Taking a Break . . .

Hello loves.  The hubs and I just bought our first home and we are absolutely delighted to decorate and make it our own.  I will be taking a couple weeks off to have time to settle into our new place.  When I come back I will be sure to share the before and after pictures of how we made our house a home. Take care!

Photo from Fash n' Chips

Conversations: How Old Are You?

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Whilst driving home from our holiday travels the topic of "age" came up.

My husband said, "Well I am 27".
I pause, think, "you are 26 . . ."
Hubby, "Well 26 and a half.  Closer to 27".
I squint my eyes, "you forgot how old you are huh?"
Pause . . . "Well . .  yes", He says in defeat.
I burst with laughter.

At some point, you just stop counting.

3 Years Have Come & Gone

{via}

Yep.  I've been married for three years now.  Who knew we would make it this long?  I did.  We are married for eternity!  Three years flew by but at the same time it feels like I have always been married to him. To chase.  To my handsome hubby.  Heres to an endless amount of years to come!

The Belen Market and the Floating Village of Belen

I started blogging to share my adventures in South America over one year ago and my blog has developed into a place to share what I hold dear.  Today I am going to share one of my many adventures in the Amazon Jungle of Peru.  Below are some photos from the Belen Market and floating village of Belen.

You can't image all the animals, fruits, veggies, and other products are sold here.  Among the most unique I saw: alligator (they eat he tail of it and it's delicious), turtle (for turtle soup), tiny jungle deer, paiche (a ten food fresh water fish).

There are many elixirs and concoctions  made from different plants and animals sold in the market along with the skins of what animals were killed to make the elixirs.

My husband and I ate grubs.  They taste wasn't bad but the thought of it was. And yes, those are giant bugs.

The floating village which is located just below the market.  The houses are anchored and move up and down during the rainy season.  During the dry season they rest on stilts.  

Schools, gas stations, grocery stores are among the houses that float here.  The natives also sell food and other items house to house by boat.  Prostitution also occurs on the boats at night on the water.

Below are giant lilly pads growing in someone's "backyard".

When (and I say "when" not "if" because I am afraid you have to go)... eh hem... when,  you go Iquitos, a city in the middle of the Amazon Jungle, you need to visit the Belen Market and the floating village of Belen.  It is a remarkable sight that shows a remarkable way of live.  If seeing this village doesn't change your perspective on life, well, I am not sure what will.

My husband and I traveled Peru and Argentina for four months last year and I'd have to say the Amazon Jungle is one of my favorite places on earth.  It is rich of culture, folk tales, wild life, shamans (AKA witch doctors), and creatures big and small.  It is ridiculously hot and sweaty and there are abnormally large critters to be found, however it's completely worth all the discomfort.  

Iquitos was founded in the 1800's during the rubber boom.  Inside the city there are beautiful colonial buildings and many historical sites founded during the 1800's.  Along the ride of the city lie houses on stilts, slums, and poverty.  In the jungle surrounding it there are natives who still live off the land and wear grass skirts. The floating City of Belen is a place of it's own among the great city of Iquitos.  It is also one of the most dangerous parts of the city.  When you go, be sure to take limited amount of cash, no wallet, no jewelry, and wear plain clothes.  

It is smart to have a guide. That way you can understand the significance of what is going on and it is safer.  We went with a local which is the best way to go in my opinion.  Our guide was from the floating village and was respected among the people.  We were safe with him.  

Going to the Amazon Jungle has been one of my life goals.  I am so grateful I was able to fulfill my dream of visiting.  Wherever your dream travel spot is, I hope you make it there.  Make it sooner rather than later.

Happy Halloween; Frightmares Style

For a Halloween Treat the hubby and I went to Lagoon, a theme park not that far from where we reside.  Each year they jazz up the park Halloween style and let goblins and ghosts roam the park.  We set off Saturday to enjoy the rides and haunted houses.

Each time I go to Lagoon I sneak my camera on the roller coasters.  I think I enjoy the pictures more than the actual rides themselves.  When we get off the coasters we sit and laugh uncontrollably at the ridiculous faces we naturally develop when terrified out of our minds.  Each photo shows the real emotions that surface as we ride.

I think my favorite is of the one of my father-in-law screaming at the tops of his lungs sitting next to my husband who looks terrified as his hair sticks straight up in the air.  Oh what treasures these pictures are.

If you try this yourself, be sure to strap the camera on your wrist tightly and never let go! Oh what joy it brings.  Happy Halloween to you all!

{don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY, extended one more day!}

Conversations: Good Dad

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While listening to a church confernce talk last weekend about men becoming excellent fathers this conversation happened between my husband and I;

Me to my husband as we snuggle on the couch, "You are going to be a good dad huh?"

My husband, "That's because I have a wonderful wife", he smiles and pauses, "aaaaand she'll make me".

I laugh out loud, "Yeah I will!"

Beside every good man there is a good woman.

Weekend Review: Snow Cave

Let me start off by saying, never again.  Things were going great until about two thirty in the morning.  We arrived at the top of Farmington Canyon at about  4PM and began to dig ourselves a little nook in the side of the mountain.  The snow was deep, 15 feet or so. Digging and building the cave was fun and hard work.  We finished the cave at about seven or so and began to lay out our tarps and gear.  We changed into dry clothes and snuggled up in our sleeping bags.  We even cooked dinner in our "new home".

We had a great time playing "would you rather" and talking about random subjects until we finally fell asleep.  At two thirty, everyone woke up.  Something was wrong, we all knew it.  All four of us began to inspect the snow cave.  One side of the cave was bulging in.  The cave was getting smaller.  I jumped up and moved our packs away from the door (AKA hole we crawled in and out of).  We were snowed in, and the weight of the snow was effecting our cave. It was then we decided to dig our way out and "sleep" in the car. The thought of the cave collapsing on top of us made us all uncomfortable.   We didn't really sleep in the 17 degree temperature in the car.

Morning came a few hours later.  We attempted to get off the snow covered mountain to no avail.  We were stuck, only twenty feet from where we had parked at the top of the mountain. We ended up having three burly (and I mean burly) snowmobilers help us get our vehicle out of the snow.  Our second attempt we made it a little further, about half a mile, before getting stuck again.

Luckily angels were sent our way; a man with a big truck and the three burly snowmobilers were there to help us get out of our situation.  We finally made it home at about three in the afternoon with frozen toes, soggy clothes, and a grateful yet exhausted spirit.  Would I do it again?  No.  Do I regret doing it?  No. I built and slept in a snow cave.  Once in my life is good enough for me!  I hope you all had a marvelous weekend!

Don't miss out on entering the $20 giveaway to Ande Monster Vintage!

Weekend Review: Canyoneering

This past weekend the hubs and I and seven others ventured out into the red rocks for some canyoneering near Moab, UT.  It turned out to be more of an adventure than we had originally planned.  We camped the night before and woke to a cold gray day.  We arose from our warm sleeping bags and slipped into comfortable layers of outdoor gear.  We hiked until we got to the canyon mouth, our first repel.  The first five repels went smoothly.  We gently lowered ourselves down the ropes one by one lower and lower into the canyon.  

The canyon was gorgeous; tall red rock engulfed us and we found ourselves looking up at the majesties of this world.  Though it was quite cold, it worked to our advantage.  We did not have to get wet because all the water pools were frozen over.  We had our very own ice skating rinks to twirl and to slip on with not a soul in sight.

It sprinkled here and there yet the sun poked it's head out to say hello now and again.  The weather was a bit bi-polar.  At the last repel, a 205 footer, was when mother nature turned it's ugly head.  The winds came howling in at 50 miles per hour.  We all felt nervous because we knew a storm was headed our way.  We set up the gear while our jackets and pants flapped violently in the wind.  The first person went over the edge down the flailing rope to our end point.  

We were all putting on a brave face to help one another feel a little better about the situation.  As soon as the last person's feet hit the ground the storm burst from the clouds above.  I truly believe we were being watched from above, other wise that nasty wind would have blown that storm in much faster.  In the end we were all a little more aware of our senses and emotions.  

It was a memorable trip with good laughs and good company.  We experienced a fearful encounter together, and in these times, it's comfortable to be around such strong people.  I hope you all had a fun and adventurous weekend!  What's in store for this next weekend?  Snow shoeing and building and sleeping in an igloo for me!  I love the diverse regions of Utah.

{Remember to enter in the Photo Print Giveaway!}

Two Years Today

Two years ago today I married my love Chase.  I can't believe we have been married for that long!  And that little.  It feels like we have been married forever in some ways and in other ways, it feels like we got married yesterday.  I know I am lucky to have married such a good man who loves me unconditionally.   He makes me a better person.  We have learned so much about ourselves and each other while on this journey together.  And it's a journey that will last forever.  

So since we got married in December we go pretty light with gifts on our anniversary (because we celebrate Christmas).  One tradition we have is making a photo book from our personal photos from the past years adventures.   Granted this is the second year we have done it, but by george, it is a tradition!  We also go out to dinner.   It's sushi tonight!  Have a lovely December 16th.  It only comes once a year!

Weekend Update: French Friends

We had a lovely time with Regis and Vriginie!  The first night they came they helped us move (yes they came a day early to help us move!  How sweet are they?).  So we treated them to our favorite sushi place and headed for ice cream after.

We took them up Farmington Canyon and we put up a new climbing route, Pockets Full of Treasures because it has a lot of animal feces, and climbed two routes up there.  The picture above is our friend Oliver drilling a hole to put the bolt in.

The canyon colors were gorgeous!  Regis climbed very well and Virginie enjoyed the sights.  During the weekend we also took them kayaking on the Great Salt Lake.  We went to a friend's cabin and ate pizza, played games, & got in the hot tub.  We ate Sunday dinner with Chase's family and played funny games afterwards.  It was a very natural weekend for us, but for them, I hope it was interesting and fun.  We loved their company.  They are such down to earth friendly people.  Hopefully this is not the last time our paths cross.

See their travel blog {here}.

Happy Halloween!

What did you do to celebrate?  Friday my friends and I had a 50's themed murder mystery dinner I found {here}.  Dinner and a Murder is a great place to find murder mystery dinner kits for large groups.  We had twenty guests on Friday night.  On Saturday night we went to a friend's cabin for dinner, games, and fun.  We have loved entertaining our french guests and there will be plenty of pictures of our adventures this upcoming week!  Happy Halloween all!

For more halloween vintage pics go {here}.

Enter my giveaway {here}

Weekend Wonderment: French Friends Come to Visit

Virginie, my husband Chase, Me, Regis

I am not sure how many of you remember when I lived in Peru and went on a 3-day boat ride down the Amazon River.  Well, if you want to read more about it go {here}.  And if you want to see more photos of when I lived and traveled Peru go {here}.

So while my husband and I were on this boat we got to know the couple in the hammocks next to us quite well.  Regis and Virginie are from France and have been traveling South and North America since last September.  (Yes over a year of traveling!).  They are coming to stay with my husband and I for the weekend!  Isn't that exciting!?  I will report next week on how it goes!  

If you were visiting Salt Lake City, UT for the first time what would you want to experience?  

Food?  Sites?  Nature?  Adventure?