Back at It

Quick Laugh

Here's a video I captured of Finn and his "good dog" Hudson:



-cbd

Double-Double

Well I finally made it down to St. George for a "Winter" climbing trip with my friend Stefan. We had postponed the trip two previous times due to scheduling difficulties and weather, but persevered and made it down. We met up with an old friend Eric, now living and teaching in Cedar City, and hit three different areas in three days.

Overall it was a great trip. We thoroughly enjoyed the warm rock, plentiful (and mostly well bolted) routes, and complete lack of crowds. We saw one person the entire time...the author of the guide book who put up about 400 routes in the area in the last decade. And I got to fulfill a long-neglected In-N-Out fix, hence the title "double-double," which is their signature burger and one of only four menu items, unless of course you know the "secret menu" (unlike Eric).

Here are some of my favorite photos:

Day 1 we visited an area called the Prophesy Wall...
moderate, well bolted routes abound.
Stefan's camper patiently waits....

Eric belaying Stefan on a classic "5.10" at
the Prophesy Wall.

Eric stepping up and leading a super fun and moderate
(but somewhat scary looking) route at the Zen Wall,
just outside of Santa Clara.

That's me on a moderate, but exposed
route at the Zen Wall.

Stefan leading at the Zen Wall.

Oh for a macro lens. Beautiful Yucca...
but poor depth of focus. Still like the shot though.

Eric and Dana getting ready to climb at the very cobbly
Parowan Gap, just out side of Cedar City.

-Chris

Give me MORE outdoors

Things have been a little still on the home front with Chris sick all last week and now I've been home a few days taking care of Finn. Despite running a fever and being fairly congested, Finn still had his cheery moments where he wanted to be outside. Here he is making a pit-stop to play with the ski poles on the front porch before we walk to the grocery store for milk. He's so fascinated with skis and poles and loves riding in the backpack while we're skiing. It won't be two long and he'll be schooshing or kicking and gliding himself (maybe next year).

Yay-Yeay

Yesterday Erika took advantage of lots of fresh snow in the Wasatch and Finn and I had a good long day together. Here are some photos from throughout the day...which seemed to focus on Hudson.

On a rough night, I usually take advantage of Hudson's midnight backyard wanderings (he always gets up when we get up) to calm Finn. Looking out the window into backyard and searching for "Yay-Yeay" always calms him down. The other day Finn realized that he could push his stool up to the back window and look out on his own. I captured this from outside:

The idea of Hudson walking through his own mini-door must be so strange and exciting for Finn. Here he is calling for Hudson,

and here he comes...look out!


And finally, a video that I took at lunch...listen for Hudson's growl near the end.





Chris

Did you say dung beetle?

Well, this is a random smattering of photos and events to update everyone. Below: Finn showing off his dung beetle shirt. I can't believe he is big enough to fit this shirt. It seemed so huge when we received it in the mail from friends in S. Africa last year. He thinks he's pretty funny peeking through the back of my hat. I agree, it is pretty comical.





A recent teaser week of warm weather made it feel like Spring and left me craving a little change. It's been a year since my hair was last cut so I figured it was time to go short again, and a little blonder.

Lastly, I can't help but mention how proud I am of few of Chris's recent accomplishments. Last night he received a 2009 WSSPC (Western States Seismic Policy Council) Award in Excellence under the category of Research, specifically Wasatch and Sevier Faults Paleoseismic Research.

It's been a number of weeks now since Chris made the news, but there are still a few family members that haven't had the link to see it. Click here to see him speak about "Putting Down Roots in Utah".

Finn, Hudson and a Box

Finn's First Fine Art

Here are a few photos of Finn expressing his artistic side. He just loved painting and kept asking for more. Thanks to Stefan and Jess for the great birthday gift...

Great concentration.

The mess begins...

Gettin' after it.

Masterpiece 1.

Masterpiece 2.

Personally, I think Masterpiece 1 has more depth and subtle meaning. Masterpiece 2 is just a mess. Check out our poll - upper right. Hopefully more posts to come.

2008 Photo Review

Here is a quick photo-movie of our favorite moments of 2008 (at least those that we have photos for). Enjoy!



Happy New Year!
Chris, Erika, & Finn

Christmas 2008

Since we weren't going to be home for the week surrounding Christmas this year, we decided not to get a live Christmas tree, but instead dug out the little metal standby from the basement. Finn absolutely adored the tree with its lights and ornaments which he rapidly learned to identify as star, angel, frog, fish, snowflake, etc....paying particular attention to the macaroni angels (an old time favorite of Hudson's). My pre-Christmas project next year will be to make a few replacement macaroni angels.

The snowy and icy roads created treacherous conditions for our drive to Bozeman, but we made our way, slowly, surely and safely with Chris behind the wheel; setting a record long drive time of nine hours. After a car spin out in front of us and the first car off the road we placed our bets on what we'd see on our journey. The numbers continued to climb as we drove with a final tally of:
9 vehicles off-road and a boat - as one of these was an overturned truck hauling a large boat
1 snowplow accident
1 spin-out
I'm thankful we weren't included in any of these statistics! Who knew that having to replace all of our tires last week due to a slashed sidewall would be such a blessing in disguise.

Our stay was memorable. Much time was spent in the kitchen preparing Christmas traditions such as lefse, date cookies, and popovers, as well as just working together to create plain ole good meals to share. I'd be in trouble if I ate that well every day!

The cousins played hard:

Giggles filled the air, as did noises of trucks driving and crashing. Kids tumbled to the ground in hugs. Madison popped back and forth between assembling the annual Christmas puzzle with Mom, Amber and I (especially motivated by the horse theme), becoming a tennis pro on the wii and playing alongside the smaller kids. Hannah and Finn swapped toys; Hannah checking out Finn's phone or trucks and Finn carrying Hannah's baby around. They crawled up the stairs side-by-side like partners in crime or were spotted playing silently together in the guest bedroom. Finn and Isaac were all about trucks, trucks, trucks, whether it was books or toys. Apparently Isaac said one night, after they'd gone back to their house, that Finn was his best buddy. I bet if Finn could speak that many words, he would express the same sentiment. He often sat in awe of his big cousin and soaked up all his actions.

Unfortunately our camera died half-way through the trip so i'll be relying on posts from Amber to fill in the shots of the adults playing hard: between intense wii competitions of boxing, bowling and tennis and our crazy snowmobile adventure to Little Bear Cabin...... there's more to come.

and now for the parting shot of Finn dancing in Grandpa's baby boots. I wish I had his moves on video as his tap dancing two-step accompanied by a enormous grin was so adorable.

It feels good to be home but it is so hard to be far away from family again!

1.5 yrs; Good Times

It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that Finn's entire body fit on Chris's forearm. This photo gives a good sense of how big he's gotten (although it may be a bit like the classic exaggerated fish story photo due to the angle). Here is a brief photo update of our 1.5 year old boy.

To Walk in Daddy's Shoes

One quick lesson from Daddy and he's a pro

Chris and Finn assemble the new shelves for the mudroom.



The mudroom continues to come together. I just need to pick up some more baskets for storage of hats, gloves, shoes, etc...and we'll be on our way to reducing clutter in other rooms.

Birthday Getaway

This afternoon we returned from a remarkable weekend just over the Idaho border at the Malad Summit Guard Station. Chris orchestrated the entire weekend down to the smallest thoughtful details: planning and shopping for meals, sneaking the few gifts that arrived by mail into the car, packing all we needed except Finn's clothes and my clothes, and keeping all plans a complete secret until we pulled up to the gate leading to the cabin. I was pleasantly surprised by a weekend getaway to a rustic cabin (just Chris, Finn, Hudson and I).




























Chris and Finn warming their hands by the "Hot" fire.


We had a memorable time taking frosty morning walks with Finn to hunt down the "water". The creek ran along both sides of the cabin and through the surrounding riparian areas. Finn couldn't get enough of it, constantly asking to go outside to see the "water, water...". If it was up to Finn, we'd have spent the entire weekend walking along the creek or running through the grass.
-Lucky me, even the traditional carrot cake!

We spent a few hours Saturday hiking the Indian Mill Trail. The wind had a chilly bite when it wasn't countered by the sun. There were sections of snow and mud and water to cross and all and all, it was beautiful to be out together.
I couldn't have asked for a more perfect birthday celebration!