24 HOP

24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. 24 hours of continuous mountain biking. Cody's dream, my hell. Cody participated in a 4 man team with his friends Jake, and Ryan, and as a last minute substitution for his fallen compadre, Jeffrey, one of his students, Chad filled in. You may even call this, a #BikeGang. Cody had asked me a LONG time ago to attend this race with Fitz (like before the new year), and I made sure to be available. I had a lot of training at work this week, so I picked Chad up early Saturday morning and drove up to 24 Hour Town to meet up with the team. Cody, along with Jake and his wife Heather, Ryan and some of the other Oro Valley Mountain Bike coaches had already been up for a few nights.

I was super skeptical. I'll be the first to admit I'm a bad camper. Mostly in that I am a creature of comfort. I like getting into my big cozy bed, I like being clean (my hair doesn't count), and I hate walking more than 3 feet to the bathroom. That being said, 24HOP was incredible. People were camped EVERYWHERE. I mean, literally, any space you could park a car was occupied. People were biking, walking, running all over. The energy was so high, and so fun! Everyone was pumped to be there! And I totally got sucked into all of it!

My friend Leah! Her husband was racing too!

Fitz and Leah's son Lars

Watching Cody in his element was a experience all in its own. He is such a dedicated cyclist, but he really wants everyone to enjoy themselves too. He was prepared, and helped me get ready to be there, and totally packed Fitz up too. We had a lot of fun together!

The team did amazing! There are some really tricky parts of this course, including a Rock Drop whic is a steep downhill section, and then navigating the logistics of handing off the baton in the exchange tent and running out to get to their bikes as they switch riders. They ended up completing 18 laps (each lap is 17 miles) total and came in 14/99 teams in their category and 50/515 teams total. Totally rocked it out! All four of them surprised themselves in how strong they rode and how much they achieved, and it was fun to watch! I'm looking forward to attending more races with Fitz, although I think 1 night of camping is just perfect for me!

Nina!

Way to go, Code! We are SO incredibly proud of you!!

LB (Fitz too)

Love the ones you're with

Friends week! I am so lucky to have so many great friends to fill my time with in Tucson, and first up was a brunch date with my ER bud, Leslie and her little man, Brooks! We went to Prep and Pastry and spent some time catching up. She and I both moved to Banner UMC together, although she is still in the ER there. I love hearing how they do things different, and comparing notes about my new unit versus our old department.

About these AZ sunsets..

Lulu Girls night out was Friday and I was able to sneak by before heading into work. It was a total madhouse! Crazy lines and lots of fun! They had some sale stuff, but more than that, they had food, massages and eyebrow services which everyone went crazy for! Plus I got to see my barre3 babes which made for a much easier shift that night!

The next weekend, my dad came into town for a weekend in Phoenix with his friends, and came down to Tucson for the night. We went to dinner at our favorite pizza place, Reilley Craft Pizza and got to show him our new house. The next day, he and Cody came to my class, and then we went to lunch at Barrio Brewery. It was SO nice to have him, and show him our new area!

Superbowl Sunday we went over to our friend Kate and Nate's house and gorged on popcorn and cheese dip! We have been really fortunate to make friends through the activities we love, and spending time with my barre3 girls outside the studio has been a blast!

Next up, Cody's activities.

LB

Sunrise Ski

This weekend, Cody and I ventured up to Pinetop, AZ to do some skiing. It's the first time we've been since we had gone to Boyne Mountain in Michigan back in 2011 with our friends Jennie, Matt, Bryan, and Mitch. I was a little apprehensive, and had to get a new coat and have my parents ship all my stuff from Michigan, which arrived after we left Friday. Alas, we made it up there ok to stay at a Cody's friend Tom's family place with him and his son, Brian and Cody's other friends Kit and Jaime. We all skied on Saturday, and had a great time. It was sunny out, and not too cold, and it was good snow for sports.

Sunday, I stayed back to do some barre3 and work on my computer. I found a cute cafe called Sweetheart's in Show Low and they all skied some harder stuff. I finished off my day reading my newest barre3 book club book, Brave Enough by the girl who wrote Wild, and then we packed up and headed home. Fitz cuddled with us all night, and I spent the whole next day cleaning our house and pulling our life back in order. It was a great way to spend our weekend, especially with how crazy the east coast was!

LB

2016: New Year, New Goals

Like the rest of the world, at the start of each new year, I set new goals. Some of which are achievable, some of which MAY be, and some that are doomed from the beginning. This year, I forced myself to not set as many goals. 2015 was amazing as it was, completed goals, failed goals, and some in between. So this year, my biggest aim is to live in the moment and enjoy new experiences as they come along. To be appreciative of my gifts and maximize my joy.

2016 has gotten off to a great start. I got certified as a barre3 instructor! I've started teaching classes a few days a week in addition to working 2 days a week on a new unit at a new hospital. I am now working at Banner University Medical Center- Tucson on a cardio-thoracic surgery unit. And I have to say, I am loving it! My work-life balance is much better, and I have more time for family. Barre3 has been such a huge part of my life for the last year and change, and I have been able to get deeper into my own health journey through becoming an instructor. It has also been amazing to be surrounded by strong women with like minded values.

Cody just got back from a week in Vegas, (I know, rough life) where he navigated his way through the Consumer Electronics Show for work. From the sound of it, he saw some really neat stuff.

Now we are just trying to enjoy being home, getting back into the post Holiday swing of things with Fitz, get some chores accomplished, and enjoy the nice weather in Tucson! First up, hang our wedding photos.

Until next time,
LB/LM

Honeymoon, take me back

Ugh. Coming back to work and responsibility after a full week of undivided relaxation, exploring, and time with your husband (eek!) is not the most fun. But reminiscing and looking through photos is! 

Our first few days in Panama, we laid around beach side on Isla Bastimentos, an island off the coast of Bocas deal Toro. We did some swimming, snorkeling, saw the local village, and ended with Cody taking surf lessons! He's actually pretty good! 

We finally peeled ourselves away (literally, it was super humid) to head up to the mountains of Boquete. We explored the jungles, and learned about the history of Panama from our tour guide Hans! 

After getting our rain fix, we hopped on a plane to Panama City to finish out our trip exploring the old city. We stayed at the American Trade Hotel in Casco Viejo, and it was an amazing experience! The hotel is an old historic building that has been restored and turned into a hotel. There is a neat library on one floor, and a jazz club with amazing local artists! We spent some time seeing the canal and saw a cruise ship pass through the locks, but my favorite was seeing the old buildings that had been renovated! 

We stopped back in Michigan to pick up Fitz, and are back to our routines, much to our chagrin. 

Until next time,

LB

Married life!

Settling in to married life has been the best transition yet. We are figuring out or day to day flow, but we are finally getting to spend quality time together that we had been missing in the weeks leading up to the wedding. During wedding week, I headed home a few days early with Fitz, and Cody joined by Wednesday for the festivities!

We are so incredibly lucky to have such amazing family and friends! Thank you for making our weekend so special! 

Love, 

LB

San Diego.. Wedding Remix

Well, we are currently on our way back from a quick trip to San Diego for our friend's Brad and Christina's wedding, and I didn't charge my iPad or bring a book. Hence, a short post about our trip. 

We left Friday morning to head out and luckily had no delays! We arrived in Carlsbad, near the wedding location in the afternoon and checked into our awesome hotel! The Ocean Palms Beach Resort is so fancy! And they have mini kitchens in their rooms! Cody is planning our return trip to utilize this to its fullest potential. After a quick, healthy lunch, we quickly got ready for the shuttle to the wedding. Cody's friend even bought our bus beer for the 30 minute drive. Coors Light for everybody!

The wedding venue was gorgeous! Loads of vintage furniture, lace, and photos of Brad and Christina! 

Cody and I left relatively early as I had been up for over 24 hours at that point. We slept in a bit, and then Cody dragged my sorry butt out of bed to go for a tough beach run. Sand is quite the calf killer, although I can't say I was super surprised. We went about 7.5 km, but only ran about 3/4 of it as the tide can in, and our feet hurt. We are blaming the tide though. 

We cleaned ourselves up a bit and went back down to the beach for volleyball and sun time! But not until after breakfast burritos at Cessy's. 

A quick stop by the outlets on the way to the airport, and we are headed home. Short, but lots of sweet time together. 

LB