If You're Attacked by Monkeys....

In case anyone has been wondering what you should do if you are attacked by macaques or baboons here is an article for you. You never know, this could save your life! LOL :)

Scout Dog

My poor puppy. Every time my brother, Mat, returns to school at NAU my dog goes into serious depression. He lays around like this for days: There is, of course, a serious debate in my family as to whether or not Scout is actually my dog. He only seems to love me when Mathew leaves or I have treats! I love him even if I'm not his favorite.

Vegas!

We celebrated Rachel's birthday in Vegas this weekend. It was 36 hours of fun, minus the 8 am flight this morning. Friday night we ate dinner at Tao at the Venetian. It was very delicious. Then we headed upstairs to dance the night away to songs from the 90's. It was so much fun!
Saturday we spent most of the day watching football games and trying to figure out where to eat dinner! Funny how most of my trips revolve around food. Thanks to the concierge at Caesar's we were able to get reservations at Fiamma at the MGM and passes into LAX at the Luxor. It's never a bad thing to have a group of five girls in Vegas!Sadly I had no big winnings. I think I actually lost money in the penny slots! But the trip was quick and fun. Welcome to 27 Rachel!

Two Homecomings and a Wedding

This weekend marked the first time over a year and half that my entire family has been together. A week ago Andrew returned from his 12 month tour of duty in Korea. And last Thursday Paul came home too (he was only in town to attend a wedding but still...). It was great to be with all of my brothers again.

My parents, Paul and I attended Rachelle's sister's wedding Friday night.
Paul and Rachelle I miss you!

At Last!

If you haven't heard, Arapahoe Basin, which is just west of Denver, opened for the season yesterday! It was their earliest winter opening in 61 years! Woo Hoo! This marks my most favorite time year. I look forward to ski season all year long. If the snow keeps up it is going to be a great season in the Rockies!

Just for fun here are some pictures from my most favorite mountain, Alta, last year:I got new boots last season and obsessed about them the entire trip. I can't wait to go skiing this year. Pray for snow!

The Hunting Party

So far this is my movie recommendation of the fall. For anyone who loved the Matador you have to see The Hunting Party. It is hilarious. The movie is based on the Esquire article "What I Did on My Summer Vacation", by Scott Anderson. So funny.

October in Phoenix

Since the weather was so nice this weekend I decided to take a hike up Squaw Peak. It was a beautiful day. I'm excited for another season of hiking in Phoenix. The air doesn't look so clear but it really was a nice day for a hike.

Flowers

My office sent me flowers for my birthday. They were beautiful but the card cracked me up. The people who work in my office are Jose, Bob, Jennie, Julia and Kathleen. This was the card I got with my flowers.....If you can't see it, it reads "Jose, Bod, Geni, Carlin and Julia." My name and the law firm's name were wrong too. It's a wonder I even got my flowers!

Seattle

Well, when we weren't walking 60 miles, sleeping in tents, or collecting food from total strangers, we took the time to take in some great Seattle sights.

These pigs are all over Seattle (the pig that went to market- get it?). Well the Disco Pig just happened to be outside out hotel. We couldn't resist taking a few snapshots with the little fellow.


We managed to hop a ferry over to Bainbridge Island the day before the walk. I figure we added an additional five miles this day. Riding the ferry was so Grey's Anatomy! See the Space Needle, we walked all the way through downtown (and that was the easy part).


The day after the walk we had breakfast at Pike's Market. Well, technically it was lunch we had clam chowder in bread bowls. And we wonder how we walked 60 miles and actually managed to gain weight! And yes, Lindsey, Shannon and I look like we have been skiing.

So, I have a slight obsession with taking pictures of flowers. I think it stems from my subconscious desire to be a florist. This flower is a dahlia. It was so pretty and unique I couldn't help but take a picture. They grow all over in Washington.

Shannon, Lindsey, and Rachel, you will be disappointed to know that contrary to the trivia cards The 3-Day gave us this is not the state flower of Washington. The Coast Rhododendron is the state flower of Washington.

Breast Cancer 3-Day Sept. 7-9, 2007

After 6 months of training, Lindsey, Shannon, Rachel and I headed to Seattle to participate in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day. We walked 60 miles over the course of 3 days. It was intense! We were so focused on training for the distance we neglected to train for the the hills! Seattle is full of hills.
Day 1: 23.5 Miles- We walked from Bellevue across Mercer Island and the I-90 Bridge over Lake Washington to Seattle. We had lunch on the shore of Lake Washington. It was a beautiful day, about 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. After lunch we continued along Lake Washington over to Renton, Tukwila (Amanda & Jeremy made it to cheer us on there) and SeaTac. We finally ended in Burien at our campsite. We came in at 200 that day. There were approximately 2,300 walkers. Needles to say we had no lines for showers! Rachel was my tent-mate and we slept in these pink tents on the high school baseball field.
Day 2: 20 Miles- We woke up late on Day 2. We left camp about 7:30 a.m.. We were sore and tired and the temperature had dropped to the 40's overnight. Once we got to our first pit stop we were counted at 1600(that means there were approximately 1600 walkers in front of us). By the end of the day we came in at 270! All the training paid off! However, I was physically wrecked after this day. The hills were hard and there were a lot of them. I wasn't sure how I was going to walk the next day since I developed terrible blisters on my feet! I won't describe them because you won't believe me.
Day 3: Over 15 miles left! Day three was most definitely the hardest day for me- I think for us all. It was beautiful though. We started in Lincoln Park and walked along Alki Beach around Puget Sound all the way into Seattle. Once we got into downtown Seattle we were cheered on by drunken football fans awaiting the Seahawk's season opener. They had no reservations about telling us how much they loved boobs. It was great. Once we got to Pioneer Square we knew we were close. Only a few more miles to go. Then we hit Pikes Market. About a mile further was the Space Needle- our final destination. I almost cried the last mile- because of agonizing pain and the sheer joy of completing 60 miles. It was quite the journey. A very worthwhile and heartfelt journey.Closing Ceremonies: I don't have anyone in my family who has been stricken with breast cancer but I decided to participate in this walk with my friends. It seemed like a good cause. After walking for three days along side survivors, widows, and friends and family of those have fought breast cancer I have a new perspective on the disease. It doesn't discriminate. There were survivors of all ages and 1 out of 8 women will fight breast cancer. It was a very eye opening experience for me. The 3-Day Seattle raised over 6.4 million dollars! Most of that money will go to breast cancer programs in the Puget Sound area. The rest will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure to help research. Overall, it was an amazing experience. I can't wait for next year. We are going to San Francisco!

Walking with you girls really got me through. There is no way I could have made it without you! Linds, thanks for offering to carry me that last mile! I was so happy that Amanda was able to come cheer us on and Rachel was able to walk with us at the last minute.