Thanksgiving With the Hullas

This year we decided to join the Hulla family for thanksgiving. Good food, and good company, made for a nice holiday.

While visiting The Hullas, Dave and I stoppedy by to visit Aunt Bonnie.

Can you say yum!

Tim thinks he's tall standing next to me.

Sister Cindy and I getting ready to feast on turkey.

Cousins, Michael Wittner and Mandy Hulla trade hair secrets.

Hawaii Vacation 2009

Dave and I finally got to go on our honeymoon we've never taken. This view is looking out of our bungalow located right on the water. Our best friends, Mike and Jen, joined us for some fun in the sun.
Getting ready to go snorkling with dolphins. Look how relaxed we look.

Me, having way too much fun at a luau.

Coolest friends ever, Mike and Jen chill'n after a hard day surfing.

Goofy Dave and Kathleen

Mikes First Car

Mike bought his first car (1996 GMC Jimmy) with his own hard earned money. Watch out world here comes Mikey.

Trip to Washington D.C.

Last week, I had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. for a week. My job sent me there for a mentoring program. We were treated to a tour of the Pentagon, where we met the Auditor General, Theodore Williams, and got to visit the Pentagon 9/11 memorial. After working hard all week (not), I flew Dave out to finish out the week with me. We caught a preseason NFL game on Friday, Patriots Vs the Redskins; Patriots won of course, ate ourselves silly with an excellent crabcake dinner in Georgetown at a 100 year old tavern called Clyde's, explored the Smithonian's untill we couldn't walk anymore, rode the famous Metro, were in awe at Arilington National Cemetary at the Tomb of the unknown soldier, and finally toured the enitre National Mall.

The Washington Monument. In the forground, there was a group of people playing frisbee football; and I thought the frisbee was dead.

Dave and I got to see Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral procession. Thousands of people lined the streets from the State Capitol to Arlington National Cemetary.

John Kerry was one of the many dignataries following Ted Kennedy's motorcade. If you click on the photo, it will enlarge, allowing you to see him clearer.

Dave, riding the Metro. I recommend to anyone visiting the D.C. area, to forget renting a car and take advantage of the city's vast and cheap transit system.

Wind From the Sea by Andrew Wyeth, one of my favorite painters .

Ginevra de' Benci - painted in 1474 by Leonardo Da Vinci. It's hard to imagine that that painting is that old.

Amethyst Lake Hiking Adventure

Backcountry hiking adventures has always been on my bucket list. Dave, Jen, Mike and I decided that Amethyst Lake would be the perfect place to go. Here we are at the begining of our journey. Ahh... ignorance is bliss. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. It took us just a little over 5 hours, and gained 2,000 feet by the time we arrived at out destination. Needless to say I slept good despite the cold hard ground. On a scale of 1-10, and 10 being the best I give this hike a 9 1/2. Next year we hike the Subway in Zion. Good times!!!

Girls gone wild! Literally

Gotta act like we are cool, cause we are!

My bestest friends.

Exploring Amethyst Lake Utah, 2009 with our most excellent friends, the Johnson's and Tim's dog Molly.

Dave, Mike, Jen and me at 12,000 feet. Can you see snow in the background?

Official Bean Counter

It is official, I am now woking for Uncle Sam as an Auditor, and to prove it, here is my official Auditor photo. Who would have thought that I would ever become a bean counter? Me, the math hater. It just proves that the government will hire anyone.

Fun in Heber, Utah

On a beautiful cloudy day, Mikey and some of his good friends, piled into the truck, as we searched out Utah's newest and coolest skate park. Heber city skate park is located just 17 miles past Park City. We spent almost the whole day skating concrete and trying out new tricks. After making a brief stop at the local pizza joint, we decided to head to Park City to check out the local action there. Once there we were all quickly impressed with a young man without legs, out-skating the best of us. We had lots of fun and no major broken bones to speak of. It was an awesome day!

Mikey showing all how to fly like a bird.

2009 Odgen Marathon

To celebrate my birthday every year, I decided that I would run the Ogden Marathon. This year was special because Dave decided that despite recovering from cancer, he wanted to join in the fun with me. This marathon is one of the most scenic marathons around and is a Boston qualifier. Our start began at the park in the small town of Eden. The first 4 miles are on a incline to the mouth of the canyon. From there, it's 6 miles of downhill through the canyon where you are treated to a cool breeze and the sound of the melting spring run-off. The last 3 miles are on a winding tree shaded path. The last half mile of the race is lined with thousands of cheering spectators ringing cowbells and shouting words of encouragement.

Dave and Kathleen 2009 Marathon finishers

Dave and I share a victory kiss.

Dave finishes strong. 13.1 miles is no big deal to him.

My big finish - 13.1 miles is a long way.

Anniversary Trees

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Dave and I decided that for our 21st anniversary that instead of buying each other crap we don't want, we would buy trees to plant at our Bear Lake property. This little Blue Spruce will hopefully be 20 feet tall some day.

Here is a view from our property of Bear Lake

Here is a view of Swan Peak, also from the property. We are getting it surveyed in the next couple of weeks.

That's yours truly planting the smaller of the three trees.

Dave's Recovery

This photo was taken the day after his surgery. The doctor removed Dave's lymph nodes where the cancer was located. This is the last part of Dave's cancer treatments. With the grace of God, he should make a full recovery and be back to work by April. Thank you to everyone who has supported our family during this crisis. We are very fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family.
This photo was taken on Dave's 47th birthday. He was done with Chemo and was almost done with his radiation treatments at this point. His weight was down to about 160 lbs when this was taken. He barely made it through the treatments without going on a feeding tube.

The photo taken below is of Dave when we found out that he had Squamous Cell Carcinoma. As you look at his right side of the neck (his left), you can see the abnormal distention of his skin. That lump only took a couple of weeks to get that big and you could see it grow by the day.