Road trips with friends...

...are the best. When Jessica told us that John Mayer was playing in Albuquerque we knew we had to go.  Even if it was right after we got back from a ridiculously long vacation to Europe! Albuquerque is Aric's home town, so it's always fun for him to be a tour guide.  We've traveled many places with Matt & Jessica and it's always a blast.  We always eat at the best places, have the best wine, make the best memories...so we were excited to experience Albuquerque in a whole new way since most of the time when we visit we are visiting Aric's family and going to Aric's old favorites like "Fuddrucker's" Haha!!

So we booked the tickets and took a short road trip out to Albuquerque with these friends and it was amazing.  We took them to a couple of our favorite "sites" The Los Poblanos Lavender & Organic Farm, and Casa Rodena winery...  I can't even believe that the people at the concert wouldn't let us in with our "professional" camera so I didn't get a single good picture at the concert, but it was amazing to say the least!

Thankfully I snapped a few pictures for the rest of the time that we were there! So enjoy our cute friends & some of the beautiful sites of Albuquerque...

This first group of pics is from the Lavender Farm...

After the farm we headed down the street to the winery.  We had a tasting and then spent a couple hours outside on their patio just chatting about life and enjoying a glass of wine. 

So cute, I know.

Oh hey! There I am! ;)

And this last picture is the view from our room at the resort!! We stayed at the Hyatt Tamaya Resort and WOW was it beautiful.  We got up every morning and went for a walk, rode bikes...and if I hadn't have almost fainted we would have gone horseback riding...Next time!

Previews

Okay, let's just be honest. I have hardly even had a chance to look through all the pictures from our trip.  We've been pretty much going non-stop since we've been back so even having a chance to download the cards was a victory for me! I quickly pulled out a few photos off the card from the point and shoot camera that we took with us so I thought I'd at least share these! :)

Enjoy the little preview...you know there's a lot more where these came from! 

These first two Aric was takin a break and taking in the beauty of 

Château de Chenonceau.  We were here eating lunch with the wedding after visiting a winery just before.  We got to walk through all the rooms of the chateau and all over the beautiful grounds.  It was definitely the kind of place you would imagine in a fairytale or children's story book.  Pretty incredible!

And...Here we are at the wedding!!! I'm sure I'll regret that we didn't take more pictures - but sometimes it seems like just such a hassel! Aric was the best groomsman...he worked so hard to make sure the groom had everything he needed.  He's always so selfless and giving in that way.  But I was so glad to get to enjoy the reception with him!  It was another fairytale kind of day.

There's the whole reception!! And we got to stay 3 nights in that chateau! Can you believe that?!

AAAHHH... Paris.  The most romantic city in the world! ;)

This time I was determined to have our photo taken in front of the eiffel tower no matter what.  So thankfully we had someone snap a few here one night as we were walking around the city. Love it.

GUYS! I got drawn by this incredible artist in Montmarte! Aric & I both just loved the way he sketched in a not so literal way and as difficult as it was to sit in that chair and stare at the same spot on the ground for about an hour straight - I think it was totally worth it! ;)

Leaving Montemarte with my drawing!

Montemarte is officially one of my new favorite spots in Paris! Just magical!

The view of the city from Galleries Lafayette

Our next stop was Lake Lucerne, Switzerland.  I've never seen water so pretty or greens so green.  We were only here 1 short day so as soon as we arrived after checking into our hotel we hopped onto a boat tour of the lake... It was the perfect way to see the lake and surrounding mountains...

<3

Unfortunately the next day (when we were planning to take a tram up to the top of the mountain to see the view of the lake from there) it was super foggy and drizzly so we ended up just walking around the old town square for the day...

Oh, you know...just walking through Venice after catching the sunrise...

Although you can't tell...that's Florence behind us. We got there just in time to watch the sunset here with a view of the entire city and then walked through the streets, had dinner, gelato and visited a museum that was open late...

I guess I stopped pulling photos there... We still have some from our first stop in Spain, Rome, the Amalfi Coast, and Greece!  But this is a start at least! :)

Travels and heart changes

Well September has come and gone!  How did that happen?  I mean, I know how that happened...we spent most of it out of the country.  But still.  You always think there will be more time.  More time to catch up.  More time to rest.  More time to share with others.  More time to work.  And some days the time just seems to disappear into thin air.  You wake up to a new morning and just like that - the sun is setting again and you wonder "where in the world did the time go?"  It's one of those phenomenon's that I'll never truly understand.  As a child you feel like time moves at a turtle's speed.  And one day you wake up and those words about your life on earth being but a mist seem all too real.  The good and the bad to that is it makes you actually think.  What am I doing with my life?  What am I doing with my time?  Is it all worth something?  What needs to change?
I'll always be thankful for these questions in my life.  They are what truly awaken me to what really matters.

As I said. We spent most of September in Europe.  It was a once in a lifetime trip that I will surely never forget.  That I hope I will never take for granted.  And that I'm so thankful for the thoughts and actions in provoked in my life, my marriage and my work.
One of these days I'll get around to blogging more about the trip.  It was what I like to call "ridiculous" which in this case is a good thing.  We visited 5 countries: Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy & Greece. And of course nothing tops Paris.  It will forever be the more beautiful, most romantic, most enchanting city in the world to me.  :)  We took thousands of pictures, saw incredible views, shared wonderful experiences and learned, learned, learned.  After being back for just 2 and half short weeks - I'm enamored by the changes I've seen and felt in everyday life. It's been an incredible ride, and I look forward to each new day.

For now I'll just leave you with the pictures I had on my instagram account from our trip! And again, like I said - one of these days I'll get around to blogging some of the rest of the pictures! :)