Grand Slam

Spring break 09'  in Palm Springs was great!!!! A big thanks to the Godfrey's for  allowing us to use their condo for the week.  We played a lot of tennis, swam,  skate boarded, roller bladed, hit Legoland, and got wet at soak city with the Halpins. 

We were able to play tennis on grass, clay and the hard court. The grass is hard work, and the clay was just right. Tanner loved the grass because he could dive... I love grass stains on white tennis clothes!!!! It was great to be  able to play with the fam all week (even though Ry had to come work for a few days.)

Vacations would not be complete with out the Anderson/Marvel clan, so we were glad that they could come with us!!!! It is always fun to be entertained my Tim's craziness and Mitzi's interesting conversations. Tim congrats on your Settler's win!!!!!! Yeahhhh

Switzerland!

First I want to say a big "THANKS" to my parents and Ryan's parents for coming out to CA to watch the kids so Ryan and I could take our first trip in 9 YEARS  alone. (yes 9 years, sad huh!) The kids had a great time. I think they are a little sad to have us back.

We started our trip in Lausanne and had 2 days alone before we met up with the Genentech/AC Immune group. We spent our time eating waffles, panni's, exploring the metro, having dinner with Andreas and his family, visiting the Olympic head quarters and museum, and doing a little shopping. Ryan of course found plenty of time to work, and found himself quite productive since, he could work with his Swiss colleagues during the day, and the Genentech ones at night.  I have given up on the idea that he will ever be able to even go one hour with out responding to emails!!

From Lausanne we headed up to Saas Fee, which is the highest ski resort in the alps to meet up with the the group for their meeting.  Ryan and I skied the first day, and it was very icy. I was a little  disappointed and missed the snow in Utah!!! The ice did not last long. That night it started snowing and did not stop for 4 days!!! They closed the ski resort, and all of the roads coming up to the village(first time in 22 years). We were snowed in!!!! The people we were traveling with were a lot of fun! We spent our time sledging, snow shoeing, ice climbing, eating fondue and just playing around in the snow. I have never experienced so much snow. It was so fun!!!

The last day the ski resort finally opened and we were able to ski!! It was a lot of fun, but very hard. The slope had to be pretty steep or you would just get stuck! 

After we skied, Andrea and her husband John took us over to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn. It was incredible. These pictures do not do it justice it. My camera had run out of batteries by this time and I had to take them with my iphone. I was so sad. It was beautiful!!  

Another big thanks to Ry for taking me on such a great trip. We had a lot of fun, even though I did get a little homesick. Ryan is very fortunate to work with the people he does. They are all very intelligent, interesting people. I was glad for the chance to get to know them. I am especially glad to have had the opportunity to get to know Andrea a little better. She is the CEO of AC Immune and someone who has made a profound impact on my life. She taught me many things, most importantly how to be a very gracious thoughtful host! She made this trip incredible!!! I can't wait to take the kids back some day (maybe in another 10 years!) 

Ski WeekS!

We have have been very busy enjoying all of the snow that mother nature has been dumping on the mountains around the world. We spent a week at Deer Valley with the Anderson/Marvel family and had some of the best skiing we have ever had. The kids skied great!  Tanner and Georgia had their first taste of powder, and how awesome it is to take little cliffs and land in the "pow!"  Abby wanted to make sure that she took the last chair of the day. She did not want to miss one run. She can ski longer than me! We were so sad to have the trip end, but also looked forward to heading to the Alps the next week. 

The kids!

The Aussie kids. Reece, Morgan, and Shelby!

I feel like I have been living down under!

Wow! Where do I even begin. It has been a wild couple of weeks. It all started with driving our car (minus our children) + Ryan's bosses giant Labberdoodles to Utah. From there we swapped dogs for children at the airport and our vacation began. We enjoyed some great skiing, fun times on the tennis court, and a lot of time with family from around the world. 

Ryan's cousin Vernon, brought his family up from Australia for a West coast/Canada tour. We had a lot of fun getting to know them.  The kids loved listening to what the Aussie's  call the "most accurate English." Greg, Chris and Garrett came down to CA to enjoy some nice weather, a trip to the big redwoods, San Francisco, several trips to LuLu, and a little extra time with the Aussies! We had a full house.

I took the Vernon and his kids to Jump Sky High which is a warehouse filled with trampolines. We taught the kids how to play dodge ball. It was pretty funny. The weather was a little rainy so we spent a lot of time playing games and watching the Australian Open.

At the end of the week we sent them off, and picked up Annie. It is always fun to have her around.  We had a great time with her best friend Aly who recently moved up here, and who I am trying to steal away as my new BFF!! Sorry Annie. Aly's husband whom we renamed Chuck spent a few week here while their apartment was getting ready back in November.

Well the last day of Annie's trip everything seemed to fall apart! First it was the water heater dumping 75 gallons of hot water into my newly remodeled basement, then it was a flat tire the next morning, hostile takeover bid at Ry's work,  then melting Tanner's ipod in the dryer, and finally yesterday the sewer line backing up into my laundry room sink!!!  I LOVE being a home owner!!!

Needless to say, I have not had a lot of time to spend on the computer. It is good to be back, and crazy as life has been the past few weeks we have had a lot of fun!!!

Go Condors!!!!!!

Great job Condors! These boys did not give up! What an exciting weekend. Ryan has been busy this fall coaching both of the kids soccer teams, and today Tanner's team made it to the finals. We did not have any subs for the whole tournament. The team had to play 2 games yesterday, and 2 back to back games today (both of which went into double overtime.) I am so proud of how all of the boys played together as a team. Way to go!!!!  

80 in HMB

The weather could not have been nicer in HMB. Abby and I had a little picnic this weekend, and enjoyed all of the sun!