With a name like Deerdorf, how could this mountain not be special to us?

I'm usually the worst at keeping surprises. THE WORST. Especially with Ryan. And ESPECIALLY when it comes to telling him.... oh ya know... we're pregnant again. Yeah, it's a little hard. (That's what she said). But somehow, I managed to go a full week until we made our trip out to his family's ranch in Colorado. It was actually quite funny because the whole time we were there I was extremely tired, taking one to two naps every day. Surprisingly, Ryan just thought I was taking advantage of the vacation and available family to babysit.

I decided to tell him a few days into our trip. Lincoln was down for the night and the sun was just beginning to set. We decided to go for a hike and watch the sun go down. It was a good idea.... but a bad idea at the same time. I had no energy whatsoever and Ryan, who was unaware I was pregnant, was showing no mercy and we had few breaks as we practically ran to the top to catch the sunset.

We made it, barely. And the view was perfect. This is my most absolute favoritest time of the year there. Everything is green green green. Right before haying season so I had zero allergies while I was there. Could you imagine me telling Ryan this glorious news with blood shot eyes, a runny/stuffed nose, and a scratchy throat? Not a pretty sight.

We took in the beautiful view and then I asked him, "What would make this night better?" And his first response was.... "snacks?" Yes Ryan, snacks would have been nice. His second choice, "Having Lincoln up here with us." I finally told him, "What about having Lincoln and his sibling up here with us because 9 months from now we can!" One of the best parts of telling your husband you're pregnant is their reaction immediately after telling them. Completely priceless, which is why, like I did with Lincoln, filmed the whole thing and plan on showing our next child the moment daddy found out the happy news. We are ecstatic for baby boy 2 to join our family and eventually all 4 of us hiking this mountain together. :) And when he gets older, I can say, "Here are pictures the night your daddy found out you were coming. Look how cool your parents were and still are!"

february date hike(s)

^I was setting the camera up to take our picture and as I was running back to Ryan, I almost fell off the ledge. I looked worried and Ryan's just laughing. Typical. 

Leave it to us to go out on our date night the very last day of the month. Leave it to us to also go on our date night hike on the only weekend there's a rainstorm. And leave it to us to hike the mountain as the rain clouds come rolling in. It's actually great motivation to pick up the pace and finish the hike as quickly as possible. 

We had enough time to have a rock throwing competition and sing some Mest and Radiohead and a little bit of Sound of Music.... okay, just me on the last one. 

We hiked the Kiwani trail on South Mountain right by our place. It was an improvise to our original February date plans. We wanted to hike Camelback Mountain, which is like the Mount Everest of the valley, but with limited time to sunset, and a storm coming in, we chose a shorter, easier, and closer hike. 

Take II of our February date (which we were able to finish up last weekend) was hiking Camelback Mountain. Ryan got off work early and although 3pm on a warm AZ day isn't the prime time to hike, we dropped Lincoln off at my neighbors and went on our "February date" for real this time. 

The up-side to hiking the Camelback at 3pm? It's less busy and you can actually find a parking spot. The only people who are hiking at the hottest point of the day are people who are incredibly slow and need plenty of time to finish before dusk....or people on vacation who just don't know better.... OR people like us who go on dates and like to be home before 7pm sharp. 

I've got the itch to go again; this time to watch the sunset. The view was amazing, obviously, but at least during sunset you can get some beautiful colors to disguise the city haze. :)

my 5 star reservation with Ron Swanson

Lincoln has been sick all weekend..... including Valentine's night. But that put no damper whatsoever on our plans. Ryan and I didn't even go out of the house to celebrate. But why would we? Going to some busy restaurant, not being able to hear each other? Not our style. Instead, we decided we would put Lincoln to bed, dress up, and cook what we want to eat TOGETHER at home in the comfort of our own kitchen. We had some lights strung, a candle lit and my flowers in their vase, and Jack Johnson on Pandora. Now THAT'S a 5-star reservation.

^^ oh ya know, just chugging the sparkling cider like a champ.

 ^^ when I asked Ryan what he wanted us to make for our valentines dinner he said "my number one favorite food, wrapped around my number three favorite food." Bacon-wrapped shrimp it is, Ron Swanson.

mr & mrs smith

I love surprises. Like really love them. More so, I love surprising Ryan. The only problem, I'm terrible at keeping a secret because I have all this excitement built up and I want to tell him right away.

Well this last Christmas, I had something in mind I wanted to do and I was extremely proud of myself that I was able to keep his "gift" a secret until he opened it Christmas morning. He knew I was dying for him to open it and I wish you could have seen his face when he opened up a box and found..... 12 CARDS IN A BOX. Hahaha. What every guy wants to see right? I'll explain the 12 cards.....

I planned out 12 dates for this year. And not just any dates, but 12 unique dates that include things we have never done before together. I wanted to give him the gift of "us-time". Especially since Lincoln has been born, I want to make sure we continue dating each other. He read through the dates and was stoked for our first date I planned: the shooting range. We just bought another gun that we hadn't been able to shoot yet so we finally were able to take it out and exercise our trigger-finger. I loved it! I might be investing in a thigh holster. :)

My first time at the shooting range-- Not too shabby! Just call us Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

out of the woodwork

These pictures are terribly blurry. I finally talked Ryan into getting a nice camera when Lincoln was born after repeatedly telling him "I promise I'll learn how to use it!!!" and pulling the "we'll save money in the long run" talk. Well, I'm learning, but it will be a long process. I realized when we went for an evening walk the other night, I have no idea how to take a picture of people with the sunset in the background. I had two options: 1. capture the beautiful sunset and blacken out Ryan and Lincoln or 2. make sure it's light enough to see Lincoln and Ryan but completely white out the sky. It's a work in process I tell ya.

The sunsets have been so colorful, one of the perks of Arizona. Now if I can just capture a beautiful sunset with my boys in front of it, THAT will be a picture that gets framed for display. I'll take the white sky for clear pictures of my boys any day though.

Our evening walks have become a little ritual I really look forward to. And so do all of the neighbors. We never realized we had so many young families in our neighborhood until the evenings started to cool down. There's a parenthood club right here on our street! yippee!

This morning we had a service project for church. I was planning on feeding Lincoln and then have Ryan watch him while I was gone, but as I went upstairs to hand off Lincoln, Ryan was dressed and ready to go with me! I was stoked! Seeing my husband on an early Saturday morning, painting at a church service project, with little Lincoln in the stroller by his side.... I don't think I could be any happier.

Oh wait, maybe the fact that Papa and Nana Z are coming over to babysit tonight while Ryan and I go to a fancy-shmancy restaurant (compliments of his work).... let's just say it's a great Saturday and it's only 10am.

for dessert AND breakfast?! I know. We're crazy.

I've been on cooking/ baking overload lately. My only complaint, the dishes. We finally have a nice dishwasher, but I'm like my mother-in-law. I prefer to do them by hand. I really just need to slap my hand and tell myself to enjoy the luxury of a dishwasher after going so many years without one.

Here's two recipes I baked this past week:

I made an Apple Cinnamon Cobbler. I bought a ridiculous amount of apples. Ridiculous, I tell ya. Like, 4 FULL bags of apples. Gala, Red, and Granny Smith. Why? Because it's fall and apples were ridiculously cheap. 3 pounds for $1? Yes, don't mind me while I impulsively buy lots of apples and then figure out what to do with them all later on.

Apple Cinnamon Cobbler
(Vegan and Gluten free substitutions, sugar free, dairy free)

Ingredients:
8-10 apples (any kind, peeled, cored, & chopped. Peeling the apples was a pain in the neck so the first 3 were beautiful and the rest looked disastrous)
1 tbs cinnamon
1tbs flax meal (optional)
lemon juice from half a lemon
1/4 cup agave
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 honey (or pure maple syrup)
1/3 coconut oil - melted
1.5 cups oats (gluten free)
2 tsp salt (and a little more sprinkled on top after baking)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, mix chopped apples, agave, lemon, cinnamon, and raisins in bowl and spread over 8x11 pan. In small bowl, mix honey until smooth consistency, and then add oats. Pour on top of apples and spread. I slightly mixed it all together instead of keeping oats just on top. Bake 30-40minutes or until apples become tender. Serve warm for dessert and then have next morning for breakfast. I ate it cold this morning and actually preferred it that way. I know. I'm weird. I also doubled the oat mixture to have more of the "crumble" with the apples. My dad came over to babysit on Friday and he had some. He loved it, but he said it needed a little more salt. We sprinkled more on top and he was right, much better. I made an executive decision to make some official alterations to the recipe. Thanks dad! Store in fridge.

Okay, this next recipe, I made last Sunday. And it was supposed to last us the week, but we ended up eating almost the whole dish in one evening. I made it again on Thursdsay, and we have one square left that I set aside for Ryan's lunch tomorrow. These babies go fast in this house.

Chocolate Pumpkin Bars 
(Vegan and Gluten free substitutions, sugar free, dairy free)

Ingredients:
3 cups old fashion oats, gf
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 can 100% pumpkin puree (15oz)
1/2 cup honey
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbs cinnamon (or 1/2 tbs cinnamon, 1/2 tbs nutmeg)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8× 9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Make oat flour: Place oatmeal into blender or food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes until oatmeal resembles flour. The second time I made this recipe, I made less oat flour and used more full oats (about 1.5 cups of flour, 1.5 cups full oats) to make it more of a granola bar. If you use more oat flour, it turns more into a cake. Place oat flour and remaining oats in a medium bowl. Whisk in baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

In a separate large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, honey, vanilla extract, oil, and applesauce for 1-2 minutes until the consistency is smooth and creamy. You can also add all of these ingredients to the food processor as well. Slowly add in oat flour mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in 1/5 cup of chocolate chips and dump all that goodness into your pan, and for safe measure, sprinkle on some more chocolate chips. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. 

Best part about these? Another dessert AND breakfast combo. Serve warm out of the oven for dessert or cut them up in bars and wrap individually for breakfast/snack throughout the week. PERECTO! And on a completely unrelated note, aren't these the cutest hind legs you've ever seen? :)

solution for all the veggies starting to go bad in your fridge.

Since we've started this month with Ryan's cleanse, I've really looked forward to dinner time. It's like the stars have aligned to make our evenings so enjoyable. I'm having the best time trying out new recipes (some great, some not so great). When I start preparing for dinner, I put Lincoln in his chair with some toys at the kitchen counter, I turn on Pandora to either Motown or Mana (Spanish station) and I'll start preparing food while singing and dancing for Lincoln. :He's too young to be embarrassed by his mother. :)

Before this month, we weren't the best at sitting down together and eating as a family at the table. But now, since the stars have aligned, we've been eating out on the patio every night. Dinner time is right at sunset, so we have beautiful skies and cool evening weather. We drag Lincoln's high chair outside and he'll jump in on conversation and steal the spotlight every night. Last night our food went practically cold because we were too busy laughing at Lincoln gnawing on an orange and making his puckered faces. :)

Dinner wasn't a planned meal. It was more like, we have a lot of stuff going bad, let's just grill it all and eat it all tonight. It was a double bonus, no food was wasted AND it tasted great!

Grilled Veggie Sandwich
Green Peppers
Red Peppers
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Avocado
Tomato
Salt & Pepper
Cooking oil
Toasted bread (gluten free optional)
And another other veggies your heart desires

I used a mandolin slicer to make long thin strips of zucchini and squash. Then just hand cut the peppers into large chunks that would lay on the grill. I drizzled oil, sprinkled salt & pepper on top, and put them on a med/high heat. Grilled until tender. 

While the veggies are grilling, I smashed up some avocado, chopped some tomatoes, and mixed them together with a dash of garlic salt. Toast some bread, spread the guacamole mixture on it, and throw on some veggies. I threw some leftover cooked potatoes and broccoli on the grill to reheat for a side. I put them on tin foil with oil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Bam. Delish. 

cha-cha-cha-chia

Gosh this kid is so dang cute. I know I'm bias but he REALLY is. It's the facial expressions.... and the hair. 

This weekend was absolutely AMAZING......not! It was the absolute worst!!!! It was one of those weekends where you actually wish Monday would hurry up and rear its ugly head. Those are few and very far in-between. But when you're sick... that happens. I actually started crying from being so tired---- scary flashback from when Lincoln was first brought home. Although this time I had my husband and Lincoln staring at me like, 'why you so emotional woman?' I slept like crap all weekend, my throat was killing me, and allergies, and I wanted some junk food. Not a good time to withhold sweets. I might have popped those cough drops like candy because of the sugar in them. 

But now look, it's Monday, I'm feeling so much better, and now I'd like the weekend to come back. 

And now for an update: Can we get a WOOT! WOOT! ??

Cause we just finished our first week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ryan and I were talking about it yesterday. The good and bad of it all. Here's what we discussed. 

The bad: it is more work. OBVIOUSLY. There is a lot more preparation that goes into everything. If you are out of food, it's not a quick drive to the closest fast food place. It's required detailed grocery lists and meal planning, lots of cutting and preparing and cooking what I can in bulk to have throughout the week. This is the big drawback for me, since I'm the one doing all of it. 

So what's the biggest drawback for Ryan? Yesterday I made pizza-- with a gluten free pizza crust might I add. I asked him what could make it better and you know what he said? It wasn't the crust, he actually thought it tasted good, but the one critique he gave me... it needs meat.

And the good? Ryan has told me he hasn't felt so tired in the mornings. He believes it's from eliminating the soda and aspartame. The headaches he had during the first week have gone away as well. Caffeine withdrawal? We also agreed we haven't felt like complete CRAP from anything we've eaten. We haven't seen any improvement with his joints, but he says he feels really good overall which is a HUGE perk. 

Saturday called for some special pancakes to celebrate the ending of our first week. Delish. 

Why did I think pancakes from scratch were difficult? Because they're definitely not.

Coconut Carrot Pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or unbleached all purpose)
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup grated carrots
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbs coconut oil
2 tbs agave
1 tbs cinnamon
pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add flour, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon and half of the shredded coconut in a large bowl and whisk to combine. 
2. Pour almond milk into a large liquid measuring cup. Add oil, vanilla, and agave and whisk to combine. Add wet to dry and stir.
3. Stir in carrot and let batter rest for 5 minutes while preheating skillet to medium heat.
4. Once skillet is hot, lightly grease the surface with non-stick spray and spoon on 1/4 cup measurements of batter. 
5. Cook for another couple minutes on the other side. 
6. Serve with warm maple syrup or agave and sprinkle the other half of coconut on top. 

Adapted from Minimalistbaker

thank yous and scones

I feel like I need to start this post off saying thank you to everyone. Since sharing our post on changes we are making with our diet, we've had so many people reaching out. I've had people send me recipes, refer me to certain blogs, sites, and books to read, and sharing their own testimonies of how a healthy change in their diet has helped them with some of their own ailments. So thanks for the help, ideas, and of course, encouragement.

One of my mom's friends called her, after reading our blog, to tell her about someone she knew who had similar symptoms as Ryan's and was later diagnosed with MS. Like I mentioned in our first post, one of the neurologists told us he believed it could be early stages of MS, so hearing someone else having similar symptoms and being diagnosed with MS later on, is no surprise. We know this diagnosis is a possibility. She said her friend had eliminated gluten from her diet, which helped her with her symptoms. Although gluten free wasn't originally on our restrictions, we will continue the rest of our month gluten free after I go shopping Saturday and rearrange a few of the recipes I have planned. :)

Lincoln has done a complete 180 since yesterday. He's back to sleeping throughout the night, but the runny nose is running and there may be a few snot crusties lingering on his face still. His energy is for sure back up because this morning required chasing him around the kitchen, living room, and rescuing him after getting stuck under the kitchen chair AGAIN!

27/52

I always leave his bedroom door open a crack when he's napping. I went up this morning when he started waking up and peeked into his room and watch him talk to himself. He'll pull himself up, fall down, pull himself back up again, all while carrying on his one-way conversation with himself. He cracks me up. I ran downstairs to grab the camera because I wanted to remember this moment. I took the first picture, but then he heard the click from it, so the second captures him saying.... "Who's outside my room?!"

I'm so happy I decided to turn the oven on during our peak hours yesterday to bake these scones. Shhh. That's a secret between you and I, and not for Ryan to know. Why are the peak hours always the most inconvenient time? Either way, an extremely warm kitchen was worth it. I came downstairs this morning, opened up the back patio door (brrr--- windy and rainy), and walked to the kitchen all giddy to eat my scone.

vegan Cinnamon Blueberry scones
adapted from neverhomemaker

ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup large flake oats1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons milk (you can use any milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespon cinnamon
1 cup frozen berries

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

2. Place the flours, coconut oil, and honey in a bowl and blend well.

3. Then mix in the cinnamon, salt, flax, and baking soda.

4. Add the milk and vanilla extract; mix until just moistened. Do not over-mix.

5. Fold in the berries. Let sit for a few minutes until chilled by the berries.

6. Scoop the dough onto a clean, well-floured work surface. Loosely shape into a circle and pat down.

7. Cut into wedges and then place on a cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until deep golden brown color. Let cool before serving.

no need to fear, supermom is here!

well it's 620am and Lincoln is still sleeping. I know I should be joining him too, but I just got up to check on him as Ryan was leaving for work and now I'm wide awake. Last night was a rough one, poor guy might be getting sick. Not sure if it's just allergies, or a full on cold. But when your baby, who usually sleeps soundly, is waking up every 2 hours having a runny/congested nose and is having trouble breathing, your heart just breaks. He was so tired and wanted to sleep but that cute little button nose of his was not cooperating.

I had this vision of me as "Supermom" last night. Opening his bedroom door with my Supermom stance and my bulb syringe secured in some cool Supermom tool belt. Lincoln would only see my silhouette from the nightlight and my night-robe acting as my cape, but he would know it's me when I say, "No need to fear, your Supermom is here!"  And since every superhero has their sidekicks, the humidifier and bulb syringe will be mine for the next few days.

Yesterday was day 3 and for here's a small update on Ryan and our extremely wonderfully tasty healthy menu this month. Ryan has had a little headache and said he was really craving a soda yesterday. A headache was an expected side effect, but nothing this guy can't overcome.

We cut up one flat of our wheatgrass last night, juiced it all, and froze it in Lincoln's food trays. :) I've been reading a lot about wheatgrass and the best way to prepare and drink it. As always, drinking right after juicing is optimal. But let's be real here, juicing wheatgrass every day can get old real fast. Especially after 3 days. Some sites say you can juice, freeze, store in airtight containers, and when ready, place cube in cup and let warm water run on outside of cup to thaw, then drink right away. Did you catch all that? Yeah, I know. Anyway, that's what we've decided to do. We know we lose some nutritional benefits, but it's more than what he would be getting anyhow.

Yesterday was a repeat dinner of day 2 because I'm all about the leftovers. And when I'm getting food out of the fridge to serve up, Ryan tells me (out of nowhere) that he really likes the Almond Coconut milk in his breakfast. Those words were music to my ears. :)

Day 2
PB Banana Overnight Oats
Honey Apple Sandwich
Sweet Potato Burrito, Kale Cranberry-Seed Salad

Day 3
Blueberry Coconut Overnight Oats
Chickpea Mash Sandwich
LEFTOVERS!

Sweet Potato Burrito
Ingredients:
2 cups Cooked Brown Rice
2 cups Black Bean
Cooked sweet potato- 2 large potatoes, chopped ( I used leftovers from Sunday nights Sweet Potato fries)
Cilantro- handful
Lime
Chili powder- dash
Lettuce-Chopped
Wheat tortillas

I cooked a bunch of brown rice on Sunday to have throughout the week. I also soaked and cooked black beans and chickpeas for the week. Which makes these recipes so much easier to throw together. I threw the rice, beans, and leftover sweet potato fries from Sunday in pan to reheat. I sprinkled some chili powder on top and chopped up some lettuce and cilantro while that concoction was heating up. Guess what I did next.....Threw everything in a wheat tortilla and squeezed some lime on top! BAM!

Kale Cranberry-Seed Salad
Ingredients:
Kale 8-10 leaves, chopped
Broccoli florets, 1.5 cup chopped (i also grated the stems and threw them in too)
Small Cabbage, 1.5 cup chopped
Dried Cranberries 1/2 cup
Sunflower Seeds 1/4 cup
Pumpkin Seeds 1/4 cup

Dressing:
Apple Cider Vinegar 1/4cup
Coconut oil 1/4 cup
Agave 2 tbs
Poppy Seeds (optional) 2 tsp
Lemon 1/2 squeezed

I need to do better with measuring every item to give you... but until I pick up that habit you'll have to use your best guess. All those measurements were me thinking about how much I actually used, but the dressing is exact. Everything else is give-n-take. I'll make it again and repost correct and actual amounts. Place all salad ingredients in bowl. Mix dressing items together and pour over salad and toss all together.

ode to oats

The weather is gracing us with some cool crisp mornings and evenings. The night temperatures have finally lowered enough to open the windows at night. This morning I woke up to a breeze brushing across my face and the sunrise peering through our window. We have an amazing view of downtown from our bedroom window.. except that blasted telephone pole. Whenever I look out to admire the view I always imagine myself going out there with an axe and chopping this pole down. And to top off a beautiful Monday morning, Lincoln slept in. When you have a baby that wakes up like clock-work, those peaceful moments of silence in the morning are golden. I came downstairs to enjoy my breakfast that was waiting for me. Even better. My overnight oats were in the fridge calling my name.

This will be a staple breakfast this month for Ryan and I in all it's variety. Best thing, I can make enough for a few days and all we have to do is grab it out of the fridge and our healthy breakfast just got easy. My pretty pictures can't do it justice.
Here's one of many overnight oats recipes to come: Blueberry Coconut Overnight Oats. Super original name huh? Ha, I'll work on something more creative.

vegan Blueberry Coconut Overnight Oats
Mason jars with lids ( I prepare 4 for the week with wide mouth pint jars)
1 cup Oats 1 cup
1 1/4 cup Almond Coconut Milk 1 1/4 cup
Blueberries as much as your heart desires
Shredded Unsweetened Coconut as much as your heart desires
2 tablespoons Agave 
Vanilla- a dash---yes, that's how I measure things around here
flax & chia seeds- optional

You'll have to experiment but this is what I use. I put a little more agave in Ryan's, of course, with his flax and chia seeds too. And you can adjust milk if you like it more runny. Add it all in your jar, stir, put on lid, and place in fridge overnight. Bam! Easy peasy.

health, wealth, and happiness. Day 1

I've always despised the word DIET. (shutter). Whenever someone says they're going on one I cringe on the inside. Mostly because a majority of them have a connotation of a quick fix and just another fad that doesn't really help that person gain a healthier lifestyle. To say Ryan and I are going on a diet would be completely off target. To say we are aiming for a healthier lifestyle... well yeah, that's more like it. And here's the short version why:

4 years ago Ryan developed some health issues. It was right after our one year anniversary. I remember when he first started getting the symptoms. It started off with one hand falling asleep at night, then his whole arm. We figured he was just sleeping on his arm wrong and it would eventually go way. But then his other hand and arm soon followed. Eventually the numbness and tingling went away but his joints became extremely stiff and lost some range of motion.

Within the next year it spread to his lower extremities and throughout his body. He wasn't able to make a tight fist or grip certain objects tightly. He wasn't able to extend his fingers completely straight or do a push-up because his wrists would barely bend.

We saw neurologists and rheumatologists. We even had a plastic surgeon do carpal tunnel surgery to see if the release would allow more movement in his wrists. The only thing the surgery did for him was leave a scar...

Tests after tests, no doctor or surgeon could figure it out. They knew something was wrong (OBVIOUSLY) but couldn't explain what (go figure). All the tests came back normal. The only vague diagnosis we were given from one neurologist, after a CT scan, was possible early stages of multiple sclerosis.... but even then he was still unsure. After a long summer of tests and stumped doctors, we stopped searching for answers.

And here we are 4 years later. Ryan's joints have not improved, but they haven't worsened either. We see this as a blessing. Although sometimes it can be hard, we focus on all the things that he is able to do still, which is more than not, by far.

Which brings us to food. I've always believed what we put in our bodies plays a significant role in our health so when Ryan came home from work a few weeks ago and told me he wanted to dedicate the following month to eating healthier and cleansing his body my jaw dropped!! I'm so on board!!

Our guidelines:
No meat, dairy, sugar, processed foods, soda, or fast food.

Wow. What the heck are we going to eat for the next month. A good ole' plant-based diet! And even though it may not look like a lot, there is A. LOT. Trust me.

YES WHOLE WHEAT BREAD/PASTAS and GRAINS
YES VEGETABLES
YES FRUITS
YES NUTS, SEEDS
YES BEANS, LEGUMES
YES to natural sweeteners- HONEY, AGAVE

I wanted to blog about this next month, share the simple healthy recipes I'm making, and keep everyone updated on what this month has done for Ryan. We will take it one month at a time, figure out what works best for us and keep aiming for a healthier diet. Yesterday was day 1 which consisted of juicing for breakfast, lunch, and a Black Bean Oat Burger and cilantro-lime sweet potato fries for dinner. Why would I venture to take on a challenge of a meatless burger for my first meal when my husband grew up on a cattle ranch??? The dinner could have gone two ways..... he could have been scarred after ruining his favorite food and dreading every meal to follow.......... OR..... he could have been left pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was and a glimmer of faith would start growing that eating healthier does taste good!!!!

Can I just say how proud I am of this meat-lovin', soda-drinkin', chips-and-candy-munchin' husband of mine? He even put brown spicy mustard, tomatoes, and avocado on the burger even though he hates all three. AND GUESS WHAT? he ate 3. Okay 2 3/4 but still, he was surprised and I was tremendously relieved!!! SUCCESS! to our HEALTH, WEALTH in blessings, and true HAPPINESS.

Day 1
B- Wheatgrass/ Juiced
L- Juiced
D- Black Bean Oat Burger and Cilantro Limo Sweet Potato Fries

5 years, an imperfectly perfect trip, and the man in the speedo

Last Friday was our 5 year anniversary. Has it been that long? Ya, I can't believe it either. That past 4 anniversaries, we've always planned a really fun getaway--going some place new with a full agenda of sites and activities to do.
1 Year- volunteered in Africa for a month
2 Year- Island Park- 4 wheeler rides though the back woods to Yellowstone and fishing
3 Year- Moab, river rafting and, of course, seeing all the parks
4 Year- Grand Canyon, Montezuma's Castle, and Wupatki National Monument

We've been so blessed and fortunate to have these amazing trips and for the memories that went with them. Every year I get so excited to plan our trip and this year, being our fifth, I thought this trip needed to be EXTRA special. It was, just not in the way I original thought. With Lincoln crashing coming on our anniversary trip, we knew our traveling options would be limited. And even though we've been to San Diego --- what feels like a million times-- we decided it would be an easier trip for Lincoln's sake.

Ryan and I had stayed at a hotel a block away from the beach last summer and it was the PERFECT location. With a short walk to the beach and grocery story, we hardly had to drive our entire trip. Naturally, we decided we should stay there again because it would be easy to go back and forth for Lincoln's naps.I took over tracking down the hotel and booking it for the weekend and that's where the first problem crept it's way into our perfect 5 year anniversary trip. I thought I had found it, but ended up booking a different place that was farther from the beach. Oops! It's okay....a short drive to and from the beach was totally do-able.

We arrived late Friday night and when we opened the door to our room, I'm pretty sure Ryan and I paused a few moments...neither of us wanted to step inside. Turns out there was no AC (next problem) and there was glass slit windows with one single fan to bring in cooler air. Luckily we brought an additional small fan for Lincoln (blessing). We got hit with a gust of hot musty smell (problem)... there is NO way THIS is the place we are spending our five year anniversary. Thank GOODNESS Lincoln had his own travel bed (blessing). Too bad his travel crib wasn't big enough for all three of us because I really didn't like the idea of laying on that bed (problem). I seriously laid a towel down on the bed and tried to touch the bare minimum.

We put Lincoln right to bed and quietly cursed the loud obnoxious people walking the streets. With the windows open, we could hear EVERYTHING (problem) and Lincoln kept waking up to the noise. The mother in me wanted to yell out the window to them, "I KNOW IT'S LABOR DAY WEEKEND, BUT CAN YOU GO BE LOUD AND OBNOXIOUS SOMEWHERE ELSE?! WE HAVE A SLEEPING BABY UP HERE!!!" We decided we would stay the night and find another place the following morning. Getting a refund was out of the question, we couldn't care less, but finding another place Labor Day weekend that was close to the beach, had vacancy and didn't cost an arm, a leg, and Lincoln's college tuition? Impossible. (Problem). Take a deep breath. We had worse conditions when we stayed in Africa, we can stay here for two more nights.

Our second night, after putting Lincoln down for bed, I started having a pitty-party with how the trip was turning out and feeling limited with celebrating with a baby who HAS to be in bed at 7pm. As I was riding my "high-horse" and complaining to Ryan, without hesitation he helped me off the "horse" and pointed out all the blessings we had right there at that moment. He showed me things that have made this trip imperfectly perfect. He's such a wise one and I felt so stupid for being so caught up on trivial things. That night went from a drag to the best anniversary trip ever. Here's my mental picture of our night I'll never forget:

My wonderful husband and I laying on the bed watching Netflix off Ryan's phone, eating a bag of cinnamon popcorn, a fan propping our door open to bring in the cool air, a teeny tiny view of the most beautiful sunset, and our precious baby sound asleep, who adjusted quickly to the cars, music, and loud people outside. We have Lincoln, Lincoln has us, and Ryan and I have each other. I was so grateful. It wasn't about where we went, it wasn't about what we did, or how fancy our hotel room was -- or lack there of. It was enjoying the blessings of my family and my husband who has always seen the good in everything. It was being grateful for the past year we have had and celebrating the next year to come.

I'm so grateful for him, for his love for me and our son, his dedication, his hard work, his closeness to God, his desire to protect and provide for our family, his patience with me and knowing me better than I know myself. He sees the good in all things and brings out the good in me. Thank you Ryan for making this trip my absolute favorite. I love you!

Oh, and thank you to the man in the speedo for adding an imperfection to what would have been a perfect 5 Year anniversary photo. It's quite appropriate and fitting actually. :)

prescott,az

This weekend was a pleasant change in our usual preferred lazy weekends. After stopping at the gas station for drinks and snacks, we made the drive up to Prescott. I realized on our drive, how grateful I was for the conversations we are able to have on these drives. In comparison to our first year of marriage and our first year of road trips, this was a proud moment, indeed. I know this sounds odd, but I'll quickly explain.

 

When Ryan and I were first married, we did a ridiculous amount of road trips and driving. 14 hr drives to Phoenix, 9 hour drives to Colorado, or 4 hour drives to Utah; we put a lot of miles on Ole' Red. And those confined quarters led to certain topics, which in turn led to a rude awakening on my part that my newlywed husband did not always have the same opinions as me. WHAT?!??
 

I had to hand it to him though; he was just as good at giving me the silent treatment as I was with him. This always made for an even longer drive. And ironically, this always seemed to happen within the first hour or so. Good times.
 

My oh my have we matured.  Ha. That, or we've gotten good at steering clear of certain topics.

 

My point being, I can honestly say I LOVE being stuck in our small Honda with our family of 3. Sure there's the occasional bickering here and there, and now with the occasional screaming and crying of a baby, but it's the best getting away from the distractions of day-to-day and just be us 3. It's my new favorite way to spend time with Ryan: driving in the car and talking about everything and anything. We laugh, we plan goals, we recognize our blessings, and we can always learn something new about each other.

^ ^ Doesn't this picture just melt your heart? Well it melts mine. Even if Lincoln stops smiling moments before I take the picture. Stinker. Saturday was Lincoln's 4 month birthday. Yes, we are new parents and every month of our first child's life is a huge celebration to us. Up to Prescott we went and it was a real beauty of a drive.

They had a big fund raiser for the 19 firefighters who were lost in the Yarnell fire. They had old fire trucks on main street displaying the names of the fallen men, most of them were in their 20's. It's heart breaking what happened. Many leaving behind wives and children. Ever since Lincoln was born, the emotional side of me has grown ten-fold. I start getting choked up on what used to be a passing thought. Now I take things to heart and imagining I lost Ryan and was raising Lincoln on my own. As I start letting my imagination and "what ifs" take over, I can only find peace knowing this is not the end for them. How comforting to know there is life after death and those families will be together again some day.