Its a Wonderful Time

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale Happy Holidays To all my Friends and Family.

The Bus, That's Amazing

Drum Bus Anyone?

Ya, its really a bus, with drums, that drives around,

making music and cheer

and happy things

We loved it...

The Air is Crispy

I love the crispy air

looking to the mountains and watching them change

I think we live in the most beautiful amazing place!

waking up in the morning to the change of the season

frost on the grass

color of red and orange resinate through the whole valley

crunching leaves under my feet

the mountains breathe

leaves fall to the ground and bare branches show through

warm coffee in the morning never tasted better

nutmeg, cinnamon, apple, pumpkin

Fall hiking- for some reason the feeling is different! My soul feels lighter! I get happier!

October Fest

Fall Festivals and great reasons to get together as friends and families... To celebrate to laugh.

and saturday morning farmers market, where everyone is happy and musical and creative and wonderful!

Flannel sheets and down comforters

slippers, boots, leggins and scarves

harvest and prune

rake and plant bulbs

I am happy to live here, in this season..

Kokopelli=Amazing

So.... My computer crashed....

I was devastated... Lost all my music!

Put my broken down computer in the closet, out of sight out of mind!

Decided to get it fixed-

it's fixed!

Had and amazing trip

decided to blog it

So I am back to blogging- a little

I love getting ready for vacation... make lists, clean the house, pack up, tune the bike, and get ready for a break a nice getaway (I know to many a 150 mile bike trip seems like nothing of this sort) But to me, a good four days on my bike, in the desert, with good people and the love of my life is about all I need to make everything just perfect!

Kokopelli is a 150 mile mountain bike trail hidden with charms that lie between Fruita and Moab.

I was lucky to steel my Lyle away from the fires for a week and take him on this bike adventure.

With a variety of riding, from single track to slick rock and open road to hike-a-bike,

it was an adventure worth having... We split the ride into four days, each day enjoying a different view and place to lay our head. Some nights the sounds of the river soothed our tired minds, which was perfect after riding through the dead town of cisco where nothing bright stood standing, only lonely abonded homes and stripped down old gas stations.

Other nights Red rock towered over our camp

adding to the days amazing journeys through slick rock and single track trails... It doesn't get much better than this...

Although there were days, where we climbed and climbed and climbed. . Carried our bikes over boulders as I cussed in my head WHY AM I DOING THIS- BIKES ARE MENAT TO BE RIDDEN, not HIKED, sweat more than I thought I could... wrecked a little and got saddle sore a lot, It was all worth it...

Waking up for yoga in the morning, and a fire to warm up by

A good game of Bite the box

(if you haven't played this game you must) and with a little lemonchinni, you will have no problem getting right into it:)

Tough Women, and men too!

All in all, we were happy! Had no complaints, good company and amazing food!..... We all split nights up cooking and had plenty of great meals, and only one night to worry about cooking, or cleaning up.

It was the greatest getaway!

Unitl.....

Lyle wrecked, the last 30 feet of the trail, and yep! Tore is AC joint in his right shoulder! Poor Guy! I drag him out on this bike trip after 17 days of fighting fire, and this is what happens.... Dang it! Unfortunately it is a long healing process, and a painful one at that, but most likely he will not have to have surgery and will be back in full action in about 8 weeks.

He is amazing... and tough and sexy even with his nasty beard and handicapped arm... I think that he is neat, and now I get him home for a long time:)

Life is pretty great!

Don't you think

R*A*G*N*A*R

Everytime I do it, I start to wonder why... Especially when 3am rolls around and I am getting ready to run 8 miles... in the dark... in COALVILLE!!!

But it is only 12 of the 24 hours that I dread.... like only getting the 1 hour of sleep, curled up in a ball on the van seat.... being crammed in a van, with 5 other stinky, grumpy runners. Eating Protein bars and other things that I pray will keep me going. . . . but the run, the motivation and support from friends.

Accomplishing something that you questioned whether or not you would be able to... The finish line. the night of sleep you never thought could feel so great... All make it worth it.

RAGNAR- not only is it the largest relay in the country...

It is seriously one of the most challenging events that I have done..

Harder then a marathon... a century, and even harder than swimming in a triathalon (which is extremely hard for me).. You go through moments of "how am I going to do this", "can I make it through another leg, my last leg.." I just need sleep", what was I thinking"... but it is an amazing experience that everyone should have!!! and it was through my home town!!!

I did my second Ragnar this weekend...

I wasn't planning on doing it- nor did I train to do it- but when a spot opened up on my friends team, without really even thinking about it- I committed.. and it was all worth it.. I didn't know however, that it was me that would be running the "RAGNAR" the 1700 ft elevation gain in 4 miles.... in the heat of the day!!!!

Thank God for that girl running ahead of me in her tutu... I couldn't let a girl in a tutu outrun me!!! And for the amazing beauty of the Wasatch mountains, my own stomping grounds to enjoy for an event like this....

All in all I made it- I kept a steady pace of the hill.

I had an awesome team of crazy people supporting me... The Average Joes..

are not so average!!!

Giving me water, that I was in much need of!!!

Ice cold sponges (that were amazing)

and motivation to get to the end...

Everytime I do it I wonder why.... but what the heck...

Vegas Ragnar here we come!!!

Girls * Gone * Moab

Moab... I love Moab.
It is really one of my most favorite places in the whole world.
Especially at this time of year.
Especially with good people.
Jammin out by the fire!

Rivers Red rocks, climbing red rocks crystal clear skies and bright stars, warm sun. It is heaven.
and, hey.... what better way to spend time in Moab than with a group of crazy girls...

With New Eyes

It all began, one beautiful Sunday morning..... Yoga, a cup of Joe, and Einsteins bagel..
I was prepared for a very long ride... for, as best I could remember the ride to Nana and Pompas was always so brutally long as a little girl..
We drove, and drove... It was a different experience than it used to be. Granted there are parts of that ride thru the Nevada Deserts that are really ..... well, boring; but also very pretty.. and hey, before I knew it I was 100 miles from Lovelock Nevada...
It was fun reminicing so many childhoo memories to Lyle about my summer trips to visit Grandma, Nana, and Popma.. Truck rides, tall diving boards (which when you are a grown up, they dont seem so tall), bike rides to Gma Reiss's from Nanas, gardening, Mary and Lary, Grandmas Geese... The stories went on.... and on... I was so excited to see the homes my grandparents.... but wow- how time changes things... I couldn't even recognize Nana's and Pompas house... I had to first fing Mary and Lary's... and to those of you who have never seen their house before will not think twice about this picture... to those of you who remember, Can You believe it???? Yes, that is Nana and Pompas house.... no deck, no tree- it's a good thing Pompas garage was still up in the back, or I may have just went and had a word with the new owners! :)

In lovelock we also visited G-ma and G-pa Reisses grave... for being such a desolate place uncle robert does good at keeping their headstone looking nice, decorating them with pinecones and driftwood from Tahoe.

Speaking of Uncle Robert.... what a great man... it was good to see him and spend time in his bachelor pad. He had such crazy stories and he actually talked Lyle into going gold hunting... yes! really.. Tahoe was, as always beautiful and wonderful..

We spent two night with Uncle Robert, then headed on our way to the city... Sanf Fran is just amazing.. We had such a great time there.. Ran every morning on the pier, adventured into the city, amazing food always.. We ate breakfast at a place called Dotties... it was soso good.. If I were to own a breakfast place, THIS would be it.. small, personal, and funky.. The chef/owner cooked for everyone and it was amazing to watch him and talk with him. Lyle and I sat at the counter and watched him rock the grill...

San Fran is truly an amazing city...
Bumbs hiding behind trees to scare people for money?!
trains, carts, piers, great fish, food, people. I love it there.



Last but not least we traveled up the coast to see Aunt Vicki and Philip.. We played on the beach and went and watched the surfers followed by an amazing sunset. We saw whales migrating, and enjoyed PERFECT weather...

They have such a beautiful cabin on the coast... It was so nice to spend time with them.. Lyle and Philip cut down trees, Lyle is pretty dang good at what he does. He hit the bullseye every time... Sexy man!!! We helped get a space cleared for their garden..They have an amazing little family of kitties and Asia. I don't know why but my pics from Gualala got erased... so I will post more... or not, there are already a lot... Sorry..

Vacation is needed.. It was so good for Lyle and I to get away.. You always come home with new eyes, and a better attitude.. I do anyway... You should try it.