Exploring Again

We headed out again on Monday to explore the hiking in our area. Just a 40 minute drive South East from us is the Santa Ana Mountains. We have a great book that was given to us by some people at church called Afoot & Afield Orange County, which has great information about hiking right here in the OC.  The book led us to Silverado Canyon Road, and to an area of fantastic hiking and mountain biking.  We hiked about 4 miles up to Bedford Peak, and explored the views once we were at the top, because we had climbed 2,200 feet up!

The spectacular view of the San Bernadino Mountains and city below.

The switchbacks on the trail led through some metasedimentary rock that was described in our guide book as rocks that had been deposited on the sea floor more than 150 million years ago.  Brian enjoyed observing a bit of the geology as he hiked. 

A beautiful view and perfect time for lunch at the top!

The mountains across the canyon from us as we hiked were really impressive. We hope to return to some of the peaks over there, which were more like 5,000 feet up and a few more miles to get to.  The mountains were so green due to recent rains, and made for beautiful scenery as we hiked. 

We had a great time together on the 4 hour hike!

Brian did a headstand at the top of course.

Santa Ana Mountains

Phoenix Trip

On Sunday last week I drove 6 hours to Phoenix to spend a couple days with my sister Alyssa and her husband Chris.  You may remember our blog post from September when Brian and I drove through Phoenix on our way back to Minnesota for Brian's ordination. Well, I took the trip again (just to Phoenix this time) in order to spend some time with my sister. Though 6 hours is a big commitment, it is still wonderful how close I live to them now that we are in So. Cal.  It has been a long time since Alyssa and I have lived so close to each other, so I need to take advantage of the situation as long as we are out here!


We had a good time together while I was there. Alyssa had to two days planned with great food, a couple desert hikes, and plenty of time to catch up!  We love cooking together, and since Alyssa is a vegan, then there is always something new and different to try when I visit her.  This trip we shared some sesame tofu sticks for lunch that we picked up from Whole Foods.  She also cooked herself some teriyaki tofu to go along with the delicious chicken teriyaki she cooked for Chris and me.

Alyssa recently discovered a wonderful hike a short drive from her house that leads to a great overlook of the city.  She first went on the hike with a yoga group that her friend is a part of.  She was excited to take me to the hike when I got to town, and of course we brought yoga mats to do a little yoga while overlooking the city. I mostly did some stretching and laying, while she contorted herself into some impressive yoga poses.  It was a beautiful view and a great morning activity! 

After hiking and shopping a bit around Phoenix, we were thinking happy hour would be just the perfect activity for two sisters to do together.  We called up the Blue Martini, and sure enough, they were serving half-off everything for their afternoon happy hour.  We enjoyed some tasty martinis and good conversation for the afternoon.  While sitting at the Blue Martini, we got a phone call from our dad updating us that our brother Mason got a job he had applied for as the morning radio show host at the country music station in Salida, CO.  We were excited for him and his new opportunity. We toasted to him and sent a picture text with our congratulations!  Good work Mason!  We hope your new job is starting off well this week!

Alyssa and Chris have a grapefruit tree in their backyard that produces impressively sweet grapefruit juice.  So I thought it would be fun to head outside with a step stool to help them harvest their fruits.  I picked a whole bag of them, and then juiced about 8 fruits for them.  As an added bonus, I got to bring some home with me to make my own delicious juice!  I love the abundance of fresh citrus down here in the South West!





I left on Tuesday afternoon in order to be home and rested before getting back to my work schedule on Wednesday afternoon. But before I left Alyssa wanted to do some more hiking. So after breakfast we went out to the trails around her neighborhood.  Old desert trails lead off from the neighborhood trails into the desert, and though there are some large "No Trespassing" signs, we decided to try the old trails out and see what cool things we might find. I was pretty nervous about trespassing, but when I saw how many bike tracks and footprints were on the trails I decided the signs might just be a way to keep people who don't live in the neighborhood away from the desert that surrounds the residential area. We only headed about 30 minutes before turning around, so I was thinking it was pretty harmless. It was fun to see more of the desert though, and we enjoyed spotting some birds and checking out the cactus and other desert terrain. 

One last picture of us together before saying goodbye.  We were trying for good pics the whole time, but since we were both showered and hair done, we were hoping for a good close up this time.  I think this one turned out pretty well. We were in her back yard with the wonderful sun on our faces and her little orange tree in the background. Thanks for the wonderful visit Sass! I had so much fun with you!

Mountains Above Us

Many of you may not know that there are some pretty big mountains in Southern California.  I know that before I moved here, I never imagined snow capped mountains lingering above the L.A. area.  There are, however, some pretty impressive mountains surrounding us her in Northern Orange County. I captured some pictures while driving (I was safe about it) to share with everyone the sights we see when we get a clear view of the mountains. Because of pollution and haze, we don't get a clear view everyday. But this winter air has been nice for mountain gazing, and right after a good rain is the perfect time to see the area too. I also got some pictures of the wind mills near Palm Desert and Palm Springs when I was driving to Phoenix to see my sister.  I will blog more about my visit with Alyssa, but for now, here are some pictures of our beautiful surroundings!

This is Mount Baldy, in the Angeles National Forest

Mount Baldy again

This is the view towards the San Bernadino Mountains where Big Bear Lake is located

I believe this is still a look at the San Bernadino Mountains

There are so many wind mills in this valley, it is pretty spectacular. I wish I could catch them all!

We like to Eat!

Brian was attempting to make whole wheat lefse at Christmas

Hello everyone. Here's a quick little blog about how much Brian and I like to cook and eat!  Since I work four evenings out of the week, we don't get a lot of time to make a great meal. But on Mondays and Tuesdays we get a chance to cook together and it's always a fun adventure. 




 

Whole Wheat peanut butter brownies!

We make whole wheat pizza about once a week, and we frequently have homemade whole wheat tortillas with some sort of delicious filling, like fajitas or breakfast burritos or quesadillas.  We also often get left overs from church events that we need to eat up through out the week. These leftovers can range from cookies and brownies to roasted vegetables and lasagna.  We are like the hand-me-down food eaters. It's kind of fun :)  We also have lots of gift cards to restaurants that we got from church members when we first got here, and from Christmas gifts from family (Thanks Wards) and church friends.  So we try to go out to eat about every other week with our very generous gift cards!! 

Chicken, wild rice, asparagus, onions, mushrooms, and lemon!

We have lately been getting tired of the same old food we always cook: tortillas, eggs, chicken, salsa, etc.  So I got creative with dinner last week and made a wonderfully delicious wild rice and chicken dish with asparagus and lemon. It was SO good and great for a change of the same old flavors.  Any other ideas of new foods or new flavors  would be great, because we are in a rut!  Share some recipes or thoughts, because we would love to know what you love to cook! 

Fully cooked chicken and wild rice dish

Brian digging in... yum!

After Christmas Camping

Hello Friends. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you.  We wanted to share a few pictures from our camping trip in Joshua Tree National Park. We left on Sunday right after church and camped two nights in the park before coming home and getting back to work.  We hiked several miles each day, and got to the top of a few mountains with great views!  We also hiked to the Lost Palms Oasis, which is an area with a spring and a large grouping of huge palm trees in the middle of the desert. 

A great view of the snow caps from one of our hikes.

Joshua Tree, actually part of the lily family

Desert camping in the winter was something new for us.  We knew it would be cold, but we also new we had the gear to handle it. It was between 32 and 35 at night in the high desert and up to 55 during the day. Monday it was windy and felt colder than 55 during our hikes, especially at the top of the mountains.  On Tuesday we drove down to the low desert, where it was closer to 65 during the day, with sun and no wind. It was beautiful hiking to the Oasis that day, feeling some warmth after a couple of cold nights in the high desert. 

Brian is staying warm by the fire and cooking some delicious camp food

This large oaf was spotted trying to sneak into our camp site. Brian was able to capture it on camera.

Hanging in the cholla cactus garden

The Lost Palm Oasis. Largest grouping of California Fan Palms in the park.

We absolutely loved Joshua Tree. The terrain was beautiful, and the hiking was spectacular. We can't wait to go back in the Spring when the flowers are blooming. We hear it is quite a sight.  Exploring the desert was so new to us, but what a beautiful place! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out facebook for more photos of our trip.

Christmas Blur

Our apartment all decorated for Christmas

Happy Holidays everyone!  We had a whirlwind of events the last couple weeks, and are just now catching our breath and getting some rest. Here are some highlights from the week of Christmas and some pics of Christmas at our house.

1. December 19th-21st we were able to sneak away to Vegas to see my dad and his family for Dad and Tony's Birthdays.  Delicious steak dinner (I had a rack of lamb... mmmmm)  and some good conversation!

2. Christmas Eve morning we skyped family in Florida, where Brian's parents and grandparents were together for the holiday!

3. Brian joined St. Paul Lutheran for 3 Christmas Eve services later that night. I made it to the 11:00pm candle light service just in time after my shift at work.

4. We got to skype family in Denver Christmas morning, which made me feel like I was home with them opening presents around the tree! 

Some holiday treats I made to get into the mood for Christmas

5. Then off to Christmas morning service at SPLC, which was a delight with Christmas carols and beautiful poinsettias.

6. We joined Pastor Tom and Sue and their family for a Christmas morning brunch following the service. Delicious breakfast rolls together in the shape of a Christmas tree are a tradition for the Goellrich's. 



7. Back to work for me, 2pm-midnight, and Brian stayed with the Goellrich's for the remainder of their evening with family.

8. Sunday morning Brian was back in the pulpit at Shepard of the Hills, a church that St. Paul's is supporting this year with church services and pastoral care. 

9. By 1:30pm on Sunday the car was packed with camping gear and we were headed out the door to Joshua Tree National Park. 

I hope you all had a wonderful time with family and celebrating the spirit of hope that Jesus' birth brings to us this time of year!  We miss you all!

Our First Christmas as Rev. and Mrs. Ward :)

Thanksgiving

Yvonne made Butternut Squash soup that was amazing!

This year I have to work on all the holidays.  The group home I work at is a 24-hour residential facility, and many of the clients do not get to go home for the holidays. So instead we take them out to a buffet restaurant and to a movie, which is how I spent this Thanksgiving Day. It was a nice time with the clients, and really the whole weekend was pretty fun with them, since it was the holidays it lightened the mood of the place. As hard as it is to miss out on family time over the holidays, and to be living so far away from all my family, it felt purposeful to be with the clients who also could not be with their families. We were able to make their weekend as festive as possible, with hot chocolate, fires in the fireplace, and cookie making. 

Brian was invited over to many houses for Thanksgiving, and he ended up joining the first family who asked him. He had a good time with them and was able to feel the warmth and cheer of the season. In addition, a nice couple from church, Stan and Yvonne, wanted to share some holiday joy with us as well. So on Sunday they had us over along with a second cousin and his wife, who are around our age. They cooked a whole Thanksgiving meal for us, which we got to all help with. It was very festive and fun, complete with a game of bocce ball in the yard before dinner. It was wonderful that Stan and Yvonne remembered us for the holidays, and created a holiday meal for us at a time when I could join and didn't have to work.  I am very thankful for their thoughtfulness and generosity!

Stan cutting the big delicious Turkey!

 

Adam and Abby, originally from MN, now living in West Hollywood (Yvonne is in the background)