FALL

     If you know me you know I LOVE FALL! I had one Saturday off the 3rd week of September. Husband was so kind to take me 4-wheeling for probably the last time this year. Preston kind of kept it a surprise as to where we were going which was fine with me! Preston already had everything ready to go. I was so excited, the weather was perfect! The trees were so pretty with all the leaves changing colors. We rode all around as Preston reminisced about times with his grandpa bringing the cows down from the mountains. It was awesome!
     After that we headed towards an old mining town known as Summitville. On the way up there all I could do is stare at the trees and the sky. It felt so good! Half way to Summitville we stopped to eat our sandwiches. I couldn't help but notice the mountains were ORANGE! When I asked husband about this he told me it was because of the minerals they had in them and that that color was a dead giveaway that there are gold in the mountains. The mountains were bare because the soil is so acidic that vegetation can not survive. We finished lunch and continued on our way. The higher we got in elevation the colder it got! So husband being the awesome man he is pulled over and let me wear his jacket. After another hour or so of riding we reached our destination! It was an awesome old abandoned town with many old buildings.
     We hopped off the 4-wheeler and toured the little town. Then we noticed there was still a mine there! They are still to this day mining gold. Husband and I just wandered around for awhile then before we headed down i put on my snowboarding pants and husband put on his coveralls and we both put on hoodies and jackets, so we could keep warm since the sun was starting to set.
     As we were heading back to where we started Preston decided to take a trail that looked "interesting" to him. Him and I explored it and I was telling him how disappointed I was that we hadn't seen any wildlife, not a minute after I had said that there were three deer that ran out in front of us! I was then satisfied!
     I love being outdoors and I LOVE spending time with my husband, I'm so thankful for him and everything he does for us.

Awesome mountain

Old 2-story house!

LEAVES!

Ghost Town with mine in the background

Preston at the mine!

     On another note... Preston and I were called to serve as cub scout leaders of the Wolves here in Alamosa. I was a little nervous but excited because I love little boys and I would like one. (haha) I think have changed my mind now though haha Preston is soooo sooo good with the boys and such a good example to them!

Catch up!

     Wow it has been  awhile since I've updated this thing! Let's get started! August 25th was my 24th (UGH) birthday! Believe it or not I had a very hard time with turning 24! I think this is because I have accomplished many things I wanted to, but at the same time there are things that I hadn't accomplished yet that I wanted to. I do have to say it turned out to be a pretty great, thanks to my awesome husband!
     We packed up and headed to Colorado Springs. I LOVE springs!  Husband and I arrived at the Manitou Cliff dwellings. They were super cool and interesting. They were very well preserved. You could walk in them and get an idea of how they lived. We spent about 4 hours there then it started to rain, so we hurried into the gift shop until the storm had passed. After the cliff dwellings husband and I just drove around springs to look at the fire damage that had occurred a few months before. Before we knew it, the sky was turning dark. We had discussed going to Seven Falls at night... So we did. I have to say it was pretty freaking awesome! You sure do get your work out in while viewing the beautiful lights of the falls. There were 224 steep steps, but they were so worth it once you get to the top of the falls. The lights of the falls changed lights every few seconds. The night was perfect!
     After we left the falls we decided to go get a birthday dinner. It was 11 p.m. when we decided this, so not much was open. I chose applebee's which was pretty yummy. After dinner we headed to our hotel. We stayed in my favorite hotel ever, marriott tech center in springs. It just brings back a lot of childhood memories, i guess is why i love it!
     The next day we got up and started our day off by visiting the Pro Rodeo hall of fame. Let's just say i learned a lot and got to see a glimpse of what my husband likes. After that we drove to the cave of the winds! I would have to say it was definitely worth the money! Preston and I decided we want to go back and do the lantern tour (where you literally just have a lantern and have to crawl through parts of the cave!)  The tour took a few hours and by the time we were done husband and I were starving! We grabbed a quick lunch and then we were off to our next adventure!
     Our next adventure was miniature golf.... I don't gt to play golf a lot anymore since I work a billion hours. So husband took me to this fun mini golf place. We played a couple rounds and I hate to say it but husband kicked my butt! (I guess I should just stick with real golf) 
     Preston and I were both sooooo hot when we were done so we decided to go to an air conditioned building which just happened to be furniture row! We looked around tested out beds, chairs and couches. It was pretty fun and we got a chance to cool down.
     When we were done there we decided that we should head home since both of us had to work. But of course we could not leave springs without stopping at my favorite pizza place! Fargo's has been a go to place for my family ever since I can remember... it also has delicious pizza! Now enjoy the pictures :)

Cliff dwellings

The sign at the bottom of the falls

Husband and I

Preston at the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame

One of the beautiful falls

Preston before our tour at cave of the winds

The "city" at the cave of the winds

Cave of the winds

the walls of the cave of the winds

It's huge!

Love him! <3

    
    

Old Store on Old LaVeta Pass

Preston telling a fish a secret

Husband with his 3D glasses on isn't he cute?!

August 12th, 2012 was our one year anniversary of being married! The past year has been amazing and we have been able to do a lot of things together. To celebrate our one year anniversary we went to Denver. Friday night we drove up to Denver (we took the old LaVeta pass up since I haven't been that way before.) and spent the night. Saturday we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. If you have not been there I strongly recommend you go! We spent all day there! Husband and I both enjoy history so this was a great place for us, plus Preston had never been. While we were there we went to a movie in the planetarium which was awesome. We also went to the IMAX 3D movie about tornadoes... Husband and I both agree that it was spectacular! They had the museum divided into continents and states! After we were done in the museum we went to dinner. We were going to go to Maggiano's little Italy but it was over an hour wait! So we decided on Hacienda. The food was super good and the portions were pretty good and reasonably priced. Since it was our first time there they gave us a free dessert! We then headed to the hotel to call it a night.   The next day we went to the Denver Aquarium. Preston again had never been to an aquarium. He thought it was pretty neat and we enjoyed ourselves and relaxed. It didn't take us too long to get through the aquarium so we decided to head to 16th st. mall. We walked for about an hour and then Preston's feet were burning up so we had to stop and get him new shoes and me some new flip flops of course :) We continued to walk around, looking at all the weirdo's. I remembered that there was a Hard Rock Cafe and husband had never been to one. So we went to Hard Rock Cafe Denver. Preston kept looking around in amazement. It was so cute to see him this weekend just light up and really relax and be himself. After we were done eating and looking around we decided to call it a day and head home. On our way home we stopped at Baskin Robins which was delicious! Now its back to work for us! Hope you all have a great week!

Australia Scene in Museum

Husband sliding down the rails

Our getaway from a getaway

My cute Husband

Having fun together :)

     After we got home from California husband and I were both exhausted. I had to return to work right away. I felt like I needed a vacation from our vacation! Saturday I only had to work half a day. So of course we decided to go 4-wheeling again! It was perfect conditions! Not too hot or too cold and no rain or wind! We didn't stay too long just because I got really tired real quick. But I think it was nice for both of us to relax. There were beautiful views all around us. Sorry this one is mostly pictures but it was so pretty up in the mountains! Hope you enjoy!

California for Shayla and Kevin's wedding!

Bride and Groom

     Yes, I finally got to go to California for the first time in my life. Truth be told I did not care for California. One, because the people there are just RUDE! They run into you cut in front of you without saying sorry or excuse me. Two, everything is overpriced. Three, EVERYONE has a dog and they bring them with them everywhere, we were in a upper class mall and people were bringing their dogs into the food court... DISGUSTING! Four, the traffic, parking and drivers suck!
     I did LOVE the ocean though! We had a lot of fun while we were there. Preston had never played in an ocean so this was a first for him and he enjoyed it so so so much!

Aunt Shayla and Uncle Kevin with nieces and nephews

Little sister and I

The Smith Family

     Before I finish about the trip I have to tell you about Shayla and Kevin's wedding. The wedding was amazing and the reception was too adorable. I wish I was as creative as my little sister. I do have to admit though that I got a little emotional because this is my "little sister" but it kind of hit me when I saw her in her wedding dress I thought I was going to bawl my eyes out! The day after the wedding and reception is when we decided to to go the beach. It was so fun I loved the sand and the water. I got far enough out where I couldn't touch the ground. Preston, Steve and Jere were having a contest to see who could go out the farthest... needless to say Preston won. Preston lost his sunglasses in the ocean. I did too but it was kind of funny... after I lost them Preston stepped on something so he limped back to shore to make sure he wasn't bleeding then he headed back out into the ocean. He went to the spot where he had stepped on something, he bent down and picked up what he stepped on which happened to be my SUNGLASSES! I thought that was pretty awesome!
     We also visited Magic Mountain! That was fun, just seeing the kids laugh and wanting to be dare devils! We rode a lot of rides and had a lot of fun even though it was super hot and humid! While we were there Preston and I took an old time picture, which was fun.

Airplane!

Husband with Roy Rogers

     One night we went to the Hollywood walk of fame. That was fun for everyone. The kids loved all the people dressed up as super hero's. I though it was fun just watching all the weird and different people (there were a lot of them.) Our family also drove down Rodeo drive and drove through Beverly Hills. The only famous people we saw were Chef Ramsey and Josh Flagg (Million Dollar Listing). That was exciting and something I could cross off my bucket list! Did I mention this was Preston's first time ever being in an airplane?! He LOVED it! The flight there wasn't bad but on the way back the turbulence was so bad! It felt like we were going to just drop out of the sky! I think Preston was a little bit nervous even though he won't admit it!

Husband looking pretty calm!

Husband and I on Santa Monica Pier

Husband on Hollywood walk of fame

Parent's on Santa Monica Pier

2 story carousel

  On Monday the 30th of July we arrived back in Denver.  We then drove back to Sterling with my parent's and stayed there a few days. While we were there we took a little trip to Cabela's in Sidney, Nebraska. Husband and I have both been there before but we haven't been there together so we decided to go just for a little day trip. That was really fun for us. After about a week and half of vacation we had to go back to work. But We all had fun! It was really nice to spend time with my siblings, nieces, nephews and my parents!
    

Me being eaten by a Polar Bear at Cabela's

     

4-wheeling!

     Husband I and have been talking for awhile about using our 4-wheeler, it has been sitting there for a month or more. It looked so lonely haha. So, I found out that Saturday I was supposed to be off at 11:30. Preston said that he would load the 4-wheeler and all our gear so I could come home change and leave! That's exactly what we did!
     It was a very nice day out, we headed up to La Jara Creek to go ride. We didn't really know what to expect since him and I have never been up there to ride. It turned to be out awesome! There were mud puddles everywhere, and of course Preston could not resist them. I was O.K. with that because him and I could finally just let loose and relax. As we were riding we came up on these awesome rocks. They were white and just HUGE! We found out that those rocks are known as "White Castle." While we were up there we got to explore a few different paths and Preston also go to help herd cattle ( more like these people were herding cows and they were in our way.) We stopped took a few pictures and then headed back because there was a huge rain storm coming our way. We got back to the pick-up and then it started raining hard! Preston got the 4-wheeler loaded and we decided to go ride at the terrace reservoir.
     I love riding at terrace because it's so beautiful up there! The water is so pretty, the sand is a cool caramel color and the mountains are breathtaking! We explored a lot of different trails and saw a lot of beautiful things. Finally at about six p.m. we decided to call it a day.

The mountains at La Jara Creek

So happy that things are green again!

Terrace Reservoir (see the cool light sand?)

The aftermath (the don't look too bad in the pic but ask husband in real life they were bad!)

Husband splashing through the river!

us at white castle

White Castle

White Castle

A cute little Meadow

Husband unloading the 4-wheeler

    On a side note we are super excited for our trip to California with the family next week for my little sisters wedding at the L.A. temple! This will be my first time to California and husbands first time there not in a truck and his first time in a real airplane! (by real I mean not flight for life leer jet or a little air plane.) It is going to be a fun time especially because we will be with family and it will be a nice break from the real world!