Arizona 2011

Our annual trip to Arizona was a blast! This was our third year in a row, our second year with Emma. I have to say, having Emma along is so much better.

Day One: What is the first thing a person should do when settling into their hotel room?

Pillow Fight!

Day Two: After the obligatory pillow fight, Emma was still full of energy. 

Push Ups (the hotel room was really hot when we get there)

Lunges

Running

Relay Races

And some silly bear running. Yes, it looks as funny in person as in the picture.

Finally ready for some sleep, after bedtime stories of course. 

Day Three: We had to stop at REI because Jared had not brought any warm gear for riding. Apparently Emma decided it was best to just ride in the car...

Helmet on (Da's helmet that is) and peddling her imaginary bike. 

Finally!

We did have fun on the drive. We listened to a few audio books (Riding Freedom, Wind in the Door, and Water Horse), did lots of coloring, played some trivia, and ate. Lots of yummy (though unhealthy) snacks.

As much fun as the drive was, we were happy to be at our friends house. We arrived on Christmas Eve and got to open stockings with our friends Christmas morning. Our friends then headed to Flagstaff for a few nights. 

Jared, Emma and I took this time to go for a hike.

The route maps were labeled very well. 

Pretty rocks

Yes, it is acceptable to hike in a skirt, leg warmers and cowgirl boots. Although, we did learn that the shorts under the skirt caused her thighs to chafe a bit, and cowgirl boots, while awesome for riding, are not super sturdy for hiking. 

Saguaro Cactus- I would guess that this big mama is probably over 100 years old. 

I was trying to take a photo of Emma and Jared from over my head. I did not get the angle correct...

Stopping to rest. 

We also went to the Sonora Desert Museum. If you ever get near Tucson, this is a must see. I like the Sonora Desert Museum better than a zoo for the main reason that the animals are housed in their natural habitat, with lots of room. Obviously not as much room as if they were free, but for three square meals, I guess something has to give. 

It really was a blast. There is plenty more, but I think I will end this post for now. Have a great day!

Last Beautiful Day of Fall: Take 2

Ok, so we thought that November 1st was going to be the last beautiful day of fall. Turns out yesterday (the 6th) was another one. Jared already had plans to attend the last ISU paintball practice of the year, and I really wanted to go into town to pick up some library books we had on hold, as well as our pottery pieces we had painted earlier in the week. With 3 hours between dropping Jared off and the library and pottery place opening, Emma and I went for a hike. Sadly, our first of the year.

I have wanted to take Emma hiking, but with Jared's school class load, we haven't been able to get it scheduled. I was too nervous to take Emma on my own. I mean, what would happen if I fell and broke my leg, or suddenly lost consciousness, or got attacked by a bear?!?

Considering the type of hiking, my health, and the area we would most likely hike in, none of these are really likely. Possible, but not likely.

So, on Saturday, when we realized that it was suppose to be pretty nice out on Sunday, I decided Emma and I would go for a hike while Jared played paintball.

Sunday morning, Emma was really excited to go for a hike and kept asking if it was time to leave yet. Finally, we headed into town. Emma and I dropped Jared off then stopped at the outdoor place and picked up a cheap, super loud whistle (you know, just in case), then headed for the woods.

It was chilly walking through the prairie grass with nothing to stop the wind. 

We chased quite a few of these little hoppers.

A hole in a tree. 

I would have loved to have been able to miniaturize ourselves and take a tour of this little critter home.

Once we had hiked a bit, and got into the trees, we were a lot warmer.

The letter "Y"- I sense a future theme

A leaf "as big as Da's face!"

I didn't take very many pictures, but I am really proud of myself anyway. I typically like to rush Emma when we are walking. Even if we have no where to go. I really want to stop doing that, and I am happy to say that for all by the last 15 minutes of our hike, I was able to repress the, "Ok, let's go" comment from popping out of my mouth. After the first two tongue bitings, I began to relax and just enjoy the atmosphere and company. 

The reason for the slight rush during the last 15 minutes? We got lost, and instead of an hour long hike, it ended up being an hour and 45 minutes. And we still needed to get to the library and the pottery place before we had to pick Jared up. We still really enjoyed the last 15 minutes, even though we were both tired. That is when we saw most of the animal prints (that I should have taken pictures of).

We had made plans ahead of time to stop for some hot coco after our hike while we waited for the library and the pottery place to open. Thankfully, we had finished up our hike and gotten back to town with 15 minutes to go before everything opened. Just enough time for hot coco and tiramisu. 

She thought it looked yummy and wanted to try it. Turns out she really liked it, and I didn't. Lucky her :)

I couldn't get over how cute she looked sipping her hot coco from the mug almost as big as her face, so I took a bunch of pictures. Almost as many as I took while hiking. 

Yes, I am a dork, and it is a great thing to be :)