THANK YOU!

We owe a huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped us move! We had a bunch of friends come over on Saturday to help us load up the truck. Everyone worked really hard and fast. We were able to get everything loaded pretty quickly. Dede helped me clean while all the guys moved stuff down the stairs. When everything was cleaned and packed we all went over to James and Dede's to have our favorite pizza one last time NYPD pizza. It is so yummy and it was awesome! Afterwards we all cleaned up and went to a new outdoor mall that had just opened up and looked around. Pat was looking for jeans with flaps over the back pocket...he says they make your butt look good :) After walking around the mall we went back to James and Dede's and crashed. We had a sleepover because we didn't have anything left in our apartment. We all got up early and they made us German pancakes, Ry had never had them before. Then we packed up and left. It was really sad. There are a lot of things we will miss about Arizona but James, Dede, and Ramone will be one of the main ones. It is really fun to have friends to do stuff with and everyone has so much fun. And Chase will miss his best friend, Ramone. We have a lot of good memories of Arizona and look forwards to getting things moving forward in Utah! Although about now we are both freezing and would like our 80 degree weather back!

Thanks again to everyone that helped...we are very grateful for you all!

This is the morning we left, after the sleepover, that is why we all look like we just woke up...because we did :)

Little Ramoni Macaroni, Mac, Apple, Appy...whatever comes to mind...he is so cute!

Best buds!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had one last final holiday together before we left to move back to Utah. I am actually writing from Utah so that means we are back but I have to still do a few posts of the last few days in Arizona. Thanksgiving this year was really fun. Pat, Ryan's younger brother flew in from Indiana Thanksgiving morning so we shared it with him and also out very good friends the Crowley's. We had enough food to feed 20 more people but we all ate a lot of food and had a good time. Before Pat got in and it was time to make all the final preparations Ryan and I decided to go on one last bike ride in AZ. Yes we are dressed in long clothes because it was a chilly Thanksgiving morning! :)Pat was nice enough to come out and spend the holiday with us and also help with the move...he is a trooper! We are really grateful for his help.
We also had James, Dede, and Ramone (their puppy and Chase's best friend) over too. After we ate we played the Wii for a little bit and then we went to see August Rush. After the movie we had pie, hung out for a bit, and then went to sleep. We were all pretty tired and needed a good night's sleep before the big packing day!

The Demolisher

Many of you know that Nici got a bike for her birthday, which was a little over a month ago. She is doing so good I'm impresssed by her everytime we go ride. We have a few favorite rides we like to do and are going to miss when we leave AZ.

One of the rides we call Userary Loop: It's only a 20 mile ride through the desert of AZ, but there is a huge downhill where we can hit 40mph, and an even bigger uphill that is over 3 miles to the top. This picture is from the first day that she rode it. The hill is really hard for anyone the first time they ride it. I think she was a little mad at me in the middle of it so I rode away and let her finish on her own. I knew she could do it. AND SHE DID!!!!!! She was really happy once she got to the top, not only cause it was over, but that she did it. Once she got to the top I called her the Demolisher cause she demolished that hill.

Anyways this post was to pay tribute to the Demolisher.

P.S. This weekend we rode Userary Loop again. Standing in the parking lot unloading our bikes the Demolisher dropped her bike. It was on the gound and she was holding it with two hands, then all the sudden she just let go, as if the bike could stand all on it's own and would not be affected by gravity. It was really funny. It might not sound that great but it really was hilarious. Anyways... I thought I'd share.

Happy Birthday James!

We had a really fun weekend. It was our friend, James' birthday so we celebrated all weekend. On Friday we went to a really good Thai restaurant, I had never had Thai before but I really liked it. James got a 12 week old Rhodesian Ridgeback for his birthday so after dinner we let him and Chase have a play date. Chase was very excited and going crazy! But, he was having a lot of fun.

Then on Saturday we had a party at their house with all their friends and then we went roller skating! It was hilarious! In college James took a roller skating class and knows how to do all these cool tricks...we even saw a video of the final where he had to do a 3 minute routine...WOW! :)

Well, you see that smile on Ryan's face? It was not there all night. It was a frustrating experience for the big guy! He fell three times. Although, I have to say he was a very good sport and stuck it out! I was very proud of him for trying. He is awesome! I honestly never thought I would find myself back in a skating rink after all these years. I think we could all tell we are getting older...because by the time we left our ears were ringing because the music was so loud and we were all worn out! A bunch of old farts! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES...WE HAD A GREAT TIME!

Me Too....

I guess I've been tagged, too. By my wife and an old friend Sarah Bennett.

1) My best friend is Nici. Why? She is always there for me, rarely annoyes me except for at work cause she follows me all the time and asks me what to do and used to call me all the time asking what to do in a situation but she doesn't do it very much anymore cause she knows I HATE to talk on my phone. She gives really good neck rubs, sometimes I have to really bug her to do it, but it's always worth the extra effort I have to put in. She takes care of me when I don't feel good. She buys me things. She laughs with me all the time. She supports me. She loves the Chaserbug like I do. Her cycling nickname is The Demolisher, cause that is what she does to any climb in her path, demolishes it. And she must have a butt of steel cause today I sat on her bike seat and almost cried it was so hard. She has squinty eyes. Sometimes she thinks she is so funny that she can't stop laughing and in reality it's not funny at all, but I laugh cause she is going crazy thinking she is so funny. She's really good at whatever she does. She is motivated and can do anything she puts her mind to. That's pretty much it. JK, hon. For those of you reading this and don't know her very well she is awesome.

2) My second best friend is my buddy Chase. He is awesome. I never thought I would care so much for a dog. I hope I love him as much as he loves me. He is so smart and well behaved. (those of you who have meet Chase might not see this in him cause he does get so excited around others he just can't help himself but be crazy). He is an awesome swimmer and can jump off the dock and do big belly flops. When he swims he lives by the saying "leave no ball behind" He won't come back to the shore until all the balls have been gathered and brought in. He dreams so hard when he sleeps he wakes me up sometimes whining and moving around. When he sits his butt goes down really fast.

3) Cycling is my new favorite thing to do. Climbing is sweet. Getting to the top of a big hill is such a good feeling. I love to go down hills as fast as I can. Spandex shorts are sweet, and jerseys are even sweeter. Bright white cycling socks are sweet, too. One of the things I'm looking forward to about living in Utah again is that I think the cycling is better there. Nic doesn't know this yet but next summer we're going to get into mountain biking.

4) I love to read. If I could only do one thing the rest of my life it would be to just read books. I've read a ton of books, well almost. I'm really good about starting one, getting to the middle, and then starting a new one never finishing the first. Some good ones I've read lately: Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog, Thinking for a Change, the most recent issue of Bicycling, I've read others but can't think of any right now.

5) When I was a little kid I was really, really afraid of the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz. Deathly afraid. And the Tinman was my favorite.

6) I don't like to drink from straws. In fact, I never do.

I guess the first few weren't about me, but more or less my favorite things and why I like them so much. Anyways, I can't tag six people cause I don't know enough. But I will tag James and Dede cause I don't think they have been yet.

Tag...I'm it!

My friend, Jess, tagged me and that means I have to write 6 things about myself...although about a month ago it wrote 100 things about myself so this will make it 106:)

1. I "heart" cycling! This is my new favorite sport. Since my birthday I try to ride 5 times a week. On Saturdays we go for long rides and it is so fun and tough...but it is really fun.
2. I have lost 24 lbs in the past 9 weeks with going to Weight Watchers meeting...and still have some to go:) but, I am very proud of my accomplishments.
3. I am a new big fan of the Ellen DeGeneres show. I think she is really funny!
4. We bought a new vacuum last week and now I love to vacuum. And I cannot believe how much a Golden Retriever sheds...it is insane!
5. I think Walt Disney was probably the smartest man ever.
6. I am very excited to be in Utah this Christmas and to have snow for the Holidays...Christmas in AZ is just like a day off work with presents, sometimes lacking the Christmas spirit.

Well, consider me tagged. Now, I have to tag others so...
TAG: Ryan (my hubby), Lisa and Brett Anderson (separately), Lisa Echoles, and Mike and Lindsay Nerhing (separately)...have fun!

Tribute to Thanksgiving

I know I kind of skipped over Thanksgiving but don't think that I don't love this Holiday too. But, being on Weight Watchers a day dedicated to food is not something I am looking forward to right now :) Although, I am thankful for one whole day dedicated to being thankful and celebrating all the blessings we have in our lives. This is my tribute to Thanksgiving :)

Graduation Day!

Last Friday was a special day for our little puppy. He graduated from his pet smart training class. He was top in his class (doesn't every parent think that?) We are very proud of him. He now knows sit, down, wait, stay, leave it, no, and puppy pus-ups. We also realized that he is completely motivated by food. This little puppy will do anything as long as a treat is involved. We also found out that he loves to watch the mice and Ginni pigs before and after class. He would just sit and watch them forever. He wouldn't bark or do anything he would just sit and watch. Sometimes people would stop to watch him watching them because it was just that funny.

Chase has a little girl that comes over everyday and takes him on a walk and she reads books on how to train him so we invited her to come to his last class and see him graduate. She brought him a couple of presents and this card we thought it was so cute and nice. Chase loved the presents too...he played with them non-stop until it was destroyed...so for about a day :)