2015 has been an interesting year for us. It's been good, but it's keeping us on our toes. All the same, we are having an incredibly fun year. We have been able to do some cool things, we've adventured with our dogs, and we've been riding bikes together. The other day I was browsing through the pictures that have collected on my phone since I got it in February. I had forgotten how many cool things I've done and seen this year. I've also been pretty sentimental the last few weeks so this post came from there too....
There was a killer weekend of sun and warmth in February this year. We took full advantage.
 |
| That afternoon we rode bike and drank #coffeeoutside. And that morning I took Goose snowshoeing at Snowbasin. He was in heaven. |
January 5th I began an accounting class. It's the first in a series of courses I am taking to earn a certification as a Credit Business Associate.
We bought a new Subaru Forester in November of 2014. My friend Gage bought my old Subaru Outback. After making a few repairs Gage started driving the Outback to work. Sometimes the Subarus hung out together. Old and new.
When I was working on my Accounting class Goose was always a GREAT study partner...
This guy is a lot like me. He just likes to part wherever he goes.
In February I got to to go to Minnesota for work. It was a whirlwind trip. Short. Busy. Fun.
I got to go to dinner with one of my most favorite Minnesota kids.
There was a Yak at Frostbike.
Some of my other Minnesota favorites.
And then on my last night in MN I was surprised by my sister who brought my niece and nephew to see me from Iowa.
I hadn't met my niece Remilyn yet. That became the highlight of the trip.
Kenai and I have done a lot of hiking this year, like all the other years.
In early March I was pretty sure that winter was done with us so I bought a lift ticket to get at least one day on the mountain this year. That was a Sunday. It was sunny, warm, and fun, but a little to spring-like.
48 hours later. On a Tuesday. It dumped. My boss gave me a powder day...and he doesn't even live in Utah!
I rode Powder Mountain that day with Dawn and John. The snow was deep. The company was tops. The beer was cold. What more could we ask for?
And after a long day of snowboarding I got to soak in their hot tub for fabulous conversation...and more cold beers.
As is customary, we had this two fun buckets over for a spring break sleepover. We had a blast. As always.
I made them buckets of sidewalk paint and they used it on our garage and driveway.
Rayah got a Weepies tat while she was with us. We had tats in the same place on our arm.
We hiked Indian Trail up Ogden Canyon with the kiddos and Goose. We all had a blast. My facial expression in this photo can only be explained by the fact that Rayah had just repeated something I said...and of course there was a "shit" in it. A laugh a minute with these two.
She's beautiful and has a style all her own...but I loved it whenever she tried a bit of my style on for size.
For Easter I got to spend a long weekend in Moab. I took 4 autistic teenage boys camping. That was a real adventure, and a challenge. We all made it out alive and had a great time in the process.
And by Sunday morning I was really ready to get home to Chris and the puppies.
Kenai wasn't exactly "eager" to have me maul him upon my return from Moab. At least he tolerates me.
The first week of April we set said on our first exploratory trip to Reno, NV.
These two were not excited to see us packing.
After a day of driving my tummy was craving a fresh salad. Great Basin Brewery delivered.
And their brews were above average as well.
Sparks Marina. The place we called "home" for our visit. We fell in love.
Chris won big.
We tracked down some very tasty pizza at BJ's Brewhouse. Again, good beers to go with it.
We spent a day exploring Tahoe, mostly by car but a bit by tastebuds as well. We tracked down this AWESOME sandwich shop after our first two attempts were not open on Sundays. We were lucky that the other two places were closed. This place makes it taste good to eat healthy. I had smoked tofu on cheesy jalapeno bread. YUM!!!
This day was one of those that was next to magic for me. My love was by my side wearing as many smiles as me throughout the day. We were surrounded in epic beauty in every direction for as far as the eye could see. We were preparing for our new life adventure together.
So much beauty. I felt like a little squirrel when I was playing with these rocks and pine cones. But I was happy.
I heart bikes. And Tahoe.
Until we meet again...
Then we were home again. In the car after picking these two up from Grandma and Grandpa's. As you can see, they had fun and were quite worn out upon our return.
Mid April brought perfectly mild temperatures and weather that was perfect for mountain biking. Goose and I explored Shoreline hoping to check out some of the new portion of the trail.
Alas, Goose has a terrible mother who let his poor little paws get hurt while he was too busy running his heart out to notice.
Later that week Chris and I participated in the Burrito Project in Salt Lake City. It's a moving organization. Do yourself a favor and watch this:
Do yourself a favor and watch this:
Then that boyfriend of mine talked me into buying that new road bike I'd been wanting. Meet Victoria.
Mother's Day happened and I got a couple of really awesome presents for being a dog mom.
Chris's mom and dad gave me this cute doggy pillow.
Shalyce, Jason, Camden, and Rayah gave me these dog butt magnets for our fridge. I LOVE THEM!
Well, a girl who gets a new bike obviously needs new bike shoes too, right?
I finished my accounting course with a B. I even have a certificate to prove it. I framed it.
I finally got to play cards against humanity. It was exceptional considering the company...
Over Memorial Day weekend I took a ladie's trip to Moab with Cindee and Hillary, meeting up with a few other people once we got down there.
Clearly he didn't know we were headed for Moab right after work. We was way to relaxed. I, on the other hand, couldn't sit still to save my life.
In every attempt to make this car ride induce as little anxiety as possible we prepared ahead for all scenarios. It seemed to work.
We finally got to pick up the rest of the girls, both human and K-9. Meet Hillary and Daisy...
This was definitely Lucy's (the Forester) greatest amount of cargo hauling, by far. She rocked it.
Morning one I didn't have the patience to wait for my coffee to drip at the campsite so Cindee and I drove into town to get some coffee and a few other necessities. While there, we met the fine folks who are currently traveling in and living in this converted short bus! They were as rad as they sound. http://www.aubreyandkira.com/
This is a sweet panorama that I sent Chris trying to capture the magnitude of the amount of people camped out on the BLM land. So. Many. People.
Saturday we rode the mountain bike trails at Klondike Bluffs. I was having some mechanical difficulties.
But when I was upright, it was a blast.
Even when Cindee got a flat we didn't have to try hard to have a great time.
Cindee loved her first mountain bike ride.
Our camp neighbors brought their ferret camping. She was awesome.
We got back to camp just in time to relax for a few minutes and watch a great big rain storm roll in.
This guys does not clean up well after a desert rain storm.
Quality time with Stella the ferret.
I'm convinced that having previously been the brother of a bunny is what made him so good and careful with her. I was proud.
Daisy feels full of shame when her mother dresses her. Even if it is really cool outdoor gear.
Meet Camp Chef (aka: Cindee)
I wanted a good beer so we hit up the Moab Brewery for lunch. It hit the spot.
Then we made a stop at the winery on the Colorado River. We hung out with the ghosts of John Wayne and the like for an enjoyable afternoon.
The pup knows I've always loved Native American culture.
He was on a horseless carriage with no way out of Dodge.
Then lady Daisy joined him. I love how they look like an old divorced couple in this picture.
He's always been one of the coolest dudes I've known.
One last goodbye to my favorite dish at Pasta Jay's. I enjoyed it while sitting around the campfire. It was perfect.
Dead Desert Dog.
On the cruise home from Moab traffic was backed up in Spanish Fork Canyon. Kenai was enjoying some fresh air while the car was stopped.
The bruise that resulted from my mechanical failures on the Klondike ride in Moab.
First thing was first when we got home. This guy needed a bath.
OMG, then this happened.
The Weepies came back to SLC for their Sirens tour. It was more magical than I could have imagined to be there with Chris.
On the tails of the Weepies concert was Little Red 2015. Our last one for a few years while we are living in Reno. :( It was a great year though, and perhaps a good time to find a new organization in Reno to donate my time and efforts to.
Set up on Saturday with Diane was fun, as usual.
We got to see our friend Allie again this year.
I loved how the sky behind us looked.
Little Red Morning. Getting pumped to ride.
Finished 50 miles! Loved having this guy there to greet me when I came in.
In the last couple of weeks I have ridden the Sardine trail at Snowbasin 4 or 5 times. I'm actually heading there as soon as the bell rings at 5pm. :) I'm going to miss this place.
I got to hang out with Zade and look at lots of bugs. He and Chris found an albino earwig! Really.
Last weekend Kenai's sister Ellie came to stay with us. Everybody had a lot of fun and Chris and I accomplished a lot around the house.
I was standing in the garage after coming back from a mountain bike ride on Sunday and noticed that my whole quiver was in one frame so I took a picture. These bikes sure do bring us a lot of joy, happiness, adventure, and fun. And bikes ultimately are what brought Chris and I together.
So in a nutshell that's how 2015 has looked for us so far. It's been wonderful. We're looking forward to the adventure ahead that is quickly approaching.
