Oh fall, I love you.

For a while there we thought winter had come right after summer and we would never get to see fall. A week in Park City at our cozy condo made the cold a little more bearable. When the sunshine came out one day we took a little hike.

It's always so nice to be around family and good food!

Some girl time at the condo.

And of course, we couldn't be in Park City without eating at The Flying Sumo where Em works!

Another weekend hike in Park City with our friends Ben and Katie and their pups.

The 4 Black Dog Posse

Brandon and his best friend Ben.

Our little Annie- 6 months old. She likes to play in the mountains with us.

Fall is practically the best time to climb. Great cooler temps and BEAUTIFUL SCENERY!

Cabo

Just the thing to look at to forget all our worries. The water was bath-tub warm and waves were really fun to play in. The Sea of Cortez in Cabo is absolutely beautiful!
Brandon and I spent a lot of time just relaxing on the beach or by the pool. We had great warm weather and loved having a week with no set plans, alarm clocks or responsibility!
We always saw a couple of these guys lurking around in the rocks near the pool
Awesome snorkel trip at Cabo Pulmo. It was worth the 1 1/2 hr drive to get there!
At the sushi bar at our resort- Hacienda del Mar. I never grow tired of sushi, but I think I may have had my fill of seafood for a while. It was great to have fresh, yummy fish though.
Can you tell where the pool ends and the ocean begins?
We met some people at our resort that invited us along for dinner with them. We had an incredible view of the sunset from the Mona Lisa. Land's End in the distance.
Another day of snorkeling at Playa de Santa Maria. The clarity on this day was not so great, and our Spanish was not so great so we kind of got ripped off when renting snorkel gear. Oh well, beats a day at work, right?
Aboard the Tropicat catamaran sunset cruise around the bay. It was one of the high-lights of the trip. Very small group on a small boat, great relaxing music playing, and all you can eat and drink. Montezuma's Revenge was soon to follow however...
The resort we stayed at had some terrific restaurants, and some of our meals were paid for by going to the timeshare sales presentation. It was absolutely fantastic!
It was hard to leave this place and know we were coming back to Utah where it was summer weather no more.
Brandon got to try SCUBA for the first time and is now hooked. I haven't been on a dive for a few years because my partner wasn't certified, but now that he's got a taste for it, we'll be back!
Our trip to Cabo was a nice, relaxing way to recharge our batteries a little bit. We had a great time and hope that next time we'll get some friends and family to join us!

Missing

MISSING!!!

My car was stolen from my garage a few days ago. It is a 2001 Honda Accord, just 2 months away from being paid off. It had a snowboard rack on it, a wallet with $400 cash, an I-pod and all the CDs I have ever owned, and some other sentimental items.

NO REWARD

I don't even want this car back I just made this flyer to tell you that I hate you, car thief. I hope you drive my car and get hit by a monster truck. I hope my car takes you straight to hell.

(Disclaimer: This is taken from a funny flier that someone made about their missing bike. I just changed a few things and don't worry, I don't really wish that on anyone!)

Celebrating Peace, Love and Uncle Al

On August 28, 2009 we lost our Uncle Al at 63 years young to a dissecting aortic aneurysm, the same condition that almost took my dad's life 9 years ago. We have all felt such a profound loss in our lives now, but Al would want us to celebrate his life, not mourn for him. So that is what we have tried to do. This is my favorite picture of my favorite uncle- shining in the sun in Zion.
He was our mentor and was so fortunate to live in the most beautiful place in the world. We often took trips to Zion, staying with Al, and had the opportunity to explore this land that he loved in a way that most people never do.
Atop the peak next to Johnson, one of my favorite times hiking with Al. This is the area just behind his house, and from this view we pointed out many of the other peaks we would plan to bag together. We never thought our time would run out so soon.
His funeral was held at the Springdale cemetery, a beautiful place to be laid to rest. His wishes were to return to the earth in the most natural possible way- not embalmed, buried in a pine box, with no nails.
My father's tribute to his brother was very touching. He spoke about the reunion he hoped Al was having with his mother and other brother who preceded him in death. Half of my dad's family has now passed away.
An impromptu indian flute piece "Amazing Grace" by one of Al's comrades from the paramedic/ firefighter group he was a part of. Adrienne's husband Dave and daughter Davenne in the background.

Bench cousins.

Al's daughter Adrienne felt that it would be more personal if the members of the family helped bury him, rather than some random workers. It was very emotional but felt like the right thing to do.
Later that evening we had an informal gathering at the park where people from the town of Springdale and those that had traveled from very far away to pay tribute to Al by sharing memories and stories. This is Dick Dotey sharing a piece of amazingly detailed leather work done by Al, the artisan.

The Bench family reunion.

Avery, Adrienne's darling little boy was delighted to see his great-grandpa. Family connections.
Al's collection of cochina dolls from Hopi land. He traded cottonwood root and other goods with the indians. Al gave us one of these special pieces as a wedding gift.

Feeling the love in Zion.

We have been so lucky to stay here with Al at his house so many times. Coming to Zion just won't be the same again.
But we will always cherish our times with Al and know that his memory will be here forever.

Summer Climbing

A few weeks ago we took a trip to the City of Rocks in Idaho. It was a fun little get-away for us, and the dogs absolutely loved it! They ran around, got into some cactus again, and kept look-out in the tent at night for us. We got some great climbing in too!
Brandon loves his little Annie. He gave her a ride on his pack when she started getting tired.

We've been coming here together for 5 years. We love this place!
It gets a little chilly at night in the City of Rocks, even in the summer. Glad to have our coats!
After part of the Labor Day weekend spent in Zion (more on that later), we headed to Maple Canyon for some climbing. We love going there because it's only about 20 min away from Brandon's mom's house.
We've been climbing pretty hard lately, so we feel a lot stronger now.
Anthony had a good time climbing with us too. It was his first time out for the season, so he was done after the first day.
Brandon leading "Pipeline" 11.D
We met up with several friends and had a lot of fun with them. Michelle brought her dog Jude who could almost be mistaken for Cole. They all got along great. They played so hard that the next day all they could do was sleep.

Summer is my favorite time of year, and practically all our free time goes to climbing. It's always a little sad when the days get shorter and cooler because I know our time outside is coming to an end. But we have done a lot this summer and I hope to squeeze a few more trips in before the snow flies!

Zion

After our day of canyoneering we were ready for some food and music at the Bit and Spur.
The sky and majestic mountains in the evening in Zion are magical!
The locals say it's tarantula mating season now- here's a little one at the restaurant.
Modeling Al's Peaceday.com shirts. This is his next big endeavor- check out the website!
The moon coming out next to Johnson peak.
On our last day there we sought refuge from the heat in the Virgin River up the Narrows.
This is the only place to be on a hot day in Zion. We ran into Brandon's friends here and hiked with them for a while.
Last photo ever taken with our camera. On the way back down the canyon I decided to take a swim to cool off and forgot about the camera still in my pack. Although we were able to salvage the pics, our camera is toast. The next one will be waterproof!

Canyoneering in Zion

Brandon about to rappel into the dark slot of Spry Canyon
In the slot- this was a little tricky maneuvering into the next pool since we had prematurely pulled the rope.
So Brandon used what we called a "butt hold" to press himself up against the walls and slowly lower himself down into the murky water.
One of the longer free-hanging rappels out of the slot.
After hiking and down climbing for about 5 hours, this clear (although green) pool was so refreshing on this hot day! We dove right in and played around for a little while before we made it back to the car.
The pics got out of order, but this is the beginning of the hike. Uncle Al shuttled us up there and hiked with us until the point of no return. He doesn't really like to do any canyoneering or climbs that require gear or ropes.
Right before the descent into the slot canyon. Brandon decided we didn't need to rope up here, so we VERY carefully climbed our way down into this bowl, avoiding some really gunky, funky pools of water at the bottom.
We hi-jacked someone else's rope so we could go ahead of a large group.
Now we can see out to the other side of the canyon. Coming out of the notch next to Mt. Spry.
Our friend Nick joined in our adventure too. I was glad he was there to carry the rope!

We had such a fun adventure in Spry Canyon. It was SO hot in the beginning and felt really good to go down into the cooler temps and into the water. There is so much more to do in Zion, and I can't wait to go back!