Toronto Day Trip

Before the start of school Jake treated me to a day trip to Toronto a couple of weekends ago.  It was nice to get away and spend the day together. We spent the morning at the historic Lawrence Market and then took a ferry to the Toronto Islands and just walked around and had a good time.  We finished the day off with dinner at the Old Spagheti Factory.  Normally, I am a supporter of local fare, but sometimes, it's just nice to go to a place that is predictably good and finished off with Spumoni.

A Food Festival + A Rodeo + A County Fair = Summer

Jake and I have been enjoying all the many things that Buffalo has to offer this summer and if there is one thing that I have found out about Buffalo it's that it has it's fair share of festivals and the like.

A couple of weekends ago we went to the Ellicotville food festival with our friends Jacob and Katie and stuffed our faces and later that night we met up again for a good old fashioned rodeo.  The next weekend we met up with Evan and Heidi, a couple that we know from Jake's dental school, at the Erie Country State Fair. I am always amazed at the attractions that can be found at a state fair...

It was a toss up what was better...the peach shortcake or the rocky road brownie...

This is a kid in a hamster ball...for real.

I was so tempted to pay the 50 cents for this, but I felt a little strange about paying money to look at an actual person...something about that doesn't seem quite right. Am I the only one that feels this way?

The seven dollar bag of kettle corn!

It wouldn't be a fair without fried food

And I wouldn't be a proper fair goer unless I got some.  This is my first (and my last) deep fried twinkie.  One thing to check off of my list of to-do's before I die.

And lastly..a pig dressed up in some pink get-up.  Classic.

Decorating

So, I have had this idea to hang up plates on our dining room wall for awhile and I have been collecting them for awhile.  We finally got them up and I think it looks great!  Now we just need some things like a decent sized couch and a night-stand would be nice...all in good time.

We Did It!!!

Jake and I have been talking about doing an overnight backpacking trip since our dating days and this summer...we finally did it!  We drove six hours to the Adirondacks Mountains here in New York and it was SO worth the trip.  I have to say that I thought myself capable of anything regardless of the shape that my body is in and to be truthful, I wasn't expecting much of any mountain if it is in New York (It's no Wasatch Mountain Range!), but those mountains kicked me pretty hard in the butt not to mention that they were beautiful and full of little critters that were so friendly they would come right up to you in order to chew through your bags of food.  We hiked about 18 miles total of which included a pretty nasty stretch up to what is called Pharoah Mountain. After we got home I slept in as long as I wanted and ate as many pop-tarts as my heart desired because well...I felt like I deserved it. Here are some picks from our trip.

Our campsite at Cranberry Lake where we spent the night before our hike (I look like an alien invader in this pic).

Our campsite came right up to the lake...it was awesome.

On our way to the hike.

As you can see...we didn't pack too well.  Luckily my man carried most of the weight because I realized right after I put my bag on how much of a wuss I really am.

One of the many lakes we passed on the hike...this one had a big rock in it.

The lean-to where we spent the night.

Here  I am...all excited to begin our stretch to the peak.

Here we are THINKING we made it to the top...

And...here I am...still climbing to get the top after we took that picture.

OK, finally at the top but a little too tired to really care.

The REAL top.

Aaaand the murky water we had to cross to get back the car...not home free QUITE yet.

Utah!!

Utah will probably always be home in my heart.  Here are some pics of some of the highlights of our trip to Utah this summer (in no particular order.)  We had a great time seeing my brother off for his mission to Guatemala and spending some time with Jake's family boating at Pineview.  I just want to thank both of our families for everything while we were in Utah.  We love and miss you and can't wait to see you again!