Road Trip #2: Flagstaff, AZ, etc.

Alex and I decided since there wasn't too much going on for either of us at work that we should take a little trip/week vacation. We found this great timeshare/condo renting place in Flagstaff, Arizona (2 hours north of Phoenix). We had an amazing time. It's beautiful there; reminded us both of Washington and the PNW in general. We went hiking, sight seeing, eating, drinking, etc. etc. It was really great to get to spend some quality time together since we've both been very busy lately. Here are a few pictures from our adventure, hopefully I can narrate them all.

 in the kitchen of our condo making some breakfast

 Gabs lounging by the slider to the deck

 there was a nice park we took Gabby to quite a few times

 this is the mtn we decided to climb the next day...

 Gabby was pumped there was snow on our hike...she LOVES playing in snow :)

 making our way up the mtn

 it was gorgeous up there

random pic in the middle of our hike documentation but we went to this brewery for lunch on the first day

 stopped for a rest and a picture

 ADVENTURE DOOOOOG!!!

 yep, we were pretty high up there

 grabbing a little break from the wind...Gabby ducked out of the pic for some reason

 the summit of Humphrey's Peak

 I DID IT!!! (Alex didn't take a picture of himself, we went one at a time the last little way)...it was seriously cold up there and the wind was blowing soooooo hard. it was a really long way up and a really long way down. i was "done" with a about a half hour left on the way down. i think i recited the Lord's Prayer and Psalm 23 about a million times and did a very dramatic "Thank you GOD!!!" when we got to the meadow. BUT we did it and it was a great experience.

 the next day with very sore bodies, we went to the Grand Canyon National Park...it was seriously awesome...here are Gabby and Alex checking out the first stop on the South Rim

 the Watch Tower on the first stop was really neat

 Canyon

 It was so gorgeous. Better than I even expected

 beginning of sunset...the sunset was quite magical :)

 the next day we went the site of the 2nd largest and best perserved meteor crater in the world. it was a BIG hole in the ground

 that's our tour guide, Eddy

 the next and last day of our trip was spent around Flagstaff. we went to the Lowell Observatory and saw some neat stuff. This is where Pluto was discovered....in the evenings they have "star gazing". We got to look at the Moon, Uranius, and Jupiter with 4 of its moons. Here I'm view Jupiter.

 Alex checking out Jupiter

 On our way home we went through the Petrified Forest National Park (per Momma Hill's request) and it was pretty incredible how all this land and things of the land have been perserved.

Petrified Wood

This was a great trip and our first vacation as married people :) Can't wait for the next one!

Road Trip: Tucson, AZ

This past weekend we both had a little break from work so we decided to pack up and drive to Tucson to see Alex's friend John and his girlfriend Lisa. John and Alex were in pilot training together and have remained good friends. They hadn't seen each other in a little over a year and after spending the last 3 years together most of the time, I think they kinda missed each other haha. The boys did a lot of golfing while the girls (Lisa and I) did a lot of shopping. I got a TON of my Christmas shopping done. It feels great to not be stressed about it. Gabby got to come along and had fun playing with Lisa's dog, Daisy.

Anyways, it was a super fun weekend and we hope to have John and Lisa come visit us soon. Unfortunately I have no pictures to show for this weekend :( Maybe I will from our next adventure.

Why I love the End of October/Early November....

SPORTS!!!! There are so many different things going on...the end of College Football, mid season NFL, start of the NBA, end of MLB and the beginning of College Basketball :) It makes my heart happy. Not only am I good and busy at work but ESPN and other sports channels are really all that get watched at our house this time of year (besides the occasional shows that we watch regularly; GLEE, Parenthood, Chelsea Lately and Grey's...ok the last 2 are just me lol.

Tonight is the first game of the World Series between the SF Giants and the TX Rangers! I'm a huge Rangers fan (I will always be a Mariners fan too, just a little angry with them the last few years and my 2nd team took over). I've got my MOOSE CLAW shirt all ready to go and I'm pumped! GO RANGERS!

My next thing to look forward to is the College Football end of season and playoffs. YAY!

I love FALL!!!

On Sunday we were able to go to the local pumpkin patch. We went with 2 other couples; Matt and Emily and Matt and Rachel. Matt and Rachel's little guy came along as well. It was a ton of fun. We walked around, got snacks, watch the pumpkin cannon and went on a hay ride where we got to pick pumpkins. Afterwards we went to Matt and Rachel's house and carved our pumpkins! They are all set up on the porch now :) Enjoy the pictures....

 Pumpkin trail

 Us in front of the pumpkin mountain

 Emily and I...Alex was being a goober and right here I think I'm telling him to stop being a dork before he drops my camera.

 Matt and Mr. L

 Matt and Emily

Alex getting ready to pick our pumpkins

We are very excited for Halloween this weekend. Some people from Alex's work are having a party so we are dressing up and getting ready to have a great time!

Playing Catch Up

Even though I don't have very many pictures to show for it, we've both been extremely busy. Mostly with work and not much play :( Fall sports are winding down for me finally and we'll be starting into basketball soon. Alex has been working on a BIG project at work as well as starting his masters back up after taking the summer off for the wedding and a little brain break. We did manage to make it to the Coug game in Oklahoma, which was a serious blast! We also spent a day in Oklahoma City (pictures of both below). We also did a weekend in Lubbock. I went early with a few friends to run the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and then our guys showed up and we had a great time letting loose a little (pics below as well). Miss Gabby is a year old and she's such a sweet puppy. She loves to cuddle, knows how to give hugs (sweetest thing ever!) and is so playful and little bit of a jokester. Hope you enjoy this little update of our lives...next stop - the beginning of basketball, Thanksgiving, Sara's graduate school graduation, and much more :) Love ya'll!

 Us with Butch

 Starship Concert with Emily :)

 Spirit Squad on Homecoming

 Alex trying not to kill himself on Craig's mini bike

Oklahoma City - baseball game

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Alex playing with our neighbor, Miss A

Happy Miss A

Gabby looking out the window

blinked!

Tina and I at the piano bar

Craig and Tina

Again...

they were pretty talented

hahahaha

the group...what a fun night!

Alex and Craig...right before i broke the crap out of Alex's camera (epic fail)

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and I'm not really sure why I can't make this go away....

My friend Samantha...I took some pictures of her for her graduation announcements