The Washington Times

Chris and I recently took a trip back to Washington D.C. because Chris has always wanted to show me his old stomping grounds in Alexandria, VA where he grew up. We spent 5 days out in Alexandria and D.C. We enjoyed beautiful fall weather while touring the sites, especially since there are so many trees.

First of all, no trip would be complete without visiting two of Chris' favorite food places from his childhood: Brenner's Bakery for the infamous elephant ears and Bugsy's Pizza for some delicous pizza pie. Let's not forget the multiple trips to his neighborhood 7-11 for big gulps- a favorite past time (and current practice) of Chris'.


Our most favorite part of the trip was visiting Mt. Vernon where George Washington lived. We toured the mansion and the grounds of the estate. It was so beautiful. I can see why Washington chose to live here.



Wouldn't this be the most awesome view to have from your window everyday?!? Chris grew up about 1 mile north of here along the Potomac River.


We also visited the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum out near Dulles Airport. They had tons of different air craft from a Wright Brothers model plane to the Enterprise space shuttle.


They also had the actual Enola Gay on display.


A trip to Washington D.C. is also not complete without visiting the monuments and Smithsonian museums. We spent a day at the Holocaust museum, the American History Museum, and the Air and Space Museum (different than the one at Dulles Airport). The next day, we put on our running gear and ran from monument to monument starting at the Lincoln Memorial, down to the Capital, over to the White House and back making sure to catch all the other monuments in between. It was a fun way to see the monuments.


We made a stop at the Lincoln Memorial at night because we knew we wouldn't have our camera the next day while running. The Mall really looks beautiful at night with all the monuments lit up.


We both loved our time in Virginia together. Chris would move back anytime without question. He truly grew up in a beautiful, idyllic neighborhood. We hope to make it back soon!

A One Year Marathon

Chris ran the St. George Marathon on October 3rd. Chris, Chris' brother, and my sister all qualified for the Boston Marathon in April. Boston here we come!


Alison, here is that after picture you were looking for....


Speaking of marathons, we celebrated our one year anniversary. Yay! We spent the weekend up at Stein Eriksen Lodge and oh was it marvelous. We had a great meal at the Glitretind restaurant at Stein. It was one of the best meals we have ever had. We had the most amazing pumpkin apple soup for an appetizer. The best part...it was free. Oh and let's not forget the banana foster and creme brule at brunch :)


We went to Park City Mountain Resort and rode the alpine coaster. It went a lot faster than it has in the past and I admit I was a more scared than I was excited. I bet Chris would say the same thing. We also went on a drive up the Mirror Lake Highway. This looks like a Christmas picture even though its the middle of October. We made sure to stop at the Samak Smokehouse to buy some jerky for the trip.


The concierge sent up a complementary box of chocolates for our anniversary. They were a bit fancy but yummy. Chris also had the concierge bring me a dozen roses. How sweet!

One year down...forever to go. Love ya Christopher!

Happy Fall!

I love where we live, especially in the Fall. I love everything about Fall...the colors, the cool and crisp air, pumpkins, apple cider, etc. Fall is Chris' favorite time also which is why a Fall wedding was so perfect for us. Chris and I went on a scenic drive over the Alpine Loop into Sundance to see the fall colors today. It was awesome. The pictures do not even do the colors justice. They were vibrant and beautiful.


This is last year's picture on the Alpine Loop in the exact same spot! As you can tell, we like the Alpine Loop. Chris proposed here too.






(We don't know these people).


This picture is funny because Chris attempted to set the timer on the camera and run about 30-ft to where I was standing. He barely made it.


Speaking of Fall and harvest...Chris and I planted tomato bushes earlier this past summer and to our surprise, they actually produced tomatoes. Growing vegetables is like having a child...you can't forget to give it water and we had to find babysitters while we were away. They were not the greatest tasting tomatoes but it was fun to grow them anyways.

Happy Harvest!

Happy Trails

Last weekend Christopher and I hiked up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Red Pine Lake. The weather report said it would be snowing. It didn't snow but it sure was chilly. It was cold enough that we could see our breath. Not typical weather for the middle of August, even in the mountains. It was about a 9 mile trek round trip. It was a fun trip and the wild flowers were in full bloom.



There is another lake on the other side of the ridge at Red Pine Lake. We attempted to traverse some boulders to get to it since the trail had disappeared but I got tired of climbing and so we decided not to attempt it. This is how far we got up the mountainside before we went back down.



On the way back down the trail, we came across this cute little bunny rabbit in the middle of the trail. It let me get pretty close to it but ran back into the bushes after Chris tried to feed it a granola bar.



A true hiker at heart... Chris wants to hike Timp so this was supposedly a prep hike.

The Washington Post

Chris has been off to Washington state to help put on a relay race. As always, I was able to spend a weekend up there with him. Chris needed help with work things but we were still able to find time to see some of the sites. The company rented this awesome house right next to a lake. There was even a private dock in the backyard. This was our view from our bedroom.



The house was just outside of Mt. Vernon. One night, we drove through the Deception Pass State Park to see Deception Pass. Deception Pass is a huge bridge that connects Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island. We walked across the bridge and as Chris would say, "I'm not gonna lie...I'm a little tripped out right now." The bridge was pretty high.



This is the beach at Deception Pass State Park



Chris insisted that we go the Boeing factory and take the tour. The things we do for our husbands... The building in the background of the first picture is the largest building by volume in the world. It has six hangers where they build planes, one of which is where they are building the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It was interesting to see how planes are built. Very very intricate pieces of machinery.



If you were ever wondering how big plane tires are... You would think they would be bigger.



Plane engine. Bigger than I thought.



After the Boeing tour, we spent the afternoon in Seattle. We went to Pike's Market which is a marketplace where a bunch of different vendors set up shop. If you get there early enough, you can watch the fish vendors throwing fish. They also have awesome produce. We bought some of the best peaches I have ever tasted (except for my Dad's home grown peaches of course). The market place also had several vendors that were making fresh flower bouquets right on the spot. The best part: they only cost $5 for a small bouquet (which was about the size of a wedding bouquet) and $15 dollars for a large. I would have gotten one if I wasn't headed home on a plane the next day. Sadly, the only thing we bought besides peaches was an oatmeal cookie. Next time, I'll get a bouquet. After Pike's Market, we went to a nice seafood restaurant and had some tasty fish.



Unfortunately there was a chaotic carnival at the base of the Space Needle which brought all sorts of people out of the wood works. After a long afternoon of walking and because of the crazy crowd, we decided to take a picture in front of the Space Needle rather than wait in line and pay to go to the top. I've been on top of the Stratosphere. Practically the same thing, right?!?



The Sunday before I left, Chris took me out on a row boat ride on the lake by the house. It was pretty fun. I tried for about 5 minutes to row. Apparantely my left arm is stronger than my right because all we did was go in circles.



Chris and I definitely enjoyed Washington. It would be nice if we could go back again. In case you were wondering, we did not go to Forks.

Around the World in 80 Days

Well it probably has been close to 80 days since we last posted and it feels as if we have been around the world because we have had so much happen between now and then. Chris' good friends held the 2nd annual Tour de South in May and Chris and I had to the opportunity to go this year. The Tour de South is a 340 mile bike ride that takes place in southern Utah over a period of 3 days. Chris did most of the 340 miles of the bike ride and I did about 40 miles. What can I say, I just got my bike. Chris doesn't like this photo because the shadows make it look as though he has a belly but the photo below this one proves he is in great shape :)

I took this picture as Chris was zooming by. I snapped the picture just in time.


Well despite the fact that Chris is in great shape, the Monday after we got back from Tour de South, Chris was eating a snow cone after a long run and could tell his heart wasn't beating correctly after getting a brain freeze. He wasn't in any pain so we decided to see if things were better in the morning. Unfortunately, the morning didn't show any improvement so Chris went to the InstaCare after he dropped me off at work. He called me saying his blood pressure and heart rate were really high and he was waiting to meet with the doctor with the EKG results. I panicked at work so the very nice secretary drove me to the InstaCare. I made it just in time to hear what the doctor had to say. Chris' heart was in atrial fibrillation (the atriums of the heart were quivering rather than beating) so they sent us up to McKay-Dee to meet with the Cardiologist. After settling into his hospital room, the doctors decided to try and correct it with medication but if that didn't work, they were going to shock his heart back into rhythm. It's important to correct the rhythm within 48 hours because blood clots can develop and cause a stroke. Also, it can be more difficult to correct at all and so he would have to rely on medication for the rest of his life. Well, by the next morning the medication had not worked so he was scheduled to have his heart shocked at 8:00 a.m. Fortunately, they rescheduled the cardiovert for 11:00 a.m. At 10:30 a.m., I looked up at the heart monitor and noticed his heart had gone back into rhythm on its own. We were able to go home that day with direction on what to do if his heart went into A-fib again. The doctors don't know why his heart went into A-fib (likely genetics) and said it was unusual for someone as young as him to have this happen (he was the youngest patient on the floor by 40 years at least). He can still run and bike as he pleases which is a true blessing! (This is Chris writting now. Joanna was the greatest. She's an awesome companion. Through the whole ordeal in the hospital she brought me Cafe Rio, a caffeine free Diet Coke, she also slept by me in bed the night we were there. In my view she was the prescription that got my heart back on track. I really LOVE her!)


This is Chris's heart in A-fib. There is not supposed to be those small squiggly lines.

In June, two of my best friends were married and I was lucky to be able to go to the temple ceremony of both. Chelsea was married on June 4th and Alli was married on June 18th. Chelsea and I were brides maids at Alli's wedding. Alli is unfortunately missing from the picture so hopefully I will get some pictures from her.


Chris and I decided to hike up to the Mt. Timpanogas caves. It is a paved hike but boy is it steep! I guess this was in preparation for hiking the unpaved trail to the top of the mountain sometime later this summer (according to Chris that is). This picture is at the top of the trail before we headed back down.


Over the 4th of July weekend, my mother, once again, put together a great family reunion. This year we went up to the Homestead in Midway. We swam in an old volcano crater, ate too much food, went biking and running, went to Park City and rode the alpine coaster, made smores, watched the fire works, and played games. It was so much fun and we can't wait to get together again next year!

Chris also worked a nearly 50 hour stretch with little sleep at the Wasatch Back. It is the biggest race Ragnar has and so all hands were on deck for this one. We are off to Washington state next week because Chris is helping to put on a race up there. Stay tuned....

Sand, Sunburns, and Seafood

Chris has been working in California for the past couple of weeks so I went and spent the weekend with him. Although Chris had to work some of the time, we still were able to do a bunch of fun things. We went running in the mornings by the beach, ate lots of Goldenspoon frozen yogurt, went shopping at Huntington Beach, had a bonfire, drove the PCH, and visited Chris's old Cambodian mission ward. We also spent an afternoon at San Clemente Beach. There was not a single cloud in the sky. It was so nice. The water was a bit too cold for me but Chris was brave and went for a quick swim.

Well, California was having unseasonably hot weather the weekend I was there. It got up into the nineties. So, my relaxing few hours at the beach came with a heavy price. I have spent all day on a boat on a lake and not gotten burned this bad. The picture does not do my sunburn justice. It was SCREAMING RED. My legs swelled so bad from being sunburned that anything I wore made an indentation. It has not been fun but hopefully I get a good tan out of it. Chris also got sunburned but he didn't seem to be suffering as much as I was.

Chris's favorite food in the entire world is seafood, besides my cooking that is. I have never really cared for seafood at all. Chris has convinced me to try seafood and its not that bad, depending on what you get. I have decided that if I am going to eat fish, it has to be a super fresh fish that is mild in flavor and is prepared with yummy sauces and such. I don't like any type of shellfish because the texture is yucky. This weekend I tried lemon pepper Mahi Mahi and Barramundi with a sweet and sour pineapple sauce. They were both pretty tasty. I also was extra daring and tried calamari.

I think Chris ate this piece. I ate the non-tenticle pieces that reminded me of tires for some reason. Not bad but kinda weird. Good thing it was battered and fried.
Let's take a closer look....

California was great. We can't wait to go back!