Fall 14-er

A couple of weeks ago 5 friends and I climed our first 14-er. It was Mt. Bierstadt at 14, 060 ft.

Yes, I am a Coloradan who has never climbed a 14-er.

Yes, I was a backpacking guide for many summers in a row, and never climbed a 14-er.

Don't make fun of me. (Ok, you can, but just a little)


Anyway.. I climbed the mountain with one of my 2 greatest friends (Yolanda and Lisa) and 3 others from our church. It was a beautiful day, we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the summit, and drank luke warm water.

Fall is here. The leaves are changing.

It is a new season here in Colorado, the leaves are changing the air is a little brisk and the days are getting shorter. One of the more exciting things that happened the past couple of weeks is that I acquired a hot tub.

Here are some reasons to have a hot tub in Colorado.

1. After a neck breaking week of studying there is no better way to relax.

2. Sitting in your hot tub saves heat inside the house during a snowstorm.

3. After watching the Broncos miss tackle after tackle, you need some way to melt away your sorrows.

In other news.. my 2 month back yard de-weeding project is almost done.

Rewind...So this summer I was super tired of de-weeding my hardscape.. well I talked my dad into helping me shovel out all the rock and then today, a friend and I leveled the ground and laid some landscape fabric.. now all I have to do is shovel the rock back.

All of this landscaping is a great distraction.. because who wants to write a term paper (due Tuesday) anyway?Other then thse two happenings friends, not too much else is going on.. school and homework and work threaten to send my snorkle underwater but with the strength of Christ and with a little bit of mama's home cooking, life is good.

Good stuff.

Christian.. (formerly known as Dude) sent me this photo of a fish. It is a picture taken by the diving robot on his drilling rig. I think it is sooo cool that they can send a robot 3,000 feet to the bottom of the middle of the ocean to view an oil wellhead. I once asked him if they ate alot of good fresh fish on the rig.. they don't. They are not allowed to fish. In the North Atlantic. It is a safety hazard. Period.

In other news.. It is FINALLY Bronco season. Finally. This is their year.. Jay is going to take us to the Superbowl. To kick off the season, I sent a box of Kleenex to my Kansas City friends, found my Bronco hat, and watched the end of the preseason game. Game on.

Just anotha' weekend in colorful colorado

5 things I have not done all summer but I did this weekend.

1. Watched alot of T.V.
2. Unpacked my bags from vacation. (Hi-5 Katie)
3. Sat around on my couch eating Red Vines. (Not Twizzlers, Red Vines.)
4. I did not ride my bike. alot. (does 40 miles count?)
5. Talked to my dude for more then 1 continuous hour on the phone.

On another note.
School starts in 2 weeks... (I am secretly excited.)

Off the leash..

:)

A little vacation.

It has been a great 8 days of vacation. It has been filled with eating some great Austrian food, seeing great sights, being with some fun people and more importantly rest.




We started our adventure in Vienna where we spent 4 days seeing the city. We did tons of walking, and some swimming. I happen to be there in a record breaking heat wave but that didn't slow us down.

Here is Christian modeling a bottle of Armdoodler.. the famous Austrian soda. The picture next to him is from the top of St. Stephens cathedral and 747 stairs.

This is eating some good food at the Schweiser house and at the Goulosh meuseum. My two favorite Austrian dishes, Weinerschnitzel and Goulosh. This is the Hapsberg summer palace in Vienna. The gardens are beautiful and the palace is b.i.g.
Christian and I at a fountain at the Hapsbergs' place.
ANDY! We hung out and had some beers and laughs with Andy in the Vianna town square. (Come back to Colorado Andy!)

After leaving Vienna we went to Linz where I met the parents (who are fabulous) and doing a bike ride to a castle. Also, where for the first time in my life I ate a goosberry (not pictured).

The Austrian countryside would be the perfect place to bike all summer. (Let's all pack our bags and spend next summer biking there.)




Christian's father and brothers cooked a BBQ. It was some good eating of many different types of sausages and veggies.
We also went to the Czech Republic and did a little tour. Here is the anchient city of Czechy Kumlov. It is quite a beautiful city.

!
All in all it was a great time. I am not quite ready to be back here in Colorado, but on the bright side, I have some great friends here. If you would like to see all the photos of the adventure come over and let me buy you a cup of coffee or a burrito or something. :)

Done and done

So with the summer's goal of riding the Triple Bypass strong behind me, I am free to do whatever I want on the weekends. They will still be filled with bike rides and such but a lot less hard core. Maybe.

Thanks to everyone who has donated money to the bike teams I have been on, the two teams are really about helping children live better lives.

I am off to Austria. My legs are really sore and my bags are now packed all I gotta do is find my passport. See you all when I get back from the other side of the pond.