Richard is in the 928

Richard got in to Flagstaff late Friday night, and exhausted from a long work week / long day of flying, we didn't do anything but head straight to bed. Saturday morning we were up early, and headed to the Grand Canyon. Last trip we just walked around the outside Rim, but on this trip, we also hiked down Bright Angel Trail into the Canyon. The whole trail is about 6 miles down, and NOT recommended for a one day trip. It is typically 20 degrees warmer down in the Canyon than at the rim, and every year thousands of people underestimate the rigor of the trail and end up in the hospital. Determined to NOT be those people, I made the boys turn back after about a mile down. Amazingly, I found it was an easier hike back up than I'm used to in Flagstaff because we were about 3,000 ft. lower than our house. I would recommend the hike down if you don't mind a bit of a work out, and can hop over lots of mule poop, but the views from the rim are still the most breathtaking...pictures do not do the Grand Canyon justice. Here is a picture of us at the end of our hike.


Saturday night we grilled pork tenderloin for dinner, and just sat around talking like old times.

On Sunday we took a drive to Sedona, AZ to let Richard see the Red Rocks. The drive down Hwy. 89 from Flagstaff to Sedona drops about 2,000 ft. in 5 miles, and has the most amazing views. Unfortunately, each foot we dropped, the temperature raised a degree until when we reached Sedona the temperature was 100 degrees. We scratched the hike, took a small walk up a Red Rock to visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a church built into the side of a mountain, designed by Franklin Lloyd Wright's protege. It is pretty interesting architecture, and you don't have to work too hard to get some great views. After a trip to the Sedona UFO store (hilarious) we sat on the back deck of restaurant taking in the views. Here is a shot of me and Jason outside the UFO store by a crashed UFO -- alien and all!


That night we went to a cookout at a neighbor's house, and Richard got to meet some of our friends here in Flagstaff. Here is a picture of Richard and Jason hovering around the food table. They were asked if they were brothers about 10 times -- kinda scary, huh?


Jason and I are both working this week, but have off Friday for the 4th, and plan on meeting Richard for lunch and going to some dinners this week. He has been using Jason's bike to roam around town, and plans on renting a road bike from a store in town, and joining a local ride later in the week. Have a great week:)

Facelift

For the blog, not me! While Jason has been in L.A. I have been busy at work on the blog. Anyone who has seen me struggle with an Excel spreadsheet for hours should be impressed with the design, and, oh yes, and the music. With Jon & Kate + 8 drama to keep me company (so sad!), I am beginning to realize how much information and how many add-ons there are out there, and how someone can quickly become addicted. Some of my favorite websites were www.cuteblogblock.com, and www.playlist.com. You can make FREE playlists on the latter -- yes, FREE. I am still trying to find the catch, but have yet to. I also added some blogs and websites that Jason and I visit frequently, and I'll probably add to it as we find new ones; check them out. In honor of our new design, I put together a slideshow of some trees, cactus, and flowers I've shot while in Arizona and California, mostly on different hikes and walks.


Lastly, for a good laugh...
Make sure you pause the playlist on the left to hear the video -- it is so worth it

US To Trade Gold Reserves For Cash Through Cash4Gold.com

XOXO Helen

Bikes, Poker, and a Canyon

From More Hiking

This was a busy week! Jason and I both rode our bikes to work this week, and the only down side was that Flagstaff has a lot of hills. It was a nice way to get to and from work, we saved on gas, and is better for the environment. Once we get used to huffing and puffing up the hills we will be pros.

On Friday, Jason went to a guy's poker night with some co-workers, and I went downtown for dinner and drinks with my friends Heather, Amy, Wendy, and Wendy's husband Willy. The poker party was at a place called The Hitchin' Post, which has horse stables where they give riding lessons. It was frequented by a lot of famous Hollywood people in the 60's and 70's who were learning to ride horses for movies.

On Saturday we did work around the house, and went out to dinner at a new restaurant in Flagstaff called Tinderbox to celebrate my new job. It was a fantastic restaurant; Jason had jalapeno mac & cheese and duck confit, and I had a veggie pot pie.

We went hiking on Sunday in Walnut Canyon, a National Park that preserves cave dwellings of the Sinagua Indians from around 1200. It was a pretty steep climb down the canyon (and then back up again), and the views were spectacular. Here are a few pictures from our hike.

The first picture is the preserved cave dwellings. The "roofs" were naturally occurring and the walls were made of random lime stones and clay. We were able to walk right along the edge of the canyon where they were placed, and could see another line of dwellings on the other side of the canyon.

From Walnut Canyon

Jason by a big yellow bush. It stood out because flowers are rare out there.

From Walnut Canyon

A picture of the two of us with the canyon in the background.

From Walnut Canyon

This sign welcomed you to the start of the long, steep climb down. I loved the bird.

From Walnut Canyon

I snapped a lot of picture of the twisty trees along the hike. We aren't totally sure what it is called, but it may be a California Juniper, or Desert White Ceder. Apparently they become twisted from the high winds.

From More Hiking

This week Jason travels to Los Angeles on Monday - Wednesday. I have no major plans this week other than working, and getting ready for Richard to visit on Friday. We are really excited to have Richard come to Flagstaff and stay through the 4th. We are planning trips to Grand Canyon, Sedona, and some of our favorite hikes and restaurants in Flagstaff.

Lastly, congratulations to our friends Mary Beth and Adam Russell who welcomed their daughter to the world last week!

XOXO
Helen, Jason, Maddie

Full-time Employment!!

Good news this morning! A few weeks ago I applied for a full-time position in the department I have been working in part-time, Gateway Student Success Center. I went through interviews, and this morning they offered me a full-time academic and career advisor position! My first day is tomorrow already, and I am very excited to get started. They aren't sure what "team" I'll be part of yet, but I will hopefully know that soon. I will miss my afternoons at home being domestic, but it will be well worth it to start doing some new projects and gain more experience. More to come later this week...

Sweet Wheels

Jason and I bought some new toys this weekend - bikes! We have been talking about it for awhile, but finally bought them on Saturday. We were up early on Saturday (because we were asleep by 9:30 Friday night -- we are wild), and went to breakfast at La Bellavia (delicious) and took a small hike in Thorpe Park. I had to go into work for orientation, and while I was at work, Jason went to the bike shop downtown and bought a Kona mountain bike. Here is Jason with his new ride...

Later that afternoon we went back downtown to check out the Pride in the Pines festivities and to get dinner. We popped back into the bike store, and found the bike I've been looking for - an old school Cruiser. It is a comfortable ride, no gears, and even has pedal brakes like we had when we were kids. I'm planning on adding a basket soon:) Here is a picture of my bike...

After all the bike purchasing, we quenched our thirst at happy hour at Altitudes, a bar downtown that is right on the train tracks, and got dinner at a Thai restaurant.

On Sunday we went to the farmer's market downtown and got some breakfast, some bread, and a few vegetables. It was a surprisingly nice farmer's market, and as it runs all summer, I am sure we'll be visiting it again. We managed to get in a trip to Sam's Club, Safeway, and took a long ride on our new bikes! We rode from our house to my office in 20 minutes, so some days when it is not too windy I plan on riding my bike to work. We haven't timed it yet to Jason's office, but we think it should be about 20-30 minutes. I think he is going to try sometime this week. Here is a picture of our nerdy bike helmets after the ride...safety first!


Copenhagen was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. It was incredibly clean, the food was good, and the architecture was amazing. Plus, there were a lot of tall blonde women adding to the scenery. No major trips planned for work in the coming weeks. As of right now, my next trip to Europe will be in late September when I go to Amsterdam. It'll be nice to spend more time here in Flagstaff in the coming weeks.

We don't have any major plans this week other than working, cooking, and enjoying our new bikes. The vegetable garden is hanging in there, and the pooping bandit has yet to visit again thanks to the marigolds I planted. Maddie is doing great, and shedding like crazy. Here is a picture I got of her from outside the front of the house. She LOVES sitting in this window when it is open in the afternoon.


Have a wonderful week!
XOXO
Helen Jason & Maddie

T - I - G - E - R - S!!

Jason made it home safely from Chicago on Thursday, and I played housewife, cooking him pork chops and pepper kabobs on the grill for dinner. On Friday, I was busy with Orientation, and Jason caught up on work in the office. He was pretty exhausted from his trip; here you can see he and Maddie enjoying some naps on the couch at about 8:30 pm Friday night -- our Friday nights are getting pretty lame!

From BBALL

Saturday morning I went to my first spin class at the gym, and can officially report that it isn't that bad. Other than a sore toosh, and some pretty horrible music selections from our instructor, spin was a great workout, and a good way to start the day! We headed down to Phoenix Saturday afternoon to watch Clemson's baseball team play ASU. After a few pitchers and too much food at Four Peaks Brewery, we went to the game. Our seats were standing room only, and after 5 innings we took a cab back to the hotel to watch the remaining (disappointing) 4 innings in the bar. Here are 2 pictures we shot just after the sun went down. The first is a self-portrait, and the second is a picture of Barry Bonds (I am sure you can guess who took that one).

From BBALL

From BBALL

On Sunday we did some shopping in Phoenix, and I dropped Jason off at the airport for his flight to Copenhagen. He flew Phoenix direct to London, and caught a flight from London to Copenhagen. He called this morning at about 9am to say he made it to Copenhagen, and it was already past 9pm there. He has a meeting tomorrow, and will fly back Thursday. I'll be occupying my time with more orientation this week, taking classes at the gym, and a birthday party Wednesday night for a friend at work.

I am off to finish laundry and clean up before heading to yoga in a bit. Much love to Mary Beth and Adam -- she's almost here:) Have a great week!