Mount Monadknock

     Before the Fall foliage was completely gone we took a drive up to Jeffrey, New Hampshire to climb the 3rd most climbed mountain in the world, Mount Monadknock.  It was an early, and chilly wake up call at 4:30 am to meet the crew.

     We started just in time to watch the sunrise.

It was a good hike up to the top and worth the view.  It was very cold at the top with 40-50 mph winds, haven't experienced that in a while.

We are loving exploring New England on our free time.

36 Hours of Fun

     Sometimes in this crazy time we are in right now, when Ryan is switching from a day to night shift for a few days or week we can accumulate a little bit of extra play time.  This time we decided to hit up a close beach in Gloucester, MA and since it was past October 1, we could bring Abbi.  We got lucky and enjoyed the last 70 degree Fall day.

Good Harbor Beach

First time in the ocean

Lots of digging and rolling in the sand

After a fun day of playing in the ocean, catching crabs, digging for oysters we headed home for some relaxation.

The next day we headed up to hike Mt. Wachusett to see more of the amazing fall foliage before Ryan started the night shift.

Sometimes we get lucky with Ryan's schedule and can enjoy an extra 12 hours of fun before he has to work the night shift.  Here's to more adventures to come!

Fallin' In Love With Fall

     I think the title of this post says it all.  We have been LOVIN' this beautiful, crisp New England Fall.  Since we haven't had a fall for the past 4 years being in Arizona, this was one of our excitements to look forward too, and it has definitely not disappointed.

     To start off the Fall season we headed to Tougas Farm.  They have tons of orchards over hundreds of acres: apples, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and of course a pumpkin patch.  They grow over 30 different types of apples.....our favorite is the Honey-crisp, but we have tried about 5 other flavors as well.  We picked around 40 lbs of apples (two different trips to the farm) which led to lots of dried apples, apple leather, and apple crisp pie!

    Along with Fall, comes the amazing New England Fall colors.  We have been outside so much to enjoy the colors and crisp air.  One thing we love about Massachusetts is that there is actually weather!!! It is nice to have rainy days, sunny days, and just overcast....so nice for running outside.

     We love our random days where we get Ryan for a whole 24 hours, that means lots of exploring and playing

     And here is some random photos of Abbi and Ryan playing to make you smile.  I came out of the bedroom to Abbi barking and now I understand why!

     We are sure fallin' for Massachusetts.  We love the area we live in and have started to make some great friends.  Bring on the holidays!!!!!

2500 Miles Away And A Wedding

*WARNING*: major picture overload

     Ryan gets 3 weeks of vacation during a year, but they can only be taken during certain rotations/months.  Ryan's brother Jordan found a great girl and decided to get married during one of the months we could come home, so off to Idaho we went!

     Our flight to Idaho was early in the morning and we were pretty tired so we had to do a few airport selfies to keep us awake.

     We got to SLC, and we split ways to head to Idaho.  Ryan went to Poky and I went to Burley to meet up with my family.  More entertainment for a long car ride = pictures with their favorite aunt.

     Once we got to Burley, did some changing of hair color, we all went to the Rupert Cemetery to see Dakota's beautiful headstone.  I still can't believe that Dakota is gone.  It's really apparent when our whole family is together, but I am truly thankful to have her as my guardian angel watching over Ryan and I while we are in Massachusetts.

     Ryan played some piano with Hunter to entertain us all

     This trip home, I was able to coordinate with my sister Jami, who lives in Houston to come home as well.  When the whole family is together, that can only mean family pictures!  We just had to take some of our own to keep us all entertained.

     During the week, we went on a couple of road bike rides with Barrie's and convinced my sister and brother-in-law to become roadies with Ryan and I.  Needless to say, Idaho kept a nice, fall breeze for us while riding.  We had to go to Wingers to get some hot chocolate and their wings to warm up.

Pretty sure I have the cutest dad around!  Came in for lunch from working some harvest.

     After a lot of fun during the week, it was time for Jordan and Ali's wedding.  We all headed down to Salt Lake for the big day.  Their ceremony was beautiful.  I love weddings, it truly makes me thankful to know that Ryan and I are married for eternity.  So much peace comes to me due to this knowledge.  I became the photographer while we waited for the bride and groom to come out.

Im so excited to have Ali as a sister-in-law!

After the wedding events, we all headed to our cars and decided to try and fit everyone into an elevator.  We were successful, plus we had two baby strollers in as well.  This is what you call family bonding.

The next day we watched Tanner's soccer game

Then it was time for the wedding reception.  It was a beautiful, fall, Idaho evening with no wind.

I was able to see some of my favorite counselors/teachers from American Falls at the reception.  

And of course we had to send Jordan and Ali off with some cool, decorated cars.  One car may have been saran wrapped and another completely covered with sticky notes with a little bit of other damage, but nothing a car wash can't fix!

We were truly sad to have to go back to Massachusetts.  This trip home was one that we will never forget.  Thanks everyone who helped us get home and we will see you sometime again Idaho!