Back Country

Today, Troy and I were able to venture out for our first backcountry skiing experience of the winter. We headed up towards Summit Park Peak, just behind our house. 

Me climbing the mountain on my snazzy AT skis.

Breaking trail. Why is Troy always behind me? :)

We made it!

Demonstrating my mad skills at removing skins. 

Me enjoying the rewards of our climb.

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you all had a happy and safe weekend.

Our festivities started Thursday when Ben, Melanie, Ted, Jordan, Troy and I all met up to go skiing. This was only Jordan's second day of skiing and he was ridiculously excited to hit the slopes. On his first trip down the hill, not even half way down the run, he tumbled and smacked his leg on his popped off ski. He tried to brush it off as no big deal, but as he stood up, he said, "I feel blood running down my leg." He pulled his pant leg up and sure enough, there was a gaping wound all the way down to the tibia! After we made our way down the run, Troy took him home, put 5 stitches in his leg, and had Jordan back on the slopes in less than an hour. One of the many perks of always having a doctor around. :)

 Jordan on the Orange Bubble lift after returning from his injury. What a trooper!

Troy and I riding up the mountain.

Me getting ready to shred it. :)

The following day Troy and I drove to Price to spend time with the family. 

My nephew Cameron's exasperated look as we wait for grandma and grandpa to play games with us. Cameron is such a goof. :)

I can't believe Austin is old enough for his learner's permit. Man, I feel so old!

Christmas morning in the Strate house. 

Give us a smile, Buster!

Mackensie obviously enjoyed her gifts. :)

And speaking of gifts...

My fabulous husband got me a new pair of Vibrams for Christmas. I love, love, love them! Yep, I'm wearing them right now. With that being said, it's time for another run. Take care, readers!

Ready To Go

The new year is quickly approaching, and this time I'm ahead of the game. My 2011 goals, deadlines and travels are laid out and I'm already plugging away. So stayed tuned readers! Details will be coming soon. :)

Saying Goodbye

Today our little Maya passed away, just a month shy of her ninth birthday. We are going to miss her dearly.

9th and 9th

Haven't checked out the best Pilates studio in town yet?  9th and 9th Pilates offers over 30 classes a week to meet your needs. For all my fellow early birds out there, I teach 6 AM and 7 AM classes during the week to start your day off right. So what are you waiting for? Check us out now at 9th and 9th Pilates.

Punch Line

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" inquires Duncan as he flips his Laffy Taffy wrapper over to peek at the answer. I admit my defeat with a shrug and the kindergarten class squeals with delight that Duncan has outwitted me.

Of course this creates a flurry of spinoffs. Suddenly I am bombarded with questions as to why the turkey, the skeleton, the rabbit, etc. are making their way across the road.

And then I feel another little tug at my jacket. It's Max.

"Knock, knock" he says, already chuckling at his own joke.

"Who's there?"

His face goes blank; I can tell he's lost his train of thought. After a few seconds of wracking his brain for the answer, he shouts, "BANANA I DIDN'T SAY ORANGE!"

Sometimes the mistakes are funnier than the jokes. :)

1,125

Over three years together and not a single day spent apart. 

Playlist: Pilates Edition

I've had some requests lately for Pilates music so I pulled a few tunes from some of my most-used playlists. I hope this helps!

"Lucky" - Jason Mraz
"You Are My Sunshine" - Ray Charles
"40 Day Dream" - Edward Sharpe
"Shahdaroba" - Roy Obison
"Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart" - Dusty Springfield
"Vienna" - Billy Joel
"Le Temps Perdu" - Carla Bruni
"Feelin' Alright" - Joe Cocker
"Home" - Edward Sharpe
"Midnight Train To Georgia" - Gladys Knight
"Will The Circle Be Unbroken" - Mavis Staples
"Hope" - Jack Johnson
"A Beautiful Mine" - Madder Men
"Fidelity" - Regina Spektor
"Break It To Me Gently" - Brenda Lee

The Dirty Dash Results

Over the last weekend in September, Utah held it's first mud run and I was not about to pass up 6.2 miles of ewy, gooey awesomeness. During the course of the 10K, runners scrambled up a mountain against the strong current of a snowmaking machine, jumped hay bales, darted through a tire run, scaled walls, slithered through tunnels and gleefully bounced down a hill on what I swear has to be the world's longest water slide. And for our supportive friends and family was a station during the last leg of the run where they could pelt us with water balloons. This obviously isn't the kind of race for setting a new PR, but it was a blast! I pulled a picture from their website to give you a sense of the chaos.

Doesn't this look like fun?

And of course I earned my fair share of injuries. I tore up my shin while jumping over the last wall and the canyoneering shoes I ran in blistered my feet beyond recognition (this was really super considering I was running a marathon 7 days after this race. :) But it was more than worth it. 

Now if this has piqued your interest about mud running, there's still a chance to experience it. The Dirty Dash has already lined up a 5K and 10K for next summer. I know I'll definitely be there!

WInter Is Here!

Here's hoping it will be a powder-filled ski season.

Harnosand, Sweden

My favorite part of our trip was our visit to Harnosand. This quaint town five hours north of Stockholm was the hometown of Troy's great grandmother. Exactly twenty years early, Troy's dad, Ted, took his grandmother, then 93, back to Harnosand. On the eve of our trip, Ted handed us a scrapbook from his journey. We scanned the photos and decided we were going to find all the buildings she had remembered from her childhood. Armed with several grainy images like the one below, we began our scavenger hunt.

Twenty years later...

Fresh off the bus. I swear I consumed more hot chocolate during this trip than I have in my entire life. :)

Walking around the old buildings

Where Troy's great, great grandfather worked. This was the trickiest building to find since the outside had been completely updated since Ted's visit. We finally had to show our picture to the sweet, old lady working at the visit center. Without hesitation, she was able to direct us to the building just a few blocks away.

The church

During our stay at Harnosand, we successfully found and duplicated all the pictured spots from Ted's visit. We toured the old graveyard looking for family names, but unforunately the centuries of wear on the stones made most of them impossible to read. 

Stockholm, Sweden

Sweden was simply fabulous; there's really no other way to describe it. I have one detailed destination post for tomorrow, but besides that, I've decided I'm not going to indulge all the travels of our two-week Scandinavian stint. But here are a few pictures from our time in Stockholm.

The Vasa Museum. We would highly recommend visiting this museum if you get the chance. It is well worth your time.

 I seem to have a lot of waterfront pictures. :)

Walking the town at sunset

Chinese Terracotta exhibit held in an underground WWII Navy site

An elevated front door would be handy for Park City winters!

I tried to tell Troy petting moose isn't a good idea, but he never listens. ;)

Gamla Stan

In the Blue Room, site of the Nobel Prize banquet

archipelago ferry tour

The beautiful fall colors

Loved this old mill

A gorgeous walk on our last day

Adjo

In a mere 12 hours we will be leaving for Sweden. Check back in two weeks for some exciting tales and pictures of our Scandinavian journey.

Picture Day

I have a pretty standard look for work: yoga pants, t-shirt and ponytail. So when I arrived last week with my long locks down, one little second grade boy gushed, "You're as beautiful as when you were a young girl on picture day."  Hehe.

Birthday Wishes

September 20th marks two birthdays in the Strate clan. My oldest sister, Barbara, (3rd from the left) is now 35 and my little brother is the big 2-3. Happy birthday you two!

Colorado Springs, CO

A few pictures from our fabulous weekend in Colorado Springs:

Walking around The Garden of the Gods 

Start of the BYU vs. Air Force game

Touchdown BYU!

My fellow Utes are going to hate me for sporting the blue, but I cheer for all Utah teams, even the poor Aggies. :)

It was such an amazing opportunity to catch a game and visit Ben and Melanie, who have recently moved from Ohio to the beautiful mountainous state (yay!).  I can't wait till we go back in February!

Wendover, NV

When the sudden rainstorm foiled our Capitol Reef camping trip, Troy and I took an impromptu journey out to Wendover. The plan was simple: we took $5 into each casino. Once we either lost our money or doubled it, we cashed out and went to the next place. Once we had visited every casino, we had made a whopping $20. It was no camping trip, but it was still a wonderful weekend spent with the hubby.

A quick stop by the Salt Flats

Me showing off our winnings :)

Sinner Six Results

For the first time this year, the Park City Marathon offered a 10K in conjunction with the regular marathon and half marathon. The Sunday morning "Sinner Six" was an awesome run-- part road, part trail, with three miles uphill and three miles down. I finished the route in 1 hour 9 minutes. It was a perfect way to kick off my Sunday!

Our Family's Expanding!

Meet Desi and Lucy. These two 13-year-old Corgis ended up at the Friends of Animals shelter after their owner passed away. Two weeks later, they ended up at our house in foster care. Obviously the staff at FOA was highly stressing trying to keep the duo together, but it seems if there's one thing someone doesn't want more than a dog with very limited years left, it's two dogs with numbered years to go. It broke my heart when I'd drop them off at the adoption center, crossing my fingers that it would be their day, just to hear the people make remarks such as, "Oh look at these cute dogs! Eww, but they're 13!"

Lucy

Desi

These pups were two of the best foster dogs we've had yet and we are so glad they now have a permanent residence in the Madsen home. 

Fitness Review: Anti-Gravity Yoga

My newest fitness obsession is Anti-Gravity Yoga. After seven years of practice, it's safe to say I love yoga, but when you add in a hammock for a Circ De Soleil-style twist, you've got yourself a good time! Don't let the picture spook you, the moves are surprisingly easy to get in to, and if you do happen to slip, you typically don't have far to fall. :) So if any of you brave souls out there are up for (no pun intended) an aerial adventure, book your class now at Imagination Place. If you happen to find yourself in the Saturday morning class, I'll be sure to say hello. :)

Tales From A Librarian

Several months ago I received a calling as our ward's librarian, and I absolutely love it. One of my favorite parts of the calling, well, besides getting out of Relief Society, is the interaction with the children. So even though school is out for the summer, I still have some funny quotes to share. Enjoy.

This darling seven-year-old boy pops by the library immediately after sacrament every week. With his arms reverently folded, he delivers the same line each time: "May I please have a Holy Bible?" Even though I know what he's going to say, I laugh every time he requests a "Holy Bible".

A few weeks ago, another young boy, about  six or seven, stopped by the library for some supplies. 

"Can I get a scripture?" he asked

"Of course. Which one?" I replied. 

He cocked his head and shifted his eyes franticly as he tried to find the answer to my complex question. (Mind you, there are only two books to pick from: Bible or Book of Mormon) After a few seconds, he met my gaze and replied: "The one with Jesus Christ".

Murdock Peak

Troy and I celebrated Pioneer Day with a little trek of our own to Murdock Peak. We frequently hike the trail leading up to the peak since we can catch it right across the street from our house, but only once a year we actually aim to reach the top. The hike to  Murdock Peak is a six-hour adventure that ends at just under 10,000 feet behind The Canyons Ski Resort. So enjoy the photos because it's going to be awhile before we muster the excitement to go at it again. :)

Two hours of hiking down, and still a ways to go.

The aspen grove is my favorite part of the hike.

"Bob Madsen. Pleasant, Ut. Sept. 15, 1937" Troy contacted a family member involved with genealogy, but we still don't know if Bob is related. The funny thing is Troy found this carving on September 17, 2007--almost exactly 70 years to the day.

Tuckered Abby

Random rail near the peak.

Troy breaking trail through the field of wild flowers.

Me enjoying my hiking snack: Sports Beans and Camelbak water

We made it!