Halloween Tradition

Halloween Tradition

End of An Era
I know I had this same picture and title up last year but halloween is coming up fast and its strange to be uncertain of what my plans are. It seems like since forever I can remember having the halloween parties at the ranch (My moms old house out in the country).

Halloween is one of Danny and my favorite holidays, so it makes things even harder that he is not here and we dont have the ranch to have our parties.

Seems like EVERYONE is asking me already if what the plan is for halloween and the ranch. Even people I dont know. The other day I was at the bookstore at the JC and the clerk at the counter ended up asking me if there was going to be a party out at my house. This actually made me laugh that the parties have hit so many people, but also made me a little sad and reminiscent.

Over all it seems unfair that Danny has to spend ANOTHER halloween away from his friends and family here at home, but at least he is not in bootcamp this time! :)

I miss you honey!! Love you so much!!

Halfway Home

Phones Down, Time Difference and Anticipation

Its about that time now, the halfway point and my feelings are mixed. Yay we are halfway there, only the second half of the deployment to go and it seems like things are in reach. On the other hand it means I have to go through what I just did, waiting just as long as I have already waited... hmmm....

Well either way I look at it everyday we get closer and closer to his arrival home! I dont have that much to say this time just wanted to say that :) So Yay... hope everyone else is as excited as I am to hit the halfway point.

Crabbing for Fun - - - And Dinner

Week 7 Challenge Time

This weekend I decided to take advantage of the nice weather we were having and head out to the Bodega Head. We usually go out there to go crabbing, however it has been closed for some time now and just recently reopened.

So as we went out there this time we had no idea how the catch would be, of course expecting the best because no one has been out there for months. As expected we actually did pretty good, could have done better but we had MORE than enough crab for all of us and then some.

The jetty that we crawled out on seemed to be longer than normal and more difficult (probably due to lack of practice) but we all ended up making it out there eventually. :) Once out there though you definitely have to stay for awhile to make it worth the hike out, and to catch enough crabs.

This time we ended up catching a sun star in one of our nets as well... that thing was gigantic!

Challenge Week 6

Happy 30th Birthday Camping

So this weekend we ended up heading to the coast for the weekend to camp, fish, hike and chill. This time we decided to go back to Ocean Cove up past Jenner for the easy ocean access. We ended up eating like kings out at the coast, had everything from fish, steak, venison, eel and abalone.... soooo good!

It was one of my good friends 30th birthday which is the reason we headed out to the coast for camping, but it was a great excuse to be in the outdoors!

We went fishing both days, crawling over rocks out to the deeper part of the sea, quite a hike and very relaxing once your out there. The boys ended up catching 4 fish and an eel, a nice dinner for all of us :) Of course us girls didn't get anything except wet from the waves!

We watched the sun set over the ocean from our campsite while cooking dinner, we woke up and saw the mist fade away from the sea after the clouds burned away, we made smores and toasted marshmallows.... overall the trip was a blast and everyone ended up having a great time. So Happy Birthday Jared!! Thanks for having us out there!!

Week 4 Challenge

Disneyland Day of Fun and Huntington Beach Visit

So I know this is more of a road trip than an outdoor challenge this week, however I still took time to get outdoors and see some beautiful sights. A few friends and I took a trip to Orange County to visit Disneyland this weekend and took the day to spend at the beach before heading home.

This trip was nice and fun, a bit short for my taste but it has been since sophomore year in high school since i last went to Disneyland. I have to admit one day in disneyland is not nearly enough though, there were so many rides and things that we did not get to see, or rushed through because the time was running out. Overall it was a very fun day, how could it not be, being in the 'happiest place on earth'. :)

The next day before our drive home we embarked on our long drive home we decided to stop in Huntington beach, and spend a few hours on the shore. Since it wasn't the usual extreme heat that southern California is know for in mid summer, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was perfectly warm in the sun with a gentle cool breeze.

Though I did not go hiking this weekend, or workout by holding on for dear life on tubes, I still got the satisfaction of seeing some of our beautiful places outdoors in California.

Week 3 Outdoor Challenge

Boating and Camping at Lake Sonoma

So this weekend I went on a last minute, but fun trip to lake sonoma. A friend had a few campsites and a boat out there and I decided to pack up and join them for the night. So my sister and another friend all got ready and made the short drive to lake sonoma, not sure what to hope for except fun.

We got there and it turned out to be a boat in campsite, meaning only accessible by boats, and no cell phone service (not like im not used to that so it was fine). We ended up going tubing both days and made smores, played liars dice and everything else you do when camping.

Over all it was a great trip, lots of fun and the tubing actually gave me more of a workout that I thought! Gotta get back in shape :)

Good Old Game Night

With an adorable puppy!

So its been ages since I actually got one together, but thankfully last night my friend Liz pulled a last minute game night before she leaves. She is in the National Guard Reserves and goes on here two week yearly training tomorrow morning, so called up a few friends and had us all come over!

I forgot how much fun it could be just sitting around and playing games. Its something that's low key and very much fun. I'm defiantly down to do it more often, like we used to.... and next another friend and I have been talking about having a Disney night, and watching many of the great older classics :)

Husband Deployed Means Playing Musical Chairs For Rafting Partners.

White Water Rafting, Solo Style....

So this trip is something I have been doing every year since I was about 18 years old... I think I have been about 6 times now or so, tons of fun and always worth the time, money, soreness and sunburn.

This year since Danny was gone I didnt have the comfort of having an automatic partner. Also since most of my friends have bf or husbands it seems like I was destine to not have a partner for this thing! God thats part of the point, they are two people boats for gosh sakes.

Anyway I ended up not having a partner and had to basically pray that someone would be willing to go alone so I didn't have to.... luckily someone did after lots of back and forth. So after all this I got a partner... luckily someone I have meet before (only a select few times but still not a total stranger).

So my partner ended up being glad he rode with me (his first year so I saved him from being tossed from the boat many times). We only tipped once and that was because people crashed into us at the last minute, and made it through pretty easily.

The second day my first partner ended up having to bail and not go down the river and again Im stuck without a boat mate.... Good thing I found somone at the last minute and to ride, a friend whose partner also left, had lots of fun and ended up going both days with someone i knew, but lets face it, I lucked out immensely!


This year was fun, I really