Aspens

M2B =) day 614.  Tuesday, October 11th happiness:

ASPENS!

This is why I love to come to the cabin for October break.  I love to see the changing of the leaves.

There were even a few red ones.

I went for a long drive by myself and enjoyed the trees.

When I got near Greens Peak, there was even a little left over snow.  It made me ready for Christmas.

I was gone for about an hour, just driving, and then getting out and walking in the trees.  It was so pretty and peaceful.

This may have been my favorite day of the trip.

Some of the leaves shimmered like gold, in the sun.

I stopped and made a wish on the way home.
I took this one for Joe.  He and I share an affinity for dead trees.  
Tonight I took Xander and Joe on a ranger ride to look for Elk.  The moon was HUGE.
We saw 3 elk right away, and later saw a deer.  We also saw several rabbits, squirrels, and even a chipmunk who was poised on a tree stump right next to the road.  It was perfect.

On the way back, we stopped so Alex could use his elk call.  We talked to the elk, and they talked back for a good long time.

Today was a great day.

CABIN

M2B =) days 609 - 613.  Thursday, October 6th - Monday, October 10th happiness:

Thursday, October 6th happiness:  CABIN!  We left late this afternoon.  Cabin = happiness.

Friday, October 7th happiness:  I woke up to snow outside my window, and it snowed off and on all day.  It was awesome.  I had to go to town for some groceries, and was a little nervous about driving in the snow, but by the time I got to Show Low, it was sunny skies.  When I got back to the cabin - heavy snow.  It's weird that 10 min. away from the cabin was blue skies, but we didn't see them all day.

Brian drove up tonight to spend the weekend with us.

Saturday, October 8th happiness:  We spent the day doing cabin stuff, like watching t.v., playing rock band, doing puzzles, playing card games, eating - lots, drinking hot chocolate and going for ranger rides.

This picture was taken shortly before I managed to tip the ranger on its side!  Lucky Brian was there to come rescue us and help us tip it back up.

Sunday, October 9th:  Lazy Sunday!  Man the days here seem to last forever.  I love it.

mmmm....strawberry shortcake.
Brian had to go back home tonight.  We were sad to say goodbye, but the sunset as he was leaving was gorgeous.
It's so pretty up here.

Monday, October 10th happiness:  Nertz!  I love this game.
Joe and Xander played many games today.  Many, many games.
Of course, there were ranger rides too.
Happy Day!

San Diego weekend

M2B =) days 604 - 608.  Saturday, October 1st - Wednesday, October 5th happiness:

Saturday, October 1st happiness:  Beach day!  woo hoo.  We slept in late, went to breakfast and then hit Target for some water, snacks, and magazines and then headed for Mission Beach, where we stayed ALL DAY LONG.  I am in heaven!

We pretty much lounged all day long.  It was fabulous.
We had to stay until sunset, of course.
I love beach days.  There aren't enough of them, so I appreciate every one I get.

Sunday, October 2nd happiness:  We dragged out our weekend as long as we could, but we finally had to say goodbye.  We took one last look at the ocean from our hotel.  I know it's hard to see, but some of that blue out there is actually water.  
Then we headed home.  

Of course we stopped at Kneader's on the way.  This place is evil.  It is good that they are located in Yuma, or I would go waaaay too much.  We brought some treats home for Joe.  He was NOT happy that he didn't get to go on this trip.
Let me just say that the chocolate chip pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting was TO DIE FOR.  I was kicking myself later for not getting more of it.  I am tempted to take a trip to Yuma just to get some more.

Finally, we made it home to this cute face:
In addition to sweet treats, we also brought him this fabulous t-shirt!  even though it was only a couple of days, I sure did miss this kid.

Monday, October 3rd happiness:  Today I washed piles of Laundry, did dishes and vacuumed.  Even though cleaning is not my favorite, It sure feels good when things are done.

Tuesday, October 4th happiness:  Today the weather was actually pretty nice (finally!) So I spent about 5 hours today doing some much needed yard work.  It felt good to work outside.  This afternoon I took Joe to hang out at mom's house, and guess who was there - Kevin!  Woo hoo.  It was fun to hang out and chat for a while.  It's always a good day when Kevin is in town.

Wednesday, October 5th happiness:  Spent the day driving around like a crazy person, getting errands done, and shopping to get ready for the cabin trip tomorrow.  While I am not super fond of errands, if it means I get to go to the cabin, then I am happy to do it.  

Also, I got to see Kevin again this afternoon.  Two days in a row!

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

Too much cheesecake

M2B =) days 598 - 603.  Sunday, September 25th - Friday, September 30th happiness:  

Sunday, September 25th happiness:  Today,  I got these:

I am super excited about them.  While I am totally not the jewelry wearing, girly girl, type girl.  I love these earrings.  A friend of mine made them to sell at a boutique yesterday.  She had told me about them, and I knew I wanted them.  Guitar pick earrings.  Love it!

Also tonight - The Amazing Race started back up.  I LOVE this show.  Since I don't have the money to travel around and do fun things, I have to watch other people do it.  It is my dream to be on this show.  

Monday, September 26th happiness:  Our school is having the scholastic book fair right now.  When you buy a book, you get to fill out a raffle ticket and at the end of the day, there is a raffle to win a free poster.  Guess who won today?  That's right.  Me!

When they announced my name over the speaker, the kids in my class clapped and cheered.  They were so excited for me.  When I came back from picking out my poster, a few of the kids had little notebooks they wanted me to sign.  Yes, I gave out autographs today.  Kids are hilarious.  I love my job.
Tuesday, September 27th happiness:  I went out for lunch today, and when I got back, these were at the front office for me:
I was a little surprised since my anniversary isn't for 2 days.  I thought he forgot the date.  He didn't.  He just had another surprise in mind.  They sure are gorgeous, but were not easy to get home.

Wednesday, September 28th happiness:  Tonight for mutual, we had to do some planning for upcoming activities.  What better place to plan, we decided, than at the Cheesecake factory?  So we planned, and ate cheesecake and had a fabulous time.

Thursday, September 29th happiness:  Happy Anniversary to me!  We didn't really go out tonight to celebrate, since I found out that Brian is taking me to San Diego tomorrow after school for an anniversary weekend!   Woo hoo!  What we DID do, was order in some Olive Garden.  And for dessert?
That's right!  The pumpkin cheesecake is back!  I wait all year for this stuff.  Am I embarrassed to admit that I had cheesecake 2 nights in a row?  NO.  I probably should be, but I am not.  It was sooooooo good.

Friday, September 30th happiness:  I was so happy all day!  All I could think about was San Diego!  We left around 5:00.  Beach day tomorrow.  Woo hoo!

Happy Day!

Apparently I watch a lot of tv

M2B happy days 590 - 597.  Saturday, Sept. 17th - Saturday, September 24th happiness:

Saturday, Sept. 17th happiness:  Today I am happy that I have dizzy pills.  I took one and slept all day.

Sunday, September 18th happiness:  Today I am so happy that I feel better than yesterday.  Today was stake conference.  Joe and I went together.

Also, I love President Jones.  He is such an awesome guy!

Monday, September 19th happiness:  Can I just say how much I love Max and Ben?  I took them home from school today.  I happened to have some celery that I had been snacking on that afternoon.

Ben asked, "May I please have a celery?"  and Max immediately said, "May I please not!".
Also, Ben told me a joke, that may be my favorite joke ever.

"What is brown and sticky?"
"A stick".  =)

Tuesday, September 20th happiness:  Yay for September and the return of new television!

Tonight Brian and I watched Castle!  I love me some Nathan Fillion.  

Also tonight was the premiere of a new show:

I have been seeing commercials for this all summer and I have been so excited because I love Zooey Deschanel.  She is so adorable.  

Wednesday, September 21st happiness:  I happened to be driving west tonight and caught the sunset.  It was soooo gorgeous!  I do love Arizona sunsets.

Also, tonight for mutual it was combined young men/young women.  We had a chili cookoff.  We split into 3 different teams, and then had 1 hour to make a salad, chili, and brownies.  Each team was given the same ingredients, and we were also allowed to add some things of our own.  The house we went to was awesome, and we had a lot of extras to add.

Joe and I both ended up on the green team.  And guess who won?  That's right!  Go GREEN!

Winning is fun!

After mutual, Brian and I watched Modern Family together.  

Ahhhh, Modern Family.  How I've missed you.  Hilarious.

Thursday, September 22nd happiness:  Today was a rough day at school.  First, we had a class kickball game, and then this afternoon, we had a popsicle party.  Ya, my job is rough.

Tonight, Brian and I caught another new show.  Person of Interest.
I had been seeing these commercials for a while too.  Unlike New Girl, I was NOT excited for this one.  It looked too intense for me.  However, I did watch it with Brian, and I LOVED IT.  It is a new show.  I hope it does well, so it doesn't get cancelled.  Jim Caviezel  is awesome.  This may be my new favorite show.

Saturday, September 24th happiness:  Yay for season tickets to ASU football.
I had hours to myself tonight while Brian and Joe were at the game.

Happy Day.  

Yummy!

M2B =) days 583- 589.  Saturday, September 10th - Friday, September 16th happiness:

Saturday, September 10th happiness:  Brian and I went to Bath and Body works today.  All of the fall scents are out.  Yay!  We got a new wall flower.  It is filled with Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin and now my house smells so good.

We also got some hand soap.  We are going to smell yummy!
Tonight was stormy and awesome.  The lights even went out at our house.  We had to light a bunch of candles.  It was kind of cool.  We hung outside for a bit enjoying the breeze.  We chatted with the neighbors, who were also outside enjoying the weather.  Then, with nothing else to do, we decided to head out into the storm and go to Bahama Bucks.  The weather was a little crazy and some traffic lights were out, but we made it safe and sound.  It was a fun evening.

Sunday, September 11th happiness:  I was not feeling well today at all!  I tried to take a nap, but my spot was already taken
So, I had to settle for crashing on the couch.  When I couldn't sleep anymore, I  watched "The Thing Called Love".  I like that movie.

Monday, September 12th happiness:  We got a new grill on Saturday.  So, with the weather being fairly nice in the evenings, Brian grilled me up a steak dinner tonight and we ate out on the patio.  I loved it!  I have a feeling we will be doing that a lot once the weather cools down.  

Also, it was Joe's turn to pick what we did for family fun night.  What do you think he picked?  That's right....Bahama Bucks.  The kid is now officially obsessed.

Tuesday, September 13th happiness:  Rain and clouds today.  Woo hoo!

Tonight Brian came home with the most delicious cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted.  EVER!  Someone at work gave them to him.  They were heavenly.  She put a bit of almond flavoring in the icing and nuts on top.  I am in love.... in ooey gooey, cinnamony, almondy, nutty, delicious love.  
Also tonight, My friend sent me an e-mail with a link to awkwardfamilyphotos.com.  I laughed and laughed.  There are some fabulously awkward photos on there.  I highly suggest you check it out.  So funny.

Wednesday, September 14th happiness:  For mutual tonight, we went and watched one of the girls perform in her high school play, A Midsummer Night's Dream.  I really enjoyed it.  It was a lot of fun.

Thursday, September 15th happiness:  Today was all about the music.  Music just has a way of lifting my spirits and making everything better.  Lately I cannot get enough of Nada Surf.  I listened to it a lot today.  Good stuff.

Friday, September 16th happiness:  It was NFL day at school.  
I don't know why they call it NFL day.  It should be called Cardinal's day.  The entire school was in Cardinal's colors.  And, in the afternoon, they have all kinds of fun activities for the kids to do.  I got to take all kinds of fun pictures of my kiddo's today.

Tonight Brian came home with this:
That's right.  It is the first peppermint ice cream of the season!  I am more than a little excited for the holidays coming up.  And, NO it is not too early to be excited!

That's it for now.  

Happy Day!