Race Day!

The 'Rock and Roll' 1/2 marathon finally came! It is quite the event, with around 30,000 participants, a live band every mile of the race and thousands of fans, and local cheerleading squads, who come out to support the runners. Our friends Kate (from L.A.) and Paul (from Abq.) came out to run also. For Kate and I, this race has become an annual tradition to which we always look forward. We stay together the whole race and push each other to the end. We were also lucky enough to have our Arizona friends Kristie, Jason, Kristen and Tara participate this year! Here we all are post-race. We all ran the half marathon except for Paul who finished the full in just over 4 hours. Jeff set a personal record of 2hr 22min. Kate and I finished in 1hr 44min. And the other girls finished under 3 hours, even though Kristen thought they weren't going to make the 4 hour time limit. Good job to everyone!

The Saddest Day...

As most of you already know, Spencer is no longer with us. He died on Thursday morning of what must have been a respiratory infection. The last month has been fairly traumatic for him, with his tunnel caving in, the weather getting cold and his habitat getting flooded from the massive rain we had at the beginning of the month. We are so saddened by this loss and feel awful about the outcome. Although we're not sure we could have saved him by the time we found him on Wednesday, we have learned a tremendous lesson about the responsibilities of owning such a unique pet. The dogs seem to have an understanding of what happened, yet they keep searching his habitat, looking for any sign of him. Spencer will be missed by all of us.

Happy New Year!!!

Officially the lamest New Year's Eve Jeff and I have ever celebrated together, we rang in the new year with me in my Olive Garden uniform, having gotten home from work just in time to see the ball drop, and Jeff in his robe, after having the flu for three days. To rev up the excitement we lit sparklers in the house and snapped this photo. Good times!

A tribute to Justin Bobby

I debated whether or not to waste blog space on this ridiculous topic, Googled the guys name, and found a posting on someone else's blog that seems to give a small glimpse into the life that is 'Justin Bobby'. In a tribute to this amazing character, Sam sported a head scarf and corresponding body language on one of our nights out in Albuquerque. If you are a regular watcher of The Hills, on MTV, you will appreciate this post. If not, you will probably be better off not reading the rest of this one...


In a post ripped off from the blog of a stranger:

Justin Bobby, WTF?
Much has been spoken in recent months regarding the alleged Lauren Conrad/Jason Whaler video tape; if it even exists; who leaked the idea of it; how the idea of it ended Conrad's friendship with former BBF Heidi Montag; and how the idea of it will shape Season 3 of Conrad's MTV "reality" show, The Hills.

But for me this season, the most fascinating aspect of the Hills as got to be the enigma that is Justin Bobby. For those uninitiated into the spectacular train wreck that is the Hills, allow me to explain. Justin Bobby is a former paramour of one of the show's leading women. He has recently re-entered her life and is trying to win back her affections. But that isn't what makes Justin Bobby the perplexingly fascinating male specimen that he is. No, Justin Bobby is an enigma wrapped in a riddle, shrouded by mystery simply for the shear way in which he inhabits his Justin Bobby-ness. Let's break him down.

His look. With his mangy chin length hair, big eyes, and head scarf, Justin Bobby seems to be channeling some sort of Jared Leto/Kurt Cobain persona. Were this 1994 I would completely get it, as that look was definitely the paradigm for male attractiveness in many circles. But this being 2007, I thought we were over that. Justin Bobby doesn't strike me as particularly cute or hot. But he's a character on The Hills, which is all about promoting glitz and glamour, so perhaps I'm just not plugged into what is considered cute and hot anymore.

His name is Justin, yet his friends call him Bobby. Interesting, why is this? It's not as if the word "Bobby" has anything to do with the word "Justin." Moreover, Justin announced this fact to Lauren and her friend Lo as if it made all the sense in the world and didn't require further explanation. Was Justin Bobby purposely being opaque, or is he simply too stupid to understand that this real name-nickname dissonance needed additional elucidation? Regardless, Lauren and Lo christened him Justin Bobby and it seems rather clear to me that a phenomenon has been born.

Studs

To my brothers and husband~
Even though I complain that you guys spend all your time together during vacations, I couldn't be happier that you get along so well. I love all three of you very much! And what a cute picture!

Birdwatching

My dad has become quite the birdwatcher over the years and I am reminded of his passion for it every time I am home. He has many different kinds of feeders in the backyard to attract different kinds of birds. He makes sure the feeders stay full of the right kind of food and that they are put in the proper places for easy access. He also has a 'Birds of New Mexico' book in which he can identify all birds that enter and exit the yard. He has even spotted a few impostor birds that must be from other states! I always think it is interesting to get a glimpse into someone else's world and learn about their passions. Learning about my dad's makes it extra special. Keep up the good work, Dad. The birds love you for it and so do I!

Amateur...




























Sierra practiced her birdwatching skills by staring endlessly at Juanita's cockatiel. Good thing the bird never jumped off the counter!

This is why we live in Phoenix...

In the afternoon, we decided to take a walk together as a family. We spent 20 minutes bundling up and searching the house for parka-like jackets, gloves, scarves and hats to brave the cold. Lewis didn't make it past the front porch (where this picture was taken) before bailing on the walk and deciding to stay inside where it was nice and warm. Those of us who went, survived, but it reminded me why Jeff and I have no plans to leave Phoenix anytime soon!