October 3 -9

Greetings from rainy Colorado. How is everyone?


(Hannah) It has been raining all day. Eric is wearing 2 jackets and his robe. We are expecting snow tomorrow. Reggie is sad to be inside so we let him out and he came back with sever mud paw.


Eric and I have been working hard and took a trip an hour south to Colorado Springs to look at some cars. We are selling our Xterra and trading in our new Toyota Avalon, all in attempt to save a little money.

Inside the city limits of Colorado Springs, (which is the Provo of Colorado) is the Garden of the Gods. The garden is a piece of land donated to the public years ago by a local family. And is now maintained by the city and open to the public. It consists of some strange red rock formations right in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The hikes are more like strolls and camping or picnics are not allowed, but it makes for a great Saturday day trip. It’s a mini Zion’s. I am defiantly not a photographer like Dad, but I did get a cool picture of Eric’s shadow scrambling up a ridge.















And now your moment of ZEN....... This picture was taken right after we got up. the bed was still warm, and the cats jumped on it right away.


We love you all and miss you. Thank you for your prayers and concerns. Hope to talk with you all soon.

September 18 - October 2

(Eric) Well it’s been awhile since we’ve posted. No excuses really except that not much has been happening, so we didn’t have much to put up.

As you all know conference was yesterday and today. It’s not broadcast on TV here unless you have satellite, which we don’t, so we had to listen to it on the internet. At first it seem kind of inconvenient only being able to hear the audio, and not see the video, but then I remembered being a kid and having to see conference at the chapel, and realized that we have it pretty good. As always the talks were great, and they seemed to be just what I needed. I love the gospel, and I’m grateful to have a testimony. I would be unhappy with out it.


(Hannah) Maya Gibson had her 3rd Birthday yesterday, I was asked to make yet another special Hannah Piñata. This one was supposed to be a lady bug. When I took a look at the final product I had to quote Eric by exclaiming “scare ball”. I have never known what he means by that but it fit the occasion. Actually the piñata turned out better than I thought it would. Eric helped me make it the night before and then we left the wet piñata in the office with the window open. Well it was cold that night and the balloon shrunk and the piñata caved in on its self and was still mushy. Eric wanted to put it in the oven and I consented because I was busy getting ready for work. Well ten minutes later I hear Eric yelling and a few minutes after that he presented me in the bathroom with a steaming mass of newspaper. The balloon had swollen due to the sudden heat and then exploded leaving a huge cravas (sp?) with steam poring out of it

(Eric) When we moved to Colorado we were told that the area we live in is not suited for cats. There are too many foxes, coyotes, and turkey vultures. We heard horror stories about people’s cats disappearing, so we decided that our cats could only be out during the day time. This works out fine for Reggie. He is very sociable, and loves to be out side. We have to trick him to come in at night, but for the most part it’s not a problem. Sally on the other hand is scared of everything, so she hates to go outside during the day. Because she can’t go out night, she’s inside 24/7. It wasn’t a problem until recently when we noticed that she had started to scratch on the stairs. She is bored, so she scratches. We have a post for her, but it just wasn’t enough. Reggie, who is really just a follower, figured that if Sally could do it so could he.


We tried everything we could think of, and still they scratched. Finely I read an article on line about scratching. It said that one of the reasons cats scratch is to mark territory. If you spray some kind of citrus spray (which they hate) on the area they won’t be as likely to scratch there…if they have an alternative. Since we’re poor, I didn’t want to buy another scratching post, so I made one. Only cost me six bucks. I didn’t want to pay anything for it, but I couldn’t find any scraps.


After it was built, we started playing with Reggie around the post. As soon as he realized that he could scratch it, he started going crazy. He was clawing at it with all four paws, ripping into one room and then running full blast back to the post and jumping at it with all fours again. He was playing so hard that he started panting. We had to quit playing with him because our bellies hurt from laughing.

(Hannah) Well, you can tell that we have been busy working if the highlight of our week is the new scratching post.

Last Saturday Tsaile Gibson was baptized (she is the daughter of our friends Tim and Holly from Alaska who live by us now). She asked me to give a talk on baptism. There were two other girls their getting baptized, one was Sierra Wolfe. Eric is her home teacher so she asked him the give the talk on the Holy Ghost. So Eric and I were the two speakers for the baptism. It was wonderful to remember the day that I was baptized. Eric gave a great talk and used a rock spray painted gold as the Liahona.


Varenka Beesley Harman, her little boy Cedros and her parents, Colleen and Wayne Beesley came to visit us. It was so nice to see them. Varenka has always been a genuine friend. We went to the Molly Brown house, which is the preserved house of Margaret Brown. If you have seen The Unsinkable Molly Brown you know who I am talking about. It was much more interesting than I thought it would be. Those Beesleys know how to pick the winners. The home was amazing. What was more amazing is that Cedros (2) sat in his stroller through the entire tour. The tour guide even found Varenka afterwards to tell her what a good mom she is.

Varenka and Colleen drove out here but Wayne took the train from Salt Lake after flying in from Mexico. He had just finished a Book of Mormon tour in Mexico and Guatemala. Wayne rocks!! He was so excited about the Book of Mormon tour that he yelled out in the middle of Union Station “It was like freakin’ Sunday school the whole time”!!!! Eric was highly entertained by his enthusiasm. Later he showed us videos of the ruins which convinced Eric and me to work harder so we can afford to go too.

Colleen, Varenka and I also went to a thrift store that they knew about. It was defiantly not a Utah DI. Everything was new or in good shape and not picked through. Colleen stocked up on dress up accessories for her grandkids. She is a wonderful, patient grandmother. The Beesleys are wonderful people who were extremely welcoming when we were teenagers and still are.

Eric has lost 20 lbs and looks great. We just baked banana bread together and are going to take some to the Bishop. Eric promised him some bread for his help with a job referral. We have attempted to make him bread twice before but one batch was nasty and the other batch Eric ate.

And now your moment of ZEN....

We love you,

Eric and Hannah

Sept 5th - 10th

So that everyone can tell who is speaking we will state our names before our paragraphs.

ERIC - I hope everyone is doing well. Saturday morning Hannah had to attend the leadership conference, so I decide to go on a ride by my self. I choose my nemesis – Deer Creek Canyon. I rode it before, but never made it to the top. As you can see from the pictures the beginning is rather technical, and the whole trail is steep. The pictures don’t do the steepness justices. Anyway, I made it to the top and was rewarded with spectacular views of the hog back that separates Denver from the foot hills.


HANNAH: Well, I am working hard and unfortunately getting more and more busy. I took Eric on a date last night to the dollar movies. I made him watch ‘Sky High’. It is a pre-teen movie about teenage super heroes. Eric was hesitant because of the PG rating, but I reminded him that ‘The Parent Trap’ is rated PG and it is one of his favorite movies. He can watch those troublesome twins for hours.

Reggie and Sally are bad kitties. Sally has started scratching the carpet on the stairs and Eric told me today that he liked the carpet more than the cat, so she would have to go if it continued. I think we will just clip her nails tonight. Reggie and I bond every morning and night when I am getting ready for bed. I let him lay in my bathroom sink and then I turn the water on. He doesn’t mind the water at all. His fat little belly even clogs up the drain and he creates a little bath for himself. This is fun for both of us, but it does leave a lot of hair in and around the sink. Eric has moved all of his stuff into the guest bathroom because apparently Reggie and I are “filthy animals”. ERIC – I never called anyone a “filthy animal.” However I did move bath rooms because I was tired of cleaning hair out of my sink.

Eric and I are still working hard. We are both in sales and starting new positions and consequently have still not made any money. Colorado is an expensive place to live and the lack in incoming money is a little stressful. We are paying our tithing and working hard and hope for the best. We both agree that this is probably a good experience for us. Living in Utah was easy for us. Colorado has made us stretch and grow and realize how much more we need to rely on our Heavenly Father and listen to the Still Small Voice. I have already felt the blessing of the Holy Ghost in my job and calling.

And now your moment of ZEN.....

We love you all,

Eric and Hannah

Aug 29 - Sept 3

Hey everyone!! I hope you’re all doing well. Hannah and I don’t watch much TV, so we didn’t know Hurricane Katrina was as bad as it was until we watched the news on Thursday. The interesting thing is Hannah watched a documentary six months ago about what would happen to New Orleans if it was ever hit by a bad hurricane. Unfortunately every thing predicted happened. If anyone is interested in more pictures, click the link: Hurricane Katrina. After we found out how bad it was, we called David and Wren. David said that they were ok, and that the hurricane actually brought better than normal weather to Tampa….crazy how things work out.


Hannah likes her job a little bit better. She’s starting to make some sales, and thinks there might be some potential if she can hold out. Last Friday she went to a bid for the Denver Airport. At the bid she met the sales manager of a competing company, Initial Tropical Plants. She had interviewed with them before she accepted the job with Bristol. The lady recognized her, and wants to talk to her about working for them. The position would be in the future….2112 to be exact….sorry I’m a dork. What I meant was that they don’t have any current openings, but they want her to consider them in the future. I should have deleted the previous statement, but I thought it sounded kind of funny so I added the 2112 part…I digress. The bottom line is that Hannah has other options. The only problem is that Bristol wants her to sign a “non-compete” and it’s pretty broad. She read it to me and the way I understand it is that she wouldn’t be able to work in the tropical plant industry for two years after she left Bristol. She’s thinking about having one of our friends, who is a lawyer, read it and see exactly what she will and won’t be able to do if she signs.


Thursday we went back to Indian Creek. So far it’s my favorite bike ride. There’s never anyone there, and the trail is loads of fun. I had Hannah take a picture of me coming down a steep drop, but there wasn’t enough light and it didn’t turn out very well. Let just imagine that I looked spectacular : ) Next time Stoney comes, we’re definitely taking him on this one. He will think it’s a “sucker pit” because you ride downhill first and then have to ride uphill to get back to the car. Stoney calls these downhill-first rides “sucker pits” because you get tricked into going further than you planed.

Friday we went on a hike with our friends Aaron and Kirsten. The destination was to Devils Head Fire Look Out, one of the last manned forest fire look outs in the country. The hike was easy except for the 148 steep steps to get to the top. It didn’t look bad, but at 140 my legs were burning. Once on top the views were wonderful. As you would expect, we had 360 degree view of pine trees and granite out cropings….my favorite combination. We watched the sun set, and on the way back down it was dark. We passed the time talking about bear and cougar attacks which is a very bad topic of conversation while walking through the dark woods of Colorado. Personally I’m much more afraid of the cougars. They don’t give you much of a chance, and there aren’t a lot of survivors….at least that I’ve heard about.

Reggie is fat and faithful. Sally has bad breath and is still silky. Eric is still losing weight and I have gained back 1 pound. We miss everyone terribly but we are learning tough lessons, reading the Book of Mormon and loving our lives.

And now your moment of ZEN..........

Well that’s all from us. We love you all.

Cheers

Eric and Hannah

P.S. Hannah and I both wrote this, so the voice may seem a little strange.

Augest 14-27 2005

Two Saturday’s ago Hannah and our friend Tim went on a bike ride at Buffalo Creek. I had wanted to explore the area south of us, so I choose a ride just off CO 85. It wasn’t until we were loaded up and on the road that Hannah realized that the road we needed to take was in fact CO 285……big difference. It’s not South it’s west, and a ways off. After informing me that I’m always missing little details like that, we drove to CO 285 and began the hour and a half drive to the trail head. The beginning of the tail was flat and extremely muddy. As we started to climb it dried out and was quite fun. On one section of the climb there is a dead fall tree that has fallen over the trail, and you have to duck to get under it…..Hannah didn’t duck enough and bonked her head. It was yet another experience confirming that helmets are a good thing.

We went on two other rides last week, but didn’t take many pictures. The one we went on last Thursday, Indian Creek, had the best down hill that I’ve found since I’ve been here. It’s single track, with steep hills and tight turns. The only problem is that you start out and the top. I always like to get the reward after the work out. The good time is diminished a little knowing that you still have to come back up.

Yesterday I went to a Bio Med conference at Pine Hills golf course. There was a best ball tournament in the morning followed by a trade show. This was the first event like this that we had done, and it turned out quite well. We met lots of people, and we were the only ones that repair the kinds of instruments that we repair. No competition is always good in those kinds of situations.

I’ve been golfing for about three years, and not very good. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up, but as it turned out, I carried the team…that’s not good. I’m not sure were we placed, but I didn’t talk to anyone that had a higher score than us. My boss’ team on the other hand had the best score, and I didn’t hear the end of it. I think that experience with give him enough ammunition to fire at me for quite some time.

I got to the course before my boss, so I walked around the grounds for a while. I noticed a squirrel playing around some trees, so I stopped and watched him for a while. All of a sudden he made a mad dash for something on the ground. He was moving so fast that when he got to the object he had to skid to a stop. He picked up what looked like a stick and started going crazy. I looked closer and noticed that it was a rib bone with a little bit of meat still on it…I had discovered a vicious meat eating squirrel….crazy. He was really going down on that thing.
Unfortunately you can't see the squirrel very well in the picture...but I swear he was gnawing on a bone with meat on it.

Today I was asked to sub for the seven year olds in primary. I don’t think that the lesson went well, but they seemed to have a good time. The best part of the hour was the activity, which was a puzzle that said “love one another.” When they were done they were extremely proud, as you can see from the picture.

(Hannah now…) I started my new job as the Sales Manager for Bristol Botanics. They are the second largest interior plant company in the Denver area. I am getting to know the other employees and will present my first presentation tomorrow. But to be honest with everyone, I really do not like the job. I have never quit a job because I was unhappy, so this may be a first. It has been a long hard two weeks. I realize how blessed I have been in the past, and hopefully will have more gratitude in the future. Other than that life is good.

Primary is going well and I will be singing in a special music program in Relief Society in a week or so. I have stopped eating candy and have lost 2 pounds. This may not sound like much, but it is a miracle that I have abstained from sugar this long. They even have a big basket of candy bars in our office that tempt me every time I walk by. The candy cut off almost killed me the first week, but I am feeling better than ever. I still let myself have a big dessert on Sunday’s. Eric is cutting out sugar as well and is eating better. He has lost about 10 lbs. I am very proud of him. He looks better and can ride his bike faster. He still can’t keep up with me on the uphill but beats me every time on the down hill.

And now your moment of ZEN....

We love and miss you all.

Love,

Eric and Hannah

August 7 – 13

It’s Sunday evening and Hannah is at the “It’s great to be eight” fireside. She is giving a talk that she titled “The age of account ability.” She didn’t tell me all that was going to be in it, but she did mention that she planed to tell them about her baptism. I know that she will do great. Some of her best testimonies have been about her baptism. I find this interesting that it is still so strong a memory for her. I believe that she was truly converted by that time if not before – which is wonderful.

This past week was the last week that we will be having cub scouts at our house…..hallelujah! They’re great kids, but tend to be a little rowdy. Not too surprising, but we will be glad to meet at the elementary school from now on. For those of you that don’t know, I’m over the bear cubs. I’ve never been a Den leader before, and I’m really enjoying it. Our activity was “Sports, Sports, Sports.” We started off by talking about the benefits to physical fitness, and then did sever activities: push-ups, sit-ups, standing long jump and a 30 yard sprint. It was fun to see the act tough and show off to each other. One boy was particularly proud that he could do one handed push-ups and wanted to show me. He assumed the position, and proceeded to move his body up and down, but his arm never bent. When he got up his face was beat red. I held my tongue and told him that he did a great job : )

Saturday morning Hannah and I took our friend Tim on a bike ride up Waterton canyon. I got up at 6 am, looked out side, and was disappointed to see it raining. Luckily the rain stopped and we were able to go. The cool overcast weather made for a great ride. Unfortunately the battery on my camera died, so I only got the one picture. The trail goes up through the trees along a series of switch backs. On the way down, I got a little excited and didn’t make one of the switch back, and took a header off the trail into the brush. I’m not sure exactly what happened but I banged up my shoulder, and hit my head. It was good that I was wearing my helmet. I have to admit that I haven’t’ always wore a helmet. I don’t like them, but I can assure that from now on I will always have one on. Stoney if your reading this…….

After our bike ride we went over to Tim and Holly’s house for their son Farris’ 5^th birthday party. Hannah made his piñata, which as you can see is a fish (Farris’ nick name) and she was quite proud of her self. One of the activities at the birthday party was all the kids got to through whip cream at Tim. Because I found this highly amusing they gave me a shot.

For a present Hannah and I got Farris his first skate board. When he opened it up, all the other kids said that their parents wouldn’t let them have one. At first we felt bad, but then we justified our actions by telling our selves that it’s good for kids to have scraped knees and elbows….just make sure he wares a helmet, and don’t call me if he has to go to the emergency room. We told Tim and Holly we were sorry if they didn’t want him to have one yet, but Holly said that Tim had been trying to get him one for a long time…..whew!...we didn’t want to be the only bad influences in Farris’ life.

In closing......your moment of zen (It's a daily show thing)

That’s all for now. We hope your all well.

Love,

Eric and Hannah

My Fist Shot At The Blog

Hey Everyone,

I've always wanted to create some sort of web site that we could all communicate through. During my research I came across blogger, and thought I'd give it a try. This isn't perfect, but it's better than email......and it doesn't cost anything. It's also really easy to use. Feel free to post your comments...in fact please post your comments. I'd like to hear what you think. Also, if you ever want me to post something: Links , pictures or announcements, let me know and I'll post them.

For starters I'll post some pictures and other miscellaneous items that I might have already sent you via email, but I needed something to start out with, so bare with me.

When got lied off, Hannah and I had about two months to hang out together. With the exception of our missions this was the longest either of us had ever gone without working. Because our spending was to be kept at a minimum, we couldn't do any of the home improvements that we wanted to do so we spent our time biking, hiking, and lounging around....it was glorious. We also took a little time job hunting. It was then that we decided that we wanted to move straight to retirement, but not having the recourses we continued to look for work.

During this time, my friend Tim got a job in Colorado, and he and his family stayed with us for a few days.

He and his wife Holly have three kids (Above: Their son Farris) and it was great to have them. When they moved into their home our house felt empty, and we missed them. Shortly after they left, Hannah's sisters Sunny, Jenny and her husband Jarred came for a visit.

While they were here we went to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. We spent the day looking at the exhibits.

The museum is huge. The nature section has these incredible taxidermied animals with interesting commentary and other props. The deer display had foam rubber deer ears that were hollow. The idea being that if you put them on you should be able to hear like a deer....Sunny loved this as you can see from the picture.

After the Museum closed, we relaxed on the lawn for an hour, and then saw the IMAX movie
"Mysterys of the Nile."

If you've never been to an IMAX, I highly recommend it. The cinematography is fantastic, and the stories are usually pretty good. After everyone left, the house was once again empty and we were forced to find other ways to entertain ourselves.

I've always enjoyed hiking peaks, and Colorado has more 14,000 foot peaks than any other state. We decided a great way to become better acquainted with the area would be to climb some of them. The first one we chose was Mt. Bierstadt. We didn't make it all the way to the top, due to an incoming thunder storm, but the hike was great none the less.

We've also been on some great bike rides. One of our favorites was ride in the Elk meadow open space area just outside of Evergreen. The trail was easy, but really fun. There was just enough uphill to make your legs burn and just enough down hill to get your adrenaline pumping.

Well that's about all I have to say for now. Remember to let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Eric