Fall Happenings

Here are a few things we've been up to lately....

For Ian's birthday we drove down to Santa Monica and got dinner along the beach.  Hors d'oeuvres were bread and cheese and Henry Weinhardt root beer (a little odd I know, but they are Ian's favorites).  

I went to Salt Lake City for Conference Weekend.  It was nice to spend time with family and as always, the weekend went so fast.  Almost all the sisters were together (we missed you Jennie). 

I got to babysit my darling nephew.  I was tempted to sneak him home with me.  

We stayed with my Anderson grandparents.  We always get the royal treatment at their house.  

This picture is a little bit unrelated but last year I made this costume for my little brother Nathan to wear for Halloween.  Kristen will be showing it off to her middle school students this year.       

The buzz this last week in Los Angeles was the space shuttle Endeavor making its way to the science museum.  Last weekend drove to see it as it was being pulled through the streets of LA.  This is as close as we were able to get but still very cool.      

Relaxing by the Coast

After the Ragnar Relay, Ian and I spent an extra day or so in Napa Valley.  We took a drive down to Point Reyes National Seashore.  The roadsides were filled with berry bushes.  We ate our fill of blackberries along the way.

Great views.

I guess Ian and I have a thing for hiking up and down a lot of stairs after we run the Ragnar.  Last year we hiked Hua Shan in China only a few days after the Ragnar. (click here to read more about that adventure.)  This year we decided to hike down a few hundred steps to the Point Reyes lighthouse.

The views were beautiful.

  

Ragnar 2012

Well, Ian and I finished our fourth Ragnar Relay race together and are still in one piece.  The Ragnar race for 2012 was in Napa Valley. 194 miles from San Francisco to Calistoga to be exact.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Ragnar races let me explain it simply.  Each team has two vans full of six people each running around the clock (yep, my second run was at 2:00 in the morning!) for two days.  Each person runs three times over the two days running a total of between 13 and 25 miles.  194 miles later the team is ready for a nice long shower and a nice long nap:)  Ian's family started running these four years ago as a way to earn money for a scholarship fund they started in their grandparent's name.  The team has changed from year to year, but Ian, myself, and cousins Erin and Allison have run all four Ragnars. 

        

Team Big Kahunas wore these bright orange shirts this year.  Sadly, you don't really see the other van of runners much.  Here is the group in my van.  Ian and myself, Ian's brother James and wife Megan, Friend Donna and her son Christopher.

  

Here is the whole team at exchange six. 

The first runner ran across the Golden Gate Bridge, and from there it was up to wine country in Napa Valley.  The views (when it was light and we could see them) were great.  Vineyards everywhere.  

Ian really took one for the team.  He had the most miles to run of anyone running the equivalent of a marathon.  Here he is pictured before his first run of ten miles. 

He looks a little more excited and fresh than I did before my third run the next day.

Running is typically an individual sport.  The Ragnar races are great because running becomes a team effort.  Things are just more fun when you do them with other people.  The whole team meets the last runner a little before the finish line and runs together to finish the race.    

  

The medal.  I wish I could say we all ran fast enough to win a special medal, but we were all just happy to finish.  Just for the record everyone gets one for finishing the race.  Seriously, anyone who runs these deserves a medal for sacrificing a night of sleep to run through the night.  

We were very excited to be done with the 194 miles!

This is my fifth Ragnar race, and my fourth with Ian.  Our relationship has changed from friends to engaged to married as we have run these races each year.

 Wasatch Back, Utah Ragnar Relay 2009

(running as friends)

Southern California Ragnar Relay 2010

(we're engaged now)

Southern California Ragnar Relay 2011

(running as a married couple)

Napa Valley Ragnar Relay 2012

(still happily married and running through life together)

So Cal

Well, it's official.  We are residents of Southern California now.  New driver's license.  New plates for the car.  We drove for three days to get from Denver to California.  Ian's sister Alana was nice enough to fly out and help us pack, clean, and drive.  She was such a big help.  

We had to visit our two favorite places to eat before leaving CO: Larkburger for our favorite truffle burgers with truffle fries and Maroon Bells for the best ice cream in town!  

We have loved living in Colorado with family and all Denver has to offer with sports, outdoor activities, plays, symphonies, and restaurants.  I cried as we drove out of town.  On to a new chapter of our life in Southern California.  

Anderson Family Reunion

Earlier this month my family was able to all be together for a few days in Colorado.  It is amazing that everyone was in town at the same time!  We had a great time doing activities in Denver.    

We hiked in Castlewood Canyon.  

 

Sisters picture.

A few of us hiked all the way to Castlewood Dam.

Another morning we rented surreys and rode around City Park.   

Like most vacations, I stopped taking pictures after the first day or so and didn't take nearly enough the first few days.  But we had a great time at the pool, BBQs, helping Nathan with his eagle scout project, and generally relaxing and spending time with each other.  I will miss living so close to family.  

Fire and Rain (Lots of it!)

Five months ago Ian surprised me with concert tickets to hear James Taylor live in concert at Red Rocks.  This has seriously been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember and Ian is always surprising me with things that I love.  What a great man.  I grew up singing James Taylor songs and they are somewhat sentimental for me.  Well, last night was the night we had waited for for months.  Red Rocks Amphitheatre is an incredible venue where you sit on the red rock with a view of the city.  Amazing view.  Being with my favorite person, in one of my favorite places, listening to some of my favorite music was heavenly.     

About halfway through, it started raining pretty hard.  We just put our rain jackets on and toughed it out until they stopped the concert because of a severe weather alert.  Just as they were advising everyone to seek shelter and safety in their cars, the power went out.  We decided being in the open, on a large rock, amidst a lot of metal probably wasn't a great place to be with all the lightning going on around us.  So, sadly we left the concert early with a large majority of the crowd.  What a night!  We finished the night out singing to James Taylor all the way home and eventually made it home safely.   

July 4th on the Western Slope

Before we move to California, Ian and I have been trying to check things off our bucket list in Colorado.  For July 4th, Ian's parents and brother Evan were nice enough to meet us in southern Colorado for a few days.  On our way down to Durango, Ian and I stopped at Sand Dunes National Park.  It was what you might imagine, hot, dry, and very sandy.  

Ian was especially excited to see the Sand Dunes.  

I was especially excited to get out of the car for a little while.

We finally made it to Durango and met Ian's family for a BBQ and parade watching. Apparently the original Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is located in Durango - we couldn't resist.  I sure am going to miss this place when we move.

Our group took a day to tour around Mesa Verde.  I hadn't been there since I went with my family in 4th grade.  

On a tour of the balcony house, we had to climb these really steep ladders - my legs were definitely shaking as I have developed a fear of heights as of late.  Some parts we had to climb through really tight spaces.

A view of their dwellings in the balcony house.

There was a hike to some petroglyphs that we enjoyed.  

In case you're wondering, my brother in law does have a boot on his foot because he had surgery two months ago.  And yes, he hiked several miles with us, went up and down ladders, and even participated in this jumping picture.

I just really like this picture of Ian.  What a handsome man.

The Animas River runs through Durango so we thought we would raft it.  

The rapids got a little rough in places and Ian was in his element.

The Western Slope of Colorado has many mining towns tucked away amidst beautiful mountain vistas.  It was a perfect day driving through these towns and enjoying the beauty.

A section of the highway from Durango back up to Glenwood Springs is called the Million Dollar Highway.  It cost $10,000 per mile to build.  Sure glad they have improved the million dollar highway since this picture was taken. 

Our group happened upon the Russell Stover factory outlet on our way through one town.  All chocolates were an additional %50 off the outlet prices because the store was moving.  It was heavenly.

One of my favorite stops was in Paonia, CO.  We happened upon the town's cherry days festival.  We tried their cherry soda.

We stayed at The Living Farm Cafe and Hotel.  Breakfast was organic, fresh from the farm.  Yum.  

We all enjoyed picking cherries in the morning.

Brad (Ian's Dad) was especially in heaven.  We all ate ourselves sick eating cherries.

We ended the trip by hiking Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs, CO.   

I will sure miss these mountains when we move to California.  Thanks for a fun trip Finlays!