actually climbing the highest peak in AZ!

we wrote about our attempt to climb humphrey's peak in september 2009, and in september 2010, we hiked and conquered it!

humphrey's peak is some 12,000 feet and starting from phoenix at 1115, that is a lot of elevation gain in one day! we were determined to get to the top, but little did we know that last time we weren't even close--turns out it has 3 false summits! it is a beautiful hike through meadows, trees and then tundra. we were simply not as prepared as we should've been with little water, and ended up hiking down in a bit of a delirious daze, but it was still a wonderful hike. it was good to see the edge of the grand canyon from the top. and although other hikers doubted syd's ability to get to the top (some even said, 'if that dog can do it, so can i'--i guess it's his poodle physique:) ), he was a champ!

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From Spring and Summer 2010

Our wedding!! 7 August 2010

we can't say enough how much we loved our wedding celebration!

thank you so much to all of you who traveled to be with us! we absolutely loved having our friends and family in one spot.

thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make our day fun, flawless, and memorable!

and although it rained on our wedding day, it couldn't have been more perfect!

Our Wedding Celebration

a few of our own wedding pics...

Our own few wedding pics

spring and summer 2010

our spring and summer flew by this year! i think matt figured out that he was home for may be 2 weeks from april until the end of september!

the trick of living in phoenix is trying to be out of the city as much as possible from may to october. temperatures average at 110F/45C. you have to get up before the sun if you want to be outside at all. and even at 5am, when the sun is creeping above the horizon, it is already 95F/35C. we had to be very strategic about exercising and walking our dog. hot cement burns syd's feet. since matt was away in kenya for a month, i spent more weekends in phoenix by myself than i cared to but i managed to survive. may be i won't have to repeat another summer in phoenix with its extreme temps..??

in may we drove over to LA to visit matt's friends nick and dave. it was the usual LA fun with visiting northwestern alumni (there are so many of them!), walking on beach boardwalks, checking out improv, eating good food and absorbing the silliness that is nick, dave and matt.


Click on 'Spring and Summer 2010' below to see this album

From Spring and Summer 2010

just as the temps started to rise in AZ, we slipped a hike in beautiful sedona. it also gets very hot in sedona, although it's in the 'high country'. arizona has wildly varying climates, with the north having a white, snowy christmas and phoenix being 75F/24C at christmas. sedona is known for its spirituality in a new age sort of way. it's full of artists, palm readers, psychics that are drawn to this area of the country with its stunning read rock formations that does seem magical.


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From Spring and Summer 2010

our ultimate escape from phoenix heat was heading to seattle 2 weeks before the wedding. we drove up through utah and idaho which is a mellow, gorgeous drive. we listened to the steig larson's the girl who kicked the hornets nest. we're fans of audio books on long drives. it makes the time fly by.

the night we arrived in seattle, we went to a seattle sounders soccer game with christian and natasha which was a perfect welcome! we worked our days and enjoyed our nights with friends and family.

christian set up a great night of sailing for us on lake union! it's called 'duck dodge' and is a popular race that is mellow and laid back. we had great views of the city and ended up partaking in the tradition of partying on a make-shift raft of sailboats and then mooning the sailors as our boat sailed away.

Click on 'Spring and Summer 2010' below the picture to see this album

From Spring and Summer 2010

we love march visitors

in march 2010, matt and i had a lovely visit from 3 of our favorite canadians, jessica, erin and their little girl kaitlyn. we ran a half marathon together--yep, kaitlyn rode along in her stroller as her parents did a half marathon as part of their half ironman training!! it was a perfect arizona day for running bc it was actually cloudy!

From March 2010, Family visit

zach, edie and eli also came to enjoy the phoenix sunshine in march! it's amazing how much eli has grown in less than a year! matt and i had moved into a new house (in the same neighborhood, coronado) just 2 weeks before their visit. our place is bigger which was perfect for housing my uncle ted, my cousins cammi, jonas and caleb. it made for a fun, full house. it was a great way to warm our new place!

From March 2010, Family visit

What kind of bloggers are we?

hello friends and family,
somehow, it seems to have been almost one year since we last posted! whoa! well, what a year it has been! it seems like our camera didn't capture all of our adventures, and really who wants to read about the past year without photos?! so we'll keep this fairly brief.

our wedding was certainly the highlight of our year and we are just so thrilled that so many of you shared in our celebration! check out our honeymoon pics--we had two! we strongly recommend it--one with friends and one with your new spouse:)

happy new year~to a happy and healthy 2011!
lots of love,
mariah and matt