Autumn in Orange County!

It's officially Fall here in "Sunny" So-Cal, most notable by our recent lack of sunshine! We are experiencing many overcast days, foggy mornings, and wet-cold nights! But, this is my favorite time of year, no matter what the weather, and I love adding touches of harvest colors all around our home :)

It's also time for fantastic Harvest Festivals in the community, and an event near-and-dear to my heart: "Boo at the Zoo!". Brett and I were able to visit the zoo this weekend and take in some of the sights! 

 I'm not sure why it said "Coming Soon", since it started that day. But Oh well - what a cute display!

A little friendly pumpkin patch. By this time the cold morning had worn off and we were back to being sunny. Again ... no matter what the weather, still a fantastic time of year :)

Brett conquered the "Search for the Jaguar" Maze!

Autumn Leaf colored monkeys :) They were so tiny, and really curious.

Sweet Pea at the "Farm" area!

He indulges my picture taking. What a sweet husband :)

This guy was cool. Did not even condescend to look us. Just focused on those delicious vegetables and had a grand time. It was fun how close we were able to get.

Also at the zoo - a beautiful Bald Eagle (named "Spirit) who had been rehabilitated after a wing injury in the wild, a camel, and anteater (both Brett and I realized we had never seen an anteater in person - only in pictures or on TV, so that was quite something), a group of Llamas, several other monkey breeds, and a Rainforest bird sanctuary.

It was a great date!

This weekend: The Tartain Faire Fall Festival at a local school, which we are working with camp friends hosting a rock climbing wall, and then an outdoor movie night on the lawn of a local park, where they are showing "Monsters, Inc.", hosting a halloween costume contest, and giving out free popcorn! Can't wait!

Tempting

I am loving the styles at Old Navy this season, and their emails with 50%-75% off are, in a word, killer. So far I am staying strong and keeping away (only succumbing to the occasional online browse-and-drool), but I'm not sure how much longer I can last.
Here are a few favorites ...

Who knows? With Brett working this weekend, I may just happen to end up doing a bit more than window shopping. :)

A Month of Married Bliss!

Happy October 10th! 10.10.11. A very fun day, Columbus Day, and (drum-roll please) our 1st "Lunaversary"! That's right, we have been married for 1 month now, and what a fantastic time we've had! Of course, by now we are absolute Pros, but we still find ourselves surprised by the occasional lesson to learn. Allow me to elaborate ...

Bathroom Towels

I hang on a hook or fold on the rack, he places it over the curtain rod. We quickly learned that my priority is a clean and uniform look, and his is to have a dryer towel quicker. Both worthy causes. Not sure who will win out in the end, but I'm fairly certain the odds are in my favor for this one. :)

Time Away

After doing long distance for so long, probably the biggest surprise being married is how much more we want to be around each other! You'd think we would have grown some kind of muscle in this area - being ok with a few hours apart, or even a day! But no - we are both shocked and pleased to learn that the more time we spend together, the better it gets, and the more we want!

Love it.

Dinner

I am not creative in this area. Breakfast can be stunning, lunch is fun an creative. But dinner? Help! How do you make things delicious, nutritious, easy, and find the motivation to do it all well? Every night? I'm turning to allrecipes.com for this one, but it's slow-going to be sure.

The Bedroom

Apparently this is the one room in the house I don't mind being messy. Who knew? ;) I have become somewhat AR about cleanliness in other rooms, and making sure all is organized. But without fail the first room to go (and the last one to be cleaned) is the bedroom. Is it because it is so easy to block off and keep out of company's view? Is it because of my habit of changing outfits frequently throughout the day? Perhaps.

This may be a mystery we never solve.

...So there you have it - a few small lessons (from our plentiful stock) that we have learned after a mere 30 days. There are more to come I know, and each day is so full of wonder we can't help but be grateful in the midst of it all.



One of our Favorite Musher Dogs

This video will take a bit of explaining ... and here we go: At the dog mushing training camp we visited in Canada, there were a number of things that through me for a loop at first but eventually were explained by the racer/trainers.

A) Dogs are kept close together, but on somewhat shortened chains so they don't wander too far from their area. Not only does this keep their fighting/mating in check, but they are given enough slack so they are able to run around and burn off energy - of which they have a ton!

B) Each dog's area is kept with lots of moist dirt around it, since the dogs get so warm. For mushing dogs, the ideal temperature is about 15 Degrees, so while were there at a chilly 50 Degrees they were almost always hot.

C) These dogs are trained athletes almost from birth and are strong, incredibly active creatures. They are well behaved, friendly, and require lots of frequent "runs" which keep them in shape. They are also forward moving, which means if an athlese falls off during the race, his or her team of dogs will not stop or turn around, but will keep going until a strong enough tree halts them. They are anxious to run all the time since it's what they are born to do and love to do most!

With that, please enjoy a funny clip we captured of one of our favorite dogs about to be put on the team. He was so excited he couldn't help yelping and jumping, almost as if saying "Pick me...please, please, pick ME!" and when the trainer comes to put his harness on, he is immediately covered in a wave of contentment, almost smugness. It was quite the site to see - and we enjoyed him immensely :)