Back To School 2016-2017
9 years ago
Mid-April, Darren and I went camping near Sedona. We drove down Thursday night after work and stayed the night in Cave Springs Campground. It is located in Oak Creek Canyon right next to Oak Creek. It was really pretty but freezing cold at night! I don’t know how low the temperature actually got but I do know it was cold. I slept in two layers of clothes from the waist down and a shirt, light jacket, and two sweatshirts from the waist up. And don’t forget the beanie!
The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast (Darren made English muffins with eggs, ham, cheese, and salsa. YUM!) and then we went hiking along the lower end of the West Fork Oak Creek Trail. The trail is situated alongside a quiet, trickling stream and continues through a deep, forested canyon with many eroded rock formations, colorful canyon walls and tall pine trees. The trail crosses the stream many times and we had to use the strategically placed stones and fallen trees to get across the creek bed.
The hike begins at the site of a ruined settlement with overgrown remnants of fireplaces and stone floors. There was also a cliff house built into the side of the mountain that overlooks the old settlement and an old chicken coop. All the structures are part of the early 20th century dwelling of Mayhew Lodge, long since abandoned. I have since learned (since there was not one single plaque, sign, old rotting board, ANYTHING, that explained what it was. It was really annoying to look at something and now know what it was.) Anyway…I have since learned that it was a popular destination for prominent movie stars, politicians and writers, including: President Hoover, Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Zane Grey, Walt Disney and Maureen O’Hara. The U.S. Forest Service acquired the property, but the lodge burned down in 1980 before they could renovate it. It was an interesting place. As you can see there is ivy growing up over an archway to the creek and all over the trees. It looked really cool! There is also a whitish vine that grows up the sides of the trees and branches out like a Christmas tree. It was interesting.
We got back to the campsite, crawled inside the tent and took a nap. It was great. We woke up to find that new neighbors had moved in while we were asleep. Few words to describe: alcohol, loud music, and non-censored language. Gotta love it!
A picture of Darren and I brushing our teeth out of the front of the tent. We were just getting ready to burrow beneath the blankets when I realized I hadn’t brushed my teeth. Gross! So I got up and stuck my head out of the tent (too cold to go all the way outside). Darren joined me and “a picture moment” was born.
Another freezing night! I think it was even colder than the first night if that’s possible. When we woke up in the morning all of our blankets were damp (condensation, not bed wetting :) Tell me…how are you supposed to stay warm in such conditions!?!?
The next morning we ate breakfast and just chilled around the campsite. Darren read me part of the book that we’ve been reading together, “The Sunflower” by Richard Paul Evans. I have read it before but thought it might be one that Darren would like. We had fun reading it together and I was excited when Darren didn’t want to put it down. We have since read another book by the same author “The Last Promise”.
After leaving the campsite at about 1:00 or so, we decided to drive to Jerome to take a look. I went there with my family a few years ago but Darren had never been. It’s not one of those places that we would return to often but it’s an interesting little town and definitely worth seeing once. We stumbled upon a glass blowing demonstration which was pretty cool.
Overall…another great trip with my man! Really pretty and lots of fun!!
The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast (Darren made English muffins with eggs, ham, cheese, and salsa. YUM!) and then we went hiking along the lower end of the West Fork Oak Creek Trail. The trail is situated alongside a quiet, trickling stream and continues through a deep, forested canyon with many eroded rock formations, colorful canyon walls and tall pine trees. The trail crosses the stream many times and we had to use the strategically placed stones and fallen trees to get across the creek bed.
The hike begins at the site of a ruined settlement with overgrown remnants of fireplaces and stone floors. There was also a cliff house built into the side of the mountain that overlooks the old settlement and an old chicken coop. All the structures are part of the early 20th century dwelling of Mayhew Lodge, long since abandoned. I have since learned (since there was not one single plaque, sign, old rotting board, ANYTHING, that explained what it was. It was really annoying to look at something and now know what it was.) Anyway…I have since learned that it was a popular destination for prominent movie stars, politicians and writers, including: President Hoover, Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Zane Grey, Walt Disney and Maureen O’Hara. The U.S. Forest Service acquired the property, but the lodge burned down in 1980 before they could renovate it. It was an interesting place. As you can see there is ivy growing up over an archway to the creek and all over the trees. It looked really cool! There is also a whitish vine that grows up the sides of the trees and branches out like a Christmas tree. It was interesting.
We got back to the campsite, crawled inside the tent and took a nap. It was great. We woke up to find that new neighbors had moved in while we were asleep. Few words to describe: alcohol, loud music, and non-censored language. Gotta love it!
A picture of Darren and I brushing our teeth out of the front of the tent. We were just getting ready to burrow beneath the blankets when I realized I hadn’t brushed my teeth. Gross! So I got up and stuck my head out of the tent (too cold to go all the way outside). Darren joined me and “a picture moment” was born.
Another freezing night! I think it was even colder than the first night if that’s possible. When we woke up in the morning all of our blankets were damp (condensation, not bed wetting :) Tell me…how are you supposed to stay warm in such conditions!?!?
The next morning we ate breakfast and just chilled around the campsite. Darren read me part of the book that we’ve been reading together, “The Sunflower” by Richard Paul Evans. I have read it before but thought it might be one that Darren would like. We had fun reading it together and I was excited when Darren didn’t want to put it down. We have since read another book by the same author “The Last Promise”.
After leaving the campsite at about 1:00 or so, we decided to drive to Jerome to take a look. I went there with my family a few years ago but Darren had never been. It’s not one of those places that we would return to often but it’s an interesting little town and definitely worth seeing once. We stumbled upon a glass blowing demonstration which was pretty cool.
Overall…another great trip with my man! Really pretty and lots of fun!!
On March 21st, Darren and I went to Luke Air Force Base to watch "the most diverse air show in America." It was really hot but super fun!! I went to this the first year I moved to Mesa but have not been back since (they only do it every other year). One of Darren's dreams is to someday get his pilot's license so when I saw that the air show was going to be this year, I got super excited to surprise him with this afternoon date. I was able to keep it a secret for a whole month! It was hard at times but I'm glad I did it. I wouldn't even tell him the morning of. I just kept telling him what he could and could not pack (would be searched by Air Force personnel) and then told him to drive northwest. His guess was that we were going to a Spring Training game. He even put our gloves and sunflower seeds in the back of the car "just in case." When we finally reached Glendale he openly admitted that he had no idea what we were doing. YES!!! Success! I love when I can pull off a good surprise. When he finally saw the sign for "Air Show", he got this big grin on his face (not too much unlike the Cheshire cat) and gave me a big kiss.
Some of the performances we were able to watch include the following:
Air Combat Command A-10
Boeing PT-17
The Horsemen P-51 Flight Team
ACC F-22 Raptor (very loud and very fast)
ACC Heritage Flight featuring P-40, F-22, and A-10
BO-105S Helicopter (a stunt helicopter. It actually flew upside down and did flips in the air. One of the coolest things we've ever seen)
And finally...The Thunderbirds!
Unique idea by Darren. Turned out pretty well.
CV-22 Osprey
The Thunderbirds! They were the crowning event. They woud do these crazy manuevers in the sky, like four of them all flying at one another and then turning at the last possible second. I'm not sure how close they actually got to each other but it appeared to be within inches.
Fun times!!
Some of the performances we were able to watch include the following:
Air Combat Command A-10
Boeing PT-17
The Horsemen P-51 Flight Team
ACC F-22 Raptor (very loud and very fast)
ACC Heritage Flight featuring P-40, F-22, and A-10
BO-105S Helicopter (a stunt helicopter. It actually flew upside down and did flips in the air. One of the coolest things we've ever seen)
And finally...The Thunderbirds!
Unique idea by Darren. Turned out pretty well.
CV-22 Osprey
The Thunderbirds! They were the crowning event. They woud do these crazy manuevers in the sky, like four of them all flying at one another and then turning at the last possible second. I'm not sure how close they actually got to each other but it appeared to be within inches.
Fun times!!
Valentines Day 2009. Just another amazing day with my husband. The one thing that Darren dislikes about V-Day is the fact that some people use it as a reason to do something nice and sweet and like he says "these are things I should be doing everyday anyway."
The day started out with Darren reading me a poem that he had typed up and put on a big red heart made out of construction paper. Here's the poem: "How Do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight for the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day's most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use in my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall love thee better after death." It was soooo sweet! I think I even teared up a bit.
That afternoon, Darren took me to Sports Authority and told me to pick out any tennis racket I wanted. It was a great surprise! We've been playing pretty regularly and the racket I've been using, while funtional, is a little outdated and has lost some of it's spring. He said he had wanted to buy me flowers but thought I might like this instead. It was a perfect gift and lasts much longer. Thanks again babe! :)
Picture of Darren painting my toenails for V-Day. One of the many sweet things he did for me. I had been saying for a while that I needed to get a pedicure or just suck it up and paint them myself, so later that night he came walking in with a bottle of polish. He did such an amazing job!! I told him he'd just have to paint them for me from now on :)
The story goes something like this (Darren can revise it later): He walks into the store and looks for the isle where polish would be. He sees a display of them and picks one up to observe. About that time a lady walks by. He says, "excuse me." She says, "oh...I don't work here." He says, "um....I just have a question. Is there a polish for fingers and a polish for toes or will this just work on both?" She answers laughing softly, "no...there's only one kind. It will work for both." He replies almost sheepishly, "Thank you." I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. Haha...I have to laugh to myself while writing this. He had no idea to what lengths he would go to once married. Fingernail polish for V-Day, girls underwear for Christmas. What will it be next? ;o)
For dinner we went to a place called Rustler's Rooste. It's on top of a butte at the foothills of South Mountain, the same location that used to be used as a hideout for cattle rustlers. It was a fun place. It looks basically like a 2-story log cabin inside, log railing etc, except that it was built directly into the mountain so some of the walls are stone. The lights inside were kerosene looking lamps on top of old wagon wheels. The salad plates were old, bent up mining pans and the cups were wide-mouthed mason jars. It was way fun and we thought it would be a great place to bring family when they come into town. Above all the day was great and we had a great time spending it together.
The day started out with Darren reading me a poem that he had typed up and put on a big red heart made out of construction paper. Here's the poem: "How Do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight for the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day's most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use in my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall love thee better after death." It was soooo sweet! I think I even teared up a bit.
That afternoon, Darren took me to Sports Authority and told me to pick out any tennis racket I wanted. It was a great surprise! We've been playing pretty regularly and the racket I've been using, while funtional, is a little outdated and has lost some of it's spring. He said he had wanted to buy me flowers but thought I might like this instead. It was a perfect gift and lasts much longer. Thanks again babe! :)
Picture of Darren painting my toenails for V-Day. One of the many sweet things he did for me. I had been saying for a while that I needed to get a pedicure or just suck it up and paint them myself, so later that night he came walking in with a bottle of polish. He did such an amazing job!! I told him he'd just have to paint them for me from now on :)
The story goes something like this (Darren can revise it later): He walks into the store and looks for the isle where polish would be. He sees a display of them and picks one up to observe. About that time a lady walks by. He says, "excuse me." She says, "oh...I don't work here." He says, "um....I just have a question. Is there a polish for fingers and a polish for toes or will this just work on both?" She answers laughing softly, "no...there's only one kind. It will work for both." He replies almost sheepishly, "Thank you." I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. Haha...I have to laugh to myself while writing this. He had no idea to what lengths he would go to once married. Fingernail polish for V-Day, girls underwear for Christmas. What will it be next? ;o)For dinner we went to a place called Rustler's Rooste. It's on top of a butte at the foothills of South Mountain, the same location that used to be used as a hideout for cattle rustlers. It was a fun place. It looks basically like a 2-story log cabin inside, log railing etc, except that it was built directly into the mountain so some of the walls are stone. The lights inside were kerosene looking lamps on top of old wagon wheels. The salad plates were old, bent up mining pans and the cups were wide-mouthed mason jars. It was way fun and we thought it would be a great place to bring family when they come into town. Above all the day was great and we had a great time spending it together.
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So for date night (about 3 months ago), Darren surprised me with a trip on the newly finished Light Rail. We drove down to the Park & Ride and then boarded the rail headed for downtown Phoenix. (I think Darren's favorite part of the trip was when he noticed that the tracks ran right in front of the Sun Devil Stadium) :) Once we got downtown, we went to the Arizona Science Center. It was super fun! I had always wanted to go but had never taken the time to.
Darren lying on a bed of nails. You push a button on the remote and up they come. They were actually pretty sharp. Good thing science holds true or it could have been painful. (Darren is currently at a stake priesthood meeting but I can hear him quoting the line from Nacho Libre, "I believe in sssscience!")
Forget starting at the bottom and working your way up (no pun intended). I decided to go for the "Hardest" one instead of the "Easy" one. Just a regular pulley system. You sit in a chair and pull yourself up the beam by pulling on the rope. Much harder than it looks. I definitely need more upper body strength. I did make it to the top but I'm pretty sure I pulled something.
Another activity at the Science Center. Two people sit on opposite sides of the wall, make a pattern out of the blocks and then try to describe the pattern to the person on the opposite side to see if they can recreate it exactly. This exercise is supposed to show the difference in communication: spoken and interpreted. It was funny! I would say things like, "put the blue triangular block "on top of" the yellow rectangle". On my side it looked like this but on Darren's side he put the blue triangle "on top of" the rectangle. What I should have said but didn't think of at the time is put it "above" the rectangle. The first round was a little rough but we got it perfect on the second. Maybe they should send couples here for newlywed initiation :).jpg)
The Rosson House Museum in Heritage Square. It was built in 1895 for Dr. and Mrs. Roland Lee Rosson for $7525. I wish! I love the look of this house. I've alway been a fan of tall, dimensional homes as opposed to one-level, long looking homes. As Darren and I were walking around this house we saw a bench on the porch and decided to go sit down for a minute. A woman and her son walked by and saw us sitting there. The little boy pointed to us and the mom said "yeah...that's their house." His eyes got really big as he aked"Really?" It was cute.
I loved all the wreaths hanging from each window and the garland draped around the fence. It's all so "quaint". (ask Darren the definition of that word. It's a better version now than it was 7 months ago...haha) :) The stories go something like this (just as an example). I see a beautiful white horse pulling a white carriage decorated with Christmas wreaths and bells, driven by a man in a top hat, traveling down a cobblestone street that looks like it belongs somewhere in a quiet village in Europe. I say..."oh...how quaint." Darren says "quaint?" I then go on to explain my reasoning. A week or so later we see a donkey pulling a cart filled with...stuff...walking down a street in South Phoenix. Darren says "Oh...I see. Quaint." I know he knows what it means but we have a fun time with it. :)
It's my big 3-0!! Good thing I still feel 24-ish...and sometimes I act even younger than that,...just ask Kim. :)
That night we got some good eats at Zipp's Sports Grill and went dancing. Wish I could remember more details but just like the picture, it's all just a blurr.
Look at that forest fire. My old lungs got about 24 to 25 of them on the first puff. I'll either need Kim's help from here on out or a fire extinguisher. Like I told Kim though, I blew out as many years as I feel.
Talk about a blurr. I don't remember this part at all. Just kidding, Kim put up all the decorations while I was in the other room. She even had me turn up the TV so I couldn't hear what was going on in there and ruin the surprise. Brownies and ice cream...mmmmm, my favorite!!
Do remember this. Here's to the next 30 years!! 
Perfect day for skiing! Or in my sisters case...snowboarding (we haven't disowned her yet) 
Darren's idea of "putting away the potatoes"
Us in our new hats
Kim told me Santa used to leave socks and underwear in her and her sisters' stockings, so when I saw a big bin of undies at Kohls I picked out the three cutest ones I could find. No, this isn't a normal occurrence for me,...if fact it's the first time I'd ever bought girls' undies ever. I was even a bit embarrassed for whatever reason at the register and tried to hide them under other stuff as I gave them to the cashier. :) I wasn't sure about the sizes but I think they were a big hit. Direct quote from Tiffany "Yeah right! My butt is not fitting in those!"
A pair of toe socks for each of us. Hopefully you can figure out which one is Darren :)
We went to Auberry, CA to spend Thanksgiving with Darren's grandparents, cousins and other family. We decided it would be fun to go through Sequoia National Park/Kings Canyon rather than sticking to the interstate. Here's a picture of us in front of some gorgeous yellow trees. We loved it! Living in Mesa we don't get to enjoy fall colors until mid to late January. This first one was taken in someone's front yard. Darren saw this short tree/bush with all the leaves lying around it and insisted that I kneel down in the middle of it. It was difficult to try and get a good smile while looking over my shoulder to watch for the owner.
