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.

Our Trip

We are back from visiting Dan & Brooke in New York. It was a great trip, though I don't think I'll ever watch Friends, 30 Rock, or any other T.V. show set in the city in the same way again.
We flew in late Friday afternoon and I was in awe at how every inch of land was covered by something. Buildings, roads, cars, or water-just no trees. The view from the plane was amazing and we tried to pick out the few landmarks we knew. Unfortunately, with so many buildings and bridges, it was difficult to know what we were seeing. We grabbed a taxi to the Delaney's and enjoyed watching our cabbie battle the rush hour traffic while the sun set behind Manhattan.
We got to the Delaney's safely (I'm not sure how anyone who rides in a cab or drives in the city manages this on a daily basis) and I found out that my husband is ambitious. I had envisioned a quiet hour or two catching up with our friends but he was intent on getting started seeing the city. So we bundled up and headed to Times Square. Getting around in the city was an adventure in itself. We bought Metro cards and jumped on the subway. We got off at the correct stop and emerged into Times Square, where we looked up and were a bit overwhelmed. Eric said the lights and commotion were "seizure inducing." I agreed!


We quickly headed into a store to gain our composure. However, we had stepped into Toys-R-Us which didn't help us feel much better. Life size Lego creations and a real ferris wheel made us wonder what we had gotten into.

At that point I wondered if I would enjoy seeing the city...
We then went to the top of the Empire State Building and enjoyed the city at night. After that we grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the apartment.
Saturday we went back to Times Square and then walked to Rockefeller Center. On the way we went to the public library and Bryant Park (it's an outdoor park with free wireless connection...maybe I would like the city after all!) Then it was coffee time at Dean & Deluca (YUMMY!) while watching the ice skaters.

We went in the NBC store (very cool) and then got back on the subway and managed to find our way to Battery Park. Then we walked to the World Trade Center site, Century 21 (a great discount store), City Hall, and over the Brooklyn Bridge.

This is a picture of the church that is across the street from the World Trade Center site. It serves as a memorial to victims and after the towers collapsed, the injured were treated here. Amazingly the church was the only building in the area that was not scratched by the disaster. A large tree shielded the church from the building collapse and not even a window was cracked.
Here is a picture of Eric's favorite part of our trip-the hot dog stands.

He refueled before walking across the bridge. We ate a late lunch in Brooklyn and then headed back to Manhattan and stopped in Grand Central Station. Eric spotted a comic book shop and browsed for awhile. Next was the journey to my shopping destination, the Apple Store on 5th Avenue. The stores on 5th Avenue were extravagant so we just window shopped.
We also took a ferry ride to Liberty and Ellis Islands (at which time baby Erin was born!) and enjoyed the museum and the views of the city from afar. It was very cold but Eric still managed to take some beautiful pictures.


The rest of our trip was much the same, seeing all the places we had heard about from friends and T.V., while finally navigating the subway like experts. At one point a family trying to get to Central Park and the MET actually asked us how to get there. We didn't lead them astray.

My pickle addiction led us to Little Italy to eat and then through Chinatown (it was Chinese New Year so that was an experience!) and finally to Guss's Pickles. There were brining barrels on the sidewalk with spicy, sweet, sour, and half and half pickles. I smelled them a block away. Mmmmmm...I ate 4 :-)

If pickles aren't your thing there is a place to get the best cupcakes I've ever tasted, Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village (near NYU and Washington Square). We waited in a line that wrapped around the corner but it was worth it. Butter cream icing on moist cupcakes...absolutely amazing. That evening we went out to eat with Dan & Brooke at a Vietnamese restaurant that puts Young's to shame. Then is was time to head home to life. I'm sure there are places we saw that I didn't mention. Like I said, Eric was ambitious. On Tuesday morning we got on a bus and headed back to the airport. On the way we drove through Harlem and past the Apollo theater.

The city was fun to visit but Eric and I agree that we would not want to live there. It made us appreciate what we have and I see why people come visit Rocky Mountain National Park. We are very thankful for the community we have in Greeley and will miss Dan and Brooke.

Big Apple Here We Come!

Hello all. It has been a long time since the last post, but I promise pictures and stories of the adventures I'm sure we'll have this weekend in NYC. Eric and I are off to visit Dan and Brooke for a few days and enjoy some much needed time off from work. I have been busy coaching (we haven't won a game), supervising a student teacher, training for a half-marathon, working on my thesis, working on my thesis, and working on my thesis. I am not going to take my computer (I hope I don't experience severe withdrawal) or have my cell phone on during the day. I didn't realize how much I am distracted by the Internet or my cell phone until I spent an entire day intending to work on my thesis and ended up texting friends and surfing the web. I wonder how much time I waste because of technology and my addictive personality. My full attention will be on seeing the city and experiencing the all craziness.

Well, it's off to pack. I will post again next week.