Winter Happenings...last winter, that is...

Lunch break, Mid-mountain at Crested Butte.

Hanging out in "downtown" Crested Butte

After a successful fall trip to Ouray, my road-tripping friends and I decided that a ski trip would be most appropriate for our winter getaway.  Kristin was unable to make it, so Beth and I traveled to a place that has become very near to my heart since living in Colorado.  Crested Butte.  The skiing here is tremendous and uncrowded, the scenery unrivaled, and the snow, always BIG.  Once again this winter, CB got dumped on.  We loved walking around Crested Butte, where NO chain stores or restaurants are allowed - and taking in 2 amazing days on the slopes.

8th Annual Girls Weekend, Wisconsin Edition

This year, Girls Weekend got moved to the winter instead of the fall - Tricia was in charge of planning this year and did a smashing job.  We all took off from Minneapolis for a road trip across Wisconsin - we lounged at a beautiful condo in Wisconsin Dells and had a blast at the huge indoor waterpark.  (Somehow all those pictures have been tragically lost?).  GW08 was the refreshing, fun weekend it always is.  I loved reconnecting with these girls who have played and continue to play such vital roles in my life.  I am always thankful that God brought these girls into my life back at UND.  We were missing Heather and Noelle this year, but here's hoping they can make it for GW09, which I am planning.  YIKES.

Minnesota comes to Colorado

It was the 3rd Annual Ski & Snowshoe weekend this Feb. 2007 with the Minnesota gals.  We stayed in a beautiful log home up at the YMCA of the Rockies, spent a day skiing and a day snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park.  There were a few new faces added this year - we all had a blast playing games and watching the elk frolic outside the windows.  Can't wait until next year.

Christmas 2007

Last Christmas was full of family, friends and the usual traditions.  We had a night of lefse and flatbrod making at our house, and a ski weekend at Red Lodge with the Goss's.  I loved having 2 solid weeks to relax and recoup from school and get set for 2008.

Ouray

I have been lucky enough to find some wonderful Road Trip buddies out here in Colorado.  We have started taking one trip a season, and our inaugural trip was to Ouray, in Southwest Colorado.  It was a much-needed trip full of movies, sleeping in, hot springs and hiking.  

Ouray:

We hiked to an abandoned mining camp and spent some time exploring and taking in the fall colors.

Beth, Kristin and I at our condo in Ouray.  I highly recommend a visit!

The Fall of 07

And so it begins, the long-overdue update.  I'll begin with last fall.  I transitioned from kindergarten to Fifth Grade last year, which was a big switch.  I missed a lot about teaching kindergarten, but have really felt like I found my niche in Fifth grade.  I had a huge class, 31 students, including a rather notorious group of boys who provided a lot of laughs and also frustrations for me over the year.  The fall was also full of enjoying the Colorado outdoors and the aspen trees.  Fall is my favorite season of all!

Worst Blogger Ever

Though my last post is titled "Merry Christmas, Everyone", it is sadly, long outdated. I am going to put myself out on a limb here and commit to updating you (anyone who might still accidently check on my blog) on this past year SHORTLY. Tracking down my login and password was a good start. So check back soon for the '08 update.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Card

(This will be my Christmas card for this year... :)

Holiday flashbacks...

Well, now that Thanksgiving has passed, I am finding myself thrown headlong into the Christmas season. I LOVE Christmas season, but honestly, I'm not there yet. The weather here in Colorado has been so mild that Christmas music seems completely out of place. But in the spirit of the the season, here's a great old photo from the Vallevik family archives...I'm thinking Christmas of 82 or 83 maybe? It's one of my favorites of Jared and I. Although, he always says that I always insisted on putting him in the headlock in our pictures when we were little...just to show my dominion over him. (It's not true). I had other ways of proving that. Anyhow, welcome to the Yuletide season, everyone.

A New Neighbor

So, on my way to the Post Office the other day, I came across this little fellow skipping down the sidewalk. So, I pulled over to get the shot. He started to trot towards me, so then I thought it was time to go in case his Mom came looking for him. He went trotting across the street and jumped over a fence into someone's back yard. A boring trip to the Post Office for me became quite the adventure!

My summer in Montana

Well, it's time for my quarterly update. I'm lousy at keeping this thing up, I know. So buckle your seatbelt for a huge update...or pace it out for a week or so. ;)

My first summer off has been awesome. I've loved being back in Montana, and getting to hang out with my Mom a lot. We've had some fun adventures together. Last weekend, we went up to Chico to relax in the mountains where it was a little cooler, and check out the Chico Hot Springs Resort. It was really a unique place, and the 5 Star restaurant was sure to please! On the way there we stopped at Mark's In and Out in Livingston...legendary. Magical.

In the Yellowstone in Paradise Valley.
Mom and I have also been rollerblading this summer. It was her first time - she's doing great!
I'll be headed back to Colorado in 2 days to get my new place together and get moved in to my new classroom. I'm sad to see my Montana vacation end, but I'm also looking forward to the adventures ahead back in the Springs. Mom will come down for a week to help out with the move...and any of you in the region are more than welcome to come and help me move on August 3!! :)

The Beartooths

Yesterday, I spent the day in Red Lodge, one of my favorite places in Montana. I hung out in the Beartooths, but silly me, didn't bring the camera...so the shots are off my phone, but even so, the mountains can't be spoiled!

Here's the one decent shot of myself I got up there using the old "hold out the phone as far as you can and shoot blindly" technique. Some failed attempts follow. It was really windy and sunny.
The "trying to keep eyes open" shot:
The classic "over-reach":

Summer's A-Flyin' By...

Besides having a great time with my Mom here in Billings, here's some of the other folks that have made it a great summer vacation!

The Dwyer family came down to hang out with me for 4 days while mom was in Washington:

I had a great time with my Mom's dog, Josie. We both like to take naps. (But we did other things too!)
My friend Randi, from growing up in Sidney, came from Arizona. I had some great garage sale-ing adventures with her family, and took in some great breakfast with a bluegrass band up in Molt.
My brother came out from MN for a few days in his new spiffy wheels. It was good to be all together, even if for a very short time. He helped me replace my blown speakers and busted CD player in my Passport. HOORAY!

Officially "Extreme"

This summer, Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition was making over a house outside Billings, not far from my mom's place. We were out there a few times to check it out, and I decided to volunteer for a day, despite the nasty hot temps. I don't often watch the show, but it was so fun to be a part of it all. I ended up working in the mess tent. I got to see Paul, Johnny, and Ty, several times. :) The show airs in October...watch for me! ;)

My new friend Johnny:

These pics were from my phone, so good luck with the quality. :)

Adventures in Idaho

A week after I got out of school, I met Katie at the airport in Billings, and we started out on our adventure. We'd been planning to backpack in Idaho for years, and it finally worked out. We had a beautiful drive through western Montana's tiny fly-fishing towns and a very snowy drive up Big Hole Pass before descending into Idaho. We got to Salmon, Idaho where we met up with our host and old friend, Chris.

We explored the down-home town of Salmon:

And we spent a day hiking into the clouds toward a fabled lake, which we never found. The snow melt turned our trail up the mountain into a raging river, which we slogged up for hours. Eventually, even my gore tex boots couldn't survive the water that poured over the tops and we soon had icy toes (literally)...even so, we carried on through the river and snow, but at last, alas, we had to turn back, never having reached Geertson Lake...NOT one of my favorite things to do. (Turn around, that is).

Up into the clouds we go:
We made a river crossing early on in the hike - if we'd only have know what would lie ahead. The reason Katie's boots are off is that we'd already thrown our boots across the river intending to ford it, but then we found a little bridge. ;)
At the end of the day, there was still a little left in me for a some frolicking.
I left almost all the photos to Katie this trip since she had a fancy new camera. When I get some of those pictures, I may post some even better pictures of our time in Idaho...until know, these will have to do!

In the Wilderness

After our all-day slog up the river, Katie and I were ready to let someone else do the work. We were fortunate enough to get a killer deal on a charter plane into the Frank Church Wilderness...my friend Chris (from UND days) was our able-bodied bush pilot and safely carried us over the incredible mountain wilderness to a soft landing on a grass strip in a canyon along the middle fork of the Salmon River. We were met my big breakfasts and cookies at the Flying B wilderness ranch. We brought in their week's groceries (good thing Katie and I had experience loading and unloading aircraft), and soon after found ourselves saddled up on some able steeds for a day of riding in the mountains.

Katie Co-Pilots:
Oops, this picture snuck in from the hiking day.
Here's Chris on his first ever horseback ride - sorry about the head-tilt.

School's Out

Well, after a marathon at school (May), my kindergarteners graduated. I was really proud of these little people, and it was hard to watch them cross the stage in their little grad caps and know we'd never have class together again! Here's a few shots from our class's last days of school:
Field Day:

Field Trip to the Zoo:

On to first grade for them, and fifth for me! Yikes!