Ch-Ch-Changes!

Hey all!

We're going through changes, so it seems! We've updated our house in little ways (put up bead board around the island, and installed a light fixture above the stairs). We will post pics soon. We are excited to finally start finishing some of our projects around the house. Our joke has been that everything is 90% complete. I guess this is our Done December.

We also having been making some more goals for our future/careers lately. The biggest one on the plate is Marcus thinking about Graduate School. I'm so proud of him. He has been researching different programs lately and it is so cool to see him excited about it! Poor Seger, both of us will be in Grad School at the same time. :)

A Week to End All Weeks...

An epic week (and I thought bad things only came in 3s):

Monday: One angry parent, Formal evaluation by principal, grades due, work 13 hours

Tuesday: Different VERY angry parent. Realize that somehow my graduate program signed me up for the WRONG CLASS, which I have been participating in for 2 weeks. They drop me from the class and place me in a new class. I now have 1 week to do 2 1/2 weeks worth of work.

Wednesday: Cry in front of a coworker for 25 minutes. Angry parent #2 continues rampage. Mysterious sharp stomach pains elusive to even "the pink stuff" keep me up all night alternating hot flashes and shivers.

Thursday: Cry again in front of a coworker. A hot water pipe bursts in the ceiling of my classroom, flooding my room with somewhere around 3 inches of standing water. The fire department is called. My computer and the laptop cart which houses 30 laptops are ruined in the flood along with countless other mementos, posters, papers, and other important information. Marcus goes to buy something with our truck, truck gets flat tire. Go to fix tire at 9 o'clock at night only to find the spare is also flat and the jack doesn't work with the truck. Stomach pains continue.

Friday: Well it is only Thursday night, but already know I will have to teach the entire day in a vacant classroom and spend every extra minute I have cleaning up my classroom. I can't wait to see what Friday has in store for me! :) Oh and did I mention I have a broken foot and am in a boot?

Race for the Cure

We did it! We got up at 4:50 in the morning yesterday and ran the 5k! It was the best feeling ever to complete it. I think I actually experienced a runner's high; it was incredible. The race was so inspiring and it totally made us want to do another. We already started to look for the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.

We forgot our camera, so my friend Carrie took these pics with her phone. My final time was 35 mins, Marcus ran it in 30 mins. My goal was to run at least a mile and try to run it in under 45 minutes--I ended up running the entire time and cut off 10 minutes. Note: Marcus's very manly shirt. :)

T Minus One Week and Counting...

One week to go before our first 5k! Marcus and I (and Seger) have been running A LOT lately. We are really excited to do our first race; although I'm sure I wont be able to run the entire time. On the right you should be able to see my running stats. It is kind of messed up because I didn't realize my sensor was upside down in my shoe for like 3 runs so my pace and distance are a lot off, but you get the idea! I'm pretty proud that I've run around 15 miles in the past week and a half.

It Keeps You Runnin'

Well-- We've done nothing but run for almost the past month; however, our runs are coming in different forms.

Marcus has been coaching track this year. He is our school's new hurdle coach (since he's so experienced and all :) ). He has occasionally been running with me (twice so far) since we are running the Race for the Cure on October 4th. He had his first track meet last week and two more this week!

I've been running 3-5 times a week to train for the 5k. I've been feeling really great about it. I've been getting up at 5:30 to run with Seger. I've never been so sore! My "coach" has been encouraging Seger and I to keep going. We ran a 5k on Saturday morning which was the farthest distance I've ever run. I decided I want to try to do a marathon by the time I'm 30.

So Long Sweet Summer!

Well summer has come and gone.  We both officially start work on Friday (although you could argue we've been working the past few days).  What a summer!  We feel especially fortunate to see all the strides Seger has made over the summer.  She went camping for the first time and has become quite the fan of swimming in the river at the dog park (pictured above).  

I've been so proud of Marcus this summer.  Our backyard is about 2 hours of work from being completely done!!  We will post pictures of everything once it is complete.  The flagstone patio looks awesome.  It was a wonderful surprise to get to spend the summer together and I honestly don't know how I would have held up without him the entire summer.  

Our days of leisure are gone, but I find myself excited for the upcoming year.  I can't wait to be around kids again and to see all my colleagues.  Even lessening my load of grad classes will come as a huge relief.  I feel as though we spent the summer more isolated than usual, but in many ways, I found tons of inspiration and motivation from it.  I'm ready to be around the friends I work with and to have another VERY fun schoolyear!

March-June in 60 Seconds or Less

So I realize we've dropped the ball on posting lately.  Let me bring you up to speed.

1.  Marcus came back from the Colorado Trail after 5 days and 57 miles.  He wasn't enjoying it and didn't find the solitude and relaxation he thought he would.  I am so glad he is back.  It has been awesome to have him to enjoy the summer with!

2.  We really haven't updated our life since March.  So without further adieu, here it is.  Some important events:  We redid our kitchen with granite countertops, put in sod and gardenbeds, went to Teton and Yellowstone for our 1st Anniversary, and Marcus has climbed 4 fourteeners since he has been back from his trip.  So here ya go!

42 miles and counting...

Day 1: 13 miles

Day 2: 15 miles

Day 3: 14 miles

Marcus made it to his meeting point with his Dad today around 5 pm. He greatly appreciated some time to relax, stretch, and sleep. I ended up being able to talk to him on the phone again. This time we were able to talk for an hour (since his Dad is coming with the car charger). I sent Dave with a ton of junk food for Marcus to binge on and increase his caloric intake since he is burning so many calories. I made breakfast burritos for them to eat for dinner at the campsite. A couple of cool stories Marcus told me today:

He was walking yesterday in a really remote part of the trail. He saw about 20 tents surrounding a huge canvas tent. As he got closer he saw dozens of people at the campsite. He ran into two guys on the trail carrying pickaxes. They were all there doing trail maintenance for the Colorado Trail. They kept trying to talk him into staying for dinner, but he had a schedule to keep. They made him a turkey sandwich, gave him a Fat Tire, and a bagel for breakfast and he was on his way. He was really glad to talk to them for a while and get some fresh food.

He ran into two kids that just graduated high school in Durango. They decided to do the CT, but starting in Denver and ending just a couple of miles from their backyard. They got dropped off around the same time as Marcus and are planning on hiking the trail in 38 days (Marcus is going to shoot for 30).

As for me, I'm trying to keep busy. I have any amazing support system. I've been really lucky to have friends calling me a lot the past few days. I decided to sign up for an oil painting class at my gym, I'm taking two courses for grad school this summer, and babysitting my nephew, Ambrose. I think I am more busy now than I was during the schoolyear!

The First Day

I just got off of the phone with Marcus. Despite getting off to a late start, he managed to climb around 13 miles today. He gained almost 2300 feet in elevation and he said he is really sore. He also had some delicious Pad Thai for dinner, so that's good. :) His spirits were a little low- the trail was really steep and difficult, and he is camped on the side of a hill, but he is well and ready to start a new day tomorrow.

He's Gone on Walkabout

Well folks, off he went.  Marcus left around 1:30 pm today for the Colorado Trail.  It is around 480 miles and stretches from Denver to Durango.  It was so sad to see him go, but I know that he will be able to do it.   I'm so proud of him for following through with him dream of doing this trail!  Stay tuned to our blog for the latest updates on Marcus.  :)

Good Luck!

A pretty heavy pack, but this is everything he has to live on for four weeks!

All Barf and No Bite

CAUSE AND EFFECT

Let's go over this week's chain of events:

1. Seger cuts foot barking, bleeds all over new carpet, gets stitches, can't go on walks for 2 weeks.
2. Without walks, Seger gets destructive.
3. This leads to Seger eating a houseplant yesterday (soil and all).
4. Which leads to us coming home from work and finding 4 (yes 4) individual piles of vomit in various rooms of the house.
5. Which leads to me cleaning the carpets this weekend to get out the blood and vomit.

I guess the honeymoon's over... :)

What a morning!

So yesterday morning as we were getting ready to walk out the door, we let Seger out to go to the bathroom. Our neighbor's dog was in the backyard, which always excites Seger. As she barked and ran back and forth with Casey (the other dog) through the fence, apparently she stepped on the metal separator between the "grass"(or what used to be) and the rocks. We didn't realize anything was wrong until we got her inside and noticed the little pools of blood on our brand-new white carpet. Needless to say, Marcus and I both freaked out. We ended up having to wrap her foot in a maxi pad, carry her to the car, and take her to the vet.

An hour of crying and $276.75 later, we had this to welcome us home  last night, and no money could buy that feeling...

Back to Work

Well, after SEVERAL months of not working on the house, Marcus and I are inspired again. After taking a good look around the house, we've decided what our next projects are going to be:

We are going to *finally* put in the new kitchen countertops, sink, and faucet at the end of this month.

After sitting outside yesterday in 80 degree weather and blue skies, we realized how much we (and Seger) really missed having a yard (and grass). We are starting to figure out how to till, put in topsoil, sod, and landscape the yard. We've both been putting this off because our extreme hatred of yardwork!

After 6 months of plywood subfloor in our dining room, we feel we are ready for the next step- tile! We hope to pick this out soon.

Winter in the Rockies

Snowshoeing outside Nederland 2 weeks ago

We had a great 4 day weekend!  We rented a cabin outside of Woodland Park with our friends, Mike and Megan for 2 nights.  We had a REALLy fun time.  The cabin sat on 100 acres and was a homestead.  There was an original homestead cabin to see and old abandoned mines all over the property.  It was a great time and sitting out under the stars at night in the hot tub was the best part.

The view from the cabin of the west slope of Pikes Peak.  

Marcus reenacting Baby Jessica's well incident- only this time in an old mine.  

If you look closely, you can see us the "Chrismussen family" in the Garden of the Gods guestbook.  Christensen + Rasmussen = Chrismussen family. 

Marcus and I at Garden of the Gods on our way home.  It was absolutely beautiful and made us both miss Moab.  

January Went By Fast, Didn't it?

So much to tell!

Let's see... where to start? I will categorize our updates by person.

Marcus
*Marcus has decided to hike the Colorado Trail this summer. If you aren't familiar with this, it is 480 miles from Denver to Durango and usually takes most people 5-6 weeks to complete. If you know Marcus, he is loving doing his online research on gear and reading up every backpacking book he can find.
*Marcus is working on installing a door to our basement currently. We are sick of getting the cold drafts coming up the stairs. He is doing an excellent job and preparing for our next task: kitchen countertops.
*Marcus has been running a TON to prepare for hike. Seger is definitely in favor of training with him
*He held a newborn baby for the first time on Friday. Beth's brother Joe and his wife, Mandi had a baby on the 25th, Ambrose. We all sort of realized at the same time (5 days after Ambrose was born) that Marcus was his uncle. LOL

Beth
*Beth applied (and got accepted) to graduate school at CSU. She starts in March. Her degree will be a Masters of Science in Teaching and Learning with a focus on Online Education.
*Beth is suffocating under a pile of essays to be graded... please send help.
*Beth made homemade bread for the first time ever last week. She thinks it takes a very long time.
*The weekend of Valentine's Day, we have a 4 day weekend, so we rented a cabin outside of Woodland Park with our best friends, Mike and Megan. We are VERY excited to relax for a long weekend.

Seger
*Seger graduated a week ago from Obedience School-- we've never been more proud. :)
*On a recent visit to Joe and Mandi's, Pete (Joe's dog) destroyed Seger's beloved stuffed animal duck. The duck needs surgery to repair a large flesh wound on its side. Please keep it in your thoughts- we hope it will survive the operation.
*Seger is hoping she gets a walk this evening...
*Seger has decided that she can sit on the couch and sleep all day while we are work. We have been trying everything in our power to prevent this. She's very tricky though...

Ahhh...Break!

Seger wearing Marcus's helmet.

Our dog rocks

We had a great time hiking this week. Marcus mountain biked and Seger and I hiked.