Category: Adventures

Adventures

Rock Climbing

Today was family day and we had planned to go rock climbing.   Mom and Risa made egg sandwiches and crispy bacon for breakfast and then we headed out around 11:30am.  We decided to go to AZ On The Rocks which was recommended to me by a co-worker who is an experienced climber.     Once we arrived and paid, we watched a video (since this was our first time) and then we were given our harnesses and shoes.  Chris and Jacob and I all learned how to belay and we all went on the auto-belay as well.    Check out the photos (click any photo to enlarge and enable navigation):

Risa
Jacob and Lucas
The boys climbed while Chris and I became educated in how to belay
Jacob and Lucas
Mom
Cheryl!
Cheryl!
Chris
Risa
Risa
Risa climbing to the top while Mom, Chris and Jacob watch
Risa
Mom
Cheryl!
Jacob
Chris coming down
Cheryl!
Risa
Lucas (now what?)
Chris Dangling (woops!)

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Adventures

Janet In Town!

My best girlfriend came into town this weekend from Vegas for a visit.    We have been friends for 19 years and have a ton of history together that goes all the way back to when we were both 19 years old.  We spent our first pregnancies together and birth of our first child and our sons are now both 16 and they are good friends (probably lifelong friends) as well.

We had a great time Friday night at the Field House having drinks and dancing and singing and met a lot of really cool strangers who seemed to swarm to our table.  It was very fun and I was excited that she was receiving so much attention.  Saturday night we went bar-hopping in downtown Tempe and had a fun time, but I drank way too much way too fast.  It was very uncharacteristic of me and there was a lot of taquila that went down my throat.    We still had a great time and went to several bars, but I got quite goofy.  Looking back now, it seems that I just drifted back in time to when we were 20 years old.  Definitely the most intoxicated I have been in a very long time.

Here is a fantastic photo of her and I at the first bar at the beginning of the night.

Janet and Cheryl! Starting the Evening
Janet and Cheryl! Starting the Evening
Adventures

Sledding In Flagstaff

We had a fantastic day sledding up in Flagstaff.  We have been planning to go for a few weeks and were a bit worried when the weather warmed up over the past few days, but the hill was still open and we were able to have a great time.  My mom started out uncertain as to whether or not she would do any sledding, but once we got her on the hill the first time, she went again and again and again.  There were seven of us up there today.

Adventures Family

Christmas Tree Expedition 2008

We woke up this morning ready to head up north to find our Christmas Tree.  We rented a truck that seated seven so that we could all go in one vehicle and have room on top for the tree.   Risa made white chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, Mom and I went to get the truck, then we loaded it up with the saw and clippers and cold weather accessories like hats and gloves and coats.  We all loaded into the truck and headed up north to the Apache Sitgreaves Forest which was our designated cutting area from our permit.  It was an awesome day and we found a fantastic tree.  There was snow up there too so we got to play a bit in the snow.  The weather was in the 40’s.  The forest and scenery was beautiful.

Of course, once we found our tree, we had to haul it back to the truck and that is when we discovered that we had gotten turned around and didn’t know where the truck was.  Jacob and Charlie and I ran through the forest in multiple directions until we found the truck and then went back to get everyone else and the tree and drag it through the snow.  Once we got back to the truck, it was a matter of bundling up the tree in getting it up on the truck.  It was a really big tree!!  Jacob got on top of the truck and Mom, Risa and I lifted it up to him.  Then he and I strapped it to the truck.  After leaving the woods, we drove down to Payson and had some hot cider and tea and then headed home.

Check out the photos

Adventures

Pre-Halloween House Party

We had a house party tonight as a prep to halloween.  It’s always nice to get together with friends and have some good food and fun.  Amazingly enough, in spite of how chilly the pool is this time of year, a few people ended up jumping in.    Mom made some “eyeball” appetizers and mini wrapped dogs.  Also, Mom and Risa prepped some shish-ka-bobs and I cooked them on the grill along with my famous portabella mushrooms.  Mario brought excellent home-made salsa that was a huge hit.    The music was great with dancing and drinking and we all had a super fun time.

 Check out the photos

Adventures

House Party – Clint’s Birthday

We are always coming up with a reason to have a party.  This time it was Clint’s birthday.  We started with mimosas at 10am and didn’t stop drinking until 4am.  I made a bunch of yummy food on the grill including my famous portabella mushrooms, tuna steaks with feta and walnuts, chicken and perogies.  My friend Dan came from San Diego and it was great to see him.  Everyone had a great time.

View the Photos

Adventures

20 Year Reunion

I flew to Chicago on August 14th to go to my 20 year reunion.  It’s hard for me to believe that it has been 20 years.  The neat thing about my high school is that most of my class went to school together since kindergarten.  I stayed with my friends from high school, Blake and Christine, who are married now.  We had a great time.  There were many people who I would have loved to see who weren’t there, but it was great to see everyone who was there.

The photos are here: 20 year reunion photos

Adventures Family

In Phoenix

So, we are here, in Phoenix. We arrived on Thursday evening and spent the weekend unpacking. It is so unbelievable to be home again.

I am in the process of writing a full synopsis of our trip, but in the meantime, you can view photos here