fall is in the air

it's the first day of october. october is quite possibly my favorite month out of the year. it also marks the start of my favorite half of the year. fall and winter are by far my favorite seasons. growing up, i think summer was my favorite because i had some time off school. and in california, there weren't the change of seasons like there is here in utah. now that i live in a place with 4 distinct seasons, i love them each for different reasons.
but fall and winter, you steal my heart. the cool, crisp air, the changing leaves. then the snow, the holidays. i just can't get enough of it.
here are a few of my favorite things this season...

• everything pumpking, apple, cinnamon, caramel
• ghosts, goblins, jack-o-lanterns, bats, spiders, witches, skeletons, candy corns, trick-or-treaters
• changing colors of leaves, cool, crisp air
• days getting shorter, layering, bundling up, scarves, hats, mittens, boots
• candles burning, fires in the fireplace, nice cup of hot chocolate
  
• holidays, family gatherings, good food
• SNOW and all activities snow related, heated seats in my car

man just writing about it gets me all excited. but this years fall has been a little rude. it started to cool down, but then it got hot again! as if. at least it's still cool at night. and i have high hopes that the weather will cooperate now that it's october.

HAPPY FALL!

here are some pictures of some trips we've taken recently.

[view up farmington canyon]
[view of the city and the salt lake from the top of the canyon]
[backside of the canyon]
[pineview resevoir, huntsville]
[jack enjoying the water and marley watching from a safe depth. it's amazing how opposite these two are when it comes to water]
[even the mr. got in the water]

someday

the mr. and i would love to build a house, someday. as we looked at some builders, we came across this gem. someday i want to have this home. i would love it if someday was now, but for now, i will continue to love my basement apartment and live the simple life until i get through with school. and no, i am not even in school right now. i hope to be in the next 3 years, and then 2 1/2 years after that...then i will be able to even think of a house like this.
i just love how traditional it looks. the inviting and cozy appearance is so yummy. i can just imagine hosting holidays and parties there. or playing basketball and football games in the yard. a river in the back would just make it perfect. with enough land for a couple horses and some other farm animals. but for now, i will dream about it.
for the full tour of this house, click here.

fresh air

i work in an er. an er with no windows. all day long, i see glimpses of what the day looks like through the doors where ambulance patients come through. when the doors open for those few short seconds to allow the stretchers to come through, i can feel the temperature, smell the air, and i close my eyes for just a few seconds, and soak up the fresh air. i mean, really, the smell of bodily fluids gets old after so long.
so every night, as i walk out of the er to head home, that feeling of being outside, amidst the fresh air, is so freaking awesome. i seriously just want to close my eyes and lay down for a minute enjoying it, and decompressing from the long day at work. but then i would just be a person laying down in a hospital parking lot, and that would be weird.
so if any of you out there ever design an er. put in some freaking windows. a little vitamin D would probably do the patients, and the staff, some good.

i ♥ utah

one of the things i love most about utah are the sunsets. i think this place has some of the best sunsets anywhere. ever since we moved to kaysville, the drive home has gotten much longer than it used to be. but i really don't mind. i get to spend the 30 minutes enjoying the sunsets. it makes me think of how grateful i am for the beauty that surrounds us here. i could get all mushy here and talk about how great life is and what a miracle it is to enjoy this life. or how i can see God in everything around me. but i won't. i will, instead, leave you with this yummy picture of the place i call home.

here are some things that have been on my mind lately...

• summer is winding down and i am having a hard time containing my excitement for fall. it is my favorite season and i love nothing more than getting the house cozy with candles burning that smell like fall.
• i love married life. it is so awesome to spend all your time with your best friend. and to have someone to come home to everynight and wake up next to everyday. and it's even better that i get to have him forever.
• i feel like martha stewart lives in my head. i have this obsessive need for everything to be "just so" and perfect, but i can't seem to get my act together to actually have everything done the way it needs to be. but when things are in order, it's oh so delicious.
• i am baby hungry. like crazy baby hungry. last year at this time, i was still terrified at the idea of having kids. but now, i can't get them off my mind. weird.
• i love living in utah. steve and i went to denver over the summer. it's an awesome city, but it made me realize how much i really do like it here. nature is so in your face here and i love that.
• i think i have the cutest stinking dogs in the world. they really make me so happy. sometimes i think they are even better than kids because they can't talk back.
• i love my life. it's so far from perfect, but i savor every moment of it. it's way better than i ever thought life could be. and i thought life could be really great.
• someday, i hope to make more money, so then life will be even better than it is now.
• during this time of year, i wish i was a forever student in school because i love buying back to school supplies.
• i used to want to be a teacher before i wanted to be a nurse, and during this time of year, i always wish i was a teacher so i could have my own classroom and supplies for all my students.
• i am beginning to realize i am way more neurotic than i ever thought i was.
• i have this overwhelming need to take care of people. maybe it's the baby hungry thing acting out.
• i think my husband has a love/hate relationship with the above statement.
• my husband wants kids, but he wants them when they are old enough to do chores.
• i secretly laugh inside at how he will be with a newborn.
• but then i get sad because i realize i will be the one getting up in the middle of the night with a kid. and i love to sleep. then i get scared to be a parent. but then i see a baby walk by and i am baby hungry again. seriously folks, it's ridiculous.
• then i start thinking about funding children and i realize that i really need to make more money, like NOW.
• i am itching for a getaway. maybe to california. i miss it there sometimes.
• the hubs and i love to travel and have so many places we want to go. i really hope after kiddos come along that we can remember to take trips and spend time with each other.
• i never believed in soul mates, but i am pretty sure there isn't a person on this earth i could get along with better with than the mr. he is the coolest man alive.
• i think ikea is the greatest store ever created.
• i have so many blessings in my life it's ridiculous. but i am grateful for them all.

HAPPY END OF SUMMER. BRING ON THE FALL!