Pinnacle Peak

As I may have mentioned, I'm hiking the Grand Canyon in Sept. and I've been working on getting in better shape.

Pinnacle Peak has been a nemesis of mine for awhile and I've been avoiding it because although I can do it, the hike kicks my butt and makes me worthless for the rest of the day.

Hmm....I'm in much better shape because I had a new personal record of 1 hour 15 minutes and I was fine the rest of the day!!!

Some photos from sunrise.

Wow!

Katherine and I were swap partners in Kathy's Dragon Swap.

I feel so spoiled!

Gorgeous yarn, 2 dragon themed patterns, chocolate, double pointed needles, stitch markers and lotion.

Thank you!

Luminaria at the Desert Botanical Garden

The botanical garden has luminaria every year during the holidays.

My friend Wendy and I went for my birthday. Beautiful!

The garden added bugs since our least visit. It was a beautiful evening.

11/11/11 Weddings

I got invited to 2 weddings on 11/11/11.

One was for the daughter of some friends who were old neighbors in Chandler. All our children were so young when we met....Hannah was 2! She'll be 13 in just a month.

The other is Heather, my Grand Canyon hiking buddy's daughter.

A great evening all around.

Reach 11

For those that haven't heard, I decided to hike the Grand Canyon. If you would like to follow our journey getting ready for the hike, Heather started a blog for us on the new blog at http://azhikerchicks.blogspot.com

There is a nice 3 miles I can do right outside my house. I can get it done in about an hour or less but don't have time before work right now due to the late sunrise.

Today I captured a beautiful sunrise over the McDowell Mountains.

The other photos are of my hiking shoes, Brooks Cascadia, and the hiking belt I use to carry my phone and other small items to keep my hands free.

Sunrise is my favorite time of day.

Happy New Year

I hope this post find everyone healthy and happy in 2012!

We rang in the new year by having the neighbors and their kids over. By the looks of my floor on the day after, it was a good party.

The mobile ping pong set was the best $20 I have spent in a long time.

Hmm....it would appear my daughter looks more ad more like me, except for the blond hair, every year.

Christmas 2011

Grandpa and Grandma Linda came over for Christmas. We had much fun and too much good food.

Here's hoping you all had an amazing Christmas.

First Hike of 2012

I'm have to admit I am excited to be posting this entry from my android phone. Between my ipod and my phone, plus kids activities, I don't often get to my computer.

This year I committed to hike the Grand Canyon with a girlfriend in September. I really need to focus on the uphills!

I went hiking with some friends yesterday. Sadly it is back to work today after 2 weeks off. I will miss my hikes but here's some photos of the desert.