CATCH UP :)

Okay so here is a time line of some pictures since we have been married until now..... First we will start at the end of May on the way back from Spokane. My lovely wife wanted to pick some wild flowers, so she did :) (Can't tell she is pregnant yet...)
In June we went on an overnight backpacking trip with our friend Kelly. At night before the trip Emily and I camped in Glacier National Park and here is a picture at night.

Here is Kelly and Em eating lunch during the hike.

This is a view from our campsite of Arrow Lake. The book Night of The Grizzly, talks about the poor lady that was killed here nearly 45 years ago.

New places.

So after the wedding and after the honeymoon I found a new job at Summit Preparatory School in Kalispell, MT. I am fortunate that I not only get to work with students again, but as a side benefit I get to see my wife sometimes during the day as she is a therapist for one of the girls teams.
I spend all day with the boy's team that I am on once they get out of school, until they go to bed. We hike, take backpacking trips, lift weights, play football, etc.. It is a rewarding job but it does take a lot out of a person mentally. So far so good though as I am about 2 months in and doing well.

Verana 3

Ok just a few more pictures...

A view from the Tea House in the early morning.

Another view of the Tea House.

Ok this little guy is Coatimundi and he scared the crap out of us the first night. He came into our room and knocked over a glass cover on a candle because he was trying to get the banana that was left on the table. While he did get it and eat it, he is harmless.
We did kayak to Yelapa and this is a waterfall right in town, although you don't want to jump off (not enough water in the pool at the bottom.) Yes that is me climbing up anyway...
This is Our Lady of Guadalupe in PV
If you enlarge the picture you should be able to see the MASSIVE iguana in the tree.
A map that took us to a restaurant in PV that took hours to find. Upon arriving, it was awful, so we left.
A sunset in PV the final night we were in Mexico

More Verana....

Here are a few more pictures from our honeymoon.

The pool overlooking the ocean

This is our lunch spot every day. The lunch chef made some fantastic mousse as part of the whole desert. I liked it so much he made a fresh batch of mousse just so I could have it later!

A waterfall which you could climb up and then jump off. It was a lot of fun!

Salsas that we learned to make in our cooking class (and now have the recipes to!)
The chef who taught us the recipes that we learned. We used all of the salsas that night for taco night which is fairly famous in the area.
I like this picture so I added it.

Honeymoon in Verana

This is a place my wife found in Gourmet Magazine several years before we ever met. She had been hanging on to an article that was in that magazine hoping some day to go but never dreamed of it being her honeymoon. The resort is called Verana and is located in Yelapa, Mexico. We stayed in the Studio and the Tea House.
Absolutely worth the trip, we were waited on hand and foot and never had to worry about a single thing. The food was unbelievable, the atmosphere relaxing as they only had 7 houses at the resort with a maximum occupancy of around 20-24 guests total. We really never saw the other guests unless at a meal or at the pool during the day. Why a pool if you have the ocean? Well the hike up to Verana is about 15-20 minutes from the Ocean and we simply wanted to relax. If you ever have the chance, GO.

You have to take a boat to get here

On the boat (which left marks from the bumpy ride!)

Once you get here the mule carries all of your gear all the way to the top.

Our room in the Studio the first 2 nights

Backside of our room, which are all open air.

This is the room at night, the staff comes around while you are at dinner and lights ALL of the candles in every house!

Too long...

Ok well I have not done a great job of updating my blog, but here is some new information for you. I did get married on the 14th of April and what a good time it was! Family and friends made one heck of a long trip to Spokane, Washington where we were married at Mt St Michael's Church. Here are a few pictures and no the little girl (Fiona) is not ours, she is the daughter of a friend of ours who lives in Spokane.
Next up... pictures from our Honeymoon in Verana, Mexico.

Aint no maybe..... BABY.....

So ALOT going on in this wonderful world of yours, mine and ours.. Emily and I are getting married on April 14th in Spokane Washington and we are very excited and at the same time will be glad when this stress is over. We have the colors, the caterer, the wedding location, the tuxes, her dress, the rings ordered, the cake, the flowers but we are still trying to determine the exact reception location. We already have one, but may flip it to the rehersal dinner site instead as the original one is not available now.
We are driving back to Spokane again this weekend for more wedding stuff and while she is doing some shopping, I am going riding on my new road bike (more on this SWEET CANNONDALE SYSTEMSIX later)

We have also recently discovered that we are having a baby! Man alive, talk about being a busy year. This is going to be one busy/great year and we are really looking forward to having our own family. My parents I think are becoming more excited, although I am not sure how my dad is dealing with being a grandpa!

Not quite 3 weeks....

Not quite 3 weeks since I have update my blog... Ok doing better than last year so far! To date, I have now bought a new car, a 2007 Jeep Liberty to replace the totaled Pathfinder.. The Jeep has alota options! Leather, heated seats, etc... but not as much room as my old Pathfinder... Time will tell as they say as to the enjoyment of our new vehicle.
The insurance agent called yesterday and said he has checks on the way for my destroyed car and lost wages.. Thats good news...
Stress is still as high as ever, so I am working on enhancing my mood through the use of all natural ingredients, since my exercise is non-existant right now. 5-HTP is supposed to be a great mood enhancer as it is a plant based precursor to seratonin. Again, time will tell.
Tried skiing on Sunday and after 3 runs decided I had enough due to the feeling of vertigo when I was skiing and it wasn't even foggy :( Also relived the car wreck when some skiier cut all the way across the hill without looking and fortunately by the grace of God I was able to stop.. My skiis were honestly about 3 inches from hers when she came across. I had to sit down.. Coordination was off and I felt loopy when skiing.. Maybe this weekend will be better..

Frustrating...

Well a little over a week later and still not good.. This head injury is proving to be much more problematic than I originally thought. I have difficulty focusing and communicating after a few hours. Constant headahces are the norm now as well as a feeling of being spacey or floating. Can't drive at night because my brain can't process fast enough yet. My poor fiance thought she was getting someone weird at first, now I am weird and useless... It gets better with time, or so I hear...
These are the times I wish all I could do is ride, and ride, and ride, and ride..... One day... maybe next year....

Ok... So um... almost a year later

Wow... did I ever get behind... SO.. Here is the really, really brief version of the past 9 months...
Raced Mohican 100... finished well
Raced E-100... Finished well...
Fell in love.....
Got Engaged...
My car got totaled..
Got sponsored by Maxxis.... the same day my car was totaled.....

Ok so I will be better about updating this blog... Honest....

Whew... lot has happened

It has been awhile since I have posted. I have been to Sea Otter since I have last posted and the weather, the weather has gone from snow, to hot to snow again all here in Montana..... CRAZY...... Also I have purchased a new bike, a Slingshot 29er! What a ride... here are some pictures...

DONE!!!

Whew, I got a new bar and stem, old stock Dura Ace and a new Salsa Poco Bar and man she is purty!

Here she is!

My fixed gear!! Done, well mostly, I can ride it but I have a shorter stem and now need a new bar because the drop is too narrow to get the freakin bar through the one piece stem.

As promised... Sorta

Here is a picture of my new steed! Well a partial picture minus the whole bike as I am waiting on the matching front wheel. She rides so nice!

Catch up...

Ok so here is the latest and greatest... The last post was on Friday and about the magical fixed gear, so I guess I will start there. Saturday I wake up and get my skiiing stuff ready to go up on the hill. I take a few runs and my leg started bothering me so I called it quits early and went shopping for a whole lot of household stuff like silverware, mixing bowls etc.. I know, I KNOW, exciting stuff, oh well.
Anywho, I have been putting off getting new running shoes, so I finally did it and decided all at the same time I am going to run a marathon this year. MAN, not sure what I was thinking to start with but.... IT SHOULD BE A JOURNEY!


So Sunday roles around, it's freakin cold out on the Mountain and I don't wanna go ski because there has been no new snow. So I go ride the fixed gear, I know here we are back to the bike. I don't have pictures posted because I am using some borrowed wheels until mine are done. I do have the rear wheel, but when I got home Saturday, I got the mail and the envelope that had the lockring in it had ripped open! So still no go. Pictures soon though! ANYWAY, so I am riding on a borrowed rear wheel through some of the MOST BEAUTIFUL countryside imaginable. I hit the half way point, on my way home, up a hill and I hear it. That AWFUL, TERRIBLE hissing sound. Yep, flat tire EXCEPT THIS WAS WAY worse because it was a tubular tire. No way to fix it, so I start walking, cause its cold and I can't stand around waiting for someone in the middle of nowhere. I hitch-hike a ride into the next town and call a friend from there since I now have cell service. BUMMER.... All in all it was a good weekend... Monday was back to work and DODGEBALL!!! Yes I play in a league :)

So close!

I am so close to being done with this bike I can't wait! I had to scramble to find a bolt long enough to attach the front brake. DONE. I fixed the bottom bracket, mounted the rear tire on the sweet Velocity rear track wheel. NO lockring, it was left off when the wheel shipped so now I have to wait on that. Almost there, I can't wait to ride and train on this bike!

Fixie

I started work to bring a Bridgestone Track bike back to life last night. Got the new bars on, the first side taped and then sat on the bike. DOH! I then noticed the bottom bracket flexing, and I did not have the tools to fix it, so off to the bike shop it went. I will get it back before I have to teach spinning tonight and hopefully finish the build tomorrow night. I am so excited! One gear is the only way to go.