Twilight

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We went to see Twilight last Saturday with my mom and stepdad. It was fun to go on a date night with them and see a movie my mom has been waiting a long time to see. She has read all of the books and was very excited to go see it. Aaron and I didn't know anything about the movie other than it was a vampire-type love story. I went in with low expectations and was very surprised at how much I really liked the movie. I enjoyed it a lot and can see why people are really into the books. I now want to read the books to see what happens and I can honestly say I have been converted to the Twilight series.

Selecting the Christmas Tree!

Yesterday Aaron and I went for a Mountain Bike ride near Woods Canyon Lake. After we were done we went and got the dogs and then we were ready to get our Christmas tree. The dogs were so excited. They love the snow and they love exploring the woods while we look for our tree. Armstrong was very excited and had a hard time staying close by because he wanted to play in the snow and sniff out the animals.
Here is Aaron cutting down our tree.

Our Christmas tree. It's a blue spruce and it is very beautiful!

Here I am with Precious, Armstrong and our tree. They had so much fun!

Aaron and our babies with the tree.

We all had a great time getting our Christmas tree. It's a tradition we have each year to spend the day out looking for the tree and cutting it down in the woods. We really enjoy the memories we make each year with this tradition.

Linda and Ricardo got a tree too. Their tree was very beautiful too!

Aaron and I with our tree and our dirty mountain bikes. We have been fortunate to have snow each year when we get our tree. It makes it that more festive. We sure had a great time and are excited to decorate the tree today!

Horton Creek Hike

On Friday morning instead of trying to fight the crowds for the great deals at the stores, we decided to head up north for some outdoor adventures and cutting down a Christmas tree.
Precious & Armstrong on the way up to Heber. I thought this was sooo adorable of them snuggling together. Armstrong seemed to enjoy Precious using him as a pillow.

Here I am with our two babies at the start of the hike.

Linda and Ricardo joined us on our hike. Here is Aaron, Armstrong & Linda. It started to rain after we started the hike.

We had to cut the hike short because of all of the rain. It was very difficult to walk on the muddy trail so we decided to turn back and not destroy the trail more than necessary with our muddy footprints.

Here's Ricardo helping Linda down a slippery slope.

Here I am with Precious. We were completely soaked, but still enjoying our hike.

Despite the cold, Armstrong had to take a dip in the creek. Here he is trying to dry off in the rain. I like the action shot Aaron caught.

Here I am with my Precious & Armstrong.

Here is our happy family after the hike. We sure enjoyed ourselves. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate better, but it was still a great time!

Thanksgiving

In order to prepare for the big Thanksgiving feast we have been working out hard all week long so we don't feel guilty eating the big meal. Thanksgiving morning we got up and Aaron made delicious pumpkin pancakes! My dad came to our house for Thanksgiving this year and we enjoyed having him. He came in Wednesday night so he too was able to enjoy the wonderful breakfast Aaron prepared. We watched Fred Claus as we started the rolls, pies and prepped the turkey. Once we put the turkey in the oven, Aaron and I went for a mountain bike ride.
Here I am towards the beginning of the trail.

We had the opportunity to ride through the wind and rain. It was actually pretty nice because I was getting hot on the ride and it added a different challenge to the ride.

Here I am coming through the half-pipe. This is one of my favorite parts of the ride. It is a lot of fun!

Here I am after I finished a long climb. Aaron was taking pictures of me this time so there are a lot of me on this ride.

Here I am heading down a long and rocky descent. It doesn't even show how much further the descent goes beyond the photo. I was a little nervous because I had never made it down this hill before, but I did it!

Do you like my intensity climbing this hill.

Aaron and I at the end of the ride! We were very hungry and ready to eat our Thanksgiving feast!

The view of Mt. Lemmon while we were driving home. It was absolutely beautiful!

Our beautiful Thanksgiving turkey! (This was store bought, not one I raised) It finished just as we walked in the door from our ride.

Aaron made the best rolls ever using my grandmother's roll recipe. Don't they look tasty!!!

My dad and Precious before the big meal. Precious was crazy trying to get food during Thanksgiving. She usually isn't like that, but she knew it was a special day.

Aaron and I with Precious in front of our delicious meal. Armstrong wasn't cooperating for the photo.

The dogs were very excited to get there Thanksgiving feast too! Look at those nice sits!

Armstrong licked his plate clean!

Precious really enjoyed here much anticipated meal!

Our happy family in front of the fire! I sure am thankful for my wonderful family!

Armstrong relaxing by the fire. I love the yawn! I guess the tryptophan was kicking in.

Me and my little Precious!

It was sure nice having my dad visit! We really enjoyed his company and were very thankful he could spend Thanksgiving with us!!

I think this picture of Precious sums up what we all felt like doing after the fine feast! I really enjoy making Thanksgiving dinner and I really appreciated Aaron's help in preparing the meal with me. The food was amazing and it was the best Thanksgiving ever! We had a great Thanksgiving and are very thankful for everything and everyone we have in our lives! We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My favorite part of Thanksgiving, I must admit is the turkey! Here is a tribute to my 3 favorite turkeys (don't worry they will not be on our table today):

I sure am thankful for the opportunity I had to raise my turkeys and chickens.

I really enjoy this time of year because it reminds you to really think about all of the great things I have in my life. First off, I am also very thankful for a wonderful husband that loves me and supports me in all that I do; my sweat heart little girl, Precious; my little shadow, Armstrong; and 5 rambunctious rabbits. We are very thankful for our families. I am very appreciative of my new job and the great work atmosphere and I am grateful for my many friends. We wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope that you too have many things to be thankful for!!!

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Today is Lisa's Birthday!!!! Here she is with her beautiful family and we miss them all very much!! Lisa is a great sister and sister-in-law that really loves her family! She is usually the one we all go to to coordinate family events. She has great ideas for fun things to do. We wish you lived closer so we could celebrate your birthday with you! Happy Birthday Lisa, you do so much to make sure everyone is taken care of that you deserve your special day!

Fantasy Island Bike Ride

Today I went into work early so I was able to get off around 3 today. When I got home we decided to go for a Mountain Bike ride. It was sooo much fun!!! We went to Fantasy Island. It is a few miles from our house. We had a great time. It started to get dark on us towards the end, but we made it out before it was too dark and enjoyed ourselves.
Here is a map of the trail system we did. This trail has a lot of twists, turns, ups and downs and is an all around great trail. I'm not a very experienced rider and I loved it!

Here's a picture of the trail. There was a lot of cactus and somehow I always end up in it. Luckily this time it was only my fingertip when my chain came off and I fell off my bike. Aaron was surprised at the rough terrain I was able to ride through. I took some downhills even faster than he did. Trust me, it's not due to skill. It was my ignorance of the trail and just trying to hang on and get through the tough parts. When it started to get dark it was surreal riding the trail because you couldn't really see the rocks, but your bike just went right over them.

Here is the Christmas Tree at the beginning of the Christmas Tree loop. There were old cars and different antiques along the trail for decorations. It was a great ride and we will definitely do it again!!!

More Pics from the Hike . . .