The bike race in St. George, UT

First thing you will notice here is that it says bike race, but I did a bad job of getting good pics. Hopefully we will get some from friends who were down there to watch, and one of them happens to be a professional photographer.

With Brent's bike race in St. George we decided to make a small camping trip of it, and even ended up staying an extra day to enjoy the campground and surrounding area. Brent did some research at the beginning of the week, and we ended up at Snow Canyon State Park, just outside of St. George, it was amazing down there...so was the weather, in the 70s.

As for Brent's race, it went well. He was in great form, especially on the first lap. He ended up getting 2 flat tires though during the race. The first was pretty much at the start/finish line, which he was able to fix, and then headed back out. Next lap he crashed, I didn't see it, but there are cuts and scrapes. He said he didn't loose much time there though, back on his bike pretty quick, with the guy behind him (whom he had just passed before the crash, then quickly passed again after the crash) told him that "He was spectacular!" Then on his 3rd lap, on the final downhill, he got his final flat, but with a 1/2 mile to the finish, like a sport, he ran his bike to the end! Next time he is going to make better tire choices, and hopefully this problem will be gone.

Once the race was over, we headed back to camp. Our site on Saturday was great, tucked away in the back corner of the campground we were able to break some rules...leave the dogs off leash, and go play on some of the rocks, which we didn't understand why we shouldn't climb them, but decided to anyway. We also found some dried cedar and other twigs to burn. The skies were filled with lots of stars, the dogs were mellow, and the fire burned until bedtime. A relaxing evening. The dogs sleep well in the tent, only thing is since they are spoiled in our house, they get pretty cold in the evenings, so we need to try to keep them covered or cuddled up next to us at night, can make for some interesting evenings.

This morning we actually woke up and the temp had dropped considerably, and it was very windy. We made our oatmeal, peanut butter, honey, and banana breakfast, and then were off to extremely breaking the rules of the campground. We had this beautiful site, and some very clear ways to get to the top of the rocks behind us, that we begging us to climb up them and see what was on the other side. It was a great view, totally worth it, and the dogs were plenty tired from rock climbing.

Now that we are home, the dogs have been out for the past 3 hours, and that doesn't include the 4 hours that they slept in the car. We will have to get back there to visit soon!

Here are some pics from the trip!

Friday night we were to lazy to set up the tent, so stayed in the truck.

Mindy didn't want to give up Brent's pillow.

Kona is ready to go to sleep.

Tied up at our first camp site Sat. morning Before the race, Mindy and Kona ready to watch!

The campsite and behind the campsite

The way up, kinda hidden from sight, in most places, especially when you don't wear colors that blend into red rock, such as blue.

The view from the top, totally worth it.

The dogs at the top Pretty picture.

Could be a Rolling Stones album cover...

Tired dogs tonight! Notice Mindy's tongue is sticking out. She's been like that all night!

This one's been a long time coming

Okay I am going to do 2 posts in one day...

First off, because I have a chance to sit down and spend some time at the computer.
Second off, because they are 2 different topics, and look goofy posted together.

We have some good ones from when we had all of our snow, some monster icicles that Kona had taken a liking too, and a pic of us in a down pour of snow skiing at Alta last weekend with friends.

Enjoy the pics.

The start of the big melt.

Kona on her icicle throne.

Funny thing here is that the lift behind us was shut down

because of lightning and thunder, but we were waiting for our

3 other friends who were on the lift...who needs shelter, when

there are plenty of pine trees and ski poles around.

Mindy enjoying the weather.

Okay, so I do realize it has been over a month since I have posted something, and hopefully by doing this update it will keep Katie happy for at least a week or so. We have been quite busy.

Let's see, for me it has been school and work, and a little bit training and knitting in between. For Brent, well it has been training for his upcoming mountain bike season and keeping the dogs entertained. Brent signed up for a 6 week training program at Weber State University. Right before he started going he went in and had his VO2 max testing, which he was quite excited about, and his results were awesome. I think the guy in the lab said "He's a monster." Apparently, Brent had the highest VO2 max that this lab has done, and came in at 72.8 (Lance Armstrong is way off the charts at 81.) So he was quite happy. Myself on the other hand, have just been squeezing any training in that I can and when I feel up to it. I am taking 11 credits this term, and that's one short of being full time. I decided to take clinic this term, so that means every Thursday afternoon I work at the clinic in school for 3 hours. It is fun that there are all different people that come in. I have also been working on Saturdays with our friend Nate, who is our massage therapist, up at Weber State Univ. He has been putting on a clinic for the student athletes up there, and it gives me a good chance to learn more sports specific protocols, the stuff that I'm really interested. All in all an awesome time and oppurtunity for me.

So on top of all of the busy-ness, Utah has been getting pounded with snow. I have attached some pics of the fun we have been having. The first group is snowshoeing with the dogs the night before we went back to IL for Christmas. There was so much snow that the dogs are pretty much swimming through it. The next pics are of our New Year's Eve. We went snowshoeing up above North Ogden with friends, and watched the fireworks from above. It was so great! The final group of pics are from our latest dumping, 2 feet of snow in our yard in one day! So great. We are lucky to have very nice neighbors who have a snow blower, and make their way over to our driveway. Well I think that's all I have for now. I try to keep updating this more often.

The Drive up to Snowbasin


They decided to try to make it up this little hill,
and around the tree. It only took like 5 minutes,
but Mindy was not about to give up, and Kona followed.


Kona going off piste!



New Year's Eve above North Ogden


North Ogden to Salt Lake on the Eve


The whole group and of course some champagne!



Backyard after the storm!

Backyard after the storm!

Can you imagine if we would have needed to shovel?
Look at the height of the snow compared to the
4runner!



First Tracks! And 1st Dump!

I Met a Scary Porn Star Man....

His name was Shadow Millbrook, Hahaha! You know, first pet's name & street you grew up on...well maybe that's for stripper names, but anyway Brent decided to shave his beard off at his sister's wedding, and this ended up being the middle stage. He likes to call it "Bringing Sexy Back!" I thought my dad was going to fall over laughing so hard.

The wedding weekend was a blast, and we couldn't have asked for better weather in the Florida Keys. The ceremony was officiated by a Priest and a Rabbi, and was probably one of the coolest ceremonies we have ever seen. Throughout the weekend we really just took the time to relax, especially by the pool, with tropical drink in hand. Brent got to go fishing on Friday morning, while I went running in the warm rain...AWESOME, since we don't get much rain to run in at home. Then Saturday morning got to play tennis with mom. Saturday was the wedding and reception, here's some highlights: Kristin and Brian are married, Dougie wore a suit, Mom P got lifted up in a chair at the reception, Dad P gave a wonderful speech, we learned where Brent got his dance moves, and Emily and Diane just hung out drinking margharitas and wine.

Sunday was a sad day, as we had to leave the warm weather and head home to snow...

Until later, here are some pics to enjoy!

At the Rehearsal Dinner

Pics before the wedding

First dance

Nothing but smooth moves

Sexy Christmas Card

To Start it out

Thought we would give something a try here....a place where we can keep friends and family up to date on what's going on in our crazy lives and to post some pics. A little bit about the name, decided to call it our "Barbeque" because we have a whole mix of activities that we enjoy outside and away from home, but when it all comes down to it we enjoy just sitting in our backyard pondering our hopes and dreams. Hope that you enjoy and we will do our best to keep this up to date!