Braving the cold but still happy campers

Have I mentioned it was cold at the Grand Canyon? 'Cause it was. It was in the high 40's and low 50's during the day and it dropped down into the teens at night. You heard me, THE TEENS. Yah, I don't think it's natural either but there it is.

Thank God I still have loads of warm bigger clothing because I was all about the layers. At one point each night I would have 7, count 'em 7 layers on! I looked like the Michelin Man. Here's me in my furry hat, 2 hoods and about 5 layers of thermals and sweats, clutching a hot mug of tea like it's the last chopper out of 'Nam.

Here's Rob in the meantime showing off his warm-bloodedness rockin' his ONE layer. Although I'll have you know he did put on his jacket after the photo (and was getting some liquid warmth here).

Grover was pretty cold too. Do you see I've added a layer?

At night in our tent, my face would be absolutely frigid breathing in the cold air so we put a blanket over my face - despite the potential suffocation, it made me a cozy, happy girl. Despite the freezingness of the week, we still had a great time camping together.

Our camping spot: notice how freakin' far away our tent was after having to listen to 2 a-holes (SNL sketch anyone?) get in and pitch their tent the 1st night at 1:00 AM. Thank GOD they left early the next morning and it was super quiet and mellow after that - nobody was around, clearly no one else is as crazy as us camping in that weather.

Rob was master of the campfire. I don't think I would have survived each night without it. There is nothing better than a good campfire - I swear the food cooked over it tastes better than anything else and the conversation over a fire is always fantastic.

You can take the guy out of the city, but apparently you can't take a guy away from his Blackberry. Rob was even able to make his fantasy football picks while we were there.

All bundled up with a good book and a roarin' campfire - life is good.

Our campsite was like the Wild Kingdom - we heard coyotes late at night talking/singing to each other from far away. It was so cool to hear them echo each other - this one kept interrupting and we decided that must be the obnoxious coyote that nobody likes and doesn't get invited to parties.

Elk came walking right through our campsite a couple of times early in the morning and late in the evening. They would be like 15 feet away from us! Unfortunately we couldn't get a picture of the male with the huge antlers - it was awesome.

Same thing with deer - these pictures are taken right from our campfire ring!

Awesomeness. I love camping. And not just for the s'mores, although those are a good time too. Next up: the Warrens go hiking!

Road Trippin'

We went camping at the Grand Canyon over Thanksgiving weekend and had such a great time. I think I must have been living in denial about how long of a drive it was going to be, though, and had somehow fooled myself into thinking just about the camping part of the weekend. DUDE was that a long drive! But Rob was a rockstar and drove the entire way for us (11 hours there and 10 1/2 hours back, blech!) and of course we made it fun.

We have a weird tradition (and I really have no memory of how it started) that my childhood stuffed Grover comes with us anytime we go camping. Of course he came with and was the co-pilot in the car.

We left really early in the morning before the sun was even up - it was super foggy and gorgeous driving through the San Diego hills and up to the high desert. We spent a "Twilight Zone episode" moment in Borrego Springs and got the hell out of there, weirdness at the gas station! Then we drove to Joshua Tree, by the Amboy Crater and then got on the 40 for the straight shot into Arizona.


Out in the middle of the desert, it's the weirdest thing to come upon this HUGE "lake", the Salton Sea. It looks like a mirage from far away but it's an honest to goodness, gorgeous blue lake! To the Wikipedia!

There really are no words...

Joshua Tree had these fields of crazy fuzzy-looking alien cactus (cacti?). Bizarro....

The Amboy Crater is really cool - it's huge!

Going a little stir crazy! Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Getting friendly with the locals just outside of the Grand Canyon

I was a little nervous as the weather changed the closer we got to the actual Grand Canyon. The temperature plummeted and we started seeing snow on the nearby hills....yikes! Have I mentioned I'm a San Diego weather-weenie now? I've totally lost whatever thick skin I had previously developed in Colorado.

We were trying to race the sun to get to our campground in time to set up in the daylight. It wasn't meant to be, but at least we got a gorgeous sunset out of the deal.

Next stop: our campsite! In the sub-artic tundra!

Delayed gobble gobble

I want to wish everyone a (late) Happy Thanksgiving! We left WAY early the morning after Thanksgiving for the Grand Canyon (stay tuned for those posts) so I wasn't able to post these pics until now.

I love Thanksgiving. And not just for the fat pants and the green light go-ahead to eat your body weight in carbs, although that's pretty cool too. I love having a reminder to be grateful for everything in our lives. We are so incredibly blessed - our lives are filled with amazing people. Rob and I were reflecting when we were camping that we have done some really cool things in our short lifetimes and we've been some really great places. Most of all, though, our lives have really been enriched by all our friends and family.

I'm grateful for this little dude too - I'm pretty sure it's common knowledge at this point that Galileo is the love of our lives:

We spent a really nice Thanksgiving with our friends and their family - I got to bust out my favorite family recipe - Fat Potatos (hollar out to Aunt Chris!) and they seemed to be a hit. Karen's family is very similar to my own - hysterical and so much fun, so we felt right at home.

Karen and her Mom booging in the kitchen:

Bennett getting loved, it's really too bad that boy is so ignored and neglected, ha!

Bennett is starting to really move and groove, he loves his bouncy chair - hysterical.

Of course, there is no better way to end Thanksgiving night than a few rounds of Guitar Hero with Karen's Uncle Paul and Aunt Meredith.

Best! Day! Ever!

My brother, sister in law and amazing little niece were in Anaheim for a fly-by Air Force conference and we were so lucky to be able to meet up with them for a fun-filled Disneyland day. We miss them a ton since they live all the way up in Alaska and of course we ALWAYS love anytime we spend with our niece. She is such a blast to be with - what a happy little person she is. I really don't think, in the history of Aunt and Unclehood that there was ever two people ever more in love with a little girl than we are with our niece. Tell me where I'm wrong.

Abby got to see all sorts of characters - that girl was such a lucky charm! I swear, some days we're there with other kids, we don't get to see barely any, and this girl saw a ton. She's got the magic Disney touch.

Then, she totally worked the princess circuit and saw 3 of her favorites. I've included me in there as a princess in training, of course.

Even though she was NOT DOWN with the huge drop, the tons of darkness and the absolute TSUNAMI of water that landed on her lap, Abby was so brave about Splash Mountain. Here's Rob and Abby showcasing their soggy britches, brrrrr!

Pirates of the Caribbean...I like how Rob is the only one pretending to be a pirate.

Fun at Tarzan's Treehouse

Of course, I'd do anything for that niece o' mine and I SWORE to her I'd score us a pink Dumbo. Whew, thank God I can run fast and came through on that promise! (Although I have to admit, I was pretty stoked we had pink, too,).

And of course, we scored the pink teacup too. I'm not saying I knocked children down in my quest for my niece's happiness, but I sure would have. :) Please enjoy the progression of my "enjoyment" on the teacups - I'd forgotten that only kids enjoy spinning around at barf speeds mere minutes after consuming a huge lunch.

Girlie boogie break! We have some rockin' moves...

This to me, is the Picture O' The Day. Cracks me up...that Abby sure is a fast driver!

And finally, what did we learn today? You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose and you can absolutely pick your Aunt's nose.

And as Abby exclaimed the entire walk back to the car "Best Day Ever!!!"

POW #19 - Bichon Healing Edition

With all the wildfires rolling around southern California again, it's made me reflect on previous years around this time. Kinda sad we're totally used to it at this point - if you ever want to see someone pack their entire house under an hour, come on down to the Warrens and watch, it's mighty impressive at this point. One year (2003) was especially the worst. I had just had minor foot surgery and a week later Rob and Galileo were in a really serious accident totalling our 1st 4Runner. THEN a few days after, our 1st San Diego wildfire hit and we had to pack up the whole house to evacuate (read: Rob had to do all that because I was stuck on the couch, not really able to get up to help). Let's just say it was a bad month for the Warrens but we made it through! This is such a sweet little picture of Galileo helping me heal from my surgery. This was literally the day after the surgery, he has nestled himself under my leg...I swear animals know when we're hurting. All I know is, looking back on that awful time, I'm so grateful we're all healthy and alive (and our house is not all crispy!)

More fun in Cabo

These are the last of our millions of Cabo pictures. I know, I know, however will you survive without a daily dose of our vacation pics? I'm not going to lie, it's going to be tough. To console yourselves, why don't you really slow down and enjoy each and every one of these. Twice.


Fun at dinner:



We went to the spa one day and Rob and I got a rockin' couples massage - he only snored one time! :)



While we were down there it was super hot so we didn't do a lot in town but a little shopping and walking around - I got a beautiful silver and mother of pearl ring from Mama Ruth and some pretty abalone earrings. Here's me with my flower ring and a flower stone mosaic (I'm so artistic, it's unbelievable).
The small little town of San Jose del Cabo is beautiful.


Like I mentioned, the resort was pretty dead so we provided our own entertainment. Here's a sampling of what the guys did each night:

And the girls:

This video is pretty dark but it's a bunch of us dancing to YMCA including Pam's Step-Dad John who frankly, had all the moves!

Adios, Cabo - we had a blast!

Halloween in Cabo

We were in Cabo for the actual day of Halloween so we didn't dress up, per se, but Steve and Pam had asked us to bring some festive head-wear. Rob of course busted out the afro and his "El Borracho" shirt (Spanish for "the drunkard) and I dusted off an old fuzzy tiara.

It makes me laugh every time Rob wear his fro, he gets this little fro bounce in his step. And now the world (at least my little blogging world) can enjoy it as well in this video...

I was impressed, people really got into it. Steve was a pimp and Pam was his devilish woman...

The pimp and all his...ladies
All week long, the resort was pretty dead so we essentially entertained ourselves at the bar each night. On Halloween night the bar had their karaoke machine out and we pretty much monopolized that gig (shocker!) the whole night. We were singing and dancing like fools, it was awesome. Actually, I wasn't dancing PER SE but more just running around and leaping in an interpretive dancing kind of way.

This video is hysterical - I think it's a nice representation of the difference between the brothers...watch Rob getting into things...and Steve running away from Carolyn cramming the mic in his face during "Baby Got Back". I love Dee Dee at the end getting into it with Rob..that's me saying "Who's that girl?" Please to enjoy...

Rob and I sang "Let it Be" at the end...I think everyone was so drunk that luckily they probably didn't even notice how horrible we were.

Good times.