Home For Christmas

Hello friends!! How I found the time to blog while I am home...I don't quite know, but here I am! :)

In my last blog post I wrote about my Christmas goals. So far, I have been pretty successful in following all of them...except for one. Exercising. But, I'm honestly 120% okay with that because I have gotten in some of the best family time and I'm the happiest girl in the world right now! Family time>>>>exercising.


The first night I got in I got to go see The Hobbit with my cousins and good friends. I was an avid LOTR fan when those movies came out, sooo it was only right to go see The Hobbit...and be that Nerd that goes at Midnight to see the premier.

This is my cousin Maureen. She is pretty much amazing. She also was the first person in line for The Hobbit Premiere. 7:55pm, thats amazing.(oh and did I mention she's single;) ;) )

Reunited at last!!!A whole year is way too long to be away from any person you love.  (Btw, thats my cousin Molly in the middle :) )

The Hobbit was really good and by some miracle I stayed awake during the whole entire 3 hour movie! Honestly, I was more excited about being with my cousins than the movie itself. So, I kept talking to them during the movie...yeah, I was THAT person ;)

Friday I got to spend the morning with Maureen and the evening with my Grammy (My mom's mom). Maureen and I hit up Panera for breakfast, a tradition of ours. However, we dilly dallied, got a late start, and missed breakfast....but it was all good because I got some pretty delicious kick awesome coffee ;)

Oh! and did I mention how THRILLED I am to finally be able to wear my winter clothes! Nothing says Christmas like a cozy scarf and sweater!! ;)

Yesterday has been one of my fav days so far! I went over to my Nanny's house (My dad's mom) and baked Christmas cookies and chocolates with the whole Grierson family. My dad is from a close knit family of nine, so you can imagine the crowd we had. Oh, and did I mention we dont believe in indoor voices ;) We literally baked, decorated, and dipped delicious things in chocolate ALL DAY. The result was magical.

 I wish I got more pics of everyone!...but I was too busy eating Chocolate. And making some serious messes. Literally. When I stepped away from the table there was chocolate on the walls, the floor, myself, and if there was chocolate on other people it was probably somehow from me. But being clean and tidy is boring anyway, right? ;)

So, like I mentioned at the top I haven't really worked out since I was home. Before I came home I had mentioned I was planning on working out in the mornings. Just a real quick one hour session. I'm hoping to possibly do another competition and I want to try to stay in shape! However, this hasn't happened. Instead, I've dedicated 100% of my time to family and its been amazing. Last night I tried to do a leg workout with my mom. That lasted about 30 minutes and I was exhauuuusted. (I don't think I ate enough cookies to help me power through it! I mean hey, food is fuel!;) )So instead, mom and I popped a bottle of wine, snuggled up together and watched some TV and decorated the Christmas tree (thats cardio, right?!) It was literally a perfect day.:) I really don't think there is anything better in life than spending time with the people you love. 

BUT! Tomorrow morning I think I'm going to go for a run...anyone want to join ? ;)

I hope you all are having a wonderful Holiday so far. Don't forget to slow down and just ENJOY. I believe it's in those moments that you will really find true joy ;) Alright! I'm off to go cause some trouble!

Tis the Season!!!

Hello friends!
     Once again I have failed keeping up with my blog on a weekly basis... This blog may just be a monthly thing. I get all these great ideas and I'm like "oh hey, I'm going to blog about this great idea today!!!"...and then, it never happens (I blame this on my ADHD. The struggle is real!). but! here I am! today! blogging! woo!

   So, the hustle and bustle of Christmas has officially begun! I absolutely LOVE this time of year! I love it so much that Caleb and I actually started decorating a week and a half before Thanksgiving! (yea, we're those people. no shame) But hey! it only comes once a year so, you got to enjoy it while its here!

So, quick life update!
   The past few weeks have been pretty hectic in the Stevens household with Caleb's work. He flies helicopters all day and studies all night.  He is so determined and I couldn't be more proud of him! However, this past week he had a short class on Thurs, then Friday-Sunday off! It was AMAZING! Thursday evening his squadron had a Christmas party which was a blast AND I got to dress up for it! (I'm a little girl at heart, I seize any opportunity I can to go out, buy a dress, and get glitzy for the evening ;) ) Then Friday we Christmas shopped, saw the Hunger Games (SO GOOD), and spent the evening drinking wine, telling ridiculous stories, and laughing with our great friends Dan and Kim! Yesterday (Saturday) we got to spend the whole day finishing up Christmas shopping and eating at Tijuana Flats (They have amazing Burritos and Taco Salads!!!) So, needless to say I have gotten in some much needed husband time! And its been wonderful! One thing Navy life has taught me is take full advantage of the time you get with your significant other.

Getting ready to head to the Christmas partyyy. But, first I insisted on taking some sappy pics ;)

Tijuana Flats! We devoured our food before I could get a proper pic...it was THAT good! 

Our little christmas tree! I believe the more ornaments...the better!!! Oh, and did I mention that Caleb's dad sent it all the way from their family owned Christmas tree farm in West Virginia to Florida! Coolest Father in law EVER!

DECEMBER GOALS! 
    So, in 4 days I'll be heading home for Christmas!!! I actually haven't been home for an entire YEAR! This year was a little different for Caleb and I and a bit hectic, so between randomly cancelled flights (yes the airlines cancelled my ticket...or something crazy like that) and life happenings going home just didn't happen. But that's okay because sticking by my husband's side through tough times is SO important AND what a better time to be reunited with family and friends than Christmas! (Insert confetti emoji here!) I'll be going home for 2 and a half WEEKS! YAY! So I set some goals:
                     1. Going home can always get so hectic. I over-plan my week and promise too many people that I'll do too many things. Sometimes, I think I'm super woman and I can do everything! However, this causes me to get stressed out and I end up either disappointing people or not giving people my full time and attention. This leaves me feeling drained... SO! this year I plan on slowing down, spending as much time with loved ones, and truly enjoying every little moment!
                 
                   2. Keeping up with my fitness goals. MMM yea. This is always a tough one for me!  Every year when I go home I say I'm going to work out 5 times a week, eat healthy, and not lose any of my gainzzz. However, this never happens. haha! So this year I am going to make some reasonable goals. Going home this year my main focus is spending time with family and friends. Yes, I am a fitness addict and working out and eating healthy is high on my priority list, but, my family is higher. Therefore, I am still aiming to work out 5 times a week. This year I have no excuses! My dad recently set up a workout area in our basement so all I have to do is wake up and get my little toosh downstairs and knock out a good hard one hour workout! I know I can do this and I encourage any readers to try to do this too! The hardest part is just getting to the gym...and for me the first 10 minutes. But! Once you conquer this and are nice and warmed up, just stay focused and determined! Don't let the workout beat you, beat the workout! ;)

                  3.  FOOD FOOD FOOD. There is OH so much wonderful food involved with Christmas! These past few months I have been sticking to a fairly strict clean eating plan that my trainer gave me and quite honestly I enjoy following! (I'm a weirdo like that) However, I am a firm believer that anything is okay to eat in moderation and not being a complete psycho about dieting.  So, will I be eating ice cream, YES! Cake, oh, I'm sure! Going out to eat , DEFINITELY! However, do I think its a good idea to go ahead, go crazy and eat 20 cookies...errrmm probably not, but hey, if it happens, it happens. But, seriously, my goal for myself is to relax, make good food choices (Eat about 80% clean...and if that doesn't happen, no worries!), and just enjoy and take in the time with friends and family! Anyways, I never can turn down a good frozen yogurt date!! The last thing I or anyone else, wants to stress about when I go home is what they are eating. A little splurging never hurt anyone!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!
                                     <3    Mandy

P.S. I have had multiple people ask me about my meal plan. The main reason I don't really share it is because my trainer made it specifically for me and my needs. Every body is different and needs different amounts of protein, carbs, ect. depending on how much you are exercising and whether you're trying to loose weight, bulk up, or just keep your weight! However, I will be doing a post about clean eating, hopefully this month!! :)


             

Life Update

Hello friends! Its been a while...actually, a real long while, about 3 months to be exact! Between life happenings and ADHD, I have not found the time to sit down and blog! But! here I am, back, and in action! ;)

So life lately has been pretty wonderful, stressful, crazy, but overall really great! This week Caleb's Dad and little sis came to visit! We had such a good time catching up. Caleb and I don't believe in the whole "dreaded in-laws" stereotype. We really click with each other's families and call each of the other's parents mom and dad. We believe this is so important in our relationship. When we got married we became a family as a whole and adopted each other's families as our own family.  Being adopted myself, I think this was a real easy concept to grasp, understand, and love. I know in some cases it's really hard for families to click, especially when you come from complete opposite backgrounds. But always look for the positive and try not to complain about those "crazy in-laws", it will make such a difference ;)

Alright, time to bombard you with pics from our week!!!

Hands down our favorite place to eat on the beach!!! If you ever visit P-cola this place is a MUST!

 We visited New Orleans for the day! This is Papa Stevens, Libby and I attempting to get a pic taken by the Mississippi River ;)

 Watching Street Performers

And Lets not forget eating world famous Beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde! 

Oh, and can I jut say I was super proud of my extra poofy braided bun this day ;)

We did go swimming, however, I thought the water was pretty chilly...Thus I didn't last long and ended wrapped up in a towel!

 Overall it was such an amazing week!

Hold on! I'm almost done with my life update! haha ;)

So other than an amazing family visit, I have been subbing, working out,(I LOVE working with my trainer Amanda and Caleb and I finally became members of the gym! yay!) and brushing up on my wifey skills. As most of you may know, because of where Caleb is in training, we will probably be moving out of Pensacola in March. So bitter sweet! Because of this, I ended up not going back to my full time job of teaching at WNPS. So, I am pretty much doing the house wife thing on days that I'm not doing a crazy whirlwind-of-a-day subbing job. But, I love it :)

Alright, we'll end this with a recipe! 

So I never thought I was a big oatmeal person because growing up I never ate it. However, my breakfast has been changed FOREVER. I LOVE oatmeal, however, just not any oatmeal. I like the old fashioned good stuff. Also, I like to eat clean so I just buy the plain stuff and add my own ingredients to it :) Here's my favorite!

Maple Cinnamon Oats

1/2 or 3/4 cup of oat meal

1 cup of water 

*Make Oats as directed on box* (I use the microwave because its easiest) 

After it is finished cooking add:

2 packets of stevia (or sweetner of choice)

LOTS of cinnamon. (I dont measure it out, the more, the better!)

Dash of maple Syrup (I use sugar free Maple syrup, its amazing! you can also buy agave favored Maple syrup which is equally as good!)

Crushed almonds...For crunch!

**If you feel like being really fancy you can also add fruit (Bananas are GREAT in it!) and a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt (the yogurt will add a really creamy texture, sounds weird, but trust me, its delicious!)**

looks sketchy...but taste great ;)

Hope you enjoy! Have a Blessed Tuesday friends!

Setting new goals!

Hello friends! its been a while...

Life has been crazy lately. Caleb is back in full swing at the Helicopter squadron so I've been helping him study and visiting him on base for lunch along with trying to work out 6 days a week! wooo! And last week we had some of our close friends come visit from Jacksonville! it was awesome, but! I swore I would take some pictures and totally forgot! (Lindsey, were so bad!) Having friends come visit/ visiting friends is probably one of my favorite things in the world.

Honestly, I like life a little crazy :)

Lately here Caleb and I have come up with some new life goals! yay! In marriage I believe having common goals and supporting each other is super important! One of our new goals is making our dinners at home rather than eating out...ALL THE TIME.
So life gets crazy, (especially when I was working) and getting into the routine of eating out is sooooo easy to do. Here is how a normal night used to go:
Caleb: I'm hungry...
Me: Hmmm, well I dont think there is anything I can microwave in the fridge, soooo lets go to Panera bread!
$17.50 later we have a meal (and a delicious one at that!) But if you eat out consistently it adds up so so fast! On top of that, when you make foods at home you can control the ingredients that go into it so its usually healthier! Added bonus!

Here is how we are making changes:

1. Working in the kitchen together.
Yes, I don't know how it happened but somehow Caleb has found himself in the kitchen. And you know what, I hate to admit it, but! He is definitely a better cook than me!

Being in the kitchen with someone else makes cooking a bagillion times more fun! (At least for me!) Caleb helps me stay on track, and not eat all the food before its done cooking! (a major problem I have) haha Yes, sometimes we get in each others way, but for the most part we just have a good time. Oh yes, and cooking is always more fun with wine ;)

2. Try new things! Add some excitement to your dinner table ;)
Pinterest is a lovely thing. Not only does it encourage me to spend lots of money, but, also cook! This past week Caleb and I decided to experiment with Buffalo burgers! After Wyoming I was on a buffalo meat kick and had definitely been craving it since I've been home! Buffalo meat is amazing. Its a lean meat so its much better for you than regular hamburger meat.

We lit the charcoal, turned on the twinkle lights, played some good ole country music, and it was the perfect summer evening! 

And the outcome was superb! Caleb has become quite the grill master!

(Have you ever had corn on the grill before?! It was my first! I highly recommend it)

3. Grocery shopping

I'm that weird kid that LOVES grocery shopping. Plain and simple, I could spend 2 hours in a grocery store and be happy! (especially if its whole foods, Trader Joes, or Freshmarket) But! I asked myself, "What's the use of grocery shopping if you're just eating out all the time?"

So I decided to become Betty homemaker and put a list of fun dinners Caleb and I would like to try for the week. I've never really done the food planning before so we'll see how it goes!

Also, something new I've been doing lately is buying organic/natural foods (especially the meats and veggies!) I really do think you get some better quality tasting meat if you pay a few extra dollars for it.  Or...maybe that's just me doing some wishful thinking ;)

Only bummer about the commissary is the lines! Its sometimes worse than battling the mall at Christmas!

Anyways, that's just a little update about whats been going on in my life ;)

Hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday! 

What being fit means to me

My whole life I have been a smaller girl, so when people found out I was starting to work out and change my diet around they were like.."why?!"
However! There are major differences between being fit and healthy and just plain skinny as a rail. About 4 years ago if you asked me to run a mile I would have failed at 0.5 miles. It was about this time that I wanted to see some changes. I began by running and things just kind of shot up from there! In the fall I completed my first half marathon and it lit a new fire in me! I wanted to challenge myself more and really start living a healthy life style.

Here are a few things that I have done the past couple of months that have helped me with my fitness journey/ goals:

1: Cut out all artificial sweeteners... which means diet coke...and splenda

This here was my addiction for quite sometime. During college I would drink about 3 a day! it was bad...reeeeal bad.
I didn't think it was affecting me until I cut them out completely and started drinking water. I seriously feel like a new person.

However, don't get me wrong, I get a craving for that carbonated goodness quite often...Luckily there are some awesome substitutes out there! horayy!

Hint fizz, Honest fizz, Zevia, and la croix are all seriously amazing, naturally sweetened (with stevia), PLUS zero calories. Yay for guilt free soda!
P.S. La Croix is my favorite because its the cheapest ;)

2. Eating a good breakfast.
Plain and simple, breakfast is da bomb diggity! I really enjoy 3 egg whites with meat (usually turkey), 1/4 an avocado, and a slice of Ezekiel bread with some good ole butter. I probably eat this every morning! (I really need to change things up, any suggestions?)
A good breakfast and of course 2-3 cups of coffee gets me up and moving and ready for whatever challenges the day offers!

My favorite morning routine! Sitting on our patio and enjoying the morning sun with a cup of coffee :)

3. LIFTING (this is my new passion!)
I have been running for sometime now and unfortunately the summers in here in Florida get wicked hot! So...running has been put on hold at the moment (I still run about 3-4 miles at the gym, but I haven't been running my usual 6-8 miles doing that on a treadmill would be like a slow painful death!) and lifting is in full swing! I even got a trainer to help me. I hadn't realized before that lifting doesn't just work arms, but legs, abs, and butt! Everyone knows a tight butt is a happy butt ;) Lifting is also good for preventing osteoporosis and other bone disease. Plus at the end of each session you feel great! I lift about 3 times a week and do cardio about twice a week!

Caleb and I hit up the gym on base today!

P.S. There is a common misconception that lifting will make you huge! ...it won't! Unless you take steroids...then yeah, it probably will. 

4. Ice Cream/ Fro-yo!
Just because I like living a healthy life style doesn't mean I don't believe in splurging every now and then! Honestly, I think it is healthy to have a good splurge ;) My absolute favorite splurge is ice cream or fro yo. I don't care which one I love them both! Life would be sad without chocolate and ice cream. Usually once a week Ill have a serving of frozen yogurt. It doesn't help that there is an amazing fro yo shop right up the road from where Caleb and I live!

The main reason I want to be fit and healthy so that I can live a long healthy life. I want to be able to go on long hikes through the mountains and lift heavy things at work (or just doing chores and stuff around the house) without hurting myself. I want to be able to run long distances and achieve challenging goals. Lastly, one of these days (a million years from now) I want to be able to keep up with my kids! Also, being in shape and eating healthy just makes me feel happy and I have more energy! (Like this ADHD child needs anymore)

Have a Blessed Sunday :)

A Grand Adventure- Living Life to its Fullest

Alright, here we go! blog number two!

Most of you that know me, know I looove a good adventure. Caleb and I both agree that life should be lived to its fullest and one of our passions is traveling. Its our dream to travel the world even though I must admit neither of us have ever left the good ole US of A yet. But! we have plenty of time for that ;)
Anywho, with Caleb being in the Navy one would think we would have plenty of time for adventures and traveling, and the truth is we dont...really...at all. Taking leave and all the other shenanigans the Navy throws our way makes it difficult for Caleb and I to take trips that are out of the area and longer than two days. So, when Caleb has time off we seize the moment, drop everything, and GO! And this past week, we had a moment ;)

Right after Caleb's Selection on Thursday (Selection is when you find out what aircraft you will be flying...Caleb got helicopters!yay!!) we found out he would have a week off. This NEVER happens.Without thinking twice about it we knew we had to take advantage and go somewhere.Caleb had talked about going to the mountains (like the really big "for real"mountains out west!) a while back, especially since I had never been before. That evening we were consumed with researching different places, hotels, airfare,and yada yada yada,,,By Friday morning we had our hotel booked and plane seats reserved for Grand Teton National park in Wyoming. BOOM just like that. ;)

So real quick, to be honest, I didn't know what to expect. I was raised going to the beach and never really did the whole "mountain vacation" thing. Caleb laughed at me while I packed shorts, flip flops, and a light cardigan. But, after a few changes in my packing (I brought my running gear and a few heavier jackets..The weather changes out there pretty drastically from day to night) we were ready to go! I was stoked.

Saturday morning we boarded a plane heading for good ole Jackson Hole Wyoming. I was so excited! I had a window seat, some snacks, and a big cup of coffee.  I was ready to see some mountains! (I know, who would of guessed, Mandy excited about Wyoming ;) )

Of course, I must have coffee!!!(pre coffee= terrifying...)

Flying into Jackson Hole Wyoming!

As soon as I looked out and saw the beautiful snow capped mountains I knew I was going to love the place.

Our  little plane with the Teton Mountains in the background. (and some random man's reflection in the glass...)

Before we even landed I was in love with the place. I had never been in such awe before. There was so much natural untouched beauty! (God is one creative God!) I couldn't wait to get off the plane and start exploring with Caleb! 

After waiting for and finding our luggage (probably the most stressful part of the trip for me...I always think my luggage isn't going to make it) we were off to get our rental car. After picking up the car we also got some bear spray. Apparently during the early summer months there are quite a handful of bears pow-wowing around the mountains, especially mama bears with their cubs. We were told that this spray even works on  grizzlys...I guess this stuff made me feel "safe." :/

We stayed in Teton Village, which is about 12 miles outside of Jackson Hole (such a quaint town!!) in a hotel called Teton Mountain Lodge and Spa. It was super nice and just one mile outside the national park! woo!

Okay, so real quick on a side note I want to talk about the culture of the place. (I know this is a long post and most of you are just skimming it wondering when it will ever end! haha...its not.) Coming into Jackson Hole I had no idea what to expect of the place!...especially the culture. The very first night I was blown away by how fit and into nutrition the majority of the people were! Everything was fresh, organic, and "clean." Also most of the people living there were into running, hiking,  biking, mountain climbing, ect. You name it, they did it! Everywhere you looked there were nice paved sidewalks, hiking trails, and nutritious goodies! It was so easy to live an active, healthy lifestyle out here! The fitness side of me wanted to explode with excitement!  On top of the fact that the people of Jackson Hole Wyoming were into a healthy lifestyle they also were some of the nicest "down to earth people" I have ever met. Was this place Heaven? (Im pretty sure it was because the Thai we had for dinner our first night was AMAZAZING.)

DAY 1- The start of a Great Adventure

Okay I have so much to share and I'm getting a little tired of writing (which means you're probably getting tired of reading), so I'll tell of our great adventures though pictures!

We had a wonderful breakfast that morning with amazing views! I had coffee (I was on my first cup, thus I look like a zombie in my top pic) and a power packed egg, mushroom, and spinach wrap with salsa! it was superb. Caleb had some manly breakfast with a lot of beef and cheese ;) We had to be supercharged for our day!

First stop was Jenny Lake! (Possible Christmas card photo...Im thinking ahead!)

We had so many trails to choose from our first morning but we decided to do..........a 10 mile hike that climbed 3,000 feet to Amphitheater Lake.

This here Mountain was our day's challenge.

At this point we still had a while to go.

I like to make new friends along my hike ;) This was just one of many.

The Mountain side was covered in beautiful yellow flowers! They reminded me of Maryland's Black Eyed Susan, only bigger and brighter! I was one happy hiker. Also! The weather during the day was fantastic! 72 with ZERO humidity.
 As we neared the top the temperature started to drop pretty steadily and we started hiking through snow. Like I said, this was my first time in major mountains and I thought it was amazing how we started off the day hot and ended up pretty cold near the top of the mountain.

Caleb showing off his "guns"

Naturally, I had to one up him ;)

3 hours, 5 miles, and approx. 3,000 ft later we made it to the top!! It was spectacular!

No wonder everyone in Jackson Hole is in such great shape! That had to be one of the most challenging 5 miles of my life! It was right up there with the half marathon I ran back in the Spring. 

The hike back down was a piece of cake compared to the hike up! That evening we stuffed our faces at a little pizzeria in downtown Jackson.

I unfortunately cannot eat a lot of cheese so I only had one small slice of margarita pizza then a huge salad with lots of chicken and mint dressing. It was deeelectable!
That evening Caleb and I picked up a bottle of wine and sat our sore little tooshies  in the roof top hot tub. It was the perfect way to end the evening :)

View of the Super Moon that evening!

Day-2

Alright, so Caleb and I had this HUGE GRAND idea to go to Yellowstone thinking it was going to be just as beautiful and wonderful as the Teton Mountains. It was going to be a long day of driving which was okay with Caleb and I because we were waddling like ducks because we were so sore from the previous day's hike. However, I must admit, we were really disappointed! Yellowstone was not at all what we expected! I guess I thought it would be as grand as Teton National park, but it didnt even compare! However, I took a few pics because I was excited about the Buffalo, but that was the only really good thing about Yellowstone.

My first time spotting a buffalo. I was like a kid on Christmas day ;)

MORE BUFFALO (plus a baby one!)

AND more buffalo.

That is pretty much the only photos I took at Yellowstone.

 ^^^^^^
This was Caleb and my expression throughout most of  the park.
 However! we did witness a mama elk chase a man who got to close to her fawn because he was taking pictures. That was pretty exciting.

But seriously, yellowstone is a beautiful place. I was just not into the geysers and acid pools... but hey! it was an experience.

 DAY-3
So after the Yellowstone flop Caleb and I were anxious to get back out in the Teton mountains again! Thus we decided to try and do a 15 mile hike through Cascade Canyon. It was the best idea ever! Here are a few pics :) 

We started the Journey by taking the ferry across Jenny lake!

Our first stop was a beautiful waterfall that was tucked back in the mountains. This photo does it no justice! The waterfall was so powerful that you had to yell to hear the person standing next to you plus you could feel the cool mist from where we were standing. It was magnificent. 

I still can't get over how spectacular this place was.

Every turn we took there were new and breath taking views. This hike was such an awesome bonding experience for both Caleb and me.

Just like our first hike the scenery and temperature drastically changed as we climbed higher.

The snow got to be about 4 feet deep in some spots as we neared the top of the mountain. It was crazy! I was slipping and sliding all over the place. Caleb was sure I was going to bust my butt...oh ye of little faith ;)

 At the top we found a little dry spot and a rock to eat lunch. However, it was about 30 degrees so lunch took about 2 minutes. P.S. That is a lake Im looking out over, it was still completely frozen!

 

I think its safe to say that this here mountain man turned me into a mountain lady ;)

To celebrate our final evening we splurged and ate some of the greatest food i ever tasted!

This here beauty is Alaskan Halibut wrapped in bacon over a sweet potato!

This here delightful little piece of meat is buffalo! I just loved the buffalo so much I had to try it ;)

oh...and it was SUPERB.

CHEERS!

    This was easily one of the most amazing trips I had ever been in my life. After spending 5 days in the mountains I have never felt so refreshed and alive. Our long all day hikes were exhilarating and challenging. They brought Caleb and I closer together and made us stronger as a couple. The breath taking views and magnificent mountains just reminded me of how great our God is and how small I am.  I am definitely planning on taking another trip out to these beautiful mountains again sometime soon. Anyone want to join? ;)

Thanks for reading! have a lovely week :)

,