Finally!

If you are wondering why I haven't been posting it is because school has been all consuming for the last few weeks. However, last week I passed my thesis defense and today I completed the first part of my last 3 hour credit class (I have assignments to turn in online over the next two weeks). It's pretty exciting to think that I'll be done with school very soon and will be able to focus on our house, landscaping, reading, and playing disc golf! Eric and I have also discovered that we are evenly matched in tennis and we tend to head to the court at least 3 times a week. I'd also like to get in a few new fourteeners and some other front range hikes. Unfortunately that will have to wait until August when Eric and I get back from our cross-country road trip.

Here are some pictures of Eric's goddaughter, Cecily, and of our rapidly growing sunflower garden. I will be sure to post more pictures, especially of our trip.

Blue Subaru

Well, for a few months, Eric and I had been talking about how having two cars was more of a luxury than a necessity. We both bike to work or we carpool, and we live close to everything we need, so having one car would work for us. We thought about selling the Xterra and keeping the Impala, but with our lifestyle and the dogs it didn't make sense. We COULD have put the dogs in the spacious trunk of the Impala when hiking, but that didn't seem ethical :-) We thought about keeping only the Xterra, but that didn't make sense for long trips because of gas mileage. We researched, and researched some more, and crunched numbers, and every day went back and forth about what to do. Finally we decided to trade both our cars in and get a Subaru wagon since they have all wheel drive, good ground clearance, spacious room for puppies, good gas mileage, and they look cool. We test drove a few models and decided on the Outback.

So here is our new car! It is a 2006 Outback with 20,000 miles.



I haven't put the rack I bought for the Impala on it yet, but there is a nice basket that came with the car. That will be for snowshoes and packs in the winter. So now we can all still go hiking, camping, biking, and snowshoeing WITH our lovely dogs. I think there might be a 3 dog limit though, since it is a little cramped with 2. Eric and I call it "high security doggie jail" as it will be impossible for the mongrels to squeeze through the divider or get their heads stuck trying to sniff backseat passengers or gain access to food in packs. I don't Think Cache and Audrey were too happy with it!
Thanks to everyone for sticking with us through the whole process of choosing a new car, especially Eric's parents and the Chastains.

New Toys!

To prepare for our road/bike trip this summer we got a new rack for Eric. It will hold both our bikes and is a simple as it gets (which is what we needed!) Each bike rests on top and a sidebar slides over the front tire to secure the bike. It's amazing how secure the bikes are and you don't have to remove the front tire. It will come in handy this summer when we drive across the country and then to Prince Edward Island to do a little biking. No renting for us!



Our second new toy was an impulse buy on my part, but so far we LOVE it. It all started last week when Eric pulled out our clunker of a lawn mower to cut our greening grass. He decided the dogs would be better off outside on the front porch because when they are inside while he cuts the lawn they bark...and old Codger calls animal control on us. So he let Audrey sit on the porch, but he tied Cache to the porch rail because she is a flight risk. He started the mower and Cache FREAKS out and almost hangs herself in fright. He put her in a safer area and started the mower again. He looked over and there she is, pacing and POOPING all over the porch. Wow. That's my dog.

The next day I was riding my bike home from work and noticed a neighbor cutting their grass with a push reel mower. You know, the ones from way back when that are always used in the cartoons. No gas, no electricity, simply blades spinning as you push. I watched the neighbor cut their lawn and it looked easy and did a great job. No noise, no gas, no clunkiness, no emissions, no dogs pooping on themselves-and you get a good workout. Most of my friends already think I'm pretty crazy about my impact on the environment, so of course I started researching... And it turns out that in the last 10-15 years these mowers have been improved and are selling well. The reviews said the new push reel mowers "cut like butter" and are wonderful. I compared, visited all the garden shops in town, and ended up ordering one from a Fort Collins based company called Sunlawn.

It is simple, can be adjusted (with one click) to cut between .5 inches and 2.5 inches, is EASY to push, light (17 pounds), and cuts beautifully. I don't know why everyone doesn't have one. Here are pictures of the mower and our lawn after cutting it. Note Codger's house in the background. Wonder if he'll call the City on us because our lawn mower is not approved by City Code.







By the way, we are considering selling my Xterra so if you are interested, let me know. It's a GREAT car but our lifestyle is changing. Soon enough we could have a little Parrish :-)

OK, go out and buy a bike to ride around town and a push reel lawn mower. It feels good!

Eric's Birthday

May 5th was a lovely day-Eric finally made it past the quarter century mark. Because Eric is so special, we started his birthday festivities the night before by going to see Spiderman 3 on opening night. The following evening we tried out a new barbecue place in LaSalle called "Barbecue Boys." It was pretty good (but no Gibsons), and we all ate enough meat in one sitting to fill our monthly quota. No more red meat for me for awhile...

After eating too much, we came back to our place and had Cookie cakes from Marys Mountain Cookies (Eric's favorite place). It was a great evening with friends and lots of yummy dessert.

Eric has been riding a Murray bike for a few years now and it needed a bit of work. I decided that since we will be riding our bikes to work and around town, he needed a nice bike. Turns out our neighbor (not the mean old codger) owns the local bike shop. I found a great hybrid bike for around town and surprised Eric with it (my parents and his parents also helped with it!) Here he is :-)



We look forward to riding on the Poudre Trail and on Prince Edward Island. I'll post more pics soon.

Nashville is Hilly!

Last Saturday, I completed my first half marathon in Nashville. It was a lot of fun (I can say that now) and I think that I'll try it again next year. This time though, I will train for the hills! I forgot that Nashville is in a valley of rolling hills and the 13.1 mile course was very challenging.
It was great having friends and family on the course cheering. Tiffany got me through a rough spot around mile 9 by running with me. I was having so much fun talking to her while she ran with me that I missed the mile 9 marker. After she turned around, I saw Eric's family and wanted to stop and get an iced latte! Eric told me to get a move on because I only had 4 miles left (easy for him to say!) However, a few minutes later I saw the 10 mile marker and realized I was a 5K away from the finish line. That got me through and after a lovely jog through the Capitol area (and cheering on from Katy) I made it to LP stadium and finished in two hours and twenty eight minutes. My time wasn't world class or even age best, but my goal was to run the whole way and finish feeling happy and healthy with no injuries. I met my goals and even though I'm struggling a bit getting up and down stairs, I'll be back next year. Anyone want to join me?

Easter & Erin's First Hike

Now that there is a new baby around, all pictures and blogs are likely to focus on her. She is a sweetie! Here are pictures from our hike today at one of our favorite places, Lily Mountain. We had planned to summit and call it Erin's first hike, but the snow was deep on the north side of the mountain and we decided with Erin strapped on Deborah and Cache pulling me, we should just be happy with covering half the mountain. We are going to call it a success anyway, since she was a trooper.

On Easter Sunday we had people over for a barbecue. Eric got to spend some quality time with his Goddaughter, Erin. I think she likes him...

What's happening in Greeley...

Well, it's been a busy month since our trip to NY. I managed to finish a first draft of my thesis (YEAH!!!), while coaching basketball, training for a half marathon, and battling the flu. Unfortunately, my basketball team didn't win a single game this year (we didn't win a game last year either), but they improved more than any other group I've ever coached. I turned in my coaching keys and will only coach the junior varsity next year to help keep a happier home life (and hopefully start a family).

The snow finally melted and we are able to get back out on the disc golf course. If you know of any tournaments, let us know. We (Deborah, Kathy, Natalie, Eric, David, me, and Blayne) feel like we play enough to enter co-ed tournaments. Natalie almost had a hole-in-one today! It's a weekend and weeknight ritual and helps our dogs (and us) get some exercise. It's fun now because the Mashes bring little Cecily and Deborah brings Erin. We look like a small tribe crossing the course.

I don't have any pictures to post because nothing exciting has happened worthy of photographing. However, our group of friends, especially Kathy, has fallen in love with my favorite Christmas gift-The Magic Bullet.

It is an amazing product and I use it every morning to make my fruit smoothie. We also use it on game nights for mixed drinks. Mmmmmm... Kathy has borrowed it to make salsa and we are amazed at how many yummy things you can make with it AND how simple it is! (Thanks Mindy & Barb for the best Christmas present ever!)

I will try to do better at updating. Eric and I will be taking a trip to Nashville for the half-marathon next month and then it will be summer and hopefully many more travel adventures.