4-30-18

1) Life Is Better With A Dog.

2) My Dog Digs Lake Tahoe.

3) SEE JANE Love Her Dog.

4) SEE Harley love car rides.

4-29-18

Marie (50 miler) & me (30 miler).

After the Whiskey 50 & 30 race on April 28th.

Steve (30 miler), me, Bob (30 miler).

Cheeeeeese. :-)

Hanging with friends at the awards ceremony in front of the courthouse.

Dave, Dave, Me, Steve, Bob

Kata & I enjoying Irish coffee at The Palace on Whiskey Row.

Fun day in Prescott, Arizona.

4-28-18

Bob & I raced the Whiskey 30 this morning.

It's a big mountain bike event that takes place Friday, Saturday & Sunday in Prescott, AZ. Today's weather was sunny & cool; perfect!

I placed 2nd in 45 + division and was 4th place overall woman for the 30 miler today. There is also a Whisky 50 mile event. Both events are tough with a lot of climbing & technical downhill.  I have to mention (because it won't happen again... LOL) that in 2012 I was the 1st place woman overall of the Whiskey 50! I was younger, thinner, and faster then ... and I also worked very hard for that win. :-) No complaints at age 51 though; I am thrilled to be having fun with the racing this year. It's been a while since pushing myself this much in biking. Never a bad idea to challenge oneself (& not just in biking). Congrats to CC for taking 1st overall woman in the 30 miler. Congrats to Julie for winning 45 +. Congrats to Erin for winning overall female in the 50 miler. All 3 are strong ladies who I have had the pleasure of racing with at various events this year.

More pics of the Whiskey tomorrow.

4-27-18

A pic from yesterday's coffee time.

Shelly & I at Sip Coffee. Scottsdale, AZ.

A fave coffee shop. A fave friend. A fave color.

:-)

4-26-18

April 26th...

It's my day. Celebrate ME. :-)

And we did!

Though Harley wasn't thrilled about the birthday selfies. Hahaha!

Happy birthday texts, calls, cards, FB posts & more mixed in with coffee, cake & dinner with Bob & friends = a wonderful birthday. Thank you! Xoxo

4-25-18

I have sweet friends! Olivia brought me an early birthday gift; a cute cactus cookie. It was yummy! And yes... I shared a little with hopeful Harley. Bob too! ;-)

4-24-18

The Argentine Giant cactus blooms the most amazing huge white flowers. Each spring I get excited to see them. It's a special treat knowing they only stay open for 1 day. This one is by our front gate.

This cactus is in my sister, Joan's backyard. WOW... that has to be record for Argentine Giant blooms in 1 day!

4-23-18

Photo credits to my husband for pretty pics of Lake Tahoe.

A good bit of snow still surrounds our favorite lake.

Photo credits to my sister-in-law (I snagged these from Facebook). Our nieces with their dad getting ready to attend National Geographic Symphony of our World. Rod was playing the tuba for the performance in downtown San Francisco. Girls are looking so beautiful in their pretty dresses! 

Have to include Marie's recent artistic drawing too. Isn't this incredible!? Marie has an amazing talent!

Speaking of amazing... this once tiny little plant that is now 40 years old is blooming at the Meneely house in California. It currently has 18 blooms and 43 buds. Wow! Photo credit to my mother-in-law.

Thanks for the pics everyone! :-)

4-22-18

1st annual Park to Park 5k running race this morning. #Where's my bike?!? ;-)

Paula, Me, Nancy, Wendy, Carrie.

Congratulations to Nancy, my fast sister-in-law who took 1st place in her age group (60-69).

Nancy has an impressive resume of running since her college track days. She still has the speed and it was fun to do this event together.

I haven't been running since getting into the mountain bike races this year but I managed to snag 3rd in my age group (50-59). Our friend, Paula was right in front of me - 2nd place for her! Afterwards, Bob (husband & podium photographer), Nancy, Paula & I walked right into the 8:30am church service at Mountain Park Church since that was the location of the 5k start & finish. Mountain Park was the main sponsor and all race proceeds go to help homeless families in Arizona.

4-21-18

Thumbs up for this week's Bike Therapy...

Tuesday ride with Heidi & Bob (S. Mtn dirt).

Wednesday ride with Kata (S. Mtn dirt).

Thursday ride with friends (road hills & coffee after).

Friday ride with Bob in Prescott. It was COLD & windy at the top of Thumb Butte yesterday.

After 4 days of biking my legs are tired today!

4-20-18

Harley being organized; working on her daily planner.

Harley being lazy; working on her beauty sleep.

4-19-18

A few random pics left on my phone from Iowa.

Nieces Brittany & Danielle. Sister Carol. Nephew-in-law Andy. Husband Bob. :-)

Danielle & I with cabin fever. Hahaha. This and the group pic above were taken inside Dawn's cabin just outside Elk Horn. Dawn is Danielle's oldest sister & my oldest niece. I've posted pics on the blog before of Dawn's farm renovation. Dawn & Danielle were little girls when their family lived on this property. The farm was later sold but Dawn bought it back a few years ago. Since then she has bulldozed down the house (which was uninhabitable), built a small cabin, renovated the chicken coop as an office and outside kitchen, salvaged a big red barn and built another farm shed that will be a bunk house for extra kids and guests to sleep. 

Bob standing in front of the redesigned chicken coop.

Back at mom's house... Danielle's kids re-enacted a pose from when they were younger. Cute!

4-18-18

A little downtime to browse some of my favorite catalogs. Awww.

4-17-18

Bob and I are proud of our son, Johnson! He did great in his 1st semester at MWEKA College of Wildlife Management & Conservation. He received all A's and a B. :-) He has been active at the university in groups: Roots & Shoots as well as a Christian Bible organization that meets each week. During his 2 week spring break Johnson spent time with his grandparents & other family in his village of Marangu. He also attended a 3 day leadership seminar at Berea Bible College (photo above). This week Johnson is back at Mweka campus to begin his 2nd semester of classes. We enjoy hearing about Johnson's studies & activities through text messages, photos and videos on the Marco Polo app. If you haven't seen this app... it's really fun & a great way to keep in touch with family & friends.

4-16-18

While inserting photos into my blog these 2 photos mistakenly uploaded. So...why not have a flashback to 2002. Bob & I... so young... so blond. haha. This was in Telluride at the start of our Hut to Hut mountain biking trip.

These are the fun friends who joined together for this adventure. It was a week long self-guided tour across the mountains from Telluride to Moab. Each night we stayed in a forest service hut. The huts were stocked with food, drinks & bunk beds. We carried all our bike supplies (for potential break-downs), our clothes and daily bike food. It was one of favorite biking experiences!

4-15-18

I forgot to mention that Harley went with us to yesterday's race in Prescott. She was a trooper on the drive up and back (2 hrs each way). And she was a champ hanging out all day while we raced. Also... Harley just had a birthday! On April 6th she turned 13 years old. Happy Birthday, Harley Girl!! We love you & are so happy we brought you home at 6 months old. You're the sweetest dog and best pal ever! PS: Bob was able to spoil Harley on her birthday with ice cream, a long walk and a trip to the dog store. :-) :-) :-)

4-14-18

So Bob, Mike & I (& James) drove up to Prescott early this morning to race the MBAA (Mountain Bike Association of Arizona) race. It was a chilly day that ended up being perfect for riding.

Here is Bob and Mike at the start of their race. Mike was doing great on his 1st lap but then took a wrong turn on the course. That cost him some time and probably cost him a top 3 finish. Bummer. :-( Bob didn't take any wrong turns, no crashes either & he rode well... good job, Bob!

Even with being off my bike for a couple weeks I had a good day on the course. I won my division (Expert age 45 +) by quite a bit (19 minutes) but I also took 3rd place overall with the pros and expert women (all age divisions). Congratulations to all the women racers out there! Whether we make the podium or not we're all out there doing our best, competing but having a ton of fun!

Taking a rest in our retro chairs after racing. Thanks again to James for joining Bob and I for the day. James is always there to lube chains, cheer on the sidelines or hand off a much needed water bottle during our races! A great time racing & hanging out with friends.

4-13-18

My Uncle Calvin passed away yesterday in Elk Horn, Iowa.

His wife, Phyllis was by his side.

Calvin is my dad's youngest brother. 

Calvin & Phyllis's wedding photo. I love old wedding photos!

Calvin & Phyllis were married 66 years!

They truly loved each other dearly.

They had 4 kids. Debbie, Blair, Mark & Scott.

They also had 15 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Throughout their marriage Calvin & Phyllis have been the hosts of countless gatherings for family & friends. They loved to entertain! They have always been strong community leaders and supporters for rural Iowa farming and small towns. Seems EVERYONE in Southwest Iowa knew Calvin Hoegh. He first served in the army (California & Alaska), then farmed outside Elk Horn. He gave up farming to become a feed salesman for Walnut Grove. After retiring he was a school bus driver and served on many school boards and community organizations. 

He will always be remembered for his humor, his ability to make people laugh, his love of family and singing. He always started up jingles for groups (small or large) to join in. He loved to garden, make aebleskiiver, travel (Phyllis owned 4 Corners Travel so they led bus tours). Phyllis still works at The Danish Windmill in Elk Horn, Iowa.

Everyone who knew Calvin will miss him... he was such a genuine and happy guy. I am thankful Bob and I along with several of our family were able to visit Calvin at the nursing home last week. He had recently been failing in his health and was requiring more nursing aid. I will certainly miss visiting Calvin. Each time I saw him I was reminded of my dad. They both had the same twinkle in their eyes, an infectious smile and a quick wit. 

Here is a photo of mom holding me along with my cousin Blair. Blair is Calvin & Phyllis's youngest son.

Here is Blair now with 3 of his grandchildren. :-)

Calvin & Phyllis with 3 of their great-granddaughters.

Calvin Lee Hoegh

June 30, 1932 - April 12, 2018

You are loved.