Shorts and Sunshine on the Slopes

It's not often (if your a fair weather camper like I am) that you can tent camp the night before you go skiing. But that's exactly what we did in early June.

We decided to drive up to Crystal Mountain on Saturday night, camp at the Silver Springs campground that's about 6 miles from the ski area, and shred the next day.

Dave & Katie's dog Grace crossing the river to our site

We don't typically get to ski in June in Washington, but the massive amounts of late-season snow this year kept the resorts open much later than usual. We were hoping for some sunny, Spring skiing - especially when we found out that Cory forgot his ski pants.

Cory's snowboarding outfit for the day - seriously!

The weather did not disappoint. We had a beautiful cruiser day on the slopes. I tell ya, powder is great, but it's impossible to be unhappy when the sun is out and you're skiing in a t-shirt!

Dave, Liz, Katie, and Mt. Rainier

Cory holding Mt. Adams

Is this an 80's ski movie?

Ski to Sea

Over Memorial Day weekend I participated in the Ski to Sea, a 100-mile, 7-leg race in Bellingham, WA. We had a team of 8 ladies and I was responsible for the road bike section. The race breaks down like this:

• 4 mile Cross Country Ski
• 2.5 mile Hike up Mt. Baker and Downhill Ski
• 8 mile Downhill Run
• 42 mile Road Bike (not downhill)
• 18.5 mile Canoe
• 20 mile Mountain Bike
• 5 mile Kayak

2011 was the 100th anniversary of the race, so they lengthened it to be 100 miles. Not that I've ever done this race before, but my leg was one that they lengthened. Since I had done the Seattle to Portland bike ride last summer - a 200 mile, 2 day ride - and since I've been biking to work fairly regularly, I figured biking 42 miles would be one of the easier legs. I would soon find out that was not true.

Even though my runner wouldn't reach me until 10:30 or so, I had to get up at 5am to head up the mountain and get dropped off in the bike staging area. I brought a sleeping bag and took a nap.

Mt. Baker from my nap spot - luckily the weather was nice

The bike turned out to be harder than I expected and I was pretty pooped by the end of the ride. The highlight was that about 2 miles from the finish, a group of people were BBQing and offering bikers free beer and hot dogs. They had an unofficial station set up where bikers could grab a beer as they were riding by. I didn't partake, but the guy in front of me did and he got some big cheers. Seeing the beer gave me the burst of energy I needed to finish the race and get one for myself.

It was a fun weekend and even though I was one of the slower bikers in the race, I felt pretty good for completing my leg and living to tell about it.

The "Betty Rockers" - Girl Power!

Palm Springs

In mid-May, my friends from high school and I went to Palm Springs - well, technically Palm Desert. My friend Amy's mom comes to the Embassay Suites every year with a big group of ladies. It's a great weekend where everyone lays by the pool, partakes in the free Happy Hour from 5-7pm every night, and enjoys the sun.

The view from our room - We spent most of our time pool-side

Although there are a variety of activities in the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area - hiking, golf, shopping, a zoo/botanical garden - it seems like very few people who come to the Embassy Suites even leave the hotel.

A group of happy-go-lucky beer-pongers

We did manage to leave the hotel a few times. Twice for dinner, once for pedicures and lunch, and once to stock up on Bud Light Lime.

Andrea and Amy with a free Happy Hour beer

Me and Delinda - ready for a rowdy night on the town

Originally we planned one crazy night out since we hadn't seen each other in about 8 months and this was the longest time Delinda has spent away from her daughter.

We made it out to dinner on the fated night, but, alas, a day drinking by the pool and a large margarita with dinner did a few of us in.

The daytime culprits included bloody marys, margaritas, and the aforementioned Bud Light Limes

We decided to consider making it out until 9:45pm sufficient and that we'd count it as a win. Besides, we were all there to catch up and see each other...and the only bar/club we found nearby was filled with people older than both of my grandmothers combined listening to a single guitarist playing ballads...or something - we didn't stay long enough to really figure it out.

See, we can have just as much at dinner! (Now that we're old)

Engagement Photos - Sort Of

So now that we're engaged, Cory and I have been getting into all the wedding planning stuff. We decided that maybe we could save on engagement photos by asking my Dad (who has taken a fair number of photography classes as a hobby) to do a photo shoot while we were down in San Diego.

Fountain at Balboa Park, San Diego

 Some of them turned out OK.

Hiding in a bush - you caught us!

But I quickly realized that the benefits of hiring a professional photographer are threefold:

1. They know how to find fun, romantic settings.

Statues of random men are not so romantic

 2. You can kiss in front of them without being weirded out.

An excellent setting with downtown behind us, but a slightly awkward kiss

3. They give excellent direction and have unique ideas about how to showcase your relationship (I assume).

Mosaic dragon in Balboa Park - this kind of works

Don't get me wrong, my Dad did a great job. I just think we need some more forceful direction. We can't be distracted by taking pictures where we're pretending to pet squirrels. It's just not announcement material.

This squirrel is so domesticated