get sunburnt, just tan, the Vegas sun must be magic.

Jack and Bebebebebe Max (this is what he calls baby max) hanging out in the cabana. Jack had just woken up from his nap and was grouchy, if your wondering why he's wearing socks, he won't sleep without them.

Back Again

2011-06-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I know I was missed but we have been super busy with Ryan graduating and trying to find a job. As of today, it looks like we will be going to Idaho Falls. Ryan had a pretty sweet job offer there that is just 3 days a week. That's what I'm talking about, more play for us :) But anything could change in the next few weeks, so we'll see. We went to the cabin after an informal second interview in Idaho Falls, it's only an hour away, SWeet!

This kid is a champ on the balance bike, he can hold both of his feet up and cruise. His cruising got so fast we had to invest in a helmet ASAP.

Teton N.P. where we had just seen a bear.... awesomeness.

Then we did an 18 mile bike ride to Teton Canyon and up towards Grand Targhee. I volunteered to pull our tanker child. Let's be honest, with no running and 5 days a week of spin class, I had to show Ryan my skills. Oh and don't be jealous of all these Teton views.

Hopefully I will be more consistent with my blogging in the future, but probably not.

And by the way, I get to run for an entire 12 minutes straight tomorrow! I can't wait! Slow and steady with lots of walk breaks are doctors orders. It's actually quite the particular run/walk schedule, for example I run 12 minutes, walk 2, run 12, walk 2, run 12. Then each day the running increases and the walking decreases. I would hate to re-injure my leg, so far I'm being compliant but it's so hard to hold back when I just want to run my guts out. Ryan refers to me as the caged beast! July 16th can't come fast enough for my first race, post injury. Tin Cup Half Marathon here I come!

Life as a cyclist... not too bad.

2011-04-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

When I got the news about my stress fracture, my Dr. told me to stay in shape and keep up my endurance with biking or swimming. I hate swimming, so the bike it was. With the horrible weather I took up spin class everyday, seriously I've been like 10 times. So instead of feeling sorry for myself on race day, I had them switch my half-marathon spot over to the 25 mile bike tour. Heck yeah! This way I still got to compete and be part of the event and be there to cheer my Dad on. I new my adventurous sister-in-law Amy would be willing to be my partner in crime after Ryan backed out last minute due to being sick. We had a blast, and some hilarious moments which I will not get into because you had to be there.

The bike tour started at 6:00 am and we finished at 7:30 so we had over an hour to wait for my dad to finish. We enjoyed all the free race food, then waited in the huge Starbucks line for some hot chai because we were freezing and of course wet with sweat (we're both sweaty girls). Or maybe it's just because we rode so hard and fast..... yeah, that was it.

We waited for my Dad so I could snatch an awesome action shot, but we were standing on the opposite side of him and I ended up getting a better shot of some weirdo I don't even know. But you can see my butt-kickin' pops on the far left in the red, coming in at top speed to finish with a rockin' 1:53. Good work Dad, you never fail to impress!

Overall it was a good day, although there was just a little jealousy when I watched all the runners finish, wishing it was me. But I loved the bike tour and am soooo glad I did it. I might consider cycling now as my cross-training from all my running. But for the next month or so, I'm a cyclist baby!

Inspiration

2011-04-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

I became inspired today from the birthday present that my AwEsOmE sister-in-law gave me. Maybe she meant to, maybe she didn't who knows, but it was great! The gift was a lulu lemon bag, lunch sized bag which I'm totally going to start taking to work, filled with my favorite candy and new running socks, of course from lulu lemon :) Anyways, the bag was sitting on my counter today and I walked past it and the word setbacks caught my eye, and there it was, my inspiration. LIFE IS FULL OF SETBACKS. SUCCESS IS DETERMINED BY HOW YOU HANDLE SETBACKS.

This is just a setback and now I have to handle it and handle it well! So my chin is up and I am smiling. I'm gonna race a million more times in my life, but for now I need to rehab this injury, and do it right. So I guess the pity party is over and I'm done feeling sorry for myself but I did get tons of love, hugs, and treats. Thanks everyone!

My doctor drew some blood and checked my Vitamin D levels and some other labs that came back stellar. But my vitamin D level was low and he said this contributed to the fracture. My prescription being: Vitamin D3 5,000 U BID for 6 weeks. Then sunbathe for 20 minutes, 3x weekly in the 11-2 sun, in a bikini.....this is no joke. My response: Umm, that won't be problem.

Yesterday I turned 27. Seriously, I feel old. Especially since I have the bone strength and vitamin D level as a 60 year old. But overall it was a great day, lots of great food, gifts and of course my favorite cake. I got mostly cash but I won't tell you how much because I don't want to get robbed.

That's it.

I hate my life.

2011-04-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'm having a bad day or stuff just isn't going my way, my saying is always "I hate my life". For instance when my dog ralphs on the carpet and I have to clean it up, I always say "Oh I hate my life". Do you ever have a moment or a day where you just feel sorry for yourself for whatever reason? True self pity? Well today is my day!

As you all know I Run. I love running with every fiber of my being, it's my outlet, my stress reliever, and just my plain hobby. I've been having race fever this spring, preparing for the ultimate goal, the Ogden Marathon. I'm also signed up the Salt Lake Half Marathon just for fun ( I heart half-marathons). Anyhow the Ogden Marathon is especially important to me this year because I'm running it with my Dad. Yeah, that's right I said my Dad. Who gets to run a marathon with their old man? Not very many people, but me I get too! We've been doing all our training runs together and have been having a blast. Well during all this I've been having a little pain in my upper shin on the inside. It only hurts for the first few minutes then goes away for the rest of the run, so I wrote it off as a shin splint. This went on for a month, I ran through the pain, because that's what runners do. Well, after my 16 mile run Saturday, it started to bother me when I wasn't running.

So I been talking to Ryan about this forever now and he suggested I go see a sports medicine dr. just to check it out. I saw the dr. today, after an x-ray, ultrasound and assessment he gave me the awful, horrible news that I have a stress fracture. My thoughts being, WTF, I don't deserve this, I've been running forever, I didn't just jump into this and shockingly get injured. For crying outloud, I ran 6 half-marathons, 2 10-k, and a relay just last summer ALONE. I even maintained high mileage during the winter. I was prepared for marathon training! Anyways the dr. gave me the horrible news of not running at all for 4 weeks, that includes nothing high-impact, so no combat class either. I also have to wear a compression sleeve on my leg, but that actually feels dang good.

So this takes me out of the Salt Lake Half Marathon. I could probably run again by Ogden but then I won't be ready because I'll be a newbie runner. No way I could pull off 26.2 miles with all my training thrown aside. Seriously, I hate my life today and I just need to complain and feel bad for myself. As you can see it has been very therapeutic for me to write this all out, so thanks for reading! My husband and my sister already got an earful, and perhaps a few tears too. But there are 2 things that can make me happy, My little Jack and Dairy Queen's new mini blizzard!

Fireman Jack

2011-03-24T12:17:00.001-07:00

Jack has totally been into fire trucks lately. Every time we see one he makes the "wee-whoo" sound. So my good friend Ashley invited us to the Firehouse in Centerville where her husband is a fire captain. We totally got hooked up and had the fire truck to ourselves.

We even got to spray a mini fire hose and pretended to put out a fire. What an eventful day for my little Fireman.

Springtime??

2011-02-16T07:13:00.001-08:00

We've been living outside with this nice weather, too bad it's not gonna last. Yesterday I took Jack outside to learn to ride his balance bike, but he doesn't get it, he just stands up and walks with it between his legs. That's okay, I can look past his shortcomings.

(Self Portrait)

Since August.....

2010-11-19T15:31:00.001-08:00

I know I'm a disgrace to the blogging world, but who's really suprised? My last post was in August so here's a little catch-up!

Oxnard, California in September

Road trip/fishing trip to Billings, Montana over Labor Day

Me and my Dad at the Cedar Canyon Half Marathon

(Geez Dad, your looking pretty ripped for 55)

Lots and lots of running and racing, this is a Snowbasin 10K trailrun.

Cutest Boy Ever

And some fall hikes.

The End.

EPIC RELAY 2010

2010-08-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

PRESENTING: MORE COWBELL

Our nippy start in Logan, UT.

I'm holding the team cowbell in this pic, I'm pretty sure it made us run faster.

Ryan and I during our first exchange in Preston, ID.

My girls in vehicle #1.

Our sweet ride!

Running alongside the Snake River.

The EPIC finish in Teton Village, WY.

cRaZy???

2010-08-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I put a team of 12 people together to run from Logan to Jackson. Yes, that is 189 miles and were so doin' it!

More Cowbell??

Watch out, here we come!!

Yes this picture is gross, but it might be one us when were finished. We leave Friday morning baby, wish us luck!

KAUAI

2010-06-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

Since everyone keeps bugging me about it, here it is!

Brenneke's Beach

Dinner at J.J.'s in Lihue

Hanging at the Marriott, where the other half of our group stayed.

This is at our condo at Poipu Beach, the ocean right out our back door.

Jack took a nap everyday on the beach, we wore him out.

Grandpa Dan set up a hammock whenever he could.

Ryan's parents were awesome to stay behind with Jack so we could go hike the Napali Coast.

Just Chillin'

Jack is officially a water baby! He loved the water.

We dug lots of holes and built lots of sandcastles for Jack.

Jack catching a nap Hawaiian style.

My 2 boys. I heart this pic!

Photography by ABG (Ry's sister)

The End.

Jack's Buzz

2010-06-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

My little dude is all grown up now.

When I make #2, I'm still #1

2010-06-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

ABG sent this to me, and it is too good not to share

Something to blog about . . . . .

2010-05-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't blogged in forever! This is because nothing has been going on worth blogging about. Now that spring has sprung (or has it) were getting busy again. Ryan is busy with school but will be done in 1 year from now. Yay! I have been busy running around, (literally) I ran 2 half marathons in the past 2 weeks. As for Jack, he's been busy turning one! His first birthday was May 1st. But don't worry, were not to busy to go to Hawaii in 2 weeks and 5 days, I'm not counting or anything.

As you can tell from his size, this kid loves to eat! The cake was not a problem.

Jacks new present from Grandma and Grandpa.

And did I mention I've been running these races with my old man!!! He's 54 and totally beat me in both of our races, he's a rockstar!! We ran the Salt Lake Half Marathon and the Provo City Half Marathon. We got soaked in Provo yesterday, it rained/snowed the whole time. It was crazy awesome! Love You Dad!

I Heart Christmas Vacation

2010-01-02T09:13:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T10:21:00.001-08:00

Baby, it's cold outside

2009-12-05T14:12:00.000-08:00

Our Saturday morning hike... 23 pounds in 23 degree weather.

6 months

2009-11-22T14:52:00.001-08:00

My super sized baby is 6 months old. He had his Dr. appt. last week and here are his stats.

Weight: 22 lbs 13 oz

Length: 30 3/8 in

Head: 19 in

Literally off the growth chart.

Jack's New Play Place

2009-11-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

Jack loves to play under his swing. It's his new favorite place. He starts out on his blanket and rolls off and always manages to get under the swing. He will lay there and play forever. So funny, love him!!

30

2009-10-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

Yep, you guessed it, Ryan turned 30 last week. HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLD MAN!!! I can't believe he's 30. HOT at 23 when we met and still HOT at 30! We both worked on his b-day this year which was totally a buzz kill, but I still managed to surprise him with his favorite, yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I also got him a pull-up bar he's been wanting, I figured now that he's 30 he's going to have to start working harder to maintain his 165 lbs of twisted steel and sex appeal. Anyways, we had a fun weekend celebrating, here are some pics of what we did.

Friday evening we drove up Farmington Canyon and had a picnic. It was freezing, but it was still nice to get out and get some fresh mountain air.

Saturday morning we got up early and drove to Logan to run a 5K. This was a fundraiser for a little girl with cancer. My sister Amber is an Oncology Nurse and knows her from work. So me, my 2 sisters and my dad all ran the race to support www.tayliebug.com

Ryan and Jack tagged along. Ryan wasn't up for the run since his knees are still recovering from the 26.2 a few weeks ago. It was pretty cold so we were all bundled up, especially Jack.

Cutest picture ever! Look at that cute face and double chin.

Later that night, I took Ryan out on a late b-day date. This was the second time we have been out alone since Jack was born, and he's five months old. I got a baby sitter (thanks mom and dad) and kept our date a surprise. I took him to Snowbird and we ate at the Steak Pit. It was such a perfect night, Ryan loves Snowbird, that's where he lives during the winter months. The food was so good, but expensive, this was the most we have spent on dinner in the 7 years we have known each other. While we were eating, the waiters opened up the window and set something outside. I walked over to the window to see what was happening and sure enough, there was a porcupine on the patio, and he was eating a loaf of bread the waiter had put out for him. I guess this little guy is a frequent flyer and visits often when he is given bread. His name is Larry, It was awesome. Yes, they really named it Larry. Anyways, believe it or not we didn't take any pics of this night, I'm pretty sure we forgot the camera :(

Lately....

2009-09-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Jack rolls over on his belly, but can't seem to manage how to roll back over. He will play on his belly for about 10 minutes then cry until someone comes and rolls him back over, then 2 seconds later he's back on his belly. This is a vicious cycle.

Jack sucks his fingers and everything else for that matter. He also like wearing dad's sweatband.

Jack has rice cereal every night before bed and makes a huge mess. Perhaps this is why he was 20 lbs at his last Dr. appt.

My Boys.

Ryan ran the Top of Utah Marathon in Logan. Woot Woot.

13.1 Miles

2009-09-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

My sister Angie and I ran the Legacy Parkway Half Marathon. It was so fun, this is Angie's first Half Marathon and she ROCKED it!!!! I'm seriously so proud of my lil' sis!! And I set a new PR which I am very proud of considering my new life of motherhood (no time for serious training, exhaustion, and a crappy diet). My Dad, Amber, Sam and Tuck were our support crew, Thanks for coming guys!

Start, a little bit cheesy, I know.

Finish, it doesn't get any better than that.

Deep discussion about race.

Dad and Sam awaiting our arrival.

Big Sky, MT

2009-08-28T09:47:00.001-07:00

Ryan and I went to Big Sky, Montana for a couple days with Nicole and John. John was speaking at a medical conference, so we tagged along. When John was done with his speech, him and Ryan hit the Madison River for some fly fishing. Jack and I stayed at the resort and hung out at the pool with Nicole and her 3 kids. We had a lot of fun, we actually got Jack in the pool and he loved it, then we got lunch ordered out to the pool, I had a buffalo burger that was awesome! Believe it or not I didn't take any pics at Big Sky.... shocker! So enjoy the photos from Ryan's iphone. On the way home we stopped at the cabin and hung out there for the rest of the week with Ryan's parents. We ate lots of good food including our new favorite restaurant, Teton Thai, then my new favorite sandwich place with grilled cheese that has bacon and avocado on it. Yummy!! And of course our favorite milkshakes from the Victor Emporium. Wow, do ya think maybe I'm a little obsessed with food??

Ryan's first catch of the day

Dr. John at his finest

Grandpa Dan and Jack

Jack in Grandpa's cowboy hat

Chillin' on the couch

Jack in his moose long johns

(It wouldn't let me type below the pic, wth?)

Touchdown Jack

2009-07-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame has Touchdown Jesus

We have Touchdown Jack

Barrett Life

2009-07-25T16:04:00.001-07:00

My little Jack is 12 weeks old!! Crazy! Where has the summer gone? We've been pretty busy the last 2 weeks with going to the cabin and running the Tin Cup Challenge, my sister having her baby, our 6 year anniversary, Ryan finishing up a wicked semester of advanced pathophysiology and me getting ready to go back to work. Tomorrow is my first day back, is it possible to forget how to be a nurse? Let's just pray for no codes until I brush up on my skills:)

Seriously, he's so funny.

Ryan and I ran the Tin Cup Challenge in Driggs, Id. Ryan did the half marathon, and I only did the 10K. I'm quite disappointed in myself for not being ready for a half marathon, but what the **** I just had a baby, right? I know, excuses excuses, I'll do it next year.

This was our first attempt at a family photo with all 4 of us in it. Of course we couldn't get both Jack and Maddy to look at the camera, Jack would rather stare at the ground and drool (i'm serious). Ryan would be embarrassed if I didn't mention why we are wearing twinner shirts, they are the shirts they gave us from the race and if Jack was behaving you could see that he has on a matching onesie too.

This is my cute sister Amber with her knew baby Tucker! He's so cute, we love him!

Peace Out!!

What we've been up to.....

2009-07-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

I know I'm terrible at keeping our blog updated, but at least I have a good excuse now that I have a baby, right?? Here are some pics of the fam and what we've been doing lately.
We headed up to the cabin for the 4th of July and Ryan got the crazy idea to do Fred's Hill Climb, which is a race to the top of Grand Targhee ski resort .... Nuts!! The race started there at the bottom of the lift and when they got to the top they got a free chairlift down. How thoughtful!

This is my hot husband getting of the lift after he finished. Don't you think this pic could be in a magazine?

Me and Jack hanging out at the resort wishing we were running too, but due to the lack of a babysitter I couldn't go, but who am I kidding, I wouldn't have made it.

Maddy the yellow dog, our other baby

Jack and Maddy do tummy time in our bed together

Ryan's hillarious sister is in town for the summer and she loves Jack!!

Trying out the bumbo chair.

Jack chillin' in our bed.

There you have it, I blogged, so leave me alone for a few months until I do it again!
P.S. We accidentally erased our list of blogger friends, so if you read our blog, please leave us your blogger address so we can have a list again. Thanks!!

Jack Curtis

2009-06-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

For those who didn't know yet, we had Jack on May 1.

7 lbs. 12 oz. 22 in.

Catch Up

2009-03-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

We caught a little bit of flack lately for not updating our blog. So here goes a random post:

My new toys:

My insatiable appetite for gear and some killer deals landed me these babies on the right. Some may say "Ryan, why do you need 3 pairs of skis?" to that I say why do you need more than one pair of shoes?

(You can see the color scheme for Jack's room in the background. I think Amy did a good job)

When not at work or skiing, I've mostly been doing this

Amy's been doing a little of this

Maddy

Christmas Break

2009-01-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

No skiing for Amy this year, so while I was doing this (photo by ABG)

Amy was practicing her new hobby: Snowshoeing

Maddy getting chest deep

Teton Valley Sunset

Tagged.... and actually doing it

2008-11-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

8 Favorite TV shows

1. The Office
2. 30 Rock
3. Seinfeld
4. Everybody Loves Raymond
5. King of Queens
6. Sex and the City
7. Food Network
8. Fit TV

8 Things you did yesterday

1. Went kickboxing
2. Lifted weights
3. Showered
4. Washed and straightened my hair
5. Raked leaves
6. Watched the U and BYU game
7. Had awesome tamales with chile verde
8. Hung out with Ryan's fam

8 Things you look forward to

1. My appt. tomorrow to see Jack
2. Eating my guts out on Thanksgiving
3. My Dad's yams
4. Christmas
5. For Ryan to finish NP school
6. Vacation to Mexico???
7. Skiing.... next year
8. May 1st

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Beto's
2. Z-Teja's
3. CPK
4. San Francisco Sourdough
5. Chipotle
6. Jimmy Johns
7. Ahh sushi
8. Royal India

8 Things on my wish list

1. To not work any weekends or holidays
2. To work in the cardiac cath lab
3. Have my house payed off
4. To travel to Spain
5. Get a puppy
6. Be a nurse that makes 500,000 a year
7. To have my mom get better
8. To have a healthy little runt

YUMMO!!

2008-11-13T18:19:00.000-08:00

During a slow morning at triage, I happened to pay attention to the television right as Rachael Ray was preparing this dish. I jotted down the recipe and was finally able to make it tonight.
Amy is so lucky to be married to me.

Can You Say Nuts?

2008-10-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

This is some truly impressive stuff from the Red Bull Rampage

Enjoying the Shoulder Season

2008-09-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

I stole the name "Shoulder Season" from Cloudveil's blog.
This is how we spend our shoulder season.

New Camera Help

2008-09-15T19:04:00.001-07:00

Our camera appears to be on it's last leg, and it's time for a new one.
Any suggestions? We want one that's good quality, takes good pictures (duh), and is nice and compact.

2 vacations 1 post

2008-08-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in August we decided to go backpacking to Red Castle Lakes in the Uintas. It was so fun and beautiful. We took our little dog Maddy and she had so much fun. The hike was about 22 miles round trip and Maddy probably did 72 miles with all her running around. She was so tired every night she would walk right to the tent and lay down... she's so funny. The hike to the lower lake took 5 hours, it was a butt kicker considering we were carrying about 50 lbs on our backs( that's not entirely accurate, we didn't weigh our packs, but it sure felt like 50 freaking pounds). This was our base camp, then the next day we hiked to the upper lakes, backpack free, it was nice. We brought our fishing stuff too and fished the lower and middle lakes, it was pretty good fishing but too windy, and Ryan was catching all the fish anyway, what's up with that??

Camp...Home Sweet Home

Upper Red Castle Lake, mission accomplished after 1 hour of uphill boulder climbing.

Middle Red Castle Lake

So Ryan and I got home exhausted Sunday night and headed back to work our 3 twelves saving lives. Then thursday we left for the cabin to rock out at the Blue Grass Festival at Grand Targhee. I'm definitely a fan of blue grass now. They set the stage up and the bottom of the bunny hill and everyone sits on the ski hill with their blankets, chairs, hula hoops and beer. It's quite the experience, and the food there was awesome!! They had the best green curry and mexican food booth ever.

Me and Husband

Like Father Like Son

And Last but not least, Troy Dog and Ame, our favorite blue grass partners!

I Love July

2008-07-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I decided to go mountain biking at Snowbasin for the 24th. We had never actually been biking at the resort before, we had always gone on some trails off old snowbasin road. But due to some bad experiences on that trail a few weeks ago, we decided to hit up the actual resort for some wicked riding!!! And for those of you who are dying to know what the bad experience was.... Ryan hit a ditch going downhill and went head first over his handle bars, of course the tough guy wasn't hurt, so we pressed on, then Ryan's bike decides to break, so he had to carry his bike on his back all the way back to the car, luckily we weren't too far. We took it to the closest bike shop, and they said it was because REI had assesmbled the bike wrong (or something like that) but they fixed it for free. SHAME ON REI!!!

This is me taking a breather after trying to keep up with Ryan... he's an animal!!

We came around the corner to our surprise the see a mama moose just eating in the trees, but due to having a crappy camera we could not get a good close up, but she was cute!

One of the luxuries of riding at the resort was a bike wash at the end, so Ryan hung up our bikes and gave them a good scrub down.

And for those of you didn't know, the 23rd of July was our 5 year anniversary. Like usual we did not get any pics, we forgot the camera. We went up to Snowbird for the day, hit the pool for some sun and later that night we went to dinner at Famous Daves BBQ, I had been craving some ribs and brisket. Then were gonna do some real celebrating in 2 weeks at the Blue Grass Festival at Grand Targhee!!!! I would love to give you a bunch of cheesy lines about how much I love my freakin' cute husband, but he would kill me so I won't. So HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABE, I LOVE YOU!!!!!

As a side note, I saw this clip and it made me think of Maddy.

I wonder why?

Lake Blanche

2008-07-10T21:14:00.001-07:00

Amy and I decided to do a little bit of exploring today, so we headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon and hiked to Lake Blanche.
We should've planned the day a little better, though, because before we left, I did a 13 mile ride, and Amy did a 5 mile run. Needless to say, we were pretty gassed when we began the uphill slog.

We only stayed at the lake long enough for me to finish a Clif Bar, because Amy had to get to work.

Next time, we'll stay a little longer.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

2008-06-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

Recently, Amy and I did the impossible; We went to Disneyland and didn't take one picture.
Did we forget to pack the camera?
Nope, we carried that thing the whole trip.
Maybe we were having too much fun to stop and take pictures.

My First Post

2008-05-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

As you can see Ryan (the family blogger) has been slacking and I've been getting complaints from a lot of people, so I am now going to attempt to Blog. Anyways, we have been living the life of being done with school and just working, so we have been going out of town every month. It's a great life, I get sick to my stomach of the thought of going back to school but for some odd reason I'm still thinking about it. Anyways we spent a week in Hawaii last month on Waikiki Beach and I'm still depressed that I'm home. I've never been any good at taking pictures (Amber will vouch for that) but due to the popular demand here they are!

This is our hotel right on the beach and the best part was that there was a Cold Stone Creamery in the hotel!! For those of you who don't know me well, this is my addiction. Hmmm that must be why I booked this hotel.

PUKA DOG!!!!! If you've never had a Puka Dog I suggest you go to Hawaii just to have one. We ate there twice, we couldn't resist. And about that hot orange bandana, my hairline and forehead was fried!!!

This was the prettiest beach of all and hardly any one was there. We were laying out and next thing I know it someone is getting married literally right next to us, I had to cover my face with my book so I didn't end up in their wedding album. So we pretty much were just beach bums for the week and ate a lot of good food, that's my kind of vacation!!

So we had another weekend to take off, so we loaded up the camping gear and the dog and went to the San Rafael Swell. It was so beautiful and warm. Maddy loves to go camping, her favorite part is sleeping in the tent with us and of course the hiking, I think she ate a few lizzards!! Seriously our sleeping bags went straight to the laundromat full of dog hair.

Me and my baby girl hiking!!!

Quote of the Week

2008-04-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

Mind you, this took place in Waikiki, HI

"We're looking for a good place to eat. Is there a Kentucky Fried Chicken close by?"
- Older woman to hotel employee

"Godless Tax Raisers"

2008-04-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

This is not a political statement from me.
Sit back and enjoy a short video about global warming.

TELLURIDE TR

2008-03-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

(For those who don't know, TR means trip report)
Amy and I had a few days off, so instead of sitting around the house, we decided to go somewhere. She originally wanted to go to Disney Land, but I'm not quite in the mood for that yet, "Maybe another time dear." We put our heads together and came up with Telluride, CO. We spent a week camping in that area a few years ago, but we'd never been there in the winter, so we packed our bags and headed south.

Dropping into Moab- Red rock and no snow

Going into Paradox Valley

A storm greets us in Telluride

Our Digs
We stayed at the New Sheridan Hotel on Main Street in Telluride. The hotel was built in the 1890s and then renovated to it's current state in 1994. Our floor was hostel style which means there were shared male and female bathrooms on our floor. It had a great continental breakfast, and we were provided with ski lockers and boot dryers.

Our comfy room

The lobby

The Town
Telluride is an old mining town situated in a box canyon. There are no chains or franchises in the town. All of the houses are old mining style. You can walk to everywhere in the town, the ski resort even has chair lifts and runs that go right in to town.

This gondola house was 2 blocks from our hotel

Ski Day
The night we arrived, it was snowing pretty hard, so when we woke up the next day, we were quite pleased to see bluebird skies. It is a little weird skiing somewhere you've never been, but it was fun to explore. My two lasting impressions of Telluride: Lots of moguls, and STEEP

It was a bright day

The hike to nowhere

Moguls: Conquered

On top of the world

So it was a great trip, and we will be back.
We'll finish this extra long post with some random pics from the trip

Violators will be towed

This place has some good mexican food

Road block

Random Pics

2008-02-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

I was thinking of calling this "The Week In Pictures", but I realized I didn't take enough pictures this week.

Few and far between: A clear December day at Targhee

Maddy has a ragin' ear infection and the Vet had to sedate her so that he could clean and take a look in her ears (This should be your new desktop wallpaper)

This has been a great snow year, and I've been very grateful for my season pass. This is a shot from Snowbird 2/1 (Yes it was deep and you should be jealous)

Movie Recommendation

2008-01-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

Do yourself a favor and see this movie... You will laugh

Livin' The Dream

2007-12-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

The next time someone asks me why I went into nursing, I think I'll tell them that I did it because I like to ski. It's a job where you only have to work 3 days a week, and you can work a night shift and then ski the next day. Thanks to my schedule, I've been up to the hill 6 times in the last 2 weeks.

We all heard about the storm that was coming in yesterday, and as the flakes were falling at the hospital, I was keeping my eye on Snowbird's snow report. Around 1:00 AM, with 9" new and no signs of stopping, I decided that it was going to be a day that I could not miss.

The alarm clock went off after 4 hours of sleep, and a quick check of Snowbird's web page showed 16 new inches. It was on.

Today was one of those days where the snow was no nice, you could ski anything. It didn't matter how steep the slope was. It didn't matter how tight the trees were. It didn't matter how many people had been on that particular run. The snow was just great.

I didn't take any pictures today because there's no time for pictures on a powder day, but here is a shot from Snowbird's webpage to give you an idea of the kind of day it was:

Think Snow!

Winter Fun

2007-12-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

Now that a few storms have rolled through, I can post pictures of two of my favorite things: Snow and Mountains

Why Did We Chose This House?

2007-09-13T15:05:00.001-07:00