The World of Jon, Missy, and Maverick...

Thanksgiving in Big Bear

2009-11-30T07:59:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is a big deal for my family. We've been celebrating together as an extended family for over 35 years. We headed up to Big Bear once more for some great family time. I look forward to this trip every year!

Mav loves the forest! Pine cones and logs, he's in heaven!

Pat and the bird.

So much yummy food!

Happy to get away from the craziness of work.

This year, we got a ton of snow! The dogs loved it.

In fact, everyone loved it!

Mav found a buried bowling ball and decided it was his job to move it. Crazy dog!

Mark brought his quads and we all had fun riding them in the snow.

Next year, we're headed back to Yosemite where the tradition began!

October

2009-10-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

October was a great month! Here are a few highlights.

We went down to San Diego for a Rodrigo & Gabriella concert. They ROCK! Took Maverick and Rockit to the dog beach while we were down there. I love this beach because there is a bay that the dogs can play in... Mav still isn't too fond of the waves.

This was when Mav used to be bigger than Rockit!

Whoa!

Jon and I started (to finish)our kitchen remodel. We had already done the counters. Next up was the cabinets and appliances.

Kristin and McKenna came to visit. We went to the beach, pumpkin patch, photo shoots... their visit went by way to fast!

And, of course, you can't forget the fun Halloween activities!

He still hates me for this!

McKenna Grace

2009-09-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

My sister had her baby last month. She is absolutely adorable. I was able to go out to Tennessee for 10 days and hang out with them. The week went by way too fast and I can't wait to see that little girl again! She is so sweet!

She wore her party dress for when I arrived!

We had some thunderstorms one day ad McKenna loved sitting outside listening to the rain.

What a sweet little face

K & McK

Piggy Toes!

I love August!

2009-08-31T16:46:00.000-07:00

So much happened in August this year. Here's a quick catch up of a fantastic month!

There were some incredible sunsets and evening rides!

The 5th annual pirate ride!

I turned 30!

McKenna Grace Joy was born! (More pictures coming soon)

And to end it all off, a birthday cruiser ride for Scott & Drew

I can't believe summer is over already, but it sure did end well!

"Family Picture"

2009-08-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

One night, we were hanging out at the beach down in San Clemente with a group of our friends. We saw a family of about 15 walking by all in blue jeans and white shirts. They had just taken a family picture. We thought it would be an awesome idea to do this with our group of friends. So we all got our blue jeans and white shirts and headed down to San Clemente. Our friend Jerry at www.jerrykasaiphotography.com was kind enough to take the pictures for us! Thanks Jerry! We are truly blessed to have this group of friends.

The Crew

Go Team!

Tough Guys!?!

Supper Club!

2009-08-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

Recently, a group of us have started a supper club. We get together each month at one of our houses to try new recipes and styles of food. Whoever is hosting plans the main dish and everyone else brings something to go along with it. Last month it was at our house and the theme was Mediterranean. We've really been enjoying all the new foods and look forward to it each month.

Everyone enjoying the meal

Jon and I enjoying the dessert & the dessert wine!

Weekend Getaway

2009-06-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

For an early 30th birthday present, Jon took me down to South Coast Winery for a quick overnight getaway. We got an incredible deal on the room which also included wine tastings, dinner & spa credits, and wine tours. We had a fabulous time and would recommend it to anyone!

This was the back porch of our room. All the rooms back up to the vineyards for an incredible setting!

Here's us hanging out in the vineyards. We learned that the rose bushes not only look pretty, but they are there to warn of disease or trouble in the soil. If the roses are doing good, the vineyards should be doing good also.

We had a nice afternoon snack on our porch with the bottle of wine that came with the room.

Jon out on the wine tour.

To Infinity & Beyond

2009-06-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

Jon and I have been enjoying the Disneyland passes we got for Christmas from my parents. It's been great because a lot of our friends also have passes this year. On the last day that our passes were good for the summer, we were able to meet up with Sara & Ryan who were chaperoning for Sara's school and Kurt & Juliana also met us there. Later in the evening, Abigail & Matt came and met up with us too. It was like the good ole days when we all used to have passes in college.

Jon and I on Buzz Lightyear!

Jon, Sara & Ryan n the swings in CA Adventure.

I love that you can take pictures of the pictures these days! I have not laughed as hard in a LONG time as I did while riding Space Mountain with Juliana. We screamed like the annoying high schoolers we used to be. Too funny!

In case you were ever wondering what the CA Screamin ride was like in CA Adventure, here it is... Sorry about all the screaming, but that's what you're supposed to do on this ride, right?

Downieville!

2009-06-08T07:12:00.000-07:00

This year was the 3rd annual Downieville Summer Kickoff. Mountain bikers from all over join together in the tiny little town of Downieville for some amazing riding, great friends, exciting raffles, and... rain, hail, & mud!!! Still, despite the crazy weather, I think this year was one of my favorite. The trails were tacky, it wasn't hot, and we had such an amazing group of people there to tough out the storms with.

Now that's a group that's going somewhere!

We stopped at the river on the way up. So beautiful!

Everything was so green. Trails were a little wet, but better than dusty!

Martin, Andy, and Missy on the first day. 17 miles of downhill greatness!

Jon and Martin

There are views like this the whole way down!

Back at camp, we tried to stay dry. Somehow, Eagle Scout Martin was able to start a fire in the middle of a downpour! We knew he was good for something!

We may be camping, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't eat well! Yum!

Jake and Jeana out on the trail.

The Waterfall section

I think Heather was happy!

The last night, it finally cleared up and we were all able to gather at the "beer corral" for the raffle. So many of the vendors donated stuff for us to be able to enjoy. Including a frame from specialized and some wheel sets. Not to mention what seemed like hundreds of T-Shirts, socks, stickers, tubes, and more and more and more. Andy did a fantastic job running the raffle and the contests were hilarious. I was in the running for the frame and got to show of my break-dancing skills. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from that night.

Needless to say, it was a great trip and we are all excited for next years adventures.

Oh yeah, did I mention it was muddy?

Backpacking, San G

2009-05-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day weekend, we made our first backpacking trip of the summer. We were only allowed one night because it was a Holiday weekend and the trails were booked! Heather and Andy made the trip with us for their first ever backpacking trip. It was a lot of fun to have them out there with us.

We started at the South Fork trail and headed up to our camp at Dry Lake

About 2 miles into the hike is where you actually enter the Wilderness area. There is a fantastic lookout area that has a great view of the destination. There was still quite a bit of snow on the mountain this time.

Heather crossing one of the rivers. There was not nearly as much water as we expected.

Mav was in his element!

Jon and I at Dry Lake with the peak in the background. Dry Lake was already dry, which was very surprising with how early in the year it was.

It was a great start to what looks to be a wonderful summer. We hope to make many more trips out into God's beautiful country!

The Mav!

2009-05-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

We are having so much fun with Maverick. He is turning into such a great dog with an amazing personality. Jon keeps saying that he never thought he would have a dog as cool as Maverick. And it's true, he's the best!

Poor puppy got a big cut on his hind leg and had to get some stitches. Needless to say, he was not fond of having to wear "The cone of shame!"

He's definitely been having fun with his new girlfriend, Morgan! Our neighbors, Martin & Nicole, got Morgan while we were in Mammoth. It's been nothing but love (or full out battles) since day one.

In the beginning of May, it was Ride Your Bike to Work week. Mav enjoyed the wind in his face while being towed by Jon to and from work.

The Ford Wedding

2009-04-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

Our good friends Molly and Steve got married in April! I was honored to stand next to Molly as one of her bridesmaids. It was such a fun wedding! We wish them all the best in their marriage!

The new Mr. & Mrs. Ford

My handsome husband and me (A BIG thanks to Heidi for doing my hair and make-up!)

All the girls with the bride and groom

Our adventures in Mammoth: part 2

2009-03-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

Our time in Mammoth went by way too fast. We had such a wonderful time enjoying the outdoors and fresh air.

We were able to take Maverick out snowshoeing almost everyday, right from our back door. There was all this open space that you could trek through all the way to the ski runs.

We made it over to June mountain a couple times during our stay. We love the view of Mono Lake that you have the whole way down the upper runs.

Russ made it up a few more time with John and Andy. This picture is us at the end of our trail back from the hill to our cabin. Puts us right at our back door!

Go Team!

Ed & Jake came up again with some more friends... I stole a couple pictures from Jake this time around.

Good times!

After a long, hard day of riding... this is what we do!

Jon's parents made it up for a week. Gary came out on the hill with us every day!

Our friends Sara & Ryan came up for a long weekend. We did Mammoth one day and June the other. Then we sent them on their way home in the middle of a HUGE snow storm. Thankfully, they made it out before it got too bad!

They had built this igloo at the top of June Mountain.

We met some really great people in our complex the last couple weeks we were there. They had dogs for Mav to play with. Turns out, this dog is Maverick's real life sister! Small world huh?

The last weekend we were there, they had the Roxy Chicken Jam. Some of the top pro girl riders were there competeing. It was really fun for me to watch riders like Tara Dakides compete! (Yes, she is inverted here)

I already can't wait for the snow to start falling on the 09/10 season!

The Stampede

2009-03-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

During our stay in Mammoth, Jon and I made a couple trips home for special occasions. One of these occasions was our good friend Andy's birthday. Andy always does some kind of fun bike ride for his special day. This years theme was "The Stampede". Jon and I made some killer cow costumes and there we lots of cowboys and cowgirls out there to round us up. Here are some pictures from the event.

The Herd

Jake & Jeana

Jen & Heather

Jon & Missy

A Quick Comparison

2009-03-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

The sign on March 24, 2006

The sign on March 24, 2009

Needless to say, it's been a good year!

Our Adventures in Mammoth (part 1)

2009-02-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

Jon and I have been living in Mammoth for the past couple of months. We've been having a blast and have got so much snow! We've been having so much fun with the visitors that have come up. Here are a few pics and videos from our time here.

The first day we were there, it started snowing like crazy! It was also our 4th anniversary. What a beautiful way to celebrate! We went to Convict Lake restaurant. It was incredible!

The first weekend we were there, Edgar brought some friends up and we enjoyed some serious powder!

During the next week, we had incredible sunshine and beautiful days. Jon and I decided to try and ride every chair on the mountain. It was a fun challenge. Here's a video that we made of our day.

The following weekend, our friends Josh and Heather came up to visit with their dog Tuni. We skiied one day and snowshoed the other. The dogs had a blast together and we enjoyed the great company!

Then the next storm rolled in. Calvin, Gerrit & Kym came up to enjoy some fresh turns.

After the storm, Andy & Russ came up for a bluebird day!

Maverick loves the fresh powder! However, he does NOT love the avalanche bombs that come along with the powder!

Here's another video of all the powder we got that week.

During President's Day weekend, it snowed like crazy again! Ed made his way up here with Jeana and Jake. We had one of the best days in powder just riding chairs 21 and 4.

I don't think I've ever seen this much snow at the top. This sign is over 30 feet tall!

Jon and I have had a great time so far... more to come soon!

San Francisco Fancy Food Show

2009-01-18T14:11:00.000-08:00

Every year, Jon and I head to San Francisco for the annual Fancy Food Show. We look for new ideas for JDW and try to have some fun while we are there. This year, we were invited to 3 vendor parties for each night of the show! On Saturday night, we got to go to the Godiva chocolate and wine pairing event. It was INCREDIBLE! Godiva really has some fantastic chocolates, and the appetizers and drinks were pretty tasty too!

Here we are tasting some chocolate... and more chocolate

We got to meet one of the head chefs from Godiva, Thierry. He was doing the wine pairing with the different chocolates.

The second night, we got to go to a Ghirardelli ice cream sundae party. It was held at their location at Ghirardelli Square.

The last night, we went to the infamous (well, infamous in the food industry) Jelly Belly party. We didn't have our camera this night, but it was sure fun dancing and hanging out with a bunch of our vendors!

We always enjoy walking the show and tasting all the yummy foods. It's always nice to catch up with our vendors also.

Here we are at the Cafe D' Amore booth. We are excited for some new products they are coming out with this year.

We were also able to meet our friends Tim & Alissa and their two adorable daughters for dinner on the way out of town. It was great to see them, just wish we could have had more time with them.

Dog Beach

2009-01-09T07:47:00.000-08:00

While we were having a major heat wave in January, we decided to take Maverick to Dog Beach in Huntington for the first time. We went with Josh and Heather and her dog Tuni.

Mav was a little timid at first.

He started to get a hang of it after a little while. By the end of the day, Tuni and Maverick were running splashing, chasing, and catching.

They loved having all the other dogs to play with too!

Best Buds!

Here's a video of Maverick playing frisbee.

I'm defintiely looking forward to taking him back in the summer when we can actually go out in the water and see how he does swimming.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T07:37:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone!

This year, Jon and I rang in the New Year in a little town called Eden, UT. Our friend Jeana has a family house in this town which is about an eight minute drive to Powder Mountain. We headed out there with eight of our friends and had a great time exploring a couple of new mountains.

Jon and I at the top of the mountain. The views were unreal!

These were the trees we were riding through. Some of the most fun trees I've ever been in!

There was a whole section of the mountain called Powder Country. Basically, they let you drop down the front side of the mountain through all the killer powder and they pick you up in a shuttle to take you back to the hill. It was Awesome!

One of the days, we headed over to SnowBasin. The Olympics were held there in 2002. It is a really nice resort and the hill was awesome. I would love to go back there on a powder day.

Here's a group shot of us all.

It was a great trip and I look forward to next year's adventure, wherever it might take us!!

December

2008-12-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

December was a great month for Jon and I. We can't believe how fast the year went by. We love the Christmas Season and enjoyed spending time with our friends and family.

We had our annual white elephant party at our house. It was a blast and there were several gifts that made a come back and many more new ones. We're pretty sure that most of the gifts were left behind as we continue to find them hidden throughout our house and garage!

Maverick even joined in on the festivities... whether he liked it or not!

We were able to make it up to Mammoth one weekend for the "Night of Lights." It was an incredible fireworks show at Canyon lodge. It was well worth it, we had a blast. Here's us with some friends at the top of the mountain.

Jon and I enjoyed Christmas Eve morning to ourselves and then we headed up to Big Bear for Christmas with Jon's family.

We had a great time in the snow in Big Bear. They just had a great storm come through that left all kinds of snow to play with. We built an incredible sled run and all had fun playing on it. I didn't manage to get any pictures of us going down it. I guess I was having to much fun myself!

Building the run and playing with snowshoes in the backyard.

Maverick LOVES the snow!

I totally slacked on getting pictures throughout the month and obviously fell way behind. Hopefully I'll do better in the new year!

November Catch Up

2008-12-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

I know December is already almost over, but it was a very busy few months for Jon and I. So here's a few things from November.

When November comes around, we really start to get the itch for snowboarding. So we had a snowboard tuning / waxing party with some friends in our garage one night.

Jon and Andy got to do some good riding. Here's a couple of them riding a log on Joplin out on Saddleback mountain.

We were able to get a few hikes in at Peter's Canyon, that made Maverick a happy dog!

Thanksgiving was spent with the Joy / Spykerman family in Big Bear. It was a great time as usual. It's always great to catch up with family. And there was plenty of entertainment with the dogs and kids running around.

It was raining on our way up, which turned into snow when we got to Big Bear. We saw this amazing rainbow on our drive.

Out on a walk.

The best dogs, Maverick & Dooley!

Thanksgiving dinner was fantastic as usual.

On the last day, we took a off road jeep tour. It was a lot of fun. Here's the group that went looking out over the Antelope Valley.

November was definitely a busy month for us with work, but we were thankful to be able to have some nice times with friends and family to break up the stresses of orders and customers!

More to come soon.

Halloween Bike Ride

2008-11-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

Every year, our friend Andy plans a Halloween costume bike ride. This year, we decided to mix it up a little bit and turned it into a bike ride / camping trip. Jon and I rode our tandem mountain bike with bob trailer in tow from our house down to El Moro. Then the fun really began. Everyone was in costume. We rode a few miles in to our campsite. Set up camp, ate some food, played some games and had a great time together. I didn't get many pictures but here you go!

Our very creative "costume"

Best costume of the night goes to Heather aka the Oscar Meyer weiner

A beautiful morning

Taggers!

2008-10-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by my friend Juliana and I'm supposed to say 7 random things about me. So here it goes:

1. I hate needles! I can't stand getting shots, taking blood, anything like that. Even when it's other people. I was in the ER with my husband when he got his knee sliced open while snowboarding. The doctor was giving him shots inside the cut. And I passed out! So there I am laying on the ER floor. Awesome!

2. I LOVE snow! Probably more than anything in the world! Not only because of the obvious reasons (snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowball fights) but because after a big storm it makes everything look so clean and peaceful! I start dreaming of snow in July. Those dreams usually consist of me trying to get to the snow, but not being able to. I love snow so much that Jon and I have decided to move to Mammoth come January for three months! Pray for snow!

3. I am addicted to coffee with flavored creamer! I get overly excited when I go to the grocery store in October and find that the Peppermint Mocha creamer is already available. This happened to me last week. I bought two bottles!

4. My dog rules! His name is Maverick and was named before Sarah Palin decided to get Mavericky. And he was not named after Top Gun either. I just like the name. I am training him to do agility and hope to compete with him some day.

5. I love the Discovery Channel. Jon and I have never had cable until this year. I am totally addicted to the Discovery Channel and Science channel. There is a show called Time Warp that I am totally intrigued by. They take everyday occurrences and slow it down to 500 frames a second. Incredible! You wouldn't believe how cool popping a bubble looks in slow motion!

6. I am in a bunco group.

7. The Seven. I have the most amazing group of girlfriends. We call ourselves the 7. We have been friends since high school, and some since we were born! We were all in each others weddings. We are enjoying watching each others kids grow up. We look forward to growing old together. I love my girls.

So that's random me in a nutshell. Now I am supposed to tag 7 people to do this. Most of my blogging friends have already been tagged, so I'm tagging some random people. I don't even know if these people look at my blog (or how often they do). Maybe I just stalk their blog. Tag your it: Drew, Jeana, Melissa, Kristi, Megan, Sheryl, and Jen.

Last Minute Backpacking Trip

2008-10-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

Jon and I have been dying in this October heat. So this past weekend, we decided to get out of it! We left Saturday afternoon for an overnight backpacking trip up San Gorgonio. We hiked 6 miles in to Dry Lake and then back out Sunday morning. It was a great little get away. And it was Maverick's first backpacking trip. He absolutely LOVED it.

On our way up

Jon and Mav at Dry Lake (which was truly dry this time) and our home for the night (Mav slept on my feet and kept them warm!)

It was cold up there! Maverick's water froze overnight.

The view at Dry Lake

A man and his dog. I just love this picture!

It was a short but sweet trip. We had a wonderful time and it was nice to be away from the noise and heat of the city.

Happy Birthday Maverick!

2008-10-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

Today is Maverick's 1st birthday! The time has gone by so fast! He is such a great dog and we are so happy with how he has turned out.

The day we got him

After a long session of glow-in-the-dark frisbee

He has been taking agility classes at Wags & Wiggles for the last 6 weeks. Here he is doing his first mini course that they set up. He was born for this!

Bald Eagle

2008-10-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

The other night, we were out riding our tandem mountain bike at Peter's canyon around sunset. We saw the most amazing thing... a Bald Eagle! In our own backyard! I tried to take a picture of it, but it was too far away. Luckily there were some people out there with binoculars so we could get an up close view. It was simply amazing! Apparently, it has been living out there for 3 or 4 weeks now.

Here's a picture of us.

South Utah Trip

2008-10-07T16:57:00.001-07:00

Brian Head

Roy and Filtz
Their solar powered House

Thunder Mountain

Canyon-erring

The road back to the cars

The 7 go to Napa

2008-10-04T08:39:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I headed to Napa with my best girlfriends. These are all the girls that were bridesmaids in my wedding. We've been friends for what seems like forever (in a good way of course!) For a while, we had been going on short trips together for each others weddings, etc. It had been three years since our last trip, so we were well overdue! So we decided to head to Napa! What a great time of sharing, laughing, relaxing, and quality girl time.

On Friday morning, we all flew up to San Francisco and took the BART to Concord where Alissa picked us up. We headed to her house and her and Tim made us a fantastic lunch before our short drive to Napa. It was really fun to see their house since they've been doing all the remodeling!

Here's us eating lunch in their backyard.

After lunch, we loaded up the car and headed to Napa. We rented a wonderful house with a gourmet kitchen and a spa!

We had lazy mornings with no schedule! That was nice!

On Saturday, we got massages and then headed out to the wineries in the afternoon. We went to V. Sattui first. Then headed to Sterling. Both were excellent wineries.

V. Sattui winery had some pretty amazing wines. We also had our picnic lunch here.

At Sterling, you take a gondola to the top of the vineyards. It was a beautiful view from up there. Did I mention the weather was PERFECT?! For the wine tasting here, you go on a tour of the winery and taste along the way. Then you end up at a room / patio where they serve you at your own tables. Much better than standing at a crowded tasting counter!

On Sunday, we made breakfast at our house, then headed out again. We visited a winery that looked like a castle and then headed to the Culinary Institute for a cooking demonstration and dinner.

Here we are at the cooking demonstration with the chef. He showed us how to make a 7 (which I thought was rather appropriate) vegetable couscous. It was amazing! I can't wait to make it at home.

Outside at the Culinary Institute.

This is the herb garden where the cooks come and pick fresh herbs for cooking. Awesome!

Dinner. Probably one of the best meals I've ever had!

The 7: Alissa, Meghan, Missy, Heidi, Sara, Val & Juliana

I'm so thankful for my girls. I can't wait for our next getaway! Maybe Hawaii???

New Shutters!

2008-09-13T10:52:00.001-07:00

Jon and I are so excited to have new shutters in our home! We previously had ordered some and got ripped off when the company went bankrupt! Not only did we not get our shutters, but we didn't get our money back either. Finally, we sucked it up and ordered new ones from Apollo Shutters in Santa Ana. They did a great job and were much more reasonably priced! Here are a couple pictures.

Kern River Trip

2008-08-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

Together we all made it down the seven Tea cup. It consisted of about 12 repels and 2 water fall jumps.

The easy way down.

Repeling in a water fall.

Sam making it look easy.

Dana on one of the slide Rocks.

Bangkok Corner 2

2008-08-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

Recently a new Thai restaurant opened near us in Tustin called Bangkok Corner 2 (the first Bangkok Corner is in Costa Mesa). Anyway, we have REALLY been enjoying it lately. It is a casual hole in the wall kind of place with incredible food and great prices! So if you're ever in Tustin and looking for some good Thai food, call us up and we'll take you there. I highly recommend any of the curry dishes, but I think my new favorite is the Pineapple Shrimp Curry! Yum!

Me with my pineapple shrimp curry!

Jon with Muk outside the shop. (It's on Irvine Blvd. at the corner of Old Irvine)

Destin, FLorida

2008-08-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last month, I headed out to Destin, FL again with my sister. This year, the whole family came (except Jon). It was another great trip. Beautiful white sands beaches, lots of good food, and lots of laughs. The weather didn't cooperate completely, we had rain nearly every day. But we still made the best of the sun we did have. I didn't take a single picture while I was there... not sure what happened. But I managed to get some pictures from my sister.

Jake playing at the beach

Jellyfish! YUCK!

At the Crab Trap with my sisters

Mom & Dad

My birthday celebration started early with a surprise cake!

Jake, Shannon & Thys at dinner.

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-08-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful birthday this year! Started out with breakfast at my favorite place, the Filling Station in Orange, with my girlfriends. Followed by lots of love throughout the day. Ending with a surprise dinner at Las Brisas in Laguna with Jon. What a great day!

What an amazing dinner!

Beautiful evening in Laguna!

Fun Times in July

2008-07-31T10:52:00.000-07:00

Last month, Jon and I had all sorts of things going on! To start out with, we headed back east to New York and Washington DC. We flew into DC and then took the Megabus (which I highly recommend at $10 per ticket!) to New York City for the Fancy Food Show. We saw all our vendors and came home with lots of new products and ideas for the Holiday season at JDW.

Here's us at the show.

We also got to have some fun while we were downtown. We went to dinner at some incredible restaurants. We also went and saw Stomp, which was incredible!

Dinner in Little Italy and then off to the show.

After the food show was over, we headed down to Washington DC area to visit with my sister and her family. They have the most amazing country house! We had a great time visiting with them. On the first day there, we drug Jake all over the city. Jon had never been to DC and we really only had one day to explore.

We were there for the Forth of July and Shannon and Thys hosted a fantastic BBQ to celebrate! Complete with fireworks in the front yard... in the rain!

When we left, Jake came home with us. He stayed at my parents house and ours a couple of the nights. The days were filled with all kinds of adventures. Including hikes, Disneyland, and Wild Rivers! I managed to only get pictures out on our first hike... guess I need to work a little harder on that!

What a great month!

Downieville 2008

2008-06-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

In June, our friend Andy helped organize the 2nd annual Downieville Summer Kickoff. It was an amazing weekend of mountain biking, camping, cooking, and so much more! Eight of us headed up to the small mining town of Downieville. Here are some pictures from the trip. We're already looking forward to next year!

We got there Thursday afternoon and headed out on a hike. It was absolutely beautiful!

We came across this HUGE snow patch on our hike, so we decided to have some fun. Maverick loves snow, we had a hard time getting him to leave!

This one is just too cute! Jeana and the Mav!

On Friday, we headed out for our first ride. It ended up being about 25 miles, most of it downhill! We shuttled our car down to the town so we would have a way back up. Lots of single-track riding through forest and along a river. Absolutely amazing!

Our group at the top of the climb.

There were lots of water crossings.

We spent lots of time in the river also. This was one of the spots we stopped at along the trail.

Back at camp after a great day!

Flaming marshmallow fun at night

Girls ride on Saturday. Another amazing day with 17 miles of downhill.

The guys!

The whole group. I think there was about 130 people that joined for the event this year. Can't wait until next year! Thanks Andy, Kyle, Neal, and Francis for putting on such a great event!

Maverick's Summer Cut

2008-06-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

After we got back from our mountain bike camping trip in Downieville, Maverick was in serious need of a haircut! He was covered in sap and filth! Here's some pics of our puppy and his buzz cut.

Downieville pics coming soon, well maybe after we get back from NYC and DC...

Friday Night in Laguna

2008-06-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

The past two Friday's, a group of us have headed down to Laguna Beach for some dinner and music in the park. It has been beautiful down there! Jon and I have taken Maverick to the dog park both weeks and he absolutely LOVES it! He wears himself out, then rests during dinner in time to play again when we go down to the beach. The same dog has been there for him to play with both weeks and they are best of friends now! Here's some pictures for last week.

Maverick and his new best friend, Lola.

Road Trip 2008

2008-05-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

This years road trip took us from 100 degree weather in south Utah, to snow in Flagstaff! Jon and I headed to Gooseberry Mesa, UT with 6 other friends for some great mountain biking and camping. This was the first official camping trip of the year, and Maverick's first experience in the wilderness! We spent four days on the mesa.

Out on the first hike of the week

Maverick was definitely born for the outdoors! He did great at camp, out with the bikes, in the tent at night, and out on hikes.

The mornings and evenings were filled with riding

In the hot afternoons, we headed down to Springdale (right outside of Zion national park) and went to this big park right on the river. We jumped in the river and played with the dogs. Great way to escape from the biting gnats!

Family picture on the Mesa. The sunsets were great!

After all our friends left to go home, Jon and I continued our journey. We headed to the north rim of the grand canyon off a tip from a friend in Utah. It was incredible! We camped on the Rainbow Rim trail, right on the edge of the Grand Canyon. The views were amazing and the trail was incredible for both riding and hiking.

Sunset on the rim

Views on our hike along the Rainbow Rim trail

Home Sweet Home

Another beautiful evening

On our last day at the Grand Canyon, this crazy storm came through and it started to SNOW! We headed to Flagstaff to meet Jon's family for the annual Kearley Camping trip. Because of the weather, we ended up going to Prescott to Jon's grandparents house and then on to Skull Valley for the camping trip. It poured rain and hail throughout the weekend and then finally cleared up on Sunday so we could get some dirt biking in. However, even though the sun came out, my camera did not. I managed to not get a single picture of the family camping trip, except these last two.

We had a wonderful trip and are already looking forward to the next one. Hopefully Maverick isn't still too mad at us for bringing him home to the concrete jungle!

A Little Bit of Catch Up

2008-05-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

April was a busy month, here are a few things that happened around the Kearley household...

Maverick is growing up quite nicely. He loves being outside! He's the best dog... so much fun!

My friend Alissa was in town from up north, so the 7 of us girls went to dinner at Javiers for some girl time. And then a few of us got together for a picnic at the Orange circle with the kids. All the girls kids are so adorable. It's fun to see them all as moms!

My mom, sister and I also surprised my dad with a small retirement party. He kept telling us that he didn't want anything, but you can't pass up a chance to celebrate not working anymore! We took him wine tasting in an excursion limo. He was shocked. My sister even flew in as a surprise. It was great!

Lot's more going on, more to come soon.

Camping Season

2008-05-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

Let the season begin! Jon and I leave tomorrow morning for a 10 day camping trip! We are so excited! We will start our trip on the Gooseberry Mesa in south Utah. There are 6 other of our friends joining us on this part of our trip for some killer mountain biking. Then Jon and I will head to Sedona, AZ for a couple days of hiking and exploring. We will finish our trip in Flagstaff with Jon's extended family for the annual Kearley Camping trip. Should be a great time. This will be Maverick's first camping trip! Should be interesting having a dog in our tent the whole time! I will have lots of pictures to put up, and hopefully I will have time to update this blog for the past month that I've missed! Don't you love summer? We'll be back on Memorial Day! Happy summer!

3 Parks with my buddy's

2008-04-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what your wedding party was up to?

I have.

Last Saturday we were out on a ride that started in El Moro State park. We rode into Aliso Woods and then back though the Laguna Wilderness area to get back to the cars.

Vote for Maverick!

2008-04-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

I entered this picture of Maverick in a Snapfish contest. Help me win a cool prize! Click here to vote!

Ultimate Frisbee

2008-04-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

The days are longer, which means Ultimate Frisbee season is here! We had our opening game and it was awesome! Followed by dinner at our house. We love this time of year!

Maverick even joined in with his own frisbee. He carried it while we walked from our house to the park.

It was a very exciting game and we're looking forward to many more throughout the summer!

It's Official

2008-03-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

I have officially joined an indoor soccer league with a bunch of my mountain biking friends! This should be fun (and interesting!). Our games will be on Wednesdays in Orange if anyone wants to come watch me make a fool of myself!

JDW Blog

2008-03-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

I set up a blog for our company, check it out!

www.jdwdistributors.blogspot.com

Easter in Big Bear

2008-03-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

This year, we spent part of Easter weekend with Jon's family in Big Bear. This was Maverick's first trip to the mountains. We're pretty sure he was born for the mountains! It was a great weekend with fresh air and family!

Maverick loved jumping up on the rocks and walking on logs. He's growing up so fast!

Out on a walk by the lake

St. Patty's Day Ride

2008-03-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

Our friend Andy has hosted a St. Patty's Day bike ride for 2 years now. It's a great time to get together with other crazy mountain bikers for a good ride and good times hanging out. Here's some pictures from the day.

Jon & I started from our house on our tandem with our BOB trailer. Now that's a lot of bike!

Everyone dressed the part

Out on the trail

Andy... the head wrangler!

Two different views on one hill. Yes, Jon came a little close to Andy!

It was a beautiful day with great friends. We're already looking forward to next year!

The Best Trip Ever!

2008-02-20T09:13:00.000-08:00

One of my dreams in life has been to go back country skiing. You know, the kind where every run down is knee deep fresh powder? Well this year, my dream came true! Nine of us headed up to a little town called Ymir in BC Canada for some amazing Cat Skiing. We had an amazing time and are hoping to make it back again next year. It was really hard to choose the pictures out of the 2000 that came home with us, but here they are. Enjoy!

Our hotel and the Wildhorse CatSkiing & Powder Mining Company headquarters. I HIGHLY recommend Wildhorse. The guides are great and we got plenty of vertical in each day!

Our first ride up in the Cat

The Team! (Robert, Martin, Dave, Drew, Missy, Jon, Jeana, Jen, Heather, Andy)

This was our ride for the week!

Jon and Missy dropping in!

The "shuttle" to and from the cat

The perfect glades!

Missy painting pictures in the snow!

What a day!

The girls

Jon going big!

Andy, Jon, and Drew

The PERFECT bluebird day!

On the third day, we went to a small ski resort called Whitewater. It had 2 double chairlifts! Talk about old school! We had a great time though. We ended up hiking to a backcountry spot and boarded down to the road where Martin picked us up. Drew also tried out skiing for one very long run! You should ask him all about his experience!

Andy stump jumping

The Kearley Krew

Then we went back to Wildhorse for one last day of Cat Skiing. This day was full of looking for every jump possible for Jen to be able to jump off! (Well, and the rest of us too!) Good times!

The VERY happy couple!

Dave's sweet tail grab!

Smiles all around!

Our guides Trevor & Sarah. Jon and I are trying to figure out how to get their life!

Drew jumping through the trees

Jeana going big!

Missy's big air

Jon taking off like a rocket

Jen's big air!

Fun in Spokane! (Don't ask...)

Maverick after his bath

2008-02-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some videos of what Maverick likes to do after his baths!

Maverick's First Hike

2008-02-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures from Maverick's first hike at Peter's Canyon. He's got some work to do, but he seemed to enjoy all the smells, sounds and sights. Not to mention, playing with all the other dogs out there.

Growing up fast!

2008-01-31T09:53:00.000-08:00

Here's some more pics of Maverick. He seems to be growing up fast! He is learning how to go on walks, but he mainly just likes to run until he finds grass to pounce on.

Here he is out on a walk

His first trip to Starbucks. We tried to get a picture of him next to the Starbucks cup, but he was more interested in just licking it.

3 years!

2008-01-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

Jon and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary yesterday. I can't believe that it has been three years already! It has flown by! Jon sent me some beautiful flowers to be delivered at work. Then we went to PF Changs for a wonderful dinner! We missed our little pup so much that we hurried home right after dinner to play with him!

We are having so much fun together and I can't imagine being with anyone else. Heres to many many more years together!

More Maverick!

2008-01-22T09:16:00.001-08:00

He's been such a great pup for us! Sleeps through the night, no accidents, lots of love!

Here's some pics from last night. He got his first bath and was all nice and fluffy. He played hard with all his visitors and then was all tuckered out for a good nights sleep!

Say Hello to Maverick

2008-01-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

We have a new addition to the family. His name is Maverick. He's an Australian Shepherd and he's 3 months old. We love him so much already! He's been so well behaved. We don't know how we got so lucky!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

Once again, Jon and I rang in the New Year in Mammoth. We look forward to this trip all year long. There were 12 of us this year. Our neighbor, Martin, got us an incredible deal on a place walking distance from Canyon Lodge. This condo was a trip back in time for me as it was in the same condo complex where my parents used to own back in the day. We had an amazing weekend. On the hill from open to close for four days in a row. So much fun chasing each other down the hill. We rang in the New Year and Jon actually made it until midnight again. This year, he even stayed up a little longer! We played all kinds of fun games, including "Truth or Dare Jenga!" Thanks everyone for making this such a wonderful tradition! Happy New Year!

At the top

That's my boy... Going BIG!

The Blue Team!

Aren't we cute?!?!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Tender Tennessee Christmas

2007-12-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

This year, Jon and I and my parents headed out to Nashville to visit my sister Kristin for Christmas. We had a fantastic time in the beautiful state of Tennessee. It was a great time enjoying family and being somewhere other than Orange County. Jon and I definitely needed the break after the crazy Christmas season we had just been through at work. Thanks K, for letting us invade your house and come visit for Christmas! We had a wonderful time!

The first morning, we headed to the famous Pancake Pantry and then went on a hike around Radner Lake. Absolutely beautiful! We even saw deer jumping around.

Kristin also was able to get us tickets to the Titans football game. Great game... REALLY cold!

Here we are before going out to a nice steak dinner at the Stoney River. Mom and Dad's treat! Probably the best steak I've ever had! Thanks M&D! Overall, it was a great trip and a much needed vacation!

Girls Christmas Dinner

2007-12-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

I have such amazing friends. There are a group of 7 of us girls that have been friends since high school and earlier. Each year, we get together to celebrate Christmas. This year, we gave up the gifts for a nice dinner at Savannah. What a great time we had! We were short one this year, as she was home in her last month of pregnancy. We missed you Liss!

Our private table at Savannah

Our photo shoot after dinner

The Green Machine # 2

2007-12-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

For our Christmas present to each other, Jon and I decided to go big this year... literally!

The boys at Switchback Cyclery put this one together for us!

We absolutely love it! It's so much fun to be able to ride together, and Jon is a fantastic captain! Here we are out on our first ride.

Good times to follow!

The White Elephant

2007-12-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

Each year, Jon and I host a white elephant gift exchange for a group of our mountain bike friends. This year was year number 5! There were about 30 people in our little condo. We had so much fun getting together to catch up, eat, drink, and open some crazy gifts! Some of the gifts included a white trash cookbook, the "grandma got ran over by a reindeer" doll with music, the "club", and lots of ugly ceramics. This party is always especially great for Jon and I. We love being able to see all of our friends that we have not seen in a while because of how busy we are at work this time of year. Thank you all for coming and making it such a great tradition for us!

Lots of presents and crazy footwear!

Great friends and fun!

Whoever did this to our new bike is on my permanent BAD list! Who knew that a good hiding place for the lock key would be our key ring!

O Christmas Tree

2007-12-01T07:14:00.000-08:00

Jon and I always get our Christmas tree the week after Thanksgiving. This year we did something we have never done before. We walked into the Christmas tree lot at Home Depot and started looking at all the trees. There weren't many opened up yet and all the ones that were open, seemed to have something wrong with them. So we ended up just grabbing one that was still wrapped up and taking it home with us without looking at it. We had our fingers crossed that it would be OK. It is more than OK, it is probably the best tree we've ever had! The guy at Home Depot said we would go up on the boards as the first people to ever buy a tree without looking at it first.

When I was decorating the tree, I pulled out a box of ornaments that I had completely forgotten about. They were some big red ones from Crate & Barrel that I had got last year after Christmas on half price. I was so excited for my new ornaments! Our tree is all in red, silver, and white this year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

Each year, my family rents a cabin in the mountains to celebrate Thanksgiving as a family. This year was our 38th (some say 40) year together as a family! We rented a house up in Big Bear right on the lake. There were about 25 of us this year. Besides some appliance problems, the house was perfect, with an absolutely amazing view of the lake. We had a great weekend catching up, playing games, going on walks, and eating... and eating... and eating! We also got to head over to Jon's parents house to spend some time visiting with his parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, and sister and husband. It was a very cold weekend in the mountains, just like Thanksgiving is meant to be!

I am so thankful for everything God has given us in our lives. We are so grateful for the wonderful family and friends that we have!

Here's a picture of a group of us out on a walk by the lake.

A Night Out with Emma

2007-11-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, a group of us went out for a fun night with friends. Drew's cousin Emma is visiting from Scotland, so we wanted to take her out for some Orange County fun. It was a great night, Emma is a lot of fun to chat with. And the best part is we've been invited to stay with her in Scotland when we go!

Good times!

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the Halloween bike ride and the party we went to at Max & Erins house. Good times!

Ride to Solana Beach

2007-10-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Today we did one of our favorite road rides. We meet at the Irvine train station and ride down to Solana Beach. It's about a 60 mile ride. We stop at Pizza Port for some awesome pizza, then jump on the train back to Irvine. This trip, there were 11 of us. It was an amazing day, absoultely beautiful out! The rain on Saturday cleaned everything up for us. Here are a couple of the few shots I got on the way down.

LA County Fair

2007-09-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, Jon and I made our first adventure to the LA County Fair. One of our customers, David from Executive Gift Baskets, volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. Every year, Habitat for Humanity builds houses on the fairgrounds for families that can't afford their own home. David, along with probably hundreds of other volunteers, worked together to build these homes from scratch. Jon and I went to check out what they have built. It was an amazing project for a great cause.

Jon and I enjoying the fair

David and Kevin in front of the house they helped build

Friday Afternoon Hike

2007-09-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

The weather has been so nice lately, we're finally past the summer heat waves and enjoying the cool fall air. We'll see how long that lasts! This Friday, we got off work a little early and picked up our nephews (and their dog) for a hike. We did a little hike out from their backyard up into Oneill Park. This is a picture from the top of our hike with Saddleback in the background. The boys did great and we look forward to more hikes in the future.

A Beautiful Wedding

2007-09-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, my sister got married. It was an amazing weekend! We stayed at the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, Maryland. We went sailing on a 50 year old skipjack. We explored the town and nearby towns by foot and bike. And we enjoyed some amazing food and fun with family and friends. We wish you the best, Shannon and Thys, in your new marriage! Congrats!

A beautiful morning at the Inn at Perry Cabin

The view from the porch outside our room & the inn with our room in the far corner

We're Sailing!!

Dinner at Scossas Saturday night

Tandem bike ride to Oxford

This is how they do it in Maryland

Wedding Time!

Sisters

This looks familiar

The new Mr. & Mrs.!

Happy Birthday Drew!

2007-08-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

For our friend Drew's 31st B-Day, we did a birthday bike ride down to San Clemente Pizza Port and back. There was a group of about 12 of us. I didn't manage to get any pictures of the ride, but here are some of the fun we had at the port.

Birthdays are a very serious issue!

Destin, Florida

2007-08-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

Every year, Missy's sister Kristin rents a condo on the beach in Destin Florida. Last year, my mom had such a good time when she went, that I decided I should check the place out!

It was a great week, despite the fact that I missed my connection in Dallas, my luggage made it there a day late, the fire alarms went off in the middle of the night, I got sunburned and then realized the sunscreen I had used was not waterproof, my bathing suit broke, and I got stung by a jellyfish... twice!!

But other than that, the white sands beach was absolutely beautiful and the water was a amazing. I think the water temp was somewhere up around 90 degrees! I had a great time trying out the awesome seafood restaurants and hanging out with my sister, mom and Jake. It was a great vacation before it gets real busy for work at home. Thanks, Kris, for letting me join you guys this year!

The view from our condo of the beach

Jake and I outside at dinner at the Crab Shack. Or the Crabby Shack as Jake called it.

Birthday Backpacking Bonanza

2007-08-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

For Missy's birthday this year, 8 of us headed back up San G. We took the same route as what Jon and I had just done previously. Luckily there was still water on the mountain! What a great way to spend a birthday, with great friends and out in the great outdoors!

Missy, Jon & Drew at the wilderness entrance

Missy & Carol Ann

On the way to the top!

Conquerers of the mountain!

San Gorgonio

2007-07-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

We made it to the top! After a couple of failed efforts beyond our control, we finally made it to the top of San G. We made a very last minute decision to head up to the mountains to try to avoid some heat. We started at South Fork Trail and made our way to Dry Lake to camp on Friday night. Saturday, we made our trek to the top. Luckily we started early enough to beat most of the heat. We made it to the top and enjoyed the view for a while. Then headed back to camp for one night and hiked out on Sunday. Last minute trips can be some of the most fun!

On our way to the top!

At the top!

11,501 feet

Downieville 2007

2007-06-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

This year was the first annual Downieville Summer Kick Off mountain bike gathering. Ten of us from Orange County headed up to Northern, CA to a little town called Downieville. We joined about 100 others from So Cal, Nor Cal, and Oregon for a weekend of riding and camping at its finest. Our friend Andy, along with a few others, planned an amazing event. Probably the best mountain bike trip I've ever been on. The trail that we rode was basically 15 miles of the best singletrack downhill around. The trail wove in and out of forest and back and forth over a beautiful river. What a perfect way to start the summer!

The group on the way up the road to the top of the downhill trail

Missy & Sheryl on the trail

Jon riding the trail

A stop by the river half way down

Jon and Missy

Kearley Camping Trip

2007-05-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

Every year, the extended Kearley family (grandparents, aunts & uncles, and cousins) go camping in Arizona for Memorial Day weekend. This year Jon and I were able to join in on the fun. It was a great weekend of camping, dirt bike riding, mountain bike riding, hiking, game playing, and just catching up with family. We also were able to make the short drive to the Grand Canyon , what a beautiful place! We had a great time and hope to be able to do it again next year!

Out on a ride (we were camped about 30 minutes North of Flagstaff)

Out on a bike ride

Dirt biking can be so dirty!

The whole group at dinner

Grandma and Grandpa around the campfire.

A view from the Grand Canyon

Wildflower Triathlon

2007-05-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

We went up to Paso Robles again this year to participate in the Wildflower Triathlon. Jon and our friends Drew and Sheryl all participated in the Olympic distance race on Sunday (1 mile swim, 40 K bike, 10 K run) They all did great! Drew finished 8th in his age group with Jon about 10 minutes behind in 20th (out of around 300). Nearly 5000 people participated in the event throughout the weekend.

Drew at the finish

Jon at the finish

Drew & Jon

Sheryl on the bike portion

Escape to Mexico

2007-02-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

Our friends Meghan and Rian head down to Puerto Nuevo aka "lobster village" every year for a short weekend. This year, we were invited to join them. We headed down early Saturday morning for our one night getaway. We each got a beach-side room that included a massage, welcome margaritas, lobster dinner in town and breakfast. We had a great time exploring the village, eating lobster, watching the sunset, playing cards, and enjoying good friends!

Jon and I at lunch listening to the mariachi band

Meghan and Rian

View from the village while we were out exploring

Sunset on the beach at our hotel

Dinner anyone?

Road Trip #2 for 2007

2007-02-21T19:58:00.000-08:00

Recently, our friend Nancy moved to Boulder, CO. Jon and I both have been wanting to go to Colorado for years, so now was our chance!

But first, Mammoth was getting tons of snow, so we headed there for the weekend...

The Green Machine's first snow... it powered through it all!

Can you say snow? I can... about 4 feet of it!!

The team!

After a great weekend in Mammoth, Jon and I began the drive to Colorado, through Reno, across Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming and down to Boulder, CO. We broke the drive up and took 2 days to get there.

Finally we made it to Boulder, Nancy and Josh (another friend going to school there right now) showed us the town and took us to all the cool places! The mountains were absolutely gorgeous and the town was so down to earth and friendly!

The Flatirons, Boulder, CO

Downtown Boulder

At a teahouse

Quite the view!

We also did some snowboarding up at Breckenridge and Keystone and had a wonderful time. We got lots more snow while we were there.

After a week of fun in CO, we headed home. It was another wonderful adventure, Thanks Nancy and Josh!

The end to another great trip!

Meet The Green Machine

2007-02-21T19:53:00.000-08:00

Yeah for new cars!!!

All packed up and ready for it's first road trip

Year # 2

2007-01-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

Jon and I just celebrated our 2nd anniversary. We can't believe how fast 2 years has gone by! To celebrate, we took a week long vacation!

Our "vacation" started out with a little work in San Francisco. But first we were able to stop by our friends Tim & Alissa's house to visit for the evening in Concord. The next few days, we went to the Fancy Food Show to talk to vendors and shop for new items to carry for work. We had a great time talking to people and brainstorming for another great year at JDW. And we definitely had the feel of luxury as we stayed at the JW Marriot in downtown San Fran. We were also treated to amazing dinners with some of our vendors, including an "Ice Cream Party" at Ghirardelli Square.

After the show, we headed to Lake Tahoe on our way to Mammoth. The drive was incredible. Most of the drive was along a river that was half frozen and covered in snow. So beautiful! We stayed one night in South Lake Tahoe. Originally, we had hoped to do some snowboarding there, but this season has been such a dry one that we didn't really think it would be worth it since we have passes to Mammoth.

The next day was the drive to June Mountain. We had planned to go all the way to Mammoth, but we decided to break the drive up and stay at June Mountain. We ended up at this amazing resort and spa after we found out that our normal places had broken pipes from the freezing weather a couple weeks ago. This place was awesome... complete with workout gym and pool.

The next 4 days were spent on the hill at Mammoth. We had such a fun time chasing each other all over the mountain. We also were able to meet up with some friends on the hill. Even with the lack of snow on the top of the hill, Cornice was the best run down! Lots of soft powder turns! Sunday morning, we even got a little bit of snow... now if they'd only get a few more feet!! It was a wonderful trip and we look forward to what the next year has in store for us!

Beautiful morning on the hill!

With Wooly at the top of Mammoth

New Year's in Mammoth 2007

2007-01-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

Can you think of a better way to spend the New Year than with a bunch of your good friends in one of the most beautiful places... Mammoth, CA? Jon and I can't! This year was the 5th year that we have rung in the New Year in Mammoth. This year was much different than others as it was the first year that we did not get dumped on with snow. (Last year we got 8 feet of snow in the course of 2 days!) But this didn't stop us from having fun! We headed up Wednesday night and stayed until Tuesday. Four days on the hill, and one half day with some snowshoeing in the afternoon. Every night was filled with fun and friends. After hitting up the spa, Sam graced us with his talent on the piano in the hotel lobby! Man can that guy play. I could have listened to him for hours... if fact, I think we did. We picked up a new game called Mad Gab. If you haven't played it, you've got to try it out! It is absolutely hilarious, especially when you have engineers sitting there being more confused than ever! Don't worry Drew, I think you finally caught on!

On New Year's Eve, we went to the spa and then back to the piano for another concert. Then back to the condo for some dinner, games, and the most random dance party you can imagine! More friends that were in town for the weekend came and hung out for the evening. After 4 days of boarding, it was tough to make it to midnight, but we did! And Jon was in bed 15 minutes later!

Thanks everyone for making it such a great weekend. Looking forward to next year!

Team New Year's 2007

The few that made it to the top!

Jon and I messing around at lunch

Happy New Year!