talk about picky pit bull

ezra is extremely picky about the tennis balls he will play catch with.

requirements include:
1) must bounce like new
2) must have no holes or cracks

you would think that these requirements would be really easy to fill but what you probably can't see in this picture are the 11 tennis balls that he refuses to play with because of their "deformaties" (ie not new)
spoiled dog

this weekend we had big plans to get out of here, car camp and bag some 14ers this morning.

going in, always a great start to the trip---
hoping it will blow over
9 pm....... raining outside

5:00 am---

• ezra has stolen my sleeping bag for himself
• dallas' stomach feels not so great
• it is 41 degrees out
• it is still pouring

so we move everything from the front seat to the back and drive home. :(

maybe next time

holy moley!

2 qdoba burritos = 2.6 lbs!
also the geek has been updating his blog.
i think he now has more posts in the last week than in the last year

grocery getting

ok, i will admit i'm a pretty finicky grocery shopper.
here is my mental list when purchasing items:

1) find what i'm looking for
2) find cheapest product (hint: look for non-name brands)
3) is it the right fat content? if no, look again
4) look at ingredients. are there too many? yes, but is it inexpensive (fancy word for cheap)? no. i might reconsider.....
*exceptions: captain crunch cereal*
5) if there are similar products within the dime of each other, look at packaging (yes, i do this). does one have more "fun" colors than the other? if yes, pick this one.

..........6) wait, can i recycle the package? oooh i can? ok... choose this one

yes, i know this sounds redicurous (yes, i did say redicurous--- from seinfield if you are confused) but that's how it's done here! which is why this lovely jar of ricotta cheese was chosen for our weekly meal, this time lasagna.
it passed all qualifications..... but i was very angered to find....

what are you looking for?
you're looking for the "easy to tear off top plastic packaging" nickel sized tab that prevents you from, *big breath* not using your teeth, because if your mom saw that she would crown you for ruining a perfectly good set of teeth so now you have to take out a knife to open top packaging in which most cases you would wipe on your jeans when you are done and return to the drawer but it's cheese, which makes the knife something extra you have to wash when you're done and washing dishes is no fun.

i realize that i did buy the generic ricotta cheese (obviously without all the bells and whistles), but even the kroger brand ketchup has a little tab! comon ricotta cheese packagers, a little love, please?

sorry for the blogging delay.... we were out at the
JOURNEY/HEART (!) concert!!!!
(which may i add was incredible!)

if you would like to see footage the lady right next to us (who BTW has been to now, 9, journey concerts) recorded the whole thing.

go to youtube.com and search under "journey/heart red rocks"

bodily pictures

with as much as i'm working i'm very impressed with my summer tan line so far!

also, a little plug for Dr. Koch at the boulder med center---
2 weeks later and it's looking great!

ok folks---before you read turn up the computer volume!

today i found reason #2 of why commuting to work isn't so bad after all

reason #1
i really need ANDI ALONE time every day. this means a period of time where there is no mental stimulation and i don't have to talk to anyone. my commute is perfect for this

reason #2
(as sung to love potion #9)
yes, andi's caller niiiiinnnnnneeeeee
yes, andi's caller niiiiinnnnneeeee

it's true. somehow i did it. today i was successfully caller 9 on 99.5 the mountain and next tues i have free red rocks tickets to journey/heart. OH YEAH!

dallas has already claimed his spot but just in case, the other ticket will go to the highest bidder

we came home a day early. yesterday driving home we decided we would "try" having a vacation day away from vacation just to see how it went. i think we both knew before getting back that this was going to be a new rule in our house!

today we cleaned, scouted out the next 14'er and ran errands, walking around like we'd been beat in the legs with a baseball bat

dallas, nate and i on top of humbolt

.....and we're back!

3 days
20+ mi hiking
(11 w/ pack!)

we're back and walking funny.

we had a really great trip. the only thing i really messed up was the sunscreen-bug spray - wipe it all off - rotation as i think i forgot sunscreen one day. but hey, when you have views like below a little sun won't hurt, right?

would i do it again?
OF COURSE

and i'm thinking i must be sick in the head. my favorite part was hiking our packs (mine 37 lbs) in. yes, WEIRD

scenery driving inbackpacking up
dallas, me, and billy, our mountain goat friend (in extreme background)
not a bad view waking up in the morning
although i didn't get to summit the needle this trip i'll go back and do it someday. this is on the way up to humbolt, another 14'er
dallas and i on top of humbolt.
we were analyzing how we could climb the ridges of the mountains (in background).
end of day
end of day view

its been a pretty crazy week. although i do notice other bloggers are slower in the summer so i don't feel quite so bad. please don't check in until next thurs (if yo'ure lucky, otherwise fri).

somehow i got talked hauling this up 4 mi at altitude. not in it: apples, helmet to climb, water bladder.

we've been getting our gear together for our next adventure which is a hiking trip this time.

i should have maybe got a double sleeping bag--- there is no way ez and i are both going to fit

and.....we're back

we tried going home for harvest again this year and sadly missed it by a day.

i love this picture. it's the holste's version of revenge of the nerds. adam, who is not a nerd (right) is watching beezer, dallas and my dad in battle of the brains

we got the PYRO PACK of fireworks this year.
according to beezer our 3' fountains were pretty bright
and dallas is wondering what a firework even is
and next time we go back the corn will be twice as tall

oopsie!

last night while mtn biking we had a small mishap.

dallas somehow double flatted and had to walk from high up on the trail to the parking lot. i decided to go on ahead. minutes later i hit a rock funny, my front tire burped all the air out and i lost control.

30 min later dallas and i are walking our bikes down together.
45 minutes later we are on our way to boulder.

i seriously work for the nicest man on earth and he was able to save my poor knee in the comforts of our own clinic instead of ER somewhere. 11 stitches later we're on our way home.

good one, andi
what you don't see with this is how deep it was.
i'll resist the gross details