And there it is.

$5 at the Goodwill.  How should we recover it?  

Please, talk amongst yourselves.

Good people to know

I have a lot of friends.  And, it seems that we are all friends for different reasons which fill different aspects of our lives.  You know what I'm talking about.  When you want to go to a movie or go shopping, there is that one friend you always call.  Well, if you want to have an adventure, you can call the Hoybooks.  I'm just going to throw that one out there folks.

Case in point:  we climbed Mt. St. Helens on Monday.  It was a day off and my friend Adam had emailed us on Thursday asking if we wanted to go, so we said yes.  Simple as that.  We're good people to know.

Our trip sponsors on the trail on the way up to the tree line-- Sarah, Nate and Adam.  Adam and I went to UNL together-- Sarah is his Northwest wife-- Nate, we just met on Monday morning after he crashed on our floor Sunday night.  More good people to know.  They are always good for an adventure.

Julia tries out her alpine touring skis for the first time.  She is super hard core to take that trail on as her first time.  She's a good person to know too.  
B and Geoff have time for a self-portrait while they wait for the snowshoers to catch up.  Oh, Geoff is definitely a good guy to know.
Me and B pose with the summit looming behind us.  Mt. St. Helens is a beast, she really is.  The trail to the top is around 10 miles round trip and while the grade isn't particularly steep, it's relentless.
I love this photo of me, I'm bummed there is water spot on the lens right in front of my face. Anyway, I think I have this pose like, "Oh, I'm just taking a break, don't worry about me, I do this everyday."  Don't I look positively relaxed?  I do?  Well, ha!  I have you all fooled!
Nate in the red coat and Adam in the green sitting on the edge of the crater at the summit.  Mt. Adams in the background to the right.  
Looking down into the crater at the lava dome that is still building by little eruptions all the time.  Mt. Rainier is on the horizon and Spirit Lake is on the other side.  Spirit Lake is still choked with dead trees from the eruption 29 years ago.
Hubby gets a self-portrait on the summit.  
B gets ready to take another run down another gully on the way back down, trying to beat the sun.
A shot looking south from lower on the mountain as the sun sets.  

So, who has an adventure on the books?  We're available next week.  Just let us know.  We can have our packs ready in 30 minutes.  Seriously.

Moody Mt. Hood

I spent Saturday "working" at the mountain for Winter Trails Day.  REI heads up to Mt. Hood with three of our snowshoe vendors and we let folks try them out for free.  We lucked out this year and got almost perfect weather so it made for a fun day had by all.  Just another day at the office for me.

Among other things, I snapped some shots of Mt. Hood throughout the day.  I wonder if I will ever tire of seeing this mountain.  I thought after awhile the novelty would wear off and I'd be all, "Oh great, we're going to the mountain again."  But it hasn't.  I'm still all, "Oh great!  We're going to the mountain again!"

Peer Pressure

New Year's Eve is a lot like Valentine's Day to me.  Lots of pressure to do "something big", "something memorable".  Everyone is always asking your plans, comparing your level of awesome to theirs, mocking you if yours doesn't include ridiculous amounts of champagne and making out at midnight.  In college, I did New Year's Eve up right.  Lots of friends and lots of drunk.  I'm not saying I didn't have a good time, because I sure did, but I had one of my favorite New Year's Eves just last night.

B and I had dinner over at Ryan and Dacia's with Ryan and Erin.  Just the six of us.  We ate, sipped on wine, played a game and when midnight rolled around, we turned on the TV to watch the ball drop and smooch our honeys.  Simple, low-key and absolutely memorable.

So, does that mean I'm getting old?  Are we super lame because we just hung out with good friends and good food?  Was 2009 not properly ushered in?  I was just wondering...