celebrating our 2nd

When I thought our first year of marriage went by fast, I had no idea how fast our second year would go. It FLEW by! 

To celebrate two years of marriage, we took a little trip down to Castle Valley. It's a little valley about 30 minutes outside of Moab and is soooo beautiful. My grandparents have a cute little house there that we got to spend the weekend in. 

On our way down, we passed yet another wild fire. This has been one crazy summer as far as fires go! It seems like two or three new ones start up each week! This one was just right off the road so it was pretty neat to see the helicopters flying water in to try and put the flames out. 

My grandparents don't live at their house in Castle Valley so we got to enjoy it all to ourselves. I love the memories I have of when I was younger in that house and how everything reminds me of my grandparents. And I love that green couch! It is the cutest thing ever.

Let's take a closer look at that, shall we?

We had the most relaxing time. We slept in, watched some of the Olympics and then went on a hike to Castle Rock. This is the view from the yard. I love the contrast of the bright red dirt against the blue sky. Absolutely breathtaking. 

My roots :)

We snapped this picture at the beginning of our hike and thought it would take at least an hour to get to the top. Boy were we ever wrong! We didn't plan our hike out too well and ended up starting right around noon - basically the hottest part of the day. We made it about half way up before we decided to turn around and head back. We'll prepare better next time and bring more food and water and make sure it isn't 100+ degrees outside.

My cute hubby making me happy and posing for me!

I've always loved that these are used to mark the trails. The fact that they stay standing and don't get knocked over is a miracle. I always wonder who took the time to set them up so that we could follow the trail.

View of the valley. A little oasis. :)

Just before we decided to turn around and head back down. 

Millie & I 

I think we failed to mention that we gave Millie a haircut and it turned out......HORRIBLY! You can't tell but her hair has actually grown out some from when she first had it done. Poor thing was just too hot with all of her hair on in the summer so we decided to do her a favor and give her a trim. Let's just say it turned out to be WAY more than a trim! We take full responsibility for making her the world's ugliest dog. I just keep hoping it grows back sooner rather than later. lol. Doesn't she look like a mini hyena?? 

Matching shoes :)

Preston has told me for a while now about this house that he loves in Castle Valley and he has always wanted to show me. Well, we drove around looking for it and when we finally found it the owner was outside so I couldn't take a decent picture without looking like a stalker. So I snapped this one. I absolutely love that house! It is adorable! 

Preston's little friend he rescued from the garage.

For dinner we ate at a lodge that sits right on the Colorado River. The same lodge we ate at the night we got engaged. :) The dinner was amazing, as usual, and the scenery can never be beat!

We come from a beautiful place.

I just couldn't get enough of the house we stayed in. So many little details around the house I just absolutely loved. Like this picture of the Indian chief. I love the detail and color in it. 

This is another one of my favorite parts of the house. I hope I have two little kids that can one day sleep in those beds when we go down to visit. I love the simplicity of the room and have always loved side by side twin beds in a room. 

And I need this lamp. Isn't it so cute?? It is just wishing it could be in my house on my nightstand (hint hint Grandmother :) 

Castle Valley was an absolute blast. We attended the little ward they have there that consisted of maybe  20 people and we thoroughly enjoyed it. There is just something about those tiny wards that has such an amazing spirit. And the people there are so genuine and kind. It really is a wonderful place there and I am just itching to go back as soon as I can.