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. :)

the time when I tried to be a hero

I told Ryan we should go for an evening walk up by the mountain and watch the sunset. I even looked up what time the sunset was earlier in the day so we were prepared to catch it. No excuses. I told him 6:30, but then he said he was going to the gym first. In my mind, we would be cutting it too close for my comfort. Did i say 6:30?? I meant 6:10 (which was the truth, I just had my times wrong). Ryan figured I was joking (the sunset is not something to be facetious about) and left without clarifying the real time.

He got home, I was already frazzled because I learned he didn't take the earlier time seriously, and we I frantically threw the camera, stroller, Lincoln's treats into the car to take off. We tried to savor most of the sunset in our car and caught the tail end 10 feet into the trail. As we put Lincoln in his stroller, lined up his snacks to keep him satisfied, and scurried over to the bike path, we barely had enough time to take a few pictures.

 We had a few laughs for the short 10 minute hike we had. The biggest laugh came from a tiny pinky, Lincoln's pinky. Apparently we are raising our boy to be very proper? We'll need to work on this. He's practically raised by wolves as it is, so I'm not sure what we can do to make him eat messier... ?

And now for the time I tried to be a hero-- or not so much. Recently, we were in Idaho for my grandma's funeral. I had just dropped my mom and Lincoln off for his nap and was leaving to head back over to my aunt's. I walked out our hotel room and I saw this guy walking towards me. The elevator was down a hall in between both of us. I already made it awkward in my mind because the guy was kinda freaky looking and I was dreading having to share an elevator with him. He was tall and lanky and was wearing a black hoodie, black shirt, black sweater, and black coat, black pants, and black boots...AND one black glove. Mind you, it was like 20 degrees there so the warm clothing was suitable, but all black??? I've watched way too many scary movies.

I picked up the pace trying to reach the elevators before him. Maybe the doors will close just as he got there and I'll act like I'm trying to open it for him but secretly be pushing the "close door" button. Yes, this was all playing out in my head. Just beyond the elevators, there was a huge window and window sill. And do you know what was on that window sill? A black glove sitting there by its lonesome self. That's weird. I got inside the elevator just as he turned the hall as well. I thought he was going to get in with me, but instead, he walked past the elevators, jumped up onto the window sill, and was trying to open the window! I stood inside the elevator and pushed the "open doors" button so I could see what he was doing. I saw him struggling to open the window and figured I should get the heck out of there before he realizes I'm witnessing whatever it is he was trying to do.

I hurried to the front desk and frantically explained what I saw "he was wearing all black and looked scary and suspicious" and then ended with, "I think he might jump!" She stared at me not really knowing what to do or say.

I figured she was thinking one of two things:
1. I don't get paid enough to deal with these types of situations or
2. If you thought he was going to jump, why didn't you stay there and try and talk him out of it?

She was probably thinking both. Either way, she could tell I was panicked and worried which made her panicked and worried. And THEN.......

a guy standing right off the front desk with a shovel said, "Oh he's one of my guys. He's going to shovel some snow off the ledge."

Doh'! FACE PALM. and then as I tired to rewind that whole scene in my head, the creepy guy appeared. And by this time they were laughing and explained to him what I thought and so he started laughing..... DOUBLE FACE PALM.

They had bowl at the front desk with some candy, I grabbed a handful trying to act all nonchalant about the situation. "oh cool man... yeah... whateva... i was like just makin sure ya know.... but uh... thanks for the candy."

and then a zip line out the hotel lobby.

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.

bell rock hike

Ideally, after running a half marathon, I'd like to eat a feast, soak in a hot tub, and then convince Ryan to give me a massage.. maybe all three at the same time. :) BUT, when my parents took Lincoln back to Phoenix with them to babysit for a few hours, Ryan and I took advantage of our time in Sedona and went straight on a post-run hike. 

We'll definitely be back for more hikes here. 

sedona half

This past weekend Ryan, Lincoln, my dad, mom, grandma AND myself went up to Sedona. My mom and I signed up for another half marathon together. This run was my absolute FAVORITE. I rate my runs on three things: 1. scenery 2. my race time 3. post-race spread. This race ranked really high in 2 out of 3 so it's officially taken the lead in favorite races.
1. You really cannot top the scenery of the amazing red rock mountains... but a close second would be the run in Ashton, Idaho. Potato fields can be gorgeous people, I promise. But Sedona mountains and running through a vortex... well, do I really need to justify my reasoning any further??
2. I was pretty stoked with my time. This was my first half since Lincoln. I didn't train as much as I would have liked, but I tied my PR time so I felt pretty stellar about that.
3. Post-race spread--- they had oranges, bananas, and Clif bars. Okay, I know I'm weird that this matters to me.... but after running that long, I want to eat. EAT. EAAAAT.

This was the 4th Half marathon my mom and I have done together.... now which should we do next?

audition for Newsies

If you haven't seen the musical Newsies you are lame. And if you did see it and didn't like it, you're double lame. A bunch of teenage boys selling newspaper, bursting out into song and dance... that's my kinda movie. And if that still isn't motivation enough to see it, Christian Bale is in it. Does that help?

Anyway, Lincoln in his little hat reminded me of that musical and so now, I'll refer to him as my little Newsie throughout the remainder of this post. 

A friend from church is a photographer who takes pictures for business who sells photography backdrops. She had a few backdrops she needed to take pictures of and asked if she could use Lincoln the Newsie... uhhh YES! PLEASE! & THANK YOU! 

I was pretty thrilled since I never had professional pictures of Lincoln the Newsie all by himself. Something about babies in hats and suspenders that really melts a mom's heart. 

And my Newsie is all ready to bust out some moves and sing!

Happy 10 months to this boy!

I haven't shared any of my Parenthood Club knowledge in awhile, but here's one I've learned recently. 

1. Pavlov's Law. It works on babies...or at least on Lincoln. 

We have our routine in the morning when it comes to breakfast time. I love my oatmeal, have it just about every morning. Sometimes I'll cook a big pot of oatmeal on the stove and have it for the week and just reheat some in the morning. Well, Lincoln's caught on to the beeping of the microwave. He KNOWS when I go and start pushing buttons, food will magically come out and it's time to eat. I'll try to set him on the floor to play with toys while I'm getting us breakfast. He'll play for a few minutes until he hears the microwave.... then I hear the pitter-patter of his hands and knees bolting to the kitchen until he gets to the microwave and pulls himself up and just stares at it. oooooh! aaaaaaaah!

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.

can i get a refill?

Just a little advice...

The food was good, the entertainment was good, but I advise you not to go during early-bird dinner time unless you want to steal a snow-bird's cane and fight them for a table because, frankly, that's your only option.

We were like vultures trying to get a table, hovering around our prey, breathing down their necks until we were able to swoop in and snatch up a table.

Did I mention the organ is pretty stellar?

Lincoln puckering up for the camera...

I'm sure no one else will find this as hilarious as I do but as I was going through pictures I came across this number. One of those pictures you take when no one is paying attention and you happen to photograph something really funny but don't know it until later on..... yeah, one of those.

Ryan's sister and her family were in town visiting from Rexburg over N.Y.E weekend. I remember one time, when Ryan and I lived in Rexburg, we went over to their house to hang out. Ryan had brought over a Big Gulp soda and left it on their kitchen counter when we walked in. We were hanging out with Lorie in the living room and Ryan went back into the kitchen to grab his soda. Austin, the boy pictured below, was sneakily chugging Ryan's soda and was caught in the act!

Their kids don't get soda very much, so when they do, they consume as much as they can as fast as they can. So when I saw this picture of Ryan giving Austin some soda, Austin's face because he was getting soda, and then Austin's dad watching Ryan give his son soda..... I had to share. Funny stuff. I also like how Grandpa, who is right next to Austin, is smiling as he is watching the whole thing go down.

Oh! And that Ryan's mom is using a disposable camera. People still use those?

We miss you Cannons! Come back and visit!

superstitions

On our last day with the Cannon family, we made a trip out to the Superstition Mountains to do a little hike. 

Technically, I don't think the mountain we hiked was part of the Superstition Mountains...more or less a smaller mountain next to the Superstitions for those who want to enjoy the Superstitions without putting in too much labor. 

But it was the perfect hike

and perfect weather

and perfect company 

and perfect view of the Superstitions. 

I don't know why I love this picture of Lincoln and Ryan so much. 

First thought is "who dresses this boy?"

Second though, "why does he only have one button fastened?"

Doesn't matter. 

Those are just trivial when what really matters is this boy scoring the best view while perched up on daddy's shoulders. 

NEW YEARS EVE!

I know everyone, and their mom, were taking sparkler pictures new years eve. BUT this was my first time taking them and it was freaking SWEET. We had so much fun goofing off with the sparklers and by "WE" i mean the girls. The boys were off being pyromaniacs! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!