Well, my trip up to VT didn’t go off without a hitch. Instead of arriving on Tuesday night, I ended up having to catch a 6 hour bus ride from the JFK airport at midnight to get to Burlington at 6 am on Wednesday morning because Delta cancelled my flight. (For a complete bullsh*t reason, I’ll have you know.) However, I did get a perk waiting in the airport when I met the super athlete of climbing, Chris Sharma. He was waiting for his flight to LA and I sat down and chatted with him for a couple minutes. It was awesome and he is a really cool, down to earth guy.
I got NO sleep on the bus ride up to Burlington and was completely exhausted when Holly picked me up but was atleast entertained by an Englishman who went ballistic on the Delta agent after they lost his luggage. Maybe it was because I was so tired. When Holly picked me up we went directly home where I crashed in bed for about 4 hours before feeling like I could actually function again.
While there, it rained for about 3 days straight and flooded the lakes and rivers around the town and we got to see HUGE rapids coming down little streams right near the house. We also hiked and ran around in the rain on all the beautiful trails around the area. Holly and Scott took me canooing in the lake right by their house and also up to a local reservoir that is huge and absolutely beautiful. The whole trip was action packed and a total blast. I fell in love with the place and am now trying to convice Tommy that we should move East to enjoy all the perks of a lush, green environment instead of melting to death here in the desert. He’s been receptive, but said he was ready for my sales pitch all along. 🙂 Gonna have to pull out all the charm I’ve got on this one.
We took a couple mile walk down the local rec path - so beautifulTaking a break on the lake - Holly's house is the white one hidden in the trees behind meCliffs above Smugglers Notch near the top of Stowe - sooooo many boulders by the side of the road tooMe under one of the boulder problems I foundStart of the Sterling Pond trailSerious butt workoutMist and RainStriking a poseAbout 1/4 way up
Messing around on some rocks - I was dying to climbHolly and Scott infront of overflowing damThe power of the water was amazingBingham Falls - this is usually a nice calm streamHolly and Scott infront of the raging rapidsOn the ferry to NYFreezing our butts offRight outside the Olympic complexHolly demanded Scott and I pose for a photoScott hiking in the woods around Lake PlacidSo much green!!Yet another picture for HollyHolly and I at Cady's Falls 5 minutes from her house!Holly's landlord, Bob, gave us a tour of the fallsUnderneath a moss wallLooking upAnother poseHolly and Bob climbing down the embankmentGetting ready to paddle around the reservoirScott in his kayakHolly yelling out orders from the backChecking out a future campsiteHolly sucking wind up the trail to Sterling Pond - our second ascent in the sunshineTree coming out of the rockWe made it to the pond this timeOn our way back downTaking a break on the boulders at the endMoss Glen Falls right off the highway
Took a quick trip up to NM this weekend to get some more work done on mom’s house. Put some trim pavers in and Tommy finished up the roof and entryway tile. Henry stayed with Oma because I’m leaving for VT tomorrow for a whole week! I miss him like crazy already!!!!! Boooo! Hopefully I’ll have some good pics from the trip though. I’ll show you when I get back. 🙂
Lenni helping me clean up after putting down the pavers. She and Lex came up from Las Cruces to hang out. The whole crew!The boys getting some grubSecond day finishing the trim around the walkwayHeading up to Ruidoso for dinner to celebrate 6 years!Riding around on the lawnmower
Well, Henry took his first trip on an airplane as we made our way up to MT to visit Dad, Tess and Aunt Nancy, while she was visiting from FL, this past week. It was definately an adventure and overall Henry was a pretty good little boy. He did throw some wicked tantrums going through airport security but thanks to our endless attention on the plane, he actually got a few compliments from surrounding passengers! We had a wonderful time and were sad to leave yesterday but happy to catch up with family and friends we rarely get to see. Love you guys!
Dad got Henry a drill kit so he could help Tommy put up the microwaveTommy showing him all the goodiesMy little train conductorBelly racing down the stairsGetting some Z's with his new grizzly bearStanding on Jay's porch during the barbecueDad and Tommy relaxing up at Jay's houseTommy kicking butt at SapoHenry playing with the crazy laughing cat that Tess got himHis favorite activityWeeeeee!Playing on the sidewalkLaughing with daddyLind to the thirdGorgeous lillies in the garden
Riding on the carousel - out of ALL the horses, Tom got the one that didn't move and was too short. Can you find angry Tommy?Walking down Front StreetOur good friends Klaus and KarenThe whole family!
Well, he did it again. Last week he got a hold of his baby powder and destroyed his room. I should’ve known he’d do it again. What you can’t see in these pics is that it’s all over his bed too. Gah!
Love the hazy effect - I could barely breathe in thereLittle gremlin!
Last Thursday we went to the climbing gym to get a little sessioning in before we went to Flagstaff for the weekend. Well, as luck would have it, Tommy ended up tweaking his two injured fingers on a crimpy problem! So, knowing we’d probably get rained on and Tom would be incapacitated and not able to pull down on any hard climbs, we decided last minute that instead of going to Flag, we’d take a weekend trip home to start the renovations on my mom’s house. She’s putting it up for sale next spring and she needs to do some improvements to it before it goes on the market. We tried to suprise her late Thursday night, but Monty would have none of it and tried to attack us on our sneak approach! What a good guard dog!
A month or so ago, I took a trip home to put new gutters up and during this trip we finally dug out some trenches for a few of the downspouts and ripped out the bottom deck that had been rotting from water damage. It felt good to get some work in and we had fun visiting with mom and Joe. Henry, of course, couldn’t let us leave with him completely scratch-free as he managed to somersault backwards down the outside staircase and then do his little stunt tricks for us at night. Last Thursday at the gym, Henry fell in love with two blonde, beautiful college girls who taught him an important life skill – how to throw your hands up in the air when your team gets a touchdown. Priceless.
Henry and Oma working on wordsMe and Joe working on the patio step above one of the downspouts – we had to try and drag the tube away from the house because it has been raining so much, it flooded moms basement!Tommy tearing out lower deck and rotted out stairs
Working awayPutting down the stones – dirt is so much harder to work with than sandMom chilling with MontyAll doneHenry and Uncle Joe riding togetherTommy installing the new stepsSo pretty, Tommy
