The Hagers

4th of July

2009-07-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

4th of July

Driggs, Idaho!!!

The view of the Tetons from Joe's house!!

First day.... on a nice hike with Joe and his family!

4th of July Parade in Victor Idaho.

Campfire that night with lots of fireworks and sparklers!!!

Another hike at the Jackson pass - The girls did great on the hike!

Our last stop at the town of Jackson to do some shopping while Ross went biking!

Yard Updates...

2009-06-18T09:02:00.001-07:00

The Yard...

Ross's Father's Day present - he likes to watch the birds!

Ross's creation - the water feature! It's great - Sunny has fresh drinking water all day long!

Our weekend Projects....

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

We had 800 sq feet of sod delivered Friday - just after they picked up the dumptster from our driveway, thankfully! With the help of our amazing neighbor Nathan - we got all the sod down in a mere 3 hours!!! I was on watering duty (sweet!).

Then Saturday... we gathered all our supplies - 70 edging bricks, 5 tons of stone, 3 boulders and 3/4 ton of flagstone.

We had to lay the weed barrier and the edging...

I'm not sure what Sunny thinks about all this yard work.

We put in the flagstone path and then wheelbarrel after wheelbarrel of rock.... It looks great but boy are we tired!!!

More Yard Projects?!?!?!?

2009-06-04T18:35:00.001-07:00

I guess we just can't get enough of the yard...

I spent a good couple hours shoveling the equivilent of 27 bags of mulch to finish off the front garden. It makes a big difference!!!

I plan to put rock here instead of mulch.... I've had enough with the mulch!!!

Our beautiful rose bushes!

Most of this area will be rock with a flagstone path in it. We are having 500 sq feet of rock and 100 sq feet of flagstone delivered on Saturday...

This is what started it all.... We put down rock and built that retaining wall to replace the old railroad ties. Now that's new, we have to update the rest... it's a never ending project!

All this dirt will be sod. We are having 800 sq feet of sod delivered Friday.

This used to be full of all the bushes we ripped out.

Now it's all in the dumpster!

We ordered too much dirt - so we have a bunch left... we put an ad in the paper for "Free Dirt". Hopefully someone will take it tomorrow!

Ohhh The Yard!

2009-05-27T18:20:00.001-07:00

Our handy man finished up on Tuesday (merely a week off schedule)! We have a couple finishing touches left but we're almost done! We still have to stain the fence and we're planning to re-seed the backyard and try to grow grass!!! We'll see.....

Before...

After...

The Garden...

Everything I planted last year has come back and continues to grow!!!!

The decks....

Upper deck with all new Trex!

The lower deck...

Bench to use to get in and out of the hot tub!

Cool cut out around the tree!

Our fire pit area

The fence.... makes a HUGE difference in the yard!!! We're going to put grass in all the dirt areas...

The front fence.... We're going to try to grow grass here too...

Yard Projects!

2009-05-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

We've had quite a lot going on in our yard lately...

Ross's Birthday

2009-05-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

Ross's Belated Birthday / Easter!!!
After 16 long days in the hospital - Chuck finally made it home so we could celebrate Easter and Ross's Birthday. We had great weather and were finally able to eat outside!

Our Honey Baked Ham dinner!! Yummmm....

I just can't keep the kids out of the tree!

Sajie cat with his new do!!!

Blake was good at pool!

Our new 'pool room'!!!

2009-03-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas!!!

We had a great 3 night trip to Vegas! We ate at several buffets - The Orleans for breakfast, Spice Market at Planet Hollywood for dinner and Sunday Champagne brunch at the MonteCarlo. All were really good - the best deal was the Orleans breakfast - $7.99!!!

We gambled a bunch... Ross got to see first hand my addiction to the penny slots! What I lost he made up for in winnings playing poker (I knew I kept him around for something!!!). Combined we only lost about 50 bucks or so and got to drink lots and lots!

We toured the strip and did all the touristy things. We got free tickets to see "O" at the Bellagio which was wonderful! We saw the water show at the Bellagio, the Volcano at the Mirage, and the Sirens pirate show at Treasure Island. We checked out The Wynn, Encore, Mirage, Treasure Island, NewYork NewYork, Venetian, Palazzo, Paris, Bellagio, Planet Hollywood, Flamingo Hilton, The Orleans, RedRocks and of course The Monte Carlo! Phew!

Me in front of the Paris

The Volcano at the Mirage

The Brooklyn Bridge (New York New York)

We got to use the Bellagio pool with our Monte Carlo room key. It was very fancy, a little cold but the hot tub was nice!

The Wynn and Encore

Red Rocks

We did a nice 2 1/2 mile hike up to an overlook of the strip. The weather was perfect and it was a fun hike with some scrambling. We definitly worked off our buffet breakfast!

Self timer photo with the strip in the background!

Driggs, Idaho

2009-02-02T14:33:00.000-08:00

Susan and I went to Driggs, Idaho last weekend. Friends of ours let us use their cabin and we had a great time. We did a snowshoe hike, went cross country skiing and I went snowboarding at Grand Targhee Resort.

XC skiing in Teton canyon

View from Grand Targhee Resort

looking into Teton Valley

Snowshoe Hike near Driggs

Sunrise view from the cabin

Very early sunrise view from cabin

Sunny loves the snow

The cabin we stayed in, we had to snowshoe to it from the road

Hawaii

2008-12-18T07:18:00.000-08:00

Maui!!!

We have returned from our 9 day trip to the wonderful island of Maui. We had a good combination of activities and lying on the beach!!! The weather was wonderful, the water was beautiful and the company was great!

This is the beach right by our condo... Napili Bay Beach. There were always lots of turtles swimming around!

Honalua Bay - Big Surfing spot!!

Beautiful Sunsets....

Family shots!

Waiting for the Christmas Tree lighting at the Ritz-Carlton (yeah, Santa was in shorts!!!)

Haliakala Crater - 10,000 feet above sea level!

Hula Pie - Macadamia Nut ice cream, chocolate and whip cream - Yummy!!!

One day - while Ross went mountain biking - we drove around the north side of the island... Long, narrow and windy road but very pretty!
Ross biking in the West Maui Mountains (he came back VERY dirty!)

Ross and Chuck took surfing lessons in Lahina!!!

( It looked pretty hard!!!)

Millcreek Canyon

2008-11-07T17:23:00.001-08:00

First big storm of the year came the other day. Sunny and I headed up Millcreek Canyon to play in snow. I got the Cross Country skis out Sunny remembered she loves the snow!

Fall

2008-11-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Fall Pictures...

I finally had the chance to play around with the new camera I got for my Birthday! It's a Canon Rebel Xti - 12 megapixel and uses all the Canon lenses I have from my old 35M SLR!

Oh the leaves...
Ross raking the leaves!!!

The burning bush turning bright red!!!

Our new maple tree finally changing colors!!!!

Sunny playing ball while we were raking...

Sweet Sunny girl!!!

Couldn't leave out Sajie Cat!!!

Illinios - Wisconsin game

2008-10-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

Illinois fans were few, here is Anna and myself

I spent the weekend in Madison going to some sporting events and of course drinking some beer. We went to the Minnesota - Wisconsin hockey game on friday night and then the football game on Saturday. Illinois lost the game but a good time was had by all and I got to hang out with some old college friends. Now I just need to catch up on some sleep and let my liver rest.

Fall in the Wasatch

2008-10-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from some recent mountain bike rides. These were taken in Park City, pretty soon we will be skiing down these mountains.

North Carolina

2008-09-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Charlotte, North Carolina

We just returned from a long weekend in Charlotte seeing the sights, visiting friends and watching the Chicago Bears play the Carolina Panthers.

We went to check out the Whitewater Center on Friday - the largest man made rapids - pretty cool!

Then we stopped at the Blues, Brews and BBQ festival to have some good old southern cookin' and listen to some Blues.

We also had a chance to catch some Jazz in the park and eat at some great restaurants! Ross got to hang out with college friends - and I finally had the chance to meet them (and their wives)!!!

Then some Football...

Josh, Ross and Joe before the game... Boy was it HOT!!!

GO BEARS!!! Despite our devoted support - the Bears lost 20 - 17. But all in all, we had a great weekend!!!

Sawtooth Mountains - Idaho

2008-09-01T19:34:00.001-07:00

Sawtooth Mountains
We spent our Labor Day Weekend up in Idaho in the Sawtooth Mountains. We drove through Sun Valley - stopped and had lunch then headed up and into the mountains. We found a great camping spot near Petit Lake - had a great view of the mountains from our camp.

Ross scouting out the lake (too hard to fish here).
Sunny waiting patiently for a stick to be thrown into McDonald Lake.

View of the White Cloud mountains at sunset Friday night from Yellowbelly lake.

Our hike to Hell Roaring Lake on Saturday.

View of Finger of Fate - we fished in the Upper Hell Roaring Lake for a while - Ross caught 13 fish - I caught 1! Hmmm...

Me sitting in the stream after spraining my ankle. We still had a 2 mile hike out to the car!!

Sitting on the lawn at Redfish Lake Lodge listening to the free concert Sunday night - Weinland, a band from Portand. Sunny really enjoyed the concert too!

The Redfish Lake Lodge

View of the Sawtooth basin on our drive out Sunday night - it got COLD! We drove part way home, slept in a rest area then finished the drive in the morning.

What we came home to Monday morning!!! Nice weather!!! I wasn't missing much as I spent the morning in the InstaCare making sure my ankle wasn't broken (nope - just sprained.)

Camping in the Uinta's

2008-08-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Camping in the Uinta's

We finally got away for a weekend camping trip to the Unita Mountains. We brought Madison (age 9) and Kerigan (age 7) with us this trip. Both had a wonderful time hiking, fishing and roasting s'mores by the campfire. Both girls caught 2 fish each!!!

The girls on their way to the lake...

Ross on his way to the lake (must be an easy hike - he's got a beer!)

Madison with her 1st fish!

Kerigan with her 2nd fish!

Ross fixing hobo pies for dinner!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Colorado

2008-07-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

Colorado
Our 4th annual Colorado trip was fun and eventful! Ross got in 4 days of biking, while I enjoyed the shopping at the outlet mall and hiking (one of which was a 14er).

We all partook in hot tubbing, drinking and hanging out with family.

Below are some pics from our hike up Mt Quandary (14,246 ft) - a 7 mile round trip hike with an elevation gain of 3500 feet! Kinda like 3 1/2 miles of stairs!

Flaming Gorge and Fishing

2008-07-07T18:27:00.001-07:00

Susan with a trout from Echo Reservoir

Susan with another from Flaming Gorge

Our campsite at Flaming Gorge

We spent the 4th of July weekend at Flaming Gorge reservoir with Dan and Julie. We had a great campsite and took the boat out exploring and fishing. The water was a little cold but that didn't stop us from swimming a little as well. We went up to the Uintas, about 20 minutes a way, for a little biking and hiking too. Susan's been catching some big trout recently and they taste awesome.

Our little Charlie

2008-06-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Charlie
It's been almost 3 months since we lost Charlie. I'm finally getting to the point where I can really look at his pictures, and now want to share them with anyone who wants to see them too.

He was born March 30th, at 8:58pm.

He weighed 4 lbs 12 oz. and was nearly 20 in long!

He had a dimple just like his daddy.

Biking Season is Here!

2008-03-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

Ross and Mike

Mike hitting a drop with Marc getting a pic

Last weekend 5 of us (Me, Mike, Wade, Marc and Ross) went down to Gooseberry Mesa by St. George for the first biking trip of the season. It is one my favorite places to bike and we went on a 4 and half hour ride for the first official ride of the season. We had a great camp site overlooking Zion National Park and did a another great ride on Sunday. The weather was so nice in Salt Lake I went another ride here on Tuesday! 3 rides in 4 days to start the season! Of course it is snowing here today so it may be a while before I get out again.

Visitors

2008-03-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

We've had a slew of visitors recently, with the last ones leaving this morning... It's been wonderful to see so many family and friends and we're always more than happy to open our home to anyone needing a place to stay!!!
(Even with the baby coming, we still have lots of extra room!)

Here are some pictures from when Ross's parents came out to visit a couple weeks ago. We had a big snow storm Saturday night which left Neff's canyon covered with a blanket of new snow. I think Sunny had the most fun, although Chuck and Shirley sure seemed to enjoy the mountains too!!!

Baby Shower in NY

2008-02-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

I finally had a chance to sort through my pictures from my trip to NY - and here are a few of the highlights!

Joanne and I flew the red eye - and were on the go the whole weekend. My friend Alli and her adorable daughter Megan made the trip from Long Island and stayed with us, which gave us a chance to catch up! We also got to visit with Grandma and Grandpa and my brother (and his family!).

Me and Alli

My mom, Abby, Mark, Me and Eric

Me, Brian and Joanne

The shower was Sunday - and also was one of the worst snow storms I've seen in quite some time! I have a great bunch of family and friends as almost everyone braved the weather and made it to the shower!!!

My highschool friends - Me, Michelle, Colleen, Sue and Michelle

(We missed you Dawn!)

The baby got lots of great gifts - I know he's excited to enjoy them!!!!(as am I!)

Backcountry Day in the Wasatch

2008-02-23T18:13:00.001-08:00

Marty swimming in the Utah snow

That's me in the middle of all that snow

Brad Charging it!

Marty on the hike up

Brad showing the way, UP!

Marty, Brad and I hit Days Fork today for a little backcountry tour. Snow was great, weather was good and the turns were deep and awesome.

Cuddly Pets

2008-02-21T10:11:00.001-08:00

I went up to bed the other night and found Saja (the cat) cuddled up next to Sunny.

Not much going on around here, just getting ready for our new arrival in a couple of months .

Key West

2008-02-09T15:13:00.000-08:00

Big Shark!

Becker, Hartmann and Vale lounging by the pool

My buddy, Mike Becker is getting married so someone had the idea to have his bachelor party in Key West. What a great idea! There were 6 of us and we had a great time, I am still recovering from the late nights out though. Four of us west shark fishing one day, which was really cool. I caught an 8 foot Lemon Shark plus another one that was around 7 feet. All four us caught a few and it was nice being out on the water in They Keys again. It was good hanging 0ut with my old college friends again, we don't see that much of each other anymore so it was nice.

Susan and I are getting excited about our new arrival. Due date is May 9th and we can't wait! Hope everyone is doing well and I will try and be better about posting.

Finally some sun!!!

2008-01-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

The sun was shining all day yesterday and we took the opportunity to get in some cross country skiing before I get too big to be able to get up off the ground!

2008-01-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

We ventured out into the snow with Keri, Madison and Blake to go for a nice snowshoeing tour. It was the kids first try at the snowshoes and with only several tumbles into the snow - a good time was had by all (even Sunny)!!!

Bears sweep Packers!

2007-12-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

All I want for christmas is a Packer beat down! And that is just what I got.

In a very dissapointing season of my beloved Bears, the early christmas present on sunday was great. This win basically knocks the Packers out of the super bowl as well because they will most likely have to win at Dallas to get there, which I don't think Brett Farve has ever done. It was dissapointing to see the NFL's "tough guy" complaining about how cold he was after the game.

The Holiday's are here!!!

2007-12-15T18:55:00.000-08:00

The holiday's are here and we've gotten the house decorated... As an early Christmas present - Ross put up a fireplace mantel so we can hang our stockings by the fire!!! We bought a piece of Alder from the lumber yard, Ross sanded it, stained it and with only a few curse words, got it mounted above the fireplace!

And in case you haven't heard...

We're expecting to deliver this little guy the beginning of May! These pictures were taken 3 weeks ago (he's bigger now!!!)

More Snow!

2007-12-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

We had a big storm come through over the weekend, dumped 3 feet of new snow up in the mountains. I went snowboarding with a friend on Sunday for the first day of the year. On Monday Susan and I had the day off and went for a snowshoe hike. Here are some pics of Sunny and Susan in the "winter wonderland" of Neffs Canyon near our house.

Bears Win!

2007-12-01T21:27:00.001-08:00

Jared Payton partying with the tailgaiters

At the game, first row in the upper deck! great seats!

The Bears pulled it out thanks to the Windy City Flyer (Devin Hester) who had two returns for touchdowns. It was a cold snowy/rainy day but the game was exciting and we won in OT.

Go Bears!

Finally some snow

2007-12-01T14:30:00.001-08:00

No Snow!

2007-11-18T12:43:00.001-08:00

No snow here in Utah although that is suppose to change this week. Dan and I went fishing at Strawberry Reservoir, only caught the one fish and Dan lost another one. It was quite windy at the lake and I got to test out how the new boat does in rough weather, it did nicely. Looks to be the end of fishing season and hopefully ski season will start shorty.

High forecast for today is 64!, just got done taking Sunny for a bike ride and getting ready to watch another must win Bears game.

GO BEARS!

Bears Game

2007-11-12T17:00:00.001-08:00

We went to Oakland this past weekend to visit with our friends Deno and Bella and Heidi and Pedro and to see Da Bears. We had 7th row seats and it was a awesome day. Raider Nation is something to behold, especially the parking lot! All was good, we won and had a ton of fun. It was good to visit with everyone too, I hope the Bears play there again soon.

It has been a while

2007-11-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

Susan and Sunny on Strawberry Reservior

Susan with the biggest one of the day

It snowed our first day at Tahoe

The next day it was nicer

Climbing out of the White Rim Trail (in the rain)

The van on the White Rim

Biking the White Rim Trail

Ok, I know it has been a while, but here are some things we have been doing lately.

I rode the White Rim Trail with some friends, it is a 100 mile dirt road through Canyonlands National Park. We did it in 3 days which actually made it pretty relaxing. We did have a bad day of wind and another day of some rain but it was an awesome experience even with the crazy weather. Susan and I also went to Lake Tahoe to see our friends Heidi and Pedro get married. We also got a new (well it is to us anyway) boat. We took it out to Strawberry Reservoir today and caught a new nice trout. I will try and be better about posting!

Short Hike in Millcreek Canyon

2007-09-20T18:46:00.000-07:00

Susan and I took Sunny and her friend Ruby on a short hike in Millcreek canyon last weekend. The weather is finally starting to cool off and we are getting a taste of fall.

American Fork Canyon

2007-09-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

I headed to American Fork Canyon by Provo on sunday. It was a super nice day and I did one of favorite loops. The bottom pic is of Mt. Timpanogos which I hiked a couple of years ago. I didn't see any other bikers the whole time, gotta love sunday in Utah.

Flaming Gorge

2007-09-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Flaming Gorge for fishing trip this past weekend. For those of you don't know Flaming Gorge is a reservoir on the Utah/Wyoming border and is very large meandering lake with lots of high canyon walls and narrow channels. We had great weather and it was fun to explore and fish and we did catch quite a few trout and smallmouth bass.

New England Visit

2007-09-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

Stacey and Justin entertaining us

The Maine Coast

Susan on the Farm

The reception tent set up on the polo field

Our camp spot just down the hill

Susan and I went to New Hampshire for Stacey and Justin's wedding this past weekend. They are friends of ours that moved from Salt Lake a couple of years ago to Boston. After a red eye flight through Newark into Manchester we had lunch with some old family friends of Susans in Manchester on friday. Then it was off to Justin's parents farm near Lee, NH.

The wedding festivities took place on the farm and it was a blast. There was a cookout on friday night and a lot of us just camped on the farm right down the hill from the polo field where the reception tent was set up.

The wedding itself was at a Quaker church 3 miles from the farm, afterwards a good number of us rode bikes (including the bride and groom) to the farm for the reception. The reception was good, great food, a live bluegrass band, plenty of dancing as well some bike races on the grass (Billy's idea). The next morning they had a nice breakfast set up and Justin's dad took a few of us on a hayride tour of the farm. It is a fascinating place of around 250 acres, one of the highlights was a barn that was constructed in the 1830s.

Sunday was our anniversary so Susan and I headed up to the Maine coast for some sightseeing and an early dinner. Sunday night we stayed with Billy and Katie, who live right by Kennebunkport. Then next morning Billy and Katie took me biking on some of the local trails and then it was back to the airport.

The Uinta's

2007-08-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend trip to the Uinta's with Madison (our 8 year old neice). This was her first camping trip, first fishing experience, and first time peeing in the woods :-).

She was a trooper and led the hikes, even took the "Triple Crown" in fishing - first, biggest and most (and only!). We hiked over 10 miles in 2 days - and had the pleasure of a hail storm, where Madison learned first hand to

"always take your rain jacket in the mountains!".

All in all, a great trip and we can't wait to take her again!!!

Colorado

2007-07-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

Another great trip to Colorado!!!

We spent 5 days with Ross's parents and sister with her family in Silverthorne CO. We hiked, Ross biked, I shopped, we hung out in the hottub and visited with family. I got to see Vail and Breckenridge (places I've wanted to see).

We did manage to climb one 14er - although I had hoped to climb 3 that day . It took us a bit longer than anticipated (I'm not a fan of the altitude) and the weather started turning, so we hiked one and called it a day.

Taking a rest on the way up

We made it!

If you look close, you can see the trail we took to the top!

Boy I'm tired... I think I'll hang out and watch some TV!!!

Hiking in the Uintas

2007-07-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday we decided to head to the Uintas to escape the heat and go for a hike. We hiked to a small lake and did a little fishing, we both had some good luck and although the weather was threating some thunderstorms it turned out to be a great day.

The tree comes down!

2007-07-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it was a while ago... We finally decided to cut down the half dead pine tree in the front yard. Wow - what a project! I got to meet alot of the neighbors who came out to see what all the racket was. I even found out that the reason the tree had no top and was half dead was it had been hit by lightning 5 years earlier...

It took 2 guys almost 4 hours to cut the tree down - but they cleaned up everything and even chopped the wood and stacked it under our deck for us to use as firewood!!!

After much research and prep work - we decided to plant a new Maple tree, and some drought tolerant plants. Of course, it has been over 100 degrees lately (see post below) - so the plants don't look too happy. We're hoping with alot of watering and a little love they'll continue to grow and will look beautiful next year!

104 Yesterday!

2007-07-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

The following is the weather for the Salt Lake area! TOO HOT! Looks like no end in sight to this horrible heat.

OutlookExcessive heat on Saturday hit the Wasatch Front, as the high reached 104, breaking the old record of 103 set back in 1939. It was the hottest day since July 22 of last year and only three degrees off the all-time record high in Salt Lake City set on July 13, 2002. Sunday and Monday will bring more heat and partly cloudy skies...with an isolated afternoon thunderstorm here and there. Not much cooling is expected for midweek, as skies remain partly sunny. Meteorologist Dan Pope--Live 5 Weather

Wasatch Crest Trail

2007-07-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

Here are som pics from the Wasatch Crest Trail I did with Ross Karcher, Steve and Justin before the Oregon trip. For those of you who don't know this trail it cruises along the ridge between Park City and the canyons on the Salt Lake side. It has great views and some real fun riding. It was hot day, even up that high! Enjoy!

Minor Suffering on a climb

Desolation Lake

Ross Karche, good views!

Enjoying the ride

Vistas everywhere

Me riding "THE SPINE"

Ross and Ross

Oregon

2007-07-04T17:15:00.000-07:00

We made it home safely from our over 2000 mile road trip all around Oregon! Highlights from the trip are on our Shutterfly account - just copy and paste this link into your browser to view more pics! http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IZNWTZw3csPs

We all had a great time - Sunny got to run on the beach and play in the ocean for the first time ever. Ross got to mountain bike some new terrain - we got to see the coast, visit a winery, brewey, hike and take pictures of waterfalls!!!

Hiking

2007-06-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

Summer's here and we're working on getting our hiking legs, in preparation for our trip to Colorado. We have plans to hike the tallest of the 14,000 foot peaks this July. (We'll see!) The top pic is from Circle All Peak up Big Cottonwood - great afterwork hike, quite steep but not too long. The bottom pic is Solitude Lake, also up Big Cottonwood - my neices Madison and Kerigan did great on their first hiking trip!!!

Sunny got skunked!

2007-04-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

Are good friends Kaz and Tiff were watching Sunny while we were in Costa Rica. On saturday night his dog Lilly and Sunny got skunked while on there bedtime bathroom break. He dropped her off yesterday morning and after he bathed her in some internet remedies she is still pretty stinky (she slept in her crate last night, not in our bedroom).

I can't imagine how bad it must have been to have 2 dogs right after the incident. Anyway, just wanted to say Thanks to Kaz and Tiff and sorry you had to deal with that. I've heard it can take up to 3 or 4 months for the smell to where off, I sure hope not!

Susan and I are headed to see Lindsey Buckingham on wed. night. It should be a good show.

Costa Rica!

2007-04-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

Susan and I just got back from a great trip to Costa Rica, we decided to go with my parents which turned out to be very fun. The first night we spent in San Jose, then next morning we picked up the car and then got my parents at the airport and headed up into the mountains. We stayed at a farm the next night at 8,000 feet in little cabins. The farm is know for a rare birs called a Quetsal which we got to see on a guided hike in the morning. The next day we headed down to the little beach town of Dominical on the Pacific coast. We rented a house for the week about 700 feet above the beach in the jungle. The wildlife and birdwatching was great right from the house, monkeys, toucans, and parrots would come by. We had a great view of the ocean and sunsets from the patio with our own priviate pool. The town itself was great, a little surfer town with dirt streets and open air resteraunts and bars. We did a lots of excursions throughout the week that left us tired every night, jungle hikes, beach combing, canopy tours with zip lines, fishing, and I even tried my hand at surfing. We have a bunch more pics that I will post in an album soon.

Snowboarding/Biking same weekend

2007-04-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

Gotta love Utah! I went backcountry snowboarding with Marty and Dan on saturday then mountain biking with Kaz and Jimmy on Sunday. Our snowboard/ski tour took us into Days Fork, 3 hour hike up to the ridgeline between Cardiff Fork and Days. The Heliskiiers were out with the helicopoters dropping them off on top making us jealous, luckily they stayed away from the line were were eyeing. We had a good run then watched the final four, a very good day. Sunday, I helped Dan move then met up with Kaz, Jimmy and Wade and went biking. We met to ride the Shoreline trail and rode up dry creek, Jimmy and I split from the group and ride Boblsled, a real fun trail with high banked burmed turns down a gulley. Sometimes the trail gets really rutted but it is awesome shape so we were glad we did it.

Biking season is here!

2007-03-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and that means biking season. I've been biking the local

rides around here almost daily for the last couple of weeks and went down to Moab last weekend. I didn't bring a camera so these pics are from a couple of years ago but we did the same trail this time, one of my favorites, Gold Bar Rim. Mike, Marty and I did it on a perfect sunny day. Winter is suppose to back this week, so hopefully I can get another powder day in before the resorts close down for the year.

Still Playing in the snow.

2007-03-05T07:38:00.000-08:00

It finally feels like a real Utah winter around here now, lots of new snow lately. I've been going boarding and we have both been going out for snowshoe hikes. These are from the last couple weekends, Porter Fork in Millcreek Canyon and Broads Fork in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

POWDER DAY!

2007-02-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

It's about time, finally some snow. Went up to Solitude today to celebrate President's day. I went solo so I had to find a pic from the archive. It was a very good day but a little crowded on account of the holiday.

Hike in Big Cottonwood

2007-02-18T07:57:00.000-08:00

Susan and I went for a hike in Big Cottonwood Canyon yesterday. It was really warm and sunny, feels like spring is around the corner. Sunny couldn't go with us, Big Cottonwood canyon is off limits to dogs. I took here to the park and threw the frisbee for her when we got back.

Vegas Pics

2007-02-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to some pics from the Vegas trip
http://www.billyvandervalk.com/album/vegas_07/

Our rash of visitors is done, we had my parents here over the weekend as well as Pat Farrell. Pat and I went to Brighton for a powder day on sunday and my Dad even took a ski lesson.

The Kitchen's Complete!

2007-02-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

It's Finally Done!!!!

Vegas Baby

2007-02-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I was in Las Vegas last weekend for some biking and gambling. Susan's mother is visiting as well as Heidi and Pedro from San Jose. Heidi and Pedro came out to ski and check out the Sundance Film Festival and have been enjoying themselves despite the lack of snow this year in Utah.

The kitchen is officially done and we will post some pics soon. We are expecting more visitors in the coming weeks so I am glad the kitchen project is finally over.

Vegas was fun, we rented a house instead of staying in a hotel which was great. We had a garage for bikes and 4 bedrooms for sleeping and only 10 minutes to the strip. I got 3 solid days of riding in and am excited for the upcoming biking season. Now we just need to get some storms in here so I can get a couple more powder days in.

SUPER BOWL BOUND!

2007-01-21T17:12:00.000-08:00

Rexy and Bears are going to the Super Bowl!

It's Cold!

2007-01-17T16:47:00.000-08:00

I had the day off today so I decided to go biking in the 20 degree weather. Sunny and I went to Millcreek Canyon and rode the Pipeline trail. With no new snow for snowboarding and a Vegas biking trip coming up I thought it would be a good idea to get some saddle time.

It has been very cold here, feels like Wisconsin weather. With the cold air and no storms recently Salt Lake gets pretty hazy (pollution), one of the down sides with living here. To get out of the bad air you just need to drive up one of the canyons and out of the muck.

Susan and I are expecting a lot of company coming the next few weeks and it looks like the kitchen should be done. Countertops are suppose to be installed next week, then we can put the finishing touches on.

Nothing New

2007-01-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

Not much new to report, except Susan and I were both sick over the weekend. I did get out and board on Friday, got some lighting installed in the new kitchen but we are still waiting on countertops.

Kitchen Update

2007-01-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

Here's the kitchen with cabinets and appliances - now all we're waiting for is the countertops and to have the undercabinet lighting finished!!!

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

Sunny enjoying the snow

Dan, Steve, Jimmy and Kaz

Happy New Year!

Susan and I rung in the new year with some friends at Kaz and Tiff's house in Midway. The guys went a short backcountry tour and th girls went cross country skiing during the day. A few of us went and did some sledding at dusk as well. Tiff and Kaz made a roast for dinner and a few neighbors stopped by to partake in the festivities. Everyone that lives in the valley spent the night and we all had a nice breakfast the next morning.

Hope everyone had a nice Holiday season and we wish everyone the best in the year to come.

Cat turns to Lion!

2006-12-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

Saj took a trip to the barber's yesterday while the cabinets were being delivered - His do is called the "Lion Cut" - I think he likes it.. Sunny wasn't sure what to think of him at first, but they're buds again!

It looks like a kitchen!!!

2006-12-28T17:20:00.000-08:00

It's finally starting to look like a kitchen!!!

Our good friends Jeff and Jason from Lowe's Kitchen and Bath spent ALL day today installing the cabinets - the appliances arrived early in the morning (too early!), the Microwave install guy showed around noon, and the counter top measurer has us all set for countertops!!!

Now I get to put everything away!!! Yeah!!!

Merry Christmas from the pets!

2006-12-25T10:07:00.000-08:00

Sunny's all tucked into bed on Christmas Eve - She knows she has to be good or Santa won't come!!!

Saj is trying to blend in so maybe Santa won't notice he's awake!

Sunny anxiously awaits her present!!!

The Kitchen Remodel Continues

2006-12-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

We're 3 weeks into the remodel - and have everything ready for the cabinets to be installed. We spent the past couple days painting - it's a nice buttery yellow. The cabinets were scheduled to arrive last Thursday - but they were coming from Denver - so needless to say - they haven't arrived yet. They are now due Wednesday morning - with the installation guys coming Wednesday afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed that they all arrive, and are in one piece! We have the appliances being delivered and installed on Thurday (if all goes as planned). We order countertops and then await their arrival.
We're doing the best we can to cook our meals, but end up eating out a couple times a week. I never thought I'd miss using a kitchen!!!!

SNOW

2006-12-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

We have finally been getting some snow! I went up to Solitude on sunday with my buddy Pete and had a good day. Monday I went to Snowbird solo and had a great time, a few gates were closed all weekend and I was lucky to be at them when they opened. Untracked snow, steep and deep, just like I like it.

The Kitchen remodel is going slow, electrician is done and drywall guys is suppose to finish tomorrow. Hopefull the cabinets will be in next week.

We will be spending christmas in Salt Lake this year as I have pulled call duties at the hospital all weekend and monday. Hope everyone has a good holiday.

The Kitchen Remodel

2006-12-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

The Kitchen Remodel Begins!!!

We started last week packing up the kitchen - putting the things we think we'll need in boxes in the dining room - the other stuff away in the basement. It's amazing how much stuff we've collected in the 8 months we've been here!!!

The Lowe's people came in Friday afternoon and ripped out all the cabinets, countertop and backsplash... Ross moved the fridge to the dining room, the dishwasher and stove to the garage (we're selling them). He built up the floor under the cabinets using the new table saw he bought with our wedding gift cards from The Home Depot.

We have the Electrician coming on Monday to run some wiring for undercabinet lighting and move some outlets around (I'm afraid of electricity). After that - the drywall guy will patch up all the holes and then we should be good to paint! The cabinets are expected to be delivered on December 21st, and we hope to get them installed the week after Christmas. If all goes as planned (a big IF), we should be ordering countertops by the first week in January, and be done by early February!

Backcountry pic

2006-12-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of my first snowboard outing, long way to the top but it is worth it to come down through untouched powder. Not much new snow in the forcast and I still havn't been to a resort yet this year.

christmas tree is up

2006-12-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

We got the christmas tree up over the weekend. I also got the first snowboarding day in on friday, went on a backcountry hike with Brad Rutledge. I did bring the camera, but forget to put the battery back in it after charging. Brad took a few and I'll try and get one from him. I found I out I am way out of shape and have declared it to be at critical stage. I even went to spin class this morning at 5:45 before work!

Go Bears!

Ross

Christmas, already!

2006-11-26T18:03:00.000-08:00

Sure didn't feel like christmas time this weekend, over 50 degrees here in Salt Lake. We took advantage of the nice weather and got the rest of the leaves raked and hung christmas lights. I even got a mountain bike ride in with the dog today. Still waiting for the white stuff to fall, suppose to be a storm tomorrow.

Relaxing with Sunny

2006-11-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

2006-11-24T21:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone,

Our first Thanksgiving in our new house. We hosted 8 for dinner, Susan's sister Joanne and her husband Mike, there kids Blake, Madison and Kerrigan. Pete, Molly and Sam also came for dinner and the Karchers stopped over after for a few beers.

I was hoping to get the first turns in this weekend but no new snow, looks like I will finish raking leaves and hang some christmas lights this weekend instead. Maybe even get a bike ride in.

Jamaica, mon

2006-11-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

Just got back from Jamaica for our Honeymoon, only could get away for 4 nights but it sure was nice. We stayed in Negril at a small villa type of resort with a bar right on the beach. It was perfect. Back in Salt Lake now but still not much snow and havn't been out boarding yet, hopefully soon.

New Van

2006-10-29T18:28:00.000-08:00

Here is Susan with our new van, I've always wanted a 4 wheel drive van and found one last week. We go camping quite a bit and like the luxury of having a van to sleep in, so this fits the bill pretty good for a road trip vehicle for us. Can't wait to take down to the desert!