Here are some photos! Enjoy!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Spring Break 2011
I had the most wonderful Spring Break a few weeks ago! Started out with a few days at home in Durango with the family, then headed south to visit Caroline in New Mexico! From her home in an old monastery, we headed north west to Bluff, UT for some desert camping and hiking. I was sort of sad to come back to the craziness that is student teaching, but the end is so near!! Now I just need to focus on applying to jobs!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Photo Highlights
Photos from Christmas! Sadly we didn't get any of Christmas day when the Uncles and Grandma Ruth came over. Quite the relaxing week. It was so awesome to see Caitlin for more than a day, and we basically focused on the food the whole time we were there.
Grandma and her cross word, a morning staple
Christmas morning mimosas by sister chef Caitlin. Our first "adult" Christmas, meaning we had alcohol at most meals :)
Christmas eve Cassidy Family tradition: dinner made entirely out of h'or devours 
Grandma in her new Christmas pj's, another Cassidy family tradition: one present opened on Christmas Eve, and it's always a new pair of pajamas!
Our exotic 2010 pajamas, zebra... :)
Traditional Cassidy Family Christmas day breakfast! Mushroom omelets and leftovers from dinner, plus extra special Christmas bread (Norwegian coffee bread) made from Granny's and Gramps' recipe.
One of the few pics of Caley, trimming the tree.
Sisters!
New boots! Gift from Laura, they are super awesome, and I've actually worn them quite a few times :) Just had to get my confidence up to pull them off. :)
Family photo in the back yard, first not-white Christmas in awhile!Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wow, It's Been Awhile
So much life has been lived in the past few months, I don't even know where to begin!
First of all, Caley and I moved to Boulder on the 1st of January, an interesting way to start the New Year. Huge thanks to Erick and Roger for helping us load everything up and even unload it, all in the cold and snow.
Christmas was spent in Durango with my family this year, I was so happy to spend a few days with my sister who amazingly got some extra time off of work! Both Grandmas were in attendance, as well as Uncle Paul and Pat, I feel like I haven't seen them in forever! Talk about a different scene from Caley's family. My extended family all fits nicely around our small dining room table :) We did miss watching the little girls open presents for hours on end though :(
Caley started full time at VeloNews!!! His first full week was kind of crazy...he almost got sent to San Diego permanently! Luckily someone else in the office offered to go in his place, so we get to stay here in Boulder at least until May when the decision will be revisited. Talk about stress, we were kind of at a loss for a few days trying to figure out how we would handle living in two different places for those few months. Thank goodness it worked out! With the current single digit weather, I must say California doesn't sound so bad...
I started student teaching!!! So far it's been pretty good, really stressful and causes me much anxiety. The craziest thing about student teaching is that I'm teaching real students whose academic careers are going to be affected by me, either for good or evil.....hopefully for good, or at least neutral :) I love all my students except for two....and they were so mean to me on Monday!! Gah! I'm not sure what to do, I think the next time the one kid gets out of hand I'm going to give him the option to either sit quietly and be on task, or leave my classroom. If he chooses to go, which I actually think he might, I'm going to have him sit in the science office and if he's not there the whole period I'll mark him absent. :( Ugh, scary, I hate discipline, but this kid is a tough nut, I'm not sure what to do.
I'm excited to start on the next unit in genetics, I'm going to do "development" which means I need to do some studying up, but that was the part I found the most exciting in my intro to genetics class in college, and hopefully I can impart my fascination with the topic to the students.
Other happenings in bullet form:
-Caley went to Tucson for a week, abandoning me in my second week of student teaching. They were there when Gabrielle Giffords was shot, it was a weird emotional week.
-We rode our mtn bikes for the first time in Boulder! It was a beautiful 65 degree, sunny day. I am now more motivated to exercise...but the cold is making me wimpy and keeping me indoors. Maybe tomorrow I'll get back on the wagon.
-We've had two snow days in a row!!!! Loving it!
-The count of high school classmate who are married/engaged/having kids continues to grow. Just sayin. Really nothing implied in that statement...:)
Well, that's about it I guess. I'll post pics from X-mas as soon as I can find the do-hicky that takes photos off of Caley's camera and puts them on my computer :)
I really miss Fort Collins, we haven't had a lot of time to hang out in Boulder, too darn busy, so I'm sure things will improve and we'll find our groove here, but it's so different. #1 major complaint is the attitude of the people that live here. So dang entitled.
The flatirons are sure gorgeous covered in snow though, almost makes up for all the rich assholes :)
First of all, Caley and I moved to Boulder on the 1st of January, an interesting way to start the New Year. Huge thanks to Erick and Roger for helping us load everything up and even unload it, all in the cold and snow.
Christmas was spent in Durango with my family this year, I was so happy to spend a few days with my sister who amazingly got some extra time off of work! Both Grandmas were in attendance, as well as Uncle Paul and Pat, I feel like I haven't seen them in forever! Talk about a different scene from Caley's family. My extended family all fits nicely around our small dining room table :) We did miss watching the little girls open presents for hours on end though :(
Caley started full time at VeloNews!!! His first full week was kind of crazy...he almost got sent to San Diego permanently! Luckily someone else in the office offered to go in his place, so we get to stay here in Boulder at least until May when the decision will be revisited. Talk about stress, we were kind of at a loss for a few days trying to figure out how we would handle living in two different places for those few months. Thank goodness it worked out! With the current single digit weather, I must say California doesn't sound so bad...
I started student teaching!!! So far it's been pretty good, really stressful and causes me much anxiety. The craziest thing about student teaching is that I'm teaching real students whose academic careers are going to be affected by me, either for good or evil.....hopefully for good, or at least neutral :) I love all my students except for two....and they were so mean to me on Monday!! Gah! I'm not sure what to do, I think the next time the one kid gets out of hand I'm going to give him the option to either sit quietly and be on task, or leave my classroom. If he chooses to go, which I actually think he might, I'm going to have him sit in the science office and if he's not there the whole period I'll mark him absent. :( Ugh, scary, I hate discipline, but this kid is a tough nut, I'm not sure what to do.
I'm excited to start on the next unit in genetics, I'm going to do "development" which means I need to do some studying up, but that was the part I found the most exciting in my intro to genetics class in college, and hopefully I can impart my fascination with the topic to the students.
Other happenings in bullet form:
-Caley went to Tucson for a week, abandoning me in my second week of student teaching. They were there when Gabrielle Giffords was shot, it was a weird emotional week.
-We rode our mtn bikes for the first time in Boulder! It was a beautiful 65 degree, sunny day. I am now more motivated to exercise...but the cold is making me wimpy and keeping me indoors. Maybe tomorrow I'll get back on the wagon.
-We've had two snow days in a row!!!! Loving it!
-The count of high school classmate who are married/engaged/having kids continues to grow. Just sayin. Really nothing implied in that statement...:)
Well, that's about it I guess. I'll post pics from X-mas as soon as I can find the do-hicky that takes photos off of Caley's camera and puts them on my computer :)
I really miss Fort Collins, we haven't had a lot of time to hang out in Boulder, too darn busy, so I'm sure things will improve and we'll find our groove here, but it's so different. #1 major complaint is the attitude of the people that live here. So dang entitled.
The flatirons are sure gorgeous covered in snow though, almost makes up for all the rich assholes :)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
First Ski!!!!!!
On Sunday Caley, Nick Frey of Boo Bicycles, and I went up to Happy Jack to do some cross country skiing! It was our first time out on snow this season, and first time ever for Nick! We had an absolute blast! It was warmish, and not too windy, the grooming was awesome, and Nick did great. Usually when we take someone out for their first time, we don't get much skiing in, but Nick was moving along quite well and we ended up getting in a good solid hour fifteen or so. Can't wait to go up again!
Some no poles work:
Some no poles work:
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Epic Thanksgiving Adventure Trip!
Ok, I took pictures this time!! They are all from my crappy camera phone, but you'll get the idea.
Friday the 19th Caley picked me up from work, and we headed south to the airport! Best way to leave town, didn't even stop by the house for a last minute pick up or anything! The trip was very smooth, we both "won" at the security line (no pat downs) and the flight was uneventful. All we had to do was wait for dear Emily to pick us up!
Caley waiting...
That night, Kelly came over for dinner and it was a grand Fort Collins reunion! Next day we headed to the coast for a gorgeous hike through the muddy woods to an overlook of the ocean. Gorgeous day, it was even sunny part of the time!
Caley at the beach
The hike was followed by a delicous picnic in the car, care of the always prepared Emily! Oh man was I ever glad to eat some lunch :)
The rest of our time in Portland was spent hanging out, eating delicious food. Case in point:
The food carts
And the best pizza place I've ever been to!!! We saw it on Anthony Bourdain, and had to check it out. The more than an hour wait was totally worth it!
Soon our time in Portland came to an end, and we headed out on the bus to Salem and family!
Our first bus ride!
There was a crazy guy up front who kept yelling out innappropriate comments...very entertaining!
Aunt Erins new house in Portland is super nice! And it was wonderful to hang out with most of the cousins...only my dear sister was missing, and we missed her terribly :(
The day after Turkey day was a blast! Caley missed out because he caught a flight home to prevent premature death-by-stress with all of his homework and work work. This time of year is really busy at VeloNews. But anyway, the rest of us ventured off into the countryside to taste some wine and visit an olive orchard! We went the long way and took a ferry across the river! The water was really high and it made me a little nervous, but we all made it safely across, whew!
View from our car
And the view from the other side watching Uncle Kevin's car
Jesse at the Methven winery tasting room!
After Methven, we made our way through the twisty and winding hills of Oregon wine country to the most charming inn/herb shop/garden shop/olive orchard I've ever been to (and the only one...). It was incredible! The views were fantastic, and the olive oil was delicious. Aunt Erin and I agree, this would be the perfect place to get married. They have a huge trellis thing in their garden that is covered with flowers in the summer.
Views
The olive press
This beautiful day ended with some coffee and dessert in Portland with Kylie and her friend, and Martha and Lloyd, who just happened to be in town visiting Martha's family for turkey day. Small world.
Uncle Kevin, Meara, and I headed out the next day for the long haul home. Part way through the Columbia River Gorge (which thankfully wasn't as icy as everyone was saying...) was Multonomah Falls. It was breathtaking in the mist, and everything was covered in ice.
We dropped Meara off in Missoula after a tasty Thai dinner, and headed out for Fort Collins. Uncle Kevin was a champ and drove through some really bad snowy and limited visibility conditions late at night. I did quite a bit of the drive myself, but had dry roads, much less stressful. Also, I stopped taking pictures, it was dark, and I was driving or sleeping.
We made it home around 10:30am the next day. Brutal drive. I hope to never do it again.
So that was Thanksgiving break! I didn't post pics of the meal because Caley has a whole album on facebook. You might be able to see it if you paste in this link http://www.facebook.com/caley.fretz?ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=2442845&id=19226249 but I'm not sure what his security settings are.
It was an awesome trip, I'm so glad we went! I think it was really special for Aunt Erin to have us all out there this year.
-Megan
Friday the 19th Caley picked me up from work, and we headed south to the airport! Best way to leave town, didn't even stop by the house for a last minute pick up or anything! The trip was very smooth, we both "won" at the security line (no pat downs) and the flight was uneventful. All we had to do was wait for dear Emily to pick us up!
Caley waiting...
That night, Kelly came over for dinner and it was a grand Fort Collins reunion! Next day we headed to the coast for a gorgeous hike through the muddy woods to an overlook of the ocean. Gorgeous day, it was even sunny part of the time!
Caley at the beach
The hike was followed by a delicous picnic in the car, care of the always prepared Emily! Oh man was I ever glad to eat some lunch :)
The rest of our time in Portland was spent hanging out, eating delicious food. Case in point:
The food carts
And the best pizza place I've ever been to!!! We saw it on Anthony Bourdain, and had to check it out. The more than an hour wait was totally worth it!
Soon our time in Portland came to an end, and we headed out on the bus to Salem and family!
Our first bus ride!
There was a crazy guy up front who kept yelling out innappropriate comments...very entertaining!
Aunt Erins new house in Portland is super nice! And it was wonderful to hang out with most of the cousins...only my dear sister was missing, and we missed her terribly :(
The day after Turkey day was a blast! Caley missed out because he caught a flight home to prevent premature death-by-stress with all of his homework and work work. This time of year is really busy at VeloNews. But anyway, the rest of us ventured off into the countryside to taste some wine and visit an olive orchard! We went the long way and took a ferry across the river! The water was really high and it made me a little nervous, but we all made it safely across, whew!
View from our car
And the view from the other side watching Uncle Kevin's car
Jesse at the Methven winery tasting room!
After Methven, we made our way through the twisty and winding hills of Oregon wine country to the most charming inn/herb shop/garden shop/olive orchard I've ever been to (and the only one...). It was incredible! The views were fantastic, and the olive oil was delicious. Aunt Erin and I agree, this would be the perfect place to get married. They have a huge trellis thing in their garden that is covered with flowers in the summer.
Views
The olive press
This beautiful day ended with some coffee and dessert in Portland with Kylie and her friend, and Martha and Lloyd, who just happened to be in town visiting Martha's family for turkey day. Small world.
Uncle Kevin, Meara, and I headed out the next day for the long haul home. Part way through the Columbia River Gorge (which thankfully wasn't as icy as everyone was saying...) was Multonomah Falls. It was breathtaking in the mist, and everything was covered in ice.
We dropped Meara off in Missoula after a tasty Thai dinner, and headed out for Fort Collins. Uncle Kevin was a champ and drove through some really bad snowy and limited visibility conditions late at night. I did quite a bit of the drive myself, but had dry roads, much less stressful. Also, I stopped taking pictures, it was dark, and I was driving or sleeping.
We made it home around 10:30am the next day. Brutal drive. I hope to never do it again.
So that was Thanksgiving break! I didn't post pics of the meal because Caley has a whole album on facebook. You might be able to see it if you paste in this link http://www.facebook.com/caley.fretz?ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=2442845&id=19226249 but I'm not sure what his security settings are.
It was an awesome trip, I'm so glad we went! I think it was really special for Aunt Erin to have us all out there this year.
-Megan
Monday, November 15, 2010
USGP Weekend Recap!
This past weekend, the USGP (U.S. Grand Prix) of cyclocross was held in Fort Collins!!! The weekend turned out to be sooo much fun.
We started things off Friday night with the rider presentations a the Rio Grande restaurant downtown. This is where they introduce all the "famous" people. Teal was there, and she was one of the famous people being introduced! We talked about it later and how it's kind of funny how cyclists are only really famous among other cyclists. So they can be a rockstar at the race weekends, but then during the rest of the week, or on the off season, nobody knows who they are or what they do, it's not like the have to deal with paparazzi (unless you're Lance of course). We both found it amusing. I am super excited for all the success she has been having lately! It's highly amusing to think about how we have been rivals all along growing up in sports (although she was aways just out of my reach...) and now she's in the big leagues! So cool!
It snowed some on Friday, and Saturday was FREEZING!!!! I had a great time spectating and cheering. I have a "technology" assignment for a class due on Tuesday, so I was video taping some of the races to get some footage for my project. I think I'm going to do something about muscles...maybe zoom in on all the cyclists gluteus maximus' for effect or something :) Caley drew kind of a bad start, 56, and ended up finishing a few places ahead of that! Whoo hoo!
Sunday I was at the venue allll daaaaaay looooonnng. My volunteer shift was from 11:30-4:30, but I had to go in early with Caley because he was in the pit for Brian, and I wouldn't have had a ride over later. Anyway, it was another cold day, and suuuuper slippery in the morning, people were crashing all over the place :) My volunteer job was to fix the tape marking the course, it was pretty fun. I just had to walk around, cheer, and fix tape :) Caley drew a much better number, 36, and ended up in the 40's somewhere, but he didn't get pulled until two laps to go, vs three laps to go on Saturday!
All in all, a GREAT weekend!! What an amazing group of super nice people!!
Oh, I forgot, we also went out to dinner with some industry people on Saturday night. It was a blast! Of course there was lots of bike talk, but the conversation never really lulled (is that a word?) and we made some new friends/connections. I had a great time talking with the guy named Peyton who works in the entertainment industry in LA. He was really nice, and we had a great time. The next day we were chatting at the race course, and I come to find out his "entertainment job" is the lighting director for Greys Anatomy! Whoa! Go figure, a cyclocross superfan who works for Greys Anatomy! :) I love meeting random people like that :) I'm also really glad Caley includes me in his work life. I was definitely the hanger-on at the dinner of industry mucky-mucks, but nobody seemed to mind, and now I'll know who Caley is talking about when he mentions the "sales guy for SRAM, etc, etc.
Then I came home and did 4 geology lab and 1 geology exam. Go me!
For real, pics coming sometime...maybe not in the near future, but sometime :)
We started things off Friday night with the rider presentations a the Rio Grande restaurant downtown. This is where they introduce all the "famous" people. Teal was there, and she was one of the famous people being introduced! We talked about it later and how it's kind of funny how cyclists are only really famous among other cyclists. So they can be a rockstar at the race weekends, but then during the rest of the week, or on the off season, nobody knows who they are or what they do, it's not like the have to deal with paparazzi (unless you're Lance of course). We both found it amusing. I am super excited for all the success she has been having lately! It's highly amusing to think about how we have been rivals all along growing up in sports (although she was aways just out of my reach...) and now she's in the big leagues! So cool!
It snowed some on Friday, and Saturday was FREEZING!!!! I had a great time spectating and cheering. I have a "technology" assignment for a class due on Tuesday, so I was video taping some of the races to get some footage for my project. I think I'm going to do something about muscles...maybe zoom in on all the cyclists gluteus maximus' for effect or something :) Caley drew kind of a bad start, 56, and ended up finishing a few places ahead of that! Whoo hoo!
Sunday I was at the venue allll daaaaaay looooonnng. My volunteer shift was from 11:30-4:30, but I had to go in early with Caley because he was in the pit for Brian, and I wouldn't have had a ride over later. Anyway, it was another cold day, and suuuuper slippery in the morning, people were crashing all over the place :) My volunteer job was to fix the tape marking the course, it was pretty fun. I just had to walk around, cheer, and fix tape :) Caley drew a much better number, 36, and ended up in the 40's somewhere, but he didn't get pulled until two laps to go, vs three laps to go on Saturday!
All in all, a GREAT weekend!! What an amazing group of super nice people!!
Oh, I forgot, we also went out to dinner with some industry people on Saturday night. It was a blast! Of course there was lots of bike talk, but the conversation never really lulled (is that a word?) and we made some new friends/connections. I had a great time talking with the guy named Peyton who works in the entertainment industry in LA. He was really nice, and we had a great time. The next day we were chatting at the race course, and I come to find out his "entertainment job" is the lighting director for Greys Anatomy! Whoa! Go figure, a cyclocross superfan who works for Greys Anatomy! :) I love meeting random people like that :) I'm also really glad Caley includes me in his work life. I was definitely the hanger-on at the dinner of industry mucky-mucks, but nobody seemed to mind, and now I'll know who Caley is talking about when he mentions the "sales guy for SRAM, etc, etc.
Then I came home and did 4 geology lab and 1 geology exam. Go me!
For real, pics coming sometime...maybe not in the near future, but sometime :)
Monday, November 8, 2010
Goodbye Fall?
Snow in the forecast for tomorrow, although I'm pretty skeptical, we shall see. It was 85 on Saturday down in Boulder, I got quite the sunburn watching Caley race and working the pit for him. In cyclocross racing, you can have an extra bike in what is called the "pit" usually located at the middle point of the loop, and accessible from the outgoing side of the loop, and the incoming side of the loop (if that makes any sense at all). Racers can enter the pit from either direction, and swap out bikes. They may choose to do this for several reasons: too much mud and goo, flat tire, lost brakes, mental issues, etc. The pit crew can then change the flat, clean the goo, or pretend to do something to calm the racers mental issues. The racer can then come back to the pit on the next go around and get their original bike. They can do this as many times as they like. The pit is a crazy place, luckily Caley didn't need any flat tires changed, he would have been out of luck with my skills :) This past weekend, I also had the pleasure of working an 11 hr day in the lab. I got to switch labs a couple of times, but it was pretty horrendous, never again!
The next couple of weeks before Thanksgiving break are going to be pretty hectic. I am teaching another lesson on Thursday after completing a take home exam on Wednesday, then I'm giving a partner presentation on a "unit plan" the following Wednesday (the unit plan we still have to finish...) This coming weekend, I have 4 labs due in Geology, plus an exam and some discussion posting online. The USGP is here as well, and I'm volunteering on Sunday! Good grief... But! Then I get to hop on a jet plane taking me to the Pacific Northwest to see some excellent friends and family and eat some delicious food! Soooo excited!!
I do promise I'll put a montage of photos up here at some point soon, or maybe a link to a picasa album or something...I figured out how to do that the other day, neato :)
The next couple of weeks before Thanksgiving break are going to be pretty hectic. I am teaching another lesson on Thursday after completing a take home exam on Wednesday, then I'm giving a partner presentation on a "unit plan" the following Wednesday (the unit plan we still have to finish...) This coming weekend, I have 4 labs due in Geology, plus an exam and some discussion posting online. The USGP is here as well, and I'm volunteering on Sunday! Good grief... But! Then I get to hop on a jet plane taking me to the Pacific Northwest to see some excellent friends and family and eat some delicious food! Soooo excited!!
I do promise I'll put a montage of photos up here at some point soon, or maybe a link to a picasa album or something...I figured out how to do that the other day, neato :)
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