George Washington's shiny quarter

The events of the last quarter.

So, it’s been about 3 months from our last post.  3 months is a quarter of the year and that started me thinking about quarters, shiny ones, ones with George Washington on them.  Have you ever noticed that if you see a quarter on the ground you’ll for sure pick it up but if it’s a nickel or dime you may just pass it up?  A nickel or dime isn’t worth the work of bending over and risking the off chance that someone had used superglue on the other side, but a quarter on the other hand….

 

A lot has happened to us over the last three months.  Some big, some small, but always exciting.  We will try to catch you up. 

Towards the end of February, Kaela and I made our annual trip to the Bay area to service one of my accounts.  We have really enjoyed this business trip because it gets us out of the cold winter grip just when you can’t take it anymore and you’re about to explode of cabin fever.  At least that’s what I’ve heard it’s been described.  Honestly, I love the winter.  I get to ski, play a lot of basketball, snowshoe, spin doughnuts in the church parking lot, have dry hands, it’s great!   But for Kaela, who for her job, leaves early in the morning and comes home late at night (more on this later) it was a very needed respite from the inversion that permeates the valley at that time of year. 

This year we decided we wouldn’t pay the extra expense of staying in San Francisco but instead stay across the bay in Oakland and ride the BART across the bay.  Big mistake.  Despite the great deal on a hotel near the Oakland Coliseum it couldn’t hide the fact that we were staying right near the Oakland Coliseum.  Now let me add a slight disclaimer that both Kaela and I are decently traveled in big cities around the world.  I have never been more afraid for my safety than in any other place that I did in Oakland CA.  The BART station was just a few block away but we did not dare walk the distance no matter what time of day it was.  I may seem a little over dramatic but seriously, if you’ve ever been to Oakland you will understand. 

We got to plan an extra day into the trip to have a little fun.  This year we found a farmers market that accepted bit coin for currency.  If you aren’t familiar with Bit Coin listen to the pod cast from the guys at Stuff You Should Know about it, very informative.  Kaela had a lot of fun picking through the fresh produce, organic samples of cheese and breads while putting together a lunch for us while we hike the Muir Woods.  The Muir Woods is a beautiful forest of Coastal Redwoods just on the opposite side of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Since I’m writing this post on May the fourth, it’s only appropriate to inform you that the Muir Woods was the set of the Star Wars Movie that had the Ewoks.  I thought I would see one on our hike, but turns out Ewoks are very shy creatures and only come out when there is an evil empire to destroy. 

We hiked to the top of ridge and got a great view of the ocean and San Francisco.  It was our first hike of the year and we did about six miles.  It felt good to stretch the legs out and start getting ready for our hike to Havasupai (separate post on this hike later). 

March was a month filled with guests from our families.  Early in the month we had Lori come out from Omaha and spend time between us, the Jorgensens and Picketts.  We got to go on a bike ride up the Murdock Canal Trail (more on this trail later), went to a movie, planed some summer activities and got to show off our shiny house.  It was great having her here.  

Two weeks later we had our whole house full with my entire family!  Mindy had a friend that had won some airline tickets that were expiring and weren’t going to get used so, she gave them to Mindy.  So she flew into St. George and spent some time with family down there before making her way up to us.  Since Orem is conveniently located in the middle between Logan and St. George we played at our house.  It was awesome having everyone around.  We rented a bunch of bikes from UVU and rode the Provo River trail up to Bridal Veil Falls.  I thought it was so cool to have us all in Dad’s truck with the bed filled with bikes…makes me so happy inside when I see that picture.  

 

 We packed a bunch of activities in the two days that people were around.  Mini golf, bbq’d, test rode cars, my dad and I played golf, watch movies.  We are happy to have people come over and stay with us whenever they would like. 

 Around this time, Kaela was becoming increasingly less satisfied with her job.   The job itself was not the problem, but the long nights, weekends, and her boss who was the department’s biggest advocator, who would always go to bat for them, left for another job.  So the timing was just right to look for another job.  We talked about what sort of job she should look for that would be the best for her and our future together.  She found a posting at UVU in their transfer credit department, applied and nailed the job.  It’s a part time position working from 8-12 and has a few perks including parking at UVU and passes to events and stuff.  But, the real benefit is that she can now help me out with the Insurance brokerage so we can continue to grow.  It also gives us a lot of time together to play.  We’ve been biking a lot more, have better evening meals, and have more time to work on projects around the house.  Yes, we don’t have as much income coming in from the two jobs but what we gain is worth a lot more.

The house continues to be a work in progress.  We’ve moved to working on our outside projects.  Kaela has been weeding out the flowerbeds and trimming the hedges and trees.  She’s been able to plant some herbs and flowers.  The grass has turned into nothing but weeds, we had been hopeful that the lawn would regrow with some help of fertilizer and seed.  Unfortunately, we don’t have the amount of time necessary to keep up with it.  So, I’m going to hire a service to come and spray for the weed control and help promote the grass growing instead. 

Kaela and I have been doing a bunch of biking this spring to get ready for a mountain bike race next June in Ely, NV.  Thanksgiving point started their tulip festival at their gardens, so we thought it would be a great idea to ride the paved bike trail from our house to Thanksgiving point and back.  There was a strong head wind coming in the whole time which really slowed us down.  By the time we got to the gardens, it was a half an hour from dark and our bums were saddle sore.  We called Erika and had her come get us.  We felt bad about not finishing and will give it another try in a week or so. 

Kaela has gotten a lot stronger this season climbing steeper trails.  We went to corner canyon, a local bike trail system in draper a few weeks ago.  I planned a ride that would give Kaela some experience doing downhill sections to get ready for the race.  And when you go down you must also climb back up.  Though she had sore thighs she pushed up all the way and made it a lot faster than she ever did last season.  

Alright! All caught up.  Except for one big trip to one of the most amazing places I’ve ever camped in

Up next…Havasupai!