Because Irony Is The Story Of My Life

Good morning!  I hope all of you are rested after a busy few days of family gatherings and lots of good food.  Perhaps even a few of you still have some celebrations to get to.  I guess now we have to gear up for New Year’s Eve.  Does anyone go all out for that holiday?

John and I have been hanging out in Houston for the last two days, and we’re just about to head out for our last busy day here.  Before we do, I wanted to recap some of my Christmas shenanigans for all of you.  But, first, I have to tell you all a little story of irony.  As we prepared to leave home at the beginning of the weekend, we kept hearing that some bad winter weather was going to hit the area.  John and I left Mom’s Tuesday around 11, and the forecast said it would hit within a few hours.  We made it to Houston without any problems, and we’ve spent the last few days staring at palm trees.

And this is a picture that my sister-in-law sent to us from home yesterday afternoon.

That’s right, ladies and gentleman.  The woman who loves snow and all things associated with it is currently 40 miles from the beach while my home is under 8 inches of snow.  Irony, my friends, irony.

That’s okay because even if the weather isn’t up to my standards, the company more than makes up for it!

So let’s talk Christmas.   We made it to my hometown Christmas Eve afternoon, and spent an hour or so hanging out with Mom and Joel before it was time to head to my grandparents’ house for our celebration.  This year instead of a cooking dinner at home, my grandparents took us out to eat at local restaurant where we spent an hour catching up.  I also enjoyed fish tacos there which is one of my favorite foods!

Afterwards, it was time to head back to their house for presents and dessert.  As usual, everyone bought way too much and we enjoyed unwrapping our gifts and showing off our new toys.

Tace, the ultimate Cowboys fan, liked her new slippers!

You guys know I’m a huge fan of The Big Bang so this calendar was a no brainer for me!

Around 9:30 we headed back to Mom’s where we partook in our annual Christmas Eve tradition before bed.  Every year Caite and I read the story of Christ’s birth from the bible .  This is one of my favorite traditions, and it’s a special way to end the evening.

We were up bright and early Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought.  We always take turns opening presents one at a time, and the process takes a while!  I happen to love this system, and it really means a lot of quality time together.  I must have been very good this year because Santa outdid himself!

This is one of the presents John got me this year.  I think I may never take it off.

Our living room could be declared a national disaster area after we unwrap all our gifts!

Here’s one of my favorite things I received this year.  My sister and brother-in-law made that!  I was blown away by the time and effort this took, and it turned out so good!  I’m trying to convince them that they need to open up their own Etsy shop :).

After gifts we enjoyed a huge Christmas breakfast and then it was time to hit the road.  I can’t believe another Christmas as come and gone.  Now all I can think about is all the decorations waiting to come down at home!  I guess you know what I’ll be doing this weekend!

I hope you guys are having a great week.  I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap of our time in Houston!

Teddy Roosevelt Is A Rock Star

We survived!  How was Halloween for all of you?  I spent the evening watching Mr. Fireman pass out candy to all the kiddos.

Unfortunately, he had to shed the suit right after I took this picture because he had an actual fire yesterday so he was filthy!  He still had a blast running back and forth to the door.  I think it really might be his favorite time of the year.  We even had a visit from two of our favorite trick or treaters.

My sister-in-law always brings our niece and nephew by, and seeing them in their costumes is my favorite part of Halloween. Check out that pirate costume!  I was super impressed.  Apparently, the eye patch didn’t last until this portion of the evening, though. 😉  Perhaps I’m biased, but I think that may be the prettiest Sleeping Beauty around!  Another Halloween is in the books which means my favorite time of year is just a bit closer.  Do you think I can start listening to the Christmas station on Pandora?  Too soon?

Here’s a small little tidbit about me.  Teddy Roosevelt is my favorite president.  A lot of people are shocked when I tell them that, but Teddy was a man after my own heart.  He did a lot of things that are to be admired, but my favorite has to be that he is one of the main reasons we have so many national parks to enjoy in this country.  John and I have had the opportunity to hike in just a few of them, and I wanted to highlight some of these parks as well as give you a few that are on our “must see” list.

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park is located in Northern Montana.  We visited this past summer, and it’s the first National Park we’ve had the opportunity to backpack in.  I don’t feel like I’m exaggerating when I tell you that it’s truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.  Glacier is known as the “Crown of the Continent”, and it fully earns that name.  It has over 700 miles of hiking trails that include both day hikes for beginners and longer backpacking trips for experienced hikers.  I plan on doing an entire post about our trip sometime soon so for now take a look at a sneak peek of some our pictures.  I think you’ll understand why I say it’s so beautiful, and the pictures don’t even do it justice!

 

Was I lying?

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southern Utah, and is probably the most unusual landscape you can imagine.  The park is famous for it’s hoodoos which are huge rock spires that stick up out of the canyon.  It’s really gorgeous in its own unique way.  We did a few different day hikes here.  This park is located in the high desert so you definitely need plenty of water on these hikes!  Most of you probably know that I am not a fan of hot weather, and the temperatures in Bryce reached into the 100s during the day.  In is a testament to how much I liked the park that I was willing to hike in that!

Zion National Park

Zion National Park is not far from Bryce in southern Utah, but the landscape is completely different.  The park has huge sheer rock faces, and, we were told while there, it gives Yosemite a run for its money in terms of rock climbers.  We did two awesome trails while we were there.  The first was Angel’s Landing.  This trail is a steep climb to the top of a really high peak.  The last few miles of it sports chains to hold on to because of the sheer drop offs at either side.  Full disclosure:  My mom and I stopped before this point while John and Joel continued up.  I was going to attempt it, but I put my hand on the chain and started to climb and I immediately froze up.  I knew continuing up would put me and the rest of my family is a dangerous position so I opted out.

The second hike we did was so unique.  It’s called The Narrows, and it’s one of a kind because you are literally hiking through the river to get back to some beautiful rock formations.  It was such a different and interesting trek, and, despite the fact it was only 6 miles, one of the most strenuous day hikes I’ve ever done.

That’s the list of a few of the national parks I’ve been fortunate enough to visit.  I’ll be back with a part two to highlight some of the parks that I hope will be in my near future!

Have you ever been to a National Park?  Which one would you like to visit?