We leave in 11 days?!?

I realized Dave and I take off for Fall break in 11 days! What?!? Where did September go to? I haven't started packing, or even made a list of items to pack. I have moved my swim suit to my dresser as a constant reminder to pack and have two borrowed wet suits in the coat closet just waiting for the suit case. I haven't put together a schedule of what things we definitely want to do while we're out there (but when the beach is so close, do you really need to plan?).

We found killer air fair to North Carolina a few months ago. Since my Aunt Kathryn and Uncle Emil live 45 minutes from the beach, we decided to make a trip our early Christmas present this year! My friend Kirby works for Enterprise Rent a Car, so we're getting a discount on the car rental, and with room and board being covered by staying with Kathryn & Emil, everything is completely manageable.

So far I have a few must do's on the list: Visit Nag's Head, Cape Hatteras, Jockey's Ridge, Ocracoke (over night camping trip on the beach), and for Dave Busch Gardens. I can't believe that an amusement park is his #1 thing to do, but what can you do? It would also be nice to see if we could find the Shipwrecked (a cheesy tourist shop we would always stop at when I was a kid for beach souvenirs), and maybe even "get myself a Dune Burger". Just to say we did. I've also been toying with the idea of buying a hammock while we're out there, because they have the best ever... but I remember them being expensive... so we'll see if it fits into our budget or not.

So this week? I have big plans to finish the shelves in the basement, Conference this weekend (party at the Browns)... and next week pack for our trip at the end of the following week!!! By then we'll definitely be in need of a break! I'm really hoping it all falls into place...

September is just flying by!

Life has been so hectic and fast passed lately that I just can't fathom it being the end of September! Already! Tomorrow is the first day of fall. I have no idea where all the time went to... but it's gone, and I've got to prepare for October. I planned on making a new Halloween costume for this year, but it's a good thing this ward hasn't seen my Alice in Wonderland costume yet, so I can get away with wearing it once again.

So many things that should be done! I have a new crock pot recipe book that I haven't even tried out (if Dave knew I was sitting on that pesto lasagna recipe it might just end our marriage). The closet in the basement should be done (but due to problem after problem it's still not). I haven't canned salsa or apple sauce, and I wanted to do something with our nectarines... but just haven't had the time yet!

But I did help host a baby shower for my sister-in-law. It went well and was actually pretty fun! Maybe it has something to do with how laid back her and her family are. Maybe it had something to do with all the food. But mostly I'm sure it had to do with the lack of silly games and cheesy decorations. I'm just not that kind of girl, and fortunately neither is she! So bring on the baby! She's due October 10th, and we leave for a trip to North Carolina October 8th (happy early Christmas to us). So we're hoping she's a week early!

Now to plan the trip to NC... at least it's a more fun "to do"!

I Roam Around Around Around Around!

We've been doing a lot of travel lately. I think it has something to do with Dave trying to squeeze in as much summer as possible before he gets deep into school work. Two weeks ago we were out at the Great Basin National Park in Nevada. It was a nice break! We arrived around 10:00 at night (we would have gotten there a lot sooner, but I had work emergencies). It was raining and we couldn't find a ranger or a map to direct us to the camp sites.

Finally we turned onto a residential "No Trespassing" road and ran into a ranger that gave us directions. So we set up camp in the rain, lit our pillow on fire, and knocked over our propane lantern messing up the little burner pockets. We were grateful for our air mattresses, because even if our tent leaked we probably wouldn't have gotten too wet. The night was filled with thunder and lightning, but we were snug and didn't get soaked after all.

The rest of the trip was great! We explored the caves (guided by a park ranger with a group of 20), we got ice cream at the lodge, hiked up to a glacier, summited Wheeler's Peak (aka Death March, the tallest one on the right of the picture below), and did every hike that didn't require us to do over night backpacking. The verdict? The cave was gorgeous and definitely worth the trip, but the hiking trails in Zion's is better.

Which leads me to our trip last weekend. We headed down to Zion's with Dave's family! Since everyone's interests are a little different we all participated in various activities including: The Narrows, Emerald Pools, Angel's Landing, Peach Days (in Hurricane), visiting Grandma and Grandpa Yoder and Great Aunt Dorris, having fires in the yard, and just relaxing. 

Also there was a farm by Grandma's house that was letting people come pick 200 lbs of free peaches per family. I guess they were done with their harvesting. So while I helped mom clean up the house, some of the family went to pick and got some for us. So we will spend this weekend canning, freezing, and eating peaches! I've decided I want to do peach slices, and I told Angela I would teach her how to make jelly. Sheila and Alison borrowed my canning water bath yesterday to make peach slices themselves, and both Dave's mom and my mom plan to do some canning as well.