Season's Heatings

It happened again...I haven't posted in a month!
I always mean to, but it is difficult when I am rarely home to do so!

Over the last week in July, I went camping with the Pueblo crew. Normally they don't camp, but this project would have made for a long commute so camping just made sense!
It was interesting teaching a group how to camp (according to MHYC policies and practices). Some of the crew members had never even been camping before!
We worked for the little town of Williamsburg. We built the city park a nice little loop trail and helped revamp and set up the new playground areas.

section of trail and stairs in progress

Putting up hoops was much more difficult than we anticipated!

Awesome steps the team built!

We worked 4 10-hour days, which were very hot and long! After that, I said farewell to the Pueblo crew. They only had one more week left, and I was about to head out on a 10 day trip!

My next hitch was with the saw crew. We worked in a state wildlife area near Raton, New Mexico. We were working inside the Colorado border, but just barely! The park was very beautiful- we first did a fencing project on top of a huge mesa, and the rest of the hitch we were deep in the woods building a new trail!

View from our camp site- New Mexico starts at the lake!

Fencing project

View from fencing site

Elk herd on our morning drive

Starting the trail

Huge rock wall/walkway we built!

There were some great views at our work sites. We could see for miles from atop the mesa! One day we also drove alongside a huge herd of elk! The area we built the trail in was also very pretty. There was only a small burned section from a fire about a year ago. Most of the forest was green and untouched- it was a nice change of scenery from the barren burned woods we've been used to working in!
The work was also different from what the saw crew was used to. It was the last hitch of the summer, and the first time they had ever worked on building a trail. There was a lot of learning as we went, but everyone got the hang of it pretty quickly.

On Friday, August 10th after we got back from our hitch, it was the last day of the summer season and the corps olympics! All of the Denver and Co Springs MHYC crews came together for a big and fun day in the park! We played lots of field games, reflected on the summer, and had a big cookout! It was a good way to end the summer, but it was a sad day too- there were lots of people to say bye to!

I love these people

As if camping for almost 2 weeks and ending my summer work season wasn't tiring enough, that Friday night Ben and I took off on our road trip adventure! I had a week off between our summer and fall seasons and Ben took a week off so we could go adventuring! Ben's boss was very generous and gave him permission to drive his work truck- which comes with free gas! We drove all through the night and arrived in Steuben, Wi (by Prairie du Chien) on Saturday morning! We were pretty exhausted (mostly me) but it was totally worth it! We were having our annual "crash at Kamerons' parent's place for a few days to hang with lots of college freinds" weekend! We met up with Kameron, Harris (Sarah Jean) and her boyfriend Brynte, Colton, Steph, Meghan, Nick, and Matt! We had a great time catching up, hiking, watching meteors, and having campfires! I miss all those guys so much- it is hard living so far away from such great friends.

On Monday we headed out to Cedarburg! We got to see my family, all the pets, and all of the other craziness that goes on there (daycare kids, tenants, pet guests, cousins)! And, I got to see my lovely wifey friend Amanda! It was quite the change of pace for us! It was so wonderful to see my family, I miss them a lot too!
Thursday we went to Northfield, Mn to see Ben's family! We saw lots of relatives and ate lots of great food! Somehow, we also ended up with a lot of gifts and other items to take home with us- including beautiful woodcraft made by Ben's grandpa, a camera, Ben's drum set, and an adorable kitten! We have thought of hundreds of names so far. As of now, her name is Nymeria! We think she is about 7 or 8 weeks old.

Thanks for the picture, Tonyia!

We left on Sunday morning and headed back west! Now we are all home, safe and sound, with over 2500 miles behind us! We unloaded the truck, went to bed, and now have been at work ever since (is how it feels, anyway).  Although, it can't all be bad, Ben got a raise and I got a new position and a little raise too!
For the fall crew (only 1 crew in our Co Springs office) I'm going to be the mentor. It is similar to what I did over the summer, but I get to assist the crew leader more and provide education for the crew each week. This means I am going to be even more busy and away from home more than usual! Eep!

I have to go now, kitten snuggles are calling....

First Half of June

 After preparing for the orientation in Pueblo the previous week, the first week of June was dedicated to training in the Pueblo crew. I worked very long days with that 2 hour commute! It was fun to get to know people on the crew and to see some of the plans I made in action! It was a little tedious at first, because now this was the third time I had been through the two days worth of paper work- once for my own orientation, once for the other three crews' orientation, and now for the Pueblo orientation. We made it through though, especially with the help from my ice breaker and team building games! There was lots of time for me to fill up with activities throughout the week, and it was nice having a little extra time to have some fun. 

On Friday night, the 9th, Bill and I somewhat secretly flew to Wisconsin! It was our cousin Jon's wedding. He and his wife Imane (E-man) are already married, but their ceremony was in Canada, and none of our family was able to make it. It was great to finally meet Imane- she is lots of fun and fits right into the family! The ceremony was on Saturday and we stayed until Sunday night. The weekend was filled with lots of fun, family, games, singing, and of course lots of food! It was so wonderful to see lots of family- many people I hadn't seen since our own wedding last year.

Aunt Becky, Imane, Jon, and Uncle Kirk

After flying into Denver late Sunday night, I had a very early morning heading to work! I had five days of camping ahead of me, I had to get to the office by 630 (leave by 515), and I didn't even know which crew I was going out with! Once I got to work, I found out I was going with the Hayman crew. This crew works exclusively in Pike National forest in the Hayman burn area- a forest fire that occurred ten years ago that was the largest in Colorado history. There are thousands of burned acres in the forest where there is now large amounts of erosion occurring because of the lack of trees and other plants to hold the soil onto the mountain. Our job was to cut down trees (our MHYC saw crew and another conservation group did the cutting) and cut up downed trees (all dead, burned, and crispy trees) and build erosion control structures called head cuts. 

Head cut in progress

Normally, there are more trees and plants to act as obstacles and to drink the water as it goes down. Without these plants, as water trickles down the mountainsides it comes together into big streams and cuts away the loose soil. This erosion can lead to many problems, such as filling in reservoirs with soil. Our job was to fill in these big stream ways to prevent the streams from forming, which in turn, reduces erosion. It was lots of hard work involving lots of heavy lifting of trees and logs and carrying buckets of soil, and also very dirty work- we got covered in ash and dirt every day!

One of the valleys we worked in, the head cuts are in the sides of the hills

 It was very fun to finally be out on a hitch and working with a great crew! I got to make lots of new friends with the MHYC Hayman crew I was with, the Americorps NCCC crew that we have been working alongside with, and it ended up that our saw crew was camping near us as well! I especially enjoyed meeting them because I knew I was heading out with them for ten days for my next hitch. It was hard being away from Ben for those days, especially because we were away the weekend before, too. And I knew how badly he'd been wanting to go camping all summer!

My tent in Pike National Forest

 After getting back from that hitch and taking a much needed shower, I didn't have too much time to rest! On Saturday, the 16th, we dedicated our day to shopping and getting ready for our big date night! We were headed to a 1940's ball in Boulder. First, we shopped for my dress. We went to a cool neighborhood in Denver and found lots of cool vintage shops. We found a neat vintage/resale shop and I tried on lots of dresses. Eventually we found an awesome red dress that we both loved. We weren't sure if it was quite the right style for the era, but we thought it was close enough! Then I realized I would need some sort of jacket to keep warm because the dance was outside. I reached into the sweater rack and first thing I pulled out was perfect! A little blue shrug with a gold military-style looking eagle stitched on the left. At the check out we found a great fedora for Ben and a flower clip for my hair. Then we had to head off to get to my hair appointment! I've never gotten my hair done professionally before, and it was very fun! I knew I wouldn't be able to pull off a 1940s style on my own, so I thought it would be a good idea to get it done for this special occasion! It was really fun to dress up and get pretty after camping and working for a week! I did feel a little under dressed because I was all banged up with scrapes and bruises from working! Luckily, wearing nylons helped cover some of that up!

After I got my hair done we went to pick out Ben's outfit at Macy's. We got him a nice new pair of black dress slacks. Finally we were able to go home, get ready, and head out to the dance!

We had lots of fun at the 1940s ball! We ate some food, had a couple drinks, and did lots of dancing! We saw lots of cool outfits- some people went all out on the 1940s theme! There were also lots of  old planes and cars around that we got take pictures by. And I got a some comments on how great my hair looked, which was awesome! There's bunch more pictures of the party on my facebook. We didn't stay as late as we would have liked because I was so tired from the week, but we still had a great time!

It was a very busy two weeks!

February Fun

February has been full of adventures!
We have been settling in here even more now. There still hasn't been much (lasting) snow, so we haven't gone snowshoeing or skiing again yet :(
We have, however, found a way to get outside more often and to get things done! We have been walking to Target about once a week. There are lots of stores there such as Target, Kohl's, game stop, grocery store, and a frozen yogurt shop! The walk is about 2.75 miles one way. So we walk, do what we need to do, and then head home.  It takes several hours but we don't usually mind because none of us stay particularly active. The frozen yogurt shop is called Menchie's and it is incredible and delicious! If you ever visit us (please do!) it is very likely that we will take you there (but we won't force you to walk. maybe.)! You just walk in, take a giant cup, and fill it with any flavors and toppings you like. Then you pay for it by weight. There are always new flavors every time we go, so it is always a new experience. Also, they have mini cups out so you can get samples of any kind you want to make sure you like it!

The grocery store there is called Sprouts farmer's market. It is like a Trader Joe's or other chain health/co-op type stores you may have seen. I like getting our fruit and veggies there and sometimes we get extra delicious cheese there too! I tried to apply for a job there but they did not have any positions open. Typical.

Over the last week of February we had some fun visitors! Ben's cousins and their significant others took a road trip to Colorado. Nic, Megan, Chris, and Manda were in town for about a week and we spent some great time with them. First they had some adventures on their own, but then we got to spend time with them exploring downtown Denver, and later, the Rocky Mountains! I was lucky that they were so generous to offer me a place in the cabin they rented just outside Rocky Mountain National park. The visitors' center was right across the street from where we stayed. We stayed in the cabin for several days and spent lots of time playing games, making and eating delicious food, hanging out in the hot tub, looking at the stars, and of course exploring the mountains. Ben was able to drive out twice around his work schedule, which was really great! In the mountains, we saw lots of deer, snow, and elk! We saw a few groups of male elk and we saw some fights which were really cool! The clack of their antlers coming together bounced off the mountains. We also saw a huge group of young and female elk. There were about 200 of them and we had to wait for them to cross the road in front of us in a single-file line! It was very cool to see and I hope we can go up there again soon! You can see some of the pictures I took on facebook.

Only a few days after they left I got a message from my family that my youngest sister was in the hospital. She had been sick for a while and they finally were figuring out what was wrong with her! She needed a few minor surgeries and procedures done, so I decided to fly back to Wisconsin to take care of her during her recovery. Little did I know, my sister is a super-human and healed exceptionally fast and well! I was with my family for almost a week and I got to spend lots of great time with my family and all the pets! I also got to see some great friends that I haven't seen in a while! And, over the weekend my brother was able to fly out to visit as well- it was a nice reunion. Meanwhile, Ben was in Denver working 12 hour shifts! He worked enough so he didn't get too lonely, but it was a tough week! He finished it up by going on a ski/snowboard trip with some coworkers, which was fun, but he did get a little banged up!

They day after Bill and I got back it was Valentine's day. We were all pretty worn out, so we didn't have any big plans. We stayed in and had our traditional dinner of fetuccini alfredo and caesar salad. We were thinking about watching a romantic movie to complete the night, but then we just ended up watching a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother, our standby show lately.

In addition to seeing the cousins, we've had another guest lately as well. My college friend Nathan visited recently as well! He was also visiting other friends, but we did have time to go out to a few meals and take a trip to the zoo! That was the second trip to the zoo I took this month, and it was very worth it! The Denver Zoo totally rocks- I see new things every time I go. If you come and visit (please?) I will take you there too! (If only they would call me back about the job I applied for...)

We also have had fun with local friends lately too! Last weekend we went to Justin and Ashley's apartment for a game day! We played lots of board, card, and video games and had a great time! We also got to meet their very friendly foster dog- a black lab/weimeriner mix named Wyett who loves to play and cuddle! Our next date is to bake and eat some apple pie- yum!

Things in our apartment have been pretty calm. We got some new shelves for our game collection- it looks much nicer than a big pile on the floor! We also put up two wall shelves for our movies (and perhaps a projector in the future). It looks pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself!
Our big activities lately has been doing taxes, sorting paperwork, paying bills, and working on eating the 9 boxes of girl scout cookies we bought!