Saturday Cruisin'

These past few days have been gorgeous in the Valley.  Highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's.....it doesn't get much better that that!  To take full advantage of our beautiful weekend, we decided to take the bikes out for a spin.  Pat bought me my bike a few years ago for Valentine's Day and over the past few months he's completely taken it apart and shined her up!  Today was her maiden voyage and she got a ton of compliments.

Here she is in all her glory

Of course since the bikes had been sitting through our 118 degree summer, the tires needed a little pick me up.  And of course we don't want to leave Pat's cooler than cool bike out of the spotlight.  Hope you're enjoying your weekend as much as we are!

Relay For Life

I have a friend at work whose family is incredibly involved in Relay For Life. Last year, I was only able to help out a little bit and we could not actually walk in the event because mom got in that same day. This year I am very excited to be involved with the planning committee and Patrick and I are both planning to walk in the event.

Almost everyone has been touched by cancer, either through their own personal battle or through someone they love. You all know our cancer story.

Every day, the American Cancer Society is helping us stay well by preventing cancer or finding it at its earliest, most treatable stages. They assist families in finding the best resources to help their friend or loved one deal with a diagnosis and their journey to get well. The American Cancer Society is also rallying communities (like ours!) through events like Relay For Life, to fight back and find cures for this disease.

So now, we need your help! Pat and I have both set fundraising goals and we would love if you could support us in whatever way you can. You can find Pat's personal page here and my page here. Thank you guys in advance for your help in creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Together, we can help make sure that cancer never steals another year of anyone’s life!

Coming 'Round The Mountain

We spent last night in Show Low, AZ visiting Uncle Jack and Aunt Kathy.  We had a great time and it was fun for me to meet Kathy for the first time!  We went out to the middle of the woods and had a little bbq, but the best part was when it got dark, Uncle Jack took out his elk bugle and we listed to the elk call back and forth to each other.  We didn't get to see any elk, but they sure were talkative!

White Mountains

This past weekend, Chris and Adam flew in and the three of them went off for a man's trip on the Apache Reservation in the White Mountains.  Aside from the beginning of the trip which included Patrick's jeep breaking down on the side of a mountain and me having to pick all of them up and bring them back to the Valley, they seemed to have a pretty great time.

Patrick and the boys spent the weekend camping and fishing.  They were able to catch some Rainbow and Apache trout which only live in this area of the country.  They also tried to spot some elk, which they didn't find, but instead came across a black bear.  Don't worry moms, they didn't get too close!

Home Alone

Pat has two of his best buddies in town.....Chris flew in from KY last weekend and attended a work training all week and Adam arrived from FL today.  They head out bright and early tomorrow morning to the White Mountains for a weekend of camping.  Which means I have the house all to myself!  Anyone care to join me in a HGTV marathon?  Pedicures are also on the agenda....

Wish me luck and pray for their safety.  Heaven knows they'll need it!

365 Days...

The first year of marriage is said to be the toughest.  I don't believe it.  Aside from moving across the country and leaving all of our friends and family behind, it hasn't been so bad.  It's actually been very healthy spending the greater part of our marriage alone.  Just the two of us.  No one else to rely on.  It can make a person incredibly grateful for being wise enough to marry their best friend.  We were lucky enough to spend our first anniversary surrounded by people we love.  We drove back to Phoenix from Lake Powell on our anniversary and had Gregg, Lindsay, Monica, Izabel, Indigo, Sophie and Sebastian staying with us.  My mom was sweet enough to let the top layer of our cake take up residence in her freezer for the last year and on my latest trip home, I carried it on the plane all the way back to Phoenix.  We were pleasantly surprised with the results.  The kids actually ate a decent amount of it.  Pat wasn't able, or allowed, to smash cake in my face per my loving mother's intense hatred of that particular tradition.  So, he took full advantage of the fact that she was 3,000 miles away on our year anniversary.

Haboob

We've been getting lots of haboobs lately. At first we thought they were monsoons, but, we were wrong. Oh Arizona, you have some big haboobs!