Summertime is here!

So today it is supposed to be 82 degrees outside... I am so excited!  I really wish we had a lake in the backyard with a rope swing we could jump off!  We do have a bbq we get to go to, so that is a great way to celebrate the summer finally getting here!  I really didn't think I could handle one more snow storm in May.  It will probably snow again in a week or two though.  Well, there isn't much to update about... Mikey is out running and I was just watering our garden.  It is really growing, we have snap peas and onions and zucchini growing!  The basil really doesn't seem to like it out there, and I just planted the carrots last week, so hopefully they will start sprouting up soon! 

 We did go to a plant/ground cover sale last week, and we got some stony crop and some lemon thyme for the front yard.  We have a lot of rock by the front step of the house and we are thinking we want to eventually dig it all up and plant either more grass there or some flowers and ground cover.  It is going to be a long process to dig up the rock, but hopefully we will like it better when we are done.  We will probably start that tomorrow, so if you want to bring a shovel over and help, please do!

 Not much else has been going on.  We are thinking about going up to Vail in a couple of weekends for the Teva Mountain Sport games, because there is a half marathon up Vail pass that Mikey wants to run.  We think we have Brian and Kim convinced to come with us, so we would have a blast!  There is also a 5k mud run on Saturday afternoon that I am thinking about running...  

for some reason, this picture scared Kim off!  I don't really know why!

 That's about it... other than I hope you signed up for your free spicy chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-a! http://www.getspicychicken.com/

It’s been awhile…

Well apparently not much has been going on in the Foster household lately...  But I figured we could update you about our garden we are making and about Mikey's half marathon he ran with Jim a few weeks ago.

The garden is really just a area of dirt with only a few red onions planted at the moment, but we have plans to plant a lot more.  There are going to be peas, beans, zucchini, squash, carrots, corn and some herbs!  We should probably start planted them soon, but with all the SNOW we have been getting lately, we are going to hold out for another week or so! 



We spent a lot of time digging up the grass and really stubborn weeds growing in the middle of our garden.  Above is the progress 1/2 way, and then me finishing up below. 

 

 Then about Mikey's race, it was the Horsetooth Half Marathon in Fort Collins.  Jim ran it when he was in college and somehow talked Mikey into running it this year.  It was a really foggy drive up to Fort Collins, but by the time the race started all the fog finally rolled away!  He ran it in 2 hours and 20 minutes!!  And that was even after I made him eat ice cream with me the night before! 



 

They were giving away hot dogs after the race, Mikey really enjoyed his!

Skiing at Monarch

We went skiing!  It was Mikey's first time skiing, he had only tried snowboarding previously, and it was Julie's first time in about five years snowboarding!  Julie bought a new snowboard in Vail last fall, and we only need to use it 4 more times to save over renting!  Some friends asked us if we wanted to spend a weekend in Salida to go to Monarch ski area, which sounded like a great idea!  On Friday it was snowing pretty good when we left and they were calling for a good amount of snow to fall.  Once we got to Salida the roads were almost all snow packed and it was still snowing.  On Saturday morning we had a very snowy drive up to Monarch and they said that they got almost a foot and a half of fresh snow from Friday.  The conditions were great, nice powder all over the place!  Mikey took a lesson in the morning, and Julie took off with our friends.  She wasn't quite up to their speed and let them take off without her.  She did a few blue runs and it all started to come back.  We all met up again when Mikey's lesson was over for lunch.  Mikey practiced a few more bunny trail runs and then we headed off for his first green!  He did really well and only fell a few times.  He really liked skiing better than snowboarding!   At about 3 o'clock we all met up again and were all just wiped, so we decided to call it a day!  We returned our rented equipment and headed back to Salida for some dinner and Trivial Pursuit.  We lost, but we think we can blame it on being exhausted.  We had a great time and here are a few pictures from the day!

Snowshoeing

Well, we didn't want you all to think that we only go outside when it is 80 degrees and sunny, so we thought we would share some pictures from our recent snowshoeing trip.  We decided Friday night that the snow would be really good for some snowshoeing.  So, after watching The Empire Strikes Back taking our time getting ready Saturday morning, we decide we would head up to Mueller State Park.  It is about an hour drive from our house and they had reported 6 inches of fresh snow from Thursday night.  The drive up was not the best, it was really foggy and we couldn't see to far in front of us, but as soon as we got past Woodland Park, the sun was bright and shining!  Once we got to the trail head, we bundled up with all the cold weather gear we could find and strapped on our snowshoes for our first trip of the season!  After about a quarter mile we realized Julie we left the trail map in the car, but fortunately we were not the only ones out there and we just followed the tracks that others had left. We wandered around for about three hours, including snack and photo breaks, and decided we were ready to head back to the jeep and head home.  Here are a few pictures from our day, enjoy!

Hawaii, Part 2

Julie wanted me to take over writing part 2 of the blog, so here we go!!! (And to save us from having part 3, this is a long one!)

After our dinner trip to Lahania we went home and slept, we had a big day ahead of us.  We set an alarm, got up before the sun (or so) and headed down to the Makena Beach and Golf Resort for our Run for the Whales 5k!!!  Julie's parent's dropped us off at the hotel and we went to register.  Unfortunately the races aren't as organized as they are here in Colorado, so we had to wait for the 1/2 marathon to start, about 45 minutes, so it didn't help too much to get there early.   Either way, we were ready to run at sea level and right next to the ocean.  Bill and Debbie found us before the start, and took a pretty neat picture of us:



We both did really well, I set a PR with a time of 26:05, and Julie rocked it with a great race of her own!!  Sea level is fantastic!!  Fortunately it was a fabulous day, and the least windy day of our trip so far, which could only mean one thing, it was time to go snorkeling!  Bill had scoped out a snorkeling outfit from a harbor not too far away which took us down to Molokini, one of the most popular snorkeling destinations in the world!   The small island is a horseshoe shape which protects it from the surf, and keeps the water incredibly calm and clear.  It was about an hour journey out from the harbor to the island, which meant along the way we had some incredible chances to whale watch.  Upon arrival, Debbie and I opted to take a short snorkeling class since we had very little experience in the sport, however Julie and Bill were literally the first two in the water.  Good job by them.   In the interest of camera protection we didn't get many shots of the fish or the snorkeling, fortunately Debbie was able to shoot one of Bill and Julie in the water:



We had about an hour of snorkeling fun, where we got to see a great number of fish, coral, and even a small shark.  Julie's favorites were the ones that looked like an angel fish, and the puffer fish, and I liked the huge schools of fish that rode in and out of the coral with the tides!  Excellent.  While we were a little sad to leave Molokini, the ride home was probably just as cool.  Our captain was able to find a good number of whales, and even had to cut the engines a few times because they got so close to us!  We saw some jump just in front of us, and few slap the water, which apparently means something cool, it was really fun to watch.  The boat ride also gave us free access to beer and wine, and some chips which Debbie was able to collect for us.





We wandered the dock for a few minutes while Bill checked out a trimaran, then we went back for another amazing sunset on the beach, and some food.  Since we had done so much, the next day we decided to take it easy, and relax a bit while on vacation!  We took a trip down to Charlie Young beach for a few hours.  This was Super Bowl Sunday, so I had a natural instinct to find a TV and watch the game, so back to the condo we went.  It being Hawaii, it was only about 1 in the afternoon, so we had some lunch and settled in.  I think the game put everyone else into a trance, because at halftime they ask me "Do you want to hike on some lava for 5 miles instead of sitting here and watching this?", to which I said, "Of course I do!!!".

Bill had heard of a hiking trail south of Makena (site of our epic 5k) which was the location of a lava flow from 1790, the last time this island was active.  Along the flow there was a feature called the King's Highway, which brought people and goods up and down the island during the royal years, and connected several beaches together.  Julie and I decided to go all the way to see what we could find, while Bill and Debbie were content to sit on a closer beach and check out some tidal pools.  Our hike down was a bit difficult, as it consisted of a straight road on medium sized lava rock, which started to hurt our feet after a bit. After a few miles Julie found a turn off, and it was the highlight of the hike, a small and lovely secluded beach.  And Julie found a big piece of coral that she was really excited about, but I wouldn't let her bring it home!







It was late in the day, but we were able to catch the sunset on the beach near the car on our way back.  The streak continues!

The next day found us preparing for a long trip in the car, as we set our sights to Hana.  The road to Hana is a very long (about 35 miles), windy and incredibly scenic road which winds along the east side of the island.  The road has 620 and 59 bridges, 46 of which are one lane!  The speed limit on the road is 30, however most of the time you are doing much less than that, as you are avoiding tour buses careening around corners, slower tourists and crazy locals doing 45!  The best part is that at most of the one lane bridges and switchbacks there is either a waterfall or an incredible view of the ocean.

We stopped for lunch at Wai'anapanapa State Park, which features a black sand beach and a few caves carved out from the roaring ocean. Pictures are the best way to show how cool the trip was, so I'll let them take over:











At the end of the road is the Eastern edge of Haleakala National Park (see part 1) which offers some more hiking and typically seven excellent waterfalls.  Unfortunately for us, this is the dry season for Maui, so all but one of the waterfalls was dry, and the other one was but a trickle.  The ranger at the gate was nice enough to tell us about the lack of water before we paid our entrance fee again, so we were able to turn around and find an alternate activity.  We found a lovely beach, and just off the beach is the place where Julie and I are going to build our retirement house, just need a few more volcanoes to go off!



Unfortunately our sunset streak ended this night, as we tried to stop for dinner along the way, but were thwarted by a band of hippies who have not showered recently!  The next morning we woke up, ate some breakfast, and headed to the beach for the last time.  We went to the 'Big Beach', which is, really...um...a big beach.  That night we also missed the sunset at the beach, because we were flying home...how sad!

We had a great time and we can't wait to find our next adventure!  Thanks for reading!

Hawaii, part 1!

We are back home from our trip to Maui, and I figured it was time to post some pictures from our trip...  and I figured I probably won't get everything into one post, so there will probably be a few parts to this story. 

We left for Maui last week in the wee hours of the morning, and we got there without any delays!  When we stepped out of the airport it was a wonderful 82 degrees!  After eating a quick lunch, we were off to the beach!  We went to a beach that is really popular for surfing, north of Paia, where we were hoping to see some surfing action, but there was no one out, except a few turtles. 



My parents had rented a condo for a month in the town of Kihei and they let us come sleep on their pull out sofa!   So after settling in we headed to our first sunset on the beach!  It was the first of many sunsets. 

The next day, we talked my dad into driving up the volcano on the island to see the sunrise.  We left at 4:45 in the morning and started the two hour drive to the top of Haleakala!  It had crazy turns, a good bit of exposure to the steep drop offs, and some stunning views of the pre-dawn lights around the island.  We waited for the sunrise while we were above the clouds (about 10,000 feet) for about twenty minutes with the other 150 people who also had made their way up there, and man it was cold! 



After the sunrise we found out there were some trails that we could hike down into the crater, so we did!  It was still pretty cold so we kept on our sweaters, and headed down.  It was about 2 1/2 miles down to one of the small chutes which shot liquid hot magma many centuries ago.  Once we got down to the smaller crater, it finally started to warm up and the views were pretty amazing.  The park says that they have had astronauts train in the volcano because it looks so much like the moon.  It was strangely pretty!







Unfortunately hiking 2.5 miles downhill means that you have to hike 2.5 miles back up once you are done.  We took our time, but unfortunately our camera ran out of power at the bottom, so there aren't any pictures from that portion of the trip :-(.  We finally returned to the summit and my mom was having a great time listening to Rush (Limbaugh, not the rock band) and trying to stay warm. 

We had just about enough of the cold at that point, so we went back home, took a well deserved nap, and did some shopping for tacky and brightly colored Hawaiian wares.  Then, just to keep mom and dad's streak going, we went to go see another sunset on the beach. 

Since we were in Hawaii, we figured it was about time we spent some quality time on the beach.  We packed up the car with just about everything we could find in the house, and found a nice shady spot to relax in.  After a few hours of hopping waves, building up courage to try the boogie board, and good bit of lounging around, the sun creeped into our spot, and we had to use the umbrella to keep in the shade.  Unfortunately, it is kind of a small umbrella. 



For mom's birthday dinner we travelled to Lahania and then to the Whaler's Village to eat at the Hula Grill, which she had picked out for a few days.  The drive up along the bay was scenic, and included a stop at a great whale watching spot, where Mikey was finally able to spot a whale (not just it's splash).  Lahania was a former Royal capital so we walked the streets of the town to check out the sights.  I found a huge banyan tree to hang on!! 



Mikey found a good number of signs to read which told about the old Royal stuff and the whaling history of the city.  I got to look at the ocean!  We took a side trip to see the largest Buddha outside of Asia, which um...looked like a large Buddha. 



We finally made it to dinner, which included sitting on a beach side patio, watching the sunset, our toes were in the sand, and there was Hawaiian type music playing.  Some hula dancers joined in towards the end of the meal, and it was fantastic!!  I think that'll wrap it up for Part I, stay tuned for Part II!

A long update

Well, it has been a while since we wrote a blog, so I figured I would recap what has been going on lately...  First we can start with Christmas!



Christmas was fantastic!!  I got all sorts of running stuff, travel books for Europe, a Jeep tire cover, a book on Mexicans who run (woo-hoo!).  Julie is reading my Mexican running book now, she jumped in before I had a chance to, but I can't wait to dive in and read it.  Julie got a GPS unit from her loving husband, all sorts of movies CDs, cook books and cooking utensils!  As far as the other stuff, like visiting family and celebrating the holiday, that went pretty good too. We started off Christmas Eve, once Julie got off work, at my mom's house.  We had a delicious steak and potato dinner with David's raspberry sheeba for dessert.  We decided to start a puzzle at their house, the picture was of a snowy road flanked by fences, and snow covered trees.  It was all white.  It was terrible!  We only got the edges and the road done in a few hours.  I think that was an old puzzle that Debbie gave me to work, I'll have to have a talk with her next time I see her.

Then for Christmas day we went to Julie's parents house with Jim, Amanda, Breckin and Reagan.  We hung out and ate all sorts of snacks and opened presents together.  Watching Reagan open her presents was a highlight, she seemed to get the hang of it, but she was pretty tired. 

That was a full day of snacks, a different (and much nicer) puzzle, relaxing and stories.  Since ESPN had the good idea to show a NBA quadruple-header, we went to Jim and Amanda's house to watch the Nuggets and the other NBA action.  Those were two great days with family!

Julie was looking over my shoulder, and made me mention this.  She is really, and I mean really, excited about her new cookbook she got for Christmas, it is called the Pioneer Woman Cooks.  It is written by a lady who writes a blog about cooking, photography, and life on a farm.  All the recipes seem to call for heavy whipping cream and butter, so we are going to have to start working the fields if we want to keep trying the recipes!  You can check out her blog at thepioneerwoman.com.  We have made some turkey pot pie (which took a few weeks of running to work off), and some pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting (a few more weeks of running).

Then after Christmas, Julie and I both had the week off, so we cleaned house, packed up the Christmas tree, and went to Denver for a day.  We wanted to hit some of the malls, check out the new house her friends Amy and Danny bought, and we figured we should do something cool, so we decided to check out the Botanical Gardens.  Unfortunately for the gardens, it was late December after a few snow storms, so all of the plants were covered in 4 inches of snow and it was really cold.  However they have an inside garden, sometimes called a greenhouse, which houses many tropical plants, including a coffee plant a cocoa tree.  It was about 76 inside, and really humid, so Julie loved it!!  It also got us really excited for our upcoming trip to Hawaii!!









New Year's Eve was a few days later, and we spent it with Jim and Amanda and a group of other good friends.  It was good night and midnight came surprisingly quick.  I think the enticing game of Trivial Pursuit is probably to blame, but we all made it to our New Year's Day race the following morning!  It was a good run in Palmer Park, the weather was nice, the trails were still covered in snow, but were very manageable.  I ran the 10k with Jim and Chris and Andy.  Julie did the 5k.  The snacks from the night before hurt a little bit, but gave us some fuel towards the end also!





(Thanks Pam for these pictures from race day!)

Later that evening we received the sad news that Julie's Grandfather had passed away.  He was put into hospice a few days previously, so although the end was expected, it was still hard on her.  We left for the funeral on Sunday, with Jim as well, which left us looking for the football games on AM radio.  Unfortunately we could only find the games on the station from Oklahoma City, so we only caught bits and pieces of the games we wanted to hear.  Julie's cruise control also stopped working after our stop for gas in Raton, so we had to drive the whole way pushing the pedal ourselves, what a cruel fate.  Once we got to Texas, it was good to see all of her family, and the services for her Grandfather were excellent and honored him and his life very well.  The rest of the time was spent helping her Grandma when we could, and taking the chance to visit her family as much as possible.  They did their best to try to convert us to Texans and convince us to live down that-a-way, but so far it has been unsuccessful!  We love seeing them all just the same, and hope we can visit again soon.

On the way back to Colorado we ran into the ice storm that hit Dallas, so Julie's Uncle Bob was nice enough to let us stay at his house the night before, saving us 2 hours in the car that morning, and kept us up to date on the weather and traffic starting at 5 AM!  He definitely helped us interpret the traffic cameras and up to the minute weather updates, thanks!

After the excitement of the holidays, and a trip to Texas for Julie's Grandpa we are glad to be home catching up on sleep and laundry. However, it is not all relaxing and game playing, I have started back to school as of Monday, attending The Colorado State University (online) for a Management degree.  If I complete it on time, I will graduate 10 years after getting my first degree, which means I have put it off long enough!

I think that is about all that we can work into this edition.   Thanks for reading all of that, and hope you all have a great and prosperous New Year!