Death Storm '09

Jay and I have been home for two days as schools have been closed for a continuous Winter Storm Warning/Blizzard Watch. It has been a lovely couple of days full of coffee, games, reading, and, last night, some friends who were willing to brave the weather to come and spend some time with us.

When I woke up this morning I decided to capture the crazy amounts of snow with my camera.

(Notice in this one that the snow drift to the left of Chango is as tall as he is.)

Eight hour party, Baking and Bonding, and a little Christmas

Alright, this is a little bit of a catching up post.

We will begin with a few weeks ago. Jay and I invited a few friends over for a Husker game. It turned into an 8 hour party with football, junk food, Munchkin Booty, and we finished the night with a little Ice Age.

Just this past weekend, we had a full time filled with family and friends. Friday a night we went to "Behold the Lamb" Christmas concert. Saturday we fulfilled my family's Christmas tradition of Baking and Bonding. It was the biggest Baking and Bonding ever, and the cookie collection got so big we had to start cooling them outside and on Ben and Crystal's bed.

The Baking.

The Bonding.

The Creative cooling techniques.

And as a bonus, we are going to play a little "I spy". See if you can spy the chronic texter.

And finally, Jay and I set a night aside to decorate our apartment. It turns out we overestimated the time it would take to put up all of our decorations, so we have a few hours to spare. (We own a little 3 ft. tree, an Advent) I think the apartment is beautiful.

Happy Halloween!

Here are a few pictures from the party we went to last night. Enjoy.

And just for the record, Jay and I are not really pregnant. He was a redneck and I was his barefoot and pregnant wife.

Fall Break in Michigan

This past week was my fall break from my job. A couple of months ago I found a fabulous deal on a plane ticket to go home and see my family. Jay had to stay in Lincoln and work. Here are some shots from my trip.

Mr. Miles.

The group.

Four generations of men.

Siblings.

Sisters.

It's a Race!

Today I ran my first race in years. Lori asked me to run with her a couple of weeks ago, and although we didn't exactly run next to each other, it was still a blast.

The pre-race pic.

In the midst of it.

Finishing.

Our post-race shot by the capitol.

What is the date again?

Yesterday we woke to SNOW! Yes, snow on the 10th of October. It was Chango's first experience with snow and it freaked him out. He wouldn't walk on it at first and once he did, his legs were shaking with every step.

Yesterday was also Ben and Amy's wedding reception. I didn't get many pictures, but here are a couple of ones that I liked.

Can anyone guess who these dancing queens are?

Some quick photo updates

I finally uploaded the few pictures that I have taken in the last month, so before I hit the hay, I thought I would post them with some brief captions.

Chango has made a new best friend. His name is Jack, and he is the dog of our friends Jan and Heidi they have had a few play-dates and Jack is very good at wearing Chango out.

Jay had his birthday. He is 25 . . . yay!!!! We are once again the same age for a few months. (Addie was helping him celebrate in this pic)

Grace Chapel (our church here in Lincoln) had it's 9th annual Birthday Bash that included a chili cook-off, an archery tournament and campfire songs. It was a bitterly cold October 2nd, but a good time was had by all.

things that made me happy this weekend

1. Having nothing to do Saturday morning except workout.

2. Getting a big "HI!" and a hug from Addie.

3. Talking to my mom on the phone about their trip and the Tigers whomping on the White Sox in Chicago.

4. Coffee in the park with Lori and Jay.

5. A Sunday afternoon snooze.

6. Browsing Target and finding a cute bracelet in the Dollar section.

7. Heading outside right now to eat Mexican and sit by the fire with the "upper dwellers".

Longs Peak . . . the hardest climb of my life

On Saturday morning, Jay and I spontaneously decided to drive to CO and climb Longs Peak with our friend Adam.

We left our pups (Chango) behind, loaded up the car and drove the 7 hours to Denver. We stayed with Adam and his wife Jes in their new house.

Sunday morning, after 3 and a half hours of sleep, we woke up at 1am to drive to the mountain. The first 3 hours of the climb were in darkness (except for the light of the moon), and by the time the sun rose we were over half way there.

(Sunrise from the mountain side)

(Pic above: the flash was a bit blinding)

(Hiking at Sunrise)

(Longs Peak from halfway up the mountain)

(the "Privys", aka mountain side outhouses)

We climbed and climbed, and huffed and puffed in the thin air. Seven hours later, we had finally reached the summit. It was only then that we realized that we had to do the whole thing in reverse. This climb was the most grueling thing I have ever put my body through.

(The Boulder Field)

(Climbing through the Boulder field)

(How we felt after climbing through the Boulder field)

(Kissing at the Keyhole)

(Traversing the Narrows)

(Signing the Register at the Summit)(At the Summit)

It took us 13 hours start to finish, but we made it!

I may never climb Longs again, but at least I can say that I did it.