5 Things | You my boo!

 It's that time again, time for you all to know 5 reasons I love this man. 

1. We had a pretty interesting week or so right? I like that even when life throws curve balls that I can rely on you. I might get stressed and freak out inside, but you calm that down in about 2.5 seconds. BALLER!

2. Did I mention you're a baller? You took care of me while I was in a butt load of pain and that means a lot. Coffee and breakfast in bed? CHECK. 

3. You "push" me out of bed in the morning and gently remind me to get up. Thank you. 

4. My coffee mugs are always clean and you don't mind doing the laundry. 

5. You make my heart happy. It's the craziest thing to have someone that mid-day stops and makes you so happy your heart might burst and he's that person for me.

Arizona | Top Golf!

This is my last Arizona installment on my blog, insert sad face, and while I am slightly happy to be done I'm going to miss inserting pictures of such a great vacation. I've determined that 6 days is not a long enough vacation and that Eric and I should probably go back to AZ when we have more time. On our last full day in Arizona Eric and I woke up pretty early to get breakfast at Kokobelli Bagel Cafe which Eric had raved about since we met, literally. But it lived up to it's hype! I had a delicious breakfast bagel and it had just the right weight, crispness and then soft insides.. mmm I kind of wish they over-nighted bagels here. After a breakfast we headed back to Eric's parents to get ready for some Top Golf! On Saturday when we were looking for a place to have lunch we went by Top Golf to see what it's all about, it was packed so we left and decided to come back Tuesday when it'd be a lot less busy. I'm glad we waited. I don't like large crowds and would rather have a relaxing time with people than having to listen/look at drunk frat and bachelor guys be idiotic.

So basically this Top Golf place is a skeeball meets golf, it's pretty fun and for someone like me who doesn't play golf at all it was pretty easy and entertaining. I swear I've come into a family full of golfers -no joke- and I am probably going to wind up playing real golf. Aside from it being a fun time, they also had fun boot drinks! I got one and so did Diane, now I have 2 boot mugs to use for random things.. like flowers or candy. 

After playing for a few hours, and Eric losing to his dad and buying us lunch, we went back for a mid-afternoon hang out before dinner with my dad. 

We couldn't complain about the 76˚ weather and a heated pool! We spent a good few hours in the pool and I took an almost nap in the sunshine..ahhh warm sunshine. It was the best way to spend our last afternoon, especially since it was 15˚ when we got back to Fargo. 

I'm going to miss sunsets like that and feeling warm and not dying from humidity. Sometimes I really, really miss living in Arizona. 

After an afternoon in the pool we were going to go to Chino Banditos with my dad, but their Chandler location had closed down, so we wound up back at the Cornish Pasty! Best part? We got our awesome waitress from Sunday night AND the pavlova that I'd originally wanted for desert. Think of the best whipped cream, not too sweet, with a firm meringue and a butt load of strawberries, grapes and kiwis. I wish we had things like that here in Grand Forks.  We wound up spending a few hours at the Pasty just talking, we discovered that both mine and Eric's dad are visitors. You know, the guys who can sit and talk to anyone forever? Yeah. 

I'm not complaining. I actually really enjoy watching my dad talk, its one of those things that I didn't realize I missed until after I moved away and wasn't around him for a long time. It's also nice to see we share so many characteristics. I was so glad that we got to spend some time together this trip. 

This is our selfie from the trip. My dad understands my selfie addiction, hooray! So this was the end of our trip. The next morning we were up incredible early to get on a plane back to the frozen tundra. I was sad to go, but happy that I could come home with the most amazing man in my life. 

And for your viewing pleasure, a sneak attack selfie in the airport at 5 something in the morning. Thanks for being apart of this consolidation of our trip. Till next time!

Arizona | The Grand Canyon Part Deux!

As I said, lots and lots of pictures to share so I decided to split them up. I will preface this post by saying the following; I am used to being behind the camera, so much that it was a very strange feeling to have people so adamant about taking my picture. They call me the queen of selfies, but to be honest.. those were some of the only pictures ever taken of me.. I don't want to sound like a narcissist, but if I hadn't selfie'd at points in my life there wouldn't be any "proof" that I'd been there. 

 

We drove around the rim of the canyon and I actually took the time to ask here and there to have my picture taken, but Eric's mom took the initiative to get some really awesome shots of myself and Eric which have made me an extremely mushy person, I love them! 

Eric's mom captured some shots of me taking pictures. I plan to use some of these as my head shots.. maybe. 

 

And I pretty much love this shot and the one below. I've never been able to be as loving toward my significant other in front of parents, but it was so nice to have Diane and Hans be totally fine with us hugging, kissing and having our own moments. I see now that Diane and I have a very similar view on photography/moments. These are the things we are left with, and I will cherish every singe one. 

Now remember when I said I didn't have an "ah-ha" moment until the end? Well see we were driving all around because Eric wanted to find this particular rock that meant a lot to him and he wanted to get a picture on said rock together. We weren't able to find it, but we found a new rock! 

It was this rock that I just sat and was really just struck with the fact that this, this is what people drive all the way here for! 

Now just some back story, my dad had told me not to go the edge of the canyon.. so I did what any child would do, I went to the edge. But the next day at dinner when I showed him this picture I told him that going to the edge is the only way to get some pretty snazzy shots. 

 

 

How can you not be taken by the beauty of the Lords creation when looking at this?! I am just humbled by being such a small creation in comparison to the entirety of the world. 

 

This would be known as an "Acacia face" because I'm well known in my family to not actually smile. 

And again, another matching picture of Eric's parents and us! I'm glad that Diane and Hans took their day to take us up to the canyon and to spend a day hiking and just enjoying each others company. I am so glad to have this family in my life. I have one more post about our trip to Arizona and I hope you stay tuned! 

Arizona | The Grand Canyon Part One

Welcome back to another Arizona segment, this round we'll be talking about our trip to The Grand Canyon  this was probably the most anticipated portion of our trip to Arizona. I know I grew up in Arizona and that our license plates boast "The Grand Canyon State" but I'd never been which is apparently crazy? Growing up seeing the big hole in the ground was never something that interested me, we would rather hike the mountains nearby or go to Sycamore Canyon to one of my favorite water holes to hang out for the day. I am glad that I went this round, it was good to create such a beautiful memory with someone who I love so dearly.. even if I had to get up at 0430 to get ready and go. There are so many pictures that I kind of had to separate this post up and not overwhelm you guys. So first portion will be full of Bright Angel and such. 

My "selfie" tactic for the day so i could get the switch backs my dad talked about climbing. It's nice to be somewhere that hasn't changed too much in the last 50 years.. just guard rails. 

Welcome to me being a not so sneaky photographer. This is the only picture of all four of us together.. I think it speaks volumes to the fun we had. 

This picture was taken by Eric, he happens to be a way, way better nature photographer than myself. I'm happy for this because he taught me a lot! 

Eric and his Mama, Diane. 

I found a cave and I just love it.. ps Eric is a flipping giant. 

 

Diane and Hans at the beautiful rock bridge. 

 

Eric and myself at the same place, it'll be nice to get these two pictures into frames. I'm a big fan of the memories we have created and I can fill our future home with -and my desk at work!- 

 

Another Eric picture! I was amazed at the size of the canyon, but I didn't have an "ah-ha" moment until the end of our trip. It is gorgeous, do not get me wrong, but I wasn't moved in the beginning.. just extraordinarily reminded that I am a very, very small person created just as lovingly by God as this beautiful place. 

Arizona | Golf & Guacamole

HELLO AGAIN! So here we are for part two of our awesome trip to Arizona. I recapped days 1 & 2 here so if you want to read that first, go ahead! Our second day in Arizona happened to be Sunday so after service at Eric's parents church we went on a trip golfing which was really just Eric and his parents golfing while I drove the cart. 

Eric and his parents with the Superstition mountains in the background.. I told y'all he was tall as heck! 

Eric's parents are pretty much the cutest couple I've seen. After 30+ years they still flirt and joke around. This gives me such hope for marriage and relationships in general. I'd always been resigned to the belief that you are happy until you're not and then you either get a divorce or are subjected to a lifetime of unhappiness. This is not how it should be and I will not have a marriage like that. 

I definitely had the easier job of everyone. I'm not a golfer -yet, says Eric- and so I kind of just hung out while snapping pictures of everyone here and there. Overall I loved being in the sun and wearing my flip flops while my friends back in North Dakota had snow and negative degrees. But after hanging out at the course we needed a snack, so we went to Cantina Laredo for some Mexican food. My dreams came true when Eric's dad Hans let me know that they made guacamole at your table and it was the best he'd ever had. 

I was not disappointed in this portion of the meal and I will tell you all to go there for the guacamole and their apple pie desert with cinnamon ice cream. If you could imagine the most delectable crust for a pie their desert had it. I didn't get many pictures because we were starving. I will say the fish tacos I had were a little disappointing, I'm used to so much more flavor, but they were spicy and that was good. I will say that I'd go back for the two very good things and some margaritas, but probably not for dinner or lunch. After a much needed run to best buy for a new camera charger I went to dinner with my dad and Patty-Lynn at the Cornish Pasty Co in Mesa. It was dead and that's exactly how I like my restaurants! 

I had my go-to pasty of shepherd's pie and, as usual, it did not disappoint! We had desert for the first time too and it was pretty dang tasty. I had the sticky toffee pudding which weirdly enough tasted like gingerbread and had the consistency of a bread pudding. After a lovely evening out we went back to Eric's parents for a nice chat after the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl. We talked a lot about places to hike in Arizona and our favorite places that dad took us kids. I loved watching my dad and stepmom talking with Diane and Hans, it's nice to see families getting along so well, especially considering it was that night at dinner that I told my dad that Eric is a permanent fixture in my life and that there's a strong possibility that North Dakota could be my forever home. Gulp. Stay tuned for MORE AZ :) 

Intermission

Sorry for not being as active but, I've been incredibly too busy enjoying a vacation with Eric and his parents! I will resume regular blogging when I return. Hope your February has started off as amazingly as mine. 

Langdon and Pembina Gorge

So the weekend after Eric and I started dating he took me to the Pembina Gorge because he knew I've been missing landscape change. It can get kind of depressing living here when I spent my life in such amazing landscapes like Arizona, Oregon and Washington. 
So we went out toward Langdon -cause I also needed to see the farm- and it was a wonderful drive of him listening to my iPod and lots of long talks. The fun part was when we pulled up to the Pembina Gorge and stepped out of the truck, Eric walked around the truck and saw my face and said "that face right there is worth all the gas it took to drive here" probably had something to do with me tearing up a little bit. 
"the human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man" 

But walking out of the truck to a view like this was just absolutely fantastic. Yes it was foggy, but goodness I was so happy that he took his day to show me something that I absolutely needed. 

So of course I had to take a selfie and Eric got to get in on a selfie for the occasion too. 

We went to another area to check out a different view and I made Eric promise to bring me to this spot every season. I need it and I am just so happy to have someone who cares so much to share such places with me. 

After our trip out to Pembina, Eric took me to his families place out in Langdon and conned me into climbing up a bin to get a better view. A little known fact; I'm scared of heights. I am actually terrified of them and you can ask my dad, the guy who spent almost 2 hours in line with me to ride Goliath, just to have me chicken out at the last second. #scardeypants but I climbed up that bin and took a picture of a gorgeous sunset over the farm. I fell in love with this land while I was there and I can't wait to go back and visit this summer. Granted during that time Eric will be out farming, but I look forward to tractor rides and watching the sunset with my handsome. 

I hope you enjoyed my post about Langdon and Pembina. If you get the chance to run out that way, I would suggest it.. but don't, it's mine.