The Best Christmas Present

Let's face it, Christmas morning is just not as fun when you're an adult.  If you're anything like Bryan and I, we pretty much know what every present is under the tree.  There's not too many surprises and most of the time, I'd rather sleep in than wake up early Christmas morning to open presents.

But not this Christmas....this Christmas Bryan and I ran downstairs with all the excitement of kids eager to see what Santa brought us.  While there wasn't a shiny new bike or a pretty doll under the tree, there was a single sealed envelope staring at us.  Inside that envelope was the best present we have ever gotten!

You see, the Monday before Christmas Bryan brought me into the hospital to have one of the ultrasound techs scan me.  We watched the screen as she showed us the baby's face as it made kissy, sucking motions with its mouth.  We saw the brain, four chambers of the heart, two kidneys, and no sign of a cleft pallet.  What we didn't see because we both looked away was what was between our baby's legs....the answer every parent is dying to know - Boy or Girl?!?!  Instead of looking, we had the tech write it on a piece of paper and seal it for us to open on Christmas morning.  

That envelop stared at us for 5 days before Christmas and I'm pretty darn proud of myself for not ripping it open the second Bryan left me alone with (I was still am that kid who searches the house for my presents when no one is around).

So Christmas morning came and we excitedly opened the envelop.  While the note was in there, they say a picture is worth a thousand words and we saw the ultrasound picture first.  There was no mistaking what we saw!!  Because I am a modest Mama, (and not wanting be accused of posting child pornography pictures on the internet), I'm not going to post the picture here.  

Instead I'll leave you with the note.....

To say we are beyond thrilled would be an understatement!!

Anyone in there?

Last Saturday I hit the 16 week mark and instead of looking like I'm growing a baby, I look more like I've been hitting Christmas cookies too hard!  If you didn't know I was pregnant you would have no idea and even those that do know still don't think I look much different.  

Hello Baby...are you in there??

The pregnancy books that I read show schematic pictures of what I should look like at this time and say that "maternity clothes are probably a must by now!"  Well, I sit here typing this still rocking my pre-pregnancy jeans wondering when my baby bump is going to pop.  I know everyone is different and I have a fairly long torso so I'm wondering if its going to take me a little extra time.  But Baby is growing just as it should so I'm not worried.  I'll happily rock my pre-pregnancy clothes for as long as I can because I know in a couple months I'll be looking down wondering if my stomach is ever going to be flat again!

So here it is, my 16 week "bump"

My New Running Buddy

I know its been a while since I last posted but I'll try to explain.  You see, I have this new running buddy that I haven't been able to tell you about yet, but now I'm excited to finally introduce you him!  He doesn't talk much, but sure makes his presence known...he has slowed me down a lot but I'm so thrilled to have him on every run with me...

Introducing my new running buddy!

Bryan and I are SO EXCITED about this little one (even though I referred to it as a "he" we don't know if it truly is a he or a she yet).  I'm 16 weeks along and everything with the baby is looking great.  Its nice that Bryan is a Radiologist because he's been able to bring me in to do ultrasounds whenever we want...its been fun to see the baby growing!  

Waving hi to everyone!

I'm still running although I've obviously scaled back a lot.  As I said before my pace is much slower and I  struggle some with the fact that I can no longer push my body the way I used to.  But its completely worth it!!  I'm also enjoying doing other activities rather than running all the time.  As for skiing, I am planning on continuing (I've already been out 4 times!) for as long as my body feels comfortable.  I'm hoping to be able to ski through February, my second trimester, but I'll take it one day at a time. At least December has brought us lots of snow in Utah to start the season out right!! 


Now that I'm out of the pregnancy closet, I promise to write more frequently and let you know how things are going.  I was just hard to post the last few months when all I could think about what the exact thing I couldn't post about!

So watch out Baby Goucher, Baby Radcliffe, and Baby Kastor...this baby is going to be right on your heels!

Just not inspired

I can't tell you the number of times over the past 2 months I have thought about blogging.  I've even sat down and started a few posts but just never felt inspired to really write anything.  This is not to say that my life is not inspiring or eventful but I guess I just haven't found the drive to actually put things in words.

I guess like the seasons, I'm in a transition.  We are still loving SLC and feel very settled here which kind of makes the newness of the city wear off a bit.  The summer brought lots of hiking and trips to both Yellowstone and Arches National Parks.  The winter is sure to bring lots of skiing but right now we are sort of transitioning.  The ski resorts have already gotten snow and we can see snow topped mountains from our house so winter is definitely on its way....buts its 60 degrees in the valley during the day!  Alta is set to open Friday, November 19th and Bryan is already plotting ways to get out of work that day :)

Transitions....they are not necessarily bad and they mean change is coming.  Hopefully one of those changes will be more blog posts from me!  Although I haven't been inspired to write much, I'll leave you with a few very inspiring pictures from our September trip to Yellowstone.

Grand Prismatic Spring

Mammoth Hot Springs

Grisly bear posing in front of the Aspen trees

Riverside Geyser

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the Lower Falls

Beautiful Pool (appropriately named, huh?)

I'm Alive!

I realize its been almost a month since my last post.  No, I didn't fall off a mountain or drown in the Great Salt Lake (which is actually impossible to sink in).  Life just gets in the way sometimes and leaves little time or energy to recap it!

Here's a quick summary:

• I'm getting old!  Yes, August brought me the big 3-0 birthday.  No longer an irresponsible 20-something.  In reality, I had been looking forward to turning 30 so I handled it very well, if I do say so myself.  Got a great new bag (among other things) from Bryan and went out to a fabulous sushi dinner with some friends.  A great start to what is going to be a great year! 

She's so pretty!  

(Not the best picture but its all I got)

• Bryan and I are on week 3 out of 4 of parent's weekends!  In August my parents were out visiting for 10 days, spending two weekends with us and then heading to Zion and Canyonlands during the work week.  Then last weekend Bryan's parents flew out and are doing a similar schedule as my parents.  Its been fun showing them around our new city (I was even forced to read from the Book of Morman during our Temple Square tour!  Don't worry, I haven't converted!!).  We've been doing lots of hiking including more wildflowers and a trip to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake.  Here's a few pictures of my parent's visit.  I'll post some from Bryan's parent's visit at a later date.

Albion Basin in Little Cottonwood Canyon

Mama moose and her twins!

Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake - Its hard to tell from this picture but part of the lake actually looks blue/green like the ocean!

Sand dunes in Utah??  

Lunch at the (almost) top of Mt. Frary

Even though he's not in a crosswalk none of us dared to stop him!

• Planning our own vacations!  We've got a busy fall on tap and I can't wait to see more of Utah and the west.  September = 5 days in Yellowstone, October = 4 days in Moab and Arches, November = 4 days in Zion.  Can't wait!

• Oh yeah, that thing called work!  Things are going well for both of us and keeping us busy.  My company just hired a new person so I'm busy training him and Bryan is picking up some night hawk shifts for a little extra $$ (the only way to fund all his ski equipment he's planning to buy).

So overall its been a good August with lots of activities.  I promise to be better about blogging now that September is upon us!

Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads...

Last night I decided to move my run off the paved roads and take my new trail running sneakers out for their first official trail run.  They loved it! (and I in turn loved them!)  I've run on the trails a couple times in my sneakers but having actual trail running shoes, with their stability and extra grippyness, made me more confident on some of the more technical sections.  We went just under 5 miles and had a great run together.  No, they aren't as pretty as my racing shoes but going off road with them makes up for that! 

So I think Doc Brown was right and that I'm really going to enjoy taking my DeLorean trail shoes off road!

Who needs a florist??

Last week Bryan and I hiked in Albion Basin at Alta Ski Resort.  It was a strange feeling to be hiking where we ski but without the snow covered trails*.  But the reason we chose this hike was because the basin is filled with wildflowers this time of the year.  And when I say filled, I mean FILLED!

We started our hike up Catherine's Pass and saw plenty of flowers which we thought were beautiful. We hiked to the top of Sunset Peak which overlooks both Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons and saw even more flowers.  So we were even more shocked when we started coming down Albion Basin to see that there were literally flowers everywhere!  At one point they were so tall and thick that they were up to our waists and you couldn't even see the trail.  Of course the camera battery died in the most stunning section of the hike, but here are some pictures that we got...

                      **

A hummingbird enjoying the flowers.  We heard them zipping by us a lot and were able to snap a few pictures.

The chipmunks were very daring as you can see in this picture.  One even ate a peanut out of my hand!

*while not covered, there was still snow (and ski tracks) on some of the slopes...in AUGUST!

A panorama shot Bryan put together from the top of Sunset Peak

**I swear I really do have different clothes to hike in.  For some reason, I am wearing my pink shirt in EVERY picture of hiking I post on my blog!

Shake, RATTLE, and Roll!

Last week, Bryan was working late so I was out on a solo run in the canyon.  I was coming back down and enjoying finally being able to breath on the downhill when I saw a couple looking at something on the side of the road by the creek.  I didn't think much of it but as I got closer, the woman said to me "You want to see a snake?"  

Now I'm not a fan of snakes.  I've been warned when running on the trails to watch my step and I see signs warning of their presence.  Some people are afraid of seeing bears or mountain lions in the mountains (yes, we have them here).  I'd take one of those over being surprised by a snake any day!  

But...for some reason I stopped running and took a look at this snake.  I think my courage came since I knew he was there vs being surprised as he slithered across my path.  I looked down and saw a medium size snake on the rocks by the creek. As I continued to scan him, I got to his tail and remarked "OH!!"  I had come across my first rattle....and there was definitely no baby on the other end playing with it! 

The rattlesnake didn't seem to care that we were looking at him and he definitely wasn't shaking the rattle...but I didn't get any closer to find out.  Now I keep my eye on the creek rocks whenever I run by.  The strange thing is, I'm not sure if I'm hoping not to see another or if I kind of want to see one again.  

Maybe I shouldn't run with my ipod so I can hear any shake, RATTLE, and rolling going on around me!

Note:  I DID NOT take this picture!  There was no way I'd get that close to one of those things!

Camping in the Uintas

Two weeks ago Utah celebrated Pioneer Day. What's that you ask. I asked the same thing but when I found out we both got the day off work making a nice 3 day weekend, I stopped asking questions!  Pioneer Day is July 24th and celebrates the first settlers coming into the Salt Lake Valley.  Its a state holiday but its regarded mostly as a Morman holiday since it was the prophet Brigham Young who brought the Mormans into the city.  Many of the locals say that Pioneer Day is bigger to the Mormans than the 4th of July!

So we decided to take advantage of the long weekend and head a little east into the Uinta Mountains to do some camping.  We went with some new friends and had a great time!  Lots of hiking, laughing, eating, and relaxing...all at 10,000+ ft!  I think we all wished that every weekend was Pioneer day :)

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here you go!

Day 1 Hiking

Yes, that is snow he's standing on...at the end of July!

Our campsite...the combined living room/dining room is in the foreground and the bedrooms are in the background

Warming our hands by the fire (and apparently I'm also doing the robot??).  It was in the low 40's at night...burr!  

Because we were car camping, we were able to bring lots of food and drinks.  Our friends made this meal - Thanksgiving dinner, camping style!  We made pulled pork.  Yes, we ate like kings!

Day 2 Hike 

The four of us in the basin

This region is known for its many lakes.  We'd be hiking along the trail and all of a sudden it would open out into a beautiful meadow...perfect spots for moose.   I kept doing my moose calls but none of them answered. 

In the meadows, there were often tons of wild flowers

Beautiful sunset on night two

As you can see, we had a great time and saw some beautiful places.  Bryan and I still say to each other almost daily how lucky we are to live so close to all these amazing sites!

Home

Sorry for my lack of posting over the last week.  Things were pretty busy as we were traveling back east (to PA) for a good friend-from-college's wedding.  It was a quick (<48 hrs actually in PA) and busy trip but well worth the travel.  The wedding was a lot of fun, we got to see some friends we hadn't seen in a while, and the bride and groom looked blissfully happy!

When we arrived at the airport back in SLC, very sleep deprived, I said to Bryan "I'm so glad to be back home!"  Home....it took me less than a month to start calling this place home.  And we all know I am not one to adjust to change easily!  I've even notice that I'm not saying "back home in Boston..." as much.

Yes, it truly is home sweet home!


PS.  On of our friends took the above picture on the shuttle bus back to the hotel after the wedding.  Yes, that's green rock candy in my hand.  No, I'm not sure why I'm resting it on my shoulder.

Executive Decision

I am a beach person.  I grew up in New Jersey and went down the shore (no, I don't speak or look like Snooki).  My entire mom's side of the family always spent a week together at the beach every summer.  Living in Boston, we'd go to the Cape, Martha's Vineyard, or up to Crane's Beach on the north shore. 

Living in SLC is the farthest I've been to a beach (the stinky Great Salt Lake does not count).  From pretty much the day we decided to move here, I started planning a trip to Hawaii for this fall.  Our reasons being (1) we are a shorter plane ride since we'd be coming from the west coast, (2) we celebrated our 5 year anniversary earlier this spring, (3) I need to feel the sand between my toes in order to deal with the snow we will be getting this winter, and (4) it's Hawaii, do I really need any other reasons?!?!  We bought some travel books for the islands we want to visit (Maui and Kauai) and started planning what week we should request off from work to go.

Well, the other night over dinner on our patio, I made the executive decision not to go.  I do say that "I" made the decision because Bryan would do whatever would make me happy so ultimately it was my call.  It all started because we were talking about all the places we want to visit while living here.  In southern UT there's Arches, Zion, Canyonlands National Parks, just to name a few.  And then there's the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone and we talk about a weekend in Sonoma or Las Vegas or Sedona.  And all the hiking and camping we want to do around SLC.  And....well, I think you get the point.  

We started to realize that there were more trips we wanted to do than our vacation days and our bank account would permit.  That's when we decided to put off Hawaii for a year.  Hawaii will always be a long flight away, but most of these other places are just a couple hours drive.  Plus we wouldn't have to take an entire week off to visit them so we could probably get to more places with the vacation days (and $$) we have.    


So the Hawaii books went back on the shelf until next year.  I'm not giving up on reason #3 listed above...southern California is just a short cheap flight away! 

My Little Troopers

Many people have been asking me how our two cats handled the cross country drive and moving into a new house.  So here I will give you "Sarah's tips for traveling with kitties while keeping them calm and you sane!"

First, a little background.  Our cats are homebodies.  They are indoor cats and for the most part they only go to and from the vet which was about 5 miles from our old house.  Clover (C) usually just sits in her cage with a freaked out look on her face while Tigger (T) lets out the lowest pitch meows I have ever heard.  And its not just one cry.  Oooh no!  It's constant meowing the entire way to and from the vet.  Seriously it sounds like someone is killing him!  T acclimates to new situations and people pretty quickly but C is a little more wary.  And she makes sure to tell us she's not happy by peeing in things.  Laundry baskets, bags, and boxes (and you can imagine how many boxes we had in the house).

So you can see why we were a little nervous.

After successfully driving 2,600+ miles, staying in 4 hotel rooms, and packing and unpacking all our stuff, here are my tips if any of you readers ever have to travel or move with cats.

1.  Buy this stuff!   Before our trip, I brought both cats into the vet for a final check up and to ask for some advice on moving.  She recommended quite possibly the most amazing product for cats ever.  EVER!  There is a product called Feliway that is a  feline pheromone that cats release when they rub their faces on things.  It supposedly has a calming effect on cats.  They sell it in a spray and in a plug-in type thing and it's supposed to stop furniture scratching, peeing outside the litter box, and ease anxiety.  We were skeptical but we both where phitens so who are we to judge what works and what doesn't.  But this stuff is the real deal. It works like a charm!  We had one plugged in our old house to calm them during packing and pre-move.  We sprayed their carrier and the car with it before we put them in it.  We sprayed it in each hotel room and plugged one in before bringing the cats in.  And we plugged two of them in the new house.  I'm telling you, buy this stuff!  (order them online because they are much cheaper there than at the pet store)

2.  Make them comfortable.  My little ones are buddies.  They like to be with each other and we often find them snuggling together on the bed.  So we figured that if we had a cage large enough for both of them, it might make them more comfortable being together.  We bought a dog crate that fit on the back seat of the car.  The could snuggle together but it was also big enough that they had some space if they got sick of each other (5 days in a car will do that to even cats!).  We put their favorite toys in there, some comfy padding (one of Bryan's old t-shirts that smelled like him), and their dry food.

3.  Cover the cage.  Think about it from their perspective.  From the seat, all they can see are the trees and tractor trailers flying by and they hear the loud noises from all the cars.  Bryan had the idea to cover the cage with a blanket like you would with a bird cage so that they couldn't see what was happening outside.

Peaking out at a rest stop

4.  Prepare the hotel rooms before you bring the cats inside.  This starts by finding pet friendly hotels.  There are many of them so we never had a problem and always searched here or here when making our reservations.  At the hotel, we had our routine down to a T.  We'd go in first and get their litter box and food ready, spray the room with the Feliway, and then bring the cats in.

5.  Have patience.  The first day of our dive T meowed for about 2 hours.  It wasn't quite as bad as his vet visits, but still was enough to drive you mad.  Remembering that they are scared, unsure of what is happening to them, and not doing it on purpose helps.  So does turning up the radio!  Rest assured that they will eventually tire themselves out and fall asleep.  Each day it took him a little while to settle in but after that, he was fine.

Overall, it was a much smoother process than either of us expected.  They're still buddies, they still seem to love us, and we didn't kill either of them (or each other!).  I am happy to report that there have been zero boxes, bags, or laundry baskets peed in during the trip or since we moved in!  They truly are my little troopers and I'm so proud of them :)

City Creek Canyon

I don't know about you, but finding new running routes is both fun and scary at the same time.  Back in Boston, I had my standard routes.  The Comm Ave carriage road for when I wanted hills and the river path for when I wanted flat ground.  I knew these routes like the back of my hand and could tell you where every water fountain was located and how many miles it was until the next bridge.  Now in SLC, I have to find all new running routes.  And while there are endless choices, its still a bit intimidating to check them out.  I'm a creature of habit and don't like change (shocking since I just picked up my life and moved some 2,600 miles west!). 

We are lucky to be living at the mouth of City Creek Canyon which literally opens right into downtown Salt Lake.  I can't think of another place where you can be standing in the center of a city next to skyscrapers and within 1 mile, be in the mountains.  Totally cool!  There is a paved trail for the first portion and then it turns into a dirt trail (or so we've been told, we haven't actually made it that far yet!)

The other day, I took my iphone with me to snap some pictures of our 5 mile run.  These totally don't do it justice, but its the best I can do (Bryan flat out refused to run with his DSLR camera with the zoom lens...wimp!)

We start from our house with a steep 0.4 mile climb before a decent into the base of the canyon.

Within 1 mile from our house, we're on the canyon trail and in the woods.  The trees are excellent shade from the sun that feels 1000 times stronger out here than it did back east! 

The canyon road is uphill pretty much the whole time but most of it (at least where we've been) is fairly gradual.  This does not make it easy when you're at 4,500 ft!  Needless to say, there's not a lot of talking on the way up.  After about a mile, you come out into a clearing with the most amazing views.  The city is behind you, the rest of the canyon is ahead, and there are mountains on either side of you.  And we're only 2 miles from downtown at this point!

After a pretty constant climb up, we turn around and enjoy the nice downhill...and finally some talking since we aren't gasping for breath!  The picture below is the canyon from street level where we live one block over.

I know I said this before, but we are very lucky to be living in such an awesome location.  I have a feeling Heartbreak Hill is going to feel like a small bump after training up here!