A Welcome Sight

This is what I was graced with this morning on my way out the door, and I couldn't have been happier. SNOW! On our jack-o-lanterns!

Happy (almost) Halloween.

P.S. I won the pumpkin carving contest at FHE with this beauty. Just bragging.

P.P.S. My roommate won the "cutest" category for her Mickey Mouse rendition, well done.

engaged!

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Since it's not officially news until it's announced on this here blog, I thought I'd let you all know that Andrew and Holland got engaged last week! I'm super excited for them.

Couples that barbeque together stay together I guess.

Congrats Brother.

of baseball and fathers

I feel very disconnected from the MLB postseason this year as I have no TV and the only playoff team I had any vested interest in got swept by the Yankees in the ALDS; way to go Twins. Now we are left with four teams, three of which are honest-to-goodness my least favorite clubs in the majors. The outcome of the NLCS will be an absolute lose-lose situation. In the ALCS, I'm left to cheer for the Texas Rangers, a team I'm mildly interested in. At least I can live vicariously through my Dad, brother Matt, and nephew, Jacob (Ranger fans of various loyalties...). My dad used to live in Arlington (where the Rangers play) and I was able to see a game there when I was thirteen. Being a child of Mike Nielson, I was forced into a love of baseball from an early age. Little did I know that he was planting the seed for one of my life's ambitions. You see, just like any loving father, my Dad only wants a few things for/from his daughter in life:

-graduate school

-marry a guy who doesn't deal drugs

-make lots of money so that I can support him in his old age

-visit all the major league ballparks in the country

Well I'm happy to announce that I'm two steps closer to that last goal! A few weeks ago I visited Heidi and Cameron in Michigan and we were able to go to games in both Detroit and Cleveland.

Good looking couple at a good looking ballpark

Baseball was not intended to be a cold sport, but this is the Midwest in Fall afterall.

"Heidizzle, make sure you can see the sign in the background, you know, to prove that I was here." Don't worry, Cameron was able to remedy this situation and get the right shot.

famous Fox theatre in the background

steam rising from the sewer

Lions and Tigers and fans, oh my! Ford Field is literally next door to Tigers Stadium.

Progressive Field, formerly called Jacob's Field or "the Jake"

H & C, looking particularly great on a chilly Cleveland evening.

The entire stadium was so empty! Apparently Ohioans aren't too jazzed about their near-last place team on a cold Tuesday night in September

it was officially the emptiest game I've ever attended. I would estimate less than 4,000 spectators.

All in all, a positive experience. A special thanks goes out to Dizzle, Cameron, Bud Selig, Papa Nielson, Ty Cobb, and these guys

for making it all happen. There may be more coming on my Midwest Mayhem 2010 Tour... stay posted.

'Tis good to be back in the Wasatch

After consuming half a gallon of milk last night (**sidenote: I'm lactose intolerant), and waking up with the most heinous food hangover ever, I decided there's no better way to cheer myself up (and procrastinate homework) than to post some cool images from the last few weeks of awesome-Autumn-Wasatch-ness.

Moose up AF Canyon

Cool cracks in the sediment; evidence of higher water days at Silver Lake.

I finally hiked Lone Peak, one of the coolest mountains in the area; Just look how excited I was!

Apparently my buddy, Mark, was pretty excited too! (Twin Peaks and Uintas way off in the distance)

Just hanging out in the cirque

On the way back down, my friend's brother proposed to his girlfriend, no one knew what was going on, kind of crazy! It was a super cool thing to witness.

Tibble Fork of AF Canyon, glowing with aspen

Camille and I finally toured Timpanogos Cave National Monument. We now feel like legit Utah County residents.

Sam and I backpacked into Pittsburgh Lake...

...you could see into Mineral Basin! That's the top of the Snowbird tram hidden amidst the clouds.

Unidentified hottie carrying my massive pack.

Ok, so I know this is a weird shot, but I don't have any biking photos from the last couple of months (it's not exactly handy to stick a camera in my jersey), so instead I'll just show off the mechanism that added to some great rides: shiny new cleats (my old ones were hashed beyond recognition). The cycling weather has been prime!

After being in red rock desert all summer long, it's so nice to be back in/near the mountains. Alpine beauty is truly something to behold and as much fun as I have during the summer months, I really begin to crave these landscapes. Extra special treat this year with the rainstorms we had last week: the colors seemed to prolong and the precip brought on a new crop of green vegetation, making for a lovely mix with the already changing leaves! I fear this week is the beginning of the end: temps are cooling down and school is heating up (big time) for me. Glad I got it in while I could!