The Color Run

DJ participated in his first 5k. And it your going to do it anyway, you might as well go all out right? The Color Run travels the US. Meaghan and Tia both hop to do them sometime this year. At each K, there are a dozen "color throwers", doing just that - throwing colorful powder at you. And then at the end everyone does a "color throw" together. There were 13,000 people there. It was so fun! 

Nebraska at its finest.

Our neighborhood backs up to the country. We sometimes take Paisley on walks up and down the dirt roads and around the cornfields. It sure is beautiful! 

More sketchup

I saw a house I really liked recently in a book called "the simple house" (or something like that), it was in New Mexico and had a great mix of traditional new mexico design in a layout influenced by asian traditions. I played around with google sketchup to make one very similar. Added a loft and moved things around just a bit. Of course the courtyard side faces south and the patio roofs are set to let in winter sun and block summer sun, celestory windows above that roof give light to the great room all year. Thick adobe walls give good insulation...It's not too big and pretty simple, all one floor (plus the loft); great room has living plus dining on east side near kitchen; as in the one in the book, doors open on both sides of dining area to simulate outdoor patio eating (as is tradition for new mexican big family dinners).The main entry actually leads to the patio/courtyard, from there you can go in to the guest suite (or art studio or whatever) or into the west side of the great room of the main house, several other doors also lead out to the courtyard. Both the loft and the second bedroom (which the book had as a library) have a recessed window seat facing north (towards the Taos mountains in the house in the book). 

I left out interior doors and a few other details (like probably a large fireplace/mantle in the great room) as well.

Cecret Lake, Alta UT

We've been on several hikes since we've been here. They have all been really cool, but this one might be my favorite. It's a secret alpine lake nestled halfway up a steep slope right under the top of the mountain. It's a short but steep hike to get there and you can't see the lake until you are right up next to it, so it really does feel like a secret spot (so secret in fact, as I told Isaac, that they spelled the 'secret' in the name wrong so no-one can find it). It was stunningly beautiful. We took a lot of pics, including a few with some fun new settings.

Road trip America, final leg

The Earthship, near Florissant, CO

 Sunrise on the roof.

 Is this picture crooked? or the tree...?

Breckenridge, CO

Grand Junction, CO

A desert, somewhere in Southern Utah

Finally. Wasatch Mts. Utah County, UT

Our new backyard, American Fork, UT

Succulents 1-4 of 17.

Road Trip America part 1

 Falling Water, the backwoods hills of PA

Gateway to the West

 Missouri Botanical Gardens, St. Louis

I like angels. 

 The dragon is made of plates.

This is a very auspicious tree. 

A sculpture garden, St Louis

 Someone in the fam should get one of these.

Somewhere on the plains of Kansas

A sunrise.