The past month in review ;) pumpkins and family!

Wow!! This past month has been so fun!! Since my last post we've done quite a few things...

We celebrated Carson's first birthday!! We had fun with family and friends and all dined on "my green chile chicken enchiladas." They were a hit with my fellow Arizonans.. thank heavens! Carson got so many cool things. One of which was a cool truck to drive around. He hasn't yet mastered the rules of the road... in other words, he didn't pass the driving test... ha ha! There's still time my young grasshopper.. he'll figure it soon enough :) So like every baby turning "1" Melissa let him dig into his cake. He shared it with his best friend Reese who also just turned one. And the cake! Oh boy, the cake! Melissa had gone to Michaels in September to buy the cupcake pan. Our intentions were to make Carson a huge cupcake... but we ended up with a store bought cake. The homemade cupcake was a total flop and totally didn't turn out. We have pictures of the hard work put into the cupcake for Carson, just so he knows we tried, ha ha!!

And the cupcake flop, ha ha ha!!

And the duo are caked out I think..

*** We also celebrated my grandparents 58th wedding anniversary*** What a blessing, I love them so much!!! RD and I also celebrated 13 years together on October 25th!

Flying right along... we boarded our jet plane and headed to the beautiful state of Colorado!! We celebrated my grandmother's 85th birthday!! Lots of happiness in pumpkin month :)

We had to wake up at 3:30 to get ready and be to the airport by 5:30.. I was in need of my cup of ambition, lol, my Starbucks!!

Very rainy morning too!!!

And here's the family!

Chris was so scared! Was so funny (poor guy).. we could not stop laughing!!! Anytime the plane hit even the slightest turbulance he was grabbing the arm rest stating "never again will I fly these small planes... next time I'm taking a 757" totally hilarious!!

And then we arrived, all 7 of us! We were so excited to see my grandparents, my dad, stepmom, cousin Grant and Nicole. We're a very small close family and with my dad in the military 30+ years and having gone through 4, 4 year tours (16) years totally gone, family time is so precious!

This is a pic of the prairie that lies behind my dad's backyard. You can see antelope at dusk, so beautiful! I forgot how tall Pike's Peak was too!! So gorgeous and the weather was cold!! We loved it. After having a hot Phoenix summer we were happy that our toes felt like they were gonna fall off. Ha ha ha!! Plus my dad likes to leave the house at a cool 62 degrees (frigidness).

And the most beautiful, authentic, sweetheart of a grandmother: My nana... and the most amazing grandfather a girl could ask for.. my papa!! I love them soooooo much! People say that I look just like him. If you see us side by side he looks like he could be my dad. I guess it's the Cherokee Indian running through our blood :)

We celebrated her birthday in the coolest man cave ever!

The cake!!

And the beer of course!!!

We had a great time sharing stories, drinking beer, playing pool, 4 wheelerin' and eating the most amazing german food ever! My stepmother Christel has got to be the best cook I know! I think we gained a couple pounds while we were there. Ha ha ha!! Germans like cheese and alot of it!!!! And so do I, yum!

My niece Allie got the game of pool down.. may become a pro even thanks to Uncle Grant.

And then came the goodbye's....

 I am the worst at goodbye's... I always feel like it's gonna be the last time I see someone. Now I'm sad again just thinking about it.. :'(

Ok so next I guess was Halloween...

We didn't do anthing this year... although we had every intention of dressing up, just didn't turn out that way. We did however take Carson and the girls out trick or treating! Wow, PHOENIX! Totally impressed! I've never experienced a Halloween quite like that. Made me wish I was a kid again. Every house was decorated so awesome, everyone gave away big candy bars, all the adults were dressed up. It was so fun and crazy! Can't wait til next year!!! I sooooo know what I'm gonna be too and I'm definitely not gonna change my mind.

I had pics of Halloween on my phone and the other day I dropped it and now all the videos and pics I had on there are gone.. I'm so bummed. There were a ton of Carson! Gosh dang stupid clutsy hands, ha ha ha!!! But I did manage to have this one. This is of Carson in his carseat! A back shot..

He was the cutest giraffe I have ever seen! He got wheeled around in his new radio flyer wagon with his buddy Reese. They had so much fun!!

And lastly I went from blonde to brunette.. now I can't blame my "blonde moments" on being blonde!! Ha ha, but I love it and wanna go darker.

Alright, well I guess that's it for now! Thanks for reading, it's fun blogging. Happy Thursday night!!! Cheers!

New blogger coming through, ha ha ha!!!

So move over Rosie O'Donnell.. Jen is setting sail on the ocean of blogging!! I've always loved writing and being creative and this is all new to me but I wanted to start something fun and here I go. I wanted to be able to post things about my family, pictures and my life's journey without having to overwhelm Facebook readers with it all. This should be exciting. Hope everyone jumps on board and follows.. and maybe start one of your own so I can follow you! The picture above is The Carnival Cruise Ship "Princess".. In March 2006 RD and I took the ship to Mexico. So fun! We were on the boat for 5 days and when we returned to L.A and walked on normal ground we were not walking normal, haha, we were walking sideways. And that lasted about 3 days! It was so funny. Ok, so moving on....

I saw a post today on Facebook outlining 10 things you like! Well there's a trillion things I like but I will try to narrow my list to 10. Ha ha!

1. My husband and my awesome kitties! I la la la lovvvvvvvvveeeeeeee them. My family means so much to me. My wonderful hubby is my best friend! We've been together quite a long time. 13 years October 25, 2010. I thank the heavens every day that I'm able to share my life with such a special person! We used to have a rottie named Sedona. She was our "daughter" hehe, for 12 amazing years. She was each of our best friends and we miss her more than ever. I even tattooed her name on me:

And here she is: Pass the tissue... :(

Next and #2 is: Michigan

My grandparents live in Michigan and every summer when I was little I'd fly up there and spend the entire summer with them. I spent my summer days at the lake all day long! I loved it! My grandfather means so much to me and I have the most incredible memories of the time spent with him. For instance a snow mobile accident, that I caused by pressing the gas too much! Funny how I still have that same problem, ha ha! Or the times he let me drive the pick up truck to the property to pick raspberries. Of course I was sitting on his lap. And he'd end every evening playing a song by Hank Williams Jr. on his guitar... my grandmother is the heart of our family! Best cook ever!! I cherish them both :)

3.THIS BABY IS FROM THE 80's!!

WOW! Where to start with this one... I LOVE everything about the 80's! The movies (Dirty Dancing = Fav movie ever), music, fashion, candy, EVERYTHING! I wish we could bring the 80's back and I could be a teen all over again. I'd wear the lace up jeans, teased out hair (courtesy of Aquanet) rockin my walkman, chewing my favorite Bonkers bubble gum! Ahhh, I need to invent a time warp, ha ha!!

4. Someone pass the milk because I love cookies, ha ha:

Doesn't matter what kind of cookie as long as it's dunkable! I'm what you would call a:

5. Accessories! What girl doesn't?!? From funky glasses, to blingy rings (as you'll see below I tried to fit my fav rings all on one hand, ha ha), huge necklaces, leather cuffs, big watches and for me... anything animal print! Zebra, leopard, whatever, bring on the StYle! ;)

6. "ONE" is a grassroots campaign and advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million people who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Cofounded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African policy makers and activists.

I had the opportunity of a lifetime (I've always loved U2) to see them in concert in October 2009. Below is my "ONE" bracelet I received at the concert and wear it everyday:

7. My Hello Kitty Purse! Isn't she so cute?!

8. Dolphins! They are the most beautiful marine animal that always wear a smile! They are so intelligent, sweet, and have even saved human lives. They are incredible animals. I got my first tattoo when I was 17 on my back. Took 4 hours but it's my favorite tattoo I have... here it is below!

9. GUM! I blow my bubbles in Stride, ha ha!!

AND FINALLY #10: Sleeping.. The feel of a down comforter and a cold pillow taking you away to dreamland, ha ha, I love it! I LOVE MY BED.

So there you have it.. 10 things I like. This was pretty fun, time consuming but fun. Hope you enjoyed a little piece of me. Have a great day everyone! See ya soon when I can come up with more stuff to write, xoxo....... Jen