A new state, a new blog post

It's been WAY too long, and for that I apologize! There's no possible way I could successfully recap the last three months in any sort of detail in one blog post.  So, I'll try to hit the highlights via photos and captions.

1) Back in April, our fabulous neighbors and friends helped us send Jeremy off to Colorado in style.  In hindsight, the fact that we were in shorts in April should have clued us in to the ridiculous heat that summer would bring.

From left to right: Mark, Dave, Jenny, Tom, Denise, Chuck, Curtis, Me and Jeremy

(Not pictured: Kim, Rain and Finn, who were there, but had to go home early)

2) Ruby-girl turned 4! We celebrated in the only way we knew how, cheeseburger with a candle in it :)

Jeremy, proud of his cheeseburger "cake"

Ruby, blowing out the candle

Me and the birthday girl!

3) Jeremy moved to Denver a couple days after Ruby's birthday.  About two weeks later, my parents came to SLC to run the Timp Trail Half Marathon with me. We had every version of rain, hail, and mud imaginable, but had fun none-the-less. 

The color-coordinated (unplanned) Fricks crew post-race

Dad won his age group - woohoo!

4) At the end of May we moved out of our SLC house and into our new place in Denver.  Jeremy's folks were amazing troopers and traveled from California to help us pack, move, and unpack.  It was a major undertaking, but we managed to get it all done in record time.

Jeremy and his dad - super excited to pick up the moving truck

 

The first shot of our new place

 

Just a quick break from unloading the truck

After dropping the Jeremy's folks off at the airport, we were treated to a

double-rainbow on the drive home. I took that as a good omen!

5) For most of the month of June, Ruby and I moved in with our "former" neighbors in SLC while I finished up work at the U. I took advantage of my last few weeks in SLC and played a few more softball games with my fabulous team the Owls.

Ruby making herself at home in Dave and Jenny's house

Go Owls!! O,O

 

Saying my final goodbye to the best friends and neighbors a girl could ask for

6) Later in June, Ruby and I packed up the X-Terra and made the drive out to Colorado to join Jeremy.  We're all enjoying being back in the same house again and exploring our new neighborhood.

 

A little anxious, but so trusting. She'd go anywhere with me!

Crossing the border

It didn't take long for Ruby to feel at home -

here she is, loving her new backward

Jeremy and I got new bikes to explore our new 'hood

Ruby, of course, was the first to become an official Coloradan - 

Jeremy and I still haven't gotten our licenses

This is how Ruby spends most of her days -

starring out the back door at the squirrel who lives in the Juniper tree

7) On July 21, we took a family hike up to Lost Lake.  It was my first major outing in Colorado and perfectly timed to celebrate 13 years since my heart surgery in 2000.

The view from the trailhead

Ruby found a nice "water bowl" and invited herself in for a drink

She also found a new "stick" to play with

Those of you who know me well, 

know I'm happiest when I'm on a rock in the middle of a river :)

Lost Lake

Happy dog!

Ruby's first swim in Colorado

Shake it off!!

13 years with a happy heart

My loves

Family photo op

Obligatory selfie

 

Enjoying a local beer after the hike

 

 

And a margarita for the Mister!

8) Around this time, I had a birthday and Jeremy spoiled me with not one but two fabulous dinners.  The weekend before my birthday, we spent a lovely evening downtown.  Then, on my actual birthday, he made me a delicious steak dinner at home. He's a keeper.

 

Early birthday cocktails downtown

 

Birthday dinner, courtesy of Mr. Gleason

Finished off with cupcakes!!

9) Although we no longer live in a state that shuts down two days after my birthday for a parade and fireworks, we still celebrated "Pie-N-Beer" day.  I think that's a tradition we'll keep!

At Ernie's, our new favorite pizza joint

10) Last weekend, we took a whirlwind trip back to California.  Jeremy's buddy that he's known since kindergarten got married in a lovely ceremony and Jeremy enjoyed having a mini-reunion with his childhood friends.  I enjoyed the wedding, but I enjoyed sticking my feet in the ocean even more! Glad we were able to sneak in brunch with my extended family in Laguna Beach :)

Can you imagine how adorable these guys were when they were little kids?

 

Toes in the ocean = happy Ashley!

Whew! I think that's about it. Or at least the basics :) I've been keeping myself busy trying to get my lectures ready for when classes start later this month.  More on that in the next post, which I swear will be soon. Love ya'll!

April Recap

Wow, it's been a crazy month! Let's recap, shall we?

1) Easter - Jeremy and I celebrated Easter with brunch at one of our favorite local spots and a long hike/trail run with Ruby up towards black mountain.  It was a gorgeous, warm day and it felt good to be outside.  Here are a few photos and one video :)

 View of the Wasatch from the trail

Shaded, but still a pretty good self-portrait!

Man and his dog... surveying the land 

Not my best animation ever, but I love how the contrail grows!

 

Panorama from the top

  Ruby found a snow patch... her favorite!

Look, Mom! I found a rock to rest on!

 Enjoying the view

 2) April Showers Bring May Flowers - There's nothing quite like spring in the Wasatch.  As soon as your daffodils come up and you start seeing the first robins of the year, it snows.  It might be 70 the next day, then it might rain, then the tulips start to come up. Then it snows! Nothing like a little variety to keep us on our toes.  We've managed to get out and enjoy spring a bit.  Here are some photos.

Our first daffodils

View of downtown on the way up to the Living Room

Our first trip to the Living Room... Found it!

Love the tongue in this one!

 Jeremy, taking in the view

 My new favorite photo!!

3) Roomies for Life - Rachel came to town for a few days mid-April... woohoo!! We were stereotypically girly... brunch, mani/pedis, shopping... it was awesome!  She also had the "privilege" of attending the grand opening of our new building at work.  I'm sure Rach was a little bored, but we got free lunch out of the deal.  We also managed to sneak in a run and some cocktails while she was here, so the visit was a success overall!

4) JEREMY GOT A JOB!!! - I apologize for the excessive caps, but I'm super excited about this one!  Long story short, Jeremy endured an extensive interview process for a Graphic Designer position with a tech firm in Denver and was offered the job. Last week, he flew to Denver for the final in-person interview and nailed it.  He was offered the job on the spot!  He thinks the company is going to be a great fit and has accepted the position. Woohoo!!! The small downside is that he starts May 6th, so he'll be leaving for Denver sooner than we anticipated.  It will be tough living in two different cities for a few months, but having him on the ground in Denver will undoubtedly help us find a house to rent in the crazy Denver market. All in all, it's not much of a sacrifice for a fantastic job.  I'm ridiculously proud of him!!

Ruby's reaction when I told her Daddy got a job :)

Whew, I think that's it!  The weather is getting warmer, and the times they are a changing.  Stay tuned... I'll try to be better about updating the blog, I promise!