Matt and I went to Austin, TX to spend Thanksgiving with my family.  We had a fantastic time with everyone and I must say, man can my sister cook!!!  I miss them dearly.

Matt, Steve Pearson’s family, and I drove out to Filmore, CA to ride the Train and cut down our Christmas tree.  This train had a Steam Engine from 1913 and train cars from the 1920s and 1930s.  I loved it!  The water fountains on the train were really neat too.  We had a 45 minute train ride to the Christmas tree farm.  Then we roamed the farm and found our perfect tree to cut down.  I felt like Clark Griswald in Christmas vacation.  All of us had such a great time.  Here are some pictures below:

The train!

Our Christmas tree being cut down…

And off to load onto the train!

And the final result!!!

Matt and I took Jack on the Hike to the Bridge to NoWhere.  We only hiked about 3 miles in and 3 miles back because the trail is rough on his paws.  We had a great time and loved the hike.  The weather was perfect and Jack loved swimming in the water.  We had a lot of laughs and good moments on this hike.  I can’t wait to do it again.

water crossing!

I went to Disneyland California Adventure with the Caudill Family.  It was my first time to go to this park.  I had a great time, but I like the other park much better because there is more to do.  They had my favorite Disney show there called It’s a bug’s life.  I absolutely love this show!  I went on the Ferris Wheel with swinging carts and did not like it very much.  I loved the view, but not the so much the swing.

I went to my first tatting class today!  I was very excited to complete a snowflake that inquired many of the different techniques needed to tat. I don’t have a picture of what I made, but I did learn how to do these as well.  I am really enjoying learning this lost art that is slowly being reborn.  The teachers website is http://www.snapdragonlace.com/   Also, if you knit or sew or do anything that requires a pattern you can find free .pdf books at http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/  it is an awesome website.

During my time off, I was able to make it out to Disneyland again.  I have one more day pass to use before October so hopefully I will make it out before it expires.  I went with my friend Amber and we actually went to a few rides neither of us had done or done in a really long time.  We enjoyed climbing through the tight spaces to the top of Tom Sawyer’s island and the fun adventure Roger Rabbit ride in Toon Town.  We took pictures with Minnie Mouse last time and this time we actually got to take pictures with Mickey Mouse.  This place always puts a smile on my face.  We enjoyed an extremely delicious lunch at the French Quarter, New Orleans Restaurant.  We had an amazing salad and a Monte Cristo that melted in your mouth.  Then we ended the afternoon with a delicious cup of ice cream while watching the parade.  There were some very different costume that I just loved.  I am thinking about making one up for Halloween.  Across from where we were sitting there was this adorable little girl dressed up as Minnie Mouse.  She had a huge red lollipop and then her mom showed up with a pickle.  She went straight for the pickle and said forget the lollipop.  She was very entertaining to watch as the parade went on.

I have been so busy since my last post with school and work and making decisions about the the wedding with Matt.  We have almost everything done for the wedding, just need to figure out what we are going to eat at the reception.  I am really excited about wearing my mothers dress.  We are having it altered to fit me and a few minor changes.  It is going to be perfect.  I have picked out my shoes and my wedding bands have been made and I am working on getting my bouquet finished.  We are not doing flowers at all at the wedding, we have some other ideas in mind for a surprise.

School has been busy.  Every week they give us more problems for our assignment and increase the work load.  It is frustrating at times.  The class I am in now is over in a week and a half.  Glad this one is almost over, I do not like this auditing class very much.  It is not fun.

Work is the same, I am enjoying my job, I just wish I lived closer to it so the commute wasn’t so far in the afternoons.

I have not worked out much in the last two months because of my school work, but I plan on getting back into it very soon.  www.bodyrock.tv is the best workout I have yet to find.  You should check it out.  It is very accommodating to a busy schedule.

Matt and I went over too San Gabriel Mountains to hike to the Bridge to NoWhere.  It was 5 miles to the bridge and 5 miles back of sand, rock, and water crossings to hike.  It was really beautiful and the weather was perfect.  It wasn’t too hot and the breeze was just right.  This was a well needed hiking trip for the both of us.  We had a picnic a little bit passed the bridge while listening to the wind, water, and the birds.  We also watched a few people bungee jump off the bridge.  I love taking pictures of different bridges and this one was pretty neat.  I will going hiking here again, this place is fantastic!!!  Here are some pictures below.

Matt making some drinking water

The Bridge to NoWhere

The Sign

Our feet off the bridge

Me climbing up and up on the trail

Us having a great time!

So I finished ready Bonk.  I absolutely loved it.  Very interesting book and well written.  If you want to know some random history about sex, orgasms, and science, then this is the book to read.  A few things I read, I am still completely shocked people do that or even tried it.  You will have to read it if you want to know what I am talking about.  It is a fast and easy read.  I promise you will learn a thing or two.

Now, I am reading  Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon.  So far it is quite eye opening.  We will see…

Matt and I went to the Lenny Kravitz & U2 Concert at the Angels Stadium.  The was the first time for me to see them and Matt’s second time.  We had sooo much fun.  They put on a great performance.  When they played It’s a Beautiful Day, they had footage of the Space Crew on this last flight incorporated within the song.  It was fantastic and really neat.  Here are a few pictures:

Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz

So these guys thought it would be a great idea to have book club reading before the show.  Weird!

U2

U2

U2

This was the best part of the concert.  He made signs that said “It’s a Beautiful Day” and they played the footage during the song.  He also said a lot of things in the video that were really cool.  I loved this part!!!!

Don’t forget you can click on the images to make them larger.

On Thursday, Matt and I flew to Colorado Springs, CO.  I have never been there before and Matt has been going there since he was a kid.  His grandfather owns a cabin up there that we were fortunate enough to stay in while we were there.  Upon arriving we went straight over to visit with his Grandfather.  After our visit with him, we then had dinner at the Olive Garden.  It was delicious as always and the manager gave us some suggestions of where else to go.  Then, we headed up to the cabin in Green Mountain Falls to get settled in before heading out again to Bristol Brewing and the Blue Star Restaurant.  Bristol Brewing is a local brewery and Matt loved there Compass IPA beer.  Next, we headed to the liquor store for a nice bottle of wine from Priorat, Spain and a pack of beer.  We also ended up at Walmart to get food for the next few days and some movies.  After arriving back at the cabin, we poured some wine, opened a beer and popped in the movie Love and Other Drugs.  We stayed up all night and had a blast.  The movie was excellent!!!

Arriving in Colorado Springs, CO

Pikes Peak

Frances, Art (Granddad), Matt

Bristol Brewing Co. Compass IPA

On Friday, we went to visit with his Grandfather again, then headed to Garden of the Gods.  This was a really neat place.  I told Matt it looked like the Earth just decided to spit out some red splinters.  We hiked along the trail and took some fun rock climbing pictures.

Garden of the Gods

Holding up the rock

More Garden of the Gods

Then, we headed to Manitou Springs for some lunch and a stroll downtown.  This was really nice and relaxing.  I just loved this little town.  It is at surrounded by mountains almost in the valley with lots of foothills.

On Saturday May 21, the weather was so gorgeous!   Pike’s Peak was very visible and covered in snow.  We made our way over to see Matt’s Grandfather for the last time during our visit.  Then, we drove out to 11-mile canyon.  It was so gorgeous!!!!  It literally is an 11-mile canyon with a river running thru it.  We stopped at the last campsite area and climbed our way up the rocks to the first highest point and enjoyed the view.  Then, we decided to climb our way up to the second highest point.  On our way up there were rocks forming a stairway up to the top that was very neat.  After getting to the top and enjoying the view of miles and miles of land, Matt proposed to me.  It was totally romantic and caught me completely off guard.  We enjoyed them moment and took lots of pictures, then headed back towards the cabin.  We stopped at a Walmart on the way back and sat in the parking lot to call everyone.  We sat there for over an hour and a half calling everyone, it was hilarious.  Finally, we made it dinner in Manitou Springs at the Stage Coach Inn.  The food was EXCELLENT and so was the wine and beer!

11-Mile Canyon

11-Mile Canyon