Pumpkin Time!

Since we went to Greg and Shasta's neck of the woods last week, they came to ours this week, this time to carve pumpkins. We didn't have time to go to a pumpkin patch like I wanted, so we got our pumpkins at a grocery store. Smith's had a pretty good selection, we got 2 perfect round and 2 oddly shaped. "Please do not step on the pumpkins"...haha glad I didn't smash any to pieces!We bought the little books for carving pumpkins with "scary" designs and handy dandy tools to work with. We thought it would go by fast until halfway through tracing our faces Shasta, Eric and I realized our designs were rated 3 out of 4 pumpkins on difficulty, Greg was the first to finish because he got an easy one, only 1 out of 4 pumpkins, meaning it's easy for beginners. Ours were cooler looking so we stuck with it :)

By the end it kind of became a race, I finished 2nd, Shasta 3rd and Eric last. His was the hardest one, very intricate and detailed. We endured to the end and here is the end result.

I had left over costume award ribbons from our Halloween party last year that I awarded our cute little pumpkins. Greg got scariest "costume" with the skull, Shasta creepiest "costume" with the spider, Eric BEST "costume" with the haunted house, and me most original "costume" with the cute little monster.

Here is how they look all pretty lined up on our front porch steps:

Last year, right after Greg and Shasta finished carving their pumpkins they put them on the porch and ran inside to grab the camera to snap a photo. By the time they came back someone had STOLE their pumpkins! How SHADY, honestly, who steals pumpkins??(who knows, maybe it's because they live in Salt Lake, jk)! They were hesitant to take them home this year but we encouraged them it wont happen again...hopefully no one steals our cute pumpkins, so far so good!

frightmares

The other day we went to Frightmares at Lagoon with Greg and Shasta (Eric's brother and his girlfriend).

Weather was perfect so it made for long lines, but still fun. We really went for the rides, instead of the haunted houses. Rather than eating the crappy food inside the park, we decided to bring our BBQ and grill by the car. Greg and Shasta always come prepared with good food, they always introduce us to tasty food from Costco too...today we had turkey sausage hot dog things with mango, cilantro and other goodness inside it...mmm. It smelt good an everyone walking by said "good idea"...yeah that's why we did it :)

Here is a random sign on the spider ride. Honestly, I think you could do without the sign, its a given!

During the day it was normal but at night is when the freaks came out...literally. This pumpkin head was like 10 feet tall...there were a ton of people in crazy costumes (workers, not guests) walking around the park trying to scare people. My favorite costume was the one with a gorilla carrying a cage with a man inside (didn't get a picture). They creeped up on Shasta a couple times...it was pretty hilarious.

Waiting in line for Deception - one of the haunted houses - was a pain. We waited what seemed like forever in the freezing cold. I felt more sorry for the people having to entertain us in costumes. Like this one chick below, it was about 11 and she still had so much energy, don't know how she did it. She wanted me to poke her third eyeball, it was pretty gooey. Then she says, "I'm actually really pretty, want to see a picture?" I'm like, ok and she pulls out her phone and shows me a picture of herself, oddly enough she looks exactly the same, but without makeup...who would've thought?!

Thanks Greg and Shasta for the invite...we always have a blast with you guys!

Gone to Fruita, CO

Our trip to Fruita was a success. It normally takes 4 hours to get there...but 4 cars, 16 people and 6 hours later we finally made it. That's what you get when going with the school I guess. Random stops at gas stations and fruit stands made our trip longer. The closer we got to Fruita, the more we saw bikes on cars. Seriously, almost every car had a bike rack with 2 or more bikes on it. Most or all of the people who visit Fruita are mountain bikers going for the great trails - there isn't much else around.

We were supposed to get an afternoon ride in but because we got there so late we didn't get the chance, we barely even found a place for all 16 of us to pitch our tents (it was so nice some slept under the stars, we opted for the tents and brought our air mattress so we can have a good night sleep). After breakfast the next morning we got on our bikes for our first ride in Fruita. A full Camelbak, a few Cliff bars and we were off!

Here we are...the only girls on the trip, me, Jen and Laura. Laura and I stuck together most of the trip and let our boys go ahead of us. We're at the top of the first trail of the day, Kessel's. It was by far my favorite trail...it curved up and down the side of the hill which made it a lot of fun to ride. It was just the right trail for me, not too hard but still challenging enough to push me. Eric was in front of me and stopped to get a couple action shots.

Right after we finished Kessel's, we headed toward Zippity Do Da. I was looking forward to this trail because I saw the coolest video online when doing my research on Fruita (before we went I had to see what I was up against). Here's the link to the video I saw if you're curious, 1st picture is the video (half is a slideshow of pictures and the rest is a video, its cool because the person filming had a camera on their helmet): http://www.sirbikesalot.com/entry.php?fid=142

Here we are just getting into the zippity trail.

Every now and then the class waits for everyone to catch up, here was a good spot to stop, have a snack break, and take a group photo.

Zippity Do Da is a double diamond for experts only! It began with fun up and downs on dry dessert hardpack then it turned into steep climbs and drop offs. Didn't look too scary on video and in the pictures, but when you're there its a bit more intimidating (for the beginner anyway). I'm a little scared of heights so I walked my bike on the steep, narrow parts, especially where the trail turns around the mountain and is only a foot wide or so.

Zippity didn't phase Eric at all, ok maybe just a little. After we finished the trial we were all exhausted and ready for a break. Now we're off to the other side of town for more riding and LUNCH! Here we are, exhausted and starving!

For lunch we all ate at the Hot Tomato Cafe. The cutest little pizza joint (hottomatocafe.com), the pizza was delicious, especially after hours of riding. We ordered the "Thai me up" - one of the best pizza's I've ever tasted, mmm. This is where all the bikers (local and out-of-towners) hang out after a long day of riding.

After lunch, we headed back on the road for another ride. I didn't get any action shots of Eric because he had the camera but he tore it up! Here's one of him looking hardcore and tough.

Here we are at Rouldy's loop, it went along the Colorado River, so pretty.

There were only 2 spills on our trip (surprisingly enough it wasn't me - a couple almost's but never fell), only one spill included blood. Here our teacher is cleaning up a kid's cut...look how prepared he was, gloves and everything. Looking forward to our next trip out there.

mountain biking

Eric and I are taking a pretty hard core mountain biking class this semester at UVU. Every class I'm going out of my comfort zone because during the 2 years we've had our mountain bikes, I've never taken it off road (and that's all we do in this class)! Eric has taken it off road a bit, so he's intermediate/advanced, I'm a beginner. In our class I'm usually towards the end of the line (I'm not the only one, there is a girl at my same level, I'm glad I'm not the only slow poke) so Eric stays in the back and keeps us company. Someone has to hold the end of the line, so Eric lets the T.A. go in front and he takes care of everyone at the end (the teacher rarely makes it to class on time so the T.A. really is the one in charge). Eric is so sweet and lets us go in front of him so he can make sure we are doing well, using the skills we've learned, and don't fall. He is patient when I'm slow and have to walk my bike up a hill (there are times when everyone has to walk their bike b/c the hill is so steep) and motivates me to keep going...that's what I need. Sometimes I feel like I'm holding him back, but I've already seen a lot of improvement since the first day...one day I'll catch up with him.

For class we have to do 1.5 hours of riding on our own time. In this picture we're riding the Provo trail starting at Vivian's Park, for our labs only 2 out of 7 can be on paved trails...we tried to go to Sundance to take the lift and ride down but since it had rained the day before we couldn't go down...so we resorted to the Provo trail. Not as tough but still a lot of fun. The colors of the leaves are gorgeous. This picture doesn't do it justice, they were vibrant red, orange and yellow. It was almost breathtaking riding through the tunnel of trees. Too bad winter has already started, they won't stay that color for long. It's been a lot of fun to take this class together. I don't even mind all my scrapes and bruises. Tomorrow we are leaving for Fruita, Colorado to go on a mountain bike excursion with our class (we have to go on a mandatory overnight camping trip). We'll be going on some tough terrain, I'm excited for the challenge. We'll see how I keep up...I may even come back as an intermediate...

moonlight ride

Last night Eric and I went to the Sundance Resort to go on a full moon ride. Whenever there is a full moon, Sundance allows people to ride the lift from 9-11pm. This was the second time we've been. It's such a fun, romantic date night. We take a blanket, get bundled up and grab some hot chocolate. Just 45 minutes of uninterrupted cuddle/talk time while enjoying as much scenery as the moon will allow. It's gorgeous and so quiet up there (except for the sometimes noisy obnoxious people passing by). This will be a new tradition of ours, every time there is a full moon we'll head up to Sundance and ride the lift. Tonight will be the last ride of the year because of the weather, last night was pretty freezing but worth every second.

a couple first's for me...

Last Thursday was a big day for me...I got MY FIRST TICKET EVER! I'd been pulled over once before in california for supposedly "swerving". The cop thought I was drunk so he pulled me over. I went over the white line once, maybe twice. I freaked out when he pulled me over, I was a little more calm b.c Eric was with me, but I thought if I ever get a ticket I don't know how I'd react, especially alone.

Well, the day finally came where I got a ticket. I seriously thought I'd be 30 or so before I did because I'm such a safe driver, I'm always checking my speed and always on the lookout for cops, it's just natural for me to do that. Eric hates my driving b.c he says I drive too slow. Well, this time there was so much on my mind that I wasn't even thinking about my speed or the speed limit...and that's what got me into trouble. Here's how it happened:

I driving down the road going to my internship (with the Truancy Officer/Social Workers at Provo School District) when I was thinking about all the things I have to do. As I'm driving I see the flashing school zone lights (20 mph) and it doesn't even register to think to slow down or check my speed. As I'm trying to switch lanes I see a cop with his lights on behind me, my first thought was "oh, I'd better get over so he can pass me, oh wait, he might be pulling me over". So I pull over and sure enough he follows me! I had no idea how fast I was going. Surprisingly enough I was calm and not nervous at all.

The first thing he says is "Did you even see the first school zone sign?" He was a pretty cool cop, I joked with him, made light conversation, and chatted, but it didn't get me out of my ticket. He joked around too but wasn't sympathetic at all. So I bet you're all wondering how fast I was going...DRUM ROLL...31 in a 20 mph school zone. 11 over, but he was nice enough to give me 9 over (same as going 1 over). He gave me the paper to sign and I asked him how bad it was, he didn't even know, he said I have to call! How lame is that? But luckily I can go to traffic school...yay for traffic school! I was actually excited that I got my ticket, a new experience b.c now I fit in with the cool kids, I didn't let my ticket get me down, what good is that going to do? I'm just bummed I can no longer say "I've never had a ticket!" Eric is glad I don't have bragging rights anymore!

To add to my list of firsts and to make my day better I get a call from Eric later that day saying we're going to the Jazz game (pre-season) with his work. I was psyched! I'd never been and of course always wanted to go! This was going to be TEN TIMES BETTER because it was FREE and we got to sit in the SUITE just for Best Buy - perfect view, comfy seating, and best part of all, great food!

They were playing the Phoenix Suns and Shaquille O'Neal now plays for them...so I was a little star struck. When I think of Shaq I think of his huge round superman bed from MTV's Cribs. He is huge, and his feet are even huger...this picture shows the size comparison to him and a normal person. Check out their feet...I still can't get over it.

During the game the Jazz bear came to our suite and attacked us all with silly string...it was all over the place. Hilarious and unexpected! Again, I was star struck...I love the Jazz bear (mascots in general). It was a good game, close, but the jazz lost by 7 points, 96 to 89.

last day

the very last thing from our trip. one of my other favorite parts about going home is seeing my friends. living in utah i don't keep in touch with my friends as often as i should...but i've come to find out that when months go by and we haven't talked, when we finally do it seems as if nothing has changed. that's when you know they're friends for life.


i met up with claudia and veronica...we had a girls night out, shopping and dinner...what we did back in the day, what girls like to do most. we went to the mall...then to chevy's, one of our favorite restaurants to go to during high school. i'm sad chevy's didn't do too well in utah...there aren't any left! we didn't do very much damage, but sill got some good stuff.



the last day of our trip (my real birthday) my mom made me one of my favorite dishes, pozole and ice cream cake for breakfast - it had to be for breakfast because we needed to get on the road by 11am because we were going to stop in davis to see some more friends: kike (who's like my cousin, our mom's were pregnant at the same time so we grew up together), adriana (we've been in school together since elementary), and veronica (just since high school, but we're such good friends). we stopped to have lunch...kike picked the spot, a famous pizza place in davis. it's actually pretty cool because you get a percentage off of your meal for how old you are, since i was turning 22, they gave us 22% off our entire order! we chatted for hours on old times and how we are doing...it was the best birthday because i got to spend it with friends and family. we loved davis so much, we're thinking of moving there when we both finish school. it's a cute, safe little town, and perfect because it's about 1.5 hours away from my family and 2 hours away from lake tahoe - the snow is close by so we can still go snowboarding and we'll be close to my family and eric's sister! it's also a little cheaper to live because it's not in the bay area - a definate plus! this isn't set in stone...but it's fun to dream and think about!
yay...i'm done typing up our trip...almost took me as long to blog about our trip to the philippines! i know, i just like blogging by day, its kind of annoying but thats me.