Roughing it.... Tennessee style

The 4th of July weekend was definitely a weekend to remember. Adam and I decided to canoe the Buffalo River and camp out over night on the side of the river. We went with Adam's brother Brandon, and some friends of ours Tyler, Paige, BJ, and Ray. We got in our canoes packed with tents, food, and a few essentials and floated down the river. We spent most of Saturday on the water, and when it was time to set up camp we found the perfect campsite. We set up our tents, made a fire, and cooked some awesome food, then we sat by the fire, shot a few fireworks, and watched the stars. The ground was a little hard, but we slept good enough and woke up the next morning to sunshine and the sound of the water. We cooked the rest of our food, and packed everything up and headed the last 5 miles home. We had so much fun!! This just proved to me that even though I'm a Mama, and wife now I can still rough it from time to time!! I can't wait to go again :)

Mama getting creative...

When we left for our trip I wasn't sure how Tori would do with us being gone so long.(She barely missed us at all!! haha!) So I made her a sticker chart to count down the days till we came home.... It was a big hit!! Here's a picture of it after she put the stickers on!

In case you can't read my little poem it says: 

"Tori Grace we miss you so!!!

And we just thought that you should know

That we will see you smiling face

When all the stickers are in place!"

I sent it with her to Gigi and Papa's house with a set of stickers and put something on each day for her to do! She had a blast with Gigi, Papa, and her Aunts and Uncles, and honestly barely missed us at all! Thanks so much to my Mommy and Daddy for keeping her for us!! We had an awesome break from real life. :)

San Francisco...

Never have I ever been anywhere even remotely like San Francisco. There are almost no left turns, so you have to make 3 right turns if you want to go left. We tried desperately to find a place close to China Town to park, but after an hour of right turns, we gave up and were content to just drive down and look at China Town. Then we drove to a Park overlooking the city, it was beautiful!! We also ran over to Fisherman's Wharf and got some yummy Calamari. It was raining the first 2 hours we were there, so I don't have any pictures of those first few places. After that we went to Haight and Ashbury. The Artsy look of the buildings and shops was amazing! Very Victorian styled, and really fun to look at. We stopped at a little cafe and had late lunch/early dinner and then drove down Lumbard St. (Crookedest street in the world), on to the beach to see the Pacific Ocean! I love the rocks, and the roughness of the ocean, it's beautiful to look at... just don't get too close!! After that Brandon took us through a cave, and over a rope with sign on it that said "Enter at your own risk."  The tide was just starting to come in, but after being assured that we could go back through the park, Adam and I followed. We walked about 1/2 a mile on this teeny tiny trail on the edge of a cliff. This is the second time Brandon has led me into danger, and for the second time... It was totally worth it!!! We got to the top and only once we were there did we see the Golden Gate Bridge, this was the first time we had seen it since we had gotten there and it was beautiful!!! San Francisco was Amazing!!! I am so glad we got to take a day to go there, even if it was a little cold and wet.  :)

Lombard Street and the Beautiful Pacific

The Cave

The "Treacherous" path Brandon took us on to see Golden Gate

Golden Gate Bridge, The boys, and Adam and I at the Cafe

A few of my favorite things...

Snow, Mountains, Lakes, skiing, hot tubs, saunas... and this place has it all!! Adam and I got home late last night from Lake Tahoe. The beauty of that place is hard to put into words. On our way into Tahoe from the Reno airport we saw rolling hills, and desert! And all the sudden a huge mountain covered in snow. We went straight from the airport to this peak that Brandon wanted us to climb to see the view... I was reluctant at first, but it was soo worth it! When we got to the top this is what we saw...

South Lake Tahoe

Totally worth the climb!!! The next day we went snowboarding, and I ate snow for a good 3 hours before giving up and deciding skis were the best route for me... Adam is awesome at snowboarding! This is only his second time ever and he was jumping boxes, and doing tricks... I'm so impressed with him haha. There is so much to write about this trip that it's not all going to fit into one blog... So just read when you can!!

Me and Adam right after we got done for the first day

Me walking down the mountain, giving up on the snowboard lol

Adam and Brandon on the slopes

Adam and Rob... silly boys

Adam jumping onto a box, he landed it too :)

Adam and I on the lift, just had to prove I was there :) I was usually taking the pictures not being in them haha