Steamboat Springs, Colorado...

Every year I have my girlfriend reunion with Kris and Kellie, 2 girls that I met during my time in the Air Force. We go somewhere different each year and this trip was spent in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The Rocky Mountains are beautiful and the weather was amazing for the entire 4 day trip. I had a blast as usual....cant wait for the next trip!!

We hopped on the lift to ride up the mountain and then ride back down on the Alpine Slide. What a blast! I haven't ridden one of those since I was 18 years old :)

Downtown Steamboat...check out the beautiful background! We were going to fish while we were there but the water is so high and fast from all of the snow runoff this year that it wouldn't have been a great idea....

Lunch at a Mexican restaurant downtown...on the patio. Awesome food :)

This isn't the best picture but it is the only one taken with all 3 of us in it. We found a great steakhouse one night for dinner. It was a "grill your own meat" place...I was resistant at first to pay $30 for a steak only to have to cook it myself...but afterward (and thanks to Kris cooking mine) I was all over it. Excellent food!!

3rd Annual Girls Trip......

Each year me and a couple of my good friends from when I was in the Air Force get together somewhere for a girls trip. This year we were going to go to Mexico. Unfortunately the friend that was going to be driving us across the border totaled her car (not her fault) and could not drive a rental vehicle over the border so we changed our trip last minute to Palm Springs, California. It was probably for the best since there is so much trouble going on at the border..... Anyway, I flew into Los Angeles and waited for Kellie who was flying in from Denver, Colorado. Kris was then going to pick us both up. Sadly, when I got to baggage claim I quickly realized that my bag was no where to be found. The only bag left on the carousel looked just like mine though so I thought perhaps someone had taken mine by mistake and crossed my fingers that they would return it. I waited for the next flight from Salt Lake to come in just in case my bag got put on that plane but still no luck. Eventually a little old lady called and she had taken my bag instead of hers. She lives in Pasadena (insert song: Little old lady from Pasadenaaaaa) and so we opted to drive her bag to her and pick mine up. Southwest airlines gave me a $75 voucher for my trouble....this came in handy a few days later. I was supposed to fly standby home on Jet Blue through a friend of mine that works for the airline. I thought it was a great idea and would save me money. Unfortunately there were only 2 flights going to Salt Lake and if I didnt happen to get on the p.m. flight I would have had to spend the night in the airport! The standby list was already 38 people long and there were only 9 empty seats on that flight. I quickly looked up flights on Southwest and with my voucher that they had given me I only had to pay $20 for my flight home and it was guaranteed! I think that lady took my bags for a reason...someone was watching out for me!~

So we drove to Palm Springs and checked into our fabulous digs....2 bedrooms, full kitchen, balcony with a grill. We grocery shopped and cooked most of our food, laid by the pool in the very HOT sun (my favorite part). We even tried to go dancing one night but apparently flip flops are inappropriate footwear for the "fancy" club in the local casino....hmpf!! That's Ok...we had plenty of our own dancing in our condo. It was such a fun time and Im already looking forward to our next trip :)

I Actually Did It......

6 Months ago when I made the decision to register for a half marathon, there was a little voice inside my head that said "you wont make it". I also know that the voice was inside the head of other people close to me. All I can say to the voice is "HA!" I did it. No, I didnt run fast and No, I didnt win anything but I finished it and I didnt die doing it! I also had a lot of fun which was the best part. You will have to forgive the boring details of this post but I have to document this experience somewhere and this seems a better place than any other.

We drove to Reno Wednesday afternoon and spent the night and the next day at my parents house. On Thursday I met my friend Amy for lunch. I met her while living in Monterey 14 years ago! I havent seen her since I left in 1996 so what a treat it was to visit with her again! Friday morning we got up and left for Monterey California with my mom joining us. Denver was not able to come with us because of work so my Mom filled in for him.... The drive to California was fun and what a feeling it was to come over the hill and see the Monterey Bay again after 12 years!!! I LOVE this place....... We had dinner and relaxed at the hotel the rest of the night. The next day we took a drive along the coast on the route that I would be running that weekend. I showed everybody the sites and then we headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The kids loved it! It was a lot of fun and they enjoyed seeing all the fish and touching the Sting Rays and Starfish. I was a little disappointed that the seals werent around. Normally they crowd Fishermans Wharf and you can hear their barking for miles. I used to love waking up to that sound everyday. Ian started feeling a little sick after dinner so we went back to the hotel and went to bed.

The next morning I got up at 4:45 and got ready for the big race. I was very nervous even though I knew I would be fine....it was the anticipation I guess! We took off running at 7:05 a.m. on the most beautiful morning EVER! Not a cloud in the sky and no fog, which was strange for Monterey. Every 2 or 3 miles they had a different type of live music group playing...it was so amazing. Especially running through the tunnel and coming out to the bagpipe players as the sun was rising. Unreal! The town was so supportive and people were out on their porches playing music and cheering for everyone. It was so much fun! The scenery was breathtaking and it was hard not to stop and just appreciate it. I am not a fast runner and did not run the race in the time that I had wanted to but enjoyed it so much that I cant be too disappointed! When I was running back and hit the 10 mile mark, I was quite tired and very hungry....I was ready for it to be over. As I came around the final stretch Ian and Evan ran out to meet me and then held my hand and ran across the finish line with me. It was so awesome.... Poor Ian was still feeling sick but trying so hard to enjoy the moment with me. There were lots of pictures taken by the race organization and I am still waiting for those photos. Mom was too excited and didnt get any of us running in but thats OK! It was a great experience and I believe I am going to do it every year.

We went out to eat after the race and then headed down to Carmel beach so the kids could play in the ocean. They have never seen the ocean before so it was all a new experience for them. I couldnt get the boys to leave they were having so much fun. They were soaked from head to toe by the time we left. Addie was content to just stand with me....she didnt dig the water too much and I dont blame her....it was COLD! We went back to the hotel and showered and then Ian really got sick. So much so that I ended up taking him to the hospital. He was running a high fever and wasnt breathing well. I was really nervous. No H1N1 thank heavens but definitely sick and having asthma problems. They gave him a breathing treatment and gave me an inhaler to continue giving him. He is still feeling sick tonight and I am praying that it doesnt turn into the flu.

We left Monday morning to drive back to Reno. We decided since we were so close we would take a side trip up to San Francisco so the kids could see the Golden Gate bridge. What an adventure that turned out to be! All I can say is be careful not to get off on the wrong exit in San Fran because if you do, you will be in the city for hours trying to find your way back out. Every street is one way, I didnt think we would ever get out!! We saw Lombard St. so we took a little drive down the "crookedest street" in the world. The kids were literally squealing at the super steep hills....I felt like we were on a roller coaster! The bridge was awesome and we got some great pictures. Then we were off to Reno. Tuesday we left and made the 7 hour drive back to Salt Lake City.... What a trip! Lots of driving but lots of fun! Here is a slideshow of our adventures.....

Our Fathers Day Weekend.....

OK, I didn't get a tribute in time for Fathers Day so I will just a few things here. First of all Denver is a wonderful father to our children. He loves them so much and does everything he can for them. I am thankful for the love and devotion that he shows to them and for putting them first.

Second, my own dad.....I love him so much and wish that we could live closer to him. He is always there to offer support and advice and he is a wonderful Grandpa to my kids, love you Dad. Last, but certainly not least is my father in law Don who is missed every day. This man loved everything about family and was happiest when everyone was around him. He has left a big hole in our hearts and we look forward to seeing him again one day.

Now, for Fathers Day this year Denver's wish was to go fishing in Idaho. He wanted to go back to a private pond that he had fished at earlier this year. We got permission and that was that. We left Saturday morning and traveled 3 hours to Twin Falls, Idaho. The pond was another 20 minutes or so outside of Twin Falls in a little town called Hagerman. The whole drive up there it rained and rained and I thought for sure we were going to have to wait to fish on Sunday. However, once we got to the pond it had stopped and we didn't get rained on! What we did do was catch a whole lotta fish! I had forgotten how much fun it is to actually catch fish! The boys had so much fun. This was their first experience catching their own fish and they were beside themselves.....All 3 of the boys were a little timid at first with touching the fish or holding them. By the end of the day Alec was unhooking his own fish like a pro. Ian and Evan....still a little timid but did agree to at least touch the fish! We fished for about 3 hours and probably caught about 50 fish between us all.

We finally left and headed back to Twin Falls to check into our hotel and grab lunch. I have to say that my experience with Idaho up until this weekend had been limited to Preston, Idaho and the quick drive thru we made in college on our way to Jackson Hole. I must say I have gained a new appreciation for this state. It is absolutely beautiful. We stopped at the Snake River Gorge visitor center and took some great pictures. We even were able to witness 3 men "base jump" off of the Perrine bridge that crosses the gorge. Scary stuff but very cool....I got video of it that I posted at the bottom of the post. After the gorge, we made our way to Shoshone Falls.....the "Niagara Falls of the West". Amazingly beautiful...pictures don't do it justice! As we were coming into Twin Falls, I noticed a huge white church in the distance. I told Denver to look at it because it almost looked like an LDS Temple....by accident, on the way back from the falls, we stumbled upon the building and lo and behold, it was indeed an LDS Temple. Who knew!? I didn't realize they had one in Twin Falls. The grounds were closed for maintenance unfortunately so I just took a picture of the outside front. It was really pretty.

We also realized why they call it Twin Falls, everywhere we looked there were waterfalls coming out of the walls of the gorge. It was so beautiful.....

We went back to the hotel so the kids could swim. Actually all of us swam despite the chilly water temperature. It seems to me that Idaho ought to have heated pools....I'm just sayin. After dinner we called it a day and slept, rather uncomfortably in our queen sized hotel bed. I have come to really appreciate my comfy California king sized bed!! Sunday we checked out and were supposed to go on home but decided to head back to the pond for a little more fishing. It was so much fun and this time we kept about 15 fish....we caught another 50 fish and ended up staying a lot longer than planned. If a huge windy storm had not blown in, we might just still be there! It was a really fun weekend and I would love to go back and see more. I think Denver really enjoyed his Fathers Day weekend and the boys have certainly gained a new love for fishing...... Hope you all had a wonderful Fathers Day too! Here is our slideshow of pictures and below that are 2 videos to watch!!

Here is Evan catching his first fish of the day......





Here is video of one of the crazy jumpers!!!

Home Again....

Ok....Ive been gone for too long! This has really been a hard month for some reason. I'm thinking it must be Spring fever or something....I just cant get into the swing of things. I did, however, have a wonderful break for 4 day in Taos, Nm. I returned Sunday night....late.....and am just getting the time to sit here and blog about it. I left Thursday morning and flew to Denver, Colorado where I met one of my friends....Kellie. She lives near Vail and had decided to drive to Taos so because it was quite a bit cheaper to fly to Denver than Alberquerque....I did that and gave her some company on the drive down. Our other friend Kris drove herself to Taos from San Diego. The drive down was fun....it took about 5 hours to get there. You may think that this seems like a long time to drive somewhere but even if we had flown to Alb.,NM....the drive from there to Taos would still have been about 2.5 hours. So anyway...it was a fun drive and I got to see parts of the country I probably wouldnt have seen otherwise. Kellie has a vacation timeshare deal so whenever we go on these trips, we dont have to pay for the condo. And these are nice places....I loved the place we stayed this time. It was beautiful..... So, I had a totally different picture of what Taos would be like. It is much smaller than I thought and way more laid back than other similar towns such as Park City or Aspen....and the ski resorts (there are 3) are actually about 20 minutes away. I always thought that the ski resort was right there in town....like Park City. If you like art and jewelry, then Taos is the town for you. The first full day that we were there was Friday and the other 2 went skiing (I decided not to ski).....so I slept in, went to the gym in the resort, went to breakfast/lunch and then spent 2 hours walking up and down main street. There were sooooo many shops to look through and I thoroughly enjoyed this time alone. I dont get much alone time these days and it was very rejuventaing to have that time to myself. I bought my kids some fun souvenirs then went back to meet the girls. We had dinner at a very yummy "new" Mexican restaurant. I learned something interesting. Green chiles are normally fairly mild. Sometimes I get a can that is a bit spicier than normal...they come in a little yellow can and are "Hatch" brand green chiles. Well, Hatch is a town in NM that grows these green chilies and they are much spicier than regular green chiles! Wow....who knew. I can tell you that I ate a lot of these green chiles on my trip. Just about every meal, including breakfast had them incorporated somehow! So the next day was another relaxing day topped off with dinner which was so much fun. I really enjoyed reminiscing with my friends and we laughed and laughed the whole dinner through!

We of course have decided to make this a yearly event and have already planned next years trip to Cabo San Lucas! Wahoo! I cannot wait. I had such a fun, relaxing time and although I missed my family, it did me a lot of good to get away for a short time to "refuel".....Now, Im back to the grind and wanting winter to be OVER. I need some sun! Here are a couple of pictures from my trip

Just Like Riding a Bike....

Im really hoping that everything people tell me about skiing is true. That it truly is just like riding a bike. I havent put on a pair of skis since the winter of 1992.....seriously. Now, I am meeting some girlfriends in Taos on the 29th for a ski weekend. Im getting nervous....its been 16 years! One of my friends offered to bring her extra snowboard so that I could try it out. HA! I think I'll take my chances on something Im at least vaguely familiar with. Either way, Im so looking forward to my little vacation in a place that I have never been before....should be fun, I'll be sure to let you know!

Labor Day in Vegas.....

It's always nice to come home, but we did have a great weekend in Vegas. We left early Saturday morning....like 2:30 am early....right after I got home from work. Why did we leave at such a time you ask? Well, Denver wanted to stop at Sand Hollow reservoir on our way for a little fishing. We have done this before in spite of how crazy people think we are. We arrived right as the sun was coming up and it was sooooo beautiful. Sand Hollow is right outside of Hurricane and it looks like a miniature Lake Powell...not quite as Grand, but really pretty. One thing that I just love about Southern Utah is the contrast in color. It really is a beautiful desert. Blue sky, Red rocks, green foliage....and of course the blue water. It was very peaceful and Denver was even able to catch a few Bass...he was very happy. The kids really enjoyed playing on the rocks and on the red sand beach... it was worth it to stop there and relax a little. I'd live there if it were possible.

So, then we were off for the rest of the trip to Las Vegas...only about 2 more hours away. We got there early enough to have the entire day to spend...another reason why we like to leave so early in the morning. My mom was ready and waiting to take me to see the movie "Mama Mia". She had me all prepared the week before by sending me the Abba CD by which the story is created around. It really is crazy to think that someone took this CD of music and literally created a story from the songs. I had heard very little about the movie itself and was so pleasantly THRILLED with it. It was a lot of fun....so much that that we went back to see the "sing along" version the next day! Yes, it was the movie with the words to the songs on the bottom of the screen to encourage the audience to "sing along"....Unfortunately we had a timid audience so it wasnt what I had hoped for but it was still fun to see it again, and I sang along anyway! If you havent seen the movie and you like funny musicals, then I suggest seeing it, if its still playing in your area! Meryl Streep was incredible. I was very impressed.

The rest of the weekend was spent eating and lounging in the pool. The kids practically lived in the swimming pool. Denver and my dad were supposed to golf on Monday and when they showed up bright and early for their tee time, the golf course told them they didnt have a tee time reserved! Somehow their reservation was lost and in Las Vegas, if you dont have a tee time, you dont golf. It ended being OK though because not too long after they got there, the wind kicked up so strong that it would have been miserable golfing in it anyway....

Denver cooked fabulous meals all weekend....we have an ongoing deal with my parents which is 'they buy the food, Denver cooks it'..... My mom and I sat down and went through all her old pictures so I could take some home to scan. We had a ball laughing at ourselves and others! I enjoyed finding pictures of my parents when they were the age that I am now....kinda weird too. I really enjoyed the walk down memory lane.

So, we are home now and back to the grind. In fact Denver is already at school and Ian is getting ready to start his homework for tomorrow. Its always nice to get home but as reality sets back in, I find myself wishing I was still gone.....:) Thanks to Mom and Dad for a great weekend. Cant wait to see you again!

almost home.....

We are driving somewhere in the middle of the desert. Listening to a little Alan Jackson.... We should be home in about 4 hours and I will post an upadate on our weekend in Vegas!