Coldwater Canyon Overlook

A few weeks ago Andy and I got together for our Monday's off work and snowshoed up to Coldwater Canyon Overlook in Weber Canyon.

We found a few winter friendly geocaches along the way...

We followed some ski trails, some snow mobile trails, the powerline trail, then eventually we found someone's one way snowshoe trail to the top. Hoping he wasn't the avalanche victim from the day before we followed it to the overlook. Almost there, the top was just past these trees. Andy's making the final accent below. There were perfect views in every direction. It was worth the effort to get there and we made it just in time for lunch. I started to walk out on the cornice but wasn't feeling too confident about the snow or my lack of avalanche skills so I came back.The end. (Thanks Emily for watching the kids while we went)

Noodles!!!!

Alicia and I decided we wanted to form a cooking club...except there's just the two of us. Her husband, James, said we can't really be much of a club with just two people...thus was born, the Cooking Duo. We make some pretty delicious stuff between the two of us, but I think the night we made homemade noodles was the most fun so far. Her boys were super excited to help and thankfully no one got their fingers stuck in the pasta roller. When we draped it over the chairs before cutting it into noodles they had fun running under the noodle tunnels.

It was just as tasty to eat as it was fun to make and the boys thought so too. If you want to try some ambitious cooking with kids, I recommend homemade noodles.

Summer or Winter?

I don't think I'm quite done with winter yet, I'm enjoying the snow a lot more this year than I have in the past but looking at these two pictures I think I like summer more. That thick fog we had last Thursday covered everything with the neatest frost but I miss the smell of lavender in my backyard. I'm almost ready for spring.

New Years

The year is ending and it's a sad goodbye, it was a really great year, but I'm eager for 2010 and all it's possibilities: My goals for last year didn't all get met but about 8 and 1/2 of them did. I had my main ones which I'd posted here and another private list at home. I did better with my public ones... though I think #4 sort of took over and consumed my life for awhile. For next year I've decided on these. As usual I've made a baker's dozen of them:

1. Read the Bible

2. Go to bed before midnight (weekdays only)

3. Be able to do 3 overhand pullups

4. Lead a 5.11 climb in the gym and a 5.9 climb outside the gym

5. Learn to bake bread (good bread)

6. Hike to the top Mt. Olympus (or climb I guess...either one)

7. Cook one recipe from every cookbook I own

8. Drive Slower (within 5 miles of the speed limit)

9. Live off the food in my pantry for 1 month

10. Finish my name change back to Rockwood

11. Get a computer

12. Green up my commute to work

13. Visit a beach/state/country/or National Park I've never been to before

What do you think the hardest one will be for me?

How I spent my Christmas Vacation

I got lots of time off work for Christmas and could be happy if I never had to go back to work again… as long as no one else had to go back to work either.

So here's what I did with all that time besides shovel my driveway 9 times a day...

I went to Alicia's house for Christmas Eve and enjoyed Mexican food, cheese, and stories read by James.

Afterwards I spent the night at Nate's house and ate chocolate fondue before going to bed so Santa could come...which he did.

In the morning we opened presents and sat around in pajamas till it was time to eat our Christmas steaks. (Simon didn't sit around, he played with all his hotwheels) Their presents were around the tree all wrapped up nice, mine were around the lamp in cardboard boxes. The next day we went sledding in the canyon. It was Simon's first time. After an hour he was done. I went sledding again with Alicia and her boys. In the canyon and then at Liberty Park and then in their backyard. We weren't done till the sun went down. (I think I took a thousand pictures of us sledding that day)

(Alicia is the funnest pregnant lady ever...see evidence below)

I went out to breakfast with Carrie and Simon at the Blue Plate Diner (We went back again with Nate and I tried Eggs Benedict for the first time. I don't think I care for runny yolked eggs or Hollandaise Sauce) Alicia had a New Years Eve party with way too many treats and a few fireworks.

Then there was even more sledding, this time at Stew's house. After sledding Stew made everyone a big dinner and that night Hayden and Jake and I went night sledding...no pictures of us at night but it was crazy fun. On my last day of vacation Jake and I went snowshoeing in American Fork Canyon. It was such a beautiful day. That afternoon I watched Jake and Scott go long boarding and got to ride Scott's board back to the house. (A lot more fun than it probably sounds) Then I watched the alpenglow fade off the top of Mt. Timpanogos and… ...vacation was over, everyone went back to work, Alicia's kids went back to school, Jake went back to Oklahoma, the cardboard boxes when into the recycling bin, and the smog came back to the valley.

A Day Alone in American Fork Canyon

Jake left me a bunch of stuff to store/borrow/enjoy for the next little while and it hasn't taken me long to get started on enjoying it. The thing I'm most excited about for now are the cross country skis. Monday after I was done at the climbing gym I picked up a pair of cross country ski boots and headed down to American Fork Canyon. It's been a year or two since I've been cross country skiing but all those years in highschool working out on the Nordic Track ingrained the motions into me so it was easy to get back into rhythm. The trail wasn't too long but it ran along the river the whole time and through the woods. It was quiet and crisp and I didn't see a single person the whole time I was out. I can't wait to get out again.

Our family Christmas party

Two of my brothers and I wanted to have a little family Christmas party before Andy went to California for the holiday. It was the standard event you'd expect considering the 3 of us planned it. I don't think there was anything Christmasy about it except for the green sprinkles on the cake, but there was smoked meat, lots of cheese, and laughing at eachother.

I brought the cheese... (only 1 out of 9 was totally disgusting)

Nate smoked a tri-tip...

and Andy brought the kids for entertainment...

Check out this video of Jacob for a good laugh

(Simon's guitar was also a big hit. Him and Samantha were playing it all night.)