Here it is!

Quite possibly my favorite picture of Meg of all time...

Look at that excitement!!!

Mohawk Lake

Our first full day in Colorado, the fam decided to get in a little tune up before we attempted to do a 14er. By a little tuneup I mean a 7 mile hike... We headed to the Mohawk Lake Trail. Julie had hiked it before and really enjoyed it.

The hike was well worth it. Got us a little acclimated to the altitude and their was some pretty good scenery. This was the lowest lake, about 12,000 feet, and this is where we stopped. There was at least one more lake above this but it was still frozen.

There were some amazing waterfalls and a lot of old mining equipment still laying around.

All in all it was a great start to the trip and we had a really good time!

Marge the Barge

Thought I'd start breaking down our awesome trip to Colorado with Marge. Marge was our 2003 Ford Econoline Van and she is special...


Jim got her from Courtesy Car Rental. She was fully loaded, and there was plenty of room for 6. Check out the custom rims! She also had some custom exhaust that made me giggle every time we headed up the mountain. Nothing like glass packs on a conversion van!!

Marge had a DVD player with a pretty large screen that dropped down, unfortunately the sound in the van was terrrible! I forgot to load the power inverter so we couldn't watch movies on the laptop for very long either. Instead we passed gas and laughed at Julie:) I mean Jim.

Molly the Navigator

Pumpkin and her neck brace

Julie

Sorry Uncle Nick, had to put that one in there...

Angsterguy

Gotta have me some Red Vines!

My Favorite Little Getaway

A couple weeks back Meg and I took a short trip down to Grandma's. The farm is one of my favorite places to be. Away from the city, the great outdoors, spectacular views, and the best homemade bread in the world. Took me a while to post some pictures but here they are. Mom has a sweet outfit!

My Uncle built a cabin down in the woods right next to a little spring. Nice little place to hang out. He made the Coyote Springs sign and actually named his outdoors store Coyote Springs Outdoors. Love to take a little hike down there.

The spring is pretty awesome. It had been raining pretty steady for a couple of days before we got there and it was running strong. We climbed up a bit but didn't make it too far. Little out of shape?!?

Grandma had gotten a few new additions to the family and of course Meg fell in love with them. I believe the cats name is Gracy... And of course there's Snoop!

It was pretty overcast while we were there but the views are pretty amazing. The sunset is unbelievable. Throughout college I always got a group to go up to the farm, camp out, and do some canoeing. You can see the awesome sunset in that picture.

Friday

It was great to get back home from working in Cincinnati all week but it didn't turn into the best Friday evening.

Being gone all week I had a few man chores to catch up on. The lawnmower has been giving me problems lately and of course it was doing it again. End of last summer a coworker of mine (Thanks Danker!) and I tore the whole thing apart, cleaned it up, and put it all back together. It was running great. This spring, I got it fired up and sucked up all the leaves and it was working great. Didn't have to mow for a few weeks and thats when the trouble started. It would run for 2-3 minutes fine and then die. I tried fiddling with everything but couldn't get it to run well.

Finally on Friday after getting 2/3 of the front lawn completed... CLINK, CLINK, CLINK, BANG! Oh boy. Tore the lawnmower apart and this is what I found...

The piston rod had blown up inside the engine. I found about 10 large pieces and rest was rubble.

Time for an upgrade! Meg and I went and picked up a new one the same night as I knew it would cost me more to fix this then buy a new one.

Little bit of an upgrade don't you think?!? Went with a Toro. It was a reconditioned model and about half the price of the other mowers I wanted.

Thanks Dad for giving me your baby and letting me blow it up:)

In the midst of trying to fix the lawnmower I hear a scream from around the corner of the garage. I knew Megan was doing some landscaping and I freaked out a little bit. She comes running around the corner and take a look at this...

She got pooped on!!! HAHA, and she even let me take a picture, what a good sport!

Cincinnati

I spent the last few days in Mason, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. I walked right into carnie haven. My hotel was 1/4 mile from King's Island. King's Island is a sister theme park of Valleyfair and Worlds of Fun. The weather was warm but it rained every afternoon, getting in the way of my after work fun time.

It looks like it is pretty rockin', they just got a new coaster that looks like it could be fun. This brought me back to the good ole days of Adventureland. I get a kick out of how lame it is now but it was a great time as a kid. Miss those days...

Just across the interstate from my hotel was a water park called The Beach. Again a gentle reminder of my youth, anyone recall a little place called Wacky Waters?!? The place is shut down but it made Wikepedia!!!

About a 1/2 mile from my hotel is a Jack Nicklaus designed golf course. What more could you ask for?!?

The food has been pretty average all around this week. Nothing too exciting. The guys from work took me to a place called Skyline Chili today. The specialty being chili obviously. However its not your ordinary chili. It's actually really plain but they add brown sugar and chocolate to it. No beans unless you request them. They serve it on "coneys" (why can't they call them hot dogs?!?) and atop spaghetti. It was a really strange combo but pretty good. They pile on the shredded cheese and provide plenty of hot sauce. I'd do it again...

Weekend Wrap-Up

So I know that I gave a brief weekend summary - but now I have the pictures to post.
Awake the Lakes is the annual Memorial Day 'festival' - which was really just people watching at it's best. Like the State Fair, only more small town :) But, like you would expect, the food was awesome! I had a corn dog and some of Nate's Cheese Curds (actually he ordered fries, but you know how when they through everything into the same fryer, you get a little bit of everything). My dad had a Chili Cheese Dog - it was so huge had to take some pictures (sorry Dad!)

Saturday morning we went shopping, while the guys went golfing. And then onto the boat for a cruise around the lakes. Right before the boat ride - I happen to catch Nate wearing a certain school across his chest - one that he said he would never be caught dead in. I had to move fast with my trigger finger, but I got the picture off :)

It was Pepper's first time up to the cabin, and she loved looking out the window - all day long! In fact, by Sunday afternoon, she was pooped out, and took a nap on Nick - ahh, how cute.

Meanwhile, Colby found his favorite basket and didn't move much from that spot all weekend.

It is sad - as we may not be back up to the cabin until July.. but then we have a good 2 more months to enjoy it :)

Best of Both Worlds

I think the best part of summer is sitting outside enjoying an ice cold beverage and grilling out with a bunch of friends. While I am no master grill man, I love to grill.

I love the taste of food off of a charcoal grill. Most of the time I don't have a problem waiting the half hour for the grill to heat up but sometimes its a huge pain and very annoying. Hence why I use the gas grill 95% of the time.

Maybe these have been out for a while but this year I spotted a sweet Weber grill. Best of both worlds.

It has a gas start (uses the small green tanks) to get the coals going and then it becomes your run of the mill charcoal grill. It's got a great prep table, something I never have had with gas grills. The black bucket underneath is for charcoal storage, don't have to worry about the bag getting destroyed/lost. Weber has a rotisserie accessory which pretty much completes the package. It's on my b-day/xmas list!

100 Miles of Fun

Annie, Ali, and I participated in something new this year - we went "garage sale"ing. But not just any garage sale - we went for the biggest around - the 100 Miles Garage Sale. Formally the 80 Mile Garage Sale. Wow- this is some serious business. While we may have been Garage Sales Newbies - we are hooked! This is going to become an annual event. We had such a blast- All finding treasures, losing some treasures to ladies that were more pro at this than us, and enjoying our time together. We stopped at a great dinner along the way and had an awesome Pepin Burger- and got some kettle korn and cheese corn (man I wish I would have gotten those mini doughnuts!). I will post pictures later - and don't worry - almost all of our finds will require a before and after - which I will post as well.

All- in- all it was a great day with great weather - all while we should have been at work :)

Weekend Summary

This weekend was a good one. Saturday morning Nate and I headed up to St. Cloud to surprise his friend Kyle at his Spring Football game- his last one as a coach at St. Cloud State. He was quite surprised and excited to see us. The best part was- it was not cold and rainy like it was supposed to be - but sunny! We enjoyed the game (Kyle's offensive team won!) and then a BBQ and some beer after the game. Went out in DT St. Cloud afterward.

Sunday was crappy and rainy- perfect to curl up on the couch with a blanket, Nate, and 2 cats and get caught up on our DVR, and some HBO movies. We even had McDonald's for dinner - I was in heaven!

On the list this week - painting the dining room :)

I Love This Weather

It is such a nice day out today - going to be heading home soon with my sun glasses on and my windows down :) Yesterday was great too - had HH at Old Chicago for Annie's birthday, and then Nate and I enjoyed our first beer on our patio furniture for the summer - and man - did it taste good.
Too bad it is going to be crappy out this weekend - would be nice to do that all weekend.

Happy Birthday Annie!

Just wanted to wish Annie a Happy 26th Birthday! We will be going to Old Chicago after work to enjoy the weather and adult beverages :) Love you Annie!

*Also note on the weather - it is supposed to be 80 degrees today! Warmest it has been in 7 months. I am sure that my parents will have their 80's party tonight. This party is a fun idea - at the beginning of the year they designate a house, and once it reaches 80 for the first time, they all just show up at that house. No calling, or planning - just show up! How fun. Hope that you are enjoying the weather too!

Best Pet Products

While Nate and I love Colby and Pepper dearly - we do not always love the hair that they leave behind! Especially now that it is starting to warm up, they are both shedding more.

We have discovered 2 of the best products out there for Cat or Dog (or Husband) hair.

First - the best brush ever! The FURminator. Seriously, check out their website. www.furminator.com The brush is expensive, about $40, but you will use it once and think that it is well worth it. This thing can get more hair that you thought that your pet had! Below is a picture from their website (no, it is not Colby - but it could be)


Not only does the brush work well, but the cats seems to really like it- well Colby does, Pepper - not so much.

Next is the new Pledge Fabric Sweeper. Anyone who knows me, knows how often I am pulling out a lint brush (I think that we have one in every room of the house) and getting the couches and chairs. And - when you are trying to be green, throwing away 50 lint roller sheets is not what you want to be doing.


So, when I saw this, I had to try it out... and I LOVE IT! It works really well, and it is quick. And the best part is - I don't feel so guilty for being wasteful. The Fabric Sweeper is still disposable, but according to the commercial will save about 150 lint roller sheets- all at only $2.50!

So if you have a pet that sheds, even a little bit- seriously you MUST try these products!

Nate's Green Product of the Day - 4.14.2009

Propane Powered Lawn Equipment

LEHR has developed a weed wacker and blower that runs on propane. All you have to do is grab one of those mini green propane tanks and twist it on. The trimmer shown above emits 96% less particulate compared to your standard gas trimmer. Just to give you an idea, running your lawn mower for an hour gives off as many pollutants as driving your car 20 miles.

Each propane tank will last about 2 hours. Unfortunately propane is still fossil fuel based but burns much cleaner. Oil is still needed in the engine and needs to be changed every so often. The trimmer weighs roughly 15 lbs, about middle of the pack compared to other trimmers out there.

The trimmers are retailing for about $200.

Bloomington Garbage Time!

Its that time of year again! When the residents of lovely Bloomington throw out their trash. And by trash I mean their trash - someone's treasure. Last year Nate and I got rid of 2 couches, 2 non-working grills, a broken dishwasher, a broken microwave, and I am sure many smaller items. Our curb looked something like this:

Which by the way, the only things that made it to the actual garbage pick up was the dishwasher (minus a few parts) and the microwave. This year, we will have a few chairs - maybe a dining room table, and whatever else is hiding in the garage or my parents bring over to dispose of :)

While our date for pick up is not until the 9th of May (meaning we will be putting stuff out starting the 6th), Prestigious West Bloomington has their pick up this Saturday - so about tomorrow is when the good scavenging will begin.

Nate and I did not take full advantage of the pick up last year - and only got rid of stuff- this year we intend to bring home some goodies. On my list: Table lamps (in any shape), a round side table, a wooden chair with upholstered seat, and anything else that may catch my eye. I have 5 full weeks to find what I am looking for - but the competition is tough, so wish me luck!

Also- if you live nearby, but not lucky enough to live in Bloomington :) let me know if you need to get rid of anything - they look down upon other people dropping stuff off, but we can do it on the sly. And, if you would like to come scavenge with Nate and I- let us know!

Weekend Summary

The long weekend was great! We definately fit a ton into a short amount of time!

Friday morning Nate and I went shopping for his Dad's birthday present. We also picked up a nice 'Pubs of Iowa City' poster! I was super excited because it had Marco's Grill Cheese Stand on there - Nate loved it because it had the Sports Column (his favorite bar - and the bar where we met). Then we went to lunch with Matt at Quintin's. We then proceeded to go on a mini bar crawl to the new bars downtown. Where Nate's credit card was stolen - well given to the wrong person- crappy! We then drove to Cedar Rapids with Nate's parents to have dinner with the Zittergruen side of the family, before Grandma went off to Arizona. Finally back to Iowa City to hang out with the crew at Ben and Missy's place.

Saturday Mary, Leon, Nate and I went for a hike to enjoy the nice weather. Frist we went to the Raptor center. Where I decided that I needed a Long Eared Owl for a pet. (See picture below). It was by far the cutest little thing - it is about the size of a pop bottle.



After the Raptor Center, we went to a place called Fossil Gorge. It is an area that was flooded in 1993 (and again in 2008) and when the flood waters went down, a bunch of fossils were exposed that proved that Iowa was once an ocean (Billions of years ago). It was pretty cool. Mike and Katie stopped by with Melanie in the afternoon. We then had some fun frying up a turkey and making homemade funnel cake (last minute addition to the meal - when I said that it sounded good - and Mary magically had a funnel cake kit!). Then out for a drink with Nate's cousins and their wives. Then to the bar to meet up with Missy and Ben - and finally I got my Marco's Grill Cheese and I was happy.

Sunday morning was Church, Brunch with the Goedken's, and then the long drive home!

All-in-all a fun and busy weekend. Sorry there aren't more pictures, but we forgot that we had our camera with!

Closed Doors and Cats

So, working on a new something for the house, which will hopefully be done shortly (will post pictures soon) but while I am working on it, the office door has to remained closed. Colby and Pepper do NOT like this!!

Pepper trying to squeeze under the door.