My love for Halloween stems from the many traditions that have been made over the years. There are some traditions that I have enjoyed year after year, and then there are those that have just begun. Whether new or old, it is the traditions, the moments together with friends and family, that make this holiday worth celebrating. Here a few highlights of our celebrated traditions from this past Halloween.

Each year, I start decorating as soon as the signs of autumn are approaching {generally in early September}. I try and add at least one decoration to my collection with each passing year. For this years addition, I decided to get crafty and make some {not so} spooky owls. I grabbed some unfinished wooden owls that I had lying around {a birthday gift from my dearest friend Ashlee}, some festive scrapbook paper, a bit of paint and mod podge and began to assemble my decoration.

The owls can be found at Remember Your Memories and the paper can be bought from Pebbles in My Pocket

Wyet also decided to make a few decorations of his own. Rather than simply carving a pumpkin, he wanted to make his artwork last a bit longer. He chose to airbrush a few of our ghost pumpkins, and the results were incredible. These pumpkins impressed everyone who had the chance to see them. The best part was watching the step-by-step progress Wyet made as he worked. As detailed as the pumpkins are, surprisingly it only took Wyet a few short hours to complete the masterpieces. This may have been the first year that we had unique, airbrushed pumpkins on display, but it definitely won't be the last.

Before

During

After!

 As always, we had our annual pumpkin carving evening with Patye. Each year, the three of us get together and carve a pumpkin for Matye {it too was her favorite holiday}. This has always been one of my favorite Halloween traditions, however, this year seemed to turn out better than the rest. This year, rather than just carving Matye a pumpkin and calling it good, we all went above and beyond. We each carved a pumpkin of our own and Matye got two unique designs. All of the pumpkins that were carved said a little bit about each of us. Wyet's pumpkin was creative and a little bit intimidating. My pumpkin was cute yet a little bit awkward. Patye made a unique drill-hole pumpkin donned with Matye's name and also a Jack Skellington design to match the theme of the season. The time spent carving pumpkins with these two was an absolute joy. We celebrated the joy of the season and the joy Matye still brings to our lives.

Wyet had to draw all of our pumpkins before we could begin carving.

The finished products!

All lit up!

A new tradition we started this year was attending a murder mystery performance. We always attend a production during Christmas so we decided it only seemed fitting to attend one during this season, as well. We went to the Covey Center with {most of} my family and saw The Unexpected Guest. The play was incredible, and like all of Agatha Christy's scripts had a surprise ending that made the show a hit. To top of the night, the zombie dancers from the Thriller production were roaming the halls before and after the play turning our new tradition into a spooky event for us all.

JC and the {soon to be} newest member of the family Alexsis

 

As a close to our month of celebrations, we threw our annual Halloween Costume Party. We enjoyed a great night with great friends following the maxim of Halloween: Eat, Drink & Be Scary.

Cruella DeVil and a {poor} attempt at turning Murphy into a dalmatian.

A hipster, a chef and a cowboy

Whit made a great cowboy and Alex donned the vampire look perfectly!

The best costumes of the night: Woody and a pumpkin

I am lucky to have found a guy that loves Halloween just as much as I do. Until next year, Happy Halloween.

Park City, Utah

I think we all can agree that in order to make it through the {sometimes} mundane and repetitive days of everyday life, we need something to look forward to. Whether it be a movie night, a hair appointment or a small getaway, having small milestones ahead can help the longs days of work seem a bit more worth it.

Wyet and I live a very blessed life. We are both lucky enough to have full time jobs, to have found the perfect starter home in our quiet little town and to be together. Nonetheless, work can get boring, housework gets repetitive and our daily routine can seem a bit dull at times. The only way I have found to combat that feeling of monotony, is to plan something in the future to look towards.

As our summer adventures had come to a close, it seemed there wasn't much to do. That is when we decided it was time to plan something. Something in the near future that we could get excited about. We needed a getaway.

After some online searching, we discovered that Park City was an ideal option for our retreat. It was close enough that it kept us within our budget, yet far enough away to feel like a vacation. Once we made our arrangements, we could hardly wait for October 4th to strike the calendar. When the day finally arrived, we were more than eager to leave behind our stresses and worries and get on with our relaxation.

Lucky for us, this mini retreat panned out wonderfully. The scenery of Park City was idyllic. The slopes had a thin layer of snow and the rest of the landscape was the epitome of autumn. We were just a short walk away from the infamous Park City Main Street where we spent the majority of our time. We enjoyed a romantic dinner next to a roaring fireplace, came across artwork from the legendary graffiti artist Banksy, ate the best Vietnamese food of our lives and even enjoyed a few afternoon cocktails. Most importantly, we were together. For the first time in weeks, we had each others undivided attention. It made me realize that a little alone time with my main squeeze was just what I needed to revive.

We are huge Banksy fans so seeing this was one of our main highlights from Park City

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Loving every minute of our sweet escape

You {All} Mean the World to Me

I am not one of those people that has dozens of friends. Rather than keeping countless acquaintances involved in bits and pieces of my life, I tend to have a few people that just know it all. These are the people that I trust and depend on whether I interact with them on a daily basis or not. I don't think that the time spent with another person indicates the amount of love we have for them. From my experiences, sometimes the people that I see least often, mean the most to me. I wanted to take just a moment and thank each of you for being a part of my life. You are the ones that make life so beautiful.

Regardless of the circumstances, these two always know how to make me laugh.

Two of the greatest women I have ever known. They both continue to teach me how important it is to be a strong, independent woman.

Here's to one of the most thoughtful friends I have {also one of the craftiest}

Whether going out for a drink or staying at home in our sweats, it's always a good time with these two.

This little peanut is as close as I ever got at a baby sister. Nearly ten years later, I am happy she is still a part of my life.

Over the past few years, Alex has heard every ridiculous detail of my life. For some reason, she still answers the phone.

Not many people are lucky enough to consider their parents as people they can tell everything to {fortunately, I am}

My brothers are the best- they really need no explanation. {Blurry picture, but it's still great}

Have you ever wondered if you changed a little, would your friends stick around? This is tried and true between Tonja and I. Regardless of any decision either of us make, the other is there without a skip of the beat.

Ashlee has always been {and always will be} my person. I am so lucky to have her in my life. She is as real as it gets, and that's what I love most about her.

And of course, my puzzle piece. Everything in my life fell in place when realized we were meant to be together. I wouldn't trade a day spent with this guy for anything in the world.

Hello Autumn

Some may view autumn as the beginning of the end. As a close to the long sunny days of summer and knowing that {realistically} the first days of snowfall aren't far off. The actual autumn season is brief. If you take even a moment of it for granted, it is gone, but that is part of the appeal. It is a time of year that I wait around for, and the fact that it only stays for a moment, keeps me wanting more. It is something to look forward to, and when it's here, I know I have to make the most of my time before its abandonment.

It's a magical time of year when nature is at its peak. The colors are vibrant, the air is crisp and even people seem to change a little bit, too. With the warm sweaters and cozy scarves, it seems that everyone softens their spirit {if just for a moment} and absorbs the excitement of change.

I'm thankful for my life in Utah which allows me to experience the happiness {and necessity} of change. I am thankful for the crisp orange leaves which remind me of how vibrant life is. Most importantly, I am thankful that autumn is short and fades before my eyes. It hasn't taught me that all good things come to an end, but rather, that all good things in life should be enjoyed while we have them here. My love for autumn is only surpassed by my love for life. My love for life is only enhanced by these months of autumn.

This photo was taken last September just as the leaves began to change. The landscape was beautiful, and my cute brothers didn't turn out too bad either.

Enjoying the beautiful scenery with my amazing brother {a man who has overcome trial after trial and still has a smile on his face}

Photo credit: the one and only Sharon

Vivian Park, Provo Canyon. Photo credit: the one and only Sharon

The happiest days are always spent in a pile of colorful leaves.

The Last Day of Summer

Living in Utah, it seems we spend 9 months out of the year waiting for summer to arrive. Before you know it, it has come and gone, and I always wonder if I made the most out of those sunny months. This year, before its arrival, Wyet and I made a few goals of the places we wanted to go and the things we wanted to do. As the close of summer rapidly approached, I knew it was time to finally cross the one activity that I had been avoiding off of our bucket list, hiking Mt. Nebo.

Wyet had already hiked Mt. Nebo once before so he knew what he was up against. I, on the other hand, had no idea what I was about to encounter. As we set our alarm clocks for five a.m. and went to bed the night before summer's end, I was excited about the adventure we were about to have. I never knew it would be one of the most taxing experiences my body has ever felt.

When we woke up the next morning, we were both excited and feeling well rested and ready for our big day. Wyet prepared us a filling breakfast, and then we were on our way. A drive up the canyon is always a picturesque experience, but with the sun just peaking over mountaintop and the green leaves changing into the beautiful colors of autumn, this drive was better than the rest. We arrived at the trailhead, put on our packs and we were off.

About twenty feet later, I already needed a bathroom break. About thirty feet after that, I needed to shed a layer of clothing because I was already warming up. Rather than walking you through every detail of this eight hour adventure, I will just say it involved a lot of burning legs, out of breath breaks, seven liters of water and the feeling of being so small against the magnitude of nature.

On the way home, after kicking off my shoes and thanking God that I was able to make it, Wyet asked me if I had fun. My response, "Fun? No, I wouldn't say 'fun',  but I am still glad that I did it." To those who hike this mountain regularly {or at least with more ease than myself} I commend you. Hiking Mt. Nebo was challenging, breathtaking {literally} and surreal. It showed me the raw beauty of Utah, and more importantly, it showed me that I could accomplish something difficult. Undeniably, this experience has been one of my greatest accomplishments.

The goal. Mt. Nebo 11,900 feet.

Here's to a guy who looks hardcore but is actually as granola as it gets. I love nature, I love this person and I love our life together.

One small human against one big world.

 The product of a lightning strike, a hallowed out tree.

A breathtaking view. At this point it finally kicked in.. I am on top of a mountain.

Resting at Wolf's Pass right before the final stretch to the North Peak {3 hours in}

In his element

And then, my legs turned to jello and I wondered "How in the hell will I ever finish?"

Accomplished! This guy tolerated my frequent breaks, tears and complaints. I wasn't the easiest person to climb a mountain with, but this guy managed and even high-fived  me after {high-fives are still cool in our book}. Next goal: that peak behind us.