The fair is in town.

Few words can describe the experience and excitement of the Arizona State Fair, where Ashley and I spent all Friday night with our friends Ryan and Jeff. But knowing me, I'm going to try anyway. We didn't have any plans for the weekend, so Ash and I were pretty excited once we heard that the fair was in town. We didn't know what to expect, and since I've only been to the Utah State Fair once in my life, and all I can remember is eating cotton candy while standing around watching a country singer whose name I can't remember now, my expectations were not very high.

As we were driving on the freeway towards Phoenix, we could see the bright lights of the fair in the distance. Ashley immediately perked up, and I could see that the thought of fast rollercoasters and rides were on her mind. As we were waved into our parking spot, it became very obvious that we were in a "sketchy" part of town - which gave us even more insight to who might be attending this State Fair. I immediately started picturing all the "carni's" (politically incorrect, but true) we would be running into, and I must admit that the thought of a bearded woman made my stomach churn (I quickly learned that the state fair is quite different from a carnival. Good to know.) Still, the fair pulls in all kinds. Kids with their kids. White-trash cowboys. Grandma's with hair extensions and nose rings. Lesbians. The local gang. And us.

As we walked into the fair, the booths showcasing a display of animal cruelty were set up towards the front: "World's Largest Steed!" "World's Smallest Horse! As tiny as a baby!" "World's Largest Gator! Alive!" "Only $1!" After the freaky stuff comes the food. So. Much. Food. All kinds. And almost ALL of it is fried. Fried bread. Fried churros. Fried chicken. And the best....the fried Snickers bar (The fair obviously caters to a healthy crowd). We didn't have the guts to try it, but I'm sure we will next time. Once we got past all the people noshing on their baby-sized turkey legs, we walked into what I can only explain as Ashley's dream transformed into reality. Arizona does not skimp on rides for their State Fair. Ashley's eyes light up as she took in the red, purple and yellow strobe lights. She was in her element. I on the other hand, was immediately dizzy. We got our tickets and proceeded to hit all the rides. I can only explain them as the SCARIEST rides imaginable, and on the verge of being incredibly unsafe. Death traps, if you will. As I screamed as if I was plummeting to my death on almost every ride (which I am still convinced I was), Ashley only asked for more and more. Our last ride of the night which I'll refer to as, "the human washing machine" almost ended it for me. And I mean, my life. While I shut my eyes planning what my funeral might be like, and our friend Ryan screamed, "What is the point of this? What is the point of this?" over and over, Ashley channeled her inner Wicked Witch of the West as she cackled at my tears and screams the entire time (Poor Jeff had to sit this one out). After visiting all the freakishly-sized animals on the way out (we got in for free, as we would NEVER pay and support such a thing), we decided to call it a night. All and all, we really did have a great time. I think everyone should attend their local state fair....if only for the people watching and fried foods.

We were so pooped from all the excitement of the fair that we stayed home the rest of the weekend. We plan on going back next week.

15 days of Halloween.

This last week I have really gotten into the Halloween spirit. Last night I dragged Ashley out to the video store to rent a bunch of scary movies. I guess I really didn't have to "drag" her though, because she also loves Halloween and all things scary. She loves her Haunted Houses!!! So lately, all I want to do is dress up, watch scary movies and embrace everything that the fall season has to offer. It is my goal to do something Halloweenish every night until Halloween this year. Last night we watched, The Blair Witch Project....oh so creepy! I love everything about fall and Halloween, but since I love making lists so much, I thought I'd give you my top 10 reasons:

10. Halloween decorations....even the stupid ones.
9. Outdoor fall activities (hiking in the fall is the best!)
8. Cold weather (I'm writing this as if I live in Utah right now).
7. Scary movies
6. Carving pumpkins.
5. I can finally wear my fall clothes without being criticized for wearing them all year long.
4. Candy corn
3. Changing of the leaves....I love fall colors.
2. Pumpkin spice anything (cookies, lattes, candles, etc.)
And #1: Ashley and I can buy 8 bags of assorted candy on a Monday night for ourselves without being judged.

We're not as young as we used to be...but still soldiers.

Ok, Ok...I know what you are all thinking. No, we are not old. But this last weekend, Ashley and I learned that we are not quite as invincible as we used to be. Determined? Yes. Resilient? Double yes. In shape? Not really.

Ashley and I were invited to hike the infamous Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale on Saturday, and anxious to do it because it is finally cooling down enough at 7 a.m. to be outside without dying of heat exhaustion (anything past 9 a.m. is a different story though). Unfortunately, Friday night we promised one of our friends, Monica, that we would go out with her. We had a long leisurely dinner, and then were out on the town. Keep in mind, that when we are "out on the town" in Scottsdale, it mainly consists of us making fun of everyone that really is... "out on the town" (I've yet to get my jeans and t-shirt "look" to catch on here). Anyway, we stayed out WAY too late. I remember the days in high school where we didn't need any sleep - those are long over. Early morning rolled around, and even though we had only gotten approximately 4 hours of sleep, we didn't want to bail on the group.

The hike started off great - a few rocks to hop over, not very steep, a little bump here and there - something we could have done in our sleep. Any other day, this hike would have been relatively easy. I'm pretty sure I saw a couple of 6 year olds pass us somewhere along the line. As the climb kept getting higher and higher up though, our endurance seemed to fail us. Not wanting to look like wusses, we put on a brave face and always answered, "Great! This is awesome!" when asked how we were doing. Careful to stay behind the group so they couldn't see the strain in our faces, Ashley and I switched off hanging on to each others shirts so we wouldn't fall down the mountain. Since we drank half of the ONE water bottle we brought between the two of us on the drive over, we were in survival mode as we took the tiniest of sips as to conserve what was left. Ashley was in a particularly good mood as I heard her mumble under her breath on several occasions, "I want to kill everyone right now," and "I hate my life". Still we pushed through. We were not going to NOT finish.

It took a little longer than it should have, but eventually we reached the top. It was breathtaking and so worth the effort. We could see the entire Phoenix valley - which is huge! We hung out on the top for about a half hour taking in the desert scenery. For some reason, I never feel more spiritual and in-tune with myself than when I am hiking and in nature. We were in the best moods at the top and had our second wind on the way down - at least until I started sliding down backwards and the tripping forced me to slow down. Ashley practically ran though. I think she was thirsty. We plan on doing this a ton once "winter" rolls around, so if anyone ever feels like coming out and visiting us (nobody has felt like it so far), it is on the top of our list of things to do.