Skate Skiing

Dave says: We got in our first real skate skiing adventure of the year this weekend up at Mountain Dell. We were both a bit rusty and had a few nice crashes. It's been in the high 30s recently which is just warm enough for us to pull out the mountain bikes and ride them on the road. We went up City Creek on Thursday and got sprayed with road slush flying off our tires the whole way down. Still, it was more fun than long days on the trainer in our cold back room.

I start a new semester of law school today and am excited about my classes. It has also been nice to have had some time off to unwind a bit. During the last week, we turned last year's photos and blog into a Shutterfly book for the year. It was fun to reminisce and I can hardly wait two months until cycling season begins.

Rocky Point

Dave says: We spent the last week living the high life with my family in Rocky Point, Mexico. It was sunny every day with temperatures in the 60s-70s and we stayed in a plush eleventh floor condo overlooking the beach. We went running in the morning, went out exploring at midday, relaxed in the pool during the late afternoon, enjoyed local cuisine in the evening, and went on long walks on the beach at sundown.

Some of the trip highlights included tidepooling/collecting shells on the beach, exploring the touristy downtown city area, taking an epic walk with Christine and Parker, ordering the Mexican feast for two at La Curva (while being serenaded by a mariachi band), getting beat at Trivial Pursuit on New Year's Eve by the Toussaints, watching some bowl games on the condo's HDTV, and playing hours of games with Daniel and Katie in the heated pool.

We drove the entire way with my parents in their huge van and probably spent close to 40 hours in the car during the course of the trip. Fortunately, Alisha had a book to read and I had a good audio book to listen to. On the way home, we stopped in Phoenix at my uncle's house and visited with his family for the first time in a couple of years. We had a great time with the foosball table and I was amazed at how grown up my cousins are.

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.