Christmas Letter

(Alisha's latest craft project)


Hey everyone, we just sent out our Christmas letter for the year via email. If you didn't get a copy, it's because we don't have your email address so leave a comment or send it to us and we'll send you our card. Thanks and have a Merry Christmas!

Snow-venturing

Alisha says: Rather than be hermits all day, couped up inside, Dave and I decided to get outside, breathe some crisp cold air and go on a snow adventure or snow-venture (thanks to yesterday's huge storm). We did a short little hike to the top of Ensign Peak where we enjoyed a nice view of the snowy city.

This last year Dave and I have been Primary teachers. At first we both started out teaching the CTR 5 class and then about half way through the year I got switched to the Sunbeams. The Sunbeams have a hard time sitting still, mostly talk about princesses, and respond "Jesus" to ALL questions. The CTR 5's also have a hard time sitting still, can remember and recall some scripture stories, and respond "Jesus" to MOST questions. We both had fun and laughed a lot. I took some pictures last week and that was a challenge.

Crunch Time

Dave says: Finals week is finally here. Fortunately so is some bad winter weather which makes studying inside for eight hours at a time a little more bearable. In fact, I never made it out of my pajamas on a couple days last week. By the weekend I was ready to get out of the house. On Saturday night we walked around the Gateway for a bit before watching the Jazz blow a ten point lead to lose to the Magic.

The snow had finally stopped by Sunday afternoon and we went up to Mountain Dell to check out the skate skiing. Unfortunately it was freezing and even with double gloves on we couldn't keep our hands warm. Today it's back to full day study sessions as I prepare for comprehensive tests in Administrative Law and Trusts and Estates before finishing a final paper for International Law examining how human rights laws impact the sovereignty of nations.

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

Four Thanksgivings

Dave says: This past week we had four turkey dinners. It all started when Alisha saw 18 lbs. turkeys for only $8 at Smiths. We didn't even know how to cook a turkey but we got a turkey bag, put it in the oven for a couple hours, and had a pretty delicious meal with lots of leftovers.

On Thanksgiving we woke up ready to go on a long bike ride only to discover that it was raining outside. Instead, we watched the Macy's Day Parade and rode the indoor trainer for three hours. Then, it was time to head over to Richard and Britney's for Thanksgiving dinner number two where we enjoyed a variety of tasty dishes and desserts.

Then, we went to the movie theater to see Twilight. Alisha has been reading the series over the past couple months and I've been pretty skeptical of "vampire romance." However, I gotta admit that I enjoyed the show, perhaps even enough to read the book sometime in the future.

Alisha had to work the day after Thanksgiving and I got to spend a day catching up on homework and working on my big human rights paper for international law. We headed down in the evening and stayed at the newly remodeled Bezanson family house (nice countertops!) with the entire family.

On Saturday it was time for Thanksgiving number three with Debbie's delicious cooking. Then it was time for some sweet mountain biking with Brian on the rocky trails at Three Peaks while Alisha, Debbie, Amber, Mandy, and Shane made some good looking ginger bread houses.

We went to church with my family on Sunday morning. Then it was time for Thanksgiving dinner number four with my family and grandparents. Finally, it was time to head home on a jam-packed road. It was a quick trip but a great holiday weekend where we got to spend some quality time with both our families and remember all the things that we are grateful for.

Go Jazz!!

Alisha says: Wednesday I got to go with my sister to the Utah Jazz vs. Milwaukee Bucks basketball game. My sister's boss gave her their company's 2nd row VIP tickets. Lucky for me her husband was sick so she took me. It was so much fun, before the game we got to eat dinner in the dining room and at half time we got to go back to the dining room and have treats. The best part though was the seats, we were 2nd row right behind the Buck's bench. It was really cool to be that close. The Jazz won 105-94! Thanks Amber!!

Halloween

Alisha says: On Halloween my work had a costume/pumpkin contest and although I did not dress up I did decorate a pumpkin with lots of different kinds of candy. There were lots of neat pumpkins (I forgot to take my camera to work so the only pic I have is of mine) but I won first place!!

Saturday I put on my Kuhl kit for the last time in a race (next year I will be riding for PCIM!!) and participated in the City Creek Bike Sprint that was suppose to be a couple of weeks ago but because of bad weather was rescheduled. It was actually really nice weather for it being November 1st. The race went really well for me, I had a good start was able to hang onto the fast train for a little bit. I finished 7th overall and was the first female. I won some cash for breaking the women's record with my time of 24:24. We also made a quick trip down to Cedar City to see Parker and Christine bless their second little one (Rachel). Today it snowed all day long and it made me feel sad.

Dave says: Two and a half hours on the trainer indoors watching the snow fall made me sad too, but not as sad as my semi-lame race performance on Saturday in the four-inch deep gravel at RMR. Here's some 'cross pics that make me look faster than I actually was:

Check out SlyFox in his womanly Halloween garb handing out dollar bills (by this time in the race I think he was down to quarters though).

Another Exciting Week

Dave says: This sweet 'cross pic is courtesy of Kurt "Team Fast" Wolfgang who threw it down with the "W" in the B category and finished his first race this year without flatting [side note: he flatted at tonight's Wednesday night race]. Saturday at Ogden's Fort Buenaventura was my turn for a mechanical as one of my pedals lost its' end cap, siezed, and wound itsself off my crank with two laps to go. Not a big deal since I was off the podium and in seventh against some pretty talented A riders (like Bart Gillespie who lapped many of the other racers).

In other exciting news, my article on virtual visitation is getting published by the Journal of Law and Family Studies. Thanks to laws in Utah and a handful of other states, non-custodial parents seperated by thousands of miles are now connecting with their children using video conferencing and other internet technologies. Pretty cool stuff.

Alisha says: It feels like summer right now and that has been nice. I have been returning to my roots and doing some running for some cross training lately. Saturday I did a long ride with some girls from my cycling team which was cool. Sunday was the primary program and getting a bunch of 3 year olds to sit still for a whole hour is quite the challenge. It was a nice program and the tots were cute.

Cx

Dave says: This is my first year trying cyclocross and I'm excited to report that it is quite a fun sport. Cx is now huge in Utah as both the roadies and the mountain bikers are into it. Since it was my first real race, I raced (sandbagged?) the B category. I'm glad I got to the start line early since there were over 50 B racers competing. The race started fast with a crash that almost took me out (some guy's leg flew up and hit me in the arm as I swerved to avoid running over him). It quickly narrowed down to a group of five which then became three. For the last couple laps it was just me and one other racer. He was running the barriers faster than I was so I had to go for it to get a gap before the finish. It worked and I came away with the W. I traveled to the race with Kurt and Zoe who were selling some delicious pancakes there and also ran into a bunch of the Kuhl Team. Next week, I'm looking forward to getting schooled by the A's.

Alisha says: This past week the weather was awesome. It felt like we were able to hang on to summer for a little longer. Saturday night we went and watched some World Cup Short Track speed skating action at the Olympic Oval with Kelsey and her husband Mike. We were able to watch Apolo Ohno race a couple of times, unfortunately he was taken out in the finals of the 1000m. The relays were really fun to watch, if you have never seen a speed skating relay check it out sometime and you will see what I mean. Dave and I also recently checked out the new Legacy Parkway path. It was pretty sweet, it is 14 miles one way with no cars or stop lights, just the occasional family with their kids and dogs all over the path, but still fun!!

Collegiate Racing

Dave says: Kurt and I spent the weekend at Conference Championships in Grand Junction, CO. Originally, we had a bigger group but due to illness and concerns about the weather, it turned out to just be the two of us. Saturday morning's short track was windy with some black clouds and a few sprinkles, but the weather held out long enough for Kurt to grab 3rd of 30 in B's while I got 8th of 35 in A's. The course had some steep sections and was pretty tough in the wind. After chasing the lead group for the first two minutes, I was already in the red. Afterwards, we headed over to pre-ride the XC course with some guys from Air Force and managed to get lost since it wasn't marked well yet.

The temperature dropped on Saturday night and was in the 30s when we arrived at the race site on Sunday morning. However, once the sun came out it was a great day for racing. The XC course is one of the most technical out there with several hike-a-bike sections and slickrock obstacles. Kurt destroyed the B's after taking off on the first lap and never seeing them again. After starting in the back, I slowly moved up through the A's until I ripped the sidewall of my front tire on the second lap. Thanks to some sealant, it went down to about 5 psi but not completely flat and I filled up between laps. Unfortunately, on the final lap it lost all it's pressure when I rolled it on a steep downhill switchback with about 1/2 mile to go and I rode it in flat for sixth place. (Note to self: bikes don't steer well on steep switchbacks with flat front tires). It was a fun trip that was made more entertaining by the fact that we stayed with none other than the legendary Alan Sprung.

Last night I tried out a cyclocross "race" for the first time. It was a free event with about 20 guys up in Park City on a course with some dirt, grass, pavement, and barriers (of course). For those who are not familiar with cyclocross (CX), it's basically racing road bikes with knobby tires on all types of terrain (frequently in the snow or mud) and there is a whole race series here in Utah that has become quite large in recent years. It was a fun time as I started out in the middle of the group but gradually built up my confidence and caught everyone but the front two guys by the end. I'm excited to have found a new way to spend part of my off season this year.

Fall is Here

Dave says: The leaves are turning, its getting dark before I'm home from biking, and the temperature doesn't feel like summertime anymore. The road up City Creek Canyon is covered with leaves. Last weekend I pulled the plug on a collegiate mountain bike race in Durango and stayed home to finish some schoolwork as well as to avoid fourteen hours of driving for two hours of racing in the rain. Alisha and I rode indoors for the first time in months and were bored after less than an hour. We enjoyed watching General Conference and took a break between sessions on Sunday for a ride since the rain had stopped.

On Sunday afternoon, my family came up to visit and Alisha made some outstanding lasagna for everyone. After my Monday morning class, I went with them to the Bodyworlds exhibit at the downtown library. This exhibit features real people who have donated their bodies to science and have been "plastified". I don't really even know how to explain it so I decided to include a picture. It's like looking at drawings in a medical book, only they are real. For my mom, it was like an exciting trip back to medical school, while for me it was confirmation that I definitely don't have what it takes to be a doctor.

Red vs. Blue

Dave says: It has been a busy two weeks of homework, paper writing (my virtual visitation note for JLFS) and a couple of job interviews. However, the main reason I delayed posting was that I wanted to get my hands on some photos from the U's triumphant victory over BYU at the Red vs. Blue bike race. Now, it's been over a week so I'll have to settle for the story from Cyclingnews:

"To raise funds for Bikes for Kids, close to 80 cycling club and team members, alumni and fans of Brigham Young University (BYU) and the University of Utah (Utah) gathered at Traverse Ridge for a three-mile hill climb time trial with an elevation gain of more than 1,300 feet and 10 percent to 12 percent grades in some locations.
According to Millisecond Sports Timing, which averaged the top 10 speeds of each university's official cyclists, Utah cycling team won the team race with an average time of 18 minutes, 39 seconds. BYU's club followed with an average time of 20 minutes, 13 seconds."

Now here's my version of the story: BYU's team lost by 18 minutes, ouch. We had a super strong team with 4 riders (myself included) ahead of BYU's first. Alisha also won the overall women's category with a time that beat six of the ten riders on BYU's men's team (double ouch!).

This weekend we didn't have a race and it was weird to sleep in on Saturday morning lounge around the house for a bit. We rode with the U team out to the marina on the Great Salt Lake at a leisurely pace and in the afternoon met up with some of Alisha's family for some food. On Sunday, Alisha taught the three year olds a cute lesson in church about being kind to animals. They made pictures where they glued cotton balls on a sheep (wool), felt on a monkey (fur), and scales on a snake. In the afternoon, we had too much energy to sit inside on such a beautiful day so we rode out to big cottonwood canyon to check out the leaves for a pleasant three hours in the saddle.

Mt. Olympus

Dave says: Our "Sunday stroll" turned into about the steepest six miles I've ever hiked. Mt. Olympus has some killer views but is like hiking up a giant flight of stairs. The easy part is the first mile where it's just switchbacks. After that, it's just straight up over the rocks.

In other exciting news, I got to be a cheerleader at East Canyon which is perhaps more fun than actually riding up Big Mountain. Alisha was looking fast and had a solid time. The rest of the weekend we spent chilling on our new sofa set and recovering from all our adventures.

The Curse of East Canyon

Alisha says: Just kidding, it really isn't a curse it is just that the last two years I have taken second at the East Canyon Hill Climb. I actually felt that I had a great race 35:39 for 8 miles (almost 2 minutes faster than last year), just somebody else had a better race. Jenn Ward threw down a killer time so props to her! Dave didn't race because he did LOTJA last weekend and then has had a cold all week so he was there cheering me on. He was funny, he would drive a little bit and then stop and cheer/take pictures. With the cycling season winding down I wanted to say that I have had so much fun racing with and getting to know a bunch of other cyclists, especially those that I raced closely with in cat 4's and then have since upgraded.

Lotoja

Dave says: Riding the 206 miles from Logan to Jackson is practically a rite of passage in the Utah cycling community. Since moving to SLC, it seems like everyone who finds out I ride bikes asks me if I had done Lotoja (mispronounced by non-cyclists as "Law-tow-jaw"). When I said "no", they figured I wasn't a serious rider.

Well, this year I got a call a week and a half before the race from my friend Marty. His tandem partner bailed on him and he wanted me to ride with him. I told him I'd have to think about it, but when he insisted that everything was taken care of and paid for and that I just needed to show up and ride, I agreed.

The first hundred miles was actually quite pleasant. We were turning the screws on the other tandems on the climbs. However, about 120 miles in, Marty was having some heart problems (he has a pacemaker) but we managed to pull through and finish as the second tandem. He finished, and basically fainted by the finish line and the EMTs hooked him up to all the machines. Props to him for making it all the way and giving 110% for over 10 hours on the bike. Overall, I was happy to ride a strong race and not cramp or crack on my first 200. Marty's nutrition company, Jama, hooked us up with some good fuel that kept us going.

In other news, Alisha went down to Cedar for Brody's baby blessing and had a nice weekend with family. Then, last night we had the U of U cycling team over for a BBQ and discussed the plans for the upcoming mountain bike season. It was a good turnout and it looks like the team will be strong this year.

Labor Day Racing

Alisha says: Labor Day weekend was a busy one. We traveled to Southern Utah to visit family and do some bike racing. Saturday morning my mother and I traveled to Las Vegas so that I could race the Mount Charleston Hill Climb. It was a 17.5 mile course with 5,351 feet of elevation. They lined us up in categories (all the women were about 2/3 the way back) and then it was a mass start. I had lots of fun working my way from one group to the next. I rode a lot of the race with number 999, he let me ride his wheel for a long time and then we worked together until the last couple of mile. I got some double takes and interesting comments from some of the riders as I passed them, my favorite was "Oh hell, your a girl!" I was super excited to be the overall female winner making it to the top in 1:36.09!

Other than racing, I spent the weekend watching Dave ride a super mountain bike race and playing with my new 3 week old nephew Brody. He is so cute and cuddly. My SIL Christine had her baby girl Rachel on Sunday so on our way home we were able to stop and see her too.

Dave says: On Sunday afternoon at Brian Head it looked like rain might pour down at any moment and ruin the last national XC race of the season. As I warmed up in the wind with a jacket on, the announcer told the racers that the race would be cancelled if there was thunder and lightning. However, everything came together for me at this race as I rode comfortably with the group up a long road climb at the beginning. By the time the road turned to dirt, the semi-pro group was strung out and I was in second. Then, just before the singletrack started, first place started to fade a bit and I took off and never saw anyone again.

It was one of those crazy "pedal to the metal" type moments and I paid for it early on by flying off my bike on a loose corner and sliding down the trail with my arms out like Superman (except for the whole invincibility thing, ouch!) Fortunately, it was just a few scrapes and my bike was ok minus a little drag out of my now-bent front brake rotor. However, I'm glad I didn't go down on Dark Hollow which was a wicked downhill this year with some seriously huge boulders that I definitely would not have ridden if it wasn't race day. By the time I reached the final feed zone at the scout camp, I looked behind me for a long way, saw no one, and for the first time realized that maybe I could take the "W". I was so excited crossing the finish line because this is my best result on the mtb and I didn't want the season to end with my poor Evanston race. Something about that Brian Head course just works for me because it was at this race two years ago that I had my previous best result at a big race.

Saturday and Sunday seemed reversed this weekend as I spent the prior day at the funeral of some close friends. I feel like I'm too young to know what to do when people my age die. It's tragic, but maybe it helps me grow up a bit, remember the things I'm grateful for, and take life a bit more seriously. Along those same lines, Christine had her baby this weekend (Rachel), and we saw Brody for the first time as well. Unfortunately, now it's back to real life and the second week of law school. Today I spent another four hours correcting footnotes on a professor's paper that I spent at least six on last week because he doesn't know how to follow the citation manual or include page numbers for the 100+ articles that he cites. Now you know why I don't blog more about school :-)

Fragile

Dave says: It was a fun weekend, but as I'm sitting here, the only thing I can think of is the tragedy that happened to our friends, the Ellsworths. It makes you stop and think for a minute. You ponder and ponder but are at a loss. This is like 9/11 for southern Utah. Everyone has a connection to what happened. Yet like 9/11, I have no doubt that it will bring out the best in a community full of outstanding people. At the times that matter most, the thing that matters is the gospel of Jesus Christ. You find out what families really are like when things like this happen. Things like Marie writing a post titled "Families can be together forever" and I hear Lynn Ann is a pillar of strength pulling everyone together during this tragedy. This is an amazing family and I owe them a lot. If Dr. Ellsworth hadn't come to Cedar City to start his medical practice, my family never would have moved there as well and my life would be completely different today.

Our home teachers came over today. The lesson was President Monson's Ensign message: "May We So Live." They didn't really know anything about this tragedy, nor did President Monson when he wrote this article, yet his words about death and ressurection are powerful and real. "May we so live that when that final summons is heard, we may have no serious regrets, no unfinished business, but will be able to say with the Apostle Paul, 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.'"

Lagoon

Alisha says: We spent Saturday at Lagoon with Amber, Devin, Richard, and Brittany. We got there right when it opened and headed for the best ride in the park Wicked, which we rode twice before hitting any of the other rides. Our whole morning was very productive as we pretty much walked right onto all of the rides. We got totally soaked on the Cliffhanger and then headed to Rattlesnake Rapids while we were still wet (Devin didn't even have a dry spot on him to dry his glasses on). My least favorite ride was Wild Mouse. As the hours passed the lines grew and the temperature rose. By about 4:30 we were spent and decided to call it a day. It was so fun hanging out with family, even waiting in lines isn't so bad when you have family that you can chat with. My favorite part of the day was hearing my family members laugh and scream as we were riding the rides. It is always worth it to take time to hang out with family and I want them all to know that we love and appreciate them.

In other news: We finally got the flier in the mail that they are going to do spring clean up (ya, it's the end of August so not so much spring as almost fall). We were glad nonetheless because we have been wanting to do some clean up around the house. We have a bunch of trees that are a little out of control so Dave bought a pole saw and went to town with it. I think he might have had a little too much fun playing with the saw as you can see in the picture. It is funny how many people have came and took stuff out of the pile in front of our house (an old bathtub, an old washing machine) and then left other stuff. Dave starts his second year of law school on Tuesday.

Mill Creek Pipeline to Wasatch Crest

Dave says: With only a week to go before school starts, it was time for another epic ride. Zach and I met Mitchell and Robbie at the start of Mill Creek Canyon and headed up rocky Rattlesnake Gulch to the Pipeline trail. The Pipeline took us up Mill Creek clear to Elbow Fork where we caught the paved road for a couple miles to reach the start of the Wasatch Crest trail. It was classic mtb action in the woods at high altitutude as we rolled out to Desolation Lake. Mitch and Robbie split to head down to Big Cottonwood while we booked it back down to Mill Creek. On a ride this good, even things like ripping a small hole in my front tire, running out of water, and spending three and a half hours in the saddle couldn't lower our spirits. Next time I'll even bring my own camera so I won't have to steal generic Wasatch Crest pics off utahmountainbiking.com.

Snowbird

From the Tour of Utah downtown:



Alisha says: Snowbird hill climb was a 10 mile race up little cottonwood canyon with 3500 vertical feet of fun! The start was a little crazy as they started all category riders at the same time. It was pretty grueling because once you start climbing you don't ever really get a rest. I felt great for most of the race but faded some towards the end. I held on for the fastest female with a time of 50:26. As it was a mass start Dave told me grab his wheel and hold it as long as I could. Ya, that lasted about 45 seconds and then he was off racing with the main pack. Dave's effort of 47:45 placed him second in the cat 3's. We both won some cash so we celebrated with delicious signature sandwiches from Hogi Yogi for lunch. It is so fun when we get to race together, Dave is such a great support and I love him so much!

Dave says: Great job Alisha! Perhaps we've been inspired by hours and hours of Olympics watching. Phelps and Lezak have even made me a swimming fan (unless it involves synchronization or a diving board). I'm also a big volleyball fan this year and America has been throwing it down on the sand. We also got to check out some sweet Tour of Utah cycling action as the pro circuit came through SLC. We went to the downtown criterium on Friday night and stood right behind the finish line as some seriously good riders circuit raced at 30+ mph (Alisha won a cool Tour of Utah jersey for her victory at Snowbird). With some time off school, I've also been cleaning up the yard and made it up to Mueller Park in Bountiful on the Shoreline trail for an epic mtb ride in the woods.

ICUP Finals @ Evanston

Dave says: This weekend was the Intermountain Cup Series Finale in Evanston, Wyoming. It was a full carload with Alisha, Kurt, and Tyler (two U of U road racers who are getting into mountain biking). Unfortunately, it was not my day as I was still recovering from the stomach flu, struggled on the rough course, and wrecked on the rocky wolverine ridge descent. The good news is that I finished and got enough points after twelve races to get third in the overall Pro Men's category. After the race, we headed over to the hospital where Tyler got his nose glued back together after a nasty crash (he still finished and got third in singlespeed). By this time, the rain was coming down in buckets. We headed over to the awards ceremony party under a big tent for some post-race fun. It turned out to be a great season for me despite some illness early on and a bit of fading near the end.

Since it's the end of the ICUP season, it's time for some shout-outs to some awesome racers this year. First, Kuhl/Scott has been an outstanding team with a ton of talent. Thanks to Ryan K. and Taylor for bringing everyone together. In Pro this year, Alex Grant was the man to beat with all around talent in every race he was at. The other legend on wheels is Bart Gillespie who will absolutely destroy the field when he's on. Rising star Mitchell Peterson rounds out the triple threat but was over in Europe racing for much of the season (Also watch for his young prodigy Robbie Squire, the fast new face on the scene). Then, we've got guys like Chris Holley, BZ, and my teammate K-Day with a ton of skill and experience and who know how to throw it down in the rough stuff. I could keep going because there was a ton of talent this year, but I'll leave the commentary to the best bloggers of the year: Chris Fox, and MTBRaceNews.