Later during our week in Sedona, Bonney and I took Aaron and Patrick on a sunrise hot air balloon ride. We got up very early and met the Northern Light Balloon Company in a local parking lot. We were transported to a big field where we watched them inflate two balloons. We spent the next hour and a half flying over various red rock formations and the Coconino National Forest. It was absolutely beautiful – a very smooth, gentle ride with unforgettable views. We all really enjoyed it.

Later that same day, at sunset, we took the Broken Arrow – Pink Jeep Tour. This was an off-road tour of the red rock back country. I can say without a doubt that this was the craziest tour I have ever taken. For some of the tour we were riding on dirt paths, but for much of the trip we were actually driving on big rock formations. Our driver took us up and down inclines I would have thought were impossible for a vehicle to navigate. The ride was totally exhilarating. My feelings alternated between excitement and terror, but wow it was fun. It also gave us the opportunity to see a side of Sedona we otherwise would have missed. I think we all were pleasantly surprised at how fabulous the Pink Jeep Tour turned out to be. Click on the picture above to see the photos from our balloon ride and the jeep tour.

Aaron and I recently returned from a great vacation with Bonney and Patrick in Sedona, Arizona. We were away for nine days and took a bunch of pictures, so I will divide the vacation into several posts with associated albums to break things up a bit…here goes.

While planning the trip we found a very nice house we could rent for around what a hotel was going to cost us. The opportunity to have a private pool, kitchen and hang-out space was too good to pass up, so even though the house was bigger than we needed – we went for it. It was situated up on a mesa looking over Sedona and the red rock formations. The above photo was taken from the front porch of the house at sunset. We spent the first couple days relaxing and unwinding and then started to explore the area.

We visited the misnamed Montezuma’s Castle and Montezuma’s Well – neither of which have anything to do with the Aztec ruler, Montezuma. They were apparently incorrectly associated with Montezuma by early European Americans and the name stuck. In actuality, they are well-preserved cliff dwellings thought to have been built and used by the Sinagua Indians around 1300 AD. The Well is a collapsed limestone cavern fed by underground springs. Later that day we drove to Jerome; a town literally built into the side of a hill around a now defunct copper mine. The following day we took a beautiful drive via the scenic route up through Oak Creek Canyon and up to Flagstaff. The view from the top of the canyon was much greener (thanks to the Ponderosa Pines) than we had seen in days. It’s amazing how quickly the terrain changes out there. Click on the image above to see the first batch of photos.

Well who would have thought we’d make it? No, I’m kidding. Aaron and I recently celebrated out 5 year wedding anniversary by returning to the site of our wedding. The weather was cool, but sunny. The ocean was beautiful. And we were happy to be together. I think I could handle another seventy or so years of this. :)

Autumn is here at last. The trees are beautiful. The temperature is perfect.
It’s my favorite season.

Happy Birthday Joey! Recently we celebrated Joe’s 30th birthday. Aaron and I and Mom and Dad went in together on, you guessed it, Play Station 2 and Guitar Hero as our gift for him. We’ve even got Amy playing it now. Above is Joe practicing (while Amy and Aaron play) using Justin as his guitar. As soon as Justin figures out he controls his own hands, I’m sure we’ll get him to play too…
Click on the photo above to see some new pictures.