Fall Hike!

On October 4th, Ella and I went up to the mountains to catch the fall leaves before they disappear. We took a dirt road up to 9,000 ft and it was beautiful! It was the first time I have let Ella off the leash in an open space and she did amazing! She ran everywhere but still checked in on me. I guess she ain't as dumb as she looks!

Now the leaves are starting to change here in the Springs so I have my pumpkin candle burning and spent the day creating fall decorations for the house.

Here are some pictures from our hiking adventure:

Oh! And here is the spinach dip I made on Sunday for football. How 'bout them Broncos?

Deployment Days

Okay, Okay! The blog is coming back! Maybe it is the fall weather, or maybe I am being pressured into it (ahem, thank you Samples) but I will continue to update you all on our life and attempt to catch you up on the last few months!

Let's start off with the sad news first. As most of you know, Duke solved his last mystery in July. We will sure miss that stinky guy around here! Speaking of stinky guys, two days later, Taylor deployed. He has been wandering the sands of the middle east, playing on tanks while I have been holding the fort down here in Colorado.






Communication has been amazing (it is 2013 after all) and I feel like we haven't missed a beat. We have our weekly skype dates and laugh while sharing stories and future plans. We talk about traveling all over Europe when we get to Germany. We argue about Fantasy Football and Taylor whines about my awesome team. Everything has been completely normal, minus the fact we are 7000 miles apart.

I have been trying to keep myself busy while Taylor fiddles around in the sand. Thankfully I have the Ella monster for that. We like to take walks, go on runs, and just this week we did a sunrise hike at Garden of the Gods.

I have been expanding my recipe (and photography) horizons as well. I like to blast music, sip on some wine, and cook! For your viewing taste buds, here are a few things I have cooked during the deployment:

Salmon 

Sweet and Sour Chicken with fried rice

Garlic Chicken with Rosemary

Corn Chowder

I have done a few trips here and there including my Utah trip most recently! My 9 hour drive allowed me to take in deep breaths of the Steamboat Springs air, see the colors changing on the trees, and see the dinosaurs in Vernal, UT. I was able to celebrate my birthday with my best friends Danielle and Evan along with other good friends, good food, good beer, and good company. I enjoyed feeling the Ute Vibe as Utah beat BYU in football and I got my Costa Vida craving satisfied. Like usual, I had a great time visiting that Salty City.

I wish I could tell you exactly what Taylor has been up to but I am not completely sure. Let's just say it's a secret but he is fine and well and ready to come home! 

Now that it is October, the countdown begins! 

Hikes, reenlistments, and birthdays!

Last weekend was quite special for us! At 6 am on Friday I joined Taylor's company in a 6 mile hike at Garden of the Gods. We took Ella along and enjoyed the perfect weather, the sunrise, and the scenery. After the hike was Taylors reenlistment ceremony. Here's to four more years in Germany!

Monday was Taylor's 27th birthday! We did a fun little hike up Helen Hunt falls and enjoyed the day together. I made birthday ribs for dinner and then we celebrated with birthday cake and birthday champagne with our neighbors, Emma and Frank.

Doggy Business

Let me tell you all a quick story:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said 'let there be light'

and in the light, he beheld a gentle leader.

We have been using the Gentle Leader for a week and our walks have actually become ENJOYABLE! I wish we would have known about it sooner. It is very comfortable so she does not mind. The collar fits up high by her ears and around her neck, with a loop that goes around her nose. It's not a muzzle so she is still able to open her mouth, eat, bark, and drink water. Soon, she will be joining us on our 5k tuesday evening runs!

Unfortunately, Duke can no longer join us on our daily walks. As most of you know, Duke Wizowski has bone cancer in his right back leg. His limping limits how far he can go so for now he will just enjoy the front porch with us. 

Back at it...

I took a mini-break from the world of blogging but I am ready to get back at it and update you all on our exciting life! Basically, I am going to overwhelm you with pictures...

January

• Utah was good to us as always, as we brought in the new year downtown in SLC 
• We have had some dog park adventures with Duke and Ella:

• I tried to replicate one of Taylor's favorite meals... Cajun Chicken Alfredo. SUCCESS:

February

• Unfortunately football season came to an end. We were all sad about this:

• The big exciting news...TAYLOR GOT PROMOTED! Hello, Sgt. Caldwell:

March

• My job at the church came to an end. Still job searching at the moment
• I took a short and sweet trip to Utah to visit my favorite friends
• We hosted Easter dinner at our house. Great food and great company!

April

• We went to Denver to watch one of our favorite bands play, The Cold War Kids! 
• We have taken a few drives:

• And last weekend we went to the Denver Aquarium:

Military Ball Fun

Last Thursday Taylor and I attended the 2012 Winter Ball at the Hilton Antlers Inn Downtown. We had a great time! Here are a few pictures from the event:

A Caldwell Thanksgiving - Colorado Style!

Last Wednesday Taylor and I started our Thanksgiving preparation. Why didn't anyone tell us last year to start a day earlier?!

We stayed up late making cinnamon rolls, side dishes, and eventually got our turkey in the brine. The next morning we ate the cinnamon rolls, made more side dishes, and put the turkey in the oven!

We had a couple good friends come over for the feast and had a ton of fun stuffing our faces. Good food, great company!

Notice the AMAZING rolls!

On Friday we made our way to Boulder to catch some UTAH football. Utah beat Colorado 34-27.

Go Utes!

The rest of the weekend we RELAXED and enjoyed the 70 degree weather on Saturday. That night our wonderful neighbors invited us over for some Hot Toddies, a campfire, and board game fun.

We hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving and we are excited to head to Arizona and Utah in less than a month!