A look back at 2010 & a hint of things to come in 2011...

JANUARY

 lots of snow! 

We took several snowshoe trips to explore the winter wonderland close to home, including some with our great friends, and new neighbors Dave & Julie!

FEBRUARY  

 

More snow!  We took ski trips near and far, and took advantage of the abundant snow right here in our Chuska Mountains. 

MARCH

 We started the month with yet another snow adventure, but March also brought a "spring break" trip to Mexico.  What a great way to spend a week with lots of great friends, catching some sun, even getting a little biking in, too.  

APRIL

 April meant time for our new greenhouse!  With lots of great help, we built it in a day and spent the rest of the month planning and planting for what would hopefully be a bountiful garden!  We were also lucky to have our friend Victor and his family come to perform a ceremony to bless the greenhouse.  My Navajo silversmith class also continued, as we made bracelets and belt buckles.  

MAY

 Chickens!  May brought our first 3 chickens home (3 more would come later) and with them, lots of fresh eggs, entertainment and garden fertilizer! We also took a fun trip to LA for Ryan's IHS optometry conference, and again rode in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, conquering 50 miles by bicycle over the mountains between Durango and Silverton, Colorado!

JUNE

 We had a great trip to Cleveland in June, catching some baseball, and visiting some of our favorite spots.  I was also busy this month with swim lessons, which continue to be a fulfilling part of my very sporadic lifeguarding  job at the Chinle Aquatic Center.  Ryan and I also participated in the Gallup Triathlon along with several other Chinle/Tsaile friends. And by this time we were already harvesting lots of salad greens from our growing greenhouse plantings. 

JULY

 This was a month of spectacular rainbows.  We had another great 4th of July camping trip to SW Colorado.  We did some mountain biking, and lots of weeding!  Our garden was really starting to take off at this point, and that meant so were the weeds!  We were happy to have lots to harvest already and were looking forward to even more. 

AUGUST

August meant harvest!  We enjoyed a camping/mountain biking trip to our favorite camp spot.  We also took a trip to Denver to see Ryan's sister & family, as well as my Grandma and aunts & uncles.  Rosemary came for a great visit, and helped me with my first ever canning project: pickled beets! And I tried my hand at a few other canned goods, realizing happily that this will now forever be a part of my fall routine!  We also added 3 more chickens to our flock for more eggs.  August also meant the start of a new stay-in-school academic/mentoring program in Chinle, that I had spent the summer helping my friend organize.  Let me not forget, Ryan also became the new proud owner of a Big Green Egg.  We have already cooked many delicious feasts in it, and baked the best peach pie I've EVER eaten!

SEPTEMBER

More harvest, and great fun! We started the month with a celebration of our 6th Anniversary (hard to believe)! Then we had a wonderful visit from my parents, and my Aunt Terry and her family, all the way from Scarborough, England!   ("It's not 'Scar-bore-oh', it's 'Scah-bruh'!") We had a great week of exploring close to home, as well as seeing Monument Valley and some off-the-beaten path ruins.  Then I was off again to Hopi for my fifth Red Feather building project.  As usual, it was a wonderful and fulfilling week. 

OCTOBER

 

Per our recently adopted fall tradition, we had a fun weekend peeling chiles that our friends brought from  New Mexico.  We also took some great hikes to explore this beautiful area.  And we took a trip to South Dakota for Ryan's favorite time of year to be home.  We explored the land in the Hills, dreaming of a future home there.  And though we drove our Buick (RIP) there, we drove a new car home in its place.  We harvested some of our last fall crops, canning & freezing for the winter.  And as if I had not already been busy enough, I had been helping to plan Chinle's first ever Triathlon!  The event was a success thanks to so many great volunteers and participants from the Chinle/Tsaile/Pinon community. 

NOVEMBER

We started the month by racing in our first ever cyclocross bike race - what an experience!  Then we were off to Yosemite, San Francisco, and Sonoma!  We had a super trip to California, where we got to spend a great weekend in Yosemite hiking with Megan, a fun week exploring the city, and a conference for Ryan, and a fabulous day of wine-tasting and food in rainy Sonoma.  Unfortunately we forgot our camera, but thanks to Megan for the Yosemite pics, and the week was so fun that I won't soon forget it.  We also celebrated Thanksgiving down in Chinle with a great group of friends and a big potluck feast. 

 DECEMBER

Although I wish Ryan could have joined me, I was off to Germany for one of my best friends' wedding and had a great visit.   As if I had not done enough traveling the past few months, we had a miserable 5 days of travel trying to get to and from SD for Christmas.  Although we missed two of the big family celebrations, including Christmas Eve with the entire Rounds clan, we had a great Christmas and a nice relaxing week with Ryan's family.

 

 Here's Ryan holding the Christmas gift that we gave to his mom.  

Can you read what it says? 

"7/27/11"